Monthly Archives: June 2018

Here's a brief interview with Jim Davis on the occasion of Garfield's 40th anniversary…

And yes, I've spent a fair amount of time at Paws HQ in Muncie and in the conference room you see in this video. Part of it is a museum of Garfield merchandise and when I'm there, I'm always struck by how well-made and well-designed it all is. As I mentioned here, when I worked for Hanna-Barbera, there were people there who didn't care if a Scooby Doo t-shirt was badly drawn or made out of shoddy materials by child labor getting paid a dime an hour someplace. Jim really is serious about quality control.

He has endured some criticism for there being so much merchandise, much of it from folks who never let the fact that Snoopy was selling life insurance influence their opinion of Peanuts. I just think it's a fact of life that if a character is popular, there's going to be merchandise…and what's more, the people who love the property want merchandise. Someone once asked Charles Schulz about Charlie Brown knapsacks and he said something like, "I'm genuinely flattered that I created something so beloved that people want to wear it." That's how I would feel about it if I ever created something that people wanted to wear.

We're just now hearing that the fine comic book/strip illustrator Bill Lignante passed away on February 27 this year, three weeks before what would have been his 93rd birthday. Bill worked on many projects in many fields but is probably best remembered for his association with Lee Falk's long-running character, The Phantom. Bill drew and occasionally wrote a long run of comic books of The Phantom across three different publishers, and was also a fill-in artist for the newspaper strip. He ghosted or assisted on other newspaper strips as well, including Ozark Ike, King of the Royal Mounted and Red Ryder.

Bill didn't do much in comic books besides The Phantom. For Gold Key, he did a few TV-based comics like The Girl From UNCLE and Secret Agent. In 1968, he briefly tried working for Marvel and penciled at least one issue of a Doctor Doom comic book they were planning to launch then. Alas, he did not get along with Stan Lee or with the Marvel method of doing comics. Bill departed and Marvel tried two other artists on the project before canceling plans for the comic.

Bill worked a lot as a layout artist and designer in animation, mostly at Hanna-Barbera. For them, he worked on dozens of shows including Jonny Quest, Scooby Doo, Dynomutt, Jabberjaw, Super Friends and Laff-a-Lympics. A lot of folks think that Alex Toth did all the designs on the super-hero shows that came out of H-B but though Alex did more of the designs of the main characters, Bill probably did a larger percentage of the overall design work on those programs.  On Super Friends, some characters like Superman and Aquaman usually looked more like the way Bill drew them than the way Alex drew them.  Bill also worked for Filmation on their Superman cartoons and for Ruby-Spears on Plastic Man and other series.

He spoke more often of two gigs he had outside of comics and animation. Bill was at times a courtroom sketch artist for ABC Television, covering (among others) the trials of Angela Davis, Charles Manson, Sirhan Sirhan, Daniel Ellsberg, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, John DeLorean, William Calley and Rodney King. He would sit in a courtroom during the proceedings, sketching like mad.  Then he would have to bang out finished color drawings in time for the evening news coverage. It was a challenge he very much enjoyed.

He was also one of the main renderers of the famous celebrity caricatures that adorned the walls of The Palm restaurant in Beverly Hills, downtown Los Angeles and other cities.  He told me he loved that job because he was "paid well" — not so much in money but in free food and drink at The Palm.

I had a brief telephone and pen-pal relationship with Bill before meeting him at a couple of Comic-Con Internationals in San Diego and interviewing him once on a panel there.  He was a delightful man who managed to be both very proud of his work and very humble at the same time. I'm sad to hear of his passing and I wished I'd known it at the time.

Here's Laura McGann with the best article I've read about the incident where Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave a Virginia restaurant. Ezra Klein summarized it as follows: "The Trump administration's position is not that restaurants shouldn't discriminate against people whose life decisions they disagree with. It's that restaurants shouldn't discriminate against the Trump administration." I still don't know what I would have done in this situation but I'll tell you who's really wrong in this case: The Trump supporters who are phoning in death threats and posting hateful reviews of other, unaffiliated restaurants that have names similar to the one that kicked out Sarah.

Trump's current immigration policy isn't much more humane than the one he "fixed."

