Articles by elayne-riggs

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Sun Mar 30, 2008 — by Elayne Riggs

ComicMix Columns for the Week Ending March 30, 2008

Outed like a lamb!

Wow, March seemed to fly by even faster than February, didn't it?  But opening day is finally upon us, allergy season is already in full swing and ComicMix columnists are nipping things in the bud as usual:

Congrats to Martha and Michael on their columns reaching the Big Five-Oh!  Presumably Dennis O'Neill is on spring break, and we look forward to his return.

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Wed Mar 26, 2008 — by Elayne Riggs

In My Ears and In My Eyes (Part 2), by Elayne Riggs

It's All Good #58

So as I was saying last week, by the time I hit college I went full-force into my first round of Beatlemania. I must have frequented my share of Beatlefests (as noted in the comments to last week's column, there's one coming up in NJ this weekend), but really only remember going to one because that's where I got Harry Nilsson's autograph, on the cover of his album A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night (for a reason I no longer remember, I have Jimmy Webb's autograph on the back). From what I hear, they're still going on. But the Beatles started influencing pretty much everything else in my life.

I named my fictitious corporation Pen-Elayne (wordplay on "Penny Lane" and "the pen of Elayne") Enterprises, which pun I borrowed again for my weekly comics reviews Pen-Elayne for Your Thoughts and my current blog Pen-Elayne on the Web. Penny Lane really became my theme song; I'd always envisaged something I can only describe as God's Hidden Camera following my every move, so the line "And though she feels as if she's in a play, she is anyway" really resonated. Particularly now with Google's Street View!

Having already gone through two years of Shakespeare in high school, I was primed to expand my Anglophilia, and the Beatles were a perfect outlet for my fascination of all things English. That interest has since culminated in marriage to an actual Englishman who, although four years my junior, is probably more knowledgeable about Beatles trivia than I'll ever be, has hundreds of bootleg songs, keeps up on all the news items of what's happening with their music, and generally makes my head spin. Oh, and even though Robin is a southern country boy, we like to goof around with pretty bad imitations of Liverpool accents (okay, his is better than mine, as you'd expect). Through Rob I also met artist Alan Davis and my lettering goddess Pat Prentice, who both share a birthday with Sir Paul. I seem to remember Alan introducing me to Pat by joking that she "sounds like Ringo," since she's also from Mersey-way. (She doesn't, although I find a female Liverpool accent as cute as a male one.)

Continue reading In My Ears and In My Eyes (Part 2), by Elayne Riggs ›

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Sun Mar 23, 2008 — by Elayne Riggs

ComicMix Columns for the Week Ending March 23, 2008

So let it be written, so let it be done!

I'm still recovering from my yearly giggle-fest as my husband and I spent last night MST-ing the Biblical epic The Ten Commandments, which for some reason was shown on Easter weekend rather than Passover weekend.  Always remember, Eliezar, he passed over your holiday!  So many great quotable lines in that film.  ComicMix columnists have been serving up their own quotables this week as well:

Here at ComicMix, love is not an art to us, it is life to us!

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Wed Mar 19, 2008 — by Elayne Riggs

In My Ears and In My Eyes (Part 1), by Elayne Riggs

It's All Good #57

Last week we were casting about, as usual, for something interesting to watch in the 100-200 channel range of our cable system. The local PBS stations were hip-deep in pledge drives, which meant 20-minute breaks between segments of shows that would otherwise have been enjoyable but which we'd mostly seen anyway by this point. (Did anyone else think it just a tad disconcerting that WLIW, the Long Island-based PBS station, could afford to send its two high muckety-mucks out to broadcast from Innsbruck during the pledge breaks for Visions of Austria, but made sure to keep reminding us that Viewers Like You made all that possible? Oh great, I should give to their station to sponsor their executives' vacations?)

The few writers' strike-delayed shows that we usually watch on the networks haven't begun running new episodes, and in their place were the same tired crop of cringeworthy reality shows. Keith Olbermann and MSNBC are turning into FOX-lite (but that's another column). And how many times can I watch the Ghana episode of Tony Bourdain's No Reservations? (Not including subconscious reruns during REM sleep, approximately ten, but not consecutively; give me a break, Travel Channel!)

So it was that we found our way up the dial to a delightful programme all about amber hosted by "Dickie-Love's" brother David Attenborough -- and now little impressionable ol' me suddenly wants some new amber earrings -- which we then followed up with a Biography Channel episode on The Beatles' Wives, which itself preceded two recent Paul McCartney concerts, one from 2005 and the other from 2007, on that same channel, both horribly chopped from the originals. And suddenly there I was, fascinated all over again.

