tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79137958305363237752024-02-01T22:17:13.004-06:00American NaradaAmerican Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-71035726821698422782013-10-30T06:00:00.000-05:002013-11-01T14:59:53.902-05:00firestorm of interest<br><center><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKCUTEhZ0LW3Bl7RdNtFrKQUSaSmCatT_pXkeKogcCVjtIrSj2WW3cMyRXmySMv7zUMKJr1xt0aADkD6NSCybYLLtCj9xuu3hcR3LdBeafRFOAIHjwxiHh8RAU_5rd_NEqdFxsqEiI_2I/s400/Firestorm-Rt.jpg"/></center><br><br>
I shared the above image on <a href="http://twitter.com/evancass">Twitter</a> the other day. L-R: <b>Marie Crystal, Dana Sterling, Nova Satori</b>. Commissioned from <a href="http://vokesfolks.blogspot.com"><b>Neil Vokes</b></a> in 2005 for my own art collection and to be contributed to <a href="http://sdf5x.blogspot.com/2010/09/day-eighty-two-reflections-part-4.html"><i>Emissaries Vol. 2</i></a> as either a cover or filler image for my friend, editor Jonathan Switzer's use. The piece had no given name, so I considered its details for inspiration... The three principles are emerging from a fiery maelstrom or explosion of some type. Notice Marie and Nova's hair? Nova's skirt, the bits of rubble and ash and streaks of atmosphere? The inferno is acting as a vacuum, pulling everything towards its epicenter. The definition of a <b><i>firestorm</i></b>. The guns our heroes are toting are unlike anything seen in the TV series. Created by tech-whiz <a href="http://thisrobotechthing.tumblr.com/post/64104515285/artwork-by-fred-perry-2-tim-eldred-and-fred">Louie</a> perhaps? I like to imagine this illustration as a scene from the suggested-at guerrilla war staged against the invading Invid in the months following the end of <a href="http://robotech.com/series/?seriescode=RMA">The Masters</a> saga. (<i>'Out of the frying pan, into the fire.'</i>) The <a href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com/2011/04/robot-marx-part-3.html">diva citizens</a> of the <b>Robotech</b> saga kicking ass -- no matter the odds.<br><br>
Ever since I was a kid, the Second Robotech War and its characters were my favorites. Although arguably the weakest parts of the original television series, they promised so much in worldbuilding and characterization potential. Extrapolating from <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=450">its source material</a>, I agree with the following observation from <b><i>Protoculture Addicts</i> #50</b>:<br>
<blockquote><i>It is ... easy to deduce from the fact that the series recounts the war from the perspective of three young women, that [<b>Southern Cross</b>] was probably created with a teenage female audience in mind. This gives the original show a very special flavor that was somewhat lost in the <b>Robotech</b> adaptation. This is just too bad, because this feminine touch was what made the series interesting to us.</i> (1998, p. 40)</blockquote><br>
Especially <a href="http://robotech.com/infopedia/characters/viewcharacter.php?id=9&seriescode=RMA"><b>Dana</b></a> -- "the daughter of Miriya and Max Sterling," a so-called disgrace to her uniform and her heroic parents' memory. Specifically this image -- from the cover of <i>Robotech Art 1</i> (thanks, Dad) -- captured my imagination back in the day...<br><br>
<center><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzG1WTpICR0ivSohUqDyaY6bbs8uhZXWHHocYU-l8xizC6DQUJmnWAc35RAwhMrYNHg-6X9TMTjoZtCcY5TTpmGwHFO1rpSJlS3YcqsL7Qcy_I6zgdcW1rwU0L3yXNz82wYTCQJlxVcnU/s320/Dana-Brig.jpg"/></center><br><br>
Conflicted. About her identity, her purpose, her position. A lively young woman in a devastated world. She's an outcast by nature, neither Human nor Zentraedi. She's striving to live up to the ideal of not just one highly-esteemed parent, but two. And her parents? They left her behind on Earth as a child when they departed on a mission to the stars. Talk about issues -- she puts Marvel's mutants to shame. And yet...<br><br>
And yet Dana keeps smiling, keeps reaching. She carries with her the poignant memory of something her mother once told her: <i>"Be brave while I'm away. Always remember, you've got the best of Earth and the Zentraedi inside you."</i> (<i>Malcontent Uprisings</i> #4, 1989, p. 3) Appearing in an in-continuity comix story soon after the events of my imagined "Firestorm," she's referred to as "the symbol of allied worlds." (<i>Love & War</i> #1, 2003, p. 3) There's a story there, amiright? <i>Lots</i> of stories.<br><br>
What a complex, interesting character.<br><br>
<center><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlYn-bi3NoiGsZVQ4uvLR3oLE_5DbWPJFrfjLPbrB6iwQt4iDBXNuhY-9omWde5oYSDMEFzJ0Z50IKVfomDJcpt7Z8-4HyuJ6obgIRp8d34dTPbKf-rrP6O9c8KMB21v5CDZeFbuM-v4/s320/Dana-Gun-Zor.jpg"/></center><br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-8767624900566416342013-07-24T06:00:00.000-05:002013-08-22T11:03:55.041-05:00phoning in classist humor<br><a href="http://mashable.com/2013/07/18/ios-android-comic/"><b>Mashable</b> shared this <i>ExtraLife</i> comix strip last week</a> and asked: <i>"Which side do you fall on?"</i><br><br>
<center><a href="http://www.myextralife.com/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDAGFP_COoARuAGBgDtcL0FqEq_h1XyndzEm6NRY-zsbKokAHxqs43trgN0mc63_ypG9hE-D4j-RpvnwxhnGE0e79WypdDCPWdr4iTyGkTJ1yvzDSRIytv03dsfcQglVv6jsiJYVn9a_o/s400/the-ios-android-difference.jpg"/></a></center><br><br>
The joke bombed for me, and not because I'm an Android user. I found it classist. The strip presents two stereotypes: The iOS user -- appearing white, male, and in his early 20s -- is well-adjusted, smartly groomed, and willing to spend money. The Android user -- also appearing white and male, but older -- is surly, sloppy, and cheap. The punchline hinges on their physical and spending differences. At the Android user's expense. The stereotype supposes bad character, not a lack of economic options. Apple's gadgets via iOS are a premium (i.e. more expensive) brand; Android's open source lends itself to generic (i.e. less expensive) brands. So, yeah, the joke flopped for me, especially since I've recently been introduced to the comedy-rule concept of <a href="http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/02/onion-tweet-wallis/"><i>"don't hit down"</i></a> -- it's not good form for jokers in privileged social positions to "hit" those below them on the social ladder. The ExtraLife strip smacked of socioeconomic "hitting down" to me.<br><br>
So what's the truth? Who are iOS users and who are Android users? Do they fit the strip's caricatures? A brief Google search <a href="http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2013/10957/how-iphone-and-android-ownership-varies-by-demographic">turned up this article</a> highlighting a <b>Pew/American Life</b> June 2013 report on iPhone and Android phone-user demographics. Princeton Survey Research Associates International conducted a phone survey of 2,252 adults (a solid sample size for generalization) and found...<br><br>
<b>OWNERSHIP:</b> 25% own an iPhone. 28% own an Android phone.<br>
<b>RACE:</b> A relative majority of iPhone owners identify as White. A relative majority of Android owners identify as Black.<br>
<b>GENDER:</b> More women than men own iPhones. More men than women own Androids.<br>
<b>AGE:</b> A plurality of iPhone users are 25-34 years-old. A plurality of Android users are 18-24.<br>
<b>INCOME:</b> 36% of iPhone-user households make less than $50K/year; 40% make more than $75K. 55% of Android-user households make less than $50K; 31% make more than $75K.<br><br>
If the ExtraLife strip was redrawn to present more generally accurate portraits, then... panel one (iOS) would feature a 30-year-old middle-class white woman and panel two (Android) would feature a 20-year-old lower-middle-class black man. Gadget OSs reflect social class differences on <i>multiple</i> levels. That's not funny. That's thought provoking.<br><br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-79928743725161505062013-05-15T06:00:00.000-05:002013-05-15T06:00:15.580-05:00pro tip: don't be an amateur<br>Last week I noticed that I still wasn't listed yet as a guest at <a href="http://midwestcomicbook.com/">Midwest Comic Book Association's <b>SpringCon 2013</b></a>, a convention I've attended more "on" than "off" for years. I am really excited to table at this year's con, since <a href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com/2012/07/breakthrough.html">I'll finally have a "real" comix project to promote</a>. (I unfortunately received my comp copies the Monday <i>after</i> the con last year.) So I sent the organizers an email asking about the omission. They got back to me promptly... I messed up.<br><br>
The invite card I received a couple of months ago had a line of small print: <i>"Please RSVP by no later than April 1st - 2013 (otherwise we'll assume you can't make it)."</i> In the excitement, I had jumped to conclusions and completely overlooked it. Like I said -- I messed up. In my rush to judgment I acted like an amateur. <b>Pro tip: <i>Always read the small print.</i></b><br><br>
The organizers are cool cats, so I'm now on a waiting list in case some other guest is unable to make the show. We'll see.<br><br>
<center><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR1Ndj4hdRoDvgbY9rX-hl50DHx0paP0KsF5pdG4b8-KsBcReubItyH9dJymxUSipyotyANRBpYBzQfCHB1ygaTqU50VouZ721k-LXUsAUlZH_tZmCre__xvEOMranOhA5zghTdY009RU/s320/SpringCon2013.jpg"/></center><br><br>
But I'll be at SpringCon this coming weekend nonetheless. It's a super fun show, and it'll be a nice opportunity to reconnect with fellow comix makers that I've met over the years and network for future projects. <a href="http://thegoldenage.comicdish.com/">My buddy Chris</a> -- who recently moved back to the area from Nevada -- will be joining me, so that will be special. The <a href="http://midwestcomicbook.com/?page_id=13">guest list</a> of not-amateurs is impressive. Looking forward to it.<br><br>
And, hey, maybe I'll still be able to be one of the "carnival" few.<br><br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-59687573713822830362013-03-20T06:00:00.000-05:002013-05-13T08:09:46.245-05:00billion dollar idea ... not really<br>A month ago, <a href="http://robliefeldcreations.com/?p=3314"><b>Rob Liefeld</b> put out an open call for writing submissions</a>. A couple weeks later, he selected three winners' stories to be illustrated by him that will appear as back-ups in forthcoming issues of <b><i>Youngblood</i></b> or <b><i>Bloodstrike</i></b>. I bit. Along with <a href="https://twitter.com/robertliefeld/statuses/308992435780993024">thousands of others</a>, apparently. I wasn't one of the winners.<br><br>
But I had fun pulling my submission together. The requirements for consideration were simple: 5-6 page story; featuring <a href="http://comicsbeat.com/checking-in-on-the-extreme-relaunch-liefeldverse/">Extreme</a> characters; one-page synopsis; sign submission agreement; email.<br><br>
So... how to give myself the best possible shot? First, follow the directions step by step; many I'm sure wouldn't, so I would. Second, I settled on a five-page story; since it would be a paying gig, I figured five pages would cost Rob Liefeld Inc. less and have the benefit of being less to draw. Third, what character or characters? The only Extreme characters I'm familiar with are the Youngblood team (from the original mini-series and recently remixed Joe Casey/Liefeld collection), Bloodwulf (from <i>Darker Image</i>, which I picked up back in the day), and Tim Seeley's Bloodstrike (I always try to support friends' projects). After some research and a consideration of Extreme's current plans, I chose <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodwulf"><b>Bloodwulf</b></a> -- a relatively untapped character that interested me, and soon to appear as a regular in Rob's re-relaunch of the-recently-optioned-for-a-movie <i>Bloodstrike</i>. Fourth, the story. What would Rob like to draw? I had just finished reading <a href="http://seanhowe.tumblr.com/">Sean Howe's fantastic <i>Marvel Comics: The Untold Story</i></a>. In it, former Rob collaborators Louise Simonson and Fabian Nicieza spelled out his interests: "It took me about six months to figure out that Rob really wasn't interested in the stories at all. He just wanted to do ... cool drawings of people posing in their costumes" (Simonson) and "[Liefeld] wanted [<i>New Mutants</i>] to be muscle and power -- and [Simonson] wanted it to be about a group of kids growing up" (Nicieza). Cool drawings; muscle; power. And I know Rob is a dedicated father, so... parenthood? While in the shower the next day, the story fell into place. Finally, per the directions, I limited my synopsis to one page, signed the submission agreement, and emailed the lot to Rob before deadline.<br><br>
<center><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZv1Ow34xaqiMkD_QPdaNeE1bXpf5dqi96rZHw6ZMytbheXJwSgZ4KumE26VVmQ0lPqDSjop0__f403PtbQ0_87kNGurrmA_7sF6iyXb2dovNzXaG3WS2puLwfHWpdEkhCMOmW0SOURv8/s320/BloodwulfVsBabies.jpg"/><br><br>
<blockquote><i><b>BLOODWULF</b><br>
"Billion Dollar Babies"<br>
5-Page Short Story<br>
By Evan Harrison Cass<br><br>
SYNOPSIS</center><br><br>
Bloodwulf is dispatched to stop, by all means necessary, an army of killer babies. The killer babies -- actually mechanized robotic baby dolls (see The Beatles' controversial "Yesterday & Today" baby-butchers album cover and Steven Soderbergh's eerie "Bubble" movie for doll type) -- are attempting to forcibly rob Fort Knox of its gold bullion reserves. Bloodwulf arrives on his hovercycle to find chaos, carnage, fires, and a rampaging horde of babies waiting for him.<br><br>
What follows is an absurd, grotesque melee and firefight between Bloodwulf and the babies intercut with flashbacks to Bloodwulf’s domestic days as a father... A group of babies unsheathe metallic jaw-trap-like teeth and start gnawing on him; Bloodwulf's own kids swarm aggressively and affectionately around him (“Aww, my little ankle biters!”). A baby throws its mouth open unnaturally wide, exposing a flamethrower in place of its tongue and lets out a flame right in Bloodwulf's face; one of Bloodwulf's kids, while being cradled, violently vomits in his face. A baby or babies piss acid out of now pistol-like genitalia all over Bloodwulf; while changing one of his kid's diapers, the kid pees on him.<br><br>
Bloodwulf successfully vanquishes the national security threat. Standing atop a mound of killer-robot-baby-doll body parts, he waxes nostalgically: "Now I miss my kids..."<br><br>
Trademark & Copyright Rob Liefeld Inc.</i></blockquote><br><br>
Like I mentioned, I didn't make the cut. But I was surprisingly pleased with the story I banged out. It delivered both action and heart. My 14-year-old self would have loved it!<br><br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-7648093237584608702012-07-04T06:00:00.008-05:002012-07-04T11:03:08.329-05:00breakthrough<br><center><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zj9GUSbKQFY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><br /><br />My first real comix gig will see publication later this summer. My story -- <b><i>"Nimrod's Son"</i></b> -- is part of an anthology called <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/756324374/break-the-walls-comic-stories-inspired-by-the-pixi"><b>BREAK THE WALLS - COMIC STORIES INSPIRED BY THE PIXIES</b></a>. Describing the book's concept, editor <a href="http://spazdogpress.com/">Shawn Demumbrum</a> writes:<br /><br /><blockquote><i>What story plays in your head when you listen to your favorite Pixies song? I approached some of my fellow comic book creators and asked them to create 4-8 page stories inspired by their favorite Pixies songs. The song acts as an inspiration, jumping off point, theme or mood for the story. Each story varies in style and genre.</i></blockquote><br /><br />The story that plays in my head while listening to The Pixies' "Nimrod's Son" features an autistic alien god and the biblical Tower of Babel. The surreal six-page sci-fi story is being brought to life by my creative collaborator on the project, artist <a href="http://workdrawsleep.blogspot.com/"><b>Christian Kaw</b></a>. I've known Chris for years via <a href="http://robotech.com/"><i>Robotech</i></a> fandom, and I hope to collaborate with him again very soon. Here are the first two pages sans lettering...<br /><br /><center><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 396px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwsDVodsmtN-9JGBw3E9vkHxw8ZFbiS2JBAPWGe1CPlj-35qFBqFJdcJTLuujZNd17gulfVuKvksKzfoCKfQyebP99W5WjhVnR2GeUQXCS_RDeB7v7ByFIrrfVJQrmI8w1OZU2fc8kSw/s400/NimrodsSon-Spread1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5761032907012671698"/><br /></center><br /><br />I approached Shawn about including our story after finding out about the project, and -- following a review of my script and Chris's sequentials -- he said yes. I may even have another story in a similar forthcoming book he's publishing next year. I'm thankful for the break Shawn provided us (we were a very late addition), and it's motivated me to finally move beyond my anxieties to "make real" the other comix stories I've been tinkering with for years. <a href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com/2011/02/crippled-baby-steps.html"><i>Crippled baby steps...</i></a><br /><br />BREAK THE WALLS is <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/756324374/break-the-walls-comic-stories-inspired-by-the-pixi/pledge/new?backing%5Bamount%5D=10.0&backing%5Bbacker_reward_id%5D=717140&clicked_reward=true&logged_in=true">available for pre-order through Sunday, July 8</a>. We'd appreciate your support. After it's been published, it'll be available for purchase at comix shops and conventions and on <i>Amazon.com</i>.