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arg-machine · 6 years ago

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Comics: recent favourites

…and BANG! Yes, arg is back – and for the fourth time, too! – with another installment of Comics: recent favourites, the post that lists the comics and graphic novels he’s read and enjoyed over the last year or so. In this installment, however, arg has decided to include titles that he’s read [and enjoyed] not just in the last year, but over the last few years.

As a result, this post includes books that were published several years ago, and not just in the 2017-2018 period. Even then, he has probably missed many titles that are otherwise regarded as indispensable or must-reads. So, keep in mind that these posts are not exhaustive lists, and are limited by the various constraints placed on arg and machine HQ. Also keep in mind that many of these titles – though not all – tackle mature themes and issues, and are not suitable for younger readers.

The Books Here they are – some more of arg’s favourite graphic novels and comics, listed below in alphabetical order, with thematically-similar titles included in the also recommended sections.

For over 40 years, British comics magazine 2000 AD has not only delighted its readers with freaky futuristic fiction, but has also contributed – albeit indirectly – to the growth of the comics medium by producing writers and artists, many of whom have gone on to become some of the finest in the business today. All these acclaimed creators – Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Garth Ennis, Dave Gibbons, John Wagner, Brian Bolland, Alan Grant, Steve Dillon, Peter Milligan, Mike McMahon and more! – were writing and/or drawing for 2000 AD in the early stages of their careers.

So when this magazine puts out its “greatest” tales, you better be paying attention. Included in this volume are well-loved and classic tales featuring some of the publication’s most iconic characters – Judge Dredd [pictured above], Strontium Dog, Nemesis the Warlock, Doctor Sin… and it also collects the short tale that went on to inspire the cult sci-fi film Hardware. How cool is that!

Also recommended: Other 2000 AD anthologies, William Gibson’s Archangel, The Sandman: Overture, Last Days of an Immortal, The Best of Milligan & McCarthy and The EC Archives: Incredible Science Fiction.

Mike Mignola, the well-known creative force behind the popular Hellboy franchise, is also responsible – along with author Christopher Golden – for this moody and bleak title. Set in the early years of the 20th Century, it follows Lord Baltimore [see him in action above] as he travels far and wide, hunting for the ancient vampire Haigus. He [Baltimore] is assisted in his dark and perilous mission by allies he finds along the way, and together they battle the many manifestations of supernatural – and not-so-supernatural – evil that stand in their path.

Also recommended: Batman: Gothic, Laid Waste, Whispers, The Sleep of Reason horror anthology, My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Graveyard Shift and the Lobster Johnson titles.

Jack Cole is best remembered today by comics fans as the creator of the super zany 1940s superhero Plastic Man, one of the first titles to blend humour and mainstream action narratives together. He was, however, also a popular cartoonist for Playboy magazine, and went on to create Betsy and Me, a humorous comic strip about a dysfunctional, post-war American middle-class family. The strip, created in May 1958, had immediate success and was soon picked up by more than 50 newspapers…

…but three months later, in August 1958, Jack Cole killed himself, and his suicide has remained one of the most baffling events in the history of cartooning. This volume brings together all the original Jack Cole Betsy and Me strips in a single book, and is a fitting tribute to the talented, short-lived creator.

Also recommended: Popeye – The Great Comic Book Tales by Bud Sagendorf, Henry Speaks for Himself, Mr. Twee Deedle – Raggedy Ann's Sprightly Cousin – The Forgotten Fantasy Masterpieces of Johnny Gruelle, The Cross-eyed Mutt, Beef with Tomato and the Billy Hazelnuts books.

“This story is structured like a traditional twelve bar blues song, with three sections each made of four chapters. It follows blues musician Lem Taylor's harrowing journey across Arkansas of the late twenties, hunted for a crime he didn't commit. He and his blues companion find a gig in a 'juke' outside a small town. Their music takes it by storm leading even to a well-connected man offering a recording session.

