Here’s the Fundamental Problem with DC Comics.
I’ve only done one guest blog. This is my second. Chris Sims of Comics Alliance nails it. Absolutely nails it. Enjoy.
http://www.businessinsider.com/dc-copies-marvel-2014-6
Author: michael64curry
Part Two of “Come and Watch us Sing and Play”; the Monkees Live in St. Louis!
(Part Two of) Come and Watch Us Sing and Play
The Monkees at the Fabulous Fox Theater, June 5th, 2014
St. Louis, Missouri
The concert started with the screen tests aired as bits during their TV show (there were no never-seen-before bits on the screen), followed by the theme song and opening video of their show. I’m kind of glad they didn’t perform it.
- Last Train to Clarksville (from The Monkees – first album)
- Papa Gene’s Blues (from The Monkees – first album)
3. Your Auntie Grizelda (from More of the Monkees)
- The Kind of Girl I Could Love (from More of the Monkees)
- She (from More of the Monkees)
- Sweet Young Thing (from The Monkees – first album). This was the first of many times Pete played banjo. Ironically, days before I was listening to George Harrison’s Wonderwall Music on which Peter played the banjo. Legend says his track was not included on the album – but it was in the movie – but I hear banjo…)
- I’m a Bleeder – er – Believer (from More of the Monkees)
- (I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone (from More of the Monkees)
Here was the first “break” featuring many video clips of the show – including Mike’s rapid-paced singing of his own “Different Drum”.
A wonderful part of the show was dividing the sets into their respective albums. The next set featured (mostly) songs from their most popular album Headquarters, unless otherwise noted:
9. You Told Me
10. Sunny Girl Friend
11. You Just May Be the One
12. Mary Mary (from More of the Monkees) (with this song Mickey took over the drums – I watched and he did very well – and the other drummer did percussion)
13. Girl That I Knew Somewhere (B-side of A Little Bit You, a Little Bit Me)
14. Shades of Grey (this song had a particularly great video montage – although it did distract from the band – it was here Mickey’s teasing Pete’s hair during the chorus). This was the first Davey song, although he co-sung it with Peter.
15. Randy Scouse Git (this was preceded by the clip from the British TV show Til Death Do Us Part that inspired the title. The show was Americanized by Norman Lear and renamed All in the Family. So during a trivia night if you ever want to link the Monkees with Archir Bunker … here is it!
16. For Pete’s Sake
17. No Time
Video clips during this set break were clips of the show in Spanish.
18. The Door Into Summer (from Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd … pant pant, hereinafter “Pisces”)
19. Words ((from Pisces)
20. Tapioca Tundra (from The Birds, the Bees and the Monkees)
21. Going Down (B side of Daydream Believer)
The video screen showed clips of their movie “Head” … oh dear god in heaven are they going to do songs from “HEAD”!!??
The movie was awful, but the soundtrack was the best thing they ever did. It should air with Sgt. Pepper as examples of sixties pop/rock. I’m not kidding.
This was the best part of the show.
22. Porpoise Song. Oh my god, they did the Porpoise Song. If anyone recorded this that loud voice in the audience singing along was me.
23. Can You Dig it
They showed the video of Nilsson’s Daddy’s Song with Davy singing. The CD has a bonus track of Mike singing it. I liked that version better. So much so that I forgot that the “official” singer was Davy!
24. CIRCLE SKY!!! (caps intentional – by now my sister and nephew asked me to sit down and stop embarrassing them. I never. NEVER. thought I would hear this song live. I hoped that someday I might see a solo set by Mike Nesmith, but this was a thrill.)
25. As We Go Along (and by now the people sitting next to me were reacting and ushers had to be called. This is one of my favorite “deep tracks” by the Monkees. Hardly anyone knows about this beautiful Toni Stern/Carol King tune)
26. Long Title: Do We Have To Do This All Over Again
After this wonderful set more videos aired as we headed for the big finish…
27. What Am I Doing Hanging Round? (from Pisces. THIS is my favorite Monkees song. I was sooo glad they did it. Plus they did it at a slower tempo than the original. Overall the “new” live arrangements were superb, sometimes better than the originals)
28. Daydream Believer (from The Birds, the Bees and the Monkees). This was sweet. Each of the surviving members took a verse, with Mike Nesmith taking the last. His velvety voice fit perfectly.
Encore:
29. Listen to the Band (from The Monkees Present) (this was accompanied by a video of the song that I never knew existed)
The band members were introduced.
30. Pleasant Valley Sunday (from Pisces). You knew this song was coming. It was one of their biggest hits and one of my favorites. Damn fun to play on the guitar, too.
I asked my sister how the show compared to the others. I expected the ones with Davy to be more Vegas-y. Lots more showmanship, horns, dancing, etc. I pointed out Mickey’s dancing during “Going Down” as an example of “Vegas-y”.
No, she said, those featured rock bands and were done in similar styles as this. The first tour with Mike Nesmith featured some of his solo songs. Ooo, I would have liked to hear some Nesmith tunes – Joann, for example.
She said there was more banter between the band members in their 2012 tour. There was some here, but not as much. I don’t mind that – I go to a show to watch them play. They can banter on Letterman…
The audience went bananas throughout. And there was quite an age mix – older men and women and small kids. Nothing like the Wiggles show, mind you, but there were kids under ten there. They used to introduce “…Believer” with “we used to do this before Shrek did…”
We need to start a petition to either make them put out a live album or a studio album of these arrangements pronto. Who’s with me?
Gentlemen, you were never jokes; you were never Beatle rip-offs. Bravo for Peter’s jibe about “we were accused of not being the Beatles, along with three million other bands…”
Thank you for nearly fifty years of wonderful music. And thank you for performing it for one night!
I am so glad I went – what a wonderful show. If you can, go see them. As Davy Jones’ death proved, we might not have many more chances to see them. In other words – you’d better get ready; they may be coming to your town.
Here’s another great review of the show: http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/lifestyle-news/1414036/The-Monkees-turn-back-the-clock-in-fun-energetic-show
Copyright 2014 Michael Curry
Come and Watch Us Sing and Play – The Monkees Live in St. Louis
Come and Watch Us Sing and Play
The Monkees at the Fabulous Fox Theater, June 5th, 2014
St. Louis, Missouri
Part One
This was my sister’s fourth Monkees concert – two with Davy and now two with Mike. This was my first. I was a Monkees fan before I was even a Beatles fan – the pre-Fab Four’s TV show reruns on Saturday mornings helped their songs to be as familiar to me as the theme songs to HR Pufinstuf or Scooby-Doo.
With some exceptions I have retired from concert-going since 1992. Shows were expensive even back then and my poor ears were suffering from enough tinnitus I didn’t need to aggravate it. I wore earplugs to my last shows – even Bob Dylan. During one, ZZ Top, I pulled out an earplug just to see how bad it was. I winced. Not at the music – they were in good form and supporting a great album – but at the volume.
I’ve come out of retirement twice not counting this show – Ringo Starr playing free at the VP Fair in St. Louis (a Beatle for free? Yes, I will come out of retirement to see a Beatle for free) and Rik Emmett playing a solo show in San Antonio (do I want to see the founder of Triumph for ten bucks? Oh yes…). I’ve not attended any other concerts. Rock concerts … the Wiggles and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra notwithstanding…
Until now.
The Monkees concert was a gift from my sister in exchange for purchasing some DVDs for her at Comic Con. She took her ten-year-old son and asked if I wanted to go.
They’ve toured extensively over the past eleven years; but I had to ask myself: “when am I ever going to get to see the Monkees again?”
Their story is familiar: NBC wanted a TV show to cash in on the success of the Beatles and capture the fun of their movies “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Help”. The execs thought about getting an actual group – legend says the Loving Spoonful was considered – but decided to cobble together a group from actor/musicians. Stephen Stills tried out and convinced his friend Peter Tork to do likewise. Mike Nesmith was another budding musician. Davy Jones appeared on the famous Ed Sullivan show featuring the Beatles’ first appearance along with his fellow cast-members of “Oliver”. Mickey Dolenz was also child actor.
The plots of the show dealt with an up-and-coming band playing gigs and getting into various zany antics – spies, monsters, gangsters, and mistaken identities – the gamut of 1960’s sitcom fare.
But the music set it apart. During this show the band showed their admiration for the many wonderful song-writers they used and named them – Goffin/King, Neil Diamond, Neil Sedaka, Harry Nilsson, etc. And rightly so…
At the time the songs and the Monkees – although very successful on the music charts – were written off as bubblegum music. Well, that term came a few years later, but the criticism was the same.
The Monkees were mocked for not playing their own instruments on their songs and albums. The band members complained about this too, and were allowed to do so beginning with their Headquarters album.
Eventually the show was cancelled, their movie and TV special each bombed and their albums and singles failed to chart. One by one they left the group to do their own thing.
