V for Vendetta
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by KC Carlson

Seeing myself on the New York Times bestseller list as the editor of V for Vendetta is sort of amusing. And not really entirely unexpected. More than a decade ago, when I first learned the concept of Googling oneself, I gave it a shot. Not much came up back then, except for my “editorial” credits for both the V for Vendetta collection and for the Sandman: The Doll’s House collection — both of which showed Amazon listing me as editor. Actually, the V for Vendetta book did offer me my first thrill of seeing my name in print while standing in a bookstore (the late, lamented Coliseum Books in NYC).

I don’t think my name is in the book at all anymore, since it has gone through a couple of design changes and lord knows how many printings since I first “packaged” the book for DC in 1990. There wasn’t much actual editing by me, but that was the title I was given for my role on the original collected edition.

It was certainly one of the most memorable Collected Books projects I worked on, as there were numerous production headaches for both myself and designer Dale Crain, including missing, mislabeled, and damaged film. Apparently, the U.S, was one of the last countries to produce a V For Vendetta collection, as the film had traveled around the world several times before DC did their version. By the time I got it, it had been reduced from the original 8-up film (8 pages of story per film flat x 4 for 4-color printing — black, red, yellow, and blue) and cut apart into each individual page. Unfortunately, whoever did the cutting had also cut off all of the identifying marks on the film (like issue and page numbers!), and the pieces were randomly stuffed into several unsorted envelopes. If you’ve never looked at 4-color film, only the black plate has any real identifying marks, since it is the only one to include the black outlines of the artwork as well as the word balloons. All of the film for the other colors basically looks like blobs of negative, which represents various percentages of the the base colors, but to the naked eye, pretty much unidentifiable as much of anything.

Since V for Vendetta includes well over 250 pages of artwork, and there were four individual pieces of film for each page, that meant I was dealing with over 1,000 pieces of cut-apart film — three-quarters of which were pretty much completely unidentifiable without first locating the black plate to use for matching reference. So first, I had to find all the black plates and put them in order, no small task without page numbers OR even issue numbers.

But even that was a problem because every page of black plate film had all the word balloons opaqued out — a common thing to happen when a book is printed in a foreign country where the English words are covered up and replaced with the host language. Most people who do this are polite enough to clean the film before returning it. Not this time.

I don’t recall if I did the cleaning or not. Probably not, as they had to be cleaned individually by hand, probably with some horrible turpentine-like solution of which the fumes would have eventually killed everybody in the already overcrowded environs of DC’s beloved 666 Fifth Ave. offices. When I eventually got the cleaned black plates back, I discovered a new problem. The film had been so well-travelled that the lettering was starting to break up. Most of the letter “E”s were breaking apart (so they looked like “F” or “L”), and the “A”s and “B”s and “P”s were beginning to block up solid.

Having no idea what it would cost (this was one of the first trades I worked on), I wondered if it would be easier to get new film struck, so I showed this to Production Manager Bob Rozakis, and I think we both went to see Publisher Paul Levitz. And the answer was — no new film. It was not in the budget, and moreover, there probably wasn’t enough time to get it done. So I asked how I should deal with the problem, and I believe that Paul said something like “use your best judgment and fix everything that looks bad.” Which meant carefully pouring over the book and circling hundreds (maybe thousands!) of broken letters with instructions to “clean out” or “fix”.

More on this later. Back to the film.

Once I had the black plates separated out, labeled (using the original comics as reference), and in order, I moved into the DC conference room and spread out my piles and piles of unlabeled film on the large conference table. Mostly I needed the room for its wall-mounted track lighting. I carefully taped each piece of black plate film to the lights, so I could see through it, like a doctor looking at an x-ray. Then I painstakingly took each piece of color film and held it up to each black plate to see if it matched. So, for about a week, all I did was walk around the room, holding each piece of film, muttering “Nope… Nope… Nope…” to myself, until I could find the match — and then quickly labeled it, by page and issue number!

(I first tried doing this on a light box but quickly abandoned it for two reasons: First, on a light box, I could only do one or two pages at a time. In the conference room, I could do two issues at a time, one on each side of the room. Second, DC had a limited number of light boxes available, and all were in high demand by production artists and visiting freelancers.)

Since the conference room was literarily across the the hall from Paul’s office, he would occasionally look in, shake his head a couple of times, and then move on. Once, early on in the procedure, he asked me, “Isn’t there somebody else who should be doing that?” Sadly, at that point in time, the answer was no, as the DC film library was in a major period of transition and a very long subway ride away from the office — way out in Brooklyn. It would be two office moves and several years later before the film library would be in the same building as the DC offices. (And after the floors were reinforced. Film is heavy!)

Earlier, just after I was made Collected Books Editor, I was struggling with dealing with the normally huge sheets of film on a desk that wasn’t large enough to accommodate them. Salvation came when cubicle dividers were installed in my three-person office. I quickly un-installed mine and propped it up on a short file cabinet to make a larger desk surface. (The dividers were unasked for and unwanted, because we had the happiest office at DC, cramped as it was). Weeks later, Paul finally noticed that I had “defaced” my new office furniture. He wasn’t happy about it and told me so, but the matter was largely forgotten when he realized that I needed a larger flat space for the film and the then very-crowded office could not accommodate me. Shortly afterwards, and after they got better organized, the film library dealt exclusively with film matters. Today, the collected book editors seldom ever touch film. And I have to wonder, in this digital age, if film even exists at all.

Later, while the book was being printed, artist and colorist David Lloyd traveled to Montreal (on his own dime) to join me at the press check for the printing of the book (in the middle of the night, when most comics are printed — or, at least, they were then). The print run on the first edition was relatively small, and therefore, each signature of the book was “on press” for only a short period of time. It was maybe only 10-20 minutes per signature for the high-speed presses, so adjustments for color had to be done quickly, while the presses were running. Unfortunately, bound contributor copies of the book were later sent to David from the front end of the print run (while the color was still being “fine-tuned” by David), and he was understandably quite upset at the time. All seems forgiven now, as David and I met up at the Baltimore Comic-Con a couple of years back, and we had a great chat about those crazy days.

There were other odd things about the book, most of which vexed designer Dale Crain, such as the slightly different sized interior pages (most of the original chapters were originally printed in the UK black and white magazine Warrior). The indicia and copyright page was done before DC had standardized their masthead for collected books, which meant I was inadvertently listed as Editor of the book over Karen Berger, the rightful Editor of the US version of the original series and over whoever actually edited it in Warrior (who wasn’t mentioned at all). These errors, I hope, have been corrected in subsequent editions of the book. Me, I still have my prized (and rare?) hardcover edition of the original printing given to me by my friend Phyllis Hume, longtime coordinator of DC’s international editions. I’m still not sure where this particular version of the book comes from, as the guts were from the original Printed in Canada First Printing, but the dust jacket was printed in the USA. Oddly, it doesn’t have a cover price either, so perhaps it’s a book club version.

One last thing. Remember those lettering corrections? Several months after V For Vendetta: the Collected Edition was printed and distributed and eagerly snapped up by people who love great comics and I had moved on to other projects, one day Bob Rozakis appeared in my office. “Paul would like to see us.” he said in that wonderful half-sighing way that Bob has. Uh-oh, I thought. Rule of thumb in the DC offices: If Paul had good news for you, he delivered it in person. If you were summoned, it probably wasn’t good news.

