Table of Contents

RKYV # 30 {November 2009}

RKYV ONLINE LOGO - David Marshall {current}
RKYV ONLINE LOGO – r. j. paré {modified}
RKYV COMICS LOGO – Roy G. James {original}

Virtual Cover # 30 Health

- Art by John H. Drew Jr. - On the Darker Side
- Layout by David Marshall - By C. S. Cartier

Interior Art Featured Artist Review

- By De Tourist, Roger – John H. Drew Jr.
Formidable, Engin Korkmaz, Lisa - By r .j. paré
Marie Mueller, r. j. paré, John
H. Drew Jr. Poetry
- By Anna Gehmacher, Frances
Editorial Column Vargas, r. j. paré
- “At the Outset: A Few Thoughts
from the Editor” Pop Culture
- By r. j. paré - “Comic Book Review”
- By Brad Bellmore
World View
- The Christmas Angel - “Raised on Saturday Morning
- By Tom Rossini Cartoons”
- By Pauline Paré

The Caped Sulker – by De Tourist

 At the Outset
A Few Thoughts
from the
Editor
By r. j. paré

“November
it only believes
in a pile of dead leaves
and a moon
that's the color of bone”
-- Tom Waits

November submissions and a short two week turn around and

what d’ya know? Here you have another issue of RKYV to
enjoy as I am almost caught back up, schedule-wise.
Considering the October issue was a month late and now this
issue is only two weeks late... well, we’re just about back
on track..:)

I hope you enjoy John H. Drew’s beautiful work, which he has

graciously shared with us, in the Featured Artist of the
Month column.

Regular Columnists Tom Rossini, C. S. Cartier, Brad Bellmore

and Pauline Paré once again share their thoughts in varying
insightful, witty and revealing fashions.

As well, returning poets Stephen Campbell, Frances Nichols

Vargas, Anna Gehmacher and yours truly – r. j. paré –
provide new collections of imagery & verse for you to
[hopefully] enjoy.

Many thanks, as well, to the talented artists [credited

throughout this edition] who have shared their wonderful and
imaginative creations. Without their contributions RKYV,
simply, would not exist as the e-Zine you see before you.
See you in a couple weeks, when we’ll share the submissions
for December and in the meantime...

Have yourselves a: Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous

Kwanzaa, even a Fun Festivus [for all you Seinfeld fans] and
a Happy New Year... [my apologies if I have forgotten
anyone].

To one and all, regardless of creed, I hope you enjoy your

Holiday Season.

Amy Winehouse – by Mike Grattan [Alex Winehouse,

Amy’s brother, poses with the
painting, alongside his girlfriend,
outside of Ribblefort Gallery.]
 World view
A Canadian
Living In
The USA
By Tom Rossini

[all photo manips by r. j. paré]

The Christmas Angel

It’s Friday night and here I am sitting

on the couch thinking... what should I
write about? When I look up at my
Christmas Tree... and I do mean Christmas
Tree [and not a Holiday Tree] and see at
the top of the tree: A Christmas Angel.

It is a wonderful tree-topper that lights

up with fiber optics. I sat there
wondering, “Where did this tradition
start?”

So I did some research and found out that

‘Angel’ is the Greek word for messenger
and Angels were Messengers for God.
Angels are immortal beings that live in
Heaven and act as go betweens for God and
Humanity.

Angels are first mentioned in the Old Testament and are

believed to take the form of a human body with wings
sprouting from the back in order to help them fly. The
Wings symbolize Innocence, Virtue and Purity. The chief
angel, known as an Archangel, is named Saint Michael.
Guardian Angels are angels who protect us, look after us and
comfort us in times of distress.
It was about 1100 AD when Christian doctrine about angels
evolved rapidly with Saint Thomas. Saint Thomas believed
that angels fill the gap between God and mankind; they are
countless and immortal. According to Saint Thomas, angels
have perfect knowledge except for things that depend on
human choice and things that only God knows.

Angels were instrumental with the birth of Jesus Christ and

hence, play an important role in the Christmas celebration
and festivities. Angels were the ones that announced the
birth of the Jesus Christ. Gabriel, the heavenly Christmas
Angel, brought the divine news to Mary and revealed that she
was chosen to bear God's son while another angel informed
Joseph that he should marry Mary and look after the Christ
child.

