Everybody Draw Mohammed Day Sketches

I've posted my primary contribution to the world-wide, web-based demonstration against Islamic psychos threatening cartoonists, filmmakers, writers, and other artists whenever they feel offended at Cinema Steve, because there is a little color in the finished piece so it doesn't fit here. Click here to check it out.

However, the sketches I made while creating the illo do. So, here's me getting double-milage out of the same acts of "blasphemy" by drawing the Prophet Mohammed(may peas upon him, may pleats be upon him, and may Pez be upon him).


May the smiling face of the Prophet Mohammed (may peat be upon him) be everywhere you look today. Click here to view hundreds of cartoons drawn in defense of freedom of expression and in celebration of Everybody Draw Mohammed Day.

Everybody Draw Mohammed Day:The Best of the Bravest

For the past three weeks, Aaron Worthing has been posting drawings from around the world at his Everyone Draw Mohammed blog. I think he's done more for this day in defense of freedom of expression than anyone else I've come across.

I'm reposting a few of my favorites done by those who believe so firmly in this protest against violent Muslim extremism that they clearly identified themselves when they submitted their art for Aaron to post. Click on the drawings to see larger versions and visit the "Everyone Draw Mohammed" site for full credits on the drawings.

For my contribution to Everybody Draw Mohammed Day, click here.

Picture Perfect Wednesday:Everybody Draw Mohammed Day Preview

Tomorrow is the long-awaited Everybody Draw Mohammed Day! It's too bad that cartoonist Molly Norris (who is NOT taking part in the festivities... she made a joke but others made it reality) didn't pick May 19 as the date, because what could make a more Picture Perfect Wednesday than thousands of bloggers posting pictures of the Prophet Mohammed (peas be upon him) within the same 24-hour period?

Anyhow, I forgive you, Ms. Norris. I'm sure the Islamic Thought Police forgive you, too. At any rate, the fact Everybody Draw Muhammed Day is torrow, gives me one more opportunity to plug the event by posting one of my favorite early Mohammed cartoons that showed up here. (Once again, the link takes you to Aaron Worthing's "Everyone Draw Mohammed" blog.)

This illo is one of the hundreds already posted there. It's by Kevin Johnson and it was captioned "Early censorship of Muhammed's image".



I hope you'll come back tomorrow to take a look at my contribution to the Day of a Million Moes. I hope even more strongly that you'll be participating with a drawing of your own.

'Essential Spider-Woman' features top-notch horror-tinged superhero tales

Essential Spider-Woman Vol. 1 (Marvel Comics, 2005)
Writers: Marv Wolfman, Mark Gruenwald, Michael Fleisher, and Archie Goodwin
Artists: Carmine infantino, Al Gordon, Tony DeZuniga, Ron Wilson, Frank Springer, Trevor von Eedon, Mike Esposito, Steve Leialoha, et.al.
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

Jessica Drew is Spider-Woman, a young woman with super-strength, the ability to climb and cling to the smoothest walls and ceilings, and the ability to shoot venom-blasts of varying lethality. She comes from a background that even she herself doesn't fully understand, and after being manipulated into serving as an agent of the international fascist movement Hydra, she ventures into the world to find a place for herself.

"Essential Spider-Woman" is a massive collection of Marvel Comics from the late 70s. It features some of the niftiest supernatural- and horror-tinged superhero comics ever put into print, created by some of the best writers and artists who were active in the 70s and 80s. With allies like Mordred and Magnus (immortal, one-time students of sorceress Morgan LeFay), Jack Russell (Werewolf by Night), the Shroud (mystery-man with the ability to summon darkness with a thought), and several agents of SHIELD, Jessica Drew's friends are as odd as her enemies--Morgan LeFey, the Needle, the Brothers Grimm, the Moth, Nekra, and various demons and spirits and monstrous servants of Hydra.

The tales reprinted from "Spider-Woman" 1-20, penned by Wolfman and Gruenwald, are particularly excellent, as Jessica Drew struggles to find a place in the world and come to terms with the blessings and curses that her past has left her with. The threads of strangeness and Jessica's loneliness make these stories really stand out among the comics of that period, and the fantastic art by Infantino (with perfectly complimentary inks by DeZuniga and Gordon, primarily) really makes the stories shine.


Not everything in the book is perfect. The story-arc where Spider-Woman clashes with the Hangman and eventually meets Jack Russell and battles Morgan LeFey is such a mess plotwise that it feels like the writer must have been replaced mid-stream, yet the credits list only Wolfman. Neither the Hangman nor Jack Russell really serve any purpose in the story, and the Hangman just drops out of it without any resolution.

Also, when Fleisher comes onboard as the writer at the very end of the collection, pretty much all the supernatural and horror elements of the series vanish, and Spider-Woman becomes a typical costumed superhero, existing somewhere between Batman and Catwoman. It's a surprising change, given the DC work of Fleisher--foremost among that being the Jonah Hex series and "Wrath of the Spectre" for Adventure Comics--that Spider-Woman should take such a turn towards the mundane when guided by his pen. The first Fleisher stories also represent the lowpoint of the book artwise, with the Springer pencils and Esposito inks giving them a look more suitable for a 1960s era romance comic than a superhero thriller like "Spider-Woman." But the art quality shoots back up with the final, Leialoha illustrated, tale in the book.

