Would you like to meet ComicMix writers and staffers Martha Thomases, Marc Alan Fishman, Robert Greenberger, Adriane Nash, Glenn Hauman, and me?
Why? Geez, get a life.
All seriousness aside, the Heroes Convention in Charlotte North Carolina is one of the few large conventions that is actually still about comics. As people who memorize my columns know all too well (when they’re not wandering about Times Square mumbling to themselves), I dislike those huge shows that call themselves comic book shows or, worse, comic cons yet are nothing more than mass media B-list star feeding frenzies. Not that those shows don’t have their place; they do. Just don’t call them comic book shows unless they are actually about comic books.
You know, like the Heroes Convention in Charlotte North Carolina… this very weekend, from Friday, June 7 through Sunday, June 9, at the Charlotte Convention Center, 501 S. College Street.
It’s also a damn good show, well-run by a seasoned staff under the direction of show founder and all-around swell guy Shelton Drum.
Here’s your reward for making it this far into my column: on Saturday at 1:30 pm in
Room 207CD, ComicMix is going to have a panel called “Your Comics Your Way.” We will be making several major (honest) announcements regarding this here ComicMix thing, including the first public reveal of our new ComicMixPro Services!
Wow!
Just go there. You’ll have a swell time. Seriously swell. Tell ‘em Groucho sent you. Maybe they’ll give you a DeSoto.
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. shared a sneak peek at the upcoming webstrip comic, The Eternal Savage by New Pulp Writer Martin Powell and New Pulp Artist Steven E Gordon.
Premiering at Pulpfest, Altus Press presents Hidden Ghosts: The Lost Stories of Paul S. Powers by Paul S. Powers with an introduction by Laurie Powers.
Paul S. Powers (1905-1971) is known for his long-standing career as a western writer and as the creator of Wild West Weekly’s most popular heroes, Sonny Tabor and Kid Wolf. But Paul was a talented and versatile writer who loved to write in other genres, such as horror, noir, animal, romance, and historical accounts. Here, together in one volume for the first time are his famous stories published in Weird Tales in 1925-26, as well as other stories that were published in Real Detective Tales & Mystery Stories, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Range Rider Western, Ranch Romances, and the modern Beat to a Pulp anthologies. Four of the stories in this collection have never been published before, and one was co-written by Powers’ eldest son John. Together these provide a rare glimpse into the thoughts of a writer who, while churning out westerns that were loved by thousands of readers, battled many demons. He shares his struggles with us through these suspenseful, surprising, and sometimes very emotional stories.
Dark Oak Press’s The Big Bad: An Anthology of Evil is now available as a hardcover, paperback, and ebook (Kindle and Nook) at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Created and edited by authors John G Hartness and Emily Lavin Leverett, The Big Bad Anthology features stories from a host of authors (full list below) that includes some familiar names to readers of New Pulp.
Suggested for Mature Readers, The Big Bad: An Anthology of Evil is 346 pages and contains 30 stories from some fantastically talented authors.
