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Comic History Mysteries Episode 2: PIRATES!

 Show Notes:

On this the second episode of Comic History Mysteries, we be talking about pirates! The Ramblin Phoenix was struck by something said in an interview with Watchman creators Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.  In a world like Watchman where superheroes are real, the comics would have to turn somewhere else for “fantastical” storytelling. They came the conclusion that that very well could have been pirates. This is why there is a pirate comic featured in Watchmen.

 

The Ramblin Phoenix then goes on to explain why he is someone who can speak on the topic of pirates:

His father claimed he had been captured by pirates a boy.

He worked at the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney World.

In graduate school, he took a class on pirate history

 

The Voice also worked a Disney, he has many excellent, but non-pirate related stories. He will share those stories if there interest on our twitter @cxcpodcast    

 

Not only do pirates show up in Watchman, in The Tales of the Black Freighter, but in the urban fantasy series, Mercy Thompson, where the werewolf pack relieves tension by playing a pirate video game.    

The Ramblin Phoenix goes on to note that comics are often associated with superhero stories, but while connected they are not synonymous and comics very well may have focused on pirates or other topics had circumstance been different.

He goes on to briefly talk about the history of movie pirates, and how for many years they were not at all profitable.

...The Voice really likes Muppets…which leads to Ramblin Phoenix having an ADD moment.

 

The discussion moves onto the Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic “Treasure Island” and how it originated many of the classic pirate tropes.  

Also is how Robert Newton, who played Long John Silver in the Disney 1950’s version of Treasure Island, created what we think of as the pirate voice. The real pirate voice was an amalgamation of a large number of languages and dialects. But historians agree, there was a lot of swearing.  

Captain Charles Johnson 1724 book, A General History Of Pirates is considered an early collection of primary source stories about real pirates.  He then goes on define that when we think of “Pirates” we generally are thinking ‘The Golden age of Piracy,” 1650s-1730s. But that reminds the Phoenix of a story about Julius Caesar and how he dealt with pirates.

He then starts laying out the historical breakdown of the three eras of Piracy in the Golden Age. Each age is discussed in the context of a famous pirate. For the Privateer era: Sir Francis Drake. For the Buccaneer era: Captain Henry Morgan. And for the Black Flag Freebooter era: Black Beard and Black Bart.

In this discussion, we also highlight the Spanish pillaging of gold in the Americas, which is one reason those ships were attacked.

Also highlighted is the reason for the romantasiciton of pirates, in that they chose to change the rules by which they live by and create a new life, which required them to turn their backs on everything they knew before. The is followed by a discussion of the issue with the idea of buried pirate treasure.

 

The Princess Bride even gets a mention.

They then wrap all the way back to indie comics. Showing how indelible the idea of pirates moves from history to storytelling as compelling inspiration, highlighting some interesting pirates comic coming out France.

They then highlight pirates in modern comics, most of which are Marvel and DC tuning their characters into pirates for a story arc.

The discussion ends by highlighting the most popular comic in the world currently, which is a pirate comic- the Manga, One Piece.

If you are interested in more on pirates feel free to check out the Ramblin Phoenix’s history blog: www.historicalperceptions.com  where he has recently uploaded a new post on Port Royal Jamaica, the Pirate town so evil it was smote by God!.

Sources mentioned in the Podcast:

Marcus Rediker, Villains of all Nations

Captain Charles Johnson General History of Pirates

Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island

Disney’s Treasure Island

Muppet Treasure Island

Nigel Mitchell, AVAST! It’s The 15 Best Pirates in Comics

https://www.cbr.com/avast-its-the-15-best-pirates-in-comics/

 

French Comics:

Christophe Blain, Isaac the Pirate

Clair de Lune Dread MacFarlane

The Famous French Comic Asterix

Eiichiro Oda,  One Piece

A sneak peek at this week's comic of the week on ComixCentral.com Guano Guy #1

On this Very First Comics History Mysteries, "The Voice" and "The Ramblin Phoenix" have a conversation about things from comics that have crossed over to mainstream culture and how often we don’t even think about or realize they are from comics.

