Articles by robert-greenberger
Tue Sep 22, 2009 — by Robert Greenberger
Review: 'Castle' Season One on DVD
When the three-disc DVD set of Castle season one arrived, I was thinking about the series. I was immediately thought that this series would have been a perfect fit for NBC’s old Sunday Mystery Movie, the rotating series that gave us memorable characters from Columbo to McMillan and Wife. The mysteries were usually background to the more interesting characters and the 90 minute timeslot left plenty of room for witty banter amidst the lightweight procedural process. When I heard series creator Andrew Marlowe identify McMillan and Wife as one of the inspirations during Whodunit: The Genesis of Castle, I knew he got it right.The series debuted in the winter and was warmly received with so-so ratings, keeping it on the renewal bubble right up until the May announcements. I was pleased to see ABC keep the series, which debuted its second season in style last night. And on sale today is the DVD set from Buena Vista Home Video. All ten episodes are here along with four featurettes and some episodic commentary.
A series about a best-selling mystery novelist and the NYPD detective he’s allowed to shadow is engaging and entertaining. Nathan Fillion makes every role he plays look easy and he has a gentle way about him, finding the humor in everything. When necessary, though, he knows when to drop the act and take things seriously. Grounded the show in the horrors of the crimes being investigated in Stana Katic, a lovely Canadian actress we’ve seen in countless genre guest spots (Heroes, Alias) but this is her first series role and she’s making a terrific impression.
While their evolving relationship has the usual Will They or Won’t They element we’ve come to expect, they each have nice support systems that rounds out the cast and brings the show its unique feel. For Kate Beckett, there are her fellow detectives (Jon Huertas and Seamus Dever) at the precinct and the sole female pal, ME Lanie Parish (Tamala Jones). For Castle, who had been spiraling down to a dark place at the outset of the series, there’s his mother, a former theatrical star (Susan Sullivan) hoping for a comeback and his fifteen year old daughter Alexis (Molly Quinn) who is delighted she can stop mothering her father and go back to being a teenager. The scenes between Castle and Alexis are, to me, the best parts of the show because they depict a caring father/daughter relationship built on respect and trust.
As with all modern day series, there’s a larger mystery in the background and this show is no different. Beckett became a cop after her mother was murdered and the case grew cold. It’s a sore spot for her and she refuses to let Castle reopen the case, which of course he does. This will play itself out this season and one hopes it’s resolved and they move on.
The featurettes are as light, breezy and entertaining as the series itself. Whodunit is a nice look at the show’s origins and the building of the cast. Better is Castle’s Godfather, which is a look at the influence Stephen J. Cannell, the TV producer turned best-selling author had one Marlowe. Cannell and Fillion next star in Write-Along with Nathan Fillion, which is a satire on the actor learning to be a writer from a pro. While played with tongue-firmly-in-cheek, you do learn a few things about how Cannell works and works out. The Misdemeanors are a short collection of outtakes that are mildly amusing.
The show is highly recommended and if you missed out, now you can catch up in rapid fashion thanks to this nicely packaged collection.
Sun Sep 20, 2009 — by Robert Greenberger
Review: 'Seeking Spirits'
Seeking Spirits: The Lost Cases of the Atlantic Paranormal Society
By Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson with Michael Jan Friedman
Pocket Books, 272 pages, $16
One of the major successes of the Sci Fi Channel was the arrival of Ghost Hunters, a series focusing on the explorations into the paranormal as conducted by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson. The Roto Rooter plumbers turned their fascination with the otherworldly by creating TAPS, the Atlantic Paranormal Society, based in Rhode Island. Along with other trained investigators, they have since 2004 been racking up terrific ratings for the channel. Other paranormal shows arrived, such as Destination Truth and the GH spin-offs Ghost Hunters International and the forthcoming Ghost Hunters Academy. The investigators have become regulars on the convention circuit so you may have seen them.
Jason and Grant, though, have been investigating the supernatural since the early 1990s, first individually and then as friends and partners. As a result, their files are filled with cases that have not made it on the air and have resulted in two books, the most current of which is Seeking Spirits. Again cowritten by our pal Michael Jan Friedman, a few dozen cases are explored in breezy short chapters with Jason and Grant ostensibly alternating the narration.
If you watch the show, you know what to expect here, and if you don’t know the show but find the paranormal interesting, then you’ll likely find this great bathroom reading.
Fans of the show, though, may be surprised to find that many of these cases involved the team using clergy to help cleanser the homes of spirits. The religious aspect and the use of priests are largely ignored on air but clearly, these people play a larger role in the overall world of TAPS. The writers touch on the role of religion but never go into much depth.
