Wally Wood: Strange Worlds of Science Fiction
Vanguard Publishing, Trade paperback, 224 pages. $24.95
Introduction by J. David Spurlock

A friend of mine owns the original art to a page of what he (and I) consider the zenith of Wally Wood’s creative genius, “The Mad ‘Comic’ Opera” (MAD #56, July 1960, written by Frank Jacobs). It is a lush piece of work, a cartooning tour de force that causes wide eyed disbelief on the printed page and gasps of astonishment when viewed in its larger, original form. “The Mad ‘Comic’ Opera” is an amazing moment in time, a moment that offered Wood a piece of work which allowed him to show off everything he had learned in his preceding dozen or so years as a comic book artist.

There is not a false note or creative misstep in a single panel of this six-page feature, not in layout or story telling, not in his use of Duotone to bring depth and dimension to the black and white page, and certainly not in his ability to do pitch-perfect parodies–albeit as “real people”–of the comic strip characters populating the story The operatic death scene of Dagwood Bumstead alone would have been enough to cement a lesser artists’ reputation; in the hands of Wally Wood, it was just one panel among some three dozen bits of perfection.

Wally Wood may never have been better, and, in his later and sadder declining years, he often operated at a level that was, in comparison to “The Mad ‘Comic’ Opera,” heartbreaking but which, viewed on their own, were still better than three-quarters of what anybody else was doing. It is also no secret that Wood frequently employed assistants and ghosts to help him turn out the volume of work he produced, but their use was no concession to quality or creative control. As Michael T. Gilbert wrote in the article “Total Control: A Brief Biography of Wally Wood” from Alter-Ego Volume 3, #8, “In the ’50s he mainly worked with Joe Orlando, Harry Harrison, and Sid Check. In later decades he was assisted by Dan Adkins, Ralph Reese, Wayne Howard, Larry Hama, and Bill Pearson, to name a few. No matter. The end result was unmistakably Wood. Helpers or not, the quantity and consistent high quality of the pages were unbelievable. He was always in control of the final product.”

I can’t tell you when I first became aware of Wally Wood’s art. It could have been from his run on the early issues of Daredevil for Marvel (Daredevil #5 – 11, December 1964 – December 1965), or his T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents (debuting in 1965) for Tower Comics, or, most likely, from the 1960s paperback reprints of his brilliant output for MAD (beginning in MAD #1 in 1952 and continuing through the early-1960s). I was certainly well aware of his work–if only yet vaguely aware of his reputation–by the time the first issue of DC’s action figure tie-in comic Captain Action landed on the stands in the summer of 1968. And the first Wood-work of repute usually mentioned in the late 1960s would have been his contributions to the legendary science fiction titles published by Bill Gaines’ E.C. Comics.

But talent like Wally Wood’s didn’t (couldn’t!) spring up overnight, not in the case, as I’ve said, of “The Mad ‘Comic’ Opera” and certainly not in a body of work like his output for E.C.’s Weird Fantasy, Weird Science, Incredible Science Fiction, and other titles. For the latter, Wood had scores of humor pieces for MAD over an eight year span on which to hone his satiric chops; for the former, he would call upon what he had learned laboring for a relatively short two or three years in the fields of lesser publishers than the obsessive and visionary Gaines.

Joe Orlando, Wood’s friend and collaborator, once said, “What Star Wars was to science fiction movies, Wally Wood was to science fiction comics.” The truth of that statement is visible in every page of his oft-reprinted E.C. tales. What readers and fans haven’t been privy to were the stories that preceded his stint at E.C., the tales he produced (mostly) during 1950 and 1951 for science fiction comics published by the likes of Avon Publishing, Ziff-Davis, and others. J. David Spurlock’s Vanguard Publishing has rectified this oversight with Wally Wood Strange Worlds of Science Fiction, available in both hardcover and trade paperback editions.

Strange Worlds features twenty-one of Wood’s pre-E.C. Comics stories, most published in their original “historic color, bad registration and all,” according to Spurlock, Vanguard’s publisher and editor (as well as co-author of the biography, Wally’s World: The Brilliant Life and Tragic Death of Wally Wood, The World’s Second-Best Comic Book Artist, with Steve Starger, Vanguard Publishing, 2006). To say that the quality of the scripts the young artist was handed to illustrate did not come up to the standards of what he would later be asked to draw at E.C. is a major understatement. With rare exceptions, circa-1950 comic books stories of all genres were bland, uninspired things aimed at an eight-year old audience looking for a few minutes of disposable four-color excitement and distraction. About the only way to elevate any of these stories, whether science fiction, superhero, or romance, was through superior art.

The twenty-something Wally Wood seemed, from the start, to be among those determined to do the elevating. The raw talent and innate understanding of the workings of the comic book page that would inform his later “Wally Wood’s 22 Panels That Always Work!!!” (twenty-two separate panels of dashed-off examples of essential storytelling, compiled by Wood-assistant Larry Hama, which remains the best basic primer for comic artists ever produced) is visible from 1950’s “The Flying Saucers: Spawn of Terror,” straight through 1953’s “Rocky X of the Rocketeers.” While many of these stories lack the polish of Wood’s later work, that awkward panel or poorly rendered figure will more often come right before or after one that shines with the potential that would explode into full bloom just a year or two later at E.C. The imagination that would be the hallmark of that later work is visible from the get-go, both in his designs of alien creatures and of those unmistakably and impossibly sleek rocket ships and hardware. Wood’s aliens oozed menace and slime. His rockets glistened and gleamed in reflected light and not even the poor registration of the base sixty-four color palette of the era could dim that light.

The evolution of Wally Wood’s talent is visible in the course of these stories, arranged in chronological order of their publication, including a few done in (credited) collaboration with Al Williamson (“Death In Deep Space,” A-1 Comics #38), Orlando (“Kenton of the Star Patrol,” Strange Worlds #3), and Frank Frazetta and Williamson (“The Invasion From the Abyss,” Strange Worlds #3). I suspect other hands in various other stories; some poses found in stories like “Bandits of the Spaceway” from Avon’s Space Detective #1, are so un-Wood-like that it’s difficult not to wonder but, as Michael Gilbert said, the finished product was, ultimately, always under Wood’s control.

Spurlock cleverly introduces each story with the juxtaposition of a title page sporting an enlarged panel or two in black and white from one of Wood’s E.C. stories. The contrast can be startling, especially when you realize that the vast improvement in the quality of art between, say, Youthful Magazine’s “Captain Science and the Insidious Doctor Khartoum” and the far more mature and controlled style of E.C.’s “The Martians!” is the result of just a year or so between publication dates (1951 versus 1952).

