Articles by martha-thomases
Sat Nov 1, 2008 — by Martha Thomases
Purple Haze, by Martha Thomases
Brilliant Disguise
Originally, I wasn’t supposed to have a column.
Mike Gold wanted to have regular writers contributing during the week, Monday through Friday. He had the list of people he wanted to include – comics veterans like John Ostrander, Denny O’Neil and Michael Davis, plus popular blogger Elayne Riggs – and he wanted a soapbox for himself.
Me? I’m the publicist. I’m supposed to draw attention to the product, not to myself. The best publicist is the one you don’t see.
However, I’m also a team player. And an egomaniac. So, when the website started, and we didn’t always have a lot of content, I started to write. I wrote short essays that could get thrown up on the site when we were short on material. I’ve only been reading comics for 50 years, so there was always something on my mind.
One day, Mike said that, since I seemed to be writing regularly, perhaps my writing should have a name and a regular time slot. And so was born Brilliant Disguise, named for one of my favorite Bruce Springsteen songs, from one of the more depressing Bruce Springsteen albums. It’s about love and loss, and the lies we tell ourselves so we can take care of each other through the tough times. How appropriate.
Sat Oct 25, 2008 — by Martha Thomases
Scary Monsters, Super Freaks. by Martha Thomases
Brilliant Disguise
Halloween is Friday. Before the American Marketing/Advertising Complex discovered that All Soul’s Eve was a terrific occasion to sell home decorations and slutty costumes, it was the National Holiday of Greenwich Village and the Vast Homosexual Conspiracy. Before that, it was a chance for kids to dress up and beg for candy from the neighbors.
What about the true meaning of the holiday? What about its spiritual roots?
Originally, Halloween was All Hallows Eve, the night before All Saint’s Day. According to Barbara Walker, Christians appropriated the holiday from the Celts, who celebrated Sanhain, the feast of the dead. She says:
“The pagan idea used to be that crucial joints between the seasons opened cracks in the fabric of space-time, allowing contact between the ghostworld and the mortal ones.”
In other words, it was the time when ghosts came out and scared the living. These days, ghosts seem like the least scary things around. In fact, there’s a lot of ghosts I’d enjoy seeing again. But this stuff scares me:
• I was working at DC in 1990 when the new Robin costume was introduced. That was a few years after Miller’s girl Robin in The Dark Knight Returns. The new version of the new costume was its enhanced safety features, including a full-length Kevlar cape and covered legs. Then I see this. I guess she’s not as frightened by bullets as she is by the possibility that someone might not see her ta-tas or nay-nays.
• Comic book companies used to have one mammoth super-hero cross-over in the summer, to amuse the kids at camp. Now, DC alone has Final Crisis, Trinity, Batman: RIP, Reign in Hell, and some Green Lantern thing about other colors of lanterns. At this rate, the Event That Will Change Things Forever will last forever. That’s pretty much existentialism but without the good wine and unfiltered cigarettes. That’s scary.
Continue reading Scary Monsters, Super Freaks. by Martha Thomases ›
Sat Oct 18, 2008 — by Martha Thomases
Sex & Gasoline, by Martha Thomases
Brilliant Disguise
The campaign is almost over. The last Presidential Debate was Wednesday. Those of us who are not Joe the Plumber may wonder what the candidates have to say about the issues that matter to us.
You can go to the candidate’s websites here (Obama) and here (McCain) to find out what they say. There’s a lot there, but it’s written in political speak, designed to offend as few potential voters as possible. Will anyone tell us about where he stands on the issues in words we can relate to?
I have my own opinions. Take a look, and you’ll see why I’ll never be elected to any public office:
• The candidates in DC Decisions seem to be running for office in the year 2000.
No one is talking about the price of gasoline. No one is talking about the war or windfall profits. No one is talking about gay marriage (the hot button issue of 2004). Maybe corporations are less greedy in the DCU. Maybe people there are more tolerant. It seems to be a wonderful place. They have a black woman running for the Republican nomination. People come to her rallies. No one has mentioned if she’s a Muslim.
