Michael May's Blog, page 137
June 27, 2015
For Your Eyes Only (1981) | Music
During the production of For Your Eyes Only, John Barry was still in tax exile from the UK. He'd been able to work on Moonraker, because it was made in Paris, but FYEO returned the production team to Britain, meaning that Barry was back out. To replace him, he recommended Bill Conti, the man behind the amazing Rocky theme, so that's who Broccoli and Wilson hired.
For the title song, Conti teamed up with lyricist Mick Leeson. I can't find much about Leeson's career before this, but he'd go on to work with Sheena Easton quite a bit after. He and Conti worked on a couple of variations on the song with input from Maurice Binder who always liked to have the title said early in the song so he could put it on screen at the same time. There was also a version that Blondie submitted, and it sounds like they were considered, but only if they played the Conti/Leeson song. They passed and ended up releasing their own song on their next album, The Hunter.
At United Artists' suggestion, Sheena Easton was hired to sing "For Your Eyes Only." She'd just had a big hit with "Morning Train" and she totally fit the easy-listening, soft-rock vibe that the Bond films were in love with at the time. The song isn't horrible, but it's too sentimental and earnest. I don't like it. I'm not a huge fan of the Blondie song either, but it's at least got blood pumping through it.
To go with the song, Binder basically made a music video. For Your Eyes Only predates the debut of MTV by about a month, but music videos were already becoming a big deal thanks to USA Network's Video Concert Hall . The FYEO credits are mostly interested in Sheena Easton's face as she sings the song with generic silhouettes running around doing the same stuff they always do in Bond credits. There's also a water theme to the imagery, teasing at and leading into the opening scene of the movie where the spy boat with the ATAC is sunk by a mine. It's mostly weaksauce.
Conti doesn't use the Bond Theme as much as I'd like, but he uses it more than Barry does. A lot of the action in FYEO is set to this weird, disco-y music that sounds like its from a '70s or '80s TV cop show. During the cold open, when Bond's hanging from the helicopter, Conti mixes that music with the Bond Theme, but it's not satisfying. There's also a short, wa-wa guitar version of the Bond Theme after Lisl's death when Bond is captured. That seems like a weird spot to put it since Bond isn't doing anything cool right then, but it works as an "oh crap, they don't know who they're messing with, they're going to get it" moment. Even though don't get what's coming to them right then, it makes it very clear that they're going to later.
The best uses of the Bond Theme though are during the mini-sub trip and when Bond finally gets up to the monastery after killing the last guard. The mini-sub is as close to a gadgety vehicle as we get in FYEO and the monastery scene is when Bond is finally going to make the bad guys pay. Great moments.
Top Ten Theme Songs
1. The Spy Who Loved Me ("Nobody Does It Better")
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. Diamonds Are Forever
4. You Only Live Twice
5. From Russia With Love (John Barry instrumental version)
6. Live and Let Die
7. Dr No
8. Thunderball
9. Goldfinger
10. From Russia With Love (Matt Monro vocal version)
Top Ten Title Sequences
1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
2. Dr No
3. Thunderball
4. Goldfinger
5. From Russia with Love
6. The Spy Who Loved Me
7. Diamonds Are Forever
8. Live and Let Die
9. Moonraker
10. The Man with the Golden Gun
June 26, 2015
For Your Eyes Only (1981) | Villains
The biggest flaw of For Your Eyes Only is that it has a dull villain. Kristatos is smart - I like how he uses Columbo to throw Bond off the scent, and how he tricks Melina into coming to the Alps so that he can bump her and Bond off at the same time - but he's just not that interesting or cool. Julian Glover (General Veers from Empire Strikes Back, and of course Walter Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) plays him as coldly arrogant, so it's difficult to connect with him. His interest in sponsoring Bibi's Olympic career could have been humanizing, but even that turns cynical and sour by the end. And for no good reason.
And really... Kristatos isn't the film's actual villain anyway. He's just a very powerful henchman.
Emile Locque has a great look for a cold-blooded assassin. He doesn't have anything to prove; he's just frightening as hell.
I also love how he sub-contracts the Havelock's deaths to Gonzales, presumably to protect Kristatos' involvement. And then how he stays detached when the crap hits the fan at Gonzales' estate.
Erich Kriegler looks like your typical big, blonde, thuggish henchman in the tradition of Grant and Hans. He's got a lot more backstory than Hans though. He's introduced as an Olympian friend of Bibi, but we quickly learn that she doesn't really know him and that he's standoffish in general. Then we find out that he's actually an assassin and we assume he's working for Columbo and then Kristatos, but nope! He's a KGB agent working for Gogol. Which leads us to...
This is an interesting role for Gogol. He's been in two movies before this and both times he was a friendly ally, united with Britain to bring down an independent threat. This time, he's the Big Bad. He makes some noises early on about not taking a direct role in the search for the MacGuffin, saying that he'll simply buy it if it becomes available. But then he immediately puts out the order to contact Russia's "friend in Greece," who turns out to be Kristatos. So he is responsible for everything that happens in the movie. He hires Kristatos, who has the Havelocks killed and starts looking for the ATAC. Gogol even sends a KGB assassin to assist Kristatos in all the murder. Sounds like a pretty direct role to me.
Not that I'm complaining. The script and especially Walter Gotell do a great job of making him the villain without compromising the goodwill he's built up in Spy and Moonraker. He runs the KGB. Of course he's going to end up on the opposite side from Bond occasionally. If anything, FYEO helps his character out by showing that he's not a big marshmallow. But his history with and fondness for Bond come through even here and I love his reaction to the final détente scenario. Easy come; easy go.
He also doesn't ever screw up. He almost gets exactly what he wants. Except for a ridiculous coincidence where someone said the wrong thing in front of a parrot, he and Kristatos would have won.
Top Ten Villains
1. Auric Goldfinger (Goldfinger)
2. Ernst Stavro Blofeld (From Russia With Love and Thunderball)
3. Ernst Stavro Blofeld (On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
4. Francisco Scaramanga (The Man with the Golden Gun)
5. Dr. Kananga (Live and Let Die)
6. Doctor No (Dr. No)
7. General Gogol (For Your Eyes Only)
8. Karl Stromberg (The Spy Who Loved Me)
9. Emilio Largo (Thunderball)
10. Hugo Drax (Moonraker)
Top Ten Henchmen
1. Baron Samedi (Live and Let Die)
2. Fiona Volpe (Thunderball)
3. Grant (From Russia with Love)
4. Nick Nack (The Man with the Golden Gun)
5. Naomi (The Spy Who Loved Me)
6. Oddjob (Goldfinger)
7. Jaws (The Spy Who Loved Me)
8. Irma Bunt (On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
9. Miss Taro (Dr. No)
10. Tee Hee (Live and Let Die)
For Your Eyes Only (1981) | Women
I started talking about Melina Havelock some yesterday, because I love her and I love how real her relationship with Bond feels.
Carole Bouquet can't do big emotions very well, which is a problem when the moment calls for her to be seething with rage, but she's great at the little stuff. I love the fun she's having during the car chase. I love her conflicting emotions about whether to let Bond help her or just do things on her own. That's a complicated decision and I can see her struggling with it the entire movie. She also does "sad" extremely well.