Wally Wood’s life wasn’t a happy one; his struggles with depression and alcohol and the tragic end to his life by his own hand in 1981 have entered into comics lore, often overshadowing his many contributions to the field. But I choose to remember instead the artist whose body of work has assured him a well-justified spot in the pantheon of comic book greats, and the man behind the tragic lore that I was fortunate enough to learn about from first-hand sources, including my brother, who was one of the many young artists to work as one of Wood’s assistant (my copy of Witzend #1, Wood’s 1966 attempt to grab the reins of his own destiny as one of the very earliest artists to become his own publisher, comes from Wally’s personal stash of copies) and, later in my own career as an editor for DC Comics, from the artist’s first wife (of three), the wonderful and immensely talented colorist Tatjana Wood, who would often regale me stories of the ex-husband for whom she obviously never lost affection or the respect of one artist for another.

Wally Wood: Strange Worlds of Science Fiction may not collect the best of Wally Wood’s vast and distinguished output, but these dynamic and energetic early stories are still a treat and, more often than not, a joy to behold. “Wally may have been our most troubled artist,” E.C. and MAD publisher Bill Gaines once said. “I’m not suggesting any connection, but he may have been our most brilliant.” As loathe as I am to quibble with the distinguished Mr. Gaines, I don’t believe there’s any maybe about it.

# # #

Paul Kupperberg (Kupperberg.blogspot.com) writes the best-selling monthly Life With Archie: The Married Life magazine for Archie Comics, and is the author of the mystery novel, The Same Old Story, available as an eBook on Amazon.com and Smashwords.com.

It’s quite possible you’ve already seen the new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man, but if not, take a look… and in fact, look very closely:

Click here to view the embedded video.

You may have noticed Ol’ Webhead leave his mark, and not just on the walls… the phrase “the Mark of the Spider-Man” is mentioned by Captain Stacy and is hidden within the webbing towards the end of the trailer. The site markofthespider-man.com takes you to a site with six screens filled with static, but I’ll bet my last Spider-tracer that if you keep an eye on that new site over the next week, we’ll see all sorts of new stuff revealed on those screens.

The Amazing Spider-Man comes out July 3rd, and stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Denis Leary, Rhys Ifans, Sally Field, and Martin Sheen.

(Hat tip: movieviral.com)

20^th Century Home Entertainment continues to explore their library, releasing Blu-ray editions of popular and important films. Recently, two of Woody Allen’s best films were released and are worth a second look.

Allen as a comedian was a witty, smart writer and performer, coming from a literate line of humor that was in rapid decline by the 1960s. In some ways, he was the bridge between that era and today when men like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert carry the mantle. His early films were very funny and as a director, he was learning the ropes, figuring out what worked while entertaining the masses.

That culminated in Annie Hall, his 1977 serious comedy featuring his then-paramour Diane Keaton. The movie was a quantum leap in sophistication, partially from the smart script co-written with Marshall Brickman, but a most self-assured hand behind the camera. Allen shows a maturity as a filmmaker that proved to audiences and critics alike he was more than just a funny and funny-looking guy. The movie went on to earn four Academy Awards including Best Picture (besting Star Wars), Best Actress, Best Directing and Best Screenplay.

Yeah, there are a lot of visual touches and even some of the dialogue that smacks of the 1970s making it feel slightly dated today, but it’s nonetheless worth watching again. Keaton’s off-kilter performance was very much the actress infusing the character with elements of her personality and her eclectic fashion sense began trends that linger today.

Allen’s Alvy is a comedian falling for Annie, a dizzy nightclub singer but his neuroses drive her from his arms and across the country. He has to conquer those fears to follow his heart and her in the hopes of true love. Along the way, he skewers conventions and social trends of the day. The cast is interesting to explore since we’re seeing a variety of performers early in their careers including Christopher Walken and Sigourney Weaver while flavor of the moment Shelly Hack is also here.  And of course, Tony Roberts is on hand as he was for most of the films during this period of Allen’s career.

Also along for the ride is Gordon Willis, the cinematographer Allen called a vital teacher. Thus the film looks terrific and even better in high-definition. Also vital to the film were editors Ralph Rosenblum and Robert Karen, who trimmed the 2:20 rough cut into the 93 minute classic. As a result, an entire movie’s worth of scenes were sliced away, reducing the story to its timeless essence. This is also the film that features one of my all-time favorite gags as a moron pontificates on the meaning of Marshall McLuhan’s work, and Allen reaches behind a cardboard standee to produce the real McLuhan to correct the speaker. There’s also a fun animated sequence with art taken from the Inside Woody Allen comic strip.

Trust me, the transfer is terrific and is worth the upgrade. As is Allen’s wont, he desires his work to speak for itself and has eschewed any extras beyond the trailer.

The maturation of Allen as a filmmaker is seen on display in the second film, Manhattan. This is his ode to the city and permanently cemented the Big Apple with Allen in the public’s imagination. It’s also the story of man, twice divorced, who embarks on a romantic relationship with a 17-year old. The ick factor is worse when you realize this preceded Allen’s own romance with the 21 year old stepdaughter of his girlfriend Mia Farrow. The 1979 movie is more than that and once more co-writing with Brickman, it features the city in its best possible light. Speaking of which, it’s in black and white with brilliant Willis cinematography. On Blu-ray the city has never looked lovelier.

Allen’s Isaac Davis has given up writing for television to write a book about Manhattan and all around him, people are leading miserable lives, cheating on one another and discovering their homosexuality. We have Yale (Michael Murphy) the best friend cheating on his wife Emily (Anne Byrne) with Mary Wilkie (Keaton) while ex-wife Jill (Meryl Streep) has come out of the closet and taken up with Connie (Karen Ludwig). Then there’s Tracy (Mariel Hemingway) who is wrong for Isaac on many levels.

Once more, Allen is dealing with issues of society and social mores, with less humor than previous films and more introspection. It’s a wonderful blend of a solid script with a lavish visual sense, topped with a George Gershwin soundtrack that is romantic. This confirmed that the previous movie was not a fluke.

Singly, or together, these are Must See Woody Allen movies, even without the usual whiz bang extras. The works themselves more than command your attention.

When I was a kid around 12 years old I met another kid around the same age while at the library. This was a big deal because I was black and he was white and I had no white friends, so at the time this was an historic meeting for me at the time.

We were both at the same table at the library both working on a book report. We regarded each other only with sly looks while trying to avoid eye contact with each other. I lived in a housing project and I just knew that David lived in the real nice houses that were not to far from the projects in distance but light years away in lifestyle. For about an hour we played that cat and mouse “look, don’t look” game.

We played that game until David put away his notebook and replaced them with a stack of comics that could choke a horse. I’d never seen that many comics outside of my home. Never had I seen anyone carry that many comics around.

