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Book-A-Day 2018 #65: Kaijumax, Season Two: The Seamy Underbelly by Zander Cannon

It’s taken two library systems to get me caught up on Zander Cannon’s giant-monsters-in-prison comic series, and that seems a lot more complicated than it should be. But any system that gets books you want to read into your hands is, in the end, a successful system — so I’m not going to complain.

Cannon is following the Classy Cable TV style here: six-issue mini-series, each basically self-contained, coming out about the same time each year. I expect that gives him time to do some other comics work as well, and (more importantly) time to plan the next series and promote the book of the last series, as comics is getting more and more disconnected from the just-put-something-out-in-pamphlet-form-every-month business model. (And, let’s be honest: that model was good for the companies that owned the companies and characters, but not so good for anyone else in the pipeline.)

So: here is Kaijumax, Season Two: The Seamy Underbelly . Electrogor, the nice guy who looked like our main character back at the beginning of the first season, has broken out of prison with Green Humongo, and the two of them are hiding out with Red Humongo, who is Green’s brother despite their having completely different origins. But the cast of characters is much wider than just our two fugitives, and they’re scattered all over the place — I’d say “around the world,” but one of them spends substantial time on what I’m pretty sure is the moon.

Cannon has backed his way into something like a racial allegory, though he has an afterword where he denies that was the point, and explains that the parallels came as he turned “giant monsters in prison” into something more than just a joke idea by trying to take it seriously. I found it an interesting strand of the story — kaiju as a minority group, dispossessed and discriminated against, and the family dramas between the cop kaiju brother and the criminal kaiju brother. I’m not part of the racial group that the kaiju mostly reference, so I can point to that element and note it, but readers who are closer to a real-world version could have very different responses.

Anyway, there’s a big cast, sprawling around the world and elsewhere, of cops and criminals, jailers and jailed, corrupt and honest, and those who cross all of those categories. It’s a fairly dark moral universe for both the kaiju and those they call “squishies.” (Cannon plays it monster-movie style, but there has to be a lot of death in the background of Kaijumax. Every monster in prison represents at least a few thousand dead humans, maybe more.)

And it’s a noirish cartoon version of every monster movie ever, too: giant piloted robots and giant self-aware robots, lizards from the depths of the ocean and Lovecraftian beasts from between the stars, demons and mad scientists and scheming sons. It’s only because the monsters are so apt to get addicted (to nuclear power, to fictional monster-drugs) that this world even still exists.

Season Two is darker than the first one, almost paradoxically, since this is the storyline taking place almost entirely outside of prison. But prison is where things are relatively simple, right? You follow the rules (official and unwritten), you keep your nose out of places it shouldn’t be, you keep your head down, and you do your time. There’s no place to keep your head down in the wider world, and everywhere your nose is could be a place it shouldn’t be.

You have to be able to take Kaijumax seriously to enjoy it — to accept the premise, admit the science is severely bent at best, and appreciate the models. If you can do that, it’s a fine comic about loyalty and friendship, good and evil, what you have to do and what you can do, and, as the first book put it, terror and respect.

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

Book-A-Day 2018 #64: Brief Histories of Everyday Objects by Andy Warner

If a webcomic is intended all along to become a book — if it’s being created as a book, and put up online as a teaser or buzz-builder along the way — is it somehow less of a webcomic? I’m sure there are webcomics purists who will insist it is: there are purists for everything, and we’re probably all purists for something. But, realistically, what difference does it make?

I discovered Andy Warner’s Brief Histories of Everyday Objects before the book came out, when he was serializing the individual pieces online . I read it like a webcomic, was happy when I heard it would be a book, and (eventually) found and read the book. That looks like success, from an ex-publishing hand and still-marketing professional. That looks like the way it’s supposed to work.

Warner’s introduction here doesn’t quite say either way: he developed Brief Histories as “an idea for a comic.” I think I’ve seen elsewhere that he had the book deal in place ahead of time…but maybe I’m making that up. (I like people to have book deals; it makes them happy, pays them for their work, and gets stuff for me to read. Win/win.) However it happened, Brief Histories was on the web, and it is now a book.

Warner gives the history, or a history, of forty-five random common objects, from toothbrushes to bicycles. Each one gets four pages, three and a half of them telling one main narrative, plus a few panels of “briefer histories” at the end for random fun facts that Warner presumably couldn’t fit into the main story.  These are not all necessarily the entire history of these objects, or even their original creation — it tends to be a funny story that’s reasonably close to the modern day, meaning a lot of 19th century and early 20th century inventors.

