Book report.

Now that we're a couple of months into 2018, I thought that I should provide an update on my New Year's resolution to do more reading of physical books, with the goal of one book a week.  As with most resolutions, I'm not quite keeping up with my target, but unlike most resolutions, I've certainly been enjoying the process so far.

I started by clearing the decks:  a couple of months back my friend Chris had lent me his copy of Metro 2033, a mystical tale of post-apocalyptic life in the Moscow subways by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky, and I had gotten about half way through the book and then just sort of set it aside as other reading captured my attention. My original introduction to the story had come in the form of the 2010 THQ game adaptation, and, to be honest, I found that in some ways I preferred it as a computer game, although it just may be that the book suffers in translation. But, with my resolution in effect, it seemed like the perfect place to start, so I moved it back onto the play list.

After finishing off Metro 2033, I picked up one of my Christmas gifts from Karli: Sean Howe's Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, which tells the tale of Marvel Comics from its origins as Timely Comics in 1939, its rebranding as Marvel and the creation of its breakout characters the Fantastic Four in 1961, through to its sale to Disney Inc. and its current incarnation as a motion picture powerhouse.

It's spiced with fascinating (and somewhat gossipy, to be honest) details about conflicts between owners, publishers, editors, writers and artists at Marvel, and the company's rise and fall over time.   

The sad part is that, as much as I enjoyed it, I really don't know anyone to whom I could recommend this excellent and well researched book.  For me, it illuminated a portion of my personal history, the period of time when I was an avid comic book reader, providing the back story for events that I could only watch from a distance when they were taking place.  If you weren't reading Marvel comics for at least some part of the last fifty years and have no knowledge of North America comic books, I'm not sure that The Untold Story would be of interest to you as an abstract historical document.  But if you do fall into that group, this books is a rewarding and fascinating read.

From there, I went with The Golem and the Jinni, followed by Spaceman of Bohemia, both of which I had purchased at The Strand Bookstore during our New York trip. The Golem and The Jinni is a wonderful book, whose titular characters meet in the cultural melting pot of early 20th century New York.  Author Helene Wecker obviously did meticulous research to create her setting, which is packed with details and grace notes regarding life in New York's immigrant communities at the turn of the century.

Her characters cleverly represent odd reversals on their usual roles:  both are traditionally associated with servitude to human masters, yet in this novel they are both set free* and forced to find their own ways in an unwelcoming and unfamiliar world. Wecker does a superbly insightful job of showing us the challenges faced by the opposing personalities of her two protagonists: one a construction of earth and water, the other a creature of air and fire.

I can't be quite as fulsome in my praise for Spaceman of Bohemia, by first time author Jaroslav Kalfar.  It's clever and well written, and I was certainly intrigued by the manner in which Czech scientist and astronaut Jakub Procha's life is molded by his father's involvement with the Soviet secret police. Unfortunately the subplot of the alien observer on Procha's doomed space mission doesn't add to the story, which, when you think about it, is a strong criticism for a science fiction novel.  A good read, but not a great read.

I'm currently making slow going with The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood, but not because of any fault in the book itself.  It's a masterfully written tale which tells its story of a dystopian future without ever relying on conventional scene-setting narrative blocks.**  However, I made the mistake of loading The Lord of the Rings onto my iPhone as fallback reading material, and it's offered strong competition to The Handmaid's Tale in terms of skillful and absorbing (although obviously very different) storytelling. 

So, at the end of the first seven weeks of 2018, I'm in the middle of my fourth (and a half) book, rather than my target of seven. In my defense, both Marvel Comics and The Golem and the Jinni are big solid 450+ page books, and I've been reading steadily, so my current shortfall is based on book length rather than dereliction of duty.

Regardless, I'm quite pleased with the results so far.  It's been very enjoyable to get into that stack of abandoned purchases, and I'm looking forward to continuing the process over the course of the year.

Let's see...what do I want to read next?

- Sid

* Ish.

** Which can spoil a story if done badly.

"If I'm a muppet then I'm a very manly muppet."