<br><br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-58884333627029756992012-06-20T06:00:00.011-05:002012-07-04T11:04:38.230-05:00photo+comix<br><center><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvGfFLZKy5pXB_XAMYZBBflfeOl9WB_mFy_dqMi-CYewXeSG-QFWvNgttICHTa7wixBKqCjoGRsDArD7glhcaDo1Q3tSyRijNP2Y6UUscEufAL-X-zcSzHTv7KWS3T5AxK-TNdkCW08s/s320/PhotoComixZine.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5761024442986962418"/></center><br /><br />A month ago I premiered <b>AMERICAN NARADA: PHOTO+COMIX #1</b> at <a href="http://midwestcomicbook.com/">Midwest Comic Book Association</a>'s <a href="http://midwestcomicbook.com/?p=528"><b>SpringCon</b></a>. The full-color 16-page zine features all 12 photocomix (and the remixed cover comix image) from my forthcoming <b>AMERICAN NARADA: INDIA</b> travelogue.<br /><br />Inspired by <a href="http://madinkbeard.com/archives/madinkbeard-no-2">the recent photocomix experiments</a> of <a href="http://madinkbeard.com/">Derik Badman</a>, I decided to attempt my own. Not only did it allow me to share nearly 50 photographs from my 2010 India trip and provide a preview-of-sorts for the travelogue, but it challenged me to make sequential sense out of those same photos. In preparing to create the comix, I set three formal rules for myself: (1) restrict each composition to a four-panel grid; (2) limit each strip to one day; (3) present the pictures used in chronological order. Within those rules, I then considered visual flow, color, and theme. It was challenging -- more challenging than I imagined -- but was a very fulfilling intellectual exercise.<br /><br />Here are three excerpts...<br /><br /><center><b><i>"Fashion - 1/07/10"</i></b><br /><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 360px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLObGmq04IhQM2dXfaYw6M_c7i-kUGp4VHxF3dvR2-GyRZ0ZVNhKbcLzcAylYmFtgr4JCmX11LwhLleRmsYDrqVfe0GWTUSqSOYdQEEMX5oTJuR6CPXfizMsadlc-Sq4HCoNdc8q6BXT8/s400/Jan07.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5761024548391903282"/><br /><br /><b><i>"Flower - 1/10/10(b)"</i></b><br /><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 360px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMW_5AfXqW5baVD1YR0n3qQ8J_0hsahLrgySYFOLCx4SdlVsit6rMlmcgNcWBngE6fClGuDKE4g78hTgToJjNklxzvC7l9P-vzdcgqoJIsoWXE6rf9sxtHhOOwexWENrt2_KiQYyNo4x4/s400/Jan10b.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5761024813337646130"/><br /><br /><b><i>"Baha'i - 1/15/10"</i></b><br /><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 360px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtbgf-Jzuru7X9jEzqO8Bi0q8mR-9j6uA5okXLXLm6aJ2mZR2JHHpphiCvKbtR_QPIVyzDTu7_-Cj5K9a6q_bT_IZD2NiTBAw7hx2sCvPGtbzQgHEDLIQOyFcSKEou1BGTEznImPAVHE/s400/Jan15.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5761024955318381426"/></center><br /><br />If you're interested in aquiring a copy of the zine, send $4 (check or money order, paid to "Evan Harrison Cass") and your mailing addy to the address below; shipping-and-handling is included. I moved ONE whole copy at SpringCon, so I have <i>plenty</i> still available...<br /><br /><center>1631 Ward Ave. #7<br />Hudson WI 54016</center><br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-57581358021826844032011-06-01T06:00:00.036-05:002011-06-01T20:56:00.135-05:00bunnshire<br><a href="http://www.theinkbunnydiaries.com/"><b>Jennifer <i>"Inkbunny Diaries"</i> Young</b></a> shares <a href="http://www.theinkbunnydiaries.com/?p=1981">her</a> <a href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com/2011/05/springcon-2011.html">SpringCon</a> <a href="http://www.theinkbunnydiaries.com/?p=1983">2011</a> experience, in the process enshrining me as a character in Bunnshire! Here's a peek...<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="288" width="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6sC_NfrNTcE8-ieDvy0OyHn5aed65c2qV9qkSiN9tY5xvRX0d9SO0BtpTJ2mJvhVex6Zn7B5vGBzc9C9EfbZO3HSply7zBHTWxXbGGtwHJb9KNGe-J5VuqX-cLGxEJySkTrDPCvBuaQ/s400/InkbunnyPanel.jpg" /></center><br />
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^_^<br />
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Well, time to pack... I move back to Wausau for a job on Friday, where I'll be serving animals (for the second summer in a row) at Merrill's <a href="http://furrypets.com/">Lincoln County Humane Society</a> starting in mid-June -- can't wait!<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="72" width="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmrWWrp-Vt9Lli1nTcm-DAL2ThTFbaOG_pILOxOCeZ_rSOQG97XZ_kB56TrqGmknKJxE1pvMjbvBQ5EBbwGWXPKCaGDVFW2oJTUd3DW_F17VdnM1PTOzU-mWXHgbj8772Q4ihJphPBag/s400/LCHS-logo.jpg" /></center><br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-71878289718542434762011-05-25T06:00:00.075-05:002011-05-27T22:05:58.256-05:00springcon 2011<br><center><img border="0" height="378" width="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB1TQepk8mDvIXL-jNbqdHtMhLm2b7g9Yz5O33tpyW7_dwF1_g26wLlATY4Sg-h5WmGFnN1HDYTM8_k_LMPGa1OVl1pPfZHCuUyxKHddSjiW5Ekkwoo_DxycvTn_TixKpuMO476E5B-D4/s400/SpringConFlyer11.jpg" /></center><br />
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<a href="http://midwestcomicbook.com/">Midwest Comic Book Association</a> knows how to celebrate. This past Saturday and Sunday, MCBA and volunteers played generous hosts to a gamut of comix fans, creators and vendors alike at the 24th annual <a href="http://midwestcomicbook.com/?p=357"><b>SpringCon</b></a> in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Despite <a href="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/05/22/minneapolis-storm-damage-photos/">severe weather</a>, fun appeared to be had by all. I know <i>I</i> had a great time.<br />
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As a guest creator, I premiered -- and sold out of (!) -- <a href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com/2011/05/robot-marx-book.html">my <b>ROBOT MARX</b> book</a>. (Always in-stock and available for purchase <a href="http://indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5364">online</a>, BTW.) It was a real pleasure to chat with fellow fans and other interested individuals about <a href="http://robotech.com/">ROBOTECH</a>, sociological theories, and the publishing process. It was also a real pleasure to visit with my tablemates, <a href="http://www.theinkbunnydiaries.com/"><b>Jennifer <i>"Inkbunny Diaries"</i> Young</b></a> and her husband <a href="http://www.facebook.com/straightlinestitch"><b>Jason <i>"Straight Line Stitch"</i> White</b></a>. We talked about life, religion and family between lulls, and managed the table for one another when the other was away. (Jenny's books are available <a href="http://www.lulu.com/hellojenny">here</a>; learn about Jason's band <a href="http://pandora.com/music/artist/straight+line+stitch">here</a>.)<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="200" width="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIeWGrYY3EK1gQBXCDQZk7ziYKmyPxBut0M0IG11PKpdUKDrJmGzITTStVr3Lzj7Z58oeW-7G6JsZDTjXQbOjjIJ8Bp5txmyvR91hVdNd4uCYzpSv0DecTukrLyElxKTi4L2BAagndUw/s200/JennyJason.jpg" /> <img border="0" height="200" width="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdk3WFm8aPgxVvS15wGJOneyvZ9-IarJF03rm3JM4pXhHsdXWfcHtzgX99PSQl1tQLFB_AaahEr44WRdo5V84p6JITaCc4uXEC71JYRb0jxnujGNziV9CN9fWmR7ePt7cHq3xzy9IC1y8/s200/TheHutch.jpg" /></center><br />
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In addition to connecting with Jenny and Jason, it was a treat to reconnect with a few other old friends too. Friend-of-<a href="http://timseeleyart.blogspot.com/">a-friend</a> and fellow Central Wisconsin native, <b>Robb Wadzinski</b> was my first customer; the last time we saw each other was at Wizard World Chicago 2008... now he's married. Old-school ROBOTECH fan and someone I indirectly dedicated ROBOT MARX to (<i>"AX Robotech Fans, Class of 2006"</i>), <b>Chad <i>"Marshall"</i> VanVorst</b> was busy masquerading as Darth Vader with con attraction <a href="http://centralgarrison.com/">Star Wars' 501st Legion - Central Garrison</a>, but managed to swing by my table -- in and out of costume -- to chat regularly; we geeked out about our favorite cult cartoon (naturally) and made plans to meet up for a drink at the next MCBA show. And what would a MCBA show be without good ol' <a href="http://metromedcomic.com/"><b>Michael <i>"MetroMed"</i> Hutchison</b></a>? I met "The Hutch" at WWC08, found out he used to live in my hometown (Wausau, WI) in the '90s, and <a href="http://www.monitorduty.com/2009/08/wasfen-convention-report/">hosted him as a guest-of-honor in 2009 at the comix/sci-fi convention I used to organize</a>. Mike's one of the nicest guys in the industry with a sincere, endearing love for the superhero genre and superhero comix; even though we're polar opposites in many ways, visiting with him is always a joy. (His book is available to preview and buy <a href="http://indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=1140">here</a>.)<br />
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As a fan, I had three objectives: Buy <a href="http://funrama.blogspot.com/">Ryan Kelly</a>'s FUNRAMA #2 preview-zine. Meet <a href="http://nvansciver.wordpress.com/">Noah Van Sciver</a> and buy an issue of BLAMMO. And meet <a href="http://trinarobbins.com/Trina_Robbins/Welcome.html">Trina Robbins</a> and ask her to autograph my ROBOTECH: ART 2 hardcover.<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="200" width="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmwOCMSXfDUPHEG3EnUXQFXkdWF2gbAj5wmfByE6gUuf_T6815Nz6mDzJq-RRKG3jitii31FFh3qsri2pJOzQXBNAnIcvKs1K7AirkrBqetfRXt_20rggYibH4UcIRDuQQ-yETDw1eU7E/s200/Funrama2-zine.jpg" /> <img border="0" height="200" width="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeTsmwijufl198eoRcJzvwimusK2qwiA91Q7vRNzykuMxuCUQAiePI_3KCijaQpav55WC-ikI03zPUWuRkgtd8UhNyphqr8evl1demzyKbcKOEheBn4uNXV5vpkuidsDvjnEVtY9nW8Ok/s200/Funrama1.jpg" /></center><br />
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Between freelance work and parenting, <b>Ryan Kelly</b> has been slowly-but-surely rolling out his creator-owned FUNRAMA PRESENTS comix series. It's always inspiring to see creators dedicated to their own ideas, so I was quick to <a href="http://funrama.blogspot.com/2010/04/funrama-presents1-mutant-punks-preorder.html">purchase <i>Issue One</i> ("The Mutant Punks")</a> last year. <i>Issue Two</i> ("Raccoon") is still in-progress, but <a href="http://funrama.blogspot.com/2011/05/funrama-presents-2-preview.html">Kelly did prepare an eight-page "MN SpringCon Preview" zine for the show</a>. I thoroughly enjoyed the peek, and look forward to reading the full issue whenever it becomes available.<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="270" width="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZj8KDaQiozweXZ9YFN4Dy6_i3-457bGNkq5HkNHhnQiNAM3Dnr-iJf94YEMa1F3htrRg06kOoSydJBQSk64X-bTSjVVo1mbyYJumMMcPqUuUxM-J6rowr96bRdBgo0vkEjOoS6IwGRwg/s320/NoahVanSciver.jpg" /></center><br />
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I recently became intrigued with <b>Noah Van Sciver</b> and his work following <a href="http://www.inkstuds.org/?p=2120">a series of</a> <a href="http://indiespinnerrack.blogspot.com/2011/04/indie-spinner-rack-issue-189.html">podcast</a> <a href="http://theinkpanthers.mikedawsoncomics.com/episode-90-featuring-noah-van-sciver/">interviews</a>. Between his public front (self-deprecating), his comix ideology ('80s/'90s indie) and his stories (Juggalo love; Joseph Smith bio; kooky chickens), I knew I had to meet him. It took me forever to find his table, but when I finally did... well, Noah is awesome. We shared our run-ins with and admiration for Harvey Pekar; we compared experiences growing up in religious-minority low-income families; and Noah showed me stunning original art pages from his in-progress "Young Abraham Lincoln" masterwork, <a href="http://nvansciver.wordpress.com/2011/05/17/more-and-more-of-lincoln/">THE HYPO</a>. I ended up walking away with signed copies of BLAMMO <i>Number Six</i> and <i>Seven</i>, and I promptly poured myself into them. BLAMMO is now my favorite floppy. If you're a comix enthusiast and haven't already, do yourself a favor and <a href="http://nvansciver.wordpress.com/buy-my-comics/">buy them</a>. Van Sciver is a talent to watch.<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="288" width="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmbp6ETABl-Mnzl1MjbMDx0pVR9N2eH_VwFf0IvNynewPbk00q7NWf55mOsRlP2aOoo1PkX2qRQHRtyNR6pu9Kl3GGTe-mBtAvRZPFi8_KlsH7qok1UUbolYtk2gx-jUQ5CuJlCHc6rU/s320/TrinaRobbins.jpg" /></center><br />
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And then there was <b>Trina Robbins</b>. It was a genuine honor to meet and talk with one of comix foremost historians, creators and trailblazers. <i>And</i> contemporary paper-doll creators. In 1987, Robbins contributed four paper-doll compositions to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Robotech-Art-Illustrations-Original-Universe/dp/0898654173/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1306537893&sr=1-1">ROBOTECH: ART 2</a>. In 1987, my father bought said book for me as a gift; I've regularly perused its contents ever since. Trina was kind enough to autograph all four selections <i>and</i> her bio/photo in the back. (She was also thrilled to hear my story about how I made my dad photocopy her ART 2 paper-doll pages so I could cut out and play with them as an 11 year-old boy... ROBOTECH is wonderfully subversive that way.) Meeting Robbins provided me a meaningful way to connect both my <i>guest</i> and <i>fan</i> SpringCon 2011 experiences.<br />
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As mentioned at the outset, SpringCon's organizers are <i>generous</i> -- hearty grab bags and fun attractions for attendees, free tables and full catering for creators, and affordable space and an open mind for a variety of dealers. Without a doubt, MCBA went out of their way to make it a "Comic Book Celebration." I'm already anticipating their <a href="http://midwestcomicbook.com/?page_id=30">FallCon</a> in October...<br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-54687318413255999122011-05-18T06:00:00.061-05:002011-05-20T18:39:49.810-05:00robot marx, the book<br><center><img border="0" height="270" width="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QFsHa6wqE9IWvEl91Haps87W5zluQpeBA6nwVRobZUYkuit_3oCmyH_-K-r3x-BPCOlqiaKhSlqeRgWBV6s0fDZgTEmiHjQirOcI82eK3XOnV1DsYO919ZW6DqkI3Nk58J90HwDlulI/s320/RobotMarx-+Frontcover-Preview.jpg" /> <img border="0" height="270" width="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMKTNGb3I7qLcsuT_nbd1MhBLGo4N7tFOi9Qp8Kdw3_vN0dglBEGaXJJaAOSXbkq_60hy6mccBjOaR2EXiC2VlSME4KkRecL3WC6hv2fSwWtprfOJRkRUJynem8knFEXf2AGUatQQsZw/s320/RobotMarx-+Backcover-Preview.jpg" /></center><br />
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<b><i>Robot Marx - Robotech®, Patriarchy, and Kids' Culture: A Conflict Theory Perspective</i></b> is <a href="http://indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5364">now available as a book</a>. I'll be premiering it this weekend at Saint Paul, Minnesota's <a href="http://midwestcomicbook.com/?p=357"><b>SpringCon</b></a>.<br />
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<b><i>Robot Marx</i></b> -- <i>"The Collected Essays from AmericanNarada.blogspot.com"</i> -- is a 5-inches wide x 7.5-inches tall, square-bound, full-color, 38-page paperback. Sold at-cost, this <i>"Not-for-profit Academic Scholarship intended for Education"</i> publication is available for $5.00 U.S. From the back cover:<br />
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<blockquote><i>When ROBOTECH -- the classic 85-episode "sci-fi soap opera" cartoon that introduced a generation of American kids to Japanese animation -- premiered in 1985, it stood out from its contemporaries. Unlike iconically similar G.I. JOE and TRANSFORMERS, ROBOTECH's characters lived and died, met and fell in love, and expressed real emotions and evolved as individuals. The program spawned toys, comix, role-playing games, novels, and other pop-cultural artifacts. From the Conflict-Marxist assumption that America is a patriarchal society, ROBOTECH is a fascinating case study: it featured women heroes in leadership positions, a cross-dressing male hero, and an essentially anti-war message, among other subversive elements. ROBOT MARX critiques ROBOTECH, its marketing, and its fandom from this perspective, in the process discussing concepts such as gender representation, diva citizenship, and archetypes. An enjoyable academic expression of fandom.</i></blockquote><br />
The book was born from a number of influences. First, <a href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com/search/label/robot%20marx">last month's "remastered" ROBOT MARX project</a>* re-sparked my latent ROBOTECH fandom. From 2001 to 2004, I edited and published <a href="http://robotech.com/infopedia/bibliography/misc/">the "official" unofficial ROBOTECH fanzine, <b><i>Emissaries</i></b></a>; <b><i>Robot Marx</i></b> was an excuse to indulge in that fandom while being able to provide something new for my fellow fans again. Second, I was inspired after reading <a href="http://srbissette.com/?page_id=11537">Stephen Bissette's <b><i>Teen Angels & New Mutants</i></b></a> to do something similar; I wanted to do for ROBOTECH what he did for Rick Veitch's BRAT PACK. In an admittedly limited way, <b><i>Robot Marx</i></b> fit the bill. And third, pulling the book together allowed me to flex my publishing muscles (I have an Associate's degree in Printing & Publishing) in preparation for the forthcoming <a href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com/search/label/india"><b><i>American Narada: India 1</i></b></a> reflections and comix collection. Using nothing but freeware, <b><i>Robot Marx</i></b> was a fun DIY exercise.<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="216" width="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVuNpIjzeR51G4PmOZX93oIm5cmi4jNOzXK8LB8jiQbyIkJ4-8Sjm4lk9rYa3EumFZJcaAMV95KDS_MHqorPhYRpfAEIwAEMFElfCg6LPaJhxDpXk3H8hD2TBfH0jnwLhaJ_VDMVaMTE/s320/SpringConSwag11.jpg" /></center><br />
