Category: Columns

Martha Thomases: Malevolent Ways!

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It seems that every few weeks there’s a new animated feature at the movie theater. This is quite different from my youth, when only Disney made full-length cartoons (that were distributed in Ohio) and they took three to four years to produce.

It seems that every television channel has at least some animated content, a lot of it aimed at grown-ups. This is quite different from my youth, when all cartoons were for kids, and were on networks on Saturday mornings and local channels, maybe for an hour after school.

We can have an interesting conversation about why animation grew up and expanded its audience. Was it the influence of anime? The Baby Boomers loving cartoons so much we refuse to give them up, just like with comic books? The (relative) inexpensive production compared to feature films, especially as computers improved?

Who cares why? More animation means more choices for those of us who love the medium.

Recently I had a chance to cyber-meet Jim Cirile and Tanya Klein, of Coverage Ink Films. They’re making the first American animated horror film, Malevolent, starring Morena Baccarin, Ray Wise, and William Shatner, among others. Go to the link, and you can donate to the IndieGoGo campaign. There’s cool stuff there.

1) You say Malevolent is the first American 2-D animated horror film. Was there one (or more) in 3-D?

Tanya Klein (TK): Not that we’re aware of, and we’ve looked pretty hard. These are mostly done in Japan. We’re not sure why there has never been an animated horror feature film made in the US.

Jim Cirile (JC): The closest we can find is Dead Space, which was an amazing film, 2-D animation, but it was sci-fi horror. Ours is just straight-up horror.

2) Why do you think animation is a good technique for horror? What can you do with animation that you can’t do with live-action?

TK: You can do anything with live action that you can do with animation nowadays thanks to CGI. That barrier has been crossed. Just watch any Marvel movie for evidence of that. In our case, it’s more about creating a cool and unique experience. We wanted to do something that’s never been done before and do it in a really fresh way. Animation gives us the ability to have a lot more production value than we might have been able to afford otherwise as a small indie production, while also allowing us to go anywhere the psychology of the story dictates, with off-the-hook visuals. The sacrifice is losing some of the details of the actor’s faces, but great voices actors know how to put all of that into the voice.

JC: There’s something really awesome and unique about this type of experience as animation. We were wondering if people would feel the same level of engagement as with live action. So we screened a scene at a local university for a class full of film students to gauge their reactions. And it was amazing. Even though people were watching drawings, they were gripped. The drama of the scene carries through.

3) Awesome cast. How did you get them?

TK: We were very, very lucky! Our producers Cindi Rice and Paige Barnett, and Jim and I, made a list of all the people we’ve worked with in the past, and then our wish list cast. Amazingly, none of the people we’d worked with were available! That meant we had to go in cold to the rest of the cast. Morena (Baccarin) was our first choice for Gamemaster. She’s just so perfect for the role of the aloof, dispassionate manipulator with perhaps a hidden softer side. We went in cold to her agent, and Morena responded to the script. She told us she loved the darkness of it. How cool is that?

JC: Ray Wise (Twin Peaks) also has plenty of cred as the demented, sociopath patriarch Cyrus DeKalb. Again, we went in cold; same with Bill Moseley (House of 1000 Corpses.)

TK: However, we did have a personal connection to William Shatner. Jim is friends with his son-in-law.

JC: Yeah, makeup artist extraordinaire Andrew Clement, who also did the Deadpool makeup with Bill Corso. I asked Andrew if there was any chance of approaching Mr. Shatner, and he laughed because of course he gets asked this a lot. But he put in a good word for us, and then next thing we know, we get a phone call – “Jim, Tanya, it’s William Shatner. Tell me about your project.” We almost fell over.

TK: So we pitched Malevolent to William Shatner on the phone, and he said to send over the script and an offer. And the Great Bird of the Galaxy smiled upon us, because Mr. Shatner really liked the script.

JC: He’s crazy-busy, and we’re huge fans, so it was such an honor for us for him to come on board. What an incredible man. And by the way, wait till you hear him in this role. You’ve never heard William Shatner “dark.” Wow!

4) The animation (at least in the trailer) seems to me to be limited, sort of like Archer. Will it be more fluid when it’s finished? Was this a style choice or an economic one?

JC: Archer is the exact style we are shooting for. The animated is somewhat limited by budget. Fortunately, one can use the limitations in an artistic and interesting way. As well, Adobe After Effects can fill in the in-betweens that used to have to be drawn by hand. It’s the only way to get the project finished on our budget level.

TK: We will be using a few CG effects in the movie, but it will be 99% hand-drawn.

