I am fine. I am back for a couple of postings just to let you know and to stop the e-mails asking me if I'm still alive. I'm dealing with something far more important than blogging and will be back in full force when I can. I still plan to be at WonderCon next weekend and will follow this message with my schedule there.
Sorry I wasn't around to write about the whole Health Care debacle in Congress. I offer you this piece by Jonathan Chait who, it seems to me, got it exactly right. I didn't follow the whole matter as closely as I would have if I'd had more time but it did strike me that few of the combatants were interested in anything more than proving who's running this country for the next four years.
As with the effort to destroy health care for poor and sick people, I shall return.
To the surprise and interest of no one, I have been announced as a Special Guest at this year's Comic-Con International in San Diego. They also announced that someone named Sergio Aragonés will be a Special Guest.
People keep asking me about Professional Registration for Comic-Con. I don't know anything about that except that it will occur on March 23 and you need to read this page.
WonderCon takes place at the Anaheim Convention Center from March 31 to April 2 and we'll both be there. WonderCon has posted its programming schedule and as you can see, I have a measly six panels to do: The annual Jack Kirby Tribute Panel, Quick Draw! (with Sergio, Scott Shaw! and rookie Quick Draw-er Lonnie Millsap), Cover Story, another Sergio-and-Mark Show (although now we call it the Mark, Sergio, Stan Sakai and sometimes Tom Luth Show), a great Cartoon Voices panel and a lecture-type thing where I tell whatever it is I think I know about How to Write for Animation. If none of that interests you, go check out the schedule and I'm sure you'll find something that does.
Once upon a time when the Gallup Poll briefly had President Barack Obama at a 39% approval rating, Donald Trump called it "pathetic" and a sign of failure. Trump himself has now hit 37% in that same poll and he did it in record time. At this many days into his first term, Obama was at 63%.
So Trump is pretty much getting down to the voters who think the worst Republican president is still better than the best Democrat…the ones who'd support the Republican even if he nuked Michigan and was found to have taken a bribe from North Korea for doing so. But some of those people might still turn on him if it seemed plausible than his unpopularity would lead to a Democratic landslide and takeover. I'm not sure they'd all tell pollsters they were unhappy with their guy but they'd be pretty pissed at him.
Here are some links…
Among the many terrible things Trump has done is to put Mick Mulvaney in charge of our nation's budget. Jonathan Chait tells us about the latest bit of twisted logic as to why we just can't have health care for all. I mean, it's not like any other country has ever made it work.
And Donald Trump may be the only president who could propose slashing so many government programs and still do nothing to balance the budget.
Margaret Hartmann reports that Trump has his aides checking to make sure that everyone in his cabinet is fiercely loyal to the president. Betcha every maniacal dictator in the history of the world has done something similar.
As we all know, Trump claimed, and I guess still stands firmly behind his claims that Barack Obama conspired with British Intelligence to spy on Trump Tower during the election. As Jennifer Williams notes, this has been about as debunked as any story could possibly be. I don't know why we aren't having investigations into those claims about Trump and the Russian hookers. That was reported a lot more on the Internet than the spying thing and there was just as much evidence for it.
Oh, also: The Gallup folks say that 57 percent of young Americans see Trump's presidency as illegitimate. No wonder Stephen Colbert and Saturday Night Live soar in the ratings whenever they bash him.
About two dozen of you have written me to say you guessed who the Pop! figure purported to be but the earliest time-stamp was from Eric L. Sofer so he wins…well, nothing. That's the kind of blog I run.
A lot of you said you thought it was Stephen Colbert and a few people said Steve Allen. A lot of you also said you got the right name because you'd just been thinking of him or watching him or he's the only person you watch who wears glasses. Okay, fine. I still don't see the slightest resemblance.
I wanted to note the passing of one of my favorite writers, Jimmy Breslin. He was a master of first-person reporting, especially on two topics: New Yorkers and the power brokers in Washington. I never met the man but I followed his work and I felt like I knew him. Once when I said that to someone who knew him well, I was told, "You couldn't get to know him. You don't drink."
