Tagged: IDW
Harvey Awards 2013 Final Ballot Announced, “Hawkeye” Gets 7 Noms
The final ballot for the 2013 Harvey Awards is now available. Named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, one of the industry’s most innovative talents, the Harvey Awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art. The 26th Annual Harvey Awards will be presented Saturday, September 7th, 2013 as part of the Baltimore Comic-Con.
If you are a comics professional, you can vote online at harveyawards.org/2013-final-ballot/. This will enable easier and faster methods for the professional community to submit their nominees. Ballots are due by Monday, August 19, 2013.
And the nominees are… (more…)
Marc Alan Fishman: Marctaku – A Study In Anime
This past weekend, Unshaven Comics took a leap of faith. We attended our very first Anime Convention. To be honest, we had little expectation. The Samurnauts, while well-rooted in Sentairoots, isn’t Manga in any sense of the word. It’s pastiche. It’s homage. For those not initiated, it appears only to be tongue-in-cheek. But I digress.
We purchased a table at the third annual Anime Midwest show, now in the lovely Hyatt Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois. Considered perhaps to be the little brother to the now monumental A-Cen show from a few months back, we were unsure if the show would be heavily attended and how we would strike the fancy of a fan-base we as a creative unit are only marginally related to.
Oh, how surprised we were. But first, a bit of backstory.
Speaking only for myself, my relationship to the Japanese comic/movie/TV Show empire was one of tepid acceptance. Shortly after meeting Matt and Kyle in 6th grade, it was clear that I would need to get on the Manga train. By 8th grade, Kyle and his brother had a basement full of VHS tapes (both booted from Japanese TV, and purchased at Suncoast Video), and a near encyclopedic knowledge of dozens of series, both in print and on screen. Matt was a longtime fan of Guyver and Neon Genesis Evangelion as well as dozens of other giant robot animes. Just as when your girlfriend decides to be a vegetarian begets your becoming a vegetarian, so too did I find myself sampling several series from across the pond.
I found several that I genuinely loved. The gritty Angel Cop with its leather, boobs, and super psychics. Record of Lodos War, homage to Tolkien with a Japanese twist. Akira, of course. And a smattering of others. I found most Anime to be kindred spirits to the comic books and super heroes I held dear, but with a foreign (natch) and mature manner about itself. Sitting down to a marathon of Evangelion left me both emotionally drained and completely inspired.
Unlike American action, the Japanese love (even in animated form) to let action unfold without a shaking camera. They like to pepper stories with emotional breaks and pauses. Every so often they even let complete sequences go without dialogue, letting the artistry on screen do all the communicating necessary. Their stories tended to be more complex, and with more expansive universes (albeit rarely shared like the DCU or 616). In simplest terms? Manga and Anime represented to me a world and culture that could easily be obsessed over and beloved by a sect of nerd-culture. Me, perhaps, if only from afar.
We were told by many friends that Anime Shows tend to be “friendlier.” Upon entering the hotel, I immediately recognized why. Comic book fans share a love of a wide-berth medium. Anime fans tend to be closer knit. While there are just as many genres, styles, and sub-sub-cultures within the Otaku world, here I noted that the relative age of the fan was younger than I’d been used to seeing at comic-cons. The show itself was also more akin to what comic-cons used to be like. Here was a convention that was built in celebration of the medium, not just vapid promotion. The brunt of the show attendees were there to view episodes, attend panels, contests, discussions, and enjoy the company of their brethren. The dealer room we sat in was merely one small hall amongst several others. Not the star of the show, just another part of it.
It was perhaps this that made things so lucrative for us. With fans able to attend so many different things while at the convention, our little dealer room was there for them to explore and to discover. When we made our pitch, much like at comic-cons, we were met with laughter, and quizzical looks. But unlike comic shows, we rarely heard the all-too-common “I just got here, and I’m making some rounds. I may be back.” Instead, we were given a “yes!” or a very polite “no thank you.” Matt sold 10+ commissions. I sold a few Domos. It was, for all intents and purposes, one of the most profitable shows we’d ever attended.