5) It seems to me (again, my perspective could be wrong) that there are a lot of women working on this film, more than just acting talent. Is this unusual?

TK: So glad you noticed! You know, of course, there’s a fair amount of sexism in Hollywood even to this day. Just look at the DGA and WGA statistics for the amount of women hired in any given year. It’s generally a pretty low percentage. It’s insane, of course. We are fortunate to be working with two kick-ass producers – Cindi Rice and Paige Barnett. About half our art and color team are women as well.

JC: Our director is a dude, and so am I, of course. But the movie focus is on a very complex female character, Miriam, and her relationship with two other complex women – her messed-up sister Kelsey (Florence Hartigan) and Gamemaster. Both represent different aspects of Miriam’s personality in a way – the one that just wants to fall apart and vanish into a haze of drugs, and the one who wants to be powerful and stoic and invulnerable. I think these are all not just things women can relate to, but all of us.

TK: But it’s especially cool I think, in this sort of creative endeavor, to have such a cool team with the unique perspectives all of us bring, and if that in some way comes across as female empowerment and kick-ass, then hell yes, bring it!

6) How will Malevolent be distributed?

TK: It’s a little too early soon to talk distribution. We’ve met with several companies already and will be meeting with more I’m sure. We’ll see where it goes.

JC: This probably won’t be a wide theatrical release, but certainly a festival and limited release run could be in the offing. Certainly comic-cons. We’ll see what makes the most sense when we’re done with the movie this fall.

  1. What is your background? How did you come to animation?

JC: I have a degree in animation and fine art and am a huge animation fan, but soon after college I realized I didn’t have the patience for it, and that my skills were better suited for writing and producing.

TK: It was actually our producers Cindi Rice and Paige Barnett who suggested doing Malevolent as an animated movie. They had done animation for Epic Level Entertainment, such as Xombie and the motion comic sequence from the hit FearNet/Machinima web series Bite Me. Paige thought that going animated would help us stand out. And we all looked at each other and the clouds parted, and it was like, wow, that’s brilliant. As near as we can tell, no one had ever done an animated horror movie in the US before.

JC: Developing scripts is actually our day job – through www.CoverageInk.com.

TK: We develop scripts with writers, producer, and managers and help hone that material and those voices until they’re nice and shiny. The number one issue we’ve seen is, as Jim said, writers not learning the rudiments. There are so many resources out there – online classes, blogs, books, YouTube, etc. It’s easier than ever to learn what you need to learn to be a writer/filmmaker. I took online producing classes recently through one website. Don’t be afraid to rewrite! That’s where the magic happens. Malevolent literally took I think 23 drafts.

JC: Yep, literally submitting it to our Coverage Ink readers for analysis draft after draft until it finally was racking up those ‘considers.’ So don’t be afraid to go for it, and understand that it’s always a learning process. Filmmaking and writing are crafts. They can be learned.

8) Favorite horror movies?

TK: I have to give it up for Army of Darkness. A great combination of genres. Brilliantly anarchic. I’m more of a literary horror fan – King, Koontz and so forth. Sean of the Dead was another great one.

JC: Evil Dead II, The Fly (remake), Alien and Aliens, American Werewolf in London, Dawn of the Dead, Texas Chainsaw I and II, Serpent and the Rainbow, Jacob’s Ladder, The Thing (Carpenter)… it’s a pretty big list, but I tend to like horror films that bring something unexpected or out of the box to the genre. Zombies, vampires, etc., all bore me.

9) Anything else to add?

TK: This has been our geeky passion project for two years now, and we’ve put everything on the line to make this film happen. We had to literally build a team from scratch and figure out how to coordinate everyone, located in 13 different countries and time zones. All to make Malevolent happen. So we’re excited, nervous, scared – you know, all that good stuff. But the amazing thing is that the reaction so far has been amazing, and people seem to really dig what we’re doing. Hopefully we’ll knock it out of the park and show everyone what you can do.

JC: We’re all about DIY and writer empowerment. For years screenwriters have given away their power — nothing happens with your material unless someone else buys it. Thanks to the Internet, crowdfunding, low-cost HD cameras and so forth, now anyone can make movies. It’s a beautiful thing. So get out there and make it happen!

Tweeks Scratch 9 Volume 1 & 2 Review

We love cat videos, superheroes, and comics, so when we met Rob Worley at Long Beach Comic Expo and he introduced us to his Eisner Award-Nominated adventures of a cat named Scratch how could we not pick up both Volumes 1 & 2?

