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Seems that everybody has an opinion about Momma Snooki.

Now before I begin, being a single man without kids, I’m going to state right now that I am probably the last person in the world to be writing an article about motherhood.  But while I might not understand the realities of being a mother, what I do know about is the media and the way that the public responds to it.  With that being the case I am disgusted by both the media and the public to the negative response to Jersey Shore star Nicole “Snooki” Paluzzi’s announcement that she and boyfriend Jionni LaVelle are expecting their first child.  Obviously after watching Snooki’s wild behavior over five seasons of the outrageous MTV reality program, it would be a knee jerk reaction to think that Snooki isn’t mother material.  It is natural that the media might poke a little bit of fun, but posts on both Twitter and Facebook has been unnaturally cruel towards Snooks and her baby.  It has gone past the point of fun, to being demeaning.  Let’s take a quick look at some of the things thapeople have been saying about a woman who are about to be a mother and her unborn child:

“Hey if you’re ever sad about anything, just think, “AT LEAST MY MOM ISN’T SNOOKI!”

Remember when comics were supposed to be funny? Instead, this cartoonist has decided to pass judgement on a woman in the name of comedy. Nice.

“In 15-years time, Snooki will be a grandmother.”

“$50 says Snooki gives birth to a drunk pumpkin.”

“Snooki is expecting her baby on December 21, 2012. The Mayans knew.”

“Sci-Fi Channel strikes up reality show deal with Snooki, strictly covering the birth of whatever comes out of her.”

“I wonder what would be harder to find..Waldo or the father of Snooki’s child?”

“With Snooki being pregnant, I don’t understand how Rick Santorum can be against contraceptives.”

“Let’s get drunker than Snooki’s fetus tonight.”

While a mean spirited public has been "slut shaming" Snooki, it is no secret that the father of her baby is her fiance Jionni LaValle, who she has been with since 2010. Snooki and LaVelle announced their engagement this week.

These are just some of thousands of examples of how both the press and the public are treating Snooki.  Basically, it seems that people feel it is okay to call Snooki an alcoholic slut and make inhuman jeers about her unborn child…in the name of comedy.  Nice internet!  Really nice!

Now I understand that not all women are meant to be mothers, but I think that people should have enough common sense to know that there is a deep emotional connection between a woman and child.  While the public may not want to acknowledge that reality show stars are actually human, this natural bond applies to Snooki as well.  How does anybody feel that they have the right to question Snooki’s ability to be a mother.  I know that it is fun to dehumanize celebrities, but the truth is, we don’t know what sort of mother Snooki will be.  We can’t even predict.  Nobody can know until the baby arrives.  But this is what we do know.

We know that Snooki wants to have this baby.  If she did not she would have the option not to have it, and would not have had to reveal that to the public.  I don’t want to get into a debate over abortion, but Snooki does have options.  However, she has made a conscious decision to carry this child to the point that she made a public announcement.  This was obviously not a traumatic decision for her.  I am sure that Snooki realizes that her life is about to be changed forever.  She is not nearly as dumb as the public makes her out to be.

Adopted by Andy and Helen Polizzi when she was only six months old, Snooki's close relationship with her family has been well documented. Snooki will be bringing a child into a stable family enviroment.

We know that Snooki has the emotional and financial support to raise this child well.  It has been well documented how close Snooki is to her parents, and she has been with the father of her child for over a year.  Furthermore, with the breaking announcement that Snooki and Jionni are now engaged, they have decided to make a stable home for their baby and become a family.  Shy of the spotlight, Jionni has proven to be a stable and supportive man, who seems to be a calming presence to Snooki’s wild streak, offering a responsible balance for this child.  Furthermore, between Jionni’s aspirations to become a teacher, and Snooki’s career on television, not to mention revenue from her “books,” this child will be born into a financially stable household.  When you look at it from these perspectives, this child’s needs, both emotionally and financially, are being taken care of to the point that it is in a far better position then most children.

We only see the Snooki that MTV wants us to see. Truth is, there are Snookis in every city, club in ever neighborhood in every town. The only thing Snooki has to worry about is that her kid doesn't get their hands on any "Jersey Shore" reruns.

We also know, from statements that Snooki made to this week’s US Magazine, that her head is in the right place.  She states that her first thought when she found out that she was pregnant was that she had been drinking in the first month of her pregnancy.  This is a real worry, and her concern, as well as public admittance, has proven that this is something she is taking very seriously.  In fact, Snooki has also said that she is questioning how much longer she will stay on Jersey Shore.  Motherhood changes everything, and Snooki is obviously thinking about this.  It is very probable that the Snooki that we all know and love will be changing to a much toned down and responsible individual.  But remember that we have seen Snooki at her worst because that is what MTV chooses to show us when editing Jersey Shore.  And really, just how outrageous is Snooki?  Think to your own college days and all the dumb assed things you and your friends did in your early twenties.  I can guarantee that in the clubs in your own cities that there are nice, respectful girls who get trashed and stupid every weekend, but that does not mean that they are not suited to one day be responsible mothers.  Our own mothers probably pulled off some stupid “Snookish” stunts in their own youth.  So what’s to say that Snooki doesn’t have what it takes to be a good mother?  Because she is on TV?  Come on now.  Snooki has already shown that she is taking this very seriously, and is already pondering how this child will realistically affect her future.

Littlest victims of who? Not only did the press stalk a postpartum Britney Spears, causing her to have a menatl and emotional breakdown, but openly exploited her children, as seen on this US Weekly cover.. Douchebaggery at its rawest.

But the media pulling punches at celebrity Moms is hardly something new.  The paparazzi waits for celebrity Moms to do something…anything…that they can pounce on and criticize to make them look like bad mothers.  It is how they make their money.  This is the sort of thing that caused Britney Spears to have a nervous breakdown and, eventually, lose custody of her children.  If her postpartum depression wasn’t bad enough, the press was stalking her and trying to prove that she was a bad Mom  no matter what she did.  Was Britney really a bad Mom because her kid fell…despite the fact that children fall all the time?  Mind you, she did some stupid assed things, like driving a vehicle with her baby on her lap while trying to escape photographers, but the media was not compassionate.  Before she even gave birth they had decided she was an  unfit mother and, in the spirit of William Randolph Hearst, sold papers by reporting the news before it happened.  More recently , Beyonce breast feeding her child in public became a headline.  Is giving your child natural nourishment really “news?”  Sorry folks.  It’s “olds.”  It’s been going on since the dawn of time.  But the press needs to make a spectacle of it because that’s how they sell papers.  When you start to really think about it, it’s a bit pathetic.

