The adventures of the Silver Sparrow?

© Michael Chevy Castranova 2016

 A few days ago I read on the internet — so it must be true, right? — that “production” has begun on Netflix’s “The Defenders,” to be followed immediately by season 2 of “Jessica Jones.”

I’m not completely certain what “in production” means, but it sounds positive. Filming already? Writing scripts? Thinking about writing scripts?

I’ve seen no indication as to when either show might be available for viewing, but clearly not soon enough. Which in a perfect, fair and just world would be tomorrow.

“Jessica Jones,” by episode 3 or 4, became one of my top five TV shows of all time.

In the meantime, we have the non-super-powered female hero of “Slipped,” Tyler Wilson, sometimes aka the Scarlet Sparrow. Her not-always-well-meaning sister Mendacity has returned.

I am toying with the notion of following Mendacity — the Silver Sparrow? — in her own adventures when she returns to Paris to fight off the invading legions of giant Rongeurs at least for a little while. (Remember: Rongeur are really big rats to begin with. And now some have been injected with a formula that makes them even bigger.)

But Tyler tends to get upset when she’s left out of the storyline for too long. And she and Pip have their own escapdes.

So we’ll see. As they used to say on Doctor Who, back when it was worth watching: Time will tell. It always does.

Follow this link to catch up on “Slipped.” It’ll be fun.

Who is that other woman?

Image and text © Michael Chevy Castranova

 
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So a recap, then, at chapter 379 of “Slipped”:

Tyler Wilson — whose father was the infamous cat burglar, the Scarlet Sparrow, and who has been following in his footsteps (or paw prints, if you prefer) — and her dog, Pip, have been captured by the Rongeur officer, the Chancellor, whom Tyler believed to be dead but, clearly, is not. Instead, the serum that made him grow — and, she thought, to have made him mad — has made him even larger. And madder.

In fact, the Chancellor used that same serum to create an army of giant rats, and they’ve been dispatched to lead an invasion of western Europe.

Meanwhile, during a lightening-quick out-of-body experience, Tyler was contacted by Dargelos, another long-standing enemy, who struck a deal — he will send her help to escape if she, in turn, does something to be named later to aid him in his ongoing mission to bring chaos into the world. (And who better to do that than our hero?)

And now, arriving to their rescue at the brink of time, is Tyler’s younger sister, Mendacity Wilson. They don’t get along.

Moreover, Mendacity’s anger management issues are even less under control than Tyler’s.

Is Mendacity the “rescue” Dargelos promised? Or did she circle back to help Tyler on her own? Is this another trick orchestrated by the devil?

One thing, though — Mendacity has with her the Time Sword.

So the situation, if nothing else, is about to spin wildly out of control. As it generally does with one Wilson sibling. Imagine two, plus a weapon neither understands … and the Chancellor covets above all else.

Follow the action here!

The devil’s due

Text and image © Michael Chevy Castranova 2016

This past Saturday, I came by a back issue of “The Wake” part one, a collection of issues 1 through 5, from 2014. I’d run across some issues when the title was current, but I didn’t want to start mid-run.

Published by Vertigo, the time-shifting storyline by Scott Snyder tells of world in which — somehow — a race of underwater … oh, wait, maybe I shouldn’t give away the plot.

Let me start over: The story of a group of scientists, spies and mythologists moves at great pace, and the cinematic art by Sean Murphy is thrilling. I loved the flow of the action, and the characters’ expressions seemed true to their  personalities and the emotions they were experiencing. The pages are packed with action as well as angst and remorse.

It is true when I buy a comic book or graphic novel, the decision is based on the art far more than the story. (So if I don’t like the cover, I’m generally not going to like what’s inside, right?) In the case of “The Wake,” the clever story was a bonus.

Meanwhile, in the world of “Slipped,” the Scarlet Sparrow appears to have a made a deal with the devil himself — even if she’s not completely certain of its terms.

