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Sword & Sorcery Heroes Make 4K HD Debuts

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Experience the exhilarating adventures of the legendary heroes in the most amazing picture quality available today when both Conan the Barbarian and The Legend of Hercules arrive separately on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray™ and Digital HD) on September 19 from Lionsgate. In Conan the Barbarian, Jason Momoa portrays the vengeful warrior on a quest to find and kill the evil warlord who murdered his father when he was a boy. Directed by Marcus Nispel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and written by Tehomas Dean Donnelly & Joshua Oppenheimer and Sean Hood, the film also stars Stephen Lang, Rose McGowan, Rachel Nichols, and Ron Perlman. From director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2) and written by Sean Hood and Daniel Giat, The Legend of Hercules, a Summit Entertainment release, tells the origin story of the mythical Greek hero, played by Kellan Lutz.

Both movies are available for the first time on 4K Ultra HD, which provides over four times the resolution of full HD and includes High Dynamic Range (HDR) to deliver the brightest, most vivid and realistic color with the greatest contrast. The action-packed films Conan the Barbarian and The Legend of Hercules will both be available on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack for the suggested retail price of $22.99 each.

CONAN THE BARBARIAN OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS

A quest that begins as a personal vendetta for the fierce Cimmerian warrior soon turns into an epic battle against hulking rivals, horrific monsters, and impossible odds, as Conan realizes he is the only hope of saving the great nations of Hyboria from an encroaching reign of supernatural evil.

THE LEGEND OF HERCULES OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS

Banished by his stepfather, the king, Hercules slowly becomes aware of his true origins as the son of Zeus. As he learns to harness his demigod powers, Hercules gathers an army to fight his way back to his kingdom in this action-filled epic.

CONAN THE BARBARIAN BLU-RAY/DIGITAL HD SPECIAL FEATURES

  • Audio Commentary With Director Marcus Nispel
  • Audio Commentary With Actors Jason Momoa and Rose McGowan
  • “The Conan Legacy” Featurette
  • “Robert E. Howard: The Man Who Would Be Conan” Featurette
  • “Battle Royal: Engineering the Action” Featurette
  • “Staging the Fights” Featurette
  • Theatrical Trailer

THE LEGEND OF HERCULES BLU-RAY/DIGITAL HD SPECIAL FEATURES

  • Audio Commentary with Director Renny Harlin and Actor Kellan Lutz
  • “The Making of The Legend of Hercules” Featurette

CONAN THE BARBARIAN CAST

Jason Momoa              Game of Thrones, Justice League
Rachel Nichols            G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Star Trek, Continuum
Stephen Lang              Avatar, Don’t Breathe, The Men Who Stare at Goats
Rose McGowan          Charmed, Nip/Tuck, Grindhouse
Leo Howard                Kickin’ It, G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra
Ron Perlman                Hellboy, Sons of Anarchy Hand of God”

THE LEGEND OF HERCULES CAST
Kellan Lutz                  Twilight franchise, The Expendables 3, The Comeback
Gaia Weiss                  Vikings, Mary Queen of Scots
Scott Adkins                Doctor Strange, The Expendables 2, The Bourne Ultimatum
Roxanne McKee         Dominion and Hollyoaks, Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines

CONAN THE BARBARIAN PROGRAM INFORMATION

Year of Production: 2011
Title Copyright: Conan the Barbarian © 2011 Conan Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Artwork & Supplementary Materials © 2017 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Type: Theatrical Release
Rating: Rated R for strong bloody violence, some sexuality and nudity
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Closed Captioned: N/A
Subtitles: English, Spanish, English SDH
Feature Run Time: 113 minutes
4K Format: 2160p Ultra High Definition 16×9 Widescreen 2.40:1 Presentation
Blu-ray Format: 1080p High Definition 16×9 Widescreen 2.40:1 Presentation
4K Audio Status: English Dolby Atmos, French 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio, English 2.0 Dolby Digital Optimized for Late-Night Listening
Blu-ray Audio Status: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio™