But just like Snooki has had the reputation of being a “wild child,” some of pop culture’s most devoted “Super Moms” had similar roles in the media before they became mothers.  Women like Tori Spelling, Nicole Ritchie, Jenny McCarthy, Angelina Jolie and Madonna all made tabloid headlines for their outlandish behavior, yet all of these women have successfully recreated their images as being responsible parents.  Why have we already decided that Snooki may not be able to do the same thing?  What makes Snooki so different?

Until Snooki goes all "Joan Crawford" on her child, nobody can judge what sort of mother she'll be...but the evidence shows that Jionni, Mama Snooks and thier little meatball should be just fine.

The truth is, until Snooki goes all Joan Crawford on her kid and beats it with a coat hanger, we just don’t know what sort of mother she will be.  Maybe Snooki can only be what she is, and perhaps she will be a terrible mother.  Maybe it will take this child to make her grow up and be more responsible with her life.  Maybe Snooki will surprise us all and be as good as our own Moms have been.  But there is one thing I do know about Snooki from watching Jersey Shore.  Despite her bad behavior, her drinking and some of the stupid things she has to say, Snooki probably has the biggest heart out of everybody on that show.  She has a strong belief in the idea of family.  She is devoted to her family and her friends, and she is a woman who is full of love.  I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that the baby that she is carrying in her womb will be loved by Momma Snooks.  The only thing I think she ever has to fear is her child getting its hands on Jersey Shore reruns some thirteen years down the road.

So if you want to say nasty things about a pregnant woman and her unborn child well that is your prerogative, but personally I think it makes you a callous douchebag.  Instead, I want to congratulate Snooki and Jionni and send positive energy to them so that they have a healthy baby and all the joys and happiness that a child can bring to their life.   Take care of yourself Snooki, and  lets prove your critics wrong.

The Dolly Affair: A Conversation with Dolly Read

This week at PCA we talk to actress/model Dolly Read, star of the cult classic Beyond the Valley of the Dolls!  Despite a vibrant eclectic cast, with wide eyed charm and an abundance of charisma, Dolly Read took center stage as BVD’s central character Kelly MacNamara!  Although BVD is probably Dolly’s most famous film, she is also fondly remembered as Playboy Magazine’s first British Playmate when she posed for the famous men’s magazine in 1966.  Although she disappeared from film and television by the end of the 1970’s, Dolly managed to stay part on the cultural radar as the wife of legendary comedian Dick Martin, most famous today for Martin and Rowan’s Laugh In.  Together for thirty-seven years until Dick’s untimely death in 2008, their story is one of the great true life love stories from Hollywood.  !  A pure delight, Dolly Read talks about her career with Playboy, lots of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls stories, and about her life with Dick Martin.  Dolly Read everything a BVD fan dreams about, and she delivers.

Beyond Boba Fett:  A Conversation with Jeremy Bulloch

While he may always be remembered best for his unique contribution to the Star Wars franchise,  many fans may be surprised to know that Jeremy Bulloch also worked in a number of other popular sci-fi/fantasy franchises, including Doctor Who, James Bond and Robin of Sherwood.

REMEMBERS

DAVY JONES

1945 – 2012

“Life is so precious and you got to live it to the fullest and just be considerate to other people.” – Davy Jones in a 2006 PCA Interview

Davy Jones - singer, actor, Monkee, entertainer, and one of the celebrities that helped launch PCA!

The first time I met Davy Jones he wasn’t wearing any pants.  I’m serious.  This is the kind of pop culture memory that you just can’t make up.  Me and Verne Pickford stood in the doorway to his darkened trailer where he and his band were snacking on sandwiches and fruit.  Davy Jones sat on the bench facing the doorway and beckoned us to come in.  “Come in, come in” he motioned to us with a smile and a wink.  We stood there stunned for just a moment.  Not because we hadn’t been near celebrities before.  Both Verne and I were regulars around the autograph show circuit.  But the two of us were paralyzed as we gawked at these two little naked legs jutting out of a pair of red silk briefs.  “Sit down!  Sit down!” he said, patting the seat beside him.  Well what was I to do?  As strange as it was that Davy Jones wasn’t wearing any pants, when he tells you to sit down, you just gotta sit down so I took the seat next to him.

“Hey Davy?  Don’t you think you should put on some pants?” Davy’s road manager said to him.

One of the most important teen idols of all time, Davy Jones was a heartthrob for three generation of teenage girls via his British charm and "Monkee" reruns.

“No man.  These guys want to see the real Davy Jones, y’know.” Davy replied with a grin.  Well we did, and the real Davy Jones was what we got.  This was in 2006.  Candace Shaw and I had just started PCA and, at that point, I had only done a few random celebrity interviews.  We weren’t really sure what we were doing, and I hadn’t developed the contacts nor the network that I have now.  We were completely green.  But when Davy Jones rolled into our town, Verne Pickford did the impossible and scored us an interview with one of the 60’s biggest teen idols.  How did he do it?  It was ridiculously simple.  All he did was called Davy Jones’ hotel room at the local Holiday Inn and asked.  Davy told him to come and ask for him at the show.  That’s all it took.  But then that was Davy Jones.  Warm, friendly, accessible and giving.  I can honestly say in all my years of interviewing celebrities very few have been as kind and generous as Davy Jones.

Davy Jones got his start on "Coronation Street" in 1961, but after a stint training to be a horse jockey, found stardom as The Artrful Dodger in the original cast of "Oliver!!"

Davy Jones’ career is a true  adventure in pop culture.  Born in Manchester, England Davy started his acting career at age eleven when he got a regular gig on Coronation Street in 1961, but was cut short when his mother died suddenly and he decided to try a more stable career as a horse jockey.  A short little guy, Davy had a love for horses and was the right height and build for an expert jockey.  It was while training with championship jockey Brian Forster that Davy was spotted by a casting agent who was putting together a brand new musical based on Charles Dickens’s book Oliver Twist.  Foster tipped the agent off about Davy’s acting background, and Davy soon found himself off the race track and on the London stage in the role of The Artful Dodger in the original cast of Oliver!  An immediate hit, the production was transplanted from London to New York and Jones, only fourteen at the time, bid farewell to his father and three sisters and headed for America.