But anything seems better than the alternative: Tyler Wilson and her dog, Philip Pirrip, are about to become a quick snack for the augmented (i.e., giant) rat, the Chancellor.

Dargelos promised to send help. But he didn’t say who or what that help would entail. Nor what Tyler would need to do to pay off that debt.

So take a look at chapter 378 of “Slipped” to see what becomes of our hero’s deal with the devil …

Peter Arno, meet Pip the dog

Image & text © Michael Chevy Castranova 2016

Hey, just out is the new biography of legendary New Yorker cartoonist Peter Arno by current New Yorker cartoonist Michael Maslin.

A copy just arrived on my doorstep. The cover is rather dire, but I’m hopeful Arno’s story is well told.

Inside are some samples of the man’s great, elegant work. One of my favorites is of a couple in bed, the man clearly snoring and the woman yelling angrily, “Wake up, you mutt! We’re getting married today.” Ha!

Meanwhile, in chapter 374 of “Slipped,” the Scarlet Sparrow’s dilemma is even more dire. Though Pip the dog prevents Delacroix from reentering the fray, Cartier Tour appears to be long gone, and Tyler’s sister, Mendacity, is who knows where, fighting her own battles.

And Tyler? The Chancellor now reveals that his half-mad, giant soldier rats intend to devour as much of the population of Europe as they can.

And he tightens, tightens, tightens his grip on Tyler herself.

Take a look.

An update

Image & text © Michael Chevy Castranova 2016

OK, so here’s what has been going on thus far:
Cartier Tour (shown above) has had a business disagreement with her employer, Delacroix, who is some kind of demon and who also is, in some way, related to Dargelois, the Scarlet Sparrow’s mortal enemy (and who’s not been seen for some time — status and whereabouts unknown).

Delacroix has indicated Cartier is not human. It’s still to be explained what he meant by that.

Pip, who’s been looking for Tyler Wilson (the Scarlet Sparrow), has decided to take sides and has attacked Delacroix.

That’s given Cartier, moving with catlike grace (that’s a hint), the opportunity to take the wildebeest by surprise. We’ll see if she then repays Pip’s aid.

Meanwhile, the Scarlet Sparrow is held captive by the Chancellor, who has somehow learned to control the genetic serum developed by the Unicorns (not real unicorns, they just wear decorative spikes on their headwear). He has grown even larger than when we last saw him, but hasn’t been driven mad — the usual outcome of the serum in such a large dose. (It makes the male Unicorns less than smart, shall we say.)

The Chancellor has taken Tyler to bear witness to the current state of his continued experiments.

All that in coming chapters of “Slipped.” Please take a look ….

Joined in progress

Cartier Tour image © Michael Chevy Castranova 2016

 Have we talked about Rutu Modan’s “The Property”?

I picked up a copy at the Wexner Center in Columbus, between CXC events last October, and I admit I bought it entirely for its look.

The inside cover, in fact, is what sold me — a two-page spread of pinks, soft blues, grays and greens, an imaginary Sweden in summer.

And as I paged through the novel, I was taken with Modan’s spare but not sparing drawings of expressive people who don’t tell us, or each other, what they’re really thinking as they make their way around Warsaw. You have to track their faces and body language.

But the art is matched by a deeply embracing story: The protagonist, Mica, believes she is in Poland to help her grandmother reclaim property taken from their family during World War II. But her grandmother, prickly even in the best of circumstances, has other goals, which she never explains to Mica.

 In the end, the novel is about living with decisions, with a glimmer of hope salted in. Take a look.

***

Meanwhile, in chapter 370 of “Slipped,” Tyler Wilson — aka the Scarlet Sparrow — is in the literal clutches of the returned Chancellor, who last time we saw him had grown to gigantic size and was nearly mad, due to an injection of growth serum. But now he’s in control of his faculties and even larger. And he’s threatening to eat Tyler, with extreme malice.

Cartier Tour, on the other hand, is having her own confrontation with Delacroix, the quasi-demon, whom she claims owes her … something.

