Caius Christmas

By now, most Urban Underbrush readers have probably finished the Christmas story, "How Caius Stole Christmas" (except for the bonus page, which will be posted on Saturday, December 22). If you haven't read the story yet you can go read it from the beginning. (You might want to look at it before reading this blog post. Here there be spoilers.)

This chapter was obviously a little different from the other chapters. But it's one I had been working on for some time. I had the idea for this plot while Urban Underbrush was still in the planning stages. I wrote the final script last March and decided then that I would need to schedule more updates or else this story would take half a year to finish (even starting on November 8 felt a little too early). I could have cut it down or changed it to a simpler idea, but I don't think anything less than the full version would have been worth the time and effort. This was the story I wanted to tell.

I took a few risks with "How Caius Stole Christmas." First of all, it's probably not the story my audience expected. I imagine most readers were anticipating a more typical cartoon Christmas story about Dynamite and Detonator on a mission to spread cheer and goodwill. Probably by means of a dangerous contraption, perhaps a rocket sled. I'd like to tell that story too someday, but Caius's story couldn't wait any longer.

It was a little odd to give Caius the biggest role. He's not the lead character. He's not even the most important supporting character. And when I did my last readers survey, Caius did not test well with the audience. I was especially worried about this when I posted the Silent Night comic. I feared that readers would dislike Caius so much that they wouldn't care if he were in danger. Or they might object to my use of a hymn. Or maybe I wasn't a good enough artist to draw an intense, emotional strip like that without looking phony or heavy handed. But I had to include that one. It's how the story goes. The response was largely favorable, although some readers were concerned that Caius might be dead (good thing that one didn't run on a Friday.)

So if this story might be a bad idea, then why did I plow ahead? Because this was the chapter that the Urban Underbrush world was ready for. The time wasn't quite right for some of the other characters to take the spotlight, but it was time to get to know Caius better. And Caius needed to change a little. I felt like any more stories about Caius being a selfish thief would be a repeat of his introduction story. Caius as a somewhat reformed thief holds a few more possibilities. I also wanted to change Caius's relationship with the other characters, especially Clive (who needed to show a little more humanity).

And now that I've reordered the world a little bit, a few more pieces are in place for some other stories I want to tell. Don't worry, Caius won't take over the comic, but he will play a key role in some upcoming events. So keep an eye on him.

What did you think of the Christmas story. I'd love to know. Feel free to post any comments here. I promise I'll read them.

I'll be back to running comics on the week of January 7. Until then have a nice break and Happy Holidays.

-Marj

www.lepusstudios.com

My Top Five Least Favorite Christmas Specials

Okay, my last posts were a little sentimental, so we're due for a fun one.

You've probably watched a few Christmas special this year. We all have our favorites, but for every beloved classic, there are a few others that could stand some improvement. Here are my top five least favorite Christmas specials - the ones so bad I just have to write about them.

(Note: This list is limited to specials. It does not include holiday episodes of TV series, made-for-TV movies or theatrical movies. Heaven knows that a few of them deserve to be on the list, but let's keep this simple.)

#5 - Robbie the Reindeer: Legend of the Lost Tribe (2002?)

This one is not really a Christmas special, which is exactly the problem. I actually liked the first installment, Robbie the Reindeer: Hooves of Fire, a story about the son of Rudolph who returns to the North Pole to get a job on Santa's sleigh team. This second story has Robbie and his reindeer friends working summer jobs to cover Christmas expenses. The writers obviously thought that they had created such interesting characters that they would still work without a Christmas backdrop. They thought wrong. Santa's reindeer seem painfully out of place at summer camp. It just feels awkward to watch this show in any season.

#4 - Noel the Christmas Ornament (1992)

The most notable thing about this special was that it landed an aging Charlton Heston to play the role of the narrator. This is also the only notable thing about the story of Noel, the happiest Christmas ornament. Believe it or not, the life of an ornament is pretty dull. And when the show isn't boring, it's depressing. It spends way too much time dwelling on sad things like Noel's Christmas tree friends getting thrown away each year, and watching Noel's aging family grow too old to celebrate like they used to. While the story does manage to pull off a happy ending, its mostly a downer.

