Once Upon a Geek

Sorry for no post yesterday.  Time lost to three hours of Chuck, two hours of Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, several Blackest Night crossover issues, and a sick child all caught up with me.  Sometimes other things just get in the way.

To pour salt in that wound, I’m not even going to give you a real post today.  Instead I’m going to direct you over to my other blog FIRESTORM FAN where I’ve posted the first part of my interview with the amazing Gerry Conway!  Gerry Conway is a comic book legend!  He was one of the most prolific comic book writers of the 1970s and 80s. His writing credits go on for miles! He’s probably best known for co-creating the Punisher and scripting the death of Gwen Stacy in the Amazing Spider-Man. He also wrote for and produced such TV series as Law & Order and Diagnosis Murder. Back in 1977, Gerry created Firestorm the Nuclear Man along with artist Al Milgrom. Gerry continued to write the character of Firestorm for about nine years. Gerry recently returned to comics after an almost 20 year absence with the insightful mini-series, The Last Days of Animal Man.

Gerry was kind enough to sit down and talk with me for about 80 minutes about Firestorm the Nuclear Man!  We discussed things like Firestorm’s creation, artists, the writing process, creator rights, the DC Implosion, merchandise, where the character has journeyed since his involvement, and much more! I believe any comic book reader, even if you aren’t a fan of Firestorm, would genuinely enjoy this interview.

So head over to FIRESTORM FAN.com and check out comic book legend Gerry Conway.

BLUE DEVIL WEEK concludes here at ONCE UPON A GEEK…

Today we’ve got a very special treat – the first creator interview from ONCE UPON A GEEK!  Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn, creators of the DC comic book characters Blue Devil and Amethyst Princess of Gemworld, were kind enough to spend some time with Ravenface and I discussing their creations.

Dan Mishkin & Gary Cohn both have been professional writers for nearly 30 years.  Their writing credits go on for miles, whether writing as a team or independently.  They are probably best known together for creating Blue Devil and Amethyst Princess of Gemworld, but they have also written a great deal on their own.  Just to name a few items… Dan wrote the Wonder Woman comic from 1982 through 1985, and more recently published a children’s book entitled The Forest King: Woodlark’s Shadow;  Gary wrote Shi for Crusade Comics and the Masters of the Universe action figure mini-comics.

Dan and Gary are true professionals and a joy to talk with.  We truly appreciate how generous they were with their time.  They indulged all our fanboy questions and explained a lot of the inner-workings of the comic book industry.   We talked about the characters, artists, the writing process, creator rights, proposed action figures, crossovers, and much more! I believe any comic book reader, even if you aren’t a fan of Blue Devil or Amethyst, would genuinely enjoy this interview.

Dan and Gary did a fantastic interview about Blue Devil for Back Issue magazine two years ago. In that interview they discussed things such as: how they came together as a writing team; what inspired them to create Blue Devil; and what was it like working with artist Paris Cullins. It’s the holy grail of Blue Devil interviews, so we did not re-tread those same questions here. If you haven’t read that excellent interview, issue #21 of Back Issue is available as a digital download from TwoMorrows Publishing.  Normally the digital download would cost you about $3, but they are running a special right now and this particular issue is FREE in PDF format. Go check it out!

During our interview we reference two different Amethyst-related works of art.  Here are links to both of those:

• Early Amethyst art by Ernie Colon
• Superman and Batman: World’s Funnest comic page by Ty Templeton featuring Gemworld

Our interview with Dan and Gary lasted an astonishing one hour and forty-one minutes (101 minutes).   You may play the interview right here on the ONCE UPON A GEEK site with the handy-dandy player below! I apologize for not offering the interview in text format, but transcribing an interview that long would have taken months.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Alternatively, you may download the file and listen to it on an MP3 player or your computer. You may download the interview by right-clicking here, choosing “Save Target/Link As”, and selecting a location on your computer to save the file (48.5 MB).

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the interview.  If you are in the Michigan area, please try to attend the Kids Read Comics event in Chelsea, Michigan on June 12-13.  Dan has been heavily involved with this event and it sounds really special.  You can read more about the Kids Read Comics event on their website.

This will do it for BLUE DEVIL WEEK!  Thanks to everyone for reading!   Long live Blue Devil and Amethyst!

