Blog

Mother’s Day activity sheet

May 13, 2010 By Bradley Weber

Here’s the Mother’s Day activity sheet for the Hilton Chicago/Indian Lakes in beautiful Bloomingdale, IL. It was a big hit with the kids, and the grown-ups, too — so much so that they ran out of copies to hand out. Note to self: bigger print run for next year.

The hotel’s nicer restaurant, Shiraz On The Water, will be doing a big menu change in a couple of weeks, for which they will be getting all new kids’ menus, too. More on that when it happens.

The hotel also has a Father’s Day brunch coming up on whatever Sunday Father’s day is. And guess who’s doing the activity sheet for that?

I’ll try to have it up before the holiday this time, so the kids at home can print it and color it for their own dads.

KICK-ASS and the Hopeless Stupidity of American Moviegoers

May 10, 2010 By Bradley Weber

[I’m warning you right now that this one has some language in it — language that, if you’re over the age of seven, you’ve probably said at least once today. And if you haven’t said it, then you’ve thought it or heard your parents say it, probably more than once today. But when they’re in print, words are suddenly different. Don’t ask me why. I’m a writer and I still don’t understand the physics of words (supposedly) having more meaning when they’re on the page. Anyway, if you’re under the age of 18 or easily offended, you’ll likely want to skip this one. Just sayin’. bjw]

There’s one in every crowd. The guy who hands you back the fast food garbage you dumped in the Home Depot parking lot. The guy who yells in the theater for you to put away your goddamned cell phone and watch the movie. The guy who whips a rock at your car because you just blew the stop sign while he was walking his kid across the street.

Like I said: There’s one in every crowd.

Usually, it’s me.

It’d been a long Sunday: the only worthwhile things being time spent with the wife and kid, pricing bookcases for the new office, and some barbeque and strange conversation at a friend’s house. After that, it was 8:30pm and I was at loose ends. The local Googolplex was showing KICK-ASS at 8:45. I snagged a twenty and headed out the door.

My cell phone and watch were left home on purpose, so I had no idea what time it was when the woman tried to sneak in with the little boy. This was right around the part where Kick-Ass first meets up with the Red Mist in the alley. The kid sits one over from me; she’s on his left. The kid is so small he’s practically swallowed by the seat.

I saw them come in, fresh from either DIARY OF A WIMPY KID or HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON. The kid was oblivious. She was furtive, clearly new at trying to get away with something and failing hard. It makes no difference who you are; we’ve all done it, all failed to be invisible. Whether it’s your first crack at theater-hopping, shoplifting porn or buying that first box of condoms, we all act the same way and it’s easy to spot.

As God as my witness, I wanted to let it go.

Not that this woman needed to be Tased for sneaking into a movie. Hell, no. Except for under–paid theater managers and over–paid studio executives, nobody gives a shit about that kind of thing because whether anybody is in the theater or not, the movie still runs. So, as long as she stayed off her phone and the kid kept his yap shut, I would count myself among the careless nobodies.

But she brought this little, little kid to this particular movie. This stupid, stupid woman, whose knowledge of the film was likely gleaned from a fast glance at the movie poster, and this kid, no doubt tripping on Mountain Dew and Twizzler Bites, who is geeked to be up past his bedtime on a school night and sneaking into a superhero movie. And who could blame him?

The thing is, I know what’s coming. I’d never read the comics, but had seen enough reviews to know how bad it would be. That I paid ten bucks to see this piece of crap is my problem, my choice. But this kid, he doesn’t have a choice, doesn’t know he has a choice. Even if he did know, he’d still vote to stay. Because it’s a superhero movie.

And I think about the people I know –– personally know –– who let their five- and six- and seven-year-olds watch SPIDER–MAN 3, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, and THE DARK KNIGHT, over and over and over. Especially THE DARK KNIGHT. Because to most parents, the line between THE INCREDIBLES and THE DARK KNIGHT doesn’t exist. Because they are superhero movies.

One of these days, I’m going hit my brakes while the wrong guy tailgates me. One of these days, I’ll tell the wrong woman “you’re welcome” when she fails to smile, make friendly eye contact, say “thank you” while I hold the door open for her. One of these days, I’m going to tell the wrong guy that if he and his buddies want to talk they should go to Denny’s –– otherwise they need to shut up and watch the movie. One of these days, I’m going to get slapped around, have a cigarette put out in my face, get stabbed. Get shot.

One of these days, I’m going to mind my own business.

I lean over the empty seat. I tell the lady, “You know this rated R, right?”

“Oh. It is?” she asks, and means it.

“Yeah.”

I turn to the kid. “Hey, pal. How old are you?”

He holds up four fingers, says he’s three. His eyes never leave the screen.

“He’s four,” she smiles.

I say, “Listen, lady. They already showed a little girl get shot in the chest by her father and it’s only going to get worse. You need to get him the hell out of here. Like, now.”

She says, “Oh,” and starts tugging a jacket on her mesmerized kid. “OK. Thanks.”