When we got to Paul’s office, his face was red, and and he had what looked like an invoice held tightly in his hand. He said something like, “This is our printing bill for the V For Vendetta trade. It says here that there were hundreds of corrections made in the lettering for the trade.”

“Yes,” I said, which seemed to make him more upset.

“Why?” he asked, exasperated.

It was here that I first realized that Paul probably had to deal with thousands of things like this every day. And that what was a big deal to me — the conversation about whether or not to have new film struck for the book — was probably the 537th decision that he had to make that day — and had since forgotten since there were several thousand much more important decisions to be be made since that day. I struggled to figure out what to say.

Luckily, BobRo jumped in, a old hand at talking to Paul, and gently reminded him that the film was in very bad shape and that corrections were necessary.

“But this many? Why did you make so many corrections?” he asked me directly.

“Because there were that many things that looked bad. And you told me to correct anything that looked bad,” I said.

Paul looked like he wanted to yell but couldn’t. BobRo helpfully chimed in, “You did tell him that, Paul.” Which was not really all that helpful at all, now that I think about it.

Paul went on to explain to me that the cost for all the corrections was so high that the book was probably not going to be profitable for DC until sometime into its third printing, whenever that was. I’m fairly sure that by now DC has turned a nice profit on the multiple printings of the perennial bestseller, but back then, it really wasn’t all that clear-cut. Collections took awhile to gain their footing, especially in the early days when many Direct Market retailers were skeptical of items with relatively high cover prices, and the general populace audience (through bookstores) wasn’t as developed or even widely accepted like it is today.

These days when I see Paul at a convention or other social gathering and I see that his hair is a little more gray, I always think, “Part of that’s my fault.” But then again, since my hair turned gray virtually overnight while I was editing the Superman books during a particularly contentious period, I think we’re kinda even.

Joe McDoakes was the lead character in an almost forgotten series of comedy shorts produced and directed by Richard Bare and distributed by Warner Bros. from 1942 through 1956. Though the series is named after its lead character, it’s also known as the Behind the Eight Ball series, since Joe always appeared behind a giant eight ball in the opening credits of each film. It’s also occasionally known as the So You Want… series, as most of the series titles begin with this phrase (as in So You Want to Be a Cowboy). The series starred George O’Hanlon as McDoakes in all 63 installments.

The Joe McDoakes Collection
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There are a number of odd animation and comic book connections to the McDoakes series. These days, O’Hanlon is much better known as the voice of George Jetson in both the cartoon and Jetsons: The Movie (which was the last time he portrayed Jetson, as O’Hanlon passed away before the film was released). Another famous cartoon voice actor — Arthur Q. Bryan, the voice of Elmer Fudd — appears in So You Want to Build a Model Railroad and guest narrates So You Want to Be a Policeman. The series’ musical composer and arranger, William Lava, later went on to do the same job for most of the final theatrical Warner Bros. cartoons (for which he is usually not held in high regard) and for many of the made-for-television Pink Panther cartoons (based on Henry Mancini’s famous original theme). Lava also composed most of the incidental music (as well as the memorable theme song) for the 1960s TV series F Troop — a show that was about as close to a live-action cartoon as you can get.

Phyllis Coates, who portrayed Lois Lane in the first season of TV’s Adventures of Superman, got her start in film playing Joe McDoakes’ long-suffering wife Alice (one of three in the long-running series). She played the character in many of the episodes from 1948-1956.

Each of the shorts were co-written by Bare and O’Hanlon (although usually just credited to Bare), and all of them followed the same format, with McDoakes humorously attempting to accomplish the goal or role stated in each episode title — and usually failing spectacularly. In So You Want to Be a Baby Sitter, Joe is mercilessly tortured by a neighborhood kid that Alice has volunteered Joe to babysit — on poker night, no less. In So You Want to Be Popular, Joe realized that he has a bad personality and tries to get personality lessons from a professional but instead gets “fixed” by his obnoxious neighbor, ending up as obnoxious as he is.

Richard Bare, creator of the character, here talks about how O’Hanlon was selected and the series started:

Most of the episodes are narrated by Art Gilmore, a famous voice actor that you’ve probably heard hundreds of times but never known his name. Besides being on many radio and television shows, Gilmore’s dramatic voice was heard on film trailers throughout the 1950s and 60s. If you watch a lot of TCM, you’ve heard his voice whenever they show old trailers between movies.

Ultimately, the series proves why O’Hanlon is best known as a a great voice actor. Put through the paces in these shorts, O’Hanlon runs through endless emotional changes from extreme frustration to extreme rage and exasperation, but he spends most of his screen time mugging for the camera. His frustrations were much better used to their fullest extent with an animated character like George Jetson, where O’Hanlon can rage to his heart’s content off camera.

Much of the fun in watching these old shorts is in spotting old character actors popping up from time to time. The series is filled with familiar faces from Laurel and Hardy and Three Stooges shorts, as well as lots of actors you might recognize from early television comedies and dramas. I don’t even know half of their names, but I spent a lot of time going “Hey! I know that guy!” while watching these shorts — and then scrambling to IMDB to find out more info. Much fun! A number of more notable actors appear occasionally, like Ronald Reagan and Janis Paige in So You Want to Be in Pictures or Doris Day and Gordon McRae in So You Want a Television Set.

Here’s a clip from So You Want to Be in Pictures to give the flavor of the shorts:

All 63 11-minute Joe McDoakes shorts are included on this six-disc set. It’s part of the new Warner Archive on-demand program of bare-bones DVD sets (no special features or other bells and whistles) featuring lesser-known works. But it may be your only chance to see this wonderful lost chapter of Hollywood comedy shorts. (The studio provided a review copy.)

The Character’s Comic Origin

Plastic Man was one of the greatest conceptual characters ever created in comic books, especially during his Golden Age career where his adventures were chronicled by his creator, the amazing Jack Cole. Primarily a humorist, Cole’s Plastic Man adventures (beginning in the pages of Police Comics in 1941) were wildly funny and amazingly innovative, with Cole’s often surreal artwork and outrageous slapstick humor.

Plastic Man: The Complete Collection
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But Plastic Man wasn’t just a great humor strip — there were darker elements as well, especially in the character’s origins as former criminal Eel O’Brian, abandoned by his gang and left for dead when a heist goes bad. Saved by a monk and taken to recover at his monastery, O’Brian discovers that exposure to a mysterious acid during the failed crime has changed him physically — his body is pliable like rubber! With the revelation of this remarkable power, and with the monk’s belief that he had the capacity for greater good, O’Brian decides to change his life completely. Disguising himself by remolding his face and donning cool goggles and a patently ridiculous stretchable leotard (with a distinctive black and yellow striped belt), he becomes the crime fighter Plastic Man!

