Jesse Cook: at Work and Play

Jesse Cook: at Work and Play

by Bernard C. Cormier

This weekend, internationally renowned musician Jesse Cook will return to Moncton for two shows at the Capitol Theatre.

"For quite a long time, we've had a really nice reaction in Moncton and it's always fun to do shows there", said Cook, who gained fame as a flamenco guitarist on (mostly) instrumental recordings usually found in World Music and New Age sections of music stores.

"There's really kind of a...I don't know if it's that French/English-thing because we get the same kind of reaction in Montreal. I find that, early on, people in Montreal had that connection to the music, which was really exciting to us as performers.

"Since it has happened in Moncton as well, I've sort of contributed it to cities where there are two languages in "full flower," you know, in the same place and somehow those people are used to cultural cross-pollination. That kind of music that pollinates two different styles of music together and sees what kind of fruit you bear. It's been good."

Although he initially captured the attention of his fans with what's usually classified as "Nuevo Flamenco," his recordings have evolved to include elements of other musical styles. That approach was consciously put in a metaphorical spotlight for his most recent album, The Rumba Foundation (2009).

The album, his eighth studio recording, is a concept album due to its experimental approach of merging specific types of world music into a sonic hybrid. It was recorded in Colombia with musicians originating from countries as diverse as Cuba, Brazil, and the United States.

The album received a warm welcome from fans. So welcoming, his band and an ensemble of guest musicians performed for 70,000 people at the Montréal Jazz Festival. Much of the performance was edited into a DVD, also titled The Rumba Foundation (2010), which intercuts it with footage documenting the album's production and other visuals.

"There were a lot of people, coming on and off stage for different songs and, honestly, there were times when I felt more like a ringmaster. I was trying to keep in my head "What are we doing? What comes next? Who do I introduce? What key is it in?...you know, that sort of thing. It seemed like there were a million things I was trying to keep straight in my mind!"

His own background is as uniquely cultured and diverse as the music he makes.

Born in Paris, Jesse moved to Canada as a child with his sister and television producer mother when his parents divorced. His father was photographer and filmmaker John Cook (1935-2001). Although a Canadian, his father adopted Europe as his home. He directed four feature length films: Ich schaff's einfach nimmer (1973), Langsamer Sommer (co-directed; 1976), Schwitzkasten (Clinch; 1978), and Artischocke (1982).

"I was never on his film sets," Jesse says. "My sister did (go on them). She went and spent a summer working as an assistant on one of his films. My mom was a television producer. As kids, we spent just days and days and days in the editing room where, after school, we'd hang out while she finished editing or something and then we'd go home with her."

"There's lots of artists in my family but my sister's a lawyer, actually," Jesse says. "I have a lot of friends who, when they told their parents (that) they were going to become musicians, their parents were disapproving and didn't support them in their decision. My family is the opposite. We've got a bunch of artsy-fartsies and when my sister told my dad she was going to be a lawyer, he said "Oh, that's pathetic! That's so pretty bourgeois!," he recalls, laughing.

"That seemed strange to me. I think most parents would be so proud that their daughter would become a lawyer, you know. Only my crazy, artsy family...

"My cousin was a ballet dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. My uncle is an artist and his work is in the National Gallery in Ottawa and he won the Governor General Award, so there are lots of artists in the family! As a kid growing up, it was really inspiring to be in the milieu."

It should come as no surprise that his creative urges extend beyond music.

"In recent years, I've become enamored with photography," he says. "My dad was a photographer; my uncle, for a period, was a photographer; my sister at UofT was photo editor of the school paper. There's certainly a lot of interest in cameras and photography in the family.

"I always avoided it, like the plague, because I thought that area was too covered! There are too many good photographers around and they're just going to be judging my work if I pick up a camera.

"I never did until a few years ago. My dad had passed away, my sister had become a lawyer, my uncle was no longer doing photography, and suddenly it seemed like the field had opened. I bought a DSLR and started taking pictures. I really enjoy it!

"When you're travelling around the world, there comes a point when you've been travelling so long that you stop looking out the window! You forget just how fantastic an experience like travel can be because you're doing it all the time. Photography gave me a reason to do that -- to look out the window, to go out of my hotel when I would arrive somewhere I've never been and take pictures.

"I enjoy the fact that I don't have to make a living from it. It allows me to really just do it for the love of it and not feel in any way obligated to go out and shoot (photos of things)."

While in Moncton, he'll be mixing business, pleasure...and family.

His wife, a dancer, is also touring with him and accompanying them are their children. An absence of shows for two days between the Fredericton stop (Tuesday) and the first date in Moncton (tonight) will create a sort of family vacation.

"Yeah, on our time off, we're going to actually go down to Fundy National Park and (his wife) got a whole bunch of things that she wants to do. I think that she wants to go to the Train Museum and Magnetic Hill and all of that stuff!" he says with a burst of laughter.

"We're going to bring the kids and have a bit of a camp-out!"

* Bernard C. Cormier is, among other things, a freelance writer and broadcaster. www.myspace.com/bernardccormier. www.twitter.com/bernardccormier. E-mail: Bernardccormier-gncb@hotmail.com © Bernard C. Cormier 2010

My 2009 Article About Dave Gibbons

More than 20 years have passed since the comics maxi-series Watchmencame to its conclusion, and, March 6, a long-awaited and anticipated film adaptation will open in movie theaters around the world.

Hype for the film has been steadily building since its trailer was first shown in the summer of 2008. As expected, the film’s hype has spilled onto other Watchmen products that are simultaneously cross-promoted. DC has released a new hardcover edition of the collected series and, in December, began reprinting the entire story as it was originally presented: a monthly comic series.