According to Christian belief, God appointed a small group

of tiny angels [editor’s note: cherubs], angels in training,
to watch over Joseph and Mary on their journey to Bethlehem
where they gave birth to Jesus in the inn's stable.

The Angel's were so excited that they were to witness the

birth of God's Only Son that they flew closer to earth and
sang heavenly music. They caught sight of the newborn child
from the stable's roof and instantly understood their
mission was to herald the birth.

The Angels were so filled with joy and

mirth that they burst into a glorious
song that reached the heavens and it
could be heard all over the Earth. The
Christmas Angel appeared to the
shepherds near Bethlehem about the
birth. To this day, we still see
Christmas Angels singing and playing
music in Nativity scenes catching
everyone's attention and fascination
instantly.

From my family to yours....

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New

Year.
Untitled – by Engin Korkmaz
 Health
ON THE DARKER SIDE
[a satirical comedy – I think]

By C.S. Cartier
[all photo manips by r. j. paré]

Disability

I wrote I.M.M.S. a bunch of months ago; it was a poetic

realization that this disease is as much a part of me as my
hands or my eyes. All my decisions, up to this point, have
depended on the fact that I hid my inabilities as hard as I
could. Every ability, talent and decision needed to first
take into account that damn disease and how well I could
pretend it wasn’t limiting me.

That was then.

Now, I can no longer hide it and it is out there for

everyone to see and mock. That’s right I said mock. I’ve
heard the comments; I watched the stares and the shame. I
am sad to say that I too, used to be embarrassed and
uncomfortable when encountering a disabled person. It’s not
that I wasn’t ‘raised right,’ it was just that I had never
really had contact with anyone that fits the description and
thus did not know what to say or how to act.

I guess the egg is on my face now,,, and not just because I

trip a lot and those damn white things are so fragile.
[Perhaps I should buy the brown ones.]
A small part of me, the little naive boy,
would like to believe that people are not
so callous as to act like spoiled children
in the playground. I chuckle thinking
about my two neighbours as they fight over
Fluffy: one holding the cat’s front paws
and the other its bushy tail. The cat
screaming in the only way a hurt kitty
can. But I digress, where was I?

The man I grew up to become knows better.

Spoiled rotten kids never fall far from
the rotting apple tree. Nearly everyone
out there could really care less about the
disabled. As long as it doesn’t affect
you, who really gives a crap? [I’m not
trying to offend anyone, except maybe that
kid who sat behind me in second grade.]

• Fact: the chance of you being disabled this year is

one in three.

• Fact: the chance of you being admitted this year into

the hospital for a period longer then twenty-four hours
is one in fifteen.

• Fact: the chance of you dying this year is one in

three hundred thousand. [Unless you were fighting over
Tony’s cat Fluffy, I heard he’s in the Mob - - don’t
tell anyone I told ya. Shh!]

Disability is a lot closer than you think. I have to let

you know this and I’m not trying to sell you anything.
[Unless, of course, you really want me to. I do have some
very old comics. They are, mostly, in mint condition.]

Being unable to pee when you want to gave me lots of time to

think and really opened my eyes to the real world. The
complaints about politics, taxes, health care and even the
neighbours yappy dog and even Fluffy [we can’t forget about
that damn garbage bag ripping fur ball]... these are all
just nonsense and bubblegum stuff. All you people that want
to just live for today, listen up. Everyone else can lend
an ear, for that matter.
 • Who is going to take care of your bills if you are laid
up in bed or at stuck at home – as of, right now?

No more money coming in, period. That changes everything.

I’ve heard all the excuses:

• “Tomorrow, I’ll put money way.”

• “Tomorrow I will spend more time with the kids.”

• And my favorite... “Tomorrow I will change.”

Well folks, guess what? Tomorrow never comes. [Unless you

name your dog Tomorrow and you don’t feed him for three days
and then drop a pork chop onto the ground...]

