Apr 26 2012

An Outing to Boston Comic Con

An Outing to Boston Comic Con

By David Price

I had no intention to attend Boston Comic Con this year. My son’s girlfriend, Amy, had brought it up a few weeks ago, but no plans were made to go. On Friday night, however, she was over visiting and brought it up again. My son, Devon, had no desire to go either, so she was doing her best to convince him. Now, I haven’t been to a comic con in many years, but the prospect of going piqued my interest. I pulled up the website and checked out the details. There was going to be 74 featured guest artists there. 74! Wow, these things have gotten much bigger since the last time I went.

I use to collect comics. I stopped pretty much cold turkey back in the nineties, when all those endless crossovers became big. They drove me nuts, interrupting the ongoing story lines of your favorite series and also forcing you to buy books you didn’t want, just to keep up. It was a sales gimmick that I quickly grew to despise and drove me away from comics completely. I’m still a fan, of sorts. I see every comic book based movie that hits the screen and I’ve been pretty happy with Hollywood’s attempts to bring some of my old favorites to life. I still have probably thirty boxes of comics in storage. It’s like the fan in me is in hibernation, I guess, like my collection.

So when I looked over that list of 74 artists, I didn’t recognize quite a few of them. I’m guessing there are many who have entered the business since my comic collecting days. But still, there were a few that really caught my eye, like Bernie Wrightson, for instance. Wrightson is an artist I have admired since I started reading and collecting comic books. You see, what first drew me into comics were horror comics. I was reading them for a couple years before I even noticed the super hero books. Maybe it was growing up watching Creature Feature on Channel 56, but I’ve always had this fascination with monsters. Wrightson was of course, an illustrator on many of the horror comics that I grew up loving. These had titles like, House of Mystery, House of Secrets, Tales of the Unexpected, and Vampirella. Did I mention he was the co-creator of Swamp Thing? Yeah, that too.

Wrightson didn’t stop with comic books, though. He did an illustrated version of Frankenstein, which is absolutely beautiful. Later in his career, he went on to do some illustration for my favorite author, Stephen King. Mr. Wrightson illustrated The Cycle of the Werewolf, The Stand, and even did some work on the Dark Tower series. Needless to say, I was excited at the chance to meet him.

Also on the list of artists, I noticed the name Bill Sienkiewicz. Wow! There was another guy who had impressed the hell out of me with his art. You see, Sienkiewicz brought a style unlike any other I had ever seen when he entered the comic book industry. In 1984, Sienkiewicz took over as the artist for the X-Men spinoff, New Mutants and brought an expressionistic style that was mind-blowing. I’m not sure it was for everyone, but I know he gained quite a bit of recognition and managed to work with some of comicbook greats at that time like Frank Miller and Alan Moore.

There were a couple other names that stood out to me like Bob Layton of Iron Man, Kevin Eastman of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Simon Bisley whose work I remember from Judge Dredd and Lobo. It was enough for me to want to go. To top it all off, my twelve-year-old daughter, who to my knowledge has never read a comic book, begged to go. Between my son’s girlfriend and my daughter, they managed to convince Devon to give it a try. I was happy to drive, so the plans were made. My daughter invited her cousin, Roberta, so she would have someone the same age to tag along with her.

Saturday morning, I picked up Amy and brought her back to the house. She was carrying this trash bag full of costumes because apparently the three girls were determined to dress up. They had the idea that people went in costume to these cons and they wanted to participate. I certainly wasn’t going to put a costume on, but I didn’t mind if they did. There wasn’t a lot of planning involved here, so my daughter Kay ended up as Alice in Wonderland, Roberta was a sort of Victorian age vampire, and Amy wore a Pink Floyd shirt and flag as a cape. With the girls dressed up and ready to go, we headed off to the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

The first problem encountered is that the Hynes is near Fenway Park, and the Yankees were playing the Red Sox that day. Finding parking was an adventure. As we passed the Convention center looking for a parking garage, we saw this ridiculously long line outside of the building. That couldn’t be the line to get in, we said. Spotting several people in line dressed as comic book characters confirmed our worst fears, though.

The line moved quickly, however, and we probably only waited thirty to forty minutes to get in the building. None of us were prepared for what we found inside. It was wall to wall with people. You really couldn’t get anywhere without fighting your way through the zombie-like horde of comic book fans. At first, this really bothered my daughter. She complained to me quite a bit. I reminded her that she begged me to bring them. After a while, we all just got used to it.