And then there’s Pip, who has shown up and appears about ready to take a hand — or, paw — in the action.

You can see what’s what by following this link.

***

And by the way, this month marks eight full years since I launched “Slipped” — two states and two or so jobs ago for me. So thank you for reading, even if you’ve joined the adventures of the Scarlet Sparrow and her friends in progress.

Unfolding mystery, with carrots

© Michael Chevy Castranova 2016

 The sloths working at the DMV scene is not the only funny sequence in “Zootopia.” It’s an anthropomorphic version of the old Bob and Ray radio routine, but this certainly still is pretty great.

In fact, many scenes in the Disney cartoon are from other sources, from “The Godfather” to “Chinatown” to Elmer Fudd. Yet this stands on its own as a well-realized, charming movie — and this from someone who has very limited interest in animation.

Of course, “Zootopia” at its heart is an adventure story: A small, cute rabbit and a sly and possibly untrustworthy fox need to solve a mystery in the big city. Go see it. Go now.

Meanwhile, over in chapter 369 of “Slipped,” more of the mystery of why the Scarlet Sparrow was lured to Finland has been revealed. But we still don’t know what the Chancellor has been up to in his remote part of the world. Nor what part Cartier Tour and Delacroix have played — and what’s ahead for them.

Take a look,please.

Then you can go see “Zootopia.”

The jaws of danger

© Michael Chevy Castranova 2016

I came across a collection of WillGould’s newspaper strip “Red Barry,” about a deep-undercover cop, in the mid-1930s. It was created as King Features Syndicate’s response to “Dick Tracy,” and it’s just as violent and not very enlightened in terms of cultural relations.

But, boy, could Gould draw movement. No one is still, and every character appears ready to spring into action — even when they’re just standing there, threatening each other.

Oh, and there’s that snappy, breathless dialog: “He has great courage and I know he will not fail us!!” “We meet again, but I warn you, this time I will show you no mercy for your infernal meddling!!”

And this exchange:

“You’ve killed him!!”

“I did … and much too quickly!!”

Note the double exclamation marks!! Every time!!

•••

In this week’s installment of “Slipped,” the Scarlet Sparrow is caught up in her own dire situation — one that couldn’t get more dangerous.

Take a look!!

Real-life adventures

 

© Michael Chevy Castranova 2016

I’ve determined Bill Griffith’s graphic memoir that came out late last year, “Invisible Ink,” very well could be the ideal gateway gift book for people who’ve not read graphic novels before.

I picked up a copy at CXC in Columbus last autumn, where Griffith was one of the speakers. As with everything he does, this book is even smarter than it first seems. It’s revealing family history with a lot of talk about the business of cartooning and quite a bit of nostalgia.

Meanwhile, in chapter 366 of “Slipped,” the Scarlet Sparrow knew it was a trap … and walked right in anyway. And more surprises are around the corner.

Take a look.

Polly, Dora, Flash and their pals

© Michael Chevy Castranova

So have you looked IDW’s recently released “King of the Comics: 100 Years of King Features”? At 300+ pages, it’s packed with newspaper comic strips the syndicate started by William Randolph Hearst in 1915 published over years. Older strips you’ve heard of, strips maybe you used to read and plenty I confess to never having seen before.

There’s the graceful “Dumb Dora” (by Chic Young before “Blondie”), silly “Happy Hooligan,” the Yellow Kid — from whence the name yellow journalism was derived — and “Boob McNutt” through “Bringing Up Father,” “Barney Google (before the strip devolved into “Snuffy Smith”), “Polly and Her Pals,” “Flash Gordon” and “Jungle Jim” to “Rip Kirby,” “Steve Canyon” (never as fun, I always thought, as “Terry and the Pirates”) and “Mutts.”

Famous, wonderful strips and many, many imitators of those famous strips.

The book also has plenty of photos of the cartoonists, sidebars on movies, animated cartoons and comic books inspired by these strips, and essays on various genres.

