Table of Contents RKYV # 30 {November 2009} RKYV ONLINE LOGO - David Marshall {current} RKYV ONLINE LOGO – r. j. paré {modified} RKYV COMICS LOGO – Roy G. James {original} Virtual Cover # 30 - Art by John H. Drew Jr. - Layout by David Marshall Interior Art - By De Tourist, Roger Formidable, Engin Korkmaz, Lisa Marie Mueller, r. j. paré, John H. Drew Jr. Editorial Column - “At the Outset: A Few Thoughts from the Editor” - By r. j. paré World View - The Christmas Angel - By Tom Rossini

Health - On the Darker Side - By C. S. Cartier Featured Artist Review – John H. Drew Jr. - By r .j. paré Poetry - By Anna Gehmacher, Frances Vargas, r. j. paré Pop Culture - “Comic Book Review” - By Brad Bellmore - “Raised on Saturday Morning Cartoons” - By Pauline Paré

The Caped Sulker – by De Tourist

At the Outset

A Few Thoughts from the Editor By r. j. paré

“November it only believes

in a pile of dead leaves and a moon

that's the color of bone” -- Tom Waits

November submissions and a short two week turn around and what d’ya know? Here you have another issue of RKYV to enjoy as I am almost caught back up, schedule-wise. Considering the October issue was a month late and now this issue is only two weeks late... well, we’re just about back on track..:) I hope you enjoy John H. Drew’s beautiful work, which he has graciously shared with us, in the Featured Artist of the Month column. Regular Columnists Tom Rossini, C. S. Cartier, Brad Bellmore and Pauline Paré once again share their thoughts in varying insightful, witty and revealing fashions. As well, returning poets Stephen Campbell, Frances Nichols Vargas, Anna Gehmacher and yours truly – r. j. paré – provide new collections of imagery & verse for you to [hopefully] enjoy. Many thanks, as well, to the talented artists [credited throughout this edition] who have shared their wonderful and imaginative creations. Without their contributions RKYV, simply, would not exist as the e-Zine you see before you.

See you in a couple weeks, when we’ll share the submissions for December and in the meantime... Have yourselves a: Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa, even a Fun Festivus [for all you Seinfeld fans] and a Happy New Year... [my apologies if I have forgotten anyone]. To one and all, regardless of creed, I hope you enjoy your Holiday Season.

Amy Winehouse – by Mike Grattan [Alex Winehouse, Amy’s brother, poses with the painting, alongside his girlfriend, outside of Ribblefort Gallery.]

World view

A Canadian Living In The USA By Tom Rossini

[all photo manips by r. j. paré]

The Christmas Angel

It’s Friday night and here I am sitting on the couch thinking... what should I write about? When I look up at my Christmas Tree... and I do mean Christmas Tree [and not a Holiday Tree] and see at the top of the tree: A Christmas Angel.

It is a wonderful tree-topper that lights up with fiber optics. I sat there wondering, “Where did this tradition start?” So I did some research and found out that ‘Angel’ is the Greek word for messenger and Angels were Messengers for God. Angels are immortal beings that live in Heaven and act as go betweens for God and Humanity. Angels are first mentioned in the Old Testament and are believed to take the form of a human body with wings sprouting from the back in order to help them fly. The Wings symbolize Innocence, Virtue and Purity. The chief angel, known as an Archangel, is named Saint Michael.