I loved the Jessica Drew character, from her appearances in Marvel Spotlight and Marvel Two-in-One, and through all the other stories in this book and well beyond them. Although I had stopped following the character, I was sad to hear when Marvel ruined her by removing her powers because her title got cancelled.

When I saw "Essential Spider-Woman," I snatched it up, and the good stories are every bit as good as I thought they were as a kid (unlike "Essential Ghostrider," where the reprinted content was no where near as good as I remembered it). The bad ones...well, either my tastes have grown more refined, or I those faded completely from memory. I recommend this volume to lovers of quirky superhero titles, and I encourage those of you who might find Infantino's unusual art style a bit offputting to let him grow on you. He's one of my all-time favorite artists, but I know that for some he can be an acquired taste.

Abbott and Costello vs Bedouins and Cheese-eatin' Surrender Monkeys!

Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950)
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Patricia Medina, Walter Slezak, Douglas Dumbrille and Wee Willie Davis
Director: Charles Lamont
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

While in North Africa on business, a couple of American wrestling promoters (Abbott and Costello) become drawn into local intrigues by a beautiful French intelligence agent (Medina) and agents of a villainous Arab Bedouin sheik (Dumbrille) and are tricked into joining the French Foreign Legion.

"Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion" is one of the funniest, fastest-paced films the duo made. The film barrels from comedy setpiece to comedy set piece and and nonsense verbal routine to nonsense verbal routine with barely an establishing shot to separate them.

As funny as the film is, it's not perfect. A couple of the extended comedy routines don't quite work--like the chase scene involving a jeep and Arab bad guys on horseback--and the ending feels a little rushed and badly constructed. However, the good far outweighs the bad here, and it's definitely worth checking out if you've enjoyed other Abbott and Costello films, or if you're just a lover of wild crazy comedies.

Or if you're a lover of films that probably couldn't even be made today. This film features villainous Arabs who are sexist, violent and duplicitous in all things--oh noes! Never mind that the real world contains plenty of real people who are far worse than the character portrayed by Douglass Dumbrille in this film.

Picture Perfect Wednesday:Everybody Draw Mohammed Day Preview

Here's my first contribution to the run-up to the "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" on May 20th (a day that will be remembered as the Day of a Million Mo's!). It started as a sketch for the more elaborate cartoon I am working on, but then an idea struck and the sketch became the first drawing I've "published" in over 15 years.



Heck, I almost remember what I loved about cartooning and drawing back when I did it on a regular basis!

I'll be posting my full-fledged Mohammed cartoon on May 20th. I hope you'll swing by to check it out. Meanwhile, you can shudder in horror at Cartoons of Blasphemy here and here.

Great screen version of great novel

Lord of the Flies (1963) 

Starring: James Aubrey, Tom Chapin and Hugh Edwards 

Director: Peter Brook Rating: Nine of Ten Stars 

 A group of schoolboys are stranded on a deserted island and must fend for themselves. Despite their initial best efforts, they soon descend into murderous savagery.

 

"Lord of the Flies" is perhaps one the very most effective movie adaptations of a novel I've ever seen. I read the book, and I found it to be a gripping, chilling read... and the movie captured the book exactly!

 Not only do all the child actors give great performances, but even the filming style and subtle changes in the way the island appears as the boys drift further and further from the civilized behavior they all know is proper and toward the murderous, pagan savagery that most of them have grown devoted to by the films end serves to drive home the developments in the film. On both a conscious and subconscious level, the viewer is drawn into the increasingly brutal and horrifying world of the desert island. 

 With as many interpretations and subtleties of message as William Golding's book--even if the overall thrust is a downer for those who believe in the innate goodness of humanity--"Lord of the Flies" is a true classics that's every bit as engrossing for intelligent viewers as it was when it was first released nearly 50 years ago. It's a true classic that doesn't get nearly enough recognition.

 

'Dead Men Walk' is so-so chiller

Dead Men Walk (1943)
Starring: George Zucco, Mary Carlisle, and Nedrick Young
Director: Sam Newfield
Rating: Five of Ten Stars

Elwyn Clayton (Zucco) is a devoted Satanist who is murdered by his twin brother Lloyd (also Zucco), who wants to rid the world of this evil wearing his face. Although Lloyd successfully covers up the murder, he soon finds himself stalked by his dead brother who has been resurrected by the Dark Powers as a vampire. Worse, Elwyn intends to drain the life from Lloyd's beautiful ward, Gayle (Carlisle) before visiting his undead revenge upon his brother.


"Dead Men Walk" is a just about as typical a vampire movie as you'll ever see. Everything in it is pretty much as you would expect. So long as you're not hoping for anything original, it's a fairly entertaining B-movie.

The best part of the film is the climax where Lloyd battles Elwyn and his hunchbacked minion as a house burns down around them. Again, it's not anything you haven't seen before, but it's nicely staged.