Bob Greene Sez, Don't Play Chicken with Politics

In this commentary for CNN.com, Bob Greene joins the list of public figures asking for more civility in our political discourse. That won't happen, and our "political atmosphere" will remain turbulence-filled. Still, this commentary is interesting if for no other reason than Greene's recollection of an experiment he tried during the Barack Obama-John McCain race last year.

MST3K Alum Joins Bluewater Productions

Press release from Bluewater Productions:

MST3K ALUM MARY JO PEHL JOINS BLUEWATER’S CAST OF COMIC CREATORS

For four years she was part of a cruel cabal subjecting a lone astronaut and his robot buddies to a series of tortuously bad B-movies, but now Mary Jo Pehl is sharpening her wit for a new comic book project with Bluewater Productions.

Pehl, best known as a writer and character Pearl Forrester from the cult show Mystery Science Theater 3000, is penning an original limited series comic entitled “Jailbait.”

Written as a tongue-in-cheek B-movie serial, “Jailbait” follows the adventures of an all-female undercover organization looking to hunt down predatory perverts by any means necessary and prevent children from becoming targets. It has been described as “To Catch a Predator” meets “Charlie’s Angels” meets Ed Wood’s “The Violent Years.”

“The story may be firmly rooted in satire and Mary Jo’s unique humor will be keep you laughing, but it has a serious message about keeping kids safe from predators, both online and off,” said Bluewater president and title creator Darren G. Davis. “In each issue we will provide information on important resources parents and children need to know; phone numbers of organizations and law enforcement.”

Slated for a first-quarter 2010 release, this four-issue mini-series, pairs Pehl with artist Alejandro Figueroa (Watchmen spoof “Whatmen?”) and cover artist Azim Akberal.

“There’s a great story there to be told, and I hope to do it with honesty, accuracy and humor, and well-rounded characterizations.” Said Pehl, who is currently a writer/producer for the direct-to-DVD comedy series, Cinematic Titanic, which takes on badmovies in the same spirit as MST3K.

Pehl has also written numerous magazines and newspapers, and has appeared in several anthologies, including “Life's A Stitch: The Best of Contemporary Women's Humor,” and “Travelers' Tales: The Thong Also Rises.” In addition, her commentaries have aired on NPR's “All Things Considered” and “Weekend America.”

And yes, in case it has been nagging you for 4 years, her name was the answer to 2 across in the April 18, 2005 issue of the TV Guide crossword puzzle.

About Bluewater Productions

Bluewater Productions Inc. is one of the top independent production studios of comic books, young adult books and graphic novels. Its extensive catalog of titles includes the bestsellers “10th Muse” and “The Legend of Isis.” Bluewater publishes comic books with legendary filmmaker Ray Harryhausen and have recently launched a series in partnership with sci-fi icon William Shatner.

Bluewater aims to unite cutting-edge art and engaging stories produced by its stable of the publishing industry’s top artists and writers.

Following its commitment to green publishing, Bluewater comic books are printed on Forest Stewardship Council certified paper. FSC certification guarantees that the paper used in Bluewater books contains fiber from well-managed and responsibility harvested forests that meet strict environmental and socioeconomic standards.

For more information, visit www.bluewaterprod.com.

All images copyright their respective creators and/or owners.

Isn't that PRECIOUS

Here's a shocker. Director Lee Daniel's underdog film, Precious: Based on Push a novel by Sapphire has won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Earlier this year, Precious won both the Grand Jury and the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Precious is the first film to win the Audience Award at both film festivals - EVER! HA!

Industry people apparently dissed the film because it is directed by Lee Daniels (Shadowboxer) and stars Mo'Nique and Mariah Carey. Lionsgate is distributing the independently financed Precious and have recruited Tyler Perry AND Oprah Winfrey to sell the film.

There is book: Precious (Push Movie Tie-in Edition) (Vintage Contemporaries)

Happy Birthday to The Cosby Show

25 years ago tonight The Cosby Show debuted on NBC (September 20, 1984). To this day, cultural commentators and people who write about television and television history talk about how influential the show was.

For my family, it was a godsend and a revelation. It was a godsend because it was the first show that portrayed a successful upper class black family in which both the husband and the wife were accomplished professionals. And after years of shows depicting all manner of suffering Negroes ("Good Time") and down and dirty colored folk ("Sanford and Son"), we desperately wanted a TV series just like The Cosby Show. It was a revelation because, while we thought the show would be good, we had no idea that it would be so good and that we'd love it so much.