It is now too late for me to run around

the park with your kids -- I mean my kids.
I’m not a crazy pedophile, I just have
trouble typing. [I do have MS, for the
love of Pete.] I would love a chance to
teach them to ride a bike.

I have watched the car drive away on too

many occasions; with the family off have
another adventure without me. I cannot
stand for long periods of time and I don’t
walk [I can, mind you, I just don’t. I
don’t like it. Okay, truth be told, I can
only walk about half a block. If you
wanted honesty read a Priest’s piece and
not mine. [Would it be a sin to talk about
a Priest’s piece?]

In case you didn’t know this, extreme fatigue is a common MS

symptom. For example: I just took another nap before
continuing this article. I have to take one about every two
or three hours. My wife made a comment the other day that
Mickey Mouse was raising my little girl because I sleep
while she watches TV. I honestly cannot argue with that, I
want to, but I really can’t. I was one of those guys, you
know the ones, you know... “It won’t happen to me”. Well,
cupcake, it did happen to me. Was I prepared? Nope, that’s
what tomorrow was for [yet he never came, even after I
dropped the darn pork chop.]
The naïve boy is gone. He moved away a
couple months ago when the wife said she
did not want to be my mother, informing
me that it was I who promised to take
care of her and not the other way
around. So, with the wife - go the
kids. And now, I no longer watch the
car drive away on an adventure. I count
down the days until the car drives away
for good.

• Fact: I am disabled.

• Fact: I do have Multiple

Sclerosis.

• Fact: Who I was died July 22,

2009.

Creditors have already taken my car and they call daily but
not to say “Hi!” Ya, there is a lot about being disabled
that no one had ever told me about.

• First off: For Christmas I get a brand new Catheter.

• Second of all: You get to sit around waiting for

someone, anyone, to call you - just so your day has a
touch of excitement in it. [The surprise bowel
movement does not count as excitement.]

• Thirdly [sigh]: I saved the best part for last and it

is by far our favourite topic - The Government. My
life sucks enough [figuratively, of course, this is a
family friendly ‘zine after all] but you can most
definitely count on the government to screw it up more.
[Now I’m not sure if I’m speaking figuratively or not.]
I got my very accurate statistics from one study the
government did and I am fairly certain a group of guys
are doing a study on studies about statistics. I can’t
wait to read that nail biter.
 I officially was disabled on July 22.
I couldn’t drive anymore, so getting
all of the doctor’s notes,
appointments and tests taken care of
had my disability paperwork officially
accepted on Oct 14. You will love
this one: it takes four to six months
just to hear back from them.

An insider told me to expect a negative decision letter as

they decline ninety percent of all applicants because a lot
of lazy people are abusing the system. Heck, they only
slightly brief the applications before tossing them into the
recycling box. [At least they recycle!] Only when you
reapply, do they actually take a good look at your
application. There is even a box asking if this was your
first time applying. After you finally get a positive
response, you are told it will take several more months
before you can start collecting disability benefits. I do
not know if you are doing the math but that puts you over a
year of waiting.

Now the funny [sic] thing is our friendly neighbourhood

creditors will not wait that long and I only had a buck
thirteen on July 23.

Disability benefits are based on how much you contribute

into CPP, which I think is the funniest joke I’ve heard
since the Nobel Peace Prize was granted to a peaceful
President entrenched into not one but two wars and only days
after he signed a bill sending thirty thousand poor bastards
to one country that is in the middle of a civil war and
another that has housed fanatics for centuries.

But I digress...

I will tell you that the amount I qualify for, after working
my entire life [20 years anyway], amounts to !@#$%^&* OH!
Sorry... I was swearing. Believe it, or not, it is much
less than minimum wage and even less than the poverty line.
The good news is, I am allowed to earn an additional $ 4700
a year before it starts being deducted dollar for dollar.
Meanwhile, the bastard government is taxing the piddly
amount that I do qualify for.

So, what did we learn kiddies?

• Tony has a cat named Fluffy. I am too

polite to tell the joke about two
neighbors fighting over Fluffy and...

• My wife is not my mother.

Love your kids each day and plan for

tomorrow.