This is one of those Pop! figures that renders a famous character or personality in a unique style. This one is of a guy who has his own TV show and — no offense to its designer — I don't think it looks anything like who it's supposed to be.
Now, we'll do this on the honor system. Study it. Decide who you think it's supposed to be…and do try to actually figure it out. Don't just randomly name someone who has their own TV show and wears glasses.
Then click on this link to get the answer. If you're wrong, do nothing. If you're correct, write me and tell me that you recognized him. I will post the name of the first person who claims to have figured it out. I'm not saying I will believe you but I will post your name and whatever you write about how you took one look at it and the answer was obvious. I could have guessed for an hour.
Once more, those of you who live anywhere near Los Angeles have a chance to see the best damned improv comedy troupe I've ever seen. They don't do this very often but they're doing it next Saturday night. What is it they're doing? Why, an Instaplay, of course! That's their name for an entire musical comedy created on the spot, based on a suggestion from someone in the audience — maybe even you! The director is Bill Steinkellner. The cast is George McGrath, Deanna Oliver, Jonathan Stark, Cheri Steinkellner and some great guest performers.
It's this coming Saturday night at the Fanatic Salon Theater in Culver City and tickets are only $11.50. The theater is non-fancy, small and intimate but with a cast this good, who cares? Here's the link to grab up some tix. Try not to block my view of the stage.
Allan Asherman has been around comics almost as long as I have, mostly as an editor, writer and archivist. He's a good guy as you'll presume from these thoughts he sent me about Bernie Wrightson. I thought they were deserving of a much wider readership than just me so, with Allan's permission…
This morning I saw on your site that Bernie Wrightson had died, and I wanted to share the following recollections with you.
One day during 1966 or 1967 I don't was visiting my friend Larry Ivie in Manhattan when he told me he had to meet some friends who were due to arrive in the city about now. Larry asked me to wait and he left, returning an hour or so later with Jeff and Weezie Jones who had traveled from Atlanta, and Bernie Wrightson, who had arrived from Baltimore.
Before long we were talking like we had known each other for years. Soon after that, Jeff and Weezie moved into an apartment building on West 79th Street, where Bernie also found an apartment, which he shared with Mike Kaluta. That building soon became the site of monthly gatherings of comics artists, writers and enthusiasts, all of whom were deeply interested in the history and state of the industry, and in science fiction, fantasy and adventure films as well.
The visitors at these meetings included Archie Goodwin and Anne Goodwin, Roy Krenkel, Gray Morrow, Al Williamson, Wally Wood, Vaughn Bode, Bill Stillwell, Al Weiss, Mary Skrenes and Steve Stiles, Jeff, Weezie, and me. Those evenings are among my happiest memories because of shared interests, thought-provoking discussions, and the fact that these were all good people.
Bernie was one if the most animated and interesting people I've ever met. When he drew he usually didn't use reference. He didn't need it. He'd start drawing a hand or a face, not roughing it in but pencilling it complete with veins, hair and wrinkles, always knowing how much to draw, how much to imply, and where the light was coming from. The figure would seem to fill itself in.
I once asked about how he approached drawing, and he answered that he already had the completed picture in his mind, which he likened to a slide projector. His memory was phenomenal. I was with him one evening watching The Bride of Frankenstein, and after the film ended he drew a specific downshot of actor Ernest Thesiger watching the Bride coming to life. The likeness and lighting was perfect.
Bernie was a wonderful person, always young and enthusiastic, always considerate and respectful of beauty, and an artist who could even make what was grotesque beautiful.
This morning, Jake Tapper interviewed Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price. Tapper quoted the Congressional Budget Office's estimate that 24 million people would lose their insurance because of the plan currently under consideration, then asked: ""Given the fact that the President promised insurance for everyone, how do you justify to the millions of voters who believed President Trump that there would be insurance for everyone when there clearly is not going to be?"