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<a href="http://midwestcomicbook.com/">Midwest Comic Book Association</a>'s <b>SpringCon</b> <i>"Comic Book Celebration"</i> is held at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds' Grandstand from 10 AM to 5 PM on both Saturday and Sunday (May 21 & 22); with a canned-food donation, admission is only $10 for the weekend. I'll be tabling alongside friend and uber talented tattoo-artist/cartoonist/designer, <a href="http://www.theinkbunnydiaries.com/"><b>Jennifer <i>"Inkbunny Diaries"</i> Young</b></a>. If you're in the region, I encourage you to attend. MCBA puts on a great show. I'd love to meet AMERICAN NARADA's readers and my fellow ROBOTECH and comix fans, so, please -- if you do attend -- stop by my table and say "Hi!"<br />
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<b><i>Robot Marx</i></b> will be available for purchase there. The book is also <a href="http://indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5364">available online via <b>IndyPlanet</b></a>.<br />
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* <i><a href="http://robotech.com/">ROBOTECH</a> ® and all associated concepts, names, designs, and images are trademark and copyright <a href="http://harmonygold.com/">Harmony Gold USA, Inc.</a> 1985-2011. Application of such for the ROBOT MARX project by Evan Harrison Cass is based on the U.S. Copyright principle of <a href="http://copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html">Fair Use</a> for not-for-profit "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research." No infringement of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.'s or associated companies' and individuals' rights is intended.</i><br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-37083429588846409012011-05-07T06:00:00.073-05:002011-05-10T12:35:53.318-05:00crime thwarted by friendly neighborhood cass-man<br><center><b><i>"I was preparing my whole life for this," says area man</i></b><br />
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<img border="0" height="207" width="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3f9xtTOHdH9TGYTX86bRx7VsJV2bvwEoOLxMm5TTEC4nb-XzMOdSd2ZOgG8I5_ODhpQ0dewecFY5fWVbM3yULYeZlqs1sxod9fLCSy6IvXlKd9XhsfulMjAr7IiEEjOTiyQpv3pOSGoU/s400/James-Large.jpg" /></center><br />
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RIVER FALLS -- Yesterday, an area man's life forever changed when he caught a would-be thief attempting to break into his neighbors' apartment. The man's amateur sleuthing and gutsy actions have his neighbors christening him a neighborhood hero.<br />
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Evan Cass, 34, was reading a comic book Friday afternoon in his Town of River Falls apartment when he heard his neighbors' dogs barking. "It was 4:30. I looked outside and saw that [neighbors] Dustin and Chelsea weren't home. It was go time -- I grabbed my notepad, a pencil and my camera, and headed outside. It was the moment I'd been waiting for."<br />
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"Go time" was a month in the making. Cass, who lives upstairs in the eight-apartment complex located on 920th Street, had been monitoring suspicious activity at the apartment below his own for weeks. "Every once in a while, when my neighbors weren't home, their dogs would go crazy. And just like that -- they'd stop. Something was up." Last week, after being awakened from yet another nap, he decided to take the law into his own hands. Next to his gliding rocking chair, Cass placed a notepad, a pencil and a digital camera at-the-ready. The same notepad, pencil and camera he was clutching in that fateful moment.<br />
<br />
When Cass looked down from his balcony at Dustin and Chelsea's doorway, he witnessed an adult male trying to jimmy the door with a credit card. "It was green." In addition to the card's color, Cass also recognized the culprit, but needed photographic evidence. So Cass daringly leaned over the balcony railing with his camera and took a picture. What he saw in the picture did not surprise him. "He's a bum. A mooch. He doesn't even put his shoes on properly. So when I saw that first picture, I knew I had my man -- James." The picture shows James' feet and trademark shoe-wearing style.<br />
<br />
<center><img border="0" height="256" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrGt4AcMkExCtk8B0T_LmF12chKsnWyd5-EJ4XgXY1umhGEqC_sh_MX4JsuXetorChXFgyVvFmoA-YIP5oToBtizEPYd9u04dV0wFlmS7Eh-Us9FtugTeq71DZ37J42T1cOGw_504BKjU/s320/James-Feet.jpg" /></center><br />
<br />
The 54 year-old James, a creepy hypochondriac who lives in the apartment building's basement, tried befriending Cass in August 2010 when Cass first moved to the 920th Street address. Cass did not reciprocate. "I didn't like him. I had no desire to get to know him better. He made my 'spider sense' tingle, if you know what I mean. I was right." Unfortunately, the photo was not conclusive; it did not display James' face. Fortunately, James continued to try to break in for the next two hours. "It was unbelievable. He'd leave, then he'd come back. He kept trying and I kept taking pictures." Cass eventually got the conclusive photos he was hoping for from his precarious position overhead.<br />
<br />
<center><img border="0" height="180" width="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK20oVoH9rnL2Zhmq5AgYbbU42RTSiMXqiDPvlaUbtkurArT-nPa1DQV9Poy0VnFelFGW425ZeyzSm_dXwLGhUGbmAc0wfuAMMfXkW1b1BAHwl4OI7y3MeUuOi92dNP1vn-ZQXDEGf-LM/s200/James-Full.jpg" /> <img border="0" height="180" width="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFAjdCPD7dqD9PtV1zWPkVuRZoSWs8-6a7d2Aqja9VrMjd1GfKwuMIYDhhV7MeJVbcbdfnKAGGcfbk7HBe7crT8Hgu0LokrgGHGlxX4LFwsxZ8QSH_PQ01BMBsB3p7K5cEXGWD3hTBSe4/s200/James-Profile.jpg" /></center><br />
<br />
But it was not easy. Events took a dangerous turn when James tried to strong-arm his way through the door with a four-foot crowbar. Asked if he was scared, Cass said: "I'm a lover, not a fighter. That said, I was prepared to kick someone down a flight of stairs if I had to." James made his last failed break-in attempt at 6 PM.<br />
<br />
Dustin and Chelsea returned home at 9 PM. Cass promptly paid them a neighborly visit to share with them the criminal timeline that he had recorded in his notepad and the incriminating photographs on his camera. "They were friendly with James," said Cass, "they were the real victims. I wanted them to be the ones to decide what we should do with James. It was the fair and right thing to do." Cass's neighbors ended up called the landlord, Harmon Properties.<br />
<br />
"It's a relief," said Dustin. "It answers a lot of questions. We're glad to have a neighbor like him [Cass]. He was all, like, <b><i>Mission Impossible</i></b> hanging off that balcony taking pictures."<br />
<br />
"Or like Spider-Man in that movie," said Chelsea, "where he hangs upside down and kisses that girl."<br />
<br />
"It was awesome. We're going to Target as soon as possible. We want a new lock."<br />
<br />
"And I need to replace a month's worth of stolen underwear."<br />
<br />
Cass was asked to reflect on recent events in the context of his almost 35 years of existence. What did it all mean to him? He was quiet for a solid minute, then said: "When I was a kid, I was a big fan of [the cartoon] <b><i>A Pup Named Scooby-Doo</i></b> and [the children's book series] <b><i>Encyclopedia Brown</i></b>. I used to wear <b><i>Superman</i></b> Underoos too. So, yeah, I guess I was preparing my whole life for this."<br />
<br />
<center><img border="0" height="256" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5829VOiUe_z9cdFploafNnjLpHPJEYwrz1dn3UeNqasO007Ba0icbO6UdBuaoqFoOi6TvwFJQr3Ez1IQF4TNoy4P44xbbSc-t9aNKzPYMBI2OfEw4L6aq8cqmOblhPW2S0IFaqAzyGaU/s320/Cassman.jpg" /></center><br />
<br />
Cass was also asked about his history as a costumed avenger. Did he see himself donning the cape and cowl again in line with <a href="http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/02/25/real-life-civil-war-in-seattle-whose-side-are-you-on/">the real-life</a> <a href="http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/03/10/the-real-life-super-heroes-of-new-york-city/">superhero fad</a> <a href="http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/03/04/real-life-super-heroes-in-britain-and-australia/">sweeping the globe</a>? "It is true that I used to wear a costume. But that was for <a href="http://dallman1974.tripod.com/id1.html">a public access TV show</a> a lifetime ago. My hometown, Wausau, has its own superhero -- The Boss -- a special-needs kid who patrols the neighborhood by the airport on his bike. But 'real life' superheroes are freaks. I have a reputation to uphold."<br />
<br />
Chelsea's comment about Spider-Man was mentioned to Cass. He laughed. "Spider-Man, huh? Well, he was a photographer. And I wouldn't say 'no' if a pretty girl wanted to kiss me. But, nah -- I'm just a guy who caught one of my neighbors trying to break into my other neighbors' apartment. The only reward that I can ask for is that people remember to lock their doors and that justice is served."<br />
<br />
Harmon Properties "served" James an eviction notice early this morning.<br />
<br />
- - -<br />
<br />
<i>CORRECTION, 9 May 2011: Victimized neighbor Dustin was misidentified as Kevin. The online version has been changed. AMERICAN NARADA regrets the error.</i><br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-48593520299834020562011-04-30T06:00:00.032-05:002011-04-30T08:57:34.386-05:00sheila, play with robots<br>To close out <a href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com/search/label/robot%20marx">the month-long <b>ROBOT MARX</b> project</a>, here are a couple peripheral asides...<br />
<br />
<b>Aside 1:</b> In addition to <a href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com/2011/03/robot-marx-introduction.html">the semester-long WOM 203 writing project that ultimately became ROBOT MARX</a> were a number of other written assignments. Following a week of readings and discussions about <i>popular music</i>, my classmates and I were assigned to pick a song, critique it from the Conflict-Marxist patriarchal-society perspective, and write a one-page analysis. I chose a song from my favorite band -- <b><a href="http://www.pandora.com/music/artist/smiths">The Smiths</a>' "Sheila Take A Bow."</b> I had a ball writing it; here's the essay...<br />
<br />
<center><iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QOaiQaHZQsY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><br />
<br />
<blockquote><i>British pop-music singer/songwriter, Steven Patrick Morrissey said: <b>"The sexes have been too easily defined. People are so rigidly locked into these two little categories. ... It limits people's potential in so many areas. I think we should slap down these barriers"</b> (qtd. in Robertson 8, 9). Throughout his 26 year career -- starting in 1984 as lyricist for and lead-singer of The Smiths -- Morrissey has actively tried to subvert the patriarchal social structure. For example, 1987's "Sheila Take A Bow" playfully challenges patriarchy on all four of Allen Johnson's defined fronts (5-15).<br />
<br />
<b>"Patriarchy is male dominated in that positions of authority [in the world] ... are generally reserved for men"</b> (Johnson 5). Morrissey writes and sings: <b>"Sheila ... / Boot the grime of this world in the crotch, dear"</b> (lines 5, 6). The word "crotch" is most often associated with male genitals, therefore Morrissey is encouraging the song's female protagonist to challenge and rebel against patriarchal society's ascribed expectations for her.<br />
<br />
<b>"Patriarchal societies are male identified in that the core cultural ideas about what is considered ... normal are associated with how we think about men and masculinity"</b> (Johnson 6). Society's concept of the differences between "male" and "female" genders are established and reinforced by patriarchy; in the song, Morrissey -- a "male" singer/songwriter -- is singing about Sheila -- a "female." Within this context, Morrissey writes and sings: <b>"Take my hand and off we stride / You're a girl and I'm a boy"</b> (lines 17, 18). In the very next verse, though, Morrissey matter-of-factly takes the opportunity to subvert and confuse gender norms: <b>"Take my hand and off we stride / I'm a girl and you're a boy"</b> (lines 19, 20).<br />
<br />
<b>"[Patriarchy] is male-centered, which means that the focus of attention is primarily on men and what they do. ... Male experience is what patriarchal culture uses to represent human experience, even when it is women who most often live it"</b> (Johnson 10). The fact that Morrissey is writing and singing about a woman and her life differentiates him from the majority of his fellow male singer/songwriters who typically sing and write about themselves or the "girls they love." This is reinforced by two of the song's lines: <b>"Is it wrong to want to live on your [Sheila's] own? / ... Throw your homework [patriarchy's gender conditioning] into the fire"</b> (lines 1, 22).<br />
<br />
<b>"[Patriarchy] is an obsession with control as a core value around which social life is organized. ... As a result, controllers come to see themselves as subjects who intend and decide what will happen, and to see others as objects to act upon"</b> (Johnson 14, 15). In patriarchal societies, men are the controllers -- the "choosers" -- and women are the controlled -- the "chosen." Here, again, Morrissey subverts the structured norm: <b>"[Sheila] come out and find the one that you love and who loves you"</b> (line 8). Morrissey admonishes the female protagonist to choose for herself a lover, and admonishes her to choose someone who loves "you" -- i.e. Sheila, "the full and complex human being" (Johnson 15). It is also interesting to note that Morrissey leaves the gender of the to-be-chosen lover ambiguous: s/he could be "male," "female," or other.<br />
<br />
As exemplified by The Smiths' "Sheila Take A Bow," Morrissey has actively challenged and questioned patriarchy throughout his career. In choosing to consume similarly subversive media, all of us -- "male" and "female" alike -- can do our part in "[challenging patriarchy's] status quo" (Johnson 19).<br />
<br />
- - -<br />
<br />
Johnson, Allen G. <b>The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy.</b> Rev. ed. Temple UP, 2005. Print.<br />
<br />
Morrissey/Marr Songs Ltd. "Sheila Take A Bow." 1987. Musical composition. Performed by The Smiths, from the compact disc <b>Louder Than Bombs</b> (Sire, 1987).<br />
<br />
Robertson, John. <b>Morrissey: In His Own Words.</b> London: Omnibus, 1988. Print.</i></blockquote><br />
<b>Aside 2:</b> Behold...<br />
<br />
<center><img border="0" height="288" width="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZeSYAEVLb_Q92d2RgJIgFH4Tul3A4fnm2CbdCCgX3VitL26MwpMGLtGK5cF6S4E9nFjd2QJsUZUtqxDSKEpgnVKeOQrTMpqBihX-Af8iyTP1I31IOzOnyhww68M4f9bKXPnfDfIpnMo/s320/MarxRobot%2526Son.jpg" /></center><br />
<br />
... the <i>original</i> Robot Marx (and son)! A <a href="http://www.blogger.com">Blogger</a> Stats' traffic-source pointed me to this classic toy manufactured by <b>Louis Marx & Company</b>. From the website, <a href="http://www.vintagerobottoys.com/marx-robot-toy-collectibles-sale/"><b><i>Vintage Robot Toys</i></b></a>:<br />
<br />
<blockquote><i>Of the many toys it produced, Marx's line of toy robots are undoubtedly among the most beloved by collectors. Marx introduced this line in the 1950s and 1960s to capitalize on the space and robot craze of the era... These toys included ... Robot and Son, which was released in 1956 and was the first robot toy Marx produced... Founded in 1919, Marx toys were a fixture in five and dime stores as well as with retailers such as Montgomery Ward and Sears, which sold their wares through mail order catalogs. ... The company philosophy of giving their customers 'more toy for less money' helped make Louis Marx one of the most successful toy makers in America; at the height of the Great Depression of the 1930s, when many companies were floundering, Marx not only recorded growing revenues, it was also able to open three factories. By the 1950s, Marx had become the largest toy manufacturer in the world, and founder Louis Marx was crowned "the Toy King" by no less than Time magazine in 1955. ... Louis Marx eventually closed its doors in 1978.</i></blockquote><br />
Neat, huh? Now I want one to stand alongside my <a href="http://www.vintagerobottoys.com/?s=Robotech+Raidar+X+7"><b>ROBOTECH Raider X</b></a>. Too bad it'd cost me over $200... Maybe I'll just write a paper about it instead.<br />
<br />
And with that -- ROBOT MARX is officially a wrap.<br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-39227509366021219002011-04-27T06:00:00.050-05:002011-04-28T18:29:09.971-05:00sister, i'm not a poet<br><center><img border="0" height="288" width="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98McO5pNA9TrNKhS-uADL4YEzc_FBLPaSikGp2t7C7wWc8b36NEhdLKzDcAlM54YCNmYleFZ642IAPWiAf5GGYKD-l0fXKkpDpYPcicwvarhWAjgAKBgFYXtGcDi5T2CJp5NvF09MQlE/s400/NationalPoetryMonth-Logo.jpg" /></center><br />
<br />
This April is the 16th annual <a href="http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41"><b>National Poetry Month</b></a>, <i>"when publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets around the country band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture."</i> <a href="http://pandora.com/music/song/morrissey/sister+im+poet#lyrics">Unlike Morrissey</a>, I'm <i>not</i> a poet. But I've written some poems that I'm sharing here -- for posterity and with contextual notes -- to contribute to the celebration. (Yeah, potentially embarrassing; <i>'see through my clothes, no reason to hide my words.'</i>)<br />