Guardian Angels are angels who protect us, look after us and comfort us in times of distress. It was about 1100 AD when Christian doctrine about angels evolved rapidly with Saint Thomas. Saint Thomas believed that angels fill the gap between God and mankind; they are countless and immortal. According to Saint Thomas, angels have perfect knowledge except for things that depend on human choice and things that only God knows. Angels were instrumental with the birth of Jesus Christ and hence, play an important role in the Christmas celebration and festivities. Angels were the ones that announced the birth of the Jesus Christ. Gabriel, the heavenly Christmas Angel, brought the divine news to Mary and revealed that she was chosen to bear God's son while another angel informed Joseph that he should marry Mary and look after the Christ child. According to Christian belief, God appointed a small group of tiny angels [editor’s note: cherubs], angels in training, to watch over Joseph and Mary on their journey to Bethlehem where they gave birth to Jesus in the inn's stable. The Angel's were so excited that they were to witness the birth of God's Only Son that they flew closer to earth and sang heavenly music. They caught sight of the newborn child from the stable's roof and instantly understood their mission was to herald the birth.

The Angels were so filled with joy and mirth that they burst into a glorious song that reached the heavens and it could be heard all over the Earth. The Christmas Angel appeared to the shepherds near Bethlehem about the birth. To this day, we still see Christmas Angels singing and playing music in Nativity scenes catching everyone's attention and fascination instantly. From my family to yours.... Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Untitled – by Engin Korkmaz

Health

ON THE DARKER SIDE [a satirical comedy – I think] By C.S. Cartier [all photo manips by r. j. paré]

Disability

I wrote I.M.M.S. a bunch of months ago; it was a poetic realization that this disease is as much a part of me as my hands or my eyes. All my decisions, up to this point, have depended on the fact that I hid my inabilities as hard as I could. Every ability, talent and decision needed to first take into account that damn disease and how well I could pretend it wasn’t limiting me. That was then. Now, I can no longer hide it and it is out there for everyone to see and mock. That’s right I said mock. I’ve heard the comments; I watched the stares and the shame. I am sad to say that I too, used to be embarrassed and uncomfortable when encountering a disabled person. It’s not that I wasn’t ‘raised right,’ it was just that I had never really had contact with anyone that fits the description and thus did not know what to say or how to act. I guess the egg is on my face now,,, and not just because I trip a lot and those damn white things are so fragile. [Perhaps I should buy the brown ones.]

A small part of me, the little naive boy, would like to believe that people are not so callous as to act like spoiled children in the playground. I chuckle thinking about my two neighbours as they fight over Fluffy: one holding the cat’s front paws and the other its bushy tail. The cat screaming in the only way a hurt kitty can. But I digress, where was I? The man I grew up to become knows better. Spoiled rotten kids never fall far from the rotting apple tree. Nearly everyone out there could really care less about the disabled. As long as it doesn’t affect you, who really gives a crap? [I’m not trying to offend anyone, except maybe that kid who sat behind me in second grade.]

• Fact: the chance of you being disabled this year is

one in three.

• Fact: the chance of you being admitted this year into

the hospital for a period longer then twenty-four hours

is one in fifteen.

• Fact: the chance of you dying this year is one in

three hundred thousand. [Unless you were fighting over

Tony’s cat Fluffy, I heard he’s in the Mob - - don’t

tell anyone I told ya. Shh!]

Disability is a lot closer than you think. I have to let you know this and I’m not trying to sell you anything. [Unless, of course, you really want me to. I do have some very old comics. They are, mostly, in mint condition.] Being unable to pee when you want to gave me lots of time to think and really opened my eyes to the real world. The complaints about politics, taxes, health care and even the neighbours yappy dog and even Fluffy [we can’t forget about that damn garbage bag ripping fur ball]... these are all just nonsense and bubblegum stuff. All you people that want to just live for today, listen up. Everyone else can lend an ear, for that matter.

• Who is going to take care of your bills if you are laid

up in bed or at stuck at home – as of, right now?

No more money coming in, period. That changes everything. I’ve heard all the excuses:

• “Tomorrow, I’ll put money way.”

• “Tomorrow I will spend more time with the kids.”

• And my favorite... “Tomorrow I will change.”

Well folks, guess what? Tomorrow never comes. [Unless you name your dog Tomorrow and you don’t feed him for three days and then drop a pork chop onto the ground...]

