The Calls Are Coming From Inside the House

There's this trope in horror films. The young ingenue is receiving threatening calls, a raspy voice announcing the horrible intentions towards the young woman, the terrible things that will happen to her and she can't escape her fate. 

Then she learns the horrifying truth: 

THE CALLS ARE COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE!!!!

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So it turns out that Donald Trump may be living this horror movie himself. 

The statements were chilling but nothing new. 

Donald Trump is amoral.  

Yes, we know that. 

He's anti-democratic.  

And we know that, too.   

He's impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective. 

Well, of course he is.  

He flip-flops. 

Absolutely!  

He can’t stay on topic and is given to repetitive rants. 

Does not surprise me one bit! 

He’s unstable. 

Just open your eyes and you can't help but see that!  

We've heard this stuff before.

Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury book from last year.

Unhinged, the book from Omarosa Manigault Newman.

Excerpts from Fear, the new book for Bob Woodward coming out next week.

Any of the plethora of stories found in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Politico, Axios, Bloomberg News and more. 

But this time, Donnie....

THE CALLS ARE COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE!!!!

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From the op-ed posted on the the New York Times website Wednesday afternoon: 

“I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration: I work for the president but like-minded colleagues and I have vowed to thwart parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.”

We know from Bob Woodward’s new book that aides have pilfered papers from the president’s desk to prevent him from signing them.

But this anonymous op-ed is different, suggesting an ongoing effort within the administration to stop Donald Trump from making things even worse than he already does.  

Which actually kind of bothers me a bit.

Please understand, Donald Trump never should've been President. 

He lacks intelligence; I'm not even sure he knows how to read.

He lacks wisdom.

He lacks compassion and empathy.  

He lacks any kind of moral code beyond what's in it for him.

He's just lacking in so many attributes that make a decent human being.  

He's just lacking in so many attributes that make even a fairly competent leader. 

And yet, damn it all to hell, Donald Trump won the Electoral College and them's the rules. Which means he gets to be President.  

How would we feel about this statement...

"I work for the president but like-minded colleagues and I have vowed to thwart parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.”

...if it applied to any prior President, to Barrack Obama, George W Bush, Bill Clinton? 

Yes, I think Donald Trump may be a special case, exceedingly dangerous is his total lack of intelligence, 
wisdom, compassion, empathy, morality and more. But it does worry me that the duly elected President of the United States is not in control of his own office.

Even if that duly elected President of the United States is a complete and total lying fucking moron. 

Apparently there is someone in a position of authority in Trump's orbit who is taking it upon themselves to run interference on Li'l Donnie's worst impulses and for some reason this person feels compelled to share this with the world.  

The guessing games in the parlors, salons and bars of Washington DC have begun? 

Who, pray tell, is part of the resistance inside the Trump Administration?   

Heads up, Donnie! 

THE CALLS ARE COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE!!!!

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Doctor Who: The Time Has Come!

Hi there!


It's a Doctor Who post in the middle of the week! We have news!


We finally have....







YES! An air date!!!!


Doctor Who Series 11 will have its worldwide debut on.....


October 7th!!!!!!


If you check your calendar and see, yep, that's a Sunday!  


Doctor Who has been a fixture on the BBC's Saturday schedule since the show was revived in 2005 and going back to the classic series. 


But ratings for Doctor Who on Saturday have been on the decline for the BBC. So it might be time for a change. And change is the defining word for Doctor Who this year. 

• A brand new showrunner with Chris Chibnall  at the helm
• Brand new writers, including Doctor Who's first writers of color
• A new look for the show with new camera technology
• And a new special effects crew
• A new music composer
• A new Doctor and the first female Doctor at that

Moving to Sunday is just one more big bold move to signal that this is a new and revitalized Doctor Who. 

For the series premiere on October 7th, the show will be presented simultaneously in the United States along with the U.K. debut. So the U.S. premiere will be in the afternoon with a special encore airing later that day in Doctor Who's regular Sunday evening slot.