Beyond simple dollars and cents though, I come out of the experience once again inspired. Here this group of fans still celebrate their medium more than they snark at it from a far. Here cosplayers dress less to impress and more to get hugs and high-fives. Here is a convention more attuned to the type of event I long for (and will see again first hand in Baltimore – which still stands as the most comic-booky con I’ve had the pleasure to attend). I tip my hat to the Otaku. Anime and Manga is a once forgotten love-like of mine that I think I’ll have to revisit. Sometimes all it takes are a few pairs of enormous eyes to open our own, no?
SUNDAY: John Ostrander
MONDAY: Mindy Newell
Mike Gold: Archie’s Thyroid
When I started my first term at DC Comics back in 1976, DC’s then-VP of production Jack Adler told me the story of the biggest comic book the company never published: Blockbuster. It was purported to be a mammoth reprint book, not unlike their 100-Page Spectaculars but maybe five times bigger.
But it was a set-up. Jack said there had been this young artist – now a major comics legend – who had been coming into DC’s bullpen towards the end of the day to work at space vacated by one of the production artists. When nobody else was around, he’d poke around the production product to see what was happening. He would then leak noteworthy events to the fan press… and this pissed DC off. So in order to confirm their suspicions they mocked up a gargantuan reprint book called “Blockbuster” and left stuff lying around when only said leaker was around to see it. He did, he ratted the company out, and DC confirmed his guilt.
I won’t tell you who this artist was for two reasons. Number one, I was young once myself (I am now a 14 year old boy trapped in the pathetic body of a 62 year old who deserves it back). Number two, were I in that position at that time, I probably would have done the same. Actually, I might do that today as well, but I’d do it for ComicMix. The title name was later resurrected for a weekly title featuring revivals of the Charlton heroes, but they changed it to Comics Cavalcade Weekly and commissioned a lot of work before deciding not to do it after all.
You might ask what this has to do with Archie’s thyroid. A couple weeks ago Archie Comics came out with a digest comic with serious glandular issues entitled Archie 1000 Page Comics Digest. This book, of course, reminded me of Blockbuster – except it is real.
Don’t go expecting it on the checkout racks of your neighborhood supermarket. The book is an inch and three-quarters thick. In comic book terms, that’s about, oh, 1000 pages. It retails for $15.00, which is quite a bargain, and places like Amazon have it for a hair over ten bucks. It’s also available digitally in three parts for retail price which, given the cost of printing and shipping and returns, is comparatively a rip.
Unlike Archie Comics’ other recent, slimmer tomes, Archie 1000 Page Comics Digest is mostly limited to fairly recent stories. I enjoy the early stuff quite a lot, but Dark Horse and IDW have been covering those bases with several coats of paint. No cover repros, no intros, the only additions were creator credits. 1000 pages of pure story.
I’m reminded of a time when I was even younger and the saints were battling dinosaurs. My parents would buy me one or two of those Harvey 25-centers (thinking the Archie annuals were gender-inappropriate) or maybe one of those Dennis The Menace or Disney vacation specials, plop me in the back seat of the car next to my sister (who did get those gender-inappropriate Archie annuals, which I also read) and drive off to visit my grandmother in Indiana or maybe to a wooden vacation shack in western Michigan alongside the Burma-Shave signs. They were right: those big bargain books kept me quiet for most of the trip.
If I were in my parents’ position today, I’d buy my kid this Archie 1000 Page Comics Digest in a heartbeat. Evidently Archie thinks highly of the format: they’ve got sequels set for October and December.
More power to them. At this price, you just can’t go wrong.
THURSDAY MORNING: Dennis O’Neil
THURSDAY AFTERNOON: Martin Pasko
Richard Matheson: 1926-2013
Renowned science fiction, fantasy, and horror writer Richard Matheson died June 23, 2013 at his home at the age of 87. Matheson is the author of classic SF novels I Am Legend (1954) and The Shrinking Man (1956), among numerous other books. Many of his iconic works have become abiding parts of popular culture, and many of them have been adapted into comics by IDW Publishing. Adaptations of his works included I Am Legend, adapted by Steve Niles and Elman Brown, Blood Son, adapted by Chris Ryall and Ashley Wood, and Duel by Ryall and Rafa Garres.
Matheson’s writing has always been popular for film and TV adaptations, with several of Matheson’s works being adapted, notably film versions of I Am Legend including The Last Man On Earth, The Omega Man, and I Am Legend. The Shrinking Man was filmed as The Incredible Shrinking Man (adapted by Matheson and winner of a Hugo Award for Outstanding Movie). Other novels that inspired films include A Stir of Echoes, Hell House, World Fantasy Award-winning romance Bid Time Return (filmed as Somewhere in Time), and What Dreams May Come.
