Mark Evanier's Blog, page 58

FACT CHECK: Trump at the D.O.J.

Last Friday, our 45th, 47th and perhaps last president gave a speech at the Justice Department that cried out for major league fact-checking.  A team at The New York Times did the honors and there was a lot there to correct or clarify.

Today's Video Link

BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical is now in previews at the Broadhurst Theater in New York with an opening date of April 5. I admit to a certain curiosity about it, especially about the meeting in which someone said something like, "You know what Broadway is dying to see? A musical about Betty Boop!" I love the old Max Fleischer Betty Boop cartoons, especially when administered in small doses but I'm just wondering why they thought there was a lot of name recognition there.

Or maybe they didn't. Maybe the whole point of it is just to do a jazzy, colorful musical and Betty could anchor it and represent a carefree era where the world had the energy of one of her cartoons. Advance word would suggest the show is at the very least jazzy and colorful and those aren't bad things for a musical to be. So we shall see what we shall see. Here's a link to a page that tracks reviews, which are so far of the outta-town tryouts. And here's a 48-second sampler of the show which is, as you'll see, jazzy and colorful…

Remembering Clydene

Clydene Nee, who passed away last November, was an important contributor to Comic-Con International and a very sweet, wonderful lady who loved comics and the folks who create them. I wrote about her passing at the time.

This year at WonderCon, those who knew her will gather for a memorial on Friday evening — that's March 28th — at 9 PM at the Hilton in Ballroom B. I'm sure going to try to be there.

Today's Video Link

I haven't linked to any videos from Devin "Legal Eagle" Stone in quite a while but this one seems too important to overlook…

Mark's WonderCon Schedule

WonderCon Anaheim is happening March 28 through March 30 at the Animation Convention Center, located just a few blocks (as the elephant flies) from Disneyland! Details on how to attend can be found here. The list of panels on which I'm appearing can be found below…

WRITING FOR ANIMATION
Friday, March 28 from 3:30PM to 4:30PM in Room 213AB
Did you ever want to write cartoons? Or just want to know how it's done? Well, here's a panel for you! Some folks who've written some of your favorite shows will fill you in on what they do, how they do it, and how they got to do it -— plus they'll answer your questions about the art of creating scripts for animation. Brynne Chandler (Disney's Gargoyles), Paul Dini (Batman: The Animated Series), and John Semper (Spider-Man: The Animated Series) are hosted by moderator Mark Evanier (The Garfield Show).

HANNA-BARBERA HISTORY
Friday, March 28 from 4:30PM to 5:30PM in Room 213AB
Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera were the kings of TV animation for decades, especially on Saturday mornings. Their studio produced countless childhood favorites, including The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby Doo, Yogi Bear, Space Ghost, Top Cat, Quick Draw McGraw, Jonny Quest, The Smurfs, Superfriends, and dozens of others. Come hear all about what went on in the hallowed halls of Hanna-Barbera from writers Mark Evanier and John Semper (who worked at that studio) and animation historians Jerry Beck and Greg Ehrbar.

TALES FROM MY SPINNER RACK (LIVE!)
Saturday, March 29 from 3:00PM to 4:00PM in Room 209
With the new Fantastic Four: First Steps movie coming out in just a few short months, Gary Sassaman (former director of programming and publications, Comic-Con and WonderCon) takes a nostalgic look back at “The World 's Greatest Comic Magazine!” in this graphics-filled presentation featuring the “first steps” of the Fantastic Four comic book series by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Joining Sassaman to discuss growing up with the F.F. and Kirby 's boundless creativity is WonderCon special guest Mark Evanier (Kirby: King of Comics, Groo the Wanderer), friend and former assistant of the artist.

CARTOON VOICES
Saturday, March 29 from 4:00PM to 5:00PM in Room 207
It wouldn t be WonderCon without one of Mark Evanier's famous panels of folks who supply the voices for your favorite cartoon characters and TV shows. This time, Mark has assembled Kimberly Woods (Archer, X-Men '97), Wally Wingert (Invader Zim, The Garfield Show), Candi Milo (Looney Tunes, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends), Daniel Ross (Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures) and a surprise or two!