It is now too late for me to run around the park with your kids -- I mean my kids. I’m not a crazy pedophile, I just have trouble typing. [I do have MS, for the love of Pete.] I would love a chance to teach them to ride a bike. I have watched the car drive away on too many occasions; with the family off have another adventure without me. I cannot stand for long periods of time and I don’t walk [I can, mind you, I just don’t. I don’t like it. Okay, truth be told, I can only walk about half a block. If you wanted honesty read a Priest’s piece and not mine. [Would it be a sin to talk about a Priest’s piece?]

In case you didn’t know this, extreme fatigue is a common MS symptom. For example: I just took another nap before continuing this article. I have to take one about every two or three hours. My wife made a comment the other day that Mickey Mouse was raising my little girl because I sleep while she watches TV. I honestly cannot argue with that, I want to, but I really can’t. I was one of those guys, you know the ones, you know... “It won’t happen to me”. Well, cupcake, it did happen to me. Was I prepared? Nope, that’s what tomorrow was for [yet he never came, even after I dropped the darn pork chop.]

The naïve boy is gone. He moved away a couple months ago when the wife said she did not want to be my mother, informing me that it was I who promised to take care of her and not the other way around. So, with the wife - go the kids. And now, I no longer watch the car drive away on an adventure. I count down the days until the car drives away for good.

• Fact: I am disabled.

• Fact: I do have Multiple

Sclerosis.

• Fact: Who I was died July 22,

2009.

Creditors have already taken my car and they call daily but not to say “Hi!” Ya, there is a lot about being disabled that no one had ever told me about.

• First off: For Christmas I get a brand new Catheter.

• Second of all: You get to sit around waiting for

someone, anyone, to call you - just so your day has a

touch of excitement in it. [The surprise bowel

movement does not count as excitement.]

• Thirdly [sigh]: I saved the best part for last and it

is by far our favourite topic - The Government. My

life sucks enough [figuratively, of course, this is a

family friendly ‘zine after all] but you can most

definitely count on the government to screw it up more.

[Now I’m not sure if I’m speaking figuratively or not.]

I got my very accurate statistics from one study the

government did and I am fairly certain a group of guys

are doing a study on studies about statistics. I can’t

wait to read that nail biter.

I officially was disabled on July 22. I couldn’t drive anymore, so getting all of the doctor’s notes, appointments and tests taken care of had my disability paperwork officially accepted on Oct 14. You will love this one: it takes four to six months just to hear back from them.

An insider told me to expect a negative decision letter as they decline ninety percent of all applicants because a lot of lazy people are abusing the system. Heck, they only slightly brief the applications before tossing them into the recycling box. [At least they recycle!] Only when you reapply, do they actually take a good look at your application. There is even a box asking if this was your first time applying. After you finally get a positive response, you are told it will take several more months before you can start collecting disability benefits. I do not know if you are doing the math but that puts you over a year of waiting. Now the funny [sic] thing is our friendly neighbourhood creditors will not wait that long and I only had a buck thirteen on July 23. Disability benefits are based on how much you contribute into CPP, which I think is the funniest joke I’ve heard since the Nobel Peace Prize was granted to a peaceful President entrenched into not one but two wars and only days after he signed a bill sending thirty thousand poor bastards to one country that is in the middle of a civil war and another that has housed fanatics for centuries. But I digress... I will tell you that the amount I qualify for, after working my entire life [20 years anyway], amounts to !@#$%^&* OH! Sorry... I was swearing. Believe it, or not, it is much less than minimum wage and even less than the poverty line.

The good news is, I am allowed to earn an additional $ 4700 a year before it starts being deducted dollar for dollar. Meanwhile, the bastard government is taxing the piddly amount that I do qualify for. So, what did we learn kiddies?

• Tony has a cat named Fluffy. I am too

polite to tell the joke about two

neighbors fighting over Fluffy and...

• My wife is not my mother.

Love your kids each day and plan for tomorrow.

