American Gods in Oklahoma

Previously:

Where the Red Fern Grows  - -  Thunderstruck  - -  Bringing Up Bobby

If you missed out on the first season of American Gods on Starz, you missed seeing a little bit of Oklahoma on the small screen.  The series is based on the novel by the great Neil Gaiman and, while it filmed in a couple of Okie locations, today I'm just going to take a look at a scene that features some of our distinct mountains (yes, there are mountains in Oklahoma).

In the first episode, our moody hero Shadow drives around Anywhere, USA being moody and whatnot.  In the background you can see the Gloss Mountains.  In the real world they're in the northwest part of the state, not too far from Waynoka or the Black Kettle Grasslands.

I didn't quite get my picture lined up with the shot from the episode but you can see the same "notches" in the mountains.  Plus, I took the picture before I saw the show so, all things considered, that's not too bad.

Shadow then takes a pit stop at Gloss Mountain State Park, to check out the scenery and to lament the death of his wife (spoilers...but it's the first episode so give me a break).  The production crew changed the signage to Shakamak State Park which is actually in Indiana.

A little bit later, if you look past Shadow screaming in torment, you can see some classic Oklahoma red dirt.  If you're ever on a road trip in the area, the park is a nice stop.  You can look at the dirt and scream, like our hero.

Like I said earlier, the show shot in one or two other locations in the state and when I track them down I'll deliver the goods.  Stay tuned...

 

Top 5 Things for Sale at NWCC

Previous "Top 5 For Sale" Lists:

Antiques Etc.  - -  Choctaw Welcome Center - -  Sam Noble Museum Gift Shop

Cherokee Trading Post  - -  Cloverleaf

The fourth annual New World Comic Con was held yesterday in the Centennial Building at State Fair Park in OKC.  It was a great event that incorporated cosplay, kid's games and local artists.  And like all cons, there were a ton of vendors.  Since they mainly seemed to be from Oklahoma I thought it would be a great time to do another "Top 5 Things for Sale" list, so let's see what I found:

5.  Dick Tracy Collector's Case (Chris' Vault)

Dick Tray has Oklahoma roots since his creator, Chester Gould, was born in Pawnee.  The character has existed for decades put got his biggest marketing push when the 1990 movie was released.  The toys didn't do too well and now items from that line are sought after collectibles by fans.  Here's the collector's case for those hard to track down action figures.

4.  Geeky Pot Holders (Two Clover Charms)

I'm always happy to see custom made items for sale at conventions, particularly when they're functional and used in nontraditional geek settings like the kitchen.  There were other franchises represented besides Star Wars so you could probably find your particular favorite.  Throw in the fact that these babies come with a package of cookie mix and I'm all in.

3.  Rare Droids Figures (Valhalla Collectibles)

I didn't want to do two Star Wars items in a row, but here we are.  This is good example of finding something unique that you didn't know you wanted.  The Droids had a short lived Saturday morning cartoon in the 80s and these two were only available in Spain.  They can fetch a pretty good price on eBay so it's always nice to run into our boys in the wild.

2.  Geeky Kids' Dresses (Warehouse RoyGBiv)

Another great custom item.  These outfits feature the old standards like Wonder Woman, Batman Ninja Turtles, the Avengers and a few that are maybe more about the parents like E.T. and The Walking Dead.  Definitely what the well dressed mini-geek is wearing.

1. Comics!!! (New World Comics)

These days it's kind of cliche to lament the state of comics at comic book conventions but at this one they were well represented.  New World had multiple tables containing box after box of comics in the center of the floor, all for $1.  This groovy issue of Jimmy Olsen wasn't in the dollar section but for Sliver Age shenanigans I'm always willing to shell out a few bucks more.

So there are my top picks.  Only slightly less than a year (probably) until the fifth annual NWCC.  See you there...

Twilight Avenger Begins

There are certain potential problems when it comes to reading independent comics from several decades ago.  For one, the issues are hard to track down and, two, the nature of independent publishing is chaotic.  Publishers come and go as much as a volatile market allows.

But for creators, driven by the passion of their vision, the story must continue.  This rambling preamble is meant to explain how and why I'm reading the "Twilight Avenger" out of order. 

The last time I wrote about the pulp-inspired hero of Tulsa, he ran afoul of a zombie-creating mad scientist in a story published by Eternity Comics.  But the two issues I recently picked up on eBay seem to be the very first adventure of our boy and were published by Texas-based Elite Comics.

Issues 1 and 2 involve the origin of the Twilgiht Avenger as he investigates a kidnapping by the villainous "Centipede."  Like all classic heroes, he has a tragic moment that defines him and motivates his heroic career.

Yep, that's a wedding dress that goes flying after after that woman gets hit by a car.  What you're seeing above is college football star Reece Chambers' fiance tragically being put into a coma during yet another example of mob violence in 1930's Oklahoma.

Yeesh, just typing that makes me want to put on a costume myself and go on a one man crusade against crime!

And, with the help of his would-be father in law, that's essentially what Chambers does.  Thus, loaded up with tons of crime fighting gadgets, the Twilight Avenger is born!

One of my favorite things to do with Oklahoma movies and comics is to pick out the Okie locations used in the story.  Let's do that by checking in on Reece's comatose fiance, Dolores:

While a Saint Francis Hospital exists in real life, I've never been there so I'm not sure if they have a statue of the actual saint or if they ever did.  My policy is to only go to hospitals when I need to but I'll still have to go investigate when I get the time.

There's not too many other geographic points of interest in this or the second issue but the second issue does contain a few Easter Eggs in some newspaper headlines:

In addition to an article (with a New York byline indicating it was from a new service) about the corrupting dangers of "Swing Music," there's a headline about the Tulsa Oilers.  This is referring to the old minor league baseball team, not the current hockey team.

There's a mention of a "Fair" welcoming 30,000 school kids.  The timing of the story would indicate that this is when the Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion was relatively new (but still well before the Petroleum Expo and our buddy, the Golden Driller) and there was probably still a lot of excitement bringing crowds to the Tulsa State Fair.

There's also mention of a "M'alester" prison riot.  I take this to refer to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.  Maybe the city was referred to as "M'alester" in that time period?  Maybe it still is?  There was a major riot there in the 70s but I can't find any info about one in the 30s.  Maybe it's a setup for a future story line.

I'll let you know if it's ever followed up on as soon as I track down more issue...to be continued...