I admit my favorites are the adventure strips. The excellent cartoon style but serious tone of “Red Barry,” “Buz Sawyer” and “Little Annie Rooney” are all delightful — even if each hoped to cash in on more popular strips at the time (“Dick Tracy,” “Terry and the Pirates” and “Little Orphan Annie” respectively).

And speaking of adventure strips, chapter 365 of “Slipped” takes us right back into the thick of the action with our hero, the Scarlet Sparrow, dashing head long into danger — with no weapons, no plan and no backup. You know, her usual method of operation.

Take a look.

Cat burglars

Image and text © Michael Chevy Castranova

The idea of cat burglars as heroes is not new, in movies or comics. There was a silent French movie serial in 1915 called “Les Vampires” in which a gang of thieves — a woman, in particular — dressed in black, scurried across roof tops and, well, stole things. Parts of it are pretty fun. (You can find it on DVD and YouTube.)

Over years we’ve had Cary Grant as John Robie, aka the Cat, in Hitchcock’s 1955 thriller “ToCatch a Thief” up to Paul Rudd as “Ant-Man” just last summer.

Catwoman has been longtime Batman foe/friend in comic books, movies and most recently in “Gotham,” as played by Camren Bicondova — though she’s more of a Cat-teenager in this latest TV iteration.

Tyler Wilson’s own cat burglary is a bit less clear. It’s stated often in “Slipped” that she has stolen, and she’s taken on the name of the Scarlet Sparrow, the infamous cat burglar of Paris, from her missing father. Or rather, that name been thrust upon her.

But she wears the scarlet mask and gloves, and her agility and stamina come from her ballet training. That’s how she’s able to scoot up and over the walls you see in chapters 362 and 364.

Thinking around corners

Image © Michael Chevy Castranova 2016

I’ve always preferred heroes who weren’t simply courageous — that is, they acted even if they were afraid of the possible outcome — but also were clever.

What I’ve tried to do with the Scarlet Sparrow is make her willing to make dangerous choices but also smart enough to consider what’s around the next corner. That’s what chapter 363 of “Slipped” is about: Tyler suspects the reason they’ve been given for sneaking into a guarded complex — and you’re right, we the readers weren’t privy to the reason — is false.

She and Cartier Tour, her unwilling ally in this adventure, and Pip the dog now have to find out what’s really what.

And we also have to keep in mind that even though she’s often courageous, tough and smart, she more often than not acts rashly — with less than ideal outcomes.

As one enemy once said, she creates chaos wherever she goes.

And speaking of heroes, it was excellent to see, even belatedly, that “Jessica Jones” on Netflix was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award, for star Krysten Ritter. It is one of the best things I’ve watched on television — streaming or broadcast — in a very long time, and Ritter’s performance is astonishing. You really should watch it.

Cartoon acrobats

Image © Michael Chevy Castranova 2016

 

The thing in comic book heroes these days — on TV and movies, and in the books — is everyone seems to be a gymnast and everyone is a master of some form of martial arts.

Even the much-praised Daredevil on Netflix, though he starts in a boxer’s stance, still flips about and kicks opponents in the head as often as using his fists.

That’s one of the refreshing things about the near-perfect TV version of Jessica Jones — she can jump, but there’s no acrobatic cart-wheeling in space. No Vulcan karate chops; she just slugs the bad guys. Or drops a refrigerator on him.

When the Scarlet Sparrow lost the Time Sword a few years ago in “Slipped,” I needed to figure out a way for her to defend herself. Guns definitely were out. And it had to be some means that would make sense for the 1920s.

So I figured the athleticism of dancers — I’m thinking of ballerinas I’ve known — would be different and a nice touch. That would explain her keen sense of balance and being able to achieve great jumps (both key traits of a cat burglar), as well as excellent stamina.

You can see an example of that in chapter 362, panel three.

As for Cartier Tour, in panel two, her unique skill set will be explained soon. Well, soon-ish.

