• @rhodeislander Hilarious! Yeah, but when a thespian like William Marshall promises he won't hit me again, I REALLY want to believe him. in reply to rhodeislander #
• @JohnRoycomic You're too kind, sir. With all the cool sh*t that goes down on Halloween, that's a TALL order! in reply to JohnRoycomic #
• The webcomic "The Frightful Fetus" makes for perfect Halloween reading. #webcomic http://www.captionsandballoons.com/fetus/index.html #
• Right now, I'm very proud that I could spell "Thalmus Rasulala" without looking it up. #
• Is it just me, or does Thalmus Rasulala look like he could be Black Dynamite's daddy? Maybe it's just the mustache. #blaxploitation#webcomic #
• "Blacula" is on TVOne right now. "Scream, Blacula, Scream" starts at 6 pm. #blaxploitation #webcomic #
• @shawtyslim "Shout to all my folks in columbia, sc" Much appreciated! in reply to shawtyslim #
• Saw Primo and Seamus at the Buffalo airport this week. Seamus was pretty cool, but Primo was wary. Must've thought I was from WWE Creative. #
• @ElSanto45 Dammit, Mankind…I mean, Abyss! in reply to ElSanto45 #
• Does anyone else think they had extra security at the World Series to keep Lil' Mama off the field during Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind?" #
• @ElSanto45 I'll have to catch the TNA replay, then. It's good to see Daffney back. She's the only thing that made David Flair bearable. in reply to ElSanto45 #
• @theisb "Patrick Bateman is who Bruce Wayne would have grown up to be if his parents had lived." What say you? http://tinyurl.com/ydoxmfp #
• Earlier this month, Complex.com ranked the Sexiest Women of Blaxploitation. http://bit.ly/29xobV #
• RT @ohsuperheroine: Happy birthday, @zudacomics, HIGH MOON, & BAYOU! Making award-winning, quality webcomics for two years. #zuda #webcomics #
• Just when I thought I had Twitter figured out, they added the "Listed" feature. #
• From the Annals Of Awesome Pull Quotes, I present Digital Femme… http://bit.ly/33kPxs #
• MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT: WORLD OF HURT Joins Blog@Newsarama! #blaxploitation #webcomics http://bit.ly/3DTEyf #
• @BamnCan What makes a good bad guy? He has to believe in his cause, and rightness, as much, or more, than the hero believes in his. in reply to BamnCan #
• Check out The Joe & Seth Show at http://www.thestate.com/gogamecocks/. @reachphillips give her prediction for the UT vs. USC game. So cute! #
• I must be slipping. I missed THIS Newsarama.com interview with Jim Rugg, too. http://bit.ly/43bFU8 #
• Comic Book Resources interviews WORLD OF HURT favorite, Jim Rugg, about his Blaxploitation-influenced character,… http://bit.ly/3YwFJS #
• Shout out to @russbynum for locating a cheap copy of "Goodbye, Mr. Shaft." Consider it bought. #
• @dirtyjobcomics Thanks for the RT! in reply to dirtyjobcomics #
• RT @bleedingcool New blog post: ArtPorn: Alex Ross Unused Shazam Pages http://bit.ly/BmSLj Man, Alex Ross' sketches can do no wrong. #
• @russbynum OK, if YOU didn't know about it, then I really have to get the word out! I'll start on a post for next week. in reply to russbynum #
• @ReachPhillips ".45-caliber pizza?" That must be some strong garlic! #
• I'm only missing two "Shaft" books from my collection, but I've given up hopes of finding a copy of "Goodbye, Mr. Shaft." #blaxploitation #
• Finally back from Buffalo, and back to blessed regular Internet access. However, at least I read "Shaft's Carnival of Killers" on the trip. #
• What do you think of the jumpsuit? Visit worldofhurtonline.com and let us know. #blaxploitation #webcomic http://bit.ly/hVimE #
• Did you know World of Hurt #webcomic is included in Wikipedia's #blaxploitation listing? http://bit.ly/3VP2bS #
• A very nice review of World of Hurt. Read it here:

  http://tinyurl.com/ykzabhn http://bit.ly/xwIHK #

• A very nice review of our favorite Web comic. See it here: as a length of 79 characters and resulted in the… http://bit.ly/7HQ8U #
• New strip is posted!
  http://tinyurl.com/m2zp9y http://bit.ly/11Nt7l #
• @rkbrasse Thanks for the shout out! in reply to rkbrasse #
• @chadbowers You've returned to Twitter! Sweet! in reply to chadbowers #
• @Tigernado Thank you, sir. I'm glad you found the strip. It's a real labor of love for me, so I appreciate hearing from new readers. in reply to Tigernado #
• @BamnCan Thanks, BamnCan! I've got a sweet update coming this Wednesday, so stay tuned! in reply to BamnCan #

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Welcome to the latest installment of a semi-recurring feature on WORLDOFHURTONLINE:  Off-Topic Mondays.  Occasionally,  I have ideas, questions, or notions that I can’t even tangentially relate to Blaxploitation, and since it would be irresponsible to litter the Internet landscape with another blog, and with all apologies to Gangstarr Girl’s Blaxploitation Fridays, I present to you Off-Topic Monday.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of seeing the band, Cage The Elephant, at Headliners here in Columbia, South Carolina.  The Bowling Green, KY-based rock/punk quintet was on the bill between the duo …And Horse and Silversun Pickup.  Although Silversun Pickup had nominal top billing, in my mind, Cage The Elephant absolutely blew them out of the water.  Silversun Pickup is a very solid alternative rock trio that, to me, sounded like Smashing Pumpkins fronted by John Mayer, or “smooth jazz” singer Michael Franks.  However, after the incredible set by Cage The Elephant, the very fact that Silversun Pickup was NOT Cage The Elephant kept me from enjoying their set more, and came damn close to making me angry.  One of my favorite pieces of music writing was a review of a Rolling Stones concert in which The Black Crowes were the opening act.  The reviewer spent the entire article praising the Crowes, then ended with the sentence, “The Rolling Stones closed for The Black Crowes.”  This is that kind of review.

Matt Schultz, the lead singer for Cage The Elephant, has the lean, wiry frame and soul of a punk rocker, but the thick neck and blunt, broken features of a boxer who’s fought one round too many.  He also has the most magnetic stage persona I have ever seen.  Ever.  It is a coy, mercurial stage presence that is alternately playful, menacing, pouting, but always compelling.  I dare anyone to take their eyes off him.  You have to remind yourself that there are four other guys out there with him.  As they took the stage, one fan in the front stretched his hand out to solicit a high-five from Schultz.  Just inches from the fan, Schultz glared at him for what felt like an eternity,  before his face exploded into a genuine, “I’m-just-fuckin’-with-ya” grin, and slapped him some skin.  As they performed, Schultz mugged, careened and lurched around the stage like an alcoholic spoiling for a fight.  At one point, he leapt down into the audience to form an impromptu one-man mosh pit, and I remember thinking, ”This guy is like Heath Ledger’s Joker, without the make-up.”  Schultz invites the audience in, and then challenges them.  You just don’t know what to expect from him next, but the fun is watching and listening where Schultz and Cage The Elephant  go next.

Cage thundered through a brisk, powerful set comprised of the songs from their self-titled debut album.  Incidentally, front-to-back, the album “Cage The Elephant” is one of the most solid albums I’ve heard in a long, long time.  It defines the term “all killer, no filler.”  There’s not one track on it that you want to fast-forward through.  Overall, it’s Southern flavored rock with a punk edge, but  Cage The Elephant’s most famous song is “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked,” a bluesy, hip-hop tinged number that can be heard on the commercial for the new videogame, Borderlands.

If Cage The Elephant comes to your town, they are a must-see act.  I know it sounds like hyperbole, but watching them in concert felt like I was watching the Rolling Stones sweating it out in an early club gig…before they could get upstaged by The Black Crowes.

- JEP

LINKS:

• Cage The Elephant official website
• Official Cage The Elephant YouTube Channel
  

Show of hands:  How many of you knew that “Shaft” started as a literary character before he moved to the silver screen?  In response to one of my tweets, a supremely literate and knowledgeable friend of mine recently told me he had no idea and suggested that it would be a good topic for a blog post.  I completely agreed.  With this post, I just wanted to give an overview of the literary version of the character, but in subsequent posts, I will review the novels themselves.

