Canister X – A.P. Fuchs: Zombie, Paranormal Romance and Superhero Novelist, Blogger, Artist, Publisher

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It’s World War II and the US Army needs to up its game in its war against the villainous Nazis under the command of Adolf Hitler.

Enter Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a little guy from Brooklyn with all sorts of health problems, but who has possibly the strongest sense of morals and courage than any man on the front line. Unfortunately, due to his fragility, Steve is not allowed to join the American army despite multiple tries. A scientist experimenting in a super soldier serum for the US army notices this and offers him a chance to take part in a dangerous procedure that, if it goes well, will grant Steve superhuman-like abilities and enable him to be an ultimate man, athlete and warrior. Steve accepts and transforms into the world’s first super soldier: Captain America.

Meanwhile, the first test subject of the serum, Johann Schmidt–aka the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving)–has come into possession of the Tesseract cube, a powerful energy source rumored to be from Asgard. His plan? Nothing less than overthrowing Hitler himself and taking over the world.

If only we had a super soldier to stop him. Wait . . . we do.

His name is Captain America.

Like all good fanboys, I saw this movie in the theatre. Having grown up on the cheesy Captain America movies starring Reb Brown and, later, the 1990 version with Matt Salinger, a part of me, I admit, was waiting for a repeat of the 1990 film (in the general sense). I was more interested in how Captain America: The First Avenger would tie into the then upcoming Avengers and this movie didn’t disappoint.

The introduction of the Tesseract–which would be key in Avengers–was real smart on the filmmakers’ part because not only did it point to the forthcoming ensemble film, but also gave a quick link to the Thor movie as well.
Watching Chris Evans as Steve Rogers was fantastic. He really suits the role and played it perfectly. I wasn’t sure how the once Human Torch–all witty and sarcastic–would fare as the famous super soldier, and I’m glad Chris Evans proved he can play a kind of Superman-like character as well. Seeing him play both the small, frail Steve Rogers (facially, anyway, as someone else’s body was used), to playing the suped-up Steve made the film truly a story about how our greatest power lies within as opposed to externally.
Likewise, Hugo Weaving as Red Skull did a great job, especially since playing villains is no strange task to Weaving (Agent Smith, anyone?). Even with the German haircut he looked different never mind later when his red skull visage was revealed.
The story was simple and, like the first Spider-Man movie, I left the theatre underwhelmed. After seeing it a second time, I saw it for what it was and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the end battle was anti-climatic. It didn’t need to be an all-out brawl between Cap and Red Skull, but it felt brief considering these two are the heads and tails of the same coin. Some sort of super soldier/titan clash would have punched up the ending. Speaking of which, the ending of this movie has one of the best last lines to a flick ever. It was the kind of line I try to end my own novels on, one that finishes the tale but also has a punch to it.
As far as superhero stories go, the World War II setting gave the genre a breath of fresh air movie-wise as, thus, far, pretty much every super flick to come out recently is all set in the modern day. Alternate times and/or worlds with a superhero figure are few and far between. The Spirit is the only one that comes to mind in this regard.
After this movie and Avengers, I’m excited to see Captain America: Winter Soldier, which is presently set for 2014.

This year seems like a battle between Marvel and DC at the box office. Marvel tried to get a leg up because they had Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man. DC’s got The Dark Knight Rises.

DC wins. See below.

Are you kidding me? You mean we’re going to get an absolutely killer Spider-Man film? I’m not saying the others were terrible. Spider-Man 2 was my favorite superhero movie of all time until Batman Begins came out. Even the Spider-Man 3 was a decent flick. Its only real flaw was that it was overcrowded which in turn worked against it.

But, man, this trailer, a combo of the previously-seen Amazing Spider-Man trailer and some new footage, just rocked my world.

I’m so there this summer. Dare I say that this flick might give Avengers a run for its money? I dare.

Hot off the Net-reels, this new trailer gives us more of the story while still serving up a heap of action. This fanboy is beside himself at the moment. May 4 . . . think I’m going to start hanging around outside the theatre after this entry just to be sure I get a good seat.

And be sure to watch all the way through because the bit after the title card has got me drooling. Seriously, what is that thing?!

Shows you enough to get excited, holds back enough to leave you wanting more.

Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow, Nick Fury, Hawkeye, Loki–

This flick is going to be killer.

My wife Roxanne has been publicly doing comics for a little over six months now, her first published project being a webcomic (with print alternatives) called Fuzz Society. I thought it would be fun to interview her here at Canister X and help her spread the word about what she is doing, so show her some love, read on, and visit the links when they appear.

Thanks.

