dimland radio 6-2-12 show notes

Ethan Brown Reading Area

Some time back was an event organized by young math wiz Ethan Brown to raise funds for his local library.  The event was a success and Ethan was honored by the library.

Comic Book News

Sales of the paper copies of comic books are way up.  And gay characters are coming out and/or getting married.  Which is cool.

 

Read about it here, here and here.

Bigfoot Again

Another piece of crap video that may be of bigfoot, but it's so lousy it could be anything.  A guy in a gorilla suit, for instance.  And the "experts" from NOT Finding Bigfoot are on the way.  They'll surely get to the bottom of it.

Go here and here to learn more.  And I mentioned this video of an actual bear walking upright in the wild.  You should check it out, it's very strange.

Jesus In A Shower?

A family of modest means believes they can see the face of Jesus in the mold on their shower.  I believe they need to clean their shower.

 

See the story here.  

 

The Transit Of Venus

 

It's happening this week.  Venus' orbit will have it moving across the face of the sun and, with proper precautions you should be able to see it as it happens.

 

This link will bring you to Phil Plait's site for more information.

Movie Recommendation: Patton (1970)

20th Century Fox

 

George C Scott is brilliant in this biopic of the great and controversial WWII general.  His performance earned him an Oscar, but Scott refused to accept it.

Music heard on the show (Whenever Possible, I Will Link To The Song)...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: 'Psycho Therapy' by The Ramones & 'Yacht Dance by XTC
Second ad break bumpers: 'My Baby She's Alright' by Scruffy The Cat & 'Perfect Skin' by Lloyd Cole & the Commotions
Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

That's it! See you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com

You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.

dimland radio 3-10-12 show notes

Show 100! Finally

I used a cold open to explain why show 100 did not take place two weeks ago and why it didn't take place last week. First it was server error that kept my off the air and then it was my having to do actual physical labor. Fortunately, this week I was able to proceed with show 100.

My Dad In The Hospital

When I originally recorded most of this show on February 25th, my dad was in the hospital. I gave the run down of what had happened and then I jumped in live to give the update. My dad is no longer in the hospital and he is doing much better. Thank you.

A Guest And Some Star Trek Talk

The awesome Candice Gilmer

Yes, a guest! In honor of show 100, I invited fellow ZTalker Candice Gilmer to join me for a discussion of a mutually enjoyed topic: Star Trek. It was a fun topic for us and the folks in chat seemed to find it entertaining.

Faster Than Light Neutrinos Update

After all that Star Trek talk, I talked about the recent science story of neutrinos seemingly traveling faster than light. That should be impossible according to Einstein. It turns out that there may have been some faulty cable connections and some miscalibrated equipment that lead to the unexpected results. Scientists continue to investigate.

Skeptic Dr. Steve Novella has a good write-up on what's been happening with the science on these neutrinos here.

Lucky S.O.B. Finds And Sells Comic Book Collection For $3.5 Million

I can tell you this is the dream of every comic book collector. Maybe not to sell such a collection but to find one. Michael Rorrer found his late great uncle's collection while cleaning out his recently deceased great aunt's house. In the collection were 44 of the top 100 most desirable Golden Age comic books, which were auctioned off for $3.5 million.

Read more about Mr. Lucky here.

Movie Recommendation: None This Week

You'd have thought I would suggest a Star Trek movie, but I just didn't get around to recommending one this week. Sue me.

Music heard on the show (Whenever Possible, I Will Link To The Song)...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: 'Rock 'N' Roll Is King' by ELO & 'Pretty Girls Make Graves' by The Smiths
Second ad break bumpers: 'The Bottom Line' by Big Audio Dynamite & 'Face The Face' by Pete Townshend
Third ad break bumpers: 'Golden Brown' by The Stranglers & 'Don't Lose Your Temper' by XTC
Fourth ad break bumpers: 'Small Blue Thing' by Suzanne Vega & 'Lead A Normal Life' by Peter Gabriel
Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

That's it! See you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com

You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.

dimland radio 5-14-11 show notes

A Tale Of A Comic Book Collector

I have three copies of this one!

