Film Friday: Comparing "Ant-Man" and "Magic Mike: XXL" Just For the Fun of It

A Man of Ants and a Mike of Magic

Please note that both movies are spoiled in-depth.
During this week I was able to get to the movie theater twice, once to finally see "Ant-Man" and then two days later to view, "Magic Mike: XXL". I really enjoyed and found some issues with both, for a variety of  surprisingly similar reasons (and I was surprised I liked "Magic Mike: XXL" as much as I did considering Steven Soderbergh was not as involved in this one as the last, which he directed).

Similarities in Both Movies

One Reason: Both had amazingly choreographed scenes--be it Scott Lang's fight with  Anthony Mackie as the Falcon in a surprise cameo (well, surprise if you haven't seen the T.V. ads that ruined it) or all the guys insanely creative strip-routines.

Another Reason: There was an immense amount of humor in both films, and both had a major overall goal, with it being a heist in "Ant-Man" and winning the Stripper Convention in "Magic Mike: XXL".

A Less-Positive Reason: Both movies also unfortunately had female characters that didn't get too big of a role, be it Hope in "Ant-Man" stuck to the side assisting Scott and her father Hank up till the reveal of a new Wasp outfit during the credits, or Amber Heard's Zoe character existing on the periphery of the film to give Mike someone to vaguely flirt with, but appear to decide is better as a friend (which it actually is kind of clever to have the idea that not every women Mike meets he has sexual chemistry with). There is one exception in "Magic Mike" in regards to a character named "Rome" I will discuss at the end of this post that helps counter this issue though.

Another Disappointing Reason: Both movies really do just sort of end, with "Ant-Man" clearly ending with a big cliff-hanger (especially so with that post-credits scene featuring Cap, Falcon, and Bucky) to get people even more excited for, "Captain America: Civil War" and Magic Mike reaching the point it has run two hours, the guys win the show, and the credits just suddenly roll as they watch fireworks on the beach triumphantly--because, honestly, what else is the movie going to show now that they won? Mike going back to working on furniture?

Elaborating on The Reasons

I just gave four examples, and I imagine I could come-up with more, but you get the idea. I think I'll elaborate a bit on them, though. For example, the choreography in both flicks is truly a mind-blowing thing to witness, with the mixture of real-fighting and special-effects giving "Ant-Man" a high intensity whenever Scott jumps between shrinking and being normal-sized while punching and kicking or when we see the guys in "Magic Mike: XXL" being just amazing with their dancing, from Channing Tatum in his workshop, Joe Manganiello at the gas station, or the sheer insanity of the closing scenes with their candy shop, honeymoon, and the surreal mirror-strippers bit. Plus, the immense humor and how it compliments the action is just delightful.

Watching Manganeillo do his wild dance in a gas station before asking how much the cheetos and water he used are, or seeing Scott Lang joke about how he's sorry for beating-up the Falcon because he's a big fan both are just two examples of great jokes that compliment the going-ons of each movie. The mixture of solid writing and great delivery by Paul Rudd in "Ant-Man" and all the guys in "Magic Mike XXL" creates two films that are both just hilarious. As "Magic Mike: XXL" is more of a comedy it has less drama (especially compared to the first one which could honestly get a bit dour), but "Ant-Man" knows when it needs to stop joking and put on a serious face for at least a few minutes. Still, as you see, all of this talk about action and humor is about men.

Seriously, these movies are pretty testosterone-driven, with one key character keeping "Magic Mike: XXL" from feeling too much like its all about the guys. It makes sense that with "Magic Mike: XXL" you're going to focus on men, and those men getting very lightly clothed, but the original "Magic Mike"--which I quite liked--does give the women characters some attention, as opposed to this one which other than a one big character is all about the boys, with women serving less as characters so much as the entities the fellows oil-up and grind on--not that any of the women in the theater I was in would complain if it happened to them (one yelled out, "I'd like to!" when a female in the movie asks to take off the shirt of Joe Manganiello's character).

As for "Ant-Man," you've got Hank Pym's daughter, Hope, acting like she hates Scott the entire movie before they fall in love...for some reason, and Judy Greer making an appearance as his ex-wife, but both are mostly minor characters. Scott's daughter really serves the biggest female role in the flick, although in the end she's more of a macguffin to make Scott and Darren Cross AKA Yellowjacket have a big fight around a Thomas the Tank Engine train set. Don't get me wrong, however, that fight was awesome.

Also, my annoyance about the sudden credit-rolling of both movies isn't too bad, as that's par-for-the-course with Marvel flicks to leave you wanting more, but it just really felt like "Ant-Man" really left a lot of stuff up in the air, as opposed to some of the other Marvel films that feel more complete. Plus, with "Magic Mike: XXL" once they win the Stripper Convention that's kind of that, but I still would have liked a little more closure--even something like out of "Animal House" where it shows their picture and goes on to describe what their character's went on to do--"Tarzan finally was able to meet the woman of his dreams and have a family, just as he said he wanted during one of the few sad scenes in the film," or something like that.

Overall? Really Fun Stuff!

There are parts I really liked about both movies, and some annoying concerns about them too. I think I can say that in my opinion that the sequel to the original "Magic Mike" really is bigger and better, much like the "XXL" in its name would imply, and "Ant-Man" was solid fun (better than the "Thor" films), but not as incredible as some of my favorite Marvel features ("Winter Soldier" is just a masterpiece).

With that in mind I give "Ant-Man" a stellar 4.5 out of 5 stars for stumbling a bit with its obnoxious feeling of not delivering a completely satisfying ending, and "Magic Mike: XXL" my highest rating of 5 out of 5 stars as even if it has some concerns, the sheer enjoyment-level I and other's got or will get from the film overrides most of my worries. Plus, the biggest complaint I had about women not having a big role in the movie is of little concern to most female viewers who are more interested in Channing Tatum's abs than anything else. Plus, my last interesting side-note about "Magic Mike: XXL" gives it an extra edge in being so neat...

A Closing Interesting Side-Note About "Magic Mike: XXL"

Basically, this film is really diverse and inclusive, which I quite liked. The guys go to a gay-friendly bar hosted by a Drag Queen early in the movie on their road trip and don't express any discomfort or crack any jokes at the expense of the LGBT population. They just simply are some straight guys who feel perfectly comfortable hanging-out with LGBT individuals too. Also, later in the movie when the fellows need a new car, Mike takes them to a large establishment owned by "Rome", who is played superbly Jada Pinkett-Smith. The mansion of a building they go to is a massive strip-club that has a clientele who are mostly women of color, and a "staff" of male dancers who are black men too.

Again, this is never used to set up some kind of joke at the expense of any minority, it just is apparent that Rome has found an audience and tailored her employees to appeal to that audience, with her making mention she has had some Caucasian men in her employ too, with Mike apparently having been known as, "White Chocolate" when he worked for her years ago. It results in a movie that actually passes multiple tests in regards to to the portrayal of race and gender discussion.

