The Home of the Creative Mind

Welcome to PooBahSpiel, the online voice and home of the creative mind of Mark Monlux, Illustrator Extraordinaire. Prepare yourself for an endless regaling of art directly from the hand of this stellar artist. And brace yourself against his mighty wind of pontification. Updates are kinda weekly and show daily sketches, current projects, and other really nifty stuff.

Monday, December 7, 2015

The Comic Critic's Review of "Master of the World"




It’s very difficult for me to be objective with Master of the World. The film was released in 1961 and I was born in 1962, so I didn’t have a chance to see it in the theater. But I did see it repeatedly on television. I was a voracious reader at a very young age. I loved fantastic tales of grand adventure and read everything Jules Verne wrote. Although people still read his books, I think many pass over “Robur the Conqueror” and its sequel “Master of the World” because the scenarios expressed in these early science fiction books would be kicked to the curb. WWI and WWII quickly revealed the true pros and cons of air warfare. But I found his books fun reading. Verne’s contraptions were a subject of many of my doodles. The Albatross, with its forest of propellers, was my favorite to draw. I’d seen Master of the World so many times that I had its shape and construction memorized. Yes, Master of the World might seem a little hokey by today’s standards. But Vincent Price gives a great performance. Charles Bronson’s star rose quite a bit after he was Charles Buchinsky playing Igor in 1953’s House of Wax, in which Vincent Price was also the lead. And while the war footage might be reused from other films, it does the job of showing fun explosions. Watching it renews my desire to discover and read new books. I still find Master of the World as fun to watch now as when I saw it as a kid. I’d like my friends who are into Steampunk to discover this gem and enjoy it just as much as I do.