Meanwhile, Titan Books has released Watchmenillustrator Dave Gibbons’ Watching The Watchmen, a “behind-the-scenes” book focusing on the series he co-created with Alan Moore. Despite being a professional involved in the comics industry for more than 30 years, one of Gibbons’ best-known projects remainsWatchmen. As expected, it’s a double-edged sword, he said. “I’ve worked in comics for a long, long time and I’ve had all kinds of prophecies. Some of which have been very successful; some of which haven’t been very successful; some of which I’ve really enjoyed doing and others I haven’t enjoyed doing so much, you know? It’s always been my ambition to work in comics, so as long as I’m doing something in comics, I sort of take the ups and the downs and the rough and the smooth. Certainly, I mean, I think that many people would love to have something that’s as successful as Watchmen that they could talk about. I’m sure that when … in the very far day when my obituary is written, the word ‘Watchmen’ is bound to be in at least the first three lines of it, and I’m quite resigned to that fact.”

The current interest in Watchmen from the mainstream press, along with perpetual attention from those focused on the comics industry, might annoy many artists who have a stand-out piece of work in their repertoire but who have produced many other meritorious projects. Gibbons is not like many artists. He said, “As long as people are interested in it, I’m quite happy to talk about it, I think. I have done so much press, but people seem to keep coming up with new and interesting questions that I can give new and interesting answers to. Watchmen’s always been very good to me, and I’m really pleased that I had a hand in something that’s just become such a successful thing and that so many people had pleasure out of.”

According to Gibbons, a Bob Dylan song may have inspired the whole Watchmen story. “The kind of spark of the first issue of Watchmen — and, arguably, the whole thing — was a track called ‘Desolation Row,’ which I first heard when I was very, very young. I can vividly remember going to a friend’s house and borrowing the vinyl album [Highway 61 Revisited] from his older brother and taking it home and playing ‘Desolation Row’ over and over again and being, you know, intrigued and thrilled by the verse which says, ‘At midnight all the agents and the superhuman crew.’

“Alan and I talked quite a lot about music when we were doing it. We had these well-rounded conversations and talked about everything from comics to, you know, vague childhood memories to pieces of music to what we were watching on TV or whatever, and sometimes a song would come up and seem absolutely appropriate as a chapter title. The pieces of music inWatchmen were really just used as the inspiration for chapter titles.”

The songwriters of the lyrics used within the series were paid for the use of their work, as documented on the credits page of the collected editions. Gibbons added, “We did get clearances from them. DC wouldn’t have been happy using the credits otherwise. I think some of them asked for rather more money than others, and, interestingly enough, the more well-known ones were not the ones who asked for the most money. I don’t know the precise details but I know that, quite surprisingly as it might seem, Bob Dylan’s people were very happy to have his lyrics used, and his track ‘The Times They Are a-Changin’ ’ actually features very strongly at the beginning of the Watchmen movie. My understanding is that ‘his Bobness’ is pleased to have it in there because he’s a big fan of, I think, comics in general andWatchmen in particular — which is something that gives me an incredible thrill, because I’m an incredibly huge fan of his.”

The more “mature” feel of modern mainstream super-hero comics is generally traced to Watchmen and similar titles from the ’80s. Gibbons said that creating such an impact through influence was not the goal of the project. “I think all comics are influenced by what’s come before. Watchmenitself is heavily influenced by Harvey Kurtzman and Will Eisner and Steve Ditko. The real downside of what happened post-Watchmen was that we were showing another flavor of super-hero comic books, not ‘the only flavor’ or ‘the future of super-hero comic books.’ I mean, it’s tedious that lots of people jumped on that bandwagon and came up with these, you know,Watchmen-type examinations of super-heroes or tried to make them seem real in the way we had. I mean, certainly, if we had done another super-hero title, it would not have been a grim and dirty thing; it would probably have been a light and fluffy thing, you know? I think maybe if what we did had a bad influence there, it wasn’t anything we ever intended. I suppose we like the idea of variety in comics. I think it’s good that there are ‘mature readers’ comics and I think it’s good there are comics for less mature readers. I just think there should be, in any mature medium, work that appeals to a wide spectrum of people and deals with a wide spectrum of subject matter.”

Since big-budget science-fiction action movies usually generate enough profit to justify the existence of a sequel, logic signals that a second Watchmenmovie might be made. Gibbons does not support the idea: “I’m not interested in a sequel at all, in comic-book terms or in movie terms. Watchmen is not just an ‘adventure’ of a bunch of characters. It is a story. Yeah, I guess you could do a sequel to anything. They eventually made a sequel to Gone with the Wind, which seemed pretty complete as it was. I don’t know how it did commercially, but, artistically, it seemed like a slightly dubious enterprise. I certainly would look upon any attempt to do that with Watchmen as being, artistically, very dubious and I certainly wouldn’t have any interest at all in taking part in that.

“And I think it goes without saying that Alan definitely wouldn’t.”

Bernard C. Cormier is a broadcaster and member of the Professional Writers Association of Canada. Visit his webpage atwww.myspace.com/bernardccormier or e-mail him at Bernardccormier-gncb@hotmail.com.

Gary Fjellgaard Visits Metro

Juno Award-winner and Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame member Gary Fjellgaard's takes the stage at the Riverview Arts Centre this Saturday.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Times & Transcript

Country musician Gary Fjellgaard takes the Riverview Arts Centre stage Saturday night.

As a veteran musician with a music career spanning four decades, he has extensively toured most regions of Canada, including southeastern New Brunswick.

"I've travelled through (New Brunswick) before in different configurations," the British Columbia native says. "I remember years ago, I came through with, I think it was Ronnie Prophet and also, I toured once with Ian Tyson. I've been back for different festivals and whatnot, too. Last year, I was back for the Maritime Acoustic Music Festival. I'm actually coming back again this summer for that same festival."

