Tagged: Mike Gold

ComicMix Columns & Features for the Week Ending September 28, 2008

ComicMix Columns & Features for the Week Ending September 28, 2008

  • News
  • September 29, 2008

Between sleeping away the morning and watching the last Mets game at Shea Stadium in the afternoon (okay, after the umpteenth IFC airing of A Hard Day’s Night was over), I almost plumb forgot to remind y’all of what our regular columnists have brought you this past week:

Newly added to our list of regular features are Chuck Rozakis’ two webcomics columns.  Hope the folks down in Baltimore see this in time, and I hope I can catch up with all my other stuff before the new year!

When Sums Don’t Add Up, by Elayne Riggs

When Sums Don’t Add Up, by Elayne Riggs

  • News
  • September 24, 2008

So I read via Colleen Doran’s blog that the LHC, the Large Hadron Collider, has gone bust, at least temporarily. Apparently it, like the Internet router Monday morning at the Riggs Residence, suffered some sort of electrical malfunction. Our router’s fine as of the typing of this column, but the LHC will take a bit more time to get going again on its way to possibly wiping out all known life. Which is pretty much okay by me; I have at least four months’ worth of DC comics still unread!

Now, for anyone unclear on what the heck the LHC is supposed to be doing, some wacky and geeky scientist types have put together this handy-dandy hip-hop ditty:

But fairly heavy rotation in our Science and Discovery channel viewing meant Robin and I were more or less up on the basics of dark matter and so forth, and had already mocked them mercilessly. See, here’s what we tend to think of these scientists. We can’t fault them their enthusiasm to find the binding tie that will create a grand unifying Theory of Life, The Universe and Everything (42, by the way). But for scientists, whose chosen profession demands that they question everything and rely primarily on the empirical evidence of their senses, this arrogant certainty doesn’t sit well with me. It’s as if, as Robin observes, the theoretical quantum physicists sat around saying, “Hmm, what can we postulate to make our sums add up?”

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I’ve Done Paul McCartney Wrong, by Mike Gold

I’ve Done Paul McCartney Wrong, by Mike Gold

  • News
  • September 22, 2008

Back in my DC Comics days, I was sitting in my office pretending to work when Mark Waid stuck his head in. “Hey, do you know when Paul McCartney wrote ‘Silly Love Songs?’” he asked.

“Pretty much his whole damn life,” I replied without looking up.

That about summed up my feelings about Paul McCartney. I was a John Lennon guy, although I’ve come around to really appreciating George Harrison’s stuff even more. He spoke softly but carried a big stick. “Taxman,” “Piggies…” great stuff.

I’ve had cause to reflect recently, and I think I’ve done Mr. McCartney wrong. He did this great song called “Give Ireland Back To The Irish,” which took a stand on the England / Ireland situation that one might expect from a guy named Mc-anything. And the BBC, owned by the British government, promptly banned it. So did Radio Luxembourg and ITV, effectively removing it from all venues of British broadcasting. His record label, EMI, said they wouldn’t release it. They wanted safe little silly love songs that said nothing and inspired no one but the vapid.

McCartney followed “Give Ireland Back To The Irish” with a reggae version of “Mary Had A Little Lamb.” It got lots of airplay.

So it is with this community. Comics creators used to work out of their need to earn a living. The pulps were dying, they couldn’t get work as illustrators (particularly if their last name sounded Jewish), newspapers started their half-century of death throes by slowly dropping continuity comic strips, the type that bring the readers back the next day to find out what happened. Writers and artists like to eat, sleep and reproduce, and therefore must earn a living. It was tough, particularly during the 50s when their efforts were equated with those of child molesters. Not to say that their heart wasn’t in their work; often it was, with some of the creators.

Today, creators have greater luxury. They have more options; they have a wider range of creative opportunities. They can work from the heart and pay the rent at the same time. Few will get rich, but, hey, that’s show business.

So when I fall across what, at first, might seem like a truly stupid idea for a comic book story, these days I think about all those silly love songs I so callously dismissed. We have a wide range of creative fare out in the comics medium these days, greater than we’ve ever seen in America. We don’t have to look at movies or television for legitimacy. We can look to the reviews in major publications, we can appreciate the fact that works in this medium are receiving serious, contemplated analysis and acceptance by the world at large.

