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Mike Gold: The Cursed Earth Is Whole Again!

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Judge Dredd Cursed EarthJudge Dredd: The Cursed Earth Uncensored • Writers: Pat Mills, John Wagner, Chris Lowder • Artists: Brian Bolland, Mick McMahon • Rebellion A/S, $35.00 hardcover, $15.00 Kindle edition. 208 pages.

Almost 40 years ago, I was sitting in my office at DC Comics in Rockefeller Plaza creatively shirking my work when the mail room guy wheeled up to my desk and dropped off a package. It was from my friend Richard Burton, then a major comics fanzine editor in England. It contained the first three issues of a brand new weekly comic book titled 2000 AD, along with a note from Richard noting he would be curious as to my opinion. Hey, free comics for a letter? Fine by me.

2000 AD-2I proceeded to read this new anthology comic. Lucky for me, it is perfectly legitimate to read comics on the job when you’re working at a comic book publishing house. The first issue was great fun, wholly unlike anything I had ever seen come out of the States. Dinosaurs, time travel, futuristic sports, militant counter-revolutionary truck drivers… for 1977, it was great fun that was simply off the charts.

Then I read the second issue. It launched a series called “Judge Dredd” and, if I thought the rest of the anthology was extreme, then Judge Dredd was life-threatening. It was as if Joe Strummer’s best-articulated worst nightmare had come to life. Outrageous, to be sure, with a satirical bite that would send King Kong yelping to mommy. The folks at IPC Magazines invented a whole new age of comics.

2000 AD-1About two months into its second year, 2000 AD started up a 25-week storyline called “The Cursed Earth.” To borrow a term once voiced by Harlan Ellison over a similarly outrageous comics series, “The Cursed Earth” was totally bugfuck. Dredd was tasked to traverse the area between America’s two Mega-Cities to deliver a much-needed vaccine (here in States we usually hire huskies for that job). The Cursed Earth, as the area was called, was a lawless home to a myriad of mutants, militants, misfits and monsters. A horrible, horrible place that Judge Joe Dredd might call “a nice vacation.”

Part of the storyline had one town, owned by the McDonald’s Corporation, declare war on their neighboring town, owned by the Burger King Corporation. Yep, Ronald McDonald and the Burger King led their respective troops into merciless, bloody battle. That worked out well, so Dredd encountered other corporate spokescharacters such as the Michelin tire man, the Jolly Green Giant, Colonel Sanders and my personal favorite, Speedy Alka-Seltzer.

Let me remind you: I just said this was a totally bugfuck Joe Strummer nightmare. It was also one of the most exciting continued stories I’d ever consumed in any medium. Primarily written by Pat Mills (who created 2000 AD) and drawn by Mick McMahon and spelled out by writers John Wagner (who co-created Dredd with Carlos Esquerra) and Chris Lowder and artist Brian Bolland, “The Cursed Earth” was a non-stop joy ride through psychedelic hell. Case in point: the only way to find artists with styles more disparate than Bolland’s and McMahon’s would be to toss Charles M. Schulz into the mix. It didn’t matter. The story worked out seamlessly.

2000 AD has reprinted most of these stories before but had been reluctant to reprint certain chapters after talking with various and sundry solicitors representing certain trademarked spokescharacters. Well, somebody got over this because, as you no doubt noticed, this high-quality reprint is titled Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth Uncensored.

This is an excellent package, perfect for those of us who have grown a bit jaded by reboots, rebirths and re-tweaks. Just as the times caught up with other cultural barricade breakers such as The Simpsons and South Park, these days the Judge’s stories seem a bit more calm. Hell, after 40 years of weekly publication and a half-century of the companion monthly Judge Dredd Megazine – not to mention sundry original series published in strange foreign locals such as “California” – it is no wonder. But The Cursed Earth Uncensored remains as astonishing and as entertaining as it did in 1978.

Get this book. And while you’re reading it, listen to some Clash records.

Michael Davis: I Am Not Tyrone

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I am Not Tyrone Cash… but I’ll get to that later.

Let me make some things clear. I bare no ill will towards Milestone 2.0. I’m doing what I need to do to deal with my bouts of depression and because my business requires I do so now.

What is it I need to do, exactly?

Telling what transpired so to destroy any and all doubts, there was something unprofessional about me that caused my former partners and friends to dismiss me with not a word before or since as to why.

Derek Dingle gave a hint (before he hung up on me) that when I left Milestone 20 plus years ago. It was my lawsuit that prompted it all. OK, that’s revisionist history if ever there was.

There was no lawsuit. And even if there had been, so fucking what?

Derek if you’re reading this I suggest you take a look at the memos from that time. If you lack some, don’t worry I have them all. Including the letter from DC and Milestone that Clarence Avant called me enraged over.

You know the one it involved my status at Milestone and DC. I was speaking to Clarence not too long ago about that very letter; he’s not too happy about it now either.

Like I said, I’m not looking to hurt Milestone; for almost two years I’ve written very supported articles. Yeah, some digs but much more positives.  The only public statements attributed to them concerning me was I was not lead creator on Static I was ‘one of five guys in the room.”

Well, I can prove otherwise. Can they?

As I said I’m not trying to hurt them, I just want to help me.

I’m also not telling my side of the story. I’m saying what happened to me; there’s a difference. Everything I write I can prove with validation.

But not today.

This was to be another installment of my Milestone 2.0 narrative. I’d like to get what happened to me on the record before Rich Johnson goes live with his story but this is trivial shit compared to what’s crucial in Black America, chief among that the recent crop of unarmed Black men killed by police.

I thought I’d attempt to explain to those readers at ComicMix how it affects us as comic book creators but more importantly as black men.

