Todd Klein's Blog, page 323

Tigger and Leo's Christmas

"Look, Leo! Crackly paper and string and shiny things! Must be that time of year again."

"Yes, Tigger, and I think these two round ones are for us! They have that catnippy smell, and I see something chewable inside! Now if we can just get them open…"

"We're getting there! What is it? What is it?"

"Yay! A new chewy toy for each of us!"

We also got our spoiled boys another new toy, but I'll have to get pictures of it in action another day. Merry Christmas to all of you and your pets!

Rereading: THE LION, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE

Images © estates of C.S. Lewis and illustrator Pauline Baynes.

This time of year I like to reread an old favorite with a winter or Christmas theme or element to it, and this book has both. I can't say how many times I've read it, but quite a few. I first discovered this and the six other books in the Chronicles of Narnia when I was about twelve, I think, in the Bedminster, NJ town library, across the street from my grade school. I loved them from the first page, though I always had a hard time with the final book, "The Last Battle," which isn't as much fun to read.

If you haven't tried these, Narnia is a magical kingdom full of talking beasts of all kinds, including mythical ones like fauns and centaurs. In this book the country has been taken over by The White Witch, who has used her dark magic to make it always winter but never Christmas. She has gathered all the evil and cruel creatures she can find to her side, and enjoys persecuting the good-hearted beasts of the realm, turning any who oppose her to stone with her magic wand.

Into this setting stumbles Lucy, a young girl from World War Two England. She's playing hide and seek with her older sister and two brothers in a large old house in the country where they've been sent to avoid the blitz of London. Hiding in an old wardrobe full of fur coats, Lucy finds a way into the frozen world of Narnia, where she soon meets a faun named Mr. Tumnus, who invites her home for tea.

When Lucy returns through the wardrobe, her siblings don't believe her story, and the entrance to Narnia seems to have vanished. Later, her brother Edmund does find his way to Narnia, but has a much different adventure. He meets the evil White Witch, who enchants him and turns him against his family. Later again, when all four of them go through the wardrobe to Narnia the real story begins, and it's a corker! Like England, Narnia is under a state of siege, but the White Witch's power is weakening. The four children find friends in Narnia, but Edmund runs off to betray them to the Witch. Rumors are spreading of the return of Aslan, a godlike creature in the form of a giant lion. The beasts of Narnia, and the children, all look to him to lead a war on the White Witch and restore Narnia to its former warmth and glory.

When I first read the book, I may have noticed some parallels to Christian teachings from the Bible. Aslan, in particular, is a Christ-like figure who undergoes an ordeal somewhat like that of Jesus on the cross. If I did notice, it didn't bother me as I've heard it often bothers other readers, perhaps because I did go to a Christian church as a child, though I didn't stay with it in my teen years, and belong to no church now. I still feel the allegorical elements of the story are well integrated, and don't disrupt the narrative or call much attention to the reader in an "instructive" sort of way. I see this and all the Narnia books as classic fantasy stories with an element of allegory, not the other way around, and I still love the story and the prose of Lewis. It's very concisely written, no wasted words, and yet full of wonderful images and exciting events. The only thing that seems a bit off to me now, as an adult, is the stilted language Lewis gives the children at the end of their time in Narnia, after they've been there for many years. That reads as a bit phony and like they're "acting." Everything else about the book still charms me.

One thing I noticed this time was how crisp and clear the black and white illustrations by Pauline Baynes are in this 15th printing from 1968. The pictures are very detailed—Baynes has a miniaturist style—but every line and dot is there. This picture, for instance, is only about an inch and a half wide, but look at all the expressive features on the boy's face, and in so few lines.

The first copy of these books I owned were Puffin paperbacks with lovely color paintings by Pauline Baynes on the covers, which also wrapped around to the backs. The inside illos were not as well printed on these, though, due to the much cheaper and coarser paper.

