Yearly Archive: 2016

John Ostrander: For What It’s Worth

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 “Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong.” – For What It’s Worth, 1967, written by Stephen Stills, performed by Buffalo Springfield

SPOILERS! Warning! Danger! I’m going to discuss some questions raised in Captain America: Civil War, which means some plot points will get spilled. If you haven’t yet seen the film – it’s just out on Blu-Ray – you may not want to proceed.

There are a lot of things I enjoyed about Captain America: Civil War but what I liked best was the question that was at the center of the narrative. During an action in Legos involving Cap and some members of the Avengers, there is a mistake and an explosion and innocent bystanders get killed. This, coupled with the human collateral damage witnessed in previous Marvel films, causes members of the United Nations to create The Slovenia Accords – named after the site of the massive destruction in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Now the Avengers must submit to an oversight panel. If they don’t, they will be disbanded.

This creates a split within the Avengers themselves. Tony Stark (Iron Man) believes they must accept the accords and some restrictions on how they use their powers or they would be no better than the foes they oppose. Steve Rogers (Captain America) does not, cannot, and will not agree. This compromises their freedom including the freedom to act when they see a situation calling for it. They can’t wait for bureaucratic paper rustling. Lives are in the balance. The Avengers split into Team Cap and Team Iron Man (along with some guest stars) and they will, of course, fight it out.

So… which team do we, the audience, ally with? The film is clever in that neither side is set to be absolutely right or absolutely wrong. There are arguments for both but the question at the center of the film is – can society allow masked, super-powered individuals to act without some check?

There is no right answer. Oh, my inclinations is to go with Cap; I’m a stinkin’ leftist liberal progressive pinko commie after all. FreeeeeeeDOM!

Except. . .

All these superheroes are basically vigilantes. They operate outside of the law; for the most part, the heroes are not deputized by any government or law enforcement organization (Green Lantern is an exception but that was a lousy movie). They don’t really have any authority to do what they are doing.

I do take exception to one trope in the movie. “Thunderbolt” Ross from The Incredible Hulk film returns, now as the U.S. Secretary of State and evidently liaison to the Avengers from the U.N. He cites all the collateral destruction suffered by society in both Avengers films and the previous Captain America film. He lays the blame for this on the Avengers, noting that there are others in society that feel the same way.

Except. . .

Neither Cap nor the Avengers initiated the situations in those films. Because of their actions, humanity was not enslaved or outright destroyed as would have been the case otherwise. I would have liked to have that mentioned in the film by the heroes.

However, that doesn’t change the root question in Captain America: Civil War. Can any society allow such masked, perhaps super-powered, individuals to act unilaterally? Some of them are masked and the authorities don’t know their true names. Can a society of law survive in such circumstances? It is not a simple question and, to its credit, I don’t think Captain America: Civil War presents it that way.

buffalo-springfield-5871756My heart remains with Cap but I think my brain may agree more with Iron Man. I think I have my own civil war, one that most of us have at one time or another – heart versus head. I don’t think that one is going to be resolved any time soon.

At the start of the column, I quoted a line from Buffalo Springfield’s song “For What It’s Worth.” Despite being fifty years old, the piece is remarkably suited for today. Check it out on YouTube or some such place for yourself and see.

Editor’s Note: A somewhat less subtle version was recorded by Ozzy Osbourne about 10 years ago.

Marc Alan Fishman: Super Civic Pride

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Marvel recently announced a set of variant covers for its newly launching U.S. Avengers series. As with most listicle-ized ideas in modern comic bookery, it wasn’t much of a shock to me as a stunt. It will provide local comic shops something cool to order to entice collectors with, and for the super serious collectors, there will be a future market to Pokemon Go! and just go ahead and collect ‘em all. It’s a novelty, sure, but there’s been worse ones.

What it really does, though, is cause fans to curiously align themselves to a particular hero — as jocks will take to their geographically-proximate sports-ball-teams. With that, comes that nearly indescribable urge to gain a soft-spot for a particular character… and of course then talk smack at other hero/state pairings in an effort to show one’s newfound super civic pride.

For my home-sweet-home in the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, comes Dr. Hank McCoy. Beast, if you’re naughty. The choice, for those in the know, isn’t too surprising. McCoy hails from the suburbs of Chicago himself (or so sayeth Wikipedia, Chicago’s Time Out edition, and countless other sources). Hence, the blue beast was chosen as the surrogate super son of Illinois.

I’ll be honest. Prior to seeing the cover and assignment, I wasn’t a fan of Beast. I don’t hate the fur ball, mind you… but even amongst various X teams and Avengers teams, he’d be nowhere close to a personal favorite. Funny enough though, seeing the cover with Hank leaping stoically off the Illinois map made me reconsider my personal feelings. Whereas California got the glitz and glamour choice of Iron Man and New York nabbed native son Luke Cage, Illinois got what I’d certainly say was a deep cut. We are home to the third largest city in the nation, and the best we muster is a guy who proclaims “Oh my stars and garters!”? In true Chicagoan spirit, my answer to that very question was a resounding “F*ck right he is!”

Beast is strong, fast, flexible, ambidextrous with four limbs, and a genius. He cured the legacy virus. He’s fluent in nine languages. He can hold up his end of the conversation with Reed Richards, Steven Strange, and Tony Stark… all while hanging upside down and teaching a class of X-babies. You see? And he’s my home state hero. It’s like we got Spider-Man and Mr. Fantastic all in one guy! And he’s the same color as our beloved Chicago Bears. Hell, he could play quarterback if he wanted!

