Why You Should Read: Pinocchio Vampire Slayer

Welcome to 'Why you should read...' Monster Month edition.

'Pinocchio Vampire Slayer' is a series of all age graphic novels by Dusty Higgins and Van Jensen.  Originally printed in 4 volumes 'Pinocchio Vampire Slayer' 'The Great Puppet Theater' and 'Of Wood and Blood' Part 1 and 2, the series has since been collected as a single volume.

Taking cues from the original fairy tale rather then the Disney adaption, 'Pinocchio Vampire Slayer' is a brilliant mashup.  You can't help but wish you'd come up with the idea of a wisecracking puppet who can mass produce wooden stakes just by lying.  If you HAD come up with it, you'd probably dismiss it as a terrible middle-of-the-night idea and you'd realize it'd never work the next morning.  Dusty Higgins and Van Jensen take this middle-of-the-night idea and run with it, crafting a miniature dark fantasy epic epic.

I called this an all ages story, and that's pretty much true.  It's a little dark, but it's a dark comedy, and there's always a good dose of humor to balance the tension.  The art style is also dark, but it's a quirky dark with a fun energy to it.  Your average 10 - 12 year old should definitely be fine with this book.  There is a high body count however, and this story deals with some pretty heavy themes including loss and coming face to face with - and excepting - your own mortality.  It's the best kind of all ages: kid friendly and entertaining with enough sustenance for adults to enjoy as well.

There are also a ton of literary and historical references in this series.  As well as all of the references to the original Pinocchio, The Great Puppet Theater performs both 'Hamlet' and 'The Merchant of Venice' and Shakespeare buffs should find these bits hilarious.

--- Spoilers ahead ---

As for historical references, Vlad the Impaler - inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula - plays a role in the series.  Higgins and Jensen masterfully intertwine the bloodthirsty actions of Vlad Tepes and the origin of Pinocchio.

This book also mashes up several genres.  As well as being a fun horror comedy, 'Pinocchio Vampire Slayer' has plenty of swashbuckling action - such as the ship battle in volume two - and some light steampunk elements, like the hot air balloon and Bird Man in volume three.

There are also some pretty creative and gripping cliffhangers between volumes.  For example, at the worse possible time Pinocchio is turned into a very mortal real boy.

'Pinocchio Vampire Slayer' is a fun comic that I think everyone can enjoy, and it deals with some pretty important themes.  That might not win you a ton of awards like a dark and edgy adult graphic novel, but in my opinion it's the best kind of comic.  I definitely recommend you check this one out.

-Geekboy.

The Wolf Man (1941)

"...Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers at night may become a wolf when the wolf-bane blooms and the autumn moon is bright..."

Happy Monster Month.

Today we're going to look at one of the most influential werewolf movies of all time: The Wolf Man. 

Unlike the some of the most famous Universal monsters - Frankenstein and Dracula - the Wolf Man is NOT based on a preexisting novel.  So the storytellers are allowed more creative freedom and they crafted a fantastic story that would influence other werewolf fiction for years to come.

Our story begins with the wayward son Larry Talbot -played by Lon Chaney Jr. - who has just returned to his ancestral home.  Ironically Larry is a bit of a wolf even before he is bitten.  Using a telescope to spy on a shopkeeper across the street he quickly pops over to flirt with her.  The shopkeeper, Gwen (Evelyn Ankers) tells Larry about the werewolf legend after he expresses interest in a cane topped with a silver carving of a wolf's head.  She also makes an allusion to the classic fairy tale 'Little Red Riding Hood' which is foreshadowing the future of her dangerous relationship with Larry.  Despite her numerous protests Larry convinces her to go out with him that night.

She brings a friend along, and the three of them go to see a gypsy caravan that has just come to town.  Gwen's friend is attacked by a wolf.  Larry tries to come to the rescue, using his silver cane to kill the wolf, but he's too late to save her and he's bitten himself.

The authorities don't find the body of a wolf, but the body of the gypsy fortune teller - played by Bela Lugosi - and Larry's silver cane at the scene of the crime.  This leads to the obvious accusation: Larry Talbot may be an accidental murderer.  Town gossip spreads, and Larry - while convinced that it was a wolf he killed - is slowly becoming unsure of himself.