By giving us the character "Rome" in the form of Jada Pinkett-Smith viewers see a strong female, who Mike actually has to go to for help, and who does not just automatically help him, but demands he prove he is worth her investment of time and resources before she saves his team from being disqualified from the Stripper Convention by serving as their MC. 

Rome is a strong, self-assured, and business-savvy individual who really gives "Magic Mike: XXL" that extra, "Oomph," to the story and characters by showing us that to truly succeed and win, both men and women need to work together as equals--even if it is working together to win something as silly as the Stripping Convention.

Film Friday: A Soderbergh Trifecta

Soderbergh himself, in a recent photo from early 2013.

Opening Scene
Steven Soderbergh has directed numerous films with such varying tones it is amazing. Some directors find a genre, niche, what-have-you, and stick with it their entire career. Soderbergh, however, just makes whatever movie he damn well feels like--be it an Ocean's 11 remake, a flick about a high-end prostitute ("The Girlfriend Experience,") or one of the three films I'm going to discuss.

Soderbergh has said he is quitting/retiring/done with movies. He might do television, perhaps work on a play, but he's finished with the movies, and his newest release today, "Side Effects," may very well be the last movie we ever see from him (I hope it isn't). I haven't seen, "Side Effects," but I have seen other films that Soderbergh has directed, and I'm going to discuss the three that I feel are worth talking about. The movies are, "The Informant!" "Contagion," and yes, "Magic Mike."

Fun Watching Films
One thing I want to mention first, Damon is great in the two movies of these three he appears in. Both, "The Informant!" and, "Contagion," have Matt Damon involved, (although he gets more screen-time in, "The Informant!") and both of the movies have his characters in over their heads. Whether Damon is trying to eek out a deal with the government about his company's price-fixing or dealing with the death of his wife and son things sure aren't easy for him. Of course, in Contagion the big baddie is the virus and society's eagerness to panic, whereas in, "The Informant," by the time we reach the end it seems the most shady of everyone was in fact Damon's character.

Don't let the charming face fool you, this guy is weaselly.

While, "The Informant!" was a great movie it didn't seem to get as much press as the other two movies, which is why I can sort of link, "Contagion," and "Magic Mike," together. You see, the existence of these films themselves sparked our imagination, sometimes more than even the movies did. "Contagion," had everyone talking about how scary it is to imagine a virus like the one on the silver-screen. Picture something suddenly forming and coming close to destroying society, it is scary. "Magic Mike," had people talking because, well, women liked the idea of seeing a movie about a bunch of half-naked men, especially if one of them is Channing Tatum. Soderbergh subverts expectations with both movies in a way, however.

"Contagion, "the movie that had everyone washing their hands.

In "Contagion," some of the, "best," characters either die or have their story-line end with enough unanswered questions even their survival is in doubt--the more morally grey characters or out-and-out sleazeballs such as Jude Law's character manage to get out relatively unscathed--that's quite a change in the idea of the hero always winning the day. "Magic Mike," surprises you because underneath its glossy exterior of male strippers is an interesting story about human beings who are horribly flawed but trying their best to make life something that can be withstood. Seriously, pretty much none of the characters in, "Magic Mike," are particularly endearing, but they are fascinating nonetheless (Matthew Mcconaughey reminds us in this flick that if he's given a good role he actually can act the Hell out of it). Also, for a movie about male strippers, "Magic Mike," has a ton of female nudity--its almost as if Soderbergh realized some straight men would get dragged along to the movie who didn't care about his masterful storytelling in all his films, so he threw them a bone in the form of Olvia Munn's breasts .

Soderbergh went from a movie about how touching anything could be deadly to a film about half-naked men grinding on women. There's something interesting to that.

"Contagion," and "Magic Mike," both have the concept of time passing as an important aspect of the films too. In, "Contagion," we see how the virus spreads from Day 1 of its existence in a human to the bitter end of when a vaccine is finally created. "Magic Mike," shows us what life is like over a period of some months for our characters, with all the ups-and-downs of living that a month can entail. However, while, "Magic Mike," is more of study of just Tampa and its inhabitants, "Contagion," is a global experience of seeing how the world exists and falls into disarray. "The Informant!" involves the flow of time too, as we see Damon go from 30 or so years ago to near-present day.

Another thing linking these three movies is how Soderbergh always manages to get a stellar performance out of his actors. "The Informant!" has a ton of known and lesser-known comedians among its cast, but in a clever occurrence Soderbergh does not have them all necessarily being funny so much as he does just have them be normal people. Seeing Joel McHale not cracking jokes is a bit weird, but it illustrates that these folk have range beyond telling jokes. "Contagion," is just stock-full of amazing performances, from Matthew Damon to Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard to Brian Cranston, Laurence Fishburn to Jude Law, and Kate Winslet to Chin Han. "Magic Mike," also succeeds with its characters be it the aforementioned Mcconaughey being a huge jerk, Alex Pettyfer as the headstrong stripping-newbie, or Channing Tatum as the man who knows he's getting too old for stripping but has limited options--and seriously, getting Channing Tatum to do a good job acting is pretty hard; the man may look amazing but his acting tends to be a bit under-cooked.

Joel McHale is in a comedy movie, yet has a serious role. Interesting, no?

Soderbergh also is great with how he gets the, "look," in his movies. "Contagion," often seems to have a sharp, sickly color, and "Magic Mike," has a strange haze-y look much of the time except for the scenes that take place within the strip club itself, where the picture gets bright and clear, as if Soderbergh is saying everything inside the club is hyper-real and memorable while outside life for the characters is just more-so a blur. "The Informant!" has a variety of hues but mainly I didn't notice anything in particular about the lighting or shades that stood out. Yes, Soderbergh gets so much right in his movies. From the way it looks, to the acting, interesting stories, and whatever else he does to make all his films as enjoyable as they are.

Closing Credits
Steven Soderbergh has done a lot of work, and much of it has been great. This little exercise in discussing three of his films has been fun and shows that despite the immense differences in each flick he creates there tends to be things that unify them in some sense or the other. Soderbergh saying he is basically done with film makes me sad, but also has me wondering what fascinating things he could be cooking up next in whatever career he chooses to pursue. I'm eager to see what happens, aren't you?

"Magic Mike's Last Dance," Has a Trailer!

 I love basically anything Director/Producer/Genius Steven Soderbergh makes. Whether it's a quirky comedy about a corporate informant,  Liberace's life, the eerily-prescient, "Contagion," or the, "Magic Mike," movies, Soderberg makes good stuff. The first, "Magic Mike," is a bit sad and serious, "Magic Mike XXL," is a hilarious road-trip comedy, and now we've got, "Magic Mike's Last Dance,"  which was announced late last year, to complete the trilogy and the trailer has dropped. Have a look:

Whether you enjoy the movie's because you're a woman who loves Channing Tatum/men in general stripping, a man who loves men stripping, or a random person who enjoys great flicks and complex dance routines (I wrote about appreciating Thunder From Down Under before, readers may recall), this should be a damn good time. I do hope we get more of Mike's friends as they are strangely absent in this trailer (although Selma Hayek is awesome). Expect, "Magic Mike's Last Dance," in theaters on February 10th, 2023. Just in time for Valentine's Day, cleverly enough!

