The Mix : What are people talking about today?

Mindy Newell: Doctor Who, Queen Elizabeth, and Donald Trump

matt-smith-transforms-into-prince-philip-for-netflixs-the-crown-3737813Before I get to the heart of my column today, I just wanted to mention that if you’re jonesing for Matt Smith, may I suggest The Crown, the new Netflix original series, about Queen Elizabeth. No, not the red-headed daughter of Anne Boleyn and Henry Tudor (a.k.a. Henry VIII) whose story has been told numerous times on both small and big screens, but Queen Elizabeth II, the current English monarch whose reign is at 62 years and counting.

The erstwhile titular star of Doctor Who plays Prince Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, who married Elizabeth in 1947 after officially giving up his royal relationship to the Greek and Danish royal families and becoming a naturalized British citizen. I have never been a fan of Prince Philip – he has always seemed to me to be the epitome of the “ruling class,” cold, distant, and without empathy or sympathy for us working slobs. In fact, I’ve often wondered just what the hell Elizabeth Windsor ever saw in him. However, as played by Matt – at least so far, I’ve only seen the first two episodes (before King George’s death from cancer, though he is already terminally ill) and concentrating on the young royal couple’s carefree life – the young Philip is sexy, athletic, incredibly handsome, loving, and an all-around great guy. He even takes over the renovating of Clarence House.

And attention Matt Smith fans! He has an adorable butt, as seen in a bedroom scene… and according to the RadioTimes website, more are coming! Quoting from the article:

“The British actor – who stars alongside [Claire] Foy in Peter Morgan’s lavish tale of Queen Elizabeth II’s early years – bares his backside in the occasional bedroom scene, but not for the reasons one might expect.

“’A crucial thing is that Philip sleeps naked. That’s a fact. That was something that we found out… They weren’t put in – it’s just the fact that there are bed scenes. And what do you do, put Philip in a pair of [sic] pyjamas? That’s not right for the character.’ Smith joked that the scenes were ‘actually the best bit of acting I did in the whole series. No word of a lie. It was my most truthful moment.’”

As I said, I’ve only seen the first two episodes – the only reason I stopped was that it was getting really late and my eyelids were growing heavy – but so far, so good. (By the way, an added bonus is watching John Lithgow as the once and re-elected Prime Minister Winston Churchill.) So if you needing your Matt Smith fix, or just really missing Downton Abbey – I’ve been rebinging on the Crawley family, and now that I think of it, my guess is that they would all be still alive in 1947. Well, maybe except for the Dowager Countess Violet, but I wouldn’t really be surprised if that redoubtable woman spit in the face of death – go stream The Crown.

•     •     •     •     •

doctor-doom-this-land-is-mine-3779083Tomorrow is Election Day. As I posted to Mary Mitchell, John Ostrander’s talented and lovely wife <snikt>

We interrupt this column for your columnist to watch the last 1:43 seconds of the Giants-Eagles game. Score is Giants 28, Eagles 23. Both teams are 4-3. Eagles just intercepted, in easy field goal range, but the Eagles are going for it. (They are now on the Giants’ 17-yard line.) Third down and ten. Now fourth and ten. Timeout – clock reset 10 seconds, now 1:28 left. Fourth down conversions for Eagles today is 1 for 3. Eagles quarterback Wentz throw a pass into the end zone to Eagles wide receiver Matthews. No good!!!!!!!! The Giants hang on to win!!!!!! <snikt>

As I was saying…

Tomorrow is Election Day. As I posted to Mary Mitchell, John Ostrander’s talented and lovely wife – I am absolutely terrified that he will win. And I have never been scared of the “other” candidate winning. Sad? Yes. Concerned? Yes. But never terrified.

