Childlike or Childish

Fantasy Again Considered
By Alex Ness
February 23, 2026

All Media Forms Allow Fantasy as a Genre

There are forms of entertainment that read or play in a fashion that regenerates a childlike joy. Others that are less high minded, and those are rightly called, childish. One is far better than the other, but the role of entertainment has been found in both traits.  Choose your own, these are childlike and joyous to me.

WACKY RACES

For me, there are some great memories of Saturday morning cartoons, and especially WACKY RACES. They were exciting, funny, and clever in a way that made you interested in the contestants and their contest while racing to win.  I loved most all of the racers, but particularly Peter Perfect. He was a knight in shining armor, in car form. Noble, handsome and good.

Times watching the show made it feel particularly like there were hundreds of episodes. However, it was a one year wonder. How I longed for more episodes then, but there are reasons for everything.  

CONAN and works by ROBERT E. HOWARD

I have never read a disappointing story or epic poem by Robert E. Howard (REH). In fact, while I have zero percent of the talents he had, his willingness to write poetry as well as prose, gave me hope that my brain could create fantasy or adventure in my own poems. He had talent throughout his words, and my literary world expands with any new book released in the name of REH. If that is exaggeration or not, I am uncertain. But I do know for certain that I've not read one failed work in any form by REH. The collection of Cthulhu stories is in ways better than the original author, HP Lovecraft, and moved me to try the works of authors who were invited by Lovecraft to contribute.

Oddly, perhaps, he, Alan Dean Foster and Jack Kirby are the writers who wrote works that allowed me to endure during my worst health issues. They were so good as to have distracted my pain from being perceived, that is, at least for a moment. They allowed me to experience joy in the darkness.

JULIET MARILLIER

Juliette Marillier wrote works that were so smooth, new that throughout the run it felt like an author of substance had arrived in the literary world. Her perspectives felt different than other writers in the world of fantasy, truly child in the innocence shared. In the soothing words, adventure still occurred, and in flavor of the setting, there was a journey we'd taken and didn't want it to end. The answers found in the reader to questions raised by Juliet Marillier allowed comfort, worth, and joy.

FRANK BEDDOR

Frank Beddor was an Olympic athlete, a film producer (There's Something about Mary) and his current creative endeavor is writing the excellent prose series The Looking Glass Wars, and sequential art accompanied in his comic book work Hatter M. His support for 25 years of my labors has been stunning, and the time allowed me to read and digest his writing. The Looking Glass Wars are a new interpretation of the story Alice in Wonderland, and along with all the twists and turns, this work makes the original work better, and the update has so many layers, it is amazing. Perfectly done fantasy.

ALAN DEAN FOSTER

Alan Dean Foster is a near constant mention here when I discuss books, and I do not plan to change that. He is kind, bright, funny, and a genuine soul of depth. The six books shown are mostly fantasy, but also Science Fiction and Science Fantasy. In the two Westerns are amusing mythic and legendary tales. In With Friends Like these Who Needs Enemies, the short stories all provide a heavy impact, both in cleverly plotting, amusing or magical settings, and the path to a greater journey. Cat-A-Lyst is a magnificent tale of the furry creatures who share our world. ADF nails the mysterious beings, and delves into the enigma that a fun, loving, gentle cat may become. All of these works deserve a read, or many reads.

THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS buy Kenneth Grahame

I didn't read The Wind in the Willows growing up. But it would have been appropriate to do so. It is a work that greatly captures the world of an innocent child. All of the characters of this story were anthropomorphized, generally chosen from the wilds of the nearby fields. Throughout the chapters of the story, the creatures had humanlike motives and desires, and the main character seeks to freed or exonerated from the charges/accusations that he faces. The story is charming, with light of the beings allowed to make the work less dark as it was fun, gentile and loving.  But if you read deeper in, it is about the advent of commercial industry and the use of farmlands for dumping of industrial waste.

COMIC BOOK MARTIAL ARTIST TALES

For your perusal here are Martial Arts comic book characters that over time I have developed a great fascination for and an appreciation. Jademan was a release from Hong Kong where the comics are colorful and extravagant. It had the bonus credential of being written/translation by Mike Baron. However, while it is fun, and generally well done, it didn't connect with a lot of the readers in the US.

The work Master of Kung Fu, in its day, was fantastic. It has in recent years taken a few hits, due to cultural messages, similar to tropes or stereotypes were less appreciated. The majority of the art by the artist responsible, and sole writer were an amazing team. The work was beautiful, wildly entertaining, and it mixed with a James Bond sort of feel, and great intrigue. Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy were the primary tellers of the stories.

Fist of the North Star, Viz media, is a work that surprised the hell out of me. I had overlooked it on the comic store shelves, due to not being familiar with the title or characters. Upon advice from a German transfer student during my retail work hours, we had a long conversation. We were highly similar in the comics we both regularly read. He said "I admire your taste but if you don't read Fist of the North Star you are missing out." I bought 3 issues, and I was impressed. It is a martial arts duel between Fist of North Star and dozens of enemies. He had power from being born under a certain astronomical sign. Buronson writing, Tetsuo Hara illustrating, this was purely fun. If not a masterpiece, I still loved it, perhaps as a kid loves roller coasters.

Way of the Rat was the first comic book about Martial Arts that I'd read that was original, well written, with great art and completely self contained. Unlike most Marvel works, it was not dependent upon reading any of the rest of offerings from Marvel to appreciate. It came from CrossGen comics and was written and illustrated with excellence. Masterfully written by Chuck Dixon with artist Jeff Johnson.