Eventually joining the police department and then the FBI, Plastic Man becomes an incredibly successfully hero, mostly because he still maintains his Eel O’Brian identity as a criminal in order to keep tabs on the criminal underworld. Thus, with one foot in each “world”, Plas’ adventures are filled with wild comedy as well as crime elements, as he’s pitted against any number of bizarre crooks and femme fatales. Cole capitalized on the character’s unique costume and abilities by either making Plas a master of disguise or by having him “blend into the background” by taking the shape of normal everyday objects, like mailboxes and lamp poles — all with tell-tale black and yellow stripes or stylized goggles. Thus, he became his generation’s “Where’s Waldo?” long before Waldo was born, and readers delighted in ferreting out where Plas was hiding in Cole’s often bizarre artwork!

Plas in Modern Comics

Plastic Man had a long and successful Golden Age career in both Police Comics and his own title until his publisher, Quality Comics, folded in 1956. DC Comics (then National Periodical Publications) acquired the publishing rights to three Quality properties — Blackhawk, G.I. Combat, and Plastic Man. They almost immediately began publishing the first two but completely forgot about Plastic Man until 1966, where he finally popped up in the Dial H For Hero feature in House of Mystery. That was probably just a way to promote his upcoming (but short-lived) ten-issue series, the first issue memorably illustrated by Gil Kane. But the character wasn’t the same.

Since then, Plastic Man has had a very long, very intermittent, and mostly confusing history/continuity at DC. Every few years the character would be revived, either with a new series or as a member of the All-Star Squadron or eventually, the Justice League. But the exact combination of key elements of each appearance were never quite satisfactory. Almost no one could replicate Cole’s magic touch with the character. (Although Kyle Baker’s series came close. At least it looked great!) A lot of his later writers could just not capture his humor properly, especially in his JLA appearances, where it seemed like he was an obnoxious jerk who wouldn’t shut up. Or they made the character too serious, with family problems or really wrong feelings of insecurity. In the modern DC world, he’s still a good character, but he has lost many of the elements that originally made him great.

Destined for Animation

Unfortunately, such is the same with Plas’ animation career. It’s not that The Plastic Man Comedy/ Adventure Show (running 1979-1981, from which this four-DVD set is compiled) is actually a bad show — it’s not! It’s got a great pedigree, and some great folks working on it. Plus, Plas is a character who is destined to be animated — stretching and morphing into other shapes is only really cool when you can see it in action! It’s just that it is obviously a product of its time, subject to the whims of the great Saturday Morning Television Network gods, their P.C. desires and fears of complaints from parental groups. It probably didn’t help that the show was co-produced by Hanna Barbera (long past their prime, pre-Cartoon Network) and Ruby-Spears (did they have a prime?).

Here’s some of the good stuff: Plas himself, who does some cool stunts throughout the series and throws out some occasionally great one-liners while under pressure. He’s ably voiced by Michael Bell, although his voice tends to occasionally get a bit whiny when agitated (or is that just because he’s fighting to be heard against the relentlessly bad generic non-stop soundtrack music in each episode?). The villains are pretty cool. I especially like The Clam, an actual talking clam wearing a little sailor’s cap. Dr. Dome (not Doom) pops up from the 60s DC comic series, and Carrot Man (from the 70s comics) also makes an odd appearance. Plus, there are some great comic book writers on the writing staff including Mark Evanier, Steve Gerber, Roy Thomas, and Buzz Dixon. Unfortunately, there are no individual episode credits, so you’re on your own trying to identify who wrote what. (Sounds like a great drinking game to me!)

This Might Be Annoying

And here’s some of the bad stuff: Plas’s blonde bombshell partner Penny, who is voiced with the most annoying Southern accent since Veronica on the Archie cartoons from the 60s. (The voice actress, Melendy Britt, did a much better job voicing Princess Adora/She-Ra.) Penny obviously has a huge crush on Plastic Man, which is mostly unrequited as Plas only has eyes for the female Chief (also voiced by Britt). In the DVD documentary for the series, animation producer James Tucker speculates that Penny might only be there to help make it clear that Plas is actually interested in girls, being, you know, so unusually dressed in a leotard all the time. (Oh dear.) Penny finally succeeds in getting her man, as sometime between the first and second seasons, Plas and Penny not only marry — but actually spawn. There’s a little Baby Plas running around in Season Two, not only in his own cartoon series (called Baby Plas, natch), but in the Plastic Family series of cartoons staring Mom, Pop, and Baby Plas. Sadly (or fortunately — your choice), the Baby Plas and Plastic Family cartoons are not included in this set, making it not quite so Complete after all. (But trust me, I’m not complaining!)

By the way, we don’t actually see any of the wedding, except for being told about it in the opening sequence of the second season, in lieu of actually getting a real theme song. But then again, there’s no theme song for the first season either, just a discussion of how Plas’ powers work, set to more relentless generic soundtrack. Was there so much cost-cutting going on that the producers didn’t want to pay for a theme song, or were there just not that many good rhymes for “plastic”?

But I’m forgetting about one of the worst comic relief sidekicks in all of cartoons. Hula Hula was a Polynesian (you can tell by his Hawaiian shirt) man (or boy? who can tell?), who inexplicably talked like Lou Costello (from Abbott &…) and had horrible bad luck that affected everybody around him. And apparently made him stupid as well. Fortunately, the producers came to their senses and didn’t call him by the horribly racist name “Coconut” like they wanted to. The character was already offensive enough without that added burden. He was no Woozy Winks, I’ll tell you that!

Extras! Extras!

But all is not lost. As if to prove that Plas could be a great animated star, the DVD set also includes an unaired Plastic Man pilot episode that was produced for Cartoon Network in 2006, and it is the best thing on this set. It was developed by Andy Suriano (producer on Batman: The Brave and the Bold) and Tom Kenny (voice of Spongebob Squarepants), who also plays Plastic Man. It’s a great cartoon, full of manic energy (maybe a bit too manic, actually), but there are lots of good gags, and Plas seems more like Plas than he has since the 1940s. Perhaps it’s a little bit too Ren & Stimpy/Kricfalusi influenced, for my taste anyway. There’s enough great stuff in the cartoon to not really need the crutch of the borrowed influence, and that may be why it was not picked up to go to series. I’d love to see Suriano and Kenny try it again — and Plas does occasionally pop up on Batman: The Brave and the Bold (voiced by Kenny), and in a much more appealing style, at least in my opinion.

Also included in the set is a 14-minute documentary, PLAS-tastic: A Brief History of Plastic Man. Featuring comic historians Jerry Beck, Mark Evanier (who also wrote for the show), and Alan Kistler, plus animation veterans Dan Riba, Andy Suriano, James Tucker, Tom Kenny, Andrea Romano, and Jeff Hall, the group discuss the series in-depth, as well as the unaired pilot, Kyle Baker’s take on Plastic Man at DC comics, and Plas’ appearances on Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Notably, no DC staffers appear in the documentary.

One last thing, the Bonus Features aren’t on Disc 4 where the packaging says they are. The Documentary is actually on Disc 1 and the unaired pilot “Puddle Trouble” is on Disc 2.

All in all, a very nice DVD set, for a series that may or may not really deserve it — but that’s pretty much left up for you to decide. If you grew up watching this series as a kid, and have fond memories of watching it, you will love it. For the rest of us, there’s a lot to love about Plastic Man, and for something you love, a lot can be forgiven.