“You know the best way to thank me? Read the reviews before you take your kid to the movies. Because shit like this will fuck him up fast. Now beat it before they start having sex and chopping off heads.”

She hustled that kid out with a lot less furtive than she came in with.

One of these days, I’m going to Hell.

–– Chicago, May 2010

World’s Greatest Kids’ Menus

April 21, 2010 By Bradley Weber

Click here to download (1.2MB PDF)

All right!

It took some finagling, but this is worth it. Download the .pdf, print it up and take this super-awesome kids’ menu and activity sheet to your next boring meeting. It’s got something for everybody, including a maze, word find, and lots of tasty food. The menu is designed for 11″ x 17″ paper, though it’ll fit on 8.5″ x 11″.

I’ll be starting the Mother’s Day edition early next week and the one for Shiraz On The Water once we get the new menu confirmed.

Have fun!

C2E2 Programming Update

April 14, 2010 By Bradley Weber

This just in:

For those of you who thought I was making this up, here’s the official description for the Comics Studies Conference presentation at C2E2. There’s been another time change, so note it and the room number — then double check it when you get to the Con.

Saturday, April 17
4:00pm – 5:30pm, ROOM E266
SESSION #8: Crossing Cultures—Eric P. Nash (New York Times Magazine) examines the origins of Japanese manga in kamishibai or paper theater, including the Golden Bat, who was created in 1930 and may be the world’s first costumed superhero, predating Superman and Batman by nearly a decade. Charles Coletta (Bowling Green State University) examines how the war comics icon Sgt. Rock has been presented and reinterpreted as we moved further in time away from World War II. Bradley Weber (juniormadscientist.com) discusses the successes, failures, pitfalls — and potential — of translating William Shakespeare’s plays to the paneled page, from Classics Illustrated to the latest manga.

And so you can get more of your weekend planned, below is the complete list of other CSC programs. Don’t forget about the other worth-your-while, non-CSC sessions going on as well. Click here for that list.

As far as I know, I’m still doing two panels on Sunday:

Sunday, April 18 12:30pm — 1:30 PM ROOM E267
Graphic Novel Events For Your School Or Library: The Benefits And How-To’s Of Creating Clubs, Presentations, And Workshops

Sunday, April 18 3:00pm — 4:00pm ROOM E267
Getting Your Graphic Novel Collection Started: How To Select, Shelve, And Promote Great Lists For Kids, Tweens, Teens, And Adult Collections

These times and locations are fresh from the C2E2 site, so they should be good for the weekend. But it’s worth verifying on site.

Just sayin’.

Here’s the complete run of eleven CSC programs, as promised. Lots of fun stuff! See you all there!

***************************

Comics Studies Conference-Chicago 2010
First Annual Comics Studies Conference-Chicago
Held in conjunction with the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo (C2E2)
McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois, April 16-18, 2010

Friday April 16
6:00-7:00, ROOM E267
COMICS STUDIES CONFERENCE SESSION #1: Teaching: Comics and The Comics Industry—Todd Allen (Columbia College Chicago) uses standard Internet business research techniques to explore the economics of webcomics and the business of comics on the Web. David Allan Duncan (Savannah College of Art and Design) investigates how the comics studio course trains future cartoonists despite industry uncertainty about the future of comics.

7:00-8:00, ROOM E267
COMICS STUDIES CONFERENCE SESSION #2
Empowerment—Josh Elder, (Reading With Pictures) investigates the use of comics for describing, understanding, and influencing students’ literacy skills through usage of comic books in classroom and library settings, investigations of the cognitive activities that underlie processing of comics, and development of educational interventions that rely on comics to foster interest and learning. Christopher Deis (DePaul University) focuses on the dynamics of using the graphic novel as a means of exploring politics, particularly focusing on national trauma with 9-11 and Marvel’s Civil War and the politics of race in Maus, Captain America’s the Truth, and Scalped.

8:00-9:00, ROOM E267
COMICS STUDIES CONFERENCE SESSION #3: Supervillains—Brian Miller (How I Became a Supervillain) explores in detail the definition of what it means to be a supervillain, across four levels of discussion—literary history, psychology, methaphysics, and ethics. Roman Colombo (Rosemont College) explores the role of the Joker as defined by the characteristics of the medieval morality play character Vice through representations of the character in both film and sequential art.

Saturday, April 17
11:00am – 12:30pm, ROOM E266
COMICS STUDIES CONFERENCE SESSION #4: Comics and Visual Language—Benjamin Frisch (Savannah College of Art and Design) analyzes how comics can be organized along the space-time spectrum—some comics are more spatial, and some comics are more temporal, depending on their utilization of space and time with regards to panel placement, pacing, and other criteria. Anthony Fisher (Savannah ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬College of Art and Design) elucidates the Theory Visual Relativity in Sequential Art provides that a mathematical rationale in measuring comics can aid in effective perception in sequential art. Côme Martin (Université Paris IV – Sorbonne) shows how comics without any sort of sounds or music are still impregnated with a musical rhythm and can be read like a musical partition.

