POBB October 23, 2021

Pick of the Brown Bag

October 23, 2021

by

Ray Tate

Welcome to the Pick of the Brown Bag, my name is Ray Tate.  Here I discuss current comic books. This week a pair of espionage stories.  One from publisher Aftershock.  The other from our old friend Dynamite.

Almost American is "inspired by the true story of husband and wife Russian spies."  Well, shoot.  That limits my ability to critique considerably.  I can't examine the plausibility of the story since I must assume all of it to be true.  For the record, the narrative seems very plausible.

After disguising themselves and taking counter-measures to lose any tails, the husband and wife walk into a U.S. embassy and make contact with the CIA.  Similar to what Sydney Bristow did in Alias.

That's one of the book's great assets.  If you're a fan of the spy game genre, you've already got touchstones to work with.  

Almost American seems like a story you've read or seen before, but there's more authenticity to the tale and the way it unfolds.  For example, though the defectors have intel for the CIA, they're limited in what they know.

They're not exactly the Enigma Machine.  The CIA however can use their knowledge and act receptive to their invitation.

Veteran comic book writer Ron Marz scribes the tale based on Jan Neumann's and his wife's biographical information.  Marz employs the same method he used on Batman vs. Aliens.  Very sparse matter-of-fact dialogue.  Few if any flourishes.  The technique works well for this docudrama and lets the visuals  created by Marco Castiello entice the reader.

Castiello is one of those I can draw anything artists, whose talent I envy so much.  Castiello recreates scenes from life.

The gestures, the illusion of movement, the realistic drapery of cloth, it's all just perfect.  Castiello demonstrates his skill in depicting true emotion since this is not an ersatz marriage as depicted in The Americans, or more recently Black Widow.

For an encore, Castiello embellishes the crap ride Neumann and his wife "Maria Bogdan" must take in order to reach the next part of their cover.

A three hour tour indeed.  I'm also happy about the colors.  Nobody tried to do anything artsy fartsy with black and white or filters.  These are just normal bright, attractive colors.  Good on Dispenza.

Almost American is an engrossing read for anybody.  Fans of the methodical agents of John Le Carre will be particularly intrigued.  Anyone gravitating toward excellent, realistic art from the old school of Burne Hogarth and Joe Kubert will find much to appreciate.

In the public's eyes, Jeffrey Epstein was a mover and shaker.  Privately, he was a pimp and child molester that trafficked underage girls for sex with filthy rich businessmen.  

These statutory rapes provided Epstein with recorded fodder for blackmail.  The police and FBI eventually shut down his operations.  An unknown subject or subjects subsequently murdered Epstein in prison and staged it to look like a suicide.  

Ghislaine Maxwell was Epstein's gentlewoman's gentlewoman.  Though she denied the charges, the Justice Department convicted her on the grounds of being the procurer and groomer of Epstein's stable and just as much of a sex trafficker as Epstein.  She remains incarcerated.  

In James Bond, Maxwell is hidden beneath the fictional cloak of Sarah Richmond who is free and clear of the authorities.  Not of scrutiny.

Rodney Barnes' story is a welcome relief from Dynamite's recent theme of reimagining Bond's classic nemeses.  Himeros is brand new.  Barnes conceives of an arms dealer named Anton Banes.  Banes tasks an assassin named Kino to kill the Epstein analogue and threaten Sarah Richmond.  It seems that Banes partook in Wilhelm's child rape parties.  Apparently Banes' clientele are just human enough to look down upon such practice.  Banes wants to erase the evidence.  It's just good for business.

We don't feel sympathy for Richmond, despite her fighting for her life.  We're not supposed to.  The villains and targets differ in nuance.  M however needs Richmond alive for her knowledge.  He sends Bond to his old Goldfinger stomping grounds to intervene in the second assassination.  Therein lies the suspense.  How will Bond save this asset?  

Bond, James Bond.

POBB October 16, 2021

Pick of the Brown Bag

October 16, 2021

by

Ray Tate

Welcome to the Pick of the Brown Bag, in this blog I usually review comic books and graphic novels.  Occasionally though, I look at the movies, and it's with great urgency that I implore you to see the wonder that is Wolfcop and its sequel Another Wolfcop.