The Christmas connection in this book arrives when the children and their friends are fleeing through the snowy woods from the White Witch, and have stopped for the night in a cave. In the morning they hear sleigh bells, and assume it's the Witch's sleigh, but instead it's Father Christmas with useful presents for everyone, and in very British fashion, even a pot of hot tea! It's a lovely and heartwarming scene, showing how the Witch's power is loosening: Christmas has arrived.

Favorite books are like comfort food, and this one was quite satisfying. Makes me want to read the others again, too.

And Then I Read: LEGION SECRET ORIGINS 1 & 2

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

I thought I'd give this a try expecting it to be a rehash of early Legion history and something I didn't need to read again, but it's not that. It's essentially a new story fit in before and around the beginnings of the Legion, and damn if Paul Levitz didn't get me hooked! Of course, the Legion origin has come a long way from its real beginnings way back in ADVENTURE COMICS 247 in 1958, more than 50 years ago. Not only the story itself but the world it takes place in have grown and matured and become more complicated. This story only adds to that, but in a good way! The given is that the Legion's "sponsor," the wealthy R.J. Brande is targeted for assassination. We know that will happen, but this story fills in lots more around that, including looks at the founding members and some who joined early in the process of getting together. Paul has always handled Brainiac 5 well, and here the character is in top form, snotting up the place with his superior attitude, which is only made more amusing by the fact that he's always right.

I find the art by Chris Batista and Marc Deering to be the best Legion art I've seen in a while. The approach reminds me of Chris Sprouse, with well-drawn figures, clean lines, a nice variety of shots and angles, and expressive faces and body language. This is fine work by everyone involved.

Recommended.

A Christmas Message from 1513 A.D.

Photo © Jon Oliver.

Longtime readers of my blog may remember this entry. I'm rerunning it today in honor of the solstice and the season.

For many years I attended the annual Christmas concert at Kirkpatrick Chapel, Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. First because I had friends in the choirs that performed there, later because I loved the music and it had become an annual tradition for me and my friends. When I moved to southern New Jersey I couldn't get to it any more, and I miss it.

I'm not a very religious person, belonging to no church or other organized religion, but I did grow up in a church-going family, and what I always liked most about it was the music. Particularly choir music. For over twenty years the annual concert at Rutgers gave me a joyful chance to hear some great choral singing. Between the songs, there would be readings from the Christmas story in the Bible, and also another reading. I don't know where the tradition began, or how long ago it started, but most of the years I attended, there was a reading from a letter written by Fra Giovanni Giocondo. A google search will tell you more about the historical figure, though there seems to be some uncertainty that he did indeed write the letter. Whoever the author was, I find it very moving, especially at Christmas.

Many years ago I lettered up this document and gave it out to friends as a Christmas present. I thought I'd do the same for all of you this year, in the spirit of the season. There's a higher resolution copy HERE which you can download and print if you'd like.

Thanks to Linda for reminding me about this, share it with anyone you think might be interested. And if you ever get the chance to attend "Christmas in Carol and Song" at Kirkpatrick Chapel, don't pass it up. It's a wonderful experience.

And Then I Read: EVELYN EVELYN

Images © Amanda Palmer, Jason Webley and Cynthia von Buhler.

This is a book based on a musical act created and performed by Palmer and Webley, in which they take on the persona of conjoined twins. I have to admit I read it before hearing any of the music, and I found it quite entertaining and charming all the same. (I've since listened to some of the music and watched a fine video with clever animation of the song "Have You Seen My Sister Evelyn?" on YouTube.)

The book, or book set, is in fact two small hardcovers in a box, and it tells the origin story and adventures of the character(s). It's a tale of melodramatic proportions full of unlikely tragedies, but one where Evelyn Evelyn do have some happy moments, and always seem to see the cheerful side of their difficult existence. They are first raised by a chicken farmer, then make their way into a circus where they are teamed with conjoined twin elephants, a partnership that makes all four beings happy. Of course, that happiness is doomed from the start, but then it's that kind of story.