Continue reading In My Ears and In My Eyes (Part 1), by Elayne Riggs ›

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Sun Mar 16, 2008 — by Elayne Riggs

ComicMix Columns for the Week Ending March 16, 2008

Con-tractually obligated!

Can it be?  Is convention season well and truly underway?  No, I'm not ready yet!  Need job first!  Hello to everyone at WizWorld LA, LunaCon and everywhere else I can't afford to be.  At least I and our other weekly ComicMix columnists can engage you from the comparative safety of our home keyboards:

Forecast for the last half of March: more pavement-pounding, but at least it won't be in the snow any more!

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Wed Mar 12, 2008 — by Elayne Riggs

Confessions of an Armchair Feminist, by Elayne Riggs

It's All Good #56

Last Saturday was International Women's Day, the first IWD where women in the United States were facing the very strong possibility that an Estrogen-American would become their next President -- and the equally strong reality that lots of people (mostly men, but a surprising number of women as well) are committed to seeing that she never breaks that ultimate glass ceiling. Not because they (like me) don't necessarily consider her the best person for the job; it's not like the Presidency has been a meritocracy for a long time. But because many harbor a deep and irrational resentment of the very idea of a woman in power, particularly wielding the type of nigh-imperial power that the current administration and its cronies in the other two branches of government have ceded to the executive branch.

This resentment, nay, this seething hatred, has manifested itself in some scary ways that us second-wave feminists could have sworn went out with disco. One prominent pundit speculated that Senator Clinton was "pimping out" her daughter for working on her campaign, like pretty much every adult child of a candidate from Mary Cheney to the Romney boys has done. That same daughter was once the butt of a particularly nasty joke from the current Republican Presidential candidate, who made the sexist jape a two-fer by including a reference to the "manliness" of Janet Reno. These days it's former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright who receives remarks about how cadaverish she appears (funny, she looked fine to me when I saw her on The Daily Show last month).

Of course, the progressives who once espoused Stokeley Carmichael's adage that "the only position for women in [the movement] is prone" aren't immune from sexist remarks either. Folks who should know better choose to attack right-wing lunatics like Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin not on their lunacy but on their looks. Even for some on "our side," biology would appear to be destiny.

And while a part of me seethes at all this with the same rage I felt in high school and college every time I heard "women can't" do one thing or the other, with no further explanation needed but that we were women -- I also confess that a part of me just doesn't care any more. After fifty years of this stuff, I'm more than suffering from outrage burnout.

 

Continue reading Confessions of an Armchair Feminist, by Elayne Riggs ›

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Sun Mar 9, 2008 — by Elayne Riggs

ComicMix Columns for the Week Ending Mar. 9, 2008

The answers, my friends, are blowing in the wind

Where does the time go?  Why does nobody complain about having an extra hour to sleep in the autumn?  And does anyone really feel the need to answer rhetorical questions?  Our weekly ComicMix columnists may not have the answers, but they still make for good reading on a truncated Sunday:

And don't forget our special ComicMix TV broadcast covering the midnight release of the Dark Tower comic sequel!  Now can that wind stop howling please?  Some of us are trying to catch an afternoon kip.

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Wed Mar 5, 2008 — by Elayne Riggs

The Lost Art of Longhand, by Elayne Riggs

It's All Good #55

8:30 AM, Bx7 bus southbound to subway: It's favored by Luddites and techies alike. Early adopter Neil Gaiman, for instance, writes all his first drafts this way, using various fancy pens. (Me, I use my Uniball blue roller 'cause it's what I carry in my pocketbook.) It's physically draining, at least if you're not used to it. It requires both concentration to keep your hand steady, and a heightened awareness of your surroundings, particularly on moving vehicles. It certainly isn't for everyone; I'd rarely recommend it for myself. But a pad of paper is a lot lighter and more flexible than my laptop, and not having the distractions of checking email and blogs and playing online games forces me to focus on the here-and-now of completing this week's column. Besides, I need the practice in transcribing relatively illegible handwriting.

My Dad had beautiful longhand. Which amazed me, because he was naturally left-handed which was a no-no in hyper-superstitious Romania in the '30s. His schoolteachers beat that left-handedness out of him -- not entirely, I think he still shaved and did a few other things lefty, but he became right-handed for purposes of writing. I inherited his "sinister" gene, but by 1960s secular America children were allowed to retain such peculiar proclivities.

8:55 AM, "1" train southbound into Manhattan: Unfortunately, I never inherited Dad's longhand flair. I can add a few flourishes here and there, but only if I slow down and write very carefully and deliberately, and that starts my hand aching again. I figure I'm okay as long as I'm just legible enough to make out a check (I'm mired enough in the 20th century to still use checks on occasion). Damn, I have to put this away now, someone just sat down next to me and I can no longer comfortably use my right arm to prop this up...