See how quickly my opinion changed? The second they aligned my home to Hank, an affinity arose. Because he was offered as ours, suddenly there became an emotional edge to my opinion. Now when I open up my Marvel Contest of Champions mobile app, I’m more apt to hope I open up a crystal with the periwinkle protector to add to my cadre of combatants. And should people hold up their state-assigned hero as a better (“Indiana has the friggen’ Winter Solder, brah!”)? Well, I’ll be happy to scoff as I rattle off 17 ways my Dundee-native doctor can whup their candy ass twelve ways from Sunday. Curse you Marvel. What did you do to me?

It’s a cherry idea, I give them that. To turn a cash-grab novelty to in a buzzfeedesque game of proclivity is an instant hit in my book. Same way I felt when the Initiative post Civil War gave us the “Illinois Space Knights.” Same way I felt when I found out my broader home soil was home to such characters as Maria Hill, the Question (well, sort of… ask Mike Gold or Denny O’Neil), Ghost Rider, and Savage Dragon. To know that a fictional character shares the same air as you… may love a good Italian Beef — dipped, of course — and occasionally knock back an Old Style in a tallboy? Well, nothing makes me quicker to warm my icy Illinois heart.

So, it begs the question of you: What lilly-licking punk hero did your silly state get?

GO BEAST!

Long Way North Receives Limited Theatrical Run from Shout!

long-way-north-still-2-sacha-voiced-by-chloe-dunn-with-model-of-the-ship-e1474639950226-6907332Directed by celebrated animator and filmmaker Rémi Chayé and produced by Sacrebleu Productions (Oscar®-Nominated Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage), Maybe Movies (Oscar®-Nominated Ernest & Celestine) and Norlum Studios (Oscar®-Nominated Song of the Sea), France 3 Cinéma and 2 Minutes, LONG WAY NORTH won the coveted Audience Award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and the winner of Grand Prize and the Governor of Tokyo Award at Tokyo Animation Festival 2016. This captivating animated adventure, bolstered by emotionally resonant storytelling and visually exquisite hand-drawn animation, has continued to attract universal acclaim as it enchants movie audiences around the world.

A spirited and inspiring tale of hope and courage, LONG WAY NORTH is the feature directorial debut of lauded animator Rémi Chayé (first AD and head of storyboard for Oscar®-Nominated The Secret of Kells, The Painting) and tells the story of a young heroine persevering through a physical and emotional journey to find her explorer grandfather and his lost ship, the Davai.

LONG WAY NORTH is set in the late 19th century Saint Petersburg. Sacha, a young girl from the Russian aristocracy, dreams of the Great North and anguishes over the fate of her grandfather, Oloukine, a renowned scientist and Arctic explorer who has yet to return from his latest expedition to conquer the North Pole.

Sacha has always been fascinated by the adventurous life of her grandfather and has the same calling as Oloukine to be an explorer. But Sacha’s parents, who already made arrangements for her marriage, strongly disapprove of the idea to say the least. Defying her destiny, Sacha flees her home and launches an adventure-filled quest toward the Great North in search of Oloukine and his ship.

LONG WAY NORTH features an exceptional English voice cast of Chloé Dunn, Vivienne Vermes, Peter Hudson, Antony Hickling, Tom Perkins, Geoffrey Greenhill, Claire Harrison-Bullett, Bibi Jacob, Martin Lewis, Tom Morton, Leslie Clack, Kester Lovelace and Damian Corcoran. *French voice cast include Christa Théret, Feodor Atkine, Thomas Sagols, Rémi Caillebot, Audrey Sablé, Fabirn Briche, Gabriel Le Doze and Boris Rehlinger.

Sacrebleu Productions and Maybe Movies present LONG WAY NORTH

Directed by Rémi Chayé; written by Claire Paoletti and Patricia Valeix; produced by Ron Dyens and Henri Magalon in co-production with Jean-Michel Spiner, Claus Toksvig Kjaer and Frederik Villumsen. A co-production of Sacrebleu Productions, Maybe Movies, France 3 Cinéma, 2 Minutes and Norlum.

Animated feature LONG WAY NORTH opens in Los Angeles, New York City and select U.S. cinemas on September 30, 2016. (Openings in additional U.S. cities to follow)

The film is rated PG and has a run time of 80 minutes.

 

Opening September 30

New York City – Village East

Los Angeles Area – Laemmle Playhouse 7, Laemmle Monica, University Irvine

Opening October 7

Tucson, AZ – Loft Cinema

Santa Fe, NM – CCA Cinematheque

Opening October 14

Washington, DC – Angelika Pop-up @ Union Market

Detroit, MI – Cinema Detroit

San Diego, CA – Digital Gym Cinema

Portland, OR – Regal Fox Tower Stadium 10

Opening October 21

Austin, TX – Regal Cinema Arbor Cinema

Albuquerque, NM – Guild Cinema

Martha Thomases’ March Revelation

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Hallelujah! Over the weekend, I had a revelation.

March, by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell, is the answer to every question, the solution to every problem.

Let me explain how I came to see the light.

