JOHNNY B HEART NETFLIX, PART ONE

Still subscribing to Netflix, thankyouverymuch, and lately I've watched a gaggle (clutch? school? pride?) of films or recent vintage , with one notable exception. Here they be. Five star rating system.

THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK ***
Continuation of David Twohy's not-bad sci-fi actioner Pitch Black, starring Vin Diesel as the title character, who was established as an technology-enhanced convict in the first film, but is bumped up into some sort of über-warrior this time out, complete with manifest destiny and everything. Of course, and this is to his credit, Diesel plays him the same exact way he did in the first flick: dour, hypercapable and sullen, with no sense of humor. He doesn't so much as choose to lead the free universe against the evil menace, it's more like he gets pissed off at being inconvenienced. I don't know exactly what to think about this- this was obviously crafted with a lot of care and imagination, and a lot more money than its predecessor, which makes the CGI and matte effects very impressive. I wish they'd spent a little more time developing the story; it's epic enough, I suppose, and there are a lot of somewhat interesting characters but a lot of it doesn't make sense. For example, the prison planet Crematoria (ouch, what a dumb name) has its hellish prison under the surface- up top it's so close to the sun and its rotation is such that the surface gets cooked by intense sunlight on a frequent basis. But, despite the apparent complete lack of any sort of vegetation whatsoever, the atmosphere is breathable! In fact, the control center of the prison surfaces at regular intervals and opens vents which allow fresh air to rush into the underground prison. At one point, the escaping Riddick and his motley crew take advantage of this and make a mad dash across the planet's surface to the spaceships which are docked on the other side of a mountain range, and have to outrun the advancing intense sunlight which is at their backs. While up in the mountains, they actually have to stop climbing, in the light which is already hot enough to disintegrate a couple of the unlucky prisoners...but the air is not superheated and the have no trouble breathing. Science quibbles aside, if you're a fan of this sort of intergalactic quest-type film, there's much to like about Chronicles...the evil empire (called "Necromongers") are sufficiently repulsive, there is a nice tie-in with Pitch Black in the form of Keith David's holy man Imam, not to mention Riddick's young admirer Jack (now named Kyra) and played with an appealing mix of sass and verve by a cutie named Alexa Davalos. The requisite slumming distinguished actor/actress is Dame Judi Densch, who plays some sort of emissary from a planet of ghost witches or somesuch. It's kinda pretentious, overblown and often dumb, but I liked it a lot better than either of Lucas's Star Wars prequels, so there ya go.

ORGY OF THE DEAD **
It will probably come as no big surprise to anyone that I am a bit of a fan of the work of Edward D. Wood, Jr.; ever since seeing a picture or two from his Plan 9 From Outer Space in Famous Monsters as a kid, then getting to see both it and its companion in awfulness Bride of the Monster once or twice on Channel 5 (Nashville)'s the Big Show in the 70s, I have taken every opportunity I could get to experience the weird-assed spawn of this man's feverish imagination. The Rudolph Grey book Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. was required reading for me, along with Weldon's Psychotronic books, which cited his films, and the Burton semi-biopic. I think what I came away admiring about him, even as I laugh and shake my head at the amateurishness of his output, is how much commitment he had to his craft and how much he burned with the need to be involved in movies. If only I had that kind of fire inside me, who knows- I might be drawing comics somewhere. Anyway, all this personal junk aside, Orgy was one of the two or three Wood films I hadn't seen, and make no mistake- it's bad. Ludicrously bad. Wood didn't direct this one (Stephen Apostolof was the man behind the camera), he only assisted and wrote the alleged screenplay- and it's full of his hilariously ponderous pronouncements. His old buddy Criswell is here, looking liquored up and obviously reading from cue cards, but he's the only one from the Mighty Wood Players that turns up. Basically what this is is a nudie flick, the sort they used to show in Burlesque theatres back in the early-mid 60s, with Wood's typically ham-handed horrorshow ideas shoehorned in. Criswell is the "Emperor of the Dead", who presides over what I suppose is nightly nude dancing in a graveyard in order to pass judgement on "lost souls". At his side is Elvira lookalike Fawn Silver and two guys dressed up in awful-looking mummy and wolfman costumes. They get to provide comic relief. The strippers come out one at a time, and each one dances to a theme, based on the crimes they committed in life: one loved gold above all else, so Cris has gold coins poured over her head by two strapping slave men in striped shorts, then she gets dunked in a boiling pot (actually, they lay her behind it, and it's obvious) and emerges covered head-to-toe in gold paint, just like Shirley Eaton (Apostolof says in an interview included on the disc that the James Bond film indeed was the inspiration for this sequence) in Goldfinger. A Hawaiian girl threw herself into a volcano, so she does a fire dance. You get the picture. A writer and his shrewish girlfriend are out driving around at night looking for this cemetary (to get ideas for his stories, he says), have an accident, and when they come to are discovered by the monsters, tied to posts, and forced to watch the strippers being "judged". Funniest line (out of many contenders) has the boyfriend saying, "They wouldn't dare put both of us in the same grave, would they?"; to which the girlfriend replies, "I hope not, I hate you". You'll want to fast forward past the strippers' routines; they're (mostly) attractive but they dance like they're on Thorazine- and savor the wretched bad acting and ludicrous dialogue as only our Eddie could write. Orgy is worth it for Wood buffs and connoisseurs of bad cinema, but everyone else should just stay away.