An early publicity photo for "David Jones" while appearing in "Oliver!" in New York. Davy would watch The Beatles on Ed Sullivan from backstage, leading to a solo album and, eventually, future teen stardom with The Monkees.

New York would be a whirlwind for Davy, who was not only nominated for a Tony Award, but was spending his most formative years growing up on his own on the New York Stage.  However, possibly one of the most memorable nights of his life would happen on February 9^th, 1964 when he appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show with the cast of Oliver!  But they were hardly the headliners that night.  The same night was the night that The Beatles made their North American debut on the Sullivan show, bringing in a record breaking viewing audience and becoming one of the most revered television performances in pop culture history.  Billions watched The Beatles from their living rooms while Davy peered at them from backstage.  Watching the girls go wild in the audience, Davy thought he’d like a piece of that action and recorded his own solo pop album under the name David Jones, but it gained little attention.  But an agent from Columbia saw potential in Davy from his performance in Oliver! and signed his to a seven year contract to Columbia Pictures.  Yet as time went by, they really weren’t sure what to do with this guy.  Not really an actor, not really a pop singer, Davy had a cheeky charm and a ton of personality but was sort of between two worlds.

The Monkees: Mickey Dolenz, Peter Tork, Mike Nesmith and Davy Jones. Davy quickly established himself as "the cute one."

Enter producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider.  Inspired by The Beatles’ second feature film, Help!, Rafelson and Schneider approached Columbia Pictures with a brand new TV show about a rock n’ roll group called The Monkees.  They would put together a group of four guys, release records and singles and put them on a weekly TV series.  Nothing like it had ever been done before.  Columbia bought the idea, but requested that Schneider and Rafelson put Davy into the mix.  Davy was probably not exactly what the duo had in mind, but he was British and he was cute so they signed him up.  In the long run Davy was the only Monkee who didn’t have to audition.  The Monkees were the first manufactured rock band, consisting of broad stereotypes that teenage girls could choose from to be their favorite.  There was the leader, Mike Nesmith, the dumb but sweet guy, Peter Tork, the zany off the wall guy, Mickey Dolenz and, of course, the cute romantic guy, Davy Jones.  The Monkees was a runaway hit, and almost immediately their songs began to make their way onto the Billboard Charts.  Although Mickey Dolenz was the primary lead singer on most of the hits, Davy had his own string of songs as lead singer including A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You, Valerie, I Want to Be Free and, of course one of The Monkees biggest hits of all time, Daydream Believer, which hit Billboard’s number one spot in 1967.  Meanwhile, as The Beatles became more way out and psychedelic, the younger sisters of the girls that screamed for the Fab Four were buying 16 Magazine and hanging up pictures of The Monkees on their bedroom walls.  Soon The Monkees rivaled The Beatles in popularity, and Davy Jones was the lead dreamboat. Although serious music fans started a backlash against the band because they primarily didn’t play their own instruments (not acknowledging that Mike Newsmith was writing half of all the songs released on singles), The Monkees were pop sensations and became one of the most important recording groups in pop culture history.

Although The Monkees was cancelled after two seasons, Davy managed to stay in the public spotlight into the early 70's.

Although The Monkees was cancelled after two seasons despite winning an Emmy, Davy Jones managed to stay in the public eye for a number of years afterwards.  Shortly after the shows cancellation Davy and the rest of the group made the psychedelic cult film Head with mixed results.  Davy also appeared on one of the most celebrated episodes of The Brady Bunch where he performed a new single, Girl, and trumped Desi Aranz Jr. as Marcia Brady’s teen dream hunk, and was even animated on an episode of Scooby Doo where he sang a fun little pop rarity called I Can Make You Happy.  When The Monkees became a popular Saturday morning staple in reruns by the early 1970’s, Davy reunited with Mickey Dolenz, as well as Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart who composed many of The Monkees biggest hits, for a series of concerts.  But by the mid 1970’s The Monkee train had pretty much ended and Davy settled back into musical theater, as well as revisiting his love for horses and racing.

Davy Jones reunited with Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork in 1986 for The Monkees sold out 20th reunion tour, and became a staple on the concert and autograph show circuit ever since.

However you can’t keep a good Monkee down, and good music lasts forever. Monkeemania would find itself reborn in 1986 when MTV reignited the fire by rebroadcasting The Monkees.  Soon a new cult following rose from the ashes, and twenty years after he first became a teen idol, Davy Jones found himself in teen magazines again.  That summer Davy, Mickey and Peter went back on the road for a Monkee reunion tour, putting the music of The Monkees back in the hearts and minds of the fans once again.  What was astounding was that Davy Jones once again began to pull on the heartstrings of another generation of girls who were just discovering The Monkees for the first time.  Davy Jones had the unique experience of being a teen heart throb for three generations of girls, while most teen idols only become a heart throb for just one.  From that moment on, either together or alone, Davy Jones was a solid draw on the concert circuit, and maintained a presence and popularity as an entertainer with audiences.

In 2006, months after we launched PCA, Davy Jones became one of the first interviews that PCA featured.

Now I don’t know why Davy wasn’t wearing pants when I first met him.  I often wonder if it was a test of some sorts.  If it was a way to see how Verne and I would react and to see if we were going to be comfortable enough to be let into his inner circle.  Well, we must have passed the audition because instead of reacting to his red briefs and his skinny little legs, we just fell into the lively conversation and the laughter with Davy and his band and, before leaving, Davy invited us to join him for breakfast at the hotel the next morning.  The following day Verne and I returned to the hotel and found a very different Davy Jones in the hotel restaurant.  Dressed in a black sweater and sunglasses, Davy quietly sipped on coffee with his assistant Aviva Maloney.  The zany Davy of the night before was replaced by a much quieter and more thoughtful man, who hummed along with the music of a guitar player who strummed in the restaurant, and quietly talked about soccer games and British war movies from his childhood.   Davy invited Verne and I  to spend the morning talking with him but, once the recorder came out, Davy wasn’t as interested in doing an interview as much as just telling us about his thoughts about almost everything.  It can only be described as sort of a “verbal diarrhea” as Davy  talked about everything from sex and religion, to politics and laundry, to Beatles and Monkees, to his sisters and his daughters, to entertainment and the soul.  Davy Jones became more philosopher then Monkee, and what Verne and I came out with was a unique oral manifesto of a former teen idol.  Our morning with Davy Jones is still one of the most popular features at PCA and it can be read here.