Another interesting revelation is that many of these investigations are spread over two or three days. On air, the team arrives, interviews and investigates in the course of a day, a far more compressed version of what really happens.
As a result, the book doesn’t really bring the investigators to life. You never understand how these husbands, fathers and plumbers manage to devote days to these investigations while still earning a living. They speak so little about themselves and how TAPS fits into their lives in favor of the individual cases.
Nor do they name their colleagues or give them much in the way of their due despite their contributions to the investigations. On air, the investigators’ personalities enliven the episodes, especially when they clash over events. Here, they are largely faceless, which is a shame.
The cases are varied throughout New England and the people come from all walks of life, showing how universal these cases can be. Some of are downright odd such as the man who finds his furniture rearranged and other deeply concerning such as the investigation leading to a site used by a cult for sacrifices. Not every case result in a paranormal conclusion but those that due, is neatly resolved to everyone’s satisfaction.
The duo talk about their tools and you learn what they are and how they’re used but again, take a backseat to the investigations. Their personalities don’t even come out through the chapters they narrate. The chapters are instead breezy as you get a sketch of the people, the problem, the investigation, and the conclusion. It’s nice to see variety in the reports, especially cases that would never make it to the screen because the problems are quickly debunked or the person’s personal issues are the cause. You really don’t gain much insight into our authors or learn much about the paranormal. Overall, this entertaining book is mostly for believers and fans of the show.
Thu Sep 17, 2009 — by Robert Greenberger
Review: 'X-Men' Animated DVDs Volumes 3-4
The X-Men animated episodes from the 1990s continue to be regarded as among the very best adaptation of comics to another medium. The ever-growing cast of mutants, menaces, and alternate timelines was certainly a rich source of material and much of it wound up making the transition from page to screen. Fox enjoyed terrific ratings and it helped push the X-Men from comic cult favorite to mainstream phenomenon. The five seasons were an important stepping stone in getting Marvel’s uncanny heroes from comics to the silver screen.
Buena Vista Home Entertainment this week released volumes three and four of the X-Men - Marvel Comic Book Collection offering up 29 more episodes. There remain enough left over for one more disc which has yet to be announced.
The first of these two-disc sets begins with the Savage Land two-parter and contains the four-part “Dark Phoenix Saga” while the second opens with the Proteus two-parter and also contains the “Beyond Good and Evil” four-part mess.
When the first two volumes were released earlier this year, I wrote, “The voice casting is atrocious and jarring on more than one occasion while the animation direction is lackluster. Too often the team arrives to fight someone and we see them move one at a time rather than in a coordinated team effort, leaving you to wonder what the rest were doing while each hero took a turn.” Unfortunately, things did not improve with time and experience. Characters continue to stand pontificating while opponents politely waited for them to stop speaking before striking. The animators clearly couldn’t figure out how to integrate the dialogue and action smoothly so decided to take turns much to the stories’ detriment.
The collections contain the episodes in airdate order rather than the production order which results in some head scratching moments when the continuity doesn’t line-up. This is a real shame since BVHE had a chance to correct Fox’s error and give the fans a truly cool collection. Similarly, the discs come devoid of extras save trailers for other product.
The Dark Phoenix storyline deviates markedly from the comic so Jean’s corruption from the cosmic entity and Jason Wyngarde’s manipulation is far less subtle and rushed along. How the team reacts to her change and the ultimate resolution on the blue area of the Moon are closer to the comics but even so, Jean remains alive at the end and this doesn’t really work.
Nor does the “Beyond” storyline because like the comics of the day, it suffers from the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach, cramming in multiple timelines, multiple friends and foes and any shred of characterization is ignored in favor or running and blasting.
On the other hand, the episodes do get credit for attempting to keep the themes of alienation ever-present and tries to service each of the characters with personalities that were head and shoulders above the rest of animated fare from the era. It helps that so many of the storylines came from the comics so the efforts of Chris Claremont, Fabian Nicieza, Jim Lee, and others should be acknowledged. Nor did it hurt that Marvel’s EIC and former X-editor Bob Harras was a story consultant, which no doubt kept the scripts better than they could have been.
Still, I wish these were stronger efforts from character design to voice work to actual stories. They don’t hold up in the rewatching despite desperately hoping they’re as cool as viewers recall.
