Musical Monday with Patty Smyth & Don Henley

"Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" is a beautiful and very sad song was a big hit in 1992. It remains a personal favorite here at Shades of Gray.

It's a song that's gained more relevance in this age of Covid-19; many relationships--even some that have lasted for decades--have been crushed under the weight of the lockdowns and the general disruption of our daily lives.

Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough (1992)

Starring: Patty Smyth and Don Henley

Director: Scott Calvert

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

'Sweet Childe': An example of the Boobs & Blades comics craze.

Sweet Childe #1 (New Moon Studios, 1993)
Script: Vinson Watson
Art: Harold Cupec

Rating: Five of Ten Stars

After being ignored by her spiritual leaders, set upon by sexually harrassers, and coming under threat of a murderous ex-boyfriend, Tasha is given a magic amulet by a strange old lady. From then on, when she is set upon by a male predator, she transforms into a blood-thirsty, killing machine that leaves no menacing males (or even friendly ones) alive.

From about the mid-1980s and through most of the 1990s, busty women in little clothing who ran around disemboweling their opponents were all the rage. Such characters existed before, and they exist to this day, but for 10-15 years, they were everywhere. They were so prevalent that they'd take over comics where they were initially secondary characters (Lady Death in "Evil Ernie") or existing characters would literally be mutilated and transformed into sword-wielding babes in skimpy outfits (Psylocke from "Captain Britain" and "X-Men").

One example of this comics trend was "Sweet Childe" from New Moon Studios. I came across it in a pile of underground and alternative and self-published comics from the 1980s and 1990s that was recently donated to the Shades of Gray cause (so there will be even more reviews of black-and-white comics coming to this space).

Story-wise, I'd say it's about average for the Boobs & Blades fare of that period. The general content and tone seems inspired equally by slasher films and 1980s exploitation flicks, with characters also drawn from the pool of stock figures from those genres. Where "Sweet Childe" stand apart, however, is that I don't remember any other title being quite so dedicated to its viewpoint that nearly all men are predators just looking for a woman to abuse or rape... and even those who aren't actually are, because if they have consensual sex with a woman who they hook up with in a bar, well, that just proves that they're predators who deserve to be killed. 

That last part bothers me--that one of Tasha's victims is a guy with him she picks up on the bar, goes back to a hotel with, and has mutually agreed upon sex. She and the man are both very clear on what they are looking for. And yet, she brutally murders him for having sex with her. This makes no sense in the context of the rest of the issue. Maybe it's because I like a little bit of a "morality tale" aspect to my horror stories, but this makes no sense to me and seems out of key with everything else that happens in the issue. If the transformed/possessed Tasha (the "Sweet Childe" of the title?; I am realizing I'm not sure why the book is called that) is a Furie out to avenge the evils of men against women, why does she then become the very evil predator she is supposed to be targeting? Maybe Watson was setting Tasha/Sweet Childe up to be the villain of her own series (as was the original intent with Marvel's Punisher? The final page makes me think this might be the case, but it could just be sloppy writing. Actually, the way the victim's connection to other characters is revealed, I'm thinking this might be the case more than anything.

Art-wise, it's a bit below average. One problem is that Cupec's art appears flat and static, despite the violent action that dominates the book. Maybe this wouldn't have been a problem if a good colorist had worked on the pages, but this is black and white, and Cupec doesn't use enough black to make things pop, or he uses it badly. 

The biggest problem, though, is that the action is sometimes hard to follow both in individual panels and pages and across pages. Harold Cupec's choice of PoV in a number of panels is odd and it causes disruption in the flow of the story because it's often unclear how the events in one panel led to what is happening in the one following--and this sometimes leads to a cascade failure where it becomes unclear what's happening from one page to the next.  There's a mass-slaughter sequence onboard a subway train where this becomes a huge problem as it turns into a perfect storm of all of Cupec's weanesses.. It also doesn't help that he tries to do some Tim Vigil-style gore... but he's no Tim Vigil. (That said, I adore Tasha/Sweet Childe's facial expression in the last panel. It may be the best moment in the whole book.)