PRESS RELEASE:
The Big Bad: An Anthology of Evil
Everybody loves bad guys, and these are some of the baddest of them all. Forget the rules. There aren’t any heroes. No one is going to save you from the wickedness in the darkness. Monster hunters can easily become the hunted. Twisted perverts can find themselves on the receiving end of their own deviant desires. No matter how big and bad someone or something may be, there is always something bigger and badder just waiting. Even the classics like a dragon, werewolf, or supernatural being can fall victim to something even more evil. Take a peek, if you dare, inside the malevolent world of super-villains, monsters, demons and just plain evil folk. Be careful, what you see there might be disturbingly familiar …
The Tales: A Girl’s Gotta Eat – Sara Taylor Woods Hell Has the Best Tunes – Brad Carter The Wicked Witch and the White Knight – Emily Lavin Leverett Identity Crisis – H. David Blalock Solomon – Darin Kennedy The Coyote’s Word – Milo James Fowler Sovereign – James R. Tuck Bargains – Ken Lizzi The Chase – Jay Requard Das Siebenundzwanzigstes Untier – Jim Bernheimer Anne of a Thousand Years – Manny Frishberg The Seventh Trap – Adam Knight God of Gods – Sarah Adams Drifter – Nico Serene Anabiosis – James Isaac Watchtower – Matthew Oelkers Fair Play – John G. Hartness The Last Time You Were Here – Terry Sanville Any Other Way – J. Matthew Saunders Lowlife – Bobby Nash The Con – Kelli A. Wilkins Wolfy – S.H. Roddey Forever Lost – Matthew Hance The Death Bringer – Eden Royce A Demon’s Guide to Getting into Heaven – Cassandra Mortimer The Way Gregory Tasted – Angela Bodine Human – Hunter Lambright An Essay for Ms. Krimson – Val Muller Another Pleasant Valley Sunday – Sean Taylor Real Wild Childe – Selah Janel
LEGION 1 : LORDS OF FIRE By Van Allen Plexico White Rocket Books 311 pages
Something foul has invaded the galactic empires of mankind; something ancient and powerful beyond imagining. Veteran space opera author, Van Plexico once again spins a tale of cosmic proportions but narrates it through the eyes of several believable characters thus bringing the reader along intimately for yet another thrill ride.
Military Colonel of the First Legion, Ezekiel Tamarlane is the protagonist in this book, the first of a new series, and he jumps onto the stage in full action mode having been ordered to steal one of the empire’s more treasured artifacts; an artifact he is personally in charge of protecting. Thus successfully completing his secret mission he is then publicly demoted for allowing the artifact to be stolen.
Sound convoluted? You bet it does and soon Tamarlane finds himself the target of cleverly disguised murder attempts. When he takes his suspicions to his trusted superior and mentor, General Nakamura, he is forced to confess his own part in the theft which has created dangerous political and military ripples throughout the known worlds. To his credit, the General’s faith and trust in his subordinate motivates him to dig deeper into the affair all of which leads to their witnessing the Emperor’s disappearance into another realm where live gods and demons.
A rescue sortie is launched with Nakamura and Tamarlane in charge and what they find on “the other” side is far beyond their scope of reasoning. That they manage to save the Emperor and his retinue is the catalyst for further attacks on both their lives until both must accept the undeniable truth that they are mere pawns in a vast conspiracy that threatens all the star kingdoms of man.
Plexico amps his already manic writing pace in this volume and readers had better buckle up because the action never stops from page one to the end. In fact the climatic battle in the off world cathedral had this reviewer getting paper burns for turning the pages so fast.
In the end this is of course all a set up for much more intrigue and dastardly alien shenanigans. LEGION 1: LORDS OF FIRE is a fiction stew that is both new and familiar. Imagine “Dune” as written by Robert E. Howard and that’s the gift we have here. This is one of the best new pulp titles of the year thus far. Miss it at your own peril.
NBC’s REVOLUTION has closed out it’s first seas9on, and we sit down with star Billy Burke to look back at the moments than helped propel the show to another season next fall. Plus we lose a Doctor, get a “Dan” back and pick up an OUTLANDER.
There is a sumptuousness and exotic look and feel to the Ancient Egyptian culture that I have always been drawn to. The clothing, décor, architecture – it has always been utterly fascinating and their monarchies and dynasties are as rich as any in Europe. One of the best biographies I read in the last few years was Stacy Schiff’s Cleopatra, which mined all known existing records about the Queen and attempts to weave together the most likely version of her storied life and death.
On the other hand, the 1963 spectacle of the same name merely adapted Plutarch’s version of events. Today, Cleopatra has become shorthand for a bloated misfire of a film and is always cited as the one that nearly caused 20th Century-Fox to crumble. The studio survived and has had the last laugh, making a fortune off the film ever since. Out now is the overdue Blu-ray edition and they have lavished much attention on the production so it’s the best version you will find for home viewing.