Tue Sep 15, 2009 — by Robert Greenberger
Review: 'The Big Bang Theory' Season 2 on DVD
When we first heard about The Big Bang Theory
, we weren’t sure if geeks of all shapes and sizes were going to be ridiculed, mocked or used as comic foils. Fortunately, the producers came with a pedigree for smart, funny comedies, headed by Chuck Lorre (Dharma & Greg). His take was that if the media declared the geeks had won and were taking over, they were ripe for a sitcom, using their foibles and interests for fodder. Coupled with a cool theme song from the Barenaked Ladies, the show debuted to good reviews and middling ratings, good enough to get a second season.We should all be thankful since the second season strongly builds on the characters and situations, deepening the quintet of friends and sharpening the humor. The four-disc second season set is being released today by Warner Home Video and is a Must Have for ComicMix readers.
For those unaware, the show features four geeks, all respected professionals in the field of physics who also embrace every geek interest under the sun, from Renaissance Faires to World of Warcraft to the Wednesday ritual of New Comics Day. Two, Sheldon and Leonard (hopefully a nod to the great sitcom producer Sheldon Leonard), share an apartment where the others – Howard Wolowitz and Rejesh Koothrappali – congregate with regularity. Living across the hall is aspiring actress Penny, who works as a waitress. Having a hot chick next door was a launching pad for much of the first season humor, especially as Leonard fell for her despite having nothing in common with her.
The second season’s 23 episodes allow the characters to grow and evolve with wonderfully humorous results. Good humor should stem from the characters and situations while working on multiple levels. You don’t have to know the science fiction shows referenced to understand how outlandish some of their rituals and comments are. Penny acts as the audience’s Point of View, showing her befuddlement. On the other hand, those of us in the know, get extra giggles from the attire, decorations or one-liners.
The first episode shows how comfortable they have grown with one another as Penny actually calls Sheldon a friend, putting them on a path towards the wonderful Christmas episode when he tries to over-prepare for a gift exchange and she gives him something beyond his expectations. The gentle ending is a highlight. Sheldon is actually coming to grips with having someone like Penny in his world and while he accepts her, doesn’t always approve of her “common” ways.
Penny has also grown, evidenced by “The Dead Hooker Juxtaposition” which shows how far she has come when another hot, more successful blonde moves into the building. On the other hand, the additional depth we see when she deeply wounds Howard in “The Killer Robot Instability” shows how some of these guys need to mature.
The show is helped by solid guest stars and recurring players such as Leslie (Sara Gilbert) who has dated Leonard and this year dates Howard and Christine Baranski as Leonard’s cutting, clueless mother. A geek highlight is when the four encounter Summer Glau on a train and its Raj, fueled with liquid courage, who actually connects with her.
All comics fans must see “The Hofstadter Isotope” for Penny’s first visit to a comic shop. And of course, here’s the introduction of the hand game “Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock”.
The season ended with the four guys off to the arctic for a three month research assignment with Penny coming to realize how much affection she actually has for Leonard, setting things up for the new season, debuting next Monday.
The box set comes with three nice features: a look at the contributions made by UCLA’s Prof. David Saltzberger to keep the science accurate; a look at how the characters have changed and grown with comments from the cast and crew; and a wonderful Gag Reel.
I deeply wish the show continued success and hope it reminds others how good, solid comedy can be structured, written, and performed. These shows stand up to repeated viewings thanks to the sharp writing and wonderful performances (kudos to Jim Parsons for his Emmy nod).
Mon Sep 14, 2009 — by Robert Greenberger
Review: 'Primeval Volume Two'
The world of Primeval
Airing this spring in England and here on Sci-Fi Channel, the series garnered good reviews and very solid ratings. However, ITC, facing a cash crunch, canceled the series, paving the way for a big screen adaptation currently being mounted by Warner Bros. For fans, though, they can relive the exploits with Primeval: Volume Two, released Tuesday by BBC Video.
The series, about a team of specialists protecting the citizens of the 21st century from prehistoric beasties that have come though spatial anomalies, had two shorter but stronger seasons. Between seasons one and two, an event in the past had dramatic repercussions, removing Claudia Brown from reality. Season two opened with Jenny Lewis, an exact replica of Claudia, newly hired to handle the press and public whenever the creatures got spotted. Given that Claudia had a romance developing with Nick Cutter, this threw the team leader for a loop. While he had feelings for her, she was slow to recognize the same emotions for him. As that developed, Cutter’s ex-wife Helen continued her mysterious comings and goings with some mysterious purpose and as season two ended, she wound up shooting and killing the team’s action ace, Stephen Hart.
Season three continued to stir things up as Cutter wound up being killed and project director James Lester assigned the leadership to the ill-equipped Jenny. After only a handful of assignments, she withdrew from the team and the series. All of a sudden, Jenny’s old pal Danny Quinn talked his way not only on to the team but was named its leader. The team was also rounded out by Egyptologist Sarah Page and Captain Becker, a military escort.