Follow the links to the Wikipedia and IMDB pages on The Cosby Show - Season 1

I Reads You Review: X-MEN: MISFITS, VOL. 1

Creators: Raina Telgemeier, Dave Roman (writers); Anzu (artist)

Publishing Information: Del Rey Manga, paperback, 186 pages, $12.99 (US); $15.50 (CAN)

Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-0-345-50516-3 (ISBN)

X-Men: Misfits is the second book produced from the joint venture between Del Rey Manga and Marvel Entertainment to create global manga (or OEL – original English language manga) based on the X-Men franchise. [The first book from that deal was a shonen (boys’ comics) take on Wolverine, entitled Wolverine: Prodigal Son.]

X-Men: Misfits is a shojo manga (comics for teen girls) take on the X-Men. Writers Raina Telgemeier (Baby-sitters Club graphic novels) and Dave Roman (the Astronaut Elementary webcomic) focus the story through a girl character, and their protagonist is Kitty Pryde. In fact, Misfits is practically a reinvention of X-Men #129-131, the stories that introduced Kitty Pryde into the X-Men franchise 30 years ago, using the templates established by the 2000 X-Men film and the “X-Men: Evolution” animated series.

The X-Men’s headquarters and home, the mansion of their founder Professor Charles Xavier, was nominally a school. In the first X-Men film, it became an actual boarding school, filled with underage students, and the X-Men were their teachers. Misfits is set in this version of the school. Storm, Colossus, and Beast are teachers, while Cyclops, Angel, and Iceman are among the students.

The Kitty Pryde of X-Men: Misfits is a Chicago high school student. She’s also a mutant, a human born with strange super powers. Kitty’s mutant power is the ability to become immaterial, which allows her body to pass through solid objects. This power has been manifesting itself at the most inopportune times, which includes when Kitty’s at school. Professor Charles Xavier and Eric Lehnsherr (Magneto) recruit the 15-year-old Kitty into Xavier’s Academy for Gifted Students in Westchester, New York, a school for mutants. Kitty hopes that this will be in a place where her powers won’t mark her as a freak and an outcast to her classmates.

However, Xavier’s Academy is an all-boys school, so she ends up feeling like a freak all over again. Relief comes when Kitty catches the attention of a brash teenager named John Allerdyce a.k.a Pyro, who can create and manipulate fire. Pyro introduces Kitty to Xavier’s most important clique, the Hellfire Club. However, Kitty has misgivings about the Hellfire Club and the super-rich friends she gains by being part of the club. Kitty even begins to have doubts about dating Pyro, especially as she is also drawn to his rival, the cool and aloof Bobby.

My main enjoyment of X-Men: Misfits is the art by Anzu (The Reformed), because I love how her art remakes the X-Men using the visual language of shojo manga. Anzu gives the readers everything from sparkles and lacy tones to catgirls and super-deformed.

The story and plot are crowded with too many characters. If this story is about a girl trying to fit in, then the focus should not be on finding every unusual character inhabiting Xavier’s Academy or covering every nook and cranny on the school grounds. The focus should be on Kitty; after all, no matter how interesting the setting of a shojo manga may be, the story really is about its female lead. The best parts of Misfits are the beginning, which introduces Kitty and establishes her dilemma, and the ending, which presages coming conflicts. The writers do both parts very well, precisely because those sequences are more about Kitty’s struggles and problems than they are about the Academy.

However, Anzu makes even the lesser parts of this story interesting. She is quite skilled, as a graphic artist, in creating shojo manga visuals, or at least the American version of it. So while the writers seem intent on excavating the X-Men mythology and re-imagining it in admittedly clever ways, it is Anzu who makes X-Men: Misfits a shojo manga and not just another X-Men comic book.

B+ is the grade for X-Men: Misfits

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Oprah Book Club in Da House

Oprah Winfrey has announced the 63rd book in her "Oprah Book Club," and it's a short story collection by Uwem Akpan, Say You're One of Them

The book is already top 10 at Amazon and Barnes & Nobles.

Dr. Toby Cosgrove of the Cleveland Clinic is an Asshole

Truthout published an excellent call-to-arms essay about obesity by Connie Shultz. People believe that there is a brewing war on obesity, which has manifested itself in obsese people being discriminated against in employment and in public access. That war is not brewing; it boiled over a long time ago.