We don't know yet what time that regular Sunday evening slot is set for.  So there's still that to torment us with.  

One more piece of information: The title of the first episode will be "The Woman Who Fell to Earth." 

Doctor Who returns Sunday, Oct. 7 on BBC America.

Lichtenstein the Pop Art Prometheus

In Saturday’s post on the recent passing of certain comic  book creators, I noted that Russ Heath's drawings of fighter jets in DC Comics' All-American Men of War #89 (Feb. 1962) served as the basis for pop artist Roy Lichtenstein's best-known oil paintings.

I also noted this really didn’t sit well with Russ Heath. I also noted that Russ Heath was not alone in that mind set which I noted might be a good topic for a future blog post.

So here we are!  So let’s take a look at who was Roy Lichtenstein and why do we hate him so?

Roy Lichtenstein was born October 23, 1923. By the 1960s, Roy was part of the pop art movement along with Andy Warhol and others.  Lichtenstein specialized in paintings that were derived from American comic books. And therein lies our quandary.

When I was kid, I thought the art of Roy Lichtenstein was cool. It brought the conventions of a comic panel to a larger audience. 

But what I came to realize as I grew older was, what did we need Roy Lichtenstein for? When Lichtenstein translated a comic book panel from a war comic drawn by Irv Novick into a painting to be put on a museum wall, why couldn’t Irv Novick just put his own comic book panel onto an canvas and put his own damn artwork on a museum wall? 

To his credit, Roy Lichtenstein saw that comic book art was simply art, that an illustration in a comic book panel would also be at home in a frame in an art museum. But Lichtenstein was not creating his own comic book art in his paintings; he was adapting the work of others.

Comic art by Tony Abruzza on the left, Roy Lichtenstein's adaption on the right.  

Adapting or copying? There has been a lot of debate among art critics as to how much Lichtenstein altered the original work to bring his own style into one of his paintings or if all Lichtenstein did was just move an image from a comic book page to a larger painter’s canvas? 

Adapt or copy, Lichtenstein failed to credit the original artists in his sources. It didn’t help matters than the original artists weren’t credited in the comic books as was the practice back in day.

Lichtenstein also never had to answer to the comic book publishers who never sued him for copyright infringement or never spoke out publicly against him when Lichtenstein’s work first came to prominence in the 1960s. If Roy Lichtenstein didn’t give due credit or respect to the artists whose art built the foundation of his own career as a painter, neither the publishers who printed the work of those artists in their comic books. 

Roy Lichtenstein may have been an artistic genius who saw art where others just saw commerce; or maybe he was just a rip off artist who got lucky stealing from really good comic book artists who deserved more than they got. Ultimately, Lichtenstein’s work did demonstrate that comic book art was “real” art. And for those who look closely at source of his work, the panels drawn by such men as Irv Novick and Russ Heath, we can see their genuine artistry and the mastery of their craft. 

From the comic books, art by Russ Heath  

from the art museum, "art" by Roy Lichtenstein

I Will Explain Little Annie Fanny After All (A Little Bit)

On Saturday, I did a post on the recent passing of some notable contributors to the world of comic books, including Russ Heath where I referenced his work on Little Annie Fanny. 

I also noted in that post. "I am NOT going to explain Little Annie Fanny to you."  

OK, fine! I will explain Little Annie Fanny after all. 

Well, a little bit anyway.   

Little Annie Fanny was a comics series that appeared in over 100 issues of Playboy October 1962 to September 1988..  The series was created by Harvey Kurtzman who also created Mad magazine. Art was mostly by Will Elder with additional contributions from Russ Heath, Arnold Roth, Jack Davis, Al Jaffee, Frank Frazetta and Paul Coker.   

Little Annie Fanny was a satire of contemporary American society. 

Also, Little Annie Fanny was a tall blonde with big tits who wound up naked a lot.   

So, take your pick.   

Here's a couple of relatively tame pages from Little Annie Fanny.

So there you go! Satire with big tits. 

I have explained Little Annie Fanny to you.  

