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I used to be a professional entertainment journalist. Managing editor of Rap Pages (dead). Assistant editor of Image Magazine (long dead). Freelancer for Vibe and The Source (both of whom still owe me money). Lots of local stuff, too.
I'd mostly given it up. Entertainment journalism, for the most part, is largely an exercise in masochism—praying you break even while enjoying concerts, backstage passes, movie screenings, interviews with big names... I got to a point where it just didn't spin my propeller anymore. Nearly impossible to make money at it. Little of it survives you. Editors stiff you and rewrite you when you're not paying attention and you have to still whore yourself out to them in order to get assignments.
"But, Hannibal, you're writing entertainment journalism now!" you protest. "I'm reading a column of yours right now, you jackass!"
Alas, this is true.
Eric Stephenson, managing editor and general high muckity-muck of SpinnerRack.com (and before that, what may have been the final incarnation of NextPlanetOver.com) is one of my favorite people in the world, despite the numerous arguments he gleefully starts with me via e-mail and his tendency to fly off the handle at things I find inconsequential. Allen, the Robin of their dynamic duo (I'll hear it for that) is another one of my favorites. So when Eric asked for a column, first for NPO and then for SpinnerRack, I started writing for a virtual song. It's what I do for people. Too indulgent, perhaps, but no harm done.
So, with that in mind (god, what a long-winded intro; if my poetry were this long, I'd boo myself off the stage), I decided to phone in a couple of columns in the fashion one of my favorites, Warren Ellis. This week, you'll be treated to Twelve Things That Really Rock, things I've found or stumbled across recently, or maybe things I've known all along, that make life wonderful and fascinate me endlessly.
Next week, we bring back the hatchet. On with it, then.
 1) Greg Rucka's Detective Comics: I was not a huge Batman fan when I started picking up Detective Comics, at the suggestion of my then-comics-pusher Vince, late of Comics Ink (we'll be mentioning them a lot at on SpinnerRack, especially since they provide us with review copies of the new DC books. Thanks Steve!). I thought he was overmarketed, all hype and nothing special. On some days, I still think that's the case. However, Rucka's work, with the aid of a stark, two-tone color scheme that gives the book a crisp, noir feel, is simply stunning. Every month he tells honest-to-goodness detective stories that just so happen to involve Gotham's protectors. If they cut down the line to just this Batman book tomorrow, I feel the franchise would be well served. Excellent escapist entertainment.
2) Smoke by What's Next Entertainment: Back when I read Previews more seriously (this is maybe seven months ago), I stumbled on a black-and-white ad with a simply delicious looking Black woman drawn as its centerpiece (FYI: I'm of Afrakan descent, that's not misspelled, but it's a long story; anyway, I like Black people and, as the message boards have noted, tend to babble about Black things to a great degree). Anyway, she had next to nothing to do with the book, but when I did pick up two issues (issues #3 and #4 are notoriously late) they were interesting—okay art and a story of international intrigue draped with high technology, martial arts mythology and a dash of African spirituality (again, I'm spelling things that way for a reason—ask me sometime, I'll tell you). Lots of shooting. Cool code names. Fighting action. All done by a guy in Detroit and his relative at school. I frickin' love this book. Hard to find, but worth the effort. Look for it at www.smokecomic.com.
 3) India Arie: You didn't think they were all comic books, did you? Please, fool, I have a life. Anyway, India Arie is, in my not-so-humble opinion, one of the best musical things to happen in the history of space-time. The soul of Jill Scott with more songwriting ability, the power of Dionne Farris with less of a harsh edge, the spirit of Erykah Badu with better control. She's truly something special, chock fulla girl anthems and rah-rah without preaching (good for all genders and sexual orientations). Her album, Acoustic Soul is available everywhere. You'll thank me if you get it. Unless, like, you're totally into speed metal or country music or something where you can't appreciate soul music. Your loss, then.
4) Prophecy of the Soul Sorcerer: Another big-feeling book (the art is excellent) with a small cast. A TV producer started this story of a legacy of power and an eternal evil all by himself, self-published the original mini and for some time has been threatening new issues. I can't wait. The characters are a little dry, but still interesting. The art has all the panache and flavor people used to associate with Image, but with plots and solid thinking behind it (unlike, say, pre-Alan Moore Supreme, which exhausted me). It's another great small book hiding in the crannies of your comic book shop. Hopefully. I can't remember the URL for his site, but he's also listed at www.crawlspace.com. You'll find it.
