Thanks for coming back to our series! Today's interviewee:

AlienFlanders

Spying on AlienFlanders tells us he is a 45 year old Data Coordinator from Australia and joined HCrealms on 12/7/04.

When did you start reading comic books?

AF: 1977 for Marvel, I had been reading the English weekly's Battle and Action, and Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella since about 1971.

What or who got you started?

AF: Long car trips, I bought Ghost Rider 23. I still have that one, I had others, Barnabas, Man Thing.
I stopped reading American comics for a few years but kept an eye on the British/European scene (2000 AD, Heavy Metal etc and the underground - Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers etc), then in 1989 a newsagent started selling comics as a line. I started collecting in earnest, Sandman was the cheese.
The story with the newsagent, the son had/has close to the largest collection of Golden and Siver age comics in the state, in fact after he closed his comic shop he financed opening a restaraunt by selling one comic from his collection.

What do you like most about comic books? Least?

AF:

Least - not arriving on time, a monthly comes out monthly folks.

What is your favorite title? Why?

AF: Tough one, at the moment Welcome to Tranquility is one I look forward to getting, it is in the vein of Top Ten, life in the suburbs of a superhero city.

Who is your favorite/least favorite comic character? Why?

AF: I don't really have a favorite character, I was interested in Powergirl as Geoff Johns was exploring her past in JSA and was building an interesting back story and was going explain her origin, IC threw all that away. (Why was she getting younger in JSA?)
least favorite would be a character being written out of character for no reason other than the writer's whim.

If your favorite comic book character is a hero, who is your favorite villain? If it’s a villain, who’s your favorite hero? Why?

AF: Dr Doom or the Joker, although I don't chase either one.

What is your favorite/least favorite hero team? Villain team? Why?

AF: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is my favorite team, Alan Moore took a group of literary characters and combined them into a heroic team, similar to Watchmen, unknown to general comic reading folks at the time and brought them into view

Who is your favorite/least favorite comic writer? Why?

AF: Favorite - Alan Moore, I followed Alan from his beginnings in 2000 AD, through Warrior (Miracleman) and to the US with the Swamp Thing, and From Hell,
although not having a regular Comic Store at the time was hard to keep sequential, and through Watchmen and the Killing Joke, past Captain Britain and on to
Tom Strong, LOEG, Top Ten, Promethea and the ABC Tomorrow Stories. The guy has been writing readable stuff for some 20+ years.
He pays a lot of homages but you have look. You may not like the guy as a person, but the stuff he writes is usually worth the ride.

I don't really have a least favorite, every writer has good days (yes, even Chuck Austen - I liked his War Machine, then 2 fell over), some just have more than others.

Who is your favorite comic artist? Why?

AF: At present I like Frank Quitley's All Star Superman and am enjoying Ariel Olivetti's Bat/Supes/Alien/Predator.
And a plug for online comics Phil and Kaja Foglio's Girl Genius, the art is fantastic.

How many comics do you read on a monthly basis?

AF: 40-50

How much do you spend on comics monthly?

AF: $150 - $200

About how many comic books do you own?

AF: approx 8000

What is your favorite comic era- the Golden Age (1930’s-1950’s), the Silver Age (1950’s-1980’s), or the Bronze Age (1980’s to present)?

AF: Bronze. Although I enjoy reading the Plastic Man Archives, and the Neal Adams Batman Illustrated series.

What changes would you like to see in the comic book medium?

AF: They need to offer points that people can jump on at a more regular basis, or run a book that spotlights different characters each month and gives new readers a view of those characters.
Also things like DC's Solo series, give new writers and artists a place to be showcased and learn the craft.

What is more important to you: good stories or continuity? Why?

AF: Heh - good stories that are in continuity.
Good stories - a good story is worth reading no matter where it happens, in or out of continuity.

Do you only read comics from one company? If so which one and why?

AF: No, to paraphrase Roland from the Dark Tower, I like stew, a mix of things, at present I am running an even split DC/Marvel/Other (Dark Horse, Image, Indy)

Pitch 5 comic series, Graphic Novels, or trades to members of HCrealms.

AF:

• Watchmen - see Darth Sabre review of it, I doubt I could add much more. Read it at least once, it is one of the once in decade stories.
  