Portrait of Terri Lynn Butt-Sears – by Lisa Marie

Mueller
 Featured artist of
the month
John h. drew jr.
By r. j. paré Intro: When preparing
this month’s edition I did
not have to look far to
find the perfect candidate
for the featured artist
column. John has been a
RKYV contributor for some
time now and I have truly
enjoyed his talented,
evocative portraiture.

Recently, I had the opportunity to correspond with John and ask him
to share, with us here at RKYV some more of his amazing work and to
answer the expected twenty questions [LOL].

r. j. paré: Have you always known that you wanted to be or,

rather, were an artist?

John H. Drew Jr.: The answer would be yes. I think I’ve been
drawing since the day I could walk. I think I was blending crayon
colors at 5 before I got my first water color set. I think when
my cousin Harry brought me my first comic book; I knew I was
going to be either drawing comics or painting portraits for the
rest of my life.

r.j.p: Did you study or major in art while in school?

JHDJ: Funny, you would ask that question. Originally no, I was a
self taught artist. I think I was drawing super heroes before I
was a freshman in High school. Most of my High School career was
spent in the art room. So, when it came to graduation I was never
encouraged to be an artist. I have always had a burning desire to
pursue art as a career. What I got from my family was more or
less, “you’ll never make a living at doing that”. Basically, I
ended up going to college for Computer Science. Afterwards I
transferred my credits to Community College where I studied
Illustration and design, and freelanced from time to time. At the
moment, I’m currently working towards a Masters in Fine Arts in
Illustration.
 Artist’s Name:
John H. Drew Jr.
Title: My Locks
Media Used: Photoshop CS3
Size: 16.86 x 21.27
Date Created: Aug. 25, 2009

r.j.p: I particularly like

the use of lighting /
shading in this portrait.
There is a photo-realist
quality to the skin-tone
and the textures of the
mustache and titular dreads
that makes the piece stand
out.

r.j.p: Who was you biggest

influence or source of
encouragement, as a child,
in pursuing art?

JHDJ: My biggest influences, I would have to say, my cousin and

my uncle. My cousin on my Father’s side was an artist; he would
draw these unbelievable portraits of friends and family. He was
this really talented guy but he never really pursued art as a
career. He actually went to school at Ducret located in
Plainfield, NJ. He was the cousin I mentioned earlier that used
to buy me comics as a kid.

Then there’s my Uncle Fuzzy who was naturally gifted. He could

really draw well; I think he started drawing in High School. I
actually found some of his work tucked away with some family
photos in the attic of my mother’s house. In addition, my uncle
was in a very famous funk band in the 70’s, maybe you heard of
it, “Parliament Funkadelics”.

Editor’s Note: Check out this link for P-Funk’s 1997 induction into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame. If you are unfamiliar with their music, it simply must
be experienced. They are, without a doubt, a unique ‘aural freeway’ that takes
us from Psychedelic Rock to the Delta Blues and back again – with signposts
and crossroads that bring us down Gospel and Jazz musical detours.

http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/parliament-funkadelic
Yes, I was highly influenced by P-Funk as a kid but I never
found a need to try following the same path. Like I was
saying earlier my artistic endeavors were never fully
supported by my immediate family. Most of my encouragement
and support came from friends, teachers, and believe it or
not employers.

r.j.p: What is your favorite media to work with?

JHDJ: I was always a fan of pen, pencil, ink and clay. I had
developed a love for oils and painting on canvas while
taking courses in college. Of late, I’ve been getting
heavily into digital painting. I have to say, Photoshop and
Painter are the newest loves of my life. I wouldn’t say
digital is any faster but it does make a difference in setup
and cleanup time.
Artist’s Name:
John H. Drew Jr.
Title: Blue Heaven
Media Used: Photoshop CS3
Size: 16.93 x 18.87
Date Created: Sept. 20, 2009

r.j.p: An interesting hybrid

of Anime inspiration and
using a more realist
technique. And all this is
digital??? What a long way we
have come from the days of
blocky pixels. John achieves
a finished piece in this
medium that bears striking
visual resemblance to works
that would once have required
painting [gouache, for
example] over finished inks
and then air-brushing the
results. While no doubt the
digital process must be time
consuming and painstaking as
well... I suspect it offers a
freedom that the ‘old-school’
mediums cannot: where
physical mediums can be
unforgiving to an errant slip
of the hand or brush-stroke -
a mistake in the digital
medium can always be
corrected with the magic of
‘undo’.
r.j.p: Do you use any special tools and techniques to
create your art?