Portrait of Terri Lynn Butt-Sears – by Lisa Marie Mueller

Featured artist of the month

John h. drew jr. By r. j. paré

r. j. paré: Have you always known that you wanted to be or, rather, were an artist? John H. Drew Jr.: The answer would be yes. I think I’ve been drawing since the day I could walk. I think I was blending crayon colors at 5 before I got my first water color set. I think when my cousin Harry brought me my first comic book; I knew I was going to be either drawing comics or painting portraits for the rest of my life. r.j.p: Did you study or major in art while in school? JHDJ: Funny, you would ask that question. Originally no, I was a self taught artist. I think I was drawing super heroes before I was a freshman in High school. Most of my High School career was spent in the art room. So, when it came to graduation I was never encouraged to be an artist. I have always had a burning desire to pursue art as a career. What I got from my family was more or less, “you’ll never make a living at doing that”. Basically, I ended up going to college for Computer Science. Afterwards I transferred my credits to Community College where I studied Illustration and design, and freelanced from time to time. At the moment, I’m currently working towards a Masters in Fine Arts in Illustration.

Intro: When preparing this month’s edition I did not have to look far to find the perfect candidate for the featured artist column. John has been a RKYV contributor for some time now and I have truly enjoyed his talented, evocative portraiture.

Recently, I had the opportunity to correspond with John and ask him to share, with us here at RKYV some more of his amazing work and to answer the expected twenty questions [LOL].

Artist’s Name: John H. Drew Jr. Title: My Locks Media Used: Photoshop CS3 Size: 16.86 x 21.27 Date Created: Aug. 25, 2009 r.j.p: I particularly like the use of lighting / shading in this portrait. There is a photo-realist quality to the skin-tone and the textures of the mustache and titular dreads that makes the piece stand out. r.j.p: Who was you biggest influence or source of encouragement, as a child, in pursuing art?

JHDJ: My biggest influences, I would have to say, my cousin and my uncle. My cousin on my Father’s side was an artist; he would draw these unbelievable portraits of friends and family. He was this really talented guy but he never really pursued art as a career. He actually went to school at Ducret located in Plainfield, NJ. He was the cousin I mentioned earlier that used to buy me comics as a kid. Then there’s my Uncle Fuzzy who was naturally gifted. He could really draw well; I think he started drawing in High School. I actually found some of his work tucked away with some family photos in the attic of my mother’s house. In addition, my uncle was in a very famous funk band in the 70’s, maybe you heard of it, “Parliament Funkadelics”.

Editor’s Note: Check out this link for P-Funk’s 1997 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. If you are unfamiliar with their music, it simply must be experienced. They are, without a doubt, a unique ‘aural freeway’ that takes us from Psychedelic Rock to the Delta Blues and back again – with signposts and crossroads that bring us down Gospel and Jazz musical detours. http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/parliament-funkadelic

Yes, I was highly influenced by P-Funk as a kid but I never found a need to try following the same path. Like I was saying earlier my artistic endeavors were never fully supported by my immediate family. Most of my encouragement and support came from friends, teachers, and believe it or not employers. r.j.p: What is your favorite media to work with? JHDJ: I was always a fan of pen, pencil, ink and clay. I had developed a love for oils and painting on canvas while taking courses in college. Of late, I’ve been getting heavily into digital painting. I have to say, Photoshop and Painter are the newest loves of my life. I wouldn’t say digital is any faster but it does make a difference in setup and cleanup time.

