Snowbird

I owe Fred Van Lente some thanks.

As everybody knows, I'm a huge Alpha Flight fan. But as much as I love it when my son shares my passions, I'm not about to push any particular interests on him. If anything, he's influencing my tastes. But thanks to awesome comics like Tiny Titans, DC Super Heroes, and the Marvel Adventures line, David's very much into superheroes right now. And thanks to Van Lente's Wolverine First Class, he's now also into Alpha Flight.

Or rather, one particular Alphan.



No, not Aurora. Though she's a favorite of mine too.

He's bugging me to dig out my old X-Men and Alpha Flight comics because he wants more Snowbird stories. I've held him off for a bit by buying the first Classic Alpha Flight collection, but that's not going to last me forever. I made the mistake of telling him about that one X-Men story where Snowbird turns into a real wolverine. He's not going to leave me alone until I read it to him. And I love that.

I've been meaning to talk more about Alpha Flight for a while now anyway, so this'll be another reason to find those boxes and start doing that.

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)

A while back, Christopher Mills blogged about his experience with the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea TV series from the mid-'60s. I've never seen the show, but I did recently catch the movie it was based on when it was on cable. And I put off re-watching the Disney 20,000 Leagues to do it.

I'm not sure I made the right choice, but I did like Voyage for the most part. The cheesy Frankie Avalon love song they use for a theme doesn't fit the rest of the movie, and that's the least of the film's problems, but it's hard not to like Barbara Eden and Peter Lorre tooling around in an enormous sub with a possibly mad commander who's either going to save the world or destroy it.

In a plot timely enough that they've recently (and distastefully) re-released the movie in a "global warming" edition, Voyage tells the story of the Earth's rapid heating due to the Van Allen radiation belt's catching fire. The world's greatest scientists meet in New York to discuss solutions and two are given serious consideration. Dr. Zucco believes that the belt will burn itself out when it grows hot enough; Admiral Nelson disagrees and believes that only a nuclear explosion hitting the belt at just the right time in just the right place will snuff out the fire. The problem is that the solutions are diametrically opposed to each other. Zucco claims that Nelson's plan will trap the explosions in the Earth's atmosphere and destroy the Earth; Nelson says that if they wait for Zucco's solution to fail, it'll be far too late to implement the nukes as a backup.

Against the wishes of just about everyone on Earth - including his crew - Nelson takes his massive submarine, the experimental Seaview, to sea to get it into position. Thanks to the presence of a visiting psychologist on board, much is made of the stress of being cooped up in the sub for long periods of time and we begin to wonder who the strain is affecting more: the crew who don't want to be on the mission or Admiral Nelson for insisting on it.

The movie's supposed to be a tense, psychological drama but with an awesome submarine, an interesting crew, and a giant octopus. It succeeds on the setting and adventure. The Seaview seems like a cool place to live and hang out. I'm planning on watching the TV show now just so I can spend some more time on it. But the movie fails on the psychological level.

People act strangely all through the movie and it can't all be explained by stress, which - in spite of the psychologist's pet theory - doesn't explain how seasoned, hand-picked sailors can suddenly snap and become suicidal, mutinous saboteurs. Loyalties shift and motivations change all throughout, but it feels fake. For example, the Admiral's solution to the crisis is backed up by another famous scientist on board the Seaview, but everyone - including the sub's captain who supposedly looks on the Admiral like a father - concentrates solely on the Admiral's mental health, ignoring the scientist's input. And rather than do whatever they can to stop the crisis, military crewmen would rather desert their posts and spend their last remaining days at home with their families. I found all of the doubt and suspicion impossible to believe unless I gave in completely to the psychologist's theory, but we're never given a great reason to do that either.

I'm hoping that with a different plot though, the TV show will make better use of the great setting on the Seaview and be an enjoyable series. I'll let you know.

Bolland covers Zatanna for ongoing series?

Buried in this interview with Brian Bolland is a hint that he may be the cover artist for DC's upcoming ongoing series written by Paul Dini.

Asked about his upcoming work, Bolland replied, "I think there’s also going to be a Zatanna series that I’ve done one cover for." Now maybe I'm totally reading into that and wishfully thinking, but his specifying "one" cover makes me hopeful that there will be others. Because short of Adam Hughes, I can't think of anyone else I'd rather see do covers on a Zatanna comic.

And now, for no good reason: someone dressed as Zatanna.

Introducing Wonder Woman

If you'd asked me a few months ago when Wonder Woman's first appearance was, I probably would've said Sensation Comics #1. I would've been wrong though, because about a month before she appeared in Sensation, DC introduced her in a back-up feature to All Star Comics #8.