She never turns stupid and she's a vital part of the film right up until the end. She storms the monastery right alongside the men and is crucial in taking it. My one regret is that we don't get to see whether or not she would have killed Kristatos. The movie does a lot of work to get her to that point and then chickens out at the last minute. That's too bad.
I usually try not to talk much about the attractiveness of the women in the series, because I don't want this to be about that, but I'm making an exception for Bouquet. She's so beautiful, I can't even stand it. I'm not going to pretend that's not a huge part of why I love her and this movie, but it makes me so happy that the rest of the film is also awesome.
Okay. Moving on...
Bibi Dahl isn't really a Bond Girl. Not if you only count women whom Bond actually makes out with. But she so very much wants to be and it's great to see Bond show some restraint for once in his horndog life. His relationship with her is perfectly summed up in the line, "You get your clothes on and I'll buy you an ice cream cone."
Here's the hilarious thing though. Actress Lynn-Holly Johnson is only one year younger than Carole Bouquet.
I've always had a problem with Lisl von Schlaf, but I've warmed to her the last couple of times I've seen FYEO. Mostly, I think my problem is that by this point in the movie I'm fully invested in Bond and Melina as a couple. This whole interaction feels like it belongs in another movie.
But there's a really lovely part when she lets her accent slip. Moore is so wonderfully real and casual with her when he asks if it's from Manchester; then she drops her guard and admits that she's from Liverpool. It's just this sweet, human moment between two people who are supposed to be playing each other, but find a genuine connection in the process. Bravo, For Your Eyes Only.
My Favorite Bond Women
1. Tracy Bond (On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
2. Melina Havelock (For Your Eyes Only)
3. Paula Caplan (Thunderball)
4. Tatiana Romanova (From Russia With Love)
5. Fiona Volpe (Thunderball)
6. Domino Derval (Thunderball)
7. Holly Goodhead (Moonraker)
8. Mary Goodnight (The Man with the Golden Gun)
9. Andrea Anders (The Man with the Golden Gun)
10. Honey Rider (Dr. No)
June 25, 2015
For Your Eyes Only (1981) | Bond
Actors and Allies
I've read that Roger Moore didn't enjoy making this movie and I believe it. It's not the kind of Bond flick he's known for and I expect that he liked making those kind better. But he's great in it. It works really well that he's getting a little older, even though Carole Bouquet (Melina) is 30 years younger than he is. He's still super active (that ski chase is amazing!), a handsome man, and I buy that she's temporarily attracted him as an anchor point in the chaos her life has become. Especially as a surrogate father figure after the death of her dad.
Bond isn't just a potential lover to her, he's a mentor. In fact, he's that first, offering her counsel on the price of revenge; something he knows a lot about. And I absolutely love that at the very end, he's going to let her make the decision about whether or not to murder Kristatos. It's taken out of both of their hands by circumstance, but it's important to me that Bond isn't the one to step in and deny her what she's spent the whole movie looking for. He obviously cares a great deal about her; enough to let her make her own choices.
More than just about any other Bond movie, his romantic relationship with Melina builds naturally (The Living Daylights and Casino Royale are other exceptions). There's even a really lovely montage of Bond's tagging along as Melina shops the Grecian markets for supplies for her crew. It's not a love to last the ages or anything, but it's believable and I appreciate the work that went into them as a couple.
I also like the way Bond's age factors into his reactions to Bibi. And he's back to flirting with Moneypenny, but it's mellowed out a lot. There's no danger in it, which is kind of sad, but it also makes sense that at some point these two would move past the flirting and just be friends. However, there's also something sad in the way Moneypenny starts putting on makeup when she notices that it's time for Bond's appointment. I can willfully re-interpret that as something else, but it's clearly supposed to be her holding a torch for Bond. Really, their whole scene together has an air of melancholy about it that I don't care for.
Moving on to Bond's other allies, this is the first movie in the series without Bernard Lee. He died of cancer, sadly, before they got around to shooting his scenes, but the script was already written and filming had already begun on other parts of the film. To work around his absence, they rewrote the story to explain that M is "on leave" and that Bill Tanner, M's Chief of Staff, is filling in. In the novels, Tanner is Bond's best friend in the Service and there's some of that camaraderie here, too. Tanner is more relaxed than M ever was and when he tells Bond to "try not to muck it up again," he's probably teasing, although it's a little hard to read that line.
The reason Tanner might be serious is because the Minister of Defense is also involved. The only "again" Tanner can be referring to is Melina's killing the Cuban assassin before Bond could question him, but that seems unfair to put on Bond. Except that the Minister already doesn't care for Bond thanks to the all times that Bond's embarrassed him one way or another. In FYEO, the Minister seems to know that Bond's a good agent, but he's still chilly towards him. And that's probably not going to change after the situation between Margaret Thatcher and the parrot.
Q's got a new assistant named Smithers who shows up again in Octopussy. There's not much to him here other than Bond knows his name and - more importantly - he's played by Jeremy "Boba Fett" Bulloch.
In the field, Bond's first ally is a fellow spy named Luigi Ferrara. He's competent, but mostly inconsequential and only there for exposition and to provide some pathos when he's killed. I like him though. He's a nerdy little guy and physically, he kind of reminds me of Roman Polanski.
Bond's biggest ally turns out to be Columbo, aka The Dove. Like in "Risico," we start off thinking he's the bad guy, but he turns into one of Bond's most memorable friends. He's one of those Fleming characters like Kerim Bey or Marc-Ange Draco who are not only Bond's pals, but sort of mentor/father figures to him. What's interesting in FYEO though is that the actor who plays Columbo (Topol from Fiddler on the Roof) is eight years younger than Roger Moore. He's letting his gray hair show though, so the age difference seems less and he and Bond treat each other as peers. It's a cool relationship and another reason I like older Moore in this movie. He's playing his age and it's great.
Another cool thing about Colombo is his obsession with pistachios. He uses them once as sort of an impromptu warning system, but they aren't in the movie as a plot device. They're just a character quirk and it's stuff like that that makes me love FYEO so much.
One last sort-of ally is Bibi's trainer, Brink. She's just a background character for most of the film, but when things get tough at the end, she turns out to be loyal and great. I like her a lot.
Best Quip
"That'll come in handy," regarding Smithers' fake-cast weapon.
Worst Quip
"He had no head for heights," after Locque goes over a cliff.
Gadgets
True to it's scaled-back tone, FYEO doesn't do much with gadgets. In fact, it comments on this by having Bond's white, "burglar protected" Lotus blow up right before a chase, forcing Bond and Melina to escape in a tiny and cute, but unglamorous Citroën 2CV. Q's able to repair and repaint it, but Bond never uses any of its gadgets. The only field gadget he ever uses in the movie is a pager watch with a two-way radio transmitter.
The biggest gadget of the film is the Indentigraph (inspired by the slightly lower-tech Identicast system in the novel Goldfinger) that Bond and Q use to identify Locque. I like how Bond walks into the Identigraph room with Q and immediately grabs a tape reel to load up. He's clearly used the system numerous times.