Then I noticed something incredible. All the comics were brand new. I’ve carried comics around with me on many an occasion: grandma’s house, dentist’s office, car trip (which I only did once because I can’t read in a car; it gives me the worst headache, even now) or to a friend’s house to trade.

Whenever I’ve carried comics around, they were never a stack of new comics – never. At 12 I don’t think I’ve ever brought more than three comics at one time. Not that I didn’t want too; I just could not afford it. Now, here in front of me were at least 30 brand new comics that this snot nose white kid was showing off.

I did not want to stare but I could not help it. I was mesmerized by the wealth of comics this kid had in his possession.

I hated that kid.

I hated that I had one comic on me that had no cover.

I hated that I wanted to ask to read some of his.

At one point I remember thinking I didn’t need or even want to have that many new comics. I was also thinking David (his name was on his book bag) was stupid. He had both Marvel and DC books. Everyone knew that DC comics were crap compared to Marvel. Little kids read DC and big kids read Marvel.

Yeah, I read DC as well and they were actually my favorite but I had to keep that in the closet so as not to be thought of as a punk. I came proudly out of the closet when Kirby came to DC with his Fourth World masterpieces. Oh, Hells yes I did.

I worked myself up to this: forget this stupid white kid and his comics. I had better things to do like copying the inside of the book jacket of the book I was reading and passing that off as my report. I could give a flying fish about that kid or his darn new comics forget him and his freakin’ family, for my 12-year-old money (or lack there of) they could all go to Hell.

“Want to read some?”

My head shook yes faster than Barry Allen on crack.

David pushed the entire pile of books over to me. I thought I was going to die I was so happy. We sat there in silence reading those books until David’s mom came to pick him up. Reluctantly, I handed the stack of comics to David who asked if I was going to be at the library tomorrow.

The next day was Saturday and asking me if I was going to be at a library on Saturday was like asking a Muslim if he wants pork chops or bacon. It’s just not done.

I said no. David asked me to show him the ones I had read and when I did he took the ones I had not read and handed them to me.

“Give them back to me the next time you see me.” With that he and his mother said goodbye and left me there, shocked and amazed.

I thought of this story because I saw two kids this afternoon – one black, one white. They were reading a stack of comics in, of all places, a dog wash.

As I washed my dog I watched with a silent joy as they read Spider-Man and a book I’d never heard of. I often wondered if comics have the kind of magic for today’s kids as they did for my generation when I was growing up.

I got the answer to that today.

Yes, David got his books back and he and I shared an adventure together. But that, as they say, is another story.

WEDNESDAY: Mike Gold

Isn’t it nice to know that after nearly five hundred episodes, The Simpsons still have the power to shock and offend censors?

The Simpsons have now joined Barbie as targets of an Iranian crackdown, putting one of the iconic blonde doll’s biggest critics on the same blacklist as her. Citing some kind of vague moral opposition to The Simpsons, Mohammad Hossein Farjoo (who Reuters awesomely describes as the head of an agency that “oversees what Iranian children can play with”) said authorities would crack down on sales of toys based on the series and its characters.

That means Lisa Simpson, who famously campaigned for a less sexist Malibu Stacey (the show’s thinly veiled version of Barbie), now joins Barbie as a threat to Iranian morals.

via Iran Bans Simpsons Toys – Global – The Atlantic Wire.

Andrew Niccol is an English teacher’s dream, presenting visually compelling dystopia in movies that feature pretty people in dire straits. While his 1997 debut, Gattaca, got us all interested in him as a visionary, he has offered up precious few films since and the most recent one, In Time, was more hard-scratching than captivating.

The Justin Timberlake action movie came and went fairly quickly in the fall and was released this past week by 20^th Century Home Entertainment. In a near-future, man has figured out how to alter our genetics so on our 25^th birthday, our body is locked in place and our body clock begins to countdown. If I understand it right, they have a year to live without additional time being obtained which has led to a society of the immortal haves versus the time-starved have-nots. District 1 is at the bottom of the social ladder, a slum-like environment in an unnamed portion of the United States and there, factory worker Timberlake fights back, becoming the rebel a society had been waiting for. Along the way, he falls for heiress Amanda Seyfried, who has her eyes opened to the inequity largely controlled by her billionaire father (Vincent Kartheiser). Timberlake is hunted down by a Time Keeper (Cillian Murphy) for breaking the fuzzy law.

Everything is fuzzy about the movie. The world’s economy has shifted from cash and oil to time and it can be bought, sold, traded, and stored. How that works and how the genetics work are never clearly explained. Nor is the society and why is has been divided into a dozen distinct districts (Suzanne Collins does a better job of this in her Hunger Games trilogy). The power stems from the prime district called appropriately enough New Greenwich.

Yes, this feels familiar as William F. Nolan explored this similarly in the Logan’s Run books, movie and television series.

What is hinted at but demanded exploration was how a society functions when everyone physically looks the same – everyone is 25, sometimes many times over. So, we see a variety of television stars make brief appearances including Olivia Wilde as Timberlake’s mom ad Matt Bomer as an immortal ready for death and bequeathing Timberlake with a century, who is ready to share. Johnny Galecki is the hard luck best friend who tragically mishandles his newfound time.

Timberlake and Seyfried make an attractive pair of protagonists and they run, jump, and kiss nicely enough but it’s a lot of sound fury without signifying anything. There’s ultimately too much left unexplained to make you care one whit what happens to them or their world. With Niccol writing, producing, and directing, he had no one to point out these glaring flaws.

The DVD release was sent for review and it looks and sounds just swell on a television screen and suspect the Blu-ray version looks even crisper. On the DVD, there are a ton of trailers for other films and a handful of deleted/extended scenes, none of which were missed from the film itself. The Blu-ray contains an additional featurette, “The Minutes”, and access to a game app.

There are some great ideas hinted at here but without a single one being fully fleshed out and explored, the film is an entertaining near-miss.

So what are you reading?

Fellow ComicMixer Bob Greenberger recently talked about To Kill A Mockingbird a couple days ago as he prepares to teach his class. To Kill A Mockingbird is, as I expect all of you to know, a masterpiece of American literature concerning the racial tensions and bigotries of a small town in Alabama during the Depression – but more important, it is a study of the nature of good and evil, of both the morality and immorality inherent in all of us.

Starring Gregory Peck as the lawyer Atticus Finch who defends the black man accused of raping a white woman, the movie is a landmark picture, and – in my opinion – a touchstone for how to adapt a brilliant novel to the screen. Also my opinion: Peck’s greatest role.

But don’t just watch the movie. Read the book itself. One of the things that just driiivvvess meeee crrrrrazzzzy is when I ask someone, “did you read….” and what I get back in response is, “I saw the movie.”

Aaaaaggghh!

Here’re some books that have been turned into movies. Some good, some bad, some just “eh.” But do yourself a favor – read the book. You might learn something.

Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind: Yes, it’s one of the greatest movies ever made. Yes, adjusted for inflation it’s made more than any other movie. Yes, Vivien Leigh, Olivia DeHavilland, Hattie MacDonald Clark Gable, Leslie Howard, are the living embodiments of Mitchell’s characters. In fact, it’s about the most perfect casting ever, in my opinion. But Scarlett is not just the selfish bitch that the movie portrays.

In fact, as you read Gone With The Wind, you realize that Scarlett Katie O’Hara embodies both the Old and New South, the gentry who will not dirty their hands and the hard-scrabbling immigrant who will. Even her mother and father represent this coming battle, with Ellen O’Hara a symbol of the old landed gentry who live by rituals and rules, and Gerald O’Hara the hard-scrabbling immigrant who will do anything to succeed. And her men are symbols, too, as she clings to Ashley as a representation of an idealized world of chivalry and manners, and of the pampered childhood she has lost, while simultaneously being drawn to Rhett, the realist, the adult, the symbol of the “New South” and the future. Every main character in Gone With The Wind are the embodiments of the Civil War, of the battle between yesterday and today, of what was and what can be. Melanie is not just the selfless and perfect Lady of the antebellum South. Rhett is more than a lusting hedonist who marries Scarlett because he can’t have any other way. Ashley is more than just a beaten Confederate. Mitchell’s characters within the book come alive because they are all, well, alive.

The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Okay, technically this wasn’t a movie; it was a mini-series on TNT starring Julianne Margulies and Angelica Huston. It was promoted as the story of Camelot from the “women’s side.” The mini-series was a disaster. I could understand if no one’s curiosity was piqued enough to read the book. But do it anyway. But it’s so much more.

It’s the story of the introduction of Christianity into Celtic Britain, of how one great religion was usurped and demonized by another. It’s a story, again, of the fall of one civilization and the rise of another. Of choices, of the roles between women and men, of what is good and what is evil and what is in-between. Of what is magic and what is faith, of what is real and what is not. All, as I said, set against the backdrop of one of the most romantic and glorious legend of all, King Arthur, Lancelot, Guinevere, Morgan Le Fay, Mordred, Merlin, and the Round Table.

Giant, by Edna Ferber. Ferber was a brilliant novelist whose historical fictions also criticized the social mores and woes of America. Giant deals with the struggle for power between the great cattle barons and the growing oil industry in Texas from the 1920s to the 1950s. It’s the story of cultures at struggle against themselves and each other: Leslie Lynton Benedict, from the East, against her husband, Jordan “Bick” Benedict, born and bred in the Southwest. It’s about of racism and bigotry, of how both the cattle barons and the oil tycoons built their empires on the back of Mexican-Americans… sadly, still an incredibly relevant story today, as illegal immigration continues to be at the forefront of our politics. (Hello, Arizona!) It’s even about the role of women in a society, as Leslie, raised to think for herself, fights to retain her individuality in a society where women are sidelined and controlled by men. Most of all, it’s a story of generational war, as the old must give way to the young.

Okay, Kelly Clarkson just sang the Star Spangled Banner. I gotta go.

But just in case you think I’m a total book snob, there is one movie that totally exceeds its origins. That’s The Godfather, parts I and II. Read the book. It’s good…but the movies are better.

Kelly’s done. The game is on. Go Big Blue!

TUESDAY: Michael Davis… or Gold writes about hockey. One or the other.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s Disney’s extended game spot for “John Carter”, directed by Andrew Stanton and starring Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins and Willem Dafoe, and based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “A Princess of Mars”. Coming to theaters March 9.

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• See “John Carter” And Get A Chance For Tickets To Next Year’s Super Bowl (comicmix.com)

So… how was your weekend? (Hat tip: Robin Miller.)

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• Giants Beat Patriots in Final Rally – New York Times (nytimes.com)

Also, visit www.facebook.com/avengers for an extended look.

Yes, it’s Super Bowl, strange visitor from another… oh, you know the drill.

If you’re like us, you’re watching the game for the trailers for all the comic book movies that are coming out in the next year… which ones do you think worked? Which ones got you excited? Consider this an open thread to discuss.

The erstwhile “Berke” Breathed, who at some point in the last two decades learned what a “berk” was in British slang and decided to extend his professional name, presents one of the most interesting and stark success stories in the history of modern American strip comics: he lept to fame with Bloom County, almost from the moment it launched in 1980. [1] And then he ended that strip in mid-1989 (cementing its role as the quintessentially ’80s strip, for anyone with an axe to grind about that decade), partly for creative reasons and partly for overwork issues, to work on a spin-off, Outland, that never had the wide appeal or impact of its parent, even as it got more Bloom County-ish as it went along.

Every other major strip cartoonist before Breathed had a different reaction to success, creative unrest, and pressures of work: they all corporatized, bringing on gagmen and inkers and ghost pencilers to one degree or another, from the light end of G.B. Trudeau’s Doonesbury (inked by Don Carlton) to the high end of Jim Davis’s Paws, Inc. Garfield empire. But Breathed wanted to do it all all himself, and, if he couldn’t, he didn’t want anyone else to do do anything. So Bloom County remains entirely a product of the ’80s and of Breathed’s youth: exuberant, frenzied, full of more ideas and gags than it quite knows what to do with.

Last May, I reviewed the second volume of this reprint series — there are now five matching volumes, collecting the entire run, all handsome hardcover as part of IDW’s excellent Library of American Comics — and nearly all of what I wrote then applies to Volume 1: 1980-1982, and possibly even more so. This book collects the very early days of the strip, as it was still feeling its way and Breathed was deciding what made it different from his college strip Academia Waltz (and how he could, conversely, continue elements of that strip into something carried in millions of newspapers every morning). Even more importantly — and as Breathed mentions, bluntly, in some of his too-few marginal comments [2] — he was figuring out what this strip was about: who were the main characters, what was its tone, what were the major themes and ideas, what of all the possible things to write about would this strip focus on.

So this book sees a strip that begins in a boarding-house, without a penguin to be seen — though there is a talking dog, appearing briefly — and its central characters are Milo Bloom (with much of the introspection and neuroses that would soon be sloughed off onto Binkley, once he existed), his grandfather the Major, and a succession of other oddballs, as Breathed casts about for the characters and situations he can build his mature strip on. Over the course of the next two years, Binkley appears and quickly solidifies, as does his father, and then Opus the penguin — and, along the way so do Bobbi Harlow, Cutter John, Senator Bedfellow, the Meadow animals, and Steve Dallas, each one slotting into a need as Breathed realized they existed. At the same time, Milo is seen less and less at the boarding house (which quietly disappears, or is left unmentioned), and the Major drops into a rare supporting role and Milo shifts from an innocent to a rabble-rouser, relinquishing the center of the strip to Binkley and Opus and their shared neuroses.