His horror story “Duel” was the basis for one of the first films directed by Steven Spielberg, with a script by Matheson. He also wrote 14 episodes for The Twilight Zone, including classics “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” and “Steel”; the latter was adapted again as film Real Steel. He adapted his story “The Box” (1970) for an episode of the revived Twilight Zone in the ’80s called “Button, Button”, and the story also inspired film The Box (2009). He also wrote episodes for Star Trek (“The Enemy Within”) and Night Gallery, plus TV and feature films, including horror movies with director Roger Corman.
Matheson was a prolific author of horror, SF, fantasy, Westerns, suspense, and mainstream novels. His most recent books are Other Kingdoms and autobiographical novel Generations.
Matheson’s first genre story was “Born of Man and Woman” in 1950, winner of a Retro Hugo in 2001. His short work and scripts have been collected in many volumes, notably Born of Man and Woman: Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy and World Fantasy Award winner Richard Matheson: Collected Stories.
Richard Burton Matheson was born February 20, 1926 in Allendale NJ. He grew up in Brooklyn and served in the infantry during WWII. He earned a journalism degree from the University of Missouri in 1949, and relocated to California in 1951. He married Ruth Ann Woodson in 1952, and they had four children, three of whom are writers — Chris Matheson, Richard Christian Matheson, and Ali Matheson.
Matheson won the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1984 and a Stoker Life Achievement award in 1991. He was named a World Horror Grandmaster in 1991, an International Horror Guild Living Legend in 2000, and in 2010 was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2010.
Our condolences to his family, friends, and fans.
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- Richard Matheson, 1926-2013 (tor.com)
The Latest News From Radio Archives!
Noted inspirational author Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, King Haakon VII of Norway, Premier Gerbandy of the Netherlands, Premier Pierlot of Belgium, and US Senators Clark, Barkley, White, Hill and Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce speak, as does the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. General Eisenhower speaks from SHAEF headquarters.
G-8 and His Battle Aces rode the nostalgia boom ten years after World War I ended. These high-flying exploits were tall tales of a World War that might have been, featuring monster bats, German zombies, wolf-men, harpies, Martians, and even tentacled floating monsters. Most of these monstrosities were the work of Germany’s seemingly endless supply of mad scientists, chief of whom was G-8’s recurring Nemesis, Herr Doktor Krueger. G-8 battled Germany’s Halloween shock troops for over a decade, not ceasing until the magazine folded in the middle of World War II. G-8 and his Battle Aces return in vintage pulp tales, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.
The jade-robed Buddhist priest who battled crime as The Green Lama is back! Conceived in 1939 at the behest of the editors of Munsey Publications to compete with The Shadow, it was an outlandish concept. While The Shadow possessed the power to cloud men’s minds after his time in the East, The Green Lama relied on other, even weirder, powers — including the ability to become radioactive and electrically shock opponents into submission! He carried a traditional Tibetan scarf, which he employed to bind and befuddle opponents, and possessed a knowledge of vulnerable nerve centers which he put to good use in hand-and-hand combat. Om Mani Padme Hum! The Green Lama knows! The Green Lama returns in vintage pulp tales, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.
In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Dime Mystery Magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a collection of stories from the pages of Dime Mystery Magazine, all written by Hugh B. Cave, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.
The Knight of Darkness proves that crime does not pay in two pulp classics by Walter B. Gibson writing as “Maxwell Grant.” First, The Shadow follows a trail of murder to retrieve the priceless rubies known as “The Seven Drops of Blood.” Then, to prove the innocence of a man accused of an impossible crime, the Dark Avenger must uncover the strange secret behind “Death from Nowhere.” BONUS: The Whisperer brings true sight to “The Eye of Zion” in a thriller by Alan Hathway writing as “Clifford Goodrich.” This instant collector’s item features the classic color pulp covers by Graves Gladney and George Rozen, the original interior illustrations by Tom Lovell and Edd Cartier, and commentary by popular culture historian Will Murray. $14.95.