Their popularity grew as new fans discovered their show’s reruns on Saturday Morning (me) and in the 1980s on MTV (my sister). Their detractors were silenced over time as their music aged well. Very well.
They would reunite throughout the decades, usually Mike being the hold-out as his career was moving along and his participation was not necessary.
I am a big fan of Nesmith’s solo music and a subscriber to his video ranch productions. Check it out: http://www.videoranch.com/
Nesmith appeared on stage with the other three on occasion and helped with the album and TV special for their last album “Justus” in 1996. But otherwise, when the members were not doing solo shows or participating in “Teen Idol” festivals, the Monkees toured as Davy, Mickey and Peter.
Davy Jones died in 2012. Mike agreed to tour with Peter and Mickey in 2012 and again this year. Among the excellent band members were Mike’s son Christian on guitar and Mickey’s sister as one of the back-up singers. The other back-up singer, Circe Link and Christian are in a band called “Circle Jerks” and the bass player is their manager – so there was a lot of family up on the stage.
The musicians were wonderful. They rocked even during the more poppy numbers. Throughout the show I was amazed at how well these songs have aged.
And the Monkees themselves have also aged well. Mickey can still hit the high notes – particularly on “Words” and “Randy Scouse Git” and only rarely being unable to hit the higher ranges – most notably on “She”. Mike still sang with a caramel smoothness. Peter suffered the most from comparison, but then, he was never known for his strong vocals.
Recommendation: the Monkees should think about making a studio album of their live set to show off their musicians and the new, wonderful arrangements of their classic songs. Their version of “Daydream Believer” will likely make the charts, or at least be a popular download.
A video screen above the band showed constant clips of the TV show, their movie and TV special. At times I found it distracting. I’m there to watch the show, not clips from “The Monkees’ Paw”. But it helped give the band a break during sets and keep the audience cheering.
Next: Part 2 – the set list!
Copyright 2014 Michael Curry
PAPPA’S GOT A BRAND NEW BLOG!
PAPPA’S GOT A BRAND NEW BLOG!
If you have linked to my blog from one of my Facebook or Google or Twitter links, and are a regular reader, you may have noticed something different.
(If this is your first look at my little set of blogs – either through a random search or through WordPress, welcome!)
I have redone my blog through WordPress where I also started a web page – https://michaelgcurry.com/. So far it leads to my blog posts from Blogger – I imported all of them – has links to my Twitter feed and Facebook page and a cute link to Goodreads and I hope I can get a link (called a widget) to Librarything.
I don’t like the transfer of my blogs from Blogger to WordPress – it has some errors, particularly lack of spaces between words, misaligned margins, white text that is invisible here, etc. Minor quibbles, I suppose.
A fun and interesting addition will include tags and topics – I look forward to seeing which tags grow in size reflecting the common topics of my blog entries. I expect “comic books” will dominate haha.
I like Blogger and will continue to post there as long I get enough hits. Perhaps in the future I can link the two – clicking on one leads to the other. But I wanted to expand my options and give myself an actual website for potential readers to view.
Why do I need better access to readers? Why do I need an “intro” website to my blog?
Because I do not intend the website to be only a doorway to my blogs because …
… are you ready? …
In a few weeks I will be publishing my first book.
I am publishing “Abby’s Road, the Long and Winding Road to Adoption; and how Facebook, Aquaman and Theodore Roosevelt helped”.
I am using the company Createspace to self-publish my book through Amazon and its affiliates. When I have a cover designed I will then upload the book through Smashwords to publish it through Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, and other venues Createspace does not use.
I have updated my Facebook page (and created an author’s fan page), Twitter, Google + and LinkedIn to use as my link to readers for marketing my book. I hope “Abby’s Road” will do well enough to help pay for itself and my next book about children’s television – which I hope to be published in November. With Smashwords I will be able to publish the short stories I have written through the years. Some will be free; some will be a dollar.
This isn’t vanity publishing, although that still exists; this is the trend of the future: bypassing the traditional – sometimes insurmountable – wall of traditional publishers. Independent publishing – the last thing I would associate myself with is being on the crest of a wave of the future.
Future blogs will discuss how I came to write the book and my experiences in publishing it. I also have a few ideas about sharing my current health issues and my attempts at overcoming them. Plus the usual movie, book, TV and comic book reviews; don’t worry my fellow nerds – I am still a geek at heart!
So wish me luck and please be patient with this old Luddite when it comes to browsing my web pages. I’ll do my best! And I’ll keep posting!
Original material copyright 2014 Michael Curry
(noticed I dropped my middle initial “G” in all this? Smashwords recommends eliminating middle initials to allow people browsing authors to find my name easier … who am I to argue?)
Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier and Agents of Shield Cause and Effect, Part Two
Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier and Agents of Shield
Cause and Effect, Part Two
Agents of Shield has two more episodes to go before its season finale as of this blog post. The last few episodes have gained a lot of buzz among the nerdy types – more buzz than it had since before the first episode aired.
All because of the events of Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier that opened last month to good-to-great reviews. Here is my blog about the movie: http://michaelgcurry.blogspot.com/2014/05/captain-america-2-winter-soldier-and.html
I was unaware of the events of the Captain America movie and was as stunned as the characters from Agents of Shield about its effect on the show. It was a complete game-changer. The show had to adjust accordingly and move into a completely different direction. I wonder when the producers were told. I wonder how the writers and other cast and staff reacted.
I can’t recall any television program in which such a change to its very premise happened mid-season. A few Doctor Whos have changed Doctors mid-series, but the show was still about a time lord fighting bad guys. Characters move or change jobs at the beginning of a new season all the time; and Bob Hartley awoke in his apartment in Chicago after a long dream about running a New England motel; but that doesn’t count. What if Hawaii-Five-Oh decided to move the show to Seattle and they become private detectives? What if they followed George Clooney’s character when he left ER instead of staying with the … er … ER? What if the war REALLY ended in the middle of season one of Hogan’s Heroes (they had that hilarious show where they fooled the Nazis into thinking the war had ended, but you get my point)?
Back to Agents of Shield; honestly, Hydra’s take-over was a good thing. Agents of Shield has finally achieved the glowing reviews most shows only dream of getting – including (except for the awe-inducing first episode) Agents of Shield. The reviews before that were fair at best; even from Marvel front-facers (that’s what we old folks used to call fanboys). Since Winter Soldier, the internet is lit up with gleeful fanboys, fangirls and professional gushing about the show. For example: http://observationdeck.io9.com/agents-of-shield-huh-1569666169
The ratings are still in question – although it is #3 for the year with young adults and one of the top shows with men 18-49; overall it is not doing well – the last episode as of this writing came in fourth of six with its lowest ratings to date.
Is all the hoopla too little, too late? One thinks if it were not for the Marvel connection the show would not have made it past Christmas. ABC has not (to date) announced the renewal of ANY of its shows. Whether Agents of Shield will see a second season is up for grabs. And I can see arguments for both. Current events would make a canny place to finish the series. Then again, a group of loose-cannon-former-agents working outside of the law without a strong backing has worked in the past. As long as one of the Agents doesn’t grow a Mohawk and starts saying, “No way you getting’ me on no plane!” “Drink this, Fitz…”
But I’m getting ahead of myself…
When the new shows for the 2013 television season were announced – only two shows intrigued me. Among the shows glorifying gore-porn, bad singing and white trash were Sleepy Hollow and Agents of Shield. I thought I would enjoy Sleepy Hollow for the three weeks it would air before cancellation; but it ended up being a hit and was already renewed by October. I like it; didn’t love it. Its premise intrigued me but by the last show I was a bit lost in the huge back story it developed (I missed an episode, god help me).
Agents of Shield started with a bang and lots of buzz in its first episode. Then the fans sat back down as their eyes started to glaze. The show was created as a spin-off of The Avengers movie. The shows main character is Phil Coulson – who Loki killed in the movie. Now he was feeling much better and assembled a team to help find and fight trouble through-out the world. Fans were ecstatic! Non-fans rolled their eyes.
The producers made a wise choice – they DIDN’T appeal to the fans. Remember Enterprise? When it debuted the producers said if they came out as a straight Star Trek show only Star Trek fans would watch it. If they keep it quiet it will build up a larger base and by the time the non-fans realize their watching a Star Trek show it will be too late! Mwhah-hah-hah! It worked, a little. It gained the fanboys as well as non-fans.
Same with Agents of Shield. Didn’t work, though. Fanboys were alienated and non-fans still didn’t buy it. A cameo by Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and name-drops of our favorite Avengers didn’t help.
But they weren’t BAD stories. I enjoyed Agents of Shield more than Sleep Hollow. I see the detractors point, though: by the Christmas break, the shows were suffering with a villain-of-the-week syndrome (being comic book-y that made sense to me…) OR we wallowed in a character’s dark, hidden past. Meh. The show tried to intrigue us with a secret organization determined to ferret out Shield’s secrets. It started as “The Centipede” but then we discover it was run by a mysterious super-villain called “The Clairvoyant”. I hate continued stories like that. I enjoy story progression; I’m old fashioned that way: give me a beginning, middle and an end, please. I usually don’t return to TV shows that provide no resolution. Soap operas are for afternoon TV viewers…
The agents themselves were a pretty canny mix: Coulson – the fan favorite from Avengers, two typical brooding loners with deep, dark secrets, two young social-skill-less techies and a non-agent who starts out bad but we quickly find out has a heart of gold and joins the good guys.
