Deus ex Comica - "Hoo-Ha!"

My Deus ex Comica book is just about ready for public consumption. The self-publishing experience has been a lot of fun and full of challenges. I have been fortunate enough to collaborate with some really cool people on this journey: my friend and editor, John Booth; the book's amazingly talented cover artist, Dave Wachter; and the book's foreword author, Tom DeFalco!

I have come to know Tom as a gracious and generous guy, and I am humbled to have his words open my book. He wrote so many of the Amazing Spider-Man stories of my youth, had a hand in creating the fantastic G.I. Joe comic and toy line back story that means so much to me, and was Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics in the late '80s through the mid-'90s. Next month, Tom wraps up a wonderful 30-issue run on the Amazing Spider-Girl book he created with Ron Frenz, and then the adventures of Spider-Girl are moving to the pages of Amazing Spider-Man Family where it will still be produced by Tom and Ron.

So, with that, Deus ex Comica: The Rebirth of a Comic Book Fan, a collection of essays looking back at Marvel Comics of the '80s and exploring my rediscovery of the comic book culture after two decades away, is just about ready for publication! Ordering details and special offers will be announced soon! Until then, as Tom would say, "Hoo-Ha!"

Akron Witnessed First

Pretenders
14 February 2009: Akron Civic Theatre, Akron, Ohio

I didn’t spend Valentine’s Day evening with my wife. I would have loved to have her join me, but she decided she didn’t want to see the Pretenders, so instead we went out to dinner Thursday night, and I went to the Pretenders show with my buddy Dennis Saturday night.

I have wanted to see the Pretenders live for years. I almost saw them in the fall of 2007, also at the Akron Civic Theatre. I even had tickets for that show, but I ended up having to back out of that one because of another commitment that came up. So when we found out the Pretenders would be playing the Civic again, my wife knew there was no way I was going to miss it.

Friends since high school, Dennis is one of my reliable concert-going companions. It was at the Civic Theatre that Dennis and I saw Chrissie Hynde perform a three-song acoustic set back in October at the Summit County Democrats fundraiser with the Black Keys on the bill and headlined by Devo. That was all the appetite-whetting I needed to know that no matter when she came back around with the full band I was going to see them.

As is always the case for concerts at the Civic, pre- and post-show drinks were to be had at The Lockview (once the Lime Spider and before that the old Mr. Bilbo’s) across the street. And as seems to always be the case for my concert going in general these days, we ran into David and Gina there before the show.

(I was also glad to finally meet Dave and Amy, who I know through our blogs, in person at the show between American Bangs’ opening set and the Pretenders, and have a chance to chat briefly with Dave back at Lockview after the show as well. I’m looking forward to getting together with them more down the road.)

Courtesy of the 91.3 The Summit presale, we had incredibly good seats – front row of balcony two, just left of center stage, and a perfect unobstructed view to witness a rock legend on her hometown stage. And Chrissie Hynde delivered on all counts.

Hynde is an incredible, raw-power rocker, but all woman. I was floored by the energy, vitality, and sexuality she was projecting from this classic stage. New songs like “Boots of Chinese Plastic” and the killer title track from the support album, “Break up the Concrete”, were fantastic. The high points for me, though, were “Thumbelina”, "Tequila", "Rosalee", and “Brass in Pocket”. “Thumbelina” and “Tequila” are Learning to Crawl era tunes that fit perfectly in the reinvented rockabilly sound of the current band. “Rosalee”, off the new album and written by Bob Kidney of Akron's 15 60 75 - the Numbers Band, and “Brass in Pocket” were the perfectly rendered as well.

The crowd was an interesting mix that skewed decidedly older (as expected), but seemed strangely subdued to me throughout most of the night (not expected). The crowd came alive and out of their seats a number of times, but it wasn’t quite like the David Byrne show up at the Allen Theatre where folks were outright dancing in the aisles by the final encore.

My only real disappointment, though, was the absence of “My City was Gone” from the set list, but that is outweighed by the brilliance of the overall song selection and thrill of seeing this legend in the perfect venue. I can add another artist to my list of Rock Hall inductees I’ve seen live, but this night was about more than that: this was a chance to glimpse a rock goddess in the temple.