80th Anniversary Commemorative Special. Commemorating the Man of Bronze’s anniversary with two expanded novels, restored from Lester Dent’s original manuscripts with never-before-published text! First, a Wall Street scandal sets the Man of Bronze on the golden trail of “The Midas Man,” who plots to control the global financial system. Then, while recovering from a serious head wound, a disoriented Doc Savage battles modern-day pirates and murderous zombies in “The Derelict of Skull Shoal.” PLUS: “80 Years of Doc Savage”: a Pictorial History of the Pulps’ Greatest Superman! This landmark collector’s edition features the original color pulp covers by Walter M. Baumhofer and Modest Stein, Paul Orban’s original interior illustrations and new historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of eleven Doc Savage novels. $14.95.
80th Anniversary Commemorative Special. Commemorating the Man of Bronze’s anniversary with two expanded novels, restored from Lester Dent’s original manuscripts with never-before-published text! First, a Wall Street scandal sets the Man of Bronze on the golden trail of “The Midas Man,” who plots to control the global financial system. Then, while recovering from a serious head wound, a disoriented Doc Savage battles modern-day pirates and murderous zombies in “The Derelict of Skull Shoal.” PLUS: “80 Years of Doc Savage”: a Pictorial History of the Pulps’ Greatest Superman! This landmark collector’s edition features the original color pulp covers by Walter M. Baumhofer and Modest Stein, Paul Orban’s original interior illustrations and new historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of eleven Doc Savage novels. $14.95.
New Who Review: “Nightmare in Silver”
Not since Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park has the an amusement park been made the center of a thriller so perfectly. The return (and re-threatening) of a classic villain, a heck of a guest cast and a script by Neil Gaiman. Seems like a dream, but mix it all together and it’s a…
NIGHTMARE IN SILVER
by Neil Gaiman
Directed by Stephen Woolfenden
After last week’s last-minute extortion, Clara’s charges Angie and Artie are granted a trip on the TARDIS to Hedgewick’s World, the greatest amusement park ever. But hidden beneath it is a dangerous secret – A vast sleeping army of Cybermen, under repair and improvement for a thousand years…and they are ready to return.
GUEST STAR REPORT
Warwick Davis (Porridge) has a list of genre longer than … OK, it’s long. Starting off with Wicket in Return of the Jedi and Willow Ufgood in the film of the same name, he’s been the star of an amazing list of sci-fi and horro films. He’s been featured in the Harry Potter films, and was Marvin in the film adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Most recently he was the star of Ricky Gervais’ latest project Life’s Too Short, where he played an over the to version of himself.
Jason Watkins (Webley) is a very busy comedic actor in Britain with quite a resume in genre work. He played Herrick on the British version of Being Human and DI Gilks in Dirk Gently. He was featured in Psychoville, the latest production of Sheersmith and Pemberton from The League of Gentlemen, and just worked twice with the delightful Miranda hart on Call the Midwife and her own show Miranda.
Since Neil Gaiman (writer) last wrote a Doctor Who script (last year’s The Doctor’s Wife, he’s written four of five new books (including children’s books [[[Chu’s Day]]] and [[[Fortunately, the Milk]]]), his novel [[[Neverwhere]]] was adapted for BBC Radio, and he’s probably won a few more awards (including the Hugo for the aforementioned Doctor Who script). He’s in the middle of what he calls his last book signing tour, and is still quite happily married with the musician and internet-enrager Amanda Palmer.
THE MONSTER FILES – The Cybermen are certainly The Doctor’s greatest enemy after The Daleks. Originally from the tenth planet in our solar system, Mondas, the planet left the sun’s orbit, and to survive, the denizens of the planet began to replace their body parts with mechanical replacements, eventually becoming more machine than humanoid. They fought The Doctor though many eras, taking many forms as their systems adapted and improved.
In the parallel universe known as “Pete’s world”, the Cybermen were created on Earth, by over-reaching scientist John Lumic as an improvement to the human race. Things went bad quickly, and soon the world faced a global war with the Cybermen, one they believed they won. They eventually crossed over to our world a few times, presumably meeting and allying (alloying?) with their Mondasian counterparts, eventually forming the version we see in this episode.
BACKGROUND BITS AND BOBS – Trivia and production details
This episode owes a debt to several past Cybermen adventures. Neil Gaiman noted that he found the Troughton episode Tomb of the Cybermen to be the most scary of the cyber-adventures, and this story parallels it in many ways. Both are set many years after the Cybermen were believed destroyed forever, and both feature a massive armory of Cybermen in suspension, awaiting awakening.