Devon and his girlfriend went right over to the Newbury Comics table to check out The Walking Dead books. My family is a fan of the show, but none of us have read the books. He grabbed the first few, which was okay with me, since I wanted to read them, too. Amy grabbed a few things that she was really excited about, including a Doctor Who book as a thank you present to me. We stopped at an artist who did a portrait of my daughter and niece in anime style. This put them both in happier moods. When we hit the back row, I saw the line for Bernie Wrightson. I stepped up and he asked if I had anything to sign. I knew I had forgotten something. Oh well, he had some prints from his work on Frankenstein, so I bought one of those. More importantly, I got a picture with him.

Bernie Wrightson and David Price at Boston Comic Con.

We fought our way through the mob and did our best to take in the whole thing. I had just about given up on finding Bill Sienkiewicz when we finally stumbled upon him. I got another cool picture and my daughter got an autographed Cat Woman print. We tried to find another vendor called Madknits, who had these handmade stuffed little monsters, on the way out, but after bumping our way up and down a bunch of aisles, we gave up and decided to call it a day. The kids were hot, tired, and feeling a bit claustrophobic.

All in all, Boston Comic Con was very cool, but it definitely needs to find a bigger venue. The Boston Convention and Exhibition center on the waterfront is much bigger and more suited to something that attracts as many people as comic con does. They should probably consider upgrading, even though I heard that this was an upgrade from previous years. We all had fun, which was the most important thing. Well done, Boston Comic Con.

Apr 25 2012

Late Night TV

Late Night TV

by Ron DiBerto

Werewolves howl throughout the night, Vampires flee mornings light.

Slinking ghouls crawl past a moat, A rotting corpse begins to bloat.

Witches cackle then cast a spell, As demons rise from out of hell.

Shadows move past pools of red, As graves move from waking dead.

Creatures, monsters and ghosts arise, All of different shapes and size.

All these things are always seen, On TV late on Halloween.

DiBerto wrote this poem in 2005. His inspiration for this poem was the “Midnight TV” shown on television when he was a kid. He credits those film classics on keeping “our imaginations going as well as having a blanket over our eyes from time to time.”

“We would sleep afterwards and have those late night nightmares, screaming for mom to take away the boogeyman and soothe our fears. In some ways, I miss those days. My mom does not.”

Apr 24 2012

Support versus Tolerance

This entry originally appeared on Alex Laybourne’s website.

Support versus Tolerance

by Alex Laybourne

As writers, we seek the approval of others for what we do. We may say that we write for fun, or because we love it, and that is all true. A writer writes because they have to, but we publish because we want to share our work, and in doing so we hope for good great reviews and the respect of our peers.

If you talk to any successful person, they will invariably say that they have a wonderful family who supported them the entire way. Just watch any Oscar speech and you will see what I mean. This is also true, and say what you like about successful businessmen or actors. I cannot see another profession that takes quite the toll on friends and family as that of a writer.

We live in worlds inside our head, worlds that not even our nearest and dearest – unless they happen to be writers themselves – could ever understand. We are moody and brooding when writing because we want to write more or need to work out a particular kink in the mechanics or arc of the story, or we are grumpy and moody because we are not writing at that moment in time. We write down and take a sometimes perverse interest in the crazy things that happen around us because it could be a good story idea at some point down the line. Yet our loved ones stick by us. They support us every step of the way.

I have a friend who is really into these self-help books… or as I like to call them – common freaking sense. However, one point that comes across again and again is to surround yourself with people who love and support you. It is supposedly some big secret to success  (sorry the RANT will stop and I’ll get back on topic now).

What got me thinking was, how can you tell the difference between support and tolerance. Those loved ones that smile and nod their heads when you talk about your writing or sit there plotting, writing and editing. Yet on the inside, just below the surface they are  thinking… “You fool. Oh well, at least it keeps them quiet. Stops them from causing trouble”

Can you still count that as support? Are they a positive influence in your life? They support your writing, but when it comes to promotions, and you want to invest some money or a chunk of time during the day to promoting, they put their foot down and refuse. Where does that leave you?