ENCORE: Your Labor Day Guide To Cow Punching

Today's blog post was originally posted on Monday, September 1, 2014 which was Labor Day that year.  

Hello there and welcome to I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You, a blog that stands in solidarity with the working man assuming the working man needs a smartass, semi-talented blog writer.

I'm Dave-El and I'm just trying to do my part and hoping that my part is really small 'cause I'm not really up for doing much. It's really hot and today is my day off, you know?

Yep, here in the United States of America or USA (or as I like to call it, Oosah), the first Monday in September is Labor Day, a day to celebrate the honest toil of working men and women that made this country great. Granted, too many of you have jobs that are at or barely above minimum wage and can't afford to celebrate Labor Day or even have the day off 'cause you volunteered for overtime at your 2nd job. But it is through the sacrifice of hard working folks who have so little that it's possible for those who have so much to have even more.

Thank you.

So looking around for something to talk about on Labor Day, I came across this comic book cover someone posted on Twitter. 

There are a few things here I want to address.

1. Cow Punching is a job? A way of life? An source of pride and personal identity? The man on horse isn't just working a job as Cow Puncher. He IS the Cow Puncher! 
2. I'm assuming this is about a Western hero named the Cow Puncher. It's hard to tell at that angle if he has a stylized "CP" on his chest.  
3. It's an AVON comic? The make up people? If so, then the Cow Puncher should look so much younger and fabulous. 
4. The Cow Puncher is not punching any cows. In fact, there is NO punching and NO cows! 
5. The Cow Puncher is shooting at those men back there in the distance. Well, shouldn't this be Man Shooter Comics? Then our hero would be known as the Man Shooter. 
6. On second thought, maybe not. Man Shooter has too many troubling connotations. 

So if you're going to call a comic book "Cow Puncher Comics", I think something like this bit would have to occur.

Our scene opens on a Western town as two grizzled men spy something trouble coming into town.

Clem: Hey, Jed! Look at that!

Jed: Uh oh, Clem! This don't look too good

Our view shifts as we see a herd of cows sauntering into town. They're causing chaos as they snort and moo too loudly, knocking over spittoons and rain barrels.

Clem: It's them cows again, 'causin' trouble.

Jed: Them cows got a bad attitude. They deserve a good punchin', that's what.

Suddenly a strong, firm voice speaks up from behind them.

Voice: Do I hear there are cows that need to be punched?"

Clem and Jed turn towards the voice. Standing there, framed in the sunlight like a halo is a tall man with a confident bearing.

Clem and Jed (at the same time): Holy Smokes! It's the Cow Puncher!

The Cow Puncher tips his hat and smiles.

Cow Puncher: Hello, men.

The Cow Puncher steps forward and surveys the scene of the approaching delinquent cows.

Cow Puncher: I reckon there are some cows that need to be punched.

The Cow Puncher cracks his knuckles.

Cow Puncher: And I reckon I'm the man to do it.

The Cow Puncher takes a step towards the advancing cows.

Cow Puncher: Or my name isn't...the Cow Puncher.

_______________________________________

Star Wars: The Doctor Will See You Now

It was announced recently that Matt Smith will be appearing in Star Wars Episode IX in what is described as a key role.  

Is it too much to hope that the key role is a certain bow tie wearing time traveller who arrives to undo all the damage of The Last Jedi? 

Sorry but there was all sorts of "messed up" going in The Last Jedi and it might take the Doctor to sort it out. 

Anyway...

Before anyone gets too excited about see lots of Matt Smith doing a lot of stuff in a galaxy far, far away, I have two words for you: 

Terminator.

Genisys.

In the run up to the movie, there was a lot of press about the key role Matt Smith would play in the reboot of the Terminator franchise. He even shared the cover with 3 principal leads for Entertainment Weekly. The beloved star of Doctor Who was going to be a major player in a big summer time sci-fi blockbuster. This was going to be epic!  




Uh, no it wasn't.

Yes, Matt's role in Terminator Genisys was an important role in the movie, setting up the big bad of the rebooted franchise. 

