The Return of Stickman #1589

The Comic Critic Reviews "The Creation of the Humanoids."

I really was very young when I saw The Creation of the Humanoids. It had a very lasting effect on me. Until then, I never considered what a thin line there might be between man and machine. How much of a person’s personality is nature and how much is nurture? What defines a creature as being biological? Is being biological a requirement for consciousness? It was all very heady stuff. It’s a good thing The Creation of the Humanoids didn’t have dazzling special effects, roaring chase scenes, or fireball explosions to distract me from those talking heads. My young mind was doing its best to keep up with the implications of their discussions. The acting in this film is very stiff. It’s not improved by the cinematography. Nearly all the scenes are unanimated people talking to each other. But as I watched The Creation of the Humanoids again, all these decades later, I was  struck by how many of the film’s predictions or concepts have came true. I’m also amazed at how the dialog, while a bit uninspiring, continues to touch on relevant social issues, such as surveillance, sexual freedom, relationships, and what constitutes a partnership. You might find The Creation of the Humanoids a clunky old sci-fi movie, but I challenge you to compare it to modern science fiction movies. See if current productions touch on as many social issues, or if they are just eye candy. 

The Comic Critic Reviews Battle of the Damned

I had such high hopes for Battle of the Damned. I’m a big fan of both zombies and robots. After I saw both in the preview for Battle of the Damned when I was sharing it with my friends—that is, my zombie- and robot-loving friends, they too voiced their excitement. As a zombie film connoisseur, I will tell you what I look for in a zombie film. The first thing it should have is an interesting premise. An example would be the film Zombie Strippers, in which the Zombie Apocalypse starts in a strip club. The second thing it should have is some interesting zombie death scenarios that have either never been seen before or which pay homage to previous memorable death scenarios. The third thing is at least a couple of lines of memorable dialog. I got excited because Battle of the Damned had a great premise: Zombies vs. Robots, but the movie falls apart because all the fighting between the zombies was mundane. There were no uniquely memorable kills. All it would have taken to fix this flick was a few thoughtful shots using some practical special effects. That, along with strained, not memorable dialog, let this movie flounder. As a result, Battle of the Damned is doomed not to become a cult classic—but just a footnote in bad zombie film history.

The Return of Stickman #1540

This strip was inspired by real life events. Out of the blue my wife asks me, "Whatever happened to Geena Davis?" And then the next moment the movie trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy shows on the television. This strip instantly mashed itself together in my head. I added the bunnies because - well - bunnies.

The Return of Stickman #1349

This strip is a response to the single fan who asked me why I've not done anything related to the occupy movement. I'm not sure if it will make him happy.

I know I've not been posting up strips as regularly as I should. Blame real work on that. To make up for it, here is a cartoon I did for The CLAW's White Elephant Gift exchange. My wife's comment: Why isn't the elephant white? My answer: Meh!

The Comic Critic Reviews Metropolis

Part of me wishes I could have been there for Metropolis’s debut. It was a time of explosive imagination. It was at the very start of film. No rules had been set to govern it; no preconceptions were available to hamper it, even the definitions of new words to describe it were in flux. And into this brand new media came this extravagant science fiction drama, filled with cultural, philosophical, ideological, and artistic references, some old and others just entering public discussion. It’s no wonder that nearly all of its imagery has become iconic. Yet, because Metropolis’s influence on the science fiction genre was so enormous, part of me is grateful that I wasn’t there in 1927. If I were, I couldn’t help but compare everything that came afterward to that first awe-inspiring viewing experience.

A little personal note here. I have a tremendous love for movies. But if I collected a DVD of every movie I enjoyed, there wouldn’t be any room in my house for furniture. So, it was a strictly survivalist decision to limit it, using personal nostalgia as my guiding factor. After a lot of thought, I realized two qualifiers that would allow a movie to enter my collection:

1. Any pirate movie.
2. Movies in which robots are the primary focus or are heavily featured.

You might think that the first thing I did was pick up a copy of Pirates of the Caribbean, but you’d be wrong. I established my video collection rules two years before Pirates of the Caribbean was released. No, the very first was Metropolis.

The Comic Critic Reviews Silent Running

There are two camps when it comes to Silent Running. The first camp sees the movie as an overly simple story, drastically different from the one that inspired it, with laughable inaccuracies. The second camp sees it for the iconic, startling, pure science fiction which indeed holds a message within. Perhaps it’s the fact that I saw it when I was ten and easily impressionable (I was crying during the end scene) is why I’m with the latter camp. Keep a cinematic timeline in mind. Star Wars was still five long years away. And even if you don’t care for Joan Baez’s singing, I still say that Silent Running is well worth a first-time viewing. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen it over the years. Once you do see it, you can’t help but realize the effect this film had on so many Sci-Fi and space operas that followed it.

My Creative Index Page Concept

The deadline for my page in the Creative Index looms next week. Earlier this week I drew a dozen or so concept sketches. This concept is the one that made the cut. I thought you might enjoy comparing my initial sketch to the final product. Click on it to see it larger.