Mark Evanier's Blog, page 29

Today's Video Link

And here's the The Ashatones Barbershop Quartet again. These guys are real good but they don't seem to have done their version of "For the Longest Time" yet. I wonder what's keeping them. Until they do, you'll have to settle for their take on another Billy Joel song.

This is "Uptown Girl." About the time Mr. Joel's version of this was high on the charts, a guy I knew sent me songs he'd written and asked me to critique them. I don't like doing that — please don't ask me — but this guy was so persistent that I finally told him the melodies were pretty good but I thought he should work harder on his rhyming. His songs were full of things like rhyming "lady" with "baby." He pointed to the success of "Uptown Girl" and said, "People don't give a shit about precise rhymes." I still don't have a snappy reply to that.

me at Comic-Con!

Here's another day's worth of what I'll be doing two weeks from today. The entire day's schedule can be found here.

• FRIDAY •

Friday, July 25 – 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM in Room 10
THE GROO PANEL
Since 1981, Groo the Wanderer — the creation of cartoonist Sergio Aragonés — has wandered from comic book to comic book, company to company, and weird adventure to weirder adventure. Where did he come from? What’s he up to now? And most important, how do we avoid him? Sergio's accomplice Mark Evanier will tell you all about the stupidest character in any multiverse anywhere, aided by the comic's longtime letterer Stan Sakai (the creator of Usagi Yojimbo) and its newest colorist, Carrie Strachan. And they may even try to get Sergio on the phone.

Friday, July 25 – 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM in Room 10
SPOTLIGHT ON TODD KLEIN
Your favorite comic book would be nothing without a skilled letterer, and one of the most skilled (and most honored with awards) is Todd Klein, who is also an expert on all those who have plied his craft, past and present. Come hear Todd interviewed by Comic-Con Special Guest Mark Evanier and learn all about this too-often-unappreciated part of just about every comic book you've ever loved.

Friday, July 25 – 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM in Room 10
TWO MARKS EXPLAIN EVERYTHING
Do you have a burning question about the world of comics? About some character or writer or artist or publisher? Well, if writer Mark Waid doesn’t know the answer…and if writer Mark Evanier also doesn't know the answer…then probably no one knows. The two of them fielding questions from the audience made for one of the most popular panels at WonderCon earlier this year, and they've agreed to give more of you the opportunity to get the answers you seek.

Friday, July 25 – 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM in Room 10
FOCUS ON DON GLUT
Don Glut is the writer/creator of the popular comics Dagar the Invincible, The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor, and Tragg and the Sky Gods. For Warren Publishing, he authored tales for Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella, and for Marvel, his writing could be found in, among others, Captain America, The Invaders, Kull the Destroyer, Solomon Kane, Star Wars, and What If…? Don also has more than 80 books to his credit, including The Dinosaur Dictionary and the authorized novelization of the movie The Empire Strikes Back. This year, he’s receiving the coveted Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing, and he’ll discuss his amazing career in this spotlight interview with Finger Award chairman (and Comic-Con Special Guest) Mark Evanier.

Friday, July 25 – 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM in Room 10
WALT KELLY'S POGO
Walt Kelly (1913–1973) was one of the most honored cartoonists of his day, primarily (but not exclusively) for his popular newspaper strip, Pogo. He brought to life not only the highly quotable possum Pogo but also all the creatures Pogo fraternized with in the Okefenokee Swamp, including Churchy LaFemme, Howland Owl, Mam’selle Hepizbah, and Albert the Alligator. Walt Kelly was also a Disney animator, a writer-illustrator for Dell Comics, and a pretty quotable guy himself. His work and legacy will be discussed by cartoonist Liniers, writer Paul Dini, and the folks who bring you Fantagraphics’ award-winning reprintings of The Complete Pogo: Maggie Thompson, Eric Reynolds, and your moderator, Mark Evanier.

Friday, July 25 – 8 PM to Whenever in the Indigo Ballroom the Bayfront Hilton
THE WILL EISNER AWARDS
Sometime during the ceremony, Mark and Bill Finger's granddaughter Athena Finger will be presenting the annual Bill Finger Awards for Excellence in Comic Book Writing, which this year are going to Don Glut and the late Sheldon Mayer.

The Latest Boop News

This Sunday's matinee performance of Boop! The Musical is its last, at least on Broadway. The folks behind the show have dropped some online hints that this is not the end. Assuming they're not bluffing, this could mean several things — the release of a "proshot" video, a national tour or (least likely) moving the show to some off-Broadway house in New York. It could also mean they're dickering for one of those but the deal may never close and this will indeed be the end. Your guess, as it usually is, is at least as good as mine and probably better.

As sometimes happens when it's announced that a show is closing, seats for the remaining performances were quickly snarfed up by people who hadn't gotten around to seeing it but also by many who had. One lady on Facebook was pleading for a ticket somewhere because she'd only seen it eight times. That suggests the folks behind Ms. Boop's stage turn did something right. A friend of mine who knows mucho about the biz side of Broadway suggests their big mistake was opening in the wrong season. He cited a few recent years in which, he theorizes, the show would have done much better at the box office and maybe even the Tony Awards.

So what is in store for it? Like I said, I dunno. I just hope that somewhere/sometime, I can see a production of it with the original staging, the original costumes and sets and — most of all — the original Boop.

me at Comic-Con!

