Has anyone else stopped frequenting Newsarama since they gave their site a facelift? The previous, clean and easily navigable design was user-friendly and to the point. The new design is just busy, with the images distracting from the headlines to the extent that I can no longer tell if there's an article I want to read just by scanning the main page. And if I do sift through the site with greater concentration, I find that their articles are much more Hollywood-oriented and a lot less comics oriented. It's like they're turning into Wizard Magazine.
If I wanted movie and TV news, I'll read imdb or Aint It Cool. I want comics news, damn it, and their site used to be my favorite source. Now it's Comic Book Resources for me... which, in all fairness, was always a close second.
Is that just me? Am I the only one?
Showing posts with label Comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Comics. Show all posts
Sunday, August 10, 2008
I'm a True Believer
At some workplaces, a guy on his last day gets a cake. At cooler workplaces, he gets a stripper. Me?
I get Stan "The Fucking MAN" Lee.
Crappy cell phone photo, but still... Thanks, Barnes & Noble.
I get Stan "The Fucking MAN" Lee.
Crappy cell phone photo, but still... Thanks, Barnes & Noble.
Earth X is Love
My last day at the bookstore ended a few hours ago. Weird to end a chapter in my life, but even more weird to consider 9 months working at a bookstore an entire chapter. The new job equals awesome, although I am still adjusting to having a regular weekly schedule and the stress of having my actions at work actually matter.
I was discussing Alex Ross & Jim Krueger's outstanding Earth X trilogy today with a friend and the rarely-viewed short film Ross included in a low-print run hardcover edition came up. I was bemoaning the fact that I had never seen the thing when, suddenly, out of the blue, something occurred to me...
Youtube.
Earth X is one of the greatest single accomplishments ever to come out of Marvel comics, tying together a mythology created haphazardly over decades by writers and artists with no master plan into a single narrative that, suddenly and brilliantly, makes everything seem to have been crafted for a reason. And that reason is Earth X. All the plot holes, all the out of character moments suddenly come crashing together into perfect sense in a tale that, on its own merits, stands as one of the most involving and dramatic storylines in all of Marvel canon. Universe X is a worthy follow-up, as is most of Paradise X (although its ending sure does seem rushed), but Earth X in particular is one of those rare books that I make a point of re-reading every year or two just to remind myself of how good comics, and superhero comics and Marvel comics in particular can be. Just remembering the scene where Peter Parker teaches his daughter the importance of quipping in the face of impending doom still gets me kind of misty-eyed (although that scene was from Universe X - bite me).
But man, this video is actually pretty lame. It's interesting to see Ross's models in costume, but to put them together in such a melodramatic way sure brings to the foreground all the less-than-flattering touches he smoothes over in his artwork. From the fake beards to the awkward facial expressions, but mostly from the bad music to the lack of any sense of Earth X's wonderful narrative (the video's just a series of models in costume standing around), this hardly seems worth including. I'd love to see a documentary with this material - seeing Ross's artistic process, how he puts together first-hand reference material for out of this world characters - but to put it together like some kind of trailer does a disservice to the entire material. A couple of the shots are kind of neat, though.
I don't want to harp on - Ross himself says the project was ill-conceived - but still, it's an odd let down after years of being interested in seeing this thing. I thought Ross was just being too hard on himself, but I'll give him credit... he's a fair self-critic. Still, now that we're getting Marvel animated movies - and pretty good ones too - I think it's time someone gave Earth X the DC's New Frontier treatment. As long as they can have the running time they deserve this time (did New Frontier feel choppy or what?).
I was discussing Alex Ross & Jim Krueger's outstanding Earth X trilogy today with a friend and the rarely-viewed short film Ross included in a low-print run hardcover edition came up. I was bemoaning the fact that I had never seen the thing when, suddenly, out of the blue, something occurred to me...
Youtube.