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you're well aware of my interest in Wonder Woman. I think she's a character full of potential that's only now starting to be realized in her monthly comic. But I'm also aware that I say that as someone without a whole lot of historical perspective about her. I've read the earliest issues of George Perez's '80s reboot and then sporadic parts of Phil Jiminez and Greg Rucka's runs. It's been only recently that I've become interested in learning about her history and really studying how her writers have portrayed her over the last sixty years.

To start that exploration, I figured the best place would be the Golden Age stuff by her creator William Moulton Marston. I'll skip the usual intro about how simultaneously odd and revolutionary Dr. Marston was. I'm sure it's important to why he wrote Wonder Woman the way he did, but I'm not as interested in that as I am tracking her character development. Which brings us to All Star Comics #8.

The first thing I noticed about the Wonder Woman back up story is how cool its structure is. It's really four stories in one, and only three of them are comics. It begins with Steve Trevor's crash on Paradise Island, goes to an illustrated prose flashback to the founding of the island, then shows another flashback in comics form telling how Trevor came to crash there, and wraps up with the famous contest in which the Amazon princess (unnamed for most of the story) tricks her mother into letting her be the Amazons' emissary to America.

The second thing I noticed is that my preconceived notions about Steve Trevor were incorrect. I've always heard that Steve was pretty useless - and maybe he became that way later on (he certainly was in the Wonder Woman TV show) - but he's actually very competent here. He begins his adventure by trying to shut down a Nazi spy ring operating in the US. He's already figured out who their leader is and thinks he knows where they're headquarters are. All that remains is to round them up, so he hides out near the suspected HQ and ambushes the leader as he drives past.



I guess we could fault Steve for not taking back up, but c'mon. When did James Bond, The Shadow, or John Carter ever call for back up? As in any good adventure story, the hero's job isn't completely easy though. Steve's plan doesn't go exactly as he wanted and he's knocked unconscious.

He eventually wakes up in a US plane that the spies have rigged to run by remote control. Their plan was to fly their own bomber above the robot plane in order to bomb US bases and make it look like an American was doing it. Having an American pilot at the controls would only add to the illusion, especially if - as I suspect - the spies intended to crash the robot plane once they were done.

Fortunately, Steve wakes up and takes back control of his plane.



Turning their own plane against the spies, he chases them to sea, determined to catch them once and for all. Unfortunately, he runs out of gas during the chase and has to crash land on Paradise Island. I guess running out of gas could be considered a blunder, but Steve makes it pretty clear as he starts the chase that he's willing to give his life for even the chance of catching these guys.

On Paradise Island, Steve's plane is found by a couple of Amazon women: the princess of the island and a warrior named Mala. They take him to the Amazons' doctor who we can tell is really smart because she wears goofy-looking glasses.



Queen Hippolyta tries to cure her daughter's lovesickness with a history lesson about how dangerous men can be. Then the two of them learn about Steve's mission via the queen's Magic Sphere. And though Hippolyte doesn't want her daughter having anything to do with Steve, she see the importance of his fight against fascist tyrants. She consults her patron goddesses to be sure.



I love the logic behind this. It sounds kind of silly to 21st century ears, but as a '40s pulp adventure it makes perfect sense. I'm curious to see if DC addresses Wonder Woman's staying in Man's World after World War II (I have no idea if Marston was still writing the comic at that time), but as a way of getting her into Nazi-fighting mode, it's great.

It also explains why Wonder Woman wears a costume inspired by the American flag.



Her star-spangled costume becomes problematic after she's rebooted in the '80s sans Nazis, but for now it's all good.

A couple of other notes about the story. The princess goes nameless until the last page. I'm not sure how that works. It's pretty weird.

Secondly, the princess' friend Mala is also the last competitor she has to face in the contest. And she appears prominently in a later issue when Diana goes back to visit Paradise Island. I don't remember a Mala being that important in the post-Perez mythology, but it's interesting to me that we've already got a recurring Amazon character other than Hippolyte this early in the series. I'm curious to see how long she lasts.

Next time: Diana comes to the US and gets her secret identity in the weirdest way I've ever seen.

The Power You Possess

Fan-made Wonder Woman movie poster



"Coming Soon" is a lie since there is no movie, but dang, doesn't it make you wish there was one? Starring Jennifer Connelly?

While we're on the topic

There was a lot of brouhaha over Warner Brothers' announcing that they'd be rebooting the Superman movie franchise rather than continuing the storyline started in Superman Returns.

Most of the commentary has focused on WB Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov's comment that they would "try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it," but that's not what interests me. As long as the movies are good, the characters can be dark, light, or polka-dotted.

What I like is WB's "taking a page from Marvel," as my Newsarama compadre Kevin Melrose puts it. "Warner Bros. has reversed its earlier position of using the now-stalled Justice League of America as a launching pad for other DC properties. Instead, it will focus on solo features to build toward a multicharacter film." No one directly mentions Wonder Woman, but surely this is good news for a live-action Wonder Woman film. Maybe that'll encourage Joel Silver to finally figure out what kind he wants to make.