Film Friday: We're Getting a 3rd, "Magic Mike," Movie, Ya'll!

Magic Mike will return for a third movie, completing what I and many others always hoped would be a trilogy. Titled, "Magic Mike's Last Dance," it will have the director of the first (and he produced the second, Steven Soderbergh, back directing. It seems it will be coming straight to HBO Max and possibly skipping theaters, so that'll save some scratch too. Channing Tatum and a chunk of the cast are returning. I quite enjoyed the first film and really liked the second, so I am pumped.

Why am I, a cisgender heterosexual male, so excited for a movie about dudes stripping? Well, Soderbergh is incapable of directing a bad movie (pretty much anything he's made I've enjoyed) and the, "Magic Mike," movies are just simply quite good. They are tonally a bit different, but each has a lot of charm. The first one is a bit like a dramatic arthouse flick and the second one is a hilarious buddy road trip movie. Plus, both have some amazing choreography. I like the second a bit more however because--as I mentioned--it is so funny. Also, the sequel has Donald Glover singing, so that's a plus. Details are sparse on what the plot is like and how serious or humorous we should expect things to be, but with Soderbergh involved it is bound to be great!

Flashback Friday: What a Difference A Sequel/Remix Makes--Examining Tonal Changes in Entertainment Properties

Changing Tones
For this Flashback Friday I thought I would look at movie, song, and video-game that all had a sequel or a remix that drastically changed their tone. Normally when we watch/listen to/play something we can expect a follow-up to be similar, but with these three properties that came out a bit ago it is fascinating how what came next following the initial property could be related to the original, but oh-so-different.

Magic Mike Versus Magic Mike XXL

I'll admit the recent-ish ,"Magic Mike XXL," is maybe pushing it for a, "Flashback Friday," but I'm still gonna use it. For real though, despite having much of the same cast and director of the first one (the awesome Steven Soderbergh) being involved in production for the second, these flicks could not be more different than they are. In my review of the sequel, "XXL," I talked about how darn fun it is, which isn't to say the first movie lacks fun...but it is honestly a little intentionally depressing at times. The first movie focuses more on the lives of the men who strip and their drama with family, starting a furniture business, and inner power-struggles among the strippers. The spoof-makers over at Honest Trailers point out this dichotomy between the fun-time stripping and depressing plot quite expertly in their faux-preview.

Meanwhile, "XXL," is basically the fun-time party we all were promised in the promotional materials for the first movie. There is a handful of sadder moments, but overall the whole movie is basically a lot of jokes, sexy men, sexy women, and general good vibes. Both movies are stellar in their own way, but despite, "XXL," being a sequel, it might as well take place in a whole different universe.

Jak and Daxter Versus Jak II

Remember when the studio, "Naughty Dog," was known for their fun little platformer-games featuring Crash Bandicoot and the first, "Jak and Daxter?" It is crazy to think that studio behind silly fun games went on to make such blockbusters as, "Uncharted," and the relentlessly depressing and gory (but also superb), "The Last of Us." Arguably the first hint of their more mature ambitions could be found in the drastic differences between, "Jak and Daxter," versus its sequel, "Jak II." The original game is a cheery adventure set in a peppy world full of bright colors and lots of doo-dads to collect. Also, Jak never talks, because back in the day it was a thing to not have your protagonist speak at all (think of the silent, "Claude," of, "Grand Theft Auto III," or Gordon Freeman in the ,"Half-Life," games).

Then, at the start of, "Jak II," they go into a portal only to enter a really depressing and run-down world. Jak is captured, horrifically experimented on, and gains the ability to speak (and swear). Daxter rescues him and the game then has some of the platforming of the first title, but a lot darker of a tone and now hover-cars you can drive as well as guns (which the first game had none of as far as I recall). So, to review: the first game is a happy collect-a-thon and the 2nd has you stealing hover-cars and shooting guns. To the credit of, "Naughty Dog," both are still very good games and there was even a third one that apparently was pretty rad too (I never played it).

In My Bed Versus In My Bed Remix

Dru Hill is a Rhythm and Blues group with a great sound that lends itself especially well to sad songs. Member Mark Andrews recorded, "In my Bed," back in 1996 which is a slow and very depressing ditty about how a man's girlfriend is cheating on him. It is melodic, thoughtful, and you can really feel his pain. Then there is the remix with, Jermaine Dupri and Da Brat which features an entirely different beat, melody, sound, all that. Dru Hill turns in much of the same lyrics, but suddenly this thoughtful and slow song about loss and sorrow is a real club banger. Jermaine Dupri has always been great at makings hits so it isn't surprising he creates such a stellar remix, and Da Brat is a talented rapper who turns in a fantastic guest verse as well.

It just is astonishing how different the same song can be with a remix. In fact, both versions of the song had a music video made and they are extremely varied too. The original song's video has a lot of sad staring-into-the-distance, some dancing, and Andrews watching with disgust as his lady sleeps with another man before it closes with him sobbing on the stoop of his apartment complex. Meanwhile the remix-video has everyone looking like they are at a party with lots of cool DJ-equipment, more dancing, and general fun despite the fact that Andrews is still singing the exact same verses about how this woman did him wrong!

Tonal Shift Completed
As these older pieces of entertainment and their sequels/remixes illustrate, sometimes you can have something that is ostensibly related to the original property, but is in fact quite different. Thankfully in the case of these three pieces of entertainment their original iteration is just as great as the sequel or remix.

I Took My Mother-in-Law to Thunder From Down Under For Her Birthday

I took my Mother-in-Law to Thunder From Down Under this past weekend as a birthday present. How did this happen, and what did we think of the show, you may ask? Let me rewind to explain how things unfolded the way they did.

While having my blog I've written about my enjoyment of the, "Magic Mike," movies and being impressed by the technical skill showcased by entertainers/strippers that comes to their routine. People at various points have recommended to me I actually go to a revue featuring Male dancers. I am someone who would identify as a heterosexual cisgender male, but even if I am not sexually attracted to men I can of course say if a guy is handsome or in good shape, and I enjoy any kind of loud show full of people dancing--so I was by no means self-conscious at the idea of going to such a show. Also, my Mother-in-Law, a woman named Kim, has also seen the, "Magic Mike," movies and said in the past how she'd always wanted to go to one of those big shows.