For the record, while I am a registered Democrat – I became one back in 2008 so I could vote for Obama in the primary here in New Jersey – and while I do believe that the Republican Party has, since the election of Bill Clinton, completed its morphication into the Repugnantican Party, as those who follow me and/or on Facebook know – it might interest you to know that I have voted the Republican ticket before: for Tom Kean and Christie Whitman as New Jersey governors in their respective races, and, most notably, you will all drop dead with surprise now, for George H. W. “Pappy” Bush as President in his (first) 1988 campaign. (Unlike waaaaay too many Americans, I also consider foreign policy when choosing my Presidents, and as Director of the CIA, “Pappy” had the inside track; there’s a reason we didn’t go all the way into Baghdad in the Gulf War, and George H. W. Bush knew it and got it, i.e., the balance of power sometimes makes ugly bedfellows. See Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin in WW II for reference. Or if it’s too much work for you to do a little historical research, just look what’s happened in the Middle East since Bush, Jr. took out Saddam.) Besides, Barbara Bush is pro-choice, and I have always suspected that her husband is, too, even if it has not been politically expedient for him to say so.

So why am I so terrified of a President Trump? Let me put into comic book terms:

I would rather have Lex Luthor as President than Donald Trump. Why? Because Lex Luthor, archenemy of Superman, is smart. Trump is not.

I would vote for Wilson Fisk before I could ever vote for Donald Trump. Why? Because Wilson Fisk, archenemy of Daredevil, loves his woman beyond himself. Trump is a man whose women are only reflections of his own narcissism.

I would vote for Doctor Doom before I could ever vote for Donald Trump. Why? Because Doctor Doom, archenemy of the Fantastic Four, loves his country, Latveria. Trump does not love the United States; he loves Amerika.

Amerika.

Do you want a taste of Trump’s Amerika?

Here is the transcript of what President Obama said to the crowds attending his rally for Hillary Clinton on Friday night in Fayetteville, North Carolina as he was interrupted by a Trump supporter; the crowd was loudly booing and getting riled up:

“Hey! Listen up! I told you to be focused, and you’re not focused right now. Listen to what I’m saying. Hold up. Hold up! Hold up! Hold up! Everybody sit down, and be quiet for a second… First of all, we live in a country that respects free speech. Second of all, it looks like maybe he might’ve served in our military and we got to respect that. Third of all, he was elderly and we got to respect our elders. And fourth of all, don’t boo, vote.”

And here is what Trump told his supporters about the incident at his campaign rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania:

“There was a protester and a protester that likes us. And what happened is they wouldn’t put the cameras on him. They kept the cameras on Obama… He was talking to a protester, screaming at him, really screaming at him. By the way, if I spoke the way Obama spoke to that protester, they would say he became unhinged.”

‘Nuff said.

Ed Catto: On the Fringe

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In the old days of comics, and for me that was the 70s, the general nerd mindset was that you’d have to identify yourself as either a Marvel or a DC fan. And then read as many comics as possible from that publisher. You’d jump right in, find your favorite series and start reading the new issues while at the same time, working to complete your collection of the old back issues. In this way, the thinking went, you’d immerse yourself in the shared universe of each publisher.

robert-bell-001-7247519I was reminded of this as I recently came across a 1976 price guide from Robert Bell. He was one of the big back issue dealers back then – you’ve probably seen his ads in old comics. This pamphlet gave the prices for all the current (what we’d today call Silver Age and Bronze Age) Marvel comics. The unstated, overarching goal was to collect them all – and to keep your mother from throwing them out.

Oh, there was the realization of the futility of that quest. Collecting certain titles would be hard to complete. After all, if you were collecting Spider-Man in 1976, you knew that acquiring the first issue was just a pipe dream. After all – who had $110 to spend on one comic book?

Regardless, comic fans could keep up with the current issues and collect the old stuff. And if you loved Marvel or DC, you were definitely buying the best-selling “important” titles.

For example, no true Marvel fan wanted to be out of touch with the important adventures unfolding in the current issues of The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man or Thor.

Curiously, Iron Man was kind of a B-lister then, and it was totally acceptable to take pass on buying his comic on a regular basis.

robert-bell-002-2922410Since the 70s, so many strong publishers with fantastic comics have elbowed their way to center stage so that today there’s no longer that binary choice for fans of Marvel or DC.

Realistically, the “Big Two” still dominate the market in many comic shops and in the cinema. But that’s rapidly changing on both the comics shelves and onscreen. One needs only to point to the incredible success of The Walking Dead to acknowledge that increasingly there are more options and opportunities for other comic publishers.

Which brings me to the curious realization that I’ve become a fringe reader of Marvel Comics. Part of the change is attributable to age, of course, but there’s something bigger going on.