I was at a conference for American Jews interested in increasing the opportunities for a shared society among Jewish and Arab Israelis. In attendance were representatives from various American Jewish funding organizations as well as Israeli Jewish and Arab leaders. It was heady stuff for me, and I was thrilled to see that Israeli Arabs are just as opinionated (and enjoy a good argument) as much as I do.

All of us being Semites, of course we wanted to eat. A lot. Over meals, we didn’t just discuss policy and programs. We talked about current events (oy) and our various jobs and interests. When I said I worked in comics and was writing a graphic novel, I got asked a lot of questions.

Some people hadn’t read a comic book since they were children four decades ago (or more). Some had read Maus, but didn’t know about anything else.

When I mentioned that they might enjoy March and told them that Congressman John Lewis had written this three-volume graphic novel, almost everyone was interested.

On this site, because we write about comics all the time, we know about John Lewis. And because we are rabid consumers of comics and books and movies and television, we know a lot about how comics influence our larger entertainment choices. We know that comics supply the creative content for a bunch of mega-billion dollar industries.

We know less about how comics can save the world. Specifically, March.

The third volume was published recently, and while I loved the first two, this final piece knocked me on my ass. It’s so good and so powerful and so subtle. I thought I knew the story about the March on Selma and the struggle for civil rights in the 1960s. I’d watched it on television in real time. I’ve talked to people who were there. I’ve read other accounts.

Nothing prepared me.

I’m a person who frequently enjoys movie violence. March 3 viscerally demonstrated the difference between fact and fiction. I felt actual pain reading about the mobs of white people who beat people demonstrating for their rights as citizens. I also felt pain for those white people, who must have led fairly miserable lives to think that the proper response to peaceful protest is to split a person’s head.

Somehow, Lewis and Aydin and Powell convey these horrors in such a straightforward fashion that I doubt any parents will object to their children reading the books for school.

An Arab woman who is principal of an Arab middle school in the Western Galilee told me her students very much admire Dr. Martin Luther King. She said they recognize that his fight is their fight. If/when there is an Arabic edition, I’m going to donate a bunch of copies to her library.

Let’s hope those kids are just as successful using King’s tactics as he was when they attempt to achieve their goals. And, because I’m greedy, let’s hope they create books that are just as wonderful.

Box Office Democracy: Blair Witch

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When I first saw The Blair Witch Project in 1999 it was the most scared I had ever been in a theater with the exception of having to leave the theater during Edward Scissorhands when I was six years old. A lot contributed to my enjoyment of that film: found footage was new and exciting to me (and most of America) at that time, the marketing campaign treated it as real footage from a real event and that was very captivating even though anyone who waited until the credits would know it was a movie, and the limited information they gave the viewer made everything that happened just a little more terrifying. Blair Witch desperately tries to recapture the magic of the original film and while the resulting film is reasonably creepy to watch it doesn’t quite get there because movie like this are much closer to the norm now.

Found footage is everywhere these days. It doesn’t move the needle at all in terms of originality and consequently Blair Witch can’t stand out just by being supposedly recovered footage. There have been five Paranormal Activity movies and countless other retreads of the formula; it just fels like I’ve seen every camera shake, abrupt edit, and cheesy in-universe explanation for why everything is being recorded at this point. Blair Witch is a scary movie, don’t get me wrong, but it’s scary in the same way that so many other movies are and that descent in to cliché hurts it a lot.

The Blair Witch Project was quite stingy with putting all of their lore in the film, countless people I know walked out of the movie with one burning question or another and needing to consult the internet for answers. Blair Witch keeps this tradition alive by only vaguely gesturing to why any of this is happening (a curse on these woods) or what exactly the witch can do and instead of finding it spooky and charming this time I mostly found it annoying. The Blair Witch in the original film stole stuff from the campers, made noises at night, and left little men made out of sticks everywhere. In the new movie she can make time move differently for different people, makes trees pummel people, cast the world in to perpetual darkness, and make little stick men appear everywhere but this time they can break all the bones in a person’s body. It’s certainly scary but it doesn’t feel consistent and because the movie is so clearly in canon with the original film it can’t be written off as a remake. I can accept an ungodly amount of camera artifacts coincidentally making everything creepy and I can accept that this ragtag band of campers got some of the best outdoor sound quality I’ve ever heard with poor equipment but I just can’t get past The Blair Witch going from the magical abilities of Neville Longbottom to those of Lord Voldemort.

I wish I had a deeper critique here but I’m not sure I can get to one. The Blair Witch Project was a revelation when it came out it stood out so boldly compared to movies that immediately preceded it like Halloween H20 or I Still Know What You Did Last Summer but now instead of standing out it fades in to the scenery. Blair Witch is one of the better found footage horror movies I’ve seen in recent years but what a tragically mundane place for a movie with such a pedigree to be. Blair Witch is an enjoyable horror movie that’s legitimately scary (even with some cheap thrills thrown in) but there’s no chance I ever want to see it again or probably even remember it in a few years time.

Tweeks: August 2016 Loot Crate, Loot Pets & Level UpUnboxing

We unbox our August Anti-Hero Loot Crate, Loot Pets Crate & Level Up bag and then fight over Harley Quinn stuff. That’s basically it.

However if you like Archer or World of Warcraft, you can give us a good reason to send you that swag! State your case in the comments!

Dennis O’Neil: Defy! We Dare Ya!

 

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Done any daring to defy lately?