MAGNOLIA ****
After Boogie Nights, which I liked a lot, I had kinda gotten behind with my P.T. Anderson film viewing. Here's what he followed that film with, and I remember it getting mostly good reviews upon its release, but I think its length, lack of a distinctive concept, and the fact that it didn't come on any cable networks that I subscribed to at the time meant that I'm only just now getting around to viewing it. It's a sprawling film, with multiple storylines that only really converge at the end. It's chock full of good perfomances, from Anderson regulars such as Julianne Moore, the great William Macy, and Phillip Seymour Hoffmann, not to mention Tom Cruise as a motivational speaker/huckster who has parental issues with dying dad Jason Robards. The movie's not wildly inventive, nor is it directed with a lot of spark, and the big even which connects all the characters is just plain silly...but my attention rarely strayed and I was very interested in where it was all going. It didn't seem as long as its 3-hour running time would have you think. The movie doesn't end as much as it just expires, and leaves you hanging just a little, but overall I liked Magnolia because while I might not have been as impressed with the destination as I had hoped, I enjoyed the trip.

More to come.

I'll try to get today's Spirit page up later on today, didn't have time to scan one last night.

However, over at Wayne Bruce's Heroes & Villains, he reminded me of something which I haven't seen in a good long while: The 1987 Spirit TV movie. I actually taped it back then, and just might still have it although I haven't looked. It starred Sam (Flash Gordon) Jones as Denny Colt, and Nana Visitor (Lt. Kira from Deep Space Nine) as Ellen Dolan. It wasn't a total disaster, if I recall correctly, but was doomed from the start by a low budget, with TV movie production values, the decision to film it in the present day, and a smidgen of camp in the script. I tried to find a picture of it on the Web, but had no luck.

Bruce also points us to an article on CBR dealing with the proposed Spirit theatrical film, which is still in development. They're going to try, apparently, to take a Batman: The Animated Series-style "timeless setting" approach- not exactly 2000s, but not the 40's either. I won't get my hopes up.

Here's an earlier piece on the film at Superherohype.com.

Oh, by the way, on the subject of a Spirit film, I indulged myself in a bit of speculating the other day: what if they had made a film based on Eisner's greatest creation back in the actual 40s? Wouldn't my Forties inamorata Priscilla Lane have made a smashingly perfect Ellen Dolan? Take a look at the pic towards the bottom of the links bar at right, go to the site it links to, and tell me I'm wrong!

As I contemplate a change in my comic buying habits, why don't we see what will be in my holds folder per the new Diamond shipping list...

100 BULLETS #57
ANGELTOWN #3
FABLES #33
GOTHAM CENTRAL #27
ULTIMATES 2 #2
LOVE FIGHTS VOL 2 TP

Lookin' like I was gonna get off light until that Love Fights trade popped up there! I may put off that purchase till later. Plus, Legion of Super Heroes 1 is supposed to be there as well.

BEST OF THE WEEK

COMICS REVIEWS!
What I bought and what I thought, week of January 5!

THE QUESTION 3
I'm reading a lot of bitching about how Rick Veitch is somehow "ruining" this character by deviating from the original Steve Ditko concept, but I just don't see it. I read those Ditko stories, I don't think this is all that different from what the Sturdy One did all those years ago, it's just been tweaked a bit. If anything, Alan Moore has disrespected the character more with his re-imagining him as the bugfuck crazy Rorschach. I like what Veitch is setting up here, nodding to Ditko's Randian leanings with the Luthor Science Spire plotline, while showing us the Question getting down and dirty, rooting out criminals in the Metropolis underground and trying to find out what's going on. I'm even anticipating Superman butting in next issue- I'm not sure if Veitch has written Superman before, but I'm curious about how the man who wrote Maximortal will handle him. Veitch has even replaced the one thing that was annoying me, the Ginsburg-ian poetry interludes, with a more down-to-earth inner monologue this time out. Still, I might not be as engaged by this if not for the outstanding art of Tommy Lee Edwards, whose just-loose-enough style is a joy to scan, with its dynamic figure poses and perspectives. I wonder of the guy who tried to buy the "fireworks" at the Metropolis pawn shop was drawn to look like The Losers' Jensen on purpose... A-