Today I find myself eschewing the popular titles and the crossovers, and I like to stay on the edge of the Marvel Universe. I skip the IMPORTANT comics and instead enjoy comics like

  • Spider-Woman
  • Black Widow (with that fun Chris Samnee art)
  • Silver Surfer (I’ve touched on that here
  • That “other Cap, Sam Wilson: Captain America
  • Moon Knight – I’m so impressed with Greg Smallwood’s art.
  • The weird part is that Marvel seems to offer up more and more “fringe” titles, but doesn’t seem to support them. New books with trivia answer characters like Solo and The Prowler keep popping up.

spider-woman-5-2014-6482938And series like Mockingbird debut, get their chance, but if they fail to click the plug is unceremoniously pulled. The Beat detailed this sad fate with the Mockingbird’s cancellation last week. Of course, there’s more to that story and the cyber bullying that ensued is a serious problem that really demands further exploration.

And while I’m losing track of my old friends in the Avengers and the X-Men, I’m perfectly content with the fine storytelling in these so-called fringe books.

Spider-Woman is a particularly guilty pleasure. Back in the 70s, we all were excited when the series debuted and I dutifully collected it. Even my brother did! Marv Wolfman, and then Mark Gruenwald and Chris Claremont, wrote some off-kilter classics. Since that series concluded, there have been many Spider-Woman reboots and relaunches. One would speculate this was due to Marvel’s focus on keeping a tight hold on the character’s trademark.

When Spider-Woman restarted again in 2014, I gave I gave this delightful series a try.

I think the covers’ unconventional logo placement and the vibrant interior color pallete by Javier Rodriquez caught my eye, but the fun stories by Dennis Hopeless and the intricate Eisnerish panel layouts keep me coming back for more. (There’s usually one or two very clever pages each month. I’m sure this drives the Guided View developers at ComiXology crazy.)

The latest issue focuses on the heroine trying to enjoy a day at the beach, while encouraging her protégé to deal with the day’s work issues. And for a Marvel superhero, work issues means capturing an escaped super-villain. It was such a great read.

My inner 8-year-old keeps asking, “What are the important characters of the Marvel universe up to?” Shouldn’t I be keeping track of Dr. Doom and Kang? I guess so – but my comic book stack is filled with outstanding indy titles (like The Black Monday Murders, Lazarus or Black) and thoroughly enjoying my time hanging around the fringe of the Marvel Universe.

I never thought it would happen to me, but it feels pretty ok.

Oh, and I’m not your mother, but I’ll still remind you to go vote tomorrow.

John Ostrander: Political Extrapolation

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I have a technique I use when I’m plotting my stories. I take the idea, an event, and then I extrapolate. I figure out what might reasonably follow given this event. Lots of things are possible; few are probable. I try to stick to what’s reasonably possible. I also use inference; I figure backwards from the given event to see what could lead up to it. In many ways, I’m playing detective.

When I was writing Suicide Squad, I would look at various political situations around the world and then extrapolate from that as to what might happen. There was a time when I got almost scarily accurate. A friend of mine, Cheryl Harris, contacted me and wanted to know where I was sending the Squad that following summer; she was trying to plan her vacation and wherever I was sending the Squad, she wanted to avoid.

So, as we come up to Election Day 2016, I thought it might be interesting to do some extrapolating as if it were the plot of one of my stories. This is my extrapolation and will reflect my views and biases. If you don’t share the same ones, feel free to ignore mine.

To start with, the event I see happening is Trump loses bigly. Yes, the polls show a narrowing between Trump and Clinton but it won’t be enough to matter. Hillary will win.

Trump won’t concede. He’ll continue to insist that it was all rigged (without any proof); I read Trump as a narcissist and to concede the election would make him a loser. Since he’s always a winner in his own mind, the only explanation that will make sense to him is that the election was rigged and he was robbed. He’s not a loser; he’s a victim.

He’ll also continue to maintain that that the media was stacked against him. He’s been stressing that for the past few weeks.

More than a few people have been suggesting this is all a precursor to his creating Trump TV – his own network. It’s also been suggested he’ll start his own political party and that’s also a possibility but I think the TV station is more likely. He’s been a reality TV star and Roger Ailes, one of his big political advisors, ran Fox News.