If you’re a fan of the television versions of superheroes, you know what I’m talking/typing about. The network that calls itself The CW has, for a while now, been advocating such daring and this is the very same the go-to corporate entity that has made itself the go-to bandwidth for costumed do-gooders. They already have, in Arrow and The Flash, a couple of established hits (provided your definition of “hit” is modest) and in Legends of Tomorrow a show that has at least enough watchers to warrant renewal for another season. And the biggie…Supergirl has, with much hype, migrated from the kind of old-folkish CBS to the youthier CW and we Maid of Might mavens are allowed a happy sigh.

But about that youthiness and that “daring to defy” business: Really? Can they possibly mean it? Since they don’t specify exactly what they want us to defy, I have to guess that what we’re asked to defy is what we children of the Sixties might refer to as “the Man.” You know – the Establishment. The necktie wearers. Wall Street. Politics. Corporate America. The military-industrial complex (a term coined by no less an Establishment icon than President Dwight D. Eisenhower.)

Well, okay, but…where to begin? A logical answer: Consumerism. A denial of, or least a vigorous questioning of, t shirt wisdom, something like Whoever Has the Most Toys When He Dies Wins. So, all you wannabe defiers, stop buying stuff you don’t need. Stop discarding clothing just because some Seventh Avenue pooh-bah has declared it unfashionable which, I think, means whatever the pooh-bahs say it means. (And rest in peace, Noah Webster.) And if this means buying clothing that’s durable instead of merely new, amen. While you’re at it, extend that policy to motor vehicles, appliances, furniture, housing, vacation sites, playthings. If you’re killing time waiting for Supergirl to come on, you can make your own list.

But whoa. Subtract the money wasted on the unnecessary and suddenly those bandwidth-borne heroes aren’t there anymore. The money we spend (waste?) on frivolities pays for the programs we enjoy. No wasted cash = no Supergirl (who, it might be said, is herself a frivolity, but we could be flirting with blasphemy here, so let’s not.)

Okay, we exempt consumerism from the list of things we defy. What else? School? Hey, I am the husband of a teacher and the father of a professor and have been known to stand at the front of classrooms myself, so you aren’t going to catch me knocking education, though some varieties of it might deserve a knock or two. Besides – big secret a’comin’ – it’s fun to know stuff.

Now, a true story. At my high school graduation the school’s principal told my mother that the good Christian Brothers never wanted to see me again. Maybe if you wore a funny collar you could spot a defier from a mile away and if they said Joe O’Neil’s offspring was a defier, well, they were the authorities. But that offspring didn’t know he was a defier.

You don’t believe me?

Star Trek Beyond Orbits Digital HD Oct. 4, Disc Nov. 1

stb_bd_oslv_3d-e1474466069754-7337921HOLLYWOOD, Calif.  – The intrepid crew of the USS Enterprise returns in “the best action movie of the year” (Scott Mantz, Access Hollywood).  The “highly entertaining” (David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter) new installment in the iconic franchise, STAR TREK BEYOND sets a course on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray Combo Packs, DVD and On Demand November 1, 2016 from Paramount Home Media Distribution.  The sci-fi adventure will also be available as part of the STAR TREK TRILOGY Blu-ray Collection.  The film warp speeds to Digital HD four weeks early on October 4, 2016.

Director Justin Lin (Fast & Furious) delivers “a fun and thrilling adventure” (Eric Eisenberg, Cinemablend) with an incredible all-star cast including Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, as well as newcomers to the STAR TREK universe Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service) and Idris Elba (Luther).  In STAR TREK BEYOND, the Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.

The STAR TREK BEYOND 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray Combo Packs are loaded with over an hour of action-packed bonus content, with featurettes from filmmakers and cast, including J.J. Abrams, Justin Lin, Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto. Go beyond the movie’s incredible edge-of-your-seat action and see how an unprecedented 50 new alien species were created, including STAR TREK’s newest villain Krall and the rebellious warrior Jaylah.  Journey through the iconic franchise in celebration of STAR TREK‘s 50th Anniversary, enjoy a hilarious gag reel and explore deleted scenes you didn’t see in theaters.  In addition, the sets include tributes to actors Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin.  The film also boasts a Dolby Atmos® soundtrack* remixed specifically for the home theater environment to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead.

Star Trek Beyond Blu-ray Combo Pack

The STAR TREK BEYOND Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English Dolby Atmos, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.  The DVD in the combo pack is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.  The combo pack includes access to a Digital HD copy of the film as well as the following:

Blu-ray

  • Feature film in high definition
  • Bonus Content:
    • Deleted Scenes – Go Beyond the final cut of the movie with scenes you didn’t see in theaters.
    • Beyond the Darkness – Meet visionary producer J.J. Abrams, director Justin Lin and co-writers Simon Pegg and Doug Jung as they discuss the inspiration for the Star Trek Beyond storyline and how it came to life.
    • Enterprise Takedown – Experience edge-of-your-seat action and see how a shocking attack destroys the USS Enterprise.
    • Divided and Conquered – Learn how filmmakers pushed the boundaries in Star Trek Beyond by forcing the Enterprise crew into their most challenging situations yet.
    • A Warped Sense of Revenge – Meet Star Trek‘s newest villain, Krall, as actor Idris Elba reveals the backstory behind his character’s terrifying ambitions.
    • Trekking in the Desert – Go on set to Dubai and discover how its futuristic architecture became the foundation for the most innovative Starbase yet.
    • Exploring Strange New Worlds – Tour the incredible production sets of Star Trek Beyond with director Justin Lin.
    • New Life, New Civilizations – See how special effects designers met the challenge to create an unprecedented 50 new alien species for the film to celebrate Star Trek‘s 50th Anniversary.
    • To Live Long and Prosper – Journey through the past 50 years of Star Trek with J.J. Abrams and the cast as they reflect on the evolution of this iconic sci-fi series.
    • For Leonard and Anton – Watch a touching tribute to the legendary Leonard Nimoy and beloved crew member Anton Yelchin.
    • Gag Reel – Join in on the fun with this hilarious gag reel of on-set bloopers.