Larry has a growing interested in the werewolf legend.  He sees the old gypsy woman - mother of Bela the fortune teller - who convinces him that he is now a werewolf because he's been bitten.  But Larry's father - played by Claude Rains - is trying to convince him that it's all in his head.

This movie is on a slow burn.  It plays out almost like a psychological thriller and you're unsure for the first half if Larry is a werewolf or if he's loosing his grip on reality.  Lon Chaney Jr.'s performance is terrific: he plays Larry as a tormented and confused individual with an increasingly guilty conscience.  One of the best examples of this is the scene where he and his father go to attend a church service.  Larry is standing in the doorway as everyone else takes there seat.  He feels the eyes of everybody in the room.  Whether it's his feelings of guilt or his fear of how the townspeople view him he's unable to stay in the room: Outcast, he runs from the church.  This is done without dialog folks.  Just Lon Chaney's expressive face.

Unlike Vampires, the classic Werewolf is almost always a sympathetic character.  If Vampires can be seen as symbolic of external forces of lust and other temptations, I'd have to say a Werewolf represents our inner demons.  We try to keep them under control, but every now and then the beast comes out and we do something we'll regret later.

The second half of the movie plays out like a tragedy.  Part of the Wolf Man curse is that he sees who his next victim will be before he kills them.  As Larry begins to realize what's happened to him he worries that he'll hurt those he cares about, including Gwen.  Trying to fight fate he gives Gwen a protective gypsy charm meant for him, allows himself to be tied to a chair overnight, and asks his father to take the silver cane with him as he goes out at night.  Nothing seems to work.

To finish off the tragic motif, Larry's father comes face to face with the Wolf Man unaware that it's his own son.

 While the Wolf Man costume may be a little cheesy compared to The Frankenstein Monster or the Gill Man of 'Creature from the Black Lagoon' fame - they basically glued hair all over Lon Chaney's face and hands - the film has an undeniable spooky atmosphere.  Lots of running around spooky forests with spooky tree limbs and spooky mist.

If you only ever watch ONE Universal monster movie, do yourself a favor.  Watch the Wolf Man.

-Geekboy.

The Return of the Vampire (1943)

Happy Monster Month.

Today I want to tell you about a lesser known classic horror movie called 'The Return of the Vampire'.  When you think of American horror movies about Vampires or Werewolves, the Universal Horror films like 'Dracula' and 'The Wolfman' probably come to mind.  This one is from Columbia Pictures, and I think that because a different studio made the movie we get a fresh spin on the genre, although a familiar face - Bela Lugosi - is playing the villain.

A spoiler warning probably goes without saying at this point.

 The story starts in a clinic in England about 20 years prior to WW2 (one interesting thing about this movie is the way it uses setting and time period as a plot device).  A doctor is trying to determine the cause of the strange blood-loss in his patients.  He does a little research (before the invention of Wikipedia, kids!) and discovers that a Vampire is the cause of the trouble.  Unfortunately his Granddaughter - and our future heroine Nikki - is attacked.  The doctor and his assistant, Lady Jayne Ainsley - Mother of a young boy named John - Trail the vampire back to his lair.  They're attacked by the Vampire's Werewolf servant Andreas, but succeed in driving a stake through the Vampire's heart.

Fast-forward to the 'Modern Day'.  The repentant Andreas is now working as a lab assistant for Lady Jayne.  Childhood sweethearts Nikki and John are engaged.  The war is in full swing, and the London bombings wreck havoc in the graveyard where the vampire is buried.  Two bumbling caretakers find his unearthed coffin and decide to pull out the stake before burying him again.

The Vampire - Armand Tesla - rises from the grave and plots his revenge on Lady Jayne for driving a stake through his heart all those years ago.  He once again enslaves Andreas and forces the Werewolf to help him impersonate a defecting German scientist and infiltrate Lady Jayne's household.

 Nikki is attacked, and Lady Jayne realizes that Tesla has returned.  She has been trying to convince the Scotland Yard inspector that Vampires are real for most of the movie.  Shout-out to Lady Jayne by the way, as she has an unusually active role for a woman in a monster flick.  She and the Inspector discover that Andreas has once again fallen under the Vampire's influence.  John is also attacked.  Tesla puts Nikki in a hypnotic trance and lures her to his hideout.  Lady Jayne and the Inspector trail Nikki, but lose the trail when they're attacked by Andreas.