In an early episode, we call into question her (Skye’s) real loyalty (boy, would they come to visit THAT plotline again in the future); but she’s solidly in Shield’s corner.
As were the others; although the two brooders (and Coulson) had pasts they didn’t discuss. Those were eventually revealed. Meh.
Coulson’s secret was he was resurrected through alien technology.
May’s secret was she suffers PTSD of a sort after killing an entire warehouse of bad guys (I think). She kept another secret revealed later.
Ward’s deep, dark secret …
And here where the fun begins.
As discussed in my previous blog, Captain America 2: The Winter Soldierreveals that Hydra had infiltrated Shield since the beginning. The rot was so bad Shield was dissolved until Hydra could be put down once and for all.
Who was good? Who was evil? A great scene in the movie shows agents of both stripes holding guns on one another in a control room. “You shoot him, I’ll shoot you.” “Oh yeah? I’m evil too! You shoot him and I’ll shoot YOU!”
It reminded me of those great paranoia films from the 50s. Who is a body snatcher? Is your wife really your wife or a commie spy – er – alien?
Bill Paxton had a recurring role as an agent on equal level to Coulson named John Garrett. He was once Ward’s commanding officer. Paxton played the role well – eschewing his usual method of acting-through-lethargy. After Winter Soldier he reveals himself as Hydra. Ward and Coulson’s higher-up Agent Hand personally escort Garrett to lock-up.
But wait! Ward kills Hand! He rescues his former boss and they join other Hydra minions to raid a Shield prison and weapons cache – releasing all the bad guys (including some villains from previous episodes). Hail Hydra!
Ward returns to his buddies. Skye finds out about his Hydra-ness and tries to coax him back to the good guys based on their growing relationship.
So all this time we are wondering – is Ward a triple agent? Is he really Shield pretending to be Hydra after being Hydra pretending to be Shield? He’s killed Shield agents, sure, but he’s also killed Hydra agents. He’s hurt his fellow co-stars but caused no real permanent damage. How will it go?
Will his love for Skye change him back? “My mind says Hydra, but my heart and dick say Shield!”
In the meantime, Coulson discovers May has been spying on him all along (her second deep dark secret much more interesting than her first deep dark secret) – to make sure his alien-aided resurrection had no quirky side-effects. She was working for Nick Fury. “Yeah right!” Coulson says. And for a time we weren’t sure where she stood. She may have even been Hydra; but that plot was laid to rest.
It brings another interesting sub-plot in the show: knowledge of Fury being alive or dead. Agent Maria Hill from Winter Soldier appeared in this last episode. She tells Coulson that Fury is dead. Coulson was told Fury is alive. I watched Soldier to see if Maria Hill knew Fury was still alive and it was left unclear.
The pause when Maria told Coulson Fury was dead was well done. Was he going to tell her? Did she know? Did she not know Coulson knew? We are still left wondering.
We have two more episodes to go before the season (series?) finale. We will probably get plenty more surprises.
The back and forth of who is Hydra and who is Shield may still surprise me. But there are times – especially trying to guess the outcome of Ward’s alliances – which I feel like Wallace Shawn in The Princess Bride. Which glass has the poison – yours or mine?
We have two possibilities regardless – what will the show do if it continues to a second season and what if it ends next week?
I vote for letting the show end this spring. Kill off Ward and Garrett and let the troupe go their separate ways. Everyone is happy where they end up except Coulson – doing security for Stark Industries or some such. Perhaps at the end Samuel L. Jackson will approach Coulson in the same way he did at the end of the various Marvel superhero movies over the past several years. “We’re getting the band back together…” A cliffhanger worthy of the Marvel movies.
If it continues we are faced with, as I said, an A-Team-like show of people not-necessarily on the run but still fighting bad guys –whether or not that includes Garrett and Ward. I have a feeling that, even if done well, since Agents started off on the wrong foot in the ratings at inception, it will not carry over into a full second season. But then I thought Sleepy Hollowwould flop. And if Ward ends up being a bad guy after all, or even killed at the season finale – we have a dandy replacement in Agent Sitwell, Wade’s equal and another Garrett protégé.
Unless he is a Hydra double-agent as well. Vizinni’s voice is in my head again: If he IS I fell victim to one of the classic blunders – the most famous of which is “never get involved in a land war in Asia” – but only slightly less well-known is this: “Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line”. And even less well-known: “Never second guess the producers of a low-rated show when a billion dollar franchise is involved”.
Hail Hydra.
Copyright 2014 Michael G Curry
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Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier and Agents of Shield Cause and Effect, Part One
Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier and Agents of Shield
Cause and Effect, Part One
This little review contains lots of SPOILERS – not just for the movie but for the ABC television program Agents of Shield, which, since the release of Cap 2, has continued the story.
But the movie has been out now for several weeks, and its events have rippled – more like ripped – through Agents of Shieldever since. So I’m not revealing anything you could not find out elsewhere. If you REALLY want to wait to know what is going to happen until you see the movie and TV show during your own time … frankly I think it is past your being able to do that by now. But go back to your sensory deprivation tank and you can come back and read this afterward.
I enjoyed the first Captain Americamovie. I saw it when it came out on DVD and thought it similar to The Rocketeer – another World War II-based superhero movie. I mentioned that to my friend and fellow comic-book enthusiast Clyde and he told me they were both directed by the same man. This would explain why they both had the same hue. They would make a fun double-bill on a cold Saturday night with friends.
The story is well-known in comicdom: weakling Steve Rogers wanted to fight for his country during WWII-the-Big-One, but was labeled forever 4F. He volunteered to take an injection of an experimental super-soldier formula. It worked: he grew ten inches and gained a hundred pounds of pure muscle. He also developed beyond-Olympic level strength, endurance and athletic (fighting) ability as well as supreme mental/tactical abilities. The inventor of the formula was killed by Nazi spies and the secret died with him.
Captain Americaand his best friend Bucky (and an elite troop called the Howling Commandoes) fought the Axis Powers. Bucky died in a fall and Cap crashed in an experimental Nazi bomber in the Arctic.
The bomber was found 70 years later. Cap’s super-soldier-infused metabolism left him alive but frozen. He was thawed and found himself in modern Manhattan. That’s where the first movie ended. A deleted scene from The Avengers shows Cap wanting to call his still-alive girlfriend Peggy Carter, but that was the only non-action character-development he had in that tremendous film. His character development in that movie was showing the audience his leadership and tactical abilities were enough to impress a Norse god and a narcissistic genius).
Captain America 2 opens with Steve Rogers meeting Sam Wilson as they jog. Sam recommends a great Marvin Gaye song to help Rogerslearn about modern times. Steve adds it to his list – a very brief shot of the list reveals, for example, “Star Trek/Wars”. I only caught a few more: Steve Jobs/Apple, Thai food, disco, etc. This was the movies only nod to the “man out of time” aspect of Steve’s character. It had bigger plots to move …
True to the Mighty Marvel Way there are co-stars from the Marvel Universe: Black Widow and Nick Fury are given more than cameos but less than equal roles to Cap – it’s his movie after all. Name drops abound: Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, even Stephen Strange – the yet-to-be-seen Dr. Strange!
Cap, Black Widow and an elite Shield troop fly to a research ship hijacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean. The pirates are led by Batroc – one of Cap’s earlier and sillier villains. In the movie he was a terrorist and expert martial artist; enough to take on Cap one-on-one for several minutes. As with the recent spate of Marvel movies – Batroc was taken seriously – hee wuss meeseeing hees seelee cahstoom, narrow moostash-eh and out-ray-jee-uhs aksent!
During the battle, Black Widow was downloading files onto a flash drive. In a confrontation with her and later Nick Fury, Cap expresses his outrage at someone under his command having alternate orders of which he knew nothing. Nick explains compartmentalization – a concept alien to Cap. No one under his command should have alternative agendas other than the task at hand. That’s the (Captain) American way!
And it was … in the 1940s. Times change.
Nick Fury learns of something incoherent going on in the Shield hierarchy. So much so he sees his superior – played by Robert Redford – and asks him and the international Shield council to delay deployment of three helicarriers armed with the latest weaponry and technology. “You don’t want those things in the air if this is as bad as I think it is.”
It is. Nick Fury is attacked by an unknown organized group of terrorists. He escapes to tell Cap what he knows (well, he gives Cap the flashdrive and warns him to trust no one) and is shot by the Winter Soldier. Cap gives chase but fails to catch him. Black Widow recognized the Soldier’s m.o. and tells us and Cap what she knows about this 70-year-old-Soviet assassin.
