On March 8th I will be doing an online live course on how to write through Andy Zack’s Comics Experience. We’ll be discussing everything from creating characters to plotting. Here’s where you go to sign up.
Month: February 2014
PAD of La Mancha
Originally published May 12, 2000, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1382
I keep seeing these ads for “The Gap,” with all these jeans-clad actors performing numbers from West Side Story such as “America” and “Cool.” The downside is that I’m still not remotely interested in shopping at the Gap. The upside is that I’m now really eager to see a Broadway revival of West Side Story, perhaps choreographed by whoever is doing the commercials. If they ever decide to mount such a production, I’m there with money in hand. Of course, if they want to make it timely, they could change the gang from Puerto Ricans to Cubans. You’d have to do some lyric tweaks (“I like the city Havana!” “That’s the place from which we ran-ah!”) but it could be done. (Me, I still think time is on the government’s side on that whole Elian matter. Bottom line, the kid can’t stay cooped up forever. If the INS really wants him, they just have to wait it out. If nothing else, they can nab him when he heads out to his senior prom.)
In any event, speaking of Broadway musicals (he said by way of clumsy segue), for those who by bizarre happenstance might be interested into the only hobby I’ve got—community theater—you’ll be interested to know that I’m in a production of Man of La Mancha on Long Island in May.
Penny-Wise and Pound-Foolish
Originally published May 5, 2000, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1381
Penny-wise and pound-foolish.
It’s a term I learned many years ago. What it means is that one is so busy minding every nickel and dime, that one forgets to see the big picture (if one was ever aware that it was there in the first place.)
Once upon a time, Marvel Comics was called “the House of Ideas.” Then everyone started calling it the “Condo of Concepts” (well… I know I did.) Somewhere along the way, the Powers That Be, the Executives, Those Who Watch the Dimes, turned it into a studio, and I don’t mean in the movie sense. A studio as in a studio apartment or an efficiency. The popular slogan of “Make Mine Marvel” has been replaced by “Make Mine Cheaply.”
And it has cost them. Good God, how it has cost them.
I-Con 19
Originally published April 28, 2000, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1380
This past weekend was I-Con 19, the nineteenth science fiction convention held at the University of Stonybrook in beautiful Long Island. When I first started attending the con back in its earliest days, one small building housed the entire thing. The entirety of the dealer’s room took up exactly one medium-sized classroom. Now the dealer’s room requires the entirety of the gargantuan athletic center, and programming is spread out among three buildings. It’s easily the largest annual convention in the tri-state area, and possibly in the East Coast (although I’m not sure where the attendance figures compare to Dragon*Con.) The downside of “Schlep Con,” as I sometimes refer to it, is that because everything is so spread out it can be, well… something of a schlep.
Ch-Ch-Changes
Originally published April 21, 2000, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1379
“Things were better the way they used to be.”
“Why can’t they leave well enough alone?”
“Why do they have to change everything?”
I’ve been reading that a lot lately in relation to comics… and in relation to me and my humble endeavors. I’ve read it everywhere from message boards to internet columns.
Best of The Incredible Hulk TV show, part 2
Originally published April 7, 2000, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1377
As I mentioned last week, the noble But I Digress readers were instrumental in helping select the episodes of The Incredible Hulk TV series for the Columbia House “Best of” tape collection. Herewith the rest of the selections that made the cut.
Continue Reading “Best of The Incredible Hulk TV show, part 2”
Best of The Incredible Hulk TV show, part 1
Originally published March 31, 2000, in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1376
Again, we’re falling into the realm of short-term memory problems, but it suddenly occurs to me (hopefully accurately) that I never followed up on the open request for favorite episodes of the Hulk that I gave to you, the readers.
If you’ll recall, some time back Columbia House video approached me. The reason: They wanted me to oversee the selection of a “Best of” collection for the old Incredible Hulk TV series. Now I’ve seen a number of “Best of” tapes for other TV series and always thought the same thing you probably did: “Gee, I wish they’d asked me.” So I took the opportunity to do exactly that by offering to hear whatever input you folks wanted to offer. The final list was a combination of some Columbia House mandates (such as the pilot), reader input, plus my own preferences. Since the set provides two episodes to a tape, I tried to provide episodes with some sort of thematic link. For instance, I linked “747” with “My Favorite Magician” on the same tape—even though “Magician” wasn’t a large vote-getter—because both of them featured former co-stars of Bill Bixby (Brandon Cruz of The Courtship of Eddie’s Father and Ray Walston from My Favorite Martian. Not to mention that the title itself was a reference to Bixby’s unfortunately short-lived series, The Magician.)
So for all of you who are interested, herewith a list of the “Best of The Incredible Hulk.” I didn’t incorporate every single preference of any one reader, but there was such a consensus on so many of the episodes that, for the most part, I think I did hit a majority of everyone’s wish list.
Continue Reading “Best of The Incredible Hulk TV show, part 1”
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