Regardless if it’s a huge misunderstanding or horrible decision making the odds of Derek Dingle, Reggie Hudlin, Denys Cowan and Michael Davis coming together are slim to you must be out of your motherfucking mind.

That does not mean I don’t care about them. I do.

We may not be on the same page regarding Milestone but as black men, we are united because we are all seen as one in eyes of some in law-enforcement. If one of those men were felled by a policeman’s bullet, it would hurt me beyond measure.

And I would know, I would know without a shadow of a doubt they were wrongly targeted. Because they live the kind of life that defy that ending to theirs as do I.

It won’t matter, any black men is subject to capital punishment no matter if talking to friends, selling cigarettes or reaching for what an officer asked for.

Mothers of young inner-city black boys’ have one thought over all, how to keep their child alive.  Poor parents of any race face the same problem. Black parents face the added danger of protecting their sons from those who are entrusted to protect them, the police.

Soon, very soon, I will be off probation. Why was I on probation? Two white people harassed me all night at a Karaoke bar. I ignored what they were saying. Their goal for was for me to engage them.

As I was leaving, I heard something along these lines: “Don’t forget to bring your grandmother and sister some crack.”

That’s not an exact quote (music was playing), however sister and grandmother I understood.

There was no way they could know both my sister and grandmother died horrible deaths at someone’s hand it was just another series of insults to them.

I didn’t give a fuck. They went there.

I waited for the music to stop and the applauds to die down before I went here:

“Fuck you and your families.”

They ran across the floor towards me punched me in my face a couple of times and wanted to hurt me badly that was clear.

The man currently residing in a tree lined lovely community left, and the guy from Far Rockaway, and South Jamaica Queens showed up.

That was the wrong nigger to fuck with as they found out.

Once they met that guy they pussied away. Just as quick the person from the tree lined block returned, saying goodbye to the bartender and my waitress who both asked me if I was alright telling me those guys are never coming back.

I was under the impression the bartender was going to call the cops. I told him if he needed a statement from me I’d be happy to oblige and the moment I said that I regretted it.

Rule # 1: If A Black Man, Never Talk To The Cops Unless You Absolutely Have To.

Then I thought, I had not done anything wrong, plus the whole thing was captured on tape. I went home secure in the knowledge I’d done nothing wrong and had ample proof to such.

Witnesses?

Check!

Videotape?

Check!

A warm send-off from the staff?

Check!

I was the one attacked?

Check!

The deck was stacked extremely high in my favor. What possibly could go wrong? I thought of every conceivable way it could go south and came up with only one answer.

I was black. When I was asked to give a statement some days later I was accompanied by my lawyer. Witnesses, videotape, warm send off from the staff and a high priced attorney.  Now that’s what I call stacked!

As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about, exactly what I thought would happen, happened.

I was arrested. Did I mention the whole thing captured on tape?  The tape that showed they attacked me? I did say that right?

This incident is not unusual at all to black men. Those who had no doubt I was lying included the two who attacked me, the police and DA.

The only people on my side was everybody else in the bar. That includes a witness from Japan, and I’ll never forget her name: Sony Camera.

So, I looked forward to my day in court so I could quickly take a plea.

Why did I take a plea? When the D.A. refuses to look at the videotape but is ready to go to trial the two witness statements used to arrest me were written by the two people who ran across the room and attacked me and all other eyewitness accounts are ignored, if you’re a black man it’s time to take a plea.

I took a plea because I could afford what a good lawyer charges. I can’t afford what the criminal justice system may cost me.  No black man has that kind of wealth. When a black man with the means to fight goes to court, he may be found innocent, but we’re suspects all our lives.

Michael Jackson was considered innocent in the eyes of the law, but every effort is being made to ensure he remains guilty in the eyes of history. Now they find kiddie porn? Ya think that would have been useful during the trial?

Name a famous black person once acquitted not still thought of as guilty.

They found kiddie porn now?

That’s some Tyrone Cash bullshit and by Tyrone Cash bullshit I mean stupid. Cash is a Mark Millar creation. In a nutshell, he’s a genius scientist who figures out the formula that gives him the powers of the Hulk.

When his brilliant mind becomes a simple one he no longer understands the complex theories of gamma radiation all he wants to do is smash, like the other Hulk Dr. Bruce Banner.

Sorry, I forgot Tyrone Cash is black.

He retains his intellect and uses his Hulk powers to become a drug dealer! Why? The same reason some police would shoot an incident hard working man reaching for his identification, it’s easy to believe all we are is thugs. That’s what FOX News tells everyone, we’re thugs on television, we’re criminals in the movies, and now the Republican Party Nominee is telling the world African Americans are thugs.

In other news, as soon as I’m officially off probation I’m suing some individuals over what they did to my life. In civil court they won’t refuse to look at the tape and all those witness reports will also come into play.

It’s a little thing but someone needs to answer this question, I was attacked, so why I was arrested? I’m going loud on this with a little help from some well-placed friends. I’m not Tyrone Cash I’m not a thug nor is most black men. So why must we fight and die to prove it?

Emily S. Whitten: 2016 Nerd HQ Preview!

San Diego Comic Con is practically right around the corner now; and with it comes one of my other favorite events, Nerd HQ. The brainchild of actor Zachary Levi and his friend Dave Coleman, Nerd HQ has only gotten better each year I’ve attended. Nerd HQ, which raises funds for the worthy charity Operation Smile, provides a smorgasbord of cool experiences in a chill setting (currently The New Children’s Museum)– a nice place to get away from the madness of the con for awhile while still getting your nerd on. Nerd HQ generally offers a selection of smaller-sized “Conversations for a Cause” panels with celebrities; “Smiles for Smiles” and “Signings for Smiles,” where you can get your photo with celebrities, or get celebrity autographs; places to play video games and see some really cool new or upcoming games; other cool exhibits from sponsors, some of which may be interactive; and two rockin’ parties for nerdy fans.

