3-07-10 Coming Soon To A Theater Near You

Frank Miller is a tricky topic in the Mc$oss universe. Paul has always maintained a healthy distaste of Mr. Millers work, while I fondly look back at The Dark Knight Returns and Daredevil: The Man Without Fear as great stories in comic history. In recent years I have soured on not only Frank's comic work but his film work as well.

Sin City was a great film in my opinion. It translated the essence of the comic directly to the silver screen like no other movie before or since. 300 was a bit over the top for me, but still a money making film and received critical acclaim. Then came The Spirit ... let's just say that this movie REALLY took some creative liberties with Will Eisner's source material. Luckily for the movie-going public the movie tanked, halting any hopes that good ol' Frank would get his hard-boiled, grim and gritty hands on another classic property. But ... what if it did well? What other movie could get the Miller-Noir treatment?

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2-13-10 Living Death

The morning after. The infamous words, "I'm never drinking like that again." All empty promises.

-Gint

2-21-10 We're Not 21 Anymore

My brother, 9 years my junior, is a fairly good gauge of what I am and am not capable of at my advanced age. Youth is truly wasted on the young.

-Gint

2-3-10 The Good Son

I find it hilarious when someone else is the unsuspecting victim of this particular brand of brotherly humor.

-Gint

1-26-10 A Good Cry

In January of 2000 Mr. McGinty and myself began to have classes together as Graphic Design students at Pittsburgh Technical Institute. Beside the awful girl problems we had in common we also shared a love of pop culture and 80's cartoons. One of the moments that solidified our friendship, I believe, was the process of revisiting “Transformers: The Movie”.

Of course we both remembered that a few bad things happened in this feature film, supposedly created for the viewing of small children. Surely we both exaggerated the devastating effects this flick had on our childhood, right? Nope. Within the first 15 minutes of the movie all of the characters we all knew and loved had been brutally murdered before our eyes and replaced with posers like Wheelie and Galvatron. I'll never forget the moment “shit got real” for me when I watched the red mist seep out of Prowl's dead eye sockets as Megatron gunned him down in cold blood. But now that I think about it, that kind of tough love in my cartoons got me ready for the harsh reality of the real world. The generation of today will have a REALLY bad time dealing with the realities of job loss, failed relationships, and AFC Championship game loses. I guess we were lucky.

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01-18-10 Rejection

There is just something that I love about the good Doctor's Doom and Strange. They take themselves SO seriously, so I always try to make their appearances in Mc$oss as silly as possible.

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10-18-09 A Knack for the Gross Stuff

Garth Ennis and his artists have a way about them. Most of the time its pretty nasty. But for all the shock and gore that's packed into a Garth Ennis book, I've loved every one I've read. So here's to many more upheavals courtesy Mr. Ennis.

-Gint

8-23-09 Fashion Statement

As Blackest Night kicked off I imagined that my buddy may have second thoughts on his wardrobe.

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8-16-09 Harsh Criticism

If only Michael Bay would have been in this theater as it burned. Then we would finally have brought that criminal to justice.

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8-13-09 The Lord's Work

So what you're telling me, is that no one said, "Frank, you kind of look like the good lord and savior in your pic. You ought to change it?!"

-Gint

8-7-09 Training Day 2

Being a Green Lantern fan and a Ryan Reynolds fan, this sets up some cool circumstances for the upcoming Green Lantern movie. The jury is still out on the casting of Blake Lively as Carol Ferris, but for the most part we're looking good.

Since the Spider-Man franchise is being rebooted, perhaps an older, darker gentleman would be perfect for the role of Peter Parker?

-Gint

7-30-09 Like A Hamburger... But Not

I don't buy into the "high-concept" stylings of Grant Morrison. At best I've been lukewarm on a couple Morrison-penned books. For the most part, his stories are just fucking kooky and I can't handle it. Maybe I'll start picking up Batman again once someone else takes over the reigns. Until then, good luck deciphering that jibberish.

-Gint

3-24-09 Batman No More

My "gateway drug" into comics was Batman: The Animated Series. From there I moved on to a couple Batman trade paperbacks and The Long Halloween before fully graduating to picking up the monthly titles.

But somewhere along the line, Batman and I grew apart. I became more interested in the cosmic characters with superpowers and well, Grant Morrison took over Batman. But to be honest, I wasn't happy with the handful of writers before Morrison anyhow.

I believe Batman #682 was the beginning of the end for me. I stopped getting any of the Batman titles after that zur-en-arrh nonsense.