I am lucky enough to have the important people in my life supporting me, but there are a few that I know merely tolerate my dalliances with the written word, and view my attempts to carve a name for myself as nothing more than folly. They are waiting for me to grow up, to start pushing myself hard in other avenues… whatever they may be… please, send all answers to me on a postcard, because I draw a blank here.

This post is dedicated to these people. The silent partners who suffer us writers and support our every step, without ever truly understand what it is we do, and why. It is also a swipe at those who merely tolerate our actions. You all know who you are, and fellow writers, you probably know who they are too. You may not understand why we do it, and you don’t have to. You should support us unconditionally. We are not asking you to do it for us, nor are we demanding you buy 500 copies of our book to make us feel good and give us a rankings boost. We are merely asking that you believe in us. Smile and nod when we talk about our work, even if it is just like the approach taken by John Wemmick with the Aged P in Great Expectations. We are the ones putting ourselves out there, you have absolutely nothing to lose.

Apr 23 2012

Unknown Savior

                    Unknown Savior

                                                        by Ron DiBerto

Through blackened night and fog filled moors, souls flee to light and lock their doors.

They hide amongst their relics of faith, while outside lurks a hungry wraith.

It moves among the well-lit homes, searching for blood that doth roams.

It claws the doors as an angry beast, hoping to have an overdue feast.

When into the night it sees a shape, a shadow does move with a cape.

It lunges with its teeth all bared, eyes open wide as it stared.

And as it reached its unknown prey, a flash of steel would end this fray.

The creature lies as still as the dead, next to the form of its severed head.

Wiping his blade as he looks at this sight, and without a sound he walks into the night.

The legends have been told since that day, of an unknown savior that made his way.

To a fear filled town afraid of the night, to have a chance again to see the light.

Here is NEHW member DiBerto’s inspiration behind “Unknown Savior,” which he wrote in 2006.

“I wrote this after I stayed awake for over 36 hours because of a major case of insomnia. No matter what I tried to help me sleep, it never worked. That is until I sat down and wrote this [poem] out on a pad of paper. I guess that in some way I had to get [it] … out of my system. Because it was not even ten minutes after I put down the pen that I crashed into my pillow and slept like I have never slept before.”

Apr 22 2012

Thousands Attend Boston Comic Con this Weekend

Thousands Attend Boston Comic Con this Weekend

by Rob Watts

Finally, the time had come! The weekend where comic geeks all across Massachusetts could gather together and not hold their heads down in shame for enjoying sci-fi, fantasy and adventure. Myself included. This was a major event.

Over the years, this con had gone from being held in small hotel function rooms, to small-scale expo centers, and finally inside the widely popular Hynes Convention Center located in the heart of Boston’s Back Bay. Judging by the attendance, an even larger facility may be necessary in the future. Literally, thousands of people flowed in and out of the hall throughout the day, many dressed as their favorite film and comic characters. It’s always cool to see parents bringing their young children to events such as this. It’s a wonderful bonding experience when the older generation can expose their kids to pop culture from their youth, as well as the parents learning about the newer culture through their kids. I actually witnessed a young child asking his dad who the two guys in makeup were (2 guys dressed up as KISS), and as he explained who they were, the kid begged to have his picture taken with them because they looked “so cool!” They actually did so I had to follow suit.

Rob Watts with two convention-goers dressed as KISS musicians.

Oddly enough, there were no celebrity appearances at this event, as large of an event as it was. With the exception of high-profile illustrators, there were no “celebrity” signings to speak of. Last week’s Toronto Comic Con, in which I was in attendance, had many celebrity appearances, such as Scott Bakula, Jeri Ryan and Jeremy Bulloch. This isn’t an important selling point for me, I’m just curious as to why celebs (and the con) wouldn’t take advantage of such a largely attended event. I did have the pleasure of talking to some of my favorite illustrators such as Anne Cain, Ming Doyle and Ken Kelly, who designed a few KISS album covers and he was kind enough to give me a sneak peek of what may turn out to be KISS’ next album cover.

Artist Ken Kelly. Photo by Rob Watts.

Of course, the coolest booth of the day was the good folks over at Sci-Fi Saturday Night. They had an ideal spot by the entrance and had a lot of visitors stopping by to chat with the cast. Dome, Kriana, Illustrator X, The Zombrarian and crew were cool enough to include me in their promo package, highlighting my book, CD and theme song I created for their show. Thanks guys. All in all, a fun day with amazing energy. If I don’t get to the Comic Con in San Diego this year, this one will certainly hold me over for a while.