I’m looking forward to this year’s Nerd HQ, and in preparation for attending, I got to chat with co-founder Dave Coleman about his involvement and what we’ll be seeing. Read on for details!

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Dave, what is your background with Nerd HQ and Zac Levi?

Well, I started the company with Zac in 2010.  We’ve been partners in The Nerd Machine, and I have been producing every HQ since they started. Zac and I have been very, very close friends for the last 10 years or so. We’ve had The Nerd Machine for the last 6 years, almost 7. So I’ve been a part of this since the beginning.

Are you also an actor, or do you work in television? How did you end up meeting Zac?

I was on the crew side. I used to be a prop master for television; but Zac and I actually met playing basketball back in 2004, in the neighborhood that we all lived in. It’s funny, we met a lot of our friends that way. That’s where I met Joel David Moore, who was a really good friend of Zac’s at the time, and who’s now one of my other best friends. So it’s really interesting how we all met playing basketball, and then relationships grew out of that.

Eventually, I also started working on Chuck. I had done a movie with another prop master, Scott Bauer, who was on Chuck from the pilot. And he had interviewed me to do Chuck when they thought some of the guys who had done the pilot weren’t going to come back. It didn’t work out because of scheduling, so I ended up doing a couple of other shows while they were doing the first 2 seasons of Chuck. During season 2 of Chuck, I started working on the show 2 to 3 days a week, and then for seasons 3, 4, and 5, I was the on-set prop master for Chuck the rest of the time.

Can you tell me your experience with starting Nerd HQ and how it came together?

My experience is probably much different than Zac’s experience – just because, when we first started doing this, we really had no idea how to do it. We had never produced an event of any size, really, before. I had a design background; I have a Master of Fine Arts degree in set design. So I’d done that kind of thing, but never produced a full-on event for 20,000 people. So there was a lot of trial and error in figuring things out. You know – what do we think would be cool, and let’s just do that. That’s kind of how it started.

The whole thing was really an accident. When we started it; we made some t-shirts to throw out during a Chuck panel in 2010. I had a design background, and I had printed some shirts in the past; so when we started talking about doing stuff, Zac said, “Hey, what if I wanted to just print some shirts and give them out to fans during our panel?” I was like, “Alright, I can make that happen.” So it just kind of all started happening. And we made some shirts, and we took them, and we passed them out; and some of the guys on stage started throwing them; which was a giant problem, because everybody freaked out. Like, lawyers were pissed off and like, “You can’t do that!” because people were jumping over each other to try to get the shirts, and they were worried about liability and that kind of thing. So it got really kind of hairy there; but everybody loved the shirts.

It was the classic Nerd shirt that we ended up calling the NES, with the original Nintendo font. And so people were asking, “How do I get one? How do I get one?” And we looked around and were like, there’s no real “nerd culture” brand. You can buy stuff at ThinkGeek and Hot Topic, and hell, even at Target now, or Walmart; but there was no brand. So we thought about how to start something that people could identify with. So we turned Zac’s fan website, zacharylevi.com, into thenerdmachine.com, and just started taking email addresses; like, “Hey guys, if we made this shirt, would you be interested in buying one?” And we had thousands of people sign up. So we’re like, “Great! Here we go!” and a company got started. And my wife, Courtney, was shipping t-shirts out of Zac’s garage when we first started; and it was crazy. It was a real home-grown family business.

So after that we started trying to figure out a way to have a party; like in 2010 when we gave out the t-shirts, Zac had a party at a bar in the Gaslamp on Friday or Saturday night of the con. And people came, and we gave out the rest of the shirts that were there, and he was like, “Hey man – what if we just did another party to promote the brand?” But we couldn’t really work out a convention space, because, you know, they had been full for years and it takes a long time to get into the convention. So we said, “Hey, we’ll just do something outside.” We’ll find a little place to have a party, and go from there.” And then it turned into, “Well, if we have a party someplace, we’re still going to have to rent it for a few extra days to get it ready. What if we brought in some games or whatever. Maybe we can get some of our friends to come and do some panels. Maybe we could sell some tickets, and give the money to charity. Let’s see what we can do.” That’s how it all started!

What’s your experience been with the chosen charity, Operation Smile?

Fantastic. They’re one of the greatest organizations that I’ve ever been a part of. We are blessed to be able to help them out each year, and to do everything we can to raise money. We’ve been able to do some really great stuff with them in the last five to six years, that has really affected all of our lives in a positive way. You know, we all worry about jobs, and money, and that kind of stuff; but at the end of the day you go, “Man, no matter what we do, when we’re all done with our lives, we’re gonna go, ‘We did something to really help a lot of kids and a lot of people.’”

So of course people will want to know what’s coming to Nerd HQ this year. What can you tell us?

It will be at The New Children’s Museum again, and here’s a quick breakdown: AMD is coming back as one of our headline sponsors, and they are bringing in Battlefield 1 with EA and DICE; so we’re going to have a 64-station multiplayer of Battlefield 1 on PC – which is all Alienware, super-cool tech, and a really fun game experience. We played it during E3, and it’s unbelievable. Xbox is bringing their whole lineup of games that they’re going to have during the con to HQ. So we’ll probably have between 150 to 200 gaming units on site, where you’ll be able to set times, and that will be with Gears of War 4, Titanfall 2, and a bunch of other really great titles, all through Xbox, which we’re really excited about.