A chess-playing Cyberman was the center of one of Mark Platt’s Big Finish Audio adventures, The Silver Turk. Both Platt and Gaiman’s reference the original (fake) chess-playing automaton, also known as The Turk, run by a chess master hidden within, as Porridge did here. One of Platt’s plots was used as the base of the first new series adventure, Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel. Russell T. Davies made sure Platt was paid in full as if he’d written the TV script, and he received a “Thanks to” line in the credits. The Turk was also the inspiration for the Clockwork Droids in The Girl in the Fireplace.
“Or don’t you have the processing power?” Even the last trick is a classic Sci-Fi move – give the computer an impossible problem to solve and it applies more and more power to solve it. Spock told the ship’s computer to solve for Pi on Star Trek, and Arthur Dent almost killed everyone on the Heart of Gold when it asked the Nutrimatic machine if it knew why he wanted to drink dried leaves in a cup, boiled. As is true of all literature, it’s not what tools you choose to use, but how well you use them, and Neil uses them expertly.
UPGRADE COMPLETE – More than a few science-fiction fans have drawn parallels between the Cybermen and the Borg from Star Trek: The Next Generation. The similarity was brought into te light in the recent Doctor Who / ST:TNG crossover in IDW comics, where the Borg and the Cybermen formed a brief alliance. Here, we see the Cybermen take a bit more of a page from the Borg playbook, with the rapid adaptation and instantaneous assimilation of human beings.
TAKE MY ARMS, I’LL NEVER USE THEM… – Matt Smith’s portrayal of the battle in his head was dramatic and well-done, but the ever so slightly over the top portrayal of the Cyber-planner made me think of Steve Martin playing half of Lily Tomlin in All of Me. And comic fans will note a parallel evolution in Dan Slott’s current run of Superior Spider-Man, with Peter Parker fighting for control of his mind and body, right down to trying to write messages on nearby pads.
JUST GIVE US ALL YOUR… – Gold has been a steadily growing threat to the Cybermen even since first mention of it as a weakness in the Tom Baker adventure Revenge of the Cybermen. Originally it coated their respiration systems, causing asphyxiation. As time passed, gold seemed to affect them as badly as silver did a werewolf. Here, even in this advanced form, the weakness to gold survived, still in a physical fashion, allowing The Doctor to use it on the exposed circuitry to short out the Cyber-Planner’s control of his mind.
“The Biggest and best Amusement park there will ever be” – Considering the amusement parks that have been mentioned on the series, that’s saying quite a bit. Disneyland Clom featured the Warpspeed Death Ride, as mentioned in The Girl Who Waited. There’s been more than a few mentions of Disneyland in the series – a bunch of alien tourists were trying to go to Disneyland and ended up in Wales in Delta and the Bannermen. The seventh Doctor and Ace visited The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.
“Let me show you my collection” – They raided the prop closet to fill the sets of Hedgewick’s world – there’s a slightly refitted version of the Doctor’s spacesuit from The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe, a ventriloquist dummy from The God Complex, and various aliens from Rings of Akhaten. There’s a few Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood alumni as well, including a Shansheeth, a Uvdoni, and a Blowfish.
“Do any of you play Chess?” – The Doctor certainly does. He claims the Time Lords invented Chess; it’s not impossible as one of the traps in The Five Doctors resembled a giant chessboard. He’s played regular games with K-9, and a high-stakes (and voltage) game against Gantok, an agent of The Silence in The Wedding of River Song.
“You are beautiful” – The Doctor has made a bit of a habit of complimenting particularly well-built enemies. He similarly admired the Clockwork Droids in Girl in the Fireplace, and the werewolves in Tooth and Claw.
“See You Next Wednesday” – Fans of John Landis perked up at that line – it’s a running gag from his films. Originally a line from the video call in 2001: A Space Odyssey, it’s been a movie poster, a film shown in Feelaround, dialogue in a horror movie, and more than a few other things in his various films.
“The Cyberiad” – As well as having a lovely Roman sound, mimicking several other terms the Cybermen use like Legion, it’s also a deliberate tip of the hat to the classic Stanislaw Lem novel.
