MIXING IT UP IN COLUMBUS

I started writing today’s bloggy thing nearly a month ago and then
my October got crazy busy and chaotic, resulting in an hiatus from
my usual daily blogging.  Clinging desperately to the hope my dear
readers will buy my argument that “later” is better than “never,”
here’s the first half of my two-day report on the Mix 2013 comics
symposium, which was held on Friday and Saturday, September 27-28,
at the Columbus College of Art and Design.  However, if you desire
a more detailed and less “me, me, me” account of this spiffy event,
I direct you to The Comic Reporter where Tom Spurgeon crosses the
T’s and dots the I’s.  You’ll see why Spurgeon won an Eisner Award
for “Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism” and I got a rock.

I haven’t been a fan of comics-related academia.  On occasion, I’ve
read ponderous books and thesis papers on comics and have usually
come away thinking the authors have sucked the joy out of the thing
I love in an effort to make it palatable to those who do not “get”
comics as wonderful entertainment first...and an art form second.
Such books and papers usually bore me.

Yet Robert Loss, whose email signature notes that he is “Visiting
Full-Time Faculty, English Dept” at CCAD and “Mix '13 Programming
Coordinator,” was kind enough to invite to the symposium.  Knowing
the trip would give me a chance to visit with my daughter Kelly, a
student of The Ohio State University, and my son Ed, who would be
in Columbus for the OSU/Wisconsin football game, I said I would be
happy to attend the event and participate in a panel discussion on
Doc Jonathan Gayles’ documentary White Scripts and Black Supermen:
Black Masculinities in Comic Books.  Those of you who have seen the
film know I play the role of “White Scripts” in it.

If you haven’t seen White Scripts and Black Supermen, the film is
an amazing piece of history and reflection.  In the near future, I
need to devote an entire bloggy thing to this documentary.  I’m so
glad Dr. Gayles asked me to be part of it.  It has most definitely
given me new perspectives on my own work.

Mix 2013 started on Friday.  My Friday morning turned out to be a
more complicated than I’d have liked.  I got up at 2:30 am to drive
my wife Barb to the airport so she could visit a friend in Denver.
I woke to a painful reoccurrence of my gout which I needed to hide
from Barb.  There was some confusion with the neighbor who watched
my cat for me...and that was entirely on me.  I left Medina hours
later than I originally planned.  My lunch plans with Kelly became
dinner plans.  Life’s little adventures.

I drove directly to CCAD’s Canzani Center Auditorium for my badge,
information package and the key to the “Visiting Artist” quarters
at the nearby Abigail Apartments.  I knew I didn’t have time to do
any Mix-related activities before my dinner and visit with Kelly,
so I headed over to the Abigail.

I gotta gush about the Abigail.  The one-room apartment was huge.
It had a comfortable bed, a sofa with coffee table, a large chair,
a flat-screen TV, a table with four chairs, a large refrigerator,
plenty of kitchen cabinets, a stove, a dishwasher, a microwave, a
large wardrobe, lots of closet space, a washer, a dryer, and a big
bathroom.  Despite the apartment being on the first floor and right
next to the sidewalk, no street sounds ever disturbed me.  It would
be perfect for a longer stay, just a few minutes away from all the
college stuff and from a terrific gourmet grocery store.  It made
me wish I was staying longer.

Once I was settled, I drove to Kelly’s house to take her out for an
early dinner and some grocery shopping.  Then, shortly after I got
back to the Abigail, my son Eddie stopped by to visit with me for
a short while.  Just a short while, of course, because, you know,
Ohio State football demands dedication.  He had to meet up with his
old college buddies for the serious meditation and reflection that
precedes these sporting events...or at least that’s what I choose
to believe at such times.

After Eddie left, I looked over the Mix 2013 event program, read a
couple comics, and watched the first two episodes of The Michael J.
Fox Show.  The show was a pleasant diversion and I enjoyed seeing
Fox wring self-deprecating laughs from his Parkinson's disease.  It
was funny but it was also dignified in its own raucous way.  If I
catch up on all the shows I already record/watch, I’d probably be
a regular viewer.

One good night’s sleep later and I was ready to head to the Canzani
Center for the second day of Mix 2013.  My first stop was to stop
by the Mix Store to chat with Ken Eppstein, who was selling my 1000
Comic Books You Must Read and books and comics by other comics
creators attending the symposium.

Unlike comics conventions, Mix 2013 didn’t have a dealer’s room or
an artists alley.  It didn’t really have any place where attendees
could just hang out the way I would at a comics convention.  It was
all panels and papers and workshops.  I confess I felt more than a
little out of place, but, at age 61, I like to challenge myself in
a variety of ways.  I would wrap my head around academia and make
it my friend.

Seeing a couple of old friends on the “Creative Methods” panel that
was scheduled for 10-11:30 am, I figured I’d go to that panel and
even take honest-to-gosh notes like I almost never did when I was
actually in school.  Maybe this old dog of a writer could learn a
few new tricks.

The panelists were Matt Feazell (The Amazing Cynicalman), Max Ink
(Blink), Terry Eisele (With Only Five Plums), Alex Heberling (The
Hues), Talcott Starr (Iguanodon Cheese) and Valerie Starr (Octopus
Story).  The moderator was Canada Keck, who has written and self-
published comic books and appeared in several anthologies, edited
other anthologies and curated exhibits of comic art. I’ve read and
enjoyed Feazell and Ink’s comics for decades, but I was unfamiliar
with the others.