Johnson & Johnson is a partner of ours this year, and we’re integrating the “Donate a Photo” app that they do, in support of Operation Smile, into our app and into our photo booth. So if you take a picture at our photo booth, that photo gets sent to our Nerd HQ account to Donate a Photo. We can upload that, and for every upload, Johnson & Johnson donates a dollar to Operation Smile. What we are hoping is that we can raise another 10 to 15 thousand dollars just from photos at the photo booths. Hallmark is going to be on site with some awesome specials and exclusives for HQ which we’re really excited about. Kellogg’s is doing an indie gaming area with the Square Enix Collective, with a bunch of cool indie games that most people have never seen before, that people will get to play.

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We’re going to have a brand-new app that’s been completely renovated and redesigned for this year, with enhanced RFID capabilities; really cool photo filters inside; and connections to all your social media; so that’s very exciting. We’re pulling out all the stops. We’ve added extra air conditioning to the panel rooms, and we’re doing tiered seating in the panel rooms, so it will feel more like the seating at Petco Park. We’re adding a 360-degree camera to the panels, so you’ll be able to watch the panels at home on your VR system. You’ll be able to feel like you’re in the audience, which is what I think people want. And again, we’re lining up some amazing panels – new stuff, returning stuff; things people love, and some new stuff they wouldn’t expect. I don’t have the full panel list yet, but we’ll probably be releasing some of the panel schedule this week, and then we’ll have the full list out by next week.

We’ll be adding brand-new merch that we’ll be selling exclusively at Nerd HQ. We’re going to have this bad-ass 1960’s Nerd HQ-branded van driving around the city to promote HQ and for photo ops – it looks kind of like a big red version of the Mystery Machine. It’s going to be awesome. We’re doing more signings this year than before; and will hopefully bring in some really big names for the signings. And of course we’ll be doing Smiles for Smiles, which is one of our biggest ways to engage the fans with celebrities. We definitely want people to help us in our philanthropy by being a part of it themselves; so we will encourage everyone who comes or watches from home to download the Donate a Photo app from Johnson & Johnson. Because every day of the year, you can post a photo, and each one is a dollar for Operation Smile. Every person, by doing something that they already do by posting a picture, can change one kid’s life in 245 days. We’ll also have the fan parties on Thursday and Saturday, which will be super fun. We’re excited about those. We have a great time those nights.

So what are you most excited about for Nerd HQ 2016?

I think I’m most excited about the greater amount of offerings we’re going to be able to give this year. And I think we’re going to be able to raise a lot more money for charity, and to create a much more pleasurable fan experience through the upgrades to the panel rooms and the rest of the building, which I think are going to make a huge difference. Just being able to offer cool stuff that we haven’t been able to offer before is great.

And it’s HQ, it’s fun! We want people to feel like there’s a place where they belong, a place where they can feel comfortable, and like everyone there is their friend; and that it’s just a good time, and a good place to hang out.

Thank you, Dave Coleman, for your time and for this exciting Nerd HQ information! I can’t wait!

And until next time, ComicMix fans, Servo Lectio!

 

Photo credits: Eric Blackmon

The Point Radio: Tricia Helfer Purrs Into POWERS

Way before we met ORPHAN BLACK, Tricia Helfer was wowing us in a “multi-clone” role on BATTLESTAR:GALACTICA. Now she is joining the cast of POWERS in a characters fans of the series will surely recognize. Plus you will surely recognize one of Brandon Stacey’s more famous roles (STAR TREK THE NEW VOYAGES) but wait until you see his other great acting experiences.

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Joe Corallo: With Allies Like Simon Pegg…

takai-pegg-3065016The third installment of the rebooted Star Trek franchise, Beyond, is set to hit theaters July 22nd. It’s been announced that in this film that Hikaru Sulu, portrayed by actor John Cho, will be revealed as gay. John Cho apparently discussed this with George Takei last year, in which Mr. Takei expressed his displeasure with the idea and lobbied film director Justin Lin to reconsider the decision to make Sulu gay. The movie was written by Simon Pegg, who plays Scottie, and Doug Jung. The Star Trek Beyond team went ahead with their original idea anyway.

George Takei, who played Sulu in the original series and seven Star Trek movies, was delighted that they would be adding a gay character to the franchise but was disappointed that they chose to make that character Sulu and should have made a new character instead. This led to Simon Pegg responding rather harshly that he disagreed with George Takei and creating a new character would be tokenism. Then openly gay Spock actor Zachary Quinto said he was disappointed that George Takei was disappointed. All of that can be read here.

Now there is a lot to unpack here. Why would an openly gay man and LGBTQ activist like George Takei be opposed to Hikaru Sulu being portrayed as gay in the new movie? Part of the reason is in this quote from George Takei himself, “Unfortunately, it’s a twisting of [‘Star Trek’ creator Gene Roddenberry’s] creation, to which he put in so much thought. I think it’s really unfortunate.” He goes on to stress that this is the 50th anniversary year of Star Trek and how that adds to the unfortunate nature of it all. Simon Pegg goes on to counter that stating the decision to make Sulu gay is in line with Gene Roddenberry’s vision.

startrekbeyondRoddenberry himself did want to have LGBTQ representation, but at the time he was helming Star Trek that was impossible. George Takei’s point is not that Gene Roddenberry would be opposed to a gay character in his vision, but rather that Gene thought out all of his characters so fully that if they want to include a gay character that character should be a new one.

At this point I can’t help but think to myself just who in the hell does Simon Pegg think he is? George Takei worked closely with Gene Roddenberry for years. They talked about the character of Hikaru Sulu many times together. Simon Pegg has never worked professionally with Gene Roddenberry. It was incredibly poor form for Simon Pegg to try and counter George Takei’s claim that this goes against Gene’s vision. Honestly, I found it insulting on Simon Pegg’s part. He’s a professional and he should know better.