THE LEGEND OF HERCULES PROGRAM INFORMATION

Year of Production: 2013
Title Copyright: The Legend of Hercules © 2013 Hercules Productions, Inc. Artwork & Supplementary Materials © 2017 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Type: Theatrical Release
Rating: Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense combat action and violence, and for some sensuality
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Closed Captioned: N/A
Subtitles: English, Spanish, English SDH
Feature Run Time: 98 minutes
4K Format: 2160p Ultra High Definition 16×9 Widescreen 2.40:1 Presentation
Blu-ray Format: 1080p High Definition 16×9 Widescreen 2.40:1 Presentation
4K Audio Status: English Dolby Atmos, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital Optimized for Late-Night Listening, English Descriptive Audio
Blu-ray Audio Status: English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio™, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital Optimized for Late-Night Listening, English Descriptive Audio

Tweeks: Spider-Man Homecoming Review

There’s so much to discuss. Like how much we love Tom Holland. Like how Zendaya was all over the marketing for a meh role in the actual movie. Like Donald Glover. Like how it’s so refreshing to have movie teenagers actually look & act like real teenagers. Like how Spiderman compares to Wonder Woman. And other stuff too, but you have to watch.

Martha Thomases: Getting Your Nerd On?

The San Diego Comic-Con is next week, and I’m going through my annual trajectory of feelings.

On the one hand, I like comics. I like a lot of the people who work in comics. Twenty years ago, I had a great time when I went because San Diego is a lovely city and it’s pleasant to walk out of the convention center and see palm trees.

On the other hand, I don’t like huge crowds, and SDCC has only attracted more of them. I don’t mean to begrudge anyone their good time, but I don’t necessarily want to be jammed in the middle of it. Especially when their good time is more and more about pop culture in general, and less about comics specifically.

Yes, you can still go and wallow in the sweet, sweet mud of comics love. My experience, the last time I tried, however, was that I still had to struggle to get a seat, because people who wanted to see a television star or a movie preview four panels from now had taken all the good spots. And this was not Hall H.

This year, I’m noticing a change in the tone of the pre-Con hype. Perhaps this change is all in my head, influenced by my contradictory feelings. There was a time when SDCC was “Nerd Prom,” a place where those of us who were never accepted by the cool kids could have our own space, our own definition of “cool” that included us.

And then, the really cool kids noticed us. Hollywood came to court us, to flatter us, to assure us that they, too, loved comics and cartoons and science fiction and fantasy. Movie stars competed to prove they could differentiate Stan Lee from Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby from Neal Adams.

I wanted to believe. If nothing else, it would give me something to talk about with my future husband, Robert Downey, Jr. In any case, even if they were only reciting lines that had been fed to them by publicists, it showed respect to the stories that we loved.

It was a nice gesture.

Lately, I’m not sensing the same respect. Just as in the episode of Entourage referenced above, I sense less a sense of affection for comics and fandom than a sneering sense of superiority. Yes, some of us like to dress up in costumes. Some of us like to talk for hours about obscure facets of our favorite genres. Some of us look forward to a chance to meet the talent whose work has brought us so much joy.

We don’t go to watch from the outside as Hollywood parties. We had enough of the outside in high school, thanks.

We don’t go to provide easy laughs for guys from Harvard too lazy to look beyond the obvious. We love comics for our own amusement, not yours.

So how can you get your geek on without becoming an unwitting accomplice to your own abasement? One solution that works from is going to smaller conventions. The focus tends to be more on comics, and there is more chance to interact with guests as well as other convention goers. It’s also usually easier to find a place to eat and a hotel room close to the show.

For the record, I’m not saying that everything I like at SDCC is cool and everything you like is not cool. Nor am I saying that geeks are never so ridiculous that one can’t laugh at them derisively.

I’m just saying that we don’t have to put on a show to get ridiculed by Hollywood. We don’t have to be so grateful for their attention that we become their dancing bears. Although that might be a cool costume.

