This week we review Dr. Oblivion’s Guide To Teenage Dating Volume 1, by Jeff Pina. It’s the first three sold out issues (plus extras & a couple one-shots) about Dr. Oblivion, super villain AND dad of a teenage daughter…who happens to be dating the town’s superhero. Spoiler Alert: We absolutely love it! But you’ll want to watch the video anyway because you’ll learn a couple things like how Maddy is very protective over Black Widow’s superiority over all other female comic role models and how Anya will find any excuse to talk about Park and Rec so that she can steer the conversation to Chris Pratt.
I really enjoyed watching The Martian when I was sitting in the theater, but that love has faded quickly in the days since. There’s a high amount of amazing spectacle and suspense to keep audiences engaged but there’s an emotional emptiness to the film that makes it feel inconsequential in the long term and hurts the film. Ten minutes after I thought it was an Oscar contender released too early, two days after it feels like just another movie, and in a couple months I doubt I’ll be thinking about it at all. I suppose this is what Ridley Scott is these days and it’s so sad that the man who made Blade Runner and Alien is making such hollow science fiction these days.
The set pieces on display in The Martian are as good as anything I’ve seen this year. From Martian sandstorms to daring space stunts to random bouts of explosive decompression it’s a thoroughly arresting film. The action is interesting and it’s fun to hear all of the characters try and scheme their way out of impossible space problems. The interplay between Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Sean Bean, and Chiwetel Ejiofor is particularly crisp and feels if not what actual NASA meetings are like certainly what I would like to imagine them to be.
The problem with all these fascinating situations is we never get to see any real emotional reactions. Matt Damon is supposed to be almost certainly doomed millions and millions of miles away and with the exception of brief moments we never see him particularly sad or on the precipice of despair. We never see that reaction from anyone on earth either, neither from the people at NASA or from a member of his family, the stakes of the movie are so high but without seeing someone really care they don’t feel like anything. The Martian ends up feeling like a series of math problems to be solved and not like a life or death situation, and while approaching them like math problems might be what gets them solved from an institutional standpoint it doesn’t make for an effective movie.
There’s a chance I’m being too hard on this movie. It’s quite likely that “enjoyable but forgettable” actually describes a movie that’s more or less good, but I can’t help but hold Ridley Scott to a higher standard. I know he can make movies that are more affecting than this but seems trapped in a downward spiral of spectacle over substance that kicked off with Robin Hood, spread through Prometheus, hit critical mass with Exodus, and now has left us with The Martian a movie that barely seems to care about how little it cares.
So riddle me this: how do we react to another massacre? And yet, given the events of last week in Oregon, what else is worth reacting to?
I guess I’m with Obama and Colbert. The president said we’ve become numb and that’s not a bad observation. Stephen Colbert said that we’ve gotten good at pretending. Something horrific happens, something that could have been prevented, and the clergy and politicians and pundits make their noise and in a news cycle or two, we’re pretending it never happened.
Common sense suggests strategies that deserve exploration. (Gun registration could be administered as driver’s licenses are administered.) Lies get told. (The prez is sending minions in black choppers to take away your guns. The Dems are drafting laws to make firearm ownership illegal. There aren’t enough guns because one for every man, woman and child in the country isn’t enough.) Facts are ignored. (Other first world nations don’t suffer from our epidemic of gun violence.)
Research has shown that most people don’t change their minds even after they admit that the facts are against them. So appealing to sweet reason, it seems, is futile.
It’s a new season of the Fox hit series BROOKLYN 99, and our favorite detective, Melissa Fumero, is along to talk about how her character is only slightly less neurotic (but still adorable) despite a few changes in the show this year. Then actress Illena Douglas shares the news on her month long hosting gig on Turner Classic Movies’ TRAILBLAZING WOMEN
New York Comic Con is this week, which means I have way too much to do and so not enough time to do it. Let’s be honest, I am so behind in my planning, I’ve decided to ignore it all, veg out and watch TV. So, I’m relaxing with The Muppets.
Have you watched the new Muppets TV show yet? It’s a fun diversion, especially with prep work looming overhead. Now, I am too young to have watched the first series, but I remember watching the reruns as a kid. This brings me back to those happy memories and feelings, mostly because I am still a kid.
The current series has been billed as The Muppets for grown-ups documentary style series, similar to The Office. We watch the whole Muppet family work together on Miss Piggy’s late night show. All the old favorites are there, plus a few of the lesser known characters get featured along with some new additions to the team. You have Electric Mayhem as the show’s band, Fozzie as the announcer, Kermit as the producer, and Statler & Waldorf as permanent audience members, but not in their skybox.
