New Snoopy Collection is All About Camp
By Dan Brown If you have a little ones at home who are going to sleepover camp for the first time this summer, you might want to get them a copy of Snoopy: Beagle Scout Adventures before they depart. Packed with 164 pages of cartoons, this latest Peanuts Kids Collection from Andrews McMeel Publishing will help get your child in the right frame of mind. Going to camp can be a big step, but this book teaches that it can be a fun adventure – despite the drawbacks, like missing family. “Everyone in the world is lonely,” Snoopy tells one of his little yellow bird friends while in the bush after they have crawled into their sleeping bags. “Try to think of something nice.” Snoopy’s feathered charge responds that a hot fudge sundae would help him get over his loneliness. That’s just one example of Charles Schulz’s gentle, philosophical humour. Nor is it just Snoopy who leaves home in this anthology. Charlie Brown, Linus and Peppermint Patty are among the other Peanuts characters who get a taste of the camp life. On the first night in his bunk, Linus despairs. “What if my mother and dad move away while I’m gone, and don’t tell me?’’ Those are some pretty grownup feelings! Now, you might think Linus would get grief for dragging his security blanket around, but in one strip he cracks it like a whip, separating a branch from a tree. “They won’t tease me more than once,” he says calmly after the display of pinpoint accuracy. This collection, which landed at the end of April, was promoted in a Free Comic Book Day sampler a couple weeks ago. After checking out the freebie, I knew I had to get a copy of the book because I’m a big fan of Snoop’s imagination-driven outings. You never know for sure in Schulz’s cartoons what is real and what is a flight of fantasy, which is part of his work’s appeal. These cartoons are presented in colour, as opposed to their original black-and-white newspaper appearances. And they have the dates removed from them, which left me wondering if young readers will get all of Schulz’s references.When he shows Sally, Charlie Brown’s sister, in a bean-bag chair watching TV, do they know it was a piece of furniture popularized in the 1970s? Do they know what “videotape” is? Do they still write letters? Charlie Brown himself considers going to Canada as a way to avoid having to go to camp, but will kids today understand Schulz is making a Vietnam Era draft-dodging reference? Comic books are mentioned more than once. In one panel, Marcie describes what’s happening in a comic book to Peppermint Patty: “It’s where Spiderperson is on this bridge and . . . “ Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but could that line be an allusion to the Gwen Stacy storyline in Marvel Comics? Schulz’s religious references are also impossible to miss. “I think it’s a sin to be bored,” Snoopy tells Woodstock and his fellow birds as they march through the woods, the beagle awed at the beauty of nature around them.The genius of Peanuts is that it speaks to readers at different times in their life.I originally fell in love with Snoopy and the gang when I was delivering the London Free Press as a grade-school kid. Back then, Peanuts made me laugh.When I read a book like Beagle Scout Adventures as an adult, I fall in love with Charles Schulz’s creations all over again. Today, Schulz’s cartoons makes me feel, and think. So once you’ve packed your kid one off to camp, take the book and read it yourself – as a way to keep from missing the wee ones too much. Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 31 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
Are Comicons Changing?