#3 - The Littlest Light on the Christmas Tree (2004)

This one had script problems. The plot feels so broken and stitched together that I strongly suspect  that it was changed at least three times while the show was being made.

Our stiffly animated story starts in a Norman Rockwell painting of a town where a boy and his sister are trying to buy an inexpensive Christmas present for their poor but saintly mother. The kindly shopkeeper wants to give them a discount on their gift, but his stingy partner insists that they pay full price. As they leave, the children scavenge some discarded decorations from the store's trash can - a broken angel and a burned out blue Christmas light. This is where it starts getting weird. Having the little boy rescue a burned out lightbulb reminds me of those very little kids who pull cigarette wrappers out of dirty gutters because they like the shiny paper. And the stingy shopkeeper is seen as unsympathetic because he carelessly throws away precious decorations. But what's the alternative? Is he supposed to save every lightbulb he ever uses? This story seems to be inadvertently endorsing hoarding disorders.

So, the kids put these decorations on their tree and we see that every ornament they own is somehow reminiscent of their friends and neighbors. For example, their toy soldier looks a bit like the old vet who was collecting for the salvation army earlier that day. This is the cleverest device used in this story, and I suspect that it was where the plot was originally intended to focus. Unfortunately, all the ornaments do is dance around uselessly like a creepier version of the Nutcracker. Somehow, the broken bulb lights up again. 

Seeing the brightly glowing Christmas light helps the stingy shopkeeper mend his ways. This also feels weird as the story is told from the little boy's point of view. I'm not sure why the boy is supposed to care so much that a casual acquaintance has made a small change in his disposition. 

#2 - The Flight Before Christmas (2008)

The story of Nico the reindeer is still quite popular - CBS runs it every year. Young Nico lives with his herd in the arctic tundra. He is convinced that his estranged father is one of Santa's flying reindeer and learning to fly has been his lifelong dream.

I feel obligated to mention that the art and animation are very good, but the plot suffers from two major problems.

First, in order to understand the story, one must understand that Nico is the product of a brief fling between two adults. That aspect could still be okay if it were subtle, but the event is referenced repeatedly and with an unnecessary amount of detail. I suspect many parents have felt ambushed by this special. If parents want to teach their children about this kind of thing while the kids are still young, that's fine. If parents want to wait until their kids are older, that's fine too. But that decision probably shouldn't be made by cartoon reindeer.

The second problem is the character of Nico. Although he's the hero, it's tough to root for him because he's a brat who doesn't take responsibility for his actions. The opening act best exemplifies Nico's behavior: Nico's peers make fun of him for believing he can fly so Nico decides to go practice in the hills where they can't watch him. But the elders remind Nico that he is not allowed to leave the valley because he could be found by wolves. He's warned that even if he escapes the wolves, they could follow him back to the valley and drive the herd from it's only safe haven. Nico decides to break this rule anyway. He goes to the hills and (surprise) he is almost eaten by wolves who follow him back to the valley and drive the herd away. Despite the fact that these were the exact consequences he was warned about, Nico still insists that it wasn't his fault. Nico feels so bad about having all this justified anger directed at him that he decides to run away and find his father so he can have a comfortable Christmas in Santa's village while everyone else spends Christmas limping through the arctic wasteland. And the audience is expected to sympathize with poor, misunderstood Nico, who was only trying to realize his dream of flying. While I agree that it's noble to pursue one's dreams, I think it's selfish and sociopathic to risk everyone else's safety in the process. Kids should be taught that their right to a better life doesn't trump someone else's right to live.

#1 - Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1980)

This one is a complete mess. It's like someone devoured every other Rankin/Bass Christmas special, then regurgitated them back onto the film. The "plot" mostly has to do with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman performing at a sea-side carnival to help save the circus. Frosty and his snow family are given magic amulets that keep them from melting in the summer heat. Don't try to figure out the rest of it, as the remainder of the story is, somehow, completely composed of plot holes.  The characters correctly figure out their problems by jumping to conclusions so wild even Adam West couldn't make the script sound convincing. The villains' plans are so convoluted you'll lose track of what anyone hopes to achieve by them. And I hope you've seen every other Rankin/Bass Christmas special ever made, because characters from other shows will randomly pop up with little introduction to help deus-ex-machina the team out of whatever corner they've been written into. Worst of all, the show is twice as long as most other specials. It runs for two hours (about 80 minutes without commercials). It's odd enough that anyone wanted to make this show at all, let alone give it extra running time.

