GHM Columns : Comic Pros : Greg Waller

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"OUR BALLS ARE BIGGER!"

by Greg Waller
October 2, 2002

"The CFL vs. The NFL!"

If you're a NFL fan, I'm probably going to incur your wrath.

I'm a Canadian. I do Canadian things - I play hockey, I own a snowmobile. I drink "rye", not whiskey. I DON'T finish sentences with "eh!" or pronounce "out" as "oot" (those are stereotypes… unless you're from Toronto). Our summers last longer than our winters. I like to watch curling.

Our Thanksgiving comes in October, not November.

But there is one common thread I share with my American brothers - something that runs through my veins with an unparalleled ferocity:

I LOVE FOOTBALL.

I love to watch it. I love to play it. I love to analyze it. It is truly the sport of kings, better than a diamond ring…

But I don't like American football. Or more aptly, I don't like the NFL game. I'm a Canadian, and I have an insatiable love for Canadian football.

You see, up here we have something called the Canadian Football League (http://www.cfl.ca/). The differences between the Canadian game and the American game are vast, but I'll outline the major differences:

Our field is 110 yards in length, 65 yards in width
Our game is played by teams of 12 players
We play with 3 downs

There is no "Fair Catch" (if a player even lays a pubic hair on the ball after kick-off or punt, his ass is grass)

We can score a 1 point "rouge" on kicks
We have a 20 second play clock
Oh yeah - our balls are bigger. Seriously. Our football is slightly larger than its American cousin

Of course, there are other things that make our game far more exciting, but for the purpose of my column I'll go with those.

So why do I feel these make the CFL a better league and a better game?

Simple - excitement. I can watch any given NFL game on any given Sunday and be completely bored out of my skull. Not enough offence. Too much hype. Too many egos. Too slow!

See, the CFL is a grass roots game - totally unique. It’s designed to be fast paced. Players here are playing for the love of the game and for the dream of grabbing the brass ring - the ever-elusive NFL contract. They haven't grown complacent or arrogant in their wealth (hello, Randy Moss). They haven't taken their talent or popularity for granted - at least not yet.

I'm definitely not saying I won't watch the NFL, because I do (football is a passion after all). The Chargers were my team until they canned Mike Riley and benched Doug Flutie (both CFL alumni, by the way) - now I follow the Falcons (Juran Bolden played on my home town Winnipeg Blue Bombers last year) and the 49ers (for Jeff Garcia - another former CFL star).

If you are a football fan and have satellite or are somehow able to access Canadian television (either the CBC or TSN or both), or receive something called the "America One" network - do yourself a favor and catch a CFL game. Try to put aside what you have become accustomed to - the rules, the insane production values, the superstar mentality, and watch it for what it is.

I promise you won't be disappointed!

"The Next Generations"

I'm pretty excited about John Byrne's upcoming Generations 3 - the second sequel to the "Imaginary Tale" that debuted a few years ago.

While I've been a die-hard Byrne fan from the time I was able to read (and even before), it has been his more recent forays into this "Generations Universe" that have turned me on to reading DC Comics. I've always been (and will probably always be) a Marvel Zombie. The only DC comics I read when I was a little kid were Jack Kirby's "Super Powers" books (upon which I wrote and drew my first full-length comic: Lex Luthor splits the Earth into two equal halves using a giant space machine. Superman and Firestorm eventually weld it back together…). I credit Byrne's "Generations" with finding that particular nerve again and giving it a firm jab. Since the first series came out, I've been more interested in the DC Universe as a whole.

I don't think superhero comics are better than when John Byrne is on his game. And he's certainly on his game when he's doing "Generations". The love and respect he obviously holds for these characters has been clear from the get-go… each page in and of itself an unabashed and unapologetic homage to the 'superhero comic' - past, present, and future.

I'm happy that there are still comics like this being made. Walk into any given comic store these days and you're immediately faced with the reality that "mainstream" comics are not what they used to be (at least, to those of us that started reading them before the 1990's). There's no question there's a place and a demand for more adult stories, and perhaps even more adult and realistic superhero stories - but I also think its extremely important to remember where most of these superheroes came from. It is perhaps more important to show where these superheroes came from - and 'Generations' plays that role quite nicely.