Fred Kaplan previews the upcoming Trump-Putin summit. It'll be a lot of kissing-up to Donald's role model and a display of, as Kaplan puts it, "Trump's naïve belief that personal relationships — specifically, his own charisma — can transcend national interests." This is, after all, a man who recently said, "If Vladimir Putin were sitting next to me at a table instead of one of the others and we were having dinner the other night in Canada, I could say, 'Would you do me a favor? Would you get out of Syria?' 'Would you do me a favor, would you get out of Ukraine? You shouldn't be there. Just come on.'"

Meanwhile, Kaplan doesn't think muoh of Trump's Space Force proposal, either.

Daniel Larison on how Trump keeps misrepresenting what happened with his North Korea summit, boasting about things in the agreement that aren't really in the agreement.

And getting back to the "border crisis" stuff, Matt Taibbi summarizes what he sees as hypocrisy on all sides. Supporters of Trump's policies keep trying to claim that he's doing nothing that Obama and other Democrats didn't do. That's not true but some of the folks opposing what's happening right now weren't all that uncomfy with at least the mentality behind it, pre-Trump.

• I'm fast developing a Zero Tolerance Policy for Zero Tolerance Policies.

As you've probably heard, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was denied service the other night at a Virginia restaurant. The reason was that she was Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

I honestly don't know how I feel about that. On the one hand, I see the point of those who say that if you have a privately-owned business, you shouldn't have to perform services for someone you find repulsive. On the other hand, I see the point of those who say someone who offers services to the public shouldn't be able to discriminate against a class of people…and it's sometimes really messy to distinguish between a class and a person. If Ms. Sanders was the exact same person but black or gay, how would that change the situation?

Right after I read about her ejection, I read about this which feels like it belongs in the same post…

An Arizona woman has said she was left "in tears and humiliated" after a staff member at U.S. pharmacy chain Walgreens refused to give her prescription medication to end her pregnancy — even though her doctor had said she would ultimately have a miscarriage.

I understand that the law in Arizona allows a pharmacist to refuse to fill a prescription for reasons of personal ethics. I also understand why some people object to abortion. I'm not sure I understand what principle someone is standing on when they decline to be involved in the termination of a non-viable pregnancy that is not going to result in the birth of a living child. "No, no! If she's going to lose the baby, she has to do it the more painful and emotional way!"?

Some newspaper reports said that — to quote one — "the pharmacist had transferred her prescription to another Walgreens location in Phoenix, a 20-minute drive away, where she was able to pick up her medication." Was that the same pharmacist? If not, why didn't that person fill the prescription? The woman said there were others on duty when she was denied.

If it was the same pharmacist then the principle he's fighting for is really screwy. "No, no! It's against my beliefs for me to hand you those pills but I will arrange for someone else to give them to you…and by the way, I don't mind if you feel inconvenienced and humiliated." (It is also worth noting — and I looked this up on Google maps — that there are other pharmacies, including a nearby CVS, that were closer. Was someone trying to make sure that Walgreens wouldn't lose the business?)

If anyone sees an interview with that pharmacist, let me know. I'd like to hear what he thinks he accomplished.

Getting back to Sarah Huckabee Sanders: Like I said, I don't know how I feel about what happened with her. I do know though that — surprise, surprise! — she said something that is not true. She said…

I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so.

No, you don't, Sarah. That's not your job description. Your job is to treat every reporter who isn't from Fox News with undisguised contempt and not only dodge legitimate questions but to sneer at them as if they don't have the right to exist, let alone ask you to clarify or defend something ridiculous that your boss said. And you do it well. If you didn't, you'd be standing in line at Unemployment behind Sean Spicer.

Batman Dance Party. Of course…

That's right: Twenty-five! I never feel like New Year's Eves occur close together but Comic-Con Internationals, which occur no less frequently, somehow barely leave me time to unpack from one before it's time to pack for the next one.

I will be hosting eleven panels at Comic-Con this year and appearing on at least three others. The convention will begin posting the programming schedule on its website on the Fourth of July and we're not supposed to announce events, room numbers and times before then. I think it's okay though for me to say that eight of my panels will be ones I hosted last year in the same rooms at the same times.