So, Scratch is a cat who hates baths, but loves his human, Penelope. He’s your basic ordinary house kitty until he’s kidnapped by a mad scientist (whose name you’ll see Anya has problems pronouncing) and ends up with the ability to team up with any of his nine previous lives when he gets caught in sticky situations.

In Volume 1, The Pet Project & Cat Tails, you get to meet Scratch and his friends, but in Volume 2, Cat of Nine Worlds, things get crazy when a new cat, time travel and 9 magic stones that when brought together give ultimate power are brought into the picture.

This is a great series for kids (Anya says ages 4 – 12, while Maddy thinks this is all-ages fun — especially for cat lovers). Watch our video review for the deets!

Dennis O’Neil: The One Right Way!

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Splat! Splibble! Ghosh!

Uh oh, here comes another one.

KLATLAM!

Okay, let’s close the metaphorical door…no, let’s slam the door on my cutsey way of sneaking up on an answer to the question I posed last week, which was something like: If I can’t teach writing — and I admit that I can’t — why do respectable institutions pay me to teach writing?

We’ll get to that gibberish at the top of the page in a bit, but first, let’s make a distinction between writing and creativity. I don’t know of anyone who has sussed out a reliable procedure for teaching creativity and I’m sure multitudes are trying. So let’s just drop the subject.

But writing? Different thing, and that brings us to the gibberish, which is supposed to be the noise information makes when it strikes a student because that, dear companions, is what I have done while standing in front of whiteboards. No, not fabricate sound effects, but hurl information at the eager faces: give them everything I know about the subject of the day, hoping that they will remember some of it and that what they remember will be useful. I’ve found that I can talk for… oh say twenty hours over the course of a semester about facts pertaining to writing – left-brain stuff that will fit into English sentences. Then, if I allow myself a little blue sky, or bring in a guest, or have responsive students willing to enter into dialogues voila! job done and where’s the nearest Starbucks?

Note: When imparting information, I never claim to be teaching the way to do anything. We have a mantra: There is seldom any one absolutely, inarguable, unimpeachably right way to do anything. There is just what’s worked for a lot of people a lot of times and maybe you’ll benefit from knowing about it.

Can I hear an Amen?

The matter of script format is sure to arise in any comics writing discussion and at first glance this seems like a no-brainer. I mean, a format is a format and all the instructor has to do is show one to the class and then take a bathroom break, right? That would indeed be the case if the subject were writing for television and/or movies. There is a widely accepted format for screenwriting and you’d best adhere to it. (But fear not: your friendly neighborhood software dealer will supply you with all you need.) Comics, though? I can’t show you the standard comics script format because there isn’t one. Every prolific writer seems to find, or evolve, a format that suits them and these range from the minimalist to the dense and detailed and I say blessings upon all. If it’s okay with your editor and with your collaborator(s), it’s okay.

We’ll probably revisit this topic, maybe not next week, but soon. For now, another amen and I’m off to play hooky.

Molly Jackson: Binge On!

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This week, I was totally stumped on a topic for this column. I turned to my fellow columnist, Joe Corallo, for help and he immediately mentioned the exact thing I’ve been chatting about for the past week. Not really sure why I blanked on it because it is such a big topic right now. So let’s talk about Young Justice.

Young Justice, in case you don’t know, follows a group of young DC heroes as they learn to work as a team and find their place amongst the Justice League. As the series grows through seasons 1 and 2, we watch the young heroes change into the heroes we always wanted them to be. Sadly, it ended on a cliffhanger. It is not based on the comic of the same name but does build off the DC universe.

The DC and Warner Bros. Animation partnership has put out some of the best animated shows to date. I’m confident in stating that Batman: The Animated Series is arguably the best animated show of all time. However, Young Justice is one of the shows that always pops up when people talk animation as the gone too soon. It’s like the Firefly of animated shows.

In the past few years, Netflix has been the resurrection hotspot for a lot of TV shows.  We got the final season of The Killing, a new season of Arrested Development and even the love-or-hate Fuller House. Netflix has the capability to track well trending shows and cherry pick the best ones to revive. And for the most part, they are good at creating original shows, like their stellar partnership with Marvel or their independent creations like Orange is the New Black.

The reasoning for Young Justice being cancelled was poor toy sales. I do understand that; this show appeals more to an older audience, so they are less likely to buy basic toys and more likely to buy higher end pieces. On the other hand, Netflix only cares about streaming numbers and if there is enough interest to bring in some new subscribers. In that case, I think we can do it. There were rumors that Netflix was already considering this, but those are probably not true. However, that momentum should not be lost.