My earlier trepidations aside, I found myself in familiar ground in
attending this panel.  Each participant introduced themselves and
talked about their work.  I didn’t learn any new tricks, but I was
surprised that newspaper strips were the initial inspirations for
these artists and writers.  I wasn’t a big newspaper reader when I
was growing up because my hard-working father only brought home a
paper on Saturday, the one day of the week he had the time to read
it.  My own formative inspirations were the comic books from which
I learned to read by the time I was four years old.

Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes was the most cited inspiration.
Other inspirations were as varied as the super-hero comics of Stan
Lee and Jack Kirby to the autobiographical stories of Harvey Pekar
to Sailor Moon, Star Wars, Kabuki, Fun Home and webcomics.  While
my first comic books were Superman and Casper the Friendly Ghost,
my ongoing inspirations have included every kind of comic book and
graphic novel you can imagine.

A few questions occurred to me while listening to these panelists.
They were mostly self-publishing, so what was their aim in creating
comics?  What were they trying to accomplish with their comics or
was it just their natural way of expressing themselves?  What was
their end game?  I came to creating comics because I wanted to be
an entertainer, a storyteller.  Other than creating comics as long
as I am physically able to write and, secondarily, earn a living
from my writing, I’ve no particular end game.  Indeed, I never even
considered what my end game might be until recently and, even now,
it’s only a vague notion that I want to return to writing comics of
all kinds and find a way to present those comics to as many readers
as possible. Career planning may not be my strong suit.

After the panel, I hit the Mix store to pick up comics by all the
participants.  I’ll be reading and writing about those comics over
the next few weeks.  After bringing my purchases to my van, I had
lunch with Ken Eppstein.  Then it was time for the Mix 2013 showing
of White Scripts and Black Supermen and the panel discussion which
would follow it.

I’ll be writing about the documentary and the panel discussion in
my next exciting bloggy thing, as well as meeting a comics creator
whose work I admire, reflecting on my past writings and having an
unexpected brush with the law as I left Columbus. Did I fight the
law and did the law win? Find out tomorrow.

© 2013 Tony Isabella

OUTRAGE IN MEDINA

WARNING. There won’t be any comics or pop culture in today’s bloggy
thing.  It’s another case of my having to write something to get it
out of my head before I can move on to more enjoyable discussions.

I went to the Medina County Board of Elections on Monday morning to
cast my votes on a fairly short ballot.  Ever since I was harassed
verbally by an asshat Republican poll worker who loudly proclaimed
I shouldn’t be allowed to vote, I prefer to vote before the usual
Election Day. It’s less stressful and much quicker.

Three of the five items on this short ballot were uncontested races
for the City of Medina’s mayor, director of finance, and member of
council at large.  The fourth race was to select three members of
the Medina City School District Board of Education from the field
of seven candidates.  The remaining item was to vote on a proposed
tax levy for the school district.

Veteran readers of this bloggy thing will recall that, after never
voting against a school levy for most of my life, I voted against
the past two school levies.  My reason for voting against them was
a complete lack of faith in the school board and, most especially,
Superintendent Randolph Stepp.  This time around, the situation has
changed somewhat.

Stepp is a bad guy.  An arrogant and egotistical but nonetheless
clever man, he was clearly fast-tracked for the superintendent gig
by the local elites who pretty much run everything in Medina.  He
and I butted heads several times when he was the principal of the
high school. 

I objected to Stepp giving military recruiters better access to the
students than any other “employer,” even allowing them into one of
my son’s classrooms without prior parental knowledge or approval.
Nothing like trapping kids in a military sales pitch at a time when
President Bush needed more troops for his illegal war against Iraq
and his increasingly mismanaged war in Afghanistan.  I complained
and Stepp’s response was insufficient.  He said this would not be
done in the future, but refused to put that in writing.  He said I
would have to take him at his word.

Stepp also refused to address, even half-heartedly, my complaints
about a troll-like math teacher who had verbally abused my son when
he was in her class and who physically laid hands on my daughter
for an accidental violation of the school dress code.  This woman
was known for her lurking in hallways and at the bottom of stairs
to catch girls in such infractions.  She was so notorious for this
unsettling pattern of behavior that, when I was telling a grocery
store cashier, a former teammate of my daughter, about the teacher,
the woman in line behind me joined the conversation.  Even though
I had not mentioned the teacher by name, the customer knew exactly
who I was talking about.    

Then there was the time the Move*On organization scheduled a silent
non-partisan candlelight vigil to honor the first Medina citizen to
die in the new Gulf Wars.  The high school announced the vigil as it did
other local events.  Then the local Republicans objected and then
Stepp went to the media to complain he’d been “tricked” by Move*On
into publicizing the vigil.  Like those Republicans, he made this
unifying event into a one-sided political fight.

Stepp was superintendent when President Barack Obama addressed the
nation’s students via a live broadcast shortly after his historic
election.  Stepp wouldn’t allow the broadcast to be shown in Medina
schools.  To put this in perspective, when mere candidate George W.
Bush came to town, students were bused to our town square to hear
Bush speak.  Somehow, it was permissible to take the students from
school to listen to a Republican presidential candidate and spend
district funds to do that, but it was not permissible for students
to spend an hour listening to a Democratic president at no expense
to the district.  Yeah...and people around here keep trying to tell
me educational issues are non-partisan.