From left to right: Zombrarian, Dome, Rob Watts and Kriana.

Editor’s Note: I want to thank Rob for writing this entry for the NEHW website and for his Live Journal page. Check out his page here for other entries.

Apr 20 2012

The Experience of a Tool Concert

By David Price

I took my 16-year-old son, Devon, to his first concert last year. Personally, I’ve been to hundreds, so I wanted to introduce him to something that has meant so much to me for most of my life. My favorite band since the late nineties has been Tool. Back when we were still going on all the Cub and Boy Scout camping trips, a Tool CD would always be playing on the car stereo. It obviously rubbed off on him since he has turned into a loyal Tool fan as well. I wanted to make Tool his first concert, but there was one problem. Tool only releases new albums once every five years or so. This has led to speculation that there won’t be a new Tool album. Another issue is, since the last Tool album came out in 2006, Maynard James Keenan, their singer and frontman has become involved in several other projects, including two bands and, more recently, starting his own vineyard. Arguably, he probably doesn’t even need Tool anymore, although I am sure that is where his greatest success lies.

Last year, one of Maynard’s other projects, A Perfect Circle, came to the Boston area. Not knowing if my son would get the chance to ever see Tool, I purchased tickets and took Devon to his first concert at  The Bank of America Pavilion, a great place to see a show. I never hesitate to get tickets for someone I wish to see if they are playing there.

We had a great time that night. We sat at “reserved” small tables that seat four. A married couple sat with us, and they were very nice to Devon and excited he was getting a chance to see his first concert. The husband even tried to convince my son that he was going to be a bigger fan of A Perfect Circle than of Tool by the time the show was over.

Devon knew nothing about A Perfect Circle before we went to the show, other than Maynard sang for them. He had never heard any of their music. By the time the show was over, though, he was a big fan, although the guy we sat with was reaching a little. He still loves Tool the most.

Along came December and I received an email alert from Live Nation that Tool tickets were going on sale that Saturday. This was a huge surprise to me. I had heard nothing about an upcoming tour, so I had to read the email several times then had to go to the Tool website before I believed it. I had thought maybe it was just a Tool cover band. It turned out that it was true, so I sat by the computer when tickets went on sale. This is a maddening experience. You search for tickets at the moment they go on sale. You get to choose how many and at what price range, then you have to type out some nonsense words to prove that you are a real person. Usually you are told there are no tickets available and have to refresh your web page several times before you finally get some. I was lucky enough to not have to suffer very long, and after just a couple refreshes, I nabbed three tickets for myself, my brother, and my son.

Having seen Tool a half a dozen times myself already, I knew this was going to be a completely different experience than A Perfect Circle. I had to prepare Devon for a Tool concert. I told him that, if it was anything like the previous ones I had attended; it would be very different from his first concert experience. Now, A Perfect Circle sounded great live, but there was no real stage show to speak of. They just stood up there and played. At the other Tool shows I have seen, they had a lot going on. There have always been intense light shows, and weird videos playing along with their songs. One year they even had two people in skintight body suits hanging suspended over the stage and doing some kind of bizarre air ballet. Devon needed to be ready for the strange and unusual at Tool’s show.

Maynard and his pals did not disappoint me. We had a straight on view of the stage where we were seated. It was perfect for viewing one of the most elaborate laser and light shows I have seen in a long time. There were large video screens behind the stage that showed images of angels, giant eyes, swirling spirals, grasping hands and many other religious, magical and profane symbols. At times, it was just like looking into a giant kaleidoscope. The dazzling lights, brilliant lasers and disturbing images induced a kind of hypnotic feeling.  The only other band I can think of that achieves a similar live effect is Pink Floyd, the most psychedelic act I have ever seen.

The problem with seeing Tool is that you are never going to see them play all of your favorites on any given night. The average length of one of their songs is probably seven minutes, with several pushing ten or eleven minutes. That being said, they still did a great job of playing many of their favorites like “Stinkfist,” “Aenema,” “Schism,” and “Lateralus,” as well as mixing in a couple deeper tracks, like “Pushit.” In a weird way, I find Tool’s music meditative. It’s easy to get lost in it, and I am sure many Tool fans would agree.