FLAMING CARROT 1 (33)
This seems a little tentative; Bob Burden's art looks very rushed and sloppy (not that Bob was ever exactly meticulous in the first place) and it doesn't have the free-flowing insanity of Burden's 80's best- but hey, whaddaya want? It's been a while, and even the greats get rusty! There's still plenty of funny stuff, with singing zombies and baloney guns, and the Carrot is still a mack daddy pimp. If he can maintain the commitment and we get another longish run, I have no doubt that we will get some absurdist gems before he's finished. Note to letterer Roxanne Starr: "obnoxious" doesn't begin with "A". B+

JUSTICE LEAGUE ELITE 7
Now that the JSA has moved on, we continue the "Elite goes undercover to bust interdimensional drug dealers" storyline, and it's OK I suppose, but the most interesting thing going on as far as I'm concerned is the further developments in the Manitou Raven (obviously Kelly really likes this character)/Green Arrow/Raven's wife Dawn triangle, and as always the Mahnke/Nguyen art. B

BREACH 1
The goodwill engendered with me by Marcos Martin and Alvaro Lopez's nice art job on Batgirl Year One led me to pick this up, but here their work seems uninspired and bland (despite that beautiful Lopez inking line) and this is essentially an equally uninspired rehash of Watchmen's Dr. Manhattan and Captain Atom's origin stories. Whether or not this will get better remains to be seen; Harras' past work gives me no reason to think he's capable of it. I'll give it a chance, though, because I want to see if the art will lift it up. Stay tuned. C+

MIA: Legion of Super-Heroes 1; supposed to be on back order and come in late last week.

I have been remiss in not mentioning Tegan's contest; she's giving a copy of Colonia: Islands and Anomalies, by Jeff Nicholson, away to the person who send her the best "micro-essay" (my favorite kind) on why/how comic books are good for use as educational tools. So go already, click on the link and check it out!

Some good news, via Near Mint Heroes: The WB, of all people, is considering picking up Dead Like Me!

Given the WB's track record, this may not be as good as it appears; but you never know. It could be worse; it could be Fox!

My Favorite Spirits Day 5

Took yesterday off, so here's day 5 on day 6.

Here we have a page from another of my fave Spirit stories, titled (by Warren) "10 Seconds". The ten seconds the title refers to is the span of time in which the events of this story take place. Small-timer Freddy, thought of as a "good boy" in the neighborhood because he looks after his family (I'm assuming his mother, because if he's married or has kids it's never mentioned and not that important anyway), is sick of being a broke nobody, and decides to rob the neighborhood candy shop, run by a genial fellow named Max. In the page above, he's just shot and killed the proprietor when a couple unexpectedly comes in jus as he finishes emptying the till. As the reader, there's already an undercurrent of tension because while Freddy has done a terrible thing, no doubt, Will Eisner has still smartly set him up as a somewhat sympathetic character, emphasizing early on his inner conflict and desperation. As the couple prattles on, Freddy attempts to fill their order, just trying to pacify them until he can get out when the girlfriend leans over the counter, and discovers Max's body- time absolutely stands still in this panel- and her scream propels Freddy out of the store. The feeling of panic that Eisner conveys in that four panel sequence is very palpable, and Freddy's troubles are just beginning. "10 Seconds" is, I believe, one of Eisner's very best Spirit stories, even though the Spirit doesn't even play a major role until the very end. It's got irony, pathos, drama, and excitement- in short, another typical late 40's Will Eisner Spirit.

It's a cold, gloomy, grey, soggy Saturday, and here are a few things I've had circulating in me brain:

Dorian (aka "Pal") over at Postmodern Barney has a well done piece about why a V For Vendetta film isn't going to work, and I agree with him. I think you just might, too. I just finished watching The Punisher this morning, so maybe I'm even more receptive to that message than usual...

Y'know, I've never read V For Vendetta. I remember when it came out in the 80s, but wasn't impressed by the art so I declined to pick it up. Maybe someday I'll get around to checking it out, because I've never heard anything bad about it.