Warm, approachable, generous, zany, kind and full of fun, Davy Jones was very much the same guy in real life that audiences saw on "The Monkees."

But let me tell you the truth about the real Davy Jones as I experienced him.  Over two days I had two different encounters with Davy Jones.  I saw him with his pants on, and I saw him with his pants off.  I saw him with his friends and his band, I saw him with his public, and I had my own unique one on one with him for three hours.  I’m not saying that I knew Davy Jones, but I do believe I saw him for the man that he was.  The Davy Jones I spent the morning with was one of the kindest and most approachable individuals that I ever met.  As we had morning coffee a woman sheepishly approached the table to speak to Davy.  Davy greeted her with a warm smile and made her feel at ease, listened to her as she told him how much he enjoyed his music and how much she loved him when she was growing up and then he thanked her and gave her a hug.  But as we were about to leave the restaurant, he turned to look for the woman and this time he approached her table, took her hand and thanked her again, shook hands with her husband and left the restaurant giving them a smile and a wave.  Why did he do this?  Because he wanted to let her know how much she meant to him.  In our interview Davy spoke of the encounter by saying “People are nervous enough and they don’t really know.  In the middle of all this somebody can come and talk to us, as if you’re just another man. I mean that’s like familiarity that you can’t buy. That makes me feel good that they feel so causal about the idea. It’s sort of empowering.”  Davy was like that as we walked through the hotel.  He was full of smiles and hugs and handshakes and kind words to the people we ran into.  He would stop and talk to anybody who recognized him, sign autographs, make jokes and just liked to make people feel happy.  Davy Jones just liked people, and spread as much love around as he could.  But what I found most interesting was that no matter if he was in a calm mood or a zany playful mood, or if he was with his inner circle or the public, Davy was only about one step removed from the same guy that we saw on television.  I can speak by experience that celebrities are different people on screen then they are in real life, but Davy was pretty much the same guy that we got to know on The Monkees.  He was kind, giving, approachable and fun.  He was just this gem of a guy.

Davy Jones is special to me for one very real reason.  It was Davy Jones who really helped lift me to a platform in which I could do the work that I continue to do at PCA.  As I stated before, PCA had just started out.  We were nothing.  Davy Jones didn’t care who I was, or Verne or Candace was, or what PCA was.  We had almost no readership.  We had barely any interviews on our roster, and the few we did have came by total fluke.  But all it took was a simple phone call and Davy Jones was giving enough to tell us to come down and he’d meet us.  He was kind enough to invite us to breakfast and drink coffee with us.  He was cool enough to tell us his stories, allow us to spend a few hours with him, and give us a memory we’ll take with us for the rest of our lives.  But most of all, by giving me this experience he opened the doors that gave me enough credibility that helped prove to other entertainers, representatives and mangers that I was good at what I did.  He brought me to a platform that I needed to be on to start my career, and he did it without really knowing who I was or what kind of work I’d do.  Davy Jones took a chance on me and as a result built one of the first bridges that allowed me to cross over to a credible level in my career.  He didn’t have to do it, but he did because he had a few hours to spare and was a nice man.  For this I’ll always remember him, and I’ll always love him.

Davy, you helped me believe in my daydreams, and they all came true as a result.  Thank you for your music, your kindness and one of the most memorable mornings of my life.  You helped change my life although you probably will never knew it.  Thank you Davy Jones. Thank you with all my heart.

Two Daydream Beleivers - PCA's Sam Tweedle and Davy Jones in 2006. Thanks for what you did to help establish PCA Davy. We will never forget your kindness.

Tom Snyder: 1936 – 2007

Television journalist and talk show host Tom Snyder gained the reputation of being the best of his contemporaries by giving respectful and intelligent interviews with some of the 20th Century’s most famous individuals through his conversational method of interviewing.  Sam Tweedle writes an emotional tribute to then man that inspired him to do the work that he does at PCA.

For over two decades Garth Ennis has been putting his unique stamp of humor and violence on some of the comic industry's most popular comics

For over two decades Garth Ennis has been crafting stories that most writers are scared to tell.  Writing with a perfect mix of brutal violence, beloved characters, strong storytelling and dark comedy, Garth Ennis has created a loyal fan base that has followed him throughout his career.  His runs on Judge Dredd, Hellblazer and The Punisher are considered classics, his DC series Hitman is a cult favorite and his Vertigo series Preacher is considered a comic book masterpiece by both fans and critics alike.  Garth Ennis is a man who never holds back, and as a result has become one of the most celebrated comic writers of the current century.

In April Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson will begin the final story arc of their popular comic series "The Boys," and comic fans will bid farewell to the adventures of Butcher, Hughie, Mother's Milk, The Frenchman and The Feamle of the Species.

In 2006, Garth Ennis created The Boys, which would go on to be his most popular comic series since Preacher.  Lead by Billy Butcher, The Boys is a super powered group of CIA agents who monitor and control the actions of the worlds’ out of control superhero community.  Taking shots at everything from celebrity culture, politics, sex, media, religion and, especially, the comic book industry, The Boys has become a dark and violent, as well as hilarious, favorite amongst comic fans.  However, the book had an uneasy beginning.  First published by DC Comics’ Wildstorm imprint, Garth Ennis began the series by claiming that he would “Out Preach Preacher.”  He quickly showed the comic audience exactly what he meant when The Boys’ newest recruit and primary hero, Hughie Campbell, saved a gerbil from being duct taped up a supes’ anus.  Although fans were bemused, DC became uncomfortable with Ennis’ sense of provocative humor and ceased The Boys publication with issue six.  Thankfully, they allowed Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson to maintain control of the series and shop it to another company.  Ennis quickly sold the series to Dynamite Entertainment, which resumed publication with The Boys #7 in early 2007. The book is now a staple in the company’s line-up, and a strong relationship between Ennis and Dynamite has firmly been established.

Eisner award winning comic writer Garth Ennis.