In recent years, his tours include the musical team of Darrel Delaronde and Saskia as the regular opening act, and they will join him for the Riverview show.

"(Saskia and Darrel) are leaving Saskatchewan right now (March 8th) and I'll fly out on the 16th to Halifax and then we'll do a series of dates. We'll actually end up in Ottawa. I'll fly home from there," he said in a recent interview. "We've got some dates in Alberta and Saskatchewan, then we're off to Europe for a month. So, we're getting around."

The inclusion of his opening act is no coincidence.

"(Our association) started out when Saskia took a Christmas project for food banks in a certain section, area of British Columbia," Gary says. "She got (musician) Valdy and I involved. So, we contributed some songs for a Christmas CD and then, slowly, one thing led to another. Then we did a couple of concerts together. I thought (it worked out pretty good). So, the deal was (that) she started booking me and they would book themselves as an opening act.

"That's the trade-off sort of thing. It makes my life a lot easier in that they do all of the legwork. So, it works really well. It sort of evolved, too, because I'd be backstage (while) they'd be onstage doing their thing. I learned a few of their songs just sitting backstage and then (I'd) wander out with a mandolin or something. Pretty soon we'd do these songs together. Now they join me in some of my sets and I join them in some of theirs."

As he put it, "It works out pretty good."

As anyone would expect, life as a touring musician has changed over the years.

"I think that we travel around now in a little bit more style, I guess," Gary says before being temporarily overcome by laughter.

"Instead of travelling in the old Chevy van, now we're out in the motor home. (We) fly to a lot of dates now, too. It's very interesting ... immediately backtracking, I just did Yellowknife with my friend Valdy. How often do I get a chance to go up to Yellowknife? Not very often.

So, I got up there and now I get a chance to do the Maritimes and, last year, (to) Europe and travel all over. It's very exciting, especially after 40 years in the business. (It's) still exciting."

While in New Brunswick, Gary will be sure to make time for a few old friends.

"We got to know (Ivan and Vivian Hicks) last year," he says. "We actually did two house concerts at their place as we were travelling through. We got to know them really well. It's always nice to visit people like that, and I know a lot of people, a lot of people from the Maritimes, a lot of entertainers."

As for Gary's last name, "My father was from Norway. He died when I was just a baby. He was the only one in the family that ever came over (to Canada)."

Over time, Gary discovered that he had numerous things in common with his father, including his love for music.

"I didn't really know anyone in my family on my father's side and, 45 years later, went (to Norway) for a visit. So, I saw all these people. I looked like them and they looked like me. It was really weird! I didn't know, of course, but (my father) played classical music on violin. He conducted choirs."

Like father, like son.

* Bernard C. Cormier is, among other things, a freelance writer and broadcaster.www.myspace.com/bernardccormier. www.twitter.com/bernardccormier. He can be reached at: Bernardccormier-gncb@hotmail.com

It's time to think about RRSPs

Some people love number crunching and abstract intangible financial things with such acronyms as GIC and CCA.

Other people are not particularly interested in having anything to do with them.

For those who classify themselves among the latter group, it is still wise be open-minded towards some of those intangibles, especially the ones known as Registered Retirement Savings Plans.

The RRSP is a tax-free financial plan, registered with the federal government. Its existence is to enable us to save money more easily for our eventual retirement through contributions to the plan. The plan is not a specific type of investment. It's a method of holding various types of qualifying investments that include stocks, mutual funds, bonds, guaranteed investment certificates, and others.

"People are allowed to make contributions on a yearly basis through various registered organizations or on a self-directed basis", says Ernest J. Boudreau, a partner in the Moncton accounting firm Boudreau Porter Hétu.

"The contributions are made based on the level of income (the contributors) earned the year before," he says.

The maximum contribution for 2009 is 18 per cent of the previous year's income, to a maximum of $21,000.

According to Boudreau, "The contributions that are made are tax-free. So, in other words, when you make a contribution, you're allowed to deduct this contribution from your income on a year-to-year basis. You're able to defer the tax until you retire and then you withdraw the tax from there. You pay taxes at that time."

The maximum amount for contributions will rise to $22,000 for 2010.

"The reason that the government puts a cap on (the annual contributions) is that that sort of income, that amount of money that you're putting into your RRSP is not taxable," Boudreau says. "The government is not receiving the tax on that money. They don't want people to put any extra than that amount of money because they would be losing that tax revenue."

In most cases, people invest in RRSPs at regular intervals with a periodically fluctuating interest added to the principal. As such, the investment is a compound-interest annuity.

Something important to think about when planning to retire, regardless of when or how far into the future retirement might be, is how much money you want to have. Once that is determined, it will be easier for you to decide on where and what to invest into RRSPs.

As an example, let's say that Mr. Investor would like to have an RRSP worth $2,000,000 when he retires at age 65. Today is his 30th birthday, which means that his 65th is 420 months away. He's thinking of entering into an investment that pays 15 per cent interest. With all of that information, he or his financial advisor can calculate how much money he needs to invest per month in order to reach his goal.

This basic formula is useful in helping to filter through the different investment options available to investors.

"Either you're contributing to an RRSP that's being administered by someone, a bank, a trust, or qualified professionals or insurance company, to whom you pay a fee," Boudreau says, "or there's a self-directed RRSP. In other words, you decide; you direct the RRSP plan yourself. You decide where you want the money to be invested in the stock market, mutual funds, or interest directed by yourself without the help of a third party.

"As amounts grow in your self-directed RRSP, it could be useful to seek the help of professionals who have tools to research various investment markets; this could increase your potential returns on investments."

Like with anything else, Boudreau says that investors can mishandle things and make common mistakes.