Artist’s Name: John H. Drew Jr. Title: Blue Heaven Media Used: Photoshop CS3 Size: 16.93 x 18.87 Date Created: Sept. 20, 2009 r.j.p: An interesting hybrid of Anime inspiration and using a more realist technique. And all this is digital??? What a long way we have come from the days of blocky pixels. John achieves a finished piece in this medium that bears striking visual resemblance to works that would once have required painting [gouache, for example] over finished inks and then air-brushing the results. While no doubt the digital process must be time consuming and painstaking as well... I suspect it offers a freedom that the ‘old-school’ mediums cannot: where physical mediums can be unforgiving to an errant slip of the hand or brush-stroke - a mistake in the digital medium can always be corrected with the magic of ‘undo’.

r.j.p: Do you use any special tools and techniques to create your art? JHDJ: I would say everything is pretty traditional, with the addition of my WACOM pad and third party software. r.j.p: What inspires you to create art? JHDJ: I think beautiful women, animals, love, and God. Again, beautiful woman! (Laughing) r.j.p: How would you categorize your artistic style? JHDJ: I consider myself an illustrator, I don’t really have a niche per say. I may feel like painting “demons on the moon, with midget strippers”, one minute, and a “basket full puppies”, the next. To be honest, I do prefer drawing, “demons on the moon with midget strippers”. (Laughing) r.j.p: Would you say that there is a "message" or "unifying theme" in your work? JHDJ: I have a tendency to express a great deal of brooding and foreboding in my images. When doing portraits, I love to focus on the eyes, or simple gestures. I really want people to have intimate moments with my art. r.j.p: Which famous artists or styles have influenced you? Why? JHDJ: I would have to say Frank Frazetta. I think I was a junior in High School and I purchased this book, Can’t exactly remember the name of it right now. I was completely fascinated by what was in it; I mean it blew me away. Most of my life I had been trying to copy Jack Kirby and host of others artwork from the comics but nothing compared to Mr. Frazetta, He was and is a true Master.

r.j.p: On the following page John opens up the virtual sketchbook and shares with us some studies of the lovely female form in a variety of poses...

Artist’s Name: John H. Drew Jr. Title: Figure Sketch Sitting Media Used: Photoshop CS3 Size: 7.86 x 10.68 Date Created: July 19, 2009

Artist’s Name: John H. Drew Jr. Title: Figure Sketch Walking Media Used: PS CS3 Size: 5.65 x 11.42 Date Created: July 19, 2009

Artist’s Name: John H. Drew Jr. Title: Figure Sketch Reclining Media Used: Photoshop CS3 Size: 6.25 x 4.17 Date Created: July 19, 2009

r.j.p: If you could meet any living or dead artist, who would it, be? JHDJ: Michelangelo Caravaggio. r.j.p: What is the one question that you would ask him/her? JHDJ: Dude its 2009, and you’re still awesome! How Do You Do It?

Artist’s Name: John H. Drew Jr. Title: Wolverine Media Used: Photoshop CS3 Size: 8.33 x 9.57 Date Created: Sept. 24, 2009

r.j.p: What do you think of the term "starving artist"? JHDJ: I don’t know, I’m an artist, I’m not starving. (Giggling)

r.j.p: The famous Marvel Comics character... or as I like to refer to him: “The face that sold millions of comics.” Truly this upër-popular figure is well served with John’s dark and powerful rendition.

r.j.p: Do you feel more a sense of community with other artists or a sense of competition? JHDJ: I really do feel a strong sense of community with other artists. I don’t feel competitive but I do feel inspiration – especially - when I see something that is really good and it touches me! r.j.p: How do you market yourself? JHDJ: I’ve been working through several freelancing sites in the past. Currently, I’m redesigning my website. The Website was originally focused on graphic design and not illustration, painting, conceptual design, or comic book illustration, which are my passions. Artist’s Name: John H. Drew Jr. Title: The Joker Media Used: Photoshop CS3 Size: 14.50 x 19.41 Date Created: Sept. 11, 2009

r.j.p: Specifically, the Heath Ledger version of the infamous villain as portrayed in “The Dark Knight.” Heath’s performance & Chris Nolan’s directing redefined what is possible within the confines of the comic genre film. This eerie, captivating piece is a fitting tribute to the tortured, sociopathic anarchist as envisioned Messrs. Ledger & Nolan.

r.j.p: Do you find it difficult to stay motivated/inspired? JHDJ: I do, because I’m not working fulltime as an artist, which is something I’ve been really focusing on these days. r.j.p: Do you create your art full time or part time? JHDJ: As mentioned prior, I work part time but I would love to do art all the time.