DVD

  • Feature film in standard definition

Star Trek Beyond Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack

The Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack includes all of the above, as well as a Blu-ray 3D presented in 1080p high definition with English Dolby Atmos, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.  The Blu-ray 3D disc includes the feature film in high definition and 3D. The Combo Pack also includes access to a Digital HD copy of the film.

Star Trek Beyond 4K Ultra HDä Combo Pack

Fans can enjoy the ultimate viewing experience with the 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, which includes the Blu-ray detailed above, as well as an Ultra HD Disc presented in 4K Ultra HD with English Dolby Atmos, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description with English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The Combo Pack also includes access to a Digital HD copy of the film.=

Star Trek Trilogy Blu-ray Collection

The STAR TREK TRILOGY Blu-ray Collection includes Blu-ray Discs™ of STAR TREK (2009), STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS and STAR TREK BEYOND with access to a Digital HD copy of each film.

The Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack and 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack available for purchase include a Digital Version of the film that can be accessed through UltraViolet™, a way to collect, access and enjoy movies.  With UltraViolet, consumers can add movies to their digital collection in the cloud, and then stream or download them—reliably and securely—to a variety of devices.

Star Trek Beyond Single-Disc DVD

The single-disc DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.  The disc includes the feature film in standard definition.

STAR TREK BEYOND

Street Date: October 4, 2016 (Digital HD) November 1, 2016 (Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray 3D, Trilogy Blu-ray Collection and VOD)
U.S. Rating: PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence
Canadian Rating: PG for violence, coarse language

  • To experience Dolby Atmos at home, a Dolby Atmos enabled AV receiver and additional speakers are required, or a Dolby Atmos enabled sound bar; however, Dolby Atmos soundtracks are also fully backward compatible with traditional audio configurations and legacy home entertainment equipment.

Mike Gold: The Real Monster

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h-h-holmes-image-1010598I was going to write about comics again this week; I usually do, and I’ve got all sorts of notes on a topic that can wait a week or two. ComicMix purports to proselytize about geek culture – or, as my fellow wordsmith Ed Catto calls it, “Geek Culture” – for the broader comic book fan audience. Glenn Hauman calls us the pop culture Huffington Post. I call us the Huffington Post from hell.

There’s nothing geekier than monsters, and our culture has sported quite a few real monsters. In this regard, perhaps you think of Hitler. He’s our go-to real life monster, a paranoid drug addict who earned his place as the 20th Century’s greatest metaphor. Maybe you think of Stalin, who was quite the monster even before he sided with Hitler, which was before he opposed Hitler.

No, today I wish to talk about the Greatest American Monster, dubbed The Torture Doctor. In fact, David Franke wrote a book about the guy in 1975 and he called it The Torture Doctor. Of course I’m referring to “Doctor” H.H. Holmes, often referred to as the first serial killer. That is not true; the first serial killer predeceased Holmes by a dozen millennia; his name roughly translates into Oog, and I’m sure his fellow homo habilises didn’t care much for him. But, I digress.

hh-holmes-murder-castle-1-5778036If a meticulous sequential mass murdering seducing charlatan swindler can be thought of as cool, Holmes was indeed that. Damn, his real name wasn’t even H.H. Holmes. It was Herman Webster Mudgett, but he was cool enough to understand that wasn’t the name for the ages. H.H. Holmes was much more cool.

Born at the onset of the Civil War, Mudgett graduated from the University of Michigan’s Department of Medicine and Surgery, acquiring skills that he would soon put to bad use. He moved to Chicago in 1886, adapted the more alliterative name and took a job as a pharmacist and errand boy at Elizabeth Holton’s drugstore at the corner of Wallace and West 63rd Street. When Holton’s husband died H.H. bought the operation from the widow, who then disappeared.

Three years later and three miles to the east, it was announced that Chicago had won the rights to the 1893 World’s Fair. They beat out New York; the term “the windy city,” applied locally since 1876, was immortalized by the distraught editor of the New York Sun, a one-time Chicagoan named Charles A. Dana. “Don’t pay any attention to the nonsensical claims of that windy city. Its people could not build a World’s Fair even if they won it.” Dana was mistaken. Not only did it build the truly dazzling World’s Fair, but it gave Holmes the idea of buying the block-long vacant lot across the street from his drug store and building a hotel. He called it the World’s Fair Hotel.

