In Which Some Cool Comics, the Black Swan & Matt Groening Serve As a Mirror Inward

I like to sometimes to write about my weekend activities, in case you think I don't get out enough. Rest assured, I do try to make the most out of my days off. At least the first day - then, as is the case with this Sunday, twelve hours are set aside for delicious sleep.

So whether you want to hear it or not (forget the fact that it's easy enough to click off this page), I will happily recall my weekend experiences, in a neat listed form:

Black Swan
I was anxious to see this, and that anxiety followed me throughout it's viewing and into my dreams. As with Aranovsky's film "Requiem for a Dream," I would impart the following advice to any 1st time viewer: prepare to be unnerved.

And I was. I won't go into too much detail because a.) I trust you aren't reading this blog for a movie review (and if you are, I apologize, though it's a very good idea, come to think of it....), and b.) giving it away would be awfully rude.


I will say this: Winona Ryder is exquisitely scary, the music of "Swan Lake" is as haunting as the jaunty hand-held choreography, and the entire experience of watching this movie will make make your insides feel as dark and hollow as the cheekbones of a ballerina.
Hence, good stuff.

Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Festival
Conveniently located down the street from our apartment, the festival proved to be the perfect way to spend our Saturday (and our money). Crowded, yes; but filled to the brim with some awesome comic artists, which I feel compelled to share with you all, as I spent the entirety of last night adding their blogs to my Google reader and subsequently goggling at their art. And, as a bonus, may I remind you that they are all lovely ladies, which gives this sort of lovely lady hope.

• Junko Mizuno - bought a signed copy (!) of her first manga (now out of print), "Cinderella." Cute and deadly are the words that best describe her style.

• Jennifer Tong - alas, I could not bring myself to shell out the $50 for her beautiful neon lemonade silkscreens, but luckily I was able to see all her fruitallucinations on her site. (Yeah, that's right, I shoved that pun right in your face.)

 

• Marian Churchland - though she wasn't at the festival, I felt I had to bring her up in the company of my new fave female comickers. The main squeeze of Brandon Graham (also a great artist, and the brain behind "King City"), Marian lives in Canada and brings the cuteness as she she blogs about pie and jackets. I snagged a copy of "ELEPHANTMEN: Damaged Goods" last time I was at Bergen Street Comics. Good investment!

Fittingly, Marian's cover for Brandon's "King City."

• Aidan Koch - I passed by her table quickly, trying to keep myself from nabbing a copy of "The Whale," in all its water-colored poetic glory. Later on I find out it was actually the artist herself sitting quietly there, trying to sell her first comic ever. Now I really wished I'd bought it.

 

• Jungyeon Roh - again with the expensive silkscreens! So wonderful and yet so out of reach....I really wish she had been selling her book. I understand the reasoning for the price however; >sigh< if I only I were rich enough to buy art instead of getting angry at myself for not creating it.

 

• Lisa Hanawalt - I can't take complete credit for this find; for Ryan, it was love at first sight with the "Hats" sketch. I soon followed after he brought home #1 and 2 of her "I Want You" series. Not many women can get away with psycho sexual animals and subtle fart jokes...but Lisa can.  

Click to enlarge (believe me, it's worth it to see the Irritable Bowel Syndrome hat

Matt Groening
This is what really made the weekend - after 3 hours of festival goodness, Ryan and I make our way to the entrance. And who is standing at the Ad House Books booth, bag full of goodies, but the creator of "The Simpsons" himself, the first artist I ever learned the name of at the tender age of 7 - in short my hero - Matt Groening. Ryan urges me on, and I sheepishly creep up behind the unsuspecting victim guy and introduce myself. (Finally, knowing the real pronunciation of his name pays off!)

As is the case with most celebrity/hero sightings, I babble on about loving his work and seem to forget my confidence. Out pours my undying devotion for "The Simpsons" over the course of my lifetime (which coincided with the shows existence as well.) He chuckled at the image of me with a Bart doll in the crib, and I thanked him for bringing years of humorous dinner time TV to my family.

You'll be happy to know that Mr. Groening is a perfect gentleman and all-around nice guy, who seems genuinely pleased with meeting fans; and thank goodness, as dealing with a motor mouth like me can prove to be difficult. He even asked me what I did, after I professed that my love of film mainly stemmed from his Simpsons parodies. What proceeded was my usual explanation of "Well, I'm a producer...for test commercials, but that's not what I want to do.....I actually went to school for film directing and writing, and I also did animation, but I had to ultimately choose one, and I'm still paying it all off..." yada yada. The poor man.

And then the most insightful thing came out of his mouth: "Well, what do you want to do?"

