Loot is what she lived for

Not much to this story from Wings Comics #74 (October 1946) other than the great cover and the page featuring the shot to the face. It is noteworthy that Madame Hell Hawk went to jail at the end and didn't betray her fellow bandits due to some good American loving from Captain Wings.

Risking my expletive deleted

Noticed while watching the awesome Breaking Bad last night that even the most innocuous word used as a swear was censored for the closed captioning but the audio remained raw and unedited.

Kind of funny since the opposite usually occurs when shows or movies that are heavily dubbed for content for a broadcast somehow usually fail to go to the expense of going back and editing the captioning. There have even been instances where a entertainment or news show will be showing a clip in the background and the clips' captioning while override that of the main show. It was really only disconcerting once when a news story about porn accidentally being broadcast during a prime time network slot showed a steady stream of closed captioning describing in detail the otherwise heavily-pixelated scene playing on the overlay adjacent to the newscaster.

Yes, some pornographic films are closed captioned. Yes, that's freaking stupid as decaf coffee.

Blake R. Sims covers 1963 3

Original cover by Rick Veitch; Image 1993. Blake R. Sims's website is here.

Heroes Con

Next weekend I (with the lovely Georgene) will be at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC. I understand that I will be sharing 2 tables with Sammy Harkham and John Pham. I'll be bringing some of my comics, original art, wood postcards, and a print of my Ducks cover (above). Fellow Mome artist Noah Van Sciver will also be there and Dustin Harbin is the organizer of Indie Island at the convention. Any other Covered artists going to be there? Any followers of the blog? Feel free to find my table and say hello.

*UPDATE* Since Rusty Shackles and Ryan Dunlavey mentioned in the comments section that they were bringing prints of a cover that they have done for the site, I posted them above. Anyone else bringing prints of covers that have been posted here?

The Blind Menace

Well, it's happened again: A rare film I had to beg, borrow and steal to secure a copy of has now, once again, been released by a major distributor. This always fills me with conflicting feelings: pissed off that I had to work so hard for something now widely available, yet gratified that others will have no problem enjoying this fine film.

Such a film is Shiranui Kengyo (1960), available now from AnimEigo as The Blind Menace. I wrote a review of this film in my book Warring Clans, Flashing Blades, from which I will now lazily quote (what, I gotta come up with original blog content for you? Buy the damn book, already!). The central character is a man named Shichinosuke, "a sinister, scheming blind masseur played with dark exuberance by the incomparable Shintaro Katsu. Shiranui Kengyo was the first film to showcase Katsu's unique blind man act (somewhat more exaggerated here), but this anma is the polar opposite of the actor's most celebrated sightless characterization, Zatoichi. Shichinosuke, rather than wandering from town to town, gambling, giving massages and protecting the innocent, is more inclined towards thievery, rape, extortion and murder, all employed in the service of his ruthless rise to the top."

Elsewhere I write, "Released in 1960, the film was an instant hit, elevating Katsu to full-fledged movie star. The film's success rested largely on Katsu's brilliant performance as a vile, Richard III-like villain. Like Richard, Shichinosuke's handicap fuels his rage and ambition to rise in a world where the deck is stacked against him, relishing the liberties his treachery allows him with those in the sighted world, particularly the ladies."

Then, toward the end of the review, I say: "Simply put, if you're a Shintaro Katsu fan, you have to see Shiranui Kengyo ... it's one of those holy grail pictures, not necessarily a samurai film proper, but nevertheless essential to aficionados of the genre." (Say, this guy's good!)

If I were you, while you're on Amazon buying a copy of The Blind Menace, I'd also pick up a copy of Warring Clans, Flashing Blades. Then, when that stuff arrives, go get a six-pack, kick off your shoes and get ready for a good ol' Japanese film nerd-out time. You're welcome.

(The Blind Menace streets June 15th, 2010.)

Andrew Hahn covers Unknown Soldier 223

Original cover by Joe Kubert; DC 1979. Andrew Hahn's website is here.

A melody I'd never heard before

Sure, we all make fun of those old Silver Age romance comic books but every now and then they get one of those stories right. If this page didn't tug at the heart strings then you are dead inside.

The cover on the other hand is unintentionally (?) hilarious.

From Girls' Romance #101 (June 1964).

It's a thin line

I guess there are worse foundations for a relationship. At least hatred is more honest than marrying for money.

