I've always loved comic books. I've also always loved reading. So when I found a copy of "Comix: A History of Comic Books in America" in the Lutheran High School West library back in 1986, I jumped all over that. But all I remember from that book (and I never even remembered its title) was a single story that they reprinted from Creepy magazine. That story's title was "The Squaw." It was adapted from a Bram Stoker short story by Archie Goodwin and Reed Crandell. It involves a cat, an iron maiden, and righteous retribution. As a 14 year old it stuck with me in a very vivid way.
But as the years have gone by, I had forgotten the book's name and the story's name. Over the last 10 years or so, I would periodically Google "cat," "iron maiden," and "comic" in the hopes that I could find a copy of the story somewhere or at least its name.
Well, today was the day that it all came together (as you can obviously tell). I have been cleaning my library over the last three weeks, and today I brought boxes 9 and 10 to Half Priced Books. (Don't worry, my library is still completely full, I'm just culling all the books that I feel I'll never read again or at all. There's still plenty left in both categories.) While I was waiting to get my $10.25, I was hanging out in their specialized book area, and I saw the "Comix..." book. Nothing about it reminded me of high school, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to flip through it. And, lo and behold, "The Squaw" was reprinted within. Yes, I stood in the bookstore and re-read the story. And it was every bit as creepy as I remembered (pun both intended and unintended). I almost bought the hardcover right then and there, but at 25 bucks, it was just a touch out of my price range. But I do know that it has been reprinted a few times, so now I know what to look for.
I don't know about anybody else, but that's one of the aspects of my life. I like tracking down stories that have affected me throughout my life. It's a reason that I have a number of kids books in my collection. And they're not there for show. I will periodically reread them. The internet (with this previous exception) has been a pretty good tool to track things down. I own pieces of original book art, letters from authors, and various autographs. None of that would be possible without the internet. But sometimes finding something in a bookstore and holding it in your hands is such a treat. The number of books and stories from my childhood that I'm looking for is becoming quite small now. But they still exist, and that makes the hunt that much more fun. But if you have any of "The Monster Series" by Ian Thorne cheap, let me know.
Sunday, September 16, 2018
Monday, June 4, 2018
Day 2386 - How to Talk to Girls at Parties
Have you ever seen a movie in a theater, and thought to yourself, "This isn't going to last more than a week, but people are going to talk about it in a few years." It's the perfect cult film experience. I sorta feel like How to Talk to Girls at Parties is going to be one of those films. Based on a short story by Neil Gaiman (Sandman) and directed by John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), this movie about three teenagers who love punk rock in 1970's England and then find themselves involved with a group of space aliens (yeah, really), is going to be divisive. When I was in the theater, one of the people in the theater walked out and simply stated, "I don't think I'll ever see a better movie than that." I know that I was still processing the movie at the time (and I was liking it), but that helped me realize that I really, really like the film. And just about 10 minutes ago, I pulled up the IMDB page for the film (so I could have it at the ready for character and actor names), and the main review is a one-star review from someone who thoroughly hated the film. I can understand that thought process, too.
The movie is a hodgepodge of ideas and images. Enn is a typical kid who thinks punk rock speaks to his values, but also just wants to find a girl to hang out with. Zan is your typical alien who is tired of the same old thing. Together they find love, and he opens her eyes to the craziness that is his world. Enn is played by Alex Sharp and he does a fine job as our viewpoint into this insane world. And Elle Fanning is tremendous playing Zan, as she rebels against her programming, learns about the London underground culture, and makes the decision to strike out on her own.
I'm keeping the whole alien thing deliberately low-key, but it's a crazy part of the film. The budget for the movie was probably incredibly small. Nearly all the effects are practical ones and the costumes, while striking, don't seem to have cost a lot of money. But that creates an atmosphere that emulates the punk attitude of the film. We don't need flash, we just need commitment. And this film has it. The alien aspect of the film is weird. There are different factions of aliens. We don't know what all of them want. We don't know why they are here. And when we do find out, it's both silly and insane all at once.
Say what you will about the movie itself, like it or hate it, but some of the acting is truly on point. Besides the aforementioned leads, Nicole Kidman plays an aging punk rock promoter who's seen a lot of bands move up the fame ladder, while she's still in the same dreary spot. She's great. She captures both the resignation, as well as the eternal optimism of a character who hopes for a future that means something. And Enn's friend John (as played by Ethan Lawrence) steals nearly every scene he's in, simply by being goofy and charming. Watching him dance at an alien party might be one of my favorite scenes of the year.
This is a movie filled with bright colors, loud music, offbeat characters, and a story that tries to be more deep than it actually is. But it's charming, has a solid sense of humor, and characters that I thoroughly enjoyed following. It's not for everyone, but for me, it hit all the right buttons and seems tailor-made to be a midnight movie years from now.
***1/2
The movie is a hodgepodge of ideas and images. Enn is a typical kid who thinks punk rock speaks to his values, but also just wants to find a girl to hang out with. Zan is your typical alien who is tired of the same old thing. Together they find love, and he opens her eyes to the craziness that is his world. Enn is played by Alex Sharp and he does a fine job as our viewpoint into this insane world. And Elle Fanning is tremendous playing Zan, as she rebels against her programming, learns about the London underground culture, and makes the decision to strike out on her own.
I'm keeping the whole alien thing deliberately low-key, but it's a crazy part of the film. The budget for the movie was probably incredibly small. Nearly all the effects are practical ones and the costumes, while striking, don't seem to have cost a lot of money. But that creates an atmosphere that emulates the punk attitude of the film. We don't need flash, we just need commitment. And this film has it. The alien aspect of the film is weird. There are different factions of aliens. We don't know what all of them want. We don't know why they are here. And when we do find out, it's both silly and insane all at once.