But Matt's on screen for maybe 2 minutes and the set up's not going to get a pay off. Critics hated Terminator Genisys and audiences didn't have much love for it either. A lackluster box office meant  no sequel to Terminator Genisys and no second act for Matt Smith.   

The Terminator franchise is making another go of it again but I think the plan is to pretend Terminator Genisys never happened. 

Meanwhile, back to Star Wars, I do have a theory and it does in fact involve reversing part of The Last Jedi.

As you may recall, Supreme Leader Snoke was set up in The Force Awakens as some kind of big bad Sith lord whatever behind the Dark Order.  Halfway through The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren straight up kills him. 

Snoke goes up in smoke!   

Well, that was anti-climatic.  

Later Kylo Ren fights Luke Skywalker except.... Psych! Luke's not really there, just a projection through the force. Darn it! Luke tricked Kylo. 

But what if Luke isn't the only one who tricked Kylo.  

You know Snoke was this weird hulking creature. What if THAT was just a force projection. What if the persona of Snoke is just a force projection of the real Snoke's evil nature. Maybe the real Snoke looks human.

Maybe the real Snoke looks like... Matt Smith? 

That'll be cool. 

As long as they give Matt Smith more than 2 minutes.

Comic Book Farewells

It has been a sad week or so as we’ve lost some important people who contributed so much to the legacy of comic books. 

Artist Marie Severin died after suffering a stroke. She was 89 years old.

Marie got her start in comics back in the 1950s when her brother John Severin, an artist for EC Comics, asked Marie to color his stories. She did such a great job for John that she was brought on as an in-house colorist for EC Comics.  

A little background on EC. EC produced titles that specialized in gritty crime stories and gruesomely horrific supernatural tales. EC was also home to a lot of great artists like John Severin, Johnny Craig, Wally Wood, Harvey Kurtzman, Will Elder, Russ Heath, artists who brought a great deal of skill and passion to their work. It’s not an exaggeration to say that EC Comics produced the best drawn comic books in the industry.  Then along comes Marie Severin who made it all look even better.   

Marie employed a rich palate of colors that added a level of depth and emotional power to the art of EC’s illustrative masters. She was also known to employ single colors at times. Some have said this was due to Marie having issues with the sometimes over the top scenes of gore so employing a single color was to mute or dull the impact of that gore.

Actually, Marie once said in an interview that the use of single color was to actually highlight the horror; using a range of colors could make a gruesome scene look muddled; by spotlighting a scene in all blue or all yellow, the details of the artist’s work could be seen more clearly.   

Unfortunately, the gruesome details of EC’s crime and horror comics were too much to take in the 1950s. With the restrictive Comics Code Authority in place, there was no place in the world for EC Comics so they shut down their comics and focused on MAD Magazine which was in black and white. So what’s a poor colorist to do?  

She found work at Marvel, doing production stuff like paste ups and art corrections as well as coloring, eventually going on to do her own pencil and ink work on Doctor Strange, The Hulk, Thor and a lot of other features.  She also developed a knack as a very talented caricaturist which was frequently on display in humor comics like Not Brand Echh and Crazy.

Even if you’ve never seen a comic book drawn by Marie Severin, you may have still seen her work. She did a lot of merchandise art for Marvel. The Hulk on a lunchbox could've been Marie Severin's Hulk.

She worked at Marvel until 1998 when she lost her job due to the cutbacks at the company. But Marie Severin, penciller, inker, colorist, caricaturist, was still in demand as she continued to do freelance work across the industry until her health failed.

Here is a series of Incredible Hulk covers penciled by Marie Severin

Marie Severin was groundbreaking as a woman in a very decidedly male dominated profession. She didn't just break through the gender barriers of the comic book industry, she made herself at home like she belonged there as much as the men. And she did!

I think too often, the few women writers and artists in comics in those days were given the “girl” jobs, the romance comics, the comics geared to the littlest kids, that sort of thing.