You can’t please all of the people all of the time, though. My son would have liked to have heard one of his favorite songs, “Right in Two.” I missed “Rosetta Stoned” and I know my brother wanted to hear “Eulogy.”  That’s the beauty of Tool, though. The last album, I saw them on three different legs of the tour. Each time they had a different setlist, so if you wanted to hear everything, you just had to go a few times. As far as I’m concerned, it was well worth it. I have never left a Tool show disappointed, except for the fact that it was over too soon. There is supposedly going to be a new album. If that is true, then I believe this was sort of a getting to know each other again sort of mini tour for the band members. Gloriously, a new album will follow and I assume a much larger supporting tour. Wonder how many more times we will see Tool in the near future? As many as possible.

Apr 19 2012

Stoker Award-Winning Compilation Now an E-Book

Author Stanley Wiater’s Bram Stoker Award-winning compilation, Dark Dreamers: On Writing, has been republished as an e-book by Necon E-Books. It is subtitled, “Advice and Commentary from Fifty Masters of Fear and Suspense.”

It is a collection of how-I-did-it quotes from such talents as Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Anne Rice, Clive Barker, Ray Bradbury, Jack Ketchum and many more. Wiater has “culled well-selected quotations from his interviews with horror’s creators. These include major influences; the day-to-day work of writing; choosing a form; fame and fortune; the game of making movies; sex and death; censorship; personal fears; surprising advice; and the function of horror.”

Check out the e-book here.

Apr 18 2012

Author’s Take on Jack the Ripper

Stefan Petrucha’s new book, Ripper, was released in March.

The author is currently running a contest on Goodreads, where he will give away six copies of Ripper. Click here to enter the contest, which ends April 28.

Here is the book’s description from Amazon, “Carver Young dreams of becoming a detective, despite growing up in an orphanage with only crime novels to encourage him. But when he is adopted by Detective Hawking of the world famous Pinkerton Agency, Carver is given not only the chance to find his biological father, he finds himself smack in the middle of a real life investigation: tracking down a vicious serial killer who has thrown New York City into utter panic. When the case begins to unfold, however, it’s worse than he could have ever imagined, and his loyalty to Mr. Hawking and the Pinkertons come into question. As the body count rises and the investigation becomes dire, Carver must decide where his true loyalty lies. Full of whip-smart dialogue, kid-friendly gadgets, and featuring a then New York City Police Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt, Ripper challenges everything you thought you knew about the world’s most famous serial killer.”

Check out the trailer for Ripper here.

Check out the author’s Amazon page here or order Ripper here.
Apr 17 2012

Practical PR in Five Steps or Fewer

Practical PR in Five Steps or Fewer Or, I just joined the NEHW … now what?

by Kristi Petersen Schoonover

There’s strength in numbers, and that’s what the New England Horror Writers Association is all about. Through membership, you’ll have access to promotional opportunities—such as selling your books at conference tables and getting yourself out there on the web through the NEHW website—that you wouldn’t otherwise.

That said, we’re all busy people: today’s writers and artists are expected to blog, social network, teach, lecture, promote, critique—never mind create, and that’s on top of our “normal” lives. If you’re in a time crunch, how do you take advantage of yet another opportunity?

You can. In not even five minutes a day. Here’s how!

1. FOLLOW THE NEHW ON TWITTER AND RE-TWEET.

Follow the NEHW at @NEhorrorwriters. We’ll follow you back. We often re-tweet your tweets—and you can re-tweet ours. It’s especially helpful when you’ve got nothing to put out on your feed—and a heck of a lot of news goes everywhere and all it cost you was one second.

2. JOIN THE NEHW FACEBOOK GROUP AND PARTICIPATE.

The NEHW Facebook Group is an easy way to stay informed of upcoming opportunities— and is another place to post your own news and gain exposure. In addition, some pretty interesting posts pop up over there. It’s a cinch to click “Share” or “Comment.”

3. FRIEND OTHER MEMBERS ON FACEBOOK AND HIT THE SHARE BUTTON.

Friend other NEHW members on Facebook—plenty of our members are active and have lots to share. If they post something interesting, that’s your cue to click “Share” and/or “Comment.”