From Heart Throbs #90 (July 1964).

Don't put that in your mouth, you don't know where it's been

Something was lost in translation, maybe? Found in a local San Diego store 5-26-10.

Julia Gfrörer covers Blade of the Immortal 18

Original cover by Hiroaki Samura; 1998 Dark Horse. Julia Gfrörer's website is here and you can purchase her original here.

Wouldn't make the back page in Metropolis

It must be difficult to make a living as a photographer in the DC Universe what with the sky opening up every other day, star ships crashing into parks, demons running around and people flying about. The competition for a news-worthy photo that would catch the interest of a public used to giant star ships hovering and 100 foot tall men striding through the city must be fierce. In the real world this photo would be a Pulitzer-winner. But in the DCU even the most spectacular photo, even one that caught a buzzard getting disintegrated by the impact flash of a meteor would barely rate publication unless it was in some dusty desert burg.

From DC Super-Stars #15 (July-August 1977) and of course Bob Kanigher wrote it.

Robogeisha

She's a robot. She's a geisha. She's ... well, you know. Written and directed by Noboru Iguchi, the guy responsible for Machine Girl (as well as less-than-memorable titles like Doctor's Enema and A Larva to Love), Robogeisha is essentially a live-action cartoon aimed squarely at the 10 to 14-year-old demographic. This wouldn't be a problem if Iguchi were talented enough to bring out the 14-year-old in me (it's not that hard, I have to say).

Unfortunately, he isn't. Every performance is so exaggerated, every gag so overdone that one can't even lose oneself in the outrageousness of it all -- the film is too busy trumpeting its own outrageousness. Literally. Someone gets fried shrimps jammed into their eye sockets. Immediately the victim screams, "Oh! She jammed shrimps in my eyes!" Or a bionically modified girl shoots half a dozen shuriken out of her ass and the guy who gets them in the face makes a similar announcement. It's as if the director isn't sure you're getting it, that you can't possibly process what just happened (because, of course, it's SOOOO outrageous), that it has to be announced after the fact. This happens continuously throughout the picture.

Don't get me wrong, the gags are indeed outrageous, and often quite inventive. Swords lunge out of womens' mouths and armpits; geisha wigs are tricked out with "wig nepalm;" girls shoot bullets from their breasts, as well as "milk from hell" (which, of course, melts peoples' faces off); one robogeisha projects a circular saw from her mouth with which to murder a prominent politician. Done a bit more deadpan, this stuff might have worked (or at the very least worked better). As it is, it all plays like a twisted, bloody take on a Saturday morning kid's show.

But hey, that's just me. You may indeed be thinking, "twisted, bloody take on a Saturday morning kid's show? I'm there!" In my case, I tend to enjoy OTT antics in films, and if you know me (or if you've read any of my books), you know I'm no snob. The bone I'm picking with Robogeisha is purely a matter of presentation. With a little more work, it could have been a campy romp, instead of what amounts to a mad dash from one jaw-dropping set piece to the next.

So you tell me. Am I being too hard on Robogeisha? Am I just some old fart who doesn't get it? Give it to me straight, folks, I can take it.

(Robogeisha streets June 7th in the UK courtesy of Cine Asia.)

Nick White covers Tarzan 25

Original cover by Rich Buckler and Bob McLeod; Marvel 1979. Nick White's website is here.

Jesse Graber covers Amazing Spider-man 425

Original cover by Steve Skroce and Bud LaRosa; Marvel 1997. Jesse Graber's website is here.

Thomas Hope covers Hellboy: Box Full of Evil 1

Original cover by Mike Mignola; Dark Horse 1999. Thomas Hope's website is here.

6ixtynin9

Gimme a black comedy where bodies stack up faster than they can reasonably be disposed of. Now make it in Thailand and populate it with a cast of hilariously quirky characters. And, if you must, give it a dumb-ass title.

That film is Pen-ek Ratanaruang's 6ixtynin9 (1999). And before you ask, no, the film has nothing to do with the sex position. It refers to a bit of confusion caused by a 6 on an apartment door that keeps flopping over to become a 9. Clearly the much-better (and Hendrix-referencing) title "If 6 were 9" never occurred to anyone. However, what did did come of Mr. Ratanaruang's efforts is a tasty, twisty Thai take on Danny Boyle's Shallow Grave (1994).