Going back to George Takei as an LGBTQ activist and how that and his sexual orientation inform his worldview, I think it’s very important to consider that before responding in the way that Simon Pegg, as well as Zachary Quinto did. Not only is George Takei a member of the LGBTQ community, he is also a member of the Asian community in the United States, another minority, and he and his family were subjected to life in an internment camp from 1942 through the end of World War II. Later, he would have to navigate being a closeted gay man in Hollywood. He is a man who has gone through a lot, experienced a great deal, and deserves more thought and consideration towards his ideas than was given to him by the team on Star Trek Beyond.

Simon Pegg is not a member of the LGBTQ community. He is an ally at best. His statements echo those of many other well-meaning allies who have not necessarily contributed positively to the community. I’ve written previously about Iceman being outed in Marvel Comics and was strongly opposed to the idea then. What they have done with the character since has not been positive in any measurable way to me and I stand by my thoughts on Marvel’s decision. The situation with Sulu in the new franchise is very similar.

When it came to Marvel outing Iceman, it came off like cheating at the diversity olympics. Same goes for what Simon Pegg is doing with Sulu. Taking an already established character with a fan base and adding something to that character to make them more diverse comes off as a way to try to add diversity without the risk, and we see right through that. Rather than make an investment with a new character, they’re trying to play it safe and it comes off as lazy more than anything else. I will say it’s nice that Star Trek is at least creating a non-white LGBTQ character through this, but this is still not ideal.

star-trek-cho-8695169What both Marvel with Iceman and Simon Pegg do not seem to understand is that retconning old characters as gay to expand diversity isn’t as helpful as they think it is. I understand that they all think that in a way it’s both good for the LGBTQ community and good for profits, but it’s not what the LGBTQ community as a whole needs.

We need new characters, our own characters, histories and stories, not press releases with straight cis white allies patting themselves on the back congratulating themselves on how progressive they are. Especially when one considers how forward thinking Star Trek was in 1966, and how 50 years later we haven’t even had a single gay character of any importance, let alone bi or trans. The Star Trek franchise went from being something of a gold standard in diversity to falling behind compared to contemporary science fiction. They shouldn’t be patting themselves on the back for how progressive they all are, but rather they should be apologizing to us for having taken so long to even attempt to catch up and that all they can offer us is a lazy Sulu reveal.

Something equally important is LGBTQ representation in the background. It’s not enough just to have just one character in the movie represent an entire group of people. It all needs to be sprinkled into the background. How about two women flirting in the break room? Maybe someone has an image of their same sex partner at their workstation. What about a background character just bringing up their same sex partner casually in conversation as someone they’re looking forward to seeing again soon when they get back?

We need to be a part of the greater world. If queerness is not a part of the background, it is not a part of the world. It’s just a token character. The kind of character Simon Pegg claims to be against. His actions suggest otherwise. Especially since Simon Pegg also states that while Sulu is out as gay in this movie that it isn’t important to the story. Straight allies often seem to go back and forth between saying how important it is to queer people like me that they created or retconned a gay character followed immediately by saying the character’s queerness isn’t all that important anyway. It’s insulting and honestly I’m really sick of hearing that.

If this was something important to the people involved in the reboot, they should have made characters LGBTQ from the start back in 2009. By waiting until the third installment, it becomes very difficult to believe this is for anything more than a press hit. Granted, Simon Pegg was not involved in the screenwriting for the previous installments. That said, it’s all the more reason to just create a new character to develop and grow. I find it offensive that Simon Pegg suggests that creating a new character that is gay would mean that the character is just there to be gay. He’s a screenwriter. He should know better. He should know you can create new characters and clever writing can avoid tokenism.

Everything stated by John Cho, Simon Pegg, and Zachary Quinto suggests to me that some people on the film thought that George Takei had gotten big enough on social media that they could lazily write up one scene in a movie showing Sulu with a same sex partner, and assumed that of course George Takei would love the idea because he’s gay and it would be great press. When they found out that the LGBTQ community is a little more complicated than that, rather than listen to George Takei they went ahead anyways in the hopes that he would come around or that Sulu being gay would be a good free press. George Takei did not come around to the idea.

I’m disappointed with Justin Lin, Simon Pegg, and Zachary Quinto. I’m a queer nerd who is a casual fan of the Star Trek franchise. I’m sick of being targeted for marketing that’s not so much for me, but for people outside of the queer community to feel better about themselves. I saw both of the previous Star Trek films in theaters, but after this debacle I’ll be saving my money. I’ll wait to see what Bryan Fuller’s new Star Trek television series premiering next January has to offer.

Box Office Democracy: The Secret Life of Pets

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how at this point in my life I’m through being cool.

I’m 32 years old, I’m engaged to the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, and I just closed on a house. I don’t need to do things anymore because I think they make me look cool. I’m going to use clip-on sunglasses, wear flip-flops despite my giant feet looking goofy in them, and I’ll wear shorts after dark if it’s a warm evening and I feel like it. If something I like happens to be cool then that’s a great coincidence, but otherwise I’m willing to wear wrestling shirts and play needlessly complicated board games.

By the same token I’m willing to say that I wholeheartedly enjoyed The Secret Life of Pets despite it being a bit shallow from a narrative perspective, and despite the fact that at this point in Minion-mania Illumination Entertainment might be the least cool movie studio on the planet.

The Secret Life of Pets is a pretty standard hero’s journey story, plucky everydog Max (Louis C.K.) has his idyllic life disrupted by newcomer Duke (Eric Stonestreet) and the two eventually get lost in New York and a ragtag group of other pets come together to save them. It’s not the most original story in the world, but it’s a perfectly strong framework to hang 90 minutes of reliable pet humor. Dogs are earnest and dumb, cats are aloof and egotistical, and birds are surprisingly clever. I suppose a megalomaniacal rabbit and an army of neglected pets bent on the subjugation of human life is a little new, but no one strained under the narrative weight here. What shines is the jokes and more importantly, the execution.