Stepp gave the commencement speeches at the graduations of my son
and my daughter, or, more accurately, the commencement speech.  It
was the same speech and all about what an amazing person Stepp was.
My neighbors have had to listen to the speech three times so far,
but, hopefully, they’ll be spared having to listen to it when their
youngest graduates next year.  I knew Stepp was an arrogant creep,
but that speech forever cemented my opinion of him. 

Stepp and the current school board have been on the hot seat this
election cycle.  The district hasn’t passed a levy in years and was
in the middle of contract negotiations with the remarkably patient
and even generous teachers union when some alarming facts came out
about Stepp, his compensation and his spending of district funds.
For more complete background on this, you should visit the Medina
City Schools Outrage Page on Facebook.

Here’s the short version. Stepp got paid a lot of money while the
district was bleeding cash and not passing levies.  The board made
questionable cuts while Stepp kept getting incredible perks.  The
board violated state sunshine laws to extend Stepp’s contract and
give him a $83,000 “signing bonus.” The latter was classic Medina
elitism at work.  The elite got to get paid, sometimes with money,
sometimes with power, always at the expense of others.

The shit really hit the fan when it was learned Stepp had received
a quarter million dollars reimbursement for college and continuing
education loans and tuition...and he himself had cut these checks
from school district funds.  Amazingly, the terms of his generous
contract allowed this...and it also called for the district to pay
the taxes on these fringe benefits.

The school board’s initial response was to defend these astonishing
benefits in its usual arrogant manner.  When that didn’t work, the
board members then pleaded ignorance of the terms of the contract.
The designation “wankers” comes to mind.

There were resignations and calls for resignations.  Some demanded
criminal investigations into Stepp’s actions.  More information of
possible misuse of school funds became known.  Stepp would be put
on paid administrative leave while an audit of the school accounts
was conducted. That audit has since found illegal use of school district
funds by Stepp.

The board’s extension of Stepp’s contract clearly violated sunshine
laws and the board rescinded that extension.  Stepp’s response was
to file a lawsuit against the district and the school board while
continuing to draw his salary.

A May levy was taken off the ballot because it didn’t have a prayer
of passing.  The November levy was clearly in jeopardy as well with
the public calling for the resignation of every school board member
who had been a party to this infamy.  One declared he wouldn’t run
for election.  Two others arrogantly refused to accept that they’d
done anything wrong.

My response was to state publically that I would not vote for the
November levy if those two board members did not resign and that I
would vote for the levy if they did.  Those two members are still
on the board, but have announced their resignations for January and
May of next year.

After much soul-searching, I decided I would vote for the levy on
those terms.  The two new board members appointed to fill existing
vacant positions have been willing to address the public in a more
open and transparent fashion.  The board appointed Dave Knight, a
terrific guy who was the principal of Sidney Fenn Elementary School
when my kids went there, as acting superintendent.  Knight quickly
determined and made public what cuts would have to be made if the
November levy doesn’t pass.  Despite my continued misgivings about
the board and Medina elitism in general, I could not vote against
this very necessary levy.

On Monday morning, I voted in favor of the levy.  However, there is
no guarantee the levy will pass.  At a time when a certain faction
of our country is openly hostile to all government, there are those
who will never vote for the common good.  Indeed, in this time of
Tea Party madness, there are those who will vote against their own
best interests and those of the country.

Some of the no-voters claim the school board must earn back their
trust before they’ll vote for a levy, even though all the offending
board members will be gone by May.  Others point to Ohio’s broken
and unconstitutional laws concerning property taxes and the funding
of public education.  While that is certainly a disgrace, it’s not
something the school board can fix. 

One numb-nut took offense at my statement that I thought no public
money should ever go to charter or religious schools as his excuse
for voting against the levy.  That makes perfect sense.  Because one
fellow voter doesn’t agree with you, you’re not going to vote for
the levy.  You can find similar childish whining among Republican
members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The one question I would have liked the school board candidates to
answer was what is your political party affiliation and, if you’re
claiming to be an independent, who your Presidential candidate was
in the previous national election?  Of course, whenever I bring
up this question, people will pout and whine that being a member of
the school board is non-partisan.

Bullshit.

Almost nothing in this country is non-partisan.  In my view, what
the Republican Party has come to stand for is bad for this country.
The attitudes I seen reflected in the right-wing are similar to the
attitudes I see in the Medina elites, not surprising given how damn
Republican my city is.  Given a choice, I’d be more likely to vote
for a Democratic or a board candidate who supported President Obama
than a Republican, a Tea Party nutbag, or someone who misguidedly
voted for Mitt Romney.  Sadly, I was denied what I consider vital
candidate information.

I rolled up my sleeves - figuratively, as my home office attire is
a t-shirt and pajama bottoms - and researched the candidates to the
best of my ability.  The only decision I had made prior to this was
that I wouldn’t vote for both of the current members who had been
appointed to fill vacant seats by the board members in whom I had
no confidence or trust. 