In this, we see another side of the Muppets. Yes, we still get some musical numbers and some physical comedy, we also get relationship jokes and workplace drama. (Animal is apparently a player. Who knew?) The show still has a ton of guest stars but they have meatier storylines and appearances in each episode.
In case you haven’t seen the news, there are family groups complaining about the kid-friendly characters being shown in a grownup environment. While the premise is not exactly kid-friendly, the show can be. Most of the “adult” jokes are delivered in a way that most kids would miss them. Like every really good kids movie, some jokes are only meant for the parents. If anything, I think most kids would find those storylines boring.
Check it out if you get a chance. Let your inner child and your outer adult both enjoy what The Muppets have to offer.
This may come as a surprise to some of you who know me, but I honestly believe that people can redeem themselves. I believe in second chances, and I try to reserve my interpersonal cynicism for, oh, say, Republican presidential candidates. More important, I also believe that every man, woman and child on the planet engages in great acts of assholedom from time to time. Ain’t nobody walking on water, and all our houses have their glass wings.
I also understand why most people who have been subjected to great acts of assholedom might not feel so charitable at that time. We’re hurt, angry and abused and we feel in our guts that we’re entitled to some relief – even if such relief is merely howling with the wolves. Such is human nature. Dogs and cats generally handle it better, and we’d all do well to remember that.
You may be familiar with the incident involving Dark Horse executive editor Scott Allie. Full disclosure: whereas it’s been a while since I’ve seen him, I’ve always liked Scott and I admire his work. As far as I’m concerned, he’s an okay guy.
But, then again… I do not drink alcohol and therefore I do not hang out at convention bars. I used to debate politics and the Cubs at various Chicago taverns back in the day, but all of those joints have been consumed by ferns. Now that I’m a bona fide alter cocker, I tend to slither around back alleys with a joint and a friend. But I do know that bars are great places to get drunk, and some people who drink too much in these environs tend to temporarily join the aforementioned forces of assholedom.
According to published reports, Scott groped writer Joe Harris at a San Diego party, and Joe, understandably, took umbrage. That seems like an appropriate response. Joe didn’t take out a gun and blow Scott’s hands off. Graphic Policy’s Janelle Asselin wrote a piece discussing Scott’s behavior, detailing how this was not a one-off event and this behavior has been common knowledge in Dark Horse circles for a long time. Okay, we’re still cool: this is what happens when you act like an asshole in public.
Then Janelle wrote “the truth is that Allie is a symptom of the problems in our industry,” and I’m not certain that’s fair. I’ve been in this industry for 40 years now, and, yes, I could come up with a list of people I believe have had serious substance abuse problems. However, I’ve been laboring in media and in social services for even longer and I was media and education director for a major substance abuse prevention program in Chicago, and I can say this: If you think the industry has a substance abuse problem, get out in the real world for a bit. Our substance abuse problem in the comics donut shop is overwhelmingly dwarfed by what is routine and, quite often, accepted in the rest of the world.
This observation neither forgives nor diminishes anybody’s behavior. Being drunk or high or tired does not forgive the violating events. Absolutely not. But most perpetrators under these circumstances can redeem themselves by no longer getting drunk or high or tired to the point where they act out in public, or in private for that matter.
Yes, it takes a lot of effort and it usually takes a lot of help. Sometimes, it takes a great deal of help. But people who want to can improve. That doesn’t mitigate their actions in the past, but we live in the future so let’s fix what we can.
Scott said in a statement to CBR “I’m deeply sorry about my behavior at San Diego Comic Con 2015 and I apologize to everyone I’ve hurt. I’m completely embarrassed by my actions and how my behavior reflects on Dark Horse Comics, my friends and family. My personal approach and decisions for managing stress were bad. Dark Horse and I have taken the matter very seriously and since this incident, we have taken steps to correct and to avoid any behavior like this in the future. Although apologies can’t undo what has happened, I’ve tried to apologize to everyone impacted by my behavior. To my family, friends, co-workers, and to the industry – please know that I am truly, truly sorry.” I’m not sure what more we can ask for here; the guy screwed up, probably a bunch of times, but he gets it and he’s trying to redeem himself.
Let’s see if that works, and let’s see if we need to come up with some sort of industry-wide program to help both those with such issues and those victimized by such behavior.
Until then, remember, you’re paying property taxes on a glass house.