Richard Dragon was DC Comics best offering in the world of Martial Arts. It was by far better than Karate Kid of 25 years earlier, or the initial series of Richard Dragon. I liked all of the characters and more than just the art was fantastic. Chuck Dixon, also the writer of Way of the Rat, and Young Master (upcoming) was allowed to fully develop the character. However it was abandoned by DC early on, despite it working better than any similar themed work. It was fantastic.  Art by Scott McDaniel.

Hexbreaker was an original Badger graphic novel. It was about how the character Badger gathered participants to the grand secret event. Fought to the death, many fell before Badger faces the final bad guy. Written by Michael Baron, art by artist Bill Reinhold, it was funny, excited and rather exquisite in telling how Badger's life is about to change, for the better.

Young Master was a good story, if not a run, and it was aided in achieving its quality by great writing by Chuck Dixon, with art by Alex Nino, a highly talented artist. The story isn't important, so to speak, but it was really good. There is a feeling in reading it of watching it on a black and white tv, in a great afternoon spent with a friend, cousin or elder. I have read it many times and need a new copy. But it is growingly difficult to find as comic shops rid themselves of less known comics for space for the newest version of something else.

LINKS:

MY POETRY AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com 
HERE: Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com 
MY PUBLISHED WORKS 

Social Media
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All works shown and/or considered are copyright the respective owners, fair use is the sole means of use asserted.

If you like Cats, go find these books to enjoy.

 

I love my family's cats, Katya, Sophia, and Isabella. Isabella is my son's rogue, she is naughty.
 

Kids' comics, M. Night movie-nite, Games and Books

MEDIA CONSIDERED
By Alex Ness
February 10, 2026

COMICS TO SHARE WITH KIDS OF EVERY AGE

I am relatively often asked if there are kid friendly comics, due to the fact that in the legacy eras of comics, they were the target audience. More than previously, comics are perceived by the medium as being different per book, rather than an entire medium being one age group centered. There are both comics aimed at kids, and individual issues that do the same. As animation is aimed at kids during kids blocks of time on various networks, and broadcast channels, the use of heroes and characters found in comics. But it is not the tail wagging the dog, with animation driving comics, it is a case of the present being different than the past. Art Balthazar, Paul Dini, Matt Feazell and Erik Larsen are people I think of, of the people in comics I know of, who seem the most direct connection with said comics for kids. Dini is well known for his animated works, and comic works, for general audiences and beyond. Ant Boy of Matt Feazell makes adults laugh due to the irony of it and kids because it seems silly fun. Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon is usually mature but in that he celebrates fun adventures of a different type, reasonably often. Art Balthazar's Gman made a room full of adults laugh loudly for 10 minutes when his hero dropped a brain in front of a lawn mower. It is fun to be light hearted and free and easy. Seriousness is more rewarding in terms of audience and money. But childhood is a wonder to return to now and then.

FILMS WATCHED: M. Night Shyamalan SPOILER NOTICE... 
Addressing plot and film endings, concepts dealt with. 

Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, The Village, Lady Water, Happening

Because I read a bunch of hateful reviews of M. Night Shyamalan, I chose, when my son was away for a week, to find out if my viewer's mind and heart felt differently. It did but, I am not like most of the other reviewers. Many reviewers are taught in the medium of film what is important, what is necessary, and what elements will reward, and other elements if absent will result in a skewed result. I am simply a fan. I don't deny I have different areas that are related to present reward and absence. 

The Sixth Sense was a story which demonstrated how a gimmick can be expertly used. A character turns out to be dead, and he's been speaking to a dead guy, aka, a ghost. It is a shock, but not one that is false and a cheat.

Unbreakable features one major character from the previous film, and he is made to have super powers, and survives an unsurvivable event. He denies being super powered, but in a way, his powers are related to the origins of his own super villain.

Signs is about the fear of new, or unknown communications. It features a series of messages from space, but are they a hoax or are they real? And when aliens come to earth, they are eventually defeated. It is by a plot turn that is unexpected, and perhaps due to the aliens being sensitive or vulnerable to an illogical event.

The Village is about a deeply repressed village, where outsiders are not welcome. Except, while it looks like 1500 AD Massachusetts/New England and populated by the Pilgrims... but it is isn't that. It was a village built 30 years earlier, and is a modern response to grief. That it is such a reveal was not unexpected, but was unconvincing. It was a case of the reveal being less powerful and more relying upon the director's ability to dictate than naturally occurring.

Lady in the Water features an apartment complex swimming pool, the surroundings, and an out of place water nymph, who seeks to go back to her world. The entire film is about such, but also, how there are beings who try to prevent her from reaching her home. It is personal, beautiful, but asks if we all aren't living in our own narrative, with others preventing our escape.

Lastly, the movie Happening is a disaster film, similar to B movies of the 50s, only instead of aliens, space wars, or with human caused disasters, pandemics, mass suicides, and worse. Humans in the lens view are meant to use dialogue that informs the viewer, rather than speak in ways that sound real. The events are introduced and dealt with in a less than "sincere" fashion. 

The works as a collective have numerous traits... they are well made, they are perfectly acted, and if not taken as a continuum they would probably receive better grades from others. For me, having no real entry due to my limits on time to invest in movies, I had always avoided these because I don't want to spoil the ideas in a clip without eating the whole.  The world too often shares spoilers.

