Princesses of Mars, Part 44

On this trip to Mars, we find the Princesses relaxing, just hanging around and letting it all hang out.

In Preparation for 31 Nights of Halloween!

For a number of years now, there has been at least one post every day during October at our sister blog Terror Titans for the 31 Nights of Halloween! This year, the 31 Nights of Halloween will also be taking place here at Shades of Gray! There will be at least one post every day shortly after Midnight... and you can then check out Terror Titans later after darkness has fallen again around 5pm! (Shades of Gray is on Pacific Standard Time, by the way.)

As a warm-up/preview to the creepy festivities, here's the evolution of a drawing, which shows Vampirella meeting Simon Garth the Zombie, from sketch to final. The artwork is by the great Pablo Marcos.

What will the dancers do now that Fall is here?

On International Dance Day 2022, the ballerinas ran off into the wild. We're trying to keep track of them, and we'll try to bring you updates on the last Wednesday of each month until International Dance Day 2023.

But as the night-air begins to chill and winter is approaching, what will the ballerinas in the great outdoors do?

Well, most are putting on more clothes to stay warm.

Some are even wearing coats...

... and carrying umbrellas to stay dry when it rains.

Others are taking shelter underground, in the subways...

 

 

... or finding caves in which to hibernate until the warm weather returns.

A titanic struggle for them... fun for us!

The Bench (2014)
Starring: Daniel Rock and Josh Tichauer
Director: Melody Rock
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A man's (Rock) relaxing moment on a lake-side bench is interrupted when a stranger (Tichauer) sits down next to him.

"The Bench" is a short silent movie pastiche that is far more effective at capturing the spirit of silent comedies than the vast majority of other efforts out there. The filmmakers didn't so much try to mimic the cliches of silent movie acting as they went for pacing and the physicality of the comedy. As such, they delivered a fun two minutes that should appeal equally to lovers of silent movies and all who appreciate well-crafted comedy.

Even more impressive: "The Bench" delivers a very timely message, and it does so in a gentle way that few filmmakers have the ability to do, or are unwilling to do. The core issue that causes conflict between the two characters in the film--and the simple way it's ultimately resolved--is a reflection of what's causing many social conflicts these days. The fact this film is almost ten years old, and still feels fresh in its message, is either a strong indictment of the state of American culture, or a strong indication of the film's high quality and timelessness. (However you choose to look at it, though, there is no doubt that "The Bench" is a superior piece of filmmaking.)

I invite you to take a couple minutes to check out this fine little film... and please let me know if you think I've steered you wrong with my praise for it. 

Julia Roberts is dead...

... dead tired that is. Dead tired of being declared dead.

Actress Julia Roberts was recently the subject of another Internet Death Hoax--the third such one in as many years. As I type these words, she is very much alive and probably looking forward to receiving a lot of praise for her upcoming film, "Ticket to Paradise" (2022), in which she co-stars with George Clooney.

Or she will be looking forward to the praise, once she's done mourning her own tragic passing.

It's a Mohammed Monday!

THIS WEEK WITH JESUS & MO

This fine portrait of Mohammed was done by Karl M.
(And we hope it will ensure our continued ban in Pakistan.)

A great collection of early work by Richard Sala

Black Cat Crossing (Kitchen Sink Press, 1993)
Writers: Richard Sala and Tom De Haven 

Artist: Richard Sala

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

"Black Cat Crossing" collects 17 short stories done by Richard Sala during from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. There are also a pair of Sala's intrigue- and mystery-drenched "pin-up pages" that serve as endpapers for the book, a table of contents that is executed in the style of an illuminated manuscript; and another Sala's activity-packed one-pagers serving as a frontis-piece. So, it's like we're being treated to a few opening acts before the main event! 

Many of the stories had previously appeared in comics anthologies (which were, sadly, dying out once and for all during the period Sala was contributing to them), and a few were original to this book. Most are examples of Sala's ability to capture the feel of randomness that permeated many pulp short stories of the 1930s while crossing them with a 1940s and 1950s B-movie or film noir sensibility. A few also shows how he can masterfully he can use the "unreliable narrator" in his stories.

The rating I give this book is an average of the stories within it.