Nick Fury dies of his wounds on the operating table while Cap, Black Widow and Maria Hill watch. We later learn he faked his death to allow him to ferret out who is infiltrating Shield.
It is Hydra! Hydra was an eeeee-vil organization formed by the Red Skull in the first movie. But it eeled it’s way into Shield and penetrated into it’s every level. Who is a good guy? Who is a bad guy? Cap and Black Widow high-tail it out of HQ with the bad guys armed to the teeth with Shield goodies!
Through information on the flash-drive, they discover a hidden Shield/Hydra base in which hides Arnim Zola!
Zola (who was also featured in the first movie) is one of comic-book-Captain-America’s stranger villains. His rendering in the comics is quintessential Jack Kirby – looking something like a malignant Teletubbie.
But in this movie Zola moved his mental essence into a bank of computers. He explains Hydra’s motives and how they manipulated their way into Shield. Anyone who could have (or did) discover their presence was eliminated – it is implied that Tony Stark’s father was killed for that reason.
Anrim Zola created an algorithmic program that found the perfect recruits – family history, emotional and genetic outlook and attitudes are evaluated. To paraphrase a line in the movie: it uses your past to accurately predict your future. They pick recruits who will NOT say no to joining them.
Hydra spent the next 70 years creating terror. I expected to see the Cigarette Smoking Man from the X-Files in the montage. And now finally, America, nay, the world, is ready to embrace Hydra – happily giving up their freedom in exchange for safety. If you think the anal-cavity searches of the TSA in airports is bad … mwhah-hah-hah!!!
Hydra will launch the three helicarriers, but will use Zola’s algorithmic program to find not bad guys, but good guys. People genetically inclined to fight them. The helicarriers will take them out. Thousands at a time. Hydra will kill millions to “save” billions.
Cap, Widow and Fury have a plan: switch around the hard drives of the carriers and their plan is forever foiled!
Boy, is that a simplistic way of putting it!
Cap and Widow are aided by their only friend – the only one they can trust: Sam Wilson (from the jogging scene, remember?). Sam digs out his old uniform – by the way, he wasn’t just a soldier, he had a flying suit! Enter the Falcon – who was Cap’s partner in the 1970s comic.
This is all done better than it sounds, by the way.
Meantime, the chief bad-guy is revealed (this isn’t ALL spoilers, you know) and the Winter Soldier attacks! Cap discovers the Soldier is … Bucky? How is that possible? How can Bucky still be Cap’s age unless … Zola!!!
This leads to the climactic fight in Shield HQ and a helicarrier.
The movie was comic-book fun with the action and effects on par with previous Disney/Marvel productions. If you liked the previous Thor, Iron Man and Avengers movies, you’ll like this one, too. The special effect and CGIare top-of-the-line.
Characterization is lacking – except for Captain America’s outrage as to the assault on his black-and-white sense of good and justice in a grey world. But you take his side and in the end believe him – right is right, wrong is wrong.
Still, the movie poses some interesting questions: if a terrorist is going to kidnap your family tomorrow and you could stop him today, would you? If you could stop him before he even formulates his plan? It goes back to the old question of would you kill Hitler’s parents?
The small attempts of characterization are brief but well done. Widow niggles Cap about asking staff-members of Shield out on dates (the nurse-neighbor Widow frequently mentions ends up being Sharon Carter – Caps’ girlfriend in the comics … and when I say comics I mean the 1960s and 1970s, god knows what Sharon Carter is now; if she’s even in the current canon).
Steve Rogers finally meeting up with Peggy Carter after 70 years was moving and sad. I would have liked more of this, but in a movie of this type I knew it wasn’t possible. Ordinary People this isn’t, Redford’s presence aside…
I came away from the movie enjoying it. If you are a huge fan of the Marvel movie/TV franchise, go see it (if you are huge fan you already have). Wait to see it on DVD otherwise, it’s a great popcorn movie.
I may be alone in this criticism – and it’s not really a criticism – but I had one nagging problem with the movie.
Calling Captain America 2’s subtitle “The Winter Soldier” was, to me, akin to subtitling Lord of the Rings with “A Trip to the Prancing Pony”. The titular villain of the movie was an incidental character. They played on his Bucky-ness: provided an origin, showed a bit of his mental anguish and sowed the seeds of his reformation – particularly at the end saving Cap and the now-mandatory after-credit tease.
But for me the fall of Shield and the rise of Hydra were the focus of my attention; particularly because of the effect of this story-line on Agents of Shield. I will discuss that in my next blog …
To be continued!
Original Material Copyright 2014 Michael G Curry
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The Cockroaches reunite! Plus some thoughts connecting little-known bands, the Wiggles and Fleetwood Mac
The Cockroaches reunite!
Plus some thoughts connecting little-known bands, the Wiggles and Fleetwood Mac
I was very excited when my wife posted this on my Facebook wall in early April:
This coming June, for the first time in over 25 years, The Cockroaches are reforming their original album line up to celebrate the release of their album catalogue on iTunes. Join Anthony, John and Paul Field, Jeff Fatt, Phil Robinson, Tony Henry and Peter Mackie for one of two shows! All tickets $30 and on sale Monday (April 14) at Midday!Dee Why RSL – Saturday June 14. For tickets, call (02) 9454 4000 www.deewhyrsl.com.au
Rooty Hill RSL – Friday June 27. For tickets, call (02) 9625 5500 www.rootyhillrsl.com.au
Tickets on sale Monday, Midday…Hey let’s go, let’s go!
***
Before I tell you about the Cockroaches, let me tell you about the Wiggles. My daughter, then three, watched the Wiggles at her babysitter. About a year ago, I do not remember the exact momentous date, we found some Wiggles on our TV through Youtube.
I walked in to the living room and my wife and child were watching a show with grown men wearing long-sleeved yellow, blue and red shirts, black boots and black trousers with pant legs only going to their upper ankles.
“You’re watching the original Star Trek?”
Then a fellow in a purple shirt walked on the screen. Purple? No one on Star Trekwore purple. At least until The Next Generation – when Troi wore purple. He’s a Betazoid? Oh great. “Captain, I sense hostility!” “Yes, Counselor. That explains why they opened fire on us…”
No, no, explained my wife. This is the Wiggles.
I had heard of the Wiggles – I knew they were a children’s show that did songs and danced and such. They were mentioned in a radio DJ’s rant: “Flav-a-flav and the Wiggles will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before Rush and Foreigner will”. (I know, I know, Rush was inducted in 2013. Too little too late, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…)
I watched and enjoyed the shows. We Tivoed more shows and enjoyed them too. By the time we got into the Wiggles, they had over twenty years of children’s entertainment under their belts.
By summer of 2013 the Wiggles were #1 on my daughter’s Hit Parade, trumping even Barney in the “What would you like to watch” category.
We looked up all we could on the Wiggles. We want to know what our kid is watching – we did the same with Barney and with newer shows she’s watched. Who stars in them? What else did they do? We don’t want her to watch a bunch of weirdoes or a show just out to sell toys.
I made a wonderful discovery in my research. The Wiggles grew out of a rock group called the Cockroaches. That sounded familiar, I said. I googled it and found the video to their biggest hit “She’s the One” and another for “Permanently Single”.
“I remember those songs!” But how? It was a hit in Australia in 1987 and 1989 respectively, which meant it hit the US in 87 or 90. Could I have seen their videos on MTV? No, I had stopped watching it by that time.
During the late 80s/early 90s I was in law school but also working at a college town radio station in southern Illinois as a DJ. I’ll bet we had the albums at the station (well, CDs by that point), but we didn’t play them. We were beginning the format now known as “Classic Rock”. This meant our playlist stopped at 1982 or so. It’s all the rage now – we were ten years ahead of our time at being twenty years behind the times. We wouldn’t even play new songs by established artists.
So there was no way we’d play new songs by new artists. We received a lot of big hair metal bands’ CDs – all in the hopes that some station might play a song or too. One CD we received was the first album of LA Guns – they eventually got to be a pretty big group!
We must have received Cockroaches CDs, too. I liked their style of power pop better than the barrage of metal sent to the station.
By now other contemporary Australian groups had some hits in the US – Crowded House and Midnight Oil, for example. I know, I know. Midnight Oil had been around for many years before the mid-to-late 1980s. I’m being Americentric here, haha.
As is usually the case, once one band opens the door, others jump on the bandwagon. Especially in US markets. In the early 1990s you couldn’t swing a pair of ripped jeans without hitting yet another grunge band from Seattle.
Australia is the same. “Like Crowded House? Listen to THIS” a sample CD would boast. When Henry Lee Summers’ album debuted, he was billed as “not just another tall, lanky kid from Indiana” in a clunky attempt to attract John (then Cougar) Mellencamp fans. The irony here is that Mellencamp is anything but tall and lanky.