Apart from being completely flabbergasted at his wanting to know in the first place, I also had to stop and think. Why would he ask me that question? And why was this happening today, of all days, at the comics festival of all places? Was there perhaps something serendipitous about this particular moment?

All I can say is that ever since he asked me, I've been wondering about the same question myself.

‽

FLASHBACK FRIDAY: Animalympics

There are certain childhood memories that, when I look back on, seem so amazingly joyful that it's almost too much to handle in that moment. Hardened stress-driven New Yorker that I am, being able to experience perhaps a small millisecond of childlike joy just shoots a laser beam right through my jaded soul.

Bittersweet is perhaps the best word to describe the feeling of nostalgia, as it is both heart warming and heart wrenching to think that at one point in your past, things seemed truly magical.

Sometimes those instances still occur, but because most adults are so preoccupied with worldly things, it's not so easy to hold onto. Hence, the flashback, and its appeal to me; because for once, I can revel in the glory that was childhood, and try to keep it alive....at least for a little awhile.

Now that you've dried your tears of this sentimental interruption, let me focus your attention on the latest (emphasis on "late" - and completely justified. Since it's the day before Thanksgiving, this qualifies as a Friday...right? Right.)

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

Animalympics was one of the VHS movies we had that we weren't sure how we acquired. It's possible that Grandma saw it one day at the video store and decided that since it was a cartoon and featured animals participating in Olympic-themed sports, that it was instant gratification.

By george, was she right.

• First of all, it was a parody - and given that we were a snarky family, this was immediately a plus.
• Second of all, it has the voices of Gilda Radner (of SNL fame), Harry Shearer (of The Simpsons Fame) and Billy Crystal (you could tell he was a big deal since even I knew who he was.)
• Third of all, it was goofy. There's an alligator boxer, a Japanese penguin gymnast and an Italian octopus bobsled team called the "Calamari Brothers." Yeah. Awesome.
• And finally, it had a great soundtrack. By people that were not Disney.

I was trying to fall asleep the other night, but I simply could NOT get these moments out of my mind. I remember watching this video over and over again, and constantly being swept away.

But it's just a cartoon, you say!

Ahhh, but there's no such thing as just a cartoon......

This is how the movie opens - can I begin to try to explain how fucking amazing this looks? Possibly not, it's mostly because you're not 10 anymore. Shit sucks, don't it?

Little did I know, the animators who worked on this film had some pretty impressive resumes: Brad Bird (Pixar, The Iron Giant), Roger Allers (The Lion King), and Steven Lisberger (writer and director of Tron, and I you can definitely see the influence here.) I was a geek before I even knew what it meant!

 

California neon ocean hallucination trip. As a kid you were flabbergasted, mystified, perhaps a tad bit frightened, yet completely enthralled with the images that were being played across your TV screen. The only thing that's changed is the lack of a VCR.

 

For some reason unbeknownst to me, no one has posted this song with the visuals from the actual movie. For those of you that were not fortunate enough to see, just picture this - Million Dollar Man + Wild Boar = Ski Champ - while you're listening.

Let's face it; coming off the 70s, there had to be some disco in here. I have to admit, I was a BeeGees fan, so this delighted me beyond words. But even if you don't like disco, or dancing animals getting it on, it's still pretty damn catchy.

I leave you with a final gem; the song itself is a bittersweet trip into something that whispers like nostalgia, makes your stomach float as if on air, and your mind imagine that for a suspended moment in time, you really are away from it all.

This is the stuff that childhood dreams are made of.

‽

Cartoon Nostalgia

They've made me laugh. Some have even made me cry. They've filled the rainy days and happiest moments of my childhood. They've shaped who I am....

They are cartoons. And I love them so.

I was just bitten by the nostalgia bug after hearing the dreadful news that the face of Dr. Claw from the show, Inspector Gadget, (after years of being cleverly hidden from view by a strategically placed chair back) has been revealed....and is pretty frickin' lame:

http://progressiveboink.com/archive/drclaw.html

This is sad. Especially because there are so many notable villains, Dr. Claw being only one in a myriad of evil-doers:

• Krang, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Evil Pie Man of Porcupine Peak, Strawberry Shortcake
• Ursula, The Little Mermaid

But I digress. In lieu of my precious memories, and the satiation of my inner child's hunger for the past, here is a list of my most favorite cartoons, for all of your leisurely enjoyment:

Inspector Gadget
- Penny was my favorite character of all time. I used to pretend I had my own computer book.
- I think my favorite episode was "Monster Lake" (September 17, 1983), where Gadget tries to save a missing scientist from a M.A.D. fashioned-monster a-la "Loch-ness." I love the crazy digital-esque underwater music, and when Penny sabotages the mechanics of the computer-generated monster, it goes haywire in a way that still makes me crack up to this day. Also, Gadget long neck?.....creepy....