I read the first two Bloom County volumes in reverse order by accident, but it’s not a bad strategy: knowing where Bloom County would eventually end up makes the early days that much more interesting. And even the quickly discarded ideas and storytelling cul-de-sacs in this volume point the way clearly towards the strip Breathed was building, and that came together by the end of this book, in the fall of 1982. Bloom County is one of the great American comic strips, and its compact size — one creator, one decade, five volumes — makes is that much easier to comprehend and encompass.

[1] It felt that way from the outside, at least; from his comments in this book, I’m sure Breathed didn’t feel like an immediate success. Does anyone?

[2] Bloom County is intensely entertaining on its own, but it’s fun in such a deeply angled, oddball way that the reader — especially three decades later — can’t help but wonder how Breathed ended up with that very peculiar, and gleefully anarchic, angle of attack of the issues of the day. If there’s one thing these books could use more of, it’s Breathed’s voice and thoughts about how it came about, what worked well (and what didn’t), and why he did it the way he did. The strictly factual notes are just fine, and sometimes deeply necessary, but Breathed’s insights and thoughts are vastly better.

(Reposted from The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.)

Almost every mistake I’ve ever made as a writer comes down to what I call a “Writing 101” mistake. I’ve been writing for a living for umpty-bum years at this point and you’d think I’d have graduated to at least Writing 102 mistakes, but no. It keeps coming down to the basics.

It usually happens because I think I don’t have to bother with the basics because, after all, I’ve been doing this for umpty-bum years now and it should all be second nature to me. Or because I’m behind in my deadline and don’t have time to bother with all that stuff.

Here’s a helpful clue. When you’re running late, you only have time to do the job right. Take a deep breath, clear out the cobwebs, looks at the basics, and work carefully. It winds up saving you time.

I need to have that pounded into my head with a very large mallet every so often.

What are the basics? To start off it’s the classic questions of who, what, when, where and how. By who I mean not just the characters’ names but who they are – their background, their history, their backstory. Those around a character help define them – who are their friends, their family, who loves ‘em and who hates them.

Think of your own life and who you know. How does that define you? Do you act the same way with your friends as you do with your parents? No, you don’t – they are different roles that you play and your actions adjust accordingly. All the roles are you but they are different aspects of you. Bruce Wayne as Batman is different from Bruce Wayne in public who is different from Bruce Wayne in private. As with you, so with your characters.

What can be defined in many ways; some of the most basic include what does the character do, what is their function in the story – protagonist, antagonist, supporting character? For me, the What also comes down to What Does The Character Want and what are they willing to do to get it. That governs every scene, every line of dialogue. Also, What Is At stake? Life, money, fame, ruin, get the girl, get the guy – what?

When would seem a no-brainer, but taking it for granted is a no-brain mistake. One of the legendary changes that Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams made when they took on Batman was to clear away the muck connected with the campy TV show was to make Batman once again a creature of the night. It was that simple, that elegant, and that basic. When can include time of year, era, the season and so on. The amount of time elapsing also matters. How much later does one scene take place after the previous one – immediately, soon, much later, a few days? You have to know.

Where would also seem obvious but a generic location tells us nothing about the characters or the story; a specific setting reveals a lot. How big or small is the house/apartment/office/coffee shop? What posters or art are on the wall or the desk? Details matter. Look around your own abode; what you choose to put in it says something about you. Same with your characters. My office currently says I’m a lazy slob. It says it pretty loudly, too.

Why does the story happen in the order that it does? Why do the characters make the choices that they make? That’s motivation. More often than not, there is no single motivation and the multiple motivations can be in opposition with one another. Back in college I was seeing this girl and she, teasing me, said that if I had to choose between her and a chocolate cake, I’d have to think hard. I told her, “Nonsense, my dear. You exaggerate. I would always choose you – with infinite regret for having lost that chocolate cake.” See? Conflicted.

We often want more than one thing at a time and often try to have it all and usually fail – because we can’t make a clear choice. Why do people make bad choices? Because conscious and subconscious are both acting upon us and they are rarely in agreement; what the heart wants is not necessarily what the head insists on. As with life, so with your characters.

And then there’s how. How does your character go about getting what s/he wants or think they want? How far are they willing to go to get it? Do they use direct action, indirect action, do they lie, cheat, steal, kill? Are there boundaries they won’t cross or are there just boundaries they don’t think they will cross. What are the specific acts? If the character tries and fails to achieve their goals, do they come back and try again? The story is meant to show us how far the protagonist/antagonist will go to get what they want. It reveals what they need or think they need. Are these acts consistent with who the character is – not just who they thinks they are, but with who they truly are? Who they are dictates how the character acts.

Each one of these – the who, the what, the where, the when, the why and the how – influences the other and as you play one off the other, the character, story, and themes come more clearly into focus.

One last word about mistakes. You are going to make them. I know writers who got frozen because of being afraid to make a mistake. It has to be perfect. Got news for them – nothing is perfect. Everything a mortal can do is flawed somewhere. You just do the best you can at the time.

One of the best teachers I ever had in anything, a man named Harold Lang, advised us to make big mistakes; you learn nothing from small ones. The operative word here, of course, is “learn.” Make new mistakes; don’t keep repeating the old.

Now if I could just remember that for myself. Ah, well; I’m off to make some mistakes.

MONDAY: Mindy Newell

This past week, I read both Justice League #5 and Justice League Dark #5. To say they are worlds apart is a bit on-the-nose, but suffice to say… it’s the truth. Justice League proper is loud, dumb, and thin. Dark is the polar opposite.

With an issue left to finish its first arc, Justice League needs a near miracle to turn my opinion around. In issue #5, Dark completed its first arc and I’m amazingly sold on it. Funny then that I didn’t bring that book home. My wife, and mother to our newborn son, bought it cause she loves Zatanna. Trust me, I have a millions reasons to thank her everyday. Now? I have a million and one. But I digress. This here column is meant to compare and contrast just why JL: Prime is poop, and Dark is dynamite. I hope Geoff Johns is taking notes.

Let’s start with the good. Both Leagues assemble a pretty stellar line-up. I know there are those out there that have a soft spot for the less-than-great Leagues of the past (like when they were in Detroit, or the amazingly crappy team from right-before-the-flashpoint), but let’s be honest: The present day roster takes its Magnificent Seven approach ala Grant Morrison’s run, and it was damned smart to do so. On the Dark side, we get a team-up that’s a veritable who’s who of the mystic arts.