Say what you will about the movie itself, like it or hate it, but some of the acting is truly on point. Besides the aforementioned leads, Nicole Kidman plays an aging punk rock promoter who's seen a lot of bands move up the fame ladder, while she's still in the same dreary spot. She's great. She captures both the resignation, as well as the eternal optimism of a character who hopes for a future that means something. And Enn's friend John (as played by Ethan Lawrence) steals nearly every scene he's in, simply by being goofy and charming. Watching him dance at an alien party might be one of my favorite scenes of the year.
This is a movie filled with bright colors, loud music, offbeat characters, and a story that tries to be more deep than it actually is. But it's charming, has a solid sense of humor, and characters that I thoroughly enjoyed following. It's not for everyone, but for me, it hit all the right buttons and seems tailor-made to be a midnight movie years from now.
***1/2
Thursday, January 25, 2018
Day 2256 - The Greatest Showman
The Greatest Showman is a musical about inclusion that's aimed at the masses, not at those who already know that being different isn't bad. Because of that, the movie is a little shallow. But it also means that the audience that I saw it with broke out into applause as the end credits rolled.
This story about P.T. Barnum (not "the" story) shows us his rise from penniless orphan to a showman who brought those who hid in the shadows out into the bright light (all while making himself a buck). But there's really two stories going on in the film. The first is the rags to riches story of Barman. And rather than have the thrust of that story being about climbing out of the depths of poverty, this story is about the love that he has that drives him. His wife comes from money, and while she rejects that life, he spends his time trying to prove to those that live it that he belongs.
The second story is about the rich and aimless playwright, Phillip Carlyle, played by Zac Efron, who gets persuaded to become a part of Barnum's circus in an executive position. While there, he falls in love with trapeze artist Anne Wheeler (Zendaya). But their relationship needs to overcome some pretty impressive hurdles since he's white and she's black and it's 1800's America. Heck, there's still people now who can't get over that sort of pairing, and that's the bigger issue that I think the movie is trying to get people to accept.
And the movie works its charm on the audience masterfully. Barnum (an obviously joyous Hugh Jackman) decides to create his circus out of what we would consider freaks - a bearded lady, a little person, a dog-faced boy, and many others. And the movie takes great care in not looking down on these individuals. They are real people, with real hopes and dreams, and real feelings. We exalt in their triumphs, and we empathize with their pain. When Barnum, himself, keeps them from seeing opera singer Jenny Lind after a performance, because he feels the rich (and judgmental) concergoers will look down on him, it leads to a wonderful musical number "This is Me." At this point we're completely on the side of the "oddities." By the time Phillip and Anne are discovered by Phillip's parents (who utterly disapprove of the two of them being together), we're completely on their side. It's obvious that they should be together. I know a few critics have called out this part of the film for being too "Hugh School Musical," but I think it was entirely intentional to keep the love story as simple as it was. By doing so, it opens the movie up to a wider audience, and makes its relevance more subtle and more affecting than you would think.
There is one main issue with the movie - If you're looking for factual truth about P.T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is not the place to find it. If any of this actually happened the movie probably hit on it by accident. But this is both a musical and a throwback to the olden days of Hollywood, when a biopic was based more on legend than fact. And this has a lot of legend. But it also has some solid musical numbers, and a message about tolerance that is never overbearing, and smarter than I think a lot of people are giving it credit for. I really enjoyed it.
***
This story about P.T. Barnum (not "the" story) shows us his rise from penniless orphan to a showman who brought those who hid in the shadows out into the bright light (all while making himself a buck). But there's really two stories going on in the film. The first is the rags to riches story of Barman. And rather than have the thrust of that story being about climbing out of the depths of poverty, this story is about the love that he has that drives him. His wife comes from money, and while she rejects that life, he spends his time trying to prove to those that live it that he belongs.
The second story is about the rich and aimless playwright, Phillip Carlyle, played by Zac Efron, who gets persuaded to become a part of Barnum's circus in an executive position. While there, he falls in love with trapeze artist Anne Wheeler (Zendaya). But their relationship needs to overcome some pretty impressive hurdles since he's white and she's black and it's 1800's America. Heck, there's still people now who can't get over that sort of pairing, and that's the bigger issue that I think the movie is trying to get people to accept.
And the movie works its charm on the audience masterfully. Barnum (an obviously joyous Hugh Jackman) decides to create his circus out of what we would consider freaks - a bearded lady, a little person, a dog-faced boy, and many others. And the movie takes great care in not looking down on these individuals. They are real people, with real hopes and dreams, and real feelings. We exalt in their triumphs, and we empathize with their pain. When Barnum, himself, keeps them from seeing opera singer Jenny Lind after a performance, because he feels the rich (and judgmental) concergoers will look down on him, it leads to a wonderful musical number "This is Me." At this point we're completely on the side of the "oddities." By the time Phillip and Anne are discovered by Phillip's parents (who utterly disapprove of the two of them being together), we're completely on their side. It's obvious that they should be together. I know a few critics have called out this part of the film for being too "Hugh School Musical," but I think it was entirely intentional to keep the love story as simple as it was. By doing so, it opens the movie up to a wider audience, and makes its relevance more subtle and more affecting than you would think.
There is one main issue with the movie - If you're looking for factual truth about P.T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is not the place to find it. If any of this actually happened the movie probably hit on it by accident. But this is both a musical and a throwback to the olden days of Hollywood, when a biopic was based more on legend than fact. And this has a lot of legend. But it also has some solid musical numbers, and a message about tolerance that is never overbearing, and smarter than I think a lot of people are giving it credit for. I really enjoyed it.
***
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