The thinking behind “Slipped”

© Michael Chevy Castranova 2015

 In my comic strip, “Slipped,” I have tried to tell and depict the kind of adventure stories I would like to read. So while not PG, certainly within an R rating.

The tales aim to be exciting, the violence thrilling but not gruesome. Tyler is a cat burglar, but hardly anyone ever dies — or is seen to die. This isn’t “Terry and the Pirates,” as much as I admired that fantastic strip.

The art in “Slipped” itself remains cartoon-y, even as I want the protagonists to be cartoon-world attractive — Tyler is cute and pretty, Pip the dog is endearing, etc. At the same time, Tyler has matured over the course of the strip, since March 2008, from a plucky youngster to a young woman. So, yes, sometimes she dresses as an adult woman — keeping in mind the styles of the mid-1920s.

(More important, she tends to make it known if she doesn’t like the attire I’ve selected for her. She reminds me that she’s the star of “Slipped,” after all.)

And most of the time the stories themselves are within the bounds of reason — well, if you accept that time travel, singing dogs and giant, intelligent rats are credible, right?

The tone changes, though, as the adventures evolve. Sometimes our heroes are caught up in a basic chase story or maybe a fight scene, espionage or science fiction — remember, Tyler met Pip on the moon.

But underneath all of it is Tyler’s search for what became of her father, Arkady Wilson — the first Scarlet Sparrow. That is what convinced her, and her sister, Mendacity, to agree to their latest adventure.

Which brings us to chapter 361, where things are about to go wildly astray from how Tyler planned. Of course.

Take a look.

And thanks for reading …

© Michael Chevy Castranova 2015

PIp makes a comeback

Image © Michael Chevy Castranova

 
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With chapter 360 of “Slipped” I intend to bring Pip back into the main story. He’s been somewhat sidelined as new characters have been introduced.

And maybe, too, we can resolve whether he really can talk or if only Tyler imagines he talks. Of course, as he’s the one narrating the story from the future — or maybe the past, I’d have to look that up in earlier chapters — and comes to be known as a semi-famous singer of the American Songbook, I guess he does. Or maybe that comes later. We’ll just have to see.

The notion of dogs as companions in adventure fiction is not new. With little effort, we can name RinTin Tin, Lassie, Sandy in “Little Orphan Annie,” Toto in “The Wizard of Oz,” Asta in “The Thin Man” series, Snowy in all the Tintin stories, Bear in “Person of Interest” and Gromit in “Wallace and Gromit.” Each one helped instigate action — Sandy often saved the day as did Gromit, Toto is the reason Dorothy ran away from home and Asta actually found the missing Thin Man in the first movie, not Nick Charles.

I don’t think we should count Snoopy, though. Not much of an adventurer and, frankly, pretty off in his own head.

Safe territory in “Slipped”?

 

Image © Michael Chevy Castranova 2015

I don’t like guns. I don’t like drawing guns in cartoons. But sometimes in an adventure comic strip set in the 1920s, between two significant wars, people have guns.

But you’ll notice, no one has died in “Slipped” from being shot by a gun. In fact, not one character seems actually to have died at all.

The guy in the first chapters — unnamed in the strip but I think he went by Etienne — was killed, but then when the Scarlet Sparrow retraced her timeline, she and her sister, Mendacity, saved him.

And while Dickie Talbot was left to be buried alive, along with the Golem, it’s in the cards for the Scarlet Sparrow to get back to them, too.

Oh, wait, I just recalled those two “Vampires” who accidentally died while attempting to do damage to part of le Metro to stop les Rongeur. Hmmm ….

It’s hard to keep track of almost eight years of continuous weekly comic strips.

In any case, next week sees the Scarlet Sparrow, Cartier Tour and Pip catapulted into their new adventure. Please stand by.

Treachery

Image © Michael Chevy Castranova 2015

 

Tyler Wilson and friends thought they were out for a good meal with admirers. But, of course, things never work out as expected in the life of the Scarlet Sparrow.

