It’s noon on Thanksgiving, so it’s time for “Alice’s Restaurant”
What else should we play at noon on Thanksgiving but Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant”?
The Mix : What are people talking about today?
Dennis O’Neil: Can We Be Heroes?
Well! They are certainly biting the dust, aren’t they, these “heroes”? A few weeks ago, I lamented the steroid-fueled fall from grace of that bicycling phenom, Lance Armstrong. And for quite a while we’ve been learning about perverse clergymen who can’t keep their cassocks buttoned and their hands to themselves. Now, we have the sorry spectacle of two of our nation’s high-profile warriors behaving like eighth graders enthralled by their female classmates’ sudden bumpiness. Could they be taking their cues from a rather impressive list of horny congressmen? Don’t know. Is this a matter of national security? Shrug. Are they dumb asses? Well, I have no rocks to throw when it comes to asinine concupiscence, so let us hurry past this and ask the big question: Are they heroes, these horn dogs?
Okay, what’s a “hero,” anyway? The answer, if you don’t mind regressing past a lot of centuries, is that a hero is something pretty close to a god. Heroes first presented themselves in mythology, and often, maybe most of the time, they were half-deity themselves: Gilgamesh and Hercules and that crowd. We worship gods; we venerate heroes. And the need to perform these acts of worship and veneration seems to be pretty deep within us. Our genes seem to like them; every culture seems to have its pantheon of über-beings. Might have some survival value – uniting folks unrelated by blood into a social unit, the better to grow crops and defend against enemies and invent video games.
And here’s where it gets vexing for those of us in the hero business: maybe the time for heroes is almost past. Not just any one hero, or group of heroes, or class of heroes – the very concept of hero. Going, going, gone. Because it’s hard to venerate something you know, in your synapses, does not exist – not just on Olympus, or heaven, but nowhere at all. Which is what contemporary experience is telling us: no Santa Claus, no Easter bunny, no heroes. Now move along…
Oh, there are still plenty of extraordinary feats to admire. Physicists and mathematicians and delving into realities that their forebears didn’t know existed and if you doubt that athletes are amazing, just check out any random season of a major sport or watch the next Olympics. But the “hero” idea has accumulated a lot of baggage over the millennia: our heroes should be noble and honest and honorable and self-sacrificing and, as the Greeks had it, should “serve and protect.” They aren’t any of that – not the ones that exist outside make-believe.
Still, we go to the movies and watch the television and get entertained by heroic figures, so, bottom line, whatever prompts us to hero worship is still with us. And if our heroes are a bit more smudged than those our fathers and grandfathers favored…hey, our air isn’t as clean as theirs, either, and we’re still breathing, at least for a while.
Before I go…did I tell you that I’ve finally seen the new Arrow TV series and…
RECOMMENDED READING: Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
FRIDAY: Martha Thomases
What we’re thankful for, and how you can help ComicMix (and thank you for asking)
At this time of Thanksgiving, we’re thankful to each and every one of you who keeps coming back to the site because you like the people, or the comics, or the occasional snark. We all know how tough it is out there, not acknowledging that fact doesn’t make it any less tight in the wallet. There is a pestilence upon this land, nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history. But we’re glad that you’re here, reading and occasionally commenting.
We’d also like to ask you, if you’re doing any shopping at Amazon this holiday season, do it through us and help us keep the lights on. If you want to support ComicMix every time you shop at Amazon, bookmark this link and use it whenever you do your online shopping.
We are NOT asking you to forgo shopping at your local comic store, far from it. Please support your local shops. If you don’t know if you have one near you, go to our Comic Shop Locator. And if you’re running a store that’s not listed, please add your comic store to our database.
Things may be a bit light over the next few days with holidays and tech stuff, so enjoy yourself and watch out for crazy drivers and rogue TSA agents.
TARZAN GOES ON THE AUCTION BLOCK [UPDATED WITH HI-RES ART]
As part of the upcoming November 29th sale of Pop Culture merchandise at Christieâs Auctions are two pieces of original artwork for the syndicated Tarzan comic strip from the series Tarzan Against Dagga Ramba and Tarzan And The Barbarians by legendary Tarzan artist Burne Hogarth.