JHDJ: I would say everything is pretty traditional, with the

addition of my WACOM pad and third party software.

r.j.p: What inspires you to create art?

JHDJ: I think beautiful women, animals, love, and God.

Again, beautiful woman! (Laughing)

r.j.p: How would you categorize your artistic style?

JHDJ: I consider myself an illustrator, I don’t really have

a niche per say. I may feel like painting “demons on the
moon, with midget strippers”, one minute, and a “basket full
puppies”, the next. To be honest, I do prefer drawing,
“demons on the moon with midget strippers”. (Laughing)

r.j.p: Would you say that there is a "message" or "unifying

theme" in your work?

JHDJ: I have a tendency to express a great deal of brooding

and foreboding in my images. When doing portraits, I love to
focus on the eyes, or simple gestures. I really want people
to have intimate moments with my art.

r.j.p: Which famous artists or styles have influenced you?

Why?

JHDJ: I would have to say Frank Frazetta. I think I was a

junior in High School and I purchased this book, Can’t
exactly remember the name of it right now. I was completely
fascinated by what was in it; I mean it blew me away. Most
of my life I had been trying to copy Jack Kirby and host of
others artwork from the comics but nothing compared to Mr.
Frazetta, He was and is a true Master.

r.j.p: On the following page John opens up the virtual

sketchbook and shares with us some studies of the lovely
female form in a variety of poses...
 Artist’s Name: John H. Drew Jr.
Title: Figure Sketch Walking
Media Used: PS CS3 Size: 5.65 x 11.42
Date Created: July 19, 2009

Artist’s Name:
John H. Drew Jr.
Title: Figure
Sketch Sitting
Media Used:
Photoshop CS3
Size: 7.86 x
10.68
Date Created:
July 19, 2009

Artist’s Name:
John H. Drew Jr.
Title: Figure
Sketch Reclining
Media Used:
Photoshop CS3
Size: 6.25 x 4.17
Date Created:
July 19, 2009
r.j.p: If you could meet any living or dead artist, who
would it, be?

JHDJ: Michelangelo Caravaggio.

r.j.p: What is the one question that you would ask him/her?

JHDJ: Dude its 2009, and you’re still awesome! How Do You Do
It?

Artist’s Name:
John H. Drew Jr.
Title: Wolverine
Media Used:
Photoshop CS3
Size: 8.33 x
9.57
Date Created:
Sept. 24, 2009

r.j.p: The famous

Marvel Comics
character... or as I
like to refer to him:
“The face that sold
millions of comics.”
Truly this upër-
popular figure is
well served with
John’s dark and
powerful rendition.

r.j.p: What do you think of the term "starving artist"?

JHDJ: I don’t know, I’m an artist, I’m not starving.

(Giggling)
 r.j.p: Do you feel more a sense of community with other
artists or a sense of competition?

JHDJ: I really do feel a strong sense of community with

other artists. I don’t feel competitive but I do feel
inspiration – especially - when I see something that is
really good and it touches me!

r.j.p: How do you market yourself?

JHDJ: I’ve been working through several freelancing sites in

the past. Currently, I’m redesigning my website. The Website
was originally focused on graphic design and not
illustration, painting, conceptual design, or comic book
illustration, which are my passions.

Artist’s Name:
John H. Drew Jr.
Title: The Joker
Media Used:
Photoshop CS3
Size: 14.50 x 19.41
Date Created:
Sept. 11, 2009

r.j.p: Specifically, the

Heath Ledger version of
the infamous villain as
portrayed in “The Dark
Knight.” Heath’s
performance & Chris
Nolan’s directing
redefined what is
possible within the
confines of the comic
genre film. This eerie,
captivating piece is a
fitting tribute to the
tortured, sociopathic
anarchist as envisioned
Messrs. Ledger & Nolan.
r.j.p: Do you find it difficult to stay motivated/inspired?