The casting for Secret Life of Pets is impeccable, and while I usually want to resist the trend of hiring mainstream actors to do voice work (is it even a trend at this point? It’s basically a cultural norm) I can’t deny that the performances here are top notch. C.K. and Stonestreet are good enough, the former is doing a generic enough good guy persona and the latter a performance that’s 98% bumbling goofball the supporting cast is where the real gems are. Jenny Slate is a revelation as the lovesick Pomeranian who live across the street from Mac and leads the effort to return him home. She’s spunky and funny but most importantly really genuine. Slate has been bubbling just below the audience consciousness line for a while, and I hope that she can finally start breaking through with efforts like this. Albert Brooks is a legend for good reason, but I never knew I always wanted him to play a hawk with an honesty problem. He steals every scene he’s in and, most importantly, sounds nothing like Marlin from when I saw him a couple weeks back. Kevin Hart has spent the last couple years slowly winning my heart and he deserves all of that love here. It’s his trademark big over-the-top character I’ll probably see four times this year but it consistently got the biggest laughs in the theater.

There’s a moment in the second act where I thought Secret Life of Pets was finally going to try for a big emotional moment, to step above what I expect from Illumination and join the Disney/Pixar/Dreamworks upper echelon in animated storytelling. They start talking about Duke’s original owner and the life they had together and when they return to find said owner, the current occupant of the house (a cat) tells Duke that his owner has passed away. They are clearly trying to pull at the heartstrings with this revelation but the moment gets no time to breathe, feels a little out of nowhere when it comes up, and is never even referenced again. I wanted a bigger moment, I wanted to know what Duke’s original owner called him, I wanted something bigger. If you’re going to go for it commit all the way and if you aren’t going to make a real effort maybe that time would be better served with a couple more good jokes.

REVIEW: iZombie the Complete Second Season

iZombie_S2_BLUGiven that it was the first to wrap its season, it makes perfect sense that Warner Home Entertainment would unleash the complete second season of the CW’s iZombie on disc ahead of the superheroes coming in August. The 4-disc DVD set is coming on Tuesday while Warner Archive will be simultaneously releasing iZombie the Complete First Season and iZombie the Complete Second Season on Blu-ray.

The series is loosely based on the Chris Roberson and Michael Allred Vertigo series and is a quiet success, garnering solid ratings and reviews but without the sturm and drang of its fellow DC properties. In the hands of executive producers Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars) and Diane Ruggiero-Wright (The Ex List), they keep the mood light, the characters quirky, and the plots engaging.

While the short first season set everything up and explored what it means to be Olivia “Liv” Moore (Rose McIver), required to feast on the brains of the deceased to survive but in the eating, gains the dead’s memories and skills, heading off to tidy up unfinished business. The would-be doctor winds up working in the Seattle coroner’s office with Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti (Rahul Kohli), the only one fully aware of her condition and he’s working on a cure, but we don’t want him to hurry.

Rather than deal with the angst inherent in her plight, Liv decides she should embrace her situation and make the best of it, similar to Veronica Mars, providing us with another quirky, positive role model for its teen audience. She plays with a diverse set of supporting players including detective Clive Babineaux (Malcolm Goodwin), who may be the straight man in the ensemble.

As Season Two begins, Liv’s ex-fiancé and love, Major (Robert Buckley), is reeling from recent events and the knowledge that Liv is a zombie, and finds himself allied with Vaughn Du Clark (Steven Weber), ostensibly assassinating zombies but locking them away instead, with consequences for his actions.

1000575783DVDLEF_432b167Meanwhile, Blaine – now human – struggles to maintain his zombie world; Clive searches for Blaine and suspects Major’s involvement in the Meat Cute massacre; and Ravi remains devoted to finding an antidote to the zombie virus. On the other hand, Blaine (David Anders) is adjusting to life as a human again, but we know that isn’t going to last for long. All along, Thomas and Ruggiero-Wright are tightening the various storylines so by the season’s end, things all naturally brought together while the threat from Stacey Boss (Eddie Jemison) becomes increasingly evident.

Still, Olivia continues to embrace her new roles and this season she sampled being a coach, a stalker, a costumed vigilante (she’s on the CW, its required) or a tough stripper (the inevitable role). There’s plenty of humor to wring from each persona and the cast makes the most of the scenarios, regardless of how preposterous, spooky, or dangerous they appear to be.

Not every episode worked and it’s clear some plot threads were dropped because they weren’t working as planned so the season isn’t perfect. It’s a little ragged here and there, notably, the development of Blaine’s arc, much like a Zombie’s gait.

The second season brings things to a nice boil as Major is arrested, believed to the Chaos Killer. Liv’s only way to save him is to tell Clive of the Zombie threat and reveal her own secrets. This alters the status quo for the third season, due in early 2017, and gives us new ground to explore. That Du Clark becomes an increasing threat is nicely developed and Weber is having a ball in this over-the-top role.

The discs contain all 19 second season episodes, the 2015 Comic-Con Panel, and a handful of fun but non-essential deleted scenes. The high definition transfer to Blu-ray is just fine from an audio and video standpoint. They certainly stand up while being watched a second time. The first season also looks pretty spiffy on Blu-ray and the 2014 Comic-Con panel and deleted scenes are included as special features.

Mindy Newell: But Words Will Never Harm Me

I’ve been trying to get a hold on what’s happened in this country, just the same as everybody who lives in the United States of America who is the least bit sane. The only explanation I can come up with is complicated…or maybe it isn’t.