With the Vertigo imprint now a part of the DCnU proper, we get to see stalwart mystic go-to characters like Deadman team up with John Constantine, amongst others. All in all, the teams work on paper, quite well. And John’s use of Cyborg as the would-be-everyman makes me forget all about the obvious affirmative action. The only character I wish they’d put on the Dark team would be Detective Chimp. Face it, monkeys equal sales.

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s dive into the bad, shall we? Justice League takes too many cues from the worst part of comics from the 1990s. Jim Lee is delivering amazing work, but at the cost of quality narrative. Splash after splash, action panel after action panel, and everyone always screaming, wincing, and punching. Also, all of it is on fire. Now, is Jim to blame for this? I don’t know. Geoff Johns is the man behind the script, so one might ask him if he intended the first arc to be so… typical.

For a guy who built a career on amazing origins, here he delivers his first disappointing one. Think of all the stereotypical team-forming storylines you can think of. Heroes meet, and think each other is the villain? Check. Egotistical in-fighting for control? Check. The evil-villain-from-out-of-nowhere who can only be defeated by having the team form? Check. That basic premise has been done to death in just about every team book, and funny enough? JL: Dark uses it too! But somehow, they pull it off. I’ll get to that later.

As I recall comics of my youth (those pesky ‘90s), it was always about the pop and sizzle, never about the words. It was all about who could beat up who and how, never why. Then I grabbed Watchmen, Sin City, books by Scott McCloud, and Kingdom Come and learned that comics can be stellar cape and cowl adventures… and use nuance and subtlety to end a story. Justice League throws all of that out the window, so we can make way for everyone taking time to ask what Batman’s powers are. Snicker.

Justice League Dark takes that same convoluted plot and smartly dampens it for characterization. The first arc is the antithesis to the uniting of individuals for the greater good. Instead we have severely independent agents being routed to stop something against their will. Over the course of the book, characters do fight one another, but it’s done with nuance. When Deadman threatens John Constantine, it’s because he cares for June Moon, who Constantine is obviously hurting in order to save the greater good. No puffed up chests and snarky dialogue.

And the big bad of the book? Well it turns out to be the misguided Enchantress, who lost control due to Madame Xanadu’s misguided tinkering. And at the climactic battle, when the score is blasting, and characters shout… it’s not the uniting of the mystical mavens of the greater DCnU that saves the day. It’s just Constantine doing his job. When the dust settles, the team, as it were, stand as independent as they were at the books’ beginning. It’s a bold move by Peter Milligan, who opts to dose his Justice League with a bit of realism. Realism, is a comic featuring a guy who has a super secret all-powerful vest? Yup. And it’s pretty darned cool.

I’ve merely scratched the surface here. Now, before you fire up the engines of hate, let me act as my own Devil’s Advocate. Justice League has had some great moments. As I mentioned before, I think Cyborg has been a real highlight of the book, and Johns’ Hal Jordon is a cock-sure treat, especially when he gets his ass whooped. And truth be told, the sales figures put me in my place pretty quickly. And Justice League: Dark isn’t exactly narrative fiction perfected. Over five issues Milligan utilized the “two characters show up somewhere, and spend their time questioning why they’re there scene” about 27 times. And as ComicBookResources’ Chad Nevett noted in his review of issue #5. Milligan may need to do a ton of back-peddling to assemble his team for the next arc.

Overall though, I think it’s clear: Justice League thus far has been far too busy trying to bring the “oohs and ahhs” while Dark spent its time trying to develop its characters beyond witty retorts, and punching. The books are clearly targeting different audiences, but even those who prefer eye laser blasts and Batarangs to backwards spells and Photoshop glow effects…clearly see where the flagship of the DCnU is aiming only at the lowest common denominator. If the DCnU is to make those who don’t read comics pay attention, modeling their mainstay book off of Michael Bay mentality isn’t the way to do it.

SUNDAY: John Ostrander

We’ve got more with TV‘s original BATMAN cast including Adam West weighing in the upcoming DARK KNIGHT movie, Burt Ward on creating that catch phrase. Plus DC whores out WATCHMEN in a big way and Marty McFly may be landing on Broadway.

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In the hopes of beating the Black History Month rush, I went to see Red Tails last weekend. George Lucas had been making the interview rounds and he discussed how difficult it was for him to get this film made. He ended up paying for it himself, but then couldn’t find a studio to distribute or market it. Apparently, they felt there was no profitable market for a film with no white actors in the leads.

That is so offensive that I had to prove them wrong. However, I missed opening weekend, and therefore probably contributed to the studio’s bigotry. And, if the truth be known, I don’t particularly like going to movies that draw crowds because I find most audiences unspeakably rude. However, in this case, I would suck it up. And also, I went at one o’clock in the afternoon on a Sunday.

There weren’t a lot of people there, with maybe half the seats filled. The audience seemed to be mostly white and mostly male. The trailer that got the best response was for the Farrelly Brothers Three Stooges. Yes, that surprised me, too.

Lucas said he wanted Red Tails to feel like a movie made in 1944 that was just released this year. That’s a good description. To me, it felt like a Blackhawk comic or a Sgt. Rock comic brought to life. It was Shrapnel as a movie. Awesome fight scenes, clear enemies (Nazis! Racists!), noble sacrifice and really entertaining characters. Screenwriters John Ridley and Aaron McGruder wrote an effective and economical (in terms of words, not budget) script. Yes, that’s Aaron McGruder of Boondocks fame.

On what planet would this movie be ghettoized? Oh, right. This one.

Which brings me to the comics portion of this column. I was lucky enough to get a review copy of African-American Classics from Eureka Productions. This anthology, edited by Tom Pomplum and Lance Tooks, takes the works of amazing writers like Langston Hughes, W. E. B. DuBois, Zora Neale Hurston and others and turns them into graphic story with artists that include Kyle Baker, Trevor von Eeden, Lance Tooks and more.

Like most anthologies, this one has stories I like and stories I don’t. In general, the ones I don’t like don’t have much story. They are instead mood pieces. My bias is against the genre, not the specifics here. In fact, if I’m going to read an illustrated mood piece, I’d prefer to read one with the unusual (to me) use of language here, and the vivid artwork.

I suspect this book will stay in print forever, a way to entice reluctant readers to seek out other works by these authors. It’s a great book to have on your shelves all year round, not just February.

SATURDAY: Big Daddy Marc Alan Fishman

Thank goodness the wicked Helen did not bring about the end of mankind and civilization as we knew it. This meant the characters of ITV’s Primeval could come back for a fresh go-round. The show took a breather after the third season ended in 2009 and came back in seven and six episode arcs, making for abbreviated fourth and fifth seasons respectively and they are now available as a combined third volume in either standard DVD or, for the first time, as a Blu-ray option from BBC Video.

I find myself enjoying the series more for the characters than the writing, which either leaves holes as big as the anomalies the heroes deal with or are overly convoluted, leaving me wishing for a happy middle ground.