4. IN A BLOG JAM? DIRECT FOLLOWERS TO NEWS ON THE NEHW WEBSITE OR TO OTHER MEMBERS’ WEBSITES.

There’s a near-constant newsfeed—and even older helpful articles—on the NEHW website; in addition, other members’ blogs are pretty active. If I’ve got nothing to post on my blog, I head over, grab a link to something interesting, write a two-line introduction— and voila! Instant post. Just be sure you’re not copying anything verbatim from anyone’s website without their permission; if you’ve got WordPress and so does the poster, you can hit “Reblog” and add a comment, and WordPress will merely show a truncated version and provide the link.

5. ADD US TO YOUR E-MAIL SIGNATURE.

You can add “Member New England Horror Writers Association~www.newenglandhorror.org” to your permanent e-mail signature. You only have to do it once and it’s there until you take it off. How does that benefit you? Clout, of course. It shows you’re a member of a writing organization and that you’ve got a passion for what you do— especially great for when you’re submitting to editors.

If every member of our group did this, think of how much coverage we’d have…and that’s just the beginning. By participating in these five activities when you can, you’ll help yourself—and our organization—gain the exposure we all deserve.

Apr 16 2012

A Frog-Lover’s Dream

A Frog-Lover’s Dream

by Stacey Longo

Why do I love the B-movie Frogs (1972) so much? Is it because it makes me nostalgic for my years on the farm, catching toads and lizards, only to release them in my sister’s bed? Or is it because a young Sam Elliot spends part of this movie shirtless in wet jeans, making insightful comments in his sexy voice that percolates like fresh-ground coffee in the morning? The truth is I never was very nostalgic about the farm. Hello, half-naked young Sam Elliott!

"Half-naked young Sam Elliott" in Frogs.

This fabulous film opens with Pickett Smith (Sam) canoeing on the lake, only to be swamped by a powerboat owned by the Crockett family. Clint and Karen Crockett (Adam Roarke and Joan Van Ark) fish Pickett out of the lake and tow his canoe back to their family’s island. Karen Crockett takes one look at Pickett and starts throwing herself at him like a cheap tart, proving that Joan Van Ark is a slut.

On the island, we’re introduced to Jason Crockett, portrayed by a cranky Ray Milland, who is probably wondering how he wound up in this movie. My guess is since he was wheelchair-bound, his agent just rolled him on to the set and ran like hell. Nevertheless, Milland portrays the monstrous patriarchal grandfather perfectly. His anger at the relentless noise of the bullfrogs without so much as a wink of irony at the fact that the family made their fortune on toxic pesticides had me so moved that I began to root for the frogs. That’s fine acting, folks.

The members of the family begin to disappear one by one, leaving Jason, Karen, and the rest of the Crocketts stumped. The only one who has an inkling of what might be going on is Pickett, because besides being sexy as hell, he’s a brilliant ecologist, too. He quickly deduces that the frogs are psychically controlling all of the reptiles and amphibians on the island and ordering them to kill everyone.

Reptile and amphibian (and even tarantula) fans will not be disappointed. Bad luck for the Crocketts, who found the only island in the world on which ball pythons, Burmese pythons, alligators, bearded lizards, monitor lizards, American snapping turtles, caimans, and what I presume to be cottonmouths but what suspiciously resembled Northern water snakes all live together in harmony. Crockett cousins, in-laws, and caretakers all die horrible deaths due to these vicious creatures (I never knew the chameleon had it in him) and to the amusement of the viewer.

Ironically, all of the black characters (the maid, the butler, and a model) make it safely back to the mainland, which is practically unheard of in a horror movie. There’s a possibility that they were attacked by seagulls as they ran to their car, but since I saw no eyeballs being swallowed nor any brain matter leakage, I like to think they made it. Eventually, the only characters left are Jason, Karen, Pickett, and two whiny Crockett kids. Jason demands that everyone stay because he wants to celebrate his birthday, frogs be damned. But Pickett and Karen take one look at the bullfrogs licking their slimy little lips as they press their beady eyes against the window and decide to make a run for it. They hop in the canoe, paddle to shore, and hooray! Sam Elliott takes his shirt off again! Miserly, miserable Ray Milland is left, wheelchair-bound and surrounded by frogs. He promptly falls face-first in to a pile of murderous amphibians. But he was such a wretched old coot, who cares, really?

This movie is fun, slightly ridiculous, and one of my all-time favorites. Why? Not because I’m a sucker for bearded lizards, though they are awfully cute. It’s because Sam Elliott is a bona-fide slab of hunky ecologist meat in this fine, fine production. Did I mention he goes shirtless?