I was fairly excited about the prospect of Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely doing Superman, but like Alan David Doane am less than enthusiatic about the announcement of Frank Miller and Jim Lee doing Batman. Sure, Dark Knight Returns was brilliant, although I still think it's a bit overrated by many. Plus, it was written by Miller, fresh off Daredevil, and still committed to writing good comics. Dark Knight Strikes Back was a sloppy, cynical, offputting mess, done by a creator who has lost what little regard or respect he may have ever had for his source material. Make no mistake- he's working in comics again because he's had little success in Hollywood, and he doesn't seem to be happy about it. Lee's work, while showing impressive craft (even though he is surprisingly laid-back in his work habits) is perpetually stuck in the late 80's; his hypermuscled Batman looks bloated and awkward, and more than a little quaint when compared to renditions by the likes of Mazzuchelli, Sean Phillips and Cooke. I think I'll pass on that All-Star project.

I won a copy of Bryan Lee O'Malley's Lost At Sea on eBay, and am in the process of reading it right this very minute. When I'm not typing, that is. As always, I'll say more when I'm finished.

It got kinda slow at work yesterday, so I decided to do something I'd been meaning to do for a while now: make out a complete month's order at Discount Comic Book Service, then compare it to what I would pay at my comics shop. My month's worth of comics, including bags and boards, at Great Escape would total $103.76. The total of my order at DCBS, with the weekly shipping option ($8 extra) and bags/boards: $75.78. That's a significant difference. I must ponder this further, but I'm getting tired of no discount and driving across town on Wednesday after I get off work, which is more of a hassle than you'd think. Back when I had my fairly rewarding, moderately well-paying job that was very close to my shop, it was great. Now that I have the low-paying, unrewarding job that's on the other side of town, it's kinda inconvenient. Stay tuned.

I watched the season premiere of Alias last Wednesday night, just like I said I would, and I'm afraid most of my initial objections still apply. I just wish they didn't feel like they had to stack up plot twist after plot twist on top of red herring on top of family-related angst...well, you get the point. I like the Sydney character, and Jen Garner is good in the role. The cast is fine, and most of them play interesting enough characters. It's got Carl ("John Parker" from Buckaroo Banzai) Lumbly in it, for gosh sakes. The fight on the train was well done and reminded me of many great films set on trains, like From Russia With Love and many Hitchcock pictures. I liked the little guy with the Leno chin who provides a little helpful comedy relief. I wish that I had a better idea about what had happened over the last two seasons, because much of the dramatic tension in the episodes hinged on things that had happened previously, especially the deal with Sydney's parents and sister and the boyfriend. Things were referred to, but little detail was given. I thought it was overlong at two hours- my attention began to wander about 1 hour and 15 minutes in. Will I watch it again? Yeah, probably. Especially if they continue to air the TV spots with Lenny Kravitz music. I'll most likely even borrow the DVDs from my friend the Bacardi Show Political Correspondent and get caught up. I'll know more next Wednesday.

A lot of fine bloggers like to print up the more unusual search engine referrals that they get. I get my share, I suppose, but many of them are variations on Bacardi this and Bacardi that, not that surprising. But there's one search referral that I can usually count on getting at least twice a day, and that's for a picture of the young British soul singer Joss Stone! After doing my own image search, I can see why- the picture I used to accompany this post comes up first on Altavista.com. People, I snagged that shot from VH1.com! Go there once in a while, willya? Aw, I kid. I'm happy to have readers, no matter why they stop by. I've heard two cuts from Joss's latest CD, by the way and I'm not terribly impressed with either of them- one's a jittery kinda half-assed uptempo thing with no melody, and the other's a tepid ballady Aretha ripoff. I liked a few cuts on her debut, but these two remind me of the cuts I didn't like.

Finally, BSBdG's go out today to


David Bowie, 58 today. I'm still digging Heathen very much, and I have his latest, Reality, coming in the mail. Also, the King, known to us mere mortals as Elvis Aron Presley, who would have been 70. And yes, Fred Hembeck, BSBdG's to Soupy Sales, as well.

That's all for now- comics reviews later, plus a paragraph or two about the seven-count 'em, seven! films I've watched in the last week or so.

My Favorite Spirits, Day 4



Eisner does High Noon, liberally mixed with Lost Horizon in this story from Harvey's Spirit #2. He proves that he's just as comfortable doing Hollywood-style westerns as he is urban drama in this tale of a small town (called "Boot Camp") high in the mountains, which serves as the hideout for a group of desperadoes led by one Sam Chaparral, who brought them there over a hundred years ago. Tired of living there and of Sam, who's kept them there all those years by threats and intimidation, they organize and "dry-gulch" him (send him out into the desert without water or food), so they can escape- but Sam staggers into a nearby town at the foot of the mountains and is nursed back to health by the son of Chaparral's old partner, Laredo Trent, who hopes to find out where Sam hid the gold bullion they stole so long ago. Upon his recovery, Chaparral shoots Trent for his trouble, but doesn't know that while he was out Trent wired the Spirit in Central City- and the Spirit arrives just in time to hear his last words, which tell the whole story as well as where to find the town. Armed with Laredo's six-guns (the only thing that can kill Chaparral, or so he says), the Spirit rides into the mountains to bring the killer to justice.