Corin Nemic’s Drone Wars Brings the Battle Home in September

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The action sci-fi thriller Drone Wars explodes onto DVD and Digital HD on September 12 from Lionsgate. A small team of scientists hiding in Los Angeles are tasked with the impossible mission of stopping an invasion of drones from slaughtering all of humanity. Starring Corin Nemec, Whitney Moore, Nathin Butler, and Sean Gunnell, Drone Wars is packed full of action and incredible special effects. The Drone Wars DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $19.98.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS

When drones arrive in a flash, slaughtering humanity and stripping the Earth of its resources, a small team of scientists hiding in Los Angeles works to expel the drone menace once and for all.

CAST
Corin Nemec                            Stargate: SG-1” and “Supernatural
Whitney Moore                       Birdemic franchise, A Horrible Way to Die
Nathin Butler                          Winners & Losers and General Hospital
Sean Gunnell                          Collar, Eden of Three, Larkin

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Year of Production: 2016
Title Copyright: © 2016 Drone Wars Distribution, LLC.  All Rights Reserved.
Rating: NR
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi
Closed-Captioned: N/A
Subtitles: English SDH
Feature Run Time: 83 minutes
DVD Format: 16×9 Widescreen 1.78:1 Widescreen Presentation
DVD Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio

Killing Hasselhoff Bypasses Theaters, Comes Home in August

Universal City, California, July 11, 2017 – Ken Jeong (The Hangover, Ride Along 2) and David Hasselhoff (Baywatch, Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2) star in the most hilarious and outrageous come :lol: dy of the year, Killing Hasselhoff, available on DVD and Digital on August 29, 2017 from UPHE Content Group. Co-produced by the team behind 2017’s Baywatch and David Hasselhoff himself, the laugh-out-loud movie is packed with a host of celebrity cameos including comedian Howie Mandel (America’s Got Talent, Deal or No Deal), musician Kid Cudi, and The Hoff’s original Baywatch partner in life-saving crime, Gena Lee Nolin (Baywatch, Sheena). Rounding out the cast is Jon Lovitz (The Ridiculous Six, Grown Ups 2), Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchords, The Boat That Rocked) and Jim Jefferies (Tainted Love, Legit).

What started out as a regular week quickly turns into the worst few days of his life when Chris (Jeong), a struggling nightclub owner, fails to pay back a loan shark and decides the only way to get the money is to kill his pick in the annual “Who Will Die This Year” celebrity death pool: David Hasselhoff. Aided by his friends Fish (Darby) and Tommy (Jefferies), Chris desperately tries everything he can to off the master of slow-motion running and claim the jackpot. But the task is not as easy as he thought, especially when your target is The Hoff!

Killing Hasselhoff, available on DVD and Digital, comes filled with exclusive and hilarious deleted scenes taking viewers further into the film’s crazy adventure.

FILMMAKERS:
Cast: Ken Jeong, Jim Jefferies, Rhys Darby, Jon Lovitz, David Hasselhoff
Directed By: Darren Grant
Written By: Peter Hoare
Produced By: Ashok Amritraj, P.G.A., Michael J. Luisi, P.G.A, David Hasselhoff, Michele Berk, P.G.A, Patrick Hughes, Warren Zide
Executive Produced By: Eric Gardner, Manu Gargi, Peter Hoare, Ken Jeong, Brett Carducci
Associate Producers: Michael Berk, Michael O’Connell, Richard Lowell, Marc Fiorentino
Director of Photography: Joseph White
Production Designer: Dins Danielsen
Edited By: Ryan Folsey
Music By: Nathan Whitehead
Music Supervised By: Paul Stewart, Doug Bernheim
Costumes By: Caroline B. Marx
Casting By: Nancy Nayor, C.S.A.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION DVD:
Street Date: August 29, 2017
Copyright: 2017 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Selection Number: 61188259/61188263 (CDN)
Layers: Dual
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Rating: R for language and strong sexual references throughout, some nudity, drug use and violence.
Subtitles: English SDH, Cantonese, Mandarin, French, Thai
Sound: English Dolby Digital 5.1
Run Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Dennis O’Neil: Beauty and the Books

The lovely Joan Lee, Stan’s wife for over 60 years, died recently and this morning Marifran learned that Leroy A. Martin, with whom we used to double date in teen years, has not been with us for a while now. Teen years and innocent years fraught with nostalgia and maybe apt to prompt somber thought.