Continue reading The Lost Art of Longhand, by Elayne Riggs ›

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Sun Mar 2, 2008 — by Elayne Riggs

ComicMix Columns for the Week Ending Mar. 2, 2008

Coming in like a lion...

I love March, particularly the way the winds blow in such promise for the year to come.  Spring training, buds on the trees, the hope that we can avoid any more snowstorms, it's all fraught with positivity.  Even our weekly ComicMix columnists seem to be more enthusiastic than usual (particularly Michael Davis with his Obama-at-SDCC teaser):

Spring forward, fall back into bed now...

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Fri Feb 29, 2008 — by Elayne Riggs

Wonder Woman: Objectified and Subjectified

Collector participation encouraged

Here's a good illustration of the difference between subjectifying and objectifying comic book characters. 

On the one hand, io9 reports on a paper published by feminist comics blogger Karen Healey (who's writing a dissertation on the fan culture of American superhero comics) and Terry Johnson on the Comparative Sex-Specific Body Mass Index (BMI) in the Marvel Universe and the “Real” World. 

As you might expect, the BMI range for the fictional women is much less varied and more unrealistic than the other three groups (fictional men, real men, real women), particularly if these characters are supposed to be athletes.  You can think up any in-story explanations you want, but they only cover up the limited range (or imagination) of many artists who draw these characters.

On the other hand, there's DC's iconic female character Wonder Woman.  Seen here as portrayed by Lynda Carter and as part of the newly-revealed Alex Ross cover for the book The Age of TV Heroes, to be published in November by Two Morrows, WW has certainly had her share of objectification and questionable storylines, even from her inception.

But she's also been more of the subject of her own story than any other female comic book character, inspiring not only countless feminists but avid collectors as well. One of them, Kyall Coulton, has created an entire site of WW memorabilia, The Ultimate Wonder Woman Collector's Guide.  The site currently features over 1200 items, the largest online index of its kind, as well as short biographies of participating collectors.  And the categories!  Everything from original art to jewelry, bedding, food items, clocks and watches, even cookie jars!  (If you're seeking contributor Joel Thingvall's famed WW gallery of original and commissioned art, it's accessible from the links page.)  You can even enter a trivia competition to win a memorabilia pack! 

Recent coverage by the NY Times and other mass media can only inspire more collectables to come.

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Wed Feb 27, 2008 — by Elayne Riggs

I, the Jury Duty, by Elayne Riggs

It's All Good #54

It's been a hell of a winter for me. Under the Lennonesque heading of life being what happens to you whilst you're busy making other plans, the latest in a series of stumbling blocks that have come between me and my ability to participate more in ComicMix's news section -- including the still-ongoing detox from my former job (which kept calling me back in through the end of last year), the nearly-full-time search for a new means of income, and a nasty lingering flu – was last week's call to jury duty. It was inevitable, but given my temporary unemployment period I'm glad it happened when it did. It's been over four years since I last served, and now it'll be another four years at least until they call me up again, which should gladden any potential employer.

I had no excuse to postpone this, but I still wasn't looking forward to it. The one time I've actually served on a jury was on a criminal case, a murder trial, and we wound up convicting the accused, during a time when the death penalty was still in effect. The knowledge that I and my fellow jurors may have contributed in sending this guy to the electric chair, however guilty we may have thought him for his crime, unnerved me to the point where I don't think I can ever serve again on that sort of a criminal case.

I was lucky in subsequent call-ups, in that most of the cases where my name came up for the jury pool were civil ones. One was settled before it commenced to trial, and I got out of the pool for the other one, I think, because I knew Cheryl Harris. You see, folks, you never know when your comic book connections will come in handy! Cheryl and I had both held the Membership Secretary position on the Friends of Lulu National Board, and saw each other socially besides, ever since our CompuServe days. But in this case I had to admit, during the initial jury questioning from the attorneys and the judge, that I also knew that she worked in the Bronx County court system, and so I was excused back to the jury assembly room and my name wasn't picked again during that round.

In those days I think the typical jury service, if you weren't picked to go on a case, was three days, and you got $15 per day which the state sent to your employer and your employer deducted from your paycheck, or something like that. It works differently with each state, and the rules seem to change all the time. As a matter of fact, this round even the venue changed.

Continue reading I, the Jury Duty, by Elayne Riggs ›

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Tue Feb 26, 2008 — by Elayne Riggs

Friends of Lulu Campaign For Cartoonist Rachel Nabors

Team Comics to the rescue!