"(If) you invest in something (and) you lose the money that's in your RRSP, certainly you're out the money. So, the mistake is not being able to manage the money correctly and efficiently to get a good rate of return."

As the population lives longer, many of past social norms are changing. One of those changes is the fact that many people are working past the traditional retirement age of 65.

You cannot, however, buy RRSPs past the age of 71. People who have reached that age must also remove or transfer what they have previously invested.

"At 71, you have to transfer your RRSPs to a registered retirement income fund (RRIF), annuities, or start taking them out in an orderly fashion, so that, essentially, you use the money for your retirement rather than keep deferring it over certain years," Boudreau explains.

"The government is probably worried about the fact that, when people arrive at these types of ages, that they probably need that money and that they shouldn't be worrying about being on social assistance and things of that nature. Certainly (the government) would be looking to the fact that the taxes were deferred and that now's the time when you need the money. You should be using it in an orderly fashion."

To maximize future benefits of RRSPs, Boudreau suggests the following: "Over-contribute up to $2,000 in any one year to the RRSP and that amount of money will keep growing in your plan without having the deduction for it. However, the income on that extra $2,000 will not be taxed and it will make your retirement plan even higher."

Basically, the earlier people contribute to RRSPs, the better it will be for them.

Boudreau offers some final words of caution:

"It's always good to have a balanced approach to finances and to make sure that you don't build-up too many debts in other areas so that you can constructively contribute to RRSPs."

* Bernard C. Cormier is, among other things, a freelance writer and broadcaster. www.myspace.com/bernardccormier. www.twitter.com/bernardccormier. E-mail: Bernardccormier-gncb@hotmail.com, © Bernard C. Cormier 2010

Unused Review: YEARBOOK STORIES: 1976-1978

(The following review was written to be published in the pages of Comics Buyer's Guide but never was.)

Yearbook Stories: 1976-1978

Top Shelf Productions

$4, b&w, 32 pgs., available now

Writer: Chris Staros; Artists: Bo Hampton, Rich Tommaso

Reviewed by Bernard C. Cormier ****

Yearbook Stories: 1976-1978 is a one-shot reprint comic collecting two autobiographical stories written by Top Shelf Productions co-publisher Chris Staros. The two stories are about some of his high school experiences between 1976 and 1978. Additionally and appropriately, the book contains photos of Staros taken during those formative years.

The first tale, “The Willful Death of a Stereotype”, is about how Staros ran for president of his high school. In the second one, “The “Worst” Gig I Ever Had”, Staros shares his experiences playing in a band at a private, dynamite filled, biker party in the middle of nowhere.

Although both stories are humorous, comedy is more central to the second one. As the reader discovers, its title is a bit of self-referring joke. In its punch line, anyone can easily determine that it was certainly not the “worst” gig scenario any protagonist could possibly have.

The stories were initially printed in the 2001 and 1999 editions of Small Press Expo Anthology, respectively.

This one-shot is certainly worth the time and money required to read it.

www.topshelfcomix.com

Bernard C. Cormier is, among other things, a freelance writer and broadcaster. http://www.myspace.com/bernardccormier. http://www.twitter.com/bernardccormier. E-mail: Bernardccormier-gncb@hotmail.com © Bernard C. Cormier 2008

Review of NEMI 3

Nemi 3

Titan Books

$14.95, color, 144 pgs.

Writer and Artist: Lise Myhre

Reviewed by Bernard C. Cormier **

Nemi, the cool gothic chick by Norwegian comic artist Lise Myhre (born: 1975), gets another English reprint collection from Titan Books.

Nemi 3 covers much of the same territory that was already explored in the previous two collections. Many of the strips are about Nemi hanging around with Cyan and her friends. Usually such activities take place at bars.

The title character’s sarcastic personality provides entertainment by escorting the punch lines to their expected outcomes. There’s nothing wrong with that except readers will likely know roughly where each strip will go after reading a few.

Some of the strips appear to fleshed-out longer stories taken from comics or magazines instead of newspapers. A good example to mention is a Christmas tale, “Monstrifer”, which takes place during Nemi’s childhood. It’s about her chance encounter with an abominable snowman.

The book has a few problems, which could be seen as minor to some but quite major to others. Those problems consist of the absence of the strips original publication dates.

In an overall way, Nemi 3 is a fine, entertaining book.

www.titanbooks.com

ISBN: 9781845766153

Bernard C. Cormier is, among other things, a freelance writer and broadcaster. http://www.myspace.com/bernardccormier. http://www.twitter.com/bernardccormier. E-mail: Bernardccormier-gncb@hotmail.com © Bernard C. Cormier 2010

"Madm (Ooom)" and "Awesome 2: Awesomer"

Two Books That Deal With Conformity

The year starts with a couple of books that are each somewhat focused on the issue of conformity.

The first one is the non-fiction book The Beats: A Graphic History.

With Harvey Pekar (American Splendor, Our Cancer Year; born: 1939) as the head-writer of a sort of ensemble creative team, which includes his wife Joyce Brabner, The Beats has many functions. Its primary ones are to present a historical overview of the Beat Generation (late-1940s to mid-1960s), its key players, and the other people involved in it (initially known as "beats," then "beatniks," before eventually evolving into "hippies") through a series of sequentially illustrated profiles.

The book paints the Beat World as a small one mostly due to the fact that all of its key figures and personalities knew each other. The most successful and celebrated members of the Beat scene were the writers Jack Kerouac (1922-1969), Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997), and William S. Burroughs (1914-1997).

The Beatniks were punk before the Punks and slowly crept up into mainstream consciousness after its underground beginnings. They rebelled against conformity by embracing individuality and free expression. Such behavior, especially of the aforementioned writers in the United States of the 1950s, helped to widen the doors of free expression in a manner similar to Playboy of the same era but without an emphasis on nude photographs. Unlike many authors of the time, the Beats wrote about drugs, sex, crime, homosexuality and other activities deemed to be "unfavourable" during the period while also freely using swear words, should the need arise.