Earth X is one of the greatest single accomplishments ever to come out of Marvel comics, tying together a mythology created haphazardly over decades by writers and artists with no master plan into a single narrative that, suddenly and brilliantly, makes everything seem to have been crafted for a reason. And that reason is Earth X. All the plot holes, all the out of character moments suddenly come crashing together into perfect sense in a tale that, on its own merits, stands as one of the most involving and dramatic storylines in all of Marvel canon. Universe X is a worthy follow-up, as is most of Paradise X (although its ending sure does seem rushed), but Earth X in particular is one of those rare books that I make a point of re-reading every year or two just to remind myself of how good comics, and superhero comics and Marvel comics in particular can be. Just remembering the scene where Peter Parker teaches his daughter the importance of quipping in the face of impending doom still gets me kind of misty-eyed (although that scene was from Universe X - bite me).
But man, this video is actually pretty lame. It's interesting to see Ross's models in costume, but to put them together in such a melodramatic way sure brings to the foreground all the less-than-flattering touches he smoothes over in his artwork. From the fake beards to the awkward facial expressions, but mostly from the bad music to the lack of any sense of Earth X's wonderful narrative (the video's just a series of models in costume standing around), this hardly seems worth including. I'd love to see a documentary with this material - seeing Ross's artistic process, how he puts together first-hand reference material for out of this world characters - but to put it together like some kind of trailer does a disservice to the entire material. A couple of the shots are kind of neat, though.
I don't want to harp on - Ross himself says the project was ill-conceived - but still, it's an odd let down after years of being interested in seeing this thing. I thought Ross was just being too hard on himself, but I'll give him credit... he's a fair self-critic. Still, now that we're getting Marvel animated movies - and pretty good ones too - I think it's time someone gave Earth X the DC's New Frontier treatment. As long as they can have the running time they deserve this time (did New Frontier feel choppy or what?).
Sunday, July 27, 2008
ODDS AND ENDS
1. Haven't blogged in approximately FOREVER and if anyone actually read this I might even apologize. Sigh...
2. Been spending a lot of time with my new girlfriend (GASP!), who is totally awesome and I adore her. So there's an excuse right there for ignoring my legions of non-existent readers.
3. Didn't go to Comic Con AGAIN this year. A friend of mine said he'd try to pick up some stuff for me. I asked him to pick up CHOCOLATE, the new action film from the guys who made ONG-BAK and TOM YUNG GOONG, and L, the spin-off film from DEATH NOTE. Hopefully I'll get them.
4. That said, I COMPLETELY forgot to ask him to pick up the new SCOTT PILGRIM merch they have available this year, and I don't have his number since he's a casual work friend so there's no way in hell I'm getting any. It's literally eating me up inside.
(I would have settled for these damned buttons. Oh well...)
5. THE DARK KNIGHT was built up pretty badly by the surprising number of people I know who got to see it early, so my expectations were pretty high. These expectations were thoroughly trounced when I finally saw the finished product. There may be a couple of loose ends here and there (Batman basically abandons the Joker in a room full of his friends and associates to rescue Rachel early on, which feels like a mistake to me), but these are the definition of nitpicks. One of the best movies I've seen in years, although WALL-E comes damned close.
6. Work is KILLING me, Smalls. Usually when I'm stuck at a job I find boring I spend most of the time coming up with screenplay ideas, but now I'm hitting 2 or 3 good ones a day, then talking myself out of writing them by the time I get home because I'm neurotic like that. That said, I've got a couple new reasonably low-budget horror ideas in the last few weeks that I may try to just pump out in the coming months to add to my portfolio.
(Expectations? Exceeded.)
7. Reading the new ZOT! trade paperback by Scott McCloud. UNDERSTANDING COMICS practically changed my life when I first read it back in high school, but despite that I always wondered who this Scott McCloud guy was and what made him so qualified to define comics for a generation. Now that I'm reading ZOT! I am convinced that he's the real deal... someone who can DO, not just teach. Check out the trade paperback if you can, it's worth the read. And if you can find it in a back issue bin, read the Superman mini-series he wrote a few years ago called SUPERMAN: STRENGTH. It stands alongside some of Grant Morrison's finer issues of ALL-STAR SUPERMAN as my favorite Supes stories of all time.
(Maybe he's an asshole, but at least in this one he's a likable asshole.)
8. Finally got around to watching PAYBACK: STRAIGHT UP, Brian Helgeland's director's cut of that Mel Gibson revenge movie from the late 90's, and it's a much better film. They undid that atrocious color-timing that took a well-shot movie and made it look, well, blue. REALLY blue. It was pretty oppressive and helped ruin my enjoyment of the film the first time around. Also, the score, the tone and the ending are vastly improved. I know I'm a little late on this, but if you hadn't heard of it or were simply uninterested before, I'd recommend checking it out.