Having now done the whole viewing, I can say that I liked most of the movies, and if I hadn't known that the director/writer/producer M. Night Shyamalan was famous for shock endings, or twisted revelations, I would likely have thought in and of themselves, it was a wow moment. Only in the shadow of the other reviewers ideas and comments do I see how things worked to every movies favor or otherwise. I can say this, I think there were two movies that stood out as having an ending that didn't work as well as others. Signs and the Village were works that asked questions but gave only ok answers. Still, I liked the Village. I liked Signs a good deal less.

As a viewer I became more aware of the things to look for that would let me know what to be ready to experience. And, I should say, I think Shyamalan is a great director. He just happens to be producing his art in an atmosphere of Twitter/IMDB and numerous other immediate response media. His work is not one that is in public when the movie comes out, and then slowly a mass outlook forms. It has made a great deal of money for most of the studios, and surely, you cannot compare his work with B movie directors or people who use big names and special effects to get traffic. In his own way, he utilized his time to make movies with big budgets, with a goal to tell his stories. It isn't really the case that he is hated. His works might receive extreme reactions, but I think, in its own way, that isn't a problem.  

ONE GREAT BOOK AND A GAME  SYSTEM TO ROLE PLAY WILL DEEPEN IT

CACHALOT
BLUE PLANET

Cachalot by Alan Dean Foster is gloriously good. It speaks of an ocean planet, with sparse humans there only to solve issues and keep thieves and whalers from returning to the practice of whaling. This is a planet humans reserved for the ocean mammals who were nearly made extinct. But something has been destroying sites assigned to measure, and maintain the setting. 

Blue Planet came out from Fantasy Flight Games creating a system to role play in the ocean realms. It is a fantasy sci fi work, but, out of all the RPGs, I think it does a better job making playable the unique world. The campaign how to books and unique setting gives many points of entry in the information about mechanics and flavor. Will everyone like it? Most things have fans and non fans, so everyone won't. But it is their loss. When GURPS was allowed to interpret the setting the game system became far better. At least, I'd argue, it was now recognizable as GURPS systems have been applied to a great many worlds/settings, and situations.

It is well known that our surface area upon the planet is nearly fully explored, if not completely so. But our oceans represent a vastly unexplored world. If not a different planet, this setting might be our own planet, if it had not been otherwise stated. 

MUSIC
Ambient, Beautiful music.

HOYO MORIYA 

LINK TO A POEM I RECENTLY POSTED

My entire life had questions, and sorrow, answers and hope. This poem is about my father's redeeming and ending of his life. He chose to help my wife and I recover from two Ectopic pregnancies and paid for our medical search to find a way to have children. We did have our child, but my dad passed before the chance to meet him. That is, my wife's happiness, my personal redemption, would not have happened, without his choice.

https://alexnesspoetry.blogspot.com/2026/01/so-much-left-to-say.html

LINKS:

MY POETRY AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com 
HERE: Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com 
MY PUBLISHED WORKS 

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

All works shown and/or considered are copyright the respective owners, fair use is the sole means of use asserted.

TOP SHELF NEWS!

 

Top Shelf Land Gigs, Technology-Driven Dystopian Tale from UK Creators Simon Smith and Mark Mosedale In Stores June 16, 2026, Preorder Available Now

LOS ANGELES, CA (February 6, 2026) — A.I. took the work. Gigs replaced jobs. Ordinary people are left to scrape together lives in a world that's no longer built for them. This is Gigs, a new graphic novel from Top Shelf releasing June 16, 2026. With a hard-won blend of biting satire and humanistic passion, two creators from the North of England weave together six divergent chapters into an extraordinary graphic novel. Gigs is both a powerful warning about the oppressive world to come and a defiant celebration of the humanity that will sprout up in the cracks.   "When we started working on Gigs in 2019. We hoped that doing a book about AI taking jobs and necessitating a universal basic income wouldn't become irrelevant in the time we spent making it. It turns out that that was the wrong thing to hope for,” says co-creator Mark Mosedale. “Still, there are all the right things left to hope for and, as Woody Guthrie wrote, you've got to keep the hoping machine running. For me, writing Gigs has been a big part of that."   "When we started Gigs I was reaching for that feeling that great music gives me - hearing Tinseltown in the Rain for the first time, or Pearly-Dewdrops’ Drops, or Once In A Lifetime. When this stuff finds you, it's proof that another, better world is possible, and an encouragement to look for it,” says co-creator Si Smith. “Imagining a dystopia is relatively easy, especially right now, and the world that we’ve built in Gigs is quite bleak. But whilst hope and joy and revelation are definitely much harder to create, Mark and I have had a good go at it."