In addition to Helen’s ongoing threat, a new menace rose in the form of bureaucratic rival Christine Johnson, who wanted access to some artifact that actually came from the future but wound up in the team’s hands.
Over the course of the ten episodes, Helen and Christine played cat and mouse with the team – and the viewers – while each week the team had to keep London safe from creatures great and small, all the while coping with the grief of first losing Hart, then Cutter then Lewis. Personal story arcs, such as the slowly simmering romance between Abby and Connor were tertiary concerns although they were the bits that made us care most about the characters.
In fact, while the creatures were visually fun thanks to improved CGI, too often the chase sequences and fights were too long, robbing the characters of a chance to evolve. Bits between players, such as Connor’s temporary lodging with Lester, were given short shrift in favor of chase scenes that wound up being boring and prolonged. Becker is never given any depth (or a first name) while Christine wound up being a cardboard opponent.
The writers get credit for changing things up, such as the time a Knight in shining armor chased a creature through a portal and thought modern day London was Hell. On the other hand, Abby’s brother proved an annoying distraction who was better off dispatched by a beast rather than allowed to live another day.
In the end, we learn that Helen has been trying to prevent the hellish future she witnessed from coming to pass and do so in a dramatic fashion. The climax in episode ten actually left the entire team in a predicament demanding resolution which hopefully will come via special, movie or even a novel. As it is, the ten episodes, while entertaining, truly resolve very little, which is a disappointment.
The second volume three-disc set has some episode commentary that sheds a little light on the series overall. The two extras are not nearly enough to provide context for the changes made to the series. One is a look back at Nick Cutter’s journey form first episode to last, which is nice, and then there’s a documentary on the guy who won a design a creature contest, showing how his amazing drawing got used in Episode 8.
There’s a lot to like about Primeval, its setting and its characters but it also suffered from some inconsistency that should have been ironed out well before the third season. With luck, they will be granted another opportunity to come back and enthrall us.
Sun Sep 13, 2009 — by Robert Greenberger
Review: 'The Next Doctor' on DVD
The Doctor Who Christmas Specials have normally been delightful affairs, bridging the events of one season with teases for the forthcoming season. This time, though, The Next Doctor
When the special aired last December, there was intense speculation whether David Morrissey was actually being introduced early as the replacement. It certainly felt that way as we learned the villains would be the Cybermen and that Velile Tshabalala had been added as Morrissey’s companion, a woman named Rosita, which more than echoes the now gone Rose Tyler.
Clearly, that was not the case and was an interesting premise with so-so execution. In short, while visiting London on Christmas Eve, 1851, the Doctor comes up against a new threat but also a man acting, sounding and even looking like he might be, well, the Doctor. He spoke of the TARDIS and proclaimed to possess a sonic screwdriver but as the men began investigating together, the real Doctor figured out how a poor, mentally stressed man was led to believe he was a Gallifreyan Time Lord.Along the way, the two have to learn the secrets of the Cybermen’s scheme and then foil it, clearly doing so before St. Nick arrives to dole out gifts to one and all.
The first half of Russell T. Davies’ script is nicely paced by director Andy Goddard and sets things up well but the second half is lots of running, chasing, fighting and noise-making without making an awful lot of sense. The escapade is being released on DVD this Tuesday from BBC Video, oddly timed considering the following special is already available and it’s a wee bit early for the holiday season. Regardless, the story reveals to us that the poor man was accidentally imprinted with details about the Doctor that had been prepared for the Cybermen. As a result, its weeks before he realizes that his family is dead save his young son who must be found and rescued.
Morrissey does a good job as Jackson Lake, adding some nice pathos to the part. He and Tennant also play nicely off one another but Tshabalala has precious little to do and Dervla Kirwan as the villainous Miss Hartigan is a one-dimensional serial villain.
There’s a lot of stuff and nonsense and in the end, the character arcs are truncated in favor of the shouting and jumping around as if everyone discovered they were short on time to properly finish the story. As a result, it’s a good but far from spectacular effort. Being one of the final Tennant episodes, it’s a wasted opportunity.
The delight of the disc, though, is the special feature, the Prom 13: Doctor Who Prom concert that was performed in England on July 27 of last year but aired only in January. The hour-long concert, specifically designed to entice children to the orchestral experience, shone a nice spotlight on Murray Gold, the composer of Doctor Who music since the series’ revival in 2005. Hosted by Freema Agyeman with a cameo from Catherine Tate, the performance included many of the aliens and menaces from the series, walking through the audience and interacting with them. There was also a seven minute “Music of the Spheres” video presentation featuring Tennant aboard the TARDIS which discussed the importance of music. The storyline involved interaction with the orchestra such as the Doctor tossing his sheet music into the air and having it land in the hands of the performers.