It’s all true, as far as I know, and it’s all pretty funny. Warner is an energetic cartoonist who uses a lot of blacks and tones, giving his pages vibrancy and depth. And, of course, they’re often about obsessed people talking about their creations in semi-anachronistic dialogue from Warner, which adds to the humor. (And will probably annoy purists, again — though purists are not likely to enjoy four-page quick takes on anything.)

To sum up: Brief Histories is funny, enjoyable, and, if you don’t watch out, you just might learn something.

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

REVIEW: Thor: Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarok is funny, bright, colorful and imaginative. Clearly, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s cosmos is a brilliantly lit place and a lot of fun to visit. The 2:10 movie, out on disc now from Walt Disney Home Entertainment is a joy to rewatch because of director Taika Waititi’s imaginative approach to the now-familiar characters.

The blending of the prophesied Norse end times with the beloved Planet Hulk storyline is made to work but only by giving each story short shrift and robbing the former of its power. As much fun as it is to see Thor (Chirrs Hemsworth) shorn of hair, robbed of his enchanted hammer Mjolnir, and subjected to appearing in a remake of Gladiator, the film doesn’t pause long enough to make audiences feel anything for the end of the Norse way of life. Early on, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is revealed to have replaced Odin and allowed his prejudices to reshape life in the fabled kingdom. It has also allowed events to bring back Thor’s heretofore unknown sister Hela (Cate Blanchett), who is determined to force Ragnarok’s early arrival.

Thor and Loki seek the All-Father (Anthony Hopkins) with the aid of Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and once they find him, watch his demise. Once he fades away, Thor and Hela vie for inheriting the throne and once he loses, the movie is kicked into high gear. But Odin’s passing, like that of Asgard itself, is never truly dwelt upon so feels like a rushed plot point. We see refugees board a starship but never know them or understand their plight.

Hela is fascinating, all sensual moves and snarling hatred for being banished from the Nine Realms so is quick to make her mark. However, much of it happens quickly and is then off screen for too long. As a result, the Warriors Three are dispatched so fast you barely register them and no dialogue accounts for the absence of Sif.

Instead, Waititi and screenwriters Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle, and Christopher Yost spend more time with Thor and the Hulk on Sakaar, in the clutches of the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum). We feel far more for the Hulk’s two-year exile from Earth thanks to the screen time and Mark Ruffalo’s moving performance.

Neither is not particularly happy of being trapped and help foment rebellion, which had already been brewing thanks to Korg (voiced by Waititi). Along the way they redeem a fallen Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), kick ass, and have a bromance that is a delight to watch. The laughs come at the expense of the gravitas the passing of Asgard and Odin deserve.

The film is out in various additions including a Multi-Screen Format (Blu-ray, DVD, Movies Anywhere Digital HD code). The high definition transfer is superb, capturing every shade in the rainbow and making things pop. The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack is strong, not perfect.

Like the film itself the Special Features are short, fizzy, and avoids depth in favor of light-hearted affection for one another.

Things kick off with the Director Intro (1:44) as Waititi talks taking on the project; Getting In Touch With Your Inner Thor (6:39); Unstoppable Women: Hela & Valkyrie (5:58); Finding Korg (7:34); Sakaar: On the Edge of the Known and Unknown (8:24); Journey Into Mystery (5:47), which gives Jack Kirby his due for creating the original look; Gag Reel (2:18); Team Darryl (6:08), the latest short with Thor’s hapless roommate, now hosting The Grandmaster; Marvel Studios: The First Ten Years – The Evolution of Heroes (5:23); Deleted Scenes (5:43); 8-Bit Sequences, claiming to be pre-film tests for certain sequences but they look like they were done for fun:  Sakaar Spaceship Battle (0:58) and Final Bridge Battle (2:17). There’s an entertaining Audio Commentary from Waititi.

The Law Is A Ass #429: If At Flash You Don’t Succeed, Try, Trial Again

Where do I begin? Oh, right, I began two columns ago, because this is column three in my series discussing the “The Trial of The Flash” episode from the The Flash TV show. (And there’s a sentence that’ll drive proofreaders crazy.)

Okay, I’ll actually begin with a SPOILER WARNING. If you’re not caught up on The Flash, I’m about to reveal a couple of episodes worth of endings. Now, with the warning out of the way, like a college professor dressing for his twenty-fifth graduation ceremony, I have to recap.

Barry (The Flash) Allen was on trial for murdering Clifford DeVoe. In reality, DeVoe, a super genius whose hyper brain was literally sapping the vitality from his own body, transferred his consciousness into the body of another man. Then he put his lifeless body in Barry Allen’s apartment and framed Barry Allen for murder.

