Since the day DOCTOR NO exploded on the screen, the fates and fortunes of James Bond has been in the hands of the Brocceli Family, first with Albert “Cubby” Brocceli and now his daughter Barbara. We sat down with Barbara to talk about the rich history of Bond and how they work out each detail from tone of the story to the Bond Girls, even before the cameras roll – plus G4 gets overhauled and Arnold is CONAN again – really?
A couple years ago, Mad Magazine was demoted to quarterly release – a status it had not had since it first converted into magazine format in 1955. Shortly after, I ran into its publisher Paul Levitz and expressed regret at the situation. Paul, a major comics fan and historian, shared my feelings but said with obvious sadness “Maybe its time had passed.”
Maybe so. Mad’s return to bi-monthly status, one suspects, has more to do with the successful animated series than any publishing-revenue prerogative. Paul was right, and he’s still right: Mad’s time had passed. To his credit, it had passed back when he was still a teenager.
I came across Mad at an early age, discovering my sister’s comics stash as I was ferreting about her bedroom looking for, well, comics. And maybe spare change. Like an unbelievable number of Boomers, it totally warped my mind. Mad was part of its time: we also had Ernie Kovacs and Rocky and Bullwinkle. Steve Allen and Del Close. Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis. All assaulted a status quo that was desperately in need of destruction.
As it always is.
Perhaps these combined forces shaped me more than the average pre-adolescent. Truth to Power, there’s really no “perhaps” about it. Therefore, when Mars Attacks! came out I discovered creative people can up the ante. And Mars Attacks! ushered in the 1960s when the ante wasn’t simply upped, it grew daily and exponentially.
Somewhere along the way, Mad’s “usual gang of idiots” continued to age. Instead of hoisting our culture on its own petard, Mad sometimes turned on the latter-day iconoclasts. Not viciously, not regularly, but by the end of the decade you could hear the sound of the hardening of their arteries.
This was unnecessary, but it left room for the sons of Mad to take on the role – folks like Robert Crumb, Jay Lynch, George Carlin, Tommy Smothers, Richard Pryor, Michael O’Donoghue, Doug Kenny, Frank Zappa, Matt Groening, Mike Judge… I’m happy to say the list goes on and on. Now, the grandsons of Mad have taken over. Just as Frank Faye begat Jack Benny who begat Johnny Carson who begat Bill Maher, Mad is better thought of as a major influence than an active force.
I’m not saying Mad sucked. It continued to be funny and, often, clever. But it was totally ready for prime time. Mad was on Broadway. It became a movie (for which publisher and legend Bill Gaines apologized – in the pages of Mad). It became a television show. It became two television shows, actually, and both were more cutting-edge than the magazine had been in over two decades.
Onetime Madmen like Paul Krassner and Chevy Chase went elsewhere. If you’re in the culture evolution business and the establishment doesn’t regard you as a pariah, you’re not doing your job right.
Clearly, Paul was on the money. My inner-fanboy (who pays the rent; it’s a good arrangement) says Mad could of and should of stayed in the thick of the fray, but que sera, sera.
The massive talent of Mad was celebrated ten years ago in a wonderful book called Mad Art, by none other than Mark Evanier. It owns my highest recommendation. A new book, Totally Mad, is set for release next Tuesday, which means it’s in the “bookstores” right now. I haven’t read it so I won’t comment, but you might want to give it a look.
Robert Kirkman, the brain behind THE WALKING dead talks to us about the comics, the TV show – and if the two will ever meet. Or better yet, what about a WD movie? Plus ARGO‘s director-producer-star, Ben Affleck, explains why that film is generating so much Oscar buzz, and why Marvel is using A List talent on new B List books.
After two previous attempts, Matthew Perry has broken the alleged “FRIENDS Curse” and struck comedy gold again with NBC’s GO ON. Matthew shares the secret of mixing comedy and drama and making it all work. Plus Andrew Lincoln and Chandler Riggs tells us how the cast of WALKING DEAD reacts when one of their fellow stars meets their fate.