The art by Cynthia von Buhler is charming without being too cute, creepy at times, but always in a sort of soft, friendly style that I found quite appealing. In some ways it's an idealized view of the characters as the authors imagine them, and therefore a window into the heart of the idea that Palmer and Webley attempt to portray on stage and on recordings. Therefore, if you find the music of interest, this book is sure to please you. I think it might appeal to many who. like me, were not already fans of the music, too. Neil Gaiman does a fine introduction, and that certainly doesn't hurt, but the book and story stand up fine on their own for me.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: GREEN LANTERN 2 & 3

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

I'm enjoying this title, and would put it near the top of the New 52 that I'm reading. Geoff Johns has made it a book of costars who hate each other, but also need each other, a situation that provides plenty of great character moments as well as lots of action.

Hal Jordan's ring is now on the hand of Sinestro, who has come to Earth to make Hal an offer. Sinestro will give Hal at least some of his Green Lantern power back in exchange for Hal's help in freeing Sinestro's homeworld of Korugar from the Yellow Lantern Corps that Sinestro created, but has now lost control of. Plenty of irony to go around here, but Hal misses his GL power so much he's willing to go along with the deal. First he has to explain things to Carol Ferris, and then before the mission even starts, one of the Yellow Lanterns turns up to create havoc.

Finally getting to Korugar in issue 3, Sinestro has a plan for himself and for Hal. Needless to say, it doesn't go well for either of them, but Hal certainly seems to be getting the worst of it by the end of the issue, apparently being destroyed inside the master Yellow Lantern.

The art by Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy continues to be excellent, with a highly realistic approach that also allows for terrific character acting, as you can see above. I think the GL movie has upped the game of these artists, they seem to be visualizing the characters better than ever. And Johns gives them lots to work with!

Highly recommended.

This year's Christmas cookies

As time goes by, we've given up some Christmas traditions, but we're still making cookies on the weekend before Christmas. Here's some trays of Mrs. Fields' Gingerbread that we're decorating with colored icing and candies, one of our favorites.

A closer look at one finished tray. New this year are little pearl candies that make great eyes and buttons, as well as tree ornaments.

Here's my family favorite, Butterball cookies, from my mother's recipe. Ellen did all the baking this year, I helped with decorating, washing dishes, and cleaning up.

New this year, another Mrs. Fields recipe Ellen wanted to try called "Party Time." It's a drop sugar cookie with chocolate chips and slivered almonds, not meant as a Christmas cookie, but a little colored sugar fixes that. Ellen was disappointed you can't really taste the almonds, the chips are the main taste, but I like them a lot. The cookie consistency is excellent, no surprise from Mrs. Fields.

Ellen's family favorite is another ball cookie, Mocha Nut, from her mother's recipe, made with cocoa, instant coffee crystals (ground to powder) and walnuts. We used Starbucks this year, and they're a little stronger in coffee flavor, but still great. Not real sweet, but tasty all the same.

That's it for this year. Recipes for most of these are on THIS previous post.

Incoming: THE STEVE DITKO OMNIBUS VOL. 2

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

Just arrived today is my contributor copy of this 400-page hardcover from DC. There are actually three stories here I lettered, two of which I'd forgotten about! It's a fine collection, once you get past the awful design work on the introductory pages. "The Hawk and The Dove" is cover featured, but there were only two issues of that. Plenty more here: Man-Bat, The Demon, Starman (written by Paul Levitz with great inking by Romeo Tanghal), Legion of Super-Heroes, and a few other odds and ends.

Here's a Demon story I lettered, an early and not great effort by me. Ditko usually did fine work on Jack Kirby creations, and this is no exception. His Legion stories (of which I lettered two) were not as successful, but there's lots in this book for Ditko fans to enjoy. Look for it in shops near you soon.