Chris Roberson and Michael Allred created a charming little series for Vertigo called iZombie and it got snatched up by the CW for a television. Unfortunately, the 28-issue comic was long gone by the time the show arrived this past winter. For 13 episodes, we were treated to a slightly off-kilter series that proved to be very enchanting in its own right and viewers embraced it well enough for a full season renewal. While the second season debuts tonight, Warner Home Video has released iZombie: The Complete First Season on DVD. Interestingly, unlike other releases from DC Entertainment, this one does not have a Blu-ray companion.
What makes the series fun is the approach taken by series developers Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright, a pair who know a thing or two about offbeat projects. After all, they gave us the wonderful Veronica Mars. Now they have taken another female-centric show and made it a fascinating world to visit weekly.
The comic, which justly earned an Eisner nomination, was about a woman named Gwen who just happened to be a unique zombie, required to eat a deceased person’s brains once a month to stay alive or revert to traditional zombie mode. The series was populated with all sorts of supernatural figures and themes.
Thomas and Ruggiero-Wright took the broadest strokes and revamped it for their purposes. Here, the show features a woman named, ahem, Liv Moore (Rose McIver) who was a med student until she was bitten during your typical zombie apocalypse. To access a regular supply of grey matter, she now works in the King County morgue, receiving visions from her meals. Being a television series, she meets up with a detective and they become odd couple partners.
Roberson and Allred brought one type of quirky humor to their project while the TV producers brought as fresh but altogether entirely different vibe to the series. They also layered in some meta arc material to keep things interesting. After all, something started the zombie uprising plus it all has something do with a drug called Utopium.
Characters are slowly introduced so we first get to know Liv and her concerns before worrying about everyone else’s issues. The performances are fun and the characters engaging making us eager to see what happens this year. McIver stretches every episode as she takes on the persona and quirks of her latest meal, shifting how she interacts with her colleagues. And in the background is David Anders as Blaine DeBeers, the series’ antagonist. It’s nice to see his creepily charming self on a regular show again.
The episodes are spread across three discs, looking and sounding just fine. There are a smattering of DVD extras along with the ubiquitous “DC Comics Night at Comic-Con 2014” (29:31).
Yes, gaining great power brings with it great responsibility but that does not mean a character cannot revel in the sudden ability to do the seemingly impossible. After a decade of films with tortured protagonists, all in the name of gritty reality, the arrival of the CW’s The Flash series has garnered near universal praise because, for a change, the protagonist is having some fun. Out now from Warner Home Entertainment, The Flash: The Complete First Season is well worth having.
Grant Gustin makes for an appealing and engaging Barry Allen because he’s young and an unlikely hero, who is having fun running faster than the speed of sound. He’s a pumped, hyper-active puppy hero, eager to use his powers for as much good as possible, from helping paint buildings to rescuing stray animals. He wants to do it all and thinks he can.
Along the 22 episodes of the first season, he was coming to terms with the changes in his life from the fun to the tragic as his newfound abilities opened up new clues into the investigation of his mother’s murder when he was a young child.
Spinning off from Arrow, the new series worked hard to differentiate itself from the darker show. Still, it couldn’t entirely avoid the structure of a support team, all of whom know his true identity. Here’s he’s aided by Dr. Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) and the tech wiz uber-geek Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes). Both work at S.T.A.R. Laboratories in the employ of Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh), who was the catalyst for accident that resulted in Barry gaining super speed. Wells is more than he seems from the outset and with every episode another layer is peeled away, a far more successful rolling out of a Big Bad than Arrow managed in three seasons.
Barry also has a home team in the form of Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin), who took the young Barry in after his father, Henry (John Wesley Shipp), was arrested and jailed for the murder of his wife. As a result, he grew up with Iris West (Candace Patton) as a sister, someone he had fallen for although she fell, instead, for dad’s partner Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett).
From the outset, comic book fans had familiar names and all served as trigger warnings to future events, some of which will occur in season two, launching this week. The winks and nods are nicely handled and not overdone. They are there for a reason, and unlike in Gotham, they modify not ignore the source material. This includes Caitlin’s lover, Ronnie Raymond, who seemingly died in the same accident but actually merged with Prof. Martin Stein (Victor Garber) to form Firestorm.
If there’s a fault to the first season is that they have too many characters introduced, some dispatched with speed such as Simon Stagg (William Sadler), and others arriving and going without much consequence such as Dr. Tina McGee (Amanda Pays). Rather than focus on Barry and the Flash persona, time is given over to the development of Firestorm and later the Atom (Brandon Routh). And while its fun seeing the two series casts interact with ease, it again takes time away from developing the supporting cast. While we know something of Cisco’s past, Caitlin is fun but underdeveloped, which made “Who Is Harrison Wells?” such a fun turn for the actress.