5) Fantastic Four: The World's Greatest Comics Magazine: This is a guilty pleasure, and one I would never have read if my pal Eric weren't working on it (sorry, I normally find the FF very tedious). A yearlong love letter to the Lee/Kirby style, sometimes it clunks (the recent Tom DeFalco scripted issue is a little uneven), and sometimes it sings (the issue before, with Doom obtaining the Watcher's Ultimate Machine, is magnifique). Either way, it's kitschy, retro fun that won't hurt anybody.
 6) Jill Scott: As good as India Arie is (and she is), Jill Scott had much more of an impact on me. Jill Scott...whew. I'd post MP3s if I had the bandwidth on my own server, but whew...if you can catch samples of "He Loves Me" or "Beautiful Dreamer" (not released domestically, I found it on Napster in the heydays) or "Love Rain" with Mos Def (another Napster favorite) or "Brotha" or "A Long Walk" (the original is hot, but I have an exclusive remix that's bananas), you'll hear what I mean. Jill Scott's music climbs inside your rib cage and cuddles up with your insides. Her voice is like a lover's tongue licking the back of your neck. It's also, according to my single friends, excellent for getting the draws. Please believe me on this one.
7) Transmetropolitan: If I was going to go back to being a full-time journalist, I'd want to be Spider Jerusalem. Brash, cruel, brilliant, insane and most of all, right. This five-year story about the future/present/past is called "sci-fi" by its wildly creative author, Warren Ellis (as you may recall, I spoke some about him a bit ago), horror by some critics (it won a horror award a year or two ago) and too much by some. Bowel disruptors. Two-headed cats. Information pollen. Madness everywhere. The number-two book I must read every month. It's almost over, so catch the bandwagon while there's still room. I'm the guy with the sledgehammer and the kazoo.
8) Musiq Soulchild: I most often describe this guy as "R. Kelly singing the D'Angelo Songbook." Good stuff. 'Nuff said.
9) The West Wing: What can I say that hasn't been said by TV critics everywhere about this, the most critically acclaimed show on network TV (and I don't have cable, which is part of why The Sopranos isn't on my list—can't know about things in absentia)? Three things: The press secretary C.J. often turns a single offhanded one liner into something my wife and I will be laughing about for days. "This is absolutely the last thing I'm going to do before I quit" has become a mantra of mine. Second, please review the quiet intensity of Toby in contrast to the frenetic twitchiness of Ainsley. Some of the best dramedy work alive here, kids. Finally, don't sleep on Dule Hill because they needed a Black guy on the show. This kid is the real thing. It's almost as good as Sports Night was, and for people too cheap for cable (or whose wives won't let them pirate it), it's the best you can get.
 10) Vertigo: I mention this aside from Transmet because...well, Transmet stands alone, in my mind. Still, with the likes of Lucifer, 100 Bullets (especially recently, wow) and Outlaw Nation leading the pack, this imprint has the balls to try things and the money to do it well. Slow burns like Lucifer and Outlaw Nation can survive long enough to astonish. You can get weird little minis like Proposition Player (which I loved).
 11) Girlfriends: Dismissed by many as "the Black Sex in the City," this show is very funny on its own, and is only hindered by the scary skinniness of its lead actresses and the fact that they're not terribly attractive. Exec produced by Kelsey Grammer (you'll remember him from Frasier and several trips to detox). It's smart, fast-moving and showing in reruns all summer. Check for it.
12) Black Panther: What more can I say about the book I look upon as Marvel's highest achievement (no disrespect to Thunderbolts, it's just the difference between backgammon and chess)? Month after month, Christopher Priest weaves and spins this story around your head, dancing with the conventions of the genre and pimp-slapping your expectations. The first five issues are out in TPB, which should help any confused parties. This is so good.
I could do more...Impulse leaps to mind as neglected, as do the Cranberries, Ennis' Punisher, Jurassic 5, Go Fish and Metabarons... but I'm lazy, and I don't feel like it right now. Another one of these lists is as inevitable as a summer barbeque, so unless this site dies on me (like so many other ventures I've worked for... ah, good times), we'll save those for later.
Carry on.
Hannibal Tabu is a "six-foot tall, black boot god in the form of a warrior," a husband, brother and son who works in graphic and Web design and lives in South Los Angeles. He likes soul food, soul music and will kill in a heartbeat should his Afrakan spiritualist masters demand it. He normally lurks around his online haunt, www.operative.net.
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