Top Ten Gadgets
1. Lotus Esprit (The Spy Who Loved Me)
2. Aston Martin DB V (Goldfinger and Thunderball)
3. Jet pack (Thunderball)
4. Glastron CV23HT (Moonraker)
5. Little Nellie (You Only Live Twice)
6. Rocket cigarettes (You Only Live Twice)
7. Ski pole rocket (The Spy Who Loved Me)
8. Magnetic buzzsaw watch (Live and Let Die)
9. Attaché case (From Russia with Love)
10. Propeller SCUBA tank with built-in spearguns (Thunderball)
Bond's Best Outfit
I really like Bond's mountain climbing outfit from the end of the movie, too, but he's too dapper in this blue, double-breasted number with brass buttons. Reminds me of his Naval uniform.
Bond's Worst Outfit
Sunny yellow short-sleeves with high-waisted pants. Hi, Dad! (That's a joke. My dad never wore anything that dorky.)
I've read that Roger Moore didn't enjoy making this movie and I believe it. It's not the kind of Bond flick he's known for and I expect that he liked making those kind better. But he's great in it. It works really well that he's getting a little older, even though Carole Bouquet (Melina) is 30 years younger than he is. He's still super active (that ski chase is amazing!), a handsome man, and I buy that she's temporarily attracted him as an anchor point in the chaos her life has become. Especially as a surrogate father figure after the death of her dad.
Bond isn't just a potential lover to her, he's a mentor. In fact, he's that first, offering her counsel on the price of revenge; something he knows a lot about. And I absolutely love that at the very end, he's going to let her make the decision about whether or not to murder Kristatos. It's taken out of both of their hands by circumstance, but it's important to me that Bond isn't the one to step in and deny her what she's spent the whole movie looking for. He obviously cares a great deal about her; enough to let her make her own choices.
More than just about any other Bond movie, his romantic relationship with Melina builds naturally (The Living Daylights and Casino Royale are other exceptions). There's even a really lovely montage of Bond's tagging along as Melina shops the Grecian markets for supplies for her crew. It's not a love to last the ages or anything, but it's believable and I appreciate the work that went into them as a couple.
I also like the way Bond's age factors into his reactions to Bibi. And he's back to flirting with Moneypenny, but it's mellowed out a lot. There's no danger in it, which is kind of sad, but it also makes sense that at some point these two would move past the flirting and just be friends. However, there's also something sad in the way Moneypenny starts putting on makeup when she notices that it's time for Bond's appointment. I can willfully re-interpret that as something else, but it's clearly supposed to be her holding a torch for Bond. Really, their whole scene together has an air of melancholy about it that I don't care for.
Moving on to Bond's other allies, this is the first movie in the series without Bernard Lee. He died of cancer, sadly, before they got around to shooting his scenes, but the script was already written and filming had already begun on other parts of the film. To work around his absence, they rewrote the story to explain that M is "on leave" and that Bill Tanner, M's Chief of Staff, is filling in. In the novels, Tanner is Bond's best friend in the Service and there's some of that camaraderie here, too. Tanner is more relaxed than M ever was and when he tells Bond to "try not to muck it up again," he's probably teasing, although it's a little hard to read that line.
The reason Tanner might be serious is because the Minister of Defense is also involved. The only "again" Tanner can be referring to is Melina's killing the Cuban assassin before Bond could question him, but that seems unfair to put on Bond. Except that the Minister already doesn't care for Bond thanks to the all times that Bond's embarrassed him one way or another. In FYEO, the Minister seems to know that Bond's a good agent, but he's still chilly towards him. And that's probably not going to change after the situation between Margaret Thatcher and the parrot.
Q's got a new assistant named Smithers who shows up again in Octopussy. There's not much to him here other than Bond knows his name and - more importantly - he's played by Jeremy "Boba Fett" Bulloch.
In the field, Bond's first ally is a fellow spy named Luigi Ferrara. He's competent, but mostly inconsequential and only there for exposition and to provide some pathos when he's killed. I like him though. He's a nerdy little guy and physically, he kind of reminds me of Roman Polanski.
Bond's biggest ally turns out to be Columbo, aka The Dove. Like in "Risico," we start off thinking he's the bad guy, but he turns into one of Bond's most memorable friends. He's one of those Fleming characters like Kerim Bey or Marc-Ange Draco who are not only Bond's pals, but sort of mentor/father figures to him. What's interesting in FYEO though is that the actor who plays Columbo (Topol from Fiddler on the Roof) is eight years younger than Roger Moore. He's letting his gray hair show though, so the age difference seems less and he and Bond treat each other as peers. It's a cool relationship and another reason I like older Moore in this movie. He's playing his age and it's great.
Another cool thing about Colombo is his obsession with pistachios. He uses them once as sort of an impromptu warning system, but they aren't in the movie as a plot device. They're just a character quirk and it's stuff like that that makes me love FYEO so much.
One last sort-of ally is Bibi's trainer, Brink. She's just a background character for most of the film, but when things get tough at the end, she turns out to be loyal and great. I like her a lot.
Best Quip
"That'll come in handy," regarding Smithers' fake-cast weapon.
Worst Quip
"He had no head for heights," after Locque goes over a cliff.
Gadgets
True to it's scaled-back tone, FYEO doesn't do much with gadgets. In fact, it comments on this by having Bond's white, "burglar protected" Lotus blow up right before a chase, forcing Bond and Melina to escape in a tiny and cute, but unglamorous Citroën 2CV. Q's able to repair and repaint it, but Bond never uses any of its gadgets. The only field gadget he ever uses in the movie is a pager watch with a two-way radio transmitter.
The biggest gadget of the film is the Indentigraph (inspired by the slightly lower-tech Identicast system in the novel Goldfinger) that Bond and Q use to identify Locque. I like how Bond walks into the Identigraph room with Q and immediately grabs a tape reel to load up. He's clearly used the system numerous times.
Top Ten Gadgets
1. Lotus Esprit (The Spy Who Loved Me)
2. Aston Martin DB V (Goldfinger and Thunderball)
3. Jet pack (Thunderball)
4. Glastron CV23HT (Moonraker)
5. Little Nellie (You Only Live Twice)
6. Rocket cigarettes (You Only Live Twice)
7. Ski pole rocket (The Spy Who Loved Me)
8. Magnetic buzzsaw watch (Live and Let Die)
9. Attaché case (From Russia with Love)
10. Propeller SCUBA tank with built-in spearguns (Thunderball)
Bond's Best Outfit
I really like Bond's mountain climbing outfit from the end of the movie, too, but he's too dapper in this blue, double-breasted number with brass buttons. Reminds me of his Naval uniform.
Bond's Worst Outfit
Sunny yellow short-sleeves with high-waisted pants. Hi, Dad! (That's a joke. My dad never wore anything that dorky.)
June 24, 2015
For Your Eyes Only (1981) | Story
Plot Summary
A MacGuffin goes missing and Bond has to locate it before a) the Soviets do, and b) a beautiful avenger kills everyone who knows where it is.