The rogues, especially Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) are resonant from the four-color pages but Cold in particular has a nicely developing persona and relationship with the Flash. Tying Girder (Greg Finley) to Barry’s past was also nicely done.
It’s a wonderfully, satisfying and strong debut season and listening to the production team discuss it on the bonus material shows the level of detail brought to the plots and effects. The first season is spread across four Blu-ray discs, each containing some deleted scenes, some of which I wish made to air.
There’s also enlightening commentary from executive producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg, and DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns on Disc 1’s “Pilot”.
In addition to the deleted scenes, there are several nice special features such as Disc 3’s “Behind the Story: The Trickster Returns!” (8:39), exploring Mark Hamill’s return to his character of The Trickster and what went into the episode.
On Disc 4, there’s “The Fastest Man Alive” (30:39) exploring the process of going from four-color comic to network series. There’s a lot of interesting tidbits in this one. Mostly for fans of special effects, “Creating the Blur: The VFX of ‘The Flash'” (26:25). A nice bonus is “The Chemistry of Emily and Grant” (4:20), the test footage between Grant Gustin and Arrow’s Emily Bett Rickards. Repurposed across multiple episode sets is “DC Comics Night at Comic-Con 2014” (29:31). Finally, there’s the usual Gag Reel (8:24).
There is a saying in Baltimore that crabs may be prepared in fifty ways and that all of them are good. • H.L. Mencken
“There is only so far that you can push people into a corner… We’re frustrated and that’s why we’re out there in the streets.” • Charles, Member of the Crips gang
“I would never want to live anywhere but Baltimore. You can look far and wide, but you’ll never discover a stranger city with such extreme style. It’s as if every eccentric in the South decided to move north, ran out of gas in Baltimore, and decided to stay.” • John Waters, Filmmaker and Writer
“This is a skewed portrayal of the protests; it is what the media chose to portray – the media that consumers bewilderingly seem to want. The real revolution is thousands of people across America standing in solidarity against police brutality. The real revolution is youth activists using their voices and their fearlessness to fight for the future of their generation. The real revolution is people of different races walking through the streets of inner city Baltimore, arms locked, chanting ’All night, all day, we will fight for Freddie Gray.’” Leah Eliza Balter • Student, Baltimore Community College, Op-Ed in the Baltimore Sun
Detective William Moreland (Wendell Pierce): I’m just a humble motherfucker with a big-ass dick. Detective Lester Freamon (Clarke Peters): You give yourself too much credit. Moreland: Okay then. I ain’t that humble. • The Wire, HBO
Guess what?
This isn’t a column about the Baltimore Comic-Con!
Yeah, I didn’t make it down to Baltimore. I’ve never been there. I’ve never been to Camden Yards, where the Baltimore Orioles play, or the Ravens’ M & T Stadium. I’ve never been to Fort McHenry, where soldiers prevented the invasion of Baltimore by British troops during the War of 1812, which inspired Francis Scott Key to write The Star-Spangled Banner, which became our national anthem in1931(!) – I thought it was much older than that, as our national anthem I mean. But I have driven through the Fort McHenry Tunnel – according to the Maryland State Government website, the largest underwater highway tunnel, as well as the widest vehicular tunnel ever built by the immersed-tube method – on my way to Washington, D.C. I’ve never been to Pimlico to watch the Preakness States, the second lap of the Triple Crown – although I remember watching Secretariat on television as he came out of the gates in last place to take the lead by the first turn and win by 2½ lengths like some impossible super-horse out of legend made real.
I never went to the Maryland Film Festival, held in Baltimore each May, but I do know that Meg Ryan’s character in Sleepless in Seattle, Annie Reed, lived in Baltimore. One of my favorite films is Avalon, directed by Barry Levinson, who grew up in Baltimore, and is part of his “Baltimore” film series, which also includes Diner (another favorite of mine), which every football fan – including me – remembers as the movie in which Steve Guttenberg, as “Eddie,” tells his fiancée that he will not marry her unless she can pass a quiz about his beloved Baltimore Colts, the team that, as every football fan knows, absconded in the middle of the night on March, 1984 to Indianapolis, causing a flood of 911 calls and emergency room visits by apoplectic fans of the iconic team that was one of the founding members of the NFL team. Then in 1996 the Cleveland Browns – another iconic NFL team – did the same thing to its city and fans, packing up and moving to become the AFC’s Baltimore Ravens.