Price responded, "The President is committed to that, as am I. The fact of the matter is, this bill that's moving through Congress right now is simply the first step in this process."
Two things to say about this. One is that a lot of folks in Congress want that to be the final step in the process. People like Price have to express some outrage at that bill in order to get it modified, not act like it merely needs some commas moved and numbers tweaked a bit.
Second thing: All insurance is not created equal. Some of it costs too much for many people to afford. Some of it comes with deductibles so high, it's almost like having no insurance. Some of it doesn't cover much no matter how high the deductible.
It would be very easy for the Republicans to craft a plan that gave everyone insurance that was largely worthless. Or to give everyone the opportunity (i.e., "access to insurance") they couldn't possibly afford. I wish the discussion was about decent insurance for everyone.
I liked the 1991 animated feature of Beauty and the Beast and I really liked the 1994 Broadway adaptation. The new, live-action/CGI version, not so much…though I suppose if the earlier ones had not existed, I might be more favorably inclined. Scanning the reviews, I seem to be the only person who felt that the core of the story — Emma Watson as Belle — just about disappeared amidst the dazzling special effects, mood lighting and, at times, frenetic pace. Dan Stevens fared better as The Beast…but then that performance seemed more the creation of those who did the digital and make-up effects, along with the filters and enhancement of his voice.
Luke Evans was fine as Gaston but the whole, much-discussed gay subtext of Josh Gad's character felt to me arbitrary and not worth the fuss. In the comic book field, we have been through a period where a lot of writers and editors seemed to decide they needed someone in each book to be gay and they picked one almost at random. This felt random. LeFou seemed more interesting to me when his subservience to Gaston reeked of hypocrisy; when he was kissing up to a faux idol because he thought it might be profitable, not because he wanted to kiss him.
It may seem unfair to compare this version to the first…but this version only exists because of the first. We're expected to buy tickets to this version because of our affection for the original and to transfer some of that affection to this remake. How then can I not say that the first and even the second were more of a piece for me? As has been proven many times, it is possible to combine animated characters with humans in a way that makes you forget the separation. Either you buy that these humans and digitally-created beings are all interacting in the same world or not and in this case, I didn't experience that. The scenes with the wolves especially felt computer-generated to me.
What I saw, I should mention, was the 2-D version. That's because 3-D puts me to sleep — literally. Maybe in 3-D, the people and the cartoons feel like they're in the same plane of existence, There were also scenes where so much was happening on the screen — like the "Be Our Guest" number and the climactic fight — that I had trouble focusing on any of it. I would think that would be more of a problem in 3-D but maybe not.
Then again, there were moments and components I liked. Even though inorganic in his creation, The Beast was effective and the evolution of his character was believable. Kevin Kline was terrific as Belle's father…perhaps the most human element in the picture. And the ending, no matter how gimmicky its presentation, is always a real eye-moistener. But I wanted to like more than just some scenes and it all felt too long and artificially-flavored for me. Maybe you'll have a better time of it.
The very popular comic artist and illustrator Bernie Wrightson passed away yesterday after a long battle with brain cancer. His beloved wife Liz has posted a much better obit over at his website than I could possibly write so I'll just share a few memories of the man.
Her piece says his first professional work appeared in House of Mystery #179 in 1968. I remember seeing him first in The Spectre #9 which came out the same month. That story carried no credit or signature and several folks in our comic book club were convinced it was by Frank Frazetta who was, of course, Bernie's hero. First time I met Bernie, I told him that and he said it was the greatest compliment he could have received.
Actually, his early work looked Frazetta-inspired but not interchangeable. And within a few years, Bernie had developed his own, unique style which recalled not only Frazetta, but Graham Ingels and other veterans of EC Comics, as well as plenty of non-comic illustrators. It wasn't long before that the elements of it that were pure Wrightson were turning up in the works of others. By the time he and Len Wein created Swamp Thing and produced the early issues, he was a major force in his field. That was just three years after he got into that field.