That night, however, they accept the invitation of two ladies to go home with them, a fatal mistake, as one of the ladies' lover is a white man who happens to belong to a powerful bootlegging family. The result is a triple murder with only Lem and his lady friend left standing…”

Also recommended: Billie Holiday, Lennon – The New York Years, Jazz Maynard: The Barcelona Trilogy and Total Jazz.

“Ruled by the Fates. Manipulated by the Gods. Commanded by Caesar. In the year 65 AD, one’s destiny was not his own. At the height of Nero’s reign, a veteran of Rome’s imperial war machine has been dispatched to the farthest reaches of the colonies to investigate unnatural happenings… In the remote outpost of Britannia, Antonius Axia – the First Detective – will become Rome’s only hope to reassert control over the empire’s most barbaric frontier… and keep the monsters that bridge the line between myth and mystery at bay.”

Also recommended: Mata Hari, The Death of Stalin, Northlanders, Vice Squad, Death to the Tsar and Suite Française - Storm in June.

“Fans of Alan Moore have been enjoying his surreal trip down memory lane to some of the creepiest theaters of the imagination ever presented. Cinema Purgatorio is a unique anthology series that brings together some of the biggest names in all of comics to present twisted horror tales alongside Moore. Comic book giants like Garth Ennis, Max Brooks, Kieron Gillen, and Christos Gage are delivering an episodic delight with terrifying tales every month.” Enough said.

Also recommended: Infidel, Black Hole, Whispers in the Walls, Black Fire, Breathtaker, Sons of the Devil, Brothers Dracul and the Popgun anthologies.

“Daytripper is the rarest of graphic novels – a work meeting all the expectations of great literature that somehow emerged from the grinding gears of the American mainstream comics industry. Written and drawn by Brazilian twins Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá, Daytripper is organized around the life of an aspiring writer named Brás de Olivia Domingos, whose father is a revered novelist.

Originally serialized in ten separate comic books, Daytripper achieves the almost impossible task of playing equally to the individual unit and the finished work by making each story an alternative version of the last day of Domingos’s life, marking that point at a variety of locations along his possible timeline.” [excerpt from a World Literature Today review].

Also recommended: Blankets, Class Photo, Beta Testing the Apocalypse, Michigan: On the Trail of a War Bride, Wrinkles, Different Ugliness Different Madness and The Sound of the World by Heart.

A critically-acclaimed tale of a “sea mutant with the soul of a poet in search of true love”, Dear Creature is a beautiful mix of ’50s monster films and Shakespeare. Pathos! Doomed passion! Freaky talking crabs! What more can you ask for in a love story?

Also recommended: Black is the Color, Demeter, Polina, 5,000 Km per Second and Modern Speed.

An intriguing underwater sci-fi murder mystery! “Mia is a special investigator hired to uncover possible sabotage taking place at a deep-sea research station. What she finds is a mind-blowing crime scene filled with suspects with terrible secrets, strange deep-sea creatures, and an impending flood!”

Also recommended: Old City Blues, The Metabarons, Indiana Jones, Port of Earth, Low, Pacific Rim: Tales From Year Zero, Cognetic, The Five Fists of Science and The Beauty.

“Michael Jones was a British MI6 spy who'd seen better days – but things took a turn for the worse once he fell into the Desolation Project's hands. Now he's the pre-eminent detective for an elite clientele: the underground community of ex-spooks in gritty L.A.” A tasty Tech-espionage-crime fiction combo.

Also recommended: Sleeper, Jinx, Marshals, Interpol, The Fix, Minky Woodcock - The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini and Grendel vs. The Shadow.

“Created by Eisner Award-winning artist Lorenzo Mattotti, Fires sweeps readers off into a hypnotic, haunting fantasy centered on a mysterious island where the hills are constantly ablaze. A series of vessels have inexplicably disappeared from the vicinity, so the battleship Anselm II is dispatched to investigate.

When the expedition's leader, Lieutenant Absinthe, comes ashore, his encounter with the burning island's bizarre residents results in a form of psychic possession that leads to mayhem, madness, and murder. Mattotti's vivid illustrations, rendered with the depth and richness of paintings, propel the eye through a brooding, brilliantly-colored atmosphere of mesmerizing imagery.”