Alan Kistler's Wonder Woman Files



This is mainly so I can find it later, but Alan Kistler's excellent survey of Wonder Woman and her creator William Moulton Marston is as entertaining as it is educational. Well worth exploring if you're interested in the historical background of the character.

All Star Wonder Woman update

CBR has a very cool interview with Adam Hughes about his plans for All Star Wonder Woman. Adam says he'd like it to be done next year, but what's most interesting to me is the last bit in the conversation where he talks about what's interesting in Wonder Woman to him.

The thing that grabs me about her is what would compel a person to leave a perfect place and come to a flawed place. Paradise Island, there is nothing wrong there. They have no crime. They have no war. All they have is art and beauty and everything that is great in life. Why would she want to come to man’s world? Is she a missionary? Does she want to go to the deepest, darkest corners of the world and preach the gospel to the heathens? Does she just have insatiable curiosity? Does she want to just see what’s over the next hill? That’s the hook for me.

I think he's dead on. It's a part of the Wonder Woman story that needs updating. In the original version, she came to man's world to fight Nazis because she saw them as a threat to democracy, an ideal that Amazons shared with the US. I never bought George Perez's explanation in the '80s reboot. Looking forward to seeing how Adam answers that question.

He also says that while there's no actual supervillain in the story, "There is tons of action. I have written myself into a horrible corner because there are levels of action that Bryan Hitch and Michael Bay would say, ‘Adam, calm down. Why don’t you tone it down a little bit?’"

DCU Elementary



Rich Johnston has the skinny on DC's newest kids' comic, DCU Elementary. I love all of DC's other kids' comics, but judging by the art alone, this could easily become my favorite. Check out Aquaman's waterglobe go-cart in the back there.

Pirate News: Pirat Tales, Marvel pirates, George Harrison, and some nifty restaraunts

Pirat Tales trailer

My pal Dan Taylor has a trailer for his Pirat Tales comic from IDW. Wanna see?



If you'd like to pre-order it, the Diamond Order Code is SEP084132.

Piratz Tavern

I hate the "z" in the name, but if I'm ever in Silver Spring, Maryland, I'm going to the Piratz Tavern. It looks like a fun place and has a good-looking menu.

Treasure Island

But this... this I can see making a special trip to Vegas for.

George Harrison would've liked to have been a pirate

It gets going around the 20 second mark.



Ms. Marvel Special: Storyteller



As I told Grant when he emailed me about it, all the buckles and crap on her pirate costume almost make me not want it, but then I look at the Thing, Hulk, and Punisher and all is forgiven.

Jesse James is dead

I wasn't going to say anything yet, but it's been announced elsewhere, so I might as well talk about it. The orders for Dust to Dust: Jesse James vs. Machine Gun Kelly weren't enough to justify printing it. It sucks, but that's how it goes. Moonstone's been nothing but cool about it and I'm in no way frustrated with them; this kind of thing just sometimes happens with indie comics. Especially indie comics by three unknowns.

The reason I was holding off telling anyone is that Alex and I are still trying to figure out where to go from here with it. We both love the concept and we've even started planning a sequel, so we'd like to figure out how to revive it, but for now it's a dead comic. I'll say more when I know more.

Writing is Hard: Back cover copy

Kristen Nelson is a literary agent with a very useful blog. Like most useful lit agent bloggers, she spends a good amount of time talking about writing successful query letters, but she suggests an approach that I think is especially helpful. At least, it helps me get my mind around it in a way that I haven't been able to before. She suggests writing the pitch paragraph as if you were writing the copy for the back cover of your published novel.

To support the importance of that exercise, she quotes critic Jacqueline Lichtenberg who says that strong back cover copy is not only essential in getting your book noticed by critics with large review piles, but - if you write it before you start crafting your novel - also helps you keep your story focused.

So, for all of these reasons, here's my first stab at the back cover copy for my work-in-progress The Sea Monster.

Tess Fisher has always lived a quiet, isolated life in the seaside cottage she shares with her father. But when a stranger breaks in and tries to kill her dad, Tess learns that it’s no random act. Though only a poor fisherman, Tess’ father not only recognizes his attacker; he also suspects that the murder attempt has dire implications for the entire country.

Realizing that her father has been keeping secrets about his past, Tess rebels against his attempt to leave her behind as he and a mysterious agent of the king head out to sea in order to save their home. With the help of a beautiful pirate captain and her crew, Tess follows her father to learn more about who he is, the wonders beneath the ocean, and the danger that threatens them all.

Happy Tarzan Day!

I almost missed that today's Edgar Rice Burroughs' birthday. He would've been 133.