Shaft was the literary creation of Ernest Tidyman, who also co-wrote the screenplay for original film and among other works, he also co-wrote the screenplay for another iconic 1970s film, The French Connection.  Ernest Tidyman was one of the few White individuals to ever receive an NAACP Image Award, due to his iconic character.  The literary version of Shaft, hereafter referred to as “Literary Shaft,” is a lot like the character Richard Roundtree portrayed in the films (”Movie Shaft”).  Both are cool, confident, tough brothers from the streets of New York, with a taste for the finer things in life.  In all, there were six Shaft novels: Shaft (1971), Shaft’s Big Score (1972), Shaft Among The Jews (1973), Shaft Has A Ball(1973) , Goodbye, Mr. Shaft (1974), and Shaft’s Carnival Of Killers (1975). (There was a seventh novel, entitled The Last Shaft (1975), that allegedly ended with Shaft’s death, but I believe it only had limited distribution in the United Kingdom.)

The novels use an omnicient narrator, and due to the inherent nature of prose, we get into Shaft’s head a lot more than in the movies.  For instance, in the novel Shaft, published in 1971, we learn exactly where Shaft was coming from before the film’s iconic opening shot of him emerging from the subway station.  He wasn’t just heading to work, he was replaying his wonderful, romantic escapades of the previous evening, which only ended shortly before we catch up with him on the street.  Also, in the course of his investigations, Shaft freely riffs on everything from hot dogs, to the weather, to his insecurities about getting older.  When the reader is first introduced to John Shaft in the first book of the series, he is 28 years old, but by the sixth novel, Shaft’s Carnival Of Killers (1975), despite although only five years have passed since the first novel, Shaft’s Afro is now peppered with grey hair.  The reader also learns about Shaft’s nearly fatal tour in the US Marine Corps and the mental and physical scars he still bears from his time as a common street hood.

Undoubtedly because of his past, Literary Shaft has a mean streak a mile wide.  The movie downplayed this aspect, most notably in the first action scene in Shaft’s office.  In the film, a scuffle between Shaft and two of Bumpy Johnson’s henchman results in one of them hurtling through the office window to his death after a mis-timed leap.  In the novel, after calmly making mental notes about his office mail, Shaft dispassionately grabs the skinniest hood by the lapels and tosses him through the window, merely to serve as an object lesson to the surviving crook.

One of the regrettable, features of Literary Shaft is his homophobia.  Movie Shaft enjoys a genial, familiar relationship with  Rollie The Bartender (played by Rex Robbins) from The Bar With No Name, which is located across the street from Shaft’s Greenwich Village apartment.  Whether it was through Gordon Parks’ direction or Robbins’ interpretation, in the film, it is strongly implied that Rollie is gay.  For example, in one blink-and-you-miss-it moment, Rollie gooses Shaft in the ass as he steps behind the bar.  Movie Shaft barely acknowledges the gesture, however Literary Shaft probably would have broken the guys fingers.  Literary Shaft drips disdain for gays, and it’s an ugly attitude that recurs with irksome regularity throughout the series, particularly in Shaft Has A Ball, in which Shaft investigates a scheme to pull off a heist during a drag queen ball.  At one point, Shaft feigns a come-on to a gay waiter to gain information, then encourages the man to meet him in a particularly sketchy area of Central Park later that evening.  Shaft does so with the explicit hope that the man will get beaten up when he arrives.

Tidyman also demonstrates a strange fixation on the idea of a Black revolution, and this fixation manifested itself in the character of Ben Buford.  In the first Shaft novel, and in the movie, Shaft needs an army to fight the Italian mob and recover the missing daughter of the Harlem gangster, Knocks Persons (known as “Bumpy Johnson” in the film).  Persons manipulates Shaft into recruiting Ben Buford and his group of Black nationalists to be that army.  Although the Buford/Persons interplay makes for interesting commentary on the state, and aspirations, of Black America at the time, Ben Buford somehow becomes a recurring bogeyman as the series progresses.  Whether it’s a gang disguised as drag queens or Shaft getting dragged into political intrigue on the island of Jamaica, Buford’s name, and the specter of revolution, always lurks in the background.

