*Mild Spoilers* The spinning globe of a 76 gas station in a redwood jungle. The first iPad “charge complete” chirp in a decade. The palm frond surgical masks worn by a group of ape doctors. Director Matt Reeves’ Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a terrific action movie that earns its keep by building in time to let us appreciate stylish little details … Continue reading A HIP LITTLE DETAIL IN DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
Back in February I posted a thing about The CW show Arrow, which is based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow. I fell off watching it for a while, because of things like Mad Men, House of Cards, and Game of Thrones, but now I am back, smack in the doldrums of the middle of the first season. The series started very strongly and … Continue reading THE CW’S ARROW: ONE LAST THOUGHT AND THEN I WILL SHUT UP ABOUT IT
See the black dots around the Silver Surfer in the image above? Those dots are called the “Kirby Krackle.” To the uninitiated twenty-first century observer, the dots may seem like a minor artistic embellishment used on a quaint periodical from half a century ago. In actuality these little dots were a kind of minor revolution; a technique employed by a master artist that showcases his … Continue reading REVIEW: KING KIRBY
It is with great pride that I share this rare gem from my childhood, which I recently unearthed on a trip back to my parents’ house in Georgia: “The Gathering of the C-Men” Issue #1! This comic that I made circa 1991 has all kinds of CRAZY stuff going on in it and is, after a considered rereading, actually pretty brilliant in it’s total lack … Continue reading THIS COMIC I MADE IN 5TH GRADE IS KIND OF A DADA MASTERPIECE
In four days Season 6 of AMC’s Mad Men will be released on Netflix Instant. Fifteen days after that, Season 7 will begin airing. My wife and I have just consumed the show’s first 5 seasons at a relentless, insatiable clip over the past three months, so we decided to use the opportunity to take a short break, rather than buying each episode on Amazon. … Continue reading Nothing and Everything – Reflections on the Unsynopsizable Beauty of Mad Men
An Origin story: When I was a little kid, maybe six years old, my dad’s brother and his family moved in with us temporarily. All told it was only a period of about nine months, but my memory has stretched this visit out into something far more mythic. Along with close quarters bonding time with my extended family, something else important happened during that period – … Continue reading REVIEW: KILL SHAKESPEARE
*MILD SPOILERS* Say what you will about all the abs on the CW’s Arrow – that show knows what the hell it’s doing. I used to think that you could get away with doing edgier stuff with the character Green Arrow because he was but a minor player in the DC Comics pantheon. Anyway, that’s what Denny O’Neil and Neil Adams always said when asked … Continue reading OF SLINGS, ARROWS, AND DESERT ISLANDS: THE INVERTED SOURCES OF THE CW’S ARROW
Moon #29: “Last Call” *SPOILERS* “Thank you and good night.” And so, here we are: the end of the line, the very crack of doom itself. It was peculiar indeed listening to this final episode of Mike Daisey’s monolithic 29-part monologue, All the Faces of the Moon. It was peculiar to hear him speak these words again and to hear the frequent swells of laughter … Continue reading REVIEW: ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PART 29
Moon #28: “The World is More than We Will Ever Know” *SPOILERS* “I think we all understand on a deep level that speech is free, and one of the reasons we allow speech to be free is that no one’s listening. It doesn’t matter what you say and it doesn’t matter how you say it because no one gives a shit. Sort of a central … Continue reading REVIEW: ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PART 28
Moon #27: “A Flaw in Your Judgment” *SPOILERS* “The stars are an inhuman thing, but the constellations are ours. We tell the stories that connect them.” Mike Daisey begins Episode 27 of his 29-part monologue, All the Faces of the Moon, with a sly reference to the government shutdown, which started on the day of this episode’s recording. And as he sets the scene for … Continue reading REVIEW: ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PART 27
Surreal Time Press 