Given the widespread popularity in some quarters of the notion that all men are evil rapists just looking for the right opportunity to show their true colors, I suppose "Sweet Childe" might hold some appeal to modern readers--if it was available anywhere or had made it past the first issue. I've not been able to find evidence of either being the case; I can't find any information on the title nor its publisher nor the publisher's parent company anywhere on the Web.

I am torn between awarding this title a Low Five or High Four on the 0 - 10 scale used here at Shades of Gray. I probably would not have bothered getting issue #2 of "Sweet Childe" (or even #1, frankly) Back in the Day unless I'd been at a convention and either liked a conversation/encounter I had with the creators, or it was given to me for free. That said, part of me is curious to see where "Sweet Childe" might have gone if it made it to issue #2 and beyond. Was our "heroine" going to be the villain in her book, as the final page seems to hint at? And why is the series called "Sweet Childe" when no one in the story seems to fit that name? Would there have been answers to those questions? Probably not, but the fact that I was even motivated to ask them tells me there's a spark of something here, even if the creators weren't fully able to fan it into life. That's worth some consideration, so I am erring on the side of generosity.

If, in the unlikely event you come across a copy of "Sweet Childe" out there, or remember reading it, feel free to hop on and share YOUR take on it.

Musical Monday with Nirvana

Is there a better song to feature on this beautiful Spring Musical Monday than "In Bloom"? I should think not! 

In Bloom (1992)

Starring: Nirvana and Doug Llewelyn

Director: Kevin Kerslake

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

"In Bloom" is one of my favorite Nirvana songs... and this video makes me love it even more, because it's perfect for this blog. (That said, one can't really fault people for singing along with a Nirvana song and not knowing that the lyrics are pretty gruesome or depressing; Weird Al nailed it in his spoof of "Smells Like Teen Spirit"--unless you're reading a lyrics sheet, it's hard to know what's actually being said half the time.)

Musical Monday with Queen

This month, it's 30 years since Queen released one of their great songs, along with one of their greatest videos in support. It's a surreal bit of film that focuses on Freddie Mercury singing and being weird, with the three other band members eventually joining in as things get REALLY strange.

The song and video feel like a light-hearted romp--and it's genuinely funny at times, in keeping with the lyrics--but it also manages to put a little attention on the very serious subject of mental illness. (The most telling moment in the video is when Mercury--the guy who says he has gone mad--tries to sit down next to friends on a couch--and they all move away. A spotlight being on him at that point is also a great touch.)

Please take a view minutes to check out this classic video and song, either to rediscover it or to experience it for the first time!

I'm Going Slightly Mad (1991)

Starring: 

Directors: Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

(In writing "I'm Going Slightly Mad", Freddie Mercury reportedly took some inspiration from his deteriorating physical and mental state from his battle with the then-mysterious illness that would eventually come to be recognized as AIDS. I knew nothing of this when I fell in love with this song, way back when.)

Forgotten Comics: Mad Dogs

Mad Dogs #1 - #3 (Eclipse Comics, Feb - April 1992)
Writer: Chuck Dixon
Artist: Victor Toppi
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

An Assistant District Attorney tasks a burned-out detective on the verge of suicide with assembling an off-the-books task force of violent, former law enforcement officers to go outside the rules to make cases against the city's most dangerous criminals. Their first target is a brutal drug lord who is seeking to expand his operation beyond Chinatown by crushing and coopting rival Jamaican gangs and through alliances with the Mafia.

"Mad Dogs" is a brutal, bloody cop story where the line between the heroes and villains is razor thin and the moral high ground upon which the heroes of our story stand is only inches above the cesspool that the drug dealers, murderers, and gangsters they are taking on wallow. The tone and pacing is very much like the gritty Italian and American cop dramas of the 1970s and 1980s. In fact, it feels far more cinematic it its execution than most modern comics, despite the fact that many of those feel more like they're made up of storyboards than comic book panels and pages.