Now, after seven years and three off shoot mini-series, Garth Ennis is ready to write the final chapter of The Boys, bidding farewell to Butcher, Hughie, Mother’s Milk, The Frenchman and The Female, in what is expected to be a violent and explosive finale.  Tying together storylines that he’s been developing for years, the final battle between The Boys and The Homelander, Ennis’ villainous Superman parody, is about to begin.  But as fans gear up for what is sure to be a brutal finish for The Boys, Dynamite Entertainment made a surprising announcement.  Garth Ennis’ next project will be putting his unique stamp on one of America’s oldest crime fighting heroes, The Shadow!  A figure in comics, pulp magazines, radio and film for over eighty years, The Shadow predates most of pop culture’s crime fighting heroes.  Now it’s Garth Ennis’ turn to write the next chapter for this pulp icon, which will surely be unlike anything Shadow fans have seen before.

I had the unique chance to correspond with Garth Ennis, looking back on The Boys and forward to The Shadow.  Just as in his books, Garth Ennis has a blunt wit and tells it like it is. We in his fan base wouldn’t have it any other way.

CONFESSIONS OF A POP CULTURE ADDICT PRESENTS

GOODBYE BOYS:

A CONVERSATION WITH GARTH ENNIS

Sam Tweedle:  At what point in your life did you first get interested in comic books.  What were some of the earliest comic books/creators that influenced you?

"The two (comics) that mattered most to me as a kid were British weekly anthologies Battle (a war comic) and 2000AD (sci-fi/action, most famous as the home of Judge Dredd)."

Garth Ennis:  The two that mattered most to me as a kid were British weekly anthologies Battle (a war comic) and 2000AD (sci-fi/action, most famous as the home of Judge Dredd). I also read a lot of what were called the Picture Libraries, little A5 sized war comics. These were all in black & white and printed on what seemed like recycled toilet paper with pisspoor production values, and contained some of the very best comics ever published.   The first American comic I read, apart from a few issues of Mad, was The Dark Knight Returns, which made me think American comics must all be completely brilliant and I’d been missing out on this Godlike genius for years and years. I immediately bought as many other titles as I could and found out the opposite was true, but I was at least able to follow people like Alan Moore into US comics, and discover the likes of Howard Chaykln, Peter Bagge, Paul Chadwick and so on.

Sam:  You have a unique knack at writing military comics, which can often be a tedious topic to tackle.  Your military themed stories are amongst the best comic stories of the genre.  What is it that attracts you to this genre?

Garth:  The war comics I read as a kid, and a lifelong interest in military history that they then sparked.

This was always where it was going to end. This was their story, there's no more to be said on the subject.

Sam:  Looking back at The Boys, it had a bit of a bumpy start but quickly became a huge cult favorite.  Are you surprised about its popularity and that the series ran as long as it did?

Garth:  No, I can see why people like it. In the end it did what it was supposed to do, which – following the model of Preacher, Transmet, Sandman et al- was to last 5-6 years and produce 10-12 trades, which it would then survive as in perpetuity. When people asked me the same question about Preacher I used to say that I could see why people liked it, but if it had gone tits-up after 12 issues I wouldn’t have been remotely surprised either. The Boys was less of a leap into the dark.

Sam:  What sparked the idea of The Boys in your mind?  Is there a story to how you came up with the book, concept or the characters?

Garth:  There’s no one particular moment or story. Just the general notion of a bunch of people who surveil and occasionally intervene in the filthy, Hollywood Babylon-esque world of superheroes, a la the political/historical crime fiction of James Ellroy.

Over its run "The Boys" has parodied most of the comic industry's conventions, as well as some of it's real life icon, including Stan Lee who inspired The Legend.

Sam:  What made you decide to bring The Boys to an end?  Is there really no more story to tell?

Garth:  This was always where it was going to end. This was their story, there’s no more to be said on the subject.

Sam:  Over the years you really took a lot of shots, both tongue in cheek and below the belt, at the comic book industry while writing The Boys.  Beyond satirizing characters, themes and franchises, you also parodied real life figures like Adam West and Stan Lee.  How have comic professionals reacted to the cutting satire of your take on the comic industry in The Boys?  Did you ever face any comic professionals who “didn’t get it” or took offense to your satire in this particular series?

Garth:  No, none. I always assume that a lot of superhero fans and pros kind of enjoy this sort of parody, and those that don’t aren’t going to get excited enough to bother me.

Sam:  One of the most painful moments for me was the death of Terror.  What made you decide to make him the team’s first fatality?  What was the overall reader reaction to his death?

Garth:  That was one of the first scenes I thought of once I got The Boys up and running. The whole idea was to provoke Butcher into showing his nasty side, in which I think it succeeded 100%.

Sam:  Over the years that you’ve been doing The Boys, which of the characters developed in a way you didn’t expect?  Are there any characters that you felt were underdeveloped that you which you would have provided more back story for?

"Hughie impressed me by remaining consistent throughout- never getting his shit together to the extent that he might seriously influence events, always watching in bewilderment as events whizz out of his control, and whining about it...One of my favorites was Becky Butcher, who I could have written a lot more of."

Garth:  Hughie impressed me by remaining consistent throughout- never getting his shit together to the extent that he might seriously influence events, always watching in bewilderment as events whizz out of his control, and whining about it. He can’t really change who he is, like most people in real life, but unlike those in comic books, and yet it’s this inability that’ll stand him in good stead in the long run- as you’ll see.  One of my favorites was Becky Butcher, who I could have written a lot more of. I wanted to make sure we got a proper sense of who she was, unlike most doomed heroines set up to inspire revenge (who’s Maria Castle, really?), and I think I did- but I wish I could have given her more than an issue and a half.

Sam:  You never provided origin stories for The Seven, making them almost enigmatic.  Was this intentional?  Do you know what their origins are?

"To me (The Seven) were just a bunch of irredeemable dicks."

Garth:  To me they were just a bunch of irredeemable dicks. They’re supes to begin with, so they’re arrogant shits whose powers make them feel superior, but elevation to The Seven would make them a thousand times worse. I did go into the Homelander’s story a while back, and there’ll be more on him in #65 because his origin’s pretty important to the overall story, but with the rest I didn’t see the point. They are, when all’s said and done, a pretty obvious parody of the JLA.

