Tag Archives: environment

Choice Quotes

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Captain America: Who Will Wield the Shield?

President Obama – I’ll risk my reputation giving a Presidential pardon to Captain America… because frankly, the Registration Act seemed un-American to me… but until Congress changes the laws, that’s the most I can do.

The Last Days of American Crime #1

Graham – Turns out Diesel is easier on the environment.  I read that — Gospel truth.  Not that it matters much anymore — but it’s interesting.  Stuff is easier on the environment and it’s the stuff nobody uses.  Suicidal.

and

Shelby – The days of Americans getting away with prideful arrogance for simply being American — far over.  It’s the decline.  Look around you’re soaking in it.

and

Kevin Cash – Behind all your liberal posturing, when it’s time to blame a bullshit crime on an imaginary man — that fucker will always be imagined black.

School Turns to Superheroes to Motivate Students

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Can superheroes unleash creativity in fourth, fifth, and sixth graders?  A Mansfield, Ohio school is finding out.

Arley Owens is the co-creator of Colunbus-based Earthshield Green.  He along with illustrator Rocky Johnson are partnering with Hedges Intermediate School in a pilot educational program they hope to expand nationally.  The program kicks off January 4 with a school assembly and student workshops on good environmental stewardship like recycling as well as “how to’s” in cartooning and animation.

“We believe the impact can be tremendous,” said Arley Owens, co-creator of Columbus-based Earthshield Green with illustrator Rocky Johnson. “Our comic book series teaches the importance of good stewardship of the environment, while stimulating excitement for reading. At the same time we believe we will spark individual students’ creativity.”

The comic story centers on six young people, who develop super powers to protect the environment after nearly losing their lives to gang violence at a landfill site.  The plan is for four comic books annually as well as an educator’s guide to use in the classroom. Hedges students will create in on the creative process by making their own comic book as well as comic strips and posters leading to the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in April.  Owens and Johnson will work with students each Wednesday starting in January. Fourth-grade teacher Bernadette Redman said Earthshield Green offers something special for students beyond their regular classroom studies.

“We started with the state (academic) standards and connected them to this project,” she said. “This has huge potential to unleash creativity in students by giving them a chance to build on their own interests. You never know where something like this will take kids. “I also think our students will take a lot of pride in being part of this. When these gentlemen come in and work with us, our kids will love it. It’s all they will talk about. I guarantee it.”

Choice Quotes

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Black Panther #11

N’Dega – Wakanda is in a full-blown crisis, my friend.  Whether you and your liberal fence-sitters are willing to admit it or not… this country is about to tear itself apart.

Ex Machina #47

Martha Hundred – We only get one Earth guys.  That’s why Reagan’s energy policies are so dangerous.

the Mighty Avengers #32

Guard – This guys a super villain. You think anybody’s gonna care about his civil rights?

Realm of Kings: Inhumans #2

Quicksilver – It’s a marriage of convenience, obviously.  A political thing.

Avatar and McDonald’s an Interesting Pair

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This has nothing to do with comic books but I thought it was too funny not to comment on.  The new James Cameron sci-fi epic Avatar at it’s core is a movie raging against corporations who rape mother nature for a profit without care to damage to the environment or indigenous people.  It’s a very pro-environment movie, advocating in protecting the forests and living in harmony with the nature that surrounds us.

In something that shouldn’t be a shock McDonalds’s has teamed up to promote the movie through Happy Meals and advertisements in hopes to draw more people to their restaurants.  But isn’t this pairing a little odd?

McDonald’s may or may not be the best on environmental issues.  Though they promote themselves as an environmentally conscious, organizations like McSpotlight raise issues with the corporation’s practice of destroying rain forests to make way for farms.  Much like the military depicted in the movie, both are destroying trees and forests for their corporate masters and stockholders.

There’s also the issue of  the massive amounts of waste generated from their packaging every year.  I’m sure the plastic of the Avatar action figures in the Happy Meal are environmentally friendly too.

McDonald’s has definitely tried to change their once wicked ways (much like the corporation in the movie once they see the error of their way).  Greenpeace praised McDonald’s agreement to stop selling chicken fed on soya grown in newly deforested areas of the Amazon rainforest.  But that was after Greenpeace also called them out on the practice.

As recent as November 2009 people were calling on McDonald’s and other restaurants to cease purchasing beef raised on grounds that used to be the rain forest.  Every one quarter pound of beef is equivalent to 25 square feet of some of the most precious land on Earth.  Destroyed to raise the cattle for the beef.

