Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan was recently reported by the New York Times as a fan of band Rage Against The Machine. Given the approach with which the band addresses major topics for world change in their songs, the association seemed odd to many.

Tom Morello, Rage Against The Machine’s guitarist, wrote an open letter in response to Ryan’s appreciation, published by Rolling Stone:

Paul Ryan’s love of Rage Against the Machine is amusing, because he is the embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades. Charles Manson loved the Beatles but didn’t understand them. Governor Chris Christie loves Bruce Springsteen but doesn’t understand him. And Paul Ryan is clueless about his favorite band, Rage Against the Machine.

Ryan claims that he likes Rage’s sound, but not the lyrics. Well, I don’t care for Paul Ryan’s sound or his lyrics. He can like whatever bands he wants, but his guiding vision of shifting revenue more radically to the one percent is antithetical to the message of Rage.

I wonder what Ryan’s favorite Rage song is? Is it the one where we condemn the genocide of Native Americans? The one lambasting American imperialism? Our cover of “Fuck the Police”? Or is it the one where we call on the people to seize the means of production? So many excellent choices to jam out to at Young Republican meetings!

Don’t mistake me, I clearly see that Ryan has a whole lotta “rage” in him: A rage against women, a rage against immigrants, a rage against workers, a rage against gays, a rage against the poor, a rage against the environment. Basically the only thing he’s not raging against is the privileged elite he’s groveling in front of for campaign contributions.

You see, the super rich must rationalize having more than they could ever spend while millions of children in the U.S. go to bed hungry every night. So, when they look themselves in the mirror, they convince themselves that ”Those people are undeserving. They’re . . . lesser.” Some of these guys on the extreme right are more cynical than Paul Ryan, but he seems to really believe in this stuff. This unbridled rage against those who have the least is a cornerstone of the Romney-Ryan ticket.

But Rage’s music affects people in different ways. Some tune out what the band stands for and concentrate on the moshing and throwing elbows in the pit. For others, Rage has changed their minds and their lives. Many activists around the world, including organizers of the global occupy movement, were radicalized by Rage Against the Machine and work tirelessly for a more humane and just planet. Perhaps Paul Ryan was moshing when he should have been listening.

My hope is that maybe Paul Ryan is a mole. Maybe Rage did plant some sensible ideas in this extreme fringe right wing nut job. Maybe if elected, he’ll pardon Leonard Peltier.  Maybe he’ll throw U.S. military support behind the Zapatistas. Maybe he’ll fill Guantanamo Bay with the corporate criminals that are funding his campaign – and then torture them with Rage music 24/7. That’s one possibility. But I’m not betting on it.

Image Courtesy of   Stephen Dyrgas

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When a female comic book fan navigates the seas that are heavily controlled by the Y-chromosome, she tends to be hesitant when picking up a new action-oriented series wherein the protagonist is female and the writer and artist are men. This is the case especially if the protagonist is described in the synopsis as a prostitute and is then unnecessarily posed both unnaturally and provocatively in skimpy attire on one of the splash pages.

This is the case in Orchid Vol.1, written by Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello, with art from Scott Hepburn and colors by Dan Jackson. Still the instinct is to push on in hopes that it was merely a piece of fanservice and not indicative of the overall tone. Sometimes, like in the case of Orchid, the female fan does not end up disappointed.

Spoiler Alert!

Within the first pages of text the audience is introduced to a unique view of post-apocalyptic Earth, dated at an unspecified time in the distant future. An era of mass flooding has destroyed most of the planet and, because of heavy pollution, that water had turned into a cesspool of chemical waste. By the time the seas finally receded, there were races of giant, mutated animals emerging to rule the land, known to the surviving humans as The Wild. In order to stay alive against the dangerous terrain and the creatures that live there, humanity has grown to limp on under a despotic government system, ruled by the cruel Tomo Wolfe.

The audience learns immediately of the ill-fated savior of the “bridge people” – those unlucky enough to be in the lower class of this new world – is General China, who wore a magic mask as he attempted to lead a revolution.  He was defeated by Wolfe, his mask claimed by the victor, and years later, the mask is liberated by a new band of rebels. This is where the story truly begins, in media res.

The audience meets the rebels as they’re escaping from Wolfe’s soldiers, led by the enigmatic Anzio. It is almost immediately apparent, however, that Anzio is not who this story is going to be about. Stealing the show from the first page of dialogue is Simon, an awkward man who has educated himself through reading – something so rare in these times that his verbose wit is seen as “strange” by the majority of people he comes across.

And while he is clearly amusing and his speech is much wordier and more sardonic than others, it doesn’t seem as though the fact that his dialogue is apparently so exceedingly different – to the point that it prompts things like “He talks funny” from other characters – comes across on paper. Other than his dialogue just being generically longer and more involved, there’s no immediate difference.

The rebels are stopped and Anzio is instantly captured and taken prisoner, but Simon is able to escape with the magic mask in his grasp. The narrative then follows Simon as his life collides with that of Orchid, the namesake of the comic, and the stereotypical hardened prostitute with a heart of gold.

She’s likeable enough as a character, and points are given for her profession only being utilized in the story where strictly necessary for plot, but there are times in the book when she comes across as vaguely unsympathetic, unreasonable, and blind to the way that her life could be so much worse if she hadn’t forged a tentative partnership with Simon, which was driven purely by the need for survival after both find themselves being sold as slaves.

The story itself is engaging, a tale of a necessary revolution and the invisible heroes who inch it toward fruition, and the pacing is excellent. The art is well done – not too distracting, except for a few close-up shots that make the characters look more like caricatures – and the characters do feel real, flaws and all.