Classic comic book adventures of Plastic Man by Jack Cole can be found in Volumes 1-8 of the Plastic Man Archives, published by DC Comics, and highly recommended. (The studio provided a DVD review copy.)

Peanuts 1970’s Collection
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The Peanuts 1970’s Collection, Volume 1, continues Warner’s series of chronological Peanuts collections with the first six specials of the the 1970s, including two which are new to DVD: Play It Again, Charlie Brown and It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown. The other titles are You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown, There’s No Time For Love, Charlie Brown, and the two well-known holiday specials A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and It’s The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown.

All of the features are completely remastered, and there’s an all-new featurette, Woodstock: Creating Snoopy’s Sidekick, which I assume will include the origins of the intrepid bird named after the famous rock festival. Unfortunately, the original featurettes that accompanied the previously released specials on DVD are not included. So, as usual, Warner has produced yet another Peanuts collection which is high on entertainment value and production quality, but not so much on completeness. But if you’re looking for an easy way to scoop up six Peanuts specials in one compact two-DVD set, this is your collection.

More soon. In the meantime, here’s a clip from the famous Thanksgiving show with that terrific music.

Also, he pulls out one of those “only in comics” sentences:

We learn a lot about the historical legacy of the original Justice Society (since in this re-telling both teams exist in the same universe, planet, and timeline, which was not the case in the original tales).

In Bob Dylan Revisited, a new oversized art book, 13 leading international illustrators present their interpretations of famous Bob Dylan lyrics, from throughout his 40-plus-year career as America’s leading troubadour and visionary.

Bob Dylan Revisited
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Like Dylan’s songs, there are no explanations or introductions to guide your way, other than a literal reprinting of the actual song lyrics. Then, each of the artists take off into their own imaginations. Some are quite literal, like Gradimir Smudja’s raw interpretation of Hurricane, Dylan’s song of the trials of boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter. Some are lyrical in print, like François Avril’s cinematic Girl From the North Country. And some are just out there, like Dave McKean’s, which starts off as a reasonably literal depiction of Desolation Row and ends up in another place altogether — with a couple of interesting side trips, to boot.

Most of the pieces are sequential — not really surprising, as Dylan is a master storyteller himself. Dylan himself appears in a couple of the works, like Christopher’s 1960s love story of life and loss in NYC’s Greenwich Village in Positively 4th Street, and Zep’s wonderful interpretations of the man himself throughout his years and many reincarnations in his take on Not Dark Yet. Actually, each artist here takes a stab at interpreting Dylan himself in a fascinating series of illustrations that accompany the printed lyrics.

These artists are brave souls, putting down on paper or canvas their ideas of one of folk, rock, pop, country, and blues’ most frequently impenetrable chroniclers of life through song. Because of this, it’s a fair bet that many of their interpretations of these now-beloved songs won’t be the same as yours, which makes them all the braver. Still, like Dylan himself, it’s a fascinating journey.

Bob Dylan Revisited is due out November 16. A complimentary copy for this review was provided by the publisher.

Disney is reissuing some of their great Christmas cartoons in new editions this year, just in time for the holidays.

Disney Animation Collection: Mickey’s Christmas Carol

Mickey’s Christmas Carol is a new entry in the Walt Disney Animation Collection: Classic Short Films series that I reviewed earlier this year. The lead feature is an all-star adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens’ tale, originally theatrically released in 1983 as a special feature with the re-release of The Rescuers. It was the first new Mickey Mouse cartoon made in over 30 years, and the first ever to include all of Disney’s classic characters (except Pluto, for some reason).

The cast includes Uncle Scrooge (playing Ebenezer Scrooge, in the greatest no-brainer casting ever done by Hollywood). Mickey plays the Bob Cratchit role, Goofy plays the ghost of Marley, Jiminy Cricket is the Ghost of Christmas Past, Willie the Giant is the Ghost of Christmas Present, and Pete (Mickey’s frequent nemesis) is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

Mickey’s Christmas Carol
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Donald Duck also appears as Scrooge’s nephew Fred, voiced by Clarence Nash in his last theatrical appearance as Donald before his death in 1985. Donald was the only character in the film to be voiced by his original voice, although several voice actors made their first appearance as classic Disney characters in this film — most notably, Alan Young as Uncle Scrooge, Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse, Eddie Carroll as Jiminy Cricket, Willie the Giant by Will Ryan, and Patricia Parris as Daisy Duck. And, as a matter of curiosity, current Chief Creative Officer for Pixar and Disney Animation, John Lasseter, has an early creative credit on this film.

The film also includes dozens of cameos from across the history of Disney animation including The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf, Max Hare, Daisy Duck, Minnie Mouse, Donald’s nephews, Gus Goose, Clarabelle Cow, Horace Horsecollar, Grandma Duck, Chip ‘n’ Dale, and many more from the cast of Robin Hood and also from The Wind and the Willows (which had roughly the same time and place setting as A Christmas Carol, Victorian England).

The film is pretty faithful to the original Dickens story, but at just 24 minutes, not every scene is as fleshed-out as it could be. The characters play it pretty straight, but there’s some occasional humor — Willie the Giant climbing out of the top of Scrooge’s house and wandering around town is very funny, and Marley Goofy has some great moments, as well as a Goofy Holler! The animation is crisp and the backgrounds, especially in the opening sequences, are gorgeous. Some of the more notable Disney talents on the film include animators Glenn Keane, Mark Henn, Randy Cartwright, creative consultant Eric Larson, and director Burny Mattinson. The film is very historically important and also one of Disney’s best short features.

Other Classic Holiday Shorts

Also included is The Small One, originally released in theaters in 1978 with the re-release of Pinocchio. It’s also the last Disney production featuring the work of producer and director Don Bluth, who left Disney the following year to start his own animation company, best known for The Secret of NIMH (1982). He also produced animation for the popular Dragon’s Lair (1983) and Space Ace (1984) video games and provided the memorable animated segment in Xanadu (1980 — one of Johanna’s favorites).

The Small One, based on the book by Charles Tazewell, is a tremendously moving film and one of the very best examples of character animation. It’s truly one of Disney’s “hidden gems”. It’s the incredibly poignant story of a poor young boy who cares for his father’s donkeys. His favorite is “Small One”, an undersized and older donkey who struggles to keep up with his chores. Ultimately, the father determines that Small One is too old to work and must be sold to raise money for the poor family. So the boy accompanies Small One to the marketplace, but he finds selling the old donkey is much more difficult than first thought.

This is the first time that I’ve ever seen this cartoon, and initially thought that things were going to go in a much different way than they actually do, as this film has a very surprising resolution. In fact, you’ll wonder why this is part of a holiday collection until you see the very last minute of this memorable short film.

Rounding out the collection is Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952), a fun romp as Mickey and Pluto inadvertently bring home a Christmas tree that Chip and Dale (Disney’s trouble-making chipmunks) are living in. Hilarity ensues. Plus, cameos by Donald, Goofy, and Minnie Mouse. Also included is Santa’s Workshop, a 1932 Silly Symphony cartoon where Santa and his elves are preparing for Christmas Day, and all the toys come to life! And since it’s an early Disney cartoon, everybody sings and dances! Yay! And there’s an early appearance of the “checkered paint” gag! I’ve seen it a billion times, yet I laugh each time I see it! (NOTE: this cartoon has been edited to remove a racially stereotyped caricature.)