Writer Chuck Dixon takes a "show, don't tell" approach to almost every aspect of "Mad Dogs" as it unfolds across three action-and story-packed issues. The first issue is spent mostly introducing the soon-to-be team of former cops through flashbacks that reveal the violent incidents that got them cashiered and closes with an introduction of their soon-to-be target that illustrates exactly how vile he is. The dialog is well-crafted and, although sparse, gives each character a distinct voice. If you take the as the homage to "grindhouse" cop flicks that it is--and therefore accept the reality that governs those kinds of movies--this is an excellently done story. Heck, the script here would have made a better movie than most of the films it emulates.

Artist Victor Toppi has a style that very effectively captures the decaying urban landscape that "Mad Dogs" takes place in. He also great with action scenes, and he understands how to guide the reader's eye on a comics page with character positioning and panel layouts. He also fully understands how to use shadow and light when working in a pure pen-and-ink medium, and he is the perfect artist for the black-and-white presentation of this book. Unfortunately, Toppi is not good with faces; whenever he attempts to draw a face that isn't showing a neutral or a batshit-crazy enraged expression, he can't pull it off. When the situation calls for a character to be laughing or smiling, more often than not, the facial expression seems closer to blind, top-of-the-lungs screaming rage. It seems that Toppi is aware of this weakness and he tries to hide it with heavy shadows on the faces that are supposed to be smiling or showing amusement... which just makes them look creepy or maniacal. Over all though, the work here is excellent and it reminds me of the black-and-white comics I grew up reading while living in Europe. (Toppi was, near as I can determine, an Argentinian who worked extensively for Italian and British publishers during the late 1970s and well into the 1980s. "Mad Dogs" was his final published work before he passed away in 1992.)

According to the house ads in "Mad Dogs" #3, this series was the pilot project for several other mini-series that were going to take their cues from the "grindhouse"-type action movies and that would also be published in black-and-white. I find it interesting that Eclipse Comics would decide to start producing black-and-white materials at a time when other publishers were abandoning the format--Eclipse had been producing color books when black-and-whites were all the rage among the independent publishers. Personally, I prefer black-and-white comics over most color ones (which is partly why the NUELOW Games comics/rpg products are what they are), so I would have loved to see more high-quality b/w titles, but the follow-up titles never materialized: Eclipse ceased publishing in 1993 and were formally out of business by 1995.

Although "Mad Dogs" has its flaws, it's impressive due to the way it captures the pacing and tone--and the brutality--of the gritty cop dramas that were coming out of low-budget production houses in Italy and the United States during the 1970s and 1980. The series has never been reprinted in a collected edition.

Musical Monday with Garbage

Here's Garbage performing a song that's anything but garbage. It's pretty darn cool actually. (The rating is a High Six, and if there'd been just a little more to the video, it might have been a Seven.)

I Think I'm Paranoid (1998)

Starring: Shirley Manson, Steve Marker, and Butch Vig

Director: Matthew Rolston

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

It's alluring but ultimately unremarkable

Lookers: Allure of the Serpent (1999)
Script: Barry Gregory
Art: Pat Quinn

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Sisters Michelle and Tanya Nichols, owners of and lead investigators for Complete Recovery Inc. (CRI), are hired to investigate whether or not it was the Loch Ness Monster is the creature that decapitated man on the lake's shore.

"Lookers" was a series from Avatar Press that ran during the late 1990s, in a string of one-shots, mini-series, and in the pages of the anthology title "Threshold". The title is a pun, as it focused on the adventures of a detective agency headed by a pair of beautiful sisters in their 20s, with Tanya being the pair's brawn and Michelle being the brains. Both were child prodigies, and they are generally the smartest people in whatever room they happen to be in.