JHDJ: I do, because I’m not working fulltime as an artist,

which is something I’ve been really focusing on these days.

r.j.p: Do you create your art full time or part time?

JHDJ: As mentioned prior, I work part time but I would love

to do art all the time.

Artist’s Name:
John H. Drew Jr.
Title: A lady
Media Used:
Photoshop CS3
Size: 26.36 x 44.67
Date Created:
July 1, 2009
 r.j.p: What other interests do you have, besides art?

JHDJ: I dabbled somewhat in music, singing in several

groups. I’ve also been a big aficionado of martial arts. In
addition, I also love computers but I only consider myself a
pseudo-geek. I’ve never been like a 100% Urkel!(Chuckle)

r.j.p: What advice would you have for a young artist

starting out today?

JHDJ: If you feel passionate about art stay focused, work

hard, and keep the faith, and most of all practice,
practice, practice.

Artist’s Name:
John H. Drew Jr.
Title: Lady Two
Media Used:
Photoshop CS3
Size: 16.67 x 22.10
Date Created:
Sept. 16, 2009

r.j.p: A beautiful
companion piece to the
previous painting. Once
again John demonstrates
his command of lighting,
shadows and tone in
creating this lovely
portrait. The subtle
blurring towards the
edges lends his
portraiture an effect
similar to a soft-focus
lens.
 r.j.p: Do you have any big plans or shows coming up in 2009?

JHDJ: Right now I’m simply doing art, painting and drawing
everyday, building up my repertoire. There’s so much out here to
do and so many things to learn and experience, there’s just not
enough time in the day.

r.j.p: How would you like your art, and by extension yourself,
to be remembered?

JHDJ: I want people to have a spiritual connection with my work.

I really want to touch people and leave a long lasting
impression.

r.j.p: The piece I just had to use for

Artist’s Name: John H. Drew Jr.
Title: Obama
Media Used: Photoshop CS3
Size: 10.73 x 9.36
Date Created: Sept. 17, 2009
the cover. With November being the
anniversary of Barack’s historic
electoral win, it seemed a no-brainer.
By rendering this portrait in B & W
John achieves a measure of gravitas
fitting for this, modern day, icon.
461 Witch – by Roger Formidable
 Poetry
[all photos and manips by r. j. paré]

Selected Poems
By Frances Nichols Vargas

Forever Goodbye

The days slip by so fast

The weeks turn to months
And months turn to years
Grasping for every last second
Praying there is no end and a second chance
One day forces you to realize
But there are only tears
The scenes play out in slow motion
The conversations replay over and over
The lost moments now stolen away forever
Sorrow and somber filled, you kiss away
The love that you once knew.

Abandoned
selected poems of yearning,
love and loss
By Anna Gehmacher

But where shall I go

what shall I do
if there's nobody here
no one with me

I'm all on my own

looking for something to call my own
trying to find my way all alone
searching for something in me

called a soul

I'm broken and broke

clinging on to the last bit of hope
Just one little dream,
just one glimpse of light,
something to make it seem
like there's a reason

for going to bed at night.

The Dark Path

selected poems
By Stephen Campbell
Bloody Sunday
Children run from fabled gable end
The blasting of ties from dear wrought friend
And many murals cast up in defiance
Of lies built fearfully on non-compliance.
 Thursday

I ate supper with my friends

Laughing in shaded revelry,
A row broke out, our fun did end
Our gaiety turned from levity.

The brevity of our lightness lay strewn

Across the table of our meal,
Dipped, our night in cups dark wound,
A wound the deepest slice did seal.
Our home usurped by demon and wight,
Thieves stole into our minds that night
And stole the love that we felt for each other,
Severed our ties, killed our brothers.

Much fighting done and clashing of tongues,

And all for what and why would one
Wish to win such anger-spited prize?
The trophy a cup of tear stained eyes.

Supper spoiled the house is empty

And my friends are deserted,
And heart and I alone filled heavy,
Did for pride my love deserve this?