(There's an entire book to be written about Erig Bogosian's performance in UNDER SIEGE 2, but I sure as hell don't want to write it...)
9. I've been reading Vern's SEAGALOGY, and it's a pretty entertaining examination of the action star's oeuvre. B-Movies are frequently disregarded in the critical community as being beneath their scholarly attention, and while Vern may not have proved them wrong, he does provide a nice counterpoint.
10. In related news, a critical studies book I myself have been ruminating for some time may finally start getting typed out in the next few months. I don't want to say too much about it on the off-chance it doesn't get written (as is likely to happen with me), but I've been pretty frustrated at my lack of output lately and trying something different like an actual BOOK-book may be just the ticket. I'm debating starting a new website to feature the material I come up with to help promote the book, but again, this is all probably a long way away.
11. A screenplay I beated out earlier this week went from being a fairly clever idea for a low-budget revenge movie and became this pretentious rumination on loss and redemption. As a result, all the fun got ripped out of the idea and I'm probably going to scrap it altogether, as there's no point in making an action movie that will depress an audience more than IN THE BEDROOM.
12. A similar project got stalled when a sexually charged horror movie born from my own frustration with the opposite sex lost all of its appeal to me when I finally found romance again with a member of the opposite sex. All that anger I had reserved for the page got smooched out of me, and while it's still a really good idea and I am likely to return to it someday, I'm just not in the mood anymore right now.
(Great book. Maybe I'll finish it one day.)
13. UNFINISHED BOOK #102398 - HOMICIDE: A YEAR ON THE KILLING STREETS by David Simon. I loved THE WIRE and almost meant to read this thing, so I picked it up from work and fell in love with it... then got distracted and forgot to read it for a while. I may not get back to it anytime soon, which bugs me. I also picked up Shirley Jackson's WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE, which I'm excited about because I love her work and it's short enough that I may actually finish this one.
(I have judged this book by it's cover, and it is very, very good.)
14. Had my first run-in with "image retention" on my plasma-screen TV. I just about had a heart attack. Luckily, the problem was relatively minor and I was actually able to fix it(!) using the "SCROLL BAR" function on the TV's menu screen. It took about an hour longer than it was supposed to, but at least I got it to work. Thanks for thinking up a solution to that little SNAFU, Panasonic.
(I approve.)
15. Loving the t-shirts coming out of the ASTROBASEGO website for the new VENTURE BROS. season on Adult Swim. Well, most of them. I ordered an ORDER OF THE TRIAD shirt and that ugly grey one with the brown letters that says DEAN! on it. Fans of the show may remember that shirt being mentioned on one of the commentary tracks for the DVD releases. I thought they were just spitballing, but I'm glad they remembered it because it was and still is a pretty funny idea. Now if they'd just arrive in the damned mail...
16. I figured MOTHER OF TEARS would be in theaters for more than a week, so I missed my opportunity to see it on the big screen. As an Argento fan who has never been able to see his work in the theater, I'm pretty danged bummed about it. I'm still hoping the New Beverly will have a double-feature with INFERNO or SUSPIRIA sometime soon so I can fix that problem, however.
17. Everyone's talking about the WATCHMEN trailer, and while it does look a lot like the book, I do have some reservations, but also some potential for forgiveness. My initial concern arose when I recognized the SMASHING PUMPKINS song from the trailer. Did anyone else catch that it's from the BATMAN & ROBIN soundtrack, and was used in pretty much every commercial for that film? Is that really what Zach Snyder wants to evoke here? And the Joel Schumacher-esque quality of Ozymandias' uniform is pretty disturbing, although almost thematically appropriate given that he's the hero who sold out and made himself into an action figure. If that's where they're going with it, I can cut them some slack.
2. Been spending a lot of time with my new girlfriend (GASP!), who is totally awesome and I adore her. So there's an excuse right there for ignoring my legions of non-existent readers.
3. Didn't go to Comic Con AGAIN this year. A friend of mine said he'd try to pick up some stuff for me. I asked him to pick up CHOCOLATE, the new action film from the guys who made ONG-BAK and TOM YUNG GOONG, and L, the spin-off film from DEATH NOTE. Hopefully I'll get them.