Sam:  One of the most disturbing images I’ve seen in comics, and I’ve seen a lot of disturbing stuff being a fan of horror comics and films, was Butcher’s battle with the super-powered fetus in Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker.  However, with that said, it was a powerful moment, which really explained to the audience why Butcher hates supes the way he does.  It ended up being one of the most brilliant and intense moments I’ve ever read in a comic.  You have done a lot of shocking things in your books over your career, but that scene brought the shock value to a new level.  Have you ever come up with anything so disturbing that you either frightened yourself that you could think up such a thing, or was unable to put it in one of your books due to it being just a little too outrageous or sick?

Garth:  No, it’s all gone in, or it will at some point. I never really think in those terms; I just do what seems right at each particular point of each story.

"Sure, there was Hitman - but then there was Preacher, too. The ending of The Boys might best be described as lying somewhere in between."

Sam:  You are able to balance the shock value in your books with intelligent plot and three dimensional characters.  Is it difficult to maintain the balance between shocking and intelligent storytelling?   How do you maintain the balance?

Garth:  Instinct.

Sam:  When you close the doors on The Boys, will it truly be the end or will we see any occasional specials or mini-series?  Were there any stories that you meant to tell but never got around to it?

Garth:  That’ll be me done with it, story told, nothing else to be said. Twelve trades on the shelf. Job done.

Sam:  When I was in university me and my pals would sit around the pub on Friday nights drinking beer and casting the ultimate Preacher movie.  Thing was, we would usually pick the same cast week after week.  With that tradition in mind, which actors, past or present, would you cast in key roles to a Boys movie?

Garth:  I gave up thinking about it years ago.

Sam:  I was surprised to see that you are taking on The Shadow book.  What has the general response to the news that you are doing The Shadow been so far?

In March 2012 Garth Ennis takes on one of the oldest crime fighters in American fiction, The Shadow!

Garth:  I’m told it’s fairly positive. Publisher Nicky Barrucci seems very pleased.

Sam:  What attracted you to The Shadow?  Do you have a personal history with the character?

Garth:  Not really, but he’s a great looking character with a nice sense of mystery and a slightly sinister edge. Generally it’s the potential I see in a character that attracts me to them, rather than anything established in their previous appearances. I did like the Chaykin one, but that’s about it.

Sam:  You are very talented at creating vivid three dimensional characters.  One problem with The Shadow is that Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane have often been underdeveloped in many of the comic stories.  Do you plan on focusing at all on them as characters, or just focusing on the hard hitting crime drama?  Who are Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane in your book?

Garth:  Cranston’s the mind behind The Shadow, the man who sets him loose, explains his thinking, aims him like a weapon. Or, Cranston’s the human face of the Shadow, who uses him to reveal exactly what he wants to the world – and no more.  Margo Lane is a brave, intelligent and resourceful young woman who rapidly finds herself out of her depth. This time, The Shadow tells her, the stakes are higher than ever before; wild adventures with colorful villains are no preparation for what they’re about to face together.

"He's a great looking character with a nice sense of mystery and a slightly sinister edge."

Sam:  By taking on an established character, have you felt any pressure to play within certain conventional guidelines in writing the book, or are you going to be writing it with your brand of dark humor and shocking violence that we know you for?  Are you writing a traditional Shadow book or doing something drastically different?

Garth: To me it’s fairly traditional, but only in terms of how I see the character to begin with. I never worry about pressure or expectations, just get on and tell the story.

Sam:  Do you have any knowledge of The Shadow book that Superman creator Jerry Siegel did in the 1960s, and if so, do you have any comments on his version?

Garth:  Never seen it.

Sam:  The Shadow is one of the oldest crime fighting characters in American literature.  What do you feel the appeal and attraction of The Shadow is that keeps readers interested in him for over eighty years?

"(The Shadow's) an obvious classic; to me, none of the other pulp characters come anywhere near him."

Garth:  He’s an obvious classic; to me, none of the other pulp characters come anywhere near him.

Sam:  Is there any other classic franchise/pulp/film characters that you would like to write?  Are there any forgotten gems from the history of fandom that you’d like to dust off and bring back in comics?

Garth:  The only one I’d drop everything to write would be an old British fighter pilot character called Johnny Red. I’d be happy to do another Battler Britton story, too.

Sam:  Thanks again for doing this Garth.  I am looking forward to both The Shadow and, while I will miss The Boys, I am really enjoying the way the drama has been intensifying lately.  I really hope Hughie and Annie are able to walk hand in hand into the sunset and live happily ever after, but I keep thinking of the way you ended Hitman and knowing that it probably won’t happen.

Garth:  Glad you’re enjoying The Boys, Sam. As for Hughie and Annie, you’ll have to wait and see. Sure, there was Hitman – but then there was Preacher, too. The ending of The Boys might best be described as lying somewhere in between.

In the three decades that I have been reading comic books, few writers have had the impact on my friends and I that Garth Ennis has.  While his work may not always be the most conventional, his books have always been “must reads” and retain their status as classics year after year.  Thus, this opportunity to pick Garth Ennis’ brain has been one of the fantastic moments of my career as a media writer and comic fan.  As we say goodbye to The Boys, I know that many fans are gearing up to see what twisted world Garth Ennis will devise for The Shadow.  It should be a mad and violent ride.  But, with Ennis’ loyal following behind him, The Shadow is sure to become the next cult hit for Dynamite Entertainment.

“Wherever I go, Terrible Things Happen”: A Conversation With Robbie Rist

Sam’s interview with the loathed ‘Cousin Oliver’ from the later years of TV’s beloved The Brady Bunch.  Robbie Rist went on to have a fascinating acting career spanning decades, and is best known today for his voice over work and his music.

REMEMBERS

NEIL HOPE

1972 – 2007

“Wheels is dead.”

Neil Hope, better known to "Degrassi Junior High" fans as Wheels, has been dead since 2007...but nobody knew until now.

