Comic 215
Back-up Vocal~ I swear, there are times when the inner workings of my own brain leave me absolutely baffled. There’s an old saying: “my mind is an amusement park I SHOULD NOT visit alone”. Every year, I have found those words ring FAAAARRRR more true for me than I like to admit. Still, all them-thar chaotic upstairs machinations are what make Mannyacs possible in the first place. Thus, I do my best to keep peace with “the voices”.
Some ways back and for reasons which continue to elude me, YouTube suggested a completely random clip of a woman sitting in front of a microphone, whilst she was filmed and recorded crunching on peanut butter celery sticks. I have to assume it was made for a project requiring the sound effect. The notion stuck to me. Did I watch it all? You bet your bippy I did (the pleasures of insomnia struck again) and I was hypnotized. Months later, as this story was taking shape, I remembered that video and discovered the concept was ideal for a panel or two. So, I deployed it to build this very Comic. It’s worth noting that once again, we find a moment when Manny’s agendas were grounded by some actual text. Norse Mythology writes of Idun, a Goddess who maintained the magic apples which kept the Norse Gods young, healthy and vibrant. It would appear that Manny watched the same YouTube video I did. Our hero determined that his album would indeed be MOST LACKING in bonafides, if it didn’t include the sound of apples being munched. Further, said devourings could ONLY be recorded by a Manifold© brand wireless microphone, with the cruncher assigned to the task wearing Norse attire. What Manny wants, Manny gets. This is a rare case where I have to agree with him. Because in that winged helmet, Hapler looks RAD.
Finally, we must devote a moment to the location. From time to time, a new spot in the Splendorland kingdom presents itself and surprises even me! So, when I was guided to a series of caves in Manny’s world packed with phenomenal acoustics, they begged to be used in our current tale. Longtime Mannyacs readers (and Thanks for sticking around), are well versed in my obsession with the “12 Monkeys” TV show. It redefined television for me. As of this writing, I have now completed 8 marathon viewings and it only gets MORE brilliant each time. It became a prime directive to offer a Shout-Out to the man behind the curtain. Now, I have the right moment to deliver him an Official Mannyacs ‘Ata Boy’. As a token of my appreciation for his genius, his devotion to his craft and his continued stunning grace and kindness to his fans, I present “12 Monkeys” show Creator, Writer and Executive Producer Terry Matalas with a Splendorland locale forever bearing his name…..’Matalas Caves’! These days, he is a super busy chap, always has a vast and expansive arsenal of productions in the works. Perhaps one of his future jams can paint me a clearer picture of a “Celebrity Jet Ski Battle Royale” and enlighten me on what charity would benefit from it. The aforementioned “voices” don’t want to tell me. I just might sleep better if I knew.