I'm not always a real big fan of westerns, and the ones I do like tend to have something a bit odd or different about them- and this story certainly qualifies!

The Playoffs are now here, so it's time once again for JOHNNY B'S FEARLESS NFL PIGSKIN PROGNOSTICATIONS- PLAYOFF EDITION!!

Wild-card round begins Saturday, so here goes nuttin. First, the standard disclaimer: These picks are FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. I'm not betting illegally with these, and NEITHER SHOULD YOU...and I take no responsibility if you lose your house.

Saturday's games:

SAN DIEGO over the NY Jets- The Chargers' surprising season will continue one more week. The Jets look feeble on offense, as does Chad Pennington.

SEATTLE over St. Louis- The Rams seem to be in the Seahawks' head after sweeping them this year, but my gut feeling tells me that the up-an-down Hawks will muster up enough to beat the Rams, who are kinda up-and-down themselves.

Sunday's games:

INDIANAPOLIS over Denver- the Colts were just doing the ol' rope-a-dope on the Broncos last weekend. Manning should have a big day.

GREEN BAY over Minnesota- The Packers are, in their own way, as inconsistent as the Vikings...but this is at Lambeau, hardly the house of horrors it used to be (thanks in part to my Falcons, hee hee) but I don't think the Vikes' defense can keep Favre down- especially if it's close.

Last week: 10-6. FINAL REGULAR SEASON PICKS RECORD: 157-99, .638.

Fantasy, I won the game for 5th place. A hollow victory, indeed!

My Favorite Spirits Day 3



Above is a great example of what Harvey Kurtzman referred to once as the "Eisnershpritz", that is, Eisner's everpresent rain showers and thunderstorms that often appeared in his stories. All the better to create mood and atmosphere, my dear. Anyway, this is the first page from the story Warren titled "Lorelei Rox", in which the Spirit mixes it up with a gangster who just happened to marry a siren, as in a Homer-style straight outta Greek mythology-type siren, and was using her to waylay truckers on the highway and steal their payloads. This was another story reprinted in one of those Harvey Spirits, and this opening scene made a deep impression on me, especially the "click, clack" footsteps approaching Commissioner Dolan's office.

Catch-up time again!

Here's some recent and not-so-recent books I've read lately, and I really, really meant to write about many of them sooner- but plans happen when you're busy making other lives, or something like that. Anyway, time for me to redress that grievous oversight.

SPAGHETTI WESTERN by Scott Morse (Oni Press)
We're only 6 days into 2005, and I've already found one 2004 title I forgot to include in my "Best of '04" list. I've been somewhat disappointed in Morse's work for DC lately, his fill-ins on Plastic Man and his one-shot Batman book were not all that memorable...but left to his own devices, he does much better by me, and this book is proof of that. It's a rectangular-format book, one page equaling one panel giving it a "widescreen" effect, fitting because this is a movie homage at its foundation. Two men, one dressed like Clint Eastwood in High Plains Drifter or any Leone film you'd care to name and the other, elderly and terminally ill sidekick, attempt to rob a Savings and Loan using six-guns and horses. What happens next blends Dog Day Afternoon with Bronco Billy, and Morse's unusual style, all done in sepia tones, brings out the best in the story. I thought Spaghetti Western was great, if a little short, and should have been in my year-end list. Mea culpa.

THE TOMB by Nunzio DiFillpis, Christina Weir and Christopher Mitten (Oni Press)
Not to overdo the movie comparisons here, but what this is is Raiders of the Lost Ark meets The Mummy meets The Haunting as would-be franchise character and female Indiana Jones Jessica Parrish is hired to investigate a house, owned by an archaeologist and full of Egyptian relics- not to mention death traps- in which several people have disappeared. Also along for the ride is a character named Max who is the publisher of a tabloid-type newspaper; apparently writers DiFillipis and Weir intend for these two to be a Nick-and-Nora or Steed-and-Emma-style pair, and they allude somewhere in the introduction to having written other adventures featuring them. Anyway, throwing these kind of characters in a haunted-house scenario is a bit different from the usual Lara Croft-style exploits, and the story moves along at a pretty good clip, rarely straining credibility. I wasn't as crazy about Mitten's art- he has a style which is an unremarkable amalgam of about a dozen popular mid-80's and 90's artists, and doesn't do anything distinctive with any of them; but neither does he do anything that looks egregiously terrible either- no awkward anatomy or impossible perspective, so while I found his style completely unexciting it didn't hinder me from reading the story so no harm, no foul. All in all, I found The Tomb a diverting time-waster; I kinda liked that Parrish character and wouldn't mind reading further tales about her and Max. As long as I could get them free or borrow them from friends.