“You’re deleting yourself from history. You realize you can be reconstructed from the holes you left?” – Somewhat verifying the theme that’s been coming up most of the season, following up from The Doctor’s desire to “step back into the shadows”. But it’s important to note that the first place that was done was in the Dalek database, and it was done by…Oswin Oswald.
BIG BAD REPORT / CLEVER THEORY DEPARTMENT –
“I feel like a monster sometimes” – Warwick Davis delivers a solid performance in this episode, referring to the actions of The Emperor in the third person, and really getting across the heaviness of the crown. And once again we get a reference to the term “Monster”, that we’ve heard in several episodes. And once again, his actions could easily parallel the way The Doctor feels about himself.
“She’s not our mother” – I can’t help but notice somewhat of a similarity between Angie and young Mels, as played by Maya Glace-Green in Let’s Kill Hitler. The sass, the overuse of the word “stupid”, but yet the interest in seeing the TARDIS. And when Clara describes her as being “full of surprises” one has to wonder if there’s not one more coming…
“You’re the boss” – And in this episode…she is. She’s given charge of the Imperial platoon, and does a VERY good job of taking charge.
“You’re the impossible girl” – While it’s not the first time she learned about The Doctor’s fascination with her, it’s the first one she remembers, presuming she indeed doesn’t recall the events of Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS. And with the finale only days away, we clearly haven’t got long to wait to learn more.
NEXT TIME ON DOCTOR WHO – The Question is asked. Who will hear the answer? The Name of the Doctor, this weekend.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtaIpkjF6Ss]
The Point Radio: Getting Sucked Into Tornado Week On The Weather Channel
Take us ANYWHERE! The Point Radio App is now in the iTunes App store – and it’s FREE! Just search under “pop culture The Point”. The Point Radio – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or on any other mobile device with the Tune In Radio app – and follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.
ARE YOU READY FOR THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT?
New Pulp Publisher Pulp 2.0 Press has released The Knight Watchman: Graveyard Shift collected edition.
Press Release:
KNIGHT WATCHMAN: GRAVEYARD SHIFT
BUY IT NOW!
ONLY $8.99
CREATESPACE
AMAZON
From the Big Bang Comics Library comes this Pulp 2.0 graphic novel collecting the 1998 Image Comics 4-issue mini-series. This is the gripping story by Chris Ecker, Gary Carlson with stark, atmospheric, film noir-ish artwork by Ben Torres.
It’s been five long years since the Knight Watchman prowled the streets of Midway City…
Now the city is under siege, and the streets are deadlier than ever before…
But so is he.
On the heels of an assassination attempt that leaves the Mayor in a coma and the city’s hero, GALAHAD, in traction; THE KNIGHT WATCHMAN ends his retirement and returns to the streets to keep the city from falling further into chaos.
However, chaos is exactly the plan orchestrated by the Knight Watchman’s arch enemy, PINK FLAMINGO. The master criminal has taken over the city government by installing Deputy Mayor PRINCETON into office, and unleashing the dirty cops on his payroll. When a mugger turns up dead and the evidence points straight at the Knight Watchman, Midway City’s former hero becomes its most wanted criminal.
This edition from Pulp 2.0 features the gritty, urban superhero storytelling that was a hallmark of the 90′s, and reinvented one of the founding heroes of the Big Bang Universe. This edition is complete with bonus features making it a must-have for all comics fans.
6.69″ x 9.61″ (16.993 x 24.409 cm)
Black & White Bleed on White paper
122 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1481885348
ISBN-10: 1481885340
BISAC: Comics & Graphic Novels / Superheroes
Learn more at http://pulp2ohpress.com
New Who Review: “Hide”
Quite often ghosts are described as spirits who cannot bear to leave their loved ones. That appears to be the case in this week’s Doctor Who adventure, as an old house seems to be the home of a creature (or two) that makes you want to run and…
HIDE
by Neil Cross
Directed by Jamie Payne
Caluburn House is home to a roaming spirit who has been appearing for centuries, calling for help. A former espionage agent and his assistant are dedicated to discovering her secrets when The Doctor arrives. It’s evident quite quickly that the ghost is not all she appears to be…and she is not alone. The Doctor is stranded, and Clara has to get past what appears to be a resentment by the TARDIS to save him.