STAN AND JACK
Saturday, March 29 from 5:00PM to 6:00PM in Room 210
Daniel Fingeroth is the author of A Marvelous Life: The Amazing Story of Stan Lee. Mark Evanier is the author of Kirby, King of Comics. So the authors of the most-read books about Stan Lee and Jack Kirby will discuss both men and what they meant to the comic book industry, the Marvel Age of Comics, and the childhoods of an awful lot of people.

TWO MARKS ANSWER QUESTIONS
Sunday, March 30 from 11:00am to 12:00PM in Room 207
If there's anything (a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g) you 've ever wanted to know about comic books, the characters, the people who created them, the business…anything, this is the panel for you! If writers Mark Waid and Mark Evanier don't know it, no one does. Come armed with questions!

JACK KIRBY TRIBUTE
Sunday, March 30 from 12:00PM to 1:00PM in Room 207
At every WonderCon, we make time to remember the man they call The King of Comics, Jack Kirby. Former Kirby assistant Mark Evanier heads up a dais of folks who knew the man or at least his amazing career. This time out, Mark is joined by two members of Jack's family — Tracy Kirby and Jeremy Kirby — as well as John Morrow (publisher of The Jack Kirby Collector), Rand Hoppe (founding trustee/director of the Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center), Kirby family friend Dave Schwartz, and attorney Henry W. Holmes (better known as the Kirby-drawn character Destroyer Lawyer).

As always, everything — panels, the rooms they're in, the times they occur, the people who are on them — is subject to change. Usually, they don't but sometimes, they do so don't be shocked. The entire programming schedule can be found here just in case you're one of those odd people who might go to panels that don't have me on them.

FACT CHECK: Subsidizing Canada

That Trump guy keeps claiming that the U.S. spends $200 billion a year to subsidize Canada. Glenn Kessler, the fact-check guy for The Washington Post, can't figure out how that could possibly be true…and apparently, the White House can't, either.

Today's Video Link

At one time or another, just about every person who claims the title of Magician performs the Cups and Balls routine. It's kind of a rite of passage and it's one of the purest tricks because it's (usually) all about artful skill and misdirection, not about how a gimmicked prop was built. I did this trick with paper cups when I was twelve and I doubt I did it well because…well, I just wasn't that good a magician, especially at that age. Still, everyone I did it for was the kind of person who would have pretended they were fooled if they weren't so I couldn't be sure how good or bad I was.

Today, if you asked a roomful of magicians who does it best these days, someone would probably mention Paul Gertner. I was fortunate to see Paul perform at the Magic Castle a few years ago and to spend some time with him between shows. He's a great talent and here's how he does this, his favorite trick…

FACT CHECK: Measles

Measles is making a big comeback thanks to a lot of misinformation exacerbated by the stubbornness of people who are wrong about the disease and just plain don't want to admit they're wrong. The folks at FactCheck.org are correcting some of the misinfo because much of what's being said is — you'll forgive the term, I trust — spotty.

Celebrating Michael Schlesinger

Once again, I remind you that the many friends of the late Mike Schlesinger — and I am on that long list of friends — will be gathering together in Santa Monica the afternoon of April 6. There will be stories about his life, clips of films in which he had some involvement, speeches by a fraction of those friends (all we have time for) and then those of you who want to stay around will watch his favorite movie, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

This will not be a long ceremony because we must make time for the long movie…but we hope to do Mike justice and to have the kind of event he would have wanted us to have. We have a limited number of seats and they're being filled so if you wanna come, click below and do as told. You do not have to stay for the movie…but how could you not?

Weeks to WonderCon

Two weeks from today, many of us will be at WonderCon Anaheim at the Anaheim Convention Center here in Southern California. WonderCon is kind of like Comic-Con International Lite, run by the same folks but on a smaller scale than the July colonizations of San Diego. It's still a pretty big convention with plenty to see, plenty to do, plenty to buy. It also, unlike its Big Brother, has badges available. You can still get in.

I always have a good time at WonderCons so I'll be there hosting or appearing on seven panels. I'll post a list of them as soon as the convention does. I should also mention that though I am one of their Special Guest persons, I will not have a table there but if you have the con schedule, I am very findable and I'm also very approachable if I'm not rushing to a panel at that moment.