The one-shot "Lookers: Allure of the Serpent" is a so-so example of their adventures. It's got an interesting set-up, but it is predictable in every way. The moment the Mort Sidney Company executive seeking to hire CRI mentioned cloning and the "Jurassic Park"-style attraction, I guessed that the "Loch Ness Monster" was their creation and that CRI was not so much being hired to investigate a gruesome death but to serve as a PR vehicle... and that guess was further validated when Michelle was established as an internationally renowned Loch Ness Monster skeptic who had published a scientific paper on the matter while still a child.

Despite its predictability, or perhaps because of it, "Allure of the Serpent" entertains in the same way a low-budget action movie or an episode of a TV drama does; it's enjoyable because you know what's coming (with perhaps a small variation). If viewed as an easily digested piece of formula fiction, "Allure of the Serpent" does it's job, nothing more and nothing less. Even the abrupt ending feels like the way a cheap movie or TV episode might close. (A one-page denouement at the expense of a house ad would have been nice.)

The art is passable, with Pat Quinn delivering some clean and crisp black-and-white drawings that generally keep the eye moving across the pages in the right direction and keeps the story flowing, even if the P.O.V.'s in  some of his panels don't quite make sense. Barry's Gregory dialog is also reasonable, always natural-seeming even with the plenty of wordy exchanges between some of the characters. Unfortunately, the speech balloons communicating those exchanges are sometimes  laid out in ways that are counterproductive to easy reading.

There are some random touches that I suppose are artifacts of how Avatar (and many other publishers) during the late 1980s and through the 1990s marketed their wares--with sex and nudity and more sex in the pages of the comics. Because, dontchayaknow--comics are for adults now!

In "Allure of the Serpent", we get a bizarre scene of a guy grabbing his girlfriend 's boobs at a time and place that makes no sense contextually nor reflects that dialog in the panels where it happens... and we're treated to a little full-frontal nudity courtesy of Tanya after she gets dunked in the lake by Nessie. While the second scene can be viewed as in keeping with the genre "Lookers" emulates, the first one is out of place and just a little gross.

I suppose I could also mention the fact that our heroines probably shouldn't have just worn swimsuits onto Loch Ness; I understand the water there is consistently fairly cold. (Although I could be wrong... and this IS a comic book after all. Skintight outfits are required for male and female characters whenever there's even a slight reason for one.)

In the end, like the low-budget action films it reminds me of, "Lookers: Allure of the Serpent" is entertaining but generally unremarkable... and perhaps the best thing about it is its poster (or cover in this case).

Musical Monday with Marc Cohn

This month, it's 30 years since singer/songwriter Marc Cohn's "Walking in Memphis" was released. It was the first track on his self-titled album from 1991, and it went onto becoming a world-wide hit, it remains Cohn's signature song to this day, and it is a handful of songs that I believe all Americans can forever rally around.

It's a great way to kick off the first work-week of February 2021.

Richard Sala has a warning for us all

 This first month of the new year is almost over... and there are few indications that 2021 will be a better year than the one we left behind. But you can still keep things from being worse than they have to be. Cartoonist Richard Sala wants you stay on your guard, because creeps and killers may still make things hard!

A slightly revised version of "Beware! Beware!" in included "The Ghastly Ones & Other Fiendish Frolics", a collection of several of Richard Sala's spoofs of illustrated children's books. Click here to read more about it, in a previous post at this blog.

Musical Monday with Edwyn Collins

Edwyn Collins is a Scottish singer and guitarist who's been performing with bands or as a solo act since the early 1980s. "A Girl Like You" was a worldwide hit in 1994, and if you missed it back then, check it out now, because it's a song that's held up beautifully.

Further, the video is one that must be seen, especially by fans of 1960s dance styles and James Bond movies prior to the dawn of the 2000s. (I can't say much more without ruining the surprises, but I think regular visitors to this blog will find this Monday's selection a good way to start the week!)

Musical Monday with David Byrne

On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down by people who truly were stunning and brave.