So long Batman. Perhaps we'll meet again someday.

-Gint

Ps. I like to imagine Boyz II Men's "End of the Road" playing in the background of that last panel. "Baby, I knew about it. I just didn't care..."

01-18-09 Misguided Holiday Enthusiasm

Playing on the previous year's Martin Luther King Day strip, this one highlights another celebration of the great Dr. King's birthday gone wrong.

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1-9-09 True Romance

I was never a big Punisher fan. A dude running around with a big gun blowing away mobsters was never really my thing. That was until Mr. Garth Ennis and Mr. Steve Dillon took a crack at the book after their run on Preacher. Their patented trademark of humor and graphic violence fit perfectly into Frank Castle's world... and my heart.

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12-2-08 Wednesday is New Comics Day

Poor little Brizzle, caught in the middle of this nerd war. This would be the last true strip of the first year of Mc$oss.

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10-10-08 The Exchange

Gint and I have similar likes and dislikes on a wide variety of subjects. Television shows are not one of them. I'm sure Greek and Kyle XY are fine shows full of adventure, suspense, romance and laughs... but I'd much rather watch classy shows like Jersey Shore and The Bad Girls Club.

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9-29-08 The Amazing Abortion

If there was any doubt about how $oss felt about his favorite character's third foray into moving pictures, it was quiet clear after this conversation.

I believe this exchange actually took place over texting, but I think the core of $oss' sentiment remains the same.

-Gint

9-25-08 Karma

This strip comes from sort of a serious place. A lot of bad things were happening to the Mc$oss crew at this point in time and it got me thinking that maybe there might be a chance that it wasn't undeserved. Surely us "drawing" out some good deeds would be enough move this black cloud from our doorstep… right?

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9-19-08 The Pimp of This Facility

Once upon a time there was a television show called Kevin Hill. It aired briefly on UPN in 2004 and starred Taye Diggs as the title character and Christina Hendricks' breasts. Taye Diggs even won an Image award for Outstanding Actor In a Drama Series. But alas, UPN pulled the plug after one season and it was over. Seriously, it was a great show that never got a chance like so many other shows out there that are quick to cancellation.

What I'm trying to say is it made me a big Taye Diggs fan. And while I think the idea of remaking the Original Trilogy is a sacrilege, casting Taye Diggs as everyone's favorite administrative facilitator would go a long way to getting me in the theatre.

-Gint

9-15-08 All Hell's A Comin

As I've stated in the past, Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's Preacher is my favorite comic series of all time. I'm constantly searching for ideas to continue the adventures of CassiGint and Reverend $oss Custer. With these strips I try to change my style slightly to match Dillon's while still keeping the story in the Mc$oss universe. I also like revisiting locations from previous strips. We return to the bar from "Luke Skywalker-Sexy Jedi Knight" in this one.

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9-3-08 A Friendly Game

I like the thought that good old Chuck Xavier and Mr. Lehnsherr would only play each other in games they would be able to cheat the other player in using their mutant abilities. And I happen to agree with Magneto, Battleship is a stupid game.

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9-1-08 Master of Bikini Briefs

My only guess is that He-Man is SO good a fighter that he doesn't need any kind of armor, or clothing of any kind for that matter, to defend the great land of Eternia. Perhaps its psychological? Would YOU attack a man in just those little pants? Didn't think so.

-Gint

8-11-08 Whats on the DVR

I actually don't like this strip at all. It was much funnier at 3 am when I thought it up, but everyone who has ever seen it tells me that it's super creepy. I guess they all can't be winners.

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8-10-08 The Gintbot 2000

I believe the release of Iron Man, or some other successful movie that WASN'T made by DC/Warner Bros. inspired this strip. Now, Warner Bros. would argue their theatrical ineptitude and say, "Did you see The Dark Knight?" And I'll reply, "Yes, you got lucky you dirty fucks. Until you have 3-4 consecutive successful movies from the DC imprint (I'm not talking about shit like A History of Violence here) I will come after you with a 30 ft. tall robot that resembles yours truly."

-Gint

8-9-08 Welcome to the Sisterhood

Yes, I watched it. Yes, I enjoyed it. I didn't really grow a vagina, but there was some concern.

I wish I HAD seen it after I found out Blake Lively would be Carol Ferris in the upcoming Green Lantern movie though. That way I could critique her performance like I did Ryan Reynolds' when I saw The Proposal. My jury will be out on Blake Lively til I see the movie, but I believe Peter Sarsgaard as Hector Hammond was inspired casting.