Comic-Con International starts in two weeks and the convention has just posted the schedule for Thursday Programming. Tomorrow, they'll post the schedule for Friday Programming and on Saturday, they'll post the schedule for Saturday Programming and you might be able to take a wild guess and figure out when they'll post the schedule for Sunday Programming. The entire Thursday Schedule is here but if you're interested in the panels that really matter, here's what I'm doing on that Thursday…

• THURSDAY •

Thursday, July 24 – 10 AM to 11 AM in Room 9
GREAT CARTOONISTS AND COMEDIANS WE HAVE KNOWN
Film expert Leonard Maltin and writer Mark Evanier have thousands of years of show business between them and have met and sometimes even worked with some of the cleverest, funniest men and women. They’ll be sharing their experiences with people like Groucho Marx, Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett, Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, and as many others as they can squeeze into the time they have.

Thursday, July 24 – NOON to 1 PM in Room 9
TALES FROM MY SPINNER RACK LIVE!
It’s the world premiere weekend for Fantastic Four: First Steps, and “Tales from My Spinner Rack Live!” returns to Comic-Con with Gary Sassaman (former director of programming and publications for Comic-Con) taking a nostalgic look back at Jack Kirby’s Fantastic Four covers, alongside Kirby experts Mark Evanier (author, Kirby: King of Comics) and John Morrow (editor/publisher, Jack Kirby Collector). They’ll each pick their top ten Kirby covers from Fantastic Four 1-101 and Annuals 1-7. Learn the secrets and untold tales behind some of these covers at this graphics-filled presentation! FREE limited edition Tales From My Spinner Rack booklet and button for each attendee!

Thursday, July 24 – 3 PM to 3:45 PM at Booth 1635 (I think)
Mark will be signing stuff at a booth but I'm not entirely certain of the number yet.

Thursday, July 24 – 4 PM to 5 PM in Room 25ABC
ABRAMS COMICARTS: REDEFINING GRAPHIC STORYTELLING
Abrams ComicArts, a division of Abrams Books, provides an inside look at how they’re reshaping the graphic novel landscape. Known for literary adaptations, curated collections of classic comics, genre-defying originals, and captivating manga, Abrams ComicArts continues to push the boundaries of visual storytelling. Panelists will share behind-the-scenes insights into the creative and editorial processes, talk through their approach to publishing and promoting diverse content, and give an exclusive preview of what's coming next. Featuring Chris Ryall (Megalopolis: An Original Graphic Novel), Charlie Kochman (editor-in-chief, Abrams ComicArts), Joseph Montagne (Abrams ComicArts), Chip Kidd (The Essential Peanuts, The Avengers in the Veracity Trap!), Nate Powell (Fall Through, Save It for Later, Run), John Jennings (Kindred, Parable of the Sower, Parable of the Talents), Grant Snider (Thinking About Thinking, The Art of Living, I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf), Mark Evanier (The Essential Peanuts) and moderator Jacq Cohen (director of marketing and publicity, Abrams ComicArts).

Kirby Krusade?

Reporter , who covers the comic book industry, covered the brief time that a street in Jack Kirby's old neighborhood was named for him and wonders what we have to do to make it permanent.

FACT CHECK: Catching Up

Glenn Kessler, who must have been away on vacation because it's not like no politicians have said anything false for the last week or two, reviews some of the things Trump and his mob have been saying about the B.B.B. that do not correspond to what's actually in the B.B.B.

Daniel Dale of CNN lists eleven things Trump said at a cabinet meeting that also do not connect with reality. The Associated Press focuses on one of them.

Snopes runs down twenty rumors about Marjorie Taylor Greene that it has fact-checked over the years. Amazingly, some of the bad ones aren't true.

Republican pundit Scott Jennings is heavy into the belief that are countless people receiving Medicaid benefits who are just too f'ing lazy to go get a job. Politifact says that ain't so. Politifact also has much to say about Trump's insistence that the Big, Beautiful Bill has "no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security, no tax on overtime."

And Fred Kaplan debunks any assertions that the Trump Administration knows what it's doing with regard to The Ukraine.

A Brief Comment

I haven't seen the new Superman movie. I seem to have fallen off the list of people who've worked for DC Comics — which I've only done since around 1970 — who get invited to premieres. So I can't say if it's "too woke," which is a complaint I see online a lot today. The actor Dean Cain, who once played Superman, said it's "too woke" and others have.

Frankly, I have a hard time imagining how you could do a movie about Superman — a character who is all about helping people who need help — and not have someone complain that's "too woke." That might apply to any super-hero who didn't charge for his services like saving lives or stopping the world from blowing up.

But I also don't understand what "woke" means anymore. It seems to have become for some, one of those insult words you hurl at anyone or anything you don't like…like "He's a Communist," "He's a Socialist," He's a "Pedophile," etc. Someone doesn't have to advocate common ownership of the means of production for you to call them a Communist. They just have to be someone you view for whatever reason as The Opposition.

You certainly don't need any evidence of any child being mistreated to call someone a Pedophile, either. A lot of folks are upset at the claim that there are no Epstein Files were hoping there would be and they would reveal that every single person in public life they don't like had committed Statutory Rape so they'd disappear in one swell foop.

Today's Video Link

Where Are They Now?

Remember this guy? That's Jon "Bowzer" Bauman of the retro rock group, Sha Na Na. What's he doing now? Well, he was a game show host for a while and he occasionally does "oldies" shows. But he has a new main profession and you won't believe what it is.

Street of Dreams

Photo stolen from C.B. Cebulski