• The Marvel Universe is having its own election. They get to vote for Stephen Colbert.
• There are a lot of graphic novels about cancer, including this one, this one and this one. There are no graphic novels or comic books about health insurance. There is, however, a wonderful cartoon on the subject.
• Similarly, religion plays a huge part in our national conversation every four years. We don’t see that in comics. How would Rao vote? What would Odin do?
• Can dolphins vote in either version of Atlantis? If not, why not?
• One of the ways the Guardians of the Universe recognized Hal Jordan as a man without fear was his experience as a test pilot. John McCain crashed six planes. Would he get a ring? If so, what would his energy constructs look like?
Sat Oct 11, 2008 — by Martha Thomases
Behind the Mask, by Martha Thomases
Brilliant Disguise
In the early 1980s, conspiracy theories were all the rage. There seemed to be a cottage industry in debunking the conventional theories about the Kennedy assassination. Paul Krassner once said that he read so many articles on the subject in Penthouse magazine, next to the pin-ups, that he became aroused every time someone mentioned the Warren Report.
These ideas were everywhere. I remember seeing a long rant (printed up, on a poster in Washington Square Park) explaining that Mark Chapman and John Hinckley were both brainwashed by the CIA as assassins, with Chapman’s murder of John Lennon being a test run for the attempt on President Reagan.
While this seemed far-fetched, there was one aspect that made sense to me. Both Chapman and Hinckley were said to have acted in imitation of Travis Bickle, the character played by Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver. Robert DeNiro has never been more physically compelling than he was in that role, but Travis Bickle did not seem to me to be a happy person. It did not look like fun to be him.
Mark Millar plays with this idea in Kick-Ass. In this series, a scrawny young kid, feeling left out, puts on a set of long-johns and goes out on patrol. He gets the crap kicked out of him at first, but he also learns how to fight, and he attracts the attention from the media he can’t attract at school. Soon he’s considered a hero, and inspiring imitators of his own. Through it all, he remains a skinny kid, with few apparent social skills. I want to adopt him.
If people were going to base their actions on fictional characters, I thought it was much more likely for them to try to imitate Batman. After all, Batman and other non-super-powered heroes (like The Spirit, The Sandman and The Green Hornet) were beloved by millions, and Taxi Driver was a relatively small independent film, celebrated by elitist New York intellectuals.
Where were our costumed vigilantes?
It’s only taken a quarter century, but they’re here! According to a recent story in the New York Daily News, there is a group of people who dress up in costume and go on patrol.
Sun Oct 5, 2008 — by Martha Thomases
Interview: Jeff Kinney
'Wimpy Kid' Author Chats About Life and Fame
Nine years ago, game developer Jeff Kinney started to write the diary of a boy named Gregg Heffley. A few years after that, he began to publish the story on the website FunBrain.com. Charles Kochman picked it up for the Harry N. Abrams imprint, Amulet Books, and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid phenomenon was on.
Since then, Kinney published a sequel, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules and, this month, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do it Yourself Book. A third story, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Last Straw is due in January.
The series has a passionate following. Like Harry Potter, the books attract kids (who may be too young for Rowling’s longer novels) who can’t wait to read them. Bookstores plan parties around new volumes.
Jeff was in Baltimore for the recent Comic-Con, where Abrams sold advance copies of the new Do It Yourself book. We spoke with him at the Harvey awards, where he was nominated in eight categories, including Best New Talent, Best New Series, Best Writer, and Special Award for Humor. He lost in every category, but he had the longest lines at the show, as kids waited an hour and more for his autograph.
ComicMix: I read your books this week. Sorry I’m a little late, but my kid is grown. They’re really fun. I met your mom today. I saw the line for your signing, which was thrilling.