Amazing Stories, the World’s First Science Fiction Magazine, is preparing for its return and is now seeking experienced bloggers with interests in science fiction, fantasy and horror, their sub-genres and their impact on or relationship to film, television, gaming, anime, comics, audio works, visual arts, fandom, publishing and science.
Since completing two well-received Volume Zero Relaunch Prelaunch issues (required for Trademark registration & to honor our friends) the Experimenter Publishing Company has been notified by the USPTO that it will be granted its marks; during that same time work was begun on the first stage of the Amazing Stories website, Frank Wu has completed the artwork for Amazing Stories’ first new cover in over seven years and numerous other great things have been happening.
In anticipation of the forthcoming roll out of the new website, Amazing Stories is now seeking the assistance and participation of fans and bloggers from across the genre spectrum.
If you think you might like to write for Amazing Stories, now is your chance. Please email (Steve.Davidson33@comcast.net Amazing Stories and request an information packet.
The third season of AMC’sTHE WALKING DEAD has struck, and we begin our extensive look at what waits ahead. To start, EP Glen Mazzera along with actors Steven Yeun and Andrew Lincoln tackle the time jump and how they managed to pick up the pace for the new episodes. Plus George Romero says he’s coming to Marvel, and those bumper stickers paid off – Agent Coulson DOES live.
PRESS RELEASE- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AND DISTRIBUTION
PULP ARK 2013 GUESTS OF HONOR REVEALED!
APRIL 26-28TH, 2013
10/15/12
Pulp Ark 2013, the Official New Pulp Creators’ Conference/Convention in its third year announced today its Three Guests of Honor for the Third year of the convention to be held in Springdale, AR. “Pulp,” Tommy Hancock, Pulp Ark Organizer and Partner in Pro Se Productions, the company sponsoring Pulp Ark, “is a marvelous, massively diverse field…a style that has transcended its origins in the early 20th Century in cheaply printed magazines and found its way into every medium available to modern fans. Classic characters and stories are finding new life with readers and enthusiasts today and new tales centered around original characters are exploding onto the scene as well. This year, Pulp Ark 2013 will celebrate the variety that is Pulp in many ways. Our Three Guests of Honor most definitely reflect both the differences and the common denominators in Pulp, both classic and new, both originals of today and inspirations of yesteryear. I am extremely proud to announce that Joe Devito, Martin Powell, and Paul Bishop will be the Guests of Honor for Pulp Ark 2013 this year!”
Martin Powellhas been a professional writer since 1986. He received early critical praise with the Eisner Award nominated Sherlock Holmes/Count Dracula graphic novel, Scarlet in Gaslight, which has remained in print for more than twenty-five years.
Powell has since written hundreds of stories in numerous genres, including mystery, science fiction, horror, and humor, and has been published by Disney, Marvel, DC, Moonstone, Wild Cat Books, and Sequential Pulp/Dark Horse Comics, among others, working with such popular characters as Superman, Batman, Tarzan, Lee Falk’s The Phantom, Frankenstein, The Spider, Kolchak the Night Stalker, The Avenger, and more. He also a prolific author of many acclaimed children’s books, and is the creator of The Halloween Legion. His The Tall Tale of Paul Bunyan won the coveted Moonbeam Children’s Book Award for Best Graphic Novel of 2010.
Martin lives in Saint Paul, MN.
Joe DeVito was born on March 16, 1957 in New York City. He graduated with honors from Parsons School of Design in 1981 and studied at the Art Students League in New York City.
Over the years DeVito has painted many of the most recognizable Pop Culture and Pulp icons, including King Kong, Tarzan, Doc Savage, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, MAD magazine’s Alfred E. Newman and various characters in World of Warcraft, with a decided emphasis in his illustration on dinosaurs, Action Adventure, SF and Fantasy. He has illustrated hundreds of book and magazine covers, painted several notable posters and numerous trading cards for the major comic book and gaming houses, and created concept and character design for the film and television industries.
