COMICS, MOVIES, AND MY BIG BROTHER IN COMICS

MY COMIC BOOK JOURNEY
MOVIE THEMES, CONSIDERED
Mike Grell, Brother and Great Talent
By Alex Ness
July 2, 2026

INTRO

My life has been improving, by the step by step method. Getting sleep, practicing good health protocols and treating my work as being less important as my physical and mental health have all helped. When I lost my beloved cat Katya, my fragile balance was shredded. I have worked to be better. 

FROM 12¢ TO MUCH MUCH MORE

I tried to create a banner for an article that was postponed. But in the meantime, I combined the many partial pieces, into two banners. The top row is of independent and old and defunct company comics. I actually think I enjoyed them more than the other rows. I say this for nostalgia but also the notion of finding stories that were different, even in ways I can't explain. The middle row is Marvel, and you can see, while I love many Marvel comics, Jack Kirby, Frank Miller's Daredevil and Elektra, X-Men, and monsters are/were my focus. The row on the bottom is DC. I liked Jack Kirby still, but also the JSA, the Legion of Superheroes, Tim Truman and Mike Grell books. It would assist to see the full images if you click upon them. 

MILITARY SCIENCE FICTION MOVIES

I was asked by someone why I prefer the Alien franchise to Star Wars, and to Star Trek. I think because of the kind of stories told, they just work for me better.  Star Wars is fantasy in a broad brush version of that.  Star Trek is science fiction, but still, it began as the series Chuckwagon in Space. It retains some of that. It isn't heavy in science. But Alien, begins with a story that is carved out of future reality. That other life forms offer roles as enemies or dangerous unknowns, all feels more realistic to me. Yes it still relies upon battle and fantasy, but in ways far more grounded.

The genre itself is something that I only learned about in the last decade. Military Science Fiction allows battle and all that, but it happens in settings that are far away from today. The movies shown below are all works I enjoyed, and Appleseed and the Alien Franchise I love. 

BRITISH EMPIRE MOVIES

Without meaning to do so, I watched four movies one weekend that shared a theme, how does one perceive the British empire, and what had to be done as members of the Empire. Disasters of lost battles, of responses to control by empires, and more, show the dark view of empires. The savage treatment of others and of having a concept of greatness and importance, allows a mind to suggest that the Empire is something one should aspire to be similar to being. But it isn't. The tragedy in each story comes from taking high ideals, and making them represent and be used to be foundations of terrible events, diminishes the greatness possible in Empire.

MIKE GRELL Writer, Artist, Outdoorsman, Brother

Since my first interview with Mike Grell and getting to know him, I knew he was truly bright, articulate, humorous, and unblinking in giving advice and replying to one's defensive replies. In one case, for instance I had made a PR copy for a new book of mine, and he said, your name on the cover needs to be bigger, people need to know who wrote this. I did change the cover a bit, but neglected to make my name bigger, and it was, in fact, a little smaller.  I sent it to him, and he replied, Hey Asshole, yeah you changed it, but for the worse. I have a very sensitive soul, but I don't mind good advice even when firmly aimed. Mike has been part of my life since 2005, and in my four year adventure in cancer in the 2020s, he lifted my soul and gave hope, it makes me cry right now to think of.

I don't know of any Mike Grell written work that I have read that I do not like. I didn't always love the stories he only did the art for, but I liked his art still. Since going through health and life issues as you've no doubt seen by me here, on my poetry blog and social media, I try to thank people who have helped me, and Mike is at the top of that list.  Mike's works are so trusted by me to be worth my time's investment, I often preorder them, they'll be good. He is no different than other humans, he might have had a bad day while at a con. I am not saying anyone's story is necessarily wrong, I haven't experienced that, ever. But I have experienced that he is a moral and ethical human, who treated me with kindness, and trust. I was a someone who was so afraid of failing, I could barely speak at times. Mike treated me as having something to say worth saying.

LINKS:

MY POETRY: AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com 
MEDIA:  Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com 
PROSE THOUGHTS: AlexNessWritesv1.blogspot.com
My Published Works: HERE

Social Media
https://bsky.app/profile/alexanderness63.bsky.social 
https://x.com/alexnesspoetry

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