The trial followed the Constitutional principle of a speedy trial, it barely took up half of the forty-two minutes a one-hour TV episode lasts when you use your DVR to skip the commercials. My writing about the trial has taken a bit longer. Okay, more like a terabit longer. But take heart, the trial’s reached the closing arguments and instructions to the jury stage.

Which I’m not going to write about.

Not because closing arguments and jury instructions are boring – although they are – but because the episode didn’t actually show either to us. About three sentences into defense counsel Cecille Horton‘s one-law-degree-short-of-being-ept closing argument, Barry received a Troubalert that the villain du semaine was wreaking havoc in Central City. Barry told the judge there was an emergency and he was needed. Cecille added that nothing required the defendant to be present during closing arguments and the judge let Barry leave the trial. You might wonder whether the defendant can actually leave a trial while it’s still going on. The answer is yes.

Defendants don’t normally leave their trials, because that tends to make juries think the defendants don’t care about the trial, so why should the juries care about the defendant? But they can leave while trials are going on. And case law says that if a defendant voluntarily absents him or herself from the trial, it can proceed without the defendant.

So Barry left the trial to help Team Flash. Not to mention helping us. As I said earlier, we didn’t have to watch the trial’s boring parts.

It took Flash less than one act to defeat the baddie. It took the same amount of time for the lawyers to finish closing arguments, the judge to deliver the jury instructions, and the jury to reach its verdict. Right before the act break, the jury found Barry guilty.

Some people have complained about the verdict coming in that fast. But it happens. It’s what we call in the legal game a flash verdict— no pun intended, that’s really what they’re called. When juries retire to the deliberating room usually the first thing they do is elect a foreperson. Then lots of juries will take a vote on the verdict just to see where they all stand. If that initial vote comes back with a unanimous guilty verdict, the jury deliberations could be over as quickly as the episode indicated. So I have no problem with how fast the verdict came in. I do have a problem with the jury instructions, however. Those things are never fast.

After the verdict, the prosecutor delivered a speech that he hoped Barry would receive a life sentence given the brutal nature of the crime. Which was grandstanding on his part. Barry had been convicted of murder in the first degree. In Missouri, the mandatory sentence for murder in the first degree is life without the possibility of parole.

Before the judge delivered Barry’s sentence, he delivered a speech about how in all his years on the bench he had never seen a defendant who was more unmoved or had such a lack of regard for human life. You know, the usual shtick.

Also grandstanding, but I can forgive the judge his grandstanding. Judges lay it on thick at sentencing, so they can show the voters they’re tough on crime. It tends to get them reelected. When prosecutors lay it on thick and show that they don’t even know what their state’s mandatory sentence laws are, they tend not to be reelected.

Which brings us to the end of “The Trial of The Flash,” but not our column. See while Barry was serving his sentence in Iron Heights Prison, Warden Wolfe discovered that Barry was The Flash. So three episodes later, in “True Colors,” Warden Wolfe made a deal to sell Barry and some of the other super villains in Iron Heights to Amunet Black, a super villain who trafficked in the super-powered people black market. When Barry and the other super villains learned about Wolfe’s plan, they attempted an escape during the course of which all the super villains and Warden Wolfe died. Team Flash told Barry that he should finish the escape plan so that he could be free and help Team Flash defeat Clifford DeVoe. Barry refused.

He was willing to help the others escape to keep Wolfe from selling them on the black market, but that was no longer a possibility. Barry was going to stay in prison until Team Flash could find a way to get him out of prison legally. That would be the only way he could ever feel truly free.

And later that episode, Team Flash did figure out a way to get Barry out of prison. The Elongated Man used his stretching powers to make himself look like Clifford DeVoe and appeared in court. “DeVoe” told the judge that he hadn’t died, he had been in some weird state of unconsciousness. The judge didn’t think to ask any questions such as how DeVoe survived the autopsy which would certainly have been required on his body before Barry could ever have been brought to trial, and ordered Barry released.

So that was Team Flash’s plan to get Barry out prison legally? Committing a fraud upon the court? If that’s the kind of “legal” method they were willing to use, why didn’t they just bribe the jury during Barry’s trial? It would have saved them a lot of time and us a lot of grief.

Book-A-Day 2018 #61: The Best American Comics 2013 edited by Jeff Smith

As you might be able to tell from the year in the post title, I’ve gotten more than a little lackadaisical about keeping up with this annual series of the best in comics created by North Americans. (I reviewed 2006 at the beginning of 2007, 2007 later in 2007, 2008 in 2008, 2009 in 2009, 2010 in 2011 after the next book was published, 2011 in 2012, 2012 in 2013,  2014 in 2014, and have so far missed 2015, 2016, and 2017. If it were still my job to keep up with things being published, I would probably be deeply ashamed of myself — but it hasn’t been for a decade now, so I’m not.)