Also recommended: A Sailor’s Story, Pacific, Challenger Deep, The Mercenary Sea, Deepwater Prison, Blacklung and Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea.

“From Eisner Award-winning cartoonist Skottie Young comes a satirical fairytale adventure that smashes its cute little face against hilariously-violent comedy that’s definitely NOT bedtime story material for the kiddies. Join Gert – a grown woman in a six-year-old girl’s body, who has been stuck in a the magical world of Fairyland for over 30 years – on a maddening quest to return home. It’s just her, a fly named Larry, a giant blood-soaked battle-axe and an endless amount of cute and cuddly Fairylanders standing in her way.”

Also recommended: Groo: Friends and Foes, Head Lopper, Curse Words, Usagi Yojimbo, Star Wars Adventures, Milk and Cheese – Dairy Products Gone Bad! and Blacksad.

It’s a concept Ray Bradbury would have enjoyed. “Ice Cream Man is a genre-defying comic book series featuring disparate one-shot tales of sorrow, wonder, and redemption. Each installment features its own cast of strange characters, dealing with their own special sundae of suffering. And on the periphery of all of them, like the twinkly music of his colorful truck, is the Ice Cream Man – a weaver of stories, a purveyor of sweet treats. Friend. Foe. God. Demon. The man who, with a snap of his fingers – lickety split! – can change the course of your life forever.”

Also recommended: Gideon Falls, Frankenstein Alive, Alive!, Victor LaValle’s Destroyer, The Last Ones, Rachel Rising, Flayed Corpse and Other Stories and Hungry Ghosts.

“After a black writer is found dead at a scandalous interracial party in 1920s New York, Harlem's cub reporter Zane Pinchback is the only one determined to solve the murder. Zane must go ‘incognegro’ – using his light appearance to pass as a white man – to find the true killer. With a cryptic manuscript as his only clue, and a mysterious and beautiful woman as the murder's only witness, Zane finds himself on the hunt through the dark and dangerous streets of ‘roaring twenties’ Harlem in search for justice.”

Also recommended: The original Incognegro graphic novel, Scene of the Crime, The Black Monday Murders, Grass Kings, Little Tulip, Kill or Be Killed, Sex Criminals, Choker, Four Women, DMZ,and The Bronx Kill.

“It’s 2005. Nicolas Wild is a French cartoonist. He’s broke and about to be homeless. He’s a man without a plan. That is until destiny shows up in his inbox: a paid job… In Afghanistan! In Kabul Disco, Nicolas Wild brilliantly explores the differences between the Afghan culture around him and his own, as he and his fellow expat friends crash Asura celebrations, avoid the afterlife, and muse on the differences between Christian Easter egg hunts and Islamic penance.”

Also recommended: Illegal, The Persepolis books, The Arab of the Future, Hostage, Marzi, Cuba: My Revolution, The Photographer of Mauthausen, Second Generation – The Things I Didn’t Tell My Father, Local, Late Bloomer and Royal City.

“In a universe that could very well be either a predecessor to our own civilization, or be set in a much more distant future, intergalactic space travel and advanced robotic technology exist amid an established social structure reminiscent of our own medieval times. The Emperor Elias holds the difficult task of maintaining a semblance of unity within a galaxy whose every planet is prey to frequent internal power-struggles.

And when these men meet to wage battle, however, it is no longer at the risk of losing their lives. For a maximum duration of a few hours, the spirit of the warrior is transferred into a combat robot whose design resembles that of the classic knights of yore. When the Prime, a deadly alien race, invades the Empire, Elias attempts to rally his nobles to war…”

Also recommended: Megalex, Darth Vader, Strange Adventures, Symmetry, 100% Biodegradable, Isola, American Flagg! and Southern Cross.