This column is about comic conventions. I don’t have an overarching thesis. All I have is a bunch of evidence in search of a theory.What I mean is, I’ve noticed a few things recently about comicons – but I don’t know if they add up to any kind of coherent conclusion.So if I give you the evidence I’ve observed, maybe you can tell me what’s going on. Exhibit A: Maybe you heard how Umbrella Academy star Elliot Page caused a stir late last month at Calgary Expo by slamming the Alberta government over its policies on transgender youth.Page, who is trans, spoke out during a moderated conversation against legislation passed in January that, among other things, bans gender reassignment surgery for those under the age of 17. Much of what he said came in response to questions from the audience.Exhibit B: For years now, the mother of all pop-culture fests, the San Diego Comic-Con, has been co-opted by Hollywood.As Marvel and DC have become bigger players in the film world over the last 20 years, it has become a tradition to use San Diego as the platform for launching the summer’s big superhero and genre movies (Free Comic Book Day, another annual fixture that arrives earlier in the geek calendar, usually sees an accompanying superhero release as well).It’s enough for some San Diego purists to lament the passing of the days when Comic-Con was all about the comics, man! Exhibit C: The organizers of Fan Expo last week announced that former Mandalorian star Gina Carano will be a guest this August at the massive Toronto show.Carano, who played a rebel shock trooper who becomes a New Republic marshal on The Mandalorian, was fired by Lucasfilm in 2021. You may remember she had opposed mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic and made online posts that were interpreted as comparing the lot of conservatives in Hollywood with the treatment of Jewish people in Nazi Germany.So what’s the larger picture here? Comicons, which were once one of the few places comic enthusiasts could pick up rare back issues and talk superheroes, have evolved into all-purpose pop-culture happenings. Are they now changing into something even more removed from their original purpose?If Tinseltown has peacefully hijacked Comic-Con to further its financial goals, then what’s wrong with someone like Page using the Calgary Expo to make a political point? Maybe I’m conspiracy-minded, but it occurs to me that for Page, who has never been shy about sharing his opinions, this might have been a major reason to appear in Calgary.The response on mainstream media websites, from what I could see, was typical. Many of the commenters pointed out sarcastically how appropriate it was for Page to prompt a mini-furor at a comic convention. And then there were the angry social-media responses I saw to the Gina Carano announcement. This time it was Fan Expo supporters who were complaining about the one-time Mandalorian ally being invited to appear. They tore her up.It would be a shame if these developments mean fan conventions are becoming less welcoming. Or that they are becoming just another venue for public figures to make a political statement.I’ve been to my share of Fan Expos, Star Wars Celebrations, Dungeons & Dragons cons, Forest City Comicons and the rest. Last month I was at the Chatham Kent Expo. One of the reasons I love going to this type of gathering is that the vibe is always so relaxed and accepting. I wish you could bottle that laidback feeling because, in my experience, it’s rare.I hope to hell that the festering intolerance I read so much about in the media isn’t inevitably seeping into the safe spaces that I and other geeks treasure.But you tell me. What changes do you see happening on the con scene?Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 31 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
Free Comic Book Day 2024 is Saturday May 4th
Save the date and celebrate at L.A. Mood 100 Kellogg Lane, suite 5, London. We will be open 10 am till 6 pm. There will be free comics, sales, costumes, guest artist Eric Olcsvary, random draws (including an unopened copy of Deadpool The Adamantium Collection (MSRP $240)), enter Shaw's name that flavour contest for their newest ice cream creation, spend over $20 to get a special discount on Shaw's super hero sundae, enter our Deadpool selfie contest by taking a photo with Deadpool and using the hashtag #LAMoodDeadpool, and more! Come early as we will have limited comics available (while supplies last!). For more details please check out www.freecomicbookday.com. There is plenty of free parking at 100 Kellogg Lane. If you don't see an available spot across from the atrium there is plenty of parking north of Dundas St. behind the old Emco building. Don’t miss out! Book Saturday May 4th in your calendar now! L.A. Mood Comics and Games100 Kellogg LaneSuite 5London ON N5W0B4Canada
On Free Comic Book Day, Something For Everyone