<br />
The first poem saw publication in 2001 in the poetry anthology, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Woven-Magic-ed-Patty-Davis/dp/1582355576/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302879260&sr=8-1"><b>WOVEN MAGIC</b></a>. It came to me one evening in 2000 when I realized that the three CDs randomly playing in my disc-changer -- The Cure's <i>Bloodflowers</i>, Deftones' <i>White Pony</i>, and Marillion's <i>Fugazi</i> -- all shared themes that reflected my mind-set of the moment.<br />
<br />
From my author's note in <b>WOVEN MAGIC</b>: <i>"Music is a mirror. It reflects the listener's hopes and fears, their dreams and desires, their true selves and their state of mind. Music can also be a muse, inspiring the listener emotionally and intellectually. It inspired me to write [this poem], which deals with my own look in the mirror. What did I find...? I found depression.</i> [Yep. Embarrassing.] <i>But despite that, I also found strength in my loneliness. Thanks to music."</i> Here's <b><i>"The Music Is Dark"</i></b>...<br />
<br />
<center><img border="0" height="144" width="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6Ls9Hc39YroerMHZbptzHmig2u1kEWGnpN1_3Rf8Bg3-MXpgOg-RLMT7v215OpSPrbwOQeRtXyN3VC1GCVTLf4SjY1166OTKsB0rEYvWDnP934fO9A-15blk4fNLKoWhBahGpRS_oCc/s200/CD-TheCureBloodflowers.jpg" /> <img border="0" height="144" width="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilN0Pd5ouzVrfF69pX8DHw9Yx5ZD_k-funb9J-MgwSK3maxyEOOyWx9Xb5_TEZXd99SFkwmX8RNa0gdfuN9YE-B1_CfunPfFSzA3wH6lmBbGMRRy9Lx1crE8bJMA5C149OhlVyxcwq4kk/s200/CD-DeftonesWhitePony.jpg" /> <img border="0" height="144" width="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmRMGEtGJKED3DZ8Xl-DVBflN3sRsITOCY9klfzapVaoKT3nYOKqXDSstNHROfFc60vlMZCsqirD2mLeKDwabNOyMo6CpUM_xjgLAyOucZ9YBBvfcNzUMD7Ps-V4yUTvnWr8BB35GolC8/s200/CD-MarillionFugazi.jpg" /></center><br />
<br />
<blockquote><i>The music is dark<br />
as my mind falls apart.<br />
<br />
Grasping and groping, I crawl<br />
where's the light?<br />
<br />
Eyes blind to joy, it seems<br />
impossible to find?<br />
<br />
Help me up, please... I think<br />
can't see...<br />
<br />
Tears streak and burn<br />
sweet euphoria!<br />
<br />
I hear the Night Call<br />
and it is beautiful...</i></blockquote><br />
The next two poems came to me and were written on the same day -- Sunday, 25 March 2007. The then "love of my life" had ended our romantic relationship the Sunday before; I was heartdestroyed. My car had broken down earlier in the week; a financial and logistic nightmare. I had received my mid-term grades later that same week; they were not good. And I had just wrapped organizing, managing, and MCing the inaugural year of a sci-fi/comix convention the day before; I didn't have much left to give, but I gave it my remaining all and more.<br />
<br />
When I finally crawled out of bed that Sunday, I posted a convention update via MySpace Bulletin. (Times sure change, don't they?) Rereading it a couple of hours later, I noticed that it had a kinda-sorta poetic rhythm. So I reworked it into <b><i>"Sweet Relief"</i></b>...<br />
<br />
<blockquote><i>For those of you in the know...<br />
I survived.<br />
Still some worries and stressors,<br />
but not nearly the weight.<br />
Kissed <a href="http://timseeleyart.blogspot.com/">some guy</a>,<br />
hugged some women.<br />
Found out I probably could pursue that Stand-Up Comedy career.<br />
But no...<br />
The joy -- or should that be "gift"? -- I receive in caring, giving and helping can't be beat.<br />
$430 to <a href="http://womenscommunity.org/">The Women's Community</a>!<br />
Looked like a dork on TV.<br />
For the first time in nearly a week...<br />
no nightmares.<br />
Doing it again next year.</i></blockquote><br />
That Sunday was also an unseasonably warm, beautiful day. So I went for a long walk to decompress. When I got back home, I wrote <b><i>"Deep Breaths"</i></b>...<br />
<br />
<center><img border="0" height="320" width="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC3gCealPPoxQN6YTN1iuS7NwSTnl7FYrve2ilEWHsFjeCEhESnaF3rQXYqJ0iQNCHqABrIBCaBTMHJZTGxgo6ZgnSV9mVDEXbuyMDLgSyMRdMqOSLEa_WjAhF12gY3xM2zb0wVBhS0qQ/s320/TutuStroll.jpg" /> <b>*</b></center><br />
<br />
<blockquote><i>Late afternoon<br />
Stepping outside<br />
Deep breath... Deep breath... Deep breath...<br />
First walk of the Spring<br />
In PJs and Chuck Taylors<br />
Down Hamilton, from 5th to 3rd<br />
What will people think?<br />
"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn"<br />
Wrong context<br />
Six blocks to Grant<br />
Nice lady on her porch<br />
I smile<br />
"Beautiful day, isn't it?"<br />
A big, warm smile back<br />
"Yes. Yes it is!"<br />
Kissing her daughter goodbye<br />
What's she thinking? Does she trust him?<br />
Does she worry?<br />
Deep breath... Deep breath...<br />
Down Grant, from 3rd to 5th<br />
Churches<br />
Lots of them<br />
It's been awhile<br />
Is He watching? What's He thinking?<br />
Deep breath...<br />
Six blocks back to Hamilton<br />
"So that's what my house would look like if my landlord finished painting it"<br />
Man walking<br />
Still using a Walkman<br />
Wonder if I'll ever get an iPod...<br />
How many blocks total?<br />
One, two, three, four, five...<br />
16 blocks<br />
I still have to see that movie<br />
Home<br />
Deep breath... Deep breath... Deep breaths.</i></blockquote><br />
The final poem that I'll share -- written in the same style -- came to me a few days later. It's called <b><i>"Morning Haze"</i></b>...<br />
<br />
<blockquote><i>Stir from a dream<br />
images...<br />
Rob rolling his family van down a mountainside...<br />
Tim drawing "lit" Jewish comics...<br />
Mom losing a lot of weight, but now sporting a scruff-beard<br />
"What time is it...?"<br />
might as well get up<br />
Out I flop<br />
turn the coffee pot on<br />
"Thump!"<br />
Al starts calling out to me from his room<br />
Stumble into the living room...<br />
sunny<br />
Turn on computer<br />
eyes still heavy<br />
MySpace while the coffee brews<br />
"A silly for a monday morn.....Best (Worst) Headlines"<br />
read later<br />
Bathroom<br />
Eyes not red<br />
poke and prod the gunk out<br />
"Love these contacts... gotta tell Dr. Chris"<br />
Take a whiz<br />
dark yellow... am I sick?<br />
Get coffee<br />
Get Al<br />
"Hey! It's about time! I'm starv -- WAIT!<br />
"Look! A ladybug!!"<br />
"Don't eat it, buddy... I think I heard they're poisonous."<br />
Meds and water<br />
NPR<br />
"Hourly" first<br />
Time for "Best (Worst) Headlines"<br />
... who writes these things?!<br />
"Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead"<br />
"Ha!" that truly is the winner!<br />
Thought<br />
"I'm gonna write a poem a day, every day"<br />
a diary in word pictures<br />
starting yesterday<br />
Time for "Morning Edition"<br />
big wake-up yawn<br />
Jimi Hendrix' "Purple Haze" plays in my head<br />
later...<br />
I still want to enjoy my Morning Haze.</i></blockquote><br />
<center><img border="0" height="144" width="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIquWIbsHHsiyCAZFMIfGNjVoobet4olp7w8BcSzviYZJjJ9v-vhnbl845xCXjHyHFls5UAjgRWjhFVD0hMzUN4rL1Zrd9BTigHebZRcjiDGBZtBPjhs8MPyDUnf6_A3S02sogsWskmw/s200/Ladybug.jpg" /> <img border="0" height="144" width="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsPwHvkJ7FzMpfnCKklc02nT-dW_DxsmrCx_DDJrWCPoWjeMmGZ24IsvDtJR3nUgarMB1wf7lMGJTQqNOCWVTXTl0p1NR3X572AReUQXEsi-sDe_fG18fObJXUsiJW3kl4A8S0QiYR0gI/s200/JimiHendrix.jpg" /> <b>**</b></center><br />
<br />
Well, I never wrote that "poem a day, every day," but I did have the opportunity to perform all of the above at a packed open-mic poetry reading that my friend, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Alan-Cohen/1076799043">David <i>"Supernatural Sexual Political Comic Book Doctrine"</i> Cohen</a> -- who <i>is</i> a poet -- organized a couple of years ago. <b><i>"Deep Breaths"</i></b> and <b><i>"Morning Haze"</i></b> were very well received; it was quite flattering, and I'm proud of them.<br />
<br />
As <b>National Poetry Month</b> draws to a close, buy out some time to celebrate this intimate medium if you haven't already. Revisit or write your own. Attend a local poetry reading. Or read some selections. <a href="http://www.poets.org/"><b>Poets.org</b></a> is a wonderful one-stop resource. If you need a prompt, I encourage you to consider the late, great <a href="http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/165">Gwendolyn Brooks</a>; she's my personal favorite.<br />
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* <i>"Evening stroll in tutu" by <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?assettype=image&artist=Bonita+Cooke#">Bonita Cooke</a>.</i><br />
<br />
** <i>"Ladybug" by <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?assettype=image&artist=David+Gn+Photography#">David Gn</a>; "Jimi Hendrix" via <a href="http://aaronsmithmusic.com/site/">Aaron Smith</a>.</i><br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-11806489219632426572011-04-24T06:00:00.007-05:002011-04-24T08:55:01.614-05:00robot marx, part 6<br><center><img border="0" height="81" width="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36Nw9nEQpu2Z-tdezC_5HEWkuSypUGGtMO-QWMQ5iD0QE8dypYBkPitQbqF0SDeGbpo5l8IXCnYgLGu6pbXCJhsVIH6HBTa4pwHkZu2Fdk2F9SJE1VWUwNFF1nJjlAq2sZd1445vznfM/s400/RT-RobotMarx-Logo.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<b><i>Robotech®, Patriarchy, and Kids' Culture:<br />
A Conflict Theory Perspective</i></b></center><br />
<br />
In her essay "Producing Girls: Rethinking the Study of Female Youth Culture," Mary Celeste Kearney examines the role female teens and young women have played and continue to play in consuming, shaping and creating media. From solicited contributions in corporate, commercial magazines to anti-corporate, do-it-yourself (DIY) zines, Kearney tracks the history of the compromises and conflicts between "for girls" and "by girls" in the context of "producing girls," i.e. girls as "cultural producers" (286). Similarly throughout its history, "corporate" ROBOTECH has coexisted and occasionally come into conflict with "DIY" ROBOTECH; and, through it all, "producing girls" have been active participants.<br />
<br />
<center><img border="0" height="200" width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUX2y71PV0nCt-SK9sH3kPJ4Obb6k70NRQXaLlh6ZjnuaAUpqDm0tsZ-e18SJa8vDv0yL_pfuXlw79NvZlNyXAylEqnKsBb9bi5r9gx7Ia6TkQoyfkZzykUV98yrUCeRMWLx6eePg_igY/s200/RT-Art2.jpg" /> <img border="0" height="200" width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJKJ3kC836oy3bCgT7kyFiXffJ1rZt27uQk-31X_9LR_QqkrJTEWAvt-auXUM3_rQL5kjKuI_pDBJfmqtIL2Y5CwZ02VN4EO_SamBFJ-Ysbg-0tPX0xVpRRVOWtXXvpMBWUX8gI7dM4Lg/s200/RT-LancerDoran.jpg" /></center><br />
<br />
An example of solicited contributions in a corporate, commercial publication is that of ROBOTECH: ART 2. ART 2 was the second in a series of three ROBOTECH art books released in the 1980s by boutique publisher Starblaze/The Donning Company. Whereas ART 1 was a "series bible" of sorts (episode guide, character profiles, behind-the-scenes production notes), ART 2 was a high-end collection of professional and amateur artworks. Of the 19 artists featured, six (32%) were women; notably, of the 78 artworks included, 49 (63%) were created by female artists. ART 2 is considered by many ROBOTECH fans as one of the series' finest merchandise items ever released -- an item that would not have existed were it not for the female artists (professional and amateur alike) who contributed to its contents.<br />
<br />
The late 1980s into and throughout the 1990s saw, at first, a renaissance in "old school" fanzines (Kearney 299) focused on ROBOTECH, followed by -- as the internet entered the mainstream -- an explosion in ROBOTECH-specific fan websites (fansites). This was an era that found ROBOTECH's corporate owners, Harmony Gold, legally passive in regards to their ROBOTECH brand; fans were able to create -- unchecked -- DIY fan-fictions, fan-artworks and fan-communities. In the case of both fanzine and fansite contributions, many female fans generously contributed their writings and artworks. An interesting note regarding female ROBOTECH fans: They seemed to be primarily responsible for website "shrines" that focused on specific series' characters and couples (two sites that The Author recalls dealt with "The Masters"' character Musica and the "New Generation" couple Scott and Marlene). Kearney explains why this might be: <i>"[Much] of this (sub)cultural activity on the part of today's youth is not entirely independent from the mainstream media and popular culture upon which it must rely not only for publicity and promotion, but also for source material..."</i> (298).<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="288" width="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkyoZJvanEonbC1kp96OqLluEOJjVef_orOwAC1uL1c8j-JEcEhcb-E9rEj9ELdfkRL_Ykr0x4chhzHzgCo53LZuyn6pq6Y0f_KUMPqiSsKACNUGsqGEIATBfvR353k5qjCfPEdiB-oWo/s320/RT-MusicaFanArt.jpg" /></center><br />
<br />
The year 2000 saw Harmony Gold actively reasserting control over its ROBOTECH brand. Through to the present, Harmony Gold's legal department has occasionally targeted fanzines and fansites with a "cease and desist" letter; the result, sadly, is that many of the fan produced relics of the previous decades -- many by "producing girls" -- have been abandoned or altogether lost. Harmony Gold has tried to make amends by establishing a "Fan Art & Fiction" section on their official ROBOTECH website for the program's fans, but (in The Author's opinion) the creative works lack a certain genuineness and integrity inherent in Harmony Gold's defaulted legal submission filter.<br />
<br />
Despite these recent challenges, the heritage of ROBOTECH's fandom is positively felt to this very day -- especially in regards to female fans moving beyond being "producing fangirls" to become independent "cultural producers." As Kearney says: <i>"In numbers now too big to ignore, female adolescents are increasingly involved in the production of films and videos, the recording of music, the publication of literature, and the manufacturing of clothing and fashion accessories"</i> (289).<br />
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<br />
<center><b>BIBLIOGRAPHY</b></center><br />
<br />
Kearney, Mary Celeste. "Producing Girls: Rethinking the Study of Female Youth Culture." <i>Unknown.</i> N.p.: n.p., n.d. 285-309. Print.<br />
<br />
"Lonely Soldier Boy." <i>ColleenDoran.com.</i> Colleen Doran, 2011. Web. 2010. http://colleendoran.com/2010/04/01/04012010/.<br />
<br />
Reynolds, Kay, ed. <i>Robotech: Art 2.</i> Norfolk, Virginia: Donning Company/Publishers, 1987. Print.<br />
<br />
<i>Robotech.com.</i> Harmony Gold USA, Inc., 2007. Web. 2010. http://robotech.com/.<br />
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<br />
<i><a href="http://robotech.com/">ROBOTECH</a> ® and all associated concepts, names, designs, and images are trademark and copyright <a href="http://harmonygold.com/">Harmony Gold USA, Inc.</a> 1985-2011. Application of such for the <a href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com/search/label/robot%20marx">ROBOT MARX</a> project by Evan Harrison Cass is based on the U.S. Copyright principle of <a href="http://copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html">Fair Use</a> for not-for-profit "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research." No infringement of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.'s or associated companies' and individuals' rights is intended.</i><br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-37392685061055368062011-04-20T06:00:00.013-05:002011-04-20T07:45:28.050-05:00robot marx, part 5<br><center><img border="0" height="81" width="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36Nw9nEQpu2Z-tdezC_5HEWkuSypUGGtMO-QWMQ5iD0QE8dypYBkPitQbqF0SDeGbpo5l8IXCnYgLGu6pbXCJhsVIH6HBTa4pwHkZu2Fdk2F9SJE1VWUwNFF1nJjlAq2sZd1445vznfM/s400/RT-RobotMarx-Logo.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<b><i>Robotech®, Patriarchy, and Kids' Culture:<br />
A Conflict Theory Perspective</i></b></center><br />
<br />
Like other "boy" cartoons of the 1980s, ROBOTECH had an action-figure line of toys. But unlike its contemporaries' lines (ex. <i>He-Man & the Masters of the Universe</i> and <i>G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero</i>), ROBOTECH's was unique in that it featured a notable number of female characters. Whereas <i>He-man</i> had She-Ra and <i>G.I. Joe</i> had Scarlett -- "token" female characters -- ROBOTECH had significant, "essential" female characters.<br />
<br />
<center><img border="0" height="280" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLF2A_LB1OP-X8s_6gqU8RxbRP4Z3Cqxl8X7Y6o1KQrZtXX2v3xi_meUuMw_gaCZx0VZbrFGw51sD76-L9abXnc-DfJpqIgSq9yN1LZmW33B3g93xI8JwKrjziHVtKdxHI0ZGfUGbVc1g/s320/RT-ToyCard-Back.jpg" /></center><br />
<br />
The ROBOTECH action figures released in 1985 by Matchbox were modeled after the hugely successful <i>G.I. Joe</i> figures of the time -- mostly 3 3/4 inches tall; packaged on "character cards" that included a character biography and a listing of other figures in the line; accessorized with a gun and helmet, and/or some other character-specific item(s); and engineered so as to be placed within higher-priced line-specific vehicles as "pilots." Although Matchbox's ROBOTECH vehicles were highly regarded for their quality and playability, the same cannot be said about their ROBOTECH action figures, which were low in quality and lacked playable poseability (i.e. they had limited toy-joint articulation). Due to this, as the decade progressed -- and even into the mid 1990s -- it was not uncommon to come across ROBOTECH action figures at dramatically reduced prices or in clearance dump-bins at toy stores.<br />