Desperation
ParÉ’s Poetic
Perpectives
By r. j. paré

Forgotten

Tick, tick...
the seconds click.
Salutations, from the now.

Work, work...
roll that wretched rock.
To each day’s grind you’re shackl’d.

Hie home...
from whence you’ve roam’d.
Soft, the crier sounds the hour.

Left late...
oaths sworn, not kept.
Farewell, bleed out, forgotten.
Jimi Two – by Mike Grattan
 Pop culture
Comic book review
By Brad Bellmore

Locke & Key

Thumb Sideways

IDW released a new miniseries within

the ongoing series of Locke & Key,
written by Joe Hill and drawn by
Gabriel Rodriguez. These Eisner
nominated tales focus on a family
trying to escape the memory of a
brutal murder and have moved into a
house full of arcane and dark magic,
where certain doors open worlds and
transform the person who opened
them... if they have the right key.

This book focuses mostly on Dodge, the one who understands and uses
the keys, and his interactions with the spirit of Sam, the one
responsible for the murder the family is trying to escape. The
largest chunk of the story takes place in a spirit realm where Sam
is ensnared.
Through the confrontation between Sam and Dodge, who has projected
his spirit from his body, the opportunity arises for Sam to try to
possess Dodge’s body. The result of the battle is that Dodge loses
one of his most powerful keys and the mother is about to discover
what truly goes on in her house.
The art in this book is a mixed bag for me. The style of the
real world, the house and the people who live in it, has a
grittiness to it that disturbs me. That does lend itself to
the horror of the tale, but I find that I don’t particularly
like it. The depictions of the spirit creatures and the
spirit realm are astounding. The esoteric is presented in a
way that is real enough that I feel very connected to that
which is extremely insubstantial. The page layouts are
interesting too, actually pushing the story forward in their
occasional oddities.

I love the concept of this

story and the whole world
created by Hill. The sprit
realm is powerful. The use
of keys and doors to go
places and do things is
fascinating. I just don’t
quite understand how all the
pieces fit together. Part
of that, I am sure, is that
this is my first foray into
this world. Had I understood
more back story, this may
have been stronger.

For those who love horror,

suspense or the
supernatural, this may prove
to be a great title to
follow. As much as I enjoyed
aspects of it, I didn’t
grasp the larger picture
enough to freely recommend
it.
 Dr. Horrible

Thumb Mostly Up

Dark Horse unveiled the

one-shot comic Dr.
Horrible. This story is
based on Joss Whedon’s web
movie, “Dr. Horrible’s
Sing-Along Blog”. The comic
gives us the back story and
origin of Dr. Horrible, how
a kid genius became an evil
genius and super villain in
the web movie.

Joelle Jones provides the art which is a little bit cartoony but fun. What
else would you expect from a truly comedic comic? As with other comics derived
from the Whedon-verse, there is enough similarity to the actors that portrayed
the characters to feel like they are really participating in the comic itself.
It all works together, to deliver a fun comic.

The story is written by Zack Whedon (Joss’ brother). He creates a fun story
that both resonates with the characters from the web movie, even down to
picking up the tone of their voices in the dialogue, and keeps the mood of the
humor that made the original Dr. Horrible so fun. The tale enlightens us on
why someone would chose to become a super villain and evil genius. And I find
that I empathize with Dr. Horrible.

For those of you who have seen the web movie, you will love this comic as it
provides more depth to the characters that you already know. For those of you
who have not seen “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”, it’s worth the view. It is
a great story that extrapolates the high school geek v. jock dynamic into the
world of super powers, allowing us to see the villains as victims trying to
survive against the heroes who are really bullies.

I enjoyed this comic tremendously. It is well worth the money to enjoy this
one-shot story. I loved the original story that it is based on, so I found it
easy to enjoy. But I think the unique (and peculiar) characters offered here
promise good entertainment.
Untitled – by Engin Korkmaz
Raised on Saturday
morning cartoons
By Pauline Paré

ENDINGS...
Fall is a time for endings… the leaves fall from the
trees… the year is coming to an end… and several television
series are leaving us for either the spring or even next
fall. The television-less (my word, don’t try to look it up)
gaps in winter seem to be growing larger and larger. We have
shows that are making us wait up to four months until the
next episode.

