Welcome to the third edition of “Interview with a Viner” series in which I interview popular or influential users on the site on either a bi-weekly or monthly basis. This week's guest is @spareheadone
Cloudguy: For those unfamiliar with you can you introduce yourself and what would you say you're most known for on the site?
SpareHeadOne: For anyone who hasn’t had anything to do with me here on ComicVine my name is SpareHeadOne. I have chosen this name in honour of a favourite TV show of mine called Red Dwarf, it refers to the spare heads used by a robot character called Kryten. So, no, my username does not indicate an alt account as some have deduced.
I spend most of my time in the off-topic threads and some may know me as one of the main contributors to the religion and evolution threads.
Some may know me as the guy that makes stupid comments and trolls a lot. Some may even enjoy my kind of humour. I don’t mind making myself the ironic butt of an exchange with another user and I don’t mind making myself look unintelligent if it’s for a greater cause.
A few of you may remember me from the great TMNT invasion that occurred some months ago. After being banned for TMNTing up the threads I changed my avatar from Michelangelo to the one you see before you.
Cloudguy: How did you discover Comicvine and what grabbed your attention?
SpareHeadOne: I discovered ComicVine when trying to purchase my New 52 collection online. I found it very useful for finding out the names of the upcoming graphic novels so that I could order them. I would also visit whenever I had questions about a character or world, also my son and I would enjoy reading through the battles together and discussing it. Then one day I saw the religion thread come up on the front page and I just wanted to make an account and join so that I could talk with people who were interested in religion.
Cloudguy: What do you prefer more, Comics or Manga? And why do you prefer them?
SpareHeadOne: I have never really given Manga a go. When I first checked it out I found that a lot of it was black and white and that just wasn’t what I was looking for. I think a large percentage of why I love Comics is because of the colour. I love bold stark colours and it’s just so wonderful these days with the art, top quality printing and shiny pages we have, my old Spiderman comics just don’t stand up to it. I really enjoyed all the New 52 Lantern stories for that reason. I’m sure there are great Manga stories out there and I’m sure there are Mangas done in colour but I just haven’t got to them yet. I grew up loving Animes such as “Astro Boy”, “Battle of the Planets” “Star Blazers” and “City of Gold” so I am not prejudiced against manga.
Having said that I must add that I do not enjoy the Manga style given to some of the DC animated movies of recent years. This is the case for Avengers and TMNT TV shows as well and it turns me away. I want to celebrate diversity rather than have it all mushed together into one blob that attempts to please everyone.
Cloudguy: Reading manga is quite a huge jump in style between western comics and Japanese manga. Do you think that it's mainly the lack of colour or the format of the issues themselves? Reading right-to-left instead of the western left-to-right or something else?
I'm assuming your referring to the 2018 TNMT show on Nickelodeon?
SpareHeadOne: Truthfully, I’ve never even read a Manga. I just flipped through and looked at the artwork and decided that I would spend my money on colour comics of characters I know and love. Now I feel like I really should read a Manga.
Yes, it's 2018 TMNT. It's kind of stupid that I would not like an Anime version of a largely Japanese cultured story, but that's the way it is.
Cloudguy: What do you think of the current state of Comicvine?
SpareHeadOne: I would really, really love to have the time to write and edit and gain wiki points, to create art and post it, to write fan-fics and post them, to immerse myself in other universes, play RPGs, read all the articles and comments and battle with my great knowledge. So, what I am saying is that the state of CV is strong and there is plenty here for people who have the time and the love for it.
Cloudguy: The wiki is open to anyone who has knowledge on comics, manga or characters. It doesn't have to be a huge 1000-word essay on a character, just a little bit of information here and there adds up over time. If you could shake up how CV was run, what would you do?
SpareHeadOne: To shake up CV I as a person who runs CV would issue personal challenges to two regular users per week. You never know when you might get that Golden PM that requests you to write about a certain character or produce a piece of artwork, etc. The requested piece will adorn the front page for a week, closed to derogatory comments but upraised by the person running the challenges. A winner could be announced at the end of the year.
Cloudguy: Who's your favourite Manga and Comic character and why do they appeal to you?
SpareHeadOne: Very difficult to pick one favourite character. I obviously don’t have a favourite Manga character, so sorry about that. My favourite comic book characters are Kyle Rainer because his imagination is huge and his ego not. Also, because he is a comic guy. Michelangelo from TMNT because he enjoys life while at the same time being successful within it. Constantine because he lives in the valley of the shadow of death and I like all that esoteric, occultic, religion meets myth and magic stuff.
Cloudguy: I've noticed a trend in some of your responses, mainly being religion. I'm assuming that religion has been a major factor in your life or how you see comics? Or is it just something that's interesting to you?
SpareHeadOne: Religion is very important to me. It certainly influences my comic reading. I'm always keeping an eye out for religious parallels in comics. Metaphysical things crop up that closely resemble my own metaphysics. Like "Thor The God Seed" or most of the Dark New 52. I feel that if a writer were to keep their finger on the religious zeitgeist they could be very popular or even speak into a generation.
I am currently reading Venom and HellBlazer (which I don't believe was written originally for DC). But yes, I have obviously been on a huge DC bender. I probably do like DC more, once again it's likely the religion thing with the justice league representing a pantheon of gods. Also, I think I read that DC came first with many of the ideas for powers.
Cloudguy: If you became a staff member, even for a day; what would you post about?
SpareHeadOne: As a staff member I would write articles on the latest stories (from any media format). My articles would focus in on religious, mythic and legendary motifs and parallels. I would also look at occultic or religious source material. I would talk about how the writer utilizes the esoteric and whether it was an appropriate usage or how it could have been used in various better ways. I would critique the story regarding the esoteric and score it with a five-pentagram rating system.
Cloudguy: I feel that a pentagram rating system might be a little controversial. But it does suit things related to the occult.
SpareHeadOne: Well if The pentagrams are no good, perhaps we could go with Stars of Solomon.
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