The comics blogosphere is spreading the word quite effectively about the current situation of Rachel Nabors, who's facing a dental bill of up to $25,000 to correct a serious jaw problem.  Nabors, a Friends of Lulu Kim Yale award winner, doesn't have any health insurance.  As Theresa Tschetter notes, Rachel "has her own business... She works for a subsidiary of MSNBC. Did I mention she's only 22? She's balancing school and a full-time job. She's a very energetic and determined person. And this cost will be out of pocket for her." 

Leigh Dragoon and other Friends of Lulu members are spearheading a campaign to help defray these costs; if you donate more than $25, you'll receive a Dragoon-designed t-shirt.

Thanks to the results of a similar word-of-blog campaign, Rikki Simons reports that his mother-in-law Dyane (Dee) Blackford, who had gone missing in the Glendale, CA area, has been found!  Rikki's wife Tavisha is the co-creator of the ShutterBox books from TokyoPop.  Rikki and Tavi are one of the most creative couples I know, having burst upon the scene about a decade ago with their colorful and clever comic Ranklechick and his Three-Legged Cat, and we rejoice in their good news!

 

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Sun Feb 24, 2008 — by Elayne Riggs

ComicMix Columns for the Week Ending Feb. 24, 2008

And the winners are...

Ah, it's Oscar time again!  I know I'll be glued to my seat, whilst falling asleep in it at the same time!  Look for all the geeky movies to win the usual geeky (technical) awards, most of which won't be given out on the air.  Better to get your geek on reading our ComicMix columns for this past week:

I know Ratatouille will probably win for Best Animated Feature, but I'm still rooting for Persepolis, so there.

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Wed Feb 20, 2008 — by Elayne Riggs

TV Back Talk, by Elayne Riggs

It's All Good #53

Many people in this country are experiencing the age of interactive television for the first time. In other countries such as the UK, they've had a version of this for some time, in the form of a curious informational additive known as teletext, a useful imp that lives in the bands of the picture that we don't normally see, and which can be accessed by Brits wanting to know the local weather, transportation timetables, sports scores, and lots of other stuff that most of us in the US can only get online or through cable systems. Here in the US I've just discovered my digital cable system has interactive channels that can personalize my weather, traffic, pretty much whatever I want. And that's not even counting the on-demand entertainment, a tiny percentage of which is available at no extra charge!

And bully for the 21st century and all, but I've been interacting with my TV since I was a kid. And I'm not just talking about Winky-Dink.

Romper Room aside, I think I always suspected the people on TV couldn't see me or talk to me. I understood the idea of shows being recorded for anyone to tune in to, or not. The shows were still there even when I wasn't watching them. But none of that prevented me from talking back, from letting what I saw affect me to the point where I had an immediate, visceral reaction. As I recall my Dad couldn't stand it, he'd be there constantly reminding me "they can't hear you!" Then again, maybe that's Mom. Dad was the first person on his feet cheering whenever the Yankees took the lead, and yelling about what a bum the umpires or managers were when the game wasn't going well. So it's not like the apple fell very far from the tree there.

One of the great things about being married to Robin is that we have many of the same pet peeves about what we see and respond to on TV. One of my biggest annoyances is the increasing use of subtitles when the person being subtitled is speaking English. Occasionally the speaker will have something of a thick accent, but I've seen subtitles used with Scots and Irish and even Americans from southern states. Now come on y'all, a lot of that down-home drawl does get to be a bit much, but it's not a foreign tongue! The only thing subtitles have in their favor is that they, like news crawls on the 24-hour cable stations, encourage reading. Even when they're misspelled.

Continue reading TV Back Talk, by Elayne Riggs ›

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Mon Feb 18, 2008 — by Elayne Riggs

Inkwell Awards Celebrate Underappreciated Art of Inking

Almond strives to elevate craft again

Of all the artificial divisions of labor that modern assembly-line comics have spawned, inking is probably the least understood and most maligned, containing elements of both specialized artistic crafting and production talent. Most laypeople and casual comics readers still regard inking as merely the latter, a form of "tracing" requiring little more than a steady hand and an eye towards deadlines. 

Long considered one of the "top three" storytelling skills, inking has been rendered (pun intended) such a relative afterthought that one major company no longer includes inkers in their Previews solicitations.

Long-time inking advocate Bob Almond is out to change all that.  Bob writes the regular "Inkblots" column for SKETCH Magazine, where the idea germinated, and he's now set up a website with categories, voting instructions and other information about the awards.  It even has a pretty good definition of what inking is, for those who haven't been exposed to the craft in all its complexity.

Voting is open to all, begins April 1 and runs through the end of May.  Bob suggests that interested participants check the credit boxes of their favorite comics, as well as the somewhat cumbersome Comic Book DB, for eligible names, and "Maybe one year we will be able to put a complete inker database together." I can certainly suggest a few nominees for anyone coming up short!

 

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