Jeff Kinney: Thank you very much. I had no idea if it was long or short. I just sat there and signed.
CMx: Was this your first comic convention? I know you’ve done book conventions.
JK: I’ve done a few others. Actually, I got my book picked up at New York Comic-Con two years ago. And I just wandered around with a manuscript and lucked into meeting Charlie Kochman, who picked it up on first sight. He took a look at it for maybe 30 seconds and said, “This is what we want. This is why we came here.”
Sat Oct 4, 2008 — by Martha Thomases
Diamond Dogs, by Martha Thomases
Brilliant Disguise
Are you reading James Robinson’s Superman? You should be. They’re amazing stories. The Alex Ross covers should be enough to tip you off that you’re in for a treat.
But the best part is that they prominently feature Krypto, the Dog of Steel.
I’ve been a huge fan of Robinson’s writing ever since The Golden Age, with Paul Smith’s gorgeous, evocative art. It made me nostalgic for an era of comics I never read.
Starman knocked me out. I loved it so much that I had someone make a logo for me so I could have a leather jacket like Jack’s, which I still wear all the time (weather permitting), even though there was a ten year stretch when no one knew what it was about. People still ask me if it means I’m an Aquarius. That’s okay. I’m not, but it gives me a chance to talk about how great the comic is.
Robinson’s best trick, I think, is taking a character and giving him or her an interest in something beyond heroics, or relationships or career. Jack Knight loved antiques, especially Hawaiian shirts and Art Deco ties. Those are not things that interest me, but I loved that he loved them. It made him seem more geeky, more human.
Robinson’s Superman doesn’t seem to collect anything. Clark Kent is a young man, in a young marriage. He and Lois love each other, but, even after a few years, they’re still getting used to sharing their lives. When Clark wants to keep his dog in their apartment, they argue about it.
Clark’s dog is no ordinary mutt, but a dog from Krypton. When he chews on the furniture, it’s a disaster. Lois is reasonably worried for her own safety and that of her neighbors.
Sat Sep 27, 2008 — by Martha Thomases
Maverick Is Their Name, by Martha Thomases
Brilliant Disguise
My friend Stephanie is a proud Texan, even though she’s lived in Manhattan for more than three decades. You can still hear Texas in her voice. She’s about as far from the stereotype as you can get, not a cowgirl, nor a big-haired society type, she’s a fine artist with a rock’n’roll heart. And, as you can see here, she has an affection for the rock stars of comics as well.
Still, the Texan remains. Stephanie has a pride in her home state that is far deeper and more profound than I feel for mine. She knows her state history. I wasn’t surprised that she knew enough to send me this link. I was just surprised at what it said:
It didn't bother us when Ford Motor Company used the Maverick family name for their new car. We didn't care that Tom Cruise's character in Top Gun was named Maverick, and we were amused when Madonna used our name for her record label. It is part of the American vernacular. But when McCain and the media placed it in a political context, using the maverick label as the centerpiece of his presidential campaign, each and every member of this family was appalled. We continue to be. –Fontaine Maverick
Did you know there were real people with the name “Maverick?” I didn’t. I thought it started in the 1950s with the television show starring James Garner.
And to make this a bit about comics, don’t you think the young James Garner should have starred in a Spirit movie? He looks exactly like Denny Colt.
In fact, this is a lot about comics. Although I’m not current on the specifics of the law, I believe that the Maverick family does not retain legal ownership of their name for commercial use. By allowing it to be used so frequently and generically in the past, they’ve surrendered it to common usage.
However, just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s right. The contract Siegel and Shuster signed for Superman with DC was legal, and DC had no legal obligation to pay them more money. However, giving them a cut was the right thing to do, and, thanks to the efforts of people like Neal Adams and Paul Levitz, the creators received a portion of what was due to them.