I don’t know what kind of comics you like. But I can say this much with certainty: When you visit your favourite comic store on Free Comic Book Day (which lands on May 4) you will find a veritable horn o’plenty to pick from. That’s right. There’s something for everyone. It’s an old-fashioned cornucopia. Or maybe a comicopia? What I mean is, whatever publisher, fandom, character, creator, title you favour, you will find something to scratch that particular itch. I say this after getting a sneak peak of the bulk of the freebies that await you at stores like my preferred comics haunt, L.A. Mood Comics & Games. Fandoms like Star Wars, Stranger Things, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Planet of the Apes are represented by offerings from publishing houses such as Marvel, Dark Horse, Titan, Fantagraphics, and IDW. Here are a few highlights from my reading to help inform your FCBD excursion:*For a sentimental old fool like me, the title that jumps out is Snoopy: Beagle Scout Adventures, a sampler with strips pulled from the collection of the same name landing in bookstores at the end of April. What ‘s better than Snoopy and Woodstock camping in the woods? Snoopy and a whole troop of little Woodstocks camping in the woods! *Marvel is putting on a big push on a couple fronts. One is this year’s companywide crossover, called Blood Hunt. The premise is that perpetual night has fallen on the Marvel Universe, which means it’s feasting time for vampires, including the hungriest bloodsucker of them all, Dracula. The other front is Marvel’s Voices line, which features characters and creators aimed at the queer, Indigenous and Latino communities. *The best cover may be the one on Tons of Strange, a child-friendly homage to the EC horror titles of the 1950s. Inside, you’ll find Jawas playing dice in the sands of Tatooine! *Speaking of the 1950s, Stories from the Atlas Comics Library includes a Stan Lee-penned piece in which the then-unknown creator took aim at Fredric Wertham. He’s the crank psychiatrist who provided the anti-comics crowd with pseudo-scientific cover for their crusade to ban comics, which included comic burnings, back in the day! *Also in the running for best cover is the one for Conan: Battle of the Black Stone, which features everyone’s favourite barbarian hefting a bloody axe. It comes from Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics. Is there a comics company out there that hasn’t published his adventures? The difference this time is the current licence holders are trying to situate Conan within a larger Robert E. Howard universe of characters. *Perhaps the broadest sampler pamphlet is the one featuring Asterix and Obelix, which includes episodes culled from seemingly every one of their books. Oh those wacky Gauls! *The Kill Shakespeare universe makes a return with Romeo Vs. Juliet, which imagines the star-crossed lovers crossing swords! How is this possible? It turns out Juliet faked her own death. No word in this promo pamphlet on how Romeo managed to shuffle back onto this mortal coil. *The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle handout includes a slice-of-life tale in which Master Splinter has a rare evening of quiet away from his adopted mutant sons. All I will say is that the rodent sensei doesn’t spend all his free time meditating!*The Cursed Library Prelude takes place in the Archie Horror world, so for those who prefer the dark side of Riverdale, prepare to meet Jinx, the daughter of Satan himself! It also features a snippet of a ghost story starring Archie’s favourite blond, Betty Cooper! So if you’re a fan of Venom, Flash Gordon, Johnny Quest, ThunderCats, Hellboy, Frankenstein’s wife or Mei-Mei the red panda, there’s something for you this FCBD. And that’s just the free comics . . . I hope you’ve been saving your shekels because the annual event is also a great excuse for London’s comic retailers to offer customers some outrageous deals!I love FCBD, dubbed Geek Christmas by some, for the feeling that’s in the air around town. It’s kind of like a moving fan convention as Forest City comic enthusiasts, cosplayers and pop-culture followers travel around our community, checking in at all the different stores. There’s a rare convergence this time as FCBD and May the Fourth (the day unofficially set aside to celebrate all things Star Wars) coincide, so there’s bound to be the waft of bantha steaks in the air. Don’t miss it! Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 31 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
Meet Local Artist Eric Olcsvary at Free Comic Book Day