Tum (Thai soap star Lalita Panyopas) finds a box of money on her doorstep. As we all know, this means trouble. Tum's not exactly what you'd call a tough customer, but she nevertheless possesses some impressive survival instincts. Plus she's just been canned from her job and could really use the cash. Therefore when the inevitable thugs show up to retrieve the loot, they get more than they bargained for, setting off a chain reaction of murder and mayhem.

Now you might be thinking, "Oh brother, been there, done that." But you haven't. Pen-ek Ratanaruang was one of the originators of the Thai film boom of the late 90s and is known for his unique style, applying inky black strokes of comedy with a light, deft brush, creating a vibe I'd call "Thai/indy." 6ixtynin9 is more kinetic and plot-driven than his most well-known film, the moodier, dreamier Last Life in the Universe (2003).

As mentioned earlier, the film is made memorable by its wonderful assortment of kooky characters, each played to a naturalistic perfection by the talented cast. Tum's nosy neighbor Pen (Sirisin Siripornsmathikul) is a hoot, a Thai cougar who's having it off with a young cop (uh oh). She always turns up at the wrong moment and at one point has a hilarious discussion with her cronies as to what to do with an inconstant lover (hint: It involves a knife and a food processor ... ). Tum is also forced to deal with the drama queen antics of her friend Jim (Tasanawalai Ongarittichai), a beautiful girl who's unlucky in love and ready to open a vein over it.

But I've said enough. If you haven't seen that many Thai films, I'd definitely recommend this one. If you saw Last Life in the Universe and found it dull, try 6ixtynin9. Thai-flavored black comedies don't get much better.

Susan Foreman

...Is more hardcore than you will ever be.

Doctor Who (Series 1, Episode 4, The Firemaker. Originally aired 14 December 1963).

Accident

Remember Harry Caul, Gene Hackman's character in Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation (1974)? Well imagine Harry and his team decided to go beyond mere surveillance and actually worked as a hit squad, murdering people by way of elaborately planned and untraceable "accidents." Now imagine Harry and his guys are Chinese and you've worked your way around to the inventive psychological crime thriller that is Accident (2009). Produced by Johnnie To and directed by Cheang Pou Soi, Accident blends the narrative arc of a heist film (big job goes horribly awry) with the paranoia and meticulousness of The Conversation, throwing in enough twists and turns to keep you guessing throughout.

The crew: Brain (Louis Koo, above), Fatty (Lam Suet), Uncle (Stanly Fung), and, for want of a character name, Hottie (Michelle Ye). They're good. Very good. We see a bit of their handiwork in the opening sequence, wherein they maneuver their target into "accidentally" offing himself. In public, in broad daylight (and quite bloodily, I might add). Later, Brain is upset because Uncle left a cigarette butt at the scene. Yeah, he's that anal. But I guess you have to be in his line of work. Soon they're on to the next job, and it's here that the well-oiled machine begins to break down. Plus, it looks like another faux-accident hit squad has set their sights on Brain ...

Director Cheang Pou Soi worked under Johnnie To as an assistant before donning the director's cap some ten years ago, and while there's a confusing moment now and again, Accident nevertheless delivers the goods as a more cerebral, insular and subtle Hong Kong crime film than you might expect. Recommended.

Cola Wars

Vendors are very territorial. Still, when fighting on multiple fronts don't ever take your eyes off the beer barons.

Sam Henderson covers Crime Does Not Pay 100

Original cover by Bob Fujitani; Lev Gleason 1951. Sam Henderson's website is here.

Earth to the Moon

I can't recall what episode of the early-1970s British television show UFO this scene is from but I really want that map detailing the flight path of objects between the earth and the moon. I don't know if the map is representative of actual space flights or was made specially as a background prop revealing SHADO operations but it would be cool either way.

Interior Design

Icon-filled pattern found on the interior of the covers of many Dell paperback books circa 1949 noting the various types of books the company published. In an era of largely misleading book covers the large identifying icon placed somewhere on the front of the book would let a reader (and vendor stocking the stands) know at a glance from what category of fiction they were browsing. Due to the extra expense of printing, interior cover patterns are nearly non-existent today.

Jimmy Wallin covers Zap Comix 2

Original cover by Robert Crumb; Apex Novelties 1968. Jimmy Wallin's website is here.

From the Collection: Sinister Barrier

Sinister Barrier was originally published in 1939 for the pulp magazine Unknown and was re-issued for this 1985 volume with suitably horrifying cover art by the great Ralph McQuarrie.