Andreas is shot by the Inspector.  He and Tesla escape with Nikki and return to their hideout - an abandoned church that's been partially collapsed in the bombings.  Tesla betrays Andreas, leaving him to die.  Andreas finds a crucifix in the rubble.  Through his faith he breaks the spell Tesla has over him and returns to his human form.  He then uses the cross to drive Tesla into the light from the rising sun.

'The Return of the Vampire' helped me to realize just how much Religious symbolism there is in the vintage horror movies.  The classic vampire movie tends to go something like this:

In the days before the invention of the Boy Band Bloodsuckers, Vampires were used to represent evil incarnate.  Hypnotic and seductive, a Vampire seeks to gain control of it's victims.  Vampires can be seen as symbolic for temptation: appealing on the surface, but they'll ruin your life in the long run.  Tesla uses his powers over both Andreas and Nikki.

The Vampire's victim is often a young woman (Nikki).  Odds are good She'll represent innocence and purity.  She's the one the Vampire wants to get his hooks into.  Her soul is in danger, and must be protected at any cost.  She's a damsel in distress from a more chivalrous era.  Her character is probably considered politically incorrect now, but it makes for good thematic storytelling.

Our dimwitted heroes don't seem to realize why our heroine is acting strangely and experiencing blood-loss that they can't account for.  At some point your Van Helsing type Vampire expert with a PHD in Vampire Slaying should show up and try to convince everybody that Vampires are real.  Our simple heroes will be reluctant to believe said Vampire expert, but they'll slowly begin to come around when he (or in this case she) produces enough evidence.

And how does one do battle with a being that represents pure evil?  With relics that represent the powers that oppose evil.  Crosses, Holy Water, ect.  The fact that Sunlight is used to destroy a Creature of Darkness is about as clear cut Good vs Evil as you can get.  In Bram Stoker's original novel 'Dracula' Dr. Van Helsing uses Communion bread against the titular bloodsucker.

Perhaps I'm reading between the lines too much, but what about Bela Lugosi's famous "I never drink...wine." quote from the 1931 Dracula?  The common interpretation is that Dracula never drinks wine because he's far too busy drinking your blood, but I can't help thinking about how wine is traditionally used to represent Christ's blood during Communion.
 
I think it's sad that so much of the symbolism has been lost in modern monster stories.  Stories about Vampires and Werewolves are often frowned on in Christian culture, even though they have a ton of allegorical potential.  At the end of the day 'The Return of the Vampire' is about Andreas' redemption through faith.

If you like traditional monsters and want to see something with all the familiar elements but presented in a new way, give this lesser known movie a watch.

-Geekboy.

Can Geekboy Sum Himself Up In 3 Fictional Characters?

So, I've seen this thing going around social media sights like Facebook and Twitter where people post pictures of fictional characters as a visual aid to illustrate their own character traits.  It's a fun exercise to see what makes you tick.  People looking at your post who know you well can confirm that yes, that is what makes you tick.  People who don't know you quite as well can get to know you better.

The Geekboy blog is more or less anonymous.  You don't necessarily know me (unless you do) and I don't know you.  Or do I?  Perhaps I'm that mysterious figure skulking about in the bushes outside your house.  Okay, that took a creepy turn...

But since the casual visitor to this humble blog doesn't know much about me, I thought it could be fun to tell you a little about myself using one of my favorite things: Stories!

Firstly, we have Seamus Zelazny Harper from 'Gene Rodenberry's Andromeda'.  Harper is a total geek, and he thinks he's way cooler than he actually is.  But he's good with technology, and does his best to keep the Andromeda Ascendant running.  I'm no Harper when it comes to tech, but I also do the best that I can to keep my ship running, metaphorically speaking.

Next, we have Henry Jones Sr. from 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'.  He's grumpy yet driven.  Passionate to a fault about achieving his unobtainable goals.  Obsessive and workaholic, and that gets in the way of his personal relationships.  I have a dose of these character traits.  Hopefully not to this extreme.  But I am grumpy and antisocial, particularly if you're interrupting me when I'm working on something I'm passionate about.