Mark Mosedale, Si Smith

About the Book In a frighteningly near future where Basic Income is supplemented by gig work assigned by “the app”…an octogenarian punk and a lonely young worker seek escape through music. A street artist makes art by night and paints over it by day. A has-been detective chases a case into a forgotten world. A drug runner makes a long, strange delivery. A writer marks her days on a decaying space station she can’t leave. And a refugee asks for help in the last free place.   Gigs will be available wherever books are sold, as a full-color softcover graphic novel (ISBN: 978-1-60309-593-8) as well as a digital edition, on June 16, 2026, for a list price of $24.99. For more information please visit the ​Top Shelf​ web site.   About the Creators Author: Mark Mosedale is a writer from the North of England. He has also been a pot washer; a video game journalist; a dollar-store clerk; an unpaid writer for major national newspapers (once willingly, once without being informed, which seems careless now); a customer-service advisor for a debt management charity; and a paperboy. He once ran 100 miles without puking, but he did it quite slowly. Mosedale lives in Leeds, England, with his wife, kids, and preoccupations. Illustrator:​ Si Smith is a UK-based comic artist and freelance illustrator. He has also worked: as a primary school teacher; in teams programming festival events and venues; on a zero-hours contract invigilating shows at a well-known arts institution; as an exhibition curator; in an art supplies shop; on the panel of an under-the-radar arts funding body. He loves Radiohead and The Slits, and the best gig that he ever saw was RIDE at the Manchester Albert Hall in May 2015. Smith is married with two adult sons, and he currently lives and works in Leeds in the North of England.   About the Publisher Top Shelf Productions has published critically acclaimed and popularly beloved graphic novels since 1997. Celebrating more than a decade as an imprint of IDW Publishing, Top Shelf continues to showcase the vanguard of the comics medium, publishing works of literary sophistication, visionary artistry, and personal resonance.

MUSIC responds to the Event of the Minnesotans and ICE actions

MUSICIAN Jeff Crandall has posted a song to mark the events in Minnesota and ICE. I spoke to him recently.  I thank him for his time and the response to the events as well.

https://swallows.bandcamp.com/track/insurrection-song

I think we all know that Minnesota is getting a great deal of news coverage due to the ICE actions and Immigration issues accusations of corruption. How have you been responding as an artist?



I think I’ve been responding like many people in the state - as a citizen first. Even though this type of abuse of power is something I’ve been concerned about for several years, it is still shocking when it winds up happening in your own backyard. Over the past few weeks, I’ve spent quite a bit of time just trying to understand the extent of what is going on and also trying to understand what the politically strategic point of the surge is. I think we all expected that there would be more aggressive immigration enforcement efforts under this administration, but Metro Surge is something entirely different.

What we are witnessing in Minnesota is a very serious erosion of civil rights - not just those of undocumented immigrants but also those of United States citizens and other legal residents of the state. It is a very dangerous and unprecedented situation that is now spreading to other cities, and it is clearly by design. The Trump administration is using existing laws to justify the tactics that are being used on the ground; however, they are playing semantic games to circumvent the actual intent and limits of those laws. In doing so, they are violating a whole litany of individual rights that are guaranteed under the Bill of Rights.

Although I follow politics fairly closely in my everyday life, I generally choose to not directly address political issues in my lyrics. I generally prefer to write about things that are less topical in nature, but when things hit this close to home, it is hard to just sit on the sidelines and remain a dispassionate observer.

I’ve always understood that there was going to be a moment in a second Trump administration when we would all be tested, because I’ve never believed that he would give up power easily a second time. I don’t like to react to everything that Trump or his administration does, but when it comes down to the administration routinely violating the constitution, attempting to instigate violence and mayhem in the streets, and lying about it in such an obvious manner, one can’t help but react to it and start speaking out about it.

And when you see your friends and other Minnesotans putting themselves at risk to document these abuses of power and to help other Minnesotans in need, you really feel a need to do something - to get off the sidelines and participate. I’m a songwriter, so one of the things I’m naturally going to do is express what I’m feeling about all of this through music. To write a song or attend a protest is just a small gesture of support for the monumental efforts of others that I’m witnessing all around the state.

Knowing Swallows and other related bands are Minnesotan, do you as artists invite so called cancellation or notoriety if you respond?

Sure, there is a risk to speaking out and flying our flag. But what are artists to do in a situation like this? Protest is a legitimate and important part of artistic expression and, among other things, it is the duty of the artist to report and respond to reality. It comes with the territory. I don’t mean to alienate anyone, but when the insurrectionists are literally in charge of the government and the laws of the nation are being ignored or stretched beyond comprehension by those who have sworn an oath to upholding those laws, the house is on fire, metaphorically speaking. So, that’s where we are right now. Our nation is on fire. Are we supposed to ignore this reality and pretend that it isn’t so?

I think most of us would agree that we’d prefer that it hadn’t come to this, but it has, and now we have to respond before we lose our democracy. The people will have to save American democracy; our institutions are failing one by one at the task of holding the line against the creeping authoritarianism we are currently living through. So, the citizens of the country are going to need to vote every day with our voices and with our bodies to protect the democracy. The laws and courts will follow, but those processes move slowly, and Trump administration is fully taking advantage of the slow wheels of justice. So, the people of the nation will need to slow down the Trump administration’s attack on democracy long enough for our institutions to catch up. 2026 will be the year we either save or lose our country. That is what is on the line right now. Even if we make it through the midterms and have “free and fair” elections, there will still be a struggle to preserve the democracy. But the midterm elections are the first goal post we have to reach.

There comes a time when you have to decide which side of history you want to be on, and I think we’ve passed a point of no return where if you don’t pick a side, a side will be picked for you. I’d rather make it clear where I stand before my silence becomes a part of the problem. I don’t want to be coopted by this administration, and I don’t want to allow the fear of retribution or blowback make my decisions for me. Right now, I may suffer some minor inconvenience for exercising my first amendment rights, but if we don’t fight to save our democracy now, the penalty for speaking up could be far worse in a few months or years.  It is just that kind of moment. I don’t think this is even remotely a close call at this point. If the first amendment wasn’t created for a moment like this, then what the hell is it for?

