|
|
|
Installment #563 for Comics Buyer's Guide #1505
September 20, 2002
TONY’S TIPS!
by Tony Isabella
******
My first encounter with the mad genius of Dominic Nunziato was when a
comics mailing list directed me to this URL:
What I found there was a cartoon song parody of “It’s Not Easy To Be Me”
starring a certain harpoon-handed hero. My eyes widened at what was
before me, opening the way to tears of laughter as each outrageous verse
played out before me.
Two months later, Nunziato posted a Wonder Woman parody. Two more months
brought a Batman parody. Both were eagerly awaited and both were met
with much online praise.
In the fullness of time, mainly because he directed me to it, I learned that
Nunziato’s primary creative outlet was Spoil Sports. Twice a week, he posts a sports-oriented editorial cartoon, “a sports column in every
cartoon,” and posts it at:
In addition to these cartoons, he also posts a weekly sports rant, a wave of
the week, and a caricature of the week...with those last two features
extending into the realms of movies, TV, and pop culture. Nunziato’s
artwork may be unrefined, but he’s got a gift for conveying his opinions in
an amusing manner.
Myself being the poster child for online excess with my 2000 or so Internet
columns, I’m well aware of how fast one can build a considerable archive of
material. In Nunziato’s case, he actually did something with his
archive, collecting 100 of his cartoons in Spoil Sports ($14.95), a
self-published trade paperback sold on his website. In appreciation for
his musical super-hero parodies, and because I think Nunziato is a very funny
guy, I ordered a copy of his book. I wasn’t disappointed.
Spoil Sports was amusing light reading, even for someone whose interest in
professional sports is pretty much limited to rooting for the Class AA Akron
Aeros baseball team and mocking the various Cleveland teams at every
conceivable opportunity. The latter isn’t merely one of my endearing
character flaws, it’s also a response to racially-insensitive team symbols
and to team owners who epitomize “welfare for the rich.” But I
digress or, more accurately, I would digress if Peter David hadn’t already
staked a claim on that corner of this fine publication.
Rambling back to the point, which I think was to review stuff by Dominic
Nunziato, I give five Tonys to his Aquaman parody, four Tonys each to his
Batman and Wonder Woman parodies, four more Tonys to his website, and three
Tonys to his book. That makes a total of 20 Tonys, which he might be
able to trade for a Maggie Thompson and a Brent Frankenhoff to be named later.
There’s a flag on that lame sports analogy, so I guess I’m out of here
until next week. See you then.
******
ADDENDUM (11/14/02) The above column first appeared in COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1505 [September 20], mailed to subscribers on September 3. That issue's cover featured photos of Peter David, Bill Jemas, and Joe Quesada. They aren't a pretty trio. Dominic Nunziato now has a Green Lantern parody available on his website and it's a stitch. You can see it at: http://www.spoil-sports.com/GreenLantern.htm If you want to support his Internet madness, and you should, buy his book already.
“Tony’s Tips!” is Copyright (c) Tony Isabella, 2002. Comments on
or review items for this column should be sent to: Tony’s Tips!, Box 1502,
Medina, OH 44258. You can e-mail Tony at:
And you can discuss this column and a variety of other topics at the official
Tony Isabella Message Board:
|
|