Therefore, when I saw that Saint Louis' River City Casino was going to have none other than, "Thunder From Down Under," at their event-hall I thought it would be a great opportunity for us to give Kim a great present and it would allow me to write a fun blog article. I asked Kim if she would like to go to the show and minded if it was with me, and she said that was fine. My wife, Samii, said she didn't have too big a desire to go and was happy to stay home and watch our son while I went with Kim. Hence, on Saturday, August 10th, 2019, I left in the evening with my Mother-in-Law for a production of Thunder From Down Under at River City.

For those unaware of what, "Thunder From Down Under," is, it's a big show located originally at Excalibur Hotel in Las Vegas, but many of the men who perform in it will go on tour around various States (and even Countries) to do productions in other places. The men in Thunder From Down Under are all (or at least almost all) from Australia, hence the name of the revue. It is not exactly a strip-show so much as it is a big production. Anyone who has gone to a strip club will tell you it can at times be a bit depressing. There is a man or woman on a stage doing some lazy gyrations, then they walk around asking for tips from people before leaving the stage for another performer to come up and do the same thing--rinse, repeat, dull. "Thunder From Down Under," is not at all like that--as I'll go into in a minute.

Let's go back to last Saturday night, however. Kim and I arrived at River City and were sure to park on the side by the event-hall so we wouldn't have to wade through all the smoke in the play-area. We walked into the building and went to the event-hall entrance where they scanned my phone (I had the tickets on it digitally). We walked into a big event space like you'd expect for a concert--lots of seats with the rows and sections labeled. After finding our spot towards the middle-back we sat down and there was a projector showing video of a recent photo-shoot the men had done in the desert around Las Vegas. Anytime a man in the video would show-off a bit extra of his butt, pour water over himself, or something of that nature the crowd would let out a little cheer. The show was slated to start at 8:00 PM but as everyone was still coming in at a steady pace past that time the lights didn't fully dim until about 8:15 PM, at which point the video announced how the exciting revue was about to commence!

A show with, "Thunder From Down Under," is a big event. There is a huge stage, a large audience, and there are surprisingly intricate and choreographed routines that you would expect professional dancers to do--along with raunchier dance-moves as well (lots of thrusting and crotch-grabbing). The show began with a routine featuring the guys in casual clothes (t-shirt and jeans) that led to the shirts quickly coming-off and the jeans slung extra-low. I was immediately struck by how tightly choreographed the dancing was. The jumps, flips, and kicks were eye-catching and seeing these guys in peak physical condition doing moves that I--someone who lacks a super-muscular body--would not dream of doing was impressive.

Dean, with one of the many calendars given away as thanks to the volunteers.

After the opening routine the MC came on stage, a charismatic man named Dean. He of course had an Australian accent and did pretty much all of the talking for the night. He was extremely funny and engaged with the crowd wonderfully between the dancing routines. He had one joke about, "Whipping it out," at which point he unzipped his pants and pulled a toy snake out while remarking, "With an Australian trouser-snake the key is to stroke it, not choke it," to give you an idea of jokes he told. The audience loved it, with the ladies in the crowd cheering loudly whenever Dean was telling jokes, and screaming with glee when a dance routine would start.

Routines after the opening tended to feature one of the men as the, "Star," of the segment and the other guys being back-up dancers. Generally a third of a routine would consist of the guys on the stage doing impressive dancing, another third would involve a lucky woman from the audience being brought on-stage to be danced around (and on), and then the last third consisted of the guys going around the auditorium giving the ladies hugs, picking them up if they said it was okay, and otherwise interacting with the crowd as the women eagerly slapped at their rears and rubbed their chests. As I wasn't there hoping to rub my hands on a handsome man I most enjoyed the dancing bits, although seeing the crowd go wild when the men walked around was always a hoot. Also, although tipping is not required at all some women would put dollars in the guys pants or g-strings and the men would politely accept it so as to not be awkward--tips were never requested however.

There were some men in the audience. About half seemed bored--as if they'd been dragged along by a wife or girlfriend who didn't want to come to the show alone, and another half seemed to be really into the show. "Thunder From Down Under,' is of course marketed to females, but there is zero issue with men attending, the performers just don't really interact with the guys during the show because this is all about giving the ladies in the audience a good time. Us men are welcome to attend, but our entertainment is not the focal point, and that's perfectly fine because women deserve to hoot and holler and ogle sexy bodies too. Each segment with a star performer had a general theme (Military, Tarzan, Australian SWAT team, Sin City) and the outfits were pretty detailed considering how quickly they ended-up coming off (I wonder how big the budget is for tank-tops considering how many got dramatically ripped-apart). Sometimes there would be a segment with all the guys dancing, such as one that everyone was encouraged to take their phones-out for to film, take pictures of, and share on social media. Everything had a good flow to it and it never felt like a segment was running too long or too short.

As the show proceeded, to break things up around the mid-point there was a hilarious, "Fake Orgasm Contest," where three women in the audience who volunteered went on stage and took turns chatting with Dean before taking the microphone and expressing vocally their best imitation of getting-off. The first woman was clearly a bit too nervous, but the second to go (and who won) was incredible, between her moaning and loudly yelling, "Spank me!" which was clearly cracking even Dean up. The third woman to provide a fake orgasm was good too, but that second lady was incredible.

When asked to describe the show in one word she said, "More."

Towards the end of the program a great moment occurred where Dean asked if there were mothers in the audience, then grandmothers, then any great-grandmothers. One woman near where Kim and I were sitting named Mary had her hand raised high--she had nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Dean brought her on the stage and asked if she was a horny grandma, to which she stated she was. With this, the second-to-last segment of the night occurred where the awesome song, "Pony," began and all the of the men started dancing for Mary. Dean joked the segment was called the, "Grandma Gang Bang," and then he himself danced too after previously having only MC'd. At the end he asked Mary to describe what happened with a single word and she simply responded, "More!" which made the entire crowd burst-out laughing and cheering her name.

The last routine was Western-styled with the crowd loudly singing along to, "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy," and then the show concluded with everyone told if they wanted they could have pictures taken with the performers (the winner of the fake orgasm contest got to go back-up on stage and have her picture taken to show how it works) now. There were a few picture options, including one that featured everyone giving a middle-finger which was meant to be sent to, "An ex-boyfriend or husband," which was pretty cheeky. Overall the show ran a brisk-but-enjoyable 90 minutes.

After the show was done I asked Kim what she had thought of it and she stated it was really fun. We both agreed if we had one complaint it would be just how loud everything was. Between the blaring music and the extremely-vocal crowd that would scream and holler at the top of their lungs my ears were ringing all of Saturday night and my hearing still was a little shot Sunday. I perhaps should have worn earplugs for the loudest segments if I'd known just how high the decibels were going to get. That quibble aside however, "Thunder From Down Under," is fun whether you're a man, woman, gay, straight, or any variation that simply loves a good show.