L.A. Mood is excited to announce local artist Eric Olcsvary will be doing a meet and greet on May 4th from 10 am to 3 at this year's Free Comic Book Day at L. A. Mood. Eric is a comic book creator working under his own label "Alls Cherry Comics". He is currently working on two series, "Wendy and the Sprite", and "Overflow", each with their own unique story about otherworldly characters on an adventure to uncover the secrets of an ancient land. “My stories and comic book label were created to bring a sense of wonder, and a crave for adventure to the reader, and to spread the love for comics/stories as an art form!”Don’t miss out! Save the date and celebrate with us.We will be open May 4th from 10 am to 6 pm.There will be sales, prizes, and more!Come early as we will have limited comics available (while supplies last) For more details please check out www.freecomicbookday.comP.S. Forest City ComiCon" Tickets are available now at www.forestcitycomicon.ca L.A. Mood Comics and Games100 Kellogg LaneSuite 5London ON N5W0B4Canada
This Tintin Adventure is Required Eclipse Reading
By Dan BrownOne more thing before we all move on from last week’s solar eclipse.Folks here in Southwestern Ontario can keep this in mind for the next time, decades hence, the sun is blotted out from the sky.I don’t know how you prepared for the momentous event, but yes, my wife and I got some ISO-approved shaded glasses to observe the afternoon show in the heavens. Maybe you did the same.But I also re-read a graphic novel from my youth a couple days prior to the celestial coincidence.It was the Tintin adventure Prisoners of the Sun.What does a European cartoon story that was originally published in serial form in the 1940s, then translated into English in 1962, have to tell us about eclipses now and in the future? I’ll explain.You no doubt noticed the media frenzy in the days leading up to the eclipse. (I especially appreciated those media outlets, like CBS News, who dubbed it a “total eclipse of the heartland,” in tribute to the Bonnie Tyler song.)A strange thought nagged at me as the day approached: Haven’t I seen this all before?It’s true I was alive during the eclipse visible from our region in 1979, but all I recall of that day was the collective freakout by grownups, which meant the heavy curtains in our classroom at Valleyview School were drawn to block the view. You could only watch it with some kind of gizmo fashioned out of a shoebox. I opted out.Then it clicked: Tintin, the boy reporter, he caused an eclipse!So I got the relevant collection off my shelf and checked to make sure my memories were accurate. In his time, Tintin has tracked the abominable snowman, plumbed shipwrecks in a mini-submarine, ventured to the moon, and been rescued by a flying saucer – as a fellow journalist, I am definitely jealous of his exploits!If you haven’t read it, Prisoners of the Sun is the second part of a story that begins in The Seven Crystal Balls. I would have read it in the late 1970s, early 1980s.The intrepid reporter, accompanied by his dog Snowy and the alcoholic sea dog Captain Haddock, travels to South America to rescue Professor Calculus, who has been kidnapped by unknown bad guys.Tintin is captured by a secret community of Incas who live in a hidden valley. For trespassing, he and his friends are sentenced to be burned to death but, in a display of mercy, the Inca prince allows Tintin to choose the timing of his bonfire execution in the coming days.Reading an old scrap of newspaper in his cell, Tintin has a brainwave. Although his companions are unaware of its implications, Tintin has an oddly specific time in mind.The day and hour he has specified comes around. Tintin, Haddock and Calculus are tied to three posts on top of a wooden platform. Using a magnifying glass to catch the sun’s rays, his captors set out to light up the logs beneath them.That’s when Tintin implores the heavens, “O magnificent Sun, if it is thy will that we should live, show us now a sign.” On cue, a blackness starts to slowly creep across the face of the sun: Tintin has tricked the Incas into believing he controls the sun itself, and he and his companions are spared!Now, I realize Tintin books have been criticized in recent years for their colonial mentality, and I get where those concerns come from.But going over Prisoners of the Sun to prep for the eclipse last week reminded me of all the reasons I fell in love with those books in the first place: They are imaginative adventure stories that offer lots of action and laughs, starring compelling characters.And here’s the really odd part: Even though the message of that particular graphic novel is that science beats primitive superstitions, in the closing pages of Prisoners of the Sun we discover magic – in the form of voodoo – is real. It actually works in Tintin’s world.So the message isn’t as simple as, the Incas are uncivilized because they don’t understand how the world works according to scientific principles. It’s more complex than that. Despite what you might think from the eclipse passage, Tintin author Herge affirms rationalism only to a point.Having just lived through another eclipse, I get it: Science may be the best method we have for understanding the universe around us, but there are some mysteries it has yet to unlock. I’m confident we’ll get there one day.Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 31 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