Artist’s Name: John H. Drew Jr. Title: A lady Media Used: Photoshop CS3 Size: 26.36 x 44.67 Date Created: July 1, 2009

r.j.p: What other interests do you have, besides art? JHDJ: I dabbled somewhat in music, singing in several groups. I’ve also been a big aficionado of martial arts. In addition, I also love computers but I only consider myself a pseudo-geek. I’ve never been like a 100% Urkel!(Chuckle) r.j.p: What advice would you have for a young artist starting out today? JHDJ: If you feel passionate about art stay focused, work hard, and keep the faith, and most of all practice, practice, practice. Artist’s Name: John H. Drew Jr. Title: Lady Two Media Used: Photoshop CS3 Size: 16.67 x 22.10 Date Created: Sept. 16, 2009

r.j.p: A beautiful companion piece to the previous painting. Once again John demonstrates his command of lighting, shadows and tone in creating this lovely portrait. The subtle blurring towards the edges lends his portraiture an effect similar to a soft-focus lens.

r.j.p: Do you have any big plans or shows coming up in 2009? JHDJ: Right now I’m simply doing art, painting and drawing everyday, building up my repertoire. There’s so much out here to do and so many things to learn and experience, there’s just not enough time in the day. r.j.p: How would you like your art, and by extension yourself, to be remembered? JHDJ: I want people to have a spiritual connection with my work. I really want to touch people and leave a long lasting impression.

Artist’s Name: John H. Drew Jr. Title: Obama Media Used: Photoshop CS3 Size: 10.73 x 9.36 Date Created: Sept. 17, 2009

r.j.p: The piece I just had to use for the cover. With November being the anniversary of Barack’s historic electoral win, it seemed a no-brainer. By rendering this portrait in B & W John achieves a measure of gravitas fitting for this, modern day, icon.

461 Witch – by Roger Formidable

Poetry [all photos and manips by r. j. paré]

Selected Poems By Frances Nichols Vargas

Forever Goodbye

The days slip by so fast The weeks turn to months And months turn to years

Grasping for every last second Praying there is no end and a second chance

One day forces you to realize But there are only tears

The scenes play out in slow motion The conversations replay over and over

The lost moments now stolen away forever Sorrow and somber filled, you kiss away

The love that you once knew.

Abandoned

selected poems of yearning, love and loss By Anna Gehmacher

But where shall I go what shall I do

if there's nobody here no one with me

I'm all on my own

looking for something to call my own trying to find my way all alone searching for something in me

called a soul

I'm broken and broke

clinging on to the last bit of hope Just one little dream,

just one glimpse of light, something to make it seem

like there's a reason

for going to bed at night.

The Dark Path

selected poems By Stephen Campbell

Bloody Sunday

Children run from fabled gable end The blasting of ties from dear wrought friend

And many murals cast up in defiance Of lies built fearfully on non-compliance.

Thursday

I ate supper with my friends Laughing in shaded revelry,

A row broke out, our fun did end Our gaiety turned from levity.

The brevity of our lightness lay strewn

Across the table of our meal, Dipped, our night in cups dark wound, A wound the deepest slice did seal. Our home usurped by demon and wight,

Thieves stole into our minds that night And stole the love that we felt for each other,

Severed our ties, killed our brothers.

Much fighting done and clashing of tongues, And all for what and why would one

Wish to win such anger-spited prize? The trophy a cup of tear stained eyes.

Supper spoiled the house is empty

And my friends are deserted, And heart and I alone filled heavy, Did for pride my love deserve this?