Season three ended with three of our heroes – Connor Temple (Andrew Lee Potts), Abby Maitland (Hannah Spearritt), and Danny Quinn (Jason Flemyng) – trapped in different eras of the past while life back at the ARC continued, presuming them lost but not dead. Still, the near destruction of reality meant a rethinking of the operation which allowed the creators – Adrian Hodges and Tim Haines – to retool the show a bit, mostly for the better.

The new installments open with Connor and Abby miraculous still alive a year after being trapped in the Cretaceous with minimal supplies. They look remarkably healthy and unscathed, including their clothes being intact. Their budding romance, there from episode one, has clearly deepened and they rely on one another until fate gives them a way home. They return and find things have changed including Philip (Alexander Siddig), a private entrepreneur, largely in charge in conjunction with the affable and posh James Lester (Ben Miller). The pair literally has to fight to regain their jobs and then begin picking up the pieces of their lives, although oddly, they seem unconcerned with those elements including Abby’s annoying brother NAME from the previous season.

Among the newcomers is young wunderkind coordinator Jess Parker (Ruth Kearney) and Matt Anderson (Ciarán McMenamin), a rugged field agent with his own mysteries which begin to tie into the convoluted meta arc that stretches across the thirteen installments.

Long last Danny finally returns and propels stories in other directions as well. But the most interesting new addition to the show is the time-tossed Ethan Dobrowski (Jonathon Byrne) and Emily Merchant (Ruth Bradley), with which much more could have and should have been done. One has a deep secret revealed later on and the other is an innocent, coming from the Victorian Era and trying to do what’s right but seems oddly unfazed by living in her future.

Speaking of the future, that too plays a role in the later installments as the anomalies grow in number, threatening the world with more creatures, and there’s Philip trying to harness the power to supply energy to the world. Everything gets whipped up into a frenzy that ties back to previous season threads and issues. The climax is noisy and explosive and then people dust themselves off and get back to work as a new mystery arrives to set up the next season.

All too often, the meta arc, which is dubbed New Dawn, is doled out in small pieces while the bulk of each episode is given over to the dinosaur of the week. Thankfully, CGI for television has improved to the point where each season, the creatures look better and better which is a plus for this season now that it can be enjoyed in Blu-ray. (And they look far more convincing than the dinos found on Fox’s Terra Nova.) On the other hand, ever since the very first episode, the show has always felt like the writers ran out of steam and let the dino battle consume too much screen time. The show has therefore found itself in an odd place between the dark and dramatic Torchwood and the whimsical science fiction of Doctor Who, but both feature far stronger writing.

The special features include New Dawn: Making the New Primeval, Part 1 (21 minutes) and Part 2 (16 minutes) covering the retooling and thinking that went into the new seasons. It starts off slowly but is worth sticking with as they move along as part one is all about season four and part two covers season five. There are also five webisodes that were produced to teased the series’ return and briefly cover what occurred while we were watching other shows. In the 17 minutes we discover season three addition Sarah Page (Laila Rouass), was lost during Captain Becker’s (Ben Mansfield) attempt at rescuing the missing trio.

The show looks good on disc and sounds fine. There’s a real goofy charm to the overall series and if you watch an episode every now and then, it’s a fine guilty pleasure. It’s not something that works best in a concentrated dose, and you certainly wish it were stronger, but as entertainment goes, a visit to the world of Primeval can be quite satisfying.

Our pal Denny O’Neil usually occupies this space at this date and time. Sadly, he’s under the weather, which sucks because the weather was 60 degrees and mostly sunny in his neighborhood today.

The good news is, he’s on the mend. The bad news is, he couldn’t make this deadline. That’s fine — better Denny should take care of himself, in case he decides to enter the Iditarod or something.

He’ll be back here next time… dare I say it?… same Bat-time, same Bat-website.

FRIDAY, we’ll have Martha Thomases here in her usual space.

It’s a busy time for Phil Morris.

Easily recognizable to sitcom viewers as the hilariously slimy lawyer Jackie Chiles on Seinfeld, and renowned throughout the fanboy realm as J’onn J’onzz/Martian Manhunter on Smallville, Morris is splitting his time this February celebrating his latest triumphs.

Morris is a NAACP Image Award nominee in the category of Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series for Love That Girl!  While he prepares for the awards ceremony and all of its requisite celebrity gatherings, Morris is also making time to attend both the New York (2/13) and Los Angeles (2/16) premieres of Justice League: Doom.

The consummate nice guy, Morris shifts to a darker, villainous approach for Justice League: Doom as he reprises his Justice League animated television series role as the immortal Vandal Savage. Morris is one of nine actors returning to the booth to record their original roles.

Produced by Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, the all-new, PG-13 rated Justice League: Doom arrives February 28, 2012 from Warner Home Video as a Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD, On Demand and for Download. Both the Blu-Ray™ Combo Pack and DVD will include an UltraViiolet™ Digital Copy.

Justice League: Doom finds Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Cyborg and Batman on their heels when a team of super villains – orchestrated by Vandal Savage – discover and implement the Dark Knight’s “contingency plans” for stopping any rogue Justice League member. The story is inspired by Mark Waid and Howard Porter’s much-heralded “JLA: Tower of Babel,” and scripted by the late Dwayne McDuffie.

Morris is more than just an actor with a tendency to perform in fanboy-centric productions – he is a devout fan of the genre and its comic book origins. His comics collection exceeds 20,000 and includes gems like a 1948 “Captain America,” issues 1-18 of “Silver Surfer,” the first 20 Barry Windsor-Smith issues of “Conan,” and many of the original run of the “Fantastic Four.” “It goes back pretty far,” Morris says. “I collect to this day.”

Prepping for the onslaught of reporters’ queries on the red carpets on both coasts prior to the premieres of Justice League: Doom, Morris welcomed the opportunity to answer a few questions about Vandal Savage, comics collecting, and the possibility of someday voicing his Smallville character Martian Manhunter in an animated form.

QUESTION: What’s the mindset of Vandal Savage, and what’s been the joy of playing this role?

PHIL MORRIS: Vandal Savage is an immortal who has been around the human species for all time. He’s extremely intelligent – he’s incredibly evolved because of contact with a meteor that landed in his village. And he’s always trying to overthrow the world. His vision is that the world should be his, as many of these despots feel. But he feels that because he’s lived so long, he’s entitled.

I love Vandal. I played Vandal for the Justice League series a few times, but this is a little bit of a different take on Vandal. Back on the series, he was more of a smooth criminal – he was more nuanced, he had more style. Now, I guess, he’s just had it. He’s kind of approaching things as if to say “I don’t have time to play with you.” He has no more guile left in him. He’s straight, no chaser, which makes him much more dangerous, much more evil, and much harder edged, especially in my vocal performance.