Influences
Moonraker was a huge financial success, but producers Cubby Broccoli and his stepson Michael G Wilson realized that there was no way to go bigger. Instead, they intentionally went smaller; back to basics. They didn't invite back Christopher Wood - the man behind the over-the-top scripts for The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker - but brought back original Bond screenwriter Richard Maibaum. He and Wilson worked on the story together, merging two of Fleming's short stories, "For Your Eyes Only" and "Risico."
There's no super villain in For Your Eyes Only with a mad scheme to extort money from world powers or destroy the planet. It's a simple Cold War spy tale and it is fantastic. I enjoy some of the craziness of the Moore era, but that's not the Bond I'm most interested in seeing. Give me classic, close-to-literary Bond any day.
For Your Eyes Only uses several elements right out of the short stories, like Melina and Bond's meeting as they both infiltrate a remote estate to assassinate the man who killed Melina's parents. The opening scene from "Risico" is also played out very faithfully, including Kristatos' mistaking Bond for a narcotics agent and Colombo's staging a fight with Lisl. Later, when Bond tries to get information from Lisl, he even pretends to be a writer like he does in Fleming.
My favorite Fleming homage though is pulled from the novel Live and Let Die when Bond and Melina (Solitaire in the book) are dragged behind the villain's boat as shark bait. That's a great, memorable Fleming scene and it was a shame it didn't get used in that movie.
There are some weird coincidences attached to that scene though. Like how the sharks don't really go for Bond and Melina, even though Bond is leaking blood badly. They sure do like that non-wounded guard the second he goes overboard though. And is it a thing to leave your SCUBA tank at the bottom of the sea in case you need it later to get away from bad guys? I don't know anything about SCUBA. Maybe that's common practice.
And speaking of coincidences, how nice is it that the parrot just happened to pick up and mimic the very information that Bond needed to continue his investigation?
Those are small complaints though in my favorite Roger Moore movie. Director John Glen, freshly promoted from editor on the series, does a great job building suspense and keeping things logical. I love the way he does the sequence towards the end where Bond's hanging on a cliff face as a bad guy pounds out the pitons keeping Bond there. Each time a piton is removed, Glen shows the strain on the others. It makes me nervous every single time. And the underwater attacks by the JIM diving suit and mini-sub are legitimately scary thanks to weird camera angles and POV shots.
How Is the Book Different?
The movie is shockingly faithful to the short stories it's based on. I'm amazed at how seamlessly the script puts them together. "Risico" is the main plot with "For Your Eyes Only" mostly just adding complications to it. The big differences are 1) the addition of the ATAC MacGuffin and 2) Bond's relationship with Melina.
Melina is named Judy in the short story and she's horrible. She starts off all cool and tough, but falls apart at the end, not able to handle the reality of revenge because, you know, girls and feelings. Melina is amazing and badass to the very end. There's a question about whether or not revenge is what she needs, but I don't read that as a gender thing. It's more like a civilian thing: the same advice that Batman gives Robin in Batman Forever.
Moment That's Most Like Fleming
Fleming's Bond isn't quite as brutal as I remember him. He's actually squeamish about killing in cold blood. But he's still a much harsher character than the wise-cracking movie Bond and that's especially true compared to Roger Moore's campy version.
Except for this movie where Moore kicks Locque's car off a cliff out of revenge. That moment is right up there with Connery's "You've had your six" and it's my favorite thing Moore's Bond ever did.
Moment That's Least Like Fleming
The one goofy thing in For Your Eyes Only is that hockey fight. I like the fight itself, but it's stupid that someone's keeping score every time Bond knocks a goon into the goal. Very small potatoes compared to Pigeon Double-Take though.
Cold Open
The cold open sequence sets up the whole retro feel that FYEO is going for. It starts with Bond at Tracy's grave (which nicely has her death as the same year that OHMSS came out) and then has him picked up by a Universal Export helicopter. Unfortunately, the pilot is actually working for a wheelchair-bound Blofeld.
Because Kevin McClory owned the rights to Blofeld and SPECTRE, neither is mentioned by name, but it's clearly Bond's arch-enemy complete with bald head and white cat. Incidentally, Blofeld's body is played by John Hollis; better known as Lobot from The Empire Strikes Back. His voice is Robert Rietty, who also dubbed Emilio Largo in Thunderball.
The FYEO teaser has a stunt, but it's way toned down from the parachute sequences of Spy and Moonraker. Bond has to climb out of the back of a helicopter and work his way to the front while in flight, so it's still pretty exciting, but the most memorable parts of the sequence are the references to Bond's past.
Top 10 Cold Opens
1. The Spy Who Loved Me
2. Moonraker
3. Thunderball
4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
5. Goldfinger
6. The Man with the Golden Gun
7. For Your Eyes Only
8. From Russia With Love
9. Diamonds Are Forever
10. You Only Live Twice
Movie Series Continuity
For Your Eyes Only may have a deliberately retro feel, but it doesn't go after nostalgia as desperately as On Her Majesty's Secret Service did. At least, not after the opening credits. One major callback to early days though is that Bond's hat rack trick is back. I'd forgotten how much I missed it. Another is a scene where Roger Moore plays baccarat, which makes me realize that we didn't get a lot of card playing from Moore.
Most of the continuity though is with the other Moore films. The Minister of Defense has returned to represent the Establishment that Bond's working for and Gogol is also back. His first scene is even in the same office where he briefed Amasova in The Spy Who Loved Me.
A less welcome bit is when the Cuban assassin identifies Bond as a Double-O agent simply by looking at his gun. And even worse than that is Q's yet again going into the field, but not even to deliver equipment. He simply shows up undercover as a priest to receive some intelligence from Bond. That's way outside of his job description.
But most of the gags are understated compared to the last couple of movies. The Italian wine guy from Spy and Moonraker makes his final appearance on a patio during the big ski chase, but there's no looking at his bottle this time. It's just a cameo for sharp-eyed viewers. The silliest bit is when Margaret Thatcher tries to talk with Bond at the end, but actual thought went into that joke and it makes me laugh every time.
Even Know-It-All Bond is toned down. He shows a solid knowledge of wine and expresses his preference during dinner with Kristatos, but he doesn't pull out any weird, arcane knowledge the entire movie.
June 23, 2015
Noel Tuazon likes to Kill All Monsters
I forgot to share this great drawing that Noel Tuazon made for my birthday last month. If you don't know Noel, he's the amazingly talented artist on Elk's Run and Tumor . Both of those are awesome thrillers written by Josh Fialkov and you should check them out.
Thanks again, Noel!
Kill All Monsters: "Ministry of Robots" Pt 2 in August!
The second installment of Kill All Monsters: "Ministry of Robots" is coming to Dark Horse Presents #13 on August 19. Make sure to let your store know you want one!