Take a look at the latest chapter of “Slipped.”

Reishi, by the way, is a mushroom possessing supposedly amazing health benefits. It is not native to Finland. But more about that later in our story ….

Tyler in Finland

 

Image and text © Michael Chevy Castranova 2015

I admit I’m still undecided about the Scarlet Sparrow’s hair style. I like the idea of it — the reference in this week’s chapter to Louise Brooks, star of “Pandora’s Box” and author of “Lulu in Hollywood.”

But it is tough to draw. It always, as first, looks as if Tyler is wearing some kind of helmet. So I add more. Then I erase and redraw. Then I erase some more.

But I think she likes it. Hard to tell.

In the early chapters of “Slipped” I integrated real people — Picasso was a love interest for Tyler during the 1910 Paris flood (a real event), for example. And I’d intended to incorporate Brooks going forward, but it turned out she wouldn’t have been in Paris in 1926. At least, I don’t think so.

Meanwhile, Tyler, Cartier Tour and Pip are about to meet a few new characters and make some frighteningly rapid progress on their mission in Finland.

Please keep reading.

Opening night jitters

Image © Michael Chevy Castranova 2015

I’ve tried to keep “Slipped” more or less accurate when dealing with real-life people or events. But in this week’s chapter — as well as in last week’s and next week’s — I got tangled up in a few historical timelines.

In chapter 354, for example, the sign outside the performance hall proclaims one of the dances that evening will be “Rites of Spring.” I’m OK in terms of when things happened — though actually it was called “The Rite of Spring,” singular, or “la Sacre du Printemps” — because that dance first was performed in 1913 in Paris. (You can see a recreation here on YouTube.) But as Nijinsky’s choreography — and the costumes and the music — caused such a scandal, it is unlikely it would have been staged again so soon after, and certainly not in as remote a locale as northern Finland. But I could be wrong about that.

And then there is the matter of Tyler’s new, risqué hairstyle. I’d initially intended to have some dialog in which our protagonist explains she wanted that cut after seeing Louise Brooks in “Pandora’s Box.”

But a quick check showed me my memory was off — that movie didn’t come out until 1929, three years after the events in chapter 355. So in next week’s installment you’ll see I’ve concocted a different explanation.

Either way, it is nice to see Tyler smile. It’s been a long time.

Oh, and balletomanes surely will have noted the headpiece Tyler is wearing would be for “Swan Lake” — which was not on the program.

What can I say? It’s a cartoon.

Melancholoy in the comics

© Michael Chevy Castranova 2015

 
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I’ve always been struck by how sad — intentionally, I’ve assumed — the comics of Chris Ware, Bill Griffith and Art Spiegelman are. Or maybe it’s just me.

I remember not being able to finish Ware’s “Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth” because the main character was so grieved and depressed. There’s a segment in which Jimmy makes a model horse that the instructor praises but, later, the other boys mock for its true, crude appearance. Corrigan, angry and feeling betrayed, flings the horse away — into a pile snow, if I recall correctly.

But then, in anguished remorse, he jumps into the snow to retrieve the tiny model, crying, “I’m sorry.”

It’s just heart-breaking.

Griffith’s new memoir, “Invisible Ink,” about his parents, also has an underlying tone of melancholy. And Spiegelman’s masterpiece, “Maus,” isn’t exactly a barrel of monkeys, either.

And yet … and yet I’ve seen Spiegelman speak three or four times now, and on each occasion he has appeared chipper and, frankly, pretty darned happy. There’s probably some deep meaning here.

•••

Meanwhile, speaking of snow, chapter 354 of “Slipped” finds some of our resourceful protagonists in the far north, deep into a new adventure. Their goal is to make contact with an as-yet-unidentified group that supposedly will aid them in defeating les Rongeur.

That’s assuming, of course, Delacroix told them the truth.

Take a look at this link.