So that's it. Of course, these are just my opinions. I'm sure that your list of least favorite specials is different from mine. And there are many awful shows that really deserve a spot on the list, if I only had time to review them all. 

For whatever reason, we are more willing to overlook flaws in Christmas programs than in most other shows. Some flaws, glitches, and cheesy moments are part of their charm. But don't let any careless writers take too much advantage of your forgiving nature this year.

-Marj
www.lepusstudios.com

Power Up, Power Down

I got a copy of the last issue Nintendo Power Magazine today. Apparently, my subscription ran out right before the final issue came out and renewing to buy a single magazine was not an option. I had to buy one from a bookstore and it took me awhile to track it down. It would have been a shame if I missed the final piece. I've had that subscription since 1994, since back when subscribing to Nintendo Power was age-appropriate. Most of my friends (like normal people) quit on game magazines when they left their teens. I thought about dropping mine, but no matter how old I grew, Nintendo Power always had some feature that held interest to me. First it was the comics, then RPG strategies, game previews, interviews with game designers, and, most recently, community crafts and cosplay.

I had recently sent some photos of my Mario statues, but they never used them. But don't feel bad for me. They published one of my watercolors back in 1997, back when I needed the boost a bit more.

(Here's a copy of my Yoshi's Island watercolor. It ran in issue 92.)

My friends never seemed to find it odd that I still collected Nintendo Power into my adulthood. I guess it must make sense with my personality. But I think they liked the idea that someone in the circle was still collecting. As long as one of us kept going, everyone else could look in if they ever felt the need. 

Looking at my shelves, I'm reminded of those past eighteen years of my life. I can't explain it, but something about old video games connects us of where we were when we first played them. Nintendo Power seems to have encapsulated that feeling. I understand why so many fans are sad to see it go.

Why have game magazines have fallen out of fashion? Online communities and game websites have made them less necessary. Which begs the question: will today's early adolescents get the same warm feelings about their websites that we adults once felt for Nintendo Power? Check what kids are saying in the online forums. If the site is well-established, well-designed and friendly enough, it's already happening. If you run a gaming site, it's nice to keep in mind that you're making a community for young people. You're affecting their childhood memories, so give them a good show. It's nice to know kids can still find places to share their interests and fit it. It's just a shame they won't have old magazines as artifacts to remind them of those times. Like I do.

-Marj

www.lepusstudios.com

Christmas Rush

So who's started Christmas shopping yet? The buying season seems to have calmed down some after its unusually stressful start on Black Friday, when some stores decided to open on Thanksgiving day itself (what a poor way to start the holiday season.)

As soon as Christmas preparations become stressful, the cynics emerge, declaring that we shouldn't celebrate Christmas or we need to change the way we celebrate because it's too much trouble, and/or Christmas has become too corrupted to do us any good anymore.

I dislike defending Christmas. It makes me feel dumb. After all, anyone who criticizes Christmas is usually making logic based arguments about ending a culture of greed, saving money, and generally being more responsible. Meanwhile any counter-arguments, no matter how well thought-out, somehow always sound like they are defending consumerism, the status quo, and cartoon reindeer. I feel like I'm on the more childish/less intellectual side of things.

Then, around last Christmas, something occurred to me: the real reason why I defend Christmas and all its inconvenient customs. It's actually good that the holidays are demanding. Because the demands they put on our time and money aren't just brought on by Christmas. They're brought on by having people in our lives. We should be making time to get together with friends and families. We should give things away to make others feel appreciated. But imagine if there were never any occasions that required us to do these things. Most of us would put it off and never get around to it if we didn't have a holiday deadline (I know I would).

Instead of seeing holidays as bullies who shake you down for your time and money, try seeing them as stern parental figures who remind you that you should be making an effort to go visit your brother and bring him something.

These thoughts probably won't make your prep work any easier, but they might make your next trip to the mall a little easier to stomach.

-Marj

www.lepusstudios.com

Does Not Compute

I'm writing this post from my shiny new computer, which is, surprisingly, the second computer I've ever owned.