The collection opens with three long stories (each more than ten pages). The first two, "The Fellowship of the Creeping Cat" and "The Big Dark Zero" feature equal parts mystery, drama, and humor. They are loving spoofs of pulp-fiction and film noir mystery tales with ludicrous set-ups and overly tangled dark secrets that nonetheless are executed every bit as serious as "The Maltese Falcon". And this is why they work. Both stories also sport genre-appropriate endings that are a satisfying mix of tragic and justice that will leave even the most critical reader satisfied.

"The Fellowship of the Black Cat" focuses a writer of limited success who finds himself at the center of a string of murders related to a long-defunct secret society of vigilantes. It is full of goofy elements, but it is also features escalating tension, because the reader clues into the trouble the protagonist is getting himself into before he does. The mystery of who is behind the plot is also an interesting one. The only complaint I have about the story is that the ending could have been a little stronger, so it rates an 8 of 10 Stars.

"The Big Dark Zero" is a pulp-fiction, film-noir style mystery tale about an amnesiac who has to rediscover his forgotten past to discover why people are suddenly trying to kill him. As the mystery unravels, the facts become increasingly ridiculous, but the story is played perfectly straight throughout, with even a touch of tragedy, which makes this a very effective tale. This is a solid 9 of 10 Stars.

The third and final of the longish stories in "Black Cat Crossing" is also one of the very best in the book. It may even be the best short story Sala wrote and illustrated, period. (It also has an amusing bit of crossover with another story in the book, perhaps the earliest example of the Salaverse, which is hinted at in some of the Peculia and Bloody Cardinal stories, and elsewhere.)

"Where is Christine Broder?" is one of the finest examples of how Richard Sala was an expert of the unreliable narrator. Throughout this whole film-noirish mystery tale involving a burned-out investigator looking for a missing woman the reader has the sense that something is off. It's a sense that keeps growing, but you're never quite sure WHAT is off about the first person narrative that's unfolding and when Sala finally reveals the truth of what's going on, in a perfectly timed and executed fashion, readers feel a mixture of  empathy for the narrator and a twinge of horror about his situation. It's a 10 of 10 Stars without question.

In the middle of the book are six one- and two-page stories in color. They are generally the weakest of what is collected in this volume, with four of them feeling more like story sketches or outlines than full-fledged works; I give most of these collective 6 of 10. The only two that are worth commenting on are a chilling spoof of romance comics titled "A Newlywed's Heartache" (in which the bride discovers chilling facts about her husband) and "Night Delivery which is a pun-based one-page story that I probably found more amusing than any adult should. Both of those rate 8 of 10 Stars.

The black-and-white stories resume with "Another Mad Doktor", which you can read in its entirety, here at Shades of Gray; and "Psychorama", which is the earliest of at least three spoofs of the kids' "alphabet primers" that Sala did. Each letter of the alphabet stands for a deadly lunatic in a psychologist's casebook, and each of these one-panel, rhyming gags are a mixture of cute and creepy. Both of these earn a solid 8 out of 10 Stars.

Next up, we have "The Proxy", a story drawn by Sala but written by . I'm not sure what to make of this one. I read it four times, carefully, and I am still not certain what's going on or what the point it. I am not even sure if there is a point, beyond telling a story about a guy who is is drawn back into the web of deceit and lies and manipulations that exists around his shady kinda-sorta friend, Doc. By the end of the story, I had the sense that the protagonist is screwed and that Doc... well, I really don't know about Doc. Still, it was an engaging story, so it's getting a 7 of 10 Stars.

 With "The Peculiar Case of Dr. V", Sala presents a mystery tale that features his trademark mix of suspense and goofiness, blended with a twist ending that elevates the take from average Sala to excellent Sala. It's another 7-Star effort!

Next is one of the weaker efforts in the book, "Hypnorama", which is a comics summary/dramatization of a tell-all book about how subliminal messages were/are concealed in advertising art and logos. While Sala did a good job of both summarizing the topic of the book and infusing his adaptation with a sense of insanity, it just didn't grab me. Maybe it's because I am already very familiar with the topic, or because it's been done to death over the 35 or so years that have passed since Sala delivered his take on it? Whatever the reason, this one gets 6 of 10 Stars.