And lastly, Susan Ivanova from 'Babylon 5'.  Like Ivanova, I'm passive aggressive, cynical, and if I have a really good Zinger I just can't hold it inside.  Ivanova has issues with authority, and also with being IN authority.  More often then not she has a lot put on her plate and she stresses out in a major way whenever she does.

These are the characters I chose for myself, but if somebody else was choosing a character to represent me I think they would pick Garfield.  I hate mornings, love coffee, and am a bit of a couch potato.  And again, grumpy.  Geekboy is a Grumpus.  I don't know if I got that across clearly enough yet.

You may be wondering how one can be as much as a couch potato as Garfield, but as driven as Henry Jones Sr.  Somehow I manage.

As I said, I might not know you and you might not know me.  So feel free to tell me a little bit about yourself using three fictional characters in the comments.

Reboot MacGyver Episode 1: The Rising

I had another post written for today (which I might post later in the week), but I feel like I owe you guys a follow up on the CBS MacGyver reboot now that the first episode has dropped.  I did watch it, and in my opinion it definitely could have been worse.  It's pretty clear that after all the internet backlash over the trailer CBS scrapped what they had shot and made a new pilot.  On the one hand I'm happy that they're trying to make the fans happy.  On the other hand it's always a little concerning when storytellers tell a story just to make fans happy rather than telling a story that they want to tell.  But at least they made lead actor Lucas Till look a bit more like classic MacGyver with an 80's haircut and brown leather jacket.

They also decided to at least pay lip service to supporting characters from the original show.  Lip service is all it is though, as these characters share the names of classic characters but are clearly completely different people.

Jack Dalton is now muscle bound comic relief.  And he's an ex-military sharpshooter.  I'm a little unclear as to how Mac, with his aversion to firearms, became best buds with with a sniper.  Seems a little hypocritical if you ask me.  So this Jack is a far cry from the original practical joker with a new get-rich-quick scheme up his sleeve every episode.  He is still a pilot though, and is able to tell what kind of jet our heroes are trying to track down just by the sound of the engine.

Nikki Carpenter (now a computer hacker) is kind of the polar opposite of the original character.  In Season 3 of the classic show Mac and Nikki had a subtle 'Will they?  Won't they?' type relationship.  Here they are lovers, and things get a little steamy.  Remember what I said about in my last MacGyver post about my concerns of how they would handle Mac's sexuality?  Turns out all the steamy bits are story relevant though, so I may be willing to overlook it, but it is a red flag for me.

We also have Patrica Thornton.  I don't actually mind that they gender flipped Pete Thornton.  Actor Dana Eclar is no longer with us, and it feels like straight up re-casting Peter Thornton would be disrespectful, like Eclar was replaceable or something.  That said, MacGyver's working relationship with Pete was one of the things that made MacGyver a great show.  Patrica Thornton is a bit of a hard edge character.  It's early in the show, but I miss the 'best friends with my boss' element that the original had going.
 
There's also a new character named Riley Davis.  She's an ex-con and computer hacker.  She was rather refreshing because she's the only character I wasn't comparing to the original.  Although she does remind me a little of Skye from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D...

The episode itself was pretty good.  It deals with a mission to recover a biological weapon, the mission goes wrong, and then there are plot twists, betrayals, chases and explosions.  Good stuff here.  The structure feels a bit like the early episodes where there's a James Bond/Indiana Jones action sequence before the opening credits, and then the actual story starts, but in this case the fouled up mission in the beginning ties into the rest of the story.

Mac narrates the show in voice-over like the original.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it's cheesy and forced.  The same could probably be said for the original show, but I've got rose colored glasses, so don't judge me.  We also have words appearing onscreen to show his though process when he's inventing stuff.  Because Sherlock is a big deal I guess?  In a couple of years we'll look back on this new trend and say it was the cheesiest thing ever.  Those 2010s, man.

Most of the things MacGyver invents is stuff we've seen before.  Creating smoke to trigger fire alarms, tricking a hand-print scanner, and so on.  There is a clever reference to classic MacGyver when Mac has to diffuse a bomb that DOESN'T simply have two color coded wires 'like the good old days.'