But I’m still interested in good comics, as always. So here I finally am with the Jeff Smith-edited The Best American Comics 2013 , only four and a half years after it was published and six-and-a-half to seven-and-a-half years after the work in it originally appeared.

This is the point where one is supposed to say “better late than never,” but I don’t want to tempt anyone. “Best of” volumes always have a problem with age: even in the best of times, the beginning of the year they celebrate is about eighteen months before publication, and sometimes it can be even longer. The Best American Comics has an idiosyncratic September to August “year” to begin with, which makes it more convenient for their publishing schedule but can be confusing to someone trying to keep track of when things were published. (Although there’s no real reason to bother to do that, if you’re not running a media outlet or reprinting books for a living.)

Anyway, in this fine book are full stories and excerpts (more of the latter, as usual) from comics works originally published from September 1, 2011 through August 31, 2012 and made by people either currently resident in North America or “North American” (whatever that means). Translations would be OK as long as you’re French Quebecois or Mexican, I suppose, though I don’t recall seeing any of either in this series so far. (Too bad the old Yiddish publishing industry died out: it would be fun to see that in the modern comics world.)

The usual suspects are represented with the expected work: Alison Bechdel with an excerpt from Are You My Mother?, Craig Thompson with one from Habibi, Leela Corman with a bit from Unterzakhn, Eleanor Davis with “Nita Goes Home,” Derf Backderf with some pages from My Friend Dahmer, and stories from Laura Park, Kate Beaton (who also provides the cover), Gabrielle Bell, Vanessa Davis, and Paul Pope. There’s something of a tropism to cartoonists over teams, which is probably mostly a reflection of what the literary/artistic end of the comics world is like.

More obviously commercial work is represented, too, of various kinds: Faith Erin Hicks is here with an excerpt from Friends With Boys, Tony Puryear with a piece from Concrete Park (before it became a series, I think), and Terry Moore with some of Rachel Rising. All in all, there are 30 comics stories here from 33 creators, with Evan Dorkin showing up twice, as writer of a story with Jill Thompson and cartoonist of a collection of his “Fun” gag strips from Dork!

Some people you might expect are missing: the Hernandez Brothers, Dan Clowes, Peter Bagge, and Charles Burns are ones I thought of. But, without doing tedious research, I’m not sure what they published in that time period, if anything. And anyone interested in a book like this is going to know who they are to begin with — making room here for Sophie Goldstein and Sammy Harkham and Jeremy Sorese is probably better, if we’re making judgments like that.

As always, it’s a kaleidoscope of very different kinds of comics. I tend to check to see if the guest editor has tastes wide enough that there’s at least one story in the book that I don’t like or get at all — paradoxically, that’s what makes the best editors. Smith doesn’t manage to do that, which means either my tastes keep getting wider or they’re very in tune with his to begin with.

Any book in this series is worth reading, if you like comics and want a sampler of what’s good out there. I found 2013 a little less adventurous than some other years, but it’s always impossible to tell if that was the year or the editor. Libraries have a lot of these books; check ’em out there. It’s what I do, these days.

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

Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero Receives 20th Anniversary Edition

BURBANK, CA (March 1, 2018) – Warner Archive Collection (WAC) celebrates the 20th anniversary of Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero with a remastered Blu-ray™ release of the award-winning animated film. Now available for preorders, Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero will be available March 27, 2018 via wb.com/warnerarchive and your favorite online retailer.

To hail the arrival of Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero on Blu-ray™, WAC will host an hour-long panel at WonderCon on Friday, March 23 at 1:00pm in Room 300B. Warner Archive Podcast hosts D.W. Ferranti & Matthew Patterson and some surprise guests will show remastered footage and discuss the film and the evolution of Mr. Freeze from a goofy villain into an endearing multi-dimensional character who just wants to find a cure for his dying wife.

Originally released as a direct-to-video film on March 17, 1998, Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero will be released on Blu-ray™ in its original 4×3 Fullframe aspect ratio. The 67-minute film will be accompanied by several special features, including Art of Batman: Music Montage; Get the Picture: How to Draw Batman; the film’s theatrical trailer; and the Batman: The Animated Series/The Bew Batman Adventures/Batman Beyond “Mr. Freeze Saga” in chronological order – four episodes entitled “Heart of Ice,” “Deep Freeze,” “Cold Comfort” and “Meltdown.” The episodes will be presented in standard definition.

In Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero, Batman faces his coolest case ever when Mr. Freeze returns to Gotham City and kidnaps Batgirl. While unraveling the mystery of Batgirl’s disappearance, Batman and Robin discover that she is part of Mr. Freeze’s frigid plan to save his dying wife – no matter what the cost. With time running out, Batman and Robin must find Gotham’s most cold-blooded villain and prevent him from putting Batgirl “on ice” forever.

Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero is directed by Boyd Kirkland, who also helmed 21 episodes of Batman: The Animated Series as well as serving as a sequence director on Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. The script is written by Kirkland and Randy Rogel, who penned nine episodes of BTAS – but is probably best known for his prolific songwriting on Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs. Andrea Romano (of course) served as casting and dialogue director.

The film was honored as the Annie Award winner for Best Home Video/Animation.

The voice cast is led by Kevin Conroy, the preeminent voice of Batman, who went head-to-head with Michael Ansara (Guns of the Magnificent Seven, Harum Scarum) as he also reprised his BTAS role of Dr. Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze.

“Watching Michael Ansara portray the anguish and passion in Freeze’s love for Nora was beautiful,” recalls Conroy. “It was an acting lesson.”

Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero also reunites key members of the Batman: The Animated Series cast, including Loren Lester (Robin/Dick Grayson), Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (Alfred), Robert Costanzo (Detective Harvey Bullock), Robert Hastings (Commissioner Gordon), Marilu Henner (Veronica Vreeland), Mari Devon (Summer Gleeson) and Liane Schirmer (Lt. Renee Montoya).

George Dzundza (The Deer Hunter, Law & Order), who voiced several characters in BTAS, joined the Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero cast as Dr. Gregory Belson. The film also features Mary Kay Bergman in her first and only turn as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, and Dean Jones (The Love Bug) as Dean Arbagast. The cast also includes Rahi Azizi as Koonak, Lauren Tom as Mariko, and veteran voice actors Frank Welker, Tress MacNeille, Townsend Coleman, Neil Ross, Randy Thompson and Ed Gilbert. Notable on-camera actors Brian George (Seinfeld) and Carl Lumbly (Alias, Justice League/Justice League Unlimited) also provide voices for the film.

REVIEW: Lady and the Tramp

The 1950s was an interesting era for Walt Disney as they moved further away from movies with humans as the protagonist to ones featuring anthropomorphic animals. Although work had begun a decade earlier, 1955’s Lady and the Tramp is one example and one of the more charming stories, if lacking in the wonder of earlier efforts.

We’re given the chance to revisit this now that Disney has made it their latest Signature Collection release, offering it in a Multi-Screen Edition (we used to call them Combo Packs so you get the Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD code).

You mention Lady and the Tramp and the iconic image of the two dogs sharing a romantic spaghetti dinner springs to mind, usually accompanied with snatches of the memorable soundtrack. The story is an old one, opposites attract as you can tell by the character names of Lady (Barbara Luddy) and Tramp (Larry Roberts). One is cared for by Jim and Darling Dear (Lee Millar and Peggy Lee), and the other is out on his own, making his way. They meet, as Lady escapes from cat lover Aunt Sarah (Verna Felton), runs into Tramp; sparks fly, and romance ensues.

There’s plenty in Disney’s fifteenth full-length animated feature to amuse kiddies and engage whole families. The music is good; the animation is fluid and energetic, superior to the more contemporary analog, Oliver and Company.

The 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer is superb, one of the finest in their library. It is matched by the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track. This is, essentially, the Diamond Edition repackaged with some new extras and others relocated for digital-only access.

New to the Signature Blu-ray:  Walt & His Dogs (8:27); Stories From Walt’s Office (6:02); How to Make a Meatball and Other Fun Facts About Lady and the Tramp (9:06); Song Selection (9:59), Sing-along versions of songs from the film include “Peace on Earth,” “What is a Baby/La La Lu,” “The Siamese Cat Song,” “Bella Notte,” and “He’s a Tramp” (also in Sing-Along Mode); and Classic Bonus Preview (0:48).

The following extras carry over from the Diamond Edition:

Diane Disney Miller: Remembering Dad (7:51), Deleted Scenes (19:11); Never Recorded Song -“I’m Free as the Breeze” (1:26): A song Tramp sang that was cut prior to the final version of the film; Audio Commentary: Inside Walt’s Story Meetings.

The following Diamond Edition extras do not appear on the Signature disc, nor do they appear to be in the digital collection archive: Disc Introduction by Diane Disney Miller and Disney Second Screen.