Definitely not the way to introduce newcomers to the Doctor but certainly worth having by the diehard fans.
Fri Sep 11, 2009 — by Robert Greenberger
Review: 'Harper's Island' on DVD
The notion of one of the major networks producing a limited run murder mystery was certainly intriguing. For thirteen weeks, we were going to watch members of a wedding party get offed, one by one, while trying to figure out who dunnit. Clearly, the network had high hopes for Harper's Island
, slotting it in on Thursday nights and promoting it heavily.After three weeks, the show’s ratings were weak and the critical drubbing it received prompted them to dump the show on the less important Saturday nights, usually reserved for reruns or failed series. I recorded the first few weeks but before watching the episodes, I shrugged when I saw the show was essentially dumped. Unlike the victims, I received a second chance when the 4-disc DVD arrived from Paramount Home Video. The set, now on sale, works well watching the story unfold without commercial interruption and without waiting a week between installments.
The Island is where the rich summer and where the residents resent the wealthy and of course, the couple to be wed represent both sides of the equation. Henry’s best pal, Abby, returns to the island for the wedding, her first visit since the grisly murders that occurred years before, claiming her mother and causing a rift with her father, the sheriff. As the bridal party and extended family turn up for the festivities, a new series of murders begin, shaking Abby to her core.
Over the course of the series, we watch one person after another die in imaginative ways that speak more to the Freddy and Jason school of crime than your typical serial killer. You’re left to wonder what the victims might have in common or why these new deaths were happening. Meantime, the sense of foreboding permeates the island, paralyzing one and all.
On paper, it’s a cool idea. The execution, though, is where the series veered from clichéd to over-the-top and clearly, another draft was required. The Townies versus the Rich theme is a stereotype the producer make no effort to vary from to keep interesting. People go through the motions of resentment or envy and that’s a shame. The wedding party is largely a group of ciphers with barely any personality to distinguish one from another. There are exceptions, including the desperate Malcolm who does several questionable things throughout and totally misses his chance for romance.
Sun Sep 6, 2009 — by Robert Greenberger
Review: 'Fringe' Season One on DVD
Convoluted television premises were the rage when Fox bought Fringe
It didn’t hurt that Fringe also benefited from fewer commercials, leading to more minutes devoted to story and character.
The good news is that Fringe returns September 17 but the bad news is that the series reverts to the traditional network running time of about 41 minutes of story each hour. On the other hand, the first season comes out on DVD Tuesday so you have all of nine days to review or catch up. The following presumes you’ve been watching:
Mon Aug 31, 2009 — by Robert Greenberger
Disney Eats Marvel - Update 2
Everybody Shake Hands With The SEC
Walt Disney reached an agreement to purchase Marvel Comics for a combined cash and stock deal valued today at $4 billion. According to a report at Marketwatch, the acquisition was approved by both Boards of Directors over the weekend and is subject to SEC approval.In a statement, Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said "adding Marvel to Disney's unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation."
Those holding Marvel stock are expected to receive $30 per share in addition to approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own.
A shareholders’ conference call was scheduled for later today and no doubt Marvel will have their own comments for the press. The deal is not expected to close for some time and how the integration will work, including the comics properties owned by Disney and Marvel will be announced in the future. In addition to Disney’s own characters, they purchased the assets of CrossGen some years ago and have done little with them, much I the same way as Marvel has yet to fully exploit the Malibu Comics characters they acquired in the 1990s.
Disney has been moving more into the graphic novel field through their publishing division, notably announcing works based on their forthcoming film The Prince of Persia, based on the video game. One can only expect Disney to entrust projects like this and others to Marvel.
Isaac Perlmutter, Marvel's CEO, will continue to oversee the Marvel properties and is expected to be an architect of the integration along with Disney execs.
Sun Aug 23, 2009 — by Robert Greenberger
Review: 'Sunshine Cleaning' on DVD
Most times, we read our comics and watch our movies and television programs and come in at the beginning or during an act of gruesome violence. Often, we then see the crime scene investigators do their thing and then leave. But what becomes of the crime scene afterwards?Answering that question is the moving Sunshine Cleaning
, an independent film starring Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. The well-received film comes out on DVD this Tuesday from Anchor Bay Entertainment.Adams plays Rose Lorkowski, a single parent stuck in a dead end job, trying to raise her young son. Raised by her failed salesman father (Alan Arkin), it fell to Rose to raise her younger sister Norah. Rose was once on top of the world, captain of the cheerleading team, but there she is, a decade-plus later and she’s still sleeping with the quarterback (Steve Zahn), despite his being married to someone else. She aspires to more, maybe real estate, but life keeps dragging her down.
