Keeping up with the Joneses.

And you, you little shit head... you're staying here.

Ellen Ripley, Aliens

I recently received a somewhat enigmatic text message from someone that I used to work with, suggesting that we should get together for a beer but also requesting that I should call them first to discuss something.  I have to admit that my first thought was Amway™ or some other similar pyramid scheme, but nonetheless I tried to keep an open mind as I dialed their number.

As it turned out, the party in question was planning to spend quite a bit of time travelling around Europe, and was looking for a home for their cat.  There were already a couple of people in line, but since my last cat lasted about 25 years, I seem to have a bit of a reputation as a reliable cat owner.

Sadly, I'm not quite ready to find a replacement for the incomparable Nigel, and since there were other people who were willing and able to step up to the plate in my stead, I didn't feel guilty about turning down the opportunity.

But, full points - if you want to entice a science fiction fan into taking care of a cat, name the cat after the best known feline action character of the last 25 years:  that's right, the cat was named Jones, in honour of the ship's cat on the ill-fated Nostromo in Alien.

However, as is so often the case with roles involving very small children and animals, Jones was actually played by four identical cats.  Yes, if you're a cat, you find three other cats that look the same and split things up so you actually only have to work 25% of the time.

- Sid

Canada Day is here again, and what better topic for today's patriotic posting than Captain Canuck, Canada's favourite (if not only) superhero.

The first homegrown Canadian entries into the superhero market were Johnny Canuck and Nelvana of the Northern Lights, who made their debut in World War II during an American ban on comic exports.  Johnny was an adventure hero/pilot along the lines of the American Blackhawk Squadron comics, and, like Wonder Woman, Nelvana found her origins in the world of mythology, although in her case, in Inuit legends rather than Greek. (Just for the record, Nelvana's 1940 debut beat Wonder Woman to the punch by a full year.)

Following the demise of Johnny Canuck and Nelvana after the war, there was a long gap in the Canadian comics market*, a gap which lasted until 1975 when 24 year old artist/author Richard Comely released Issue One of Captain Canuck under the banner of Comely Comics.

Set 18 years in the future, when Canada has become one of the major world powers, Captain Canuck's story is really that of Canadian International Security Organization agent Tom Evans.  While on a camping trip with the Boy Scout troop that he leads, Evans is the victim of alien abduction.  When he and his Scouts return to civilization, Evans discovers that:

Suddenly I was twice as strong! I could lift twice as much and move twice as fast as I could before! It wasn’t long before the heads of C.I.S.O. were also aware of my new power and they had a plan on how to capitalize on it.

C.I.S.O. directors and specialists created a costume and a code name. They wanted to create an image – a symbol of C.I.S.O. authority and power – a show piece for Canada!

To be honest, the early issues of Captain Canuck suffer from average art and mediocre storytelling, but over time the Captain began to develop his own unique style and attracted a solid (if almost exclusively Canadian) fan base.  Sadly, financial issues led to an early demise for Captain Canuck, although over the years there have been two other incarnations of the Captain, along with various special editions, mini-series, collections and so on.

In spite of this relatively unsuccessful career, Captain Canuck seems to hold a special place in the Canadian mythos.  He continues to receive media attention, he appeared on a stamp in 1995, and the National Archives now have ownership of some of the original Captain Canuck artwork.

And I guess I'm part of that ongoing interest, although I come by it honestly - I bought three or four issues of Captain Canuck back in the 70s. In fact, I sent Mr. Comely a fan letter when I was about 17, and to my youthful astonishment I received a hand-written response within a week.  To my intense regret, I cannot for the life of me lay hands on that letter, although I've looked in all the logical places.  In my defense, I have done eight or nine relocations since then, and things do get lost over time, but let's be optimistic, maybe in the next box of miscellaneous memorabilia that I open...

Happy Canada Day, everyone!