Such communication brought unwanted attention to authors like Ginsberg and Burroughs from some US jurisdictions for Howl and Naked Lunch, both of which were the subjects of obscenity trials.

The book, among the writer profiles, has an autobiography of Tuli Kupferberg, one of the original members of The Fugs, a counterculture rock group primarily known for 1960s classics like Kill For Peace.

At the end of the day, The Beats: A Graphic History is a very well researched book with very few negative elements worth mentioning. The project naturally benefits from Pekar's involvement. He's been a freelance jazz critic since the 1960s.

However, as with any book, there are some negatives. In this case, the section titled The Janitor, by Jerome Neukirch, is one of such negative elements because sequential panel-based narratives are nearly ditched for a more traditional text-only storytelling.

The book's a fine introduction to the far-out, groovy hipsters from a long time ago.

The Beats: A Graphic History: 8/10

Editor: Paul Buhle

Writers: Harvey Pekar, Nancy J. Peters, Penelope Rosemont, Joyce Brabner, Trina Robbins, and Tuli Kupferberg

Illustrators: Ed Piskor, Jay Kinney, Nick Thorkelson, Summer McClinton, Peter Kuper, Mary Fleener, Jerome Neukirch, Anne Timmons, Gary Dumm, Lance Tooks, and Jeffrey Lewis

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

199 pp., $22 US

Black and White, Hardcover

ISBN-13: 978-0-8090-9496-7

ISBN-10: 0-8090-9496-7

The second book we look at this week also looks at conformity, but it focuses in a humorous way towards those who choose (or are required) to conform. The book, titled 14 Years of Loyal Service In a Fabric-Covered Box by Scott Adams (born: 1957). It features Dilbert.

On the surface, the book's title may appear to indicate that it's some sort of "best of" collection. Instead, it's a comic strip reprint collection featuring all of the Dilbert strips originally published in newspapers between October 13, 2008 and July 25, 2009. Anyway, newspapers published the first Dilbert strip on April 16, 1989, which was over 14 years ago.

As with all things related to Dilbert, the strips in 14 Years of Loyal Service In a Fabric-Covered Box makes fun of the corporate cultures of offices where sheep-like behaviour is encouraged and, sadly, the norm.

The subjects tackled with humour in the strips were chosen because of real-life events happening at the time, like corporate bailouts by the American government.

As expected, many of the strips either explicitly or subtlety touch on the parallels jobs have to slavery.

14 Years of Loyal Service In a Fabric-Covered Box is an okay book for fans of the strip or for those with knowledge of business practices.

14 Years of Loyal Service In a Fabric-Covered Box: 6/10

Writer & Illustrator: Scott Adams

Andrews McMeel Universal

128 pp., $15.99 CAN / $12.99 US

Colour, Paperback

ISBN-13: 978-0-7407-7365-5

ISBN-10: 0-7407-7365-8

Bernard C. Cormier is, among other things, a freelance writer and broadcaster. www.myspace.com/bernardccormier. www.twitter.com/bernardccormier. E-mail: Bernardccormier-gncb@hotmail.com © Bernard C. Cormier 2010

Moomin and Detroit Metal City

Time-travelling, violence and loads of profanity

Three publications with futuristic settings share the spotlight this week.

To begin, we look at Star Trek: Assignment Earth.

Written and illustrated by comic industry veteran John Byrne (Alpha Flight, Man of Steel, Spider-Man: Chapter One), Star Trek: Assignment Earth reprints the five part miniseries by the same name (May-September, 2008) which continued from where the 1968 Star Trek episode titled "Assignment: Earth" left off.

In the episode, Kirk and his crew time-travel to 1968 where they accidentally encounter what could be seen by modern viewers as a sort of "1960s American Dr. Who" named Gary Seven and his shape-shifting cat Isis. Before it ends, Mr. Seven's young secretary Roberta becomes his assistant and the Enterprise return to the future.

The episode had two functions: it was a normal episode and a pilot for a spin-off starring Steven, Roberta and Isis. The spin-off never materialized.

In the comic miniseries, Byrne continues the adventures of Seven, Roberta and Isis in a rather unique way. Instead of having the series focus on one story, each issue has its own stand-alone story. An interesting aspect of those stories is that there's a year's worth of continuity that takes place between each issue.

For example, the first issue takes place immediately after the events of the TV episode in 1968. The second issue occurs in 1969, etc...

The miniseries also shines some light on who exactly Seven's employers are and what really happened to the two agents that died in the car accident mentioned in the T.V. episode.

Although the Enterprise and its crew appear in the book, it's not about the Federation. That fact is what makes Star Trek: Assignment Earth very refreshing.

Thanks to cleaver writing, the protagonists cross paths with the Enterprise a second time. Although the encounter acts as the protagonists' second contact, the Enterprise crew did not yet meet them. These described actions take place during the events of the T.V. episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday." (In that episode, the Enterprise time travels to the past but to a year later than 1968.)

In another story, Nixon died before the Watergate scandal. The public didn't know that because a look-a-like imposter who forgot that he wasn't really Nixon replaced him!

Star Trek: Assignment Earth is a very entertaining book and a paper-based breath of fresh Trekkie air.

The other two books this week do not, in the context of this column, explore unfamiliar territory. They are Tank Girl Two (Remastered) and Tank Girl: Skidmarks #1 (November 2009).

The two publications, both written by Tank Girl co-creator Alan Martin, deliver what readers should come to expect from the character: mostly violence and profanity in the near future.

As with other entries in Titan's "remastered" series, Tank Girl Two reprints older material from anthology magazines. The book covers stories printed in Deadline and Speak Easy between March 1990 and April 1993.