All in all, a great collection, although it’s unfortunate that Mickey’s Christmas Carol is not presented in its original letterbox format. There are nice film transfers on all the cartoons, even the relatively ancient Silly Symphony.

Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving

Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving
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Also available in a new 10th Anniversary edition is Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving. This release combines three Pooh shorts that were originally made-for-TV, including A Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving (1998) and two shorts originally from The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (”Groundpiglet Day” and “Find Her, Keep Her”), into one “film”. Also on the disc are two bonus cartoons from the New Adventures series, “Magic Earmuffs” and “The Wishing Bear”. All of these short cartoons are from the 1988-89 season of the show.

This is probably a perfectly fine release for young children, although I did see a few comments around the ‘net that some very young kids might have problems with some occasionally scary scenes. Even I was a little disturbed by seeing Piglet in a pretty tense situation in “Magic Earmuffs”, when he’s skating from ice floe to ice floe while on the edge of a big waterfall! Adults will have a tougher time with this release, as by this time the Disney cartoons have drifted farther and farther away from the the original A. A. Milne books. They added many new and uninspired characters, while some of the originals (most notably Kanga, mother to Roo) disappeared. Also, the hodge-podge of cartoons offers up a number of confusions — stylistic differences from cartoon to cartoon, different voice actors portraying characters (sadly, many of the original voice actors had passed away prior to these cartoons), and even Christopher Robin’s accent switching back-and-forth from British to American! “Oh, bother!” might exclaim Pooh.

If you have no problem with your Pooh not being all that Milne-like (or even as good as the original Disney Pooh shorts!), then this will be fine for your kids’ holiday viewing, although they will have to tolerate the characters frequently acting like idiots. In the long-standing Disney DVD tradition, there are a couple of Pooh games to play as bonus features. If you’re a Disney or Pooh collector, the Gift Set version of the DVD comes with a very cute baby-sized Christmas stocking featuring Pooh, Tigger and Piglet.

(Complimentary copies for this review were provided by the studio.)

Reasonably faithful to the original source material, the new Superman/Batman: Public Enemies animated feature plays much better than some of the recent DCU animated films but still has some problems in both animation quality and story.

Based on the opening salvo in DC’s Superman/Batman comic book (the story arc was originally called “The World’s Finest” in tribute to the long-running comic that the original Superman and Batman team-ups appeared in), the six-issue comic story was a non-stop, in-your-face romp, featuring dozens of DC heroes and villains and crazy DC concepts. It was to be the climatic storyline of the Lex Luthor, President of the DCU scenario that had ruled in the comics for the previous couple of years.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
Two-Disc Special Edition
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Written by then-Superman writer Jeph Loeb and illustrated by his long-time artistic collaborator Ed McGuinness, the story was a crazy snapshot of a transitional time in the comic books and touched upon a number of other DCU stories of the era — most notably the Batman stories “No Man’s Land” and “Bruce Wayne – Murderer?” as well as the Our Worlds at War crossover. It also set up a number of future storylines and concepts for the DCU, later picked up in Infinite Crisis, 52, and Countdown. None of these story bits appear in the animated version — a wise decision by the animation folks who needed the film to stand on its own.

We do get most of the broad strokes of the original in the film, however, and pretty faithfully done as well! The animation design is largely based on McGuinness’ art choices, down to the spikey-haired and highlighted Superman (perhaps a bit overdone in the film) to the lantern-jawed Batman who rarely has bright light fall across his blocky-cowled face. Large chunks of Loeb’s original story remains (thankfully excluding a slightly confusing visit from a time-displaced Superman — although unfortunately losing some great action scenes in the process). Much of Loeb’s original dialogue remains as well, although that’s not always a good thing, as anyone who’s ever read a comic book out loud may know. Some of the most powerful lines of any comic do not always transfer well to the spoken word and can come off as corny — or even dumb — in the wrong hands. There are a couple of those moments here, also. Sadly, Loeb’s best writing trick — the ongoing point-counterpoint caption boxes of Superman and Batman (actually their thoughts) — are not often attempted for the animated film, mostly because they’re a print-only kind of writing trick. And they are missed.

Most of the changes in the film script — by long-time DCU animation writer Stan Berkowitz — over the comic book occur in the third act, mostly in an attempt to keep the film as a stand-alone story. In the original, Captain Atom (not Batman) makes the fateful flight on the Composite Superman and sacrifices himself in the process (actually, he gets blown into the Wildstorm Universe, but that’s a different story). With no powers, in the film, the foregone conclusion of Batman’s survival becomes somewhat miraculous. In the comic, Batman also pursues Luthor to get some measure of retribution for what Luthor has done to him (behind-the-scenes in the destruction of Gotham and setting up Bruce Wayne as a murderer). Also, Luthor escapes from Batman (in the great comic book tradition) using Apokolips tech (too confusing an element for the film). It’s better for the film to have Luthor taken into custody and pay for his crimes. Much better closure.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
Blu-Ray Edition
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The film features Power Girl’s first actual appearance in a DCU animated project (a similar character, Galatea, appeared in a couple of episodes of Justice League Unlimited), but she doesn’t appear to be anything like the DCU Power Girl in personality or temperament. She’s more similar to the original 1950s Linda Lee Supergirl than the robust Power Girl portrayed in the comics. Having voice actress Allison Mack (Smallville) portray this Power Girl with an especially “girly” and demure voice adds to this discrepancy. Also, in the original comic, Power Girl (and the non-appearing) Katana are originally revealed as Superman and Batman’s deliberate “plants” in Luthor’s Super Hero Task Force, which lends a bit more weight to the character.

There are some shortcomings in the animation. Early in the film, there are some poorly animated vehicles that not only look badly drawn, they look to have no weight whatsoever to them, giving them the appearance of large toys. Later in the last third of the film, and especially in the last ten minutes, there are some horrible off-model faces, which pulled me right out of the film at its most climactic moment. I can accept occasional weak animation in the rapid-paced world of daily TV series production, but now that folks have to pay for these direct-to-DVD films, I think it would be nice to see a little bit higher quality animation, or at least not having it look like it was “rushed”. The short running time — 67 minutes, six of which were opening and closing credits — also lends weight to thinking this release had some time pressure.

I was very happy to see the return of Clancy Brown, Kevin Conroy, and Tim Daly to the roles of Lex Luthor, Batman, and Superman, respectively. The fact that the three often recorded together in the studio was felt in the film, especially in the more intense scenes. Brown’s performance was especially notable, slyly playing Lex from supreme megalomaniac to his rapid decline into insanity. Kudos also to returning C.C.H. Pounder as Amanda Waller, easily one of Casting Director Andrea Romano’s best choices of actor matching character.