- Sid

* Strictly speaking, not a completely empty gap, there were one or two one-off parody comics published, but Captain Canuck is arguably the first fully-fledged attempt to create a Canadian comic book hero after World War II.

"My name is Erik Lensherr. You killed my mother, prepare to die."

Professor Charles Xavier: Erik, you said yourself - we're the better men. This is the time to prove it. There are thousands of men on those ships, good, honest, innocent men. They're just following orders! 

Erik Lensherr: I've been at the mercy of men just following orders... never again! 

X-Men:  First Class

I've explained my doubts regarding prequels in a previous post, and to be honest, left to my own devices I probably would have skipped X-Men: First Class.  However, the reclusive Ms. Smith decided that she wanted to see the latest adventure of Charles Xavier's students on the big screen, and given the rarity of movie outings with Laurie in the last few years, I felt that it would be unreasonable to refuse to accompany her.

That being said, I was unexpectedly pleased by First Class, which turned out to be a far more interesting and dramatic piece than I had anticipated.

Ostensibly, First Class deals with the origin of the X-Men, and how Professor X and Magneto met and became friends before their eventual moral division.  (Not to mention the whole wheelchair question.)  However, it's immediately evident that First Class is really about Erik Lensherr, and Charles Xavier ends up with something very close to a supporting role.

Lensherr, as portrayed by Michael Fassbender, is a surprising anti-hero whose magnetic abilities are still developing.  Fassbender has a commanding on-screen presence and his Magneto is a forceful, dynamic character who is willing to sacrifice anything and everything in the name of vengeance.

However, I was intensely disappointed by the change in motivation behind that desire for revenge.  One of the more intelligent developments over the lifetime of the X-Men has been the move toward mutation as a metaphor in the discussion of prejudice and bigotry.  The question of mutation as a "curable affliction" is resonant with connections to being gay, and Storm provides an obvious link between the treatment of mutants and the treatment of people of colour. This concept has been part of the X-Men plotline for decades now, with the 1982 Marvel Graphic Novel God Loves, Man Kills being one of the best stand-alone explorations of the idea.

Placing Magneto's origin in the Holocaust provided historical depth to the metaphor, which deepened and extended the motivation behind his struggle against humanity far beyond his original role as a common criminal. Having Lensherr's mother killed by the evil mutant Sebastian Shaw - Kevin Bacon taking a villainous turn -  cheapens that metaphor:  as I've already discussed, comic book characters with their origins in parental trauma are a dime a dozen.

As with previous X-Men movies, the script stirs the traditional comic book timeline with a large spoon.  Cyclops, Iceman and the Beast were all approximately the same age in the original X-Men, whereas First Class introduces us to the young Hank McCoy, before his metamorphosis into the blue-furred middle-aged figure we meet in Last Stand.  One of his teammates in First Class is Havok - Alex Summers, who in the original comics was Cyclop's younger brother.*  Another team member is Sean Cassidy, the Banshee, originally an Irish mutant who had been in a relationship with Moira MacTaggert.  In the movie, MacTaggert is both at least a decade older than the Banshee and, mysteriously, transformed from a scientist into a CIA agent.

Questions of continuity aside, the appearance of the X-Men at the Cuban Missile Crisis creates an interesting precedent for future X-Men prequels.  Marvel Comics takes place in what, for want of a better expression, we will call the real world. Whereas Batman prowls the alleys of Gotham, Spider-Man swings through the streets of Manhattan, and although Superman and Captain America both originated during the 1940s, it's only the Captain who made his way to Europe to fight Hitler. 

Having resolved one historical crisis, where will the X-Men next appear?  Will we discover that Lee Harvey Oswald was a renegade mutant?   See Magneto failing to prevent Martin Luther King's death? Or, worse, causing it...

- Sid

* Normally I object to this sort of thing - for example, considering that Star Trek was set on a galactic stage, the cast ran into a lot of friends and relatives - but given the genetic nature of mutant powers, it makes perfect sense for siblings and children to be part of the story.