I cannot confirm ANYWHERE on the internet whether the Cockroaches’ CDs were released in the states, or even if their CDs were pushed by marketers to radio stations. But how else would I have known about them?
The Wikipedia entry for the Cockroaches – telling us their entire history – is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cockroaches
A brief synopsis: the Cockroaches numbered among them three brothers with the last name of Field. One of the Field’s daughters died of SIDS. The band broke up shortly after that tragedy. The fun had gone out of it. I don’t blame them.
One Field brother, Anthony, went to college and got his degree in Pre-School education. My sister has that degree too. Of the 500 or so students, there were five men. Three of those five men decided to try an experiment. Since they were all of a musical bent, why not try to make music for children that would excite and interest them and not talk down to them?
And in the past year our house has dozens of their DVDs (some rented from the library), CDs, and ticket stubs to their live show. You can read about my review of their St. Louis concert here: http://michaelgcurry.blogspot.com/2013/09/were-off-to-see-wiggles-review-of.html
***
However I came to love their music; I am not surprised I am a fan. A big fan. Beatles aside, I have always been a fan of lesser-known artists. There is so much music out there – to limit yourself to a few musicians or groups is ridiculous. It is, however, the basis for most radio station programming now (I have blogged about the desolate state of radio: http://michaelgcurry.blogspot.com/2013/08/i-finally-bury-long-dead-friend-begin.html). It’s sad to think of all the music people are missing while listening to “Taking Care of Business” for the thousandth time.
Instead of the Rolling Stones I listened to Badfinger. Instead of Eric Clapton I listened to JJ Cale (so did Clapton for that matter). Instead of listening to Springsteen I listened to John Prine (so did Springsteen …). I loved the Stones and Clapton and Springsteen; but I loved Badfinger, Cale and Prine more. They needed it more.
That may be why I liked the Cockroaches so much. While the other DJs were oohing and aahing over the latest metal CD, here was a group making party-rock music. Here are two links to two of the You Tub hits: She’s the One (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1wzFeCJ2dc) and Permanently Single (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKBUl_wzi8o).
Permanently Single is especially baffling. It barely charted in Australia (#87 in the charts); I doubt it would have been pushed in the US.
How on earth do I know about this music?
***
But wouldn’t it be fun to watch them reunite for a couple of shows? It’s not like they’ve been out of practice. Anthony seems to have stepped up his musicianship with the Wiggles – with the new members HE is the one playing guitar instead of Murray. He also continues on the drums and, according to his autobiography, is proficient on many instruments.
His brothers Paul & John are also involved in various Wiggly escapades – John writes many of their songs and Paul produces songs and videos and acts more or less as their spokesman and manager. They recently formed The Field Brothers and released an album of country music 1964. http://www.thefieldbrothers.com.au/
Check out some Youtube videos of their live performances – including a countrified version of “Permanently Single”. The Field Brothers have a Facebook page, too.
This is the last entry on their Facebook page: “Don’t forget! For the first time in over 25 years, The Cockroaches are reforming their original album line up and more to celebrate the release of their album catalogue on iTunes in June. “
Unlike the original news release quoted earlier, this kind of statement riles me. It’s not the original line-up; it is the most popular line-up. Notice the press release says “album line-up” which is more correct.
This may just be my hang-up but usually when a band has its “original line-up”, it doesn’t.
Fleetwood Mac is reuniting and touring for the first time in many years and I see that phrase bandied about: original line-up. How is that possible, I ask, when Peter Green is dead? Huh, some people ask? Sigh. The ORIGINAL line-up for Fleetwood Mac was Peter Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. The band’s original name was Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. They were all part of John Mayall’s Blues Breakers and splintered off into their own group and had a few hits (including “Black Magic Woman” – they wrote it but it became the signature tune for Santana).
This Fleetwood Mac that is reuniting and touring is certainly the most successful line-up (Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood) – their songs are the ones constantly repeated on the radio. But theirs weren’t the first line-up to be successful!
My favorite line-up for Fleetwood Mac was the one before Buckingham and Nicks joined. This included Danny Kirwan and Bob Welch (who were replaced by Buckingham and Nicks – never that simple, Kirwan left and was replaced by Bob Weston for one album, the group with Welch made one more album after that then he left, etc. …). Their hits included “Hypnotized”, “Heroes are So Hard to Find”, “Bare Trees” and “Sentimental Lady” – a later solo hit for Welch. You NEVER hear these tunes on broadcast radio. I like this line-up better than the reunited one.
But that’s just the way I am. Instead of Fleetwood Mac, I listened to Fleetwood Mac.
If you think about it – there are some groups that did better with a second line-up then their “originals”. The Moody Blues pop to mind. They had a few hits (“Go Now” and “Do Wah Diddy”, but when Justin Heywood and John Lodge joined, their work went into the stratosphere! They’re still touring!
The Eagles were very successful with their original line-up; their later line-up was HUGELY successful, but their earlier incarnation had plenty of hits, too. The Eagles are another group that people tout as the “original line-up” going on tour or recording. Umm, no. If Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmidt are there, it’s not the original line-up. It’s a GREAT line-up, but not the original …
***
Back to the Cockroaches…
So here’s my plan – we can fly to Sydney on Thursday, get there Saturday (damn that international date line), go see the show on the 14th (I am unavailable the other date), fly back Sunday morning and land home Sunday night (bless that international date line) and back to work Monday – only two days off!
Airline tickets for two adults and one child is just over $6,000.00. Add in the cost of the show, food at the airports and elsewhere, a quick overnight stay in a hotel and we’re talking about $7,500.00. To see a band that had no hits in the US and only one top ten song in their native Australia. I should start saving now.
Maybe Lachy and Emma can babysit during the show. I’ll have to post my request on their Facebook page. I wonder how much their charge? They’ll have to email me their references, of course …
Original Material Copyright 2014 Michael G Curry
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A Visit to Wizard World 2014 Comic Con St.Louis Part Two
A Visit to Wizard World 2014 Comic Con St.Louis
Part Two
I, my sister, her husband and their son went to Wizard Con on April 5, 2014 in St. Louis. By early afternoon I got all the autographs I wanted and had some comics and album covers signed by two of my favorite artists: Neal Adams and Mike Grell. I could not think of any other comic book artists still alive that I would like to meet. Maybe Joe Staton.
Well, Steve Ditko of course. And Murphy Anderson. And Jim Steranko. And George Perez. And Jose Luis-Garcia Lopez. Okay, there are LOTS of artists I would still like to meet.
Were I able to go back in time the list of artists I would love to meet is quite long: Jim Aparo, Gene Colon, Curt Swan, Dick Giordano, Dick Dillon – all gone now.
And I’m not talking writers – just artists here.
But anyway, back to Wizard Con. When we last left our adventurers…
***
My brother-in-law met, bought a print from, and got the autograph of The Crow creator James O’Barr.
My sister got the autographs of various guests of the con: John Bernthal (Shane from Walking Dead), Summer Glau and Alan Tudyk. Sean Astin said she looked like Juliette Lewis.
My nephew is the only boy in a Tae Kwon Do class of adult men. They call him “Daniel-san”. Ralph Macchio was tickled to hear this and posed for a photo.
Most thrilling of all for him was meeting Jason David Frank (a Power Ranger). My nephew did some moves for him and Jason put it on his Facebook page as one of the highlights of the Con.
Adam Baldwin made my sister cry – in a nice way. She was (and is still) a big fan of “My Bodyguard” and Adam was so touched by her story he autographed a headshot from the movie for her at no cost.
All of them were very kind and courteous to my sister and her son. Good for them.
Some sad news though – the autograph tickets for Nathan Fillion and Bruce Campbell were already sold out. If they wanted to wait at the end of the line and there was still time they could ask for autographs. My family decided it was easier to wait and come back the next day. Maybe they should put this photo on some nice cardstock and have Nathan and Bruce sign it together.
(This is a Wizard World photo taken during of of their photo ops.)
While I waited for my family to get Sean Astin’s autograph a familiar face approached – it was my cousin from Peoria and his brother. Let me explain: my cousin is actually his father-in-law. My cousin’s daughter married JP. So he is my first-cousin-once-removed-in-law. But he’s still my cousin. And his son and my daughter are nearly the same age and like to play at family reunions. Yes, my cousin’s grandson and my daughter are only six months apart. The age-span between my oldest and youngest cousin is 33 years. My oldest cousin had two children before I was born. A long-lived family are we.
His brother is no blood relation to me whatsoever, but I remember him from the wedding. It was fun to talk to them for a few hours.
They got some photos taken with Sean Astin and William Shatner. I was very disappointed in the photos – Shatner’s especially. You can tell it was done in a rush and it could have been a cardboard cut-out as un-animated as it looked.
Now granted Shatner is in his 80s and sat on a stool for an hour as a parade of fans stood next to him for a photo. I’d be a little weary, too. But if it were my picture I would hope for a smile or something…
But then again, when are you ever going to get your picture taken with Bill Shatner? I really am torn between saying this is quite cool and being aggravated at his lethargy!