How can people outside the state do something to help?

People outside of the state can learn from and replicate what the people of Minnesota are doing here. I don’t necessarily think they need to come here because ICE and border patrol will likely be coming to them soon enough. They can add their voices and their support - as they have been doing. This pressure campaign by the Trump administration is going to spread, especially in the swing states and blue-leaning states. So, other impacted states are going to need to get organized to keep up the public pressure campaign to expose what the administration is actually doing and to show their support by protesting in the streets. Visibility is very important. The administration won’t stop until the bottom falls out on their support and Republicans in congress finally step in to save themselves from a catastrophe. Republicans should be very worried about what is happening right now. They just lost a gerrymandered seat in Texas to a Democrat by a landslide and there were more Republicans who voted in that race than Democrats. It is just one of the signs of a seismic shift in public support against the administration. At the same time, though, if Trump starts to feel cornered, he will strike out in other ways, so we all need to stay vigilant and try to do what we all can to curtail his most destructive impulses.

So, we are in a race against time to get to the midterm elections. Trump doesn’t believe Republicans can hold the house without extreme measures to change the outcome of the election. So, he will continue to push to create some sort of situation where he can interfere with the elections in some way - or perhaps in many ways. People in other states need to be protecting their state processes to ensure that they can have free and fair elections in their states. They need to resist the temptation to react violently to Trump’s attempts to antagonize them. This is not so much to deter Trump from doing whatever he is going to do, but instead to make sure he and his administration continue to look like the aggressors and the ones who are way out of line with traditional American values. Public support is critical, and we need all Americans who value our constitution and our democracy to join in the non-violent resistance to this administration. The second things turn to violence in the streets all bets are off, so people need to keep their wits about them. These paramilitary officers in our streets are bad enough. It would be a tragedy for the U.S. Military to be occupying American cities.

I think that Trump’s plan is to keep up the pressure campaign and expand it to other states as they hire more ICE agents. They just have to light a fuse somewhere. But if people can continue to expose the administration’s unconstitutional tactics and also remain peaceful and lawful (as much as possible under these extreme circumstances), then public opinion may crater enough for Republicans to look for a way out. At least, that is the hope. If Trump can’t be stopped outright, it is important to take away his power base and make him the lame duck that he really ought to be. Then, if the Democrats do well in the midterms, there will at least be some congressional oversight and possibly some accountability that is missing now.

As some will argue for the legality of what is being done, does resistance to legal actions by the state threaten future actions, by making everything "play" at such a high volume nothing has nuance and understanding?

Yes, of course, this is the intent of the Trump administration. They are trying to get the general public and especially the MAGA base to confuse cause and effect. They are also purposefully obfuscating standing law by calling things what they are not. This has long been a tactic of political parties, but the purposeful dissemination of disinformation is on steroids right now. Nuance and understanding are out the window at this point. For better or worse, symbolism and course political dialogue is the only thing that will break through the noise right now. That is why, for instance, the photo of five year old Liam Conejo Ramos in his blue bunny hat and with his Spider-Man backpack had much more impact on public opinion than a thousand printed words could ever have. It serves as a symbol of just how extreme the policies of the Trump administration have become.

Do I agree with every tactic that is being used by protestors in Minnesota? I do think there is some risk to feeding the narrative of the administration when protestors engage in acts of violence or enter places of worship and things like that. I don’t see those tactics as being particularly helpful to the cause, which necessarily needs to expand public outrage to groups that aren’t normally aligned with progressive politics. This can’t be a moment where the American left just speaks to its own supporters. That is the mistake the Trump administration is making, and we should allow them to keep making that mistake. We should let the Trump administration fail in its overreach while exposing what they are doing. We need a massive movement to fight this fight, and I just hope people can keep their heads in the right place until the job is done. By and large, people are being quite sober in their approach to this, so I don’t have any major complaints because the approach seems to be working so far, and the strategy of filming the agents wherever they are is having a huge impact in terms of public opinion. I do understand the outrage people feel. We all should be outraged. But we also have to be smarter than those who would have us take the bait. Again, I’m very proud that people of Minnesota are not taking the bait and for everything we are doing to preserve law and order and to protect our neighbors.

The goal isn’t to win per se, because there is no winning each of these battles. It is to show up, to show the level of public dissent against these policies, to document the actions of the officers, and to hold the line on democracy.  There will be mistakes and unfortunate situations where the protestors do interfere with these operations; however, the agents are stretching these concepts beyond a reasonable application of the law. The idea that everything they do is a targeted operation, that people following them from a distance constitutes interference, that filming them is a crime worthy of a beating or a death sentence, etc. is something that those engaging in resistance cannot control. The protestors can, however, abide by the laws as they have typically been interpreted in the past. To not resist the occupation at all would be to capitulate to the Trump administration and allow for these unconstitutional sweeps and other unlawful activities by federal officers to go unwitnessed and unreported. And that is not an acceptable outcome.

Have you done other political works?

When I first started writing songs, many of them were political or topical in nature. I wrote songs about the United States’ intervention in Afghanistan in the 1980s, songs about immigration issues between the United States and Mexico, songs about the treatment of the poor and homeless in California, songs about racism, songs about the mistreatment of women, and songs about other current events and topics that were close to my heart. In many cases, these were songs about things I had personally experienced or witnessed. Others were about people in difficult situations who were close to me and some were just taken from the news.