The following extras are listed as digital-only on the Classic Bonus Preview supplement: Diane Disney Miller: Remembering Dad; Lady’s Pedigree: The Making of Lady and the Tramp; Finding Lady: The Art of the Storyboard; Never Recorded Song “I’m Free as the Breeze”; 1955 Original Theatrical Trailer; 1972 Reissue Trailer; 1986 Theatrical Reissue Trailer; PuppyPedia: Going to the Dogs; Deleted Scenes – Introduction of Boris, Waiting for Baby, Dog Show, Turning the Tables, The Arrival of Baby, Baby Arrives, Lady’s Sweater; and Original 1943 Storyboard Version of the Film.

This sixth release in the Signature series has nice elements, but if you have the Diamond Edition, you’re good. The film is a charmer and worth adding to your library in one form or another.

Ed Catto: Black Panther, back in the day…

I’m thrilled for the Black Panther’s cinematic success. Don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s just another a Marvel superhero movie that happens to be about an African superhero. This phenomenon is a great adventure and so much more. It includes the success of a positive message and of a black director and of a mostly black cast. Black Panther explores tough topics including, but not limited to, nationalism, isolationism, the black experience in the US, and the black experience internationally.

This movie quickly went from an event to a celebration. It’s a celebration for the African American Community. The Sunday New York Times had an opinion piece on how it’s a celebration for the Black Nerd Community.  On NPR, I’ve heard Jamie Broadnax, the insightful genius behind the Black Girl Nerds podcast, speak about what it means to her.  I’ve also read her comments in the New York Times Magazine. The Black Panther movie really is a win for all comic nerds, proving that the stuff they like, when done right, can traverse media to entertain and inspire people a global scale.

The opening weekend box office tallies verified that Black Panther is a big deal.  There’s one more success in all this. It’s a more personal, and smaller, celebration in comparison.  But I’m still elated and inspired by this particular one.

Right before going to the theater, I was remembering Jack Kirby’s second round of Black Panther adventures. The great artist Kirby co-created the Black Panther.  I’m a big fan of the man’s artwork, creativity and work ethic. But in 1977, when Kirby returned to Marvel Comics after a creatively explosive sojourn at the competition, one of the many projects he churned out was a new Black Panther comic series.

It was so disappointing to me. Oh, sure, the series was grand and boisterous, like any good adventure should be. But was just too silly and too goofy. I still cringe at the Black Musketeers, a thankfully forgotten concept. At that time, my little gang of comic book pals and I all thought is was absurd. A big part of the letdown was that we were comparing and contrasting this new Kirby comic to the previous Black Panther comic series. That one had blown our collective minds.

Let me set the stage. The Bronze Age version of Marvel’s Jungle Action debuted in 1972. Marvel used this comic to reprint old jungle comic stories like Tharn, The Magnificent, a second-rate jungle lord and two curvaceous jungle queens, Lorna and Jann.  These stories, from a simpler time, didn’t have much to do with the real Africa, or the real world, but they were as enjoyable as they were innocuous.  Through the lens of adulthood, their innocence is soured by the unintentional racism baked into many of the adventures.

After a short time, the old Tarzan knock-off reprints were gone and Jungle Action showcased new adventures of the Black Panther!  I knew that character. I liked that guy. I was excited for this change.

It seemed to me that, T’Challa, the Black Panther,  tended to crop up in other Marvel heroes’ comics. I remembered how he helped Captain America thrash some bad guys in issue #100, and how he seemed to be Daredevil’s buddy in an issue of The Avengers.

Jungle Action comics, now with Black Panther adventures, were something different.  They weren’t silly and they weren’t innocuous.  It was as if an unspoken covenant was forged between the writer and reader.  I could imagine the writer saying, “I’m going to take this very seriously, and work really, really hard on this story. If you come along for the ride, it’s gonna be a little more work, but I think it will be worth it.”

Every panel of these new Black Panther stories were overstuffed with glorious descriptions, insightful dialog and storytelling that bordered on poetry. There was a lot going on. There was a lot to remember. You had to pay attention to this one.  Each issue would take longer to read than other comics. I’d buy a stack of comics, but I  soon learned to save Jungle Action for last because I had to take my time with it.

Jungle Action’s abrupt change came about because the proofreader, Don McGregor, thought readers deserved better. Marvel promoted him to writer and he was off to the races. McGregor soon proved himself to be a superior writer who would go on to build a career with a long list of impressive accomplishments. Don is a romantic with passion for so many things in life. He’s a prince of a guy and one can find so much to admire about both his life and career.