My family and I walked through the artists’ alley. This was when my brother-in-law got his print from James O’Day. We found ourselves at Mike Grell’s booth (my second visit with him). He was drawing a commission and my nephew and I discussed his technique as we did with Neal Adams.
Mike said, “The most important tool you have is the eraser!” He held up a well-used piece of rubber. “Not just for mistakes! Look…” Mike opened up his portfolio and showed my nephew eraser marks made to look like speed lines and clouds and leaves.
“He uses the side of his pencil and the eraser to create the illusion of texture,” I said. I used to draw a comic strip … so I know of these things, you see… Thanks again Mike Grell, for your time and patience encouraging a young child to practice the art!
We met more friends before we left: the local comic store (Fantasy Books – their wepage is (http://fantasybooksinc.com/) had a booth and one of the workers recognized me. I’m either very recognizable or I buy too many comics there.
As with last year, the Best in Show for Cosplay went to my friend who does a pitch-perfect Captain Jack Sparrow. He NEVER breaks character, but his smile when he saw me was heartening. My nephew (who had never met him and didn’t know I knew “Jack”) wanted a picture and Jack grabbed my sleeve and pulled me into the picture. Great fella – he deserved to win.
My nephew turned 10 this past autumn and I wanted to hire Jack (I hesitate to use his real name without his permission) to entertain at the birthday party. He agreed, but we cancelled when my brother-in-law hired his co-worker Chadto entertain.
Chadis a member of the 501st Legion Midwest Garrison www.501stsithlords.comand does cosplay all around the mid-west. He does a great Darth Maul and let my nephew pose with him in battle-ready stance! When we left there were other youngsters waiting for their pic with the evil Sith Lord!
Here is a photo I found on “Jack’s” Facebook page of him and Chris together. I would have loved to have been there. I wonder if they know each other?
Cosplayers abounded at the Con – of course that night was the contest, so everyone was parading around the booths. Were there that many players on Friday and Sunday?
Lots of Doctor Whos in fezzes and lots of Star Trek, Star Wars and comic book characters. There were also lots of people dressed in costumes from video games. Even my sister had to ask what some of them were dressed as.
One delight was watching two little girls taking their picture with Batman. “Thank you Batman,” one of them said and hugged the solemn dark knight. Both of the girls had “Hello Kitty” backpacks. Were my daughter there she would have been more interested in the backpacks.
My wife asked if she would have found anything interesting there. Probably not, unfortunately. There was not much in the way of musicians performing and the panels probably weren’t to her liking. She doesn’t shop nor cares much for autograph-hunting.
I would love to take my daughter to “meet” Batman and others. But not now. There were other children at the con – four years old and younger – but my daughter doesn’t like scary costumes. Hopefully by the time she is old enough to enjoy watching the cosplayers the zombie fad will have passed and there won’t be too many people drenched in blood with axes sticking out of their faces.
One of my complaints from last year was my having no knowledge of even the existenceof panels during the con! I assume that is because it was the Con’s first year in St. Louis and it was not well organized. Not so this year. Although their website still did not mention panels, they were included in the program booklets. And another change this year was that we attendees were provided program booklets with which we may peruse the various panels. See how such little details like that can escape a Con organizer?
Clydeattended some panels and so did JP; and they enjoyed them. I did not attend any panels. Most of the guests had Q&A sessions, there were movie previews and panels celebrating the anniversary of the Voltron franchise. None of this was my cup of tea. Not that I have anything against panels – I spent the first two days of Gen Con doing nothing BUT panels. See my blogs on Gen Con for details: http://michaelgcurry.blogspot.com/2013/08/prose-and-cons-agencon-2013-report-day.html
But the panels at Wizard Con … meh. If the panels were subjects you enjoyed – I hope you enjoyed them! One I did not attend that piqued my interest was one featuring Bill Finger’s granddaughter. It would have been nice to meet her.
St. Louis Wizard Con 2014 was more of a success than in 2013 – which in itself was very successful! Will there be one next year? I’d bet so.
Will I go? Probably. It’s a good place to find old and rare comics. Expensive, but I can’t find them anywhere else – even online. If Neal Adams and other comic artists are there I will get their signatures on my favorite comics. I might even pay to commission some original artwork.
If there are no big stars that make me ooo and aah; that’s okay.
This year was much more fun than last year – probably because I met more friends there and knew more people as guests, artists, cosplayers and even exhibitors. Here’s hoping for many more successful years for Wizard Con!
I’ll see you next year!
Copyright 2014 Michael G Curry
A Visit to Wizard World 2014 Comic Con St. Louis Part One
A Visit to Wizard World 2014 Comic Con St. Louis
Part One
In April St. Louis held its second Wizard World Comic Con. For a refresher – here is the site to my blog describing last year’s experience. http://michaelgcurry.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-pros-and-cons-inapril-st.html
This year I went with my sister, brother-in-law and their ten-year-old son. I ran into them last year and this year we decided to go together. They are regular attendees of CONtamination each year also in St. Louis, but it was cancelled for 2014. So they decided to take their money to the Wizards this year. They weren’t disappointed.
I have concluded that Wizard World Comic Con is the world’s most expensive flea market. They had a lot of great stuff there, don’t get me wrong. But most of it was eeeeeeex-pensive! I found a few great posters and some fairly-priced comics. I also found a bin of the original Kenner Star Wars action figures from the 1970s and 1980s. The figures from the “Return of the Jedi” used to be rare and worth a bit. But here they were for $5.00 – about what they sold for 30 years ago. Maybe next year I’ll buy up the ones I didn’t get then. By the third movie I was 20-years-old and not too interested in buying them. Thirty years later it is a different story. I was more interested in buying the small display cases for the figures.
My sister, bro and nephew were very excited about the guest list. Most of them were available not only for autographs but photo ops. There was an additional fee for those. Last year the list of stars didn’t thrill me; probably because it was Wizard World Comic Con’s first year in a new town and no one knew how successful it would be. They needn’t have worried.
It was an equal smash this year, so the roster was a little better. Lou Ferrigno, according to my sister, is a frequent guest of these things. Bruce Campbell was a huge draw. Half the cast of Firefly was there: Adam Baldwin, Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau and Alan Tudyk. Wrestler Chris Jericho, Ralph Macchio, Sean Patrick Flanery and Sean Astin were all there for autographs, panels and photos.
And this time there were guests that excited me! William Shatner, Adam West and Burt Ward. Woot!
There was also a Doctor – Matt Smith (the 11th? I’ve lost track) and Karen Gillan (who played his companion Amy) were there for panels, autographs and photo ops. They were the most popular guests with the longest lines. When their autograph times were announced, the noise level of the crowded auditorium rose as people raced to the autograph booths.
I decided not to ask for Smith’s and Gillan’s autographs – my money was budgeted for Shatner, Ward and West.
When my family and I first arrived we did some comic book shopping. I helped my nephew find some old cheap comics that were age appropriate. Most comics from my era – the 1970s – were age appropriate of course, but finding stories that was done in one issue was harder. My nephew is a Batman fan, though, so finding cheap Batman comics from the 1970s or before can be tricky. You gotta know where to look. Brave & Bold and World’s Finest are fine choices. I also found him some Justice League of America and I decided to get him hooked on Legion of Super-Heroes. I found plenty of those in the cheaper bins.
During the long day I also found some reasonably priced silver-age Green Lanternand Legion comics. I found a good golden age World’s Finest and an unbelievably cheap Feature Comics in nice shape. At the Graham Cracker comics kiosk I pointed out the first X-Men comic to my nephew, the first Spider-Man (Amazing Fantasy as well as Spider-Man #1), the first Thor (Journey into Mystery) and my sister was thrilled when I showed her the first appearance of Swamp Thing (in House of Secrets) all on display along with many others.
While comic hunting, I groused many times at seeing comics I paid full price on in the dollar bins. Later I said I was equally pleased to see comics I paid full price on selling for $70.00 or more!
We were there about fifteen minutes still digging through bins when I heard a familiar voice. It was by very dear friend Clyde and his wife and adult daughter – also doing some shopping. His daughter mentioned on Facebook that they bought many a fun item and her photos showed many a cosplayer and panels they enjoyed that day. Clyde has yet to write about Wizard World Comic Con, but he has a wonderful series of blogs on comics and related topics here: http://playmst3kforme.blogspot.com/2013/06/weve-got-you-covered-10-great-comic.html
Because of our work schedules I have not been able to chat with Clyde for some months. It was nice to catch up!
After a bit more shopping we decided to get the autographs we wanted done.
We were near the booths for Adam West and Burt Ward and began there. My sister told me she was bringing her DVD of their Batman movie from 1966. I thought that was a great idea and brought mine too.
