Tagged: Martha Thomases

A week of winners

A week of winners

Two of our comic friends’ posts follow up on news we reported here earlier on two ongoing contests.  Becky Cloonan notes that she was selected as one of the 18 finalists in the first-ever International Manga Awards, first mentioned on ComicMix back on May 25.  Way to go, Becky!  The winners are listed at the Japanese Consulate’s website.  And Heidi MacDonald lists the winners in the Life Without Fair Courts contest, first mentioned on ComicMix back on February 25.  Congratulations to all the participants and winners!  Speaking of winners, Glenn Hauman rejoined our ComicMix columnists this past week; here’s our weekly wrapup:

The ever-dependable Mellifluous Mike Raub is still helming our terrific Big ComicMix Broadcasts:

Winning entries all!

Another ComicMix summer party

Another ComicMix summer party

Can’t stay long, gotta get back to ComicMix‘er Kai Connolly’s birthday party.  ComicMix columnists wrote stuff this past week.  Here it is:

And that’s not even including tons of news wrapups from Andrew Wheeler, loads of reviews, even a pool-playing post!  By the way, today’s bash emanates from the home of Mellifluous Mike Raub, who has arranged it all and still had time for his Big ComicMix Broadcasts:

The me who wrote this entry this morning hopes the Raub Residence will be as air-conditioned as the Riggs Residence…

MARTHA THOMASES: Death Trip

MARTHA THOMASES: Death Trip

At the recent Wizard World convention in Chicago, Jim Starlin was part of the DC Nation panel. Starlin created the brilliant graphic novel, The Death of Captain Marvel, which was so well done that it made me cry like a little girl even though I wasn’t that familiar with the character. A running gag throughout the hour was that, in the upcoming Final Crisis, Starlin was going to let loose and kill a bunch more characters in the DC Universe.

It’s bugged me for a few years that, in comics and sometimes in other media, death is the gag. Death is the only meaningful drama. The recent hype about the last Harry Potter book was whether or not Harry would die, and who else might join him. This misses the point.

Now, I realize that I made a lot of my reputation in this industry from the 1992 Death of Superman (and not just my extraordinary good looks and keen wit). Isn’t that what started this whole death-cult in comics?

Yes and no. I used to joke that DC had to kill Superman every seven years, whether or not he needed it. What made the 1992 event different? Some might think sold so much because the release coincided with the collector craze, but I’ve always thought it was more than that, and started even earlier. I thought it started in the fall of 1990, when Clark and Lois got engaged. The media went crazy, with stories on television news and national newspapers like USA Today. A few months later, it happened again when Clark revealed his secret identity to his beloved.

People felt like they knew the Superman family. A lot of them expected an invitation to the wedding. When they found out Doomsday was going to kill Superman, they felt like they lost a friend.

Marvel was able to evoke similarly honest feelings when Captain America died. Again, they had done their homework with the general public, explaining the central political conflict in the Marvel Universe. In this case, the increasing discontent with the Iraqi war may have also contributed to the emotional response. It’s a perfect storm of entertainment and real life.

(more…)

Getting wind of what’s been happening

Getting wind of what’s been happening

Once again we’re away from Second City comic book happenings here in the First City, but at least we can all share Chicago nickname puns as well as the Perseid meteor showers this evening from pretty much wherever we live.  That, and the ComicMix columns from this past week:

As you might expect, Mellifluous Mike Raub is in attendance at WizWorld Chicago, meaning more Big ComicMix Broadcasts than usual:

The interesting thing about many vacations is how much you want to do at the beginning and how little you’ve done at the end.  Mine has gone according to plan in terms of reading (see my column linked above) but not writing.  Ah well, maybe next time…

MARTHA THOMASES: Hot Fun in the Summertime

MARTHA THOMASES: Hot Fun in the Summertime

Summertime, and the livin’ is easy.  Fish are jumpin, and the cotton is high.  Or so I’m told.  Living in a major metropolitan area in the twenty-first century, I have to take such things on faith.