The campaign CEO is Stephen Bannon, executive chairman of Breitbart News, a right wing news organization. It seems to me they’ll urge creating a new network or buying out an existing one and putting the Trump name on it and it will be to the right of Fox News, which is a scary concept. Facts won’t matter to them any more than they matter to Trump; vitriol will be more important as will blocking Hillary and the Democrats at every turn if they can.

Given the Donald’s attention span, I doubt that he himself will be involved with it much after the first year. Within five years, it may be in bankruptcy. That, however, will not be Trump’s lasting legacy and impact on the American political scene.

It will be his supporters, what Hillary called his “basket of deplorables.” Trump’s tapped into an anger and a lot of hate that is out there and it has congealed now into its own mass. If Trump is not its leader, it will find another. What it won’t do, I think, is go away. It has given a validity to some very nasty elements in our society; it has made the “alt right” viable. And that will be with us for a long time.

That’s the story as I see it; we’ll find out how accurate it is in a few days. No doubt your story will be different, especially if you’re a Trump supporter.

Interesting days. Interesting days.

“Star Trek Beyond” gets the Mondo Poster Treatment

startrekbeyondmondoposter-1Star Trek Beyond, Paramount Pictures’ third installment in the rebooted series, has received a poster from Mondo, executed by artist Matt Taylor to celebrate the Digital HD and Blu-ray release of the film, which came out this week.

This limited edition poster is not for sale so fans will have to look for contests or other opportunities to acquire a copy. ComicMix was provided with one, which will be auctioned off for charity at Farpoint in February 2017.

Star Trek Beyond, starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, was directed by Justin Lin and was critically acclaimed as a much needed course correction after the disastrous Star Trek Into Darkness. The $185 million production underperformed at the box office although a fourth film in the series has already been announced, with Chris Hemsworth returning as George Kirk, father to Pine’s James T, Kirk. No screenwriters, director, or other details have been released. With Anton Yelchin’s tragic death, it is expected to have Chekov not be recast but removed the Enterprise crew. At the earliest, fans should expect this film to be released in 2019, following the three to four year pattern since the 2009 Star Trek from director J.J. Abrams, was released.

Marc Alan Fishman: Paint It Black

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Of the many shows I’ve consumed as of late, two spring to the front of my mind when I want to spice up dinner conversation: Marvel’s Luke Cage, and FX’s Atlanta. They are a yin and yang both birthed from the peanut-butter-chocolate combination that is nerd and black Americans. One show is about a noble black man granted the superhuman ability to rise above white hate. The other is about a loser just trying to get a win in a world built to see him fail. What unites both shows is the through-line of Black America.

Each show is intrepid in its fascination, celebration, exploitation, and segregation of the African-American experience in today’s Trumped-Up United States. Each show on its own is solid, thought-provoking at times, and flawed in their details. Taken as a pair,they become something astounding. At their core, neither could exist without black being right at the forefront.

I’ll spare you my snarky synopsis of each show. Suffice to say you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you choose to ignore either. Cage is on Netflix. Borrow your cousin’s login. Atlanta is on FX. So, in a month or two it’ll be on Hulu. Borrow your other cousin’s login for that one too, I suppose.

With Luke Cage, I freely admit my desire to enjoy it came solely on the knowledge that it was birthed from pulpy roots. I knew little to nothing of the character. Luke works with Iron Fist. He’s got impenetrable skin. He used to dress like a pirate princess. Now he’s a yellow shirted black Stone Cold Steve Austin. Jessica Jones had (has?) his baby. Yup. That’s literally everything I knew of the character. Based on the pedigree of Daredevil and Jessica Jones (vis a vis Netflix) though, I knew Cage would be a quality watch. What I didn’t count on was (as many on my feeds commented on as well) the show actually being about Harlem and the black experience… not just a strong black dude fighting super villains.