Continue reading Maverick Is Their Name, by Martha Thomases ›
Sat Sep 20, 2008 — by Martha Thomases
Everything I Need To Know About Politics I Learned From Superman, by Martha Thomases
Brilliant Disguise
For the last few weeks, most ComicMix columnists have been writing about politics. I can understand how you, Constant Reader, who came here to read about comics and movies and games, might think this is self-indulgently off-topic. Most of us have an intense interest in politics, and we think this is the most important election in a long time. People’s lives are at stake. But I can understand you frustration.
And then I had an epiphany. Not only did I grow up in a household where we discussed politics over the dinner table (and walking the dog, and taking in the dry-cleaning), but even more important, I gained my political perspective from Superman. The goals, strategies and tactics I discovered reading comics shaped my view of the world. Here’s what I know:
• You never know what you’ve got until it’s gone, whether that’s the planet Krypton or the ozone layer.
• Solar power makes you stronger.
• Drilling for oil in the ocean can upset the homes of your dearest friends, including your first love.
• Billionaire industrialists should not be trusted with positions of power. At best, they are obsessive loners with a mission to avenge their parents. At worst, they try to take over the world and destroy you and everything you believe in.
Thu Sep 18, 2008 — by Martha Thomases
ComicMix debuts exclusive graphic novels at Baltimore Comic-Con
Want one? That's what the "contact us" button is for!
Are you going to the Baltimore Comic-Con at the end of the month? So are we! And we've got something special for you.
In honor of the first anniversary of our announcement of our comics publishing program at last year's show, we're testing three graphic novel collections of recently completed stories from ComicMix. You'll want to check these out:
EZ Street – The Harvey-nominated graphic novel by Robert Tinnell (Feast of Seven Fishes, Surf Nazis Must Die, Kids of the Round Table) and Baltimore’s own Mark Wheatley (Mars, Frankenstein Mobster, Hammer of the Gods, Breathtaker) is about two brothers, a story about the love of stories, about ambition and dreams and fantasy, EZ Street is an involving look at the creative process, the dynamic of families, the true meaning of friendship and the quest for a really good comic. Wheatley and Tinnell will be at the Insight Studios/ComicMix booth to sign copies.
GrimJack: The Manx Cat – Since its first appearance as a back-up in Starslayer in 1983, GrimJack has been a fan favorite. The stories blend genres – the hard-boiled detective stories of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammet get combined with the sword and sorcery of Robert E, Howard. In The Manx Cat, these elements combine in a story that tells the history of Cynosure and the stuff that dreams are made of. Timothy Truman will be on hand to sign copies.
Jon Sable Freelance: Ashes of Eden – The character of Jon Sable is so popular that he was the inspiration for the ABC network series, Sable, in 1987. In Ashes of Eden, Sable is hired by the head of an African diamond cartel to transport a magnificent raw diamond to an exhibit in New York. But his task is complicated by having to play escort, bodyguard and babysitter to the cartel’s corporate spokesperson, Bashira, a temperamental. In a story combining jewels, fashion, and a network of terrorists, Sable must also deal with enticements of Maggie the Cat. Colorist Glenn Hauman will be on hand to sign copies.
These collector’s items are limited to 100 copies and will be available for the first time at the ComicMix booth exclusively at Baltimore Comic-Con from Saturday, September 28 through Sunday, September 29. More information and tickets are available at http://www.baltimorecomiccon.com.
Continue reading ComicMix debuts exclusive graphic novels at Baltimore Comic-Con ›
Sat Sep 13, 2008 — by Martha Thomases
Smallville, by Martha Thomases
Brilliant Disguise
The media narrative for the last week has been about “small town values.” According to several speeches made during and after the Republican convention, they are the party of these values, and Democrats are not.
What are these small town values? Among those traits cited are safety (you can leave your door unlocked), church, and concern for your neighbors.
To me, the quintessential small town is Smallville, and Clark Kent is its quintessential citizen. He helped his parents on their farm, and worked in their store. He made friends that lasted for his entire life. And as soon as he learned what he could, he left for the big city.