THE BLACK FOREST by Todd Livingston, Robert Tinnell, and Neil Vokes
Fables readers may recall that recently, Bill Willingham did a two-part WWII story which pitted his Bigby Wolf character against the Nazis and a Frankenstein monster of sorts, and almost immediately was called upon to acknowledge that someone had recently beaten him to the conceptual punch- and this is what did it. Written by Livingston and Tinnell, a couple of TV and Movie screenwriters, and illustrated by Vokes, this is another riff on those old Universal Studios monster-jam flicks like House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, or Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein in which the classic monsters (or their archetypes, anyway) get together for sanguine hijinx. Throw in intrepid US soldiers who have joined the French Air Force (the US hadn't gotten involved in the Great War yet), an British expert on the supernatural prone to narcolepsy, and just to be different, set it in WWI Germany instead of the WWII-era stuff we're used to, and you get a ripping good adventure yarn with many clever touches, marred script-wise only by the odd choice to make the nominal hero of the piece an annoyingly immature eager-beaver type. Had a hard time warming to him. No complaints about the art- Vokes has a lively style, kinda reminiscent of Leave It To Chance's Paul Smith or Bruce Timm, and I swear I thought I saw traces of Ernie (Richie Rich, Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld) Colon in there, too. He smothers everything in layer after layer of black ink and wash gloom, appropriate in creating the dark, oppressive mood needed to balance his cartoonish figures. Black Forest was a lot of fun to read and nicely done, and I hope the creators follow it up someday.

DOPE FIENDS OF THE ZOMBIE CAFÉ by Sean Frost and Rafer Roberts (Hula Cat Comics)
A mini-comic sent to me by Wendi Strang-Frost waaaaay back in the dim and distant days of September, and I swear I meant to write about it sooner, really I did, but things just kept gettin' in the way. Anyways, what we have here is an affectionate tribute/homage/pisstake on old cautionary films like Reefer Madness and Cocaine Fiends, merged with 50's drive-in grade-z monster movies. Wow- two cult genres in one! And it's mostly fun and fast paced, if a little heavy-handed. I wish I could be as positive about the art, which is really crude and amateurish, even for a mini-comic. Still, it didn't keep me from enjoying the idea behind the story, so all was not lost. A fun read, and thanks to Wendi for sending it my way.

TALES FROM THE BULLY PULPIT by Benito Cereno and Graeme MacDonald (Image)
Oooh-kay. Teddy Roosevelt and the ghost of Thomas Edison battling Nazis and martians across time and space. Well, why the hell not? After Street Angel, Scurvy Dogs, and the one-two combo of Grant Morrison's Seaguy and The Filth (wait- he was trying to be more or less serious with that one, right?), not to mention the recent return of the Flaming Carrot- there was a real wave of absurdist adventure and humor going along there for a while, and this wacky tale (released late last Summer, unless I'm mistaken) fits right in there. Pretty good for the most part, although I kinda began to lose patience with all the twists and turns the script took, plus I tend to have a low tolerance for time travel stories anyway. The art was certainly unusual, all sharp angles and thick black outlines- not a style I particularly love, but it was OK. Of course, the most obvious comparison to make here is the Bill and Ted films, but it's a little better than a cheap imitation. It's kinda pricey at $6.95, too. I borrowed the copy I read, but others might want to keep an eye on the quarter boxes.

Thanks to my most esteemed fellow Stupid Llama, Mik Cary, for the loan of several of these comics. I'll return them soon, I promise.

My Favorite Spirits, Day 2



Scanned straight outta Harvey Spirit #1, here's the opening splash for the story which was later titled "Visitor". The story dealt with the Spirit investigating a bank robbery and getting mixed up with "agents from Mars", in the person of one Miss Cosmek (drawn to resemble Katherine Hepburn) and her leader, whom you don't see until the dryly humorous ending. But in between you get a great mix of detective story, comedy and dramatics...Miss Cosmek doesn't want to go back to Mars, y'see, and the scene in which the Spirit discovers missing gangster "Combo" Nathan in her lair is surprisingly tense. As if you couldn't tell, "Visitor" is one of my absolute favorite Eisner Spirit stories. I forget which Warren/Kitchen Sink magazines it appeared in (don't have them anymore, dammit), but it is also in The Spirit Casebook, which might be a little easier to locate.