The episode ends with our heroes renaming their top secret origination from a random set of initials that I've already forgotten (DSX?  DXS? CSX?) to the Phoenix Foundation.  This was a cool moment that really worked for me, but given the context of 'rising from the flames' it probably would have worked better if it had come later in the season when they had more flames to rise from.

There's a hook at the end of the episode to get you to watch more if you liked this one or didn't outright hate it.  And personally, I didn't outright hate it.  I don't love it like the original and don't think I ever could, but if it introduces Mac to a new generation that's not a bad thing.

-Geekboy.

Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage

So, I was at my local library browsing the DVD section, and I came across a movie that I remembered I had wanted to watch one of these days.  'Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage'.  I had seen the trailers for this a few years back and was really excited because it was a modern movie featuring stop motion creatures.  It looked like a love letter to the classic Ray Harryhausen films like 'Seventh Voyage of Sinbad,' and that's precisely what it is.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect as this was a little independent project - Patrick Steward narrates the story and I really think that was because they wanted a big name to slap on the front of the DVD - but the filmography is pretty high quality.  They seem to have mixed old school stop motion effects with modern day CGI for the backgrounds and some of the atmospheric effects.  Personally I think the stop motion holds up pretty well in a modern movie.

The costumes are all top notch.  For those of you who are upset about Hollywood casting decisions in films like 'Gods of Egypt,' the cast of 'Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage' primarily appear to be of middle eastern descent.  Sinbad himself is always called 'Sen-Bahd'.  The exotic pronunciation of Sinbad's name and the casting decisions really help make this feel like an authentic Arabian Nights tale.

That said, the movie does seem a little amateur at times.  Some of the dialog could have used another go around.  It's a little repetitive and wooden in places.  Also, I found some of the editing confusing.  The storytellers chose to tell a love story between Sinbad and the Princess in back-flash form.  Even though the princess is named Princess Parisa after the princess in '7th Voyage', 90 percent of the time Sinbad just calls her 'Princess!' or 'The Princess!'  You'd think that since they're engaged they'd be on a first name basis.

So for these back-flashes, sometimes there would be an actual visual transition, but more often than not there WASN'T a visual transition.  And there wasn't really a good transition for the first one, so most of the scene I was scratching my head going, "Where are we?  When are we?  I'm confused!"  After that first one it's still a little jarring, but after awhile you go "Flash-back.  I didn't sign up for flash-backs in this movie, but since this movie is giving me flash-backs I suppose I'll have to make the best of it."

My other big complaint is the Villain.  He speaks in low whisper voice, and draws out all of his vowels.  It's sinister, but it's also really hard to understand a word he says.

There's a Genie in this movie, and I think this might be my favorite movie Genie now.  First off, he's not the cute cuddly Disney type Genie.  In the Arabian Nights stories, a Genie is always a wildcard.  Sometimes when you release them they grant you wishes, but sometimes they try to kill you.  This Genie sort of did both.  Also, he can shape-shift and is portrayed by three different actors.  He's pretty funny too, particularly his reaction in the part where Sinbad figures out a wish loophole.

But in any movie like this the real stars of the show are the monsters.  'Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage' pays tribute to a bunch of Harryhausen's creatures.  We've got a cyclops, roc, and wingless dragon like in '7th Voyage of Sinbad.'  There's a giant bee and crab monster like 'Mysterious Island.'  Sinbad fights with a six armed statue of Kali like in 'Golden Voyage of Sinbad.'  And of course there's a skeleton fight like '7th Voyage' and 'Jason and the Argonauts.'

Stop-motion may be an older effect, but it still holds up pretty well.  I'd like to see somebody do a movie adaption of one of my favorite Greek Myths, 'Thesis and the Minotaur,' in this style.  If you're a fan of stop-motion, big monsters, or Ray Harryhausen Sinbad, this is definitely worth a watch.

-Geekboy

Thoughts on: The Mecury Men

So, today I'm going to do something a little different.  I'm going to review an independent web series.  Here are some reasons why you should watch 'The Mercury Men'.

#1:  It has an awesome premise.  The Mercury Men is about an invasion in an office building.  Our protagonist is an unlikely every-man hero with a compelling story arc.  It's a claustrophobic thriller that shows us something about human nature.