Here's the full solicitation:
Dark Horse Presents #13
Alex de Campi (W), Ken Pisani (W), Rich Woodall (W), Fabian Rangel Jr. (W), Michael May (W), Anthony Zicari (W), Jerry Ordway (A/Cover), Arturo Lauria (A), Craig Rousseau (A), Pablo Clark (A), Jason Copland (A), and Oscar Capristo (A)
On sale Aug 19
FC, 48 pages
$4.99
Ongoing
Alex de Campi and Jerry Ordway's Semiautomagic returns! Occult professor Alice Creed has rules when it comes to magic, and she's broken them—and breaking mystical rules never goes well!
Plus, new chapters of Michael May and Jason Copland's Kill All Monsters, Anthony Zicari and Oscar Capristo's Grimm Arcane, Ken Pisani and Arturo Lauria's Colonus, and Rich Woodall and Craig Rousseau's Kyrra: Alien Jungle Girl! Fabian Rangel Jr. and Pablo Clark's Black Past concludes!
June 22, 2015
City Pages at MSP Comic Con 2015
Nerdy Fun with Comic Artists at MSP Comic Con 2015 from Voice Media Group on Vimeo.
Forgot to show you this great video that City Pages made at MSP Comic Con back in May. It's a great look at what makes that show so special, and at about 00:53 there are a couple of shots of my wife Diane painting some faces.
Among the excellent interviews is one by our friend Chandra Reyer and her amazing, awesome daughter Gillian. If we ever start having guests on Dragonfly Ripple, Chandra and Gillian have to be the first ones. That's some A+ nerd parenting going on right there.
The Sword of Charlton, Part 2: Anthologia [Guest Post]
By GW Thomas
Charlton beat Marvel and DC to the sword-and-sorcery punch when they released Adventures of the Man-God Hercules and his back-up sidekick, "Thane of Bagarth" in 1967-68. But this wasn't the last of the sword-and-sorcery tales at Charlton. Like the Warren titles Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella, and DC's House of Mystery and Witching Hour, Charlton's "mystery" lines would irregularly feature a sword-and-sorcery tale starting with "The Promise" in Ghostly Tales #101 (January 1973), written and drawn by San Ho Kim. A Korean soldier fleeing the Japanese takes shelter in a house with twin sisters, agreeing to marry one of them. The ten Japanese soldiers die by the sisters' swords, the first sister disappearing to return to her grave. It is only then that the soldier sees who he has married. The second sister is terribly scarred. The soldier kills his new wife and flees through a graveyard. A cold, dead hand grabs him from a grave, allowing Japanese soldiers to find and kill him. Some claim "The Bushi" by Sitoshi Hirota and Masaichi Mukaide in Star*Reach #7 (January 1977) was the first manga to be published in America , but "The Promise" predates it by four years, making it a significant contribution by Charlton.
With Conan in full swing, the heroic fantasy content at Charlton becomes more definite with Midnight Tales #4 (July 1973) and "The Tower Maiden," written by Nick Cuti and drawn by Tom Sutton. A hero named Harvard battles his way through demons and ogres to get to a maiden in a tower, only to find she is made of wax. He takes her anyway, figuring he can use her as a candle. The best thing about this flippant tale is Tom Sutton's artwork, perhaps the best sword-and-sorcery drawing in Charlton's run.
In the same issue was "The Wizard's Wife" written by George Wildman and drawn by Wayne Howard in his usual mock-Wally Wood style. Alekhine, a wizard-prince, goes in search of a worthy wife and falls for the un-magical Melanie, the daughter of a baker. His family protests but the problem is solved when Alek realizes that Melanie doesn't bake bread but magical babies. Howard deserves a note here in terms of creator's rights. His name was featured on every cover of Midnight Tales. The idea of a hat trick of stories based on a theme as well as the characters in the frame of the comic were all his idea, and he was credited for it, a first in the comics industry. Howard inked Val Mayerik's Thongor in Marvel's Creatures on the Loose #26 that same year.
"Who?" in Midnight Tales #5 (September 1973) was written by Nick Cuti and drawn by Joe Staton. Keen the Barbarian is challenged to figure out which of three women is the real Sylvia. The other two are demonesses who plot his death. The story feels like a sword-and-sorcery parody with the barbarian crying over his broken sword and the man riding with three versions of the same woman on his horse. Joe Staton uses a swipe from "The Spell of the Dragon" from Marvel's Chamber of Chills #2 (October 1972), a story featuring John Jakes' Brak the Barbarian, the probable victim of the satire. Nick Cuti would write the lion's share of sword-and-sorcery strips up to 1976.
"Sludge" in Midnight Tales #7 (June 1974) was again written by Nick Cuti and drawn by Joe Staton. An incompetent wizard named Sorbius discovers a protoplasmic creature named Goo. The wizard promises to defend the city from invading barbarians with the blob-like creature. The battle is lost because Sorbius manages to make a successful love potion, and Goo and Sorbius' daughter, Regina, fall in love, missing the battle.
Midnight Tales #11 (February 1975) was the most sword-and-sorcery-filled issue of all, having only heroic fantasy tales in it. These three started with "Orion," written by Nick Cuti and drawn by Don Newton, in which Zeus' gamekeeper destroys a rival for the hand of Clora by giving false witness. Clora gets her revenge by spurring Orion to shoot one of Zeus' deer for her. The deer turns out to be Clora, a were-deer, and Orion faces execution for his underhandedness.
"Jason" also written by Nick Cuti and drawn by Joe Staton, rewrites the tale of Jason and his Argonauts. They land on an island inhabited not by a one-eyed cyclops, but Argus, a giant with a thousand eyes. To rescue a captive woman and her baby, Jason challenges the ogre to a duel on a sunny day. The Argonauts blind the creature with their shiny shields. It is only after they have killed the giant that they find out the woman is the giant's wife and the baby, like his father, is many-eyed. Nick Cuti got his start in sword-and-sorcery with "The Caliega" (January 1970) in Vampirella #3 and would go back to Warren in 1976, penning one last sword-and-sorcery tinted tale, "E Train to Flushing" (Creepy #94, January 78) with old-time Charlton artist, Dick Giordano, before moving onto editing at DC and then cartoons in Hollywood.
"The Oracle", written and drawn by Wayne Howard, is a tale of Leah, a girl who can forecast the future. As a child she sees Socrates' death by hemlock. She learns she can not change the future, only see it. Because of this she spurns friendships, but falls for the handsome athlete, Menelaos. She sends him away, refusing to accept his marriage proposal. When she thinks she sees him falling to his death, she is wrong. He is only diving off some rocks. Declaring her love, they wed, Leah fortelling their happy family.
"The Malediction" from Ghostly Tales #114 (April 1975) was written and drawn by Pat Boyette. This clever tale has a ruthless warlord and his advisor trapped in a tower because a guardian monster lurks outside. Boyette keeps you guessing whether the creature is real or only a figment of the imagination, created by a spell.
"The Fly" in Midnight Tales #13 (June 1975) was written and drawn by Wayne Howard. Lord Simon lures away Sarena, the beautiful daughter of the wizard Aldon. When she refuses to marry him, he kills her. Ever since Simon's visit to Aldon's swamp he has been plagued with flies. He has his servants kill all the bugs in the castle. Aldon appears for his revenge, turning Simon into a fly. When a servant sees him, he is quickly squashed.