For Clark, Smallville is a place where he could make his mistakes. He could count on his family. When he felt confident in himself and his abilities, he went to Metropolis, so he could share his gifts with the most people possible.
Thu Sep 11, 2008 — by Martha Thomases
Gregory MacDonald: RIP
Author wrote 'Fletch' and 'Flynn'; fought the Klan
The Associated Press reports the sad news that author Gregory MacDonald died of cancer at his home in Tennessee. Best known as the author of the Flynn books and Kevin Smith's favorite Fletch books, he wrote 26 books in all. In addition, he served as president of the Mystery Writers of America, and won two Edgar awards. He was 71 years old.
With the success of the Fletch books and the ensuing celebrity, MacDonald moved to a farm in Pulanski, Tennessee. He is best known there for his work against the Ku Klux Klan, where he was a founding member of Giles Countians United. According to his neighbors, he was a passionate advocate for tolerance:
“Greg Mcdonald was an intricate part of the effort to combat bigotry in the face of visits to Pulaski by the KKK and Aryan Nation,” said Bettye Higgins, another founding member of GCU. “He willingly lent his name, his energy and his enthusiasm as a founding member of Giles Countians United, and he was unwavering in his support.”
He is survived by his wife, Cheryle, and five children. His last book, a revised edition of Souvenirs of a Blown World, was be published recently by Seven Stories Press.
Sun Sep 7, 2008 — by Martha Thomases
Interview: Harry N. Abrams' Charles Kochman
Editor has new Imprint and Fresh Approach to Comics Material
Charles Kochman was recently named Executive Editor of Abrams ComicArts, a new imprint at Harry N. Abrams. The publisher rewarded Kochman with the promotion and imprint in recognition of his successful efforts to celebrate comic books and graphic storytelling with best-selling books. Kochman, a former book editor at DC Comics, joined Abrams several years back and has published a wide variety works that have garnered reviews and award nominations starting with Mom's Cancer. His Diary of a Wimpy Kid has earned a place atop The New York Times best seller list and merited national acclaim.
Recently, Kochman sat dfown with ComicMix to review his career and where things are headed next.
CMix: How did you first get involved with publishing?
Charles Kochman: After an internship at Farrar, Straus and Giroux, my first paid job in publishing was at PlayValue Books, the licensing division of the Putnam Publishing Group. I started there right after graduation from Brooklyn College, in July 1985, working with my mentor and now friend Michael Teitelbaum. Everything I know about editing, and being an editor, I learned working at his side. Besides being a great guy, Mike and I shared a lot of common interests in music and movies and comics. Together we created a modest publishing program for our parent company, MCA Universal.
The first book I edited with Mike was a Back to the Future movie storybook, adapted by Bob Fleming. In addition, we published books on licenses like Photon, The Bionic Six, and An American Tale. I also got to write many coloring and activity books, including ones on dinosaurs, unicorns, and the Universal monsters. It was good training. The dinosaurs coloring book actually hit the B. Dalton bestseller list for some reason, which shocked all of us, including our president. I still have the note he sent me where he wrote “Holy shit! Bravo!” on a copy of the list.
After PlayValue I worked at Bantam Doubleday Dell [from 1987–93], where I edited the Choose Your Own Adventure series. There I also edited books with LucasFilm on Star Wars and Young Indiana Jones, Encyclopedia Brown, and a great karate series called Dojo Rats. Given the complexity of the Choose Your Own Adventure books, which I edited on a monthly schedule for five years, I got to sharpen my editorial skills in a way that I otherwise couldn’t have had I been working on other less “interactive” titles. The books were also successful, so it raised my profile in the industry, attracting the attention of some executives at DC Comics.