The quarterback turned police detective suggests try her hand at the lucrative crime scene clean up business. Rose convinces the hapless Norah to join her in this new venture and Sunshine Cleaning is born. We watch them figure out what the business is all about, stumbling on their own, until they meet up with Winston (Clifton Collins, Jr.), proprietor of a cleaning supply company who provides advice.
For a 91 minute film, there are many themes touched on in Megan Holley’s debut script. Love and loss, taking responsibility, struggling to raise a child and sister and father, missing a dead mother and more. Everything is intertwined as the story progresses but it’s not all neatly tied up by the end. Life’s a messy business, the tag line tells us, and director Christine Jeffs does a nice job showing us exactly that. While Rose is serious and trying to do right by her family, she does so at the cost of her own freedom and happiness. Norah is directionless and gains her first taste of adulthood by working with Rose and by trying to befriend the daughter of a victim. Meantime, we’re left uncertain as to what is wrong with young Oscar (Jason Spevack) – is it ADD, a closet genius or something else. He’s also just trying to get by while being looked after by his grandfather and aunt.
The performances are somber and dead on. Adams, normally gorgeous and perky, allows herself to look dowdy and sad while Blunt, more of a chameleon actress, fully inhabits Norah. Arkin plays Arkin, a man past his prime, terrified of disappointing his family yet doing it again and again as his schemes to make a buck fail. The core cast is ably supported, notably by Collins in an understated part.
The movie comes in both widescreen and full screen, which is a somewhat unnecessary option. The sole unique extra is a wonderful 11 minute featurette interviewing two older women who really do this sort of work. They show where the film was dead on and where it took some liberties, plus showed how they did some of their work.
Thu Aug 20, 2009 — by Robert Greenberger
Review: 'Likewise'
Likewise: The High School Comic Chronicles of Ariel Schrag
By Ariel Schrag
Touchstone, April 2009, $16
One of the nice things about reviewing for ComicMix is that people send you things that I would otherwise not consider reading or watching. Such is the case with Likewise, an autobiographical graphic novel by Ariel Schrag. She began illustrating tales of her life while a ninth grader and had previous published Awkward and Definition and Potential, the latter having been nominated for an Eisner Award, and is currently being developed into a major motion picture with Schrag herself handling the screenplay. Her writing about her growing up an active lesbian also led her to be a writer on the third and fourth seasons of Showtime’s The L Word.
Likewise, a 360-page work is dedicated entirely to her turbulent senior year in high school. It definitely felt like I was coming in on the middle with the players already established but as the pages turned, everyone came into sharper focus. Ariel was already publishing her comics through Slave Labor Graphics and applying to college while trying to manage life without Sally, her girl friend who is now a college freshman. Her parents have divorced and her mother is apparently enjoying a second childhood, much to Ariel and her sister’s displeasure.
From the start of the term through graduation, Ariel recounts the highs and lows, the anxiety that comes with being a lesbian, a girl, a high schooler and a child of divorce. In graphic detail, we see that she is quite sexually active, seeking love and affection, reaffirmation from others while pining away for Sally, who seems to have discovered sex with men. Sally’s relationship with Ariel forms the spine for the year whether Sally is physically present or not.
Schrag’s simple style is also a detailed one, altering the amount of texture to reflect her state of mind. We go from a few scratchy lines to incredibly vivid panels that put her bedroom and classroom on display.
Given the page count, Schrag invites us into her mind, which is turbulent and very much her own. The teens talk like teens, the adults clearly differentiated without the stereotype that all adults are clueless jerks. In fact, at least one teacher comes through as genuinely helpful and sympathetic. The concerns of October are entirely gone, replaced with new ones by Christmas. There are incredibly embarrassing moments such as the night Mom invites the girls to share a joint with her and other joyous times such as the outing to buy her first dildo.
The book suffers a bit from being a bit too stream-of-consciousness and you lose track of time or decisions she has made, especially the important ones like college. Her lettering reflects the artwork’s mood so can go from typeset to an illegible scrawl and could have paid more attention to clarity. Still, these are minor nits in an overall fascinating examination on one of today’s teens. They all have their own stories, but Schrag chose to document and share her own tale, which proves to be compelling reading.
Tue Aug 11, 2009 — by Robert Greenberger
Review: 'Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II' on DVD
Robot Chicken
Their most successful outing was the Star Wars Special, first aired in June 2007. The wild success in terms of ratings, critical commentary, and DVD sales meant a sequel was inevitable. The Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II special aired last November and was recently released on DVD by Warner Home Video. It was also nominated for a 2009 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour).