Special Features

Rounding out Disc One are the “Special Features”: “Blackest Night: Inside the DC Comics Event”, “Wonder Woman: The Amazon Princess”, “Batman Gotham Night — An Anime Revolution”, “From Graphic Novel to Original Animated Movie — Justice League: The New Frontier”, and “Green Lantern: First Flight — The Animated Movie Sneak Peek”. All of these have appeared on other DC Universe animated DVDs, which kinda makes them less Special Features than extended promotional material — great for new-to-the-series viewers, but not so much for those of us who have been following right along with each new release. Also included are extra trailers for the Green Lantern animated movie, Fringe: Season One DVD, and the Batman: Arkham Asylum video game. These are in addition to the front-loaded trailers for Sherlock Holmes, Halo Legends, Smallville Season 8, and the ubiquitous Warner Blu-Ray ad.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
Standard DVD Edition
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The real Special Features are on the second disc. First up is “A Test of Minds: The Psychology of Superman and Batman”, 19 minutes of psychobabble and armchair psychiatry by the likes of DC suits Gregory Noveck and Paul Levitz, director Alan Burnett, original writer Jeph Loeb, a couple of authors, and an actual Ph.D.! My favorite part was when Dan Didio explained that Superman was the “fireman” of the DCU while Batman was the “policeman”. Based on this new information, I fully expect to see Krypto transformed into a Dalmatian by Red Kryptonite in next year’s DC books. Seriously, I’ve been a part of more interesting (and lively) discussions of this type with both comic fans and professionals at various convention watering holes over the years.

Much better is “Dinner with DCU and Special Guest Kevin Conroy”, the DCU being Bruce Timm, Andrea Romano, and Gregory Noveck. It’s 25 minutes of great dinner conversation between these folks and “the” animated voice of Batman. Topics range from Conroy’s casting (from more than 250 hopefuls) to how Conroy alters his voice for different interpretations of the character to a great anecdote about Conroy driving around on the LA freeways, dressed as Batman.

“First Look at Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths” features Timm, Romano, director Lauren Montgomery, and writer Dwayne McDuffie discussing the next DC Universe animated feature. Apparently based on concepts from the second original JLA-JSA crossover from the 1960s (but not including the JSA), this new film will feature an animated version of the Crime Syndicate, the evil dopplegangers of the Justice League from a parallel world. It’s from a script called “Worlds Collide,” originally written by McDuffie for the unproduced fifth season of the Justice League animated series, newly rewritten by McDuffie to be less JLU-animated continuity and more DCU. The film returns to the concept of using superstar talent for the lead voices, rather than the long-established voices from the original animated series. Announced are Billy Baldwin as Batman, Mark Harmon as Superman, Chris Noth as Lex Luthor, Gina Torres as Superwoman, and James Woods as Owlman. This preview runs 11 minutes and the completed film is due for release in the spring of 2010. Looks very interesting!

Finally, there are Bruce Timm’s Top Picks, two episodes from the original Superman: The Animated Series. Both from Season 3, “The Demon Reborn” features Superman teaming with Batman to battle Ra’s al Ghul, while “Knight Time” teams Supes (disguising himself as Batman) with Robin to find the missing Batman.

For more information, the official site is SupermanBatmanDVD.com. (A complimentary copy for this review was provided by the studio.)

“A Wonderful Piece of Eye-Candy!” — Mike Wazowski

“Two thumbs up! Er… what’s a thumb?” — Mater

“Best book since — SQUIRREL!” — Dug

Pixarpedia: A Complete Guide to the World of Pixar… And Beyond! is a lavish, full-color, kid-friendly roundup of everything Pixar. It ranges from a brief history of the company to hints on finding the inside jokes and references in each Pixar film — and everything else in-between!

Pixarpedia
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In fact, calling it “A Complete Guide to the World of Pixar… And Beyond!” may actually be selling it a bit short. Because not only is there plenty of information on the Pixar “stars” like Woody, Buzz, Flik, Sulley, Nemo, Mr. Incredible, Lightning McQueen, Remy, WALL*E, and Carl Fredricksen, but also covered are all your favorite PIxar supporting characters, including Mr. Potato Head, Tuck and Roll, Jessie, Roz, Dory, Edna Mode, Mater, Anton Ego, M-O, and Dug. Believe it or not, pretty much EVERY character who ever spoke a line (or got a laugh) or even just appeared in the background in a Pixar movie is included — Headless Doll (and Headless Doll’s Sister!), Poo Poo Platter Waiter, Amy, Harley P. Gerson, Two Pelicans, Snug, Petrol Pulaski, Ambrister, BRL-A, and Omega! Now that’s detailed! (Can you I.D. them all? Bet your kid can!)

Besides a plot summary for each film, there are also details on the fantastic locales and settings for all of them, including Pizza Planet, Bug City, Al’s Toy Barn, Monsteropolis, Coral Reef, Nomanisan Island, Radiator Springs, Remy’s Paris, The Axiom, and Paradise Falls.

There’s also lots of info on all of Pixar’s short features from the very beginning (Luxo Jr., starring the Luxo lamp that has become Pixar’s trademark) all the way to Partly Cloudy, starring Gus the cloud and Peck the loyal delivery stork (which appeared with Pixar’s latest feature, Up). These short features are fan favorites, ranging from the wildly hysterical (For The Birds, Lifted, Presto) to heartwarming (Geri’s Game, Boundin’). Little do most viewers know that these short films are usually experiments for trying new and different computer techniques.

The illustrations (mostly stills from the films themselves) are wonderful and eye-catching. Besides the pictures of all the Pixar characters, there are dozens of other shots from the films, many of them presented as huge 2-page spreads. The shot of the Incredibles’ family embracing after their fight on the island is almost worth the entire price of the book. Many of these spreads are poster-worthy!

While the bulk of this 350-page oversized hardcover is taken up with kid-centric descriptions of all the characters and films, there is also a a section in the back of the book which offers “A Closer Look” at each of the films. Here you will find the Major Credits for each film (including a list of the Voice Talent) and “Fascinating Facts”, key trivia (like the cover date of the Life Magazine shown in Toy Story 2 being director John Lasseter’s birth date). Plus, there are clues to finding some of Pixar’s (and Disney) running jokes – “Spot the Pizza Planet Truck,” Hidden Mickeys, John Ratzenberger (his voice appears in every Pixar feature! Do you know where?), and “A113”, the now-famous classroom number at CalArts, where a number of leading animators (including some key Pixar staff) learned their trade. And speaking of the Pixar staff, a key member of each film gets to comment on the film in this section.

The Forward is by Andrew Stanton, the writer and director of Academy Award-winning Best Animated Films Finding Nemo and WALL*E. Stanton has played a role (occasionally, literally as a voice actor) in every Pixar feature and is the writer/director of John Carter of Mars for Pixar, scheduled for 2012 release.

Pixarpedia is one of the best coffee-table books ever produced for an audience too young for coffee. While it may be a little bit lightweight for the adult Pixar fan, every imaginative young child who’s ever seen a Pixar film (i.e. pretty much every kid on the planet) would love this book as a wonderful holiday gift.

(A complimentary copy for this review was provided by the publisher.)

Public Enemies served as the pivotal turning point for the entire DCU by wrapping up many of DC’s ongoing major storylines and sewing seeds for what would become Infinite Crisis (which Luthor confirms in the last panel of the story). It also launched some of the slowly growing “darkness” that began to blanket the DCU and its characters with the “death” of Captain Atom, as well as Superman coming very close to breaking his code against killing.