The last story in the book, "Judy Drood, Girl Detective", is a Sala milestone. It marked the first appearance of one of Sala's signature characters, Judy Drood. Over the space of two pages, Sala delivers a fun spoof of classic kid/young adult adventure fiction (specifically the novels starring teenaged amateur detective Nancy Drew) as well as bringing us a great example of his ability to tell complete stories in single panels--or, even better, feed the readers' imaginations with summaries of great stories . All-in-all, it's clear why this, which was initially conceived as a one-off by Sala ws something that his friends encouraged him to expand into something bigger. This tale is a solid 10 of 10 Stars, and it's another one of those that you can read here at the Shades of Gray blog.

Rounding out the anthology is the expected author's bio--although Sala delivers one that is not at all one would expect... and in perfect keeping with his forever tongue-in-cheek approach to his storytelling, one final single panel cartoon, and another of his one-page pin-up style pictures--the endpaper I mentioned at the top. These all get a solid 8 of 10 ratings.

 "Black Cat Crossing" is a spectacular collection of Richard Sala's early work, which remains as fresh and exciting as it was when it was first created three decades ago. That shouldn't be surprising, since he drew his inspiration from pop-culture and artistic evergreens.

When I average out the ratings, this anthology is a solid Eight of Ten Stars... and one that I think is well worth checking out by anyone who enjoys well done comics, film-noir, silent movies, and mystery fiction. I think you'll have a great time while in the Salaverse. (It's still in print, but it's impossible to say for how long. Sala is rapidly joining the ranks for unjustly forgotten comics creators.)

A silent movie that Stan Lee would approve of!

Excelsior (aka "The Magician and the Human Pump" and "The Prince of Magicians") (1901)
Starring: Georges Méliès

Director: Georges Méliès

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

A noble wizard (Méliès) turns his manservant into the main prop in a magic act.

"Excelsior" is one of stage magician-turned-filmmaker many pioneering special effects films that are basically a magic show on film. This is one of the better ones, not only because of the impressive effects, but also because of the impish sense of humor of display throughout. 

Click below and enjoy. It's will only take you a couple of minutes to watch this little film, and I think you'll find that the sense of fun and joy that permeates this film will brighten your spirits for the rest of your day.

Yvonne DeCarlo bids you welcome...

 ... to the first day of Autumn!

When East Meets West on NCIS

The new seasons of two NCIS series premiered this week--Season 20 for the Washington D.C.-based flagship series NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigations Service, and Season 2 for NCIS: Hawai'i. The crossover between the two series that began at the end of the last season carries into the openers in this season... and we're celebrating with a crossover photo gallery featuring Katrina Law and Yasmine Al-Bustami.

KATRINA LAW

The Character She Portrays: Special Agent Jessica Knight is a seasoned Federal agent who joined the investigative branch of NCIS after a stint as a ranking agent and explosives expert with the service's tactical response team.

 

YASMINE AL-BUSTAMI

The Character She Portrays: Lucy Tara is a young NCIS Special Agent that has recently been assigned to the Hawaii office. The youngest of three siblings, she disappointed her parents when she chose to pursue a career in law enforcement rather than join the family's Texas-based oil business.

From the "Whatzzat?" Department...

... we have a student film that we found in the deep recesses of YouTube. It's interesting visually, if a little underlit/underexposed in many of the shots. But it being too dark for its own good is not why we're scratching our heads by the time it's over.

We THINK we know what's being represented in this short, artsy film, but we're not sure. How about you take a few minutes and let us know what YOU think the film is about/is representing. (Maybe we'll add our thoughts in the comments, but we want to hear what others have to say first. If you have ideas, please share! We know you're out there...)

Antonym (2021)

Starring: Mia and Lillian
Director: Lucas Manuel-Scheibe
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

It's Talk Like a Pirate Day...

... and the Queen of Pirates is here to say:

"Ye may lead yer scurvy scallywags while wearin' 

a hat and high heels and lookin' great!"

"Ye may even learn 'em how to dance ballet!"

"But ye'll never have a more perfect piratin' moniker than the lady Frances Drake!"

Meanwhile, Joan Blondell is just here to hang out and look fabulous!