With Atlanta, I ensured my series record on the ole’ DVR based solely on my appreciation for all things Donald Glover. And for those following along? This is yet another time I’m eating my own words. Where I once lambasted Glover for being angtsy, it was shortly after writing that article I found myself accidently in love with Because the Internet. The former ensemble cast member of the cult-favorite Community became a near-daily listened-to recording artist on my Spotify playlists for his work as Childish Gambino. Glover on the mic is pensive and egotistical in the same breath. His beats – which some truer rap fans than I lambast him for cribbing from more popular nerdcore artists – are slick interplays of techno-screeches, dub-step-warble, and delightful shoegaze. To think that guy would choose to pen “Twin Peaks, with rappers” as an episodic dramedy sounded like a match made in heaven for my mind. Never mind that I considered whatever that output was going to be, was ever going to be… purposefully black.

While the shows contrast in their nature – one acting as a literal homage and elevation to Blaxsploitation, the other acting an arthouse flick spiraling out somewhere between a serial and anthology – they both share a love of microscopic explorations of black culture as means to build their narratives around.

In Cage, we got a well-read, black-culture-versed hero who is enthralled about authors like Walter Mosley and Ralph Ellison. And while he could jaw a bit with Method Man about his favorite Wu Tang Clan album, the series was sure to celebrate the breadth of black music – from Raphael Saadiq, Faith Evans, straight to legends like The Delfonics and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. With Pop’s Barbershop as the “neighborhood Switzerland,” we got a central part of modern black culture woven straight into the fabric of the series. And while not every character on the show was given depth… even background players like Bobby Fish and Turk were allowed to show how they worked to provide for their own through the seedy underbelly of Harlem Luke Cage would be coerced to protect by season’s end.

Atlanta’s black America is far less united in history and shared gravitas. The Big Peach of Glover’s pen is dissected across multiple social strata. Glover’s character, Earn, is a burnout trying to burn less; lending managerial services to his mix-tape slinging cousin. Through the lens of the local rap-scene, we see how Earn and Paper Boi are celebrated by some, loathed by others, obsessed on by posers, and ignored by the players. Throughout the season Earn and those in his orbit wind up in a litany of stereotypical black locales – a BET inspired Charlie Rose interview show, a high-society Southern Gothic ball, the city lock-up, and the backwoods of Georgia for some illicit drug deals. In Atlanta, there are no super heroes to save the day, just the stub of a blunt or a bong made from an apple.

A visit to a dance club in the show is antithetical to Luke Cage’s Harlem’s Paradise. Where Paradise is all class, the club in Atlanta is hot ass. A barely-seen more-famous-rapper keeps a bevvy of hangers’ on in his private VIP section while Paper Boi remains in his self-proclaimed Oktoberfest (a joke so deft, I paused to relish it). When gun shots eventually erupt at both clubs, Cage is at the center of the action to protect and defend. Earn and his cousin duck, run, and get late-night-breakfast. That Paper Boi would then be announced as a potential suspect (when he was far away from the action) serves as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the modern victimization of innocent black men and women. Earn and Paper Boi see the story, snicker, and go back to their waffles.

In both cases I found a window to a world I’m often purposefully excluded from. That both shows do so well to feel lived in without feeling like purged-pandering is a testament to the niche media worlds we’re enjoying on modern TV. I’ve never been more excited for the future.

Martha Thomases: The Never-Ending Battle

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Truth, Justice and the American Way.

That’s a phrase that has special meaning to those of us who love comics. Even if you’re not a superhero fan you remember it from your childhood, when, maybe, you were. Because it’s a phrase that’s associated with Superman, the character that initially defined American comics, it’s a phrase that evokes heroism.

We all want to be heroes, don’t we? Even those of us who might also want to be anti-heroes.

On Tuesday, you’ll have your chance. On Tuesday, you can vote.

It won’t surprise you that I have opinions about the best candidates running for elected office. I’ve alluded to them here and here, when I was supposed to be writing about pop culture. I’m more explicit here, where I get to mouth off about anything I want.

I love New York, but I hate that it has no early voting.

Fifteen years ago, when the terrorists drove airplanes into the World Trade Center, I immediately went and voted in the mayoral primary. It seemed to me that voting was my best tool for fighting terrorism.

I hate that I can’t vote every day.

You may or may not agree with me about who is best suited to lead the country, or what policies will make things better. I still want you to vote. Elections don’t mean much if we don’t. Democracy doesn’t mean much if citizens don’t participate.