Clearly, he one of the most devious contractors in history. Holmes had an idea, a plan for the hotel. Only one person might have known the full plan – his subcontractors were limited to building various sections of the building with no one builder knowing the totality of the effort. Eventually the guy who acted as H.H.’s associate, Benjamin Pitezel, wound up prematurely deceased… as did his children.

tribune-holmes-300x341-8084818Dubbed “The Castle” due to its enormous size, it was later discovered the joint was littered with secret soundproofed airtight rooms, trapdoors, and chutes that led to the basement. The hotel mostly employed young women and mostly catered to young out-of-town women who were visitors to, or workers at, the Fair. There were secret gas lines, a special second floor hanging chamber, rooms for suffocation and starvation, and hidden passageways to the basement where many skeletons were preserved and sold to medical schools. The hotel had lots of modern conveniences, including two massive furnaces and handy pits of lime and corrosive acid.

H.H. Holmes was a man with a plan. Several plans, in fact, that seemed to address his sundry lusts, his desire for money, and a general distain for the fairer sex. He was also quite an experienced insurance swindler and, eventually, he and the three Pitezel children left town for Fort Worth, Indianapolis, Detroit, Toronto, Philadelphia and Boston. By then the Pinkertons had been hired by the insurance interests and they tracked the Torture Doctor down, where he was arrested and ultimately convicted of Pitezel’s murder.

Holmes confessed to 27 murders, although only nine were confirmed. It is generally believed he murdered upwards of 200 people, mostly women, mostly blonde. He married some of them, but that was just a formality – one we refer to as “bigamy.”

Holmes was hanged at the Philadelphia County Prison in May 1896, at the age of 34. Amusingly, execution witnesses said Holmes was hanged improperly and slowly strangled to death for 20 minutes. By this time The Castle had endured a massive fire; two men had been seen running away from the building just ahead of several explosions. The building was rehabbed and lived until 1938. Today, the site is home to the neighborhood post office and, in several weeks, a Whole Foods supermarket will be opening a block away.

Holmes’ story was immortalized in Erik Larson’s best-selling novel The Devil in the White City. Ostensibly, Leo DiCaprio will be playing Holmes in long-in-development motion picture. I gather Johnny Depp was unavailable.

The Castle endured for three decades, but here’s the real mystery. Pretty much ever since then, the Englewood neighborhood has been one of the most dangerous areas in Chicago – even today, with the city’s notoriously high murder rate, Englewood is one of two areas where most of these murders occur.

Doctor Holmes left quite a legacy. Doctor Holmes was a genuine monster.

Emily S. Whitten: Convention Catch-Up — Yay, Dragon Con!

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Time flies, doesn’t it? It seems like just yesterday I was watching Animaniacs Live, interviewing folks about Turtles and cartoons, seeing the latest in geek fashions, hanging out with American Gods, and chatting with the Kings of Con at SDCC, not to mention chillin’ at Nerd HQ. And now suddenly it’s September, and I’ve since attended both the UK Discworld Convention and Dragon Con! Convention season: it really never stops, does it?

Despite my busy schedule, I don’t want to miss sharing any of the fantastic adventures I’ve been having with you; so first, let’s rewind to San Diego and reminisce about the summer party-party-parties, because they are a staple of SDCC and deserve to be featured. Every year, I try to line up at least a couple of parties each night, because, let’s be frank, I just love a good party. (I also often wish I could be in two places at once so I could go to even more parties. Alas that it’s impossible.) Although occasionally I don’t make it to one I really didn’t want to miss, it’s mostly because I’m having too much fun at another one – a good problem to have!

This year, I missed a few that were totally on my list; but I did manage to hit several super-fun ones…

Wednesday:

When you go to a con every year, you sometimes end up with con traditions, which can make the experience even better. On SDCC Wednesdays, my awesome friend Amy and I have turned going to BASIC for pizza and the Gabe Eltaeb Comic Kickoff Fundraiser into our own little tradition. The fundraiser is cool, with artists on hand sketching and neat auction items; the pizza is good and relatively quick to appear (very important after preview night!), and this year, BASIC was a Pokestop, so while we waited for our order we amused ourselves by catching Pokemon (I caught one of the pretty horse ones and named him Ricotta after our pizza). Definitely a good chill hangout start to the con.

Thursday:

Sometimes it’s good to get in the right frame of mind before a night of going out. On Thursdays, the WIRED Café, which runs from 11am to 7pm, is a good place for that. The downside is that it’s usually a bit of a wait to get in – to the point where last year I took a look at the wait and opted for other choices. But this year I stuck out the line, which was moving at a decent clip, and went on in. The WIRED Café was a fun combo of food and drinks, a DJ and little dance floor, and nifty interactive tech toys (plus a handy phone charging station). The gadgets you could play with included a VR Mars walk experience, and a Sphero BB-8 that could be controlled by head movements. They also had some really good specialty sno-cone drinks. (And if you got a marked coaster you won a shirt. I won on the first drink!) All-in-all it was fun, although I’d definitely weigh the wait against other stuff you might want to see on Thursday.

Once the day was properly in evening party mode, I hit up the Scholastic Party, which was celebrating a number of its newest Graphix publications on the Hotel Palomar pool deck. The pool deck had a nice setup and the party had neat features (along with welcome food and drinks) like a hefty swag bag and free Day of the Dead-style face painting. Well, I can’t resist free face painting, so of course off I went to get a super-cool design on my face (and then had to figure out how to eat and drink without messing it all up!). There were also several great guests there, like the super-nice Greg Grunberg (who told me I should never wash my face again, because the face paint was so cool), Dustin Nguyen, and Kate Beaton. I also ran into other fun folks there, like Sanford Greene, Simon Fraser, Edie Nugent, Patrick Reed, Amy Chu, and Batton Lash. Altogether it was a great party.