The Little Mermaid
- This was my absolute favorite movie growing up. I've loved it ever since. I had mermaid sheets, curtains, clothes, purses, toys. I even had a room with a Little Mermaid world painted on the walls, and a porthole in my door.

Pee-Wee's Playhouse
- Dad and I watched this every morning. Not exactly entirely animated, but you know what was? Penny. Penny was claymation, had pennies for eyes, and didn't do drugs.

Tiny Toon Adventures
- The show was awesome, the movie even better. Any kids' cartoon that parodies "Deliverance," and is just as scary as the original, is a masterpiece. I gotta watch that again.

Animaniacs
- The funniest show of its time, besides maybe "Freakazoid" and "The Tick" (which I didn't really appreciate at the time). The jokes were kid-friendly and adult-clever. My parents watched it with me every morning. I can still recite the main theme. "Good Feathers," and the clown that haad th voice of "Jerry Lewis" are just some of the greats.

Pinky and the Brain
- So good, they got their own spin-off show after Animaniacs. Oh god, soo many good episodes: Jeopardy with Brain in his man suit (does anyone remember the name he had??), Pinky in the world of cheese, the Napoleon episode, the 1996 Emmy award-winning Christmas special (which made me cry), the "War of the Worlds" parody....Also a plus was Brain's similarity to Orson Welles, and Pinky's "NARF!"

Muppet Babies
- I had forgotten about the random opening of doors and windows to reveal film scenes like battles from Star Wars!..and of course, more parody...



Looney Tunes
- My mom's favorite cartoons of all time. I literally was raised on this stuff. Still the most clever, historically educational, and entertaining animated cartoons ever. My fave? The banned World War II propaganda shorts, of which I wrote a paper on. Here's one you probably haven't seen:



Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- A Saturday morning staple for my dad and I. I Ninja Turtle colorforms, shrinkydinks, teeshirts, and a stuffed Michaelangelo. As manager for Kay-Bee toys, my dad went EVERYWHERE trying to find my April O'Neil figurine, equipped with ninja star, laptop and hand gun.

Disney Afternoon
- Darkwing Duck, Tale Spin, Rescue Rangers and Duck Tales. Such classics.



Strawberry Shortcake
- Almost sickeningly sweet. But who can lay fault on that? I had only one episode on VHS, and it was the one with "The Berry Song."



Reboot
- The first 3D animated cartoon on television, I believe. Why don't they bring this back!? Even my parents loved this show...again, humor was superb (good writing makes a difference!) Best episodes had to be a.) the last episode of the 1st season, where Sailor Scouts get pummeled by a boulder as the system crashes, and the talent show where Bob & Megabite rocked out:



Sailor Moon
- Butchered when it came to the United States for younger audiences, I was still taken by its lead heroines and the awesome outfits. So began my 6am mornings before school, and an adolescent love of anime and manga. I had the freakin' musical wands! And I was fourteen!

The Simpsons
- This cartoon started two years after I was born on the Tracey Ullman Show, and has been going strong since. I remember as a young child I had a Bart doll. My family also grew up on this cartoon, to the point where my little sister's first memorization was an entire Simpsons episode (when Lisa becomes a vegetarian). The Treehouse of Horrors are some of the best written parodies ever, and my education for film school.

Science Court
- This show was pretty freakin' funny! Not many people knew about it, since it was a "kid's show" but the humor was very similar to "Dr. Katz," which was also the same animation style, called Squigglevision.

Doug, Recess, Pepper Ann
- Our Doug was "Brand-Spankin' New" (remember, I didn't have Nickelodeon...so we got the leftovers.) But it was still great. Recess was clever, and Pepper Ann was a little strange but still awesome (and apparently they had it in Germany as well...)

Bump in the Night
- This claymation cartoon was crude but awesome. Mr. Bumpy lived under the bed, Molly was his cute doll gf, and Squishington spent his time in the toilet. "Night of the Living Bread" and "Karaoke Cafe" are just some highlights.



The Batman/Superman Adventures
- The older ones were better. Especially when they crossed over. Harley Quinn was rad.

Invader Zim
- Creepy looking, gross at times, but undoubtedly entertaining. Gir was one of the best sidekicks to come out in a long time. "I loved-ed you Piggy! I loooved-eddd youuuu!"



Sooooo, re-visit your fave cartoons.....It'll take ya back.