It’s BLUE DEVIL WEEK here at Once Upon a Geek! In the grand tradition of FLASH WEEK and AQUAMAN WEEK, we’ll be exploring another of my top five favorite superheroes this week.  And to finish it off on Friday we’ll feature an exclusive ONCE UPON A GEEK interview with the Blue Devil creators!

Why I Like Blue Devil…

A blast of supernatural energy trapped Dan Cassidy — special effects master and stuntman supreme — in the skin of his greatest contraption! Forever after he would be an honest-to-goodness Blue Devil!

That was the brief description at the start of most issues of Blue Devil.  It was a good recap, but it didn’t capture how funny and endearing the character was.  One of Blue Devil’s greatest traits is that he’s a regular guy.  Regardless of how crazy the situation is around him, you can count on Blue Devil to provide a perspective you can relate to.  Whether we’re talking about the original Blue Devil series or the more recent Shadowpact series, he’s always maintained a Jimmy Stewart-like quality.  He’s the guy whose situation has spiraled out of his control, and yet he’s still struggling to do the right thing.

The humor that Blue Devil is known for typically comes from these outlandish situations and his responses.  In fact, that’s when Blue Devil works best in a comic; when he can spout off a bunch of one-liners in response to the insanity he’s caught up in.

Another reason I like Blue Devil is that I got in on the ground floor.  I picked up issue #1 off the shelf in 1984.  Here was a brand new hero that was funny and I could relate to!  I didn’t need to know 40 years of continuity and I felt like I was blazing my own trail of fandom (rather than just following the herds to Uncanny X-Men or New Teen Titans).  It felt like I was cheering for the underdog.

Finally, Blue Devil just looks cool. Paris Cullins work on the first six issues of Blue Devil is downright phenomenal.  Cullins has an incredible sense for layout & storytelling, and has a way of making static figures look dynamic & fun.  In Shadowpact, they redesigned Blue Devil’s look and gave his costume a much more “regular guy” appearance.  The new look of a t-shirt and pants really works for Blue Devil.  Now the look Blue Devil sported during his JLA years should be forgotten (1995-2005).  Yuck.

A Little History Lesson…

The much-beloved Blue Devil monthly series lasted 31 issues and one annual (1984-1986).  Blue Devil was created by the writing team of Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn, and they did the entire Blue Devil monthly series.  In that series, Dan Cassidy’s powers came from the amalgamation of his stunt suit technology and the sorcery bestowed upon him by the demon Nebiros.   While he used his powers to help people, he was always the reluctant hero.  He would rather have found a way to remove the costume that had become grafted to his body.

After that, Blue Devil dropped off the radar for about seven years until he reappeared in a six-part story in Showcase ‘93, again written by Mishkin & Cohn.  He later joined the Justice League America (1995-1996) written by Gerald Jones.  During the Underworld Unleashed crossover (1995), he made a deal with the demon Neron for fortune and fame.  This deal resulted in a drastic transformation for Blue Devil into a true devil; he was no longer just a human in a suit. During this period he joined up with the Sentinels of Magic, and found himself roaming the Earth with Lucifer’s Trident banishing escaped demons back to Hell.

Blue Devil returned to the spotlight in the excellent Day of Vengeance (2005) mini-series by Bill Willingham.  This led to a fantastic spin-off called Shadowpact that was written by Bill Willingham and Matt Sturges.  Shadowpact lasted 25 issues (2006-2008), giving Blue Devil a real chance to shine once more.  Finally, Blue Devil recently appeared as part of the Reign in Hell (2008-2009) mini-series.

The years after the monthly series and before Days of Vengeance were not stellar for Blue Devil (1986-2005).  During that era Blue Devil died no less that three times.  I’m not kidding.  Once in Underworld Unleashed #3 (1995), next in Starman #38 (1998), and finally in JLA: Black Baptism #4 (2001).  Each time he managed to come back to life.  It sort of became a running joke.

More to Come…

Come back later this week as we cover things like: cool covers, favorite stories, supporting characters, action figures, trading cards, and Who’s Who.  Even if you are not a Blue Devil fan, I think you’ll find things of interest this week. On Friday be sure to catch the very first ONCE UPON A GEEK creator interview with Dan Mishkin & Gary Cohn!