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Gwen’s
By: John Robb
6
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Gwen Sefani is a thoroughly modern
pop star, the splendid queen
of the kooky parading among the
dour teenage princesses lined up
on MTV’s never-ending conveyor
belt. For she does it with a twist
that puts the trouble into bubblegum
- most of her new album ‘The
Sweet Escape’ may be pop, but it’s
more experimental and original
than 10 Radiohead records.
This might partly be down to Stefani’s
own persona, as well as the
team of producers such as Akon,
Swizz Beatz and The Neptunes
who sat behind the desk during
the ‘The Sweet Escape’ sessions.
Since the beginning of her solo
adventure, Stefani has always swivelled
on her massive platforms to
take in hip hop pop, neo R&B and
big bright bubblegum pop. From
her delicious and feminine debut
‘Love Angel Music Baby’, via
second big hit ‘Rich Girl’, Stefani’s
swashbuckling 3D explosion of
pop has seen off many of her competitors,
who’ve scuttled away like
the hermit crabs they really are.
So what do you do next? Well,
more of the same. Her new single
‘Wind It Up’ dares to ride roughshod
over a sample from The Sound Of
Music and turns it into a grinning
slab of bubblegum that staggers
down the demented pop fun.
In fact, this album oozes wackiness.
It’s the quirky larger than
life pop that sets the tone for ‘The
Sweet Escape’, the catchy hooks of
‘Don’t Get It Twisted’ and ‘Now That
Photo by BLENDER Magazine
You Got It’ stomping past the banker
ballads, presumably included in
case we get bored of sci-fi Stefani.
Don’t worry, that will never
happen. !
“The Sweet Escape”
Gwen Stefani
Interscope Records, 2006
The comic book event of the decade?
If you’re a comic book fan then
you have probably already heard of
Marvel Comic’s latest big event: Civil
War. If you’re not, then you might be
thinking “why should I be reading
this now? Why should I even care?”
Well, the answer is pretty straightforward.
Comic books have been a
part of pop culture since the early
decades of the 20 th century, and
the most successful genre thus far
has been superhero comics. Two
companies, DC and Marvel, have
dominated said genre. DC is the
birthplace of two of the world’s
most recognizable icons Superman
and Batman. Marvel comics, by way
of genius and legend Stan Lee, has
given us Spiderman, The Fantastic
Four, Hulk and the X-Men. All of the
characters mentioned have as of
now been portrayed in big Hollywood
blockbusters, and are recognized
by both children and adults
all over the western world.
Nonetheless, the actual comics
upon which these movies are based
are still stigmatized as being only
for kids or geeks. The mainstream
has yet to accept comics as a mature
medium, a way of visual and
literary storytelling, which has been
around for centuries. Cable network
E! Entertainment Television ran a
segment on their news show about
the fact that Spiderman unmasked
in Issue 3 of Civil War. But believe
me, this is not the only reason you
should be interested in this miniseries.
The story relies heavily on actual
events and political climate in
the US, and delivers a striking social
commentary on the dangers of having
civil liberties monitored, be you
a super powered vigilante or not.
The story starts with a terrible
tragedy, as semi-novice heroes The
New Warriors prepare to take down
a cell of fugitive super villains living
undercover in a suburb of Stanford,
Massachusetts. The evil-doers
prove to be too mucho for the inexperienced
heroes to handle, and in
a shocking scene, the villainous Nitro
unleashes his explosive power
while fleeing from Nomorita near
an elementary school, killing everyone
in a two block radius.
By: Jordi Castells
This prompts superhero/billionaire
industrialist Tony Stark AKA
Iron Man to propose a Superhero
Registration Act. The main idea of
this proposal is that all super powered
people register to the US Government,
make their secret identities
known, and be monitored by
a governmental agency to prevent
tragedies like Stanford. The bill is
passed, but it drives a wedge between
the superhero community,
mainly because a group known as
The Secret Avengers, headed by
Captain America, refuse to register.
Other heroes, such as Spiderman
are torn between being considered
outlaws or putting their families
and friends in danger by unmasking.
Entire families, like the Fantastic
Four, are separated by the ethical
implications of the brewing war.
Benjamin Franklin once said “He
who sacrifices liberty for protection
deserves neither.” And in comparison,
The Superhero Registration
Act is only a pale reflection of The
Patriot Act in effect right now. The
series, superbly written by Mark Millar
and beautifully drawn by Steve
McNiven, will surely make you think
about the state of the world right
now, as well as take you on a rollercoaster
of action and emotion.
Civil War No. 7 (of 7) will be
released by Marvel Comics the
first wednesday of March, 2007
Captain America, Spiderman, Iron Man.
© Marvel Comics. Art by Steve
McNiven, from Civil War No. 2