In 3D, DeVito sculpted the official 100th Anniversary statue of Tarzan of the Apes for the Edgar Rice Burroughs Estate, The Cooper Kong for the Merian C. Cooper Estate, Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman for Chronicle Book’s Masterpiece Editions, several other notable Pop and Pulp characters. Additional sculpting work ranges from scientifically accurate dinosaurs, a multitude of collectibles for the Bradford Exchange in a variety of genres, to larger-than-life statues and the award trophy for the influential art annual SPECTRUM.
An avid writer, Joe is also the co-author (with Brad Strickland) of two novels, which he illustrated as well. The first, KONG: King of Skull Island (DH Press) was published in 2004. The second book, Merian C. Cooper’s KING KONG, was published by St. Martin’s Griffin, in 2005. He has also contributed many essays and articles to such collected works as Kong Unbound: The Cultural Impact, PopMythos, and Scientific Plausibility of a Cinematic Legend and Do AndroidsArtists Paint In Oils When They Dream?in Pixel or Paint: The Digital DivideIn Illustration Art.
2012 saw the release of Kindle and iBook versions of KONG: King of Skull Island that were accompanied by Part 1 of a cutting edge app version of the book. With the property in full development as a motion picture, other plans include the release of Part 2 of the interactive Kong book app, the beginning of a KONG: King of Skull Island YA series and Kong collectibles for the Cooper Estate.
Presently DeVito is painting covers for The All NewWild Adventures of Doc Savage (written by Will Murray), while also finishing the screenplay and developing imagery for his newest creation, a faction world of truly epic proportions tentatively titled The Primordials.
Paul Bishop is a thirty-five year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department whose career included a three year tour as an interrogator with his department’s Anti-Terrorist Division and over twenty-five years’ experience in the investigation of sex crimes. For the past eight years, his various Special Assaults Units have consistently produced the highest number of detective initiated arrests and highest crime clearance rate in the city. Twice honored as Detective of the Year, Paul also received the Quality and Productivity Commission Award from the City of Los Angeles.
As a nationally recognized interrogator, Paul co-starred with his professional partner, bestselling author and prosecutor, Mary Hanlon Stone, as the regular interrogators and driving force behind the ABC reality show Take The Money And Run from producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Based on his expertise in the area of deception detection, Paul continues to work privately conducting interview and interrogation seminars for law enforcement agencies, military entities, and human resource organizations.
Paul has had twelve novels published, including Hot Pursuit, Deep Water, Penalty Shot, Suspicious Minds, the short story collection Running Wylde, and five novels in his L.A.P.D. Detective Fey Croaker series – Croaker: Kill Me Again, Croaker: Grave Sins, Croaker: Tequila Mockingbird, Croaker: Chalk Whispers, and Croaker: Pattern of Behavior. All his novels have recently been released in e-book format.
Paul has also written feature film scripts and numerous episodic scripts for television, including such shows as Diagnosis: Murder, LA Dragnet, The New Detectives, and Navy Seals: The Untold Stories.
Paul is currently writing and editing the monthly Fight Card series, 25,000 word e-novels, designed to be read in one or two sittings, inspired by the fight pulps of the ’30s and ’40s – such as Fight Stories Magazine – and Robert E. Howard’s two-fisted boxing tales featuring Sailor Steve Costigan. His latest entry, Fight Card: Swamp Walloper (written as Jack Tunney) will premiere at the 2013 Pulp Ark convention. He can be found blogging at www.bishsbeat.blogspot.com and followed via twitter@bishsbeat. A full list of his novels is available at http://tinyurl.com/7x8xo5k
“These three,” Hancock stated, “represent a huge variety within Pulp today, but they all also show the commonalities of what Pulp is. And as far as mediums, everything from books to comics to television to sculpture to painting and more is represented by these fantastic Guests. It’s a privilege for Pulp Ark to have them as its centerpiece in 2013.”