There was even a brief time in the early 1990s during the first Gulf War that I was one of the resident protest singers on my college campus at the University of California, Davis. I played in a duo called The Simples, and we wrote and sang protest songs against that very short-lived war. I wrote a pretty decent song called “Supermarket War” that we played along with some Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger songs at a huge rally on campus. I think it is still the largest crowd I’ve ever played for; however, the shelf life for that song wasn’t very long. The war and the public sentiment against it - even at the university - didn’t last long enough for me to record the song. I didn’t even have a tape recorder at the time to capture it.

So, the song was lost to time. I worked hard on that song and it had a lot of sections and some sharp, evocative lyrics, but it was very explicitly tied to a war that only lasted a matter of days. After that experience, I tended to write material that was more self-reflective, personal, or philosophical in nature. I wanted to write about things that had more permanence. But I do veer into the political with some of my songs. I typically write those songs from angles that have more of a universal message. A recent song I released under my pseudonym J. Briozo called “All the Innocent” is one of those types of songs. I wrote that one during the first Trump administration in response to the demonization of immigrants seeking asylum in the United States. But I wrote the lyrics to apply to all people rather than making it a specific polemic against Trump and his politics. I don’t like to write as a partisan or ideologue. I just think life is more nuanced than that, and I prefer to think long and hard before I react. I generally write as a soulful or spiritual humanist, I suppose. I believe in fairness and human dignity over and against nationalism or religious dogma. In most cases, I feel like taking dogmatic ideological positions in my writing would limit my ability to explore deeper truths. And, yet, like I’ve said, there is a time and a place for being present in the moment and reporting what you see and hear. So, that is why I wrote “Insurrection Song.” I knew we were in trouble when the first amendment right to protest was being characterized as an insurrection by the people who actually fomented an actual insurrection five years ago.

THANK YOU JEFF!

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Interview with Steven Yu

Steven Yu wrote to me after finding one of my favorite interviews done over the last 23 years. It was with artist Ashley Wood, and he was funny, dark, clever and revealed some of his inner workings. It was nice to hear from someone who liked the interview as much as I did. Years later I got a friend request on Facebook, and he had been posting as a storyteller with his own art and various perspectives on stories and life.  I like his work, find it rather intuitive and the storytelling follows a story that works emotively and straight forward. I asked to interview him, and here it is... (My questions regarding Taiwan is a nod to ongoing events, and trying to allow readers to see that current events are valid for more than just embassy staff.)

(Btw all images are copyright the respective owner and this fair use as does not imply ownership.)

Hello Steven.  I am so happy to be interviewing you. We met chatting over an Ashley Wood interview, and then you found me on Facebook, and I really appreciate that.

First off, since I mentioned Ashley Wood, in art he is my spirit animal.  Does he stand as a great influence upon you.

Ash's work was a great influence on me when I picked up drawing again. My earliest influences were Yoshitaka Amano (Final Fantasy) and Yoji Shinkawa (Metal Gear Solid). Funny enough, Shinkawa was influenced by Amano, and eventually, Ashley Wood would collab with Shinkawa on some Metal Gear art. Things just go in full circle, eh? 

Their works helped me to answer some fundamental art issues I was facing. Amano's ink and paint works taught me that art was a spiritual practice as well as a technical one, Shinkawa's concept art taught me that mood was just as important as details, and Ash's paintings taught me that what made a piece bold and powerful was understanding how to utilize contrast. 

For me, Ash, Shinkawa, and Amano are my Triforce of Power. Ash's works represent raw, elemental power, Shinkawa's works represent precision and chaos, and Amano is spiritual and introspective. Their works act as an aesthetic guide for me. 

Where are you from, and did you attend university? Are you married? 

I studied graphic design briefly in college at CSU Hayward before being guilt-tripped into transferring to an Economics major, haha. Asian parents! 

I was born in Taipei, Taiwan in the early 80's and moved to the East Bay at 5 years old. My Taiwanese heritage is a heavy influence on my work. It may not be apparent, but it's embedded in there.

I am married to my lovely Rachel! We have two cats, Jiayi (named after the county in Taiwan), and Shinji (named by his previous caretakers from Neon Genesis). 

How did you enter the illustration world? Was it by self teaching, or did you attend art school? Or some other path?

After graduating, I was hungry to get back to drawing again. I really wanted illustration to be a career. Not sure where to go, I went back to my junior college, Diablo Valley College, to study animation from the great Arthur King. First day in that class I remember he held up a sketchbook and said, "you will live in this book everyday." It was really inspiring. The sketchbook is where we live. It's where we can experiment, learn skills, or express ideas. From that moment on, I knew I just wanted to draw for the rest of my life. 

After Arthur's class, I started to patch together my own educational roadmap. The amazing James Gayles taught me his unique approach to watercolors, Suzie Ferras helped introduce me to oil painting, and reading comics/manga/graphic novels was the best education on how to put together your own story. 

But ink became my ultimate love. I actually studied a bit with a calligrapher and that translated into my illustration work. It was through learning how to write traditional Chinese characters that I learned how to develop my style. 

As an artist, who do you have as influences upon your art, and in general, who do you like, but not directly are influences on you?