I was somewhat surprised to see how the stories in the book come across at times as more mature and reflective.

In its intro, Alan C. Martin wrote: "(the reader) will be able to see some subconscious parallels between our lives and stories..." That means that I really shouldn't be surprised if I see at least a little more maturity.

Tank Girl: Skidmarks #1 is the first issue of a new miniseries about Tank Girl participating in a race that's sort of like The Cannonball Run. A 2-D version of Dee Dee Ramone appears in a supporting role. The story was originally printed in the pages of 2000 AD Magazine. It's worth adding to a collection.

Star Trek: Assignment Earth: 8/10

Publisher: IDW Publishing

Tank Girl Two (Remastered): 6/10

Tank Girl: Skidmarks#1: 6.5/10

Publisher: Titan Books

Bernard C. Cormier is, among other things, a freelance writer and broadcaster. www.myspace.com/bernardccormier. www.twitter.com/bernardccormier. E-mail: Bernardccormier-gncb@hotmail.com © Bernard C. Cormier 2009

Two Books Deal With Different Social Issues

Like it or not, we're all born into groups.

That fact is largely the focus of both books reviewed this week: Shortcomings and The Big Kahn.

The first one we look at, Shortcomings, written and illustrated by Adrian Tomine, is a reprint book collecting Optic Nerve#9-11.

Its protagonist is Ben Tanaka, a 30-year-old Japanese-American movie theatre manager in Berkeley, California. His girlfriend, Miko Hayashi, also Japanese-American, is involved with the local Asian-American cultural scene.

Their relationship appears to be headed off a cliff because they regularly argue. Miko continuously accuses him of being "ashamed to be Asian" and accuses him of cheating on her after seeing his new employee, a cute 22-year-old blond named Autumn.

One day, the heat goes up in their arguments when she finds porn DVDs in his desk. "The thing that kind of bothers me is that all the girls are white", she tells him.

Not long after that event, she moves to New York for a four-month internship at the Asian-American Independent Film Institute. Due to her departure, they inevitably take some time off from each other.

After a brief fling with a bisexual woman, Ben receives a telephone call from his best friend Alice, a Korean-American lesbian, while she's in New York visiting friends. She tells him to join her there because, as she puts it, there's something he has to see with his own two eyes.

Tomine's art and storytelling style are absolutely top-notch. He presents the characters in a realistic way to the point where all of them have noticeable personal problems and flaws. Adding to the realism, the dialogue between characters is as realistic as it can get in a graphic novel.

Via empathy for his characters, Tomine forces readers to ask themselves important questions. Of course, based on the story, as you may have guessed, most of those questions are related to race and sexuality. However, it does contain moments of humour, like when Ben is watching Autumn's band perform at a gig.

The second book this week is The Big Kahn.

Written by Neil Kleid and illustrated by Nicolas Cinquegrani, The Big Kahn is about Rabbi David Kahn who is, once deceased, revealed by his brother to never have been Jewish in the first place.

It focuses on how such devastating news about the rabbi, along his death, affects his immediate family, which consists of his wife and three children.

Before the revelation of his faith, his eldest child, Avi, was to be his successor as a rabbi in their synagogue. Unfortunately, now some people with influence and power in that synagogue don't see it that way anymore because Avi's not "100 per cent Jewish".

He's not the only person being treated differently. His mother and brother are, too, in different ways. Oddly enough, his sister, the family's bar-hoping rebel, is becoming more spiritual.

The Big Kahn touches the fact that there are always snobs in all groups, including religions. As a result, there's always the chance of discrimination, too.

I don't know if the problems Avi had in the book would happen in real life but, really, so what if a Rabbi's parents weren't Jewish?

In brief, the book's visuals look good. Its overall message, despite a (spoiler alert) cliffhanger-style ending, appears to be too pro-religion/faith, especially when one of the characters is described on the back cover as "re-awakening".

Don't get me wrong: being religious can be okay except, in my opinion, it doesn't make much sense for the characters to be discriminated by the religious institution that they are members of and then continue to want to be affiliated with the organization.

Generally speaking, Shortcomings and The Big Kahn are still good books to trigger thoughts within the readers of their own lives.

Shortcomings: 8/10

Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly

The Big Kahn: 8/10

Publisher: NBM

Bernard C. Cormier is, among other things, a freelance writer and broadcaster. www.myspace.com/bernardccormier. www.twitter.com/bernardccormier. E-mail: Bernardccormier-gncb@hotmail.com © Bernard C. Cormier 2009

Living In Oklahoma

Censorship is a parasite.

It eats away at all forms of free expression, regardless of the medium used as a conduit.

Supporters of censorship, often governments and organizations, like religious and parent groups, who volunteer as unofficial "morality police," want power and control. They may not admit it (and may not even realize it), but that's what they want.

To those people, opposing views and opinions are seen as threats. Those types of thoughts, if expressed, may evoke others to think critically. As such, the influence and power of those groups become unstable.

In the case of governments, the issue is quite "cut 'n dry" when considering places like North Korea and China, but censorship can be seen in places like Canada, too.

What the Canadian Human Rights Commission does and investigates can be seen as poster boy examples. Based on their track record, the government organization appears to be firmly opposed to freedom of expression.

In the case of religious organizations, parent groups, or other types of self-declared morality police, many examples could be mentioned. The international easy targets to bring up are certainly Islamic extremist groups, like the Taliban, but other religious groups support censorship, too.

A good example in recent years was the Danish Mohammed comic strip panel controversy. It managed to generate riots and death threats aimed at publications that printed it.

It would appear that some people couldn't take a joke.

On a more local level, remember a few months back when Marilyn Manson performed in Moncton, New Brunswick?

