Author: David Mogan

Here’s the deal: The death of Robin Williams has brought a lot of reactions – some have focused on the inherent sadness of the event, others are confused by his actions, and some have used his death to help shine a light on addiction and depression. These reactions are understandable, though for me, when an artist dies I’m always going to focus more on the career than the person. Robin Williams struck me as a genuine, warm and fiercely intelligent person, but the fact is I didn’t know him. What I did know was his body of work. I watched…

Here’s the deal: So you’ve watched The Room. Pink Flamingos. Freaks. Repo Man. Bad Lieutenant. You think you’re pretty well versed in cult cinema and have seen as strange as it gets. But have you witnessed a violent and sexual film noir detective story featuring animated cats? I didn’t fucking think so. I present to you, Felidae. As will come as no surprise, Felidae is the product of a German mind. Originally a novel (which turned into an eight-book series), the story was adapted into an animated film in 1994, the same year as Disney’s The Lion King, and trounced…

Here’s the deal: If you’re ever at the circus and hear the band play Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” drop your popcorn, grab your niece and go directly to your car. More on this later. While the circus is a fascinating institution, being a great entertainment equalizer for young and old, rich and poor alike, there’s a dark side to the razzmatazz that’s not solely confined to Carnivàle episodes and Goosebumps books. If you’re a student of history, you’ll know that American circuses engaged in a lot of questionable activities. These activities included exploitation of “freaks,” exhibition of native…

Here’s the deal: Insects are freaky. From the Hulk-like strength of ants to the bloodsucking antics of mosquitoes to the bondage-loving lives of spiders, bugs are fucking weird and off-putting. I mean, imagine if any of those above traits were applied to large land animals. It would be terrifying. Like, if we had bloodsucking elephants and gorillas that could lift city bridges…actually, I wouldn’t mind seeing that, as long as they were properly controlled and contained on island amusement parks. Come on genetic engineering, give me some spider-giraffes! Anyway, the point is that bugs do some odd things, even within…

“Dying is easy. Comedy is hard,” so says the old showbiz adage. For the majority of their career, Monty Python has made the inverse seem true. The wit and invention which sprung from their collective minds made comedy seem like the simplest thing in the world, while their ability to keep death from tainting their salmon mousse well into their seventies – with the exception of Graham Chapman – has helped make the troupe legends in their own time. On Sunday, Monty Python brought down the curtain, or should I say foot, on their collaborative careers. The final show in…

Here’s the deal: I don’t think there’s a celebrity I miss more than Phil Hartman. While several of my favorite artists have passed on – Hunter S. Thompson, Kurt Vonnegut, Thomas Kinkade – they all lived full lives with their careers clearly in twilight. But Hartman, only 49 at the time of his tragic death, certainly had so much more to give. For one thing, Hartman was a late bloomer, having started on SNL at the age of 38 when most cast members are in their early twenties (he’s one of the oldest members ever to join). While Chris Farley…

Here’s the deal: There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who were scared shitless by the Willy Wonka boat ride scene and those who were scared shitless by the Willy Wonka boat ride scene and promptly said, “Thank you, sir. May I have another?” I’m firmly in the second camp. That scene captured an essential horror at the center of a lot of Roald Dahl’s creations, though I would argue Dahl’s entire body of work falls in line with what makes the best children’s literature. From the Brothers Grimm to Lewis Carroll, quality work comes from real…

Here’s the deal: For some reason, there’s an entire subgenre of science fiction concerning “muck monsters.” As if sci-fi didn’t have enough issues with “little green men,” Star Trek V and Prometheus harming its legitimacy, the genre’s forced to contend with an onslaught of man/plant hybrids. Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not anti-muck monster. A nice mass of walking eyeballs and ivy and lily pads is good for a lark, but since this particular monstrosity is so specific, it’s strange that so many variations have emerged. The most famous, of course, is Swamp Thing, though there are numerous others…

Here’s the deal: Ever since Roderick Q. Videogame invented the Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device in 1947 – or at least, ever since Tommy Henderson beat like, five kids in a row at Pong, I swear, in 1972 – video games have delighted and amused. Though it took a while for games to go from “stuff the math kids are into” to “multibillion dollar industry” to “holy fuck, look at what the rocket launcher did to that dude’s torso,” word of mouth certainly helped. Sometimes word of mouth can lead to learning great tricks, like the Pac-Man kill screen, slipping…

God is dead. Here’s the deal: Newspaper comics blow. Take a gander at any Sunday gazette sometime and scan through the comics section. What have you got that produces a laugh? The Boondocks, Pearls Before Swine, Dilbert, FoxTrot, and maybe the odd Sherman’s Lagoon. So what of the rest? Are there any Ziggy fans below the age of 80? Is there anyone who anxiously awaits the next Hägar the Horrible? Does the creator of the deplorable Wizard of Id have a Vic Mackey-sized blackmail box with every newspaper editor’s secrets inside? Just how the hell does this “work” pass for…