Like I mentioned before there is Ash, Amano, and Shinkawa, but that was from an earlier time of my life. These days it's a mixture of what I see in technique more than a specific artist's body of work. Sometimes I see the thick to thin ink lines of Paul Pope or the flowing line work of  Nicolas Nemiri and that teaches me something new. There's also a Chinese artist whose works I like to study, Zao Dao (早稻) who has sublime draftsmanship. 

Some additional influences: Kazuto Nagazawa, Jamie Hewlitt, Katsuhiro Otomo, Jim Mahfood, Peter Chung, Robert Valley, and Daniel Warren Johnson. 

What comics have been your go to comics, growing up, and to the present? Which comics made you greatly desire to create your own?

When I was a kid, it was a lot of the Marvel and DC stuff, but then it switched to the Image comics of the 90's. As I got older, I started to read more Heavy Metal Magazines and manga. My go-to genre is more in the martial arts realm, stuff like Takehiko Inoue's Vagabond and Hiroaki Samura's Blade of the Immortal. 

Samura's work on Blade of the Immortal is what ultimately inspired me to want to make comics. Just for the record, I use the term "comics" as an umbrella term for all works that fit under the sequential arts territory. Manga and European comics often get mis-classified as "genres", but that's incorrect. Is there a unique, cultural way that each country's creators illustrate and tell their story? Sure, but manga isn't a genre, it's just the Japanese word for comics, much like bande dessinée (or BD). 

Haha, sorry, where was I? Right. Samura's works are amazing. The way he tells a story with his use of angles, draftsmanship, and angles is absolutely mind blowing. The use of close ups in multiple panels that eventually leads to a wide reveal of the action is effing delicious. I'm not always a fan of his subject matter - look at his "erotic" art book (I use that term erotic very, VERY lightly) or his Bradherley's Coach - and you're going to find some really crazy, disturbing stuff. But it's his way of telling a story that captivates me. And the fact that he can tackle almost any genre, from historical action to disturbing horror, or slice of life stories to romantic comedies, is what makes me admire his work, and ultimately inspire me to want to make my own comics. 

Where did your path take you from amateur to want to be professional? Did the ability to publish it decide the genre in which you work?

To be honest, I'm still trying to figure out how to make a living as I focus on my own self-publishing endeavors. I freelance, teach workshops, mentor, and when work dries up, I turn my attention to other gigs here or there. 

I think there was a period where I thought "making it" meant getting paid for your work, but as time went on that thought process changed. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, but it's become the only thing artists can think about. I've always championed for artists to do their own projects, find the spirituality in your creative practice, but oftentimes I hear, "but how am I going to pay my bills?!!" And I have to fight through that thought process and gently remind people that I'm not saying, "forget your responsibilities," but I am saying, "take care of your needs, but once that's met, how will you fulfill your creative spirit?"

And so that's where I've been for the past 8 years. Look, I'm grateful for all of the freelance experience I've had and currently have, but I also know that I need to tell my own stories. I need to do this before my soul leaves the earth, or at least before I cannot do this anymore. My father passed in 2018 and COVID happened 2 years later and fucked with a lot of things in my life. I know this sounds drastic, and maybe it's just anxiety talking, but I sometimes feel like there's a ticking time bomb and I need to do what I was meant to do before that bomb goes off.  

The need to tell my own stories is like the need for me to breathe air, eat, fuck, live. That is what guides my creative career. I'll tell you the same thing I told my wife when we first met and we were talking about life goals: I can see what the end of my life looks like, because it looks exactly like the way it does now - me at a drafting table drawing and writing stories. There is no other path other than this one. 

Do you see comics as a largely "done" genre or format, in that, bigger or smaller in basic size, it might scare buyers off. If you do a largely wordless work, the readers often claim that it was not enough, when for the work done, it might be complete?

Yeah, that's weird right? I mean, weird in how people and the market perceive work. I'm in a really different group of comic buyers, and maybe it's because I've always been an illustrator who just happens to do comics. But I tend to buy comics regardless of any of the market segmentation that corporations might impose on them. So for example, I know in the US there is a huge market for cover art and then there's a market for interior work. I think maybe a few times there have been people asking if I have variant covers for JOAN, and I had to mention there are pinup works in the book done by various artists. To be honest, I don't understand this buying behavior, maybe because I grew up reading comics from the East and the West, and all those books have had covers done by the same interior artist. I remember buying a Judge Dredd comic back in the early 90's and how utterly confused I was when I found out that the interior was not the same as the cover! I don't think the Europeans do this, right? 

And size of comics is of no matter to me. I recently bought two Japanese comics, one was standard manga format and the other was in large book format. Both are amazing to read and look at, but I can understand the larger book was done in that size because it was hand-painted. But honestly, I would have bought it anyway if it was in standard manga size. 

Funny that you mentioned wordless comics, because I think they're awesome. I've played around with some wordless comics and doing them is just as natural as doing ones with text.

10 years from now, where do you see yourself?

Finishing my JOAN series and possibly working on another project. I might even leave the pop culture stratosphere for a while and focus on building a body of fine artwork. I've been thinking of doing a young adult graphic novel that is loosely based on my historical research of Taiwan. There are so many things I want to do, but I just don't want to be boxed in. Yes, I am that hipster artist that tries to rebel against the man, but the man here is just anything that prevents me from having the freedom to creatively express. 

There was a time where I use to stress fame and fortune as a priority, but now I just want to carve a space for myself and my work. I don't want the stress these famous comic artist suffer from to the point of hospitalization. I want to do my art, but I also want to spend time with my wife and my two cat kids, Shinji and Jiayi. Because that's what it means for me to live my life.