Charlie Chaplin TrumpSticks and stones

May break my bones,

But words will never harm me.

Remember that little ditty? Too bad it isn’t true… because words do matter. And that’s the epicenter of this particular quake.

Back in 2008 when President Barack Hussein Obama was elected to his first term, everybody was talking about a “post-racial” society because the guy who won the presidency was black. Only, of course, he isn’t, really; not black as in ebony or inky or onyx or jet. He’s café-au-lait or mocha or brown…

But definitely not white. And to be actually white is to be affected by albinism, a genetic abnormality or mutation that affects the production of melanin, which is what pigments our skin color, and is derived from the amino acid tyrosine. Approximately 18,000 people in America have albinism. And they are all voting for Trump.

But I digress.

Another word that is thrown around with alacrity is race. In this context race is used to differentiate and more importantly, alienate people. It seems that too many goddamn people think that alien is a synonym for race. I would talk about how taxonomy of humans makes no distinction of skin color; we are all members of the genus Homo – Latin for “wise,” not gay – and the species sapiens – Latin for “man.” But I’m afraid I’d be wasting my breath. Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist, medical doctor, and zoologist who invented “binomial nomenclature,” the system of classifying plant and animal life, coined the term in 1758. Um, “wise?” Carl? Maybe you should rethink that, because there are too many white people walking around thinking that a black person or a Jewish person or a Hispanic person or an Asian person or a Muslim person is a member of a different race.

And then there are the words that come out of politicians and Fox News and neo-Nazi groups and white supremacy groups that, since Barack Hussein Obama was first elected, have consistently and diligently given covert and overt permission to restrict, ghettoize, pummel, stab, and gun down. These words are Second Amendment Rights and Voting Rights and Confederacy and States’ Rights and Stand Your Ground.

Here’s a theory: Is it possible that on some deep psychological level, somewhere between the Superego and the Id (“Monsters, John. Monsters from the Id.”) Homo sapiens obsessed with words like “black” know that they could never get close enough to Barack Hussein Obama to kill him, so they bubble and boil and steam and cook until, in a horrible moment of transference and projection and all that psychobabble – words, again – they kill the next black individual they meet instead? Just to rub it in your face: they really want to kill that “nigger – yeah, I just typed that word for the first time in my life – in the White House,” but they can’t, so they kill the next best thing.

Hey, I’m just trying to make sense of it, to look for an explanation. Like historians trying to explain Adolf Hitler and his insane anti-Semitism. And speaking of “The Little Tramp”…

…There’s Donald Trump. A perpetual machine of words designed to inflame and incite who got a real chance to be standing on the Capitol steps on January 20, 2017, and with one hand on the Bible, swearing to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Nobody understands it, everybody’s trying to explain it, and ultimately, no one can.

Because there aren’t enough words in the dictionary to explain it.

 

Ed Catto: Culture & Commerce – Bob Chapman’s Graphitti Designs

trio-of-graphitti-tshirts-1978204

bob-chapman-8309312Over the past 47 years the SDCC has grown to become a pop culture behemoth. More than just a grand celebration of fan passion, it’s a driver of serious commerce. SDCC’s impact now makes waves on a national and international economic scale, far beyond the initial fan-centric puddles of the early days.

Bob “Chappy” Chapman is a fan and business owner who was part of the early days and is still actively involved today. He’s an energetic entrepreneur who’s built his business Graphitti Designs, catering to Geek Culture. Graphitti Designs has been creates fan focused merchandise like T-shirts, statues, action figures, prints, books and more. And Bob has found a way to survive – and thrive – throughout the many iterations of SDCC over the years.

Bob is likeable, charming, infectiously enthusiastic, and effortlessly employs an extensive vocabulary. You just know he’s a big reader! He’s nostalgic, but always looking forward. As we prepare for the annual nerd prom that world calls SDCC, I was eager to learn how the convention got his business started and how it’s changed over the years.

graphitti-bettie-page-wow-statue-5002941The Secret Origin

All great superheroes have a great origin story, and Bob Chapman is no exception.

Bob and his brother were rabid Silver Age comic fans and had accumulated an impressive comic collection. By the late 70s they had become disillusioned with collecting and decided to sell their comics. They dutifully trotted their overflowing comic boxes to a myriad of dealers, but were shocked at how little money was offered.

In what would become a life changing decision, they decided that they could do better selling the comics directly to fans directly. They signed up for dealer’s table at SDCC.

Hard to believe it was once that easy to secure exhibition space at SDCC.

“We didn’t know what we were doing,” confessed Bob. But despite that, the brothers managed to walk away with several thousand dollars. And they made this profit by selling off only 10% of their collection.

More important, they loved the comic convention culture. And they were in the thick of it with all their peers and favorite creators. For example, their dealer’s table was situated right next to comics legend Wally Wood.

bobsculp-7054601This would be the initial catalyst that led to the creation Graphitti Designs.

“In the early days, there was a lot of camaraderie,” said Bob. He explained that they were all on a learning curve and there were no official guidelines. “We all helped each other, learned from each other. It wasn’t contrived and was never articulated.”

When he started in 1982, there was no merchandise or specialty marketing. There wasn’t even a place for distributors. The direct sales market was evolving, but the marketplace was, at that time, still focused on the monthly sales cycle of periodicals. Evergreen products and licensed merchandised was rare and usually dismissed.

But in 1981, Bob developed a straightforward idea. He knew the screen-printing process and he knew comics. He approached SDCC’s management team with an idea that was radical at the time, although it has become startlingly commonplace now: to make and sell official comic convention T-Shirts!

graphitti-team-betty-6174388On the Frontier

In planning for this first T-shirt project, Bob told me how he was hopeful to work with one of his favorite artists, like Jack Kirby, or to use an iconic hero, like Batman or Spider-Man, in order to design a powerful shirt and logo.

