Daily Archives: March 3, 2012

‘Star Wars’ designer Ralph McQuarrie dies

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The man who shaped the look of the “Star Wars” universe has died.

Ralph McQuarrie might not be a household name like Harrison Ford and probably isn’t as familiar to movie fans as “Star Wars” creator George Lucas.

But McQuarrie — born in Gary, Indiana, in 1929, died today — is responsible for the designs and images we think of when we think of the “Star Wars” films.

McQuarrie was chosen by Lucas to create concept art for the first “Star Wars” movie to help Lucas sell the idea to 20th Century Fox. McQuarrie painted the figures, weapons, ships and worlds used in the film. They are images indelible in the collective memory of movies and pop culture.

For fans like me, caught up in the imaginative world of “Star Wars” when the movie was released in 1977, McQuarrie’s “Star Wars Portfolio” was a must-have item that’s still on my bookshelf. I spent countless hours studying McQuarrie’s paintings.

The portfolio collected prints of the paintings of McQuarrie, showing the early looks of the characters. His design for Darth Vader is surely one of the most familiar figures from movies — ever.

What always fascinated me about McQuarrie’s designs was the little differences between the concept he visualized as the finished movie: Pointy ears on Chewbacca. Headbands and beards on some of the characters. Gender differences (as Lucas refined his story and characters). Characters other than Jedi using lightsabers.

McQuarrie painted designs for other films, including “Close Encounters” and “Cocoon,” for which he won an Oscar. “Star Wars” made him a legend.

McQuarrie and his talent will be missed.

‘The Avengers’ trailer: Is that Fin Fang Foom?

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Okay, we’re plunging deep into geeky waters here.

A couple of days ago, Marvel released the latest trailer for “The Avengers.” The preview was a huge hit with fans — a record-setting 13.7 million views in its first 24 hours on iTunes — some of whom lay down their skepticism about the Joss Whedon movie thanks to the character moments and big action scenes included.

And what an action scene at the end of the trailer, as Iron Man is pursued through the concrete canyons of New York by a huge flying serpent thing.

There’s been a lot of speculation in the days since the trailer debuted online about just who or what the flying serpent is. Is it organic or mechanical? Is it a robot or a ship? (Some observers noted an earlier trailer showed alien warriors jumping from a ship that looked suspiciously like the serpent.)

Some of the guesses in the wake of the trailer were particularly geeky, harking back to the early days of Marvel Comics. Could the serpent be Fin Fang Foom?

Let’s all say that together. Fin Fang Foom. Fun, isn’t it? Fin Fang Fun, as a matter of fact.

For all those people who have spent their lives somewhat closer to the heart of reality, an explanation of who (what?) Fin Fang Foom is:

Fin Fang Foom first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1961 as a sort of talkative Godzilla character, a dragon/snake/whatever that reappeared later, when Marvel specialized in superhero comics. Fin — if you’ll allow me to adopt a familiar, first-name basis — fought the Fantastic Four as well as Avengers Thor, Hulk and Iron Man.

Do I really think Fin Fang Foom is in “The Avengers?”

Well, no. Not really.

As over-the-top as a bunch of costumed superheroes might seem, a talking dragon monster might be perceived as a little too … preposterous, shall we say?

I’m guessing the flying snake thing in “The Avengers” is just a particularly eye-catching transport ship for the legions of creatures (Skrulls?) that the good guys will be fighting.

If I’m wrong and Thor blurts out, “By Odin’s beard! That is none other than Fin Fang Foom!” you’ll know geek culture has ascended to the highest halls of Hollywood.

And the “Fin Fang Foom” prequel movie will be, by that point, inevitable.

Hitting the convention floor

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Tickets for San Diego Comic-Con International went on sale this morning and, as blogger supreme Mark Evanier tells us, were mostly gone within 90 minutes. When you consider that upwards of 120,000 people attend Comic-Con — which has become a geek mecca as well as the symbol of Hollywood’s newfound interest in geek culture — the pace of ticket sales is pretty remarkable.

I’ve never been to Comic-Con, which is held in San Diego, and I’m not sure that I ever will. As much as experiencing the unimaginable appeals to me, I’m not sure I’m up for that particular experience anymore.

The photo above is of (left to right) my friend Andy, Chewbacca and me and was taken in the spring of 1999 at the first Star Wars Celebration, held in Denver. Andy was a Denver resident then and invited me out to experience the convention, which was in later years staged closer to home (for me) in Indianapolis.

Star Wars Celebration — particularly the later versions, held in the mammoth Indiana Convention Center — is as close as I’ve ever come to attending something of the size of Comic-Con.

If you’ve never attended a convention and you’re even a casual fan of science fiction books and movies, comic books and the like, you should try one, even if only for a day.

During my most active period of fandom, the late 1970s and the 1980s, my friends and I attended conventions all over the Midwest. Chicago, Indy, Cleveland, Columbus … we spent a lot of time on convention floors.

Much of that time included visits to the dealers room, where we bought movie posters, lobby cards, books, magazines, comic books and original art. As our bags got heavier, our wallets got lighter. But we didn’t mind.

Conventions can be overwhelming experiences — the growth of Comic-Con has prompted complaints in recent years — but they’re also fun and self-affirming. If you’ve ever thought you were the only person who truly appreciated “Doctor Who,” “Star Trek” or something much more obscure, conventions will open your eyes. Right in front of you, all around you, you’ll find thousands — sometimes tens of thousands — of other people who share your interest.

Sure, most of them will be standing in the autograph line in front of you, but hey, that’s just demonstrating shared interests, right?

After a decade of con attendance, I grew a little weary of the experience. There’s only so many times I’m willing to go elbow-to-elbow with some unwashed geek in a too-small T-shirt for the chance to get an autograph from Kenny Baker (R2D2 of “Star Wars,” of course).

But conventions remain the source of some of my favorite fandom memories.

I’ll never forget standing in line with Andy at the first Star Wars Celebration, which was held outdoors on a former military base. That spring, Denver was seeing some uncharacteristically nasty weather. It was raining and sleeting and, much to our surprise, Anthony Daniels (C3PO of “Star Wars”), a guest at the convention, walked up and down the line, making chit-chat with soggy fans.

Only at a convention.