My other memories of him are just of hanging around at conventions, sitting in the bar at night, talking endlessly about this and that. As a person, he was like his artwork: Impossible to dislike. And pretty darned humble. The first hundred times he was asked for his autograph, he seemed genuinely surprised and flattered.
It was so sad that he was unable to draw in the last few years, and sadder yet to lose such a good man. I suppose we can take some comfort that his work — especially those issues of Swamp Thing — will be reprinted over and over again in years to come…but obviously, that's not enough. Not nearly enough. He was 68 years old.
Just a few articles for your weekend reading pleasure — and believe me, reading this stuff is not a pleasure…
Despite furious back-pedaling by his staff and even Republican leaders in Congress saying there's no "there" there, Trump is standing behind his feeble-sourced claim that Obama had him wiretapped. Well, of course. Trump says "I'm sorry" and "I was wrong" about as often as I say, "Hey, lemme have some more of that delicious candy corn!" Want to know how much truth there is to his assertion? Kevin Drum says there isn't much.
How much does Trump even know about the American Health Care Act which he is now pushing? Almost nothing, according to Ezra Klein but that may not be fair. Trump does seem to know that it's super and terrific and the best thing ever…but that's about it.
William Saletan writes about how the Trump Administration wants lots of investigations of their opponents and none of them. So they need two contradictory policies of what should be investigated. In other words, Trump can shoot someone in broad daylight on 5th Avenue but you can't.
John Cassidy notes how one of the big things that's been getting Donald Trump in trouble has been his own words coming back to haunt him and be used against him. The man got away with a lot of that during the campaign because that was a campaign when even your supporters will overlook a little warping of reality because, hey, you've gotta win, right? Most folks aren't as forgiving once you've won, plus now your words apply to the real world.
And in a related story, Caroline Framke writes about how Stephen Colbert has finally found a successful character to replace the old Stephen Colbert. He's transformed himself into Stephen Colbert and Stephen Colbert is now a successful talk show host.
Last night, I went to see Alton Brown's latest live show, which is called Eat Your Science. Mr. Brown is, as you probably know, a superstar of the Food Network and its sister station, the Cooking Channel. I enjoy watching reruns of his long-running series, Good Eats, although about all I really learn from them is that I am way too uneducated about food preparation to do it properly, nor is my kitchen up to the challenge. I watch him for the same reason some people watch sporting events or porn: It's fun to see others do things you will never do, especially if they do them well.
The guy is smart and he's really good at doing television…so when I had a chance to get tix to see him on stage, I thought it would be interesting to see just what it is he does there. It turns out that he puts on a darn fine show.
It was up at the massive (too big) Pantages Theater in Hollywood. Tonight's the second performance and then it's on to Fresno, Modesto, Davis, San Francisco and other parts to the north of us for one night apiece with the occasional day off along the way. Here's the schedule. Someone seems to have calculated the number of rabid Alton Brown fans in each city and figured they could fill a building for one night, except that in Los Angeles, they could fill it twice. Most of those present seemed to have every episode of Good Eats on DVD and love them so much, they'd rush to see him every time he comes around.
They loved every single thing he said or did, including his musical numbers, which I'll just say ever-so-politely aren't as skillful as his other skills. What he is really good at is just talking and interacting with the audience. I don't know why no one has ever given this guy a talk show because he's funny, he's smart and he's way better at ad-lib conversation than about about 90% of those who've ever had talk shows.
On stage, he discourses about food and cooking and related topics and he brings people up out of the audience to participate in demonstrations. The main one in the first act was about the drinking of alcohol — another thing I'll never do. A lady had to spin three wheels to select three liquids which his on-stage bartender would mix into a cocktail she had to drink. I think most in the house would have drank what Socrates drank if Alton Brown told them to do it. As I recall, she got stuck with bourbon, Jägermeister and bitters.
To give you some idea of my drinking experience, I've never tasted any of those and had never even heard of Jägermeister, whatever that is…but that's apparently a pretty ghastly combination, which is I'm sure what Brown was hoping for. To minimize the agony of swallowing this concoction, they brought out Liquid Nitrogen and went through the elaborate process of freezing her beverage into a Sno-Cone. This made it more palatable.