Instead, he was disappointed when the convention management team asked him to work with an up-coming-artist he hadn’t heard of an old comics character that hadn’t been published in years.

Crestfallen, he was determined to make it work.

The character was Sheena, an iconic super heroine (pre-dating Wonder Woman) and the artist was Dave Stevens.

1984-rocketeer-sdcc-shirt-graphitti-1527815Bob soon met Dave and they hit it off. And Bob, like the rest of world, would soon find out that Dave Stevens was a phenomenal artist. Together, they would create many gorgeous items for Bob’s fledgling company.

In fact many of Graphitti’s “firsts” involved Dave Stevens. The first book Graphitti published was a Dave Stevens Book. The first cloisonné pin featured Dave Stevens’ Rocketeer character. The first statue Graphitti created was based on Dave Stevens’ artwork.

“He was our unofficial art director for all those years,” said Bob.

The Spirit of Entrepreneurship

As Bob talked about the business, he reiterated that he owes much of his success to all the kind people who wanted to see him succeed.

One particularly influential person was Will Eisner. The legendary storyteller and creator of The Spirit approached Graphitti to make Spirit T-shirts. “He allowed us to make Spirit T-shirts,” recalls Bob. “It had never been done before.”

Looking back, this was especially important, as Eisner was also known as a very focused businessman.

batman-kelly-jones-book-graphitti-6225794Business Grows as Comic Cons Grow

Graphitti was, in many ways, the first specialty company to create statues and comics-focused hard cover books for the collector’s market. The entire collectible statue market can easily trace its parentage back to Bob Chapman’s efforts at Graphitti.

As a merchandising company, Graphitti blazed new trails and usually enjoyed first mover advantages.

“Now there’s a plethora of merchandise. I spawned some of that,” said Bob.

He’s practically a founding father of merchandising in the comic book industry.

“Not so sure how proud I am of that…it’s so saturated <now>,’ he muses.

Bob explains that they were “…a product of the times. On one hand… the timing was extremely fortunate. But at the same time, the timing was bad – as there was no guideline or framework. In hindsight, ignorance persevered.”

Graphitti was focused on being a champion for artists and comic artwork. “Being a facilitator to the vision is other is part of what gave us this look,” reasoned Bob.

“And now, we’re fortunate to be evolving back into creating books,” said Bob. He’s very pleased about that.

And Graphitti was purposefully small and was able to be malleable. They weren’t shackled to preconceived ideas.

dream-girl-graphitti-bombshell-t-shirt-4655652In the beginning, Graphitti was the only game in the geek merchandise town. But things changed quickly. Bob had to learn how to juggle his money and still produce items.

“I had numerous opportunities to go out of business, and had to learn how to juggle air financially,” said Bob.

The Romantic Entrepreneur

Bob is a unique mix of the classic nuts-and-bolts businessman and the idealist romantic entrepreneur.

That’s evident in his love for the medium, and comics in general. But’s also evident in his staffing.

You see, Bob’s lovely wife Gina often works with him at the Graphitti Convention Booth. So much so, in fact, that she too has become a staple of the SDCC.

“I work more than I should,” lamented Bob. And to that end, he’s grateful that his wife often joins him on the convention circuit and at SDCC in particular.

graphitti-booth-1719430“Sometimes it’s an asset to have such fresh eyes,” said Bob. “She’s not star struck and she’s a good sounding board. She makes the shows more enjoyable. It’s nice that she’s there with me.”

Standing Tall at San Diego Comic Con 2016

Bob makes it very clear about his relationship with SDCC. “I wouldn’t be here without it,” he said.

And he’s contemplative about the state of the industry. “We got what we wanted,” concludes Chappy. “The stink of comics from the fifties has dissipated.” But with the growth comes issues, and it’s a “double-edged sword.”

“I built Graphitti, but I didn’t do it property,” Bob admitted. “I don’t want to be the poster child for doing it properly.”

As an entrepreneur myself, I just scratch my head and think that Graphitti’s amazing success, innovation and longevity all seem pretty proper to me!

The TRANSFORMERS 30th Anniversary Steelbook Arrives Sept. 13

Transformers 30thAs announced early June, Shout! Factory, in collaboration with Hasbro Studios, will release The TRANSFORMERS – THE MOVIE 30th Anniversary Edition this fall 2016. This beloved animated feature is being remastered, and a full-range of bonus content and collectible packaging are currently in production. Now, Shout! Factory further celebrates the 30th Anniversary of this iconic movie with The TRANSFORMERS – THE MOVIE Limited Edition, 30th Anniversary Steelbook (2-disc Blu-ray™ set + Digital Copy), available at Amazon and in stores at select retail locations on September 13, 2016. Featuring the heroic AUTOBOTS, as they defend their native planet CYBERTRON from the evil DECEPTICONS and UNICRON, The TRANSFORMERS – THE MOVIE boasts the voice talent of Orson Welles in his final role and an all-star voice cast that includes Peter Cullen, Eric Idle, Casey Kasem, Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Stack and Frank Welker.

For the ultimate fans and collectors, The TRANSFORMERS – THE MOVIE Limited Edition, 30th Anniversary Steelbook comes with highly collectible Steelbook packaging, 2-Blu-ray set of the newly remastered movie, immersive bonus content including brand-new featurettes, a digital copy of the movie and more. This is a must-own collection to every fan’s library!

*Shout! Factory will announce in-depth details on bonus content and even more exciting details at the Shout Factory’s SDCC panel.

 

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