<br />
It is also possible, though, that the very nature of the ROBOTECH action-figure line resulted in its lack of popularity and marketability. As Sherrie Inness brings out in "'It's a Girl Thing': Tough Female Action Figures in the Toy Store":<br />
<br />
<blockquote><i>A two-tier system exists [... H]undreds of male [action figures] are available at [...] major toy [stores ...] A few females might appear, but [...] female action figures can be a hard sell to males. [...] For [an action figure] toy line [...], which is marketed primarily to males [...], including females risks that boys might not purchase the toys [...] (87)</i></blockquote><br />
As previously noted, the ROBOTECH action-figure line featured a sizable number of female characters in its ranks. Of the 22 available figures -- of both "hero" and "villain" characters -- six were female. This may not seem significant; but when just the "heroes" are considered, five out of 11 -- nearly half -- are female. Along with their male comrades, they, too, were accessorized with a gun and helmet (the only exception being pop-singer character, Lynn Minmei, who came with a microphone and helmet). Truly, the ROBOTECH action-figure line -- in the context of its <i>lingua franca</i> (Inness 81) -- was a paradox.<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="320" width="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibRozlI5SZ5NuKvkJiMD-1wibo2CPaLEaT201s8gUtDMfkF8sCgRxXIuKpAiJ4qs2Np3U2UiI8rdCwGKhljxfvl76lcbb8n4h4MdPtf5iv_dYzgqfZ0zLA2lvb7ED5uTCpEs-qiDCKUYY/s320/RT-DanaToy.jpg" /></center><br />
<br />
Despite ROBOTECH and its action figures' limited marketability, its brand and its toys did touch the lives of many young fans who discovered and latched onto this largely overlooked series. As Inness says:<br />
<br />
<blockquote><i>When we think about the gender-segregated universe of children's toys [and cartoons], including action figures, it is easy to assume the worst. [...] There is no doubt that such stereotyped gender roles have a tremendous influence, but we also have to remember that children can be subversive [...] (90, 91)</i></blockquote><br />
And that surely was the case with ROBOTECH. Both fanboys and fangirls purchased and played with these action figures; boys played with girl characters/figures, and girls played with boy characters/figures. Female characters in leadership roles in the military inspired more than a few female fans to pursue a career in the military; scientist characters inspired male and female fans to pursue a career in the sciences; and a transgender character even inspired one male fan to embrace his bisexual identity. As demonstrated by its action-figure line, it can be said the ROBOTECH was both "a boy and girl thing," and challenged and shaped gender expectations for a small-but-devoted generation of 1980s cartoon/toy fans.<br />
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<br />
<center><b>BIBLIOGRAPHY</b></center><br />
<br />
Inness, Sherrie A. "Chapter 3: 'It's a Girl Thing': Tough Female Action Figures in the Toy Store." <i>Unknown.</i> N.p.: n.p., n.d. 75-94. Print.<br />
<br />
"Robotech by Matchbox." <i>Action Figure Archive.</i> Action Figure Archive, 2011. Web. 2010. http://action-figures.ca/robotech.htm.<br />
<br />
<i>Robotech.com.</i> Harmony Gold USA, Inc., 2007. Web. 2010. http://robotech.com/.<br />
<br />
- - -<br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://robotech.com/">ROBOTECH</a> ® and all associated concepts, names, designs, and images are trademark and copyright <a href="http://harmonygold.com/">Harmony Gold USA, Inc.</a> 1985-2011. Application of such for the <a href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com/search/label/robot%20marx">ROBOT MARX</a> project by Evan Harrison Cass is based on the U.S. Copyright principle of <a href="http://copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html">Fair Use</a> for not-for-profit "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research." No infringement of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.'s or associated companies' and individuals' rights is intended.</i><br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-37745295696818470192011-04-17T06:00:00.018-05:002011-04-17T09:47:02.106-05:00robot marx, part 4<br><center><img border="0" height="81" width="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36Nw9nEQpu2Z-tdezC_5HEWkuSypUGGtMO-QWMQ5iD0QE8dypYBkPitQbqF0SDeGbpo5l8IXCnYgLGu6pbXCJhsVIH6HBTa4pwHkZu2Fdk2F9SJE1VWUwNFF1nJjlAq2sZd1445vznfM/s400/RT-RobotMarx-Logo.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<b><i>Robotech®, Patriarchy, and Kids' Culture:<br />
A Conflict Theory Perspective</i></b></center><br />
<br />
ROBOTECH's "New Generation" features a <i>Princess</i>, a <i>Prince</i> and a <i>Queen</i>, with parallels to both "Uncle" Walt Disney and Team Disney's archetypical models. The context in which "New Generation" takes place is Earth after being conquered by the alien Invid, spawning a human resistance movement leading up to an attempt by space-faring humans to try to win back the planet for all of humanity.<br />
<br />
<center><img border="0" height="216" width="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzk2yKKidipmWY68MYObEQxSEE8HqfPmvP23s9vguHmCEUbcuwG3FnzFc_PQfYrL41tBDeFplFb1kB5FVQvJRGBbiFDFDGL_4_Z81hvLv70Z26wMYMs_NCq6BZGv4qX58atiUU-uaM8cE/s320/RT-MarleneAriel.jpg" /></center><br />
<br />
<b><i>The Princess</i></b> in "New Generation" is Ariel/Marlene -- an Invid princess who is inserted into a human resistance cell's ranks as a spy for her people; as an Invid, her name is Ariel, whereas the amnesiac identity she adopts while with the humans is Marlene. Towards series' end, Marlene discovers who she really is -- the Invid princess, Ariel -- and exhibits behaviors similar to those described by Rebecca-Anne C. Do Rozario in "The Princess and the Magic Kingdom: Beyond Nostalgia, the Function of the Disney Princess" as the "Uncle Walt" princess archetype: <i>"She wanders barefoot in the woods and is uninterested in the affairs of kings, devastated when she learns she is a princess [...]"</i> (38). Following this revelation, though, she eventually embraces her Invid heritage and name and, along with Scott and her other freedom fighter companions, <i>"creates the possibility of an equal match between hero[es] and princess [... The] new government [that is ultimately] forged is less insular and the princess is reconciled to both father [or mother, i.e. the Regess] and lover [Scott and humanity]"</i> (55, 56).<br />
<br />
<center><img border="0" height="216" width="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6-oEk291r06_EMWQU5Oeno6HzuiaTbIiDWod56EVYGkit4firnQSAWoxWl20BRvXLG5Yb1QRpbZevzXUpJLznBcg7NiT9g247N6lDPI5CV9MsdfYZDXAzTwy_uW651tuPrVbI7F3I4eQ/s320/RT-MarleneScott.jpg" /></center><br />
<br />
<b><i>The Prince</i></b> is Lt. Scott Bernard -- the lone surviver of an earlier, failed attempt to win back Earth for humanity, and the leader of the human resistance cell Ariel is inserted into; Ariel enters the group as an amnesiac, after which Scott names her "Marlene" after his dead fiance. Over the course of their characters' arcs, Scott and Marlene begin to fall in love and Scott regularly comes to her rescue, similar to the Walt Disney prince archetype described by Do Rozario -- the <i>"prince [Scott] as rescuer, and a 'dragon' [i.e. the Regess ...] from whom the princess [Ariel/Marlene] needs rescuing"</i> (42). From the "Team Disney" point-of-view, Scott functions as an outsider-prince in the eyes of the Regess: <i>"He appears to threaten the stable future of the kingdom by changing the status quo, a forbidden prince who is contrary to the custom of the kingdom and will force the kingdom to become less insular"</i> (54).<br />
<br />
<center><img border="0" height="216" width="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA71yyQ8MUw6m0paP4_KtprQNDXpH9VHRYMOq9e4i0QQ7Y3VIPIpzJGR8jgAtjjt5_41-AVLrapgGJdzX6EI_p1js7tk8DczI4JeJH3A-sK4Fl9-7BtqJOSlR5jxHjmMXTS2r9fPOAm_w/s320/RT-Regess.jpg" /></center><br />
<br />
<b><i>The Queen</i></b> is the Regess -- the queen-mother of the Invid race who has come to Earth and conquered it for her people's survival, due to the fact that their food source, the Flower of Life, has taken root and flourished on the planet following the devastating end-result of the previous Robotech war ("The Masters"). Do Rozario describes Team Disney's queen/mother archetype as <i>"disdained [by their daughters...] their identity and their work simultaneously erased, naturalized and devalued"</i> (Haas qtd. 52). This especially holds true while Ariel is amnesiac and believes herself to be Marlene -- since she does not know any better, she denies the Regess as her mother and fights against her. It is at the end of "New Generation" that a striking "Uncle" Walt Disney-esque queen/mother moment occurs: To stop humanity from destroying their own world (Earth) in an attempt to exterminate the Invid, the Regess sacrifices her and her race's new home by choosing to flee from it by <i>"turning herself into a proverbial dragon"</i> (40), thus saving not only her own race but that of the one she had previously conquered.<br />
<br />
A princess. A prince. And a queen. ROBOTECH's "New Generation" features all three, with both the Walt Disney and Team Disney archetypes apparent throughout.<br />
<br />
- - -<br />
<br />
<center><b>BIBLIOGRAPHY</b></center><br />
<br />
Do Rozario, Rebecca-Anne C. "The Princess and the Magic Kingdom: Beyond Nostalgia, the Function of the Disney Princess." <i>Women's Studies in Communication</i> 27.1: 34-59. Print.<br />
<br />
<i>Robotech.com.</i> Harmony Gold USA, Inc., 2007. Web. 2010. http://robotech.com/.<br />
<br />
- - -<br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://robotech.com/">ROBOTECH</a> ® and all associated concepts, names, designs, and images are trademark and copyright <a href="http://harmonygold.com/">Harmony Gold USA, Inc.</a> 1985-2011. Application of such for the <a href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com/search/label/robot%20marx">ROBOT MARX</a> project by Evan Harrison Cass is based on the U.S. Copyright principle of <a href="http://copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html">Fair Use</a> for not-for-profit "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research." No infringement of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.'s or associated companies' and individuals' rights is intended.</i><br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-45049938234765167232011-04-13T06:00:00.011-05:002011-04-13T06:00:17.978-05:00robot marx, part 3<br><center><img border="0" height="81" width="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36Nw9nEQpu2Z-tdezC_5HEWkuSypUGGtMO-QWMQ5iD0QE8dypYBkPitQbqF0SDeGbpo5l8IXCnYgLGu6pbXCJhsVIH6HBTa4pwHkZu2Fdk2F9SJE1VWUwNFF1nJjlAq2sZd1445vznfM/s400/RT-RobotMarx-Logo.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<b><i>Robotech®, Patriarchy, and Kids' Culture:<br />
A Conflict Theory Perspective</i></b></center><br />
<br />
There are a couple of interesting parallels between <i>The Powerpuff Girls</i> and ROBOTECH. On a superficial level, both series feature a trio of female characters with specific representational colors and personality types. On a deeper level, both feature female characters who demonstrate the concept of <i>diva citizenship</i>.<br />
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In her article "'Saving the World Before Bedtime': The Powerpuff Girls, Citizenship, and the Little Girl Superhero," Lisa Hager writes regarding <i>The Powerpuff Girls'</i> primary characters: <i>"Each Powerpuff has a clear personality that is revealed through her signature colors [...]"</i>; Hager then goes on to discuss in detail the Powerpuff Girls' personality archetypes and representational colors (70-73). <i>Wikipedia</i> sums up their characterizations succinctly: Blossom is the "smart one" and wears pink; Bubbles is the "cute one" and wears blue; and Buttercup is the "tough one" and wears green.<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="150" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUSFiQMqYPbCMHrX5Uas3WJvXM4PuLEwX6CoEAFNRGggkJ7OrpSUPwFgn7mEAAM3LxYKvgb_dcjKEYfFH1aAYO9VkLYW8cfkpm4HTeZpdZSIoMRu1B_s10S45HiVUBvEiBh8vVlZdrZUI/s200/RT-PowerpuffGirls.jpg" /> <img border="0" height="150" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7HiLjkjxVHIMC5Jawps6Q7pYY2U4Q3Aoff1feXB9F7wOUzMLSCelGC1qzht_4CDpR38kZ0pUcczg0b9pack7FL8TkbEnfJtAV27fuh9CMb0EoGNbNRdXSEOf8QzW626XvZgDIK0rVFD4/s200/RT-MastersDivas1.jpg" /></center><br />
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The second generation of the ROBOTECH saga -- "The Masters" -- similarly features a trio of female characters who each have their own distinct color and personality set. Dana Sterling's military uniform and battle armor are highlighted with pink; her personality is carefree, good-humored and impulsive. Marie Crystal's military uniform and battle armor's base color is often light-blue; her personality is relaxed, reasonable and polite. And Nova Satori's primary color is black accented with green; her personality is uptight, serious and relentless.<br />
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In both <i>The Powerpuff Girls</i> and ROBOTECH's "The Masters," <i>"the girls' personalities as a group work to sustain the law even as their individual excesses are radically lawless"</i> (Hager 70). This ties directly into the concept of diva citizenship -- <i>"a moment in which a previously abject citizen 'stages a dramatic coup in the public sphere in which she does not have privilege' and temporarily makes her radical critique central to the dominant discourse [... thus making] visible the State's inability to live up to its ethical principles"</i> (Hager 64, 65).<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="315" width="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFoW2_-sICP6E4ClXfqDxW4QiqgLmEFcm42WMc5h8WrHRb3K5k1RHK7467pC4zU2XIusBqRPec7pMr-Z1YheTJDgsYudyJpOmfBYJGQfTlY0L4EVyNEtTDF_qgoedbYWKWKPFbZskXBNE/s320/RT-MastersDivas2.jpg" /></center><br />
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Hager discusses the specifics of the Powerpuff Girls' diva citizenship, but what about ROBOTECH's "divas"? In the case of Dana, Marie and Nova, they are female soldiers who answer to male military higher-ups. They are expected to follow orders and expected to not question their superiors' decisions; in essence, they are expected to be "good little girl soldiers." As happens throughout the whole of the "The Masters" saga, though, Dana regularly takes the lead in insubordination; Nova hounds her and, in the process, becomes an active participant in the action; and Marie plays the peacemaker between the two, also getting caught up in the subversive acts. In their "radical lawlessness" -- always based on "ethical principles" and almost always resulting in a heroic "turning of the tide" -- they challenge the patriarchal status quo, are lectured for insubordination but are rewarded for its outcome, and promptly return to their subordinate status in time for the next episode. Just like the Powerpuff Girls.<br />
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The parallels between <i>The Powerpuff Girls</i> and ROBOTECH in portraying their "diva trios" is apparent. In both cases, their characterizations are built on the foundation of particular "types" and their diva citizenships are key in shaping their respective series' stories. In like fashion, they function within their worlds' power structures as "girl superheroes" saving the world.<br />
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<center><b>BIBLIOGRAPHY</b></center><br />
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Hager, Lisa. "'Saving the World Before Bedtime': The Powerpuff Girls, Citizenship, and the Little Girl Superhero." <i>Children's Literature Association Quarterly</i> (2008): 62-78. Rpt. in <i>Project Muse: Scholarly Journals Online.</i> N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Web. 2010.<br />
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<i>Robotech.com.</i> Harmony Gold USA, Inc., 2007. Web. 2010. http://robotech.com/.<br />
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"The Powerpuff Girls." <i>Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.</i> Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 2011. Web. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powerpuff_girls.<br />
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<i><a href="http://robotech.com/">ROBOTECH</a> ® and all associated concepts, names, designs, and images are trademark and copyright <a href="http://harmonygold.com/">Harmony Gold USA, Inc.</a> 1985-2011. Application of such for the <a href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com/search/label/robot%20marx">ROBOT MARX</a> project by Evan Harrison Cass is based on the U.S. Copyright principle of <a href="http://copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html">Fair Use</a> for not-for-profit "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research." No infringement of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.'s or associated companies' and individuals' rights is intended.</i><br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-14953948862578372992011-04-10T06:00:00.027-05:002011-04-10T08:24:41.545-05:00robot marx, part 2<br><center><img border="0" height="81" width="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36Nw9nEQpu2Z-tdezC_5HEWkuSypUGGtMO-QWMQ5iD0QE8dypYBkPitQbqF0SDeGbpo5l8IXCnYgLGu6pbXCJhsVIH6HBTa4pwHkZu2Fdk2F9SJE1VWUwNFF1nJjlAq2sZd1445vznfM/s400/RT-RobotMarx-Logo.jpg" /><br />
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<b><i>Robotech®, Patriarchy, and Kids' Culture:<br />