Yep, the world sure has changed, since I met Joan in the 1960s and since Lee Martin and I drove through Forest Park on the way to… somewhere. The changes weren’t predictable, not by us, and the science fiction crowd didn’t do so well either.

Which brings us, believe it or not, to graphic novels. Back when Lee and I were cadets at a military high school – hard to believe, I know – and later undergrads at a Jesuit university, novelists were kings of the literati. Many of them wrote for readers and not classrooms, and did that job well enough for their work to qualify as literature. Sometimes their stuff hit the bestseller lists and made pretty serious money and, yes, by some criteria, a few of them were celebrities. All that adds up to Success, at least by the standards of the times. Money + Fame = Success. Add literary respectability and, well…all Hail!

As to what this inky royalty produced, these whatchamacallems… oh yeah, books – hey, bub, this isn’t your American Lit 101 class (and never will be) and so I won’t attempt to define our subject. Novels. They come in many sizes and shapes and formats and tell stories sometimes seasoned with history and philosophy and autobiography and even religion… let’s end the catalog here, okay? You get the idea. Big book. Lots of words. Amen.

Some of the heavy lifting traditionally done by novels has been assumed by other, newer media. The specialty channels widely available on television – Netflix, Amazon and the like – can deliver intricate stories that require ten or more hours of playing time and deliver them unriddled with commercials. These may have the same amount of content as novels delivered using a different system.

But let’s not lament the loss of our beloved print formats just yet. Novels are still being read, but if – due to time warp? – our teenage selves saw them we might not recognize them as novels. Because some of them, the ones with lots of pictures, are sold as “graphic” novels” and that’s pretty much what they are: stories with more complexity than what’s found in the average comic book, but narrated using comic book techniques. Even the august New York Times, a validator of respectability, is serializing an autobiographical graphic novel in Sunday editions. (For some reason, the form seems particularly suited to autobiography.)

All this is further evidence that we live in a bitter and divided nation, culturally we’re blessed. Lots to enjoy and some of it really didn’t exist when…oh, say, Marifran and Dennis took in the Friday night flicks.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Arrives in 4K, Blu-ray Discs in August

BURBANK, Calif., July 11, 2017 — This August, Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the blockbuster sequel featuring the world’s favorite band of intergalactic misfits, blasts into homes digitally in HD, 4K Ultra HD™ and Disney Movies Anywhere on Aug. 8 and physically on 4K Ultra HD,™ Blu-ray and DVD on Aug. 22.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” marks the Studios first in-home title to release in stunning 4K Ultra HD format, providing consumers with the ultimate home entertainment experience with next-generation high dynamic range visuals and Dolby Atmos immersive audio. 4K Ultra HD provides four times sharper resolution of HD with exceptional HDR which produces brighter brights, deeper blacks and richer colors than ever before. The galaxy has never looked so good!

Delivering the ultimate in-home experience is the Ultimate Cinematic Universe Edition (which includes a collectible poster while supplies last) comes packaged to include a 4K Ultra HD version of the film, a Blu-ray, a Digital Copy and more than 80-minutes of exclusive, never-before-seen bonus materials. Bonus will take fans behind the scenes with the movie’s diverse, dynamic cast of misfits and inspired team of filmmakers, debut an all-new original music video starring David Hasselhoff and special guests, hilarious outtakes, deleted scenes, audio commentary by director James Gunn, and more.

Set to the all-new sonic backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #2, the film’s storyline continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians (Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot, and Bradley Cooper as Rocket) must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand.