Like so many comic characters, the Black Panther is a crazy quilt of various creators’ contributions over the years. The movie makers had the luxury of cherry picking the best parts and ignoring the rest. But it’s easy to see that so much of this movie is directly attributable to what Don McGregor, and his artistic collaborators, created. Make no mistake, the fingerprints of other talented creators are on screen. But for me, Black Panther seemed like a Don McGregor movie.

One of my favorite parts of this movies’ triumphant box office debut is the celebration of Don McGregor.  Life can be tough. But once in a while, a sweet guy who writes with passion gets his time in the spotlight so we can all pause to say, “Wow, thanks a lot.  You did a really good job.”  Here’s to Don McGregor.

I’m going to celebrate all the successes from Black Panther. And I’m going to keep going until Halloween. Any kids in Black Panther costumes get double treats!

The Law Is A Ass #428: Trial And Era With The Flash

It’s just like riding a bike. Once you’ve done it, doing it again is easy.

And what we’ve done, and are doing again, is “The Trial of The Flash.” Sorry, that should be the trial of Barry Allen as it wasn’t The Flash who was on trial for murder in the January 16th episode of The Flash, it was his secret identity Barry Allen. I’d think the old habits formed in columns of another era were dying hard but even the TV show called this episode “The Trial of The Flash.”

Anyway, The Flash – err, Barry Allen – was on trial for killing Reverse-Flash – I mean Clifford DeVoe; damn that muscle memory. Barry didn’t kill DeVoe. DeVoe, the super genius dubbed The Thinker, had transferred his mind into the body of a man named Dominic Lanse, because DeVoe’s own body was paralyzed and atrophying. DeVoe took his lifeless shell of a former body to Barry Allen’s apartment, stabbed it with one of Barry’s knives, and arranged for the police to find Barry standing over the body. Presto, Barry was framed better than Dogs Playing Poker.

Barry’s defense attorney Cecille Horton decided that the best way to beat the murder rap was to reveal to the world that Barry was The Flash…

Damn it! You’d think that after thirty years my fingers wouldn’t automatically write about the events of that old “The Trial of The Flash.”

Oh wait. Cecille wanted to do that in the current “The Trial of The Flash,” too. She decided the only way for Barry to beat the case would be for him to testify, which would require revealing his secret identity. No logical arguments such as, Barry is an expert forensic scientist for the police, so would he plan a crime so clumsy that all the evidence pointed to him. Or, if Barry had actually knifed DeVoe to death, why wasn’t there any blood on him when the police found him? Nope, nothing like that could be tried. Or tried. Only revealing Barry’s secret identity so he could testify could save him.

Problem was, Barry didn’t want to reveal his secret identity. He said if his Rogue’s Gallery learned his secret identity then all his family and friends would be in danger of reprisal from said Rogues.

Uh, Barry, you and your father-in-law, Joe West, are police officers who have openly worked with Team Flash in the past. I think you and Joe are already targets. Cecille, who’s engaged to Joe, used to be a prosecutor. So we can kind of reprise the reprisal for her. And your wife, Iris West-Allen, is a crime reporter who probably already has an enemies list as formidable as Richard Nixon’s. As for your other friends – the super heroes Vibe, Killer Frost, and Elongated Man, the Rogues already hate them, too. But they can kind of take care of themselves.

The point I’m making is that your family and friends already have targets on them. So not revealing your secret identity isn’t really protecting them all that much.

Moreover, at this point who in Central City doesn’t know the Flash’s secret identity? He and his team routinely use their street names while in costume. Their attitude toward preserving Flash’s identity is about as cavalier as a Cleveland sporting goods store in January. And even if there are some members of the general public who don’t know Flash’s identity; which of his Rogue’s Gallery doesn’t know it? Girder knows it. Pied Piper knows it. As does Plastique, Captain Cold, Reverse-Flash, Zoom, Weather Wizard, Savitar, Heat Wave, Abra Kadabra, Clifford DeVoe, and Gorilla Grodd. Did I leave any out? Probably.

So, again, Barry not revealing his secret identity? Not so helpful in the whole protecting-your-family-and-friends department.

The prosecution called Marlize DeVoe, the “widow” of Clifford DeVoe, as a witness. When Cecille cross-examined her, she used some photos that Joe Allen and Ralph (The Elongated Man) Dibny took of her in lip lock with Dominic Lanse. (Remember, her husband’s mind was in Dominic’s body, so she was actually kissing her husband.) Cecille suggested that maybe she and her husband weren’t so much in love and she and her new lover were tired of waiting for her husband to die so killed him.

Which is one of the worst ways to introduce that evidence. Why? Because it gave Marlize an immediate chance to explain the pictures. She said her husband was dying of ALS and she met Dominic, whose father died of the same disease, in an ALS support group. Her husband could see their mutual attraction so he encouraged Marlize to go to Dominic for the things he could no longer give her. It won the jury back to Marlize’s side.