Tell me a bit about the comic, and beyond your comic creation, what is it about Joan of Arc that grabbed your attention? Friends who have read my poetry and prose, know that I believe Joan was divinely sent, and for a purpose of world concern. Why her, what is it about her that we should all know about? Have there been other humans that you've noted that have done similar things or acted in similar causes?

The Joan in my comic is not the same as the historical Joan of Arc, that is to say she is loosely inspired by the real historical figure. The Joan I wrote shares a similar fate with her historic predecessor, but this Joan is an existential protagonist. I'm sure Joan of Arc towards the end of her life had some doubts about her own faith, especially when she was on trial; but this comic Joan's dilemma is an existential one.

In previous drafts of the comic, the world of Joan included demons and angels. God and Satan were to battle it out on Earth, but it was turning into a huge project that was straying from what I was trying to say. I removed all the spiritual elements, and decided to put them into the background. So without God's interference, how would our Joan go about her life? 

Joan has always been a way to channel my own angst about the indie art/comics life.  I wish there was someone, maybe a God of art and comics per se, but the best we have is vets and peers who have questions themselves but are supportive enough to want to help out. This Joan is my existential hero. Without the interference of the ethereal and the corrupt monarchs and holy-men that influenced her previously, she will have to figure out what is true to her. This rings true to me. Without the influence of what's trending in pop culture or corporate pressure, how do I do the art that is authentic to me? That's the real heart of what I've been trying to write. 

Your ancestral roots, Taipei, Taiwan is in a place of earth where the focus has risen recently, and especially danger and events could happen leading to a greater war, and a greater disaster in terms of nuclear weapons. Do you think from what you've studied and learned, is Taiwan going to change the world forever?  The first multi party nuclear war would certainly change the status quo. Would that be artistic fuel for your story telling? Can such grave topics be addressed in fiction without diminishing its power?  As creative do it, do they reduce the truth or sensitive  

depths by entertaining with such a catastrophe?

I can't speak about the politics of Taiwan as that's a complex issue that I think there are better people suited to address it, but from a place of my craft, I can say the issues do fuel and influence my work. Taiwan's history is a complicated issue that I think is hard for Westerners to understand, because Taiwan is constantly eclipsed on the world stage. 

Real Taiwan is indigenous. It was the arrival of the Han Chinese, led by General Koxinga that turned the tides and it was what made Taiwan, "Chinese" so to speak. But that population assimilated and blended in with the native culture. My father's ancestors descended from China and my mother's people are of the Truku tribe. It's crazy because when I studied this I realized for the first time who I am is a direct result of that history. If not for the arrival of Koxinga (for better or for worse), I wouldn't be here.

But that history doesn't end there. It's further complicated by the fact that the Imperial Japanese took over Taiwan for 50 years. Then, after WWII, the Japanese left and it was taken over by the Chinese KMT party, an opposition to Mao's Communism. Now there's the Democratic Progressive Party that leads the government and is supposedly fighting for an independent Taiwan.

As a child my Taiwanese Chinese great grandmother on my father's side and my Truku indigenous grandmother on my mother's side lived during the Japanese occupation. They couldn't speak mandarin as it was banned from being spoken in public, so when they first met each other they spoke Japanese.

Was that confusing? Yeah, well that's Taiwan. A country that's trying to find its real identity for hundreds of years. That's how I've felt artistically. Do I keep drawing Batman and Daredevil? Or should I draw the things I'm really trying to say? Is there a place where different types of art can blend together in the comic industry? Is there space for someone like me? Maybe it doesn't matter, because just like Taiwan I keep going. I keep pushing forward in hopes that one day I have my own footing and gain the respect I deserve.

In 2028, will comics have morphed into a new format, so that single issues, ebooks, and other formats I am too old to figure out yet, meaning, you know more about making comics than many I know, do you perceive it all changing just from an art or story telling view?

Even though I make comics, I don't think I have a pulse on it like other more savvy business-minded folks do. But I can tell you that together with the internet and conventions it does feel as if being an indie comic creator is a legit path to go down. That's not knocking the traditional route, as I feel that's a whole other animal, but indie creation for me makes sense because it aligns with my life goals. I think that's the new path for creators. I think it used to be, "how do I make money doing comics" and now it's, "how do I make a living and how will comics be a part of my life". That last question opens up a myriad of possibilities for the artist. 

Are comics in fact selling as well as ever, but there is a malaise in the market from people saying I don't need immediate tpbs, 12 incentive covers, day one release digital copies and more?

Is that a problem or an opportunity? Why for either view?

I think the economics of comic making will always be in battle with the craft of comics making. According to my wife, with my own projects I tend to be more "European" with my approach, haha. I guess what she means by that is that I tend to create on a slower volume, choosing instead to focus on the quality instead of the quantity. And I definitely agree with her assessment.  Whether it's tbps or floppies, I create because I have a story to tell and I base the format on what I think is appropriate for the story. I'm sure there's better men out there who can make a more precise business decision on what the right format will be, but that exhausts me. For me, everything comes down to servicing the story. For example, I am working right now on a project with a friend and we've been talking about the business around it. At some point I stopped the conversation and asked, "I think we have a lot of options, but which one really helps us with creating this story?" That is more of my take on it.

Thank you Steven Yu!

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