Pulp Ark is a Writer’s Conference/Convention focused on ‘Pulp’ fiction. Although defined narrowly by many, Pulp Ark promotes Pulp Fiction as multi genre multi medium storytelling that typically involves action, adventure, larger than life heroes and villains, and a strong focus on both plot and characterization. “Pulp,” Hancock said, “began as a medium in which many great writers told a lot of wonderful stories and readers could pick ’em up a 100 or more pages at a time for a dime. Although it’s no longer that necessarily, the sensibilities of Pulp storytelling, the style, the methodology, all the stuff fans have remembered and enjoyed for over 80 years about those kinds of tales, all of that is still around and available from all sorts of authors, artists, performers and companies. That is what Pulp Ark is all about.”
Pulp Ark 2013 will be held in Springdale, Arkansas April 26-28, 2013 at the Holiday Inn Springdale Hotel and Convention Center in Springdale, Arkansas, 1500 South 48th Street, phone number- 1-479-751-8300. For a peek at the venue, click HERE!
SPECIAL PRICES UNTIL JANUARY 1ST, 2013! Any and all who plan to attend Pulp Ark 2013 and want to get the Discounted Room Rate MUST reserve a room or rooms by January 1st, 2013 to take advantage of the Special Pulp Ark rate of $84.00 a night. To reserver your room online, please click HERE!
PULP ARK 2013-Springdale, Arkansas! For further information, go to www.prosepulp.com or contact Hancock at 870-834-4022 and/or proseproductions@earthlink.net. Expect more Pulp Ark Announcements VERY SOON!
We are losing some good shows this television season, not the least of which is NBC’s30 ROCK. We talk to Jack McBrayer (Kenneth) and EP Robert Carlocke about how they are making the exit graceful, plus Stan Lee is gonna sue somebody and CBS fires the first “cancelled” bullet.
New York Comic-Con starts today. Almost as big an event as San Diego, but closer to my refrigerator, it is a monolith in the comic-book calendar. NYCC attracts fewer movie and television folk but more people who work in publishing – a (mostly) Manhattan-based business – since NYCC is at the Javits Center, which is technically in Manhattan but more difficult to get to than many parts of New Jersey.
Also, the food choices are terrible, expensive, and such small portions! It’s like being a modern high-school student, but without the calculus. Like high school, I am still filled with anxiety about getting to hang out with the cool kids. I can see from the schedule that I’m already missing out on the cool parties, sold out before I even heard about them.
I am not a person who attended comic book conventions since they started. The first ones I went to were the Phil Seuling shows, and I only went to the parties because I was a struggling freelance writer and there was free food. A hat-tip here to Denny O’Neil for sneaking me in.
When I worked at DC Comics in the 1990s, I went because they paid me to go. Even the big shows then were mostly about comics, not so much movies and television, so being with one of the Big Two made me feel like a vital part of the industry. When I see my friends who are still at DC at recent shows, I don’t get the same feeling from them.
Still, for four days there is a large comic book show in New York. The hotels, especially on the West Side, will have paying guests who are here for the show, who will meet each other in the lobbies otherwise full of foreign tourists. Bars and restaurants host private parties for publishers, studios, and industry-related non-profits. In other words, we’ll be spending a lot of money, which is the easiest way to get respect in this town.
(The other way is to actually accomplish something, and that is much more difficult. Or be British.)
Anyway, this is a long way to say that I’m kind of frazzled, and I’m not sure what there is I can say about comics this week. There are probably some trends that reflect on How We Live Now, but I’m distracted wondering what shoes will best protect my feet from the hard, cruel Javits Center floor.
It is at times like this, when I’m wary and distracted, that comics are most likely to come through for me. This time, I need to thank Grant Morrison. If you haven’t read this yet, check it out.