Some people tell me that they don’t register to vote because they don’t want to get called for jury duty. Some people tell me they don’t vote because they don’t know where their polling place is. Some people tell me they don’t vote because it doesn’t make any difference. Some people tell me they don’t vote because they hate all the election ads and robocalls.

Heroes don’t give up that easily. Heroes do whatever they can to make the world a better place.

That’s the American Way.

Tweeks: Halloween Vlog!

This week we vlog while sorting our Halloween candy Topics include our first Halloween at Orange County School of the Arts, the backlash against Harley Quinn costumes when obviously everyone & her sister was in a Stranger Things costume, a recreation of the Kardashian Kit Kat video, and a review Poltergeist.

Dennis O’Neil: Tooth-Rotting Superheroes!

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Feeling of anxiety in my torso as though some malevolent, weaselly little troll’s taken up residence there. Gonna pop out into Marifran’s face, like the little bastard in the first alien movie? No, but if it did at least it would be gone. Been snarking around for months. Why? What have I got that it might want?

Could the time of year have some relevance here? When I sat down to write this, it was Halloween, the holiday that, according to some savants, the barrier between the living and he dead becomes porous and allows those Who Have Passed Before Us to visit the realm of the breathing and… I don’t know – give the finger to the girl who dumped you in high school? Scare the living hell out of granny? Reap mountainous profits?

Ah, that last one. Like virtually everything else, Halloween, which began as a modest little wingding with religious roots, has become monetized and so parents buy loads of tooth-rotting sweets to hand out to the neighbors’ offspring and costumes for their own cuties to wear as they foray onto the block in quest of rotten teeth.

Sometimes the costumes are kind of traditional – ghosts, witches, princesses – but, it seems to me looking through the wrong end of the telescope, that more and more trick-or-treaters are opting for outfits adapted from the garb worn by the superheroes of movies, television and, and – what am I neglecting? Oh sure – comic books for those who prefer a touch of the archaic in their entertainment. Profits a’waiting, for sure.

But the comicbook/Halloween synergy isn’t all that links holiday with comics. (All hands brace for comic book trivia!) For a few years in the past century, a smallish Vermont town called Rutland staged an annual Halloween parade and encouraged paraders to dress as comics characters. A Rutland resident named Tom Fagan upped the ante by inviting comics professionals to participate in the shenanigans and – surprise! some of us did. A town full of cheerful citizens, partying with colleagues, maybe something to eat and drink and maybe even the inspiration for a comic book or two, down the line… anybody see anything not to like? Thought not.

The festivities ended somewhere north of midnight when Tom opened the doors to a big old mansion he owned and invited all and sundry to find a place to sleep. We did, and the next morning we drove through the glorious New England autumn back to the real world.

And I was scared of what, exactly? I’d encountered my share of spookies in the previous 24 hours, but they had been more likely to generate giggles rather than screams.

Molly Jackson: Happy, Cheery Me

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October was kind of a wasteland for me. The constant waves of political discourse were a downer. And now that the election is in a week, it is only getting worse. It’s not that I don’t want to stay tuned to the political scene, it’s just that I need some balance in my life. Right now, everywhere you look is filled with political drama. The country is teetering on the precipice of this election and it’s taking a toll on the country’s mood. So rather than give into the election-induced fatigue that has seeped in the tone of the country, I’m looking for some fun ways to keep upbeat and sane. And since this is ComicMix and all, you can probably guess where I am heading.

the_charlie_brown_and_snoopy_show_-_linuss_security_blanket_-_sally_2No, I am not going to tell you to watch Star Trek. Granted, pretty much every holodeck episode is easy, lighthearted fare. Still, the show has got a lot of critical issues covered in some episodes that even I need a break from now and again.

