I’ve been struggling with my health and am undergoing a two part surgery to cauterize nerves in my neck to hopefully buy me up to a year of pain relief. The pain makes it difficult to sleep and at times, difficult to function in a variety of ways that I used to take for granted. This is also creating enormous stress for both myself and Leanne.
Coupled with the furlough’s effects on our income (we won’t get it back as Leanne is a government contractor, not a federal employee), our side projects like the Star Wars parody webcomic Blue Milk Special will not be a priority for the foreseeable future. If you’d like to help us out your words of support always mean so much to us. If you would like to purchase a Blue Milk Special logo T-shirt, or simply make a direct contribution to our GoFundMe it would be of huge benefit to us right now. Writer and cartoonist fights back GoFundMe campaign.
A special thank you to New England 501st Legion members Adam Joyce (Darth Vader) and Tony Paravano (the Emperor) for life imitating art. In this case, our classic BMS strip featuring Vader’s Sith Training with the Emperor on his back.
Lou Scheimer has passed away. Scheimer is an unsung hero of American entertainment and animation. So often, people like Walt Disney steal that limelight, but Scheimer helped keep American animation alive through the 70s and 80s while other production companies turned to cheaper overseas studios. Scheimer had an imagination, a talent with voices, and the ability to lead and feed a team of dreamers and artists. Five years ago, I interviewed Lou over the phone several times for a book I was working on. Lou was warm, gracious and full of stories. I know he had been struggling with his health for some time. By strange coincidence, I have been re-watching He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and realizing that the man behind one of the most prominent voices in that show is now gone, a man so kind to me, is hard to take. He will be remembered by all fans of American animation as a visionary!
The story also gives us VERY strong female roles, in the form of Mary Peach as the female James Bond of the piece Astrid Ferrier. Astrid is easily a sex symbol, not only for her fashionable beehive and leather / PVC outfit, but the way in which she is never treated like a powerless victim. Instead, she is an emancipated heroine who retains her feminine qualities. She is a great model for future companions and would have made a great replacement for the terrified and out-of-her-league screamer, Victoria. Unusually for the period, a black actress is given a prominent role in the form of Carmen Munroe as the jaded and vengeful food taster, Fariah. She is one of the stars of the story, with her dialogue and performance hinting at her exploitation at Salamander’s hands. Both characters are delightfully interesting and real, but thankfully are not alone among this serial’s selling points.