The Ultimate Marvel-DC Crossover

So the kiddo came home from school the other day and informed me that he and his friends started a business. It’s an art venture where they draw stuff, and you buy it from them. I’m a little fuzzy on what the other second graders in the company are doing for the good of the cause as far as creating drawings or profit sharing, but I do know my kiddo is drawing and hawking his wares to anyone he can -- me, my wife, his grandparents... you get the idea.

He has a back catalog of already drawn images – mostly Bakugan characters – to choose from ranging from ten to twenty cents each, and he does commissions (price negotiable). I requested a head shot of Galactus, and the boy over-delivered! What I ended up with was a full body action shot of the world devourer crying out as he battles the Green Lantern! It's a simple pencil and single-color marker sketch that set me back a quarter, but it was the best 25 cents I’ve spent in a long time.

Tales of the Green Lantern Corps

Need proof positive that the Batman: The Brave and the Bold series is a hit with the grade school set? Look no further than my kiddo. Apparently he and his buddy were playing "Green Lantern" on the playground, and they drew Green Lantern rings on each others fingers because... you know, you gotta have the ring, Dad!

G.I. Joe-splosion!

I loved the G.I. Joe comic book and toy line in the early ’80s. I actually devote an entire chapter of my upcoming book, Deus ex Comica: The Rebirth of a Comic Book Fan, to the franchise! I’m also a fan of Hasbro’s current Mighty Muggs toy line. I have a bunch of the Marvel Mighty Muggs and the kiddo has a bunch of the Star Wars ones, but Hasbro just started releasing G.I. Joe versions and I couldn’t be happier. I could take or leave the Mighty Mugg of Duke, but there was no way I could pass up Storm Shadow, Snake Eyes, and Cobra Commander. The packaging layout is pretty standard across the Mighty Muggs line, but what I love about the G.I. Joe Mighty Mugg boxes in particular is the image on the side of the box: It’s a throwback to the original “explosion” G.I. Joe packaging of the ‘80s! Great stuff and a cool nod to the old schoolers. The only thing that could have made these even more awesome... white-dot outlined dossiers on the back of the packaging!

The Ten Year War in Context

I'm currently reading War as They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest by Michael Rosenberg. It's a look at Woody and Bo's Ten Year War filtered through the lens of politics and the cultural upheaval that was taking place on college campuses across the United States during that time.

The book recounts the games between these two coaching icons within the context of changing social attitudes, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and the rise of campus activism. It also explores Woody’s long friendship with Richard Nixon, his love of military history, the innovations of University of Michigan athletic director Don Canham, and Ann Arbor’s history of liberal leanings. Rosenberg also uses Woody’s love of the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson to find deeper meaning in events taking place both on and off the field.

War as They Knew It is more than just a football book; it’s a snapshot view of what it was like when the changes America was going through reached the Midwest. And for someone who is fascinated by the era and the Rivalry, this is a great read!

Hyundai, the Tuna with a Heart

In yet another example of Madison Avenue’s shift in focus, you can’t tell me the ad agency behind the Hyundai Assurance Program spot, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, isn’t setting its sights squarely on our post-Baby Boomer generation.

While I don’t know the details behind Hyundai’s new Assurance Program, I have to say the ad campaign smacks of the Schooner Tuna ad delivered by Graham Jarvis’ Howard Humphrey in the John Hughes-written Mr. Mom over 25 years ago.

For comparison, here is the text of that fictional TV spot (emphasis mine):

My fellow Americans. I am Howard Humphrey, President of Schooner Tuna. All of us here at Schooner Tuna sympathize will all of you hit so hard by these trying economic times. In order to help you we are reducing the price of Schooner Tuna by 50 cents a can. When this crisis is over, we will go back to our regular prices. Until then, remember, we’re all in this together. Schooner Tuna. The tuna with a heart.

And here is the second Assurance Program spot Hyundai began running in December:

Notice right around the 25-second mark, narrator Jeff Bridges reads ad copy lifted directly from the Mr. Mom playbook: “We’re all in this together.” You gotta wonder if Hughes is on-staff at Goodby, Silverstein or at least being compensated by Hyundai, and I'm frightened at the prospect of what might be next... A Victoria's Secret/Sixteen Candles ad with an "I can't believe I gave my panties to a geek" tag line?