The producers Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti are ready to come back. Character designer Phil Bourassa sounds like he would come back. Illustrator Christopher Jones is supporting this push. Plus, a group of the voice actors have come out and said they are on board. We just need to show Netflix and the WB that it is worth it for them.

So for all you people out there who haven’t seen Young Justice, watch it. Don’t have Netflix? Find your friend that does and watch it with them. (Everyone knows someone with Netflix. Everyone.). Give this show a chance to grow again. #BingeYoungJustice

Mike Gold: Defying Censorship

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Whereas ComicMix comments on all popular media – geek culture, as Ed Catto says – this particular commentary is about comic books. However, let me warn you: it is phrased in the terms of motion pictures. It could be applied to all mass communications.

There exists, and have always existed, groups of people with their noses so high in the air you’d think they’d drown in a drizzle. These self-appointed moral police seek to prevent everybody from experience media that they find objectionable. Of course, having an opinion and sharing that opinion is our constitutional right and I have no quarrel about this. Sadly, these people often attempt to have those books, movies, magazines and similar folderol removed from stores, libraries and theaters. They have held and continue to hold record burnings – for the past sixty-five years they have focused on rock’n’roll and particularly rock performed by black artists… although when John Lennon flippantly remarked the Beatles were “bigger than Christ” a whole lotta Beatles records went up in self-righteous smoke.

One of the first nationwide organizations to try to regulate our popular culture is the Catholic Legion of Decency. Since 1933 the Legion has “rated” every movie they could lay their hands on, outing those they don’t like as morally unobjectionable, morally objectionable in part, or outright condemned by the Legion of Decency. They also have positive ratings, but that’s beside the point. In 1995 they helped organize the Parents Television Council to do to teevee what they’ve done to movies.

Once again, I have no problem with organizations offering “advice” to their members, and the Legion of Decency and its ilk are no different. But ever since our media became mass, these groups have gone well beyond an advisory role and tried to get what they don’t like banned so that no one could think for themselves.

As distribution methods became more ubiquitous and independent thinking spread, the effectiveness of these organizations began to wane. They’re still around, there are still censorship boards (non-government; I use the word censorship in its broader use) of all sorts, and people still lose their jobs for propagating such art. But the glory days of censorship are mostly behind us. Case in point:

This month, Turner Classic Movies is presenting a series highlighting movies found objectionable by the Catholic Legion of Decency. Lots of great stuff – pre-Code movies such as Condemned, M, and Babyface and later flicks such as And God Created Woman, Kiss Me Stupid and The Carey Treatment are among the 27 films being featured.

Equally significant in the “passage of time” sweepstakes is that these movies will be

hosted by film critic Sister Rose Pacatte, who also is the founding director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies. She can provide perspective for those whose upbringing was not influenced by the Legion.

Of course, history has taught us we must constantly deploy and defend out rights. Each week, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund http://cbldf.org sends out an email noting various acts of censorship across the world, and I know that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Zealots – a separate entity from those who are religious – do not give up. Ever.

Nor can we.

Kudos to Turner Classic Movies and to Time Warner, its parent company. Such courage always is welcome.

Box Office Democracy: 10 Cloverfield Lane

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I am not prepared to be this afraid of John Goodman.

I don’t remember a time in my life before the Roseanne show. It was a staple growing up, even if I didn’t start watching it regularly until the last few seasons. John Goodman is a lovable funnyman, and no amount of playing shady characters in Coen Brothers movies was ever going to shake me of that conviction. I was not prepared for the sheer mesmerizing terror that was Goodman’s performance in 10 Cloverfield Lane, a role I never would have expected for him but one that he embodies so totally and perfectly that pushes everything to another level. This is the kind of performance that should win awards but never will because every award-giving body has decided to become self-parody at this point and only send home statues for ludicrous acting clichés.

There’s such a pervasive feeling of menace coming off of Goodman in this film and it is honestly incredible. He spends 80% of the time playing Howard as a quiet, almost nervous, man and so his violent outbursts feel so much bigger because of the contrast. There’s also something to be said for the way the sets are laid out and the film is shot, it makes his physical presence feel so much bigger, like a tiger in a subway tunnel a perpetual threat with no way around it. Howard ebbs and flows from genial host to quiet threat to barely contained rage to completely uncontrolled like some kind of inscrutable tide on an alien planet. 10 Cloverfield Lane would be tense even reading the screenplay, but the way Goodman dominates every frame he’s in turns everything up even higher and makes for some unbelievable tension.