I'm very pleased to add yet another entry to the varied resume that I've developed since starting this blog:  muppet.  My mother would be proud.*

- Sid

* No, seriously, my mother and I loved watching The Muppet Show together, she was a big fan.  It was often a struggle because it was broadcast Saturday nights in direct conflict with Hockey Night in Canada, and you can guess which one my father preferred.

Imagination Unlimited

It's time to play the music
It's time to light the lights
It's time to meet the Muppets
On the Muppet Show tonight

Theme song lyrics, The Muppet Show

As you enter the Jim Henson exhibition at Seattle's Museum of Pop Culture, you're greeted by a gently smiling Kermit the Frog, his arm raised in greeting.  Who better to welcome visitors to a retrospective of Henson's creative catalogue than his affable green alter ego?  As Henson observed, "Kermit's function on the (Muppet) show is very much like my own, in that he is trying to hold together this group of crazies, which is not unlike what I do."

"Hi ho, Kermit the Frog here..."

The exhibition is aptly titled Imagination Unlimited, and it’s difficult to think of a better description of Henson’s unique creative abilities.  It’s a treasure trove of concept sketches, models, puppets, short films, storyboards, production notes, cartoons, costumes and film clips that beautifully demonstrate the astonishing range of Henson’s imagination. At the time of his unfortunate death in 1990 at the age of 53, Henson’s fertile mind had created an epic catalogue of characters such as Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Rowlf the Dog, Bert and Ernie, Big Bird, the Fraggles, the Storyteller, the Skesis and the Mystics, Jared the Goblin King, Hoggle and Ludo.

Rowlf might have been a less approachable character with fangs.

Some of those characters, such as Kermit and Rowlf, have remained essentially unchanged since their creation in the late 50s and early 60s, which clearly illustrates the versatility and durability of the basic concept behind the Muppets.

Wilkins and Wontkins.  This will end badly for Wontkins.

It's fascinating to follow the development of that concept through the exhibition as the Muppets become increasingly sophisticated over time, changing from the simple, primitive Wilkins and Wontkins characters from the Wilkins Coffee commercials that Henson produced in the late 50s and early 60s, to the elaborate radio-controlled mechanisms originated for The Dark Crystal in 1982 and The Fraggles in 1983.

Regardless of their success elsewhere, the Muppets were most clearly defined by two showcases:  Sesame Street, which began in 1969 and continues to be produced, and The Muppet Show, which ran from 1976 to 1981.*

These two programs firmly established the Muppets on an international level.  The unique approach taken by the Children's Television Workshop in the creation of Sesame Street was the perfect vehicle for both the Muppets and Henson's innovative creativity.

However, over time Henson became concerned that he and the Muppets were being categorized as children's entertainment, and in the 1970s he began work on a variety program aimed at family audiences.  The result, of course, was The Muppet Show, which added to the existing cast of characters and completed the process of making the Muppets into household names.

The exhibition also acknowledges the many people who assisted in the creation of the Muppets.  Part of Henson’s brilliance was in finding other brilliant people with whom to collaborate, starting with his early work with Jane Nebel, who became his wife in 1959, and later with luminaries such as Frank Oz, writer Jerry Juhl, musician Paul Williams, artists such as Brian Froud, and technical genius Faz Fazakas.

Ultimately, though, the driving force behind the success of the Muppets was Henson's incredible creativity.  One of the reasons that his legacy has been able to continue in his absence is the strength of the characters that he created or helped to create.  It's impossible not to see Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and the other Muppets as people rather than puppets, with likes, dislikes, fears and hopes all of their own.

 

There are people who represent uniquely irreplaceable talents – visionaries, thinkers, artists, creators of all different types who make a unique contribution to the world before they leave it. Jim Henson shared his personal dream with as many people as he could before he left, and his dream is still being shared.  As Kermit says in 1979's The Muppet Movie:

"I've got a dream too, but it's about singing and dancing and making people happy. That's the kind of dream that gets better the more people you share it with."

Or, as Walter the Muppet points out 32 years later in The Muppets:

 "As long as there are singing frogs and joking bears, Swedish chefs and boomerang fish, the world can't be such a bad place after all."

  - Sid

* There have been a couple of attempts to reboot the concept, which, let's face it, have not done well.  Some phenomena just aren't repeatable.