A Conflict Theory Perspective</i></b></center><br />
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In their essay "From Sexist to (sort-of) Feminist: Representation of Gender in the Harry Potter Series," writers Elizabeth Heilman and Trevor Donaldson apply scholarly gender critique to J. K. Rowling's <i>Harry Potter</i> novels. Heilman and Donaldson examine a number of evidential tracks to come to the conclusion that the novels regularly reinforce patriarchal values, noting a minor feminist shift in later novels. Two of these tracks are (1) "gender by the numbers" and (2) group-characterized females and males. In ROBOTECH's case, the general fan impression holds that the program has balanced gender representation and, perhaps, that it is even female-centric; in addition, like <i>Potter</i>, the series features gendered "group characterizations." These parallels beg the following questions: <i>Is ROBOTECH, in fact, gender neutral or female-centric? How are the gendered groups characterized?</i><br />
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As Heilman and Donaldson bring out: <i>"In order to reveal dominant conventions, feminist theories of children's literature have pursued multiple levels of analysis, beginning with female representations in literature. How much narrative space is devoted to males?"</i> (141). Based on that level of analysis, is ROBOTECH gender neutral, perhaps even female-centric? A count of the main characters throughout the whole of the series as highlighted by <i>Robotech.com</i> sheds light on that question. Of the main characters, 23 are male and 18 are female; based on that headcount, ROBOTECH is male dominant. But what about the <i>individual parts</i> of the series? Again, a count of the main characters is enlightening: "Macross Saga" features 10 male and 8 female characters; "The Masters" 8 male and 4 female; and "New Generation" 5 male and 6 female. Although it is notable that one of the three parts of the ROBOTECH saga -- "New Generation" -- is female dominant, the fact is that the other two are male dominant. Looking at the protagonists for the series' three parts reinforces that: the hero of "Macross Saga" is Rick Hunter, a male; the hero of "The Masters" is Dana Sterling, a female; the hero of "New Generation" is Scott Benard, a male. Counter to patriarchy's "male centered" component as proposed by Allen Johnson (10), "The Masters" Dana Sterling is commendable in subverting expectations within the context of a 1980s "boy" cartoon, but the reality is that <i>as a whole</i> ROBOTECH is male centered.<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="216" width="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ073JQN0j7Ihw48UZzdrTXiffHfk1nHaeOgDdoCTLLEOwYwry-XTJFx-kQ7k0qjHySnp7-v-YmtuWcHPoFys3a8-4wYZDH5P_Rd0SPNfmWHs9gCidZ6q7C-B_zUsD-xQTr-djClHEya4/s320/RT-DanaKick.jpg" /></center><br />
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On the subject of group-characterization, Heilman and Donaldson say: <i>"Certain traits [...] are presented in groups. [...] This repeated grouping reinforces a tendency for readers to interpret females as types, rather than as individuals"</i> (150, 51). How are gendered groups characterized in ROBOTECH? Two gendered groups from "Macross Saga" offer some insight. The <i>Bridge Bunnies</i> are three "giggly, emotional, gossipy, and anti-intellectual" (Heilman 150) support crew members. The fact that their occupations are supportive in nature, that their designation ("Bridge Bunnies") is derogatory, and that their personalities are stereotypical all smack of patriarchy. So, too, the portrayal of the <i>Zentraedi Spies</i>, three "tough, dumb [...] non-dominant" (alien) adult males; they function as a group representation of patriarchy's "working class masculinity" (Heilman 156). ("The Masters" and its formalized gender groupings, the <i>Triumvirates</i>, would make for a fascinating case study in the future.) These groups stand in contrast to the non-traditional nature of the majority of the main characters -- both male and female -- whose characterizations regularly challenge patriarchy's norms.<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="150" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFNO_IaEcAbJSKtDL-Kcluew2AOahMelojzjHAHY_sfHHGhlUBd0ZiGouWcVvrRfuhWd39iJWctD6-sWpPVmE_ruVSJ7VinFrFNMVbUQcF_H5HOD3-rrs9tTJi6pvWkkbixQCVvwrsje4/s200/RT-BridgeBunniesEtAl.jpg" /> <img border="0" height="150" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYphrtcRMAK8YIorM_2cKDyTVjVx8UwRYmkSelSYvspr5Zz4ZvXfBjlXMiFvgZWiGFkry1ca-6yW1nxpdSnigdaCLUa2N6KRCXeTQs3xpBJTaK-MvnFX1j9Dk-GmuJzV68EPCoxkZ2894/s200/RT-ZentSpies.jpg" /></center><br />
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Due to ROBOTECH's conflicted nature regarding patriarchal values, by its inherent nature a stronger case could be made that the series is more gender neutral and feminist than the <i>Harry Potter</i> novels. That said, though, it is nonetheless apparent that sexist idealogy still runs throughout the whole of ROBOTECH. So, is it patriarchal or is it feminist? Perhaps it is both and perhaps it is neither.<br />
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<center><b>BIBLIOGRAPHY</b></center><br />
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Heilman, Elizabeth E. and Trevor Donaldson. "From Sexist to (sort-of) Feminist: Representations of Gender in the Harry Potter Series." <i>Unknown.</i> N.p.: n.p., n.d. 139-61. Print.<br />
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Johnson, Allen G. <i>The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy.</i> Rev. ed. Temple UP, 2005. Print.<br />
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<i>Robotech.com.</i> Harmony Gold USA, Inc., 2007. Web. 2010. http://robotech.com/.<br />
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<i><a href="http://robotech.com/">ROBOTECH</a> ® and all associated concepts, names, designs, and images are trademark and copyright <a href="http://harmonygold.com/">Harmony Gold USA, Inc.</a> 1985-2011. Application of such for the <a href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com/search/label/robot%20marx">ROBOT MARX</a> project by Evan Harrison Cass is based on the U.S. Copyright principle of <a href="http://copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html">Fair Use</a> for not-for-profit "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research." No infringement of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.'s or associated companies' and individuals' rights is intended.</i><br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-51335426235358862052011-04-06T06:00:00.033-05:002011-04-06T06:00:04.206-05:00robot marx, part 1<br><center><img border="0" height="81" width="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36Nw9nEQpu2Z-tdezC_5HEWkuSypUGGtMO-QWMQ5iD0QE8dypYBkPitQbqF0SDeGbpo5l8IXCnYgLGu6pbXCJhsVIH6HBTa4pwHkZu2Fdk2F9SJE1VWUwNFF1nJjlAq2sZd1445vznfM/s400/RT-RobotMarx-Logo.jpg" /><br />
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<b><i>Robotech®, Patriarchy, and Kids' Culture:<br />
A Conflict Theory Perspective</i></b></center><br />
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Although it is true that ROBOTECH features many strong, "fully-realized" female characters, its stories and characters still function within a patriarchal world. Within that world, however, ROBOTECH repeatedly challenges and subverts patriarchy. In his book, <i>The Gender Knot</i>, Allen Johnson outlines <b>four components</b> of patriarchy and, in so doing, suggests ways that it can be challenged. Applying these components to ROBOTECH sheds light on its conflicted nature.<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="216" width="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW2XnpJAjZ5l-3kvWIoONS3qrXTGNxgnKuPJ9sQhJrZXtvx-JO9O3X546QtxP7QiJlpwy6D5lyB_C_Sd4nuVQ3ejCy-9h9Zq5dIEuRuTgz0VUfco5bu6VcpRcp2g06qkMliygA1dXpdHQ/s320/RT-HenryLisa.jpg" /></center><br />
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<b>Component 1:</b> <i>"Patriarchy is male dominated in that positions of authority [...] are generally reserved for men"</i> (5). This is true in regards to all three parts of the ROBOTECH saga. In "Macross Saga," the primary authority figure is Captain Henry Gloval, with his second-in-command being Lisa Hayes; the majority of the characters answer to Lisa, a woman, but she answers to Gloval, a man. In "The Masters," the primary authority figure is Supreme Commander Anatole Leonard, with the story-focus character being Lt. Dana Sterling; Dana, a woman, is in charge of her squadron, but she herself takes orders from Leonard, a man. In "New Generation," the primary authority figure and central character are the same, Scott Bernard, a man.<br />
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<b>Component 2:</b> <i>"Patriarchal societies are male identified in that the core cultural ideas about what is considered [...] normal are associated with how we think about men and masculinity"</i> (6). This component in regards to ROBOTECH is subtle. In all three parts of the saga, it is unsaid-but-obvious that the "core cultural ideas" of patriarchy are the societies' foundations. What is subversive about ROBOTECH, interestingly, is that all three societies violently come to an end due to the actions of "men in authority" -- with the women characters (Lisa Hayes; Dana Sterling, Nova Satori and Marie Crystal; Rook Bartley and Ariel/Marlene; among others) inheriting their respective worlds as those <i>now</i> in authority and/or responsible for rebuilding and reshaping their post-war worlds.<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="216" width="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGBQzIUhwdPyh71WqUmCcxLq6QeWAgqanoVyprkIywgJpV_viJbeGxJvgE2RRtCO8GZXb60wG6_3Vt3N2KTds5MKN0CDJKYqBQZgDsa5u_E_UC8E_88tK_Bu9ZdFbQKJxNQAyYa9V3RDU/s320/RT-DanaHelmet.jpg" /></center><br />
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<b>Component 3:</b> <i>"[Patriarchy] is male-centered, which means that the focus of attention is primarily on men and what they do. [...] Male experience is what patriarchal culture uses to represent human experience, even when it is women who most often live it"</i> (10). True to this, the experiences of men are primary in ROBOTECH. "Macross Saga" and "New Generation" both feature male heroes (Rick Hunter and Scott Bernard, respectively) as their focus; "The Masters" temporarily subverts this, though, by featuring a female hero (Dana Sterling) as its focus. What is interesting about ROBOTECH is that, throughout all three sagas, the story and action frequently moves beyond the series' heroes to focus on supporting -- but still significant -- characters, many of them women, adding a breadth to the show's scope and emotional experience.<br />
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<b>Component 4:</b> <i>"[Patriarchy] is an obsession with control as a core value around which social life is organized. [...] As a result, controllers come to see themselves as subjects who intend and decide what will happen, and to see others as objects to act upon"</i> (14, 15). ROBOTECH is a multi-generational war story. Men are in charge of these armies and characters, controlling the actions of those they command. Thus, by its very nature, ROBOTECH is patriarchal when it comes to "control as a core value." On a character level, there is greater variety -- Rick and Lisa in "Macross Saga" are equals in their romance; Dana in "The Masters" regularly challenges male authority with winning results; Scott in "New Generation" is patronizing and chauvinistic, especially in regards to his romantic interest, Ariel/Marlene.<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="216" width="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Kf1rvacj1toFVxxkIXMyrDSonNxTMUo12ZfiIkarnDqiI-R-sST63rOb0vjGw_Br-wxCtsFW0CTFYitvwJkyyvf1z-6VjwFBqQAlCH41bpvmN5zB3c4ucq7F5kaIHmdyWSFNYhxmSeI/s320/RT-ScottMarlene.jpg" /></center><br />
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Considering Johnson's four components of patriarchy in the context of ROBOTECH clearly demonstrates that the program is, in general, patriarchal. That said, as evidenced by example, ROBOTECH often challenges and subverts the patriarchal system -- making it a unique relic worthy of scholarly consideration from a pop-cultural conflict theory perspective.<br />
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<center><b>BIBLIOGRAPHY</b></center><br />
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Johnson, Allen G. <i>The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy.</i> Rev. ed. Temple UP, 2005. Print.<br />
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<i>Robotech.com.</i> Harmony Gold USA, Inc., 2007. Web. 2010. http://robotech.com/.<br />
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<i><a href="http://robotech.com/">ROBOTECH</a> ® and all associated concepts, names, designs, and images are trademark and copyright <a href="http://harmonygold.com/">Harmony Gold USA, Inc.</a> 1985-2011. Application of such for the <a href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com/search/label/robot%20marx">ROBOT MARX</a> project by Evan Harrison Cass is based on the U.S. Copyright principle of <a href="http://copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html">Fair Use</a> for not-for-profit "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research." No infringement of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.'s or associated companies' and individuals' rights is intended.</i><br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-66233855402550725422011-03-30T06:00:00.060-05:002011-04-01T08:18:33.515-05:00robot marx, introduction<br><center><img border="0" height="81" width="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36Nw9nEQpu2Z-tdezC_5HEWkuSypUGGtMO-QWMQ5iD0QE8dypYBkPitQbqF0SDeGbpo5l8IXCnYgLGu6pbXCJhsVIH6HBTa4pwHkZu2Fdk2F9SJE1VWUwNFF1nJjlAq2sZd1445vznfM/s400/RT-RobotMarx-Logo.jpg" /></center><br />
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<b>ROBOT MARX</b> will be a six part re-presention of a research project that I had the pleasure of working on last year. As I discussed last week, I desperately need to focus on my Spring 2011 college course work. So, as a blogging stopgap, I'll be sharing a "remastered" entry from the ROBOT MARX project on Wednesdays and Sundays throughout April. I've also solicited some peer (fan) reviews with plans to run those during the month's final week.<br />
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In its original form, the project was my semester-long Spring 2010 course work for <a href="http://wom203.wikispaces.com/">WOM 203: "Women in Popular Culture."</a> <a href="http://www.infobasepublishing.com/Bookdetail.aspx?ISBN=0816075743&Ebooks=0"><i>Harry Potter</i> scholar</a> and <a href="http://uwc.edu/depts/womens-studies/">UW-Colleges' Women's Studies chair</a>, Dr. Holly Hassel's class approached the subject from a Conflict Theory-Marxist perspective; topics included patriarchy, media gender construction and representation, and kids' and girls' culture. The project was a fun way for me and my classmates to master the class's learning objectives while refining our critical reading and thinking ability. From <a href="http://wom203.wikispaces.com/syllabus">the syllabus</a>:<br />
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<blockquote><i>[O]ur semester project will involve applying your understanding of each essay/article [read for class] to a ... pop [kids' and/or girls'] culture artifact of your choice. As we begin to develop our analysis skills, each of you will develop an ongoing semester text ... that you will write over the course of the semester. The final product will be submitted as a polished document ... and will [also] include a self-assessment and peer assessment submitted separately.</i></blockquote><br />
Superhero <i>Wonder Woman</i>, tattoo artist <i>Kat Von D</i>, and soap opera <i>The Young & the Restless</i> were among the 30-some artifacts/relics analyzed by my classmates. I chose <a href="http://robotech.com/"><b>ROBOTECH</b></a>...<br />
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<center><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WHfNniqT7bo?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><br />
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I discovered ROBOTECH's colorful universe in the mid '80s via its "Saturday morning" NBC repackaging; it was love at first sight (<a href="http://robotech.com/infopedia/episodes/viewepisode.php?episode=4&seriescode=MAC">Episode 4: "The Long Wait"</a>). For those that don't know, ROBOTECH follows three generations of characters from 1999-2044 as they're shaped by the events of three interconnected wars. Its cartoon premiered in 1985, standing out from its contemporaries -- unlike iconically similar <i>G.I. Joe</i> and <i>Transformers</i>, ROBOTECH's characters lived and died, met and fell in love, and expressed real emotions and evolved as individuals.<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="108" width="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_e6ABzr_E90R3-3igBBhI06PQdoYLU53vVmVv0UXcJrp3cqeOIunudz_EQ-1ovNVk28TOgCF2HWsgqWLA977VG9mVVITnq8egS9F37taCLxycDlOf9LrbdZrj-12FHIoQf5-vvdyKC0/s200/RT-LancerYellowDancer.jpg" /> <img border="0" height="108" width="81" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtpqDwdoeW3zJ6eFtaPYHMdGE4chEMVh0uM6vDdq_pE6On5ma8m-AlPeOEvK6AgNCl3gv8RJxrSETRr5pO9XOotslv6HiJ69tFJOpqM-HQtfhwUw186pDE5ABxDl_QX7SQw54PXQRf8CA/s200/RT-Rick.jpg" /> <img border="0" height="108" width="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihFWL1K1JWh_R9XHg4wl0WH4M7DfLt-epNAZs5IyP0obZpn91sbTHS5U8HA2zJQ1EfOFkgVe0ROXZMb3Gp0VkoPQ7zxzoLSRMucVG0gn7CPIsseTTmamsouTr33AJx9Cyja4RnqzGuuHM/s200/RT-DanaBrig.jpg" /></center><br />