And I love this script. Dwayne (McDuffie) really made it a walloping good romp for the Justice League players. And then Vandal is a bit like the Lex Luthor of the show – it’s his mastermind, his ideas, his design that almost or does bring the world to its doom. You’ll have to watch to see. Vandal is very much the thrust of the evil of this show. That’s fun to play.

QUESTION: What’s it like for you to be recording with all these original voices from the series again?

PHIL MORRIS: It’s great to have these actors back in these roles, but that’s the magic of these animated projects. I think one of the things the DC/Warner Bros. people do very well is get the right people for the job, from the top down. From Bruce (Timm) and Andrea (Romano) all the way down to the cast – and they take pains to make sure that everything is as accurate as possible because they know that, as fans, we’re watching and we’re listening and we need to be served. And they serve us very, very well. They give us some of the greatest vocal talent in the business.

QUESTION: You say “we” – and that collection of 20,000+ comics at home attests to your love for this genre. This is more than just work for you, right?

PHIL MORRIS: It feels as though I’ve been doing homework on these characters since I was 7 years old, and I loved being able to tell my mother that I’m finally making my comic book collection pay off. Actors use whatever reference material is at hand to flush out their characters, and in that I have been a comic collector for so long, I don’t have to go too far to relate to the process of the villain or hero in this universe of comics. I feel like I am one of the rank and file who has gotten lucky enough to embody these characters. It’s a pleasure and an honor.

QUESTION: Which way do your comic book tastes venture these days?

PHIL MORRIS: It’s interesting because they always ask the question: “Is it DC or Marvel?” If you’re a real comic book fan, you had to pick a side. You couldn’t go down the middle. As a younger comics reader, I liked Marvel a lot, because Marvel reflected African Americans sooner than DC did. I think that gave me a little bit of an affinity for them. But now in my more mature years, it’s all about good story telling, and I find DC tells great stories and has great, solid characters. They have probably my favorite character in Batman. So I’m much more interested in the continuity of the universe – I was an artists guy before, relating to the pictures and the artistry. That really thrilled me. Now it’s about the concepts and the writing. I’m always looking for a good yarn.

I like reading Garth Ennis, J. Michael Straczynski, Mark Waid, Jeff Loeb … guys like that. The writers have become fantastic – they have taken what society is and spun it on its ear. It’s not really kid stuff anymore. Kids can still invest and enjoy the books, but so can adults. Mark Millar. Ed Brubaker. There are a lot of great comic writers out there right now, and the world of comic books is much better for it.

QUESTION: You played J’onn J’onzz /Martian Manhunter on Smallville. Would you like to transition that role to voiceover for animation?

PHIL MORRIS: Carl (Lumbly) did one helluva job as Martian Manhunter for the Justice League series, and he hasn’t lost a step for this film. I don’t think he’s going to give up the role without a fight, and I have a total respect for Carl and his performance. It would be wonderful to do J’onn J’onzz as an animated character, as I did on Smallville. We’ll see. They keep me busy over here.

QUESTION: You’ve recorded a full library of characters for animation, including many in the super hero realm. What character does your inner geek still crave to voice?

PHIL MORRIS: I’ve been doing a voice for the Black Panther, but I’m not playing the Panther. They got Djimon Hounsou, and he’s terrific. But I would love to play the Black Panther. I wanted to play Green Lantern in this film. I’m an African American actor, but I don’t want that to matter at all. I think you should be able to close your eyes and voice any character, whether he’s African American or Anglo or Latino or Asian. That’s what I love about these great characters. I’d love to do the Silver Surfer, too. But for DC, I’d love to do a version of the Batman. I know Kevin Conroy IS Batman, and I love Kevin to death. But I think every actor who knows comics and loves comics would jump at the chance to do Batman. I think each of us would want to bring his own take to that darkness, to that inner turmoil that is Bruce Wayne. So it would be Batman. Kevin, I love you, but give me a one-off!

QUESTION: You frequently work in both the live-action and animated worlds. What’s your favorite part of doing voiceovers?

PHIL MORRIS: The best part of working in voiceover is the people you work with. I was very surprised when I first came into this world that the actors were so talented. They weren’t just people who did funny or clever voices. They are very intelligent, well-read, well-spoken, funny actors, and you get into that room and they cut it up – and THEN they go to record and they’re suddenly the most evil or heroic person on the planet. Then in between takes they’re jokey, jokey, jokey. Their wit and their imagination is unparalleled. I really have a great time working with whomever I work with from the voiceover community.

Related articles

• Justice League: Doom Coming in February (comicmix.com)

Back in the early days of cable, movies were rerun endlessly so if you liked one, you could burn their frames onto your retinas and it became a part of yourself. As a result, I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for 1974’s Busting. You sit there, scratching your head, and can’t recall the film and there’s no shame in that.

Written and directed by Peter Hyams (The Star Chamber, Outland), it is a buddy cop film before that became in vogue and is very much from the era. It has a nice grainy film stock, makes the cops and the thugs slovenly and a visual shambles. While most of Hyams’ peers set their gritty tales of big city corruption and the only honest cops’ efforts to bring down the kingpin of crime in New York City, Hyams set his in Los Angeles, although you’d be hard-pressed to tell. This is a totally urban LA, one without starlets or the Hollywood sign glimpsed in the distance. It’s a grimy city of pimps, pushers, hookers, strippers, and a few good men.

The men happen to be Elliot Gould and Robert Blake, a year before he became a big star on Baretta. They are companionable detectives, taking no guff from anyone and with a casual attitude, begin working their way to Rizzo (Alan Garfield), the man effectively running the city. Their superior tries to protect them but has given up, throwing his hands into the air, and warning the guys to stay away from the criminal. This is clearly Gould’s film as more is revealed about him and his life than Blake, but they are watching one another’s backs from gay bars to strip clubs.

I’m not giving anything away by saying they get their man, but the lessons the detectives learn along the way, and the harsh reality Rizzo reveals in the final scene gives the film an edge and poignancy missing from many of its contemporaries. Hyams’ script is sharp in subtle ways. As a director, he has some impressive tracking shots notably during the set piece, set inside a sprawling farmer’s market as the detectives hunt down three gun-wielding thugs.

The film received good notices when it first came out, with The New York Times noting Hyams “brings off something of a feat by making a contemporary cop film that is tough without exploiting the sort of right-wing cynicism that tells us all to go out and buy our own guns.” It clearly made an impact on me but it also heavily influenced Aaron Spelling, who more or less ripped off entire sequences frame by frame for his television series Starsky & Hutch. If you want a stronger version with some fun performances and more than a few comics references, Busting is finally available from MGM’s direct-to-disc Limited Edition Collection.