"Distress" from Scary Tales #3 (December 1975) was written by Paul Kupperberg with art by Mike Zeck. Typical to Charlton formula, a warrior climbs a tower in pursuit of a damsel and gets bitten for his trouble. In this case, the damsel is a vampire. Kupperberg would later create Arion, Lord of Atlantis for DC in 1982 and write the adaptation of Larry Niven's The Magic Goes Away in 1985.
Midnight Tales #16 (January 1976) features "Ambia," written and drawn by Wayne Howard, an interesting anomaly, a sword-and-sorcery tale without a horror-style surprise ending. The tale chronicles Ambia's war against the evil Vandalkragg, a domain of ogres and monsters. She defeats them by running a guerrilla war against the fiends and finally killing Zagga, their king, herself. This tale was most likely inspired by Wally Wood's The King of the World that was published in parts as early as 1968. Wood was inspired by The Lord of the Rings and Howard's tale also has a Tolkien feel.
"Oberyll," also written and drawn by Wayne Howard, appeared in the same issue. In Atlantis, the harpies of the Fire-Lord steal victims for sacrifice. The king will do nothing to protect his people, but a hero steps forward: Oberyll. The shipwright, armed only with a dagger, goes to the volcano mountain to see what becomes of the taken. Finding only death, he escapes, but damages the fire fortress, setting off a terrible chain reaction. He flees back to the city to warn the people to build ships and flee, but the king has him stoned, and all the Atlanteans die.
"Thief's Gold" in Monster Hunters #5 (April 1976) was written by Joe Gill and drawn by Carlos Vila. A wizard desiring gold has to sacrifice the local villagers to feed a dragon conjured by an ancient god. After the sacrifice, the god sets the dragon on the wizard. It is a slight and frankly disappointing story.
"A Fitting Wife" from Monster Hunters #7 (September 1976) was written by Joe Molloy and drawn by Enrique Nieto. A cruel general tries to take a witch for his harem and gets turned into a dog. After getting changed back, the general takes the witch to his caliph for punishment. The witch beguiles the caliph and the general goes to the torture chamber. The next morning the caliph is found turned into a pig.
The straight sword-and-sorcery stories were done by 1976. It strikes me as odd that one artist who was so important in the early Warren magazines never did any sword-and-sorcery for Charlton. This was Steve Ditko. Unlike Tom Sutton, who did one strip, Ditko gravitated towards modern horror. Perhaps he felt he was done with sword-and-sorcery, having drawn and written Stalker for four issues at DC in 1975 with pal Wally Wood.
By the 1980s, Charlton was on shaky ground financially. To generate some cash they reprinted most of the Hercules issues in Charlton Classics #1-9 (April 1980-August 1981) along with select tales from the anthologies, including "Orion." "Jason," "Oberyll," "The Fly," "Sludge," and "Sir Lancelot and the Haunted Tower." Thane of Bagarth also received two reprint issues in 1985. But before the company folded, it did produce one last set of sword-and-sorcery inspired stories, each containing a fair amount of science fiction elements. These included "Prophecy of Doom" in Charlton Bullseye #3 (September 1981), written and drawn by Ian Carr. In this tale, Janus and Grundar go up against the sorceress Queen Shalastra, with the magic-user losing. The rest of the issue contained science fiction stories.
Charlton Bullseye #5 (January 1982) featured only one story, "Warhund," written by Brad Mielke and drawn by Charles Truog. Warhund races home because his father is dying, but along the way he discovers the truth about his lineage (being descended from space visitors) and his mission to protect the entire planet. The lettering in this issue was poorly done, a sign of Charlton's decline.
Charlton Bullseye #9 (September 1982) gave us "Bludd," written by James Waley and Gene Day and drawn by Gene Day, Vince Marchesano, Peter Hsu and Viktor Laszlo. Bludd, a Viking mercenary trades places with a man from the 31st Century to become a champion against the tyrant Armageddon. The story was begun in 1976 by Gene Day, but as the writer/editor explains the story it was originally planned for Orb, an independent comic that published mostly horror and SF. The editor compares it to Thundarr the Barbarian (which was created after the comic), a sad similarity that is all too true. When the magazine folded, most of the leftovers went to Mike Friedrich's Star*Reach and Ron Van Leeuwen's Andromeda, but "Bludd" lingered on unfinished. It was finally completed in 1982 by the gang. The story was published the month Gene Day passed away. Gene was important to sword-and-sorcery comics largely as a mentor to sword-and-sorcery parodist, Dave Sim, with his Swords of Cerebus.
And so sword-and-sorcery was done at Charlton. But there were plenty of other companies doing short sword-and-sorcery tales including Heavy Metal and Epic Magazine, "Slaine" in 2000 AD along with foreign language comics like Cimoc and Skorpio. Sword-and-sorcery comics continued merrily along in the Marvel mainstream as well as in independents like Warp's Elfquest and First's Michael Moorcock's Elric and Hawkmoon, but they all owed a debt to that poor cousin, Charlton, who lead the way.
GW Thomas has appeared in over 400 different books, magazines and ezines including The Writer, Writer's Digest, Black October Magazine and Contact. His website is gwthomas.org. He is editor of Dark Worlds magazine.
Charlton beat Marvel and DC to the sword-and-sorcery punch when they released Adventures of the Man-God Hercules and his back-up sidekick, "Thane of Bagarth" in 1967-68. But this wasn't the last of the sword-and-sorcery tales at Charlton. Like the Warren titles Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella, and DC's House of Mystery and Witching Hour, Charlton's "mystery" lines would irregularly feature a sword-and-sorcery tale starting with "The Promise" in Ghostly Tales #101 (January 1973), written and drawn by San Ho Kim. A Korean soldier fleeing the Japanese takes shelter in a house with twin sisters, agreeing to marry one of them. The ten Japanese soldiers die by the sisters' swords, the first sister disappearing to return to her grave. It is only then that the soldier sees who he has married. The second sister is terribly scarred. The soldier kills his new wife and flees through a graveyard. A cold, dead hand grabs him from a grave, allowing Japanese soldiers to find and kill him. Some claim "The Bushi" by Sitoshi Hirota and Masaichi Mukaide in Star*Reach #7 (January 1977) was the first manga to be published in America , but "The Promise" predates it by four years, making it a significant contribution by Charlton.With Conan in full swing, the heroic fantasy content at Charlton becomes more definite with Midnight Tales #4 (July 1973) and "The Tower Maiden," written by Nick Cuti and drawn by Tom Sutton. A hero named Harvard battles his way through demons and ogres to get to a maiden in a tower, only to find she is made of wax. He takes her anyway, figuring he can use her as a candle. The best thing about this flippant tale is Tom Sutton's artwork, perhaps the best sword-and-sorcery drawing in Charlton's run.
In the same issue was "The Wizard's Wife" written by George Wildman and drawn by Wayne Howard in his usual mock-Wally Wood style. Alekhine, a wizard-prince, goes in search of a worthy wife and falls for the un-magical Melanie, the daughter of a baker. His family protests but the problem is solved when Alek realizes that Melanie doesn't bake bread but magical babies. Howard deserves a note here in terms of creator's rights. His name was featured on every cover of Midnight Tales. The idea of a hat trick of stories based on a theme as well as the characters in the frame of the comic were all his idea, and he was credited for it, a first in the comics industry. Howard inked Val Mayerik's Thongor in Marvel's Creatures on the Loose #26 that same year.