We can make a statement when we want to, we can tell a rip-roaring story when we feel like it. And as readers we can enjoy a work that says something directly, indirectly, or just indulges in pure escapist fare. As Jules Feiffer said in his play Little Murders, that’s all right.

This is the golden age of comics, folks, where our choices can range from a reggae version of Mary Had A Little Lamb to something as bold and – to some – as offensive as Give Ireland Back To The Irish.

And don’t forget to support your favorite rabble-rouser.

Mike Gold is editor-in-chief of ComicMix.

ComicMix Columns & Features for the Week Ending September 21, 2008

ComicMix Columns & Features for the Week Ending September 21, 2008

  • News
  • September 21, 2008

Well, tomorrow’s equinox marks the actual onset of autumn, but tonight’s the Emmy Awards marking the official changing of the TV season. More or less. With staggered season openers depending on which network you’re talking about, how you watch your shows (webisodes? DVR pile-up?), the idea of a TV season is in flux, but you can always count on ComicMix to feature geek-oriented show reviews as well as our usual columns and features. Here’s what we’ve had for you this past week::

Speaking of politics, so far my favorite new program this season is The Rachel Maddow Show, and I must confess that, between Rachel, her companion pundit hour, baseball wrapping up its 2008 season and all the stuff I’m trying to clear from my DVR, I haven’t been paying much attention to TV premieres…

Embrace Your Inner Pig, by Mike Gold

Embrace Your Inner Pig, by Mike Gold

  • News
  • September 15, 2008

Are you a pig, or are you a sheep? I’m a pig, myself.

Contrary to popular opinion – particularly these past couple weeks – pigs are clean, intelligent, productive, and necessary to our eco-system. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and while I must admit pigs do nothing for me, I’m not here to pass judgment on animal lovers.

Sheep are useful. I haven’t checked out their SAT scores, and they seem pleasant enough. While I understand they are more appealing than pigs in certain farmland circles (including at least one semi-famous 1960s comics artist who bragged about it) and lanolin is comforting stuff, they, too, evade my wandering eye.

As colloquial phrases, neither one is held in very high regard. Being a pig has come to mean being ugly (totally unfair), being stubborn (probably fair), and/or being a miscreant police officer (tacky).  Being a sheep has come to mean being totally passive, one who follows the sheppard’s demands mindlessly, even to one’s own detriment.

Ergo, I’d rather be a pig than a sheep. But I’d rather be a sheep than an idiot.

Last Friday, Michael Davis commented about the Palin-the-Phony-Pig non-scandal, and he did so with his typical charm, wit, and aplomb. I have no intention of repeating his argument.

Actually, the whole thing sickens me.

Not the fact that McCain would seize upon a comment of Obama’s that had nothing to do with Palin and turn it into such. That’s campaigning for you, and one of the ways we can determine the make of person running is the way he or she conducts his or her campaign. McCain’s a scumbag who, according to his campaign “doesn’t speak for the campaign" (to quote McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds). Fine. We know McCain, and by now we know Palin, her ethics, her family values, and her supporters’ stand on hypocrisy and blatant lying. I’m good to go here.

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ComicMix Columns & Features for the Week Ending September 14, 2008

ComicMix Columns & Features for the Week Ending September 14, 2008

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  • September 14, 2008

Our best wishes go out to all our readers in Texas and other states affected by Hurricake Ike, and we encourage folks who can afford it to help relief efforts (like this one) to help our fellow Americans.  Meanwhile, we at ComicMix continue to provide our own brand of relief in the form of cultural commentary in columns and features like these from this past week:

For more comic relief, check out Tina Fey’s appearance opening Saturday Night Live‘s new season last night:

 

 

Love those Tina Fey glasses!

What’s Wrong With Wonder Woman, by Mike Gold

What’s Wrong With Wonder Woman, by Mike Gold

  • News
  • September 8, 2008

In this space on Friday and Saturday, my esteemed colleagues Mr. Davis and Ms. Thomases waxed on about the political situation of the day. Whereas there is no more important issue facing us as Americans in this moment in time (and it has considerable impact on non-Americans as well), I will not follow in their wake this week. I’m sure I will in the future.