#2:  It's just wacky enough.  Even though it's set in the 70s it has a real Dieselpunk flavor.  Brains in a jar, ray guns, a Pulp Adventure hero who could give Sky Captain a run for his money...if you like the kinds of stories I like, your interests have already been peaked.

#3:  Quality production values and good story telling.  I don't know what kind of a budget this show had, but the special effects are decent, and it's well shot in black and white.

#4:  It's free. 10 quality 7 to 9 minute episodes that you can watch for free online.  The first story wraps up  by the 9th episode.  Episode 10 was intended to kick off a second season which hasn't gotten off the ground as of yet.  Here's a link to the official Mercury Men Youtube channel.  Go watch it and then come back here, because we're going to spoilerville in this post.

So the story starts off with Edward Borman, a disgruntled office employee.  He is asked by a young woman whom we will come to know as Grace to stamp an important form, but he refuses because it's three minutes to closing time.  As he is leaving the office is attacked by the titular Mercury Men.  After taking out a janitor, the Mercury Men come after Borman.

Borman is rescued by Jack Yaeger, our ray-gun wielding hero.  Jack Yaeger works for an organization known as 'The League' who defend the earth from the sinister Mercury Men.  The League is lead by a mysterious 'Dr. Tomorrow' who no one has ever seen.  Yaeger and Borman discover the true mission of the Mercury Men: to construct a machine powerful enough to pull the Moon into the Earth.  Yaeger tries to recruit a terrified Borman after calling the League for reinforcements who can't possibly arrive in time.

Yaeger and Borman are separated in an attack.  Jack Yeager is captured by the Mercury Men.  A terrified Edward Borman tries to use Jack's radio to call for help.  "Can anyone heart me?  I need help!"  Borman kneels over the radio transmitter, and it almost looks like he's praying.

This little web series does seem to have a good bit of Christian symbolism, which I think is really cool.  We've seen Eastern philosophy in Star Wars, Humanism in Star Trek, a Mormon parable in classic Battlestar Galactica, but science fiction stories that feature Christian allegory are few and far between.  The only other one that comes to mind is the Tron franchise.

Borman is contacted by Dr. Tomorrow, who tells Borman that he must rescue Jack.  Borman tells Dr. Tomorrow that he can't, and that Dr. Tomorrow should send somebody else.  Dr. Tomorrow responds that there isn't anyone else, and that's why he chose Edward Borman for the task, even if he's unwilling or feels inadequate.  As a Christian, I believe that God has a plan for each of us, that we were created for a specific reason.  This story is a really good illustration of that.  Borman show a reluctance to follow the path that's been chosen for him the same way Moses or Jonah show it in the Bible.

So, Borman sets out to save Jack, even though he's shaking in his boots.  After he's successful, Jack drops a third Biblical clue.  He states that the Mercury Men feel threatened by humans because even though they are 'made from the very dirt of the Earth' they're capable of space travel.

So they come up with a plan to deactivate the Gravity Engine that the Mercury Men are using to alter the course of the moon.  Along the way, Edward Borman runs into Grace, who is a) scared out of her wits, and b) still upset that he never stamped her form.  "We have to get you out of here!"  "I'm not going anywhere with you! You're a horrible little man!"  I love that part.

So Jack and Borman have to fight off the Mercury Men and deactivate the Gravity Engine.  Jack is knocked out in the battle and Borman is once again alone.  He has to find a way to defeat the invading aliens all by himself.  It all turns out alright in the end though.  Jack gives Borman his own raygun, and states that "This is only the beginning."  Suppose that makes Borman an official member of the League.

Grace returns to Borman's desk because she 'Really really needs that form stamped."  This is a great way to close the story as it mirrors the beginning in a humorous way AND shows us just how much character growth Borman has gone through over the course of the story.  In some ways I suppose The Mercury Men is a bit like a disaster movie.  We see the best and worst sides of people when they're thrown into an extreme circumstance, and those who wouldn't ordinarily may just have to take charge.  Only this is better than most disaster pictures, because it has more ray guns.

The Mercury Men is probably just about my favorite web series, but be sure to let me know about your favorite web series or independent film project in the comments.  I'd love to hear about them.

-Geekboy.