Continue reading Interview: Harry N. Abrams' Charles Kochman ›
Sun Sep 7, 2008 — by Martha Thomases
Instant Obama cartoon
Larry Hama and Dick Codor make the case
We just received this cartoon, along with a note from Larry Hama (G.I. Joe, Bucky O'Hare, among others) saying: "I emailed Dick Codor who had just signed up to go to Philly to register voters, and I remarked "all we have to do is convince everybody under 25 to tell their grandparents that "if you don't vote for Obama, hey, we're gonna get pregnant and addicted to heroin," and within 20 minutes he sent back this cartoon!"
For the record, this argument worked on my father.
Sat Sep 6, 2008 — by Martha Thomases
Sarah Palin: Storytelling, by Martha Thomases
Brilliant Disguise
John McCain, in what is assumed to be an attempt to woo feminist Hillary Clinton supporters, nominated an inexperienced first-term governor of Alaska as his running mate. In state-wide office less than two years, Sarah Palin includes in her resume a term as mayor of a small town, and a stint on her local PTA.
But wait, he says. When you hear her story, you’ll love her!
As an aspiring novelist and a voracious reader, I love stories. I love well-developed, idiosyncratic characters, and I enjoy imagining their lives. My favorite comics have great characters whose human foibles make their adventures more exciting.
The Creeper? A great character. Rorschach? A great character. Peter Parker? A great character. I’m not prepared to vote for any of them. Aside from being fictional, they do not display the qualities I look for in elected officials.
Hillary Clinton’s story is very much like my own. Not that I’ve done as much as she has, nor have I been as successful, but we are close in age. We were the women who were the “firsts” – the first to wear pants to a restaurant, the first to juggle family and career, the first to demand to be considered as our own selves, not as adjuncts to our husbands. I admire her career, but I didn’t vote for her. We did not agree on the issues most important to me.
John McCain, who once joked that the reason Chelsea Clinton was so ugly was that Janet Reno was her father, would have us believe that his nomination of Sarah Palin is a testament to Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Hillary Clinton has spent 35 years in public life. She has championed the Children’s Defense League. She has worked for universal health care. She has run for the Senate in one of the largest states, and been elected twice. She has an excellent reputation in the Senate among her peers, and has worked on several projects with her colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Although she was not my candidate, I respect her, and would have voted for her if she was the Democratic nominee.
Continue reading Sarah Palin: Storytelling, by Martha Thomases ›
Sat Aug 30, 2008 — by Martha Thomases
Shipping Late, by Martha Thomases
Brilliant Disguise
This column is unusual in that I’m starting to write it in the doctor’s office. There’s no emergency – it’s just time for my annual mammogram and breast sonogram, and the doctors are running late.
My appointment was for 11 this morning. I arrived at 10:30 because I walked faster than I expected, and because I wanted to get the paperwork out of the way. Also, I’m compulsively early. My mother raised me to believe that if I’m not at least five minutes early, I’m inconveniencing everybody else. My grandmother took this a step further, waiting at the airport in New York before our plane had even taken off from Ohio.
I’ve been here for two hours.
The world is made up of people who are on time and people who are late. I imagine that we each drive the other bonkers. I know that, when I’m waiting for someone to arrive who is more than 15 minutes late (which is the window I allow because, hey, the subway could be screwed up), I’m furious that I might be missing something just because the person I’m waiting for doesn’t have the consideration to think my time is valuable.
I don’t know what people who are late are thinking, but I imagine they are thinking that life is so complicated, and there are so many things that demand their attention, and nothing ever comes out as they plan. Perhaps they also think that meeting times are just an estimate, and it’s no big deal if they are late. Perhaps they think I have nothing better to do than wait for them, and that it’s privilege enough to bask in their glory.
Oddly, I am not bothered when my comics are late. I know that retailers are annoyed – and worse, since it’s their money on the line – but I’m not. When I walk into the comic book store for my weekly fix, I don’t particularly care which books are available. I like enough different kinds of stories that I’ll be able to find something I’ll enjoy reading. Even if it’s a skip week, there will be something I haven’t read, or a new magazine.