I got my original Mac Book in 2006 and upgraded it a bunch of times. I doubled the RAM within the first year, replaced the hard drive two years ago, and went through more rechargeable batteries than I want to remember. I liked my first computer and was content to just keep rebuilding it. But it turns out, even if you keep the hardware and software current, laptops have a finite life span. My old computer has more than its share of dings and scratches. The hinge is loose and I literally have a piece of masking tape holding one of the latches on. But the cosmetic damage wasn't the problem. Too many internal parts were wearing out. The disk reader quit working, it has trouble holding wifi signals, and the screen as been gradually growing darker for some time now. When you work in visual arts, the screen is kind of important.

Now I have a new Mac Book Pro. It has all the features I want and all of them work as they're supposed to. Having nothing broken feels like an embarrassment of riches.

I'm not going to get rid of my old computer just yet. I'd like to use it for traveling and maybe let my art students borrow it from time to time. Before it goes into active retirement, I'd like to take a moment to remember all of its accomplishments:

• I did the last 1/4 of my animations on it, back when I was a character animator for a computer game.
• I used it for all demonstrations and archival work for the art classes I teach on weekends.
• I used it to demonstrate painting in Photoshop to my former online class.
• It got me through grad school when I earned my master's degree.
• I learned HTML on it and used it to write all my websites.
• I prepped and colored every episode of Urban Underbrush and Draconis Wicked with it...until now.

It really had a wonderful life. I look forward to wearing out the next one.

-Marj
www.lepusstudios.com

Wreckin' Machine

I saw Wreck-It Ralph last weekend. It was pretty much what I hoped it would be: a cute story with video game references all neatly bound together under the veil of Disney style animation and Pixar style humor.

This movie is a big deal for the Rishel Family, and not just because so many of us are animation fans and/or casual gamers. It’s because my cousin Brian worked on the film. Brian has been doing behind-the-scenes stuff for Disney for many years, but this is the first time he’s contributed so much to a blockbuster movie. The next time you watch Wreck-It Ralph, look for Brian Rishel’s name in the credits. He’s the Post Production Lead Title Designer (it shows up shortly after the music credits). Congratulations, Brian. You’re finally getting the recognition you deserve.

If you haven’t seen Wreck-It Ralph yet, do yourself a favor and don’t read any reviews except mine. With this kind of story, reviewers won’t post spoilers, but they will be tempted to give hints about the plot. And, much like a real video game, hints can give too much away. All the threads should unravel nicely on their own, as long as you don’t go pulling on any of them too soon.

Okay, now about the movie itself. If you’ve seen the trailers, you know that Wreck-It Ralph is the story of a video game bad guy who is tired of being the villain. He can’t change the rules of his own game, so he travels to other games where he might have a shot at being the hero. On the surface, this looks like another story about a protagonist trying to improve his life while proving all the doubters wrong. It’s really a story about the nature of heroism. And the world of video games is a great place to explore the concept of heroism. If the moral had been about love, confidence, loyalty or any other popular theme, it would have been a waste of a theme. As the story begins, we learn that Ralph wants to be a hero so that people will treat him better. So game-hopping Ralph goes through the motions of being a hero without helping anyone. (Good Guy Ralph actually makes things much worse.) When Ralph forgets about his own quest and focus on helping others, he finally starts becoming the person he wants to be. Wreck-It Ralph has a good, real moral that isn’t explored often enough in these kinds of movies: You can’t be a hero to make people like you. You have to like people enough to be heroic for them.

But the best thing about Wreck-It Ralph is that the creators seem to get video games. Its quite common yet always disappointing to watch a show based on something that the authors themselves don’t understand (like Dreamworks movies and Dr. Seuss stories or family sitcoms and…pretty much any topic you can think of).  Wreck-It Ralph was made by people who grew up on video games and were ready to pour all that knowledge and love into the crafting their digital world.

And if your local theater still keeps it’s little corner arcade going, you can bet that you’ll want to give those old games a second look on your way out.

-Marjorie Rishel
www.lepusstudios.com

Back to School Survival Guide #3: Pranks for the Memories (Part Two)

We’re back with Part Two of the Back to School Survival Guide on jokes and pranks.