Bluntly, this is the story people were expecting when they heard Neil Cross was writing for Doctor Who. An indeed, it’s the first script he wrote – he had this idea first, and came to Moffat with it. Rings of Akhaten was good, but didn’t have the edge one would expect from the creator of Luther. A solid story with a stellar cast, including two exemplary guests.
GUEST STAR REPORT
Jessica Rayne (Emma Grayling) Hit the ground running in her short acting career, striking gold with the role of Jenny lee in Call the Midwife. She’ll be back for the anniversary special An Adventure in Time and Space, playing Doctor Who producer Verity Lambert. She also appeared with the rest of the Midwife cast in a sketch on Red Nose Day this year, with a particular guest star.
Dougray Scott (Alec Palmer) Has had an impressive career, both for the roles he took and the ones he almost had. He was originally scheduled to play Wolverine in X-Men, but when production on Mission Impossible II went long, he had to give up the role. He was also in the race to be the next James Bond, a part that eventually went to Daniel Craig. He’s currently appearing in the thriller mystery series Hemlock Grove.
Jamie Payne (Director) has worked mainly in television, including three episodes of Call the Midwife and several genre shows like Primeval, Askes to Ashes and Survivors. I really liked the jump-cutting from several camera angles during conversations – gave the scenes a more disjointed nature. Even more so than the Krafaysis in Vincent and the Doctor, the beasts are just lonely for each other, and reaching out for anyone who can help them.
THE MONSTER FILES – The Crooked Man follows a theme in Doctor Who of late – he’s not actually named in the episode, and he’s not actually a bad guy. The Doctor realizes it’s not actually trying to harm anyone, it’s just rapped in the same time/space event as Hilla Tacorien. To make its movements a bit off, they filmed the suit actor moving backwards, and then reversed the film, resulting in being a bit irregular-looking when played.
Similarly, The Caliburn Ghast is another example of a phenomenon mistaken for supernatural when it’s just super-science. Scaroth of the Jagaroth was also spread across time, manifesting itself as seven distinct beings in City of Death.
Hmmm…a being appearing at several times in history, seemingly connected in some way… Oh, never mind, just a coincidence…
BACKGROUND BITS AND BOBS – Trivia and production details
NOTHING BEATS AN ASTRONAUT – That spacesuit may look familiar – it’s the one Ten wore in The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit. He wears the same helmet as he enters Bowie Base One in The Waters of Mars,
STAY CLOSE TO THE CANDLES…THE STAIRWAY CAN BE TREACHEROUS – Not really a hint or anything, I just loved the way Clara hung onto the candelabra long after the candles got blown out.
THE QUESTION’S NOT WHERE…IT’S WHEN – The TARDIS didn’t used to get used in the body of an episode. Usually it was a device for bringing the adventurers to the crisi of the week, and is them promptly forgotten about, or like in last week, taken off the table dramatically. It’s really only in the Moffat years did it get more often used as a tool to solve the mysteries of the week.
“Member of the Baker Street Irregular, the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” – A real covert ops department in the British government during WWII, those were both nicknames for the Special Operations Executive, also known as “Churchill’s Secret Army”. One of its members was (yes, that) Christopher Lee.
“Experience makes liars of us all” – There are SO so many lines in this episode that could easily be applied at The Doctor. Palmer is talking about his brief life in espionage, and later laments the deaths he has caused – imagine how many times more The Doctor feels these things.
“Whiskey is the the eleventh most disgusting thing ever invented” – Ignoring the potential correctness of the phrase, this is just another passing use of the number eleventh that permeates the series, all alluding to the fact that The Doctor is in his eleventh regeneration, starting with matt’s first episode The Eleventh Hour.
“A blue crystal frm Metebelis III” – Oh boy did that one make the Whofen squee. The planet Metebelis III was possibly the first attempt to create an arc storry on Doctor Who. It was first mentioned in Carnival of Monsters as a planet he wanted to Take Jo Grant to after his exile was lifted. He made a few attempts to reach it, finally succeeding in The Green Death, retrieving one of the blue crystals. As he explains in this episode, the crystals enhance mental energy, which in that past episode, allow a group of people to break from the control of a sentient computer. He gives the crystal to Jo as a gift as she leaves his company, only to have it reappear in Pertwee’s last adventure, Planet of the Spiders. Here allowed a mentally handicapped man to read, and eventually to be healed of its damage that cause him handicap.