PRESS RELEASE:
POP CULTURE
London, South Kensington
Nov 29, 2012
Sale 7401
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| Art: Burne Hogarth |
Lot 27
Tarzan, 1942
Burne Hogarth (1911-1996)
Original art work for the syndicated Tarzan comic strip from the series Tarzan Against Dagga Ramba, watercolour, pen and ink on paper, the story titled Beseiged, published 15 March, 1942, the artwork signed and dated 575 3-15-42, Hogarth, additionally signed and inscribed For Danton Burroughs – warm regards, Burne Hogarth, July, 4, 94, the reverse of the frame also signed and inscribed For Dan Burroughs, A nice turn of story on this page with modern military accents putting TARZAN into a different focus, All best! July 4, 1994, HOGARTH
28½x21¾in. (72.5×55.5cm.)
Estimate 10,000 – 12,000 British pounds
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| Art: Burne Hogarth |
Lot 28
Tarzan, 1943
Burne Hogarth (1911-1996)
Original art work for the syndicated Tarzan comic strip from the series Tarzan And The Barbarians, watercolour, pen and ink on paper, the story titled The Foe Aroused, published 10 January, 1943, the artwork signed and dated 618 1-10-43, Hogarth, additionally signed and inscribed For Danton Burroughs – best thoughts, Burne Hogarth, July 1, 94, the reverse of the frame also signed and inscribed Dan, Compositionally, an interesting page – The ‘design flow’ moves in angular verticals and horizontals thrusting through the panel grid. The setting is mostly rocks and stone and makes a wonderful consistency of concatenating forms. Do you like it? all best, Burne Hogarth, July 1-94, HOGARTH
28×21½in. (71×54.5cm.)
Estimate 10,000 – 12,000 British pounds
CHRISTIE’S
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London
SW1Y 6QT
Tel: +44 (0) 207 389 2398
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Email: doleary@christies.com
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Stay in touch with Christie’s Updates On The Go: http://www.christies.com/on-the-go
WEIRD DETECTIVES TAKE THE CASE
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| Cover: Sherin Nicole |
Prime Books has announced their newest anthology, Weird Detectives. The cover art by Sherin Nicole has been released as well. Look for Weird Detectives in April 2013.
PRESS RELEASE:
Paranormal investigators. Occult detectives. Ghost hunters. Monster fighters. Humans who unravel uncanny crimes and solve psychic puzzles; sleuths with supernatural powers of their own who provide services far beyond those normal gumshoes, shamuses, and Sherlocks can provide. When vampires, werewolves, and thing that go bump in the night are part of your world, criminals can be as inhuman as the crimes they commit, and magic can seep into the mundane—those who solve the mysteries, bring justice for victims or even save the world itself, might wield wands as well as firearms, utter spells or simply use their powers of deduction. Some of the best twenty-first century tales from top authors of the century’s most popular genre take you down mean streets and into strange crime scenes in this fantastic compilation.
Contents (alphabetical by author):
“Cryptic Coloration” by Elizabeth Bear
“The Key” by Ilsa J. Blick
“Mortal Bait” Richard Bowes
“Star of David” by Patricia Briggs
“Love Hurts” by Jim Butcher
“Swing Shift” by Dana Cameron
“The Necromancer’s Apprentice” by Lillian Stewart Carl
“Sherlock Holmes and the Diving Bell” by Simon Clark
“The Adakian Eagle” by Bradley Denton
“Hecate’s Golden Eye” by P.N. Elrod
“The Case of Death and Honey” by Neil Gaiman
“The Nightside, Needless to Say” by Simon R. Green
“Deal Breaker” by Justin Gustainis
“Death by Dahlia” by Charlaine Harris
“See Me” by Tanya Huff
“Signatures of the Dead” by Faith Hunter
“The Maltese Unicorn” by Caitlín R. Kiernan
“The Case of the Stalking Shadow” by Joe R. Lansdale
“Like a Part of the Family” by Jonathan Maberry
“The Beast of Glamis” by William Meikle
“Fox Tails” by Richard Parks
“Imposters” by Sarah Monette
“Defining Shadows” by Carrie Vaughn
Weird Detectives: Recent Investigations
Edited by Paula Guran
Type: Trade Paperback
Pages: 480
Size: 6″ X 9″
ISBN: 9781607013846
Publication Date: April 10, 2013
Price: $16.99
Learn more about Prime Books at www.prime-books.com.
DARK HORSE PRESENTS THE ONCE AND FUTURE TARZAN
Dark Horse Comics brings Tarzan to the future in a new one-shot comic book by Alan Gordon and Thomas Yeates.
PRESS RELEASE:
Just in time for the 100th anniversary of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Tarzan of the Apes, artist Thomas Yeates (Prince Valiant, Conan) spins a surprising new tale that drops the lord of the jungle in an unfamiliar setting—the future! Can Tarzan’s vine-swinging skills serve him in the half-flooded ruins of a future London?