There were candidates I felt were too connected to the very Medina
elites who had so injured our school district.  There were others
I could not get a good sense of.  One candidate was eliminated from
consideration because of his affiliation to an organization I knew
practiced discrimination.

I cast my votes based on several factors.  Did I have a sense that
the candidates understood the situation on a non-elite level?  Did
I agree with the comments they had made and the positions they had
taken?  Did their lives suggest to me they have what it takes
to fix the school district and give our Medina kids the education
they deserve and need?  

I cast my votes for...

Tom Cahalan
Angie Kovacs
Ronald Ross   

I’m confident that, if elected, they will do right by the students
and the community.  If they don’t, well, I expect to do a landmark
business selling pitchforks and torches. 

Okay, that last line was a joke.  Lord knows we needed one of those
after almost two thousand words of my venting which, hereafter, I
will refer to as reasoned commentary.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.

© 2013 Tony Isabella

BRIAN AULER

This was not the blog I intended to write for today.  It’s the one
I had to write, much as I wish otherwise.

Monday was to have been a day of errands and writing.  I left the
house around 8 am, voted on the upcoming school board and levy, did
some grocery shopping, went to the library and the gas station.  I
mucked around doing some odds and ends and posting some stuff on my
Facebook page.  Then I got a message from my friend Scott Galloway:

I'm afraid I have some very bad news. I wanted to let you know that
Brian died in the middle of the night. It was very sudden. It looks
like it was a heart attack.

Brian is Brian Auler.  He and Scott were regular customers of the
garage sales I hold each summer, driving two hours from Columbus to
do so.  When they couldn’t make it to the sales during the normal
sales hours, I let them coming when they could.  I didn’t do this
for anyone else.  I did it because I really enjoyed seeing them and
talking with them.

The news of Brian’s death - he was younger than me, but that’s true
of virtually everyone who comes to my garage sales - hit me hard.
I asked Scott what I could do and he responded:

No, but thank you. I wanted to let you know how much he enjoyed
knowing you and talking with you and how much he LOVED going to
your garage sales. Thank you for all of those things that you have
already done.

That really me feel very good and very sad.

It’s not uncommon for customers to become friends in this business.
I couldn’t tell you exactly how old Brian was or his home address
or the name of the company where he worked, but I knew that he was
interested in all kinds of material and had an especially fondness
for the books and magazines published by TwoMorrows. 

Brian and Scott and I talked about all sorts of stuff whenever they
came to my garage sales.  Brian would call me on my cell phone from
time to time and we’d talk about all sorts of stuff.  Comics, his
family, my birth family, and stuff.  There aren’t too many people
I talk to on the phone.  I’m a solitary guy more often than not, my
mind filled with whatever projects I’m working on at any given time
and I don’t let too many people take me away from that.  Brian was
one of the few.

Brian was an accountant, as was a relative of mine who is currently
serving time in a federal penitentiary for stealing an incredibly
large sum of money from clients who trusted him.  Brian was one of
the very few people I could really talk to about that and who could
help me wrap my brain around that unthinkable situation.  I wish I
had known Brian as well as he knew me, though his advantage there
is probably because of my obsessive blogging.  That he enjoyed my
blog makes me a little happy in this time of sadness.

Brian was a fun guy to talk to.  When I’d write about new “finds”
for the garage sale, especially when he and Scott wouldn’t be able
to come to the next sale, he’d chide me about how I was killing him
with the notices.  When Sharknado, which I’d been talking up online
and at the garage sales prior to its first airing, turned out to be
an unexpected sensation, he phoned me to tell me I was clearly some
sort of powerful tastemaker. 

I couldn’t tell you the exact last times I saw or talked to Brian
because I never know they were going to be the last times.  I had
lunch with Scott and him during PulpFest.  They came to at least one
of the last garage sales I had this summer.  I probably talked to
him on the phone or exchanged e-mails with him.  I wish I had more
time with him.  He was a truly good guy.

Brian and Scott were the best of friends.  When I think how much I
will miss Brian, I cannot begin to conceive of how much more Scott
will miss him.  The world is never more cold and cruel than when it
takes those we love from us.  I’m at an age when this is no longer
an uncommon occurrence and it always hurts like a son of a bitch.
There’s not much I can do about that.

What I can do is remember that Brian Auler was a good man and that
I enjoyed the time I had with him.  It doesn’t seem like much, but
it’s all I’ve got.

I’m going to miss you, Brian.  My thoughts are with you and Scott
and everyone else who loved you.   

© 2013 Tony Isabella

MORE TV TALK WITH TONY

I’ve been writing about the new TV season because I’m addicted to
the wide-screen teat.  I think it of it as a blessing.  Were it not
for TV, I might be roaming the streets twerking.  I think we can
all agree no one wants to see that.

Thursday is a big sitcom night as I record The Big Bang Theory, The
Crazy Ones and Two and a Half Men.  Barb gets a kick out of The Big
Bang Theory, so we usually watch that together.  I know some find
the show offensive in its portrayal of fans, especially male fans,
but sitcoms are seldom kind to their lead characters and, for the
most part, I laugh as much with the characters as I do at them.  I
think comparing Big Bang to a minstrel show is as stupid as saying
the Affordable Care Act is as bad as the Fugitive Slave Act.  Get
a sense of perspective, people.