Starring Elizabeth Taylor, she was in her thirties and at her optimal beauty, making her the ideal lead for the movie. Her stardom was such that the studio was willing to plunk a cool million for her services, setting a new record for actors. They budgeted $2 million for the film but the costly production swelled to a then-record $44 million (over $325 million today) until the next $44-million record film budget, which was, of course, Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
The film was a labor of love for Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who codirected, cowrote, and coproduced the film. While it made headlines for Taylor’s salary and affair with costar Richard Burton, it also brought home four Oscar Awards, including Best Cinematography and Best Effects, Special Visual Effects so it couldn’t have been all bad. And it’s not.
We start in 48 B.C. and end with her death in 30 B.C. and during that time Cleopatra VII rose to rule then oversaw her country’s absorption into the Roman Empire, loving Julius Caesar while using that relationship to protect her people. Gaius Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison) chases Pompey to lush Egypt, just in time for a civil conflict as Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII (Richard O’Sullivan) has sent his sister Cleopatra out of the capital city of Alexandria. Caesar and Cleopatra meet, scheme together, and in the process, fall in love, changing the fate of two governments.
They produce just one son, Caesarion, a living symbol of the two countries’ enduring unity but he is so besotted with the Queen, he neglects his duties back home long enough to stir talk of rebellion. In time, he goes home and soon after she comes to visit, he is named dictator for life and subsequently assassinated. Mark Anthony (Richard Burton), the new ruler, eventually follows Cleopatra back to Egypt where they start their own torrid affair, allowing Caesar’s nephew Octavian (Roddy McDowall) to plot his own overthrow.
This is a long film, with a lot of lingering views of temples, pyramids, courts, and costumes. Taylor had a record-setting 62 costume changes in this production and we must pause to notice every bangle. The pacing, thanks to two editors, is a little uneven and 20th balked at the length, trimming after its premiere and destroying much of the cut footage. What we get is the 151 minute New York premiere edition, complete with Overture, Entr’acte and Exit Music.
Thankfully, the restoration is brilliant and gorgeous to watch. The colors are vibrant and the action a pleasure to watch. Similarly, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is a match so you can hear the sand crushed beneath the sandals.
Given the film’s running time, it is split over two discs but comes with a ton of extras starting with an examination of Cleopatra’s Missing Footage (9:00), wherein film historian Brad Geagley and 20th Century Fox film archivist Schawn Belston take you through the history.
In Fox Legacy with Tom Rothman, the studio CEO reviews the tortured production, trying to separate truth from myth (30). Cleopatra Through the Ages: A Cultural History offers us Professor and Chair of Anthropology at UC Santa Barbara Stuart Tyson Smith as he talks about the historic personage (8:00).
The Cleopatra Papers: A Private Correspondence lets us glimpse at the work retinaed by publicists Jack Brodsky, based in Rome, and Nathan Weiss, in New York until they swapped places. were the publicists for 20th Century Fox during the epic production of Cleopatra. One was stationed in Rome, the other in New York – then they switched places.
You also get the 2001 Commentary track with Chris Mankiewicz, Tom Mankiewicz, costar Martin Landau and publicist Jack Brodsky.
The second disc offers up Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood, a two-hour film about the making of Cleopatra, which explains that the blockbuster was competing with television, keeping the studios relevant to audiences. As narrated by the great Robert Culp, this makes compelling viewing.
The Fourth Star of Cleopatra is a ten minute short showing some behind the scenes footage of the massive set constructions.
Hard to believe they still had Fox Movietone News in the 1960s, but the disc has footage from the New York and Hollywood Premieres. (7:00 min). Finally, all three movie trailers are included.
Right now Nick is dealing with an issue that involves my dear friend Don McGregor. I can think of a lot worse people to deal with than Nick who has always been cool with me. I have high hopes that Nick and Don get on the same page and that’s all I’m going to say about that.
However, I will say a bit more about Don. As readers of ComicMix have no doubt noticed I have some recurring themes in my articles among them African Americans in the industry, the High School Of Art and Design and Asian Women.