And speaking of Baltimore football, I was only five years old but I remember going with my dad to The Greatest Game Ever Played, when the Colts played the New York Giants – my team! – at Yankee Stadium for the 1958 NFL Championship. The game went into sudden death overtime, something that had never happened before in a playoff situation. Final score: Baltimore by 6 points over the Giants, 23–17.
I don’t come from Baltimore, but Babe Ruth did. As did Edgar Allan Poe. So did Eubie Blake. And Frank Zappa. And Billie Holiday. And Mama Cass. John Waters and the aforementioned Barry Levinson are Baltimore natives. So is Ed Burns. Politically speaking, Spiro Agnew and Alger Hiss are Baltimore natives. So is Nancy Pelosi, but I didn’t want to list her with Agnew and Hiss.
Who is Ed Burns? To answer a question with a question, remember Detective John Munch? Played by actor Richard Belzer, he was a pivotal character on the Baltimore-set series, Homicide: Life on the Streets, which ran for seven seasons on NBC, won numerous awards, and was co-created by Burns, a Baltimore homicide detective and public school teacher. He and his writing partner, David Simon, used city again in two more series, both on HBO: The Corner, and The Wire.
Unbelievably, The Wire never won any awards; but the show was a critics’ and fans’ darling, and hailed as one of the greatest dramas every to appear on television. Simon said of it: “[It’s] really about the American city, and about how we live together. It’s about how institutions have an effect on individuals. Whether one is a cop, a longshoreman, a drug dealer, a politician, a judge or a lawyer, all are ultimately compromised and must contend with whatever institution to which they are committed.”
Baltimore. Also known B’more. And Smalltimore. More macabre nicknames are Bodymore, Murdaland, and Mobtown. But it’s also been called Charm City, The City of Firsts, Crab Cake Capitol of the World, The City That Reads, Clipper City, Monument City, and The Greatest City in America.
At the recent Baltimore Comic-Con, I presented “It’s an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World” which was both a nostalgic look back at how brands connected with pop culture fans and how brands connect today.
And I’ve got to say, it was invigorating to be part of such an exciting convention. The convention center is in the heart of their downtown, and the entire, upbeat weekend was an encouraging contrast to the agonizing images of Baltimore from last April. I’m not saying problems don’t still exist, but the Baltimore Comic-Con presented us all with an optimistic and hopeful weekend for this city.
For “It’s an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World,” I tried hard to balance my presentation between nostalgic, backward glances of ads in old comics and the brilliant innovative ways that brands now connect with Geek Culture. But to be fair, a lot of the old ads were so surprisingly goofy, especially through the lens of 2015, that it was hard to resist taking the audience on an extended, smirking “field trip” through the marketing of yesteryear.
We talked about the classic ads, like Sea Monkeys, but also about some of the clever and absurd ads, like those for muscle-building programs and part time jobs selling shoes.
During the presentation, I also took a closer look at two classic brands that engaged in long running campaigns specific to comics: Tootsie Roll’s Captain Tootsie series and Hostess Twinkies (and Fruit Pies) long running single page adventure strip ads. In fact, Hostess’ ads are so memorable that they’ve inspired a plethora of satire ads over the years.
And for today, we talked about KFC’s clever onsite marketing at San Diego Comic-Con last summer. As part of a media partnership, Kentucky Fried Chickens place Col. Sanders statues in cosplay outfits, in various parts of San Diego’s downtown and Gaslamp districts. (And I’m sure you all know by now that cosplay refers to the practice of dressing up as pop culture character for a convention.) Fans were rewarded when they found these statues, and amplified KFC’s marketing messages via social media. And closer to home, we explored how my agency, Bonfire, helped Guinness connect with passionate pop culture fans as a sponsor of the Harvey Awards. These awards, honoring creativity and craftsmanship, are held annually at the Baltimore Comic-Con.
So, the title of this presentation was, in retrospect, misleading. It’s not really an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World anymore. Not traditional ads, anyways. But it is a world that eager for creativity and accepting of marketing messages – as long as they are authentic, entertaining and appropriate. So keep your eyes peeled, and don’t be surprised if you see the next corporate mascot having fun with cosplay –just like everyone else.
relationship with the Flash. Tying Girder (Greg Finley) to Barry’s past was also nicely done.
In addition to the deleted scenes, there are several nice special features such as Disc 3’s “Behind the Story: The Trickster Returns!” (8:39), exploring Mark Hamill’s return to his character of The Trickster and what went into the episode.