1) For those who don’t know you, why don’t you introduce yourself and tell people a little bit about Fuzz Society?

My name is Roxanne Fuchs, and I grew up wanting to create, whether that meant doodling my own characters, making crafts, learning to knit/crochet, sew (I used to love embroidery as a young adult), web design, listening to and playing music (though I did not get formal training, I’ve always tried to teach myself).

Fuzz Society is really a comic geared towards girls and women, though guys may find it cute too, but I’m really using it as a means of communicating the stuff many females experience in life, and reaching out to those around me. It circles around a group of friends, who’ve met mostly because of Lyra Ladybug, the tie-in character and cutie pie who is very much like myself (minus the wings and antennae. of course)! Its starts out with her grabbing onto a gum wrapper one day and finding herself lost as she explores a place she’s never been to. She’s led a very sheltered life until now, and so almost everything is new to her. But as she meets new animal friends, she also learns about love and friendship, and the differences in the ways males and females think. It’s a manga/anime inspired adventure, with romance and all the wit you can handle! For more info, I also have a FAQ page on my website at http://www.fuzzsociety.com

2) Anyone particular that has heavily influenced you as an artist?

In terms of Japanese art, I’ve always loved the girly stuff, so I enjoyed the Sailor Moon series a lot, and video games like Street Fighter, Final Fantasy, etc. In general, though, I would say I’ve always just tried to keep drawing and doodling since I was very young, including drawing superheroes and my favourite cartoon characters. I’ve always wanted to be good at what I do so I’d always practice. And after reading the Bone series, Jeff Smith inspired me a lot as I admire his line work and characters. In particular, though, the anime style has stuck with me the longest.

3) Most comic creators have their own way of putting their story to paper. How do you go about creating a page?

I would say, it’s a bit different than most people do it. I start out with my general idea for where I want my comic to go, then I do a mini sketch on note paper, and afterwards, I’ll jump right into sketching the real thing on Bristol board. This process can take a while as since I don’t have a full script written out, I never know for sure what’s going to happen on that page; it’s always an adventure! Then I get my husband, A.P. Fuchs (editor’s note: that’s me), to edit it, I ink it, erase the pencil lines and scan/clean it up before posting online. It’s quite the process if you think about it, and I’m hoping all the TLC is obvious in the final product.

4) Fuzz Society has been running since October. I know you’ve done a few other non-published comics before, but were you always a comic creator or an artist? When did you start making comics in general?

Yes, I would say I’ve always been an artist. I remember I would grab hold of whatever paper I could find and doodle on it. It didn’t matter if it was my school binder or a scrap of paper from a flyer. I started drawing comics in junior high, just for myself. It was partially an escape for me, me always having enjoyed reading fantasy and watching sci-fi stuff. So yeah, at a young age I was trying out comic art. And before that, I was always collecting superhero comic cards (back when they still made them, anyways). I’ve always been a creative type of person, never knew what I wanted to do for a living as a kid, wasn’t even sure as a teenager. I tried to pursue “regular” jobs and schooling, but it didn’t pan out, and after having the opportunity to work from home on comics, I thought I would give it a shot. At first it was quite daunting, and intimidating the thought of putting out an issue, but now I’m really getting into it, and it just flows much better.

5) Why did you suddenly move from just drawing and making comics for fun, to actually releasing the material both online and in print?

My husband (editor’s note: that’s me again ) really encouraged me to do this, as he saw the potential in me, and I’m glad he’s been so supportive of me. Plus, after going to a lot of conventions, I’ve been inspired to finally do something with my art, and just see where it goes. It’s quite exciting really.

6) Are you a full-time artist?

Yes and no. I would say, yes in the sense that I’m always thinking about what my next page will be about, so my head gets full sometimes, but that’s how it is. And no, in the sense that I’m a full-time mom so most of my day is spent either with my boys, or running the household. There’s not much time for art, so it is usually tricky to find the time to work on it, at least right now.

7) What are you favourite comic books or graphic novels?

I’m a Dazzler fan (old school), the Bone series, Black Cat and Rourouni Kenshin, the old Avengers comics (because it’s been a while since I’ve read them), and Watchmen to name a few. I just found a new webcomic I’m enjoying called Super Siblings as well.

8) Where can people learn more about you and Fuzz Society?

www.fuzzsociety.com or on Facebook, there’s a fan page as well.

9) If you could spend a day with any comic book character, who would it be and why?

I would love to hang out with Dazzler, sing along with her at some different gigs, and really experience the thrill of being a rock star. I’ve always enjoyed singing, so I’m kind of partial to her.

10) Any last comments?

Yes, thanks for doing the interview! You’re super, man!