 

Musical Monday with Bad Omens

A favorite roleplaying game of mine was Cyberpunk 2020, with its "day after tomorrow" setting where the world had crumbled under the weight of a pandemic, government corruption, and corporate greed. I greatly enjoyed running my campaign in the setting, which incorporated some low-key supernatural elements, plus space aliens, in addition to the gritty sci-fi aspects already present.

I mention this, because this video for a single off Bad Omen's 2022 album, "The Death of Peace of Mind", captures the mood I was going for in the sessions of that campaign, as well as visually making me nostalgic for that game and my version of the world it took place in.

It's also a fantastic song with perfectly timed transitions between creepily mellow and savagely metal. So perfectly Cyberpunk!

Concrete Jungle (2022)

Starring: Noah Sebastian

Director: Orie McGinnis

Rating: Ten of Ten Stars

Barnie's Creamy Buttery Caramel

I was not impressed by my first sampling of what Barnie's Coffee & Tea has to offer. Will the second go-around be better? I sure hope so!

Is Barnie's Creamy Buttery Caramel as smooth as this guy?

BARNIE'S COFFEE & TEA COMPANY: CREAMY BUTTERY CARAMEL

The foundation of this blend is medium-roasted Arabica beans, and there was nothing noticeable aroma-wise either when the bag was first opened nor as the coffee brewed that gave any hint that this was anything but normal coffee. It smelled great, as brewing coffee always does, but that was it.

When I poured the first cup, I likewise couldn't detect any aroma other than coffee. When I took the first sips of it black, there was a mild sweetness to the blend, but nothing I felt could be identified as a caramel flavor. It also didn't seem any more buttery than an average medium roast, but it was probably sweet enough for someone who usually puts a little sugar or milk in their cups to drink black. Me, I'm a wimp and I need a little more flavor or sweetness or milk to cut the coffee taste.

When I added Unsweetened Almond Milk to this blend, the caramel flavor showed itself ever so slightly, but this was still not something I'd describe as smooth. Again, maybe the blend would work with just the almond milk if you take your coffee lightly sweetened, but it was still a little too intense for my weak palate. I tried the blend with Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk as well, and it sweetened it a bit more but didn't bring out the caramel flavor more clearly nor any  creaminess.

When I mixed the Creamy Buttery Caramel blend with sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer, the drink finally felt as creamy as the name implied it should be. The caramel flavoring also seemed to pop a bit more. It was still a bit more subdued than I liked, but it was present and this was now a very enjoyable drink.

The most positive thing I can say about this blend is that its flavors remain stable as it changes temperature. Whether its mixed with either variety of almond milk or the creamer, the tastes describe above remain as described. Even chilled and over ice, the caramel flavor came through--in fact, it even seemed to grow a little stronger, which is atypical in my experience: More often than not, the flavors tend to become washed out when these coffees are iced... or, worse, a vile saltiness comes to dominate. All in all, this might be a blend that you're better off drinking chilled and iced. Even black, this coffee tastes sweeter when iced... even if I still couldn't taste much in the way or caramel nor did it seem any smoother than any other iced coffee I've had.

This blend from Barnie's falls somewhere in the middle of the pack as far as the flavored coffees I've had; it's not terrible, but I've had better. It is good enough that I'm not going to snark about their slogan this time out. I think it would appeal to those who are looking for something that is just slightly flavored or sweetened... while those who want more intense and in-your-face caramel flavors should turn to the Salted Caramel blend from Bones Coffee. (In fact, I think I'm going to mix what's left of my Barine's Creamey Buttery Caramel with the 4-oz sample pack of Bones' Salted Caramel in the cupboard to see what happens. If the result is a taste sensation, I'll let everyone know! (Heck, I'll also fill you in if I end up with something terrible...)

Felix knows how to spend the weekend!

If your weekend is half as wild as the one Felix the Cat has in "Woos Whoopee", you're doing it right. (Well, you probably want to avoid the hallucinations... but maybe not! The hallucinations are what makes this cartoon so much fun to watch!)

Felix Woos Whoopee (1928)

Starring: A voice actor who doesn't speak any actual lines

Director: Otto Messmer

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

An excellent drama with confused intertitles?

The Country Doctor (1909)
Starring: Frank Powell, Florence Lawrence, Kate Bruce, Gladys Egan, Rose King, Mary Pickford, and Adele DeGarde
Director: D.W. Griffith
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A country doctor (Powell) makes a fateful choice when his daughter (Egan) and another girl (DeGarde) are both struck with the same deadly illness at the same time.