I think it's also okay to mention that late Saturday afternoon, the wonderful Trina Robbins and I will be interviewing the also-wonderful Joye Murchison Kelly, who is this year's "alive" winner of the Bill Finger Award. The award goes to a writer whose contribution to comics has not been sufficiently recognized and/or rewarded…and no one qualifies more than a lady who ghostwrote Wonder Woman in the forties for the character's co-creator, William Marston and worked alongside the other co-creator, Harry G. Peter. This is the first time she has ever set foot in a comic book convention so this is a very special event, indeed.

And now with a slightly fatigued tone in my voice, I would like to address a complaint that I hear about Comic-Con, mostly from folks who are in roughly my age bracket and who share my great interest in the history of comic books. It usually takes the form of lamenting that there's nothing on the Comic-Con schedule for them; that it's all about movies and TV shows and gaming and what there is about comics is about the current ones, about which these people could not care less. I have three things to say about this gripe…

1. Yes, Comic-Con has changed from the old days. Most things do and much of what's changed about Comic-Con is what has changed about comic books. Yes, a lot of the con is about movies and TV shows. Well, guess what: A lot of what DC and Marvel do is about movies and TV shows. Neither one is even a comic book company anymore. DC Comics and Marvel Comics are now DC Entertainment and Marvel Entertainment, and comic books are just one arm of each company. And you can't expect those companies (or any business) to not push current product.
2. If you think there aren't any items on the schedule about past comic books, you aren't paying much attention to that schedule. How many Annual Jack Kirby Tribute Panels do I have to moderate? I heard the same complaint back when I hosted Golden Age Panels and Silver Age Panels, back when we had the personnel to fill them. Now, I host an annual panel on comic books of the seventies (it's Friday morning this year, BTW) and there are plenty of others with which I'm not involved. I don't know the rest of this year's schedule but I'll bet there's one about the works of Will Eisner and many about comics that are not current.
3. Which brings me to my complaint. It's the people who complain there isn't programming about comic book history and then when we do events about old comics, do not show up to support them.

A few years ago here, I told this story about a guy who was wailing to me about a lack of any programs about old comics.

[He] was upset that so much of the Comic-Con wasn't about comics and he felt, I guess, that I'd concur and would rush off to do something about it…maybe throw Robert Downey Jr out of the hall or something. Instead, I told him about that great panel we did on the Golden Age of Batman with Jerry Robinson, Sheldon Moldoff and Lew Schwartz. If you're interested in the history of comics, it doesn't get any more historical than that. I then said to this fellow who was complaining about the con not being about that kind of thing, "I didn't see you there."

And so help me, he replied, "I couldn't be there. I had to get in line to see the 24 panel with Kiefer Sutherland."

Yes, yes…I know a lot of you can't afford to go to Comic-Con and many of you want to attend but are unable to secure memberships.  I'm talking now about people who are at the con, don't show up for panels about the History of Comics and then complain to me that there aren't any or ask where they can find a transcript or whether it'll be on YouTube. I wish you folks who are so inclined would express that more in the only manner that means anything at conventions: By showing up.  Conventions do not program for empty seats.

Saturday at the con, Trina and I are interviewing Joye Murchison Kelly, the secret writer of Wonder Woman in the Golden Age. How's about if we pack that room for her?

Before a gathering of Disney fans, Richard Sherman performs one of the more popular tunes from the Sherman Brothers songbook…

Like most of you I'm sure, I call some company about something and then I'm asked to rate the quality of that service. Sometimes, I'm asked to stay on the line and take a brief survey. Sometimes, a computer voice asks if they can call me back to take that brief survey. And sometimes they don't ask if they can call. They just call.

A few days ago, I called my cable provider (Spectrum) with a tech problem. The gent I reached on the phone was friendly and reasonably well-informed. If I was running a company, I'd want all my employees to be like that guy…but he didn't solve my problem. He tried but finally concluded that it out of his area of expertise or maybe his jurisdiction so he's arranged for a senior member of Tech Support to phone me. Okay, fine. You can't always call a company and get the most knowledgeable person who works there.

Then came the survey and I only got as far as Question One: "Were you satisfied that the representative was knowledgeable and able to solve your problem? Press 1 for Yes and 2 for No."

I hung up because I didn't know how to answer it. "Yes, he knew enough to pass me on to someone else?" Or "No, I still have my problem" Mostly, I didn't want to give a negative rating about the nice guy on the phone who spent a fair amount of time trying to help me.

