Summer Reading: Your Black Friend

From My Black Friend, page 2, panels 1-2.

After seeing the extended collection of Ben Passmore's online comic strips, Your Black Friend and Other Strangers, recommended in the past few weekends' New York Times Book Review, I took the small step toward reading the entire collection by first ordering the single issue version online, Your Black Friend. The choice of the shorter, 11 page version was two-fold. First, I was looking to read with an eye toward sharing with my junior and senior high school students this coming school year (and as such it might be more affordable for their purchase). Secondly, given the subject matter and that first purpose, a direct succinct delivery of the message might serve more useful and accessible.

More a graphic-essay than novel, what we comic book collectors might call a "one-shot", Your Black friend is best described as "sharp, informed social commentary in the form of an open letter on race and being black in America." (Goodreads) Indie publisher Silver Sprocket, in a formal description picked up by other online sources, tells us that this is Passmore‘s "necessary contribution to the dialogue around race in the United States, Your Black Friend is a letter from your black friend to you about race, racism, friendship and alienation."

Perhaps not surprisingly, despite it's brevity, Your Black Friend is very challenging reading, and experience that is very likely to be shaped by one's own background and openness to facing difficult realities. Both Passmore's contemporary, colorful and engaging art, as well as a natural, organic, writing styles combine to craft a dialogue that resonates for the reader looking to engage. At the risk of sounding like that white friend that Passmore astutely suggests "express their undying enthusiasm for 'Black Lives Matter," Passmore objectively illustrates (in words and pictures) the self-defeating thoughts by many sides of the conversation that result in meaningful communication failing before it begins.

As a 49 year-old, white male reader auditing my own experience, Passmore has me pegged. In doing so he has my attention. The missteps Passmore presents, I think, are not intended to further deepen the white guilt that he astutely notes as problematic, but rather to prompt these moments of genuine reflection. For example, as a high school teacher of a primarily white student body with a (thankfully) growing level of diversity, I do find myself sliding into 'black' presentations thoughtlessly." This is a mistake, as Passmore notes I may have been "totally unaware of." I am now.

So where does this take us? As Passmore shows in the closing pages of his essay, which mirror the events in the open, often it seems to leave us as a community and culture right where we were in the first place. In between the framing device, Passmore opines insightfully, but the commentary appears to ultimately have little impact. At the end of the day, the "nicely dressed white woman" with the "Eat, Pray, Love vibe" and the white friend reading a Yoga Book remain peacefully blind (and mute).

Oddly this reminds me of my past experiences at school district opening days. Annually, teachers start the school year with a tremendous presentation preceded by "professional development" attended by a small group of administrators and select teacher-types. The entire district takes two hours before students arrive for the school year, to set the theme for the year to follows. Smaller building level trainings are sprinkled in for the whole body of teachers to participate in... and by June little is meaningfully changed within that system. Briefly though, maybe we feel better about ourselves...

I strongly recommend this graphic essay for all audiences, but especially white folks, well-intentioned or otherwise. I don't know about you, baby, there must be a better way. As the author notes in the panels above, "What white ppl fear most is making things awkward'" and perhaps the first step is accepting the invitation to be awkward.

Seen It: The Secret of Kells (2009)

While I vaguely recall The Secret of Kells (2009) having a brief run at my local art film theater, I regrettably never had the chance to see it on the big screen. Like so many movies that after seeing the trailer I eventually forget having had a desire to see it, my piqued interest in Kells was eventually lost to the sands of time. Fortunately for those of us with poor memories, Netflix continues to be the gift that keeps on giving. I came across the title as a "Top Picks For You" on the first day of Presidents Week Recess and began my Monday with it, happy to discuss what tremendous treasure it is.

The rarest of all animated movies (independent, multinational financing, hand drawn, and without over-the-top pop music production numbers), The Secret of Kells (2009) is directed by Tomm Moore, who also receives a story credit, from a screenplay by Fabrice Ziolkowski. Based on the story of the origin of the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament located in Dublin, Ireland, the film also draws upon Celtic mythology.

The story, with help from Netflix, is simple: "When Vikings attack an Irish abbey, the monks must stop work on the legendary Book of Kells and protect their home. So Brendan (voiced by Evan McGuire), the 12-year-old nephew of Abbott Cellach (Brendan Gleeson), is tasked by visiting "illuminater" Brother Aidan (Mick Lally) with assisting in the completion of the magnificent work. With Brother Aidan's cat, Pangur Bán, as a partner in crime, Brendan's joins forces with Aisling (Christen Mooney), a fairy living in the woods outside of Kells. Rest assured that the execution of the director and animators assures that the story does not play out in an obvious a manner as the brief synopsis suggests.

Brendan and Aisling.

Though the easiest way of singing the praises of any animated film NOT by Disney/Pixar/Dreamworks is by contrasting it with the deficiencies of those same company's films, that would only serve to focus on the negatives of the latter rather then the fabulous positives of the former.

• The voice cast is excellent, and to my ear, comprised of relative unknowns, the most recognizable voice being that of actor being Brendan Gleeson (Braveheart and the Harry Potter films among others) who plays Abbot Cellach.
• The traditional (really "old fashioned" nowadays) animation is gorgeous yet somehow "edgy." When the opportunity to go the "big battle" route with the visual storytelling, the choice is made to get metaphorical (or metaphysical). 
• The romance is real. Of course the romance here is between man and the written word. Though the story and its religious trappings intimates the Word (capitalization intentional), much of the dialogue suggests the world of reading, writing and imagination. When it comes to books, Kells reminds us to "the cover is not the real treasure... open it." The movies core is developed around the completion and saving of "the most incredible book in the whole world capable of turning darkness into light."