“In 1951, Doris and her little girl, Cora, entered one of America’s most prestigious facilities for the treatment of Tuberculosis, The Waverly Hills Sanatorium. The events that befell them shortly thereafter, both of a supernatural and criminal nature, were some of the most sordid of the time.”

Also recommended: The Loving Dead, Regression, Devolution, Rex Mundi and Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children.

“When an abandoned baby, sporting a tail, is rescued from a South American rubbish bin by a dwarf transvestite prostitute, you know you’re reading a story that only the mad genius of cult film maker and acclaimed creator Alexandro Jodorowsky could conceive! The child grows up to become Juan Solo, a vicious gangster and political enforcer, whose savagery sees him quickly rise through the ranks. Until his past catches up to him…”

Also recommended: Outlaw territory, Fistful of Blood, Pretty Deadly, Hawken, Kingsway West and Point of Impact.

“The Isles of Los Angeles 2089: humanity is addicted to technology. Getting a virtual buzz is the only thing left to live for, and gangsters run it all. And who do these gangsters turn to when they need their rule enforced? Constables Led Dent and Debbie Decay are about to be given a job that will force them out of the familiar squalor of LA and into the last tech-less country on Earth: The Garden Nation of Tokyo…” Fine story with terrific art.

Also recommended: Border Worlds, Finder, John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction, The Massive, The Surface, Heavy Liquid, Colonus and Global Frequency.

“Tom Taylor’s life was screwed the second his dad’s fingers hit the word processor. His father was the superstar author – the creator of Tommy Taylor books, a series of children's novels starring a boy wizard that became more popular than any piece of fiction ever written.

So what’s the problem? The books got so popular that fans started confusing real-life Tom with fictional-life Tommy, turning Tom Taylor into the lamest Z-level celebrity imaginable. And as much as Tom was angry at Dad for abandoning him once his novels were completed, he finds one more reason for his resentment: Tom Taylor isn’t even Wilson’s biological son.

So who is he? The more whacked-out opinion is he’s the fictional character from the books made flesh. But if that sounds ludicrous, why is there a mysterious cabal stalking him? How are they using the power of stories to fight a secret magical war? And how can Tom – whose never even had a marketable skill, much less a talent – travel within the most famous stories ever told? To learn who he really is, Tom must answer all those questions while rubbing shoulders with the cast and characters from Frankenstein, Moby Dick, A Thousand and One Arabian Nights, and more…”

Also recommended: Mage, Sweet Tooth, The Magician’s Wife, The Books of Magic, The Magic Order and the Woody Allen short story The Kugelmass Episode from his 1980 collection Side Effects.

…whew! That’s the end of another gonzo machine HQ blog post! Now, while arg pauses a bit to catch his breath and give his typing fingers some rest, go check out The Apocalypse Project on twitter and on tumblr, and stay tuned to the machine HQ blog for more cool stuff…

But wait – before he signs off, here’s a bonus...

You know Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Spiderman… but do you know Doll Man, Doctor Hormone, or Spider Queen? In The League of Regrettable Superheroes, you’ll meet one hundred of the strangest superheroes ever to see print, complete with backstories, vintage art, and coloruful commentary. Prepare yourself for such not-quite-ready-for-prime-time heroes as Bee Man [Batman, but with bees], the Clown [circus-themed crimebuster], the Eye [a giant, floating eyeball – just accept it], and many other oddballs and oddities.

“Drawing on the entire history of the medium, The League of Regrettable Superheroes will appeal to die-hard comics fans, casual comics readers, and anyone who enjoys peering into the stranger corners of pop culture.”

Also recommended: [here, arg is including some more titles that didn’t fit elsewhere in this post] Almost Silent, Age of Reptiles, Moonshot – The Indigenous Comics Collection, Black Dog – The Dreams of Paul Nash, The Imitation Game: Alan Turing Decoded, Dream Logic and Hit Reblog – Comics That Caught Fire.