I took this from the Harvey comic because it doesn't have the hand-lettered title ("Visitor") which was stuck on the title-less splashes by the Warren people in the 70's. I'm sure it was done for easier identification and so they could list each reprinted story on the contents page that was in every issue, but they just don't look good pasted on those often-gorgeous splash pages. Even though it looks like Eisner lettered those himself, that's long been a pet peeve of mine. The old-school comic book coloring on this particular page leaves a little to be desired (the Spirit's mask- greenish?), but it's how I first saw it.

I think as a tribute to The Man, I'll post one favorite Eisner image a day here for a week. Today's is from the Spirit Archive #13- I'm not sure about its original publication date. Of course, it's the splash from the first P'Gell story, which introduced Eisner's favorite Spirit femme fatale. I love how he rendered "The Spirit" in that middle Eastern style. Of course, it's very influenced by films like Casablanca. I'm not sure which Hollywood actress served as the model for P'Gell; my guess is Bette Davis perhaps. I also love the effect he got on the city showing through the curtains, which appears to be zip-a-tone (did it even exist in the 40's?) or wash. Eisner (or an assistant) was still inking with a fatter line back then, unlike the kinda scratchy, thinner line he used with increasing frequency as the years went by...which didn't make his work any less stellar (in fact, many of my favorite Spirit stories are those latter ones), but that earlier style looks a bit more pleasing to my eye. Whoever did the coloring for this Archive edition did a nice job- everything's bright in the right places. Of course, bear in mind that I had only seen it in B & W previously, in the Warren magazine that reprinted it, and I haven't seen the original Sunday section.

Hey, how about some TV notes!


Season two of HBO's Carnivale begins this Sunday night. Looking forward to it, since I realy liked season one. Hopefully, no sharks will be jumped. Season one is available on DVD, but it's sporting a ghastly high price tag.

Also, I think I'll check out tonight's season four premiere of Alias. It's that damned Lenny Kravitz song in that TV commercial, it's so catchy and so right for that clip that I can't help myself. Anyway, I watched most of season one, when I wasn't watching football on Sunday evening, and wasn't especially impressed- there was too much convoluted baiting and switching and red herrings, which in sufficient numbers just irritate me and make me lose interest- so I didn't watch seasons two and three. I just hope I can figure out who's who and what's what quickly enough.

From Newsarama comes some sad news indeed: Will Eisner passed away yesterday evening, January 3rd.

Of all the comics I've read over the last four decades, there were few that I loved more than Eisner's Spirit stories. I posted something over at Newsarama; I'll reprint it here:

The first time I ever encountered Eisner's work was in 1966, when I was 6 years old and picked up a copy of Harvey's Spirit #1. Twisted my head right off, it did- here was a new way of telling stories, and it didn't look a damn thing like Kirby, Ditko, Curt Swan or Murphy Anderson. Of course, I had no idea at the time that these were 15-something year old reprints- all I knew was that these stories looked good. When Warren began its reprint magazine in the 70s, I was right there, hungry to read more of these great stories and these great characters. Even though I sold a great deal of my original collection, I held on to those two Harvey reprint issues, and I wouldn't sell 'em for anything.

Will Eisner was one of the absolute greats in the Comics Pantheon, up there with any other person you'd care to name. Thanks for the Spirit, and all your other great work, Mr. Eisner, and rest in peace.

A sad day for anybody who's ever loved the art of storytelling.

THE JOHNNY B SHOW BEST OF 2004, CONT.: MUSIC

Once again, here's the problem I have with my attempts to do "best of" lists...thanks to the lack of disposable income, not to mention Mac OSX (can't get iTunes, y'know) on my part, I don't get to pick up on a lot of the latest sounds until they're not so latest anymore. Sometimes it isn't until the NEXT year that I get a copy of LAST year's best records. So, this disclaimer is to state that these are the best (hell, actually these are ALL) of the 2004 releases that made the journey from the ether into my auditory canals, and if I didn't hear 'em, I can't list em, which simply makes this a very idiosyncratic little collection. So mote it be. Here ya go. Ranked 1 to 5 stars.

THE BEST
1. BRIAN WILSON: SMILE *****
Even if you know or care nothing for the Beach Boys and/or their history, you gotta admit that this is one gloriously whimsical collection of songs, full of more imagination and tunefulness than 95% of what passes for music these days. And then if you consider all that Wilson has been through, plus the personal demons that this music has to summon up (this applies, to a lesser extent, to lyricist Van Dyke Parks as well), it becomes downright inspirational. In 5 years, when somebody assembles a list of the best of the Aughts, I'll be surprised if this one's not on there somewhere.