Despite some of the drawbacks above, which could be dismissed as products of their time, all the Shaft novels are remarkable examples of taut, hardboiled crime novels.  There’s nothing campy or satirical about them.  Tidyman’s Shaft admirably captured the attitude and mindset of a Black man carving out his own niche in a very violent world, and in that regard it remains a unique and welcome addition to the ranks of detective fiction, but in actuality, there’s very little space between a classic fictional detective like Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer and Ernest Tidyman’s John Shaft.  The differences are only skin deep.

- JEP

• RT: @RepKucinich: Why is it we have Finite Resources for Health Care but Unlimited Money for War? http://tinyurl.com/yfr6xle #
• @DavidGallaher Thanks for the add. You've set a new bar for webcomics with w/ "High Moon" that'll be tough for the rest of us to clear. #
• RT: @WWIIToday: Honoring the 350 WWII vets opening the Nat. WWII Museum expansion today. Please RT anytime you see #WWIImuseum #
• @gdwessel That transient global amnesia story was fascinating! #
• @BrianDenham Yeah, and those asshat "Michael Steeles" grinning in the photos next to her need to slap themselves. Have some pride, people! in reply to BrianDenham #
• These days, people have a world of information, literally at their fingertips. There's no excuse for ignorance. #
• Every year some jackasses dress in blackface for Halloween, thinking it's cute. EVERY. FUCKIN'. YEAR! http://tinyurl.com/ycgdvya #
• That's the big question. I teach illustration classes occasionally. Paper and pencils are cheap, but computers aren't. #
• "Black-Made Webcomics" article by @dirtyjobcomics http://bit.ly/BcO3T #
• @dirtyjobcomics The act of creating a comic can be very empowering, and webcomics liberate you from the traditional distribution structure. in reply to dirtyjobcomics #
• @dirtyjobcomics Ah, went back and found it. "Black-Made Webcomics," right? It has me thinking about more outreach to young local artists… in reply to dirtyjobcomics #
• @dirtyjobcomics Agreed! in reply to dirtyjobcomics #
• Interesting article on the marketing of the dead tree version of "XKCD" http://bit.ly/3t9SfU #
• @StephenRL I'm jealous of this. So awesome! http://bit.ly/2ku4Jq #
• Added a great quote from Digital Femme to the WORD ON THE STREETS section: http://bit.ly/ZQHw1 #
• @gdwessel The saddest part for me is that Wilson represents my district. Insult to injury: His HQ is across the street from my comic shop. in reply to gdwessel #
• @IDWPublishing Is there any update on the release of the "Rip Kirby" compilation? Thanks! #
• @TheCarlWeathers I'd like to invite you to pick up your Unsung Bad Mother****** Award. http://tinyurl.com/ydjb8ez #
• @JessiaSott "I don't want to board a mothership unless Parliament Funkadelic is involved. #v" – You said it, sister! in reply to JessiaSott #
• Pastor pays a visit to stately Belmont manor in this week's episode, which was lettered by the hardest working man… http://bit.ly/nOkoA #
• @dave_flora However, how I would compile it is something I did NOT properly consider before I started doing it. Good point. #
• @pvponline DAAAAAAAMMMNNNN! When you go, you go HARD! #
• @dave_flora I don't think so. Williamson used a similar approach late in his "Secret Agent Corrigan" run. Also spacing between strips helps. #
• @dave_flora I've never liked panel borders. I experimented with it before, but it works better on a 1-tier comic strip than a comic page. in reply to dave_flora #
• @gdwessel Sad to hear that about "V." The "batshittery" comment was darn funny. #
• @dave_flora Alex Raymond worked on boards between 5.5” X 19” 3/4 to 16.75 X 21” 3/4). I'd like to, but I'd need bigger Vellum to ink on. #
• @dave_flora The bigger page format is quite freeing. With today's digital tools, as long as the ratios are the same, you can resize later. in reply to dave_flora #
• @cophotog Thanks for helping out last night. I appeciate you taking the time from your break to call. in reply to cophotog #