Burt Ward was a friendly and chatty gentleman. He showed us pictures of his dogs and explained how he cared for them and fed them the proper food so that some of them, at 25, play as actively as dogs half their age. His web site is here: http://www.gentlegiantsrescue.com/
He autographed and personalized our DVDs. My nephew was so nervous he hardly said a word. I told Burt how much I enjoyed his work as Robin (other than some voice work he has done little other acting).
Adam West was also just as kind and, although they made us rush along, we had enough time to shake his hand. I told him how much I enjoyed his pilot Lookwelland he appreciated that. When he shook my nephew’s hand I said to my nephew, “You realize you are shaking the hand of a man who acted with the Three Stooges.” Whether Adam West was playing me or not when I said they he leaned back in his chair and offered me his hand again. “The Outlaws is Coming, that’s right!” he said, sounding amazed. Hey, I’m a fan of both him and the Stooges, what can I say? It was the Traveling Wilburys of film!
William Shatner was another matter. He, Nathan Fillion, Bruce Campbell and Matt Smith required queuing in feeder lines long before the autograph schedule. You had to buy the tickets ahead of time. I didn’t know that and luckily Shatner was not sold out. I waited much longer in line that I usually have the patience for. “How long were you in line?” My sister asked later. “I got in line in 2014; I got out in Stardate 3097.4.” Once the autograph session started it went pretty quickly – not a lot of time to gush. I shook his hand and told him I loved his work. He thanked me while autographing a photo I selected from those offered. Surprisingly I didn’t have a lot of Shatner books or pictures. I had a commemorative magazine from Star Trek II with a nice pin-up of him, but decided not to hunt for it. I mentioned I was an attorney and his Danny Crain was a very realistic portrayal and he thanked me. By this time he was signing the lady behind me (her name was Tracy – we got to talk a lot during our months in line) and I was being herded out.
That finished the autograph-hunting of Wizard World Comic Con for me. My family wanted to get into a few other lines so I said I would meet them back “here” and went to the artists’ alley.
I found artist/writer Neal Adams’ kiosk earlier to sign two Power Records for which he did the cover – one of Batman and one of Superman. “Do you still have the records?” “Yes, home safe and sound,” I said. My nephew is a budding artist (another nephew Dirk is a professional comic book artist) and we stood and watched Neal draw. I told my nephew I thought Neal was one of the greatest comic artists ever – he drew a head-shot of Batman (a commission for that day, no doubt) while we watched. I told my nephew to watch how he draws lines and circles. My nephew was just as thrilled to look at all the posters and other artwork surrounding Adams. My sister had a cell phone photo of a sketch my nephew did and proudly showed it to Neal (there was no one in line at the time). I asked Neal when he started drawing. “Four,” he said. I told my nephew he had six years to catch up. Thank you, Neal, for allowing a ten-year-old to watch you make your art!
But Neal Adams had his own kiosk away from the artist alley. There I met Mike Grell – an artist whose style very much compares with Neal Adams. In fact, Grell took over the art chores of Green Lantern after they brought back that title after its run with … Neal Adams. Neal Adams and Denny O’Neil produced a now-legendary story arc, but not enough to revive slagging sales. The title was cancelled and brought back a few years later with O’Neil writing, but now with Grell drawing.
No one was in line at Grell’s booth so I introduced myself and shook his hand. “When I started reading comics, I read your Green Lantern and your Legion and Warlord. When I moved to Batman, you moved too. You drew every comic I loved as a kid. Thank you.” He thanked me and held his hand out again. I gave him my Green Lantern #90 (his first) and First Issue Special #8 (first appearance of his Warlord) to sign. He only charged me a dollar. Considering what I paid before that for signatures (including $40.00 for Neal Adams), I almost kissed the guy.
Both Mike Grell and Neal Adams were very friendly and happy to talk to me. They were both very courteous and appreciative of this fan-boy. Meeting them was the highlight of the Con for me.
I was torn as to what to bring from Grell to sign. I wanted to bring a Legion comic; then a Sable. I wanted to bring his first professional work (an Aquaman back-up in Adventure) – it would have been cool to ask him what he remembered of it. But I am glad I took what I did.
Next was the kiosk of Ethan Van Sciver, who (among other works) drew Green Lantern Rebirth (don’t ask). He signed it graciously.
I walked along the other artists displaying their work. I took a few cards – I am always on the lookout for artists to do covers for my novels. There weren’t a lot of science fiction-y art unfortunately. There were darn few fantasy artists, either. I did enjoy the fantasy art of h-eri (like her Facebook page at IvoryDragonStudios) and I think she could design a great cover should I flesh out the fantasy novel I have outlined.
Most of the other artists were comic-book oriented. Good stuff throughout!
Most of the other artists were comic-book oriented. Good stuff throughout!
So I accomplished all my goals for the Con! I met who I wanted to meet and got some nice swag!
In the meantime, my sister’s family was having the times of their lives…
To be continued …
Copyright 2014 Michael G Curry
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The Years of Robert Caro – A review of his Lyndon Johnson biographies Part Three
The Years of Robert Caro – A review of his Lyndon Johnson biographies
Part Three
The Passage of Power is Robert Caro’s fourth book in his Years of Lyndon Johnson series (Alfred A.Knopf, 2012; ISBN # 978-0-679-40507-8). This volume covers the 1960 presidential campaign to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
By now Caro’s style is firmly enmeshed:
The book opens with a tease of things to come. In previous volumes it was the beginnings of his quest for financial stability or his speech on civil rights legislation. Here we are on Air Force One in the late afternoon on November 22, 1963 after …
The next 20 (or so) pages of its 805 pages (not counting index, bibliographies and end notes) repeats the relevant facts from the previous three books – LBJ’s desire to be president since his hard-scrabble teens, his election to the House and the Senate and his rise to power to become the most powerful man in Washington second only to President Eisenhower.
These recaps are necessary for new readers. It is possible to read one of the four books without the others. If one is only interested in LBJ’s time in the Senate, you can skip the first two volumes. Caro recaps enough information and provides enough back-story to avoid confusing the readers with Johnson’s motives. Reading the books together can make that redundant. But for a reader like me, who would put each of the books down for several weeks (or months) before resuming, the recaps are helpful.
I must admit Caro cheats a bit in Passage of Power. He hypes his previous work in footnotes (“for an example of how Johnson could ruin another politician’s career, see Master of the Senate, pages x-xx”). Having read through the previous Years… series I remember the reference. Someone picking up Passage as the first book of the series may be frustrated. I advise the new reader go to the library and read the selected passage. If he or she is intrigued enough – check out the book and then buy your own copy!
***
After the “In our last episode” reminders the biography describes Johnson’s desire to run for president in 1960. Most of the candidates were other senators – senators who were beneath him during the past decade. He wielded more power, and could call in more favors, than they. The power brokers planned how he would get the votes – mostly from the south, the west and the big city bosses. There were only 16 primaries at that time and some of them – such as conservative Indiana and states promised to him (Robert Byrd’s West Virginia, for example) – he likely would have won the nomination.
(I enjoyed reading this section and noting how alien the nomination process was compared to “modern times”.)
Caro ignores speculation how he would have done against a Republican nominee. How would he have faired against Nixon?
But Johnson delayed and delayed running for the Democratic nomination until it was time for the convention. Why?
Caro is as confused as Johnson’s aids. Was Johnson so scared of losing – as he did in 1956 – that he did nothing? That doesn’t sound like the opportunistic LBJ we’ve come to know in the past three books.
In the end, LBJ hoped for a deadlocked convention and for the “smoke-filled room” to give the nomination to him as a dark horse candidate. That way he could avoid the campaign trail against the charm of Kennedy and the oratorical skill of Hubert Humphries – both traits he distinctly lacked.
***
After the intro and recap, we watch the race for the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination.
But first, as with the prior volumes, we read a short but thorough biography of people important to this volume’s narrative. Previously we read about Sam Rayburn, Richard Russell, the Hill Country of Texas, LBJ’s father and Lady Bird. Here Caro gives us bios of John F. Kennedy. Not a complete bio – books on Kennedys could fill the libraries of an entire state – but on JFK’s political career and his history of poor health. Caro says if Johnson had known of Kennedy’s health struggles and determination to rise above his constant chronic pain, Johnson would have taken the scrawny playboy more seriously as a competing candidate for the presidential nomination.
Caro also gives us a brief bio of Robert Kennedy. His and LBJ’s hatred of each other permeate the book as it permeated LBJ’s life and career throughout the 1960s. Ironically before Passagecame out I read Jeff Shesol’s Mutual Contempt (1998, Norton paperback, ISBN # 0-393-04078) – the only book I could find that dealt exclusively with the Johnson-Kennedy feud. I disagree to Shesol’s critics that it is Kennedy-leaning. I find it even-handed. It enjoyed reading another view of the feud along with Caro’s in Passage – Robert Kennedy and LBJ’s convention fight, their interaction during JFK’s presidency, the assassination, the first year of LBJ’s presidency, etc. I recommend it, not as a companion to Passage of Power but on its own merits.