12:45pm – 2:15pm, ROOM E266
COMICS STUDIES CONFERENCE SESSION #5: Subversive Comics
David Olsen (Saint Louis University) uses Derrida to challenge much of the prevailing logic of comics criticism by revealing that Watchmen deconstructs nothing—paradoxes and aporias have marked costumed heroes from the outset. Bryan Peters (Jefferson College) analyzes how cancer comics–Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner’s Our Cancer Year, Marisa Marchetto’s Cancer Vixen, and Miriam Engleberg’s Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person work as alternative, subversive writing, shifting the paradigm from hero to antihero to overthrow regimes of oppression and ignorance. Scott Morrison (Family Physicians of O’Fallon) traces the depiction of drugs in mainstream superhero comic books, from the Golden Age to the Modern Era.

1:45-2:45pm, E267
COMICS STUDIES CONFERENCE SESSION #6: Teaching and Comics—Steven Landry (Apalachee High School) and Becky Hasty (Apalachee High School) show how to use wordless sequential art narratives as mentor texts to foster student engagment, with Sara Varon’s Robot Dreams as the guiding example. Steven Givan (Fayette County Public Schools) demonstrates how to capture reluctant-student reading interest by using comics with new teaching styles. Continuing education certificates for teachers will be available for this panel.

2:30pm – 3:45pm, ROOM E266
COMICS STUDIES CONFERENCE SESSION #7: Superhero Justice—Psychologists Robin Rosenberg (Psychology of Superheroes) and Mikhail Lyubansky (University of Illinois), and attorney Amy Martin explore the nature of evil and how different supervillains’ life experiences and personal characteristics indicate various pathways to criminal behavior. The panel will also explore the implications that these various paths have for our notions of justice—and therefore how we think about the actions of the superheroes who fight the villains.

4:00pm – 5:30pm, ROOM E266
COMICS STUDIES CONFERENCE SESSION #8: Crossing Cultures—Eric P. Nash (New York Times Magazine) examines the origins of Japanese manga in kamishibai or paper theater, including the Golden Bat, who was created in 1930 and may be the world’s first costumed superhero, predating Superman and Batman by nearly a decade. Charles Coletta (Bowling Green State University) examines how the war comics icon Sgt. Rock has been presented and reinterpreted as we moved further in time away from World War II. Bradley Weber (juniormadscientist.com) discusses the successes, failures, pitfalls — and potential — of translating William Shakespeare’s plays to the paneled page, from Classics Illustrated to the latest manga.

5:45-6:45 COMICS STUDIES CONFERENCE SESSION #9: Superheroes—Josh Kopin (Bard College) examines how the death of Captain America in Ed Brubaker’s run on the character serves as a lens for examining the American nation and the meaning of Cap’s triumphs and tragedies. Mervi Miettinen (University of Tampere) examines and analyzes the subversive qualities located within the politics of the superhero, who takes on the executive power of the law without the legislative power and without the legitimacy of authority behind his actions.

Sunday, April 18
11:00am – 12:00pm, ROOM E266
COMICS STUDIES CONFERENCE SESSION #10: Forging Iron Man: The Psychological Construction of Iron Man’s Origin Story—Psychologist Robin Rosenberg (Superhero Origins: What Makes Superheroes Tick and Why We Want to Know) examines Iron Man’s various origin stories and reveals what they tell us about Tony Stark and his decision to become Iron Man.

12:15pm – 1:45pm, ROOM E266
COMICS STUDIES CONFERENCE SESSION #11: Visual Analysis
Steve Higgins (Lewis and Clark Community College) explores and analyzes the symbolic motifs that visually manifest the hardships each character endures in Jason Lutes’ Jar of Fools. Seth Alcorn (Catholic University of America) explores the way Alan Moore inverts the structure of decadance and aestheticsim in Watchmen, Promethea, and Lost Girls. Contributors to Gotham City 14 Miles Jim Beard, Mark Waid, Ed Catto, and Mike Johnson examine why the 1966 Batman TV series matters—to the character, to the fans, and to popular culture in general.

Shakespeare In Comics at C2E2

April 11, 2010 By Bradley Weber

Hey, all.

So they invited me to speak at C2E2 — the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Convention at McCormick Place, April 16 thru 18th. It seems the organizers liked my pitch for a “Shakespeare In Comics” presentation. So for the last three weeks, I’ve been reading like a maniac, scanning books into the computer, and generally trying to lash together something close to coherent. Besides that, I’ve been asked to speak at two other panels and have been put in touch with many new and interesting friends in the comics, graphic novel, and book business — many of whom will be introduced here over the next several weeks (which in BradSpeak tends to translate into “months,” but cut me some slack, huh?)

Another part of this is that I’ve been invited to do the “Shakespeare” show at the International Readers Association precon event at Northwestern University. That’s on Sunday, April 25th. Doors open at 9:00; presenters start around 10AM. More details on that fairly soon, too.

Also — been having some trouble uploading even the smallest images to this site and I don’t have time to look into it right now. So the other kids’ menu and other goodies have to hold for a while longer. Thanks for the patience.

Back to scanning!