• Funny that the 80's spawned a couple of such stories, another being the Dark Knight Returns - 4 issues of Frank Miller at his best, exploring an aging Bruce Wayne, retired from crime fighting, is spurred into putting the mask back on, his return spawns a new Robin and drives the Joker to escape, the final showdown at the county fair and his battle with the mutant's leader draw the attention of the Government and their number one protector Superman, Bats is a marked man, but he has been planning for the showdown for years.
  To me this series really set in motion the whole Elseworld's train, once published DC had to deal with the whiny fanboys asking if this was the future of the DC Universe, so that 15 years later in 2001 the Elseworlds annuals snapped the lid shut on the one future.
  One further comment, while the followup Dark Knight Strikes Again is interesting reading it detracts from DKR, it is curious that DKR Batman with Kryptonite Gloves and DKSA Catgirl get a heroclix and not DKR Robin.
  
• Cerebus at least the first 3-5 books - the first phone book (issues 1-25) starts as a parody of Conan the Barbarian, but it begins to evolve into a journey through the life of the Aardvark, I am not sure when, but Dave Sim decides at one point to try for 300 continuous (MONTHLY) issues, with one bit of cheating in 30 years he succeeds.
  The second book (High Society) Cerebus begins to journey further away from parody towards satire involving the politics of the time (and religion moreso in the later books)
  Church and State 1 and 2 explore Cerebus' rise to power. The rest are interesting but grow increasing darker to my mind.
  Ultimately if you enjoy the first 5 books you should stay for the whole ride.
  
• Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams - this stuff was to counter the Batman TV show, a new darker Batman, read it then visit the guy's website, if you do it in the other order most of you won't read his books. The art and stories are great.

What is your favorite comic-related movie to date?

AF: Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance - the first of 6 movies made in the 1970's, the others do follow the comic but not as closely as the first.
Lone Wolf and Cub is the story of an Executioner in Medieval Japan, he is falsely accused of a crime and begins a life on the run with his son in search of the truth. He figures out whodunnit early, but not why, that is revealed later. Being that it involves Samurai, Ninja and swords it does have some Monty Pythonesque amputation scenes, but it is pretty cool.

If you watch comic-related cartoons, which has been your favorite?

AF: Thinking about it I have seen a few, Superman Adventures, Batman Beyond, Justice League, Hellboy Sword of Storms, Batman Beyond comes to my mind easiest, I think because it takes an existing character and successfully projects it forward.

What do you like about the comic forums of HCrealms? What do you dislike?

AF: I like the diverse opinions of the people, I like the well thought arguments and the willingness to listen to others sometimes.
I dislike Flame Trolls (if you dislike something say it and wander off, don't harp on about it)


Thanks AlienFlanders!

See ya soon!

I'd just like to add answers to the last two questions:

How can HCrealms improve the comic forums, to better suit the needs of the comic book readers who used the site?
I am reasonably happy with the format, I am a lurker to a degree, others can push the changes.

What would you like HCrealms comic readers to know about you, in regards to you as a comic reader/collector?
I enjoy DC's characters more than Marvel but I am not afraid to extend my reading. It is sometimes quite rewarding to randomly pick up a comic from that shelf in the comic store that you never visit and read it, give a hoot read a new funny book every couple of months.

Also before anyone jumps in, apparently the Kryptonite Gloves Batman is from DKSA as well, not the earlier DKR.

And I hope the next questionaire is easier.

You forgot to mention your night job spent as a male stripper, whose act starts with you being dressed up as the Red Skull and ends with a full monty where the "little red skull" is revealed at last.

and lets not forget that AlienFlanders also likes long walks on the beach, Full Moon-lit nights, soft music and hard spankings to his filled diaper clad buttocks. And ladies.................. he's single.

I did not forget to mention, I neglected to mention, anyway, that wasn't on my questionnaire. Your answers will be worth reading.

Soft music - I don't think so Tim.

Moon lit nights - Arroooh, Howl.

Long drives in diapers is how it is.

Apparently, this is true of people who work for NASA who are out to kill their intended's lover.

Didn't they decide it was an intended kidnapping, not murder?

I don't know. They originally said she seemed to want to kidnap her, then the next day it was murder. Either way, she wore diapers on her way there.