"The Country Doctor" is another early and excellent short film from D.W. Griffith. Once again, he delivers a swiftly moving flick with not a second wasted and where we are treated to all actors giving their best performances. With many dramatic films of this vintage, the difference in film acting styles from what was common in 1909 (which were stagey and overly emotive) and the more natural-seeming approaches today can make them difficult to watch at times. Not so with films from Griffith... yes, there's big gestures and a certain degree of posing and posturing, but it doesn't seem quite as over-the-top as it does elsewhere, and it's almost always balanced with genuine-seeming facial expressions and more subtle body language. I might even go so far to say that if you're among those who avoid silent films because of the acting, you might still want to check this one out. Because it's clear from this film why Florence Lawrence, Frank Powell, and Mary Pickford were big stars in their day.

 

As is often the case, I am giving everyone the opportunity to watch the film I'm reviewing, but I'm dropping it here, in the middle of the review rather than at the end. This is because, while I liked almost everything about this film--from it's bright, airy opening scenes, to the cross-cutting between two locations as the story unfolds, to the excellent performances by the actors--the issues I do have relate to elements that can be considered spoilers.

So... please watch "The Country Doctor". Then, you can continue to read my comments below. (By the way, the version I've embedded has no soundtrack music. I found that the 2010 remaster of Mike Oldfield's "Hergest Ridge Pt. 1" works amazingly well for most of this film, except at the very end where the music becomes a little too upbeat. (Well, maybe. See below. And you can click here to open "Hergest Ridge Pt. 1" in a different window to play while watching the film.)

 

As much as I enjoyed this film, there was one thing I found it to be a head-scratcher that the film announces itself to carry a spiritual message--do the moral thing and you'll be rewarded in the afterlife--but then doesn't quite ever deliver on that promise. While the titular Country Doctor is very much self-sacrificing and obviously the sort of man who puts community above himself and even his family (given he prioritizes treating another patient over own sick daughter), there's no sense that he will be rewarded in the end. In fact, the final intertitle of the film seems to imply the opposite, both for the doctor, his family, and perhaps the entire community. (This strange disconnect between the film's opening and closing moments made a difference between me giving it a rating of Seven instead of Eight.)

With said that... what do you think? Am I putting too much weight on an element that isn't even really part of the film itself? Did I steer you wrong when I praised the pacing and acting of this great little drama? Leave a comment below!

The Mime's Big Day

Attention Plzzz (2015)
Starring: Swetha, Ashul, Maheswar, and Roshan
Director: Arunachalam

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A street-performer mime gives up in the face of competition but ends up changing the life of a homeless drug addict.

Reportedly inspired by the films of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, I think "Attention Plzzz" is far cuter than anything on the very impressive resumes of either of those two gentleman. Another very strong element of this modern silent movie is that doesn't try to replicate the style of films made a century or more ago, nor is it just a film without sound, but the use of mimes gives a perfect in-story explanation for why not a single word is spoken.

I liked everything about this film--the actors all perform well, the pacing is spot-on, and the mime duels are very funny--and I probably would have given it Eight Stars if not for a couple flaws.

First, I think this film could have benefitted from being a little more focused. It almost feel like two films combined into one, with the first one being our Hero squaring off against a competing mime, and the second one where he distracts a homeless drug addict from shooting up. If the competition with the other mime had not been included in the film, I don't think it would have been missed, and we would have gotten to the really excellent part of the film sooner. All we needed in the initial part is the disinterested/confused onlookers to establish the mime's state of mind.
 

Second, a decision was made to include sound effects in the film's best moments, and I think it was a bad decision. They feel entirely out of place and they take away more from the action and mood of the scenes than they add. 

I could also criticize the film for not using enough medium two-shots during the mime's interactions with the homeless woman, but given that it claims to be inspired by old-time silent greats, I don't know that would be a fair criticism.

But why don't you take a few minutes and give your attention to "Attention Plzzz"? I promise it will brighten your day! (And if I steer you wrong, be sure to tell me off in the Comments section.)

Wonder Woman Wednesday

 Today. we've got two-in-one portraits of everyone's favorite Amazon!