The public opinion pages of the local English language newspaper were loaded with letters telling readers that the singer's performance would send everyone, attending or not, to Hell.

Some people, because they popped-out children, believe that they must indirectly censor things to protect their offspring. They may not have the power to censor but are loud enough to influence politicians (or others) to do their bidding.

That's why video games have ratings preventing 16-year-olds from buying some of them.

Perhaps, the problem lies with some parents that don't know the difference between reality and fantasy?

By now, I'm sure many readers are wondering why I'm writing about such concepts and issues.

This week's book, The Complete Iron Devil, by legendary writer and illustrator Frank Thorne, contains material that was at the center of an obscenity case brought on by prosecutors with nothing better to do.

I'm not going to hide it: it's a science fiction/fantasy porn comic filled with magical and technological things - and plenty of T&A (and penises), too!

It reprints the 1990s series The Iron Devil #1 and 2, the only issues of the series. Originally, it was supposed to be a six-issue miniseries. Since the owners of an Oklahoma City comic book store were prosecuted for selling them to adults(!), Thorne released Devil's Angel#1, also reprinted, to ridicule the police department. Thorne included not only his characters but also many of the ones he worked on over the years. As an example, Red Sonja's owners granted him permission to the character at a time when Marvel was publishing her adventures.

In brief, The Complete Iron Devil is a humorous adult fantasy book with great art. However, it wouldn't be nearly as good if it weren't for the excellent Devil's Angel story, which points out the craziness of "morality police."

Final thought: It's a good thing we don't live in Oklahoma.

The Complete Iron Devil: 7/10

Publisher: Eros Comix, Inc.

Bernard C. Cormier is, among other things, a freelance writer and broadcaster. www.myspace.com/bernardccormier. www.twitter.com/bernardccormier. E-mail: Bernardccormier-gncb@hotmail.com © Bernard C. Cormier 2009

For The Sake of Sake

It's an accepted fact that comic books and strips can be about anything. Food and drinks going hand-in-hand throughout the world is also an accepted fact.

Therefore, it should not be a surprise that there's a comic series centered on eating and drinking.

Oishinbo, written by Tetsu Kariya and illustrated by Akira Hanasaki, is such a comic series.

Printed almost uninterrupted in Japan as a regular feature within Big Comic Spirits since 1983, Oishinbo has had a duel function of entertaining readers while educating and informing them about food preparation.

The series' success managed to ring up sales of over 100 million copies for its numerous reprint book collections. It also spawned an animated television series and TV movies in the 1980s and 1990s.

As with most foreign comic series printed in a language other than English, Oishinbo was only available in North America as an import until earlier this year when Viz began reprinting various stories from the series.

Instead of reprinting the whole thing in a linear chronological fashion, Viz decided to group stories together based on the types of food discussed within them. As a result, many segments of the series revolving around sake have been collected in Oishinbo A La Carte: Sake.

Before continuing with an uplifting subject like sake, let's look at the main premise and characters that hold the whole series together.

Fundamental elements of the series:

The Tõzai News, one of Japan's leading newspapers, has decided to launch a regular feature celebrating national cuisine titled Ultimate Menu.

To make Ultimate Menu a reality, the newspaper hires a young journalist named Yamaoka Shirõ. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Yamaoka's father, Kaibara Yuzan, is a big shot food snob who operates a member's only restaurant named The Gourmet Club.

Having such a father has obviously helped Yamaoka with knowledge, but the two men do not get along. To make matters worse, Kaibara has been hired by Tõzai's rival Teito Times to write a series of articles under the name Supreme Menu, as direct competition against Ultimate Menu!

Sake's Plots:

Oishinbo A La Carte: Sake has six stories: The Versatility of Sake, Kusu, Love of The New, A Champagne Tragedy, A New Start and the six-part The Power of Sake. Not only do all of them have something to do with sake but they also educate the readers in traditional preparation and manufacturing practices involved in the beverage's creation. To increase realism, real brands of alcohol are used within the panels.

Although the stories are generally good, A New Start is most certainly the winner among those presented in the book. It's about an alcoholic painter who depends on his wife for financial support. Unfortunately, he has a tendency to embarrass her at work.

The Bottom Line:

As the series' second entry for Viz, Oishinbo A La Carte: Sake is as good, if not better than the first one, Japanese Cuisine.

Each volume follows a similar overall design, which features a large amount of bonus material. That content consists of notes on the text, a commentary by Tetsu Kariya, and, most importantly, a few recipes of dishes consumed by characters in the book. Those recipes in Sake are Sanshõ Kombu and Beef Short Ribs in Miso. Colour photographs accompany the recipes.

It's a perfect book for comic fans who also have an interest in food and, more importantly, Japanese culture.

Oishinbo A La Carte: Sake: 8/10

Publisher: Viz Media, LLC

Bernard C. Cormier is, among other things, a freelance writer and broadcaster. www.myspace.com/bernardccormier. www.twitter.com/bernardccormier. E-mail: Bernardccormier-gncb@hotmail.com © Bernard C. Cormier 2009

Archie Needs To Get Laid, Not Married

When the first press releases revolving around Archie#600 (August 2009) hit the inboxes of people in mainstream media and the blogsphere (including those of local bloggers), it proved that many of the recipients should have had the word "sucker" printed on their foreheads.

For those unfamiliar with the situation, Archie#600 features the first chapter of a six-part story in which Archie Andrews "marries" Veronica Lodge.

Since his first appearance in Pep Comics#22 (December 1941) Archie Andrews (allegedly inspired by Mickey Rooney's "Andy Hardy" films) and his friends, known as "The Archies" when playing music, has been one of the few consistent staples of the comic inustry to remain in print.

Unlike "Andy Hardy," The Archies never disappeared from the public's consciousness.