 

The show begins with introductions and what we envision for this new and exciting podcast. While the episodes will always use indie comics as a jumping off point all nerd culture, and all of history is open for discussion.

The conversation moves on to examples of history influencing comics using examples like Watchman, Sandman, Fables, and V for Vendetta.

In order to highlight the inverse of how comic book phrases and ideas entered popular culture, the “Dynamic Duo” use Superman as an example and speak at length about Superman references in popular culture and music.

The conversation rambles on to highlight different phrases that began in comics and can be found in popular culture and add some historical context to those phrases.

The topic then changes to the discussion of ancient history, oral history, and prehistory. Followed by a brief discussion of the “comics are for kids.” debate, in which the Ramblin Phoenix brings up an issue of Sandman and a detail in Watchmen that he believes could only be done justice in the comic book medium.

The conversation moves on to a discussion about how storytelling in comics is necessarily different from those in books. Followed by how we consume comics.

The Ramblin Phoenix wishes to emphasize at this point that he has ADHD.

The conversation circles all the way back and ends by highlighting even more words we may not have realized originated in comics.  

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Articles Mentioned on the Podcast:

 MentalFloss: 10 Words & Phrases Coined in Comic Strips

http://mentalfloss.com/article/60285/10-words-phrases-coined-comic-strips

 

Top 10 list of Superman Mentions in Pop Music:

http://herocomplex.latimes.com/uncategorized/superman-songs/

Youtube Show: What’s the Difference:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1AXWu-gGX6Jmq1jfa0FP2G0gTV4wgptm

 

Ramnblin Phoenix’s Article about Urban Fantasy and Comics:

https://www.comixcentral.com/urban-fantasy-literature-comics-can-canon/

A quick peek at the winner of the Comic of the Week! The Maroon #1 “Of Beasts and Prey”

Buy it here »

Wanna know how to handle any con the nerd nation throws at you? Wanna know how to raise a family and still make money doing comics? Wanna know how to separate yourself from the pack when you’re at a table surrounded by hundreds, or even thousands of storytellers? Wanna learn how to juggle the art and business of collaboration? Look no further than this podcast and the sage advice of Australia’s number one indie comic universe maker Mr. Shaun Keenan.

Shaun used to go to between 20 and 30 cons or more per year as a result of his vastly successful Xtreme Champion Tournament universe and of course his very successful memorabilia platform, Comics2Movies. He’s dropped back to around 20 per year because he’s got the courage and skill set to juggle his passion for nerd culture with fatherhood. Heed this man’s ear if you want to learn how to live several successful lives at once. It’s not easy, but it is worth it, and there are lots of valuable lessons to be had along the way. Shaun and I talk about what made his book special compared to other indie comics in a similar market and how you can work a con to your advantage by being genuine. We also learn how to set up a con table properly, how to make everything visible to your audience, and how to have a conversation and a “pitch” at the same time.

No man is an island in the world of indie comics, and Shaun has somehow managed to bring together 6 talented people who are all passionate about the Xtreme Champion Tournament universe over the last several years and beyond. He talks about how to have fun and treat comics like a business in the same blink, as well some emotional and memorable moments that can only be experienced at cons if you’ve put yourself out there for the sake of your audience. Since Valentine's Day is coming up, we couldn’t get through the episode without talking about the incredible support that only a significant other can provide and, of course, the importance of family. He’s our first interviewer all the way from Australia and we certainly hope he isn’t the last. We’re excited to have XCT shared on the website, and he even clued me in on some top secret opportunities that just may pop up in the near future. We’ve been promised a first glance, but I don’t want to give it all away. Taking your con experience to the next level is one thing, but hidden beneath the sage advice is that moment all indie comic creators are looking for. That moment when comics go from being a story on a page to an interactive personal experience.

https://www.comixcentral.com/shaun-keenan/

 

Xtreme Champion Tournament: http://www.xct.com.au

Comics2Movies: www.comics2movies.com.au

Twitter XCT: @XCTComic

Twitter C2M: @Comics_2_Movies