"Can I Burrows a feeling?"

Jacen Burrows is a name more people should know about..

(Click here to find out more about Jason!)

An Avatar Press mainstay, he has also had some of his work show up in the Ultimate Spider-Man Super Special.

He's back at Avatar now (although he never really left) and he's doing some truly wicked work (literally!).

"Scars" is an upcoming horror/crime comic from Avatar Press, written by Warren Ellis and pencilled by Jacen Burrows (and grayscaled by me). I'm not entirely sure what inspired Warren Ellis to write "Scars" (and I'm entirely sure that I don't WANT to!) - but the results have thus far been truly riveting.

It is one thing to write something as effectively visceral and horrific as "Scars", but it is perhaps even more fascinating to see it translated into pictures. With each page I'm more impressed with Burrows' attention to detail and storytelling. And I'm not just talking about flow or pacing - it's his ability to get into the character's minds and show it to us - be it their rage, their sadness, even their quiet contemplative moments seem real somehow. Spooky - and well worth the price of admission.

Scars # 1 hits the shelves in November - reserve your copy today!

"Kaos Theory: This movie blows!"

I saw Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever over the weekend.

There are a million reasons why this movie is one of the worst I have ever seen, but the brain cells I destroyed watching it prohibit me from remembering any of them. Suffice to say it was the longest hour and a half I've ever wasted.

I'll never go to a movie directed by someone with a 'street' name ever again.

"Audioslavery"

I've been waiting for this one for a long time…

The first ever Audioslave single, "Cochise".

Audioslave (Click here for their homepage) is a new band featuring the former lead singer/guitarist of Soundgarden, Chris Cornell (Vocals) and Rage Against The Machine's Tim Commerford (Bass), Tom Morello (Guitar), and Brad Wilk (Drums).

Tom Morello describes the song thus: "Cochise was the last great American Indian chief to die free and absolutely unconquered. When several members of his family were captured, tortured, and hung by the U.S. Cavalry, Cochise declared war on the entire Southwest and went on an unholy rampage, a warpath to end all warpaths. He and his warriors drove out thousands of settlers. Cochise the Avenger, fearless and resolute, attacked everything in his path with an unbridled fury. This song kinda sounds like that."

Uh, okay, I can go with that. I just think it’s great to hear Cornell's balls-in-a-blender voice growling over some hardcore rock music again. And while I've never been a fan of Rage Against the Machine, it was nice to hear them lead by someone who can actually sing.

"Getting Hitched"

If anyone out there owns any kind of Bryan Hitch original pencil art (preferably from 'The Ultimates', although I'm not picky), I'd be interested in acquiring a high-rez scan. Please e-mail me at Greg@Nimbuscolor.com if you can help me out!

"Buy!"

Make sure if you're into buying your comics online, you try out GrayHaven's new online store, the GHOST (located at preordercomics.com). I haven't tried it out yet myself, but the people behind it seem to be doing a boatload of work to make it kick some ass. So join me, why don't you, in ordering a few books from GrayHaven!

Well, that's it for this week. As always, your comments and feedback are greatly appreciated - feel free to e-mail me at Greg@Nimbuscolor.com or visit the GrayHaven message boards and let me know what you think!

See you next week!

Greg Waller is the owner/operator of Nimbus Studios, a digital color, inking and art studio based out of Winnipeg, Canada.

"The Dog's Breakfast" ©2002 Greg Waller, All Rights Reserved.

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:. ABOUT GREG

10.17.02

Greg Waller is the owner/operator of Nimbus Studios, a digital color, inking and art studio based out of Winnipeg, Canada. He can be contacted via his website located at

http://www.nimbuscolor.com

:. INFO

:. Birthdate:

January 21

:. Birthsign:

Aquarius

:. Quote:

"Do nothing which is of no use." - Miyamoto Musashi, from 'The Ground Book'

:. Fav. Movies:

Star Wars (all of 'em!), Ronin

:. INFO (cont.)

:. Fav. Comics:

Amazing Spiderman #37 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, followed closely by Fantastic Four #7 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

:. Fav. Music:

Soundgarden, Monster Magnet, Gordon Lightfoot

:. Fav. Books:

I like reading non-fiction stuff and biographies.