Originally published by TwoMorrows in 2002 (and quickly sold out), Michael Eury’s incredibly thorough Captain Action: The Original Super-Hero Action Figure has recently returned to press — now in hardcover, notably updated, in color on glossy paper!

Captain Action:
The Original Super-Hero Action Figure
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Originally introduced in 1966 as a spin-off of the Batman craze, Captain Action was the first action figure, able to assume the identities of 13 well-known superheroes (assuming you bought the special add-on outfits and accessories). Later, in 1968, the character — without the ability to become other heroes — was developed into comic book form by DC Comics. Both of these were short-lived initially, but Captain Action rapidly became the cult toy for several generations of collectors and fans, leading to recent revivals of both comic and toy. This book offers the complete history of the toy and its development and an examination of the character in comic books.

This new hardcover book is quite spiffy, with virtually all of the previously black-and-white photographs and artwork now in glossy full color — much improved over the slightly muddy reproduction of the color sections in the original book. This new printing also improves on the overall production quality of the book, as the pages now pop and shine, and previously overlooked details (like the watermarked background art) are much more legible. Many of the original photographs have been reshot for color (and more dynamic poses!), and plenty of new photos added of original product releases and packaging. New information covers technical drawings and designs of previously unknown and unproduced toys like Weapon Firing Captain Magic and Talking Caption Action. In fact, there’s so much new stuff (there are now over 200 toy photos), a few illustrations from the first edition — mostly comic book illos of some of the heroes that Captain Action turned into — had to be dropped or turned into watermarks for this new edition. Trust me, you won’t even notice they’re gone.

There’s still plenty of great artwork here, much of it originally unpublished designs and package artwork by the great Murphy Anderson, who also writes the Foreword of the book. There’s also much information on Captain Action in comic books, first at DC Comics in 1968 by Jim Shooter, Wally Wood, and Gil Kane (which is thoroughly discussed in my favorite chapter of the book), then with up-to-the-minute coverage of the current Captain Action revival in a brand new chapter. Also included is information on Captain Action peripherals — mostly vehicles and weapons — and the little known (at least by me) “Super Queens” line featuring Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Supergirl, and Mera.

There’s also an Afterword by longtime Captain Action foe Dr. Evil which I just read… and am now compelled to demand that TwoMorrows also publish an equally beautiful book devoted exclusively to Dr. Evil! Bwah Hah Hah!

(A complimentary copy for this review was provided by Dr. Evil.)

Apparently lost in the flood of Wolverine product that accompanied the theatrical release of the Wolverine film last May, The Wolverine Files is actually a pretty fine overview of Wolverine and his long and twisted history, and it is much better written than many of the similar books released around that time.

The Wolverine Files
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Creatively written by longtime comics pro Mike W. Barr (Camelot 3000, Batman and the Outsiders, The Maze Agency), The Wolverine Files is presented as the official S.H.I.E.L.D. dossier on Wolverine, with documents and interview transcriptions (frequently redacted). That allows Barr the opportunity to write in a number of different character “voices”, including Natasha Romanova (Black Widow), Dr. Walter Langkowski (Sasquatch of Alpha Flight), Dr. Hank McCoy (The Beast), several notable S.H.I.E.L.D. agents (including Clay Quartermain, Jimmy Woo, and Jasper Sitwell), and various CIA or S.W.O.R.D. witnesses to the more important events of Logan’s very long life. A number of different media — including classified documents, handwritten notes, and blueprints and diagrams — are included. And the files are heavily illustrated with artwork and reprinted panels from the original comics to hammer home the points made in the text.

The Files are broken down into broad categories: Origins (eyewitness accounts of the early life of James Howlett and of the Weapon X program), History (remarkable accounts of Wolverine sightings at key points over the last century), Territories (Canada, Madripoor, Tokyo, and others), Allies (various team memberships and relationships with Captain America, The Hulk, and Ka-Zar), The Women in His Life (including Jean Gray, Kitty Pryde, Jubliation Lee, Silver Fox, Lady Mariko Yashida, and more), Enemies (Sabertooth, Magneto, Ogun, Silver Samurai, Viper, and others), as well as small sections on Wolverine’s adventures in Time and Space and Alternate Realities.

The Files are enhanced by comments throughout by Nick Fury himself. Fury, a longtime associate of Wolverine (since WW II), knows exactly when his agents are BS-ing him about Logan’s history, and he ain’t shy in telling ‘em so! My only — infinitesimal — nitpick about Fury’s presence here is that over in the current MU, he hasn’t been involved with S.H.I.E.L.D. for a number of years. I don’t care — he’s my favorite Marvel character!

The production quality of the book is very high and the graphics especially are well chosen and large. The design of the book is pretty bland, but it does look like a file, so at least it’s accurate. A bound-in string-closed file is filled with “secret” stuff — including reproductions of a signed Dave Cockrum sketch of Nightcrawler, Wolverine, and Colossus; a Wolverine sketch by Tim Townsend; X-Men Vol. 2 #100 and #112 cover sketches by Cockrum; a signed Wolverine sketch by Cockrum; and early costume sketches by John Romita. These are quite cool and help to explain the cover price of the book.

Much less impressive is the slipcover for the hardcover book. Despite its great design and die-cut claw marks, the slipcase is one of the flimsiest I’ve ever seen. It offers very little in the way of protection for the book, and it has to be carefully handled or it will tear because of the huge die-cuts. Despite this, The Wolverine Files is still a fine overview of one of the most popular (and complicated) characters in comics, and worth seeking out. (Or as a great easy-to-find item for your Christmas want list!)

(A complimentary copy for this review was provided by the publisher.)

That image doesn’t do it justice, though. It’s a foot square, done in acrylics that make it resemble ceramic tile and give it a shiny gloss that evokes the commercial origins of the character, while the colors and background put the property in a new context.

Josie is one of KC’s favorite characters, especially this Dan DeCarlo-inspired version. He was so pleased with this that he immediately asked if it were possible for Amy to do Melody and Valerie to form a triptych. Last time we visited, we were lucky to see another series she’d done of smaller, 3″x3″ abstracts using a similar process.

When I prepared to post this, I asked Amy to share a little of her background:

Amy Carani is a Madison, Wisconsin-based graphic design artist/painter with a love of pop culture. She is married to long-time Legionnaires comic artist and Raven Software/Activison videogame artist W.C. “Cory” Carani and proud mother of one Giada Olivia, aka “G.O.”

Amy has been developing her color field/grid/pop culture paintings in the past five years. The painting ideas start as a small pencil thumbnail sketch. From there, a grid and color study is worked out on the computer. Amy then transfers the grid study onto a 6”x6” canvas and fills in color with acrylic paint. Once she is happy with the multiple color and grid studies, the painting then gets enlarged and finalized on 12”x12” or 24”x24” canvas masonite boards. The purpose of these paintings are to make people really look at them and smile.

Amy is available for commission inquiries for her gallery-style work through email or via Facebook. She also has samples available at the latter site.