In The Crazy Ones, Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar are a
father-daughter team of advertising geniuses.  The show is uneven,
but every episode has had a handful of laugh-out-loud moments and
those are what have been bringing me back every week.  Some of the
moments are in the outtakes which end each episode.  The best one
of those came in the aftermath of an argument Williams and Gellar’s
characters had with another father and daughter.  When asked by how
she learned to stand up and be tough that way, Gellar responded:
“Sunnydale.” I have learned not to eat or drink during this show.

Two and a Half Men is a guilty pleasure, filled as it is with the
most sophomoric of sex jokes.  I am ashamed I enjoy this series as
much as I do, but the actors perform this sleazy comedy with such
skill and earnestness that they win me over week after week.  The
addition of Amber Tamblyn as the lesbian love-child of the dearly
departed Charlie Harper has been fun. 

Elementary continues to entertain and impress me.  Clever writing,
great acting, wonderful chemistry between the regular cast members.
It may now be my favorite cop show.

On the Syfy Channel, Haven changes the rules of the show and adds
new characters every season...and it still works.  The saga of this
small town in Maine and its many citizens with unpleasant powers is
loosely based on Stephen King’s The Colorado Kid.  I don’t usually
enjoy shows that have a lot of convoluted back story, but I don’t
think Haven is married to any of that.  The writers mix things up
in surprising ways and the talented cast pulls it off brilliantly.
I’m so in to this series that I’ve been tempted to write a series
finale for it.  Just for fun and because I totally know how to end
it on a high and satisfying note. 

These aren’t all the shows I watch, but I’m behind on some others.
When I catch up with them, I’ll likely write about them.  Because
my name is Tony and I’m an addict.

******************************

Moving on to other stuff...

I continue to read comic books months and even years after they’ve
been published and doubtless thoroughly discussed by online comics
reviewers.  This does not concern me.  As much as I sometimes wax
nostalgic about the thrill of riding my bike to the drug store to
get the new comics every Tuesday and Thursday when I was a lad, I
don’t really miss those days...and I especially don’t miss my years
as a comic-shop owner unpacking boxes of comics every week.  Those
comic-shop owners who faithfully serve their customers are genuine
treasures and, if I weren’t such a grumpy old man, I’d probably go
in search of one near me.  As it is, I borrow comics from a friend
of mine who buys a lot of them, buy some comics online and receive
others as review copies.  When I find something worth writing about
in these comics, I write about them.

This past week, for example, I read and enjoyed Captain Marvel #9-
12 [March-June 2013] by writers Kelly Sue DeConnick and Christopher
Sebela with art by Filipe Andrade. There is some fine writing and
drawing in these issues.

Carol Danvers, one of the more powerful Avengers, has an odd tumor
in her head that could kill her.  She has a hard time accepting the
limitations this puts on her super-hero stuff, especially not being
able to fly.  Anyone who has ever had things their bodies would no
longer allow them to do can sympathize with that.  How Carol deals
with this is the best thing about these issues, followed closely by
her interesting supporting cast.  I’m looking forward to seeing how
her situation plays out.

******************************

Remember my long-standing position that every Marvel title occurs
in its own separate universe? Uncanny Avengers certainly makes the
case for my view.  I can’t see any way of reconciling this series
with what’s going on in Captain America, Thor, or any of the seven
or eight ongoing Wolverine titles. 

Written by Rick Remender, Uncanny Avengers has an excellent notion
in the forming of a “unity team” to ease tensions between Avengers
and X-Men and between mutants and non-mutants.  I was also pleased
by Havoc’s little commentary on the “M” word, which, as I recall,
did not play well with online fandom.  Too many mutants might have
embraced the designation to roll it back to any meaningful degree,
but I can see where some mutants wouldn’t like it.

A memorable-but-gross development has the Red Skull body-snatching
the late Charles Xavier and using Chuck’s lifeless brain to control
minds.  Have I mentioned that I’m official tired of the Red Skull
and would love to see him dead for good?  I seek relief from those
overused villains that come back again and again.

I’m not sure what to make of the return of the Scarlet Witch, her
being referred to as Captain America’s girlfriend, Rogue’s enmity
towards her and the Wasp being all bitching towards mutant ladies
and cougar-ish towards Havoc.  I didn’t enjoy those parts of issues
#1-8 [December 2012-July 2013].  In fact, overall, I’m not fond of
Uncanny Avengers.

Two closing questions...

Is it some sort of federal regulation that Wolverine is a member of
seemingly every team?  I think Marvel should loan him out to DC and
let him join the Legion of Super-Pets.

Is there no end to “Age of Ultron” special issues? They’re like the
comic-book equivalent of herpes!

I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.

© 2013 Tony Isabella

TONY WATCHES TELEVISION

Sleep does not come easily to me on many nights, the result of the
blood pressure and gout medications I take.  Fortunately, when I’m
too tired to write, I can watch the TV shows I’ve recorded. Which
are far too many than can possibly be good for me.

Veteran readers know I’m a big fan of cop shows.  I love the idea
of justice being served in under an hour.  But I watch other stuff
as well, including several fantasy/horror/sci-fi shows and sitcoms.
As I write this bloggy thing, I am just “not tired” enough to make
some quick comments on things I’ve watched recently. 