That's how I feel about most of those surveys. They're asking me to evaluate the employee and maybe get them in trouble…but they never seem to want my opinion about the company. If I have a problem with phone support, that's usually where it is. I'd like to see them ask questions like…

• "Did you feel your call was answered promptly? Press 1 for Yes and 2 for No, I was on hold for what seemed like hours listening to bad music and the same annoying ads over and over and it's especially annoying to wait that long and keep hearing that my call is very important to you."
• "Before calling, did you try to use our online help? Press 1 for Yes and 2 for Of course, you idiot! I wouldn't have spent all that time on hold if your online help was of any help whatsoever!"
• "If you were unhappy with our employee, did you also feel that he or she was in some other country far from our company and that all we cared about was finding the cheapest possible people who could answer a phone and read a little list of pre-scripted answers, none of which applied to your problem? Press 1 for Yes and 2 for I'm not sure because I don't understand English any better than your phone bank."
• "Is the core of your problem that the advertising for our product was misleading and so you were led to believe it did something that it doesn't do? Press 1 for Yes and 2 for No, I'm too embarrassed to admit that."
• "Or is the problem that we just make a shoddy product and you're really foolish enough to think that there's some way you're going to get a refund? Press 1 for Yes and 2 for No, I know I'm outta luck that way and I'm just calling to take a little of my frustration out on anyone who works for you even though I know that person isn't the one who took my money."

And of course, there's no follow-up.  It's been three days and the senior member of Tech Support has yet to call…so that's my complaint with that call.  But they aren't calling to gauge my satisfaction now.

Pete Hammond describes the Sherman Brothers celebration in greater detail than I did. And Jon Burlingame of Variety does likewise.

Hollywood historian Alison Martino caught a little sampling of the Sherman Brothers tribute last night and shared it on YouTube. The whole evening was filled with delightful performances like this…

The Curious Origins of 16 Common Phrases. Has anyone who has ever threatened to read someone the Riot Act actually even had a copy of the Riot Act?

This whole mess with separating children from their parents has failed for Trump in every way possible save for making the racist faction of his base (Trump backers aren't all like that) love him more…and his "fix" of the problem he caused doesn't make things much better. Read Matt Yglesias and also about two-thirds of the other pundits on the web.

Wow. I'm still coming down from an amazing evening at the Academy of Motion Pictures theater in Beverly Hills. The program was The Sherman Brothers: A Hollywood Songbook, a salute to Richard and Robert Sherman, songwriters extraordinaire. Robert passed away in 2012 but Richard — who just celebrated turning 90 — was there to receive a bombardment of love.

The event was packed and many were turned away. John Stamos was the host and along with many, many film clips, there were live musical performances by Dick Van Dyke, Hayley Mills, Richard Allen, Tommy Emmanuel, Jordan Fisher, Anthony Gonzalez, Kenny Loggins, Maude Maggart, LeAnn Rimes, Keala Settle, Lesley Ann Warren and Michael-Leon Wooley. Dick and his back-up group The Vantastix sang a medley from Mary Poppins. Hayley Mills sang "Let's Get Together" from The Parent Trap. Kenny Loggins sang "Your Heart Will Lead You Home" from The Tigger Movie. And so on.

Speakers included composer John Debney, Oscar-winning director Pete Docter, actress Karen Dotrice, Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino, film critic Leonard Maltin, Disney artist Floyd Norman, actor B.J. Novak, writer-director Bob Peterson, Oscar-winning producer Jonas Rivera, writer-producers Gregory V. and Jeffrey C. Sherman, and a surprise appearance by Alan Menken who spoke and performed a parody he wrote of one of the Shermans' songs.

I lost track of the standing ovations. It seemed like there was one about every three minutes…and they were all deserving. At the end when Richard Sherman took the stage to thank everyone (and to play "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,") he — of course — got the biggest one. It may still be going on about a mile from me but I have my windows closed so I'm not sure.

I wish I could convey to you the sheer love in that room…and the sincere emotion.  It isn't just that the Sherman Brothers wrote great songs.  They wrote great songs that were integral parts of so many childhoods.  At the end, the audience stood while on the stage, Richard and all the performers and speakers led us in singing "Let's Go Fly A Kite!"  Present in the building were people of all ages…but for that finale, we were all about nine years old.  And sorry it was over.