It’s hard to believe, but Bill Watterson’s remarkable Calvin and Hobbes has been missing from the funny pages of your local newspaper for almost 15 years now. The cartoon duo’s last public appearance was in 2005, with the release of the 26-pound The Complete Calvin and Hobbes — the heaviest book to ever hit the New York Times bestseller list. The last public appearance of the strip’s creator, Bill Watterson, is a little bit harder to pin down. After years of furious, mostly behind-the-scenes battles with his syndicate, product licensors, the occasional cartoonist peer, and ultimately with fame itself, the exhausted Watterson decided to take his ball — as well as his spikey-haired six-year-old and his stuffed tiger — and quietly go home. Calvin and Hobbes ended on December 31, 1995. And the world has been a little less magical since.

Looking for Calvin and Hobbes
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In making this choice, Watterson has become one of the most talked-about recluses of the contemporary art world, this generation’s J.D. Salinger. And you know what, he has every right to do so.

In Looking for Calvin and Hobbes, a new book about Watterson by Nevin Martell, the author wastes no time in his stated premise. He’s out to track down the reclusive Watterson and get the ultimate interview. It sounds like he’s stalking some rare species of tiger (Hobbes?) for a bad cable reality show. The mock-cliffhanger ending of the introduction — “Will I get the ultimate interview?” — comes off as a crass writing trick to propel the reader through the book, as if it is some sort of mystery to be solved.

There’s no mystery. Watterson is obviously pretty much done with his public life — and if he isn’t, he’s calling the shots about when and where he’ll be appearing next, if at all. Any proposed “search” for him creeps into the realm of stalkerazzi. Additionally, Martell breaks the cardinal rule of all good “reporters”: he ends up being part of his own story. Parts of the narrative are devoted to his hopes and dreams of speaking with Watterson or what steps he takes to track him down.

But it’s not as if the book is totally without merit. If you can get past his “quest”, Martell has done some incredible research into Watterson’s early life and his entry into the admittedly frustrating world of syndicated comic strips, including his failed attempts at political cartooning. Plus, Martell has scored a remarkable number of interviews with the people who know Watterson best: family and friends, former co-workers and editors, and — most interesting of all — Watterson’s fellow comic strip artists, both peers and younger artists inspired by Watterson.

Not all of these testimonials are generous. Watterson rankled a lot of the old guard of comic strip professionals, perhaps deliberately, in his often blunt comments about why comic strips are dying. But Watterson had his champions as well, most notably Berkeley Breathed (Bloom County, Opus) and Lynn Johnston (For Better or for Worse), who may have provided the very personal reason for why Watterson ultimately decided to fold Calvin and Hobbes. Other notable commentators include Brad Bird, Dave Berry, Harvey Pekar, Patton Oswalt, Jeff Smith, and Jonathan Lethem. Many of these insights are just as compelling, or telling, about Watterson as what might be disclosed by the creator himself.

Also fascinating are the stories told by former “soldiers” from the comic strip syndicates. Watterson saved much of his contempt for the syndicates and their greed and lack of foresight, so he can’t have always been a pleasant person to work with, but most of the the former editors and executives (many now retired) who speak here are very candid about situations which most likely vexed Watterson. Former United Features Syndicate staffers Sarah Gillespie and Dave Hendlin tell some horrifying anecdotes about corporate focus groups and marketing directives which ultimately drove Watterson away from United to Universal Press Syndicate. At Universal, Lee Salem became Watterson’s editor (and ultimately the president of the syndicate), and he provides some essential background into Watterson’s working habits and relationship to the syndicate.

One other major shortcoming of the book is not Martell’s fault, although he inadvertently exacerbates the problem with his excellent descriptions of Watterson’s artwork. The problem? No artwork is included (or at least not in the galley that I’m reviewing from). I can sort of understand why there is no Calvin and Hobbes artwork here, and frankly, I’d be surprised if anyone reading this book doesn’t already have at least one collection of the strip on their bookshelf that they can quickly reference.

But Martell spends a substantial chunk of the book discussing Watterson’s early struggles to land a syndicated strip. He describes in detail the editorial cartoons, spot newspaper illustrations, yearbook and other high school drawings, and many other early examples of Watterson’s development as an artist. Why is none of this here? (Fortunately, five minutes on Google will get you to much of this early work, including Watterson’s occasional reviews, transcripts of his speeches, and other ephemera).

The cover of the book, with the just-allowable slivers of Calvin’s foot and Hobbes’ tail, screams “Unauthorized!” and therefore also plays into the tabloid-y feel of the project — which is very unfortunate. Because deep down, this really is a wonderful, warm, and informative book that manages to capture just the right amount of magic about the creator and his creation. It also accomplishes one other very important thing — anyone who reads it will be compelled to pull their Calvin and Hobbes collections off the shelves and spend a lovely, happy weekend re-reading them.

The whole thing about writing a book about an artist without any of his artwork in it reminds me of the well-traveled and impossible-to-attribute quote about rock music, “Talking about music is like dancing about architecture.” That’s something I hope that Martell would appreciate, being a rock writer himself. (And BTW, I think Frank Zappa probably said it first. Or Martin Mull.) Looking for Calvin and Hobbes by Nevin Martell is a 256-page hardcover that will be available in October from Continuum. (A complimentary preview galley for this review was provided by the publisher.)

Spy vs. Spy:
Danger! Intrigue! Stupidity!
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Three “lost” collections of Antonio Prohias’ classic Cold War characters Spy vs. Spy are finally back in print — for the first time in decades! Originally published during the late 1950s through the 1970’s as part of MAD Magazine’s bid to take over the world (more than 100 titles were published in paperback), the original Spy vs. Spy collections were unique in that they featured all-new material — as opposed to the MAD anthology paperback collections (like The MAD Reader) which were all reprints from the magazine. So, bottom line, these new collections — Danger! Intrigue! Stupidity!, Masters of Mayhem, and Missions of Madness — all feature original Spy vs. Spy strips by Prohias that did not originally appear in MAD Magazine and were not compiled in 2001’s Spy vs. Spy: The Complete Casebook (despite its title).

Spy vs. Spy:
Masters of Mayhem
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(And if you don’t already have Spy vs. Spy: The Complete Casebook, you should. It’s amazing — especially for the historical and personal background on Prohias, as well as the multitude of other extra material.)

For the record: Danger! Intrigue! Stupidity! returns to print the original The All-New MAD Secret File on Spy vs. Spy (originally published in 1965), Masters of Mayhem reprints MAD’s Spy vs. Spy Follow-Up File (1968), and Missions of Madness repackages the original The Fourth MAD Declassified Papers on Spy vs. Spy (1974). Or basically the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Spy vs. Spy paperbacks. No, I don’t know why they skipped the 3rd one. Perhaps there will be more — if everybody goes out and buys these!

Spy vs. Spy:
Missions of Madness
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All of these have been beautifully re-collected by Watson-Guptill for $11.99 each and are all available now at your favorite brick & mortar, online, or imaginary bookstore or comics shop.

And if you don’t know who or what Spy vs. Spy is — shame on you! You just failed Question #7 on the standard Comic Character Literacy Exam! Study up, buckos!

(Complimentary copies for this review were provided by the publisher.)