Amazingly, the 22-minute special has been expanded and extended so the disc is filled with 93 minutes of material. You have the original broadcast version, plus the 38 minute extended versions and then 33 minutes of extras. That’s pretty impressive.
The special is also pretty damned funny. The short sketches plays with most of the six films, mainly A New Hope although the AT-AT race is inspired from The Empire Strikes Back. All you favorite characters are represented with original performers Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams and Ahmed Best reprising their film roles. As a result, it sounds and feels right.
Highlights include a Stormtrooper bringing his daughter to work and involving her in the fight with the rebels at the opening of the fourth film. The Geico commercials having people interpret real life incidents gets a once over with Jar-Jar Binks, in his best role yet, trying to help a woman. Throughout the special, there are great sight gags and one-liners. Obviously, not every joke or sketch is brilliant, but they never fail to amuse.
Clearly, the extended version gives you more to enjoy and plays better than the truncated broadcast edition. The tons of extras show you how the stories were conceived, from Green acting out a sketch for the animators, to a look at the production designs and set construction. A feature on the stop-motion process shows how much time goes into shooting these figures and gives you new appreciation for the art form.
A short shows the cast and crew trekking to Skywalker Ranch, now in the Presidio, to screen the finished show for the staff, including George Lucas, who at least gets the joke. Another short features the 501st Legion presenting awards to Green and Senreich.
Finally, there’s a ton of commentary, as amusing as the shorts themselves, from a ton of folk including Best, Williams, and unexpected folk such as Frank Oz.
Mon Aug 10, 2009 — by Robert Greenberger
Review: 'Happy Hooligan'
Just prior to Comic-Con International, NBM’s David Seidman sent out a note suggesting to reviewers that their just-released Happy Hooligan comic strip collection had been overlooked. Gadzooks, I thought, he’s right and had them rush a copy over to be read. Having just finished the 112-page volume, I can say this early example of popular comic strip humor was undeservedly overlooked.
The better remembered characters from the comic strips have crowded the book shelves of late, from IDW’s exploding line to Fantagraphics beautiful year-by-year collections. Think of a character you grew up reading and odds are, there is a collection out there or one already announced.
But, the real pioneering strips such as Hooligan have been left behind. Under their Forever Nuts banner, NBM and Editor Jeffrey Lindenblatt seek to fix that, first with Mutt & Jeff and now Happy Hooligan. When a strip endures for 32 years, especially from that first era, it clearly spoke to an audience. Created by illustrator turned cartoonist Frederick Burr Opper, the strip followed a fairly strict formula but never ceased to be entertaining or inventive.
Back then, as explored in Cole Johnson’s closing essay, each strip had a gimmick and stuck with it. In this case, Hooligan, usually accompanied by his brothers, Gloomy Gus and Montmerency, saw something amiss, try to correct it and in so doing wind up causing trouble and usually being punched or jailed for his efforts. Week after week this went on and the theme rarely varied until the strip was in its second decade. In six evenly constructed panels, Opper set things up and had them pay off in a breezy way while each panel was filled with business. Usually, Gus would see trouble coming and warn the reader, a role that was later filled his Happy’s three nephews (an idea lifted later by others, notably Carl Barks), and we never learned which brother was the father.
Opper would take his time with the strip’s stories, sending the trio of siblings to visit the world but just sailing from New York took months. In each country, Opper used cultural elements for his humor and invariably, the trouble would have him bashed and jailed as the international cast of gendarmes, cops, and other law enforcement types protected their people.
Later, Happy took on various jobs so the setting for the chaos altered but the gags rarely did.
Allan Holtz’s informative introduction gives us a look at Opper’s career and establishes why Hooligan and Opper succeeded. While producing the Sunday page, Opper through the years also wrote and drew accompanying features, totaling fourteen other strips until he put his brush down in 1932 when his eyesight failed him. During this career, he gave us a memorable character in Hooligan but also the immortal Alphonse and Gaston. It was Opper who began heavily using word balloons to convey dialogue as opposed to narrative surrounding the drawings.
Given the sameness of the strips to today’s readers, NBM wisely did not go the comprehensive route, but instead offers up a sampling of strips from 1902-1913, scanning the originals in their 2- and 4-color splendor. The book presents the strips horizontal, as intended, and the reproduction is solid. At $25, it’s a little pricey but the overall package and historic importance makes it worth a look.