BONUS MATERIAL (may vary by retailer):

Blu-ray:

  • The Making of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – A four-part, behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, done in the style of classic-rock album liner notes.
  • Visionary Intro – Director James Gunn provides context on how he continues and expands the storylines of these beloved characters in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
  • Guardians Inferno Music Video – Join David Hasselhoff and special guests for a galactic retro dance party.
  • Gag Reel – Laugh out loud at all the hilarious off-script shenanigans and bloopers that took place on the set of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” featuring all your favorite Guardians.
  • Four Deleted Scenes – Check out four specific scenes that had to be cut from the film, including two extended scenes and two deleted scenes.
  • Audio Commentary – Check out a special narration of the film by director James Gunn, who guides fans through an inside look at the making of the movie.

Digital:

All the features listed above plus four extra exclusives:

  • Three Scene Breakdowns (Digital Exclusives) – We’ll reveal the anatomy of a few key scenes from the film. Discover the process in bringing these scenes to life. It starts with a doodle and the rest is film history. Audiences will be given the option to view 5-6 layers of specific scenes in the film. Scenes include “Eclector Escape,” “Gamora and Nebula,” and “Rocket and Ravagers.”
  • Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! (Digital Exclusive) – Get an exclusive sneak peek inside the most anticipated ride at Disneyland, Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout!. We’ll dig into the concepts and inspiration, and talk about what it took to bring the most epic ride at Disneyland to life.

DVD:

  • Does not include any bonus materials.

SPECIFICATIONS (applies to film content only):

Product Offerings: Digital = 4K UHD with HDR (HDR-10 or Dolby Vision), HD, SD
Physical = Cinematic Universe 4K UHD Combo Pack (4K UHD with HDR, Blu-ray, Digital Copy), Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Copy), DVD and Exclusive Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack
On Demand – August 22nd – check with your local provider
Feature Run Time: Approximately 136 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio: 4K UHD Blu-ray = English Dolby Atmos, English/Spanish 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus, English 2.0 Descriptive Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital 4K UHD Digital = English Dolby Atmos (platform dependent), English 5.1, English 2.0
Blu-ray = English 7.1 DTS-HDMA, English 2.0 Descriptive Audio, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital Language Tracks
DVD = English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital Language Tracks, English 2.0 Descriptive Audio
Subtitles: Physical: English SDH, French & Spanish
Closed Captions:  Digital & DVD = English

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is written and directed by James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, Dawn of the Dead) and produced by Kevin Feige. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jonathan Schwartz, Nikolas Korda and Stan Lee serve as executive producers.

The sequel stars Chris Pratt (Jurassic World, Guardians of the Galaxy) as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Trek Beyond) as Gamora, Dave Bautista (Spectre, Guardians of the Galaxy) as Drax, Vin Diesel (Guardians of the Galaxy, Furious 7) as the voice of Groot, Bradley Cooper (Joy, American Sniper) as the voice of Rocket, Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Walking Dead) as Yondu, Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Who) as Nebula, Pom Klementieff (Ingrid Goes West, Oldboy) as Mantis, Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby, Everest) as Ayesha, Chris Sullivan (The Knick, This Is Us) as Taserface,  Sean Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, Gilmore Girls) as Kraglin, Tommy Flanagan (Gladiator, Sin City) as Tullk,  Laura Haddock (Guardians of the Galaxy, Luther) as Meredith Quill, with Sylvester Stallone (Creed, The Expendables) as Stakar, and Kurt Russell (The Hateful Eight, Furious 7) as Ego.