Unlike sleazy strip clubs with their depressing vibe a, "Thunder From Down Under," show is an exciting and very sex-positive production. Women of all ages and sizes were there, equally having fun singing, cheering, and trying to grab a handful of the sexy men whenever they strutted their stuff among the crowd. If you ever have a chance to see the show in Las Vegas or notice that, "Thunder From Down Under," is coming to your town I would for sure recommend attending. It is a fun show without a doubt and made a great birthday present for my Mother-in-Law!

Re-Interview Time: Mike Wolfer

Introduction

I've spoken with Mike Wolfer before, focusing mostly on his first Kickstarter for "Ragdoll" which I was quite a fan of (see my review here). He has a new Kickstarter for the "Widow Archives" nearing its conclusion (there is still time to pledge though) which collects some of his earlier work when he released comics about a character named, what else, "Widow"! For a long time it has been difficult to find all the issues of this series, but thanks to this latest Kickstarter old fans of the character--and people new to her thanks to enjoying Wolfer's more recent and easier-to-find works--can enjoy this bloody, sexy, and scary horror comic. Having read a bit of Widow before and loved "Ragdoll" I thought it only made sense to speak with Wolfer again about the "Widow Archvies", and what the future holds for "Ragdoll" in her new series, "Daughters of the Dark Oracle."

The Interview Begins!

Hello Mike! We have spoken before about your “Ragdoll” comic which I was quite a fan of. For those who are new to the blog or forgetful would you mind re-introducing yourself?

Sure thing! I’m Mike Wolfer, a comic book writer and artist. I started my career in 1987 as a self-publisher, did that for almost ten years, then signed-on with Avatar Press in 1996. I’ve been with Avatar for almost twenty years, and I’ve been lucky enough to work with Warren Ellis, Alan Moore, Garth Ennis, George R.R. Martin, so many incredibly talented creators. Most people know me for my horror work, on titles like NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, GRAVEL, FRIDAY THE 13^TH, LADY DEATH, and a bunch of others. 

Tell me a bit about the history of “Widow” and what made you want to revisit this character?

My first self-published book was a giant monster homage called DAIKAZU, which had generated quite a loyal fanbase, and had run for 11 issues. I was having a great time with it, but decided to take a breather and do a quick, little, self-contained, three-issue, mini-series that was outside of the giant monster stuff. So in 1992, I whipped up WIDOW: FLESH AND BLOOD, a kind of throwback to the old, exploitation movies I loved from the ‘70s. Two cops are stranded on a tropical island, there’s a scientist conducting genetic experiments, he has a beautiful and mysterious daughter, and there’s some kind of blood-thirsty, spider-monster on the loose.

It’s really interesting how everything took off. Keep in mind, it was the beginning of the indy comic boom. My intent was to do something that no one else was doing, a really gory, sex-filled, horror piece. One story, and done, then back to DAIKAZU. I was doing the WIDOW story mostly just for me, because it’s what I would have liked to read, and I had no idea if anyone else felt the same. I didn’t even reveal until the climax of the series that Emma (the scientist’s daughter) was actually the monster, and I think that blew away a lot of people. So the book came out, and sales were really good, far surpassing my DAIKAZU sales. Something about WIDOW just clicked with readers, even before the hook was revealed. Emma was on every cover, but never in her spider form, of course; that would give away the ending. And that last issue came out, Emma sprouts spider legs, and readers were like, “What the hell?! You can’t end it now! We want more!” Naturally, I listened to them, and published four more WIDOW mini-series, for a total of fourteen issues.

Then Avatar Press came along and made an offer to publish WIDOW as one of their core titles, so we did WIDOW #0 and the WIDOW: THE ORIGIN mini-series, some crossovers and one shots, and they reprinted all of the old stuff with new X-rated material and titled it WIDOW X. But I was also working on other books for them, and that slowly dominated my schedule, so there wasn’t any time for more WIDOW. But for years, fans have been asking me, “When are you going to do trade paperback collections of the WIDOW stories?” I’d been so wrapped-up in my Avatar work that self-publishing wasn’t feasible. I couldn’t imagine even attempting it, as I’d have to totally rebuild a company from scratch, and I just didn’t have the time, unfortunately. But as I saw one Avatar project after another disappear from my schedule, I realized two things: 

1.) I needed to do something to make money, and... 

2.) Now I have the time to focus on returning to my roots, and give my fans what they’ve been asking for.

The Kickstarter for the “Widow Archives” has been extremely successful as it nears its final stretch. Now, you have successfully delivered on promised goods before (something I appreciate in this era of many Kickstarters getting funding and then disappearing into the night with funders’ money)…

A: Well, let me go on record to say that there’s one project I have yet to deliver on, and that’s COUNTESS BATHORY. That was a one-shot book, which was supposed to ship to backers in February, but I’m way behind schedule on it. It’s written, and I’m drawing pages, but I still have a lot of work to do. What happened there was that I’ve been working on a six-issue arc of CROSSED for Avatar Press, but I ended up being out sick for almost two months last fall, so that threw everything out of whack with my schedule. I have GOT to get the CROSSED series done first, so BATHORY has been pushed back a bit. I’m looking at delivery that to backers in May. Which, really, if you look at how some Kickstarter creators deliver years late or never at all, it’s not too terrible of a delay.

I won't hold being a behind a couple months against you considering there is stuff I've backed that I'm still waiting for years later! Is it a bit intimidating to have to handle the logistics of having not just one book, but multiple volumes printed? How are you dealing with the challenge of coordinating all books along with other rewards?

Yeah, the WIDOW ARCHIVES is actually a total of five volumes with the addition of the FANGS OF THE WIDOW ANNUAL, so there will be some crazy logistics to take into account. But like you said, I’ve done Kickstarters in the past, so we have shipping backer rewards down to a science now. And since these are reprint collections, the creative work is done, so it’s just a matter of having the printing and shipping done. Natalie Jane, who letters all of my new work, is doing all of the scanning and clean-up and production for the WIDOW ARCHIVES, so that’s an incredible weight off of my shoulders. As she cleans up the pages, I’m going in and doing some art corrections in Photoshop, to fix some of the anatomy and facial feature mistakes I made twenty years ago when I first drew those stories.

Is there a possibility of new “Widow” material coming out in the future seeing as how an interest has been expressed via the big success of the “Widow Archives” Kickstarter?

Absolutely. I guess a cool concept is a cool concept, and people are seeing WIDOW as a cool concept that’s not dated. Just like when I created that first mini-series back in 1992, I didn’t expect such interest to be expressed. I’m doing the WIDOW ARCHIVES as a “thank you” to all those old-timers who have asked for these collections for years, but I’m pleasantly surprised to see new readers jumping on, who have never seen or heard of WIDOW. With the primary focus of my company, Mike Wolfer Entertainment, on RAGDOLL and DAUGHTERS OF THE DARK ORACLE, fans are naturally asking if Widow might be making a comeback. Let me just say, there’s another reason why I’m putting all of the old material out there now, just before DAUGHTERS launches. I want fans to be familiar with her, just in case she pops her pretty head into another series, if you get my drift.