If my rage against what I like to call "Robots From Mars" is any indication, heaven help these people if they fuck up a Hal Jordan movie.

-Gint

8-7-08 Everywhere at Once

This strip answers the age old question "How the hell can Wolverine star in 8 different books every month?" Seriously, this dude can run around Avengers Tower, teach brats at Chuck Xavier's school, ride his motorcycle through the Canadian country side and drink sake in Japan... all at the same time! Marvel needs to get control of their editors.

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8-3-08 A Frozen Treat

Ripped from the pages of real life, I had no idea how loudly I was consuming that popsicle. But damn was it delicious.

-Gint

7-12-08 The Amazing Birthday

Birthdays here at Mc$oss aren't so much a celebration of ones birth as they are a reason to give a really shitty surprise.

-Gint

7-11-08 Sinestro Corps Review Redux

After 7 months of refining the Mc$oss strip I went back to my first attempt and recreated it. I adjusted some of the script but other than that it is still the same strip I cooked up in early January of '08.

I loved this storyline, this was the arc that got me into picking up Green Lantern every month (or when I get a chance to go to the shop), but I was kind of looking forward to a key member of the Lanterns kicking the bucket. And I think Guy Gardner is a douche.

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Luke Skywalker - Sexy Jedi Knight

Of all the Mc$oss strips created to date, I feel this strip embodies the spirit of what me and Mr. McGinty are trying to do the best. One of the reasons we decided to put pen to paper in the beginning of all this was the content of the conversations that we have. Once in awhile it takes some exaggeration, but for the most part they are ready made for a comic strip. So yes, this exact conversation happened one magical night in '08.

This is one on a short list of efforts where both creators wrote and illustrated the strip. It is a modern miracle considering how lazy both of us can be. I did the illustrations of the Star Wars scenes and Gint hooked up the bar scene.-$

7-7-08 Dissatisfaction

Man, I used to love Batman. The Animated Series was my gateway drug into the world of comics. A couple issues of Gotham Adventures here, a The Long Halloween there and before I knew it I was dropping fat cash weekly at the comic book shop. I was getting all the Batman titles which eventually spilled over into the rest of the DCU. Then something strange happened.

Batman sucked. It was a rude awakening when it hit me that I really wasn't enjoying the books anymore. Could have been that it wasn't the books at all and I had just developed my own comic reading identity and decided Green Lantern and Superman were more the heroes for me. Grant Morrison has enough of an adoring public to support that theory.

But Batman #678 did it. The Batman of Zur-eh-Arrh knocked me out. It was the last straw in a scarecrow full of crazy bullshit that started me down the path of dropping the book. (Which was documented in a later strip.)

-Gint

7-4-08 Axis of Evil

Maybe nothing is ever really perfect? Perhaps its the rose-colored glasses of childhood, unceremoniously ripped off as adults that turns everything we loved in our youth into constant sources of aggravation and frustration? OR, George Lucas is a douche bag. You make the call! -Gint

7-2-08 Innocence Lost

After years of watching my favorite robots in disguise on TV, they were finally making the jump to the big screen. Imagine our surprise when only a couple of them made it out alive. Child therapy isn't cheap folks. -Gint

6-11-08 GTA vs Garth Ennis

On one hand I'm totally repulsed by the senseless violence that goes down in video games like GTA and Saints Row, but completely amused by the twisted perversion in a typical Garth Ennis book. Go figure -$

6-8-08 Black Rage... From a White Guy

...sigh... Michael Bay. Where to begin? Well, I fucking hate his Transformers. By association, I hate him too. And that's hard to internalize sometimes since I really liked both Bad Boys movies.

Granted, being such a fan of the original series its impossible for me to be objective. But if he just wanted to make a movie about giant robots, he should have just made "Robots From Mars" and left Transformers alone.

As of 1.10.10, I still haven't seen "Revenge of the Fallen" because I believe I will commit murder if I do.

-Gint

6-6-08 The Astonishing Delusion

I wrote this strip after the last issue of the Cassaday/Whedon run on Astonishing X-Men, which for me was one of the most well told stories featuring Chuck Xavier' s students that I've ever read. The story arc's featured new villains such as the incompetent alien Ord, Danger the Danger Room come to life and a totally believable (as far as comics go) rebirth of fan fave Colossus. It also featured Joss Whedon working his magic on Shadow Cat, adding her to his growing list of strong female characters. And yes, I was VERY sad as Miss Pryde's bullet coffin faded away into the cosmos. -$