Bones has gotten off to a rocky start.  Part of that is due to the
previous season ending on one of those dumb cliffhangers that some
dumb-ass producers think will increase interest in their shows.  In
this case, master villain Pelant was messing with Bones and Booth’s
marriage plans.  When this cliffhanger was finally resolved in the
fourth episode of the season, it was about as anti-climatic as one
could have imagined. 

The season to date as been one ill-conceived subplot after another.
Psychiatrist Sweets has a crisis of confidence.  Cam is a victim of
identity theft. The government wants the team to use some idiotic
profiling computer.  None of them rang true.

The high point to date has been “The Cheat in the Retreat” wherein
Bones and Booth went undercover at a couples retreat and which had
witty performances by guest stars John Ratzenberger and Millicent
Martin. Next up is the long-awaited wedding of Bones and Booth.  I
am not optimistic.

Sleepy Hollow is my favorite new show of the season.  Ichabod Crane
wakes up after 200 years to team with a police detective in a wild
battle against the forces of evil.  The chemistry between Crane and
Abbie is wonderful with a delicious side order of mutual sarcasm.
The Headless Horseman is shown to be one of the Four Horseman of
the Apocalypse.  While considerable back story has been laid
out over the several episodes to date, there is also a satisfying
“monster of the week” vibe. 

Castle is also off to a rocky start.  Beckett’s stint with the FBI
was awkward and neither her nor Castle seemed comfortable with the
season opening two-parter that followed last season’s cliffhanger
ending.  It took four episodes and a Hail Mary pass to get Beckett
back on the NYPD where she belongs.  Add to this the inane subplot
with Castle’s daughter shacking up with the boyfriend from Hippie
Hell and the series has fallen considerably in my estimation.  I’m
hoping it gets back on track soon.   

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn’t again hit the heights of its premiere
episode, but it’s still a very entertaining show.  Clark Gregg is
outstanding as Agent Coulson.  I love the nods to the larger Marvel
Universe beyond the show.  I give good marks to Brett Dalton (Grant
Ward), Ming-Na Wen (Melinda May) and Chloe Bennett (Skye).  But I’m
not feeling the love for the Fitz-Simmons scientists played by Iain
De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge. The writers haven’t given
those characters anything exceptional in the scripts.  They should
take a look at what shows like Bones and CSI have done with their
science geeks.

Supernatural always seems to be making it up as it goes along, but
manages to pull that chaos off well.  Jensen Ackles is the driving
force as Dean Winchester and Mark Sheppard is brilliant as acting
master of Hell Crowley.  Jared Padalecki often appears as if he’s
still figuring out Sam Winchester, but considering all the writers
put his character through, that works for me.  I get a kick out of
this series and always look forward to it.

Arrow has gotten off to a great start.  Last season’s finale called
for serious consequences and the show is delivering on them.  I’m
liking Stephen Amell’s portrayal of Oliver Queen more each episode.
He’s trying to make a better city.  He’s trying to be a better man.
And shit keeps getting dumped on him.  Amell is underappreciated as
an actor.  David Ramsey’s Diggle is still a very cool character and
I love Emily Bett Rickards’ Felicity Smoak.  Also on my “like this”
list: the prospect of more DC Universe elements like Black Canary.

What I’m not liking much is Katie Cassidy’s Laurel Lance.  Neither
the actress or the character adds to the show.  Laurel’s switch to
the anti-Arrow side, even as her demoted father has come to accept
the vigilante’s efforts as a necessary evil, rings hollow.  She’s
never going to add anything to this series, so maybe it’s time for
her to move on to some other city and make a fresh start.  I like
her better as an advocate for the little guys than the driven-by-
hatred-and-grief district attorney she’s become.

Criminal Minds is struggling.  The writers are going more for the
gross-out than the compelling.  New chief Esai Morales has bupkis
chemistry with the cast and his past relationship with A.J. Cook’s
character, whatever the writers eventually decide it was, makes my
flesh crawl...and this comes from a viewer who thought Morales was
first-rate in NYPD Blue. If things don’t pick up, this will be one
less show I watch.

CSI had a season-ending cliffhanger and, as is typical of such dumb
gimmicks, dealt with it quickly and messily.  The hooker daughter
of Captain Jim Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) turns out to be some sort of
murderous criminal mastermind? I hope the writers have the dignity
to be embarrassed by such nonsense.

However, past the season opener, CSI seems to be in good shape and
continues to entertain me.  Elizabeth Harnois is knocking it out of
the park as the quietly traumatized and vulnerable Morgan Brody. An
uncomfortable subplot involving David Hodges (Wallace Langham) and
his wildly improbable Italian fiancee has been resolved.  The rest
of the cast is terrific.  About all I could ask for is more screen
time for Marc Vann as Conrad Ecklie.  That character has come into
his own over the past few seasons.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more television talk.

© 2013 Tony Isabella

FANGASM WEEK FOUR

“Zombie Fanpocalypse” aired on October 15.  In yesterday/s bloggy
thing, I forget to mention Fangasm was bumped out of prime time by
a rerun of Ghost Hunters. That probably wasn’t a good thing.  This
week’s episode also aired at 11 pm. 

In the previous episode, the interns pitched super-hero concepts to
Stan Lee.  Not surprisingly, Stan isn’t going forward on any of the
ideas, but Regina Carpinelli, the CEO and Co-Founder of Stan Lee’s
Comikaze, seemed pleased with their efforts.

