Homework

Spreading a little internet love today. Two things:

1. Steven Grant wrote one of my favorite comic book mini-series of the eighties, the five-part Punisher: Circle of Blood, which featured, as I’m sure he knows better than anyone, the iconic cover artistry of Mike Zeck (why Zeck isn’t getting more cover-work, I don’t know). He also wrote the first hardcover graphic novel I ever saved up yard-work money for (Punisher: Return to Big Nothing). Currently, Mr. Grant is responsible for the most insightful weekly column on comic books and politics, Permanent Damage. He’s one of the few writers on any of the major comic web-sites who writes for an adult audience and takes both comic books and the comic industry seriously. His language is frank and, as someone who keeps up with comic books (but gave them up long ago due for financial reasons), I can’t help but think that this gets him into trouble with the big two (Marvel and DC). Grant is most popular for his crime work, and current popular contemporary greats—writers like Ed Brubaker and Brian Michael Bendis—owe him a lot. In addition to being able to make astute comparisons between the American and Japanese models of graphic storytelling, Mr. Grant also offers up insightful takes on contemporary political issues. I’d say he leaned a left if he didn’t so often take on the Democratic Party (but, come on, when was the last time Democrats were left?). Click this link to see what I’m talking about and be sure to check in every week (even though I disagree mightily with him about Pirates 3, or The Sopranos finale).
2. I’m including a link to a website that provides the lyrics to Nick Cave’s masterpiece, “The Mercy Seat”, a song I will breakdown over a few posts next week. This link is mainly for people who read this blog on a regular basis (if there are any of you out there?), so you can familiarize yourself with the song. IMPORTANT: The second line of the song should read “And put me in Dead Row”, not “Death Row”. It sounds nit-picky, but such a change is important to the universality to the song and is crucial to its meaning. Also, you can click here to see Cave shred his voice through the song in concert, or here to see him (I guess on the BBC) talking about the strength of the song and its versatility as well as watch a great (but slightly different) version of the song, and then click here to see an example of what Cave really meant by versatility, not to mention his hilarious introduction to Japanese television.