Desperation

ParÉ’s Poetic

Perpectives By r. j. paré

Forgotten

Tick, tick...

the seconds click. Salutations, from the now.

Work, work...

roll that wretched rock. To each day’s grind you’re shackl’d.

Hie home...

from whence you’ve roam’d. Soft, the crier sounds the hour.

Left late...

oaths sworn, not kept. Farewell, bleed out, forgotten.

Jimi Two – by Mike Grattan

Pop culture

Comic book review By Brad Bellmore Locke & Key

Thumb Sideways IDW released a new miniseries within the ongoing series of Locke & Key, written by Joe Hill and drawn by Gabriel Rodriguez. These Eisner nominated tales focus on a family trying to escape the memory of a brutal murder and have moved into a house full of arcane and dark magic, where certain doors open worlds and transform the person who opened them... if they have the right key.

This book focuses mostly on Dodge, the one who understands and uses the keys, and his interactions with the spirit of Sam, the one responsible for the murder the family is trying to escape. The largest chunk of the story takes place in a spirit realm where Sam is ensnared. Through the confrontation between Sam and Dodge, who has projected his spirit from his body, the opportunity arises for Sam to try to possess Dodge’s body. The result of the battle is that Dodge loses one of his most powerful keys and the mother is about to discover what truly goes on in her house.

The art in this book is a mixed bag for me. The style of the real world, the house and the people who live in it, has a grittiness to it that disturbs me. That does lend itself to the horror of the tale, but I find that I don’t particularly like it. The depictions of the spirit creatures and the spirit realm are astounding. The esoteric is presented in a way that is real enough that I feel very connected to that which is extremely insubstantial. The page layouts are interesting too, actually pushing the story forward in their occasional oddities. I love the concept of this story and the whole world created by Hill. The sprit realm is powerful. The use of keys and doors to go places and do things is fascinating. I just don’t quite understand how all the pieces fit together. Part of that, I am sure, is that this is my first foray into this world. Had I understood more back story, this may have been stronger. For those who love horror, suspense or the supernatural, this may prove to be a great title to follow. As much as I enjoyed aspects of it, I didn’t grasp the larger picture enough to freely recommend it.

Dr. Horrible

Thumb Mostly Up

Dark Horse unveiled the one-shot comic Dr. Horrible. This story is based on Joss Whedon’s web movie, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”. The comic gives us the back story and origin of Dr. Horrible, how a kid genius became an evil genius and super villain in the web movie.

Joelle Jones provides the art which is a little bit cartoony but fun. What else would you expect from a truly comedic comic? As with other comics derived from the Whedon-verse, there is enough similarity to the actors that portrayed the characters to feel like they are really participating in the comic itself. It all works together, to deliver a fun comic. The story is written by Zack Whedon (Joss’ brother). He creates a fun story that both resonates with the characters from the web movie, even down to picking up the tone of their voices in the dialogue, and keeps the mood of the humor that made the original Dr. Horrible so fun. The tale enlightens us on why someone would chose to become a super villain and evil genius. And I find that I empathize with Dr. Horrible. For those of you who have seen the web movie, you will love this comic as it provides more depth to the characters that you already know. For those of you who have not seen “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”, it’s worth the view. It is a great story that extrapolates the high school geek v. jock dynamic into the world of super powers, allowing us to see the villains as victims trying to survive against the heroes who are really bullies. I enjoyed this comic tremendously. It is well worth the money to enjoy this one-shot story. I loved the original story that it is based on, so I found it easy to enjoy. But I think the unique (and peculiar) characters offered here promise good entertainment.

Untitled – by Engin Korkmaz

Raised on Saturday morning cartoons By Pauline Paré

ENDINGS...

Fall is a time for endings… the leaves fall from the trees… the year is coming to an end… and several television series are leaving us for either the spring or even next fall. The television-less (my word, don’t try to look it up) gaps in winter seem to be growing larger and larger. We have shows that are making us wait up to four months until the next episode.