Four series in particular had finales that just blew me

away. (Caution: the following may contain spoilers if these
episodes are still sitting on your PVR unwatched.) In no
particular order, they were The Mentalist, Stargate
Universe, Glee and Dexter.
 The lead character in The Mentalist, Thomas Jane, never
lets the viewers forget that the only reason he was working
with a unit in the CBI was to continue to track down the
serial killer, Red John, who murdered his family. There are
many episodes that deal with other cases, as leads for the
Red John case are few and far between, but the episodes that
deal with Red John are, by far, the most intriguing. This
season the Red John case was taken away from Jane’s team. In
the mid-season finale, Red John murdered the entire team
that was newly assigned to the case so that Jane would be
put on the case again. Many of these characters have been on
the show for a couple of seasons already so their deaths
were even more disturbing. Jane already blames himself, for
taunting Red John to begin with, but now their strange
relationship has led to more deaths on Jane’s conscience.
The episode played out beautifully with many shocking
revelations through out the episode. This was some great
television writing.

Stargate Universe is quickly becoming my one of my

favourite series this year. The tone is dark, the actors are
top-notch and the writing is fantastic. My two favourite
characters are Dr Rush, played brilliantly by Robert Carlyle
and Colonel Everett Young, played equally well by Justin
Louis.
 The two characters have been butting heads from the
beginning of the series with Col. Young attempting to be
diplomatic due to the value of Dr. Rush’s scientific
expertise, while Dr. Rush wants only to be free of the reins
that Young’s leadership have placed on him. In the amazing
last 10 minutes of the series, Dr. Rush puts another human
being in danger for the last time and Young effectively
strands him alone on a planet with no supplies and on the
other end of the universe. How cool is that?

Glee’s finale was awesome fun, as usual. With double the average
musical numbers, the writers managed to fit in several amazing revelations and
tie up nearly all of the plotlines from the entire season. It makes me wonder
what on earth they have in store for us for the next nine episodes. All
thirteen episodes of the series were produced at the same time, even before
the fall premiere of Glee so I suspect that the producers were uncertain of
the longevity of the series and wanted an ending if the show was cancelled.
With the cast appearing on nearly every magazine and talk show out there, I
think the future of Glee is very bright.

Now we come to Dexter. I am

always excited about the next
episode of Dexter. If you have not
yet seen this amazing show, ask
Santa for the DVDs. This season’s
finale was amazing. Dexter is
dealing with being a serial killer;
with a new wife, Rita; and a
growing family. Add to this a lack
of privacy or places to store his
killing instruments. (Poor Dexter?)
When he tracks down the Trinity
Killer (played brilliantly by a
wonderfully creepy John Lithgow,
who also writes children’s
books?!?) who has a family of his
own, he puts off killing him just
to find out how this guy manages to
balance family and be a sociopath.
He ultimately pays for this change
of behaviour by losing the one
thing that ever made him happy. In
the shocker ending of the
television season, Dexter comes
home after finally dispatching the
Trinity Killer (with Trinity’s own
hammer) and discovers...
 If you really want to find out, you will have to WATCH
DEXTER. Or check out one of the many website that have
detailed descriptions of the episode. It was an amazing and
shocking ending, one that will have fans chatting about
implications until the next season.

...AND BEGINNINGS
We all must wait for our favourite shows to return with
new episodes. There are a few favourite series coming back,
such as 24 and Chuck. 24 always brings action and
excitement to the small screen and I am so excited about
Chuck this season. Chuck is bringing in quite a few changes
this year. The final season of Lost will be premiering in
January. Will all the mysteries be solved… all of our
questions answered… which characters will survive and will
any deceased characters come back? (That does happen on
Lost.) The last season was not the strongest but, for all of
us that stuck with Lost; this should be an amazing and
rewarding season.

I just checked out a promo for the new series, Human

Target, set to begin in the New Year. I have always wanted
to see Mark Valley (Boston Legal) as an action star. The
promo is action packed and I will have more to say on the
subject of Mark valley and his chiseled jaw line in the next
issue of RKYV.