I geeked out on this show, letting myself talk about collecting comic books. I talked specifically about one particular comic book, The Incredible Hulk #181 (Nov. 1974). The reason for talking about this comic book was because I had read that it had recently sold for $150,000! I have three copies of this issue. Alas, none are in as near as good condition as that high buck getting book.

The reason for it's high value? The Incredible Hulk #181 happens to be the first full issue appearance of the highly popular character Wolverine. But 150Gs seems a bit excessive no matter how good its condition.

Read more about the big time sale here.

A Few Observations On Harry Potter

I continued waving my geek flag by talking about the Harry Potter books and movies. I really, really, really like them, so indulged myself by making these observations:

First, the most heroic character? Severus Snape.

Second, after the last book of the series (Deathly Hallows) was released J K Rowling announced that Professor Dumbledore was gay. Ok, so what? However, I made the point that I thought that Gary Oldman very subtly played the character of Sirius Black as though he was gay. It could just be me, but I got the impression that in the fifth film (The Order Of The Phoenix) Sirius had been in love (unrequitedly) with Harry's father, James Potter. I could be wrong, but that's what I think.

Lastly, I wondered just how much regular education these young witches and wizards received prior to enrolling at Hogwarts. I'm fairly certain that Hogwarts doesn't teach any readin', 'ritin', or 'rithmetic. Maybe the magic in the students gets them through all that.

Movie Recommendation: Harry Potter And... ANY Of Them

Hint, hint.

Any of the seven films will be very entertaining, but if you don't know the story at all watch from the beginning (The Sorcerer's Stone) because the subsequent films assume you have been watching from the first one on.

Of the films released thus far I'd say my favorite is the sixth film (The Half Blood Prince). I'm really looking forward to the final installment which will be released this July.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ahead' by Wire
First ad break bumpers: 'Gardening At Night' by REM & 'Rock The Casbah' by The Clash
Second ad break bumpers: 'Spirits In The Material World' by The Police & 'Burning From The Inside' by Bauhaus
Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

That's it! See you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com

comic book that changed my life #4

Jeepers! It’s difficult to keep a blog going. Let alone continue this series on comic books that have changed my life. But, undaunted, I present the fourth installment.

As I’ve stated before, this series deals mainly with the art of comic books. Not so much on the stories. The issues I’ll talk this time about are The Defenders 18 & 19 (Dec. ’74 & Jan. ’75). Mostly about issue #19.

Let’s start with the covers. Both penciled by the fantastic Gil Kane (I’m unsure who the inker was). Gil Kane must have done half of all the covers of Marvel titles during that time period. And looking at his work, it’s easy to understand why. His dynamic drawing style was perfect for pulling in the buyers. I just might have to do a perspective on Gil Kane’s covers one day.

The cover of #18 is good. It’s not quite the best Kane could do, but it does set up the battle of two super-powered groups very nicely. Issue #19, however, is very good. Our defeated heroes strew over a rubble pile in the foreground, their conquerors in the background. Look at the Hulk. Look at his hand. That is classic dynamic Gil Kane stuff! That’s the kind of cover that makes you want to get the book. And when I as a kid, I did.

These two issues also give me the opportunity to address the influence an inker can have on the art of a book. Both issues were penciled by Sal Buscema, younger brother of the brilliant John Buscema. Although, never quite achieving the level of his older brother, Sal was a good and capable story-teller. And in issue #19, he has a transcendent moment. I’ll get to that later.

The inker! Ah, yes, the inker. They aren’t simply tracers as one of the running jokes in ‘Chasing Amy’ suggested. A good inker can bring up the level of the penciler, just as a bad one can bring a penciler down. Some inkers work better with certain pencilers, but not well with others.

Here’s a great example of how an inker affects the finished art. Issue #18 was inked by Dan Green. Green was a good inker. Issue #19 was inked by Klaus Janson. Janson, when paired with the right penciler, was great. I’ve selected two panels depicting the Hulk, one from each issue. The first was inked by Dan Green. The second by Klaus Janson. Note the flatness of Green’s Hulk. Compare that to Janson’s Hulk. Janson’s Hulk looks alive, real. Both panels were penciled by Sal Buscema, but the Janson inked panel elevates Sal’s pencils from good to great. No, the inker is not just a tracer.