Instead, I’m going to take a point central to their themes, and those expressed to a somewhat lesser extent by Ms. Riggs last week, and talk about comic books. Specifically, about Wonder Woman.

Since I’m in a name-dropping kind of mood, I should point out that my comments have been heavily influenced by recent conversations with Ms. Adriane Nash, a frequent commenter here at ComicMix, as well as our new editorial proofreader (for those items that come in early enough to be proofread…). And, oh yeah, she’s my savvy and opinionated daughter.

So what’s wrong with Wonder Woman? Positioning. Not unlike what many people think the McCain campaign did by selecting a fundamentalist book burner as their vice presidential candidate, under the theory that women are so stupid they’ll simply vote for one of their own no matter what her position is on the issues. You know, just like the conservatives.

Ahem. Sorry. Back to comics.

Back in the 1940s, Wonder Woman was fabulously successful. She had as much exposure as any DC/AA hero (but not as much as, say, the real Captain Marvel). She had her own title, she starred in a monthly anthology book, she starred in a regularly published giant-sized star-studded superhero thing, and she briefly had her own newspaper strip. All she was lacking was a cheap movie serial.

By the time the 70s rolled around, DC had a hard time giving Wonder Woman away. As of this date, she’s undergone more revisions, reboots (one, quite literally, brought her original boots back), reinterpretations, and make-overs than Madonna. What happened?

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ComicMix Columns & Features for the Week Ending September 7, 2008

ComicMix Columns & Features for the Week Ending September 7, 2008

  • News
  • September 8, 2008

It’s back to school time for the kiddies, and the promise of cooler weather at last for those of us who live in those parts of the US that still have seasons!  I love September, don’t you?  Particularly as it means the end of the political conventions and only two more months left in the Silly Season.  Here’s what we’ve had for you this past week:

Let me know when the rugrats are settled down and it’s safe to visit Staples again…

Getting Screwed, by Mike Gold

Getting Screwed, by Mike Gold

  • News
  • September 1, 2008

We’re all familiar with the story of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. They created Superman but nobody would buy it so it sat in a drawer for a few years until an editor remembered seeing the submission and thought it would fill out the first issue of a new title that was lacking a lead story. Siegel and Shuster signed away their rights for something slightly in excess of a hundred bucks, although over the next decade they earned hundreds of thousands off of the property. The trouble is, the publisher was making millions.

Siegel and Shuster were getting screwed. They raised a stink about it and found themselves out of jobs. Later, after several publishing failures Siegel limped back to the offending publisher to work-for-hire for page-rate; Shuster was blind and couldn’t work for anybody.

Batman co-creator Bob Kane saw what was going on and offered to negotiate a contract that would: a) cover himself financially, b) somehow guarantee him sole creator credit, and c) screw the people who made Batman truly unique, people like co-creator Bill Finger and artists such as Jerry Robinson and Dick Sprang. This scenario was repeated by a number of creators who became publishers or intellectual property owners years and years later.

So the moral standard is rather flexible. That’s business. That’s human nature – most businessmen aren’t all that different from Al Capone, who, in fact, was generally more appreciative of his end-users than he was of his competitors. Now, everybody cooperates benignly, being careful to operate out of a sense of mutual self-interest instead of an actual conspiracy that might constitute anti-trust. We’ve just endured eight years of a government that was totally dedicated to this concept.

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ComicMix Columns & Features for the Week Ending August 31, 2008

ComicMix Columns & Features for the Week Ending August 31, 2008

  • News
  • August 31, 2008

As we bid goodbye to August and so much more, we mark endings and new beginnings.  Our production head and cofounder Glenn Hauman returns with not one but two installments of his way-too-occasional column, our news editor Bob Greenberger’s been posting up a storm, and it’s rumored that ComicMix has some interesting things coming down the pike, but I couldn’t possibly say.  I just do a column and these roundups:

As we enjoy our federal holiday away from the office, let’s salute all those freelancers who don’t get paid when they don’t work — and, sadly more than a few who don’t get paid even when they do.

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