Genevieve Simms covers Marmalade Boy 3

Original cover by Wataru Yoshizumi; 1994 Egmont. Genevieve Simms's website is here.

There's being mischievous

...And then there is this little demon seed.

There's undoubtedly an entire back story to this tale. From the psychotic man-baby contemplating the gigantic mystery pie with horrible, unnamed ingredients to the shark-toothed demon-mother-wife-jailer and the rushing river euphemistically named the "County Orphanage" this Golden Age attempt at humor begs for a modern-day treatment by a good horror or shock writer. I wonder if it is too late to submit a pitch for the next issue of Jennifer Love Hewitt's Music Box?

From Jack in the Box #11 (October 1946).

Because of Susan

Silver Age subtext, however unintentional, from Girls' Love Stories #117 (February 1966). Much like issue #152 of the same series, change a few word balloons and the story takes on an entirely different meaning.

Breathless

Yang Ik-joon isn't at all like the character he plays in Breathless. And that's good for him. And us. In fact, it's good for anyone within punching, slapping or kicking distance. For Sang-hoon, an enforcer for a local loan shark in a squalid, unnamed town somewhere in South Korea, is a swirling maelstrom of verbal and physical abuse, lashing out at any and all comers (as well as innocent bystanders, friends, old men, women, children, you name it). We eventually discover the childhood trauma that is the source of Sang-hoon's seemingly bottomless rage and realize that, like everyone else, he's a mixed bag. There's actually a human being lurking beneath that brutal facade; will its gradual emergence lead to well-deserved destruction, or to somehow equally well-deserved redemption?

Yang Ik-joon wrote, produced, directed, and stars in Breathless (2009), a film it took him three years to make. It is his directorial debut. A better name for the film would have been "Vicious Cycle," for that is its underlying theme: The time-honored family tradition of cyclical abuse. They say charity begins at home; so does watching daddy beat mommy to a pulp, or witnessing thugs break daddy's nose for not paying his debts. The takeaway for the child in such circumstances is either A) this is wrong and I will never be this way, or B) this is how things work and as soon as I'm big enough, I'm going to do the same. Both viewpoints are expressed by the variously damaged characters in Breathless. Clearly Sang-hoon has opted for plan B, but Yeon-hee (Kim Kkot-bi), a high school girl he encounters early in the film, is a strong adherent to the A option. This doesn't mean she isn't tough as nails, but hers is a toughness of character. So when Sang-hoon accidentally spits on her in the street, she doesn't let it go. She demands the terrifying thug make amends. Thus begins a unique and unpredictable relationship. Elsewhere, Sang-hoon is trying, in his churlish, awkward way, to develop some kind of bond with his small nephew Hyeong-in (Kim Hee-soo).

While I'm no stranger to violent Korean cinema, I have to admit I was a little wary at the start of this picture. The opening scene begins, in medias res, with a guy beating a woman in the street. Before long, Sang-hoon appears and pounds the guy into the ground. Turning to the bloodied woman, he spits in her face and slaps her repeatedly, asking her why she takes such abuse. It's as if Yang Ik-joon has posed himself a challenge: Create an utterly repellent character and then make him sympathetic. He succeeds, of course, by gradually peeling back the layers of scar tissue until the core person is revealed. Yang has said that Breathless is partly autobiographical, inspired by friends and family members he grew up with in Namgok-dong, a poor town in Chungcheong Province. "Breathless is a story about Korea," he says, "a story about a family. People were able to relate because families are similar, although the degree of family problems vary of course ... it was an exorcism for me." Indeed, the cathartic power of this film is formidable. I came away emotionally exhausted, yet at the same time exhilarated. I suppose you could say that's one definition of great cinema.

In the year since Breathless' release, Yang has been invited to 60 film festivals and received 23 prizes (from the Deauville Asian Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival, Singapore International Film Festival, Tokyo FILMeX, Fant-Asia Film Festival, etc. etc.). The praise is well-deserved and Yang Ik-joon is a name to remember.

From the Collection: Invasion from Mars

A Dell Backmap book. Invasion from Mars, Interplanetary Stories selected by Orson Wells (1949).

Adam Koford covers Paul Terry's Mighty Mouse 68

Original cover artist is unknown; Pines 1956. Adam Koford's website is here.