There’s a nice sequence of panels depicting Dr. Bruce Banner defusing some mini nuclear bomb device. Sal and Klaus do a good job of showing how the tension filled moments are bringing Banner into transformation into the Hulk. He must defuse the bomb and stave off becoming the Hulk at the same time. I’ve included part of the sequence here…
Now that transcendent moment I mentioned earlier. It’s in issue #19. It’s page 17. The whole page is top-notch design, layout and storytelling. Sal and Klaus really cook on this page. The Defenders have regrouped after their initial defeat at the hands of the Wrecking Crew. These super-powered bad guys are still basking in the afterglow of overconfidence when the Defenders fight back.

Thunderball (one of the bad guys) seems to have gotten the better of the Hulk. He comes at the Hulk filled with bravado, believing the Hulk can be easily defeated again. Thunderball is wrong. The Hulk catches the wrecking ball weapon, crushes it with one hand, and sends Thunderball flying. The sequence is so dramatic. Just look at the third panel. The shadow of the wrecking ball half covers the Hulk’s face, but the Hulk doesn’t care. He’s angry. Very angry.

Each panel is perfectly timed. Thunderball slowly realizes that the Hulk will not be defeated and that he's gonna get his butt kicked. The page builds so well until, in mighty Marvel fashion, it culminates in the final “Nuff said!” Brilliant!

More will be coming. I may even take my first step into DC Comics territory.

comic books that changed my life #3

Back in January 2006, I started what I intended to be a blog series on some of my favorite comic books. I did two. For some reason, I got off track. So, let’s get back on the rails.

My series deals mainly with the art. I’m a cartoonist and comic books were a HUGE influence on me. I will talk about story when it’s important, too.

The third comic book that had an impact on me is ‘The Incredible Hulk’ number 168 (October 1973). I was still dabbling in comic book collecting. I hadn’t discovered storylines quite yet. I was more interested in the art. If the cover caught my eye, I would be more likely to buy the issue. And I liked this cover.

The artist was Herb Trimpe. I don’t think he was ever considered one of the all-time greats, but he was capable and his style was well-suited for the Hulk. In this issue he did some fine work. He did some of his best work during this stint on the Hulk series. Not earth-shattering, but good stuff.

This was back in the day when the page layout was still the basic six-panels a page with full gutters (that’s what the spaces between panels are called). Trimpe’s work in this issue has a soft feel thanks to Jack Abel’s inking. And one can certainly see the influence that Jack Kirby had on Trimpe’s work. That's hardly unusual, because Kirby influenced just about every comic book artist.

Story-wise, I always seemed to prefer the first part of a two-issue story. I think it’s because the set up for the initial defeat of our hero is more compelling. In this issue, Betty Ross Talbot is transformed by Modok into the Harpy in order to defeat the Hulk; which, as the Harpy, she seems to do just that. He gets better in the next issue, don’t worry.

I’m not sure how unusual or common this was, but issue #168 contains three splash pages! (That’s what they call a full page panel) The first isn’t anything very special. It sets up what’s going on. The Hulk is trying to get into the hospital where an ailing Betty is being treated. Note the flowers in the foreground. They are placed in the scene to set up that the Hulk picks flowers for Betty. How sweet.


The second splash page is the transformation scene of Betty into Harpy. It’s spectacular! Very dramatic. There’s a lot of Jack Kirby in that panel. Note the shadow of Harpy's right arm. That's a great touch.

Third is the final page. It was pretty common to do a splash page for the end of the first part of a multi-part story. It’s meant to wow the reader and make sure they don’t miss the next part. Well, this one delivers. It looks as though our hero has had it. (Harpy was only able to get the better of the Hulk by playing the “I’m Betty” card.)

There’s some other fun stuff in this issue. Especially, a very dated, but still funny (maybe because it’s so dated) argument between the Hulk’s friend, Jim Wilson, and Jim’s girlfriend, Talia.

I’m also quite fond of a panel depicting the Hulk jumping through the wall of the hospital. It’s very simple and straight forward. Blam! Hulk jumping through the wall.

I guess I have a particular fondness for the comic books from this era. I’ll try to continue with more of this series, because I have more in mind. And, as Marvel Comics liked to put it, you demanded it!