I don’t want to underrate John Gallagher Jr’s contribution to this film (he does fine work and has a devastating monologue) but Mary Elizabeth Winstead is the other half of this film. She plays opposite this dominating presence and holds her own. Where Howard is imposing dangerous force, Michelle is calculating and clever. She doesn’t always know what’s going on but she’s always looking for the next thing, the way out, she never lets herself get too complacent. The two feel like equals in an asymmetrical game of chess, but so too does Winstead feel like the equal of Goodman, and that is the highest praise I can give an actor this week.

It’s hard to praise anything else about the movie because it all just seems to serve these performances. It’s well shot, but it isn’t particularly dynamic or new feeling. The script is a fine effort and has enough levels that I was arguing about character motivations on the car ride home, but there isn’t that much that happens. It has the kind of score that seemingly every remotely scary movie has these days saved by a couple great needle drops on the soundtrack. It’s a sign of good filmmaking that these things fade in to the background, there’s more craft in appearing to do nothing than in being as flashy as possible.

The billion-dollar question for Bad Robot and Paramount here is “Does this make Cloverfield in to a credible anthology horror series?” and the answer seems to be a solid maybe. I’ve seen so many social media posts this weekend comparing the twist ending in 10 Cloverfield Lane to The Twilight Zone, and while that’s not giving the former enough credit and grossly oversimplifying the latter it would need to be the model. If they’re all going to be as compelling as 10 Cloverfield Lane, I would happily watch a movie under this umbrella every few years. If they’re going to be more like the original I’m dramatically less interested and there’s the problem; I do not trust the people at Bad Robot to make enough good movies in a row without a prominent franchise to prop them up. I hope they can prove me wrong.

Emily S. Whitten: About Letting Go

There are times in life when people must know when not to let goEmily-S.-Whitten. Balloons are designed to teach small children this. – Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett was, in the above as in everything, a wise, wise man. The most valuable things in the world are often ones we should hold onto lest we lose them; and not only hold onto, but treasure.

I certainly treasure the experiences I’ve had while writing my weekly column for ComicMix. Chief amongst these is the valuable experience of actually having to sit down and write something out of my own head for publication on a deadline week after week (despite it having been, hrm, occasionally a somewhat negotiable deadline (thank you, Mike and Glenn, for your patience!). And through the weekly column I’ve had the opportunity not only to develop my discipline as a writer, but also to trot out and work on polishing up several different styles of writing; to continually improve my abilities as an interviewer; to sporadically embark on flights of whimsy and ridiculousness that have nevertheless been surprisingly well received; and to determine just what my opinion was on a variety of relevant comics and genre entertainment subjects, and then how to share it in the way that most reflected my true feelings and yet seemed least likely to result in reams of angry comments.

Of course I also enjoy traveling to different conventions with or as a representative of the ComicMix family; interviewing creators and recapping events, and making new friends through my writing, my travels, my interviews, and my work with other ComicMixers. Writing (almost) every week for ComicMix since May 1, 2012 has opened my horizons, allowed me to have amazing experiences, and certainly changed me for the better.

However, occasionally you have to let go of the things you treasure, even if just for a time. And unfortunately, I find myself at one of those times, due to a convergence of factors; and am thus going to be taking a hiatus from my weekly column here at ComicMix. The main factor is actually one that I’ve been dealing with for over seven months. In short, last July I had a bad fall, and I’ve been living with the repercussions ever since. And while I am generally on the mend, regular doctor visits, medical tests, and twice-weekly physical therapy have sucked a lot of my time away; not to mention that, goshdarn it, this “healing” thing kind of hurts and takes a lot out of you, physically. And, well, then there’s the possibility that I may have to have surgery to fix my thumb because of this (side note: did you know that one of the side effects of getting an MRI on your thumb is to have your entire arm fall asleep? Ooooh, it feels so weird). The sum total of this is that one morning I had to look in the mirror and remind myself that I am not actually a superhero (although if I was I would be awesome) and that sometimes, it’s okay not to be able to do all the things at once, and that if you find yourself, e.g., being very tired and having trouble making your deadline week to week, perhaps you need to take a break from having said deadline.

You might wonder why it took me approximately seven months to realize this. However, as always, Sir Terry has a quote that is particularly apropos:

The whole of life is just like watching a film. Only it’s as though you always get in ten minutes after the big picture has started, and no-one will tell you the plot, so you have to work it out all yourself from the clues.

And then suddenly, all the clues come together, and you’ve solved the mystery of life!

Just kidding.

