Bob Mankoff is the current Cartoon Editor of The New Yorker. He’s also a gifted cartoonist as his classic “How About Never” plainly shows. What I liked about Mankoff’s book were the discussions of what makes a cartoon funny. Mankoff knows every cartoon (literally!) The New Yorker has ever published. He talks about how humor has changed over the decades and provides insightful examples. If you’re interested in how humor works, how American humor has evolved, and predictions about the future of cartoons, How About Never explores all of these topics with grace and wit. It doesn’t get better than this. GRADE: A

Welcome back! Thanks to Patrick, the blog lives again! Things are still not quite back to Normal, but I’ll be tweaking the blog to restore it to it’s former fun state. Please be patient.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier reunites Captain America with Nick Fury and the Black Widow of SHIELD. Samuel L. Jackson is his usual gruff self. Scarlet Johansson is bodacious as usual. Anthony Mackie plays an effective role as The Falcon (the first Marvel African-American superhero) in some eye-popping flying scenes. There are several surprises in this movie so I don’t want to spoil them with too much information. If you love action, Captain America: The Winter Soldier has plenty. Excellent cast, intelligent script, and I can’t wait for the sequel. GRADE: A

I’m a big fan of Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories. After Lancer published the Conan stories in paperback with those great Frazetta covers, there was a huge demand for more Conan stories. Many writers turned their talents to producing Conan stories: L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter, Andy Offutt, and plenty of others. One of my favorite writers of Conan pastiches is Karl Edward Wagner. Wagner’s Conan is clever as well as powerful. In Conan: The Road of Kings Conan is about to be hanged. He escapes that fate, but finds himself involved in a civil war. When a sorcerer shows up to tip the balance of power to the rebels, Conan argues against using dark sorcery to win the kingdom. Conan’s advice is ignored and an even more malignant force than the dictator is unleashed. If you’re a fan of sword & sorcery novels, you’l find a lot to like in Conan: The Road to Kings.

I read this Winston Science Fiction juvenile novel back in the 1950s. Danger: Dinosaurs! was published in 1953 and when I reread it, I was struck by Ed McBain/Evan Hunter’s progressive characterizations. One of the major characters is an African-American who plays a key role in the plot. I read most of the Winston SF series and I can’t recall another African-American character in any of them. Danger: Dinosaurs! also introduces a notion unique in time-travel stories: that events in the past can forgotten when the time-travelers return to the future. This story of a group who encounters problems during their visit over a 100 million years ago was thrilling when I was a kid. Even in this early novel, the strengths of Ed McBain/Evan Hunter’s story-telling were obvious. Ed McBain turned to writing crime fiction, but this science fiction novel has plenty of suspense and action.

Buffalo is hosting Rounds Two and Three of the NCAA Tournament. All the hotels are sold out and estimates predict a $14 million infusion of cash into our local economy from hosting the Tournament. The match-ups are Syracuse vs. Western Michigan, Ohio State vs. Dayton, Villanova vs. Milwaukee, and Connecticut vs. St. Joseph’s. Clearly, this is Syracuse country so if you’re watching the games on your HDTV, you’re going to see a lot of orange in the crowd. I think Florida will win the NCAA Championship. What teams are you rooting for?

I read Kem Nunn’s brilliant Tapping the Source back in 1984 when it was first published. The years went by and I haven’t read a Kem Nunn book until I happened on Chance. Dr. Chance is a neuropsychologist whose life is crumbling. He’s going through a bitter divorce. The IRS is auditing him (and he owes Big Bucks!) and Chance is selling his prized furniture to generate some money while he struggles with his problems. Chance goes from the frying pan into the fire when he engages in an intimate relationship with a patient with multiple personalities. Her abusive husband is a Homicide Detective with psychopathic tendencies. I kept turning the pages as Dr. Chance fell deeper and deeper into Big Trouble. It’s been a long time since I read a novel this suspenseful. GRADE: A-

The Venture Bros.: The Fifth Season is an animated series that appeared last year on the Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim.” These episodes continue the fun and frolic and action of the previous seasons. The Venture Bros. series is a pastiche of the old Johnny Quest adventures. Imagine that Johnny Quest grew up to be super-scientist Dr. Thaddeus Venture. His teenage sons, Hank and Dean, resemble the Hardy Boys. The series makes fun (in an affectionate way) of Johnny Quest and other action-adventure series. The cover on this Blu-ray box looks like the artwork that used to be on Grosset & Dunlap’s Tom Swift books. I love the giant pterodactyl on the Venture jet! If you’re in the mood for some animated action blended with some humor, check out The Venture Bros. GRADE: A

Fans of the Pop-Country group Sugarland probably own this CD by now. Jennifer Nettles’ unique voice on her first solo album runs the gamut from ballads to power pop songs. The sidemen–Matt Sweeney, Smokey Hormel, Jason Lader, ex-Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith, Alex Acuña, and Lenny Castro–are top-notch. Some of the songs include wind instruments, string instruments, and horns that give the songs a very different sound from the average C&W album. My favorite song is “Good Time to Cry.” GRADE: B+
TRACK LIST
1 Falling (3:22)
2 Me Without You (3:37)
3 Moneyball (3:13)
4 That Girl (4:00)
5 This Angel (3:31)
6 Jealousy (3:51)
7 This One’s For You (3:44)
8 Know You Wanna Know (3:05)
9 Thank You (4:11)
10 Good Time To Cry (4:26)
11 Like A Rock (4:23)

I’ve never been a big fan of Porgy & Bess so factor that in while you read this review. This controversial new touring version of the Gershwin classic features a great cast. It has the classic songs I really like: “Summertime,” “I Got Plenty of Nothin’,” and “That Ain’t Necessary So.” But this story of doomed love was tough for Diane and me to watch. Even though this new version has “compressed” the original work, it still felt long. Porgy & Bess broke plenty of barriers when it first appeared in 1935. But in the 21st Century, it’s a bit of an odd duckling. GRADE: C+