You have plans to start soliciting the “Daughters of the Dark Oracle” through Diamond Previews as a monthly title. Correct?

Right. You know, it seems that with every project I try to explain, it gets crazy convoluted, but that’s a good thing- It means that reader reception has been so great that I have to scramble to alter my original, modest plans! THE CURSE OF RAGDOLL was a seven-issue serial that ran years ago in RAW MEDIA QUARTERLY. Very few people saw it, but I always thought it was one of my strongest concepts, so I decided to collect that story into graphic novel format and fund it through Kickstarter. That was my first, modern testing of the self-publishing waters, and I planned to publish a new RAGDOLL graphic novel maybe once or twice a year. I followed CURSE with the COUNTESS BATHORY one-shot, as a prelude to that second RAGDOLL graphic novel, which would be titled RAGDOLL: ORGY OF THE VAMPIRES, to be released in 2015. But the Kickstarter for THE CURSE OF RAGDOLL went so well, and reader and critical response was so overwhelmingly positive, that I figured I’d better make some alterations to my original plan. I’ve also had it in the back of my head that my Kickstarter projects have only been getting into the hands of backers, and not comic book shop clientele because they’re not distributed, so I made arrangements with Diamond Comic Distributors. All of the new RAGDOLL stories I had planned will now be in a monthly, comic book format, rather than twice a year as graphic novels, and the new title is DAUGHTERS OF THE DARK ORACLE.

What is the reasoning behind the title change? Is the idea that the world of “Ragdoll” is so big you needed to expand it beyond just her and also discuss the other characters?

The whole concept of RAGDOLL is totally, retro ‘70s. It should be viewed as a combination of Hammer and horror/exploitation films and Warren Publishing magazines (EERIE, CREEPY, VAMPIRELLA). That’s the vibe I’m going for, right down to the gray-toned, black and white interiors. With that in mind, I wanted each new RAGDOLL installment to be a kind of “RAGDOLL VS. _______,” because that’s just plain fun. As I developed each story (yes, I’m working way ahead), I realized that these antagonists are incredibly strong characters in their own right, and could easily be the stars of their own series, and Ragdoll herself is sort of the delivery method for introducing those characters to readers. The story isn’t so much about Ragdoll, but about those she encounters, the world in which they live, and how they influence or change the course of each others’ lives.

“Daughters Of The Dark Oracle” begins with the original saga of Ragdoll?

Yes. The first story I did in this “universe” was THE CURSE OF RAGDOLL, so we really have to begin there, to establish the premise. Basically, Ragdoll is a Frankenstein’s monster kind of creature, created through an unholy amalgamation of science and magic. She’s haunted, however, by the memories, spirits, souls, or whatever you’d like to call them, of the women who originally owned her composite parts. All of those women met untimely deaths, so Ragdoll’s mission is to track down the various killers responsible for those murders. But in the course of her quest, she crosses paths with others of supernatural origin, and she (and we) are seeing that there is much more darkness in the world than we are aware of, and that myths and legends and monsters are real.

So you’ll be expanding out to the other characters, making it so that those of us who have backed the Kickstarters have a “head-start” of sorts (plus of course all the Kickstarter bonuses)?

Exactly! The first mini-series is titled DAUGHTERS OF THE DARK ORACLE: THE CURSE OF RAGDOLL, the second series is DAUGHTERS OF THE DARK ORACLE: ORGY OF THE VAMPIRES, the third series will be DAUGHTERS OF THE DARK ORACLE: BEAST FROM THE BRINE, etc. Quite a few people backed the Kickstarter and have already read THE CURSE OF RAGDOLL, so for you guys, issue #1 of the monthly series has a new, 12-page intro chapter that features Countess Bathory, the Wolfwoman, the Siren, and an all-new character who ties all of them together.

Sample Artwork from "Daughters of the Dark Oracle".

Is that character the “Dark Oracle” of the title?

Yes and no. The “Dark Oracle” is a concept, rather than a character, and that’s all part of the unfolding story, the revelation of what that concept or force is. The character I mentioned is Madame Sabina. In 19^th century speak, she’s a “gypsy fortune teller” and “cartomancer,” but in modern terms, we’d call her a “psychic medium,” with true, supernatural powers. She’s the one who is tapped into the supernatural magic which ties all of our other characters together, and she uses what are called “Oracle Cards” to guide her through a very scary, perilous world of monsters. One of the backer rewards in all of my Kickstarter campaigns has been Oracle Cards, which are sort of like Tarot cards, and I just threw them out there with no explanation. They’re just these cool, peripheral items you can play around with. When people read DAUGHTERS #1, everything will all come together, because you’ll see Sabina using those actual cards in the story itself.

As I understand it, the plan is to follow “Widow Archives” with a “Daughters of the Dark Oracle” Kickstarter that will launch on the 20^th of this month. Can you share a bit more about this?

Right! Kickstarter has been an incredible blessing for creators. It’s enabling people like me to do those dream projects that might not have seen print otherwise. Let me break it down in simplest terms, while also generalizing. Here’s how it goes: I have a new project I want to do. I pitch it to a publisher, they decline. It’s a risky proposition for them, because comic publishing can be a dangerous, financial endeavor. So now what? I could self-publish it, but where do I get the money for all of the up-front expenses like printing and advertising? Since I’m not working for a publisher who’s sending me paychecks as I complete the work, how am I going to pay the bills while I’m drawing the project? Enter Kickstarter, and the incredible support of those who enjoy my work. I’m giving them cool collectibles and unique, personalized items, and they’re helping me to survive while I create a new project just for them. We’re seeing an incredible burst of creativity in the field, just as we did with the indy boom in the late ‘80s, and it’s all because of Kickstarter.

But yes, the DAUGHTERS OF THE DARK ORACLE Kickstarter launches on April 20, and will run for 30 days, with a goal of $3000, just enough to cover all of my start-up costs for Mike Wolfer Entertainment, as I embark on a regular, monthly release schedule. Backers will be getting Kickstarter Exclusive, signed and numbered variant covers of DOTDO #1 (Blacklight Edition and ‘70s Spanish Movie Poster Edition), as well as an all-new book, MIKE WOLFER’S GALLERY OF TERROR, which is a full-color pin-up book of my work, and a first for me.

What other upcoming works do you have coming up?

For Avatar Press, I have that six-issue arc of CROSSED, which I’m both writing and drawing, hitting stores in July. As for my self-published work, DAUGHTERS is the only thing on my agenda at the moment. There is the possibility that I’ll do other books if I can find the time, but I’m focusing only on DAUGHTERS right now to make sure I’m solidly on-schedule. Considering the success of the WIDOW ARCHIVES Kickstarter, I’ll probably make those available through Diamond as well. I do have several other projects that I’d like to do, and you’ll see some of those represented in the GALLERY OF TERROR book, and I do have a few other surprises that are currently in the works with another publisher, which I’ll be announcing soon. 