(Honestly, I did not expect to take so long to finish this. Back to school stuff seems a little out of place when it’s running in late October, but I promised you a part two, so a part two you shall have.)

This time, I’m breaking down some popular jokes to explain why they work or don’t work. If you’re not a student, you may want to read this anyway. There are some good bits of joke etiquette in here, somewhere.

Running Gags


A running gag is a repeating joke. These gags are usually effective on TV but they don’t always work in real life. Usually, there’s an easy way to tell if a gag is working: The more people join in, the funnier the joke is. If you are the only person participating in the gag, then you are probably the only person who thinks it’s funny. Don’t discourage anyone from playing along.

Inside Jokes

An inside joke is a private joke shared by a small group of people. Often, inside jokes are personal or embarrassing, which somehow makes them funnier. There’s usually nothing wrong with inside jokes, except when outsiders think that the joke is about them. Imagine that you’re walking past a small group of people who suddenly start laughing. You ask them what’s so funny and they all get quiet and say that it’s nothing. It’s easy to suspect that they’re laughing at you, right? The group knows this, but they can’t explain themselves without revealing their embarrassing secrets. If you’re part of a group that uses inside jokes, prepare a safe explanation in ahead of time. So when someone asks you “what’s so funny?” you can give him a vague, but reassuring answer, like, “We were remembering something stupid that happened on Friday. It’s nothing serious.”

Making Fun of Teachers

All teachers know that their students want to make fun of them. (This even applies to some college professors.) Frankly, your teacher would rather you vent your frustrations with harmless words than break down in the classroom. They’ll be good sports as long as you follow one simple rule: Don’t make fun of an adult who is in the room with you. Putting down your teachers right in front of them makes it look like they don’t deserve respect. Be polite. Make fun of your math teacher in science class, your science teacher in music class, and when you’re on the bus, make fun of everybody but the bus driver.

Toxic Jokes: Pranks to Avoid

A few popular pranks that are more trouble than they’re worth. Plus they can hurt you as much as your victims. Avoid them at all costs.

Pranking Your Helpers

Springing pranks is like setting traps. The tricky part is getting someone to walk into your trap. An easy way to do this is to ask people to do things for you. For example, you might think a funny prank would be to lock someone in a supply closet. But no one is in the supply closet, so you ask your friend if he would please, please, please put some heavy boxes away for you. The trouble with this strategy is that it only punishes people who are nice to you. The obvious problem here is that you are teaching people to never help you. The less obvious problem is psychological. People are conditioned to expect a reward for good deeds, usually in the form of a “Thank You” or some other kind words. Whenever someone who expects a reward is punished instead, it creates intense feelings of betrayal and resentment. You may be dishing out more of an emotional sucker-punch than you ever intended.

Scolding and Teasing

When people (both kids and adults) yell or scold, a part of them is saying, “It is VERY important to me that you listen to these words.” If you choose this moment to joke around, you are sending the message, “I won’t listen, and I will keep others from listening too.” Humor doesn’t fix this kind of situation. It throws gas on the fire. And it may cause the yellers to direct their anger at you. If you think yelling and scoldings are unfair, you don’t always have to put up with them, but you should find a safer way to deal with it.

Hiding People’s Stuff

This is a crime of opportunity. Someone leaves something unattended, his friends stash it, and then they watch him panic when he finds it missing. The trouble with this prank is that there’s no good way to end it. If the prankster returns the missing items right away, people usually complain that the joke ended too soon. So everyone has to sit and wait awkwardly for the right time to resolve the situation. This can make the prankster can feel almost as trapped as the victim. Plus, it’s a tense situation, and tension only makes people expect a bigger punch line. In the end, the missing stuff is either returned safely, returned damaged, lost or stolen. None of these outcomes are particularly funny and they leave everyone feeling unsatisfied. This one just isn’t worth the trouble.

In Conclusion…

You may be asking yourself, “Hey, I’m just trying to have fun, why do I have to follow so many rules?” Bringing humor means that you’re adding something new to an ordinary situation. And if you’re the person who’s added something new then you are responsible for the results. Jokes and pranks are a bit like pets. People enjoy their antics, but if they run wild and cause trouble, then it is the owners’ responsibility to keep them in line.

-Marj
www.lepusstudios.com