What really happens, maybe, if you’re lucky, is that you eventually figure out one step you might need to take to improve a current situation. Of course even then there’s no guarantee that it’s the right step. And if you take it, and you let go of that balloon you’ve been treasuring, the fear is that it will be lost forever up in the vast unknowable sky, never to return. All of the work that went into those weekly columns; the vast readership, so painstakingly built (hello, all several of you!); friendships formed in part from my identity as a genre entertainment columnist – gone! Just gone! It’s enough to make me want to hold on tightly to the balloon’s bright ribbon and never let go. But fortunately, columns and readers and friendships aren’t actually balloons that will disappear forever if you let go for a bit; and change can be good, and it can be necessary, and it can lead to new adventures and, after all, sometimes, you must make the hard choice to leap fearlessly off a cliff (or at least move your life onto a slightly different path) because:

If you don’t turn your life into a story, you just become a part of someone else’s story.

And nobody wants that.

Not that my story is actually going to be too different around here. Because despite taking a hiatus from the weekly columns, I am not leaving you entirely, dear readers! I fully intend to remain as Your Faithful Convention Correspondent for all of the conventions I attend (which this year looks to include Awesome Con, San Diego Comic Con, Dragon Con, and New York Comic Con).

Also, depending on circumstances, I hope to return to the weekly posts at some as-yet undetermined time. So actually, it’s less like I’m letting go of my balloon, and more like it’s just been tied onto an extremely long ribbon which I can still hold onto, and we’ll still be connected by that ribbon, and really, that’s not so scary after all.

That said, I will miss my weekly interactions here, and wish that I had infinite time and energy to do the infinite numbers of things I constantly want to be doing. But as a wise man (I bet you can guess who!) once said:

So much universe, and so little time.

So until that time in the distant future when I’m back each week: Vigilate!

Joe Corallo: Just Say What?

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As many of you know, Nancy Reagan recently passed away at the age of 94. Her legacy, as well as her husband’s, invoke incredibly powerful emotions from both ends of the political spectrum. We’ve been reminded of that this past Friday. Some of you reading this may not be aware of Nancy Reagan’s connection to comics. It’s a very loose connection, don’t get me wrong, but it’s there. I’ll try not to embellish this connection to avoid having the townspeople show up at my doorstep with pitchforks and torches in hand.

Anyone aware of the Reagan’s and life in America in the 80s knows of Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign, which, ironically is my stance on the Republican Party today. What you might not be aware of is back in September of 1986, Nancy Reagan was greeted by members of the Defenders of the Earth including Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Lothar and Mandrake the Magician. No, not the “real” Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Lothar and Mandrake the Magician. They were merely actors portraying the characters on a five-day coast-to-coast tour to help kids say no to drugs. I imagine the real Defenders of the Earth were too busy saving us all from Ming the Merciless to tour the country themselves.

The ReagansAt the time, Defenders of the Earth was a cartoon produced by Marvel Productions in association with King Features Entertainment. King Features owned the above mentioned comics properties used in the cartoon. They added a bunch of kids to the mix to make it more relatable to them (I guess) and in turn we got a cartoon that was good enough for one season. In that one season we got the episode titled “The Deadliest Battle”. The deadliest battle, of course, was against drugs.

Yes, drugs. In this episode, Rick Gordon (Flash Gordon’s son) is being pressured not only by school to make good grades, but by his father to be a better hero. Randomly, a suspicious juvenile at Rick Gordon’s school offers Rick drugs unsolicited and for free in the middle of the school’s busy hallway. I can’t quite tell if that was a lack of understanding on how these things happen or a cynical assumption that kids would actually be that stupid. Anyway, we then have a scene in a classroom with a teacher going over D.A.R.E. which stands for drug abuse resistance education. We even get a nice shout out to Nancy Reagan with the teachers saying, “Just say no.”

Rick takes the drugs anyway which do in fact make him feel a whole lot better, but it comes at a high price. The drugs also make Rick absent minded, causing him to forget to finish setting up their new defense system. This allows Ming the Merciless to come right in to take out the Defenders of the Earth once and for all.

After Flash Gordon uses some excessively harsh words with his son, one of the other kids on the team is able to help save the day and teach Rick a valuable lesson about responsibility and how it’s never okay to take anything that will get your mind off of how the walls of your life are closing in on you.

Flash Gordon does at least acknowledge that he’s been too harsh with his son Rick, which was a nice touch. I was expecting something that put the entire weight of the drug problem on Rick and the dealer.