And Then I Read: LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES 1 & 2

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

First off, I have to point out that there is no revamp for the New 52 Legion. In fact, these issues essentially continue on from the previous series, with perhaps a month or two of time elapsed (as it did in the real world). Nor is it particularly new-reader friendly. It jumps right into a battle on a distant world without any explanation. In fact, without those handy character labels that have become standard on the book, a new reader would not even know which of the characters were meant to be Legionnaires. Paul Levitz did sort of relaunch the book when he started writing it again, not that long ago, so I guess that's the thinking here, but I wonder if new readers will wade through the convoluted storylines in these issues and get involved enough to continue.

In the first issue, a recon team is sent to the planet Panoptes, which recently cut off communications. They suspect trouble and they find it pretty quickly. The team is a mix of old and new members, and some of the new characters seem interesting, but none of them get that much time in the spotlight before battles break out.

As the opponent in the second issue, there's Res-Vir of Daxam, with a huge chip on his shoulder. He considers his entire world held prisoner. Like Mon-El, they all have the powers of Superman, but are severely allergic to lead, and so not able to leave their world. Res-Vir has found a way out, though, and he's pissed at the Legion, and powerful enough to do something about it.

Back on Earth Brainiac-5 and others are still picking up the pieces from the attacks of Saturn Queen and her gang in the previous series, and investigating new restrictions on time travel, noted as "The Flashpoint Effect."

The art by Francis Portela (pencils and inks) looks fine. Having to draw so many characters must make his job harder, and I can only wonder how he could keep it up monthly, but so far so good. Also nice to see a cover by Chris Sprouse and Karl Story on issue 2.

Recommended, but especially for those who already follow the LSH.

 

And Then I Read: GREEN LANTERN 1 (on my phone!)

Image © DC Comics, Inc.

I've been holding off on reading the relaunched GREEN LANTERN because I missed getting the first issue. Then I thought, here's a good opportunity to try reading an entire comic on my phone. When I got my iPhone six months ago, I downloaded the DC Comics app and looked at a few free comics, but decided reading comics on a phone didn't really work for me. Now I'm more used to reading things on the phone, so I decided to give it a try. I downloaded the issue after paying $1.99, and spent about 15 minutes reading it.

The experience is somewhat different from reading a printed comic. It's more directed, and you usually can't see more than a panel or part of a panel at a time. But I found the experience a pretty good one overall. I had no trouble reading the lettering. The directed path takes you close to a section to read balloons or captions, then pulls back to see any areas of the panel cut off in the closer view, or slides to another part of the panel for any other balloon or caption to read next, then back for the wider view. You need to tilt the phone sideways for wide panels, or back to vertical for tall ones. Areas outside the panel were black in most places, making it easy to focus on the story. There were no ads inside the story itself, just one at the end, which I liked a LOT. As a long-time comics reader, I kind of missed seeing a shot of each full page first (you only get them in thumbnail views), but otherwise it was quite involving, and I probably paid more attention to the details of the art than I do when reading a print comic. Really not a bad experience, and I might do more, but I think an iPad would be a better platform for reading comics than a phone.

So, how was the story? Quite good! Geoff Johns is messing with Hal Jordan (and his readers) by taking Hal's ring away, putting him back on Earth, and watching him try to cope. Meanwhile, Sinestro has been allowed by the Guardians to keep Hal's ring, and sent off to Korugar to "police his sector." Trouble is, Korugar is being terrorized by the Sinestro Corps that he put in place there, who aren't going to accept him as a Green lantern rather than a Yellow one. Yep, he's squirming, too. Johns and artist Doug Mahnke (with several inkers) are doing a wonderful job with Sinestro, probably inspired by the fine performance of Mark Strong in that role in the movie. Of course, they handle Hal well, too. The art is hyper-realistic, reminding me of Brian Bolland's work, though Mahnke certainly has his own style. I like it a lot. His Carol Ferris is also fine, and he does a great job with alien creatures, always important on this title.

Highly recommended, in any format!