Both available on spectacular blu-rays filled with informative extras, these Canadian productions should be treasured by every old-school fan of monster movies.  Both films use practical effects, and the actors portray the monsters.  What's more, the results look just as good if not better than the blu-ray cover art.

I know! When has that ever happened before?

The first story presents the origin of Wolfcop.  

Meet the bottom rung of Woodhaven's constabulary Lou Garou.  Yeah, baby, it's on.  He's an alcoholic low-achiever.  In subsequent scenes we discover why.  Turns out Lou survived the loss of his mother and father.  The latter in an infamous Woodhaven crime.

Upon investigating what he thinks will be kid mischief in the woods, Lou finds himself abducted by cultists and turned into a werewolf.  Nah.  That's not much of a spoiler.  Trust me.  

Lou isn't like other werewolves from cinema.  He doesn't lose himself to the beast.  He doesn't turn on his friends or colleagues, nor does he feel tortured and doomed.  He's a wolf, yes, but he's also a cop, and he's on patrol.

This utterly brilliant movie, which is also a helluva lot of fun, goes all the way back to original werewolf lore.  

The idea of being turned through a bite, is a Hollywood invention.  

It's the bid of the writer to sell a more rational explanation.  That lycanthropy is an infectious disease transmitted through the saliva of the werewolf.

In olden times, a man becomes a wolf through a pact with Satan.  He also henceforth wears the skin of a man, torn apart by the beast, a prosthetic wonderland exploited to Grand Guignol and grand comedic levels in Wolfcop and its sequel.

The filmmakers tweak the fable.  Though no bite necessary, Satan may or may not be behind the transformation.  The twist sets up a surprisingly sensible finale.  The explanation for the Wolfcop could have worked in a straight-up horror feature.

Before the curtains draw close we revel in Wolfcop as a creature and cop, his predilection for slashing and gashing scared shitless bad guys.  Lou's attempts to try to come to grips with his new alter-ego by consulting his out there friend Willie Higgins.  

Actors Leo Fafard, Amy Matysio, Jonathan Cherry, Sarah Lind, Corinne Conley and Aiden Devine all level out with superb performances that also engorge on the humor of the concept.  Because everybody plays their role with dramatic intent as opposed to stand-up, the movie works a million times better had it just been a joke-fest.  

As does the sequel Another Wolfcop.  The leads reprise their roles, but things have changed in Woodhaven.  Stalwart, professional, partner  and friend to Lou Garou Tina (Matysio) is now the Chief.  Deservedly so.

She hired some new recruits, and she's doing her best to tamp down the idea that there's a Wolfcop on the force.

Alas, a bloody opening set piece in which Wolfcop takes more than names demonstrates how difficult that want can be.  Fortunately the filmmakers argue that these miscreants portrayed by some famous cult film faces deserved it.  We can therefore enjoy this cool, comical gore fest.

Wolfcop cleans up the streets of Woodhaven.  Amy and Wolfcop's alter-ego Lou clean up after Wolfcop.  

A new face arrives at Woodhaven with the promise of a new industry and jobs for one and all.

For those who watch The Murdoch Mysteries, your eyes do not deceive you.  Yannick Bisson, Detective William Murdoch himself, manifests the new evil facing Wolfcop.  Bisson states in the extras on the disc how much he enjoyed being the bad guy for a change.  

The baddie and Wolfcop quickly butt heads; their fight however is refreshingly impersonal.  Wolfcop is just in his way.  His money and resources engineer some things that actually spell trouble for our hirsute hero, and this gives the filmmakers an opportunity to introduce another new character.

Willie's sister Kat Higgins is a healer, and it's she that finds an original, subversive and clever means to get around the need for moonlight to instigate Lou's change and his healing.  Revived, Wolfcop quickly heads toward a memorable showdown on ice, but brothers and sisters this isn't the Ice Capades.

Once again, the filmmakers go all out on the scripting and the actors keep the giggles to themselves.  The special effects, all practical, match the quality of those from the original.  A real surprise comes in the judicious use of an even older art form.  In the end the quality and dedication of the actors and filmmakers continue to be the series' greatest asset.  Let's hope there's Still Another Wolfcop in the wings.