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The 85 episodes of this "sci-fi soap opera" spawned toys, comix, role-playing games, novels, and other pop-cultural relics. From the Conflict-Marxist assumption that America is a patriarchal society, ROBOTECH is a fascinating case study: it featured women heroes in leadership positions, a cross-dressing male hero, and an essentially anti-war message, among other subversive elements. <i>Perfect</i> for the project. Thus was born ROBOT MARX. ("Robot Marks," get it?)<br />
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I hope you enjoy reading this academic expression of my fandom as much as I enjoyed writing it.<br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-21593537271207048502011-03-23T06:00:00.143-05:002011-03-23T09:05:14.612-05:00strength through study<br>Last week was Spring Break, providing me an opportunity to reflect on the semester so far. And the reality is -- seeing the semester through to its end is going to be a battle. Tough choices have been made. But when <i>hasn't</i> university been a challenge for me?<br />
<br />
I returned to college to pursue a Bachelor's degree nearly five years ago at the age of 30. (I received a technical college Associate's degree in Printing & Publishing in 1996.) As a first-generation, non-traditional liberal arts student, the learning curve has been steep. I've repeatedly stumbled and fallen in pursuit of my goal in the years since. Some of those scrapes, scratches and hits have been self-inflicted; I've bungled the financial aid process, over-reached myself academically, and lost sight of priorities. Some, though, have been out of my control; administrative mistakes were made to my detriment, physical health issues cost me two whole semesters, and a recurring anxiety disorder has complicated things throughout.<br />
<br />
<center><img border="0" height="216" width="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja7dUVjiIrUXRygXAGDdaHoYmsAPSerTDe0QCbqWcIethUCtqVi0_wIbb1ogj_zDCmNSwTntZCohk7Wk_AuLziwlePuc8z2FWAqwuz-6PVaXXA9e6IM2jnmAEkQgOpYojLnTXJs4Ccz74/s320/Hurdles.jpg" /> <b>*</b></center><br />
<br />
Please, know that I'm not complaining; I'm not a <i>"woe is me"</i> type of person and have absolutely no patience for self-pity in others. There's always someone somewhere who has it worse. And they're <i>not</i> whining -- they've accepted their lot in life and are living it. The way I see it: Life is a series of goals with countless hurdles along the way. Sometimes you clear the hurdles with ease; sometimes they take you down. If they take you down, your choice is to give up or continue. I'd rather reach the goal bloodied and crawling than not at all.<br />
<br />
This semester, anxiety has really knocked me down. The root problems are perfectionism (<i>"If I can't excel, I shouldn't even try at all"</i>) and feelings of inferiority (<i>"I'm just a working-class kid who doesn't deserve college"</i>). Irrational, I know. So, what's the plan? First, take advantage of the free mental health counseling that <a href="http://uwrf.edu/">UW-River Falls</a> has available for its students; I'm not a fan of "mental" counseling, but I know it'll help me and provide the documentation that I'll need to secure financial aid for next school year. Second, withdraw from three of my four classes; one I can and will take again within this same academic year as a Summer course, ensuring that the semester isn't an entire bust. Third, dedicate my energies for the next month-and-a-half to my remaining class; <i>"strength through study."</i><br />
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<center><img border="0" height="320" width="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3aYQQQQTBcL344xUUQqrsEYAfVL40LIbdhdvMrQzK3KXzowPDN5BkfQf_hcgzMlXinw4snm2GyW7qyGZURjKaayYF1pRbXeCDTuseTy8mj-43QyblT5UbgzqIA08RFJ4wFfgk6DlEF9Y/s320/FinalsCover.jpg" /></center><br />
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Which brings me to <a href="http://dccomics.com/vertigo/comics/?cm=17237"><b>FINALS</b></a>. Spring Break also provided me the opportunity to do some comix reading. <a href="http://xrayspex.blogspot.com/">Will Pfeifer</a> and <a href="http://jillthompsonart.com/">Jill Thompson</a>'s FINALS originally came out as four issues in 1999; I would have purchased it then, but missed out due to my LCS closing. Thanks to <a href="http://vertigo.blog.dccomics.com/2010/07/16/vertigo-resurrected/">Vertigo's "Resurrected" line</a>, I finally had the pleasure of reading it in this new inexpensive collected form. An <i>academia</i> satire, the story follows five students in their final semester at Knox State University. KSU's motto -- "Strength Through Study" -- and mission drives its students to take their learning to extremes. Film Studies major Wally Maurer is making a <i>"hyper-cinema verite"</i> movie; Comparative Religions major Nancy Bierce has established her own cult; Criminal Justice major Dave Oswald has become a masked bandit; Theoretical Engineering major Tim Pike has built a time-machine; and Anthropology major Gary Skelton has gone native. It's a manic, thoroughly entertaining black comedy rich in concept, execution and detail.<br />
<br />
I discovered Pfeifer's work via his 2004 AQUAMAN run; his CATWOMAN (2005-2008) made me a believer. He's one of my favorite serial-comix writers, exhibiting a real knack for telling <i>fun</i> stories with great characterization and cliffhangers. FINALS was Pfeifer's first major comix project, and it's clear that he's been delivering from the get-go. The opening "Thanksgiving Dinners" scene in Issue/Chapter 3 is especially clever in what it accomplishes. I fell in love with Thompson's art via 1994's BADGER: SHATTERED MIRROR; I've followed her career ever since. The draftsmanship-meets-looseness style on display in FINALS seems to bridge that of her earlier works and her more current SCARY GODMOTHER era projects. Thompson's repeated use of fish-eye perspective throughout FINALS adds a schizophrenic, paranoid edge to the reading experience. At 100 pages for only $7.99 US, the book is definitely worth <a href="http://comicshoplocator.com/">tracking down</a>.<br />
<br />
My own university experience may not be as extreme as the students' at KSU, but it's been challenging in its own way. By being <i>reasonable</i> in my goals, approach and expectations, however, I have no doubt that I can -- and will (eventually) -- succeed. From FINALS:<br />
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<blockquote><i>"Now, go...! Go and carve out your place in the world!"</i></blockquote><br />
- - -<br />
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* <i>"Last Hurdle" by <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?assettype=image&artist=A+Jones#">A. Jones</a>.</i><br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-72896946232017069062011-03-16T06:00:00.004-05:002011-03-16T06:00:12.642-05:00where's the cap'n?<br>Last week, <a href="http://bankofkev.blogspot.com/">Kevin "Bank of Kev" McKeever</a> pointed me to <a href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/media/capn-crunch-easing-into-retirement/19868402/">a financial article by Jonathan Berr</a> speculating on the abandonment of the "Cap'n Crunch" cereal brand by Pepsi/Quaker Oats. Berr made some astute observations, but by no means stated matter-of-fact that the good Cap'n* was "retiring." That didn't stop media outlets from <a href="http://nation.foxnews.com/culture/2011/03/08/food-police-kill-cap-n-crunch#">jumping to conclusions</a> though. In fact, <a href="http://adage.com/article/news/cap-n-crunch-quaker-oats-cereal-icon-staying-put/149318/">Quaker is possibly gearing up for a new-generation return of their <i>"Where's the Cap'n?"</i> promotion</a>.<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="144" width="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNer6a1CC-bJUJRXF1CXFz5XvRn4Y6aSft2Yr0aO2NrAf0G1uXJbGGc3HWuY-KF3IV3SHSbnyULpc6Yh5WJgctha-Bj-xKekKrHWBe-L5QItSudB56yx6zGfCF4vn2UTt4xao3F9o-dgo/s320/CapnCrunch1.jpg" /> <img border="0" height="144" width="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZV0II9QYTRq6MTppm0vEvlzmGYM-WvSdXTAa9XfXsQHzlhNQTbt8MD8daoGkYmoe-q4toLSovHnzZbMZKs3Y5UhGgKawMOD1KGIUiBV3sSLKS-e-UTKHTnHrDA4_SwCp7HVsMNR9TaZE/s320/CapnCrunch2.jpg" /> <img border="0" height="144" width="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpNzoGWo9WQq61E7f1pumjZytBfnI0I7Sczv59sG1GeiCc0os0g_AOLOf3wBQ_VgCobt3qyf6npVVIbES7JEuR-B9HBVAI7WucuNt6fIsB7Kvzu6dr0GYV8CzuuBlWxJ6l4s5lsGaTivo/s320/CapnCrunch3.jpg" /> <b>**</b></center><br />
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I was 9 years-old when the original <b><i>"Where's the Cap'n?"</i></b> promotion hit. And it was <i>epic</i>. Well, "epic" in the context of '80s-kid-culture epic. As <a href="http://mrbreakfast.com/cereal_detail.asp?id=53">Mr. Breakfast describes</a>:<br />
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<blockquote><i>In 1985, Cap'n Crunch disappeared from boxes of Cap'n Crunch cereal leaving a question mark and an empty silhouette in his place. The "Where's The Cap'n?" campaign encourage[d] kids to decipher his whereabouts through clues on the back of the box. In December of 1985, it was revealed [that] the Cap'n had been hanging out in the Milky Way [galaxy].</i></blockquote><br />
<center><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="500" height="312" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7JmR7400KSg?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><br />
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The months-long promotion targeted me and my contemporaries from every direction. In addition to the cereal box exteriors and interiors (via maps, decoder strips, detective badges, etc.), there were television commercials, print ads, an 800-number, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0LVS01FDwM">a music video</a>... Like I said, epic. It was interactive, immersive, and fun. It was also cynical commercialism at its finest, and my brother, friends and I ate it up.<br />
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In the quarter-century since, media in all of its forms has fragmented and specialized; the ability to pull off another successful <i>"Where's the Cap'n?"</i>-like stunt seems highly unlikely. With the exception of tragedies, it seems to me that there are few opportunities anymore for that level of shared experience among kids. Which is kind of sad. Yes, '80s kids' culture left a lot to be desired. But it connected those of us who were a part of it. And it left us a lot (of junk and junkfood) to remember with smiles.<br />
<br />
- - -<br />
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* <i>For a deconstruction of cereal mascots a la what <a href="http://www.dccomics.com/sites/watchmen/?action=graphic_novel">WATCHMEN</a> did for superheroes, see <a href="http://www.cartoonstudies.org/index.php/2005/09/01/james-sturm/">James Sturm</a>'s <a href="http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/03/collect-this-now-the-cereal-killings/">THE CEREAL KILLINGS</a>.</i><br />
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** <i>Images from <a href="http://www.coverbrowser.com/">Cover Browser</a>.</i><br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-46813741623041846782011-03-09T06:00:00.041-06:002011-05-01T08:06:59.701-05:00die with your mask on<br><center><img border="0" height="320" width="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKCGyRWSzCO68M21vSElKvBf-X3KcI4OLHNnXNcuUUW_8kddzuQXDrdjUm_8BLH-DnXqt1AWRsP4yVMx9cXCQAVoQHKF7ysnpO3uXCJdeJAAuXxkD47WjFLA5VmuevvXLHNqXFILr2c1c/s320/TeenAngels.jpg" /></center><br />
<br />
After <a href="http://srbissette.com/?tag=teen-angels-new-mutants">months of teasing</a>, <a href="http://srbissette.com/">Steve Bissette</a> <a href="http://srbissette.com/?p=11307">announced last week</a> that his new book, TEEN ANGELS & NEW MUTANTS is finally available. Subtitled <i>"<a href="http://www.rickveitch.com/">Rick Veitch</a>’s Brat Pack® and the Art, Commerce, and Karma of Killing Sidekicks,"</i> its 400+ pages analyze Veitch's career, his <a href="http://www.rickveitch.com/tag/brat-pack/">BRAT PACK</a>, and the intersections between comix history, the superhero-sidekick phenomenon, and modern teen culture. Veitch <a href="http://www.rickveitch.com/2011/03/03/teen-angels/">shared the following</a> that same day:<br />
<br />
<blockquote><i>This book grew out of an article I commissioned from Steve Bissette when I was planning a special hardcover edition of BRAT PACK a couple years back. I asked Steve to write a short history of what was going on with me, the comics scene and my co-publisher while I was creating the original BRAT PACK. Steve dug into it deeper than I could have ever imagined... [H]e has produced what must be the most comprehensive, contextual, far-reaching and in-depth analysis of a graphic novel ever written.</i></blockquote><br />
You can order it <a href="http://www.blackcoatpress.com/teenangels.htm">directly from the publisher</a> or from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Teen-Angels-Mutants-Stephen-Bissette/dp/1935558935/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1299183521&sr=8-1">Amazon</a>. I immediately ordered myself a copy, and I look forward to pouring myself into it ASAP.<br />
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<center><img border="0" height="252" width="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTaOCHAGFhVxY1DxPSt3b4FXjQWihysmB_v6GbjUZwkhiW7aVa_vJDy1Su-sS5NYQPom3UC8WgUrawugDfZ3PorL0rTM0rHJZPOi6Mr0H7rQTdzcQyYxZq8SDG_AHGVckZlGNqSZ22ZI/s320/Maximortal.jpg" /> <img border="0" height="252" width="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVo5wL7OhnJloMi9ePsSgCorDxHn7IQsEXeZ1Oz1JWegblViMre7yzNREyzjbX9PGZHarFIgx-QMJPfvpM-MKy3jC_WWD9b2gvrYiZipvjWb1jSECzk9i8qA-FPI5_jvwLTo5ivBqfvqU/s320/BratPack.jpg" /></center><br />
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I discovered Veitch's <i>King Hell Heroica</i> via <a href="http://www.rickveitch.com/?s=maximortal">THE MAXIMORTAL</a> in the early '90s, which led me back to BRAT PACK. Burnt out by the Marvel, DC, Image and Valiant superhero comix hype-machines, the <i>Heroica</i> definitely spoke to my "fuck superheroes!" mindset of the time. The stories were raw, brutal and sincere; genuine artistic expressions from an independent creator. Looking back on it nearly 20 years later, they likely served as a bridge between what I thought comix <i>were</i> and what I realized they <i>could be</i>.<br />
<br />
I had the pleasure of revisiting both books a number of months ago and they ring more true now than they did then. Here's hoping we get the continuing story someday... Until then -- I've got a 400-page thesis to read.<br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-82906433337168750712011-03-02T06:00:00.012-06:002011-03-14T16:55:59.253-05:00crippled baby steps<br><center><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtKTSoHN310zvVZyzOkvcwgNtZ37lzxkUIPUtqq-DjQl649Jyle-nyYoccs_8X2xjteKw7dmDlfHANtCCvWQZwP_Cp8MQPrFN1ZxOL-791J9hAEb8HPLc-DGz5SLqqpEPLhsl9a00adgo/s320/AllyComix-Logo.jpg" width="320" /> <b>*</b></center><br />
<br />
Ally Comix has been a part of my life for 25 years.<br />
<br />
In 1986 I met my oldest friend, <a href="http://www.dootdootgarden.com/">Craig Thompson</a> in Mrs. Sparr's 5th Grade homeroom. We instantly hit it off as geeky, goofy low-income kids. We also happened to be the two "best" artists in our grade level, according to our classmates. (One guess as to who was considered <i>the</i> best.) Soon thereafter, during a sleep-over at his place, Craig introduced me to the world of comix via an honest-to-god spinner rack of comix in his bedroom... Jim Shooter's Marvel and the black-and-white independents of the time were a revelation. I was absorbed -- obsessed -- and instantly started collecting them and dreaming up my own stories featuring my favorite characters. I also intuitively became obsessed with the <i>craft</i> of comix. How they were created and by whom became a favorite, years-long library research project. Which led to <b>Ally: Phase One</b>... Moving beyond dreaming up stories for established characters, I started dreaming up my own characters and stories. As did Craig, as did our little brothers, as did a neighborhood friend. So we started our own comix company -- <b>Alli</b> (<i>"with an 'i'"</i>) <b>Comix</b>, which evolved over the next couple of years into <b>Ally Comics</b>. Our li'l bullpen would take turns meeting around our families' kitchen tables, brainstorming, jamming, drawing, and making comix for ourselves and each other. We kept our "company" and our comix going through Junior High.<br />
<br />
<center><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlywcRWumGuhDWGlx2gSWEgi_jTbPQ2XgvQf68HFOJaHSgyTuErx2ZSp6Fg2_HYIBLswv3DZd5PDn8opHzeahhReD8tM3TmEswONz2uCiXCVfFDj_6T1Da8wzlN5zrOK2vyN-FJush78w/s200/AllyComix-Newletter1.jpg" width="150" /> <img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid9Ek9Y1vagsVkSuy5ueWwA-nn1erh6bj5jY_pqBrxYiYmxbIVxORw-kRNLPnuOfmo-jWxoDyxfuzyweb5j6e0-iKiqpqYi7GwBhzWwRsg1Ey5eHE_kFtBl5UjZuUAtbX7EvtQQabXoLQ/s200/AllyComix-Newsletter2.jpg" width="150" /></center><br />
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In hindsight, <b>Ally: Phase Two</b> established itself during and after High School in a couple of forms. I met my second oldest friend, <a href="http://drunkduck.com/The_Golden_Age/index.php">Chris Wood</a> in 1991 when his family moved (back) to Wisconsin. Chris and I attended the same church with our families and frequented the same comix shop. The initial meeting was awkward, but we quickly bonded over a desire to create comix; he was an artist and I fancied myself a writer. Over the next number of years we'd sit at the coffee shop brainstorming, jamming, and planning submissions and publishing endeavors. Then he moved. Around that time, Craig had gotten back into comix (after taking a lengthy break for non-geeky socializing and girls) and I had recently befriended another comix-creator wannabe, <a href="http://timseeleyart.blogspot.com/">Tim Seeley</a>. I introduced Craig and Tim, and we -- no surprise -- started brainstorming and jamming on prospective self-published ventures. Thus was born <b>Ally Publishing</b>, which became <b>Duck Puppet Press</b>, which promptly went the way of the dodo bird as we parted ways for educations and careers a few months later.<br />