For nearly three decades, it had been one of the primary symbols of the evil and oppressive nature of the Soviet Union, a wall built to keep the citizens of East Berlin from fleeing into West Berlin, which at the time was a tiny island of liberty. In 2001, then U.S. President George W. Bush declared November 9 World Freedom Day.

This 1990 recording of "Don't Fence Me In" by David Byrne is the perfect song for this Musical Monday, which also happens to be the 20th World Freedom Day.

It's a Type O Negative Halloween!

"Ah, the Children of the Night. What sweet music they make."

[Dracula does the Batusi]

The Big Day is here--it's Halloween! We hope you enjoy the day of ghouls, ghosts, and goblins! Here's a certified classic song and video from Type O Negative--Black No. 1 (1993)--to get you in the mood!

Musical Monday with Martika

This week's selection is a pop song with decidedly religious overtones. It was a hit in the U.S. in 1991, and it was penned by the late, great Prince (who was reportedly a devoted Christian) and performed by Martika, a child actress turned singer. 

Martika's star faded quickly, and she essentially retired from public life in 1992, at the age of 22. "Love... Thy Will Be Done" being her last hit (of three).

Enjoy the striking visuals of the video, and the beautiful music of Martika and Prince, and have a great week!

Love... Thy Will Be Done (1991)
Starring: Martika
Director: Michael Haussman
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

Musical Monday with Richard Marx

This week's Musical Monday selection is a tragic tale, told through song and an excellent music video. It might have been perfect--since it's artfully done and features real actors, since it's as much a short film/silent movie as it is a music video, but it suffers from a flaw all-too-common with videos from the time it was made.

Check it out... and then read more about what I view as flaws in this work if you feel so inclined. (Otherwise, I wish you a good week... and I hope your circumstances are better than those the characters in "Hazard" find themselves in...)


Hazard (1992)
Starring: Richard Marks, Robert Conrad, Renee Parent, and Jennifer O'Neill
Director: Michael Haussman
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

At some point during late 1980s and early 1990s, it seems someone decided that it wasn't enough for some music videos to be mini-silent movies--they had to add dialogue and disrupt the song that they ostensibly existed to promote. The otherwise excellent video for Richard Marx's "Hazard" (perhaps the grimmest song he ever recorded) is marred by such needless additions.

In the case "Hazard", the spoken lines are disruptive but doesn't ruin the overall experience of watching the video, as is the case with entirely too many music videos of that period. (I think people were probably trying to capture the accolades and success of pieces of Michael Jackson's "Thriller"... but didn't realize that ones like that worked because the song was featured as part of a mini-movie that was built around it and woven through it.)

It could also be that here someone felt that the cost of having well-established actors appearing along side Richard Marx instead of the usual models and musicians required some lines to be spoken.

Whatever the reasons, an otherwise excelling little silent movie that carried the story of "Hazard" perfectly fine is interrupted by a spoken exchange between Marx and Conrad, which also disrupts the flow of the song--something else that doesn't happen when this is done well. (Again, I refer everyone back to "Thriller".)

Musical Monday: The Ghost of Stephen Foster

It's another October Monday, and here's another creepy cartoon tune to help you find the Halloween Spirit. This one is a music video that's a homage to early animated shorts from the Fleisher Studio.

The Ghost of Stephen Foster (1999)

Lead Animators/Directors:Raymond Persi and Matthew Nastuk

Music: Squirrel Nut Zippers (end credits music by Hack and Slash)

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

Musical Monday: Leo Gives It Away

Everything's better with Leo Moracchioli, even songs I disliked Back in the Day, when they were performed by the original band.



Until Leo's cover (and the goofy video), the only version of "Give It Away" that I could stand was Weird Al's spoof version, "Bedrock Anthem". Check it out below... but be careful! It opens with a little bit of color.