The LBJ-RFK feud hit critical mass at the convention – neither man forgave the other after their actions during the primaries and the convention. Robert Kennedy’s threats warning Johnson not to accept the vice-presidential nomination was wonderfully portrayed in both books.
***
Caro reminds us of LBJ’s knack for taking a small, ineffectual position or office and turning it into a seat of power. He did it in college with fraternal organizations and with a small student body job. He did it as a congressional aide in the “Little Congress”. He did it with the Minority Whip, Minority Leader and Majority Leader positions in the Senate. LBJ tried to do the same with the Vice-Presidency, but this time without success.
Passage shows us Johnson going through the few duties, assignments and positions given as vice-president; but focuses mainly on LBJ’s dislike of the job. He went from being the second most powerful man in Washington to the least (to paraphrase the author) in a town where power means everything.
***
Little was said of Lady Bird. Perhaps this was an unintentional allegory: this volume had as much to do with Lady Bird as LBJ had. One passage was telling – when the secret service met with her at the White House to discuss the needs of the First Family in the private quarters, Lady Bird said Lyndon’s needs come first (in this case it was about the size of their bed), then the children, then hers. Other than quotes from Lady Bird about Jackie Kennedy and other events, she was no more present in this biography than, say, Bobby Baker.
***
I looked forward to Caro’s take on the assassination. There has been more written about the events of November 22, 1963 than any other – perhaps with the exception of Lincoln’s assassination – from the technically detailed to the laughingly paranoiac to politically-motivated hack jobs. I wasn’t disappointed here.
We are shown LBJ’s and JFK’s Texas trip – speeches given, banquets attended and people met. We learn about the feud between Texas’ governor and one of its senators; who wanted to ride with LBJ; who refused to ride with LBJ.
We are with LBJ in the motorcade.
We are standing with LBJ in the hospital as he grimly awaits the news.
We walk with him through the bowels of the hospital to his limousine and to Air Force One.
More importantly, we see LBJ’s transformation from the sulky moping vice-president to the firm, decisive President of the United States.
Bravo to Caro for his portrayal of this magnificent transformation.
Caro doesn’t come right out and say it, but it is obvious Johnson had planned this moment from the minute he agreed to be the vice presidential candidate.
Neither I nor Caro are implying Johnson had a hand in the assassination – the author strongly states that in all his research he found NOTHING to imply LBJ’s knowledge or involvement. The only acknowledgement the author gives to any conspiracy is to name Jim Garrison, author of On the Trail of the Assassins, a publicity hunter. I must admit to being a fan of assassination conspiracy theories and Caro’s opinion on it was short and brief – LBJ was not involved. The author stopped his inquiry there. Any other opinion would be his alone and is not a part of this book. Good for him, I say. Caro does state that both Robert Kennedy and Johnson believed the assassination was a conspiracy and the Warren Commission Report was wrong, but went no further than that; because Johnson went no further than that.
Back to the point – it is obvious Johnson knew what he would do the moment he became president should it happen. Perhaps JFK would die from his various illnesses or drown or be in a plane or automobile accident. An assassin’s bullet was likely the last scenario on LBJ’s list. But it happened. Johnson was president. What would he do first?
He met with the country’s leaders; he begged, cajoled and pleaded with Kennedy’s staff and cabinet to stay on. He had to pass a budget and decide whether to run in his own presidential election less than one year away (not counting the convention only ten-or-so months away).
He had to keep the Kennedy people – even Robert – as allies and in his White House. He did not want to ostracize or anger them lest they form their own kingdom in exile. Robert Kennedy had already made noises about running on his own after his brother’s presidency ended. LBJ’s spoke his famous phrase “my worst fear was Robert Kennedy running for president against me” from Day One. Johnson did NOT want to be known as “the mistake between the Kennedys”.
And he kept the staff and cabinet. Well, the essentials: Salinger, MacNamara, Sorenson, even Robert Kennedy. By the time they did leave Johnson had shown enough muscle in the office to make it his own. The rest of Passage shows how he did it.
He broke the logjam in the Senate – first with a small bill involving sending wheat to Russia, then his tax bill, then, finally, the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
LBJ made sure to have the other bills passed before the Southern Caucus could filibuster Civil Rights – thus the Caucus’ extortion or holding hostage of the tax and budget bills until the civil rights legislation was withdrawn. LBJ called it getting all the kids into the basement before the storm hits.
He did it through a series cajoling and influence-peddling that is alien to us now. “NASA is looking for a place to build”, “You want that water works, don’t ya?”
He reminded the Republicans they were the party of Lincoln – that gave great weight during the Civil Rights Act debate. One of the Act’s most ardent opponents was the Republican from Illinois Everett Dirksen. A Republican. From Illinois. Dirksen didn’t stand a chance.
At this point Passage of Powerbecomes glorious reading. The author himself beams with pride and admiration at Johnson’s accomplishments.
The book leaves us with an LBJ nearing the peak of his power and influence. The election of 1964 will validate that. At the end of the book Johnson has a 77% approval rating. He was at the very top.
… and when you are at the top there is only one place left to go.
***
Passage of Power finally solves the mystery brewing over the previous million words. Well, a mystery at least to me: why was such a cruel, Machiavellian autocrat so concerned about civil rights, about educating and feeding the poor and providing them health care?
Caro points to a few phrases: LBJ’s aids at the beginning of his presidency advised how difficult passing a Civil Rights Act would be. Should he waste his time on it? “What is the Presidency for?” he said. In another (and to me, more telling) he said he wanted to help the blacks of Mississippi and the Mexicans in California and the Johnsons of Johnson City.
Johnsons of Johnson City? He was comparing his perceived shame in growing up destitute thanks to a “failure” of a father with the plight of the oppressed lower classes in America. He saw the lower class’ humiliation and lack of respect and dignity mirrored in his own. Robert Caro makes us believe LBJ wanted sincerely to help – a sincerity that this reader did not believe existed in the prior volume.
But LBJ was president now. Before, he cajoled his way to the top. He did EVERYTHING to reach his goal; and now that it was reached, he could afford to be munificent as well as magnificent.
Some criticize Caro’s earlier books saying that Johnson was portrayed as a villain. That is because he was, in fact, a villain. With rare exception LBJ was unlikeable. If you could benefit him in some way (financially or politically), he could be your best friend. If you were a detriment, you were removed. If you were neither, you were ignored.
But Caro transforms Johnson into a magnanimous champion of civil rights in a matter of a dozen pages. He compares LBJ to Lincoln. No president, Caro says, none of the 17 men between Lincoln and Johnson did as much for civil rights as Johnson. He was the 20th-century Lincoln, Caro concludes.
Shocking hyperbole, but after reading Caro’s defense of the statement, I am inclined to agree. LBJ finally becomes the man he claimed to be in his campaign speeches. The author raises LBJ up to almost Kennedy-esque idealism. I happily joined the ride.
Caro mentioned that the cruelty would return during his full term as president – the belittling of staff, the crushing of opponents and the ignoring of anyone else. He foreshadows Viet Nam withering the advancements made in civil and social rights; almost as if he were preparing us in case Volume Five is not finished.
This book ends at Johnson’s height of power and popularity. It would make a good place to end the series if required. Fortunately, Caro promises a fifth volume.
***
Robert Caro’s first book in The Years of Lyndon Johnson was released in 1982, the second in 1990, the third in 2002 and the fourth in 2012. Despite this once-every-decade schedule, he says he will publish the fifth and final volume in two or three years.
I hope so. I’m looking forward to it. I also hope it will be in three years and not in the 2020s.
Caro turns 79 this October: that he will be around to publish the fifth book after a decade-long wait is … well … unlikely.
Can he finish the fifth book in one-third of the time it took him to finish the others? To answer yes is not necessarily being optimistic.
Most of the people he interviewed for the series are gone now – Connally, McNamara, Sallinger, Lady Bird – and he plumbed as much as he could from them. Bill Moyers still refuses to be interviewed, but Caro does a splendid job without Moyers’ input. Imagine the flavor of the book with Moyer’s viewpoint.
Surely Robert Caro is smart enough to have asked McNamara, for example, all he wanted to know about Viet Nam and Johnson’s involvement before McNamara’s death in 2009.
Additionally, of Johnson’s entire career, the topics fifth and final book has already been covered extensively by others. He can justifiably rely on secondary sources. I doubt there will be any surprises or bombshells.
What there will be is the story of Johnson’s full term as President of the United States; the Great Society and Viet Nam told in Caro’s style. That is something to look forward to.
But a personal plea, Mr. Caro – make copious notes of how you want this book to be. Have your estate ready to pick the person to complete the book if your health demands you cannot finish it. Find someone who can emulate your style – make sure it reflects your voice.
With the fifth book we will say goodbye to Lyndon Baines Johnson; but also goodbye to you as his biographer. Thank you for 32 years of an excellent series. Thank you for helping us know our 27th President.
Original material copyright 2014 Michael G Curry
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