<br />
A decade passed, and I had given up on what I perceived to be an "impractical" dream. I still read and loved comix, mind you, but I had no desire to create them. (Or so I thought.) I thrilled to Craig and Tim's established professional comix careers, a proud friend. Chris and I had drifted apart. And I had become close friends with a fellow <a href="http://robotech.com/">ROBOTECH</a> fan and comix enthusiast, <a href="http://www.scwonkey.com/">Jonathan Switzer</a>. We'd talk daily about our favorite fictional universe, the latest comix we'd read, and life in general. At some point, Jonathan had shared with me a character and story he'd dreamt up when he was a kid -- <i>Scwonkey Dog</i> -- a story he still tinkered with and hoped to publish someday. "Inspiring! That reminds me of Ally Comics..."<br />
<br />
Cue <b>Ally: Phase Three</b>. The Summer of 2007 found me heartbroken, unemployed, and in a rut. I had picked up my final paycheck from the job I'd been let go from just a couple of weeks before. Driving to the bank, I was thinking: "What's my one <i>constant</i> love in life...?" Then it hit me. "Comix, of course!" I wanted to explore them again, <i>create</i> them again. And -- for some unknowable reason -- I was moved to reconnect with Chris after far too long a time to share my revelatory moment. "I'll call him after I cash my check." I cashed the check, was rolling out of the bank parking lot, and my cellphone rang. It was Chris(!). Before I could share with him my own news, he -- in his charmingly manic way -- shared with me his... He was creating comix again! We talking for hours. We brainstormed, jammed on ideas, and started making plans. When Jonathan and I next talked, I shared with him what had happened. Jonathan started laughing. "Just a couple weeks ago, <i>I</i> started working on SCWONKEY again!" Brainstorm, jam, plan. <b>Ally Comix</b> was back. Over the next year, we conferenced, created, and made arrangements. Things felt fated.<br />
<br />
<center><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9MBk6Tbq8dZ9hG4YB0NwlC7csJ3R4VGXEaNVXUw5qcqnIyftHm2Uat-yM7QWMNmnJ6rTOyH9E_yFWaYWkFuVlXFEX7lfDPidxk-q2RSy1eNhzbr3V7jxpTptx4hreCwhzg1sLcNk6mxY/s320/AllyComix-Booth.jpg" width="320" /></center><br />
<br />
Unfortunately, life got in the way for all of us. After an underdeveloped "company" premier at Wizard World Chicago 2008, the fire we had faltered. But it's not been extinguished. Jonathan has never given up working on SCWONKEY. Chris is back working on THE GOLDEN AGE. My own AMERICAN NARADA is coming soon, and old projects are being dusted off. The Brain, the Heart, and the Soul -- all <i>allies</i> in making each others' dreams and stories a reality. But it won't be easy. I know that. Lives are being lived; lessons are being learned. "Baby steps" may be too ambitious a goal for <b>Ally: Phase Four</b>. "Crippled baby steps" is more like it.<br />
<br />
If you can't walk, <i>crawl</i>. If you can't crawl, <i>roll</i>. Just never give up.<br />
<br />
- - -<br />
<br />
* <i>Logo designed by <a href="http://about.me/jon.thompson/">Jon Thompson</a>.</i><br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-52068269938597623942011-02-23T06:00:00.038-06:002011-04-28T17:45:35.533-05:00prisoner of gravity<br><center><img border="0" height="320" width="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOZcCwsQwibUrOVaJN7apdwrO9Vv92pp7oNQR7BobhinHt6lgBj8PeSPgX-OEbCLKSwLO8rKRStg8lIWExF_GX9CwzHjZpiCiP68W5zxlKFXwfbxdFw700-tU6JYYLPjupLILUdgxhRhU/s320/PoG-Ty.jpg" /> <b>*</b></center><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.tvo.org/">TVOntario</a> <a href="http://smr.newswire.ca/en/tvo/tvo-launches-new-digital-public-archive">announced today</a> "the launch of its new digital <a href="http://archive.tvo.org/">Public Archive</a>, a free online resource that unlocks four decades of made-at-TVO educational programming that stands the test of time." What caught my attention was the following:<br />
<br />
<blockquote><i>TVO’s Public Archive features beloved TVO programs that have defined TVO over the years. It launches with over 375 programs and segments that would take more than five days to watch. The site includes episodes of ... <a href="http://archive.tvo.org/program/119701"><b>Prisoners of Gravity</b></a>... New content will be added to the Public Archive regularly.</i></blockquote><br />
PRISONERS OF GRAVITY! Or -- as fans of the show affectionately refer to it as -- <b>POG</b>!<br />
<br />
POG originally aired from 1989-1994 and featured interviews with science fiction, fantasy and horror authors and comix professionals. The episodes were structured topically and hosted by Canadian comedian/writer/producer <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0338279/">Rick Green</a>, most familiar to American <a href="http://www.pbs.org/">PBS</a> viewers as "Bill" on <a href="http://redgreen.com/">THE RED GREEN SHOW</a>. It was a wonderfully quirky series; think <a href="http://booknotes.org/">Brian Lamb's BOOKNOTES</a> meets <a href="http://www.adultswim.com/shows/space-ghost-coast-to-coast/">Space Ghost's COAST TO COAST</a>. ... come again? Well, as POG historian Rachelle "TedDog" Shelkey <a href="http://teddog.com/pog/intro.php">says</a> at her POG fansite <a href="http://teddog.com/pog/">SIGNAL LOSS</a>, "Prisoners of Gravity is a rather difficult series to explain":<br />
<br />
<blockquote><i>What made Prisoners of Gravity different from your average talk show was it also incorporated a quirky fictional wraparound to explain the settings and the hosts. These aren't normal television episodes we're watching, but pirate broadcasts. Our main host, Commander Rick (Rick Green), was frightened by the state of the world and decided to flee Earth by attaching a rocket engine on to the roof of his car. His idea works, surprisingly enough, until he crashes into the side of a secret telecommunications satellite, Reality 1. Starting in season two, the cast expands slightly. Rick is joined on the satellite [by his] not-quite-faithful sidekick Nan-Cy, a sentient computer who either helps or hinders broadcasts depending on her mood. The two pirate broadcasters override the signal of the nature show "Second Nature" in order to air their show "Prisoners of Gravity," much to the annoyance of Second Nature's host Enrico Gruen (also Rick Green). This plot sounds more than a little silly, but works surprisingly well onscreen.</i></blockquote><br />
<center><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-deHrvY2b08" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><br />
<br />
It got <i>this</i> prisoner of gravity's attention. In the early '90s, <a href="http://www.wpt.org/">Wisconsin Public Television</a> aired and re-aired <a href="http://teddog.com/pog/bhistory.php">a package of ten POG episodes</a> Friday nights at 10 PM for about six months. A car-less teenager from rural Central Wisconsin, the show enabled me the opportunity to become familiar with the personalities behind the books I loved. <a href="http://harlanellison.com/home.htm">Harlan Ellison</a>. <a href="http://neilgaiman.com/">Neil Gaiman</a>. <a href="http://frankmillerink.com/">Frank Miller</a>. And <i>many</i> more. It introduced me to the works of <a href="http://www.callahanonline.com/index.php">John Callahan</a> and <a href="http://www.bizarrocomics.com/">Dan Piraro</a>, among others, and served as a library visit suggestions' list for years to come. It was a virtual sci-fi/comix convention panel discussion every week. Subjects such as censorship, racism and environmentalism, <a href="http://teddog.com/pog/episodes.php">to name just a few</a>, were highlighted. POG demonstrated that the speculative fiction genres and the comix medium could be serious venues for serious topics.<br />
<br />
POG also reminds me of a different era in fandom. In the days before the modern internet made it easy to connect to fellow fans and to aquire "lost" treasures, one had to <i>work</i> at it. During the years following POG's WPT airing, I'd occasionally re-watch the handful of episodes that I had recorded on VHS tape, and I'd wonder... <i>Where can I get the episodes I missed? Are there more episodes than those I saw? What's the story <b>behind</b> this show's story?</i> The answers rested with fellow fan, Canadian "TedDog" Shelkey who operated a POG fanclub and fandub service out of her apartment with the "help" of university equipment. ("Fandub," short for "fan dubbing"; media sharing between fans via audio and video cassette swaps.) I found out that there were over 100 episodes(!), and she found out about the specifics of the PBS run; she had some of the episodes I missed and many more that I had never seen, and I had a few that she still needed. I mailed her my tape of episodes and a blank VHS cassette, and a month later she returned them. But this time the blank tape featured twelve POG episodes -- a tape I still have and watch.**<br />
<br />
Old-school fandubs may be dead, but the future is now. TVO currently has 25 episodes of POG <a href="http://archive.tvo.org/program/119701">officially available for viewing</a>. With about 137 episodes produced, hopefully we'll see more added soon. A wealth of additional clips can be found unofficially (with affection) at <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Teddog3000">Shelkey's YouTube channel</a>.<br />
<br />
This is Commander Cass -- signing off.<br />
<br />
- - -<br />
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* <i>Art by <a href="https://tytempletonart.wordpress.com/tag/prisoners-of-gravity/">Ty Templeton</a>.</i><br />
<br />
** <i>Special shout-out to my <a href="http://robotech.com/">ROBOTECH</a> brother, <a href="http://fersforum.blogspot.com/">Christopher "Fer" Goodnough</a> who I met through <b>his</b> fandub service back in the day.</i><br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7913795830536323775.post-25511807086705691882011-02-16T06:00:00.055-06:002011-03-14T16:37:30.530-05:00giant marshmallows<br><center><img border="0" height="162" width="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDxLKQ050AEu8evSyB0_7Qj6oMDwTtsmv8VimtmWoLtJU_LKC3BDrrJnw7fzRImscW5UcdfpwywCZXieHt9gBYzF-bq29N84nHuYkgdo2c3vZCIohTWlqyjNWDeIYYdCYjIffc1jfPYA8/s320/Blankets-NewEdition.jpg" /> <img border="0" height="162" width="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3aK19jA1lMu_AIdhadJ7nvB_4C094CTTUBIlVPWHj0jVWqQQLopjJWbmMdT80KTI_q44Y9vMUAv_GxavmtPgoSOh2jKTFgMFH2rBQIJ9LNiuC2NP361rW2jVxuAkHoxNBiCVR78AyT9Y/s320/Marshmallows.jpg" /> <img border="0" height="162" width="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_OujxOWyz0aFAwnBLoUZ322E_gWN_YUolyB-2ysUHIH3eKE67HyPFqTsFH9L_wVe5-imxO66rm0vokDlzdCaiR9Jt0WLUNfOgCX663S6CdMp6S6_6IRuMo-WqX7ChTFZlUAKOG4epWIA/s320/HackSlash1-ImageComics.jpg" /> <b>*</b></center><br />
<br />
In 2009, <a href="http://www.tfaw.com/"><i>Things From Another World</i></a> <a href="http://www.tfaw.com/blog/2009/06/15/tfaw-com-interviews-hackslashs-tim-seeley/?qt=rd_tfaw.com">interviewed</a> <a href="http://timseeleyart.blogspot.com/">Tim Seeley</a> about his property, <a href="http://hackslashinc.com/1/">HACK/SLASH</a>. The following got my attention:<br />
<br />
<blockquote><i><b>TFAW.com: So, you went to college with <a href="http://www.dootdootgarden.com/">Craig Thompson</a>?</b><br />
<br />
<b>TS:</b> We’re both from central Wisconsin, but Craig came from an even smaller town than I did. We both went to a college prep school in <a href="http://ci.wausau.wi.us/">Wausau</a>, which was the biggest town either of us had ever lived in. We got along pretty well. Craig was kind of the introspective loner, while I was the party guy. ... I’ve always been a fan of his stuff, and <b>Blankets</b> is one of my favorite comic books ever. He did the intro to the first <b>Hack/Slash</b> collection. ... We’ve known each other for about 15 years.<br />
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<b>TFAW.com: It would be really interesting if you two wrote short stories for each other to draw!</b><br />
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<b>TS:</b> A mutual friend of ours wrote a script that Craig and I both drew about a giant marshmallow once. We were curious to see how different it would look. That was a blast. I wish I still had it!</i></blockquote><br />
By the summer of 1995, I was sitting on a pile of comix scripts that I'd written with plans to illustrate for a personal zine. Inspired by <a href="http://www.smithmag.net/pekarproject/">Harvey Pekar</a>'s AMERICAN SPLENDOR and <a href="http://www.rickveitch.com/">Rick Veitch</a>'s ROARIN' RICK'S RARE BIT FIENDS, the stories were a mix of quotidian anecdotes and dream diaries. One strip was based on a recurring childhood nightmare that I'd had about, yep, <b><i>a giant marshmallow</i></b>...<br />
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<blockquote><i><b>ONE PAGE. NINE PANELS.</b><br />
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<b>PANEL 1:</b> Kitchen dining room. Round family table in room's center. Single campfire-style marshmallow centered alone on tabletop. Evan, wearing pajamas, stands away from table, observing marshmallow.<br />
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<b>EVAN:</b> [caption] There's a marshmallow on the table.<br />
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<b>PANEL 2:</b> Same as Panel 1, with two exceptions -- (1) marshmallow has tripled in size; (2) Evan is startled.<br />
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<b>EVAN:</b> [caption] And it's... GROWING.<br />
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<b>PANEL 3:</b> Same as Panel 2, two exceptions -- (1) marshmallow has grown to cover whole tabletop; (2) Evan, panicked, turning away to run.<br />
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<b>EVAN:</b> [caption] Gotta get out of here!<br />
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<b>PANEL 4:</b> Close-up on Evan, terrified, running out of kitchen into nearby hallway. Background, marshmallow fills and consumes entire kitchen dining room.<br />
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<b>EVAN:</b> [caption] WHERE? My room!<br />
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<b>PANEL 5:</b> End of hallway. Evan frantically opens bedroom door, looking wide-eyed over his shoulder. Foreground, marshmallow squeezes into hallway.<br />
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<b>EVAN:</b> [caption] Still growing!<br />
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<b>PANEL 6:</b> Bedroom. Evan, exhausted but smiling, sits with back against closed door.<br />
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<b>EVAN:</b> [caption] There. I'm safe.<br />
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<b>PANEL 7:</b> Evan thrown away from door, ever-expanding marshmallow shattering it open.<br />
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<b>EVAN:</b> NO!!<br />
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<b>PANEL 8:</b> Close-up on Evan, hysterical. Marshmallow constricts and consumes him from all sides.<br />
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<b>EVAN:</b> [caption] I can't BREATHE! ... SUFFOCATING me! ...<br />
<br />
<b>PANEL 9:</b> Black.</i></blockquote><br />
As Tim mentioned in his TFAW interview, one afternoon Craig and I visited him with arrangements to illustrate the script "to see how different it would look." The following roughs -- the first by Tim, the second by Craig -- were the result...<br />
<br />
<center><img border="0" height="400" width="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxCZvARcalYMUhYdD1ItV5YpIGHty2TXP1pH4dCwwqgw2BXmNBXofZKzud_cKaPpJL-p8STym07dsPObbaaG-ToR42Xb58dUhk_LmAEWiZGAnKAzlz8Ey0V_QP_1rdtn1cmLcAfDiaM-8/s400/Marshmallow-Tim.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<img border="0" height="400" width="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiQxF6NBT4cIomcU9EfWbcTK5-hnI-EouQt5negrdxOawRjIpNxWnH8NXzPXlvadHH_zKUANUl8X5o76QjkWT4D_2prwU5Zd3AKMDBl5z8t6zb2G0j-asMVmqGoaN2deUUOlTo_yITs7s/s400/Marshmallow-Craig.jpg" /></center><br />
<br />
Neat, huh?<br />
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P.S. Tim nailed it, BTW.<br />
<br />
<center><img border="0" height="216" width="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdx97ERMoXIEjm-pGfm95RUnAyYESTZN1S65Bv6TdJcMJl5oikyXZIZwEF3vB_QU97ckzBR59T5MVRWXoKPsj8EnnZxEju67E2DBAyVCy7qlR3r0wQrdeCkK8OVHRIANG1fkidb3mR-w/s320/MexiTim.jpg" /><br />
<i>"Kiss it, Thompson!"</i></center><br />
<br />
- - -<br />
<br />
<i>Special thanks to <a href="http://www.scwonkey.com/">Jonathan Switzer</a> for scanning the originals.</i><br />
<br />
* <i>"Marshmellows Backlit" by <a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?assettype=image&artist=Jonathan+Kantor#">Jonathan Kantor</a>.</i><br />
<br><div class="blogger-post-footer"><center><i><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">AMERICAN NARADA</span> by <a xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#" href="http://americannarada.blogspot.com" property="cc:attributionName" rel="cc:attributionURL">Evan Harrison Cass</a> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</i></center></div>American Naradahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11088070240964837402noreply@blogger.com