The better way to introduce the evidence is spring it in the defense case-in-chief. Sure Marlize could try to explain it away. But she wouldn’t be able to do that until the state’s rebuttal case which would be hours – or days – later. Any bad feelings the jury might have gotten from the picture would sit in them for those hours — or days – and take root. So maybe, the jury wouldn’t buy into Marlize’s explanation quite so easily. That way, the closing argument of “We only have her word that she had her husband’s blessing. Maybe she and Dominic were tired of waiting for Clifford DeVoe to die and decided to do something about it,” would have had more effect.

And, for that matter, did anyone think to check out Marlize’s story? Did Dominic’s father really die of ALS? We know they didn’t meet in a support group, so why not check into his father’s death. If Dominic’s father did die of ALS – and what are the odds of that? – nothing’s changed. But if he didn’t, then Marlize committed perjury and the jury would have discounted most everything she said. To answer my own question, no one bothered to check Marlize’s story. So there’s some good criminal defense work.

And…

Yes, “and.” It’s happened again. I’ve run out of column before running out of material. Only this time it isn’t muscle memory causing me to re-type something I wrote back in 1983. This time it’s happening now. Seems that no matter what century I’m in, I’m fated to write endlessly about “The Trial of The Flash.”

LEGO® DC Super Hero Girls: Super-Villain High Arrives in May

BURBANK, CA (February 20, 2018) – Everyone’s favorite female Super Heroes are left to deal with a new rival when a mysterious high school pops up in the all-new animated film, LEGO® DC Super Hero Girls: Super-Villain High. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC Entertainment and The LEGO Group, the film – a continuation in the worldwide DC Super Hero Girls franchise phenomenon – will be distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) May 1, 2018 on Digital ($19.99 SRP), and on May 15, 2018 on DVD ($19.98 SRP).

After a mysterious school opens across the street, the students of Super Hero High find themselves up against a new threat. Now, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl and the rest of the DC Super Hero Girls not only have to worry about the well-being of their grades, but the safety and security of friends, family and the rest of civilization. The girls must figure out how to put a stop to this evil, new cross-town rival and save the world once again!

The LEGO® DC Super Hero Girls voice cast returns its core cast with Grey Griffin (Wonder Woman), Tara Strong (Harley Quinn/Poison Ivy), Anais Fairweather (Supergirl), Teala Dunn (Bumblebee), Stephanie Sheh (Katana), and Ashlyn Selich (Batgirl). The cast also includes Yvette Nicole Brown (Amanda Waller), Greg Cipes (Beast Boy), Romi Dames (Lena Luthor), John DiMaggio (Gorilla Grodd, Wildcat), Josh Keaton (The Flash), Khary Payton (Cyborg) and Meredith Salenger (Lashina).

Elsa Garagarza (Star Wars: Forces of Destiny) directs LEGO® DC Super Hero Girls: Super-Villain High from a script by Jeremy Adams (Justice League Action, LEGO® Scooby-Doo!). Rick Morales (LEGO® Scooby-Doo! Haunted Hollywood) serves as producer, with Sam Register (Teen Titans Go!), Jill Wilfert (The LEGO® Movie, The LEGO® Batman Movie) and Robert Fewkes (LEGO® Frozen Northern Lights) serving as executive producers.

From Warner Bros. Consumer Products and DC Entertainment, the DC Super Hero Girls universe encourages young girls and kids to explore their own powers and strengths through original content, including all-new films, webisodes and TV specials. The franchise offers young fans inspiration and encourages teamwork, friendship and empowerment. DC Super Hero Girls: Super-Villain High will connect with fans throughout the world through the brand’s vast digital content networks, including LEGO.com, DCSuperHeroGirls.com, the DCSHG App, YouTube Channel and Instagram, as well as a global licensing and merchandising program.

“We’re thrilled to release a second LEGO® DC Super Hero Girls film that’s fun for young girls to view and enjoy,” said Mary Ellen Thomas, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Vice President, Family & Animation Marketing. “LEGO toys rank #1 amongst Children ages 6-11, allowing these films to resonate with children.”

SPECIAL FEATURES

  • Six Animated Shorts
    • Crazed and Confused
    • Need for Speed
    • Showdown
    • Trading Places
    • Wonder Waitress
    • Bodybuilding

BASICS

Street Date: May 15, 2018
Run Time:  approximately 78 minutes
DVD Audio – English
DVD Price: $19.98 SRP
HD EST Price: $19.99 SRP
SD EST Price: $14.99 SRP

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