Molly talks up a “drink and draw” event at an Irish pub and talks
the others into going there with her.  The event has a zombie theme
and Regina offers to have a friend of hers do their zombie makeup.
However, before that happens, the interns have some actual work to
do.  They have to help make a huge octopus tentacle for the company
booth at Comikaze.  Sal and most of the others think this will be
a cool experience.  Molly and Kristin, not so much.

Molly has a press pass to E3, an electronics and gaming expo, and
asks Regina for the time off to attend.  Regina allows this on the
condition that the ladies pass out Comikaze fliers and talk up the
convention.  Regina seems less than thrilled with this arrangement
and I think Molly and Kristin lost some points there.

Molly gets easily distracted at E3.  When she and Kristin attempt
to hand out the Comikaze fliers, it doesn’t go well.  Eventually,
Molly just starts “hiding” the fliers on exhibitor tables.  Which
probably won’t do Comikaze much good. 

Observation. Kristin doesn’t seem to be more than Molly’s shadow.
She seems capable, intelligent and nice, but has yet to distinguish
herself.  She needs to do that.

Sal, Paul, Dani and Andrew totally rock the tentacle-making.  Mike
does the work in his usual half-assed manner.  Sal has an affinity
for props and thinks he would like to work in the field.  Andrew,
who lives in the area, offers Sal a place to stay if Sal chooses to
pursue that calling.
   
SFX makeup master Eric Fox comes to the interns’ place to create
their zombie makeup.  Dani is interested in makeup work and helps
with the work.  She takes advantage of the situation to learn from
Fox.  She’s personable, smart and talented.

On to the personal stuff...

Before the zombification of the interns, Andrew gets a visit from
his girlfriend Lisa.  She’s terrific and has a laugh eerily similar
to Andrew’s.  Save for Molly, the other interns are impressed with
Lisa.  Molly makes a crude joke about the couple’s sex life.  I’m
hoping the producers are churlishly selecting scenes to make Molly
appear unpleasant and that this isn’t who she really is.  Alas, I
can only go by what shows up in the episodes.

Having had a gelato date with Dani, Sal wants to take things to the
next level.  Dani seems to want to keep Sal securely in the dreaded
“Friend Zone,” but there does seem to be a glimmer of interest on
her part.  I like both of these kids.

The zombie drink and draw event is great fun for most of the cast.
Mike comes off as a major douche.  He flirts with one girl while he
waits for the arrival of another girl he invited to the event and
while he claims to be interested in Molly.  For her part, Molly is
pissed at Mike and upset that no guys are hitting on her.  I felt
bad for both of them.  That said, if this is who they are in real
life, I wouldn’t want to hang out with them.

After four weeks, here’s how I rate the interns and their chance of
landing a steady job with Comikaze:

1. Dani
2. Paul
3. Sal
4. Andrew
5. Kristin
6. Molly
7. Mike

Look for my comments on week five sometimes next week.

******************************

In other things that have crossed my mind of late...

Doc Savage has been one of my favorite heroes since those long-ago
days when I would travel into downtown Cleveland to buy well-read
used copies of the Bantam paperbacks from the formidable Mrs. Kay
of the legendary Kay’s Books.  She could be a terror if you got on
her bad side, which is why I stopped going to her store with some
friends of mine who would never see any other side of her.  I would
go by myself and, for some reason, Mrs. Kay liked me.  Knowing that
I was a Doc Savage fan, she would put aside any Doc books for me to
see before she put them on sale.  More than once, she even gave me
a break on the price.  I was as beloved then and I am now.

I hated DC’s most recent Doc Savage comics.  They were written by
a writer who has proven to have no concept of or connection with
actual heroic fiction.  Even when he was replaced, the improvement
was minuscule.  As with so many other great characters, DC Comics
dishonored the Man of Bronze.

That said...I am very much looking forward to Dynamite’s new Doc
Savage series by writer Chris Roberson.  While it probably won’t be
Doc exactly as he appeared in the best of the old pulp novels, I’m
hoping it will be far more entertaining than the DC dreck and more
respectful of Doc’s legacy.  I’m not always such a font of optimism
when it comes to revivals of treasured characters, but I’m getting
a good feel about this revival.

I’m just a Doc-eyed optimist.

******************************

Within an hour of President Obama signing the bills to fully reopen
the government and raise the debt ceiling, I received an annoying
Republican robo-call asking me to answer some survey questions.  I
only listened to the first one and I wish I had written it down on
account of, however I would have answered it, the survey was rigged
to make it seem like I was against the Affordable Care Act and my
president.  So, naturally, I didn’t answer it.

The popular position is that the Republicans didn’t gain anything
from their shutdown of our government.  I don’t see it that way at
all.  They gained extra time to air lying commercials disparaging
Obama and the ACA.  They gained extra time to plan the next fiscal
crisis fight. They still haven’t accepted that they lost the last
presidential election and lost seats in Congress.  They still don’t
understand that, when you removing the disingenuous false rhetoric
from the conversation, the ACA is a damn good thing for Americans.
I’ll be amazed if the insane House Republicans don’t hold another
vote to abolish the ACA and/or impeach our President.