2. PATTY GRIFFIN-IMPOSSIBLE DREAM ****1/2
Another excellent set of folk/country tunes from singer-songwriter Griffin. Not a happy fun listen because most of the songs deal with heartbreak and angst, but every cut is solid melodically and the production provides each with consistently inventive and interesting textures. She reclaims her own "Top Of The World" from the Dixie Chicks, nimbly inhabits atypical genres in "Kite" and "Rowing Song", and saves the transcendent "Mother of God" for the end- and that's just a few of the highlights. A very strong follow-up to her 2002 effort 1000 Kisses- Griffin is an artist worthy of more attention, for sure.

3. MATTHEW SWEET-LIVING THINGS ****
Speaking of Parks, here he is guesting and playing a host of instruments, and throwing in so much steel drum that I thought I was listening to his own 1975 album Clang of the Yankee Reaper or one of his Nilsson collaborations. Sweet had this one come out at roughly the same time as his 2002 Japan-only effort Kimi Ga Suki, and while I think that right now I kinda prefer Kimi, a real concise rock-pop record, I do believe that this one will grow on me a lot...it's got a more varied palette. Otherwise, this is pretty strong Sweet music; favoring acoustic over electric, with his usual trademark harmony blends- and its adventurousness is contagious after a while. "In My Tree" sounds like a great lost Carpenters song, and I love the driving bass/keys riff in "Dandelion". It might have made an interesting twofer with its predecessor.

4. LOVE ANGEL MUSIC BABY-GWEN STEFANI ***1/2
Best Madonna album I've heard since Bedtime Stories. Aw, I kid- it's the presence of Nellee Hooper, one of no less that five producers here, that made me think of that disc. This is a catchy, fun pop-rock record on which Ms. Stefani sings her pretty ass off throughout while the likes of Hooper, Dr. Dre, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and Linda Perry provide her with scads of aural texture. I liked this album just fine, but I swear if she'd worked the "Harajuku Girls" into one more song I was gonna snap my disc in half!

5. GOOD NEWS FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE BAD NEWS-MODEST MOUSE ***1/2
I was afraid I was going to need years of therapy to get that song "Float On" out of constant rotation in my brain player. Nothing else is as catchy as "Float", but this is a solid album of skewed pop, and I think it will reward future listens. These guys have been around for ten years, I understand, but this is the first time I've heard them. Boy, I'm right there on the cutting edge tip, huh!

THE REST, WITH 1-5 STAR RANKINGS
Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster- Various Artists ***1/2
Village Gorilla Head-Tommy Stinson ***1/2 (thanks, Mik Cary)
From A Basement On The Hill - Elliott Smith **
Genius Loves Company-Ray Charles ***
Liars-Todd Rundgren ***
All That We Let In-Indigo Girls ***
Enjoy Every Sandwich: The Songs of Warren Zevon-Various Artists ***
Various Artists- Power of Soul: A Tribute To Jimi Hendrix **1/2
Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra- Friends 3 ***

"Your past is important but it is not nearly as important to your present as the way you see your future"- Tony Campolo.

Time now to look into my immediate future, as far as Wednesday anyway, via the new Diamond shipping list!

BREACH #1 Game time decision here- I liked the art team on Batgirl Year 1, but don't trust Bob Harras' writing skills.
JUSTICE LEAGUE ELITE #7
QUESTION #3
LEGION of SUPER-HEROES #1 My comics shop sold out last week, and they're supposed to be getting me a copy from one of the other stores.
...and last, but certainly not least...
FLAMING CARROT #1!

In case you were wondering, I got some cool stuff for Christmas, thanks for askin'! Here's the list:

BOOKS
The Complete Peanuts, Vol. 1 & 2
Inside the Yellow Submarine by Dr. Robert (that's his real name, apparently) Hieronimus

DVD's
Yellow Submarine
Hellboy: Director's Cut

CD's
Patty Griffin-The Impossible Dream
Matthew Sweet-Living Things and Kimi Ga Suki
Various artists-Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster
Mick Ronson-Just Like This

Plus the usual boring stuff like clothes. Some of this stuff I'll most likely write more about later.

Via Cognitive Dissonance, I am delighted to see that there is going to be a comic featuring characters from one of my all-time top 3 favorite movies, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across The Eighth Dimension! Hopefully it will be better than the wretched movie adaptation that Marvel crapped out back in the mid-80s. While usually comics adaptations of film and TV properties are a dodgy propositions at best, one thing that gives me hope is that Buckaroo's creator and the film's scriptwriter, Earl MacRauch himself, will be writing the comic!

Moonstone Comics, I salute you. I am sure, in the miserable annals of the Earth, you will be duly enshrined.