As you said, when you first began in comics you engaged in self-publishing, with “Widow” being one example of that. As you once again move back into self-publishing, what is the best/most-rewarding thing and what is the hardest part when it comes to being a self-publisher?

The hardest part is budgeting your time. When I’m working for another publisher, all I have to do is write the script or draw the pages, and that’s it. My single responsibility is to create. With self-publishing, I can spend an entire week creating graphics for ads, doing computer work designing covers and logos, doing email and podcast interviews, promoting upcoming works and Kickstarter campaigns on various social media platforms, fielding emails from creators, distributors, and printers… And not pick up a pencil the entire week. But the most rewarding thing is everything that I just mentioned, because I’m doing it all for me, and I get an incredible sense of accomplishment from knowing that I am going to be directly compensated for all of my time and effort. It’s so much work, with quite a bit of stress, but it’s incredibly fulfilling, particularly when I know that all of that effort is being applied to something which is bringing joy to other people, in the form of escapist entertainment.

Thanks again to Mike Wolfer for taking the time to do an interview. You can find the Kickstarter for the "Widow Archives" here (in case you missed it at the top of the post). You can view a preview of the upcoming Kickstarter for "Daughters of the Dark Oracle" at this link, and to keep up-to-date on everything Mike's doing you can visit his official Facebook page.

I Might Watch the 2021 Oscars Tonight for ONE Reason: Steven Soderbergh

I've mostly quit watching award shows. I find them to often be dull events in self-congratulatory navel-gazing that are best enjoyed by watching the few highlights people talk about the next day. There are sometimes great moments sprinkled in these three or four-hour events, but again, watching the highlights saves you a lot of time. That said, I am actually a little bit interested in the 2021 Oscars for one reason and one reason alone--the involvement of Steven Soderbergh.

Steven Soderbergh is producing the 2021 Oscars with Stacey Sher and Jesse Collins. They want to make it, "Cinematic." I'm not sure what exactly that means, but Soderbergh makes damn good movies. Whether he's creating a flick about a pandemic that uncomfortably predicted a lot--"Contagion,"--bringing us a movie about dudes gyrating for dollar bills--"Magic Mike,"--or doing any of his other great works, Soderbergh is a skilled creator of entertaining stuff. Lord knows the Oscars need more entertaining stuff, so why not let Soderbergh make it a little different and weird? I always say I'll take weird over boring any day. I'm not really a fan of award shows, but I am a fan of projects Soderbergh is involved with. I guess I might as well give the show a shot, or at least DVR it and watch tomorrow with the ability to fast-forward through the many, many ads.

Brace Yourselves, the Big Comic-Con in San Diego Approaches

San Diego's Comic-Con--or if you want to use the official, fancy name, "Comic-Con International: San Diego," is beginning tomorrow (more or less). I won't be there, if for no other reason than I lack the money to go myself even if I could somehow get press access. That, and no one has offered to pay for me to go yet besides this one creepy old lady in the neighborhood who keeps saying she wants a, "Live-action version of the new Magic Mike movie." That last part was a joke, but seriously, that event easily can result in you laying down a couple G's before you buy anything at the 'con itself.

I will of course follow all the news from the convention and get a post up at some point detailing my thoughts, and perhaps someday go there or the more-interesting-to-me New York City Comic-Con (I am more intrigued by it as I actually know NYC slightly and feel it would be less intimidating than San Diego, where I have never been). For now though, I'll be kicking-back and monitoring the ol' interweb for exciting updates.

Interview Time--John Arcudi

John Arcudi is the writer behind quite a lot of stuff. He is known for his past work on, "Major Bummer," all the great, "BPRD," comics he is currently putting out, his newest mini-series, "The Creep," and he is of course the author behind one of my favorite graphic novels ever, "A God Somewhere (I declared it the best OGN of 2010 right when I was starting this whole blog-writing thing)." I conducted an interview with him where we discussed how you strike a balance between adding new things and honoring what exists in, "BPRD, I learned more about "The Creep," and we of course talked about, "A God Somewhere," along with other topics. Read it all below!

1. You've been doing a lot with the BPRD. How has it been working in the world created by Mike Mignola but now being influenced so much by your writing?

It's been great.  Mike mostly leaves me to write my stories my way, and as any writer working anywhere in this industry can tell you, that's huge.  Obviously, most of the characters I work with are Mike's creations and he's going to say yay or nay about some of the bigger things I want to do with those guys, but mostly he just allows me to do my thing.

Arcudi's Captain Daimio.

 2. To continue with that idea of, "Doing your own thing," I've always wondered when working in the "established property," sandbox how much of an urge is there to use the "toys" (so to speak) that are already in there, and how much of a desire is there to kind of make your own? For example in BPRD you have Captain Daimio whom I recall you created, but there are of course all the other characters in the universe you've done extensive work with. To simplify the question, how much of it is making your own new thing and how much is putting your unique stamp on what's already there? 

I just try to write good stories, and stay as true to the characters as is humanly possible.  When they're my characters (like Daimio) that's a lot easier, and in some cases (like Johann) I've written a character far more than Mike or anybody else has, so I really feel like he's mine -- creatively speaking.  The freedom to develop a character like that allows for creative directions that a more rigid environment would not.  But I'm not actively out to reinvent any character.

3. You’ve got “The Creep” coming out now from Dark Horse. Tell me about this PI with a strange deformity. Where did you get the idea? If someone loved the movie The Elephant Man, as I did, and also loves noir stories, would this be right up my alley?

I'd like to think it would be to your taste, but it's more modern noir than classic noir (well, it's 80's noir, anyway as it's set in 1988).  It's probably a bit more deliberately paced than, say, "Out of the Past."   But on the other hand, you have the same weaving together of characters' lives that you would see in classic noir-- where the harrowing situation created by the "crime" (in this case a pair of suicides) creates a kind of desperate struggle to connect with the survivors.  The main character, Oxel, has acromegaly -- a disorder that causes gross deformity of the face and skin, etc., and that certainly contributes to the heightening of emotions -- but I wouldn't otherwise compare it too, too much to "The Elephant Man."  Unless of course that gets you to buy the book!

Oxel may be deformed but his feelings and thoughts make him quite the sympathetic fellow.

 4. Well, your answer sold me on it so I've now read the #0 and #1 issue. It's quite a good read and I've enjoyed it a bunch! I have some questions about it too. For example, I liked how Oxel clearly has something  physically wrong with him but it isn't too exaggerated to a point where he's horribly freakish to see. Did you try to make him look just "different" enough he was unique but not too out-there so that someone reading the story could still identify with him?