* Artist Thomas Yeates returns to one of his favorite subjects!
* From the pages of Dark Horse Presents!
On sale now where your favorite comic books are sold.
Creators
Writers: Alan Gordon, Thomas Yeates
Artist: Thomas Yeates
Colorist: Lori Almeida
Cover Artist: Thomas Yeates
Genre: Action/Adventure
Publication Date: November 14, 2012
Format: FC, 32 pages
Price: $3.50
Learn more about Dark Horse Comics at www.darkhorse.com.
PULPWORK PRESS CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
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| Cover Art: M. D. Jackson |
PULPWORK PRESS has released a sneak peak at the M. D. Jackson drawn cover of their 2012 Christmas Special. The Pulpwork Press Christmas Special features stories by New Pulp authors Joel Jenkins, Russ Anderson, Joshua Reynolds, and Derrick Ferguson.
The Pulpwork Press Christmas special will be available for purchase in December at the Pulpwork Press website.
Coming in 2013: The Cestus Concern
THE CESTUS CONCERN is coming January 2013
The most dangerous man on the planet must get a secret out of his head…before they remove it.
The Cestus Concern
Written By: Mat Nastos
Cover: Mat Nastos and Thomas “Orc Girl” Boatwright
Release Date: January 25, 2013
For the past 20 years, Mat Nastos has been writing, directing, and illustrating for television, motion pictures, comic books, and video games. In 2013, Nifty Entertainment will be releasing the first novel by Nastos, a science fiction action tale called “The Cestus Concern.”
WHO IS MALCOLM WEIR?
Waking up in an operating room, much to the surprise of the attending surgeons, Malcolm Weir frantically fights his way out of a secret government installation, located in downtown Los Angeles. Battling through a mass of armed guards and meta-gene operatives, the cyborg warrior realizes he has no memory of how he got there.
The past 11 months are gone.
With a hole in his mind, Weir must retrace his steps for the past year, fighting his way through the nearly endless horde of super powered mercenaries and assassins the government sends after him.
Travel along with Weir, facing some of the most intense action ever put to paper, along with a body count of ridiculous proportions, as he tracks down the secrets trapped in his head.
In the end, Weir must stand alone against a former friend and a squad of the deadliest killers ever created, all to learn the terrifying truth behind Project: Hardwired.
Fans of films like “Bourne Identity” or “Smoking Aces,” or the comics of Deadpool and Wolverine, will love the over-the-top science fiction action of “The Cestus Concern” by Mat Nastos.
Find out more about “The Cestus Concern,” including an exclusive excerpt from the novel, at: http://www.niftyentertainment.com/2012/11/12/the-cestus-concern-the-weir-codex-book-1-by-mat-nastos/
TOMMY HANCOCK TALKS NIGHTBEAT ON EARTH STATION ONE
New Pulp Jack of All Trades, Tommy Hancock stopped by episode 138 of the Earth Station One podcast to discuss the new Nightbeat: Night Stories anthology from Radio Archives along with ESO co-host (and Nightbeat contributor) Bobby Nash.
About Earth Station One Episode 138:
The conclusion to the ESO crew’s journey through The Lord of The Rings epic! Mike Faber, Mike Gordon, Bobby Nash, Jessa Phillips, and special guest Josh Reed review The Return of King and Josh faces something worse than the Eye of Sauron – The Geek Seat! We also review the recent episode of The Walking Dead and chat with Tommy Hancock about the new collection of stories based on the classic radio series Nightbeat. All this, plus the usual Rants, Raves, Khan Report, and Shout Outs!
Join us for yet another episode of The Earth Station One Podcast we like to call: The Lord of the Rings Finally Arrives at Mount Doom at www.esopodcast.com.
Direct link: http://erthstationone.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/earth-station-one-episode-138-the-lord-of-the-rings-finally-arrives-at-mount-doom/
The Point Radio: GRIMM & PERSON OF INTEREST – Shows To Be Thankful For
The second season of NBC’s GRIMM has turned the characters upside down, especially “Juliette” played by Bitsi Tulloch. She fills us in on how it all happened – and what’s coming up on the show when it returns in 2013. Plus CBS’ PERSON OF INTEREST is a Top 5 rated show which has been a surprise to a lot of folks including stars Michael Emerson & Jim Caviezel who talk about putting the show together. Meanwhile, STAR WARS gets two more writers and WOLVERINE gets a Marvel NOW launch.
The Point Radio – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or on any mobile device with the Tune In Radio app – and follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.
