Continuing in the spirit of detente, that merely hides our simmering, mutual hatred for one another, I feel obligated to let everyone know the John Aston of OldeTowneComix, has updated his webcomic with a new chapter in the life of Blaxploitation heroine, Rachel Rage. The latest installment is called “Last Call.” The previous installment “Birthday Girl” was in May, but as always, it’s well worth the wait. “Last Call” is forty-four (44) screens of boozy, sweaty exploitation sleaze (in the best way possible!), with the promise of more mayhem to follow.
By the way, one day I’ve got to get around to writing my review of Rachel Rage: Vol. I, which you can find at the online store John has ingeniously dubbed “The Olde Towne Chamber of Commerce.” Clever bastard.
WORLD OF HURT now has its own page on Facebook. Accept no substitutes (except for the fantastic fan site that Guess Who? has been running from her Facebook page, but go on over and join the new one, too)!
Among other things, I plan to use it to post images of thumbnails, rejected panels, character designs and other process related goodies. Also, I’ll post photos as I begin attending more events and conventions throughout the year. Right now you can find photos of two great fans who purchased two of the shirts available through the WORLD OF HURT Online Store.
The official WORLD OF HURT Facebook page can be found here.
Over the past month or so, I’ve been seeing the video for a California-based rap duo composed of rappers Legacy and Ben J (government names Dominic Thomas and Earl Benjamin). Collectively, they are known as the New Boyz. Their debut single, ”You’re A Jerk,” is a song that highlights a new West Coast dance style called “jerking.”
I’m not here to weigh in on the quality of their music, lyrical content or flow, or their dancing, because I recognize that it’s not made for someone in my demographic. Although the song is pleasantly infectious, and I find myself amused by the group’s bright, retro ’80s clothing, including Legacy’s Patrick Nagel-inspired t-shirt and the heavy, dyed bangs and doorknocker earrings of one of the girls in the video, what I am about to say should not be taken as endorsement of the New Boyz or their music.
I consider myself a fairly astute observer of pop culture, so I am merely here to state a simple realization and prediction: If “You’re A Jerk” is indicative of their remaining body of work, I think the New Boyz could be the vanguard of a new movement in hip-hop that will profoundly threaten the status quo. Why? Since the early 1990s, hip hop has been dominated by dark braggadocio and bold, sagging swagger. ”The Thug” has been the defacto template for the male hip hop artist for nearly two decades. The Thug believes in conspicuous consumption and misogyny. The Thug may literally wear his allegiance to these tenets on his body, like Tupac Shakur, add a Southern drawl to it like Gucci Mane, or dress it up with clever wordplay and a gentleman’s charm, like Jay-Z, but if you scratch the surface, you’ll still find The Thug underneath. Even though artists like Kanye West, Drake or Lupe Fiasco have pushed at the edges of The Thug bubble to test its limits, any such artist who hopes to gain commercial success has had to build his credibility by paying some tithe to The Thug, either by penning a Thug-centric single to establish their street cred, collaborating with a Dyed-In-Wool Thug artist, or getting started on the label of one. Further, if they push too hard at The Thug paradigm, these artists might become targets of speculation that they are (gasp!) gay, the worst offense possible in the testosterone-fueled world of hip-hop.
The New Boyz, are slight, young, fairly innocuous, brightly attired kids that represent the antithesis of The Thug. No women are shaking their barely clothed asses in the video; Legacy and Ben J. aren’t counting stacks of cash or standing in front of expensive cars; and they even seem to smile instead of leering lasciviously. Most threatening to The Thug mystique is the New Boyz’s repudiation of the sagging jeans style that has been the signature of The Thug aesthetic at least since Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg (or Snoop Doggy Dogg, as he was known then) released “Dre Day” in 1993. The New Boyz proudly flaunt their sartorial manifesto in the title of their forthcoming album, Skinny Jeans and a Mic. My prediction is that, should the New Boyz and their ilk catch on, you’ll see a lot of attacks against them by older, established rap acts, because their schtick will no longer be relevant, or more importantly for the Thuggish Powers That Be, profitable.
With all the major characters introduced now for The Thrill-Seekers, I decided to update “The Players” page in the Menu bar with short bios on the cast. Since the storyline has not concluded, and it is also for the benefit of new readers, I tried not to give too much away in the cast page. Let me know what you think.
Last month, I posted a blog entry entitled, “If You’re A Blaxploitation Fan, Then You Oughtta Know: Afrodisiac.” I ended the post with the statement, “The Afrodisiac tales definitely need to be compiled into a single edition. It would be essential reading for any fan of Blaxploitation or comic book storytelling, in general.”
Well, ask and ye shall receive, because Adhouse Books will be releasing a 96-page, full color Afrodisiac graphic novel in December! It looks like it will be a combination of his previous appearances AND new material by Rugg and Maruca. Check out a preview of the book here.
Don’t take any chances that Santa’s gonna leave this prize under the tree, baby! (He’s let you down before. Remember that puppy you wanted? The Atari 2600? Exactly.) Go to your local comic book retaileror visit Adhouse’s siteto pre-order yours today.
- JEP
P.S. Also, since I’m in a particularly link-y mood, make sure to visit WORLD OF HURT on Facebook.
*Reference to a line from Kickin’ Afrolistics, the only album by the short-lived rap group, The Afros. Anybody but me remember that? If I hadn’t found this link, I thought I might have imagined that the group existed at all or, at the most, was just a skit from a Digital Underground album. Let me stop now before I date myself even more.
Well, y’all, The Internet’s #1 Blaxploitation Webcomic is about to break the #1 rule of webcomics: I’m going to miss an update.
Since I started this endeavor, I’ve prided myself on the quality and consistency of my strips. I have an unwritten contract with you, my great and faithful readers, to have a new comic every Wednesday, and I broke that contract this week. I won’t offer any excuses, I can only deeply, deeply apologize for the delay, especially at such a cliffhanger moment.
The strip scheduled for today is about 85% complete, but I was considering waiting until next week to post it. Since I started WORLD OF HURT, I’ve been running pretty close to the deadline each week, and possibly I could use this setback as an opportunity to build a buffer so this won’t happen again. However, since it’s so close to completion, and you really shouldn’t have to wait two weeks for a freakin’ comic strip, I will be glad to post it tomorrow or late this evening.
Because I value your input, I’ll let you decide if I should post it Thursday or wait until next week. Weigh in below, and I’ll go with the majority decision.
Regardless of your decision, I will have a blog update on Friday, as always.
Thank you for your patience, and as always, thank you so much for your support.
From the bottom of my heart, I really want to thank everyone for their suggestions, understanding and support. I’ve decided to wait until next week to post the new strip, which will give me a buffer so I hopefully won’t miss another update.
I’ve already given some thought to how I will build in a buffer between The Thrill-Seekers and the next storyline. (If you haven’t seen my Twitter update, the next storyline has been written and it will be called The Black Fist.) I have a completed 4-page story that will be the “intermission” between The Thrill-Seekers and The Black Fist. It doesn’t feature Pastor, but it is an action-packed, genre-bending story that will both cleanse your palate and whet your appetite for more WORLD OF HURT tales.
There’s still a ways to go on The Thrill-Seekers, but as we get closer to the end, I’ll give you more details about it the intermission story and The Black Fist.
Again, you guys have been fantastic about this brief interruption and I can’t thank you enough for that. Remember, the blog will be updated on Friday with another installment of The Unsung Bad Mother****** Awards, but make sure to be here next Wednesday for a new strip, and I promise that your patience will be rewarded!