"Who?" in Midnight Tales #5 (September 1973) was written by Nick Cuti and drawn by Joe Staton. Keen the Barbarian is challenged to figure out which of three women is the real Sylvia. The other two are demonesses who plot his death. The story feels like a sword-and-sorcery parody with the barbarian crying over his broken sword and the man riding with three versions of the same woman on his horse. Joe Staton uses a swipe from "The Spell of the Dragon" from Marvel's Chamber of Chills #2 (October 1972), a story featuring John Jakes' Brak the Barbarian, the probable victim of the satire. Nick Cuti would write the lion's share of sword-and-sorcery strips up to 1976."Sludge" in Midnight Tales #7 (June 1974) was again written by Nick Cuti and drawn by Joe Staton. An incompetent wizard named Sorbius discovers a protoplasmic creature named Goo. The wizard promises to defend the city from invading barbarians with the blob-like creature. The battle is lost because Sorbius manages to make a successful love potion, and Goo and Sorbius' daughter, Regina, fall in love, missing the battle.
Midnight Tales #11 (February 1975) was the most sword-and-sorcery-filled issue of all, having only heroic fantasy tales in it. These three started with "Orion," written by Nick Cuti and drawn by Don Newton, in which Zeus' gamekeeper destroys a rival for the hand of Clora by giving false witness. Clora gets her revenge by spurring Orion to shoot one of Zeus' deer for her. The deer turns out to be Clora, a were-deer, and Orion faces execution for his underhandedness.
"Jason" also written by Nick Cuti and drawn by Joe Staton, rewrites the tale of Jason and his Argonauts. They land on an island inhabited not by a one-eyed cyclops, but Argus, a giant with a thousand eyes. To rescue a captive woman and her baby, Jason challenges the ogre to a duel on a sunny day. The Argonauts blind the creature with their shiny shields. It is only after they have killed the giant that they find out the woman is the giant's wife and the baby, like his father, is many-eyed. Nick Cuti got his start in sword-and-sorcery with "The Caliega" (January 1970) in Vampirella #3 and would go back to Warren in 1976, penning one last sword-and-sorcery tinted tale, "E Train to Flushing" (Creepy #94, January 78) with old-time Charlton artist, Dick Giordano, before moving onto editing at DC and then cartoons in Hollywood."The Oracle", written and drawn by Wayne Howard, is a tale of Leah, a girl who can forecast the future. As a child she sees Socrates' death by hemlock. She learns she can not change the future, only see it. Because of this she spurns friendships, but falls for the handsome athlete, Menelaos. She sends him away, refusing to accept his marriage proposal. When she thinks she sees him falling to his death, she is wrong. He is only diving off some rocks. Declaring her love, they wed, Leah fortelling their happy family.
"The Malediction" from Ghostly Tales #114 (April 1975) was written and drawn by Pat Boyette. This clever tale has a ruthless warlord and his advisor trapped in a tower because a guardian monster lurks outside. Boyette keeps you guessing whether the creature is real or only a figment of the imagination, created by a spell.
"The Fly" in Midnight Tales #13 (June 1975) was written and drawn by Wayne Howard. Lord Simon lures away Sarena, the beautiful daughter of the wizard Aldon. When she refuses to marry him, he kills her. Ever since Simon's visit to Aldon's swamp he has been plagued with flies. He has his servants kill all the bugs in the castle. Aldon appears for his revenge, turning Simon into a fly. When a servant sees him, he is quickly squashed."Distress" from Scary Tales #3 (December 1975) was written by Paul Kupperberg with art by Mike Zeck. Typical to Charlton formula, a warrior climbs a tower in pursuit of a damsel and gets bitten for his trouble. In this case, the damsel is a vampire. Kupperberg would later create Arion, Lord of Atlantis for DC in 1982 and write the adaptation of Larry Niven's The Magic Goes Away in 1985.
Midnight Tales #16 (January 1976) features "Ambia," written and drawn by Wayne Howard, an interesting anomaly, a sword-and-sorcery tale without a horror-style surprise ending. The tale chronicles Ambia's war against the evil Vandalkragg, a domain of ogres and monsters. She defeats them by running a guerrilla war against the fiends and finally killing Zagga, their king, herself. This tale was most likely inspired by Wally Wood's The King of the World that was published in parts as early as 1968. Wood was inspired by The Lord of the Rings and Howard's tale also has a Tolkien feel.
"Oberyll," also written and drawn by Wayne Howard, appeared in the same issue. In Atlantis, the harpies of the Fire-Lord steal victims for sacrifice. The king will do nothing to protect his people, but a hero steps forward: Oberyll. The shipwright, armed only with a dagger, goes to the volcano mountain to see what becomes of the taken. Finding only death, he escapes, but damages the fire fortress, setting off a terrible chain reaction. He flees back to the city to warn the people to build ships and flee, but the king has him stoned, and all the Atlanteans die.
"Thief's Gold" in Monster Hunters #5 (April 1976) was written by Joe Gill and drawn by Carlos Vila. A wizard desiring gold has to sacrifice the local villagers to feed a dragon conjured by an ancient god. After the sacrifice, the god sets the dragon on the wizard. It is a slight and frankly disappointing story."A Fitting Wife" from Monster Hunters #7 (September 1976) was written by Joe Molloy and drawn by Enrique Nieto. A cruel general tries to take a witch for his harem and gets turned into a dog. After getting changed back, the general takes the witch to his caliph for punishment. The witch beguiles the caliph and the general goes to the torture chamber. The next morning the caliph is found turned into a pig.
The straight sword-and-sorcery stories were done by 1976. It strikes me as odd that one artist who was so important in the early Warren magazines never did any sword-and-sorcery for Charlton. This was Steve Ditko. Unlike Tom Sutton, who did one strip, Ditko gravitated towards modern horror. Perhaps he felt he was done with sword-and-sorcery, having drawn and written Stalker for four issues at DC in 1975 with pal Wally Wood.
By the 1980s, Charlton was on shaky ground financially. To generate some cash they reprinted most of the Hercules issues in Charlton Classics #1-9 (April 1980-August 1981) along with select tales from the anthologies, including "Orion." "Jason," "Oberyll," "The Fly," "Sludge," and "Sir Lancelot and the Haunted Tower." Thane of Bagarth also received two reprint issues in 1985. But before the company folded, it did produce one last set of sword-and-sorcery inspired stories, each containing a fair amount of science fiction elements. These included "Prophecy of Doom" in Charlton Bullseye #3 (September 1981), written and drawn by Ian Carr. In this tale, Janus and Grundar go up against the sorceress Queen Shalastra, with the magic-user losing. The rest of the issue contained science fiction stories.