Acromegaly is a disease that used to affect a lot of folks (less so today due to effective treatments) so we had to adhere to the real world facts of the illness.  Really, Jonathan is the guy you should be talking to.  Lots of artists would have made the features a broader caricature of the actual disease, which would be a mistake for this kind of story, but Jonathan Case nailed the look we wanted.

5. I have more to ask about, "The Creep." From those early issues it is abundantly clear our hero carries with him a great sadness and feelings of guilt. Without spoiling too much can you say if we're heading toward a happy ending for Oxel or am I going to be depressed upon the series conclusion? In fact, is there a chance that after this we could see more tales about Oxel? I could picture a variety of series where he takes up new cases each mini.

I'd love to do more "Creep" stories, but the market will determine that.  A happy ending for Oxel?  Well, that all depends on what you would consider a happy ending for a 1980's NYC noir story.  I tend to think of it more as a realistic ending rather than "happy" or "sad."  And that may well be your answer right there.

A "Hero" who would rather slack-off than save the world is the best way to describe Major Bummer.

 6. “Major Bummer” was originally a DC comic, but then was re-printed by Dark Horse in a large collection. How did this happen, and does this happen to mean you have rights to it—i.e. there is a slight chance we could see more  Major Bummer stories someday?

Doug Mahnke and I do indeed own the rights to MB, and while it seems unlikely, yes, there's the slight possibility for new stories.

7. Okay, I’ve made it no secret one of my favorite books is, “A God Somewhere.” First off, when writing this story did you set out to make a world where there was no such thing as super-heroes?
Eric is called a hero, but I found it important no one ever says anything, “super”. Was this to make it a more human tale?

It is a human tale, or anyway, I think it is.  For instance, there are no superhumans in our world, so that's the world I wanted to write this story in.  And the real impact made in this story is on Eric's friend,
Sam -- as well as Eric's brother and sister-in-law.  For that matter, on everybody but Eric -- but we see the collateral benefits and damages of being Eric's friend primarily through Sam's eyes.

8. More AGS questions for you, why did you decide to never make it clear how Eric gained his powers? Did you feel it unnecessary to story?  Was it partly to avoid the cliché of aforementioned super-hero stories with their complex origins?

It's not important to the story, I don't think.  I always intended AGS to be more allegorical than literal, and focusing on the ripples the rock creates when it hits the pond's surface is always more rewarding and interesting than analyzing the rock itself (no offense to any geologists out there).  Also, when prodigies do occur in our world, what's the explanation?   When a 9 year girl old graduates from college summa cum laude, does anybody run around asking "How did this happen? What vitamins did her mother and father take?  Was the kid exposed to cosmic rays?"  No, we just accept it as a  fluke, or a miracle -- something like that.  And even if we did ask those questions, there are not real answers, are there? Beyond that, what explanation would have been adequate?  In a story where people get crippled, and raped, and disfigured, and dismembered, what explanation is credible and doesn't trivialize the material? A magic ring? A bite from a radioactive weasel?


9. Another AGS question, it seemed like Eric moved from good to evil a little fast, which is one of my potentially few qualms with the story. Was this due to constraints of space,  or did you want to show how something wonderful can turn terrible pretty quickly?

 I've heard this a lot, but I don' think his transformation to evil is all that quick -- and I also question the use of the word "evil," honestly, but that's a topic for another conversation.
 I don't want to give too much away to any potential readers but there's a scene where Eric foils a bank robbery.  I think for the average comics reader (or action movie enthusiast) what Eric does is perfectly acceptable, but maybe if you read it again you might question that.  Is what Eric does (given his unbelievable power) what Jesus would have done?   And that's a significant question because Eric identifies as a very devout Christian. So while earlier in the story we forgive Eric's violent rescue of Sam (he is, after all, just human at that point) what's his excuse in that bank robbery scene?
And there we see the first hints of what's to come, I think.  Acting in a way that we as a violence- drenched culture find perfectly acceptable an even laudable, but in a way that maybe a true Christian might not.

10. I'm intrigued by your pointing out of Eric being a devout Christian, as in a way it seems as he grows in power he becomes less committed to believing in a God, and just believing in himself as the God-being. The story shows how Eric is indeed religious, but he comes off more as the type of Christian who believes in, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," helping Sam that first time that met and Sam was being attacked. Eric doesn't fit the stereotype of the judgmental Christian who tells people they are going to hell or such, instead being the kind who truly follows the ideas of Jesus' teachings of kindness and love (from what I know of Jesus' words, I'm Jewish so I've only studied the New Testament a bit). That's why it’s all the more striking when Eric turns into a violent entity who seems to have become less of a Jesus-figure and more of a vengeful-God. Was the idea of the story to show how when one stops believing in something--be it religion or just the goodness of human beings, that life loses meaning, and for someone as powerful as Eric that's quite dangerous?

I'm never going to tell anybody else what to think about anything I write.  Whatever folks see, it's valid for them, I guess.  What I will say is that my idea of what a Christian is has always been the faithful "golden rule" kinda man or woman.  Judgmental is just not what a Christian does -- not by any dictionary definition I've ever seen -- so I wasn't going to write that kind of story.  I wanted a complex character who goes through a big, big transformation, and let's be honest.  Eric's first encounter with Sam does not exactly elicit Christ-like behavior.  He's trying, but he's only human.  And maybe that has more to do with what happens to Eric than any faith he may or may not have.

Eric may have powers, but Arcudi points out, "He's only human." His brother hurting his feelings foreshadows trouble...

11. One more AGS question. Without my spoiling too much there is a scene where Eric decides he's done, "playing nice," and wreaks a lot of havoc before leaving a location. Upon this happening Sam points out how if Eric had wanted he could have simply just flown away. That part of the story really struck me as the big turning point in Eric's metamorphosis from loving and kind to harsh and judging. So, my question to you is, why didn't Eric just fly away? Was he trying to make a point? Did he want to display his immense powers so he would be left alone? Was it an idea of him thinking of people as nothing more than insignificant ants whom he didn't care about crushing? Why?

Again, won't tell you what to think, but all of your answers make sense, don't they?  On the other hand, maybe the answer is that Eric is not quite so above the fray as he plays it.  Maybe he's incredibly petty inside after all.

12. We've talked about some of your past work and current projects, but what can you tell about future works we'll be seeing  from you in the upcoming months and year?

More BPRD and plenty of it.  We're really ramping up the apocalypse here, bringing in some more work by James Harren, and Laurence Campbell, along with Tyler Crook.  Some very different sort of stuff for Kate, Johann, Liz etc.  And more Lobster Johnson.  After finishing off the shorter stories, we're planning on going back to a larger arc which will bring back an artist I'm sure everybody will be happy to see return.

I also am working on developing two creator owned projects with two incredibly talented artists.  Very, very early stages stuff, but very exciting for me.  Wish I could say more, but there wouldn't be any point.  Just too early.  One of them may be published overseas, however -- another reason to not talk too much about it now.

13. Thanks so much for your time and engaging in this interview!

Thank you, David.