Self-Introduction Post

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Hope I'm not stepping on any toes by doing this, but I saw @sidekickmatt perform a similar maneuver here, so I figured I'd join the party. The more the merrier, right @steemitadventure?

Anyway, my name is Michael Crisman, aka @modernzorker, and I'm a nerd. I read horror novels, I play video games, I sling spells in my D&D group, I watch terrible movies, and according to my wife, I have entirely too many comics. Since that's the main theme of this particular group, I figured I'd slot myself right in and grab a spot towards the middle so my spine doesn't get all crushed and my corners bent. Greedy? Well, I'm 42 years old, so my corners are already bent and my spine is approaching jelly-hood. Have pity on a nearly senior citizen, eh?

So, I have a bit of a confession to make. I, uh, I like 90's comics. And by 'like', I mean 'read the ever-loving Deathmate out of'. I've been out of the modern-day collecting/reading game for well over fifteen years now, but I came of age in the days when everybody pre-ordered Youngblood #1 on the assumption that they could retire by selling it when they reached my age, when Jim Lee and Jeff Scott Campbell tossed Gen13 into their WildStorm imprint, when Dark Horse opened up their stables to include lots more manga, Everette Hartsoe ushered in the Bad Girl era with Razor, and Ben and Joe Dunn's Antarctic Press published the first issue of a little book called Warrior Nun Areala which, you may have heard, is getting made into a television series or a movie or something at some point.

Yeah.

I'm that dork.

Look, I see your hand hovering over that downvote button, but if I may plead my case before throwing myself upon the mercy of the court of public opinion, I'm well aware that everybody trash-talks the Dark Age of Comics with good reason. I mean, idiots like me are the ones who damn near ran the hobby into the ground by buying into all the gimmicks, cover enhancements, special editions, variants, and, uh, whatever the hell Pogs were.

That said, it's a time and a place that happened, so I think it's important we're able to look back on it and critique it with a keen eye towards deep dives and the sort of minutia-obsessive historical perspective that it (kind of) deserves.

I haven't posted in the #comics tag lately because, first of all, I'm still recovering over the shock of ComicBookDB.com going off-line back in December, and secondly because I got a new computer last year and I'm still trying to teach it how to recognize my old-ass Epson flatbed scanner without having to reinstall the drivers every time I do a reset for a system update. Windows 10, ladies and gentlemen! I'll be darned if I do a comics-themed post without being able to provide my own images and cover scans, but that puts a crimp in the ol' long box if you know what I mean.

That said, if you choose to follow this Community in general, or me in particular, here's a small selection of what I've contributed to the #comics community on Steemit over the past couple of years:

• A breakdown of the chronology of early Razor books, a subject which is actually more obtuse and complex than any Geometry problem my teacher threw at me in high school, but which may become hugely important if they ever get the movie finished.

• My personal picks for the half-dozen best Gen13 stories of all time, which somehow garnered an absurd number of upvotes despite being about the most 90's-est 90's book of all time.

• A selection of starter books for people who don't read comics. The idea was to showcase a few titles that wouldn't break the bank, could stand alone, and might entice new readers to dig into the hobby further.

• The history of ANIA, a publisher catering to the still-greatly-untapped African-American youth market. This story is absolutely gonzo, and there wasn't a ton of information out there, but what I found while digging was too incredible not to share.

• A series overview of Johji Manabe's manga Caravan Kidd. Caravan Kidd was my introduction to manga, so it's always held a special place in my heart for that reason. I re-read it every few years, and every time it makes me feel like a 15 year old kid again.

• More nonsense about Deathmate than any sane person should ever write (or read, or even know) about The Intra-Company Crossover Which Should Not Be Named. I cannot promise I won't write about it more in the future.

• Gen13: Ordinary Heroes. This one is part of my temporarily-suspended project to read through and review every issue of Gen13 which I have every intention of getting back to one of these days, but Ordinary Heroes is, hands down, one of my favorite superhero comics of all time, and I love it. And Adam Hughes.

• An as-safe-for-work-as-possible look at a decidedly NSFW comic. This was just humor for the sake of razzing @blewitt, who is one of the nicest guys on the blockchain and who also happens to own a comic store. Unfortunately it's in New Jersey, so you take your life in your hands every time you visit, but other than that he's really an OK guy.

Anyway, I could throw a crap-ton more links in here, but I think you get the point so I'll shut up and let you go ahead and downvote/mute me. Thanks for listening, and hey, once I get this damn scanner figured out, I'll be putting the 'MIC'hael back in 'CoMICs', as they say.

Right? Right? :D

I.... Yeah, I'll see myself out.