Thursday
Aug162007
Show 50: HULK SMASH
Thursday, August 16, 2007 
The Marvel world is at war with the Hulk, but how do we feel about him and this crossover? Kris, Adam and Brian ventured up to Richard’s Comics and Collectables in Greenville, South Carolina to discuss all things Hulk with store regular John, store employee John (the occasional word from store employee Brendon) and the infamous J Chris Campbell for this edition of the Dollar Bin.
Reader Comments (34)
Yeah...Tre's good.
You guys got pwn'd! You guys do a show about comics. You need to know your stuff! You might as well call it, "Tre's Dollar Bin with some posers". How about doing some research first, that will give you maybe a little bit of credit.
Wow. First off. I have no idea what pwn'd is. I'm assuming it is a comic sound effect. But then again what do I know. God forbid I be a guy who reads comics as a kid and started reading them again a couple years ago and enjoy them. God forbid I enjoy talking and learning about comics as I go. God forbid I don't think to myself I don't really like the art in this book let me go look up everything about this artist (who's art I don't like) before I mention that I don't like it. I'm sorry. Shit. Call me out on my credit. I'll admit this this shit. But at least tell me something about the damn guy while you do it like Jay did. I don't know everything about comics. Hell, one of the main reasons I got into this is to absorb as much a possible. I've learned more about comics doing this than I ever would without it and damn it I LOVE it.
PS: Thanks for listening
Pierre,
I don't know if you noticed but the Dollar Bin is yOUR ground level source for comic book OPINIONS and reviews. If this show pissed you off then you should listen to our other shows. They're all about the same. We read comics and then we give OUR opinions and reviews and then we typically have a little discussion about a comic related topic. We have fun doing these shows.
I'm in the same boat as Adam with coming back into comics. I had what I call my "Dark Years" when I quit reading. Then I discovered a nice little comic shop in Columbia and got turned back on to comics. I don't know as much as Tre and Brian but I'm learning.
Thanks for listening and it's good to know that we can get people to comment on our site even if its to tell us we are "pwn’d." I for one do know what "pwn’d" means and I totally disagree with you.
Have a good day and watch out for our boy downunder, Andrew. I'm sure he'll comment soon.
Kris
Ok, since Kris knew what it meant I had to go look it up and I discovered its one of those geek ass chat phrases like "noobz." Well I feel better about that. How 'bout you?
I feel great. I love feedback—positive or negative.
WTF? Pwn'd? Lolz. Oh and ROTFLMFAO.
;)ttyl!
P.S. Love you boyz.
xo
Kris,
For once I actually dont have anything working 10 days has made my mind go from a solid to a liquid and yes I am at work atm.
Cheers,
Andrew
So when you use the term "ground level", you are referring to how you are lacking knowledge? Do you think I'm blind? I noticed the sub text that said "ground level source". How am I able to type this message? I was told on a message board that there are some knuckleheads dissing the great Chaykin. I have to represent! Oh, Owen who is the current Captian Boomerang, doesn't just throw Boomerangs. He has short bursts of Speed. The idea behind The return of Thor does not belong to Mark Millar, it actually goes to Neil Gaiman.
Represent,
WOW Pierre you must be one hard mutha comin on here and slinging insults at people on the internet. One day I want to grow up an be just like you.
Also if you give us some examples of why you think Chaykin is so fucking good instead of acting like your in 8th grade.
Now if you'll excuse me I have a deadline to meet.
Cheers,
Andrew
Pierre, I'm going to respond from "I was told..." because I don't understand what anything means before that. I am curious what message board this appeared on (unless you mean this comment section). I like to check it out. That's awesome. I'm also curious if you listened to any of the other casts. The term "Ground Level" refers to the fact that we are just some guys off the street who read comics and like to discuss them. Neil Gaiman rocks.
I don't consider myself to be a Chaykin fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I can admire the man's writing.
His art, however, for me leaves a lot to be desired. Like a whole lot...
It's a stylistic thing to be sure and I'm not saying I could do better then him or hell, even better then Rob Liefield for that matter.
But as a reader and buyer of comics, all I know is what I like or what I don't like...and I don't like Howard Chaykin's art.
But hey, I also don't like Frank Miller's art, Jim Lee's art, or Todd Mcfarlane's art.
But I have enjoyed books they've done.
Also, for Pierre...I don't know how to break this to you, but just because a couple of the Dollar Bin guys aren't overly familiar with Howard Chaykin's work doesn't mean they're not entitled to a "Holy shit, I really don't like this" opinion.
If you take into account the fact that Chaykin hasn't exactly been dominating mainstream comics recently and then tack him onto a mainstream book then there's a good chance that a significant portion of the audience isn't going to know who the fuck he is.
That doesn't diminish his contributions in the least, but wouldn't you find it a shock to be a regular reader of Astonishing X-Men and suddenly Walt Simonson or Nick Cardy were on a 6 issue story arc?
They're both huge figures in the history of comics, but would you hold it against someone if they weren't familiar with their work because neither of them have been terribly active recently?
I sure wouldn't.
Adam and the rest of the crew do a damn fine job and there's no net or script to be seen.
They share their honest, gut opinions on what they've read...and frankly I think it's refreshing to hear someone without a preconceived notion of an artist or writer critique their work.
There's no knowledge of past glories to color a opinion...if Chaykin draws an issue of Punisher and Adam thinks it sucks, then where's the crime in saying so?
What Chaykin did 15 years ago is irrelevant to the fact that his most recent issue of Punisher, in Adam's eyes, sucks giant hairy monkey balls.
Now I'm sure I'll be characterized as some poor dumb bastard who just doesn't understand the greatness that is Howard Chaykin...and I'm cool with that. In fact, tonight I guarantee you I'll sleep like a baby despite that characterization.
The truth is, I do understand how great Chaykin is...but my opinion of his greatness extends merely to his writing and not into the realm of his artwork.
I agree with Adam, Howard Chaykin's art sucks...and not in that nice way either.
I have recently ordered the Twilight series and American Flagg issue one. I look forward to both of them based on Jay's recommendation. Chaykin wrote Twilight, but doesn't do the art. (So it should be awesome right? Just kidding.) I've been having a lot of discussions with people about Chaykin recently and many who know of Chaykin have basically said the same as above. Although he has been around awhile and very influential he's not a household name, so they let me off the hook. Also, let me point out that there are folks out there who have been reading comics for years and years, but pay no mind to artists or writers. They just read the books and follow the characters. Anyway, Chaykin will be a Baltimore Comic-Con and I look forward to getting and interview with him.
Sheesh, I didn't know I'd start such a conflagration!
Good luck with the Baltimore Comic-Con interview, and I'm glad you're doing your homework before you go. Chaykin is one of the original curmudgeons of comics, although not quite as bad as Alex Toth or Harlan Ellison. Drop me a line, and I can point you toward some of his previous interviews. I think he did one for Comic Book Artist from Twomorrows within the past 2-3 years.