As such, generations of, both, serious and casual comic readers have grown up following the predictable paint-by-number adventures of the gang.

That, my friends, is what's most problematic with Archie#600 and, as such, is what concerns me the most: nothing ever really changes in any significant way in the Archie Universe.

The reporters and bloggers who were seduced by the aforementioned press releases forgot about the static elements of Archie characters and didn't realize something else: the six-part story is, in a sense, a "what-if" story which is expected to conclude without any lasting impact on the lives of any of the characters.

Written by Michael Uslan, the producer of every Batman movie since the 1980s, "Archie Marries Veronica, Part 1: The Proposal" begins with Archie returning home after the band's last gig before graduation. His parents nudge at him to make a decision relating to college because time's ticking away.

In need of fresh air and a temporary escape from pressure, Archie takes a walk up Memory Lane, not down, which enables him to see, roughly, five years (or so) into the future. Armed with a recently acquired history degree but no job, he decides to do something "important". He buys an engagement ring and proposes to Veronica(!) Betty Cooper reacts to the engagement as if she has nothing to live for now that Archie's taken.

(Is it 1955 or something?)

I respect that Archie Comics is a business out to make a profit and, like other comic companies, they do whatever they can to generate sales and basic interest in their products. That's fine but "Archie Marries Veronica" was hyped despite not having any lasting effects on the characters.

In my opinion, if they want to attract more readers, Archie Comics should allow their characters to evolve with the times and be presented in stories that are more sophisticated. Within those stories, the characters should behave in a more realistic manner based on their ages.

Let's face it: Archie and the gang may be physically in their late-teenage years but they act like they're 13 or so (or less!).

I have often wondered: "Is Archie (literally) retarded or something?"

Since I don't think any of The Archies have ever made it to "2nd Base" and we're in 2009, I don't think marriage should be a top-priority for any of the characters.

Actually, unless Archie realizes before the six-part story concludes that it's a bad life decision, it would be irresponsible to present marriage as the "thing to do" for characters in their early-20s to children.

Archie should be seen living life and experimenting with different things (like sex) before he gets tied-down with marriage.

However, we can't expect too much modern and progressive behavior and thinking from characters that regularly appeared in religious comics during the 1970s and 1980s, can we?

Next is Usagi Yojimbo Book Seven by Stan Sakai.

Reprinting Usagi Yojimbo#32-38 and Critters#38 from the 1980s and 1990s, it follows the adventures of the anthropomorphic samurai white bunny rabbit and his allies.

Some may know the character thru his appearances in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figure toy line.

The bulk of Usagi Yojimbo Book Seven consists of Yojimbo and his occasional partner, Murakami Gennosuke, a samurai rhinoceros, helping Lady Asano avenge her husband's death.

Meanwhile, Gennosuke discovers something about the fate of his father"¦.

With its violence and lack of colour, the book is reminiscent of early-TMNT with seemingly more apparent humour.

Its escapism is worthy of its reader's time.

Archie#600: 5/10

Publisher: Archie Comics

Usagi Yojimbo Book Seven: 7/10

Publishers: Fantagraphics Books, Inc.

Bernard C. Cormier is, among other things, a freelance writer and broadcaster. www.myspace.com/bernardccormier. www.twitter.com/bernardccormier. E-mail: Bernardccormier-gncb@hotmail.com © Bernard C. Cormier 2009

Detour (formerly: "Leo Huff")

Last year, I was a background performer in a movie then known as "Leo Huff". It was released theatrically on September 18th as "Detour".

The film will be shown within FICFA friday night at Empire Theaters in Dieppe, NB. It's replacing "Peche au Sexe".

I found my face in the trailer at the 0:42 mark in the upper-left corner of the frame:http://www.allocine.fr/video/player_gen_cmedia=18919627&cfilm=172049&nopub=1.html

http://www.ficfa.com

Acadie Underground 13 (2009)

FICFA's back. That means Acadie Underground's back, too. That also means that I have a film ready for public viewing at Acadie Underground. This year, I didn't submit a solo project but I have another team-up movie with Eric D. Allain. We co-directed and co-shot it. However, I'm also acting in the thing. Acadie Underground 13 will be held Saturday night (September 26th) at 9-ish(?) PM in Studio 700 on Main Street. Follow this link for more details: http://www.super8porter.ca/Shoot&Show.htm#moncton

Playlist: "Bernard Brule Les Ondes!" - August 2, 2009 on CKUM (93.5FM)

I don't regularly post the playlists of my radio program but it's interesting to do once in awhile.

So here's the latest playlist:

“Bernard Brûle Les Ondes!” – August 2, 2009 on CKUM (93.5FM)

1) Oasis – “Fuckin’ In The Bushes”

2) Maxipad – “Human Slug Vs Gingerbred Man”

3) Maxipad – “Horse Rape My Wife”

4) Paul McCartney – “Junior’s Farm”

5) Sebadoh – “The Freed Pig”

6) America – “A Horse With No Name”

7) Rush – “The Temples Of Syrinx”

8) The Monoxides – “I’ve Got An Idea” (Live)

9) Silversun Pickups – “Lazy Eye”

10) Smashing Pumpkins – “Whir”

11) Lou Reed – “Magic And Loss – The Summation”

12) Peter Murphy – “All Night Long”

13) Sonic Youth – “Massage The History”

14) Billy Joel – “The Downeaster “Alexa””

15) Eels – “Woman Driving, Man Sleeping”

16) Interpol – “Take You On A Cruise”

17) Blur – “Out Of Time”

18) The Natural History – “The Right Hand”

19) The Vines – “Vision Valley”

20) Yoko Ono with The Brother Brothers – “Yes, I’m A Witch”

21-43) AC/DC – Live (the whole album; 2CD version)