Even I know that sometimes returning too often to a theme can get a little tiresome. Except for the many Asian women mentions, I realize that the constant mentioning of my high school (the greatest high school on the planet) and black people (the darkest people on the planet) can just get tedious. Yes, mentioning Asian women can certainly get monotonous also, especially to black women, but I really could care less.
Black Women! That Was A Joke! I Love my sisters…long time.
There is a recurring theme I wish I revisited often and I don’t think my readers would object too and that’s my love letters to creators I’ve had the pleasure to meet and often become friends with. Every so often I meet and befriend a creator and it’s always cool.
But…
Not as often I meet and befriend a creator who I idolized beforehand and that creator becomes like family to me, Don McGregor is one of those creators. I do so love me some Don McGregor and yes I’m going to write about black people but in a first for me I’m combining two recurring themes: black people in the industry and a love letter to a creator!
Don McGregor is just a great and I mean great guy. He also just happens to be one of the best writers to ever write for comic books.
Ever.
When I met him I stammered like a little bitch I was so in awe of this man. THIS from a man who hangs out with academy award and Grammy winners and whose annual San Diego Comic Con party has a guest list that reads like a Barbara Walters after Oscar special. I’m not saying any of this to impress you I’m saying it to underscore how freaking jazzed I was to meet Don McGregor.
One of the reasons I started the Black Panel, a forum to discuss African Americans in the entertainment business, and why I return to the black theme so often in my articles is because the African American experience is a complicated one.
I’m just trying to give some insight into that experience from a black perspective. I’ll let you in on a little secret; black creators seldom think white boys write good black characters. Don’t get me wrong-some of the greatest black comic book characters were created by white boys.
The Black Panther, the Black Racer, Storm…err…. the Black Panther, the Black Racer…Storm.
Look, I’m sure there are others in fact I know there are others but the misses have been so massive that all my brain can come up with are the three I’ve listed. How massively awful are some of the misses?
This massively awful, Marvel some time ago introduced a new Bucky. He was a black man who stood six foot three inches.
Give that a sec; a 6’3” black man named Bucky.
Yes, that was long years ago, but in 2010 Mark Millar created a black superhero, Tyrone Cash, a.k.a. Leonard Williams. His story? Well, he was a scientist, I’ll say that again, he was a scientist named Leonard Williams THEN he subjected himself to one of his super soldier serums and gained the power of the Hulk.
What’s the problem, you ask?
He gained Hulk like powers yet he retained his intellect.
What’s the problem with that you ask?
Well after he got his Hulk like powers this scientist decides to become a fuckingthug and start dealing drugs. So let’s recap: he retains his scientist intellect and becomes a thug drug dealer.
Look, I think Mark Millar is a good writer but a character gaining Hulk like powers while maintaining a scientist intellect becomes a thug and a drug dealer? How the fuck is that not some thoughtless stereotyping?
What’s next, Mark? A black member of Mensa gets the powers of Superman and becomes a pimp? BTW, I hear you’re English and I’d like your take on a graphic novel I’m writing. It’s about how Princess Diana gets the power of Wonder Woman and becomes a two-dollar whore.
What?
I’ve got a lot more examples of screwed up black characters created by some white writers but that’s an entire book in and of itself so I’ll just let the two examples I used stand. Not that I give a shit what people think but let me say this, there are some incredible white writers who write great black characters and on the flip side of that there are some great black writers who write horrible white characters. Oh and Mark before I forget, when I received my PhD the first thing I thought about was robbing a liquor store. Nah, I’m just kidding, but as soon as I get Hulk like powers…
But as usual (sorry, Peter) I digress. Don McGregor body of work and original creations are simply awe-inspiring. I don’t think I’ve ever read a bad Don McGregor story. I know I’ve never encountered a bad Don McGregor original superhero. One of the reasons I was such a little pussy when I met Don is he writes the best black characters. Hell, I wish I could write black characters as well as Don does.
Sabre is one of Don’s creations is one of the best comics I’ve ever read. Sabre is a black character, in case you were born yesterday. Why didn’t I mention it above with the other great black characters created by white writers?