Marie Severin drew the friggin’ Hulk! She drew Thor! She drew the X-Men! Marie Severin was on the same playing field as John Buscema, Herb Trimpe, Jack Kirby and other legendary Marvel artists. That's why Marie Severin was so cool! 

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On the same day Marie Severin died, we also lost Gary Friedrich at the age of 75.

As a teenager, Gary Friedrich became friends with Roy Thomas, bonding over their mutual love of comics.  

Later, Roy moved to New York and became an assistant editor for Marvel. It was in that position that Roy brought Gary Friedrich to Marvel Comics where Gary wrote issues of Hulk, X-Men, Captain Marvel, Daredevil and Captain America.   

Gary’s longest run as a writer was on Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, Marvel’s main war comic. Separate from the rest of the Marvel super hero line, Gary Friedrich was free to experiment with storytelling such as his standalone issues that explored complex themes about war and patriotism.  

Gary’s most famous creation while at Marvel was Ghost Rider, the motorcycle-riding, flaming skull head agent of Hell, the Most Supernatural Super Hero Of All! 

Ghost Rider would get two movies starring Nicholas Cage which is perfect for a Nic Cage movie: when Ghost Rider is around, there’s a lot of shouting and a lot of stuff gets set on fire.

Gary also launched Marvel’s Son of Satan comic.

Yes, there was a comic book published by Marvel called Son of Satan. It was the 1970s, man. Shit was weird.  

Life was not easy for Gary Friedrich. He had problems with drinking and drugs that cut short his career at Marvel. He was increasingly deaf in both ears and then the Parkinson’s hit. 

There was a messy legal battle between Gary and Marvel about the creation of Ghost Rider which was eventually settled but not for what Gary was hoping for. 

There was a bit of a high point for Gary Friedrich later in life when he was honored with the Will Eisner Comic Industry Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Writing in 2010. 

By all accounts, Gary Friedrich was a very talented writer but life kept getting in the way of what could’ve been a much better career. 

_________________________________

The week before the deaths of Marie Severin and Gary Friedrich, Russ Heath passed away. 

art by Russ Heath with colors by Jack Adler 

My first encounter with the art of Russ Heath was back when I was a kid. It was an issue of Action Comics in DC’s 100 Page Super Spectacular  format; the issue contained a reprint of a Sea Devils story. 

The Sea Devils were a team of underwater adventurers who had adventures underwater.   

You’re thinking maybe like Aquaman? They could breathe underwater, swim superfast and maybe talk to fish, right? 

Nope, just regular guys (and a girl) with color coordinated purple* wetsuits and scuba gear. They fought underwater mad scientists, underwater invading aliens, underwater rampaging monsters, underwater destructive robots, underwater secret criminal organizations bent on world domination and other sundry threats… underwater.  

*Interior art, the suits were purple. On covers, the wetsuits drifted towards red or pink. 
    

The 1960s, man. What can I say?  Shit was weird.  

Anyway, I was impressed by the art in this Sea Devils story. Also, Russ Heath could draw a rather attractive woman in a purple wetsuit.   

Sadly, I was not exposed to a lot of Russ Heath’s art as he spent most of his time at DC drawing for its line of war comics including the Haunted Tank.

The Haunted Tank was a tank. That was haunted. (I really shouldn’t have to explain these things to you.)   

I didn’t follow the adventures of the Haunted Tank as it was, to the best of my knowledge, devoid of any attractive women in purple wetsuits.  

Heath's drawings of fighter jets in DC Comics' All-American Men of War #89 (Feb. 1962) served as the basis for pop artist Roy Lichtenstein's best-known oil paintings. Which really didn’t sit well with Russ Heath (or any of the other artists that Lichtenstein ripped off….which I think might be a good topic for a future blog post.)    

In addition to Sea Devils, war comics and occasional horror stories for DC and for Warren’s magazine line, he also a lot of the artwork on Little Annie Fanny, the comic strip that Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder did for Playboy.

I am NOT going to explain Little Annie Fanny to you.

Anyway, we bid farewell to Russ Heath whose wonderfully delineated work was a link back to the Golden Age of comics.