The opening scene in “Moonhead and the Music Machine,” Andrew Rae‘s new graphic novel, reminds me of a short story by P.G. Wodehouse about a boy who struggles with always being late for breakfast at his boarding school. Too bad he couldn’t have used such an excuse as having a moon for a head. However, Joey, our main character in this fabulous work of comics does have a moon for a head! The panels with Joey’s moonhead catching some more winks while his body trudges off to high school is pure comics magic. It turns out that Joey can tune out the world at will and have an out-of-body experience any time he likes. This might have been a bit too much for Wodehouse to process in his day but he probably would have approved.
Holmesburg Prison, Philadelphia, Terror Dome (1896-1995)
“Ghost Stalkers,” now on Thursdays on Destination America, proves to be classic-worthy with its visit to the infamous Holmesburg Prison. We can speculate from now until sunrise, but what this show does well, it does very well. The chemistry between John E.L. Tenney and Chad Lindberg carries over smoothly with each new mission. The paranormal activity spikes with their visit to the abandoned Holmesburg Prison in Philadelphia. They confront spirits and they confront back.
“In Real Life” is one of this year’s most intriguing graphic novels as it raises questions not asked often enough. A New York Times bestselling graphic novel written by Cory Doctorow and drawn by Jen Wang, it is the story of Anda, a gamer, who discovers a black market system through the friendship she makes with, Raymond, a poor boy in China. The focus is on what exploited people must do in order to survive and what can be done to help them rise up and out of their circumstances. But it’s also about the avatars we use to hide from the world. As is clearly depicted here, Anda has problems with the real world and her place in it.
I love a comic that takes the time to introduce a scene from the Battle of New Orleans, suggest some supernatural thing going on with Andrew Jackson and then quickly keep moving. We learn that General Andrew Jackson struck a deal with a pirate, Jean Lafitte, and that saved him from being captured by the Brits. In the process, he learned everything he needed to know in order to build his own ghost fleet! “The Ghost Fleet” is a fine example of how comics can always surprise you. I am coming away very impressed with this one.
Chad Lindberg and John E.L. Tenney from GHOST STALKERS
I love me some good ghostbustin’ TV action. If I’m going to commit some sit down time, I’m really hoping for a good effort with credible jargon and gadgets and true-believers as guides to build up the suspense. In the latest episode of “Ghost Stalkers,” we get some good stuff with “The Old Taylor Memorial Hospital,” which airs on Sunday, November 2, at 10/9c on Destination America. The title brings it home conjuring up thoughts of Scooby and the gang.
“Echoes in an Empty Apartment” is full of energy and intrigue in its 23 minutes. Lindsay Lane commands the screen as The Angel. This horror short begins with our femme fatale engaged in cleaning up her blood-stained kitchen. In her yellow rubber gloves, and cherry print apron, she meticulously sponges away. The dark red blood is set off by the bright yellow gloves. Once satisfied that things are polished clean, she delivers a chilling stare. We then cut to a drifter in a dive bar. He’s The Bastard (played by Trey McCurley) in our story. He will sleep with anyone and mounts a prostitute twice his size while under the surveillance of The Angel. She’s on a case and it revolves around him.
I don’t think you can sue a fictional character for having said something that came from her fictional mind in a work that is fiction. Can you? Well, Paul Brodeur is going to take a stab at it. Actually, he’s targeted some deep pockets that are everything but fictional. Paul Brodeur is a science journalist who was a staff writer at The New Yorker for nearly 40 years. In the film, “American Hustle,” the character Roslyn (played by Jennifer Lawrence) tells her husband, Irving (played by Christian Bale) that “microwaves take the nutrition out of food.” “That’s bullshit,” Irving replies, and his wife shows him a magazine and says, “It’s not bullshitt. I read it in an article. Look, by Paul Brodeur.”
Brodeur claims that this exchange between fictional characters, in a work of fiction, has damaged his career since he’s never actually stated that “microwaves take the nutrition out of food.” The solution, of course, is to sue the companies that produced and distributed the film, Columbia Pictures, Atlas Entertainment and Annapurna Pictures.
Good luck with that, Mr. Brodeur. Personally, I tend to think that microwaves do take the nutrition out of food. So, sue me.
Megg, Mogg, and Owl. Say it with me, “Megg, Mogg, and Owl.” They will set you free. Set you on a righteous path. What Simon Hanselmann does with his comics is what any artist and/or writer worth his or her salt does: take you somewhere, make you feel something. The most disturbing, and most exhilarating, moment for me in comics this year, or any year, must be Werewolf Jones taking a cheese grater to his testicles. Pure genius. And I say it with only a touch of irony. In fact, it is a great moment in comics.
“Blood Ransom” is a slow burn crime thriller that fearlessly takes on the whole vampire genre. As if oblivious to “Twilight,” this vampire love story is a noir-tinged offbeat adventure harking back to the ’70s. It’s got your basic adreniline-fuled plot, vampire gang vs. the one guy who might make a difference, plus a bunch of quirky twists. And much of what makes this work is a strong cast, starring Alexander Dreymon, as the lone wolf hero, in love with Anne Curtis, as the mysterious vampire vixen.