After it wound down ComicMix editor Adriane Nash and I hit up the NVE & Nylon Magazine After-Con Party. Celebrating the Women of Wonder, at Omnia. This was a full-fledged club party, with lots of celebs wandering around, and a fun time was had by all. The face paint was a big hit, and we chatted with everyone from Mehcad Brooks (Supergirl’s James Olsen, who was really happy to hear that Adriane liked what he’s doing with the character) to Teen Wolf’s Cody Christian (what a sweet guy). We also spotted others from the Teen Wolf cast, DJ Qualls, and Casper Van Dien – and I’m sure there were a ton of folks we literally rubbed elbows with, even if we didn’t realize it. It was packed! The party also featured Kristian Nairn from Game of Thrones as a DJ, with a surprise visit from DMX later in the evening; and a video booth where you and friends could take slow-mo “superhero” videos together with props. Closing that party down was a solid end to the night.

Friday

Friday night I somehow managed to fit three parties in (harder than it sounds!). I started out with the excellent Starz American Gods and Ash vs. Evil Dead cocktail party on the rooftop at Rustic Root, which I wrote about in detail in my American Godscolumn. This party had a themed drink, cool swag bags, and lots of American Gods and Ash folks, as can be seen here. Definitely a good time.

When that party wrapped, I hightailed it over to the SherlockeDCC party at the San Diego Central Library, organized by the Baker Street Babes, Sherlock DC, and NerdOut. This party featured themed drinks, vendors, a raffle of Sherlockian items, and an appearance by Steven and Louis Moffat. Every year I enjoy this party, where I always run into friends like fellow DC-area fan Lacy, and the esteemed Sherlockian Les Klinger. This year I was also extremely delighted to catch up, at least for a little while, with my North American Discworld Convention co-founder Anna, who I hadn’t seen in years, and who was, as always, decked out in the best costume; and our fellow NADWCon friend Shari. Love those ladies!

Although I hated to leave SherlockeDCC, I didn’t want to miss Nickelodeon’s Marc Summers & Double Dare Party at Fluxx. And that was a good choice, because it was epic amounts of fun. I wrote all about it in my Nickelodeon column, but to recap: they had Actual Marc Summers (who did not miss a beat the whole time) running an Actual Game of Double Dare on the dance floor at a hip nightclub, and the Red Team and Blue Team were comprised of Actual Nickelodeon People, including TMNT’s Mikey, voice actor Greg Cipes. Not to mention they provided us hungry con-goers with the best tiny diner food (burgers, fries, shakes, etc.). And that cool cats like TMNT’s Ciro Nieli and Eric Bauza were on hand to chill with. And that at the end of the night, they cleared the dance floor of all the cool Double Dare stuff (like the giant hamster wheel) and we all danced our hearts out to ‘90s music. Like I said, epic.

Saturday

Oh man. There were lots of cool-sounding parties on Saturday – including the HBO party, which fellow ComicMixers attended. But being totally honest here, by that point I was wiped. So instead of partying hard, I went out and had a niiiiice, relaaaaxing dinner with friends, followed by very chill drinks with other friends. And that? Totally rocked too. Woo!

Well that pretty much wraps up my SDCC experiences, although there are even more photos from the parties and the con floor in my SDCC photo collection. So check that out!

And now, on to the…

UK Discworld Convention

Going to the UK Discworld Con was something I looked forward to, but it was also tough – being the first Discworld event I’ve attended since Terry Pratchett passed away last year. I admit I still expected to see him around every corner, chatting with a fan or having a drink at the pub. And I admit that I needed a little more downtime than I usually do at cons, to deal with Terry not being there. But I’m so, so glad I went – both because the con featured many events that honored and memorialized Terry, and because it was really nice to reconnect with my many Discworld friends, and even make some new ones. One of the best parts of Discworld Cons is hanging out at the pub with your friends, and I was happy to be able to spend time with the likes of guests Rob Wilkins, Colin Smythe, Bernard Pearson, Reb Voyce, Ian Mitchell, Ian Stewart, Stephen Briggs, and Daniel Knight, and panelists Diane Duane, Peter Morwood, and David Bradshaw; as well as with my many fantastic convention friends. Discworld Cons are such a wonderful thing, and after going to the UK Con, I’m even happier that I’m involved in running the next North American Discworld Convention, which is happening next Labor Day weekend in New Orleans.

The con started with an opening ceremony in which The Hat was brought to the main stage, where it remained for the rest of the con. Among the most important panels were the programs that honored Terry. In one, selected clips from the memorial that was held for Terry last April were shown; including one of Good Omens co-writer Neil Gaiman reading from his intro to A Slip of the Keyboard; which is still one of the best summations of Terry that I’ve read. In another, Terry’s good friend Bernard Pearson of the Discworld Emporium told wonderful stories (as is his wont) of times he and Terry spent together (including that time they went in search of a specific type of pub urinal. No really). And then there was a good conversation between Terry’s longtime PA and business manager Rob Wilkins, and Discworld audiobook voice, playwright, and reference book collaborator Stephen Briggs, about their many recollections of Terry. And, of course, the tradition of the Bedtime Stories was continued; and although there will sadly be no more books, Rob read us all a bit of what could have been another story, had there been more time.

