Flash Fact: Fans Are Dicks! Or: My Love Letter to the Dudes Who've Kept Me Sane

Whereas a colleague of mine is doing a piece on the film industry, I'm gonna tell you what-for about comics fans.

Now, most fans are pretty normal dudes like myself. I like to go and read my comics and I like to casually discuss it.

I don't like to rip on the men and women and anythings in between who make them if they aren't total assholes.

However you wanna interpret that dude's comment, Dan Slott was treated pretty unfairly by that guy. Was Slott's response too much? I say no. Guy was pissed and thanks to the internet, he could pretty quickly and publicly tell the dude off. Everybody deserves to tell people to shut the hell up!

Next case: James Robinson. His run on Starman is absolutely amazing. I dare you to find someone who didn't love the exploits of Jack Knight. But, "fans" have ripped him apart for Cry for Justice. Admittedly, it's not his strongest work. I'll say that much. But is it the worst thing I've read? Is it really worth all the constant bitching and moaning? Meh, not really.

And, the fact that a lot of fans seem to miss and others seem to focus a lot on, is that Cry for Justice and stories like it are editorially-mandated and often jacked with and messed with by a lot of people who aren't the writer. The same thing happens with film scripts all the time. Is it as terrible as the film industry can occasionally be though? Not a clue.

My point being is that most guys need to chill out. Just because you've got an internet connecting and a semi-anonymous connection to the world, doesn't give you the right to be a massive tool. I'm all for constructive criticism, but constantly nagging and whinging (Typo, but I'm pretty sure this is a real word. It was in X-Factor) is pretty grating.

Remember that tough guy who handed Rob Liefeld a copy of "How to Draw Comics" from Lee and Buscema? That's dick. No two ways about it. Now, Liefeld isn't the world's most amazing artist, but the dude has made leaps and bounds and his style is noticeably nicer-looking than his ultra-popular 90s look.  The fact that he's actually a pretty nice guy makes that kid seem like a pretty big ass.

Once again, if the guys who I would potentially rip apart were assholes, I'd have no qualms. But, a lot of these writers and artists seem really nice and they put up with an ungodly amount of shit from a fanbase that has a pretty bad reputation. Mainly that the general public is pretty sure all comic fans are straight outta the Big Bang Theory, which is just an awful misconception.

But once again, every fanbase has the crazy yahoos that ruin it for everyone. Are all Twilight fans crazed loony girls with a bad case of fucked in the head syndrome? Hardly. Are all Star Trek fans socially inept and painfully sad? Nope. Are all football fans rioting every time their team loses? Nein! Not all fans are crazed dickwads. Most are pretty normal. It's a bunch of outspoken douches who ruin the image for a lot of the rest of us.

As my fellow blogger Ranka knows, the crazy Kingdom Hearts fans make it unbearable to even be considered a casual fan of that series.

Damn, I got a little off topic. I think that little tirade was supposed to show you... something. Can't remember what though. It's late, I'm tired and I'm having some very pleasantly confusing thoughts.

Any and all writers, artists and all around people who are more famous than I: Not all fans are rabid, vicious douchnozzles. Even if I don't like a particular story you've put out, or a lot of people don't like it. Don't take it as a sign that everyone's complaining or that everyone hates you. That's my biggest fear, as a reader, that all my favorite writers and artists think all think all their fans are dicks.

So, as a fan who has literally been saved from boredom by comics, detective novels and all around awesome things: Thanks. Seriously. Thank. YOU. If I had no comics, no novels, no anime, no cartoons, no nothing. I would be bored as fuck. Or I might be a jock or something.

PS. Funny story. About a month ago on campus, I saw honest-to-God nerds. Like, with pocket protectors, nutty haircuts and huge glasses. It was after Halloween too, so I'm sure they weren't costumes. It took every fiber of my being not to steal a letterman jacket and scream "NERDS!!".

Okay, I'm actually done now. I'm so damn tired.

TRON: Legacy Derezzed My Pants

Tron: Legacy was a pretty schway film. I have a few gripes, but they're pretty minor in the grand scheme of things.

VFX: The original Tron still looks pretty good for its age. With the improvements in CG, this really does look like fantastic. This whole damn movie looks fantastic.

Fights: Really well-choreographed fight scenes. This and Scott Pilgrim had some of the best fight scenes from an American movie that I'd seen this entire year.

Soundtrack: Daft Punk. They did the whole score, but only about half the tracks really sound like Daft Punk songs. That's one of the gripes right there. Half the tracks are awesome techo songs and the rest are kind of bland.

Cast: Garret Hedlund plays Sam Flynn, our protagonist. He certainly did a good job, but he was kind of overshadowed by Jeff Bridges and Olivia Wilde. I was surprised with Wilde's performance. She was just adorable, which I was expecting an "action girl" type. And Jeff Bridges didn't reprise his role of Kevin Flynn, he was the Dude. The Dude in a damn Jedi robe. Too cool. Cillian Murphy's cameo was pretty surprising and welcome. Bruce Boxleitner is always good too. Always kind of wondered why he never had a bigger career, he's actually a really good actor.

Reverence: There were a lot of scenes that were shot in the same style as one's from the original TRON. Like when Sam broke into EMCOM Tower through the "big door", the escape from the Game Grid, and the ending itself to name a few.

Syd Mead: He contributed a new lightcycle design that was briefly used in the film. I like him so much he gets his own positive category. His art and designs are just so pretty.

Tron: Like in the last film, Tron's not really the main character. At best, he's a plot device in this one. He doesn't really have much of a presence. I mean, yes he's in it. But I was kind of hoping he would be swayed back to the side of good before the last five minutes.

Setup: It was sort of obvious that someone was hoping this would lead to a Tron 3. Cillian Murphy's cameo, Tron's fate, the ending in general, it was kind of obvious that more is hopefully coming. These were just loose ends.

Blackness: The fact that everything was black except for those white/red lines on things made things a little disorienting when things started moving fast. Maybe it was just the 3D or the IMAX screen, I don't know. It wasn't bad, it was just slightly disorienting.

At the end of the day, this movie's pretty accessible for folks who haven't seen the original Tron, but it's definitely made for the fans of the original.

I've Been Busy (Well, Lazy) - But No More.

That's right faithful followers (All 3 of you)! It's time for another exciting installment of Der Raging Panzer! When we last left our hero, the insufferable ZeroBuster, he was making all kinds of outrageous claims about actually doing something here. For months, there was nothing. Now? He's here to make good on those seemingly-outlandish claims!

Also! He's got a Twitter now! The Twitter account will henceforth be devoted to serving the needs of Der Panzer. Or at least attempting to.

But now, our feature presentation...

Since I don't quite have a definite amount of time at the moment to do what I want to do (Post a short story or two) You'll have to settle for a scintillating tale from the vault. The Mind Vault.

Let's discuss what I've been reading lately. I've been on a total Superman/Legion trip lately. Good God have I been reading Superman. I've also been on an all-around Warren Ellis/Grant Morrison ride too. Also Sandman. Sand Hawkins needs his own miniseries or something. Seriously.

So, yeah. That's some fascinating stuff. A true "cool story", eh trusty readers?