Four series in particular had finales that just blew me away. (Caution: the following may contain spoilers if these episodes are still sitting on your PVR unwatched.) In no particular order, they were The Mentalist, Stargate Universe, Glee and Dexter.

The lead character in The Mentalist, Thomas Jane, never lets the viewers forget that the only reason he was working with a unit in the CBI was to continue to track down the serial killer, Red John, who murdered his family. There are many episodes that deal with other cases, as leads for the Red John case are few and far between, but the episodes that deal with Red John are, by far, the most intriguing. This season the Red John case was taken away from Jane’s team. In the mid-season finale, Red John murdered the entire team that was newly assigned to the case so that Jane would be put on the case again. Many of these characters have been on the show for a couple of seasons already so their deaths were even more disturbing. Jane already blames himself, for taunting Red John to begin with, but now their strange relationship has led to more deaths on Jane’s conscience. The episode played out beautifully with many shocking revelations through out the episode. This was some great television writing.

Stargate Universe is quickly becoming my one of my favourite series this year. The tone is dark, the actors are top-notch and the writing is fantastic. My two favourite characters are Dr Rush, played brilliantly by Robert Carlyle and Colonel Everett Young, played equally well by Justin Louis.

The two characters have been butting heads from the beginning of the series with Col. Young attempting to be diplomatic due to the value of Dr. Rush’s scientific expertise, while Dr. Rush wants only to be free of the reins that Young’s leadership have placed on him. In the amazing last 10 minutes of the series, Dr. Rush puts another human being in danger for the last time and Young effectively strands him alone on a planet with no supplies and on the other end of the universe. How cool is that?

Now we come to Dexter. I am always excited about the next episode of Dexter. If you have not yet seen this amazing show, ask Santa for the DVDs. This season’s finale was amazing. Dexter is dealing with being a serial killer; with a new wife, Rita; and a growing family. Add to this a lack of privacy or places to store his killing instruments. (Poor Dexter?) When he tracks down the Trinity Killer (played brilliantly by a wonderfully creepy John Lithgow, who also writes children’s books?!?) who has a family of his own, he puts off killing him just to find out how this guy manages to balance family and be a sociopath. He ultimately pays for this change of behaviour by losing the one thing that ever made him happy. In the shocker ending of the television season, Dexter comes home after finally dispatching the Trinity Killer (with Trinity’s own hammer) and discovers...

Glee’s finale was awesome fun, as usual. With double the average musical numbers, the writers managed to fit in several amazing revelations and tie up nearly all of the plotlines from the entire season. It makes me wonder what on earth they have in store for us for the next nine episodes. All thirteen episodes of the series were produced at the same time, even before the fall premiere of Glee so I suspect that the producers were uncertain of the longevity of the series and wanted an ending if the show was cancelled. With the cast appearing on nearly every magazine and talk show out there, I think the future of Glee is very bright.

If you really want to find out, you will have to WATCH DEXTER. Or check out one of the many website that have detailed descriptions of the episode. It was an amazing and shocking ending, one that will have fans chatting about implications until the next season.

...AND BEGINNINGS

We all must wait for our favourite shows to return with new episodes. There are a few favourite series coming back, such as 24 and Chuck. 24 always brings action and excitement to the small screen and I am so excited about Chuck this season. Chuck is bringing in quite a few changes this year. The final season of Lost will be premiering in January. Will all the mysteries be solved… all of our questions answered… which characters will survive and will any deceased characters come back? (That does happen on Lost.) The last season was not the strongest but, for all of us that stuck with Lost; this should be an amazing and rewarding season.

I just checked out a promo for the new series, Human Target, set to begin in the New Year. I have always wanted to see Mark Valley (Boston Legal) as an action star. The promo is action packed and I will have more to say on the subject of Mark valley and his chiseled jaw line in the next issue of RKYV.