Most impressive is the fact that the comic uses Orchid as more than just eye-candy (in fact, aside from her prostitute “uniform” that she wears the entire issue, and that bit of fanservice on the splash page, she’s not treated as eye-candy at all); they give her a real purpose, a real mission and destiny to fulfill.  Cautious female comic book fans may find safe harbor in the pages of Orchid Vol. 1.

Score: 3/5

Warnings: Nudity, graphic violence and gore, disturbing themes and imagery

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Nate Cosby’s Buddy Cops has been announced by Dark Horse Comics for their #9 issue of Dark Horse Presents. The new story from Cosby is bound to throw some slaps and punches; Uranus, a galactic space protector demoted to the NYPD (for drinking) is teaming up with Tazer, a reprogrammed 1970s android that follows the exact letter of the law. They hate each other but they are the Buddy Cops.

This February, Nate Cosby (Pigs, Jim Henson’s The Storyteller), Evan Shaner (Jim Henson’s The Storyteller), and Rus Wooton (The Walking Dead) will bring the house down in an all-new story featured in Dark Horse Presents #9.

Monsters! Glowing swords! White boys rapping Wu-Tang lyrics — Fans couldn’t ask for more. Same is to be said about Tom Morello’s Orchid #1 which Dark Horse revealed has sold out of comic shops. Demand for Tom Morello’s epic dystopian fantasy has driven comic stores across the U.S. to a complete sell out of issue #1.

From the mind of musician Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, The Nightwatchman), with art by Scott Hepburn (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic), Orchid is the tale of a teenage prostitute who learns that she is more than the role society has imposed upon her.

Issue #1 started the tale; when the seas rose, genetic codes were smashed. Now, human settlements are ringed by a dense wilderness, from which ferocious new animal species prey on the helpless. The high ground belongs to the rich and powerful, who overlook swampland shantytowns from their fortresslike cities.

Iron-fisted rule ensures order and allows the wealthy to harvest the poor as slaves. Welcome to the world of Orchid. Look for news about an Orchid #1 reprint on the Dark Horse Blog, but in the meantime fans should head to their local comic shop and grab one of the final copies of #1 for only $1 before they’re gone for good.

Orchid #2 is on sale November 9^th, 2011.

In Issue #2 — Orchid, along with her little brother and an unexpected ally named Simon, find themselves in unknown territory after they’re captured and sold by slave traders.

Headed toward the feared Fortress Penuel, Simon must mount an escape plan if he’s going to rescue his rebel comrades and return the mysterious and powerful mask of General China to its rightful owner–a saint believed to save the oppressed from the wicked Tomo Wolfe.

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Comic Con is considered the biggest pop culture event in the East Coast. It is where some of the biggest names in Comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys and movies are hosted. This huge event kicks off on Thursday, with an introduction to the main panels.

Thursday’s special event will begin with a concert featuring Tom Morello, guitarist of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, as his Nightwatchman acoustic solo act. He will be accompanied by the Freedom Fighter Orchestra, and if that’s not enough, DJ.Z-Trip will perform along with Tom Morello.

Things will start to pick up on Friday, with a selection of panels to choose from, ranging from animations to movies and graphic novels. Locke and Key, which was such a big success at the San Diego Comic Con, will be premiering this year in NY. It will not be airing on Fox, airing instead at NY Comic Con for a one-time screening.

Later that day EA will display its new massive multiplayer online game, The Secret World, where characters will explore and discover dark cultural secrets, while also gaining skills that will be unique to the player itself. Comedy Central will be there to celebrate South Park’s Year of the Fan, in which a trivia game will give fans a chance to win South Park themed memorabilia.

Also showing up are Kevin James and James Mewes for a live performance of their podcast Jay & Silent Bob Get Old. The event will be ending with Corbin Bernsen, David H. Lawrence XVII, Diamond Dallas Page, Joe Eckardt, Marco Mannone, Vitaly Bokser and FrankieMuniz speaking about a family super hero, the Pizza Guy.

Saturday continues with DC: Talent Search, where professionals will explain what requirements are needed to become a DCE artist. Marvel will host a panel featuring all the biggest games to be released from Activision in 2012, which includes trailers, surprise reveals and a Q & A with the creators.

We expect to see the premier of the new Johnny Depp/Tim Burton film too. Lyndsy Fonseca, Maggie Q, and Shane West will speak about season two of Nikita, where Nikita and Michael are on the run with a black box full of dark government secrets. Attending is also the producer of the Marvel Vs. Capcom Franchise, Ryota Niitsuma, to discuss the launch of the new game next month.

The Death Valley cast, along with producers of the show, will discuss the difficulties of combining horror and comedy in one. Later that evening, cast members of AMCs The Walking Dead will talk about season one, and what to expect for season two, along with a sneak peak at said new season.

Saturday night will finish with sneak previews, and never before seen footage for two of the most anticipated movies of the fall and summer, respectively: Boy Wonder, and Marvel’s The Avenger.The Sunday introduction includes meeting the stars of Conan the Barbarian: Jason Momoa, Rose Mcgowan and Stephen Lang.

Also, the franchise that began in the 1980’s, Voltron, will feature all new toys and merchandise, plus an inside look at the new Voltron video game. There will also be a chance to get an exclusive look at some of Capcom’s upcoming releases: Dragon’s Dogma and Asura Wrath. There will also be a chance to hear about the latest on Dead Rising 2.

There is still a lot more coming up at comic con, so stay tuned for the latest news and updates.
CarlaVanWagoner / Shutterstock.com

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