Box Office Democracy: Spider-Man: Homecoming

There needs to be a clear change in thesis statement when you reboot a film franchise.  Something like “We need Batman to be more serious and less goofy” being the reason to bring Christopher Nolan in to restart the Caped Crusader, or “Star Trek doesn’t feel relatable to young people because we’ve been serving TNG fans and older exclusively for 20 years” for the Abrams Trek reboot.  I think that’s why the Andrew Garfield Amazing Spider-Man series never caught on because there wasn’t a change in thesis, it was the same attempt at superhero melodrama with big CGI villains.  The only thing that changed was people didn’t seem to like Tobey Maguire anymore and Sam Raimi wanted desperately to do anything else with his time.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is a clear change in tone.  Sony/Marvel (I don’t know who gets credit here) have decided that they want Spider-Man to be upbeat and not dragged down by being an overwrought angst-fest.  This is a movie about the wonder of being a superhero and the problems are kid problems.  The problems that don’t involve a man with giant wings at least.

It’s so refreshing to see a reboot without an origin story.  There’s a throwaway reference to being bitten by a spider and that’s it.  There’s no working as a wrestler, there’s no Uncle Ben, and the movie doesn’t suffer one iota for the absence.  We’ve been told this origin story so many times including twice in the last 15 years on the big screen.  It’s nice to be given credit for cultural literacy for once.  I do wish someone had said “With great power comes great responsibility” just one time because that’s an important thematic shorthand that just gets run over here, but if I have to trade that for 40 minutes of not killing Uncle Ben I’ll take it.  Hopefully whoever at Warner Brothers responsible for planning the next on-screen version of killing the Waynes saw Homecoming this weekend and is thinking twice.

There’s a prominent subplot about Peter’s suit.  It’s a suit Tony Stark gave him and it has a very Iron-Man-y HUD.  Midway through the film the “training wheels” get taken off and we get an awful lot of material on the crazy new features and Peter’s inability to manage them.  It’s funny enough but I profoundly do not care about watching Spider-Man fiddle with technology.  History probably proves I’m in the minority here, as both the Ben Reilly costume change and the Iron Spider era both saw bumps in sales, but it’s not the relatable content to me.  I think it’s fun when Peter engages in relatable drama; not does a scene out of Despicable Me with a plethora of gadgets.  This should be a small thing, but it’s so much of the second act it gets exhausting.

It feels like every few months we get another thing from Marvel that is supposed to finally show us the MCU from a human perspective and none of them ever succeed.  Daredevil was supposed to be this, as were Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and seemingly everything else.  None of those particularly worked for me on that level because while they would mention the bigger things happening in the movie they either felt too far removed (like they were only coincidentally in the same world) or too close (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is massive in scope).  Spider-Man: Homecoming is, finally, a success at feeling small.  The stakes feel important, but at no point is someone threatening me with the end of the world or the destruction of New York.  This is a movie about personal triumph and the effect, and lack of effect, that has on the later world.  Spider-Man fails if the Vulture succeeds, but the worst outcome of the events in this movie wouldn’t even be worth an aside in the next Avengers film.  There’s growth here and as the rest of the MCU spins in to grander, more cosmic, conflict it’s nice to have a little story that feels big instead of a giant story that rings hollow.

Sweaterweather and Other Short Stories by Sara Varon

This is not a new book by Sara Varon, cartoonist of Robot Dreams and Bake Sale . That may be slightly disappointing.

It is an old book by Varon — originally published as her first collection back in 2003 — expanded with as much new material as old, so it’s kinda new, and probably unfamiliar to most of Varon’s audience (who I suspect were, in most cases, not alive yet in 2003).

So this new edition of Sweaterweather and Other Short Stories has the eight stories from the 2003 first edition (plus the cover, presented as an interior spread), which originally appeared various places in 2002 and 2003. And it also has nine newer stories, created since the first edition of Sweaterweather and running up through 2014.

Some are fictional, and some are about Varon’s own life, though the distinction gets muddy — she draws all of her characters as animals and robots and creatures, and some of the “fictional” stories are directly from her life, just not presented as a “true” story about “Sara Varon.” And it’s all appropriate for fairly new readers — say the middle reaches of elementary school, and maybe even a bit lower — with an intrinsic sweetness and inquisitiveness that kids that age love and embody.