Musical Monday: k.d lang

I'm sure we could all make a list of musicians and singers we feel deserved greater fame than they achieved--or at least were more widely known like certain craptacular pop stars are. My list is a long one, and one of the names on it is k.d. lang. When she recorded what SHOULD have been the title song for the James Bond film "Tomorrow Never Dies"--it was the main theme for the film's score--I was sure he would finally get the wide fame she was due. Sadly it was not be the case. Although others have followed in lang's stylistic footsteps, and become more widely known, she has remained relatively obscure.

Here's one of k.d. lang's better-known songs. I confess to not understanding how the vaudeville-esque show going on in the video connects with the song (I have an idea, but I am not convinced I'm right), so if you have an idea, I'd love to hear it.

And speaking of "Tomorrow Never Dies", here's the best James Bond main titles song you've never heard. (It was relegated to the end credits of the movie for which it was written and performed. Instead, the film opened with a tepid song performed by Sheryl Crowe.)

Musical Monday: Wildside

Ladies and Gentleman... something from the days when Mark Whalberg was Marky Mark and he hung out with the Funky Bunch. (I don't know what meaning of "funky" they were referring to.)

Enjoy the music--the sweet, sweet rap music!

For the broken hearted on this Friday night.

It's the ultimate "that loving feeling's gone" ballad. Cheer up... it could be worse!

Woody Allen's underappreciated homage to early cinematic thrillers

Shadows and Fog (1991)
Starring: Woody Allen, David Ogden Stiers, Mia Farrow, James Rebhorn, Kathy Bates, Donald Pleasance, Lily Tomlin, John Malkovich, John Cusack, Madonna, and Michael Kirby
Director: Woody Allen
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A serial killer is terrorizing a German city and the citizens have formed a vigilante squad to catch him. After being cajoled to join them, Kleinmann (Allen) soon finds himself wandering the dark and foggy streets alone, dodging the killer (Kirby) and being drawn into the lives of other lonely people wandering the night.

I have a weird relationship with Woody Allen movies. The films most people praise, I find irritating and barely watchable. Meanwhile, his flops and failures, I find immensely entertaining.

Like "Shadows and Fog." It's a film that many viewers find confusing and unsatisfying, and by all accounts it was a total bomb at the box office. Myself, I enjoyed it, because I like the movies that Allen was spoofing/giving homage to--the moody, German silent movies from the earliest decades of the 20th century, such as "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari."

Allen and his cinematographer use the black-and-white medium beautifully, using the shadows and fog of the title to their absolute greatest potential. The characters and the world they inhabit also perfectly capture the mood and feeling of a silent-era thriller/horror movie--expect, of course, for Allen's character who wanders through the landscape lost and confused (when he isn't working against his nature and trying to be a heroic gentleman to Mia Farrow's displaced circus performer character. Despite two seemingly strong elements to form a uniting center of the film's plot--Allen's character and the killer on the loose--that center does not exist. Like many of the silent pictures that "Shadows and Fog" draws its inspiration from, the film feels more like a collection of vignettes than a coherent whole.

If the viewer recognizes and appreciates the source material Allen is drawing upon, "Shadows and Fog" is a lot of fun... but I can understand the frustration of those who "aren't in on the joke," so to speak. Those viewers will probably be even more frustrated by the fact that Allen really doesn't bring anything new to the table in that humor or character department that even audiences in 1991 hadn't seen in other films from him. Without seeing the constant wink-and-nods relating to silent movie style and story-telling, this film quite possibly comes across as a meandering, uninspired mess that adds insult to injury with its abrupt ending that leaves almost every single story line unresolved.

I agree with viewers who might find the ending to "Shadows and Fog" weak and unsatisfying. It makes perfect sense within the framework of the film, but I would have liked it to be a bit a punchier than it is. Such a stylish movie that features great performances from every cast member (even Madonna and Woody Allen who I sometimes feel is the worst part of his movies!) should have delivered something that reminded viewers of all those good things rather than making them feel let down.