I’ve been revisiting my childhood on YouTube and podcasts a lot lately; and for this I place the blame squarely on voice actor Rob Paulsen – voice of Yakko Warner, Dr. Otto Scratch’n’sniff, and Pinky, of Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain. Well, if I was going to be fair, the daisy chain of blame would stretch all the way back through Twitter; Billy West; the organizers of Awesome Con; Mike Gold; Deadpool; a couple of federal judges; Glenn Hauman; Glenn’s lovely wife Brandy; YA author Esther Friesner; and Terry Pratchett and the Discworld. But that’s way too convoluted, so Rob, it’s all your fault!
At some point in my childhood, I became a latchkey kid. Both of my parents worked until after school let out, and although there was a lot of “homework time” and “chore time” in my day, I fondly remember the period of time between when I arrived home from school and when my parents returned home as “snacks and TV with no parents anywhere in sight” time. Thanks in part to this, I watched a lot of cartoons growing up – Thundercats, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, DuckTales, TailSpin, Rescue Rangers, Looney Toons, Tom & Jerry, The Jetsons, The Flintstones, Scooby Doo, The Smurfs, Yogi Bear, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Gummi Bears, X-Men, Batman: The Animated Series, Doug, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Transformers, He-Man, She-Ra, Darkwing Duck, Goof Troop, Gargoyles, and Tiny Toon Adventures, to name a few. But hands down, Warner Bros.’ Animaniacs was one of my absolute favorites.
I don’t know how exactly, but I managed to be watching TV when the very first couple of episodes of Animaniacs, which included the consistently excellent shorts De-Zanitized, The Monkey Song, Nighty-Night Toon, Yakko’s World, Cookies for Einstein, and Win Big first aired – and just like that, I was hooked. The show arrived at pretty much the perfect time for me – I was twelve years old, so young enough for my TV diet to still include a regular fix of cartoons. But given that I was the sort of child whose favorite book in the fifth grade was Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, I was also able to appreciate a lot of the more sophisticated humor and pop culture references going on beneath the gags. Also, let’s be frank – I love cute things, and the characters in Animaniacs (particularly little Wakko Warner, and Pinky of Pinky and the Brain) are pretty darned adorable.
I can’t say for sure, but I’m guessing I watched at least 3/4 of Animaniacs when it first aired. Even after other cartoons sort of fell by the wayside, what with high school and extracurriculars and all, I still watched it; and when Pinky and the Brain spun off into its own show, I watched that too. Of course, eventually (and sadly) the shows ended. And I went to college, and then I went to law school, and you know how it is, things move along. But I never forgot about Animaniacs; and I am sure that in ways that could never be quantified, it influenced the development of my personality. Certainly, years later, I have found myself referencing the show without even realizing it until after the fact, such as when writing my hamster Izzy’s Twitter bio.
Recently, as ComicMix readers will know, I interviewed the amazing Billy West. And when I shared the interview on Twitter, the inestimable Rob Paulsen retweeted it. And so I was scrolling along his Twitterfeed, and recalled that I’d always meant to listen to his podcast, and began listening to it. And then I heard him mention that he was doing live appearances, and asked him if he’d ever done one in DC, and he said he’d like to, and a few weeks later, lo and behold, we were able to set something up, and so now Rob Paulsen will be appearing at The National Press Club in DC on August 1 (get your tickets now!). Hurrah! I am very excited.
Of course, during the course of getting that all set up, I ended up on YouTube re-watching some Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain, and realized I’d forgotten just how many episodes of those shows I’d originally watched. Nearly every video I clicked was like re-visiting an old friend – one that I hadn’t seen in ages, and maybe even thought I’d forgotten about – until the moment the video started playing and I realized I still remembered all the words to the theme song, and all of the popular catch-phrases from both shows, and oh yes, this episode where the Warners meet Satan, and that episode where they meet the boring guy at the party, and the one where Death takes poor Wakko away (the whole bit with, “Are we dead?” “Or is this Ohio?” still kills me). And also the one where Buttons and Mindy are in space, and the one with Slappy and the can, and the one where Brain is a jockey and Pinky falls in love with a horse, and the one with Minerva and the werewolf, and the one where Billy West is doing Larry Fine from the Three Stooges as a mouse, and, and, and ye gods, I could go on forever. So many good episodes.