So the stories that aren’t Varon showing us around parts of the world — that aren’t specifically nonfiction with a “Sara Varon” narrator — are set in her usual Busytown-style kids-world, where all of the characters have adult lives and responsibilities (jobs, shopping, errands, and so on) but are essentially kids, almost playacting in that world. And, of course, everything is nice, and conflicts are almost entirely avoided. It’s a sweet, lovely, nurturing world of happy creatures who like each other and maintain great friendships.

A steady diet of that would be too much for most of us, but it’s a great thing to dip into now and then, to wash off all of the cynicism and unpleasantness of the adult world. Varon’s world is a kinder, happier place than the one we really live in, and should be celebrated for that. I hope this book is in a million schoolrooms and libraries, and as many homes as it can find a place in.

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

Mike Gold: Hot Town, Summer In The Cities

I’m going to ramble a bit about an annual phenomenon. In many important ways, New York City and San Diego are about to trade places.

Even with DC Comics having moved its flat drawers and some of its staff from the Right Coast to the Left, New York City remains inundated with comics people. Marvel, Archie, Dynamite, and Valiant remain in the Baked Apple, as does King Features Syndicate and sundry Internet outfits such as comiXology and ComicMix. We’ve still got the only weekly magazine venerable enough to publish single-panel cartoons, The New Yorker. You’d be familiar with this publication if you went to the doctor more often. Overall, the Greater Comics Racket continues to dance to the beat of east coast drummers.

Except for next week.

Next week, New York goes to San Diego to participate in the annual “how many college freshmen can you stuff in a phone booth” contest, a.k.a. the San Diego Comic-Con. They prefer to call themselves just “Comicon,” maybe with two c’s, but there are a lot of tradespeople who consider this something akin to theft of intellectual property. We’ve got a ton of ComicMixers there, including Glenn Hauman, Adriane Nash, Ayna Ernst, Maddy Ernst, Jen Ernst (do you detect a theme here?), Ed Catto, Emily Whitten, Bob Ingersoll, Michael Davis, Arthur Tebbel, and whomever I forgot because my memory is like a well-tuned car – as long as that car is a Stanley Steamer.

That leaves Martha Thomases, Joe Corallo and me in Manhattan watching a double-feature. I’m not sure what Denny and Molly and John and Marc will be up to, but at least I’ll be seeing Marc in Kokomo this fall. How can I pass that one up?

So, for some reason I’ll be spending time wandering the hot, summery streets of Manhattan, coping with high humidity, high temperatures, pissed-off Long Islanders and the pervasive smell of rat urine, the stench that shouts “welcome to our subways!” During SDCC week, San Diego is overcrowded, overpriced, and over-partied but with perfect weather (except, oddly, when I’m there). I’ll be happy to be here. Besides, I try not to fly anymore. In airplanes, I mean.

I’ve dedicated my current travel schedule to the “smaller” conventions (of course, by comparison to SDCC the Roman Coliseum held “smaller” conventions). You know, the shows where I can talk with the fans, find out what people like and don’t like and might like, talk with the retailers and guests, and never have to wait more than five minutes to get through the bathroom line. I’ve been doing comic book conventions for 49 years, back when our product was printed on papyrus. The late and deeply lamented Phil Seuling held his first “big” convention in New York City in 1968. There were 300 people there, and all of them were thinking the same thought: “Holy crap! There are 299 other people who are just like me.”

Well, it was 1968, so “just like me” meant possessing a Y chromosome. It also helped if you were white but, then again, it usually does.

We’ve come a long way. SDCC dumps about a quarter of a billion dollars into the San Diego economy. Comic book conventions attract several million fans and professionals. Much of Hollywood moves down to San Diego for the week, and we see equivalent attendees in places such as the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Belgium, Chile, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Malaysia… I think I may have received an invite from Togo last year.

And to think it all started out as a hobby. 300 geeks in a hotel ballroom who never, ever thought the word “geek” would become a badge of honor.

Wow!

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