It wasn’t all about looking back, though. Although in documentarian Charlie Russell’s panel it was absolutely fascinating to hear him discuss with Rob Wilkins the previous three documentaries he made about and with Terry, he also talked about the new documentary he is doing with the BBC – about Terry’s legacy and the fandom, some of whom he interviewed while at the con. And although Terry’s independent production company Narrativia no longer has Terry to guide it, in the Narrativia Klatch we heard from two of its members, Rod Brown and Rob Wilkins (Rhianna Pratchett being the third), about exciting upcoming projects like The Wee Free Men, which is being adapted for the big screen by Rhianna Pratchett and developed with The Jim Henson Company; Good Omens, which is being adapted for TV by Neil Gaiman; and The Watch TV series, which is also currently in development. And in the field of amateur adaptations, convention attendees put on a very cool musical version of Witches Abroad that was enjoyed by all. All-in-all, it was a wonderful con; and you can check out my photos of it here, before we move on to…

Dragon Con!

Everyone who’s gone to a fandom con knows that they are wonderful but tiring. So of course, what better idea could I have possibly come up with than to go to two in a row? Sounds a little crazy, right? But given the UK Discworld Con and Dragon Con were just one weekend apart, I was left with no choice but to do it. (It’s a hard-knock life, for me.) And despite my jet lag, Dragon Con was as always, a total blast. I love this con for the wide variety of fandom tracks, the Walk of Fame, and the excellent level of organization involved in what can be an overwhelming con. And, of course, because it is the one and only Nerdi Gras – a great place to party with your nerd and geek friends.

This year, not only did I get in some great interviews (with Jim Butcher, Christy Carlson Romano, and Brian Henson, coming soon!) but I also managed to make it to some fantastic panels, and to discover my new obsession – puppeteering. Why puppeteering? It started with attending Brian Henson’s Evolution of Puppetry. This panel was absolutely fascinating, as Jim Henson’s son went through the history of the Jim Henson Company, showing clips of how Kermit and the Muppets developed over the years; and also demonstrated the Henson method of puppetry live using an on-stage camera and the video screens so that we could see both what he was doing, and how it would look on-screen. Seeing the magic behind the puppets firsthand was amazing. Then, thanks to roomie Cleolinda, I learned that there was a panel featuring the puppetry of adorable Star Wars droid BB-8. Well, of course we had to go to that! As it turned out, it was the very first Dragon Con of BB-8 puppeteers Dave Chapman and Brian Herring – and they were clearly having a blast as they showed us behind-the-scenes footage of their work, and discussed the six different versions of BB-8 and what it was like shooting on location. By the end of these panels, I had determined that I must learn more about puppetry – hopefully at future cons!

Another great set of panels were the Gotham panels. I made it to two, along with meeting several of the cast, and found them all delightful. The panels were both enlightening and entertaining (the best mix) and it seemed the Gotham cast was thoroughly enjoying the con. For such a dark show, the cast is very warm and funny; and one favorite moment from the panels was when Chris Chalk (Lucius Fox) joked that the reason Wayne Manor has such terrible security, with outsiders seemingly just appearing in various rooms all the time (I had noticed that!), is that Bruce gave Fox a key, Fox made copies, and now everyone in Gotham has one. Well – it’s as good an explanation as any! I also sympathized with Sean Pertwee and David Mazouz when they joked about how happy they were that in the new season we’d see more of Wayne Manor, because it meant they could finally get out of the library! (“We eat there…we sleep there…we never leave!”) And Drew Powell – well, pretty much everything he said was funny. That dude’s a riot!

The last panel I made it to was the Gillian Anderson panel, which was a great Q&A that ranged from X-Files to Hannibal and more. I hadn’t seen Gillian Anderson on a panel before, but it was clear that she’s got a broad intellect and a sly sense of humor – very fun to listen to. Alas, I did not get to meet her, but I did get to meet a lot of great guests on the Walk of Fame this year. Some favorites were the aforementioned Gotham cast members, who were great to chat with, along with Robin Lord Taylor, who was alas only at the Con for a limited time. Other great guests I chatted with included the BB-8 puppeteers (such cool guys!), Charlie Cox (I had to get a signed pic of Matt Murdock in lawyer mode, don’tchya know), Bob Bergen (voice actors are always so interesting), Richard Horvitz, Rikki Simons (a fellow Pratchett fan!), Nolan North (Deadpool!), Will Friedle (also Deadpool! As well as Ron Stoppable from Kim Possible, of course), Bill Corbett, Dana Snyder, and oh, so many more. And that’s not even counting the other guests, authors and Artist Alley folks I got to hang out with, including fab friends Esther Friesner, Alethea Kontis, Ken Plume, Aaron Fever, Joseph Scrimshaw, Molly Lewis, Dexter Vines, Sanford Greene, Georges Jeanty, Daniel Govar, Tony Moy, Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, and Josh Greathouse. And I also met Baymax! (Scott Adsit.) And Gareth David Lloyd! (Ianto Jones on Torchwood.) And And, and, and…oh, I’m sure I’m forgetting a ton of fun people I saw and things I did, but, well – that’s Dragon Con! It’s big, and crazy, and a bit overwhelming; and in the end, you look back and it might just be a bit of a blur – but it’s a fun blur, nonetheless!

I took tons of pictures at Dragon Con, which you can see here. And then, stay tuned for the aforementioned Dragon Con interviews, and Servo Lectio!

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