“Subset of the Eye of Harmony” – The Eye of Harmony is traditionally the name of the Black Hole that Rassilon stabilized and set in the core of Gallifrey, to use as a power source for all Time Lord technology. In the TV movie it’s said to be on the TARDIS itself. There’s a couple of theories to explain that, the most plausible being that each TARDIS is connected to the original Eye on Gallifrey. But with Gallifrey now trapped in the time lock as part of The Doctor’s actions in the Time War, the Eye is likely a stand-alone power source. It’s recharged itself lately on Rift energy, like the one found in Wales. This is in fact the time time the Eye has been mentioned in the new series.
“In four seconds the entropy would drain my heart – in ten seconds I would be dead” – It is assumed that the conduit that Emma opens would prevent that eventuality, as they were in the pocket universe for more than four seconds. Once the way was open, the TARDIS opened up for Clara (by itself – note that modern Clara hasn’t got a key) and made the dangerous trip. And then again at the end of the episode. Presumably the trip through that conduit is not as arduous as a full blown trip in the time vortex, which explains how The Doctor and The crooked Man survived it hanging onto the outside.
“Every lonely monster…needs a companion” – See earlier comment about statements not always referring to whom they’re originally said about.
BIG BAD WOLF REPORT / CLEVER THEORY DEPARTMENT –
“Is she real? as in, actually real?” – That’s another “Clarallel” – it’s very similar to a line Future Oswin spoke in Asylum of the Daleks, asking The Doctor if he wasn’t a figment of her imagination.
“Cold…warm…cold…warm” – What interesting is that it’s supposedly it’s Hilla and Emma & Alec who have the connection. But the connection gets MUCH stronger when Clara walks through the odd manifestation The Doctor chalks off. At first, many folks online thought it was because Clara herself was the anomaly. That wasn’t the case, but since we learned later that the ghost was a temporal anomaly, might not another temporal anomaly also strengthen the link?
“It sticks out, like….a big chin.” – We’re not talking about Emma anymore, are we Clara?
“We’re all ghosts to you” – Here we see the sum total of Earth’s history, from its fiery origin to its fiery end. And Clara can’t cope with it. She imagines how insignificant humans must look like to him. Wilf had a similar conversation with The Doctor, saying “We must look like ants to you”: The Doctor replied “I think you look like giants”
“You are the only mystery worth solving” – As before, The Doctor may well be talking about Humanity as a whole…but he may well be looking straight at Clara and talking to her specifically.
“It doesn’t like me” – Clara’s belief that the TARDIS “doesn’t like” her was first referenced in Cross’ last story, and it was easy enough to wave off as worry. Here’s it’s placed flat in the middle of the room and has a lampshade on. Theories have abounded that Clara may be an anomaly of time, as Captain Jack became when Rose made him a living Fixed Point. More than a few people have drawn more than a vague connection there, suggesting that Clara may be related to Jack in some way.
The interaction between Clara and the TARDIS is priceless, from Clara called her a “cow” to the TARDIS choosing Clara’s own image, because it’s programmed to project an image the viewer will trust and esteem, and realizing the only person that means for Clara is herself. Considering the title and plot of next week’s episode, it’s clear this plot thread will be followed quite a bit more.
“You need a place to keep this” – The Doctor’s confusion is understandable – there’s been either an umbrella stand or a hat rack in the control room for almost every iteration of either the ship or the Doctor. It’s almost conspicuous in its absence. I earlier posited the theory that what we’re seeing as the control room now is the default design, the design for a person who couldn’t care anymore about how it looks, and one who wasn’t expecting guests, so they wouldn’t need a hat rack.
“Clara – what is she?” – As in The Almost People, The Doctor is ostensibly just out for an adventure when he’s actually looking for information about his companion from an expert source. Emma has nothing but good to say about her, which should please The Doctor, but likely only makes him more curious.
“Don’t trust him…there’s a sliver of ice in his heart” – but is it at all possible that based on this statement from earlier in the episode that she’s lying? She’s a powerful enough psychic empath that The Doctor seeks her out to get a reading on Clara – odds are she’s right about what she sees in him. She just may not understand the whys and wherefores that cause d it, and assumed the worst.
NEXT TIME ON DOCTOR WHO – One of the more promising titles in the series – Journey to the Center of the TARDIS – in one Saturday hence.