Tucson Weekly: Media Mix (June 4

Media Mix CAPT. SPIFFY'S FINAL EPISODE: "It's been a sad week, with lots of sad faces...including our own," confided John Forier, owner of Capt. Spiffy's Super Hero Emporium, 944 E. University Blvd. But last week, Forier started spreading the word of his difficult decision to close the doors of this beloved upstairs niche on University Boulevard just west of Park Avenue.
Capt. Spiffy's has been a haven for comic book readers and artists alike for five years. In addition to offering a wide variety of graphic novels, independent publishers and even adult comics in their clandestine "red room," Spiffy's was also the site of on-going art classes and comic news. And as any one who's been in there knows, it's also the most likely place to run into your favorite local cartoonists. (Spiffy's has always made room near the counter for local comics, giving all proceeds from sales directly back to the artists.)
"You forget a place like this can be important to a lot of people for non-financial reasons--as a place to hang out, or a support structure," Forier's said of people's reactions to the news. "Unfortunately, we're in retail."
And business has been rough. Though he hasn't taken a salary himself for the past year, he says the business has continued to lose money. He's been keeping the shop afloat by working full-time as a middle school teacher. In fact, he says sales have been in steady decline since 1995.
"Part of that is the comic book industry itself has been in free fall for four years," he says. But he also cites the corporate-consumer mentality as a contributing factor. He speaks wryly about folks who comment how sad it is that the quirky mom-and-pop operations are being squeezed out, shaking their heads as they head down the street to Starbucks or Coffee Plantation.
Clearly, the cries are going unheard. (Another passing of recent months is Coyote's Voice, the terrific independent bookstore formerly located in the Broadway Village center. We're told the owners, husband and wife team John and Tania Messina, opted not to renew their lease after 10 years as local retailers.) Both Capt. Spiffy's and Coyote's Voice have been staff favorites in our annual Best of Tucson poll.
The good news is that Forier is looking forward to a new job teaching English and drama at a small, private school in Tacoma, Washington. There are worse moves to make in the middle of a Tucson summer. And for fans, a store-wide liquidation sale will run all through July.
And hey--if anyone wants to make a superheroic effort to take over, Forier would love to see Capt. Spiffy's rise again: "If anyone's looking for a terrible financial investment and terrific emotional one, give me a call." Or you could just bid a fond farewell: the number is 624-4643.
BLUE MOON: For the most part, our forays into online fiction have been disappointing, to say the least. But there is a burgeoning site of literary brilliance called The Blue Moon Review (www.thebluemoon.com), which endeavors to "bring literature into the digital age" by exploring all possibilities of a medium that offers new writers international exposure. BMR has been online since 1994. Though editor-in-chief Doug Lawson seems to publish the review out of Charlottesville, Virginia, he describes their editorial staff as "geographically diverse." Hence, submissions (unpublished works only, by serious writers) are accepted by email only.
Currently featured among some 18 works of fiction is "The Exam," a short story by regular Tucson Weekly contributor James DiGiovanna. The only thing that would improve this bizarre little tale about a passel of grade school kids on test day is claymation by Tim Burton and a musical score by Danny Elfman. It's a deft composition of innocence and macabre fear--like a colorful hallucination just before (and after) it turns horrific.
BMR is updated monthly (new issues appear to be bi-annual), with a focus on poetry, experimental fiction and commentary. They're also looking for multi-media and performance art, and creative non-fiction. The site also has some web-specific features like poems utilizing QuickTime and real video graphics, a place for reader comments (Café Blue), and a place where you can post your own works and works-in-progress (the Café Blue gazebo).
GODZILLA VS. TAMAGOCHI: And while you're on the web, check out http://www.jitterbug.com/gvt/gvt.shtml. Godzilla the movie blows, but you can simultaneously vent your outrage against two technological "advances" gone awry with this online video game.
HASSAYAMPA HO: Writers looking for a reprieve from the summer heat should consider Prescott in July, where the 1998 Hassayampa Institute for Creative Writing conference pairs workshop students with major writers for a relatively small fee ($300 for six days of workshops, panels, readings and discussions, including some meals and refreshments). Maximum capacity for each workshop is 15, ensuring a personal feel, but encouraging early registration. The conference runs July 27 through August 1.
Poetry, fiction and non-fiction instructors and visiting faculty include Marge Piercy, Ira Wood, Alberto Ríos, Peter Iverson, Luci Tapahonso, Ron Carlson, Demetria Martinez, T.M. McNally and Sally Ball, who will structure their readings and lectures around the theme "A Community of Words: Language and the Shape of Thought."
This exploration of the roles of gender and language in shaping our ideas of culture--particularly those of our own Southwest--should provide rich fodder for this talented gathering. So follow the spirit of the word ("Hassayampa" is derived from Yavapai for "river that loses itself") and get lost in this heady literary coup in the pines. For those interested in a shorter getaway, most of the evening readings and afternoon talks are free and open to the public.
For reservations and information, call (520) 776-2276; email ycscwi@yavapai.cc.az.us; or write to the Hassayampa Institute at Yavapai College, Communications Division, 1100 E. Sheldon St., Prescott, AZ 86301.

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