If it wasn’t for Nancy Reagan, we might have never been able to experience this animated gem. If you want to experience it for yourself again or for the first time, you can check it out <a href=”

. Many other cartoons also tackled drug prevention at the time including Thundercats, He-Man, Jem and the Holograms, and many others. And the drug war legacy still plagues us to this very day. However, Nancy Reagan didn’t meet with the Thundercats, or He-Man, or Jem and the Holograms. When she got a chance to meet the heroes to help kids say no, she chose comics heroes. Or her scheduler did. Either way, when she wanted help getting her message to kids she met with classic comics heroes that have stood the test of time to this very day. To some of us at least.

Did Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign help people? Maybe a few. Did it give people a false sense of security and a cramp in their arms from patting themselves on the back too much for doing something about an issue that over time ended up destroying countless more lives than it ever saved while also wasting an unbelievably large amount of our taxpayer dollars?

You bet! Maybe she should have asked the Defenders of the Earth to help end the Cold War instead.

Mindy Newell: The Whole World Is Watching

It Can’t Happen Here Sinclair LewisThis is one of those times when I’ve got nothing. Maybe it’s because I spent the last week sick as a dog, as the saying goes. I wonder what the origin of that axiom is – why not “sick as a cat?” Or a horse, or an elephant? Anyway, I’m still feeling kind of tired and worn out, and I’ve had a headache all day, and I’ve sat down to write the column and gotten up and walked away about a million times, or I’ve started and deleted about a hundred paragraphs.

I keep dwelling on Donald Trump’s campaign. It reads like a political satire, doesn’t it? Or worse, a political dystopian warning, something on the order of It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis, or The Plot Against America by Philip Roth. I know just what the book jacket copy would say:

A businessman who has stamped his name on many diverse monuments to American capitalism, from gleaming monolithic skyscrapers to verdantly lush golf courses to resorts for the very rich and powerful. He has written books that have topped the best-seller lists, and has hosted a successful reality show. Now he has decided that it is up to him to save his nation from the pathetic fools who sit in his beloved country’s seats of power, and for years have refused to take him seriously, though they have gladly reached out their hands and opened their pockets for his money. In a staged rally complete with hired actors, he announces his candidacy for the President of the United States.

Media pundits shake their collective heads and laugh at him on-and-off-camera, but their bosses tell them to give him plenty of airtime, because it makes for a good story. And the public is responding. Every time they feature the guy the ratings zoom through the roof.

But pretty soon nobody is laughing.

No doubt it would be optioned for a movie before the final manuscript went off to the printing press.

But this ain’t a movie, folks.

Even though we may all just end up paying for the price of admission.

Ed Catto: What Makes the Best Comic Shops?

Deweys Comic City

In his weekly New York Time column last week, the New York Times’ wine expert Eric Asimov wrote about how to pick a wine store. He stressed that if a person cared about wine and wanted to drink better and more confidently, the best thing one can do is to find a good wine store and then cultivate a good relationship with the staff.

There’s an enormous amount of choices for wine and good stores help consumers select and choose more wisely. They might do this with the way they arrange the wines, or with a friendly and knowledgeable staff or even through handwritten recommendations placed near the wine.

As I reach this wine column, I was drawing the inevitable parallels between wine stores and comics shops. Geek culture also offers such a diverse tapestry of choices. It can be difficult for fans and consumers to navigate through it all without a little curated help. So I reached out to a few smart geek friends to learn hear about their favorite comics shops. Here’s what they had to say:

First up is Dan Greenfield, the editor of the 13th Dimension. As a suburban guy who commutes into New York City, he had some interesting thoughts:

MidtownComicsByLuigiNovi“The best stores are the ones that are clean and make you feel welcome. It’s a simple business approach, really: ‘Be a good store’,” said Dan. “Nobody wants to go into a creepy, grimy hovel, and nobody wants to be ridiculed for their choices. I really look forward to going to Midtown Comics’ Grand Central location on Wednesdays. There’s a real “Cheers” vibe. The staff is friendly, knowledgeable and really helpful. The place is brightly lit, too, which really does make a difference. I know a lot of the staff by name and they greet me when I come in. It’s great.”

“I might be spoiled by being in New York but there are more good stores than bad ones around here. There are plenty of choices. But I do know some of those old school, stereotypical stores are still out there. And I’m not knocking old-school stores per se. I love the classic, overstuffed comics shop but if the person behind the counter is gross, I’m never coming back. If they’re friendly, cool, helpful and well stocked, then I’m happy.”