The words came up on my facebook feed via multiple friends on Thursday afternoon.  I didn’t have to ask what it meant.  It was like a coded phrase that only Canadians in their thirties understood.  Actor Neil Hope, who played troubled teen Derek “Wheels” Wheeler on the classic Canadian series Degrassi Junior High had died.  However, the story was about to get stranger, and would leave former Canadian generation x-ers in a shared state of stunned silence.  Neil Hope has been dead since 2007!   Was this kind of prank?  Was it a classic case of someone passing along false information?  That sort of thing happens all the time.  It took me seconds to find out that it was true.  The internet was buzzing with the news that Neil Hope had been dead for five years.  Only thing is, nobody knew it.  Not his fans.  Not his former co-stars.  Not even his family or friends.  In November 25^th 2007, Neil’s body was found in his room at a Hamilton boarding house. Investigating authorities had determined his death to be of natural causes, but have claimed to have found no contact information for next of kin.  A reclusive troubled man, whose life often ran parallel to that of the character that made him a Canadian television icon, Neil had been estranged from his family, kept little to no friends, and had not been in touch with his former Degrassi co-stars or fans in years.  Neil Hope’s body was never claimed, and he was buried in an obscure and forgotten grave somewhere in Southern Ontario.  Only now, after a lengthy search for his whereabouts, have Neil’s family finally found out about his lonely death.  Friends, fans and co-stars are suddenly united in a state of anger and sadness as the news spread from social networking to Canadian media and finally crossing the borders to American news sources.  “Wheels is dead.”  Why didn’t we know?  Why didn’t anybody tell us?  How does this happen?  What went wrong?

Neil Hope (center) is surrounded by various members of the large ensemble cast that made up "Degrassi Junior High," which ran from 1987 to 1992.

To Canadian audiences, Neil Hope was simply known as “Wheels.”  The reason for this is simple.  From the age of seven, until his final public appearance in 2003, Neil Hope appeared under the Degrassi banner.  There are few Canadians that were born in the last thirty years that haven’t experienced the massive decade spanning Degrassi franchise.  It has been a part of our lives for over thirty years and have spawned three very different series.  Originally born under the banner The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi began as a series of multiple part television movies in the fashion of the ABC After School Specials, which aired on CBC television in Canada between 1979 and 1986.  Praised for its realistic portrayal of hard hitting issues aimed at a young audience, series creator Linda Schuyler decided to step the drama up a notch and, with the help of Kit Hood,  developed the second series, Degrassi Junior High, for CBC prime time in 1987.

Neil Hope in 1986 as Griff in "The Kids of Degrassi Street." Neil would be one of four kids that would be brought over to "Degrassi Junior High" in different roles when the franchise was brought to CBC prime time in 1987.

Dropping all the plots and characters from the earlier series, Schuyler re-cast four of her young talents from The Kids of Degrassi Street in the new series.  One of these kids was Neil Hope who had played sensitive artist Robin “Griff” Griffith in the final Kids of Degrassi series.  As the new Degrassi series began, it was clear that the star of the series was going to be sixteen year old newcomer Pat Mastroianni as the fedora wearing wise guy Joey Jeremiah.  However, as the series developed, certain kids began to rise to the top as major players in the Degrassi franchise, with possibly the most tragic and dramatic of them all being Neil Hope’s new character Derek Wheeler, which Canadian audiences knew better by the moniker Wheels.

Neil Hope as Wheels and Pat Mastroianni as Joey Jeremiah in the first season of Degrassi. Neil had not yet developed his character's tragic persona nor achieved his iconic look yet.

When Neil Hope made his first appearance as Wheels he was Joey’s sidekick.  A nice kid with a conservative haircut and little personality, Wheels had little to say for himself, until he trumped his best pal when the most popular girl in school, Stephanie, picked Wheels over Joey.  From out of nowhere, Wheels had went from being a nobody character to a major part of the drama.  From that moment on Neil Hope’s role was going to grow in unexpected ways.

"The Zits Are Here!" Pat Mastroianni, Stefan Brogen and Neil Hope made up the classic trio of Joey, Snake and Wheels, who not only made up Degrassi's premier rock band "The Zit Remedy" but also became the most popular characters on "Degrassi Junior High."

As the second season of Degrassi began, Wheel’s physical appearance changed dramatically.  Growing out his hair in long locks of curls and sprouting glasses, Neil Hope situated himself next to Pat Mastroianni and co-star Stefan “Snake” Brogan as the trio became an inseparable unit, and as a result became the most memorable of the Degrassi characters.  Forming their band, The Zit Remedy, Joey, Snake and Wheels only knew one song; Everybody Wants Something.  Not hit record material, the quirky tune quickly became as recognizable to Canadian teens as the national anthem or the Hockey Night in Canada theme.  The series also began to dive into even harder hitting topics that were concerning teenagers in the late 1980’s, including cancer, teenage pregnancy, drugs, homosexuality, suicide, eating disorders, abuse and AIDS.  Every episode of Degrassi was equal to one of the “very special episodes” that American programs like Family Ties or Growing Pains yanked out around Emmy time, but what made Degrassi different was that the main characters were dealing with the issues directly, and the outcome had consequences that would affect their characters lives for the rest of the series.  Degrassi was hailed a masterpiece by Canadian critics and began to be broadcast in the UK on BBC and the US  on PBS.  An international cult following began to join the Canadian teens that were glued to their TV sets.  But no matter how bad things got for a Degrassi student, none of the other kids had anything on Wheels.  As the show continued, Wheels became the show’s most tragic character as one tragedy after the other tore his world apart.

Whether dealing with his parent's death in a drunk driving accident or getting attacked by a molester on the way to Port Hope, Wheels was Degrassi's original "bad luck kid." However, Neil Hope's sensitive performance reminded Canadian teenagers that sometimes bad things happen to good people.

Wheels’ journey into darkness would start in the first two part episode of the third season when his parents were killed by drunk drivers.  Mourning their loss, Wheels went to live with his ailing grandparents, but discovering that he was adopted, went in search for his real parents.  He discovered that his mother was dead, but his father was a musician and, after being kicked out of his grandparent’s house for not going to school, Wheels sold his guitar and hitchhiked to nearly Port Hope to start a new life with his real Dad.  After an encounter with a molester on the road, Wheel’s journey ended by realizing that his real Dad didn’t even want him.  Returning to Toronto, Wheels became more and more unhinged, and as his relationship with Snake and Joey became strained, an air of pathos grew around Wheels.  Wheels was Canadian television’s original hard luck kid.  But while most television audiences would have dismissed a character like Wheels as a loser or lost cause, something in Neil Hope’s performance made Wheels a sympathetic character.  To audiences Wheels was not a bad person.  He was just a sad kid that bad things happened to, and as a result of his grief and desperation, he continued to make bad choices.  In the case of Wheels, bad things happened to good people, but while Snake or Joey may have dealt with their problems more constructively, Wheels was on a path of self destruction.  Thing was, we all had a Wheels in our life.  We all knew somebody who was thrust into the pits of despair, unable to crawl out of it.  Neil was able to capture the realistic portrayal of a three time loser and keep him sympathetic to audiences.  Over time, Wheels became Degrassi’s most intense, and three dimensional, character.