The second act was mostly about making popcorn which, since this is Alton Brown, had to be done by the most elaborate, expensive method the human mind could conceive. It involved what they said was the largest corn popper in the world…because no one but Alton Brown would build one that big. Here's a 30-second preview of the festivities…
I was impressed with how well Alton Brown pleased Alton Brown fans — that is meant with no sarcasm — and by the energy and industry in this tour. He must have a helluva crew to be able to tear all that equipment down and then get it and him to another city in time to set everything up there and do another show the next night. Just as an example, I note that he's in Spokane on March 29, Boise on March 30, Salt Lake City on March 31 and Denver on April 1. From Spokane to Boise is 367 miles. From Boise to Salt Lake City is 340 miles. And from Salt Lake City to Denver is 522 miles. That's not humanly possible but I'm sure they'll do it anyway.
Closing ovation aside, Brown got his biggest audience response of the night when he announced he's bringing Good Eats back soon. He got his second-biggest response (I think) when in discoursing about bacon, he found there was one woman in the audience who didn't like bacon and he ran out, hugged her and did some impromptu grief counseling about whatever traumatic event in her past life had taken her to such a cold, inhuman place in her soul. Third-biggest was probably when he answered questions from the audience near the end. You had to post them and a "selfie" on Twitter during intermission and I didn't. If I had, I would have asked him why the government bans food items containing Listeria but does nothing about the serving of cole slaw.
Oh — and at the top of the show, Brown took a photo of the audience from the stage and posted it directly to Twitter. Here it is and on the larger version, I've marked myself. The person next to me in the dark blue cap is my friend Amber…
Click above to enlarge the pic and find Amber and me.
Somewhere in there, perhaps seated next to Waldo, you might also be able to spot Chris Valada, the wonderful wife of Len Wein. Len had surgery recently and a day or two later, I went to see my friend of 47 years in the hospital. Chris told me he's been moved out of the hospital and to a rehab center where he's getting better and better. No offense to Mr. Brown but that was the best part of the evening for me, hearing that.
Friends and correspondents keep reminding me of a line I wrote once in a comic book. One character said to another something like, "You know what the trouble with you is? You've never realized that never admitting you're wrong isn't the same thing as always being right."
This whole thing with the allegation that Obama wiretapped Trump Tower is an example of how Donald Trump either doesn't get the difference or simply doesn't have the occasional moment of humility it takes to say, "I'm sorry, I was wrong." Instead, he's insisting that he has the evidence and will get around someday to disclosing it. In the meantime, he's probably pressuring those he can pressure to find something someplace (anything!) that at least justifies him making the charge.
When you're the frickin' President of the United States, you have the best access in the world to researchers and our nation's secrets. You shouldn't be relying on "Well, I read it someplace."
Some links…
Josh Marshall writes more about what I just wrote about. He says, "It is amazing, crazy that we've actually spent two weeks discussing this as a real issue. Now, because of this enabling, we have a bona-fide, if minor, international incident with the US's closest ally, the United Kingdom because the President's press secretary actually spread the accusation that the UK somehow conspired with President Obama to do this. That's nuts." Where did the Trump administration get its info that the United Kingdom had done this? Well, they heard someone on Fox News say it.
As Katy Waldman notes, one big reason why Trump's Muslim ban keeps getting overturned is that the law says you can't do that, so the only way they can institute a Muslim ban is to deny that it's really a Muslim ban. And the reason they can't do that is because Trump and his minions can't resist reassuring their followers that it's a Muslim ban.
Lastly for now: Daniel Larison thinks it's nuts to throw more money at the military while slashing aid programs. So do I and so do you.
And just how much is it costing us to have Mr. Trump living in the White House but commuting to Mar-a-Lago, and Mrs. Trump living in New York? Couldn't we spend a little of that money on feeding poor people in this country? Just a little?