#comics #design #reviews

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elsbethvanparidon-blog · 7 years ago

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His photos may prove controversial to some, but this sticky ‘n stingy problem lies not with MATE, visual artist, per/in se. The photos and prints are an observant reflection of this snapper’s daily reality; an overall Panglossian and promising reality which at times is sadly affected by a political decision touching upon people’s social environments, e.g. homosexuality being banned from television and (subsequently) microblogging platforms. One visible question remains… How will today’s human footprint affect tomorrow’s humanity?

Print art by MATE

Print Art: Humble Beginnings

As MATE produces both pictures and print art, we must take one step back to take three steps forward. And gain some sprightly insight in the process. Ergo, for a little more intel on that Chinese print panache… We turn to New York City’s revered MET Museum and cite:

“According to current scholarship, printing on paper was invented in China about 700 A.D., making China the country with the longest history of printing in the world. The capacity for multiple duplications and the affordable price of the printed image have long made it an effective medium for mass communication in various cultural contexts.

A vehicle for disseminating the Buddhist faith and shaping its evolving canon in China, pictorial prints assumed a major role in folk rituals and festivals as their subject matter expanded to include auspicious or protective imagery. Printing grew into a significant art form in the early seventeenth century, when an affluent urban populace became avid consumers of culturally sophisticated commodities, including elegant prints. Woodblock-printed images have remained a vibrant medium for articulating nationalistic sentiments and sociopolitical commentary through post-dynastic China’s periods of revolution and reform. They also reflect the intelligentsia’s ambivalence toward Western-dominated modernization in art and society. The twentieth century witnessed the rise of Shanghai as a production center, where a vibrant poster industry developed.

The term ‘popular print’ refers to mass-produced single-sheet color prints on auspicious or protective subjects that range from seasonal celebrations to figures from folk religion and popular literature. Due to their extraordinary popularity, prints made for the New Year’s Festival constitute a special category: nianhua (New Year’s pictures). Most common are images of door guardians thought to ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune to the family in the coming year.”

Live it. Learn it. Love it.

Print: The Golden Generation. Image courtesy of MATE, fine art

Print Art: Reaping Revolutionary Benefits

After Mao Zedong had called into being the People’s Republic (of China) on 21 September 1949, all artistic activity across the Mainland was institutionalized and a number of major art academies — particularly those based in Beijing, Hangzhou, and Chongqing — witnessed the establishment of “print departments”. The quest for a singular unified national visual style in the politically more “liberal” (for lack of a better word) years of the early 1950s, and after the break with the Soviet Union in the early 1960s, brought about a revival of traditional multi-colori woodcuts created with water-soluble ink. The high-quality 1952 reprints of famous 17th Century decorated stationery literally displayed Beijing’s backing and promotion of traditional arts and crafts. Product placement at its finest.

During the notoriously dark days of the Cultural Revolution (1967–1976) bereft of all creative existence, poster-sized prints featuring heroic laborers set against that “revolutionary” red backdrop predominated the “art” scene of the decade. Communist symbolism prevailed and ruled the pictorial roost. The posters’ distinct Socialist Realist style (aka the officially sanctioned style of art that dominated Soviet painting for 50 years from the early 1930s) and explicit propagandist message reflected the over-heated political atmosphere of the period.

Then, in December of 1979, Deng Xiaoping (1904–1997) switched the lights back on and rang in a new era of modernization and economic reform. Artists cautiously started to explore new techniques, styles and themes as China reopened itself to the global community in the 1980s and 1990s. The arts entered a renewed period of pluralistic development.

And on that note, we enter the 21st Century. With fine visual art by MATE.

“I don’t think people need to deliberately integrate into any type of environment; their environment is endless. I like to think my photographic omnibus reflects an emotional documentary and I hope people will resonate these emotions. I want to save these feelings before they die and are lost forever.” MATE, fine artist

Print: Army of Lovers — or Qin. Image courtesy of MATE, fine art

Print Art: The MATE Lookbook

In three, two, one. Go!

Temper: BnW is heavily featured across your body of work. Where do you find yourself on the “Color” vs “Black and White” spectrum?