Sun Aug 9, 2009 — by Robert Greenberger
Review: 'Super Friends: The Lost Episodes' on DVD
In 1973, as most super-hero series faded from Saturday morning memory, ABC introduced the Justice League of America under the more kid friendly name Super Friends. Until 1986 the series evolved but continued to be a network fixture with one series break, absent the 1984-1984 season. It was at that point production company Hanna-Barbera had enough episodes stockpiled that they could offer them as a syndicated package that could be stripped, that is, run five days a week. ABC dropped the series that fateful season as opposed to being in theoretical competition with itself. H-B, though, continued to produce 24 more shorts, or eight half-hours worth of programming which aired on schedule in Australia and was later sprinkled in the Superman/Batman Adventures, which ran on USA starting in 1995.
Now, for the first time, Warner Home Video has collected these “lost” episodes on a two-disc set, coming this Tuesday.
They could have saved themselves the trouble. At its geekiest, Super Friends put DC’s greatest heroes on display for a wider audience and kids could thrill to seeing their favorites in action. With every passing year, the format was altered so heroes and villains came and went, the concept varied and the sidekicks changed. Wendy and Marvin gave way to Zan and Jayna, aliens with their own powers. In both cases, they were added on for audience identification purposes and moronic comic relief.
By 1983, though, children’s animated fare had been bowdlerized by nervous networks and advertisers, afraid children would be incited to commit hazardous acts of violence if the adventures grew too action-packed. As a result, the heroes and villains couldn’t make much contact with one another, limiting much of the storytelling options. Apparently, internal logic, the laws of physics and characterization were also verboten.
The 24 shorts presented here display shoddy animation, poor voice casting, and horrific writing. It should be pointed out that in 1981 we got Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, which did a far better job in the writing department; raising the bar H-B seemed disinterested in reaching.
The wonderful Alex Toth designs for the heroes never extended to the villains or the aliens du jour so they looked silly and largely unmenacing. The H-B created ethnic heroes had powers that didn’t match their names or personalities and were a poor fit (and really, was Black Vulcan that much better a hero than Black Lightning?). At their best, these stories mixed and matched the heroes allowing no more than a few to work together in any one story. At their worst, we had Flash racing through space with nothing for his feet to touch or a spacesuit to provide him with oxygen (his protective aura works only so far). Superman seemed to find kryptonite to weaken him wherever he went and in one instance he traveled back in time and rescued his Superboy self without once explaining how that could work. Perhaps the dumbest move was when the entire JLA had a meeting and entrusted the Hall of Justice’s security to the teens.
The Legion of Doom make token appearances here and are thoroughly inept, standing around, practically begging to be captured. One adventured used Mr. Myxzptlk which was diverting but no other enemies from the comics were used, which was a real shame since many could have been substituted for the poorly conceived threats. A number of stories involved youngsters and teens showing just how stupid they could be and acting anything but like youngsters and teens.
Perhaps the best thing about the discs are the two downloadable issues of the far superior Super Friends comics. You get the first issue, from E. Nelson Bridwell and Ramona Fradon plus the 7-page story by ENB and the late, great Toth.
Tue Aug 4, 2009 — by Robert Greenberger
Review: 'Al Williamson's Flash Gordon'
Flesk Publications, July 2009, $29.95
While Al Williamson did not create the legendary science fiction character, in many ways he inherited Alex Raymond’s artistic legacy. The artist was born in 1931, three years before Flash Gordon memorably hit the Sunday newspapers.
Raymond is considered one of the finest illustrators to work in syndicated comics, along with Hal Foster, with a photorealistic style that brought his world of Mongo and its varied denizens to life. While Buck Rogers was the first SF strip, Flash Gordon was the best as the stories were epic in scope. The landscape of Mongo was unlike any realm seen in comics before and through the years that special feeling evaporated in the hands of others. Until Williamson.
In 256 pages, we are treated to the three stories produced for King Comics in the 1960s, the short-lived imprint from King Features Syndicate in addition to the his adaptation of the unfortunate 1980 film that looked better than it played. There’s also Williamson’s last major series work, the miniseries produced for Marvel in 1994. The King material is exceptional because it was the first time original material had been produced for comics with the characters actually resembling their strip origins . It’s lush and fast-paced with Williamson actually writing the first story. His long-time collaborator, Archie Goodwin, one of the most respected people in the field…ever, wrote several stories and Larry Ivie also contributed a tale.
Williamson’s style was very much like Raymond’s and his settings and characters felt just right. The deering-do is quick-paced and while the stories tread familiar ground, they are still head and shoulders above much other science fiction in comics. The three stories, brief as they were, earned him the National Cartoonist Society’s Best Comic Book Cartoonist award. His movie adaptation didn’t win awards but earned him a new generation of fans who may have only known his name in association with the legendary EC Comics.