• The mention occurs early in the show, and was overall positive, just some skepticism of the self-appointed title. http://tinyurl.com/ykfwnjm #
• WORLD OF HURT rec'd quick mention on Digital Strips podcast. They seemed incredulous that there could be a #1 Blaxploitation webcomic… #
• See it again for the first time! Newsarama.com is rerunning World of Hurt every Tuesday and Thursday…. http://bit.ly/4bKcXH #
• @TroyBrownfield Many, many thanks for resizing that strip for me. in reply to TroyBrownfield #
• owes a big debt of gratitude to Stephen ("Jesus Hates Zombies") Lindsay for stepping in on short notice to letter… http://bit.ly/f5FIj #
• Big shout out to @StephenRL for sweeping in like Mighty Mouse to save the day!! http://www.captionsandballoons.com #webcomics #
• @StephenRL Hey Stephen, you out there? I've got a question (and possible HUGE favor) for you. in reply to StephenRL #
• The following is a real name: "Summer A. Slaughter." Question time: Is that the coolest name ever or is that the coolest name EVER? #
• OK, I'm officially tired of Drake. If it was your goal to become hip-hop's #1 earworm, then congratulations, Drake. You were "Successful." #
• @gdwessel Yeah, same guy. Completely random couple. #
• @dave_flora Testify! in reply to dave_flora #
• @GangStarrGirl If you play "Empire State Of Mind" Lil' Mama'll bust thru the wall like the Kool-Aid Man and hook you up with some lip gloss. in reply to GangStarrGirl #
• RT @evandorkin: Way Cool: Charles Schulz "blames" impending death of failed Peanuts character on reader:The Ax http://tinyurl.com/yb95jf8 #
• After Mariah and Nick Cannon, ex-Laker Rick Fox and Eliza Dushku have to be Hollywood's #1 WTF couple. Still dig 'em, just…unexpected. #
• @VeeIsAnimated But they're effective fearmongers. How about GOP=Old Man Pretending To Be A Ghost on 'Scooby Doo?' Dems=Scooby and Shaggy? #
• Karl Kerschl interview http://bit.ly/39sPqs #
• @dave_flora That Kerschl interview was the metaphorical foot on the accelerator for me. It gave me permission to mess up in public. #
• GOP=Sith #
• A GOP civil war resulting in fewer, but more extreme, Repubs in office is still bad news, since it just takes one to steamroll the Dems. #
• @dave_flora "Ghost Zero" is absolutely beautiful, from the acting to how you frame scenes. I'm jealous of what you do with gray tones. #
• I know the ads for the movie "2012" are supposed to make me go "Wow!," but this exercise in disaster porn just pisses me off. #
• Just added "The Frightful Fetus" to my "Webcomics I Dig…" blogroll. Check it out! http://www.captionsandballoons.com/fetus/ #webcomics #
• @chadbowers Is Rusty Shackles from the Dayton/Fairborn area? That used to be my old stomping grounds, esp. The Bookery. #
• RT StephenRL Where does an evil genius fetus live? Find out here, on pg. 10 of "The Frightful Fetus" – http://tinyurl.com/o94zvy #webcomics #
• @Digital_Femme Thanks for the shout-out. I think I have a new pull quote for my header. #
• I read where someone recommended my strip, but said I had an "irregular schedule as of late." You miss ONE time in 6 months… *Sigh* #
• @vinyl4giants Great! Now I've got ONE sold But we've got to get my man Black Dynamite in wide distribution, first! in reply to vinyl4giants #
• @vinyl4giants Chillin'! Trying to actually have a strip buffer for the first time. in reply to vinyl4giants #
• If someone ever does an Isaac Hayes biopic, the rapper, Common, would make a perfect 'Black Moses.' #

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Several years ago, I was leading an art critique.  As the students placed their work on the board, we went through each one, and I invited the other students to weigh in with their opinions.  One student’s statement immediately struck me for its simplicity, clarity, and truth.  In appraising another’s work, he said: “It makes me want to draw.”   When I really enjoy someone’s art, it inspires me to pick up a pencil and create.  It’s like someone captured your muse on a page.  Until this week, I carried that statement with me as the highest praise an artist can make about another artist’s work.  Then I saw this image by cartoonist, Evan “Doc” Shaner, on his blog:

Whatever Evan Shaner saw in my strip, it moved him enough to not only draw, but he drew one of my characters!   No one’s ever done that for me before, mostly because I never really created anything for the public before.  It just absolutely floored me, because Shaner not only drew it, but he drew the HELL out of it.  I love Pastor’s expression, the brilliant composition, the use of the single, flat yellow that is synonymous with the site, and the small, white accents to pop the objects that had a shine to them.  As is evident in the image above, Shaner is an avid student of classic illustrators like Alex Toth, Jack Cole, and their spiritual descendants like Darwyn Cooke and Jeff Parker**, so for him to find merit in my work really meant a lot.

- JEP

**Jeff Parker’s not just a great writer.  Parker illustrated his self-published graphic novel, Interman, which had one of the best surprise endings I’ve read in years.

• @neilalien Thanks for putting me on your recommended webcomics list. Much appreciated, sir! #
• I enjoyed a marathon viewing of the box set of "The Equalizer: Season 1" this weekend. That was a quality show, that still holds up today. #
• Neilalien, one of the OG comics bloggers, has WORLD OF HURT as one of his recommended webcomics! Cool! http://www.neilalien.com/ #webcomics #
• After a week of meetings, I realized I'm not that fluent in corporate-ese. If anything, I speak pidgin corporate-ese. #
• @dave_flora and @DocShaner You two are in a class all your own, and my hat's off to you both! #
• Parlez-vous français ? Pastor does. Find out what he's got to say in the latest episode of The Internet's #1… http://bit.ly/2KrGAa #
• Parlez-vous français? Pastor does. Find out what he has to say tomorrow at http://www.WorldOfHurtOnline.com #blaxploitation #webcomic #
• @russbynum Also, I swear they killed an actual dog in "Shaft In Africa." The scene where Shaft loses it and starts whuppin' everybody. in reply to russbynum #
• SHAFT fact: …but Drew Bundini Brown, who played Willy in "Shaft" and "Shaft's Big Score," was Muhammad Ali's real-life corner man. #
• SHAFT fact: The actor who played the villain in "Shaft's Big Score," Wally Taylor, also played Clubber Lang's corner man in "Rocky III"… #
• Inking and watching/listening to "Shaft's Big Score." #

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Beyond the realm of Blaxploitation, one of the primary influences for WORLD OF HURT was the television program, The Equalizer, which was broadcast on CBS from 1985-1989.  The very first sentence I wrote to promote and explain my webcomic was the high concept, elevator pitch, “WORLD OF HURT is Super Fly meets The Equalizer.”  Honestly, I wasn’t sure how many people would get either, or both, of those references, but they meant everything to me, and I couldn’t think of a better way to sum up my intentions.

“The Equalizer” was the nome de guerre of ex-secret agent, Robert McCall, who left the world of espionage to find some peace of mind after his lifetime of violence by using his unique skills to help ordinary people in trouble.  He advertised his services free of charge via an ad in the newspaper, which read: “Got a problem? Odds against you? Call the Equalizer.”  Man, I loved that show. 

It has been reported that Edward Woodward, the actor who portrayed Robert McCall, died today at the age of 78.  I won’t pretend to know the full breadth of Mr. Woodward’s career, although I know he was a noted stage actor who transitioned into film work and television work with a numberof celebrated roles, such as his portrayal of the title character in Breaker Morant (1980) and The-Ghost-Of-Christmas-Present in A Christmas Carol (1984), opposite George C. Scott.  What I do know is that watching Edward Woodward’s Robert McCall stand up for the little guy and face down assassins, corporate thugs, mobsters, and stalkers with his icy glare; terse, clipped British accent; dry wit; clever, strategic mind; and a precise, tactical application of violence made an incredible impression on me that continues to this day.

In Edward Woodward’s honor, this Friday’s blog will be dedicated to a retrospective of the first season of the groundbreaking series, The Equalizer.

- JEP