And that’s not even counting all of the amazing songs sung by the Warner Brothers and their sister Dot, and other characters, throughout the series. Like the clever and cute I’m Mad, and the excellently harmonized The Ballad of Magellan, and the catchy Senses Song, and Wakko’s 50 States Song, and the Gilbert and Sullivan parody Cartoon Individual. Plus Pinky’s song from the Cats parody “Broadway Malady” (for which Rob Paulsen won an Emmy Award, mind you), and the very impressive Les Miserables parody and West Side Story parody. Here’s a whole playlist of them, if, like me, you can’t get enough.
This year, in case you don’t know, marks the 20th anniversary of Animaniacs, which first aired in 1993 – and here’s a pretty cool brief history of the show, with first-hand information courtesy of creator Tom Ruegger. One amazing thing about Animaniacs is that it still holds up, twenty years later. Through a combination of humor that appeals to both children and adults, stellar and clever musical compositions and lyrics, unique characters, and, of course, the award-winning voices behind those characters, the show is just as enjoyable to me today, as an adult, as it was when I started watching it at twelve years old. In fact, it’s even more enjoyable because I can appreciate some of the cleverness and references more as an adult; and because I am now also interested in the voices and creators behind the show, something I never really stopped to think about when I was a child. This is another area in which much of the blame lies squarely on Rob Paulsen, whose wonderful, amusing, amazing, fascinating Talkin’ Toons podcast – seriously, it’s awesome – includes not only discussions of his work, but interviews with a myriad of other amazing talents behind Animaniacs and pretty much every other animated show out there. (FYI, you can listen to the podcast via his website, iTunes, or even a super-handy and easy to use smartphone app. Check it out – because if you are not listening to it, you are missing out.)
From the frequency of Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain questions on Rob’s podcast, to the reception the voice actors involved receive at fan conventions, it seems to me that I am far from the only one out there who watched the shows as a child and has rediscovered my love for them as an adult. Animaniacs was and still is a gem in the realm of animated shows. And given that many of the folks who watched it when it first aired now have children who watch the DVDs with them and also love the show, it doesn’t seem like a stretch to wonder if the time might be ripe for a new season of Animaniacs. After all, one great thing about animated shows is that the characters don’t have to age unless the creators want them to – so twenty years later, they could easily make new episodes that picked up wherever they wanted them to. I, for one, would really love to see that happen; and from what I’ve heard via the podcasts, so would at least some of the creators. So hey – you never know!
If you’ve never seen Animaniacs before, YouTube is your friend and I highly recommend you give it a try; and if you love Animaniacs as much as I do, maybe you’ll join me in raising a glass to its 20th Anniversary, and wishing upon a star that Yakko, Wakko, and Dot might escape the water tower again someday soon.
Coming in a few weeks from Altus Press is Master of Midnight: The Collected Captain Zero by G.T. Fleming-Roberts with an introduction by Stephen Payne
About Master of Midnight: The Collected Captain Zero: For years you’ve read about this last gasp of the pulp hero, this invisible detective created by the legendary G.T. Fleming-Roberts. Yet Captain Zero is far more than a tiny spark thrown from the dying pulp fire. Far more complex than once thought, he provides a telling commentary on the desire for such mainstays as home and hearth so eagerly pursued in post-WWII America. And he offers a subtle, albeit inadvertent, critique of human control of science, particularly atomic power and the Bomb in the scary, early days of the Cold War. Join us for these three intriguing pulp mysteries, and learn what made Captain Zero a disappearing hero—in more ways than you might have ever expected! Collecting the entire Captain Zero series, this comprehensive edition also includes an all-new introduction by Fleming-Roberts historian Stephen Payne.
Would you like to meet ComicMix writers and staffers Martha Thomases, Marc Alan Fishman, Robert Greenberger, Adriane Nash, Glenn Hauman, and me?