Charlton Bullseye #5 (January 1982) featured only one story, "Warhund," written by Brad Mielke and drawn by Charles Truog. Warhund races home because his father is dying, but along the way he discovers the truth about his lineage (being descended from space visitors) and his mission to protect the entire planet. The lettering in this issue was poorly done, a sign of Charlton's decline.Charlton Bullseye #9 (September 1982) gave us "Bludd," written by James Waley and Gene Day and drawn by Gene Day, Vince Marchesano, Peter Hsu and Viktor Laszlo. Bludd, a Viking mercenary trades places with a man from the 31st Century to become a champion against the tyrant Armageddon. The story was begun in 1976 by Gene Day, but as the writer/editor explains the story it was originally planned for Orb, an independent comic that published mostly horror and SF. The editor compares it to Thundarr the Barbarian (which was created after the comic), a sad similarity that is all too true. When the magazine folded, most of the leftovers went to Mike Friedrich's Star*Reach and Ron Van Leeuwen's Andromeda, but "Bludd" lingered on unfinished. It was finally completed in 1982 by the gang. The story was published the month Gene Day passed away. Gene was important to sword-and-sorcery comics largely as a mentor to sword-and-sorcery parodist, Dave Sim, with his Swords of Cerebus.
And so sword-and-sorcery was done at Charlton. But there were plenty of other companies doing short sword-and-sorcery tales including Heavy Metal and Epic Magazine, "Slaine" in 2000 AD along with foreign language comics like Cimoc and Skorpio. Sword-and-sorcery comics continued merrily along in the Marvel mainstream as well as in independents like Warp's Elfquest and First's Michael Moorcock's Elric and Hawkmoon, but they all owed a debt to that poor cousin, Charlton, who lead the way.
GW Thomas has appeared in over 400 different books, magazines and ezines including The Writer, Writer's Digest, Black October Magazine and Contact. His website is gwthomas.org. He is editor of Dark Worlds magazine.
June 21, 2015
7 Days in May | Jurassic Big Eyes of SHIELD
Jurassic World (2015)
I loved it. When I came out of the theater, I thought that I may have even liked it better than the first one. I eventually backed away from that, because I was forgetting how effective some of the scenes are in Jurassic Park, like the initial T-Rex attack and the raptors in the kitchen. But the first one didn't have Chris Pratt commanding a troop of velociraptors. Or Bryce Dallas Howard saving everyone's lives. Or Jake Johnson at all. Or a fully functioning, open-to-the-public theme park. And I like the kids in Jurassic World better than the kids in Jurassic Park (although the first ones were just fine). There are many ways that World is more of what I want out of this concept than Park is.
It's not a perfect movie. There are plenty of loose threads to pull at if you're inclined to do that. And I often am in a lot of films. Just not in ones as thoroughly entertaining as this. I don't think the problems are major ones anyway, but these actors fighting and partnering with dinosaurs in a working theme park is a thing that's so totally in my wheelhouse that I will gladly ignore anything that might prevent my enjoying it.
Big Eyes (2014)
Tim Burton's latest film does have a major problem though. It's based on the true story of Margaret Keane (Amy Adams), the wildly popular artist in the '50s and '60s who let her husband (Christoph Waltz) claim credit for her work. Sadly, Big Eyes isn't interested in the burning question I had, which is why Margaret not only let this happen, but was so invested in the lie that she tried to fool her own daughter into thinking that Margaret had given up painting and that Walter Keane was the only artist in the family.
Late, late in the movie, Margaret offers the explanation that she felt dominated and bullied into it, but that's not really how it plays out. Walter turns scary dominating towards the end, but that's when he feels that everything's falling apart for him. Earlier in the movie, when he develops the scheme and convinces Margaret to participate, he's all charm and smiles. But his charisma doesn't explain her total buy-in and none of the movie works for me without understanding that motivation.
Agents of SHIELD
As part of my Marvel re-watch, I'm giving Agents of SHIELD another go. I watched the first few episodes as they aired, but even though I didn't think it was a horrible show, it was tough to get excited about coming back for every week. It seems to reward binge-watching though. I still don't finish an episode all excited for the next one, but it's easier to get in the habit of watching it when I can see a new episode every night or two instead of having to remember every week.
None of that is great praise, but I'm only six episodes in and haven't hit the post-Winter Soldier episodes yet where it reportedly gets better. So far, I like the characters well enough, but none of them are super intriguing. I want to like Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), but she's being kept mysterious for now, so it's hard to connect to her. The only character with any development so far is Skye (Chloe Bennet). I'm learning to like her, but she's not enough to carry the show. I'm ready for the rest of the team to become as interesting, if not more so.
I loved it. When I came out of the theater, I thought that I may have even liked it better than the first one. I eventually backed away from that, because I was forgetting how effective some of the scenes are in Jurassic Park, like the initial T-Rex attack and the raptors in the kitchen. But the first one didn't have Chris Pratt commanding a troop of velociraptors. Or Bryce Dallas Howard saving everyone's lives. Or Jake Johnson at all. Or a fully functioning, open-to-the-public theme park. And I like the kids in Jurassic World better than the kids in Jurassic Park (although the first ones were just fine). There are many ways that World is more of what I want out of this concept than Park is.
It's not a perfect movie. There are plenty of loose threads to pull at if you're inclined to do that. And I often am in a lot of films. Just not in ones as thoroughly entertaining as this. I don't think the problems are major ones anyway, but these actors fighting and partnering with dinosaurs in a working theme park is a thing that's so totally in my wheelhouse that I will gladly ignore anything that might prevent my enjoying it.
Big Eyes (2014)
Tim Burton's latest film does have a major problem though. It's based on the true story of Margaret Keane (Amy Adams), the wildly popular artist in the '50s and '60s who let her husband (Christoph Waltz) claim credit for her work. Sadly, Big Eyes isn't interested in the burning question I had, which is why Margaret not only let this happen, but was so invested in the lie that she tried to fool her own daughter into thinking that Margaret had given up painting and that Walter Keane was the only artist in the family.
Late, late in the movie, Margaret offers the explanation that she felt dominated and bullied into it, but that's not really how it plays out. Walter turns scary dominating towards the end, but that's when he feels that everything's falling apart for him. Earlier in the movie, when he develops the scheme and convinces Margaret to participate, he's all charm and smiles. But his charisma doesn't explain her total buy-in and none of the movie works for me without understanding that motivation.
Agents of SHIELD
As part of my Marvel re-watch, I'm giving Agents of SHIELD another go. I watched the first few episodes as they aired, but even though I didn't think it was a horrible show, it was tough to get excited about coming back for every week. It seems to reward binge-watching though. I still don't finish an episode all excited for the next one, but it's easier to get in the habit of watching it when I can see a new episode every night or two instead of having to remember every week.
None of that is great praise, but I'm only six episodes in and haven't hit the post-Winter Soldier episodes yet where it reportedly gets better. So far, I like the characters well enough, but none of them are super intriguing. I want to like Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), but she's being kept mysterious for now, so it's hard to connect to her. The only character with any development so far is Skye (Chloe Bennet). I'm learning to like her, but she's not enough to carry the show. I'm ready for the rest of the team to become as interesting, if not more so.