In a revealing episode of the short lived Degrassi spin-off "Degrassi Talks," Neil Hope revealed that he was the son of alcoholics, and also struggled with his own problems with alcoholism.

But what fans only had a glimmer of was that the reason that Neil was able to create a multiple dimensional tragic character like Wheels was that he personally understood the tragedy of real life.  In a revealing episode of the short lived Degrassi spin-off Degrassi Talks, Neil revealed that he was the child of alcoholic parents and that he struggled with alcoholism himself.  His own struggles would mirror his character’s in the 1992 film School’s Out, which doubled as the Degrassi finale. Wheels’ storyline ended with him drunk at the wheel of a car, crashing into an oncoming vehicle, killing a kid and blinding Lucy.  In his final scenes Wheels was behind bars facing a prison sentence.  A tragic ending for a tragic character.

When Degrassi ended, so did the acting careers of many of the young stars, but the iconic status of the key characters and actors that portrayed them stayed alive within the hearts and the minds of the fans.  It was impossible for fans to separate the actors from their characters, and while some actors embraced their iconisim, others rejected it.  And then there was Neil Hope.  Neil wanted nothing to do with his Degrassi fame, and quietly slipped into the background.  However, as years passed, sightings of Neil Hope seemed to be a sort of Canadian pop culture urban myth.  Knowing that I was a Degrassi fan, Toronto based friends, contacts and readers would often tell me stories of meeting or seeing “Wheels.”  Oddly every story seemed to be the same.  They found Neil Hope in a bar, he was a sad man, and he didn’t like to talk about Degrassi.

Despite his own desire to drift away from the world of Degrassi, Neil Hope would reprise the role of Wheels twice in the long running Degrassi revival "Degrassi: The Next Generation." He appeared in a small cameo in the two hour premier, and again as a result of overwhelming fan requests in 2003. His 2003 appearance would mark his final acting role.

In 2001, nine years after Degrassi had ended on CBC, the franchise was sold to CTV and a new Degrassi series, christened Degrassi: The Next Generation, was created for a new generation of teenagers.  The two hour premier bridged the gap between the original series and the new one by bringing the original cast members back to Degrassi for their ten year class reunion, and introducing the new teenagers that would make up the cast of the new series.  Old school characters such as Snake and Spike were brought back as series regulars, Joey Jeremiah was back as a semi-regular and Lucy and Caitlin were back in reoccurring guest roles.  But while the old school characters took a back seat to the new kids that were becoming fan favorites to teens who had never seen the original series, the writers were still able to draw in old fans by continuing story-lines form the original series.  Yet one principal old school character seemed to be missing.  The storyline was going on without Wheels.  However, he wasn’t completely gone.  On two occasions old school Degrassi fans had fleeting glimpses of him.  Neil Hope made a memorable emotional cameo in the two hour Degrassi: TNG premier where he appeared to Lucy outside of the school reunion as a scruffy drifter.  Explaining that he lived in a halfway house, he apologized for how his drinking cost her her eye before drifting back into the darkness and to his painful existence somewhere beyond Degrassi Street. That would have been Neil’s final Degrassi appearance, if not for constant fan requests for another reunion between Snake, Joey and Wheels.  In 2003 their request was answered.  It was established through the new series that Snake and Wheels’ friendship had ended while Wheels was in prison.  However, when Snake was battling cancer in the third season of Degrassi: TNG, Joey took him bowling where he was, one final time, reunited with Wheels.  Now bald and incredibly thin, Neil was a shadow of the young man he once was.  He was barely recognizable as the good looking kid with the curly mane from ten years earlier.  However, those tortured eyes were still the same.  Although he had been away from the cameras for more then a decade, Neil Hope’s performance, once again, revealed a sense of pathos and pain.  In his final scene Joey, Snake and Wheels, for the last time, sang a rendition of Everybody Wants Something.  It would be the last performance for Neil Hope.  Despite the growing success of Degrassi: TNG, including internet fan petitions to bring Wheels back on the show again, Canadian audiences never saw Neil Hope again.  Four years later Neil Hope would be dead….and nobody would know.

Neil Hope died in November 2007 and went unclaimed until March 2008. Family members did not learn of his death until January 2012 after a lengthy search for his whereabouts.

Neil’s final years are a broken kaleidoscope of facts and rumors.  He lived in Toronto for a while and was briefly engaged to Christina Boulard who has been dealing with the media over the last few days.  He worked at a Money Mart and for Pizza Pizza in Windsor by 2005, where he made his final television appearance in an interview conducted by former co-star Stefan Brogen on W5.   But soon after Neil had completely cut ties with his family, friends and Degrassi co-stars in Toronto, and relocated to Hamilton where he worked at a United Furniture Warehouse storeroom.  Living the existence of a virtual drifter, it has been suggested by various sources that Neil may have still been struggling with alcohol, and was confirmed that he was a diabetic.  Although not confirmed, it has been suggested that it was a diabetic symptom that caused his death.   Neil died in 2007, but went unclaimed until March 2008 where he was buried in a grave which location has not been revealed.  Neil’s family, suffering of shock and grief, have asked the public to respect their privacy.  Meanwhile, Neil’s former fiance, with the assistance of co-star Amanda “Spike” Stepto, is currently arranging a private memorial service for members of the Degrassi cast and crew, both past and present, to honor the passing of their former cast-mate.  Neil’s family will also be arranging their own private memorial service.  However, for the fans, all we have are our memories of his touching performance that reminded us that just because bad things happen to people, it doesn’t make them bad people.  Strangely enough, his mysterious death has brought that message home in a real and painful way.  We all loved Wheels, and as a result Neil Hope will remain in our memories and our hearts.