Stan Lee's Annihilator

It seems that comic book god and all around good guy Stan Lee has a new project that he is developing as a film property. Annihilator is the latest creation by Lee and bring to the world the story of a man named Ming (yes, Ming) who is forced to choose between remaining in a Chinese prison or enlisting in some secret US super soldier program that would give him some sort of animal based super power. His pre-super soldier powers include "extreme resolve" and Qijong and martial arts training. Please excuse me for a second, I have to sit down. I just face palmed myself about twenty times really fast. Stan Lee's characters are some of the most popular and enduring ones on the planet. To imagine a world without Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the Hulk is, well, unimaginable. But the last few creative attempts at character creation from Stan Lee have been far from successful. The mighty forgettable Mighty 7, the Who Wants to be a Superhero? based reality show winner Fat Momma, and the what-were-you-thinking Stripperella featuring the lung talents of Pamela Anderson. While Annihilator has decent talent on board like producer Barry Josephson (Bones, Wild Wild West, Enchanted) and writer Dan Gilroy (Real Steel, The Bourne Legacy) there's little hope that our friend Ming will become the next Peter Parker. I'll applaud ANY attempt to get more Asian male faces on screen (especially in a lead role!) but I'm going to have to chalk this one up to a step in the right direction as opposed to a watershed moment in Asian culture and certainly not one for Asian American culture. Lee should have just worked on a Amadeus Cho story line with a Hercules and Hulk tie-in. Now THAT I would go see. I will always love Stan Lee's core characters and will gladly support his new creations … as long as they're good.

So God Made an Asian

I don't normally post this early but I figured I may as well strike while the iron was hot.

This strip is a reaction to Ram Trucks' Superbowl ad based on the "So God Made a Farmer" speech by Paul Harvey. A lot of buzz going around about how it completely ignored the real demographics of farming and the hiring practices of farmers to keep costs down. But it actually made me think of ALL people who do things despite the challenges they face. Sure, farmers can be seen as good, heroic people and I'm sure a good number of them are. But Ram Trucks really missed an opportunity to include a wide range of people and fell into the comfort of nostalgia.

Don't Make Me Come Over There, China

A few months back when I was visiting my parents in NYC, we got into an expected conversation about all the recent problems facing Japan including the sudden and quickly escalating situation between China, Taiwan, Korea(s), Russia, and Japan. I had no idea what was going on and started to wonder why this isn't more top line news especially considering the potential for U.S. involvement.

It's a really strange territorial dispute that I'm still trying to make sense of. If you have any opinions on the matter I'd be curious to hear them.

Make Me Racist

Funny, this is the strip that was scheduled to post on Sunday. Figured considering the news about the Make Me Asian app being removed I'd just post it now. In fact, all the "Make Me" apps are gone. Woohoo!

Buddha Call!

Stupid Dog People

The 2nd Amendment

Self-Depricating Humor

A Story Involving Danny Chen

For those who haven't heard the tragic story of Danny Chen, he was an Army Pvt. in Afghanistan who took his own life last year as a result of intense hazing and racially driven bullying. Well, recently the trial of Staff Sgt. Andrew Van Bockel, who was accused of being the driving force behind the bullying, concluded in a guilty charge. Good news. Looking at a possible maximum sentence of four years and nine months in prison with a dishonorable discharge, Van Bockel was only sentenced to 60 days hard labor (45 of which were already credited) and a rank demotion. He is still in active duty. Meanwhile Pvt. Danny Chen is dead.

Some people argue (mostly assholes and douche bags) that it was not Van Bockel's fault that Chen killed himself and that Chen's suicide was further proof that he didn't have what it took to be a soldier. Others engage in odd deflective arguments about how blacks and Latinos are actually more know to be specifically anti-Asian. And still others begin discussing the intricacies of detecting mental illness.

My point is none of these. My point is this: Blind hero worshiping bothers me. Always has. Just because someone enlists in the military and serves our country does not make them a hero. I refuse to call someone who rapes a fellow soldier a hero. I don't consider soldiers who piss on dead bodies heroes. I realize that the percentage of soldiers who act in this way represents the tiniest fraction of the military but the same can be said about the number of terrorists versus the numbers of Muslims but I'm positive more people find the latter an easier conclusion to jump to.

Once we go down a path of blindly accepting the righteousness of any given group, we set ourselves up for justifiable injustice. Always treat an individual as such and never feel obligations to any group. To me, the story of Danny Chen is sadly typical and the shock that people expressed over it illustrates how blind people can be to these kinds of situations.

Space: Epilogue