Columnist, Pop on Pop
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Tell me about your column and your latest projects.
"Pop on Pop" is a pop culture junky's chronicle of raising his own daughter to be the best geek that she can be, with occasional bytes of insight or warning (more "Mr. Spock" than "Dr. Spock") for other would-be geek parents.
Who or what are the biggest influences on your work, and If you could pick one person to collaborate with dead or alive who would you pick?
My influences in the geek arts are in constant flux, much like my fanboy tastes, but off the top of my head, and in no particular order, I'd blame Jim Henson, Stan Lee, Vince McMahon, Quentin Tarrantino, Charles Bukowski, Shel Silverstein, Jack Kirby, George Carlin, Carol Burnett, Sarah Silverman, Jack Tripper, The Professor, Mike Allred, Serio Aragones, Alex Ross, Grant Morrison, Mike Mignola, Ben Edlund, David Mamet, Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Millar, Robert Kirkman, Geoff Johns, Eric Powell, Uncle Ben, David Sedaris, Joss Whedon, Damon Lindeloff, Art Balthazar, Mel Brooks, Max Brooks, George Romero, George Lucas, Kevin Smith, Stephen King, Harrison Ford as all my childhood heroes, Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, my mom--for always telling me I'm the best, even when it's a lie, and my daughter--who will judge me for all of this someday, so it has to be good! As for collaborating...any of the above.
What album had the most influence on your adolescence?
Faith No More, "The Real Thing" -- It was the first album (cassette, actually) that I bought on my own time and with my own money, so it played a big part in helping me establish my own identity. The fact that it still holds up and gets regular rotation on my iPod to this day must prove that I've always had great taste, right?
What were your favorite toys or games from your childhood?
I was all about action figures. I had G.I. Joe Headquarters, Castle Grayskull, Thundercat's Lair, the Ewok Village, the Hall of Justice, the WWF wrestling ring, Doctor Doom's Tower, and plenty more--plus all of the figures to go with those sets.
What is your pop culture guilty pleasure?
While I am happy to admit to anyone that I hit the comic shop like clockwork every Wednesday, I usually lower my voice when admitting I still like wrestling, too. I also get funny looks when I profess my love for the second best killer shark movie of all time, Deep Blue Sea.
If you could own one piece of artwork by any artist, who would you choose and why?
I'm not really a collector of this sort of thing...but Cliff Chiang had a print at the 2009 New York Comic Con of Batgirl in the style of the cover to Prince's Purple Rain album cover, but it wasn't for sale. I was so going to buy that for the baby's room! Also, I wouldn't mind seeing Alex Ross's take on the Union of Novelty Costumed Performers.
What are your favorite television shows that you feel ended too soon?
Arrested Development, The State (now on DVD, yay!), and, most recently, Drive -- the short-lived Canonball Run-inspired action show starring Nathan Fillion, which was just (dare I say it?) getting into gear when Fox dropped it. So sad. I'm glad I didn't have to say Dollhouse here, but I suspect I will if we do this questionnaire again next year.
Who is your favorite super hero?
The Tick.
If you were to have dinner with 5 people, living or dead, who are they and what would you serve?
Harry Houdini, Lee Harvey Oswald, Dick Cheney, Michael Jackson, and Jesus H. Christ -- so they can tell me all the secrets. I'd serve a loaf of bread and one bottle of Evian, and let J.C. sort it out.
What fictional character do you identify most with?
Chewbacca. You get no explanation.
What 5 movies could you watch again and again?
Deep Blue Sea, The Great Muppet Caper, Seven, Night of the Living Dead, and Anchorman.
Actually, I can watch a lot of movies again and again...
What book or author do you regularly recommend?
World War Z, by Max Brooks, is amazing and I recommend it for anyone who can read. Also, I suggest checking out Peter V. Brett's Demon Trilogy, which kicked off last year with the fan-and-critic-thrilling The Painted Man, and will only get bigger and better as the series rolls on. Nevermind the fact that Peat is one of my oldest and closest friends--I've read the first draft of Book 2 (The Desert Spear), and fans will definitely be pleased. Back to the collaboration question earlier, I keep bugging Peat to let me help him adapt the series for comics--a medium it is perfect for.
What are your favorite web sites?
Aside from my own and this one, I spend most of my day clicking between Buzz Feed, Huffington Post, and EW's Popwatch blog.
What are you most looking forward to geeking out over in the coming year?
This year? My daughter's 2nd birthday. But after that, it will be all about LOST Season 6. Of course, that doesn't start until 2010. Talk about being in purgatory!
3 comments:
Nice one with The Real Thing. I had actually put that down originally for mine, but I was a late FNM convert.
DEEP.
BLUE.
SEA!
As a geek parent with a 3-month-old daughter, I look forward to watching you distill Mr. Spock's wisdom into tenets for raising geek children. I can't wait to read you discussion of the effects of pon farr on teen-geek mating rituals!
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