The pairing is humorous and the above is something to chew on.

Choice Quotes

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Dark Reign: The Hood #4

Unknown – About time we got a good storm here.  This climate change, it’s messin things up.

Wizard – Fah.  I could reverse global warming if I felt like it.

Ex Machina #44

Mitchell Hundred – I know how it looks, but the terrorists hit the World Trade Center the day of the primaries, remember?  It makes sense that they might try to strike during another… you know, demonstration of democracy in action.

the Mighty Avengers #28

Scientific Beast – Let us see what their “Fair and Balanced News” makes of this.

DARK HORSE Goes Green In San Diego!

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DARK HORSE GOES GREEN

WITH REUSABLE BAGS

FOR COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2009!

JULY 17, MILWAUKIE, OR–Dark Horse Comics announced today that the company will be giving out reusable bags at next week’s Comic-Con International in San Diego. In recent years, the company’s large yellow bags have made quite a splash with fans at the convention, and have been seen all over the world in live television and Internet coverage of the show.

This year, the company has produced over 20,000 reusable cloth bags, which are made from 80 gsm nonwoven cloth. Each of these bags will feature the iconic Dark Horse logo, along with one of four different logos from popular Dark Horse properties: Star Wars, The Umbrella Academy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Japanese creative powerhouse CLAMP.

“Dark Horse is committed to doing our share to help the environment. We are firming up our resolve to find new ways to not only reduce our own ‘footprint,’ but also to get the message out,” said Dark Horse president Mike Richardson. “The first step in this new campaign is to move away from our traditional plastic giveaway bags at the San Diego Comics Convention to sturdy, reusable bags featuring a variety of Dark Horse character art.’

All four designs of reusable bags will be available only at the Dark Horse booth (#2615) at Comic-Con International 2009.

The Comic Book Recycling Question

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This post would have been more appropriate during last weeks Earth Week (or more appropriately on Earth Day), but after reading Brian K. Vaughan’s Ex Machina Special #4 I have to ask,  why aren’t comics printed on recycled paper?

Searching the 4 major publishers I found no mention of recycling programs anywhere on their websites or anything they do for the environment.  To put it in even more perspective, and pointed out by the Ex Machina’s villain:

But comics are virgin paper going into virgin hands that tuck them away into poisonous plastic.  Forever.

And this brings up a major point, that on top of the paper we consume in the book itself, we also have the mylar bags to protect them, coated card board backing, and boxes to hold them all in.

I’m not the only one who’s noticed this issue as Pop Syndicate’s Isaac Magana has also recently written on the subject.  Currently, unsold issues are either thrown out by stores or sit as back issues tucked away.  Here’s some interesting thoughts on the subject:

  • Can comics be recycled? – I don’t know the answer but don’t see why not at least some can.  They might not be as durable as the current format but, the possible issue of issues crumbling actually helps collectors in the long term.
  • Crumbling Comics is Good for Collectors – If recycled comics are less durable, over time, there will be less back issues available on the market increasing the value of older issues on the secondary market and giving a nice boost to the collector side of the hobby.
  • Let retailers return unsold issues! – Years ago, retailers could return unsold issues by ripping off the covers.  Allow retailers to do this again and recycle the issues into new comics or offer recycling programs to turn old issues into other products with some sort of incentive program.  Recycling potentially will lower costs of materials, lowering the recent hurt of increased cover costs.  Again, less overprints in the market, the higher the back issue values for collectors.
  • Used Graphic Novels Have Potential – Companies like Gamestop and FYE  have learned, there’s a hell of a market for used items like video games, movies, books, and music.  Why not purchase “used” graphic novels for low costs and resell them at a cheaper price than “new” product?  The mark up can be fantastic, allowing a more profitable margin for the ever shrinking specialty market.
  • Green Energy – Pledge to power your printing plants, offices, etc., with as much green power as possible.  Advertise this, people will eat it up.
  • Color Printing – Do I even want to know what chemicals are in the printing ink itself?
  • Encourage Green Habits for Customers – We’re not all lucky enough to have a shop around the corner, but give a way for individuals to get their weekly comics in the least impactful way possible.  Advertising mass transit options, offering recycled paper bags, plastic bag recycling (offer customers $), are simple and easy ways to make an impact as retailers.

I will put out fealers to the 4 major publishers, Dark Horse, DC, Image, and Marvel, to see if I can get any response at all to this issue.

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