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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 31, 2016 14:50:17 GMT -5
RIP Tyrus Wong, the production designer of Disney's Bambi. He lived to the ripe old age of 106 NY Times obit . -M It still amazes me that Bambi was not a hit at the time of its release. What a beautiful and affecting piece of art. The animated rainwater cascading along the leaves, the all-consuming fire, all hand-drawn and occurring on multiple planes within the film. Breath-taking.
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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 31, 2016 11:06:56 GMT -5
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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 27, 2016 17:30:07 GMT -5
Phil Maurice posted these very interesting covers last year: the justly famous John Severin Frontline Combat cover, flanked by Gil Kane's 1974 Marvel Team-Up cover. Just the other day I came across this Kane Sgt. Fury cover; this one's cover-dated Jan. 1972. I wonder if this concept originates in a War picture from the earlier days of cinema, something that would have been familiar and memorable to men of Severin's and Kane's age. My War movie acumen is insufficient to the task of finding out.
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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 27, 2016 10:45:24 GMT -5
MW Gallaher
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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 26, 2016 19:03:11 GMT -5
Man, there's gotta be another way to get his protein fix...
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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 26, 2016 17:33:53 GMT -5
I love dates but wish they didn't look like cockroaches. Interesting. See, I love cockroaches because they look like dates. That chitinous crunch really spices up a bland oatmeal. My buddy Renfield swears by 'em.
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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 26, 2016 17:05:01 GMT -5
I loved Luther, too. The seasons being so short, I personally never felt it went on too long... although I was fine with the idea of it ending when it did. I thoroughly enjoyed Luther and was sorry when it ended. I picked up Luther for two reasons. I remembered Idris Elba from The Wire, and I needed something to replace Wire In The Blood, a UK series that starred Robson Green which I cannot recommend highly enough. This was gripping episode after episode, a grim, hunt-the-serial-killer procedural that focused on psychopathy and the inability of law enforcement to predict the unpredictable. It often ended badly for all involved. It was reminiscent of Columbo in that each stand-alone story was 90 minutes, more of a film than a TV show, and had a considerable and apparent budget.
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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 26, 2016 16:19:11 GMT -5
I prefer the older adaptions of Sherlock Holmes as well, because of my Dad; who was a Doyle fan. He saw Sherlock before he died and he HATED it with a passion; I can understand why. My first exposure to Sherlock Holmes was looking through The Strand magazine reprints with the Sidney Paget illustrations: Forgive me for intruding again, but now we come to my other favorite detective, the esteemed Mr. Holmes. Some years back, I undertook to read the entire Doyle canon, 50-odd short stories and four novels. I was not pleasant to be around at that time, obsessively questioning my family members about a bit of chalk dust on their sleeves or some candle wax on their shoes, and then making loud, grandiloquent, and unfailingly incorrect assumptions regarding their conduct. But no matter. As a youngster, I would have said that Basil Rathbone was the definitive Holmes, but these days, I agree with Cody that Jeremy Brett in the Granada series best inhabits the character as Doyle presents him. The attention to detail and unflagging respect for the source material in that series is breathtaking. That said, I do not mind many non-canonical approaches to the Great Detective. Nicholas Meyer's "The Seven-Per-cent Solution," Billy Wilder's "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes," Barry Levinson's "Young Sherlock Holmes," and even the recent "Sherlock" all have their amusements, though I can certainly understand their not having universal appeal.
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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 26, 2016 15:52:57 GMT -5
I had a chance to grab the Mysyerio issue last year but I grabbed #15 instead which is the first Kraven. I had some extra funds and was going to go back and get the Mysterio issue the following week but it was gone. Just my luck. Well, #15 has the superior cover, IMO. And many (including me) would say that Kraven is the more interesting villain, so I think you chose wisely.Is that a Kraven joke?
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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 26, 2016 15:45:08 GMT -5
Columbo was by far the best, with an international following. It had smart episodes with great and even legendary actors, including many who never got to play villains. Dick Van Dyke is chilling as a cold-blooded photographer who murders his wife and makes it look like a kidnapping gone wrong. He is able to spar with Columbo all through the show, until he is tripped up, in the end. The Robert Culp and Patrick McGoohan episodes are also fantastic. Culp exudes arrogance in his roles, while McGoohan has that cold intellect and always seems amused by Lt. Columbo, until he is undone by the wiley, rumpled sleuth. I'm very sorry to interrupt. I just have a few things to add. I won't take up very much of your time. I absolutely love Columbo and it's delightful to meet another knowledgeable and unabashed fan. At the heart of it is Peter Falk's performance, which is so perfect and definitive (despite not being the first) that it would seem to preclude the possibility of the character ever being seen again. Unlike much of the weekly fodder we endured in the seventies, the Columbo episodes were very polished films with rich character and camera work, just as you describe. The interplay between the relentless Columbo and his guest stars is delicious, and always there is the tacit understanding conveyed to the audience that the stammering, forgetfulness, and disorganization is little more than a clever ruse. We see flashes of the "real" Columbo when he dresses down a subordinate or interrogates a witness, or even during the "reveal" to a particularly rotten killer, but these are rare. There is a bit of wisdom from Columbo that has stayed with me through the years and has offered a small insight into his methods. The Lieutenant explains: "The police can make mistakes, but the killer has to be perfect. And nobody's perfect."
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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 26, 2016 15:12:55 GMT -5
Treated myself with most of the Christmas money I got and bought this book last night. Yes they were open on Christmas from 4 p.m.-9 p.m. Everything in the store was on sale so I got a nice deal on this. Only 20 out of 700 Amazing Spideys left to get. Very nice. Those early ASMs are really becoming tremendously difficult to acquire. I have the first part of this thriller and the issue following, which introduces Mysterio, but this one has eluded me. It's got a great cover and the story is really deftly executed. There is no cheat as often happened with some of DCs more shocking covers of this period. Congratulations, and I hope you complete your run!
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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 26, 2016 13:17:40 GMT -5
For me it's Kesel/Kord though it was short lived. I LOVED the Karl Kesel/Cary Nord run. I heard somewhere that one reader had made it through the Kesel run in less than twelve parsecs. Was it one of you two? I'll show myself out.
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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 26, 2016 9:51:34 GMT -5
Yesterday morning, my father died. He had been terminally ill for a number of months with a recurrence of cancer, so the fact of his dying wasn't a shock though nothing can prepare you for the news that it has actually happened. I've been been alternating between numbness and complete meltdown, particularly when someone expresses sympathy or concern over the phone, or some other random event triggers it (hearing Wish You Were Here on the radio as I was driving down to my parents' place had me absolutely in pieces). I've spent yesterday and today partly with my mother, partly alone in a hotel. I don't even really know why I'm writing this here - just having another late night meltdown out of nowhere, and felt like I had to share with someone. A terrible thing to have to endure. I can only add to the many voices here and offer sincere condolences to you and your family.
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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 26, 2016 9:43:11 GMT -5
PM, the first pic is missing. Weird. Having issues today. Hopefully fixed. Thanks!
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Post by Phil Maurice on Dec 26, 2016 8:44:29 GMT -5
Two comics-related gifts for the Phil-ster from the family (working from my detailed Christmas list): 1. The remaining Masters of Kung-Fu required to complete the series (103-125). 2. Marvel Preview #2, first origin of the Punisher. Thankfully, no mercy bullets in use on that Gray Morrow cover. Ah. A mod must have fixed the Punisher image. Thank you!
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