This summer, the fun times for someone like me are largely political.  The presidential election is over a year away.  The first primaries are six months away.  Nothing is going to be decided any time soon, so I can pretend it will all turn out for the best. 

I spent the summer I was 15 going “clean for Gene,” campaigning for Eugene McCarthy, who was running against Lyndon Johnson for the Democratic nomination on an anti-war platform.  Four years later, I ran as an alternate delegate for George McGovern. Four years ago, I nearly got arrested outside the Republican convention up the street from here.  Presidential campaigns are fun!

Which is not to say they couldn’t be much more fun.  The problem is that presidential candidates tend to be politicians.  They spend all their time hustling campaign funds, writing policy, and meeting the public.  They go on the Sunday morning news shows and show how serious they are.  They go on Oprah or The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to show they’re regular folks who can take a joke.

They don’t save the world from alien invasions.  They don’t even fight crime.

Presidential campaigns would be a lot more fun if, instead of Republicans versus Democrats, it was Marvel versus DC.   For example debates between:

 

Captain America and Superman on immigration reform.

Luke Cage and John (Green Lantern) Stewart on affirmative action.

Thor and Wonder Woman about the separation of Church and State.

Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne on the inheritance tax.

Storm and Aquaman on global warming.

The Punisher and Batman on prison reform.

Professor X and Green Arrow on family values.

The Avengers and the Justice League on national security.

(more…)

Fity-seven channels and nothing’s on…

Fity-seven channels and nothing’s on…

Yesterday was a very special day for lots of folks.  In the baseball world a couple of home run records were set, in the political world attendees at the progressive blogosphere’s Nerd Prom (yes, they have one too) schmoozed with the Democratic presidential candidates, and we at ComicMix celebrated head honcho Mike Gold’s 57th go-round in life.  All the incriminating photos my camera could muster can be found here.  And here’s our review of what we columnist types have been up to this past week:

I finally got to meet all of Mellifluous Mike Raub‘s many M-named sons, and the one with the "S" name.  He’s been busy as usual with the newest Big ComicMix Broadcasts:

I’m on vacation from my day job this coming week, so who knows, you might even see my byline again on something other than my column and this wrap-up…

MARTHA THOMASES: Space Oddity

MARTHA THOMASES: Space Oddity

Jerome Bixby’s Man From Earth is a profoundly unfashionable film. Written by Bixby before he died and directed by Richard Schenkman, it’s a science fiction movie with no aliens, no space ships, not even any explosions. It’s a thoughtful movie, intimate, with adult actors dealing with complex philosophical ideas.

When I was first reading science fiction, I liked the books with lots of talking and big ideas. I liked Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy and the robot books, where scientists explained large concepts and the societies these concepts would inspire. I liked it so much that I could often overlook inane plots and cardboard characters. When the books were more literate, that was even better.

Jerome Bixby is a science fiction writer from the old school. He wrote episodes of Twilight Zone and Star Trek, including “Mirror, Mirror.” He wrote screenplays, including Fanatastic Voyage, which was based on his short story. Just before he died, he wrote the screenplay to The Man From Earth.

It’s a small film, produced on a shoestring budget of $200,000. The closest thing to a celebrity in the cast is William Katt, formerly the star of The Greatest American Hero. Also in the cast is Richard Riehle, a character actor you’ve seen in a zillion movies, Annika Peterson, Ellen Crawford, John Billingsley, Tony Todd, Alexis Thorpe and David Lee Smith as the central character, John Oldman.

There is only one set, a cabin in the woods, and the entire story takes place over the course of a single day. John Oldman is a university professor packing his belongings to leave for a new job. His friends, other professors and a student, have come with food and drink to wish him well. Over the course of the day, he tells them that, to the best of his knowledge, he’s 14,000 years old.

