FAREWELL, LOUISE FLETCHER...

You had a long, industrious (not to mention, illustrious) career, starting off on television with such shows as The Untouchables; Perry Mason, Wagon Train, Maverick; Lawman; The Life and Times of Wyatt Earp; and later down the line for the recurring haul on Star Trek: Deep Space 9.  

Your movie stretch was as plentiful, with noted performances in such offbeat-genre entries as Invaders from Mars '86; Strange Invaders; Strange Behavior; Firestarter '83; Brainstorm; Shadowzone; The Boy Who Could Fly; Flowers in the Attic; The Sin Eater; The Genesis Code; Grizzly II: the Revenge; The Stepford Husbands; Mama Dracula; and Exorcist II: the Heretic. 

Of course, your crowning achievement was that of the cold but efficient Nurse Mildred Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, an iconic interpretation of an iconic character who'll live forever in the annals of cinema. 

You gave us much, Ms. Fletcher, and so much more than this mere post has detailed. Thanks for the memories, dear lady, and all the amazing performances that brought such to life. 

STEVE SHIPLEY'S UNITED PLANET ALLIANCE PEACEMAKERS (AN OLD FAVORITE RENEWED)

Blessed are the peacemakers! Artist/writer Steve Shipley drives that Biblical notion home in his allegorical comic, The United Planet Alliance Peacemakers. The latter are galactic police officers who right wrongs by keeping their hearts in the right place. 

Shipley launched his concept in 1984, and he's revived it for a new run, and #1 is a pleasure from front to back. 

In the case of "The White Rose", the Peacemaker duo of Stefan and Angel travel to a world where a gentle race, the Phileos, are bullied by the brutal Tri-ogs, but there's more to the planet's problems than a simple rift of good and bad. In this instance, an extraordinary rose holds the key to mend hostilities by adapting any number of beneficial shapes if only shared, as our intrepid duo soon learns. 

Through their intervention, Stefan and Angel demonstrate the virtues of compassion as a means to open one's eyes--and soul--against selfishness. And Shipley's morality tale is presented per his amazing, astral artwork, its content rendered in the spirit of Rocky Jones and Tom Corbett, where the lessons taught hold veritable breadth and worth. 

I love this introductory relaunch and can't wait to absorb more. Please, Steve, get that second issue out there as fast as you can. This too often troubled earth surely needs the inspiration that you and your gracious Peacemakers offer. 

To obtain a copy of The Planet Alliance Peacemakers, send $2.50 (check or money order) to Steve Shipley, 1160 S. Mccord Rd. #J-2, Holland, OH 43528; or paypal him at steveshipley@gmail.com. Mr. Shipley will transport your issue along with rocket-fueled expeditiousness.

HAPPY HOBBIT DAY 2022

RON FORTIER/GARY KATO'S MR. JIGSAW #17: BROKEN HEARTS & MISFITS

Ron Fortier's Mr. Jigsaw #17 is now available from Redbud Studio and IndyPlanet. As with previous issues, this one supplies a blast of wholesome entertainment, featuring not only Fortier's amiable storytelling, but Gary Kato's charming artistry. 

 

In "Broken Hearts & Misfits", our famed Man of a Thousand Parts, aka Charlie Grant, faces heartbreak, but as one door shuts, another opens. This paves the way for Winnie the Witch, Ms. Speed and a band of cordial, thug-pounding oddballs to draw the jarred Jiggy into their comforting fold. 

Beyond a doubt, "Broken Hearts & Misfits" is one of the tenderest chapters in Mr. Jigsaw's successful saga, and though it brims of poignancy, it doesn't skimp on the action, as its climaxing panels prove. 

 

If one hasn't yet experienced Fortier/Kato's satisfying series, #17 is a great way to snap into Mr. Jigsaw's superheroic groove. Give the Man of a Thousand Parts a try at

https://www.indyplanet.com/mr-jigsaw-17

TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: ROBINS

 

PIN-UP TIME: KRYSTEN RITTER

 

Interview with the Vampire: The Series (Anne Rice via AMC)

I hold Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire close to my jugular, along with its sequels. It's by no means the final word on vampire lore nor was it the first, but it gave the genre a new twist, while incorporating most of its parasitic traditions. For that, I (and a legion of fans) are grateful. 

Now AMC has re-entered the novel (i.e., the adventures of Louis, Lestat and wee Claudia) as a serial (an eight-part miniseries, to be precise), and from the footage shared, it appears to be as lush and macabre as Interview should be. That this remake is coproduced by Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul's Mark Johnson (with some executive help from Rolin [Boardwalk Empire] Jones and evident guidance from the late Rice and her son, Christopher) only further clinches its chance for favor. 

Here's the primary cast: Lois de Pointe du Lac is played by Jacob Anderson; Lestat de Lioncourt by Sam Reid; Claudia by Bailey Bass; and interviewer Daniel Molloy by Eric Bogosian. Good casting, it does seem, and for the sake of nuanced characterization, that's a prime plus. 

Embellishments and deletions will occur throughout, of course (with a second, spruce-up interview intervening, it appears), but whether this one rivals (or remedies) the Neil Jordan's Brad Pitt/Tom Cruise/Kirsten Dunst blockbuster is yet unknown. (As one may recall, the 1994 movie faced a heap of early, negative publicity, some of which came straight from Rice regarding its casting, but at the end of the day, the movie was [for the most part] embraced by the book's connoisseurs.)

Even with its box-office and critical success, the Jordan version didn't lead to a full-fledged, film adaptation of The Vampire Lestat. Hollywood instead waited several years to roll out Michael Rymer's mashup, Queen of the Damned, which proved a tepid reply at best, and that was that, until now. 

I'd imagine that if the new Interview secures a faithful following, we might see other Rice novels come to cinematic fruition, including Tale of the Body Thief and perhaps even a few, marginal experiments like The Mummy or Ramses the Damned and Cry to Heaven. Only time will tell, but a seamless, cinematic view of Rice's mythologies now appears much closer than many dared to dream. 

No matter what the Vampire Chronicles' long-term future holds, the immediate, next first step starts Oct 2.