If it reads as if the superlatives used here are over the top, you're reading correctly. Tonally, The Secret of Kells owes much more to the works of quiet, magic of Hayao Miyazaka (think Spirited Away)  than with the more common loud and garish assembly line animated movies of recent years. For yours truly, that is more than enough reason to recommend checking it out. My only regret is not having taken the opportunity to support this time of animation/storytelling when it was given its brief theatrical release.

Pangur Bán, Brendan and Brother Aidan in the scriptorium.

Classic Lion-O Costume, HOOOOOO!

Vintage Lion-O unleashed in all his vinyl glory!

In the movies, the teachers' lounge is often depicted as the center of the adult universe within a school building. It has been my experience, however, that in truth it is primarily a place for folks who are moving or cleaning out their garages and file cabinets to leave their discarded stuff. Occasionally, I'll walk into the school's copy room (our building's de facto "lounge") and there will be piles of dividers, nick-knacks and other things placed atop a sign declaring their status as "FREE." Once in a blue moon, there are even interesting things to be had!


At first glance, parents might think
this is a crazy-haired clown, but it's
just Lion-O!

Two years ago (yes, it has been sitting on my classroom bookshelf for that long before finding its way home at the close of school this past June), someone left behind a child's Vintage Ben Cooper Lion-O Halloween costume circa 1985. (Fun Fact: At one point, Ben Cooper, Inc. was the largest supplier of Halloween costumes in the United States.)

While I have neither children young enough to wear the costume, nor a great interest in the current iteration of ThunderCats, I do have a healthy nostalgic affection for the show and characters from my own childhood. Originally on air from 1985 to 1989, ThunderCats was a popular animated kids show that, while having a thin narrative thrust, featured lots of cool super-cat character designs. Lion-O was their youthful leader who's battle cry, "ThunderCats, HOOOOOO!" still resonates today.

The Internets supplied me with some quick background regarding the box I brought home: The costume I have has the original price sticker on it ($4.99) and even at the age of fifteen I would have loved to have had this costume. Though realistically, I could never have squeeze into a large-sized costume (let alone the medium I now have in my possession), I would have testes that vinyl by giving it a shot "back in the day."

Of course back in 1985, when costumes were much less expensive, $5 was a lot of money...

Oh, what treasures lurk in the teachers' lounge!

Seen It: Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam (2010)

Generally, I tend to avoid animated comic book movies; not because I dislike them, but rather because they are frequently produced for younger/newer audiences who lack experience with characters, thus requiring drawn-out, modern and gritty origin stories. I was pleasantly surprised to stumble onto an animated movie, while "bagging-and-boarding" my own comic books, that avoids many of the pitfalls of other productions, both animated and live-action.

Consisting of four short films cumulatively referred to as the DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection, Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam (2010) is a true DC Showcase compilation, giving C-listers The Spectre, Green Arrow, and Jonah Hex 12 minutes each of well-deserved exposure using top animation and voice talent. All directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, each of the four shorts possess elements to recommend them individually.Taken as a singular viewing experience, the movie offers a broad sampler of DC Comics superheroes. While some may suggest that the title and cover of the DVD are misleading, as DC Comics most recognizable superhero, it makes sense that this release promotes the presence of Superman. While theirs is the longest segment, the DVD is much more than a Supes and Shazam show.

The featured short gives the viewer DC Comics mightiest heroes, Superman and Shazam (still called "Captain Marvel" when in superhero form here--a code name no longer used in the most recent comic book appearances) as they team up to battle the Wizard's greatest enemy, Black Adam. Serving as an introduction of Captain Marvel Shazam to modern fans, Clark Kent/Superman is used as a plot device to shepherd the updated origin, while allowing the short to maintain some of Shazam's more quirky character elements (such as Mister Tawky Tawney!).

An underutilized reality regarding the Superman character is that, given its near archetypal presence in our culture and the audience's familiarity with the him, there is a comfort in having the known "commodity" introduce us to the new guy. Superman's strong presence and It is established at the onset that protagonist (and future Shazam) Billy Batson has a deep appreciation and admiration of Superman, an appreciation that in many ways mirrors that of the viewer: he knows Supes is the good guy, and so do we, so there is no need for unnecessary back story. Clark/Superman serves as an excellent counterpoint to the newbie super hero that Billy becomes by invoking the Wizard's name.

A Freddy Krueger-esque "hero," the Spectre is NOT playing!

In all four shorts, the story jumps right into the action, wasting no time with back story: what you need to know about each is revealed through their actions and dialogue--as well as the occasional narration. This is a fine example of a filmmaker using a limited amount of time to maximize development of each character, even these as unfamiliar to the audience as the three included here. DC Showcase shorts respect the viewer's ability to figure out that which is important to understanding the important character flaws and strengths without being spoon-fed them. In many ways, these shorts suggest a wiser way for superhero films to be scripted by avoiding the redundant origins and understanding that in most cases, origin stories as formal introductions offer little that is new.

Visually, each short possess a slightly different tone or mood, often expressed in the music or, as is the case with the standout short featuring the Spectre, an aesthetic: where Superman/Shazam and Green Arrow are crisp clean and sharp in their presentation, the Spectre (reflecting the 1950s noir vibe) is grainy and washed out. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can pay DC Showcase is that previously, though I knew who each was I had minimal interest in The Spectre or Green Arrow ( I am a Hex fanboy), but came away from this movie with a renewed interest in at the very least exploring their monthly adventures in the comic books.

Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam (2010) is available for streaming on Netflix.