I believe the single biggest threats to American democracy are the
Republican attempts to disenfranchise voters and their redrawing of
congressional districts to give them greater representation in a
House of Representatives they have already paralyzed with all
their nonsense.  I think Republicans who engage in these behaviors
are criminals and traitors. 

I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.

© 2013 Tony Isabella

FANGASM: WEEK THREE

This is the second of three bloggy things discussing Fangasm, the
Syfy Channel show in which seven fans are interning at Stan Lee’s
Comikaze with the hope of winning an ongoing job with the company.
If you’ve been wondering why I’m writing about every episode of the
series - as I did with Heroes of Cosplay - it’s because I find the
show fascinating.  Though Fangasm is of my “comics world,” it’s far
removed from the “comics world” of my youth.

I don’t know any of the Fangasm interns.  My comments are based on
what’s been included in the show and, like all reality shows, it’s
a safe bet that we only see the characters as the producers of the
show want us to see them.  I suspect I’d like these young people if
I met them.  I’m not as sure they’d be thrilled with Grumpy Old Man
Isabella, but it is what it is.  I present my views as honestly as
possible.  I do my work with clean hands and heart.

The Fangasm “character” I do know is Stan Lee.  I worked with him
at Marvel Comics while I was on staff there and we exchange e-mails
a few times a year.  I love the guy and I loved working with him.
Is there an age limit on Comikaze interns?

“Take Me to Your Lee-Der” aired on October 8.  It gets my vote for
best episode of the show so far because the main story features the
interns pitching super-hero concepts to Stan.  Having created a few
super-heroes myself, it’s a process I understand and it gave me a
chance to look at the interns from a somewhat shared perspective.
How did they do?

Molly’s “Supervillain Is The New Black” concept was one of three
pitches I thought had potential. An admitted fan of villainy, Molly
apparently had already been working on a comic book about two young
villains.  Though she exaggerated Stan’s positive reaction to the
concept, her series was one I would check out if it were published.

Dani’s “Cicada” was a young scientist with physical handicaps who
survives an attack from a villain and, because of her work, gains
super-powers.  But she only has these powers for a 17-day cycle and
then reverts back to her normal self for 17 days.  The cycles would
make for interesting story challenges while the heroine would fit
comfortably into the “super-hero with human problems” bit that has
served Marvel so well since the 1960s.

With his presentation, Mike finally showed me something other than
his tedious “I’m a player” routine.  His character was a teen mom
with super-powers.  While nothing else in his presentation clicked
with me, the “teen mom” concept is something worth exploring in an
ongoing series.

Kristin’s magical girl character left me on the fence.  It might’ve
been worth consideration, but the pitch scene focused mostly on
how nervous Kristin was meeting Stan Lee.

Paul’s character had a solid visual, but the concept and back story
struck me as complicated and convoluted.

Andrew and Sal’s characters came up woefully short.  I didn’t find
anything interesting in either of them.

Getting back to Stan Lee...

I got a kick out of the interns being so awe of my former boss.  I
remembered how excited I was to meet and work with him during those
early years of my comics career.  I pretty much kept my cool in his
presence, but, if a camera had been filming me outside the office,
the result would have been similar to what the interns expressed in
this episode.

Moving on to the secondary stories...

Andrew showed something very special in this episode.  In addition
to his regular job and his internship, he’s a stand-up comedian and
he’s got chops.  I wished the episode had included all of his set
because I enjoyed what I saw. 

Digression.  Hey, Syfy, how about a “Comedians of Fandom” special
featuring Andrew and other comedians doing sets about comic books,
sci-fi, fantasy, horror, cosplay, gaming, and other fan delights?
I’d watch that. End digression.

Sal takes Dani out for gelato, which is a safe “first date.”  He’s
more into her than vice versa, but they seem to enjoy hanging out
with each other.  Sal sees sparks where I don’t, but I understand
dating is much different from the days of my youth when courting a
lady meant killing a sabertooth tiger and presenting her with the
carcass.  Good times.

After three weeks, here’s how I rate the interns and their chance
of landing a steady job with Comikaze:

1. Dani
2. Paul
3. Molly
4. Kristin
5. Andrew
6. Mike
7. Sal

These ratings will change after I discuss the fourth episode of the
series, but you’ll have to come back tomorrow to see those changes.

******************************

In other items...

Whenever there’s a Cleveland area comics convention, I get a bunch
of e-mails asking me if I’ll be there.  The answer is almost always
going to be “No, they didn’t invite me.” 

Not being invited to these conventions isn’t a concern for me.  It
puzzles me because my proximity to the events makes me a relatively
inexpensive guest and because I’m well received by the conventions
that do invite me.  But it doesn’t concern me. 

I only attend a handful of conventions a year.  That isn’t going to
change in the immediate future.  However, when a convention invites
me...and if I’m interested in attending...and if my schedule allows
me to attend...I let the promoter know what I need to be a guest at
the convention.  If he can accommodate my needs, I’m in.

My “needs” are fairly basic.  Travel expenses. Hotel expenses.  A
table for selling and signing comics and books.  These expenses can
add up, so I don’t take offense if a promoter can’t manage them on
his budget. I understand budgets.

If you’re a promoter and would like me to be a guest at your event,
just e-mail me.  That’s all it takes to get started.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more stuff.

© 2013 Tony Isabella