Andrew Walsh is a life-long reader/collector and a regular at New York Comic Con – both as a fan and a professional. He’s often talked about his local comic shop, Comic Zone, and I asked him to elaborate on what makes this store in North Syracuse, N.Y. so popular.

comic-zone-7291142“Why do I love Comix Zone? First: the people,” said Andrew. “Greg the owner (for 25 years) is the coolest! Answers any email, any dumb question, orders all the wacky stuff I read (and that no one else reads). Always smiling, always chatty. Bend over backwards to find something for you, old or new.”

“The three dudes running the register have all been there for years and years. Each Wednesday, I feel very much like Norm, from Cheers. Everybody knows my name. They see me coming and have my weekly pulls already on the counter.”

“I’m always walking into the funnest ‘geek’ conversations. Employee vs. employee, or vs. customers. As you know, us geeks are opinionated, and like to share our opinions. These are conversations you can only have at a comic book store! The PTA meetings aren’t discussing pros and cons of the different Batman actors, and who was the best! (Ahem – Adam West, by the way.) The neighbors at our block party aren’t bashing 90’s Image comics (horrible). Only there, on Wednesday, is where all things nerd are passionately discussed!”

“Comix Zone is awesome at customer appreciation. Several times a year there is “The Big Sale!!” Any back issue priced at 6 bucks or less is 99 cents! And, anything over that is 1/2 off. Wow!! In today’s pricey comic book scene ($6 bucks for a copy of Dark Knight #3), you have to be choosey. I make a mental note of something that looks good, and then when “Big Sale” time comes around, I get there early and swoop them up. I’ve gotten some really good arcs on the cheap! And an even bigger Wow!! for holiday time. Black Friday is almost the same as “The BIG Sale”, except that everything under $6 is 49 cents!“

Rochester _Andrew_Rita_CAjpg“Finally, for one more bout of customer appreciation, the “Weekend Before Christmas BIG Sale” rules. The first 100 people in line get grab bags of 30 bucks plus comics and posters. And ten of those sweet bags contain $100.00 gift certificates. I’ve been lucky to get one twice in the last three years. Boy do I feel appreciated!”

“The store is well lit, always clean, super organized. It has a great sound system, and big TV’s on the wall. I’ve walked in on Ghostbusters probably every three weeks. Raiders of the Lost Ark was on this week, “said Andrew. “Nothing inspires comic book commerce better than a John Williams soundtrack!”

Art Cloos is an educator with a passionate fan streak that runs a mile wide. He writes frequently about comics for Gemstone. Art is always a friendly and familiar face at the many tri-state area comic conventions.

“My standard by which I compare all other comic shops was the first comic book store I ever went to, Little Nemo’s in Forest Hills Queens NY (followed closely by the great Mike’s Comic Hut on Northern Blvd in Queens NY and which deserves a story all its own),” said Art.

“I remember it being near the corner of Ascan Avenue and Austin Street and later discovered Mike Carbonaro had a store right around the corner. This was probably in the mid 1970s when my dad drove me over there after he got home from work one day during the week (we lived in Flushing/Bayside at the time) after a lot of begging on my part.”

“I discovered it thru ads in Marvel Comics and not yet knowing about the Little Nemo comic strip thought the name was rather odd. I later learned that it was one of the earliest comic shops in the country but at that time I did not know that. For me it was the idea that there was a store devoted to just comics that really got the juices going for me and I had to get there and see it ‘live’.”

“In that tiny place I discovered more vintage comics, posters, and original art from the Golden, Silver and the at the time very new Bronze Age on the walls then I ever thought I would see in my entire life.

“It was as over whelming to me as going to my first Phil Seuling Comic Art Convention was in 1974. Of course it smelled like a comic shop with that great paper smell that vintage collectors love. Being a young kid I had no real money to spend but I remember buying something (I suspect a Detective Comics) and I remember the owner whose name I did not know then, Joe Parente, put away a Batman Annual for me on a shelf making the point (quite loudly too) that it would be there when next I could convince my dad to bring me back with money to spend.

“So when you ask me what makes a good comic shop I think Little Nemo recognizing that the comic shops of today probably cannot replicate the sense of wonder that people felt when they entered Nemo’s for the first time but which the best ones still try their best to emulate in some fashion. “

TV Covention KickoffLast weekend saw a valiant effort in the many of the nation’s comic shops. The In-store Comic Convention was designed to be a comic convention in your local comic shop. Interviews and fun promotions were shown locally in participating stores.

I enjoyed the convention at Dewey’s Comic City, a great store in Madison, NJ. For over 20 years, local entrepreneur Dan Veltre has been making geek culture for fans – and this weekend was no exception. I look forward to more great events like this in the future.

And yes, aside from always-enjoyable wine tastings, I don’t thing wine shops have anything on these retailers.

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