MATE: Contrary to popular belief, black and white are not opposites. Black and white photos are in fact as colorful as actual color photos. When I edit black and white shots, I also need to adjust the contrast of the other colors involved — red, yellow, green and blue. I think black and white simply stand for another translation of color.

Opting for black and white instead of color brings about a framed limitation, if you will. I particularly like working with this restriction given it forces one to pay more attention to shape and structure; in other words, for me, photography is all about limitation. When I gaze out at the world through the camera, I can feel a unique sense of complete calm descending upon me. I can suddenly see only a small-scale fragment of my usual vision or outlook, which in turn helps me concentrate and provides me with sharper focus.

Temper: When you think of artists such as Nut Brother (take a look at the man’s latest “contaminated water” project right here), artist/curator/critic Liang Kegang or political cartoonist Badiucao… Do you take a political stance with your art?

MATE: As far as I am concerned, I take no political stance and I have no political or socio-economic motivation or agenda. I am only interested in human behavior. My purest motivation in photography and print art is to let people accept their humanity. If I don’t take pictures for three consecutive days, the photos will fill — cloud, even — my mind, literally causing me a headache. I do hold some personal opinions on politics, but I don’t judge; I don’t do “good” or “bad”. I just choose to reflect my feelings in the photos — as the world turns.

Whether or not my work can “make things better”, I hope that under any given circumstance it can force someone to rethink, re-interpret their opinions or reactions to life’s events and, if necessary, find a better way to cope with whatever they may have on their plate(s).

“In 400 years of Peking Opera, it has always been the men who portray and act out the culture of women. As one traces tradition, one will see how the degrees of tolerance and freedom fluctuate over time.” MATE, fine artist

Making a splash. Image courtesy of MATE, fine art

Print Art: Future Musings And Muses

Temper: Does art reflect what’s happening in China on a socio-economic level? If so, what do you think the (near) future of China’s visual arts will bring?

MATE: The inspiration for my creations comes from the people and things I have encountered in my day to day life. I am also very interested in history.

My photos may prove controversial to some, but this problem lies not with me per se. The photos are a reflection of my daily reality; an overall promising reality which at times is sadly affected by a political decision touching upon people’s social environments, e.g. homosexuality being banned from television and (subsequently) microblogging platforms.

I have, for example, done some work starring Peking Opera to show people’s misuse of the word “tradition”. Glancing back at 400 years of Beijing Opera, it has always been the men who portray and act out the culture of women. As one traces tradition, one will see how the degrees of tolerance and freedom fluctuate over time.

My photos reflect this and at times this kind of concentrated shooting is like telling other people what dreams I will have tonight. The people I shoot generally are younger (twenty-something) girls, i.e. the future mothers of China. They are brave women. For me, their status quo today is the state of tomorrow’s China.

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Image courtesy of MATE, fine art

The steps we all take today, will shape the definition of “humanity” tomorrow. “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” Nelson Mandela.

All images come courtesy of MATE, fine art studio

Deng Xiaoping in 1979 announces a chapter of modernization and artists cautiously start to explore new styles as China reopens itself to the world. A new era filled with pluralistic progress dawns. Fast forward to 2018: MATE fine art. His photos may prove controversial to some, but this sticky 'n stingy problem lies not with…

#censorship #china #featured #fine art #magazine #photography #politics #print #society