I did catch a screening of Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders during New York Comic Con. It felt so refreshing to watch a superhero film that doesn’t get dark. It was filled with laughs, brightly colored subtitled sounds, and actors who sound like they haven’t aged a day despite playing the same characters before I was born. I’ve even rewatched the original Adam West Batman movie recently and this new animated flick works with it so well. You can read Bob’s entire ComicMix review, but since Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders came out on Nov. 1st, it is definitely on my must watch again list.

verynearmintBut in case you don’t want to watch something, why not sit down a read! I’m not suggesting read anything though. I went and perused my own bookshelf for some suggestions. My first go-to for a fun story is Fred Chao’s Johnny Hiro volumes 1 and 2. Johnny Hiro is just an ordinary guy struggling to make ends meet in New York City. Along that seemingly serious journey though, he battles ninjas, monsters, and judgments from Alton Brown. Volume 2 takes a bit more of a serious tone but still light enough to help anyone’s election fatigue.

I’m also going to suggest the series Very Near Mint by Justin Peterson. It’s the story of a local comic shop and the owners, with all the exaggerated characters included. They get into a battle with a bigger comic shop and hilarious battling ensues. This is one of the funniest comics out there. Great character development and well-placed use of classic tropes make it an entertaining read.

So, if the country’s issues are getting you down, take a break from social media. Watch something fun or read something even funnier. Take the time to enrich and invigorate your mind and soul now. After this election, we are going to need everyone to help bring this country back together.

Mike Gold: Get Off Your Ass!

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You may have read this before as I’ve done a version of this little rant ever since those hallowed days of the real First Comics three decades ago. Somehow, I even got away with it at DC Comics. I’ve done this on the air, online, and even on stage. If I am around in 2020, I’ll do it some more.

Assuming your teevee set is broken, I am informing you that next Tuesday, November 8th, is election day. We get to pick all of our Congresspeople, one-third of our senators, a petulance of governors, a shitload of local officials, and, as an added thrill, a brand-new President of the United States. You say you don’t like any of these bastards? You’re hardly alone. Perhaps you don’t like the fact that each winner will have his or her foot on our necks and his or her hands in our pockets.

system-is-not-brokenBut the fact is, each winner will have his or her foot on our necks and his or her hands in our pockets whether you exercise your responsibility or not.

Taking the presidential race as an example, you might think both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump are liars, blowhards, and jerks. Maybe so, but one of those liars, blowhards, and jerks will be sworn in as our 45th President this coming January 20th. That is an absolute fact. First and foremost, that person will be nominating for confirmation by the Senate the next Supreme Court justice. Probably the next two. Possibly the next four. And if our next President is lucky, she or he will have either sufficient support in the Senate or will get really lucky and, for a change, be able to work with a gaggle of Senators who are actually grown-ups who understand we need to have a full bench… just as our constitution says.

The Supreme Court consists of nine men and women of sundry ethnicities, races, and political persuasions. They are the last word on all of our laws. Their decisions affect all Americans and, to a somewhat lesser extent, most Earthlings for decades to come. You may have noticed sometimes they even decide elections. The winners of next week’s election are will bring about fundamental changes in our nation’s laws and procedures.

These nine people – eight people for the past year, thanks to the pathetic childishness of our Senate – are likely to be deciding on abortion, health care, our right to privacy (actually, right now we do not have any such right), how much we pay for our Internet service and how fast or slow it may be, federal interference of state marijuana laws, the deployment of for-profit prisons, the quality of our environment… and they just might revisit the whole corporations-are-the-same-as people debacle.

gold-double-voting

election, Presidential election, for-profit prisons, Ronald Reagan, Norman Thomas, Supreme Court, marijuana legalization, down-ticket

You might not appreciate the virtues of either major party candidate. According to the polls, most Americans lack such appreciation. I can dig that, but it doesn’t matter. You can exercise your constitutional right to write-in Ronald Reagan, Norman Thomas (Google him), or if you have a highly developed sense of irony Minnie Mouse, but the absolute fact is that after next Tuesday – or whenever the Supreme Court decides – either Mrs. Clinton or Mr. Trump will be the next President of the United States. Like it or lump it, that person will have his or her proverbial foot on your neck.

Oh, and so will all those who win the “down-ticket” elections.

So once again, I implore you: this Tuesday get off your ass and vote!

If you decline to vote, you vacate your place on the high moral ground and you lose your right to bitch.

Well, you can complain all you want, but if you don’t cast your vote, why the hell should anybody listen?

Mike Gold is ComicMix’s editor-in-chief, and this was a bone fide editorial.

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