Action Girl News: Scarlett Johansson Amazon movie, Middleman RIP?, Burn Notice novel, the insanity of ELA, and more.

Lorna the Jungle Girl vs. a giant cobra



Pappy's Golden Age Comics has the whole racist, only-slightly-less-sexist story.

Amazon

The guys who are writing the new Conan movie are also working on an action-adventure movie called Amazon that will apparently star Scarlett Johansson.

Can I just say that I'm about twelve times more excited about seeing Scarlett Johansson play an Amazon than I am to see someone besides Arnold Schwarzenegger play Conan?

Middleman RIP?

It could be too early to pronounce it dead, but I guess Middleman isn't doing very well and we should be prepared for the possibility that it won't be renewed. Which is really too bad because I started off being fond of the show and ended up falling in love with it. My fingers are crossed that - if it's not picked up again by ABC Family (which was always a weird fit anyway) - it'll find a home somewhere else with the exact same cast. Of course, I hoped that about Firefly too, but I'd rather be optimistic.

Honey West on DVD

Christopher Mills is always adding to my list of stuff to see and read. This time it's something new for the Netflix queue: a '60s private eye series about a martial arts-using action girl. Here's the show's intro:



Chuck's back



Speaking of martial arts-using action girls, Chuck should be back soon and you know what that means...



Hello, Sarah!

Burn Notice novel



Author Tod Goldberg talks about writing the first Burn Notice novel. He focuses mostly on his attitude-change towards tie-in novels in general, but he also talks about his love for the show and how writing the novel increased that.

Bookgasm reviews the book and says, "The highest praise one could give it would be to say it’d make a terrific episode. And it would. The worst thing is that’s not already an episode, but hey, it’s the next best thing."

I respectfully think Rod achieves even higher praise though when he says, "You can hear the actor (Jeffrey Donovan) speaking every word in your head, and Goldberg doesn’t miss a beat. The turns of phrase, the sarcasm, the devil-may-care attitude — he has it all nailed. Someone needs to put him on the writing staff, unless it means he wouldn’t have the time to crank out a couple more of these."

ELA

I have to end with this because I sure can't top it.

Mysterious Island (1961)

Minor SPOILERS BELOW

I must have seen Mysterious Island as a kid, because a lot of it looked familiar. Or maybe I'd just seen lots of clips from Ray Harryhausen tributes. Either way, I can't believe I made it this long into adulthood without watching it (again?).

Yay for Turner Classic Movies though. And it feels kind of appropriate to watch it now since I've just watched 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It would've been even more appropriate to watch after the Disney 20,000 Leagues, which is a lot closer to this movie in tone and look than the Richard Crenna movie, but oh well. It was still cool catching up with Captain Nemo. And a much cooler version than Crenna's pal, too.

If you haven't seen it, Mysterious Island is the story of some Union soldiers and a reporter who escape from a Confederate prison camp in a hot air balloon towards the end of the Civil War. A Confederate guard jumps into the basket to try to stop them and ends up stuck with them too. Unfortunately, there's a huge storm going on and it blows them clear across the continent and over the Pacific Ocean. Eventually they come down on the titular island and have to learn to work together to survive giant crab attacks and pirates. It's pretty awesome.

The group is prettied up when a couple of English women are stranded on the island after their ship wrecks. They're a rich woman and her niece, and at first they come across a bit entitled, but they integrate with the camp pretty quickly. And lucky for the men, the aunt can sew, so she makes jungle clothes for everyone including a skimpy outfit for her niece.

I won't spoil how Nemo shows up or what role he plays, but he does show up to add an extra helping of awesome to the plate. He's played by Herbert Lom (Chief Inspector Dreyfus from the Pink Panther movies) who's doing his best to equal James Mason's version from the Disney film. He doesn't quite make it, but he comes close. His goofy seashell diving gear hurts him, but he's much more animated and exotic than Ben Cross' version in the Crenna film). Lom even plays Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (but then, so did Cross, which was the coolest thing about him).

The Nautilus is also clearly ripped off from the Disney version, just as it should've been.

According to IMDB, the original concept for the movie was to shoot it as a straight survival story (inspired in part by the success of another Disney movie, Swiss Family Robinson), but the producers thought that was boring and ordered some giant monsters. So, yay, producer meddling!

Speaking of previous versions, there's a giant bird attack at one point that was held over from an early draft that featured prehistoric beasts. As much as I like dinosaurs, I'm more than okay with the giant crab, bees, and nautilus in this movie. Part of what made it so cool and interesting is that I never knew what to expect next. Dinosaurs are great, but I don't think I would have thrilled to a T-Rex half as much as I did to that crab.

My only complaints about the movie have to do with the ladies' not kicking enough butt and there not being enough Nemo in general. It could have been just a little bit more awesome than it was.

Four out of five giant crab dinners.