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duanecbrooks · 8 years ago

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Second-(Very) Best I've already disclosed to you what is my all-time favorite television program--namely the Today show's Fourth Hour with Kathie Lee/Hoda. Now I'll spill the beans concerning what is my all-time second-favorite television program--namely the weekend Today show. Let me say here that I'm talking about the Saturday version with Sheinelle and Craig and Dylan. For whatever reason, the local NBC affiliate doesn't carry Sunday Today with Willie, opting to run local news instead. Allow me, if you will, to detail why the Saturday Today has achieved said position. .The show's anchors genuinely click. The folks who front the Saturday Today program really and truly jibe. When watching the show, it's impossible to miss the fact that those anchors honestly like each other, that they honestly like being with each other, and that spending time with each other, working with each other is in their minds--and in their hearts--working with sincerely close, sincerely cherished friends. An example: During one telecast a picture screen appeared with the words: "This film follows a charming news anchor as he is about to become a father for the second time." The warmth and the good feeling and the good wishes that the rest of the anchors had for Craig--who was, need it be said, the "charming news anchor" who was "about to be a father for the second time"--came flowing out of the real TV screen. Also: After Craig's child had been born, at the end of one of the Today show's de rigeur cooking segments the female anchors, who were all seated off to the left, called Craig over and, one by one, presented him with gifts to commemorate his being a second-time Dad. Craig was very visibly moved by this and, one by one, kissed all his girl colleagues. The affection, the camaraderie, the unsheathed gratitude that Craig felt toward those gals flooded the screen and made you feel closer to him--and feel closer to his female co-workers for being so considerate regarding him. .It's the one morning show now seen, perhaps the first morning show ever, other than the weekend Good Morning America, to completely eschew having celebrity guests. The fact that the Saturday Today show wholly turns away from having celebrities as guests, for me, gives it an independence and an individuality that other morning programs, even the Kathie Lee/Hoda Today show, just don't have (True, as mentioned, the weekend GMA also entirely stays away from booking celebrities. However--and I believe I've dealt with this in the past--the byplay among the anchors on the aforementioned show has always come off as somewhat stagy, somewhat forced). And: The fact that there have never, ever been celeb guests on the Saturday Today has meant that we've had the opportunity to that much more fully savor the good looks and the charm of and the chemistry among the hosts. Those of us who have followed the Saturday Today during its run have always, always appreciated the fact that there have never, never been any "names" appearing on the program to interfere with our enjoyment of the anchors' appeal, have never, never booked any Big Stars who would impede upon the gorgeousness and the likability of the headliners. .The hosts are impressively versatile. While our Saturday hosts are fully enjoyable and fully convincing doing the fun stuff, in point of fact, Sheinelle and Craig always convey authority and knowledgeability, not to mention maturity, when doing the news readings. And Dylan makes it abundantly clear that she wholly knows what she's talking about when she's going about her weather reports. To be able to go back and forth between free-flowing lightheartedness and mature journalistic seriousness, between ingratiating gaiety and disciplined journalistic professionalism with such unaffected ease is certainly, definitely nothing to sneeze at. .Sheinelle Jones, Sheinelle Jones, Sheinelle Jones. This chick can unhesitantly stand with Hoda as being the best-looking, most engaging, most flat-out delectable girl host on network morning television (A very distinct demonstration of this: When she guest-hosted the Fourth Hour of Today, she filled in not for Kathie Lee but for...Hoda). For starters, her being short--she herself has revealed that she stands at 4'11"--gives her the sprightly-mite appeal of a Jada Pinkett Smith. And: Her collegiate charm and her volcanic vivaciousness have and keep you smiling all the time she's on-screen. Finally: Her easy and monolithic good-sportsmanship delightfully completes the picture. Whenever she's doing a Today segment--participating in an aquatic-sports competition with career Olympic women athletes, joining Craig in chatting with Dylan--who is currently on maternity leave--via a TV screen as to how the latter is faring being a first-time mother, partaking of an "ice castle" that this one man originally built to provide pleasure for his kids--our Sheinelle throws herself into the doings wholeheartedly, having us loving her all that much more for her unyielding spirit and her marvelously staunch refusal to be in any sense buttoned-up, her marvelously continuous rejection of any kind of pomposity. It was the iconic cartoonist/satirist Jules Feiffer who told a Playboy Magazine Interviewer that while he was "in despair," it wasn't "the kind of despair that keeps you from having a good time on the weekend." It is the Saturday Today show that, upon tuning in, makes it absolutely, positively impossible not to have a good time during the weekend.

#the today show #Kathie Lee and Hoda #local news #anchors #cooking segments #gifts #celebrity guests #good morning america #sheinelle jones #jada pinkett smith #jules feiffer #weekend

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