For the rest of the film, these highly educated, polite people argue with each other about whether or not such a thing is possible, or is Oldman pulling some kind of cerebral practical joke. They consider religion, anthropology, history, and the other fields in which they are expert. No one attacks Oldman for a DNA sample to run tests, no one pulls out an old photograph or other evidence. The devout Christian character feels threatened, but does not condemn Oldman to Hell, nor does she stone him. They talk from mid-afternoon until night, when the last few people at the party go out to look at the stars.

(more…)

When San Diego is too far away…

When San Diego is too far away…

Yeah, I guess I’m missing San Diego, in more ways than one.  But then again, they’re missing the Del Close improv marathon here in NYC, so that makes us even.  Not.  Ah well, on to this past week’s ComicMix columns:

I haven’t even begun to keep track of all Mellifluous Mike Raub‘s Big ComicMix Broadcasts, so why don’t you do it for me?:

Tomorrow’s probably going to be a slow day while my colleagues travel and sleep, so it’s a good time to get all caught up!

MARTHA THOMASES: Like a Virgin

MARTHA THOMASES: Like a Virgin

In many ways, this will be my first San Diego ComiCon. Oh, sure, I went to ten of them before, but that was because I was working for DC Comics. This will be my first San Diego without booth duty.

At DC, I was Publicity Manager from 1990 to 1999. I had a great time showing off our ever-expanding list of titles and, eventually, imprints. Turning people on to Vertigo, to Milestone, to Impact and to Helix was really fun.

Unfortunately, I never got to leave the booth. I mean, I could take bathroom breaks, and if one of my many media contacts came by, I could walk that person around to show off what was cool in comics. For the most part, however, it was four solid days of standing in the booth.

There were chairs at the booth, lots of chairs. Unfortunately, these comfortable pieces of foldable furniture were not for those of us in the Marketing Department. The chairs were for the talent. Now, I agree that the writers and artists who work on comic books, who interrupt their work to come to conventions (where they don’t get paid) should be made as comfortable as possible. They deserve to be treated like rock stars. The Marketing team should be there to make life easier for the talent and for the fans, and to assure everyone of a good time.

That’s my belief, and I tried really hard to live up to it with a smile on my face. Usually, I got through Thursday and Friday pretty well. By Saturday, even with my best running shoes, my feet would be hurting. By Sunday afternoon, my face would hurt from smiling. There would be lots of news and excitement I’d overhear among the fans that they’d picked up at panels, which I could never go to because I was at the booth.

There would be some weird things I’d have to do that weren’t, strictly speaking, in my job description. I’d get the talent bottled water, because the water in San Diego gives me horrible headaches, and talent shouldn’t have headaches. I’d be the bitch at the end of the signing line, the person past whom no one else would get their books signed. It’s a horribly thankless task, because you have to tell people they can’t have something they really want. The worst is being the bitch at the end of the Neil Gaiman line. Neil will have agreed to sign for two hours. After these two hours, I would get in line to stop it, but the line would grow behind me. By the time I got to the front of the line, Neil would have been signing for more than three hours. I’d tell people they couldn’t get anything signed, and Neil would say, ‘Oh, no! That’s alright, I’m happy to do a few more.”

On the plus side, I had an expense account. I could take journalists and talent out for dinners and drinks. DC had travel agents who put us up at the Marriott, and then the Hyatt, which were close to the convention center. My feet might hurt, but I didn’t have far to walk.

(more…)

Once you’ve finished That Book…

Once you’ve finished That Book…

Nerds, geeks and thinking people everywhere are settling down to read J.K. Rowling’s latest and last adventure of Harry Potter prior to packing for sunny southern California.  At least that’s what they tell me; I’ll wait for the easier-to-heft paperback, thanks.  But there are no queues at all to read ComicMix columnist contributions from this past week:

If you see Mellifluous Mike Raub at San Diego, speak loudly and clearly into the mic!  Here are his contributions as he hits the Big Seven-Oh:

Have a safe flight of fancy, everyone!