4. That said, I COMPLETELY forgot to ask him to pick up the new SCOTT PILGRIM merch they have available this year, and I don't have his number since he's a casual work friend so there's no way in hell I'm getting any. It's literally eating me up inside.
(I would have settled for these damned buttons. Oh well...)5. THE DARK KNIGHT was built up pretty badly by the surprising number of people I know who got to see it early, so my expectations were pretty high. These expectations were thoroughly trounced when I finally saw the finished product. There may be a couple of loose ends here and there (Batman basically abandons the Joker in a room full of his friends and associates to rescue Rachel early on, which feels like a mistake to me), but these are the definition of nitpicks. One of the best movies I've seen in years, although WALL-E comes damned close.
6. Work is KILLING me, Smalls. Usually when I'm stuck at a job I find boring I spend most of the time coming up with screenplay ideas, but now I'm hitting 2 or 3 good ones a day, then talking myself out of writing them by the time I get home because I'm neurotic like that. That said, I've got a couple new reasonably low-budget horror ideas in the last few weeks that I may try to just pump out in the coming months to add to my portfolio.
(Expectations? Exceeded.)7. Reading the new ZOT! trade paperback by Scott McCloud. UNDERSTANDING COMICS practically changed my life when I first read it back in high school, but despite that I always wondered who this Scott McCloud guy was and what made him so qualified to define comics for a generation. Now that I'm reading ZOT! I am convinced that he's the real deal... someone who can DO, not just teach. Check out the trade paperback if you can, it's worth the read. And if you can find it in a back issue bin, read the Superman mini-series he wrote a few years ago called SUPERMAN: STRENGTH. It stands alongside some of Grant Morrison's finer issues of ALL-STAR SUPERMAN as my favorite Supes stories of all time.
(Maybe he's an asshole, but at least in this one he's a likable asshole.)8. Finally got around to watching PAYBACK: STRAIGHT UP, Brian Helgeland's director's cut of that Mel Gibson revenge movie from the late 90's, and it's a much better film. They undid that atrocious color-timing that took a well-shot movie and made it look, well, blue. REALLY blue. It was pretty oppressive and helped ruin my enjoyment of the film the first time around. Also, the score, the tone and the ending are vastly improved. I know I'm a little late on this, but if you hadn't heard of it or were simply uninterested before, I'd recommend checking it out.
(There's an entire book to be written about Erig Bogosian's performance in UNDER SIEGE 2, but I sure as hell don't want to write it...)9. I've been reading Vern's SEAGALOGY, and it's a pretty entertaining examination of the action star's oeuvre. B-Movies are frequently disregarded in the critical community as being beneath their scholarly attention, and while Vern may not have proved them wrong, he does provide a nice counterpoint.
10. In related news, a critical studies book I myself have been ruminating for some time may finally start getting typed out in the next few months. I don't want to say too much about it on the off-chance it doesn't get written (as is likely to happen with me), but I've been pretty frustrated at my lack of output lately and trying something different like an actual BOOK-book may be just the ticket. I'm debating starting a new website to feature the material I come up with to help promote the book, but again, this is all probably a long way away.
11. A screenplay I beated out earlier this week went from being a fairly clever idea for a low-budget revenge movie and became this pretentious rumination on loss and redemption. As a result, all the fun got ripped out of the idea and I'm probably going to scrap it altogether, as there's no point in making an action movie that will depress an audience more than IN THE BEDROOM.
12. A similar project got stalled when a sexually charged horror movie born from my own frustration with the opposite sex lost all of its appeal to me when I finally found romance again with a member of the opposite sex. All that anger I had reserved for the page got smooched out of me, and while it's still a really good idea and I am likely to return to it someday, I'm just not in the mood anymore right now.
(Great book. Maybe I'll finish it one day.)13. UNFINISHED BOOK #102398 - HOMICIDE: A YEAR ON THE KILLING STREETS by David Simon. I loved THE WIRE and almost meant to read this thing, so I picked it up from work and fell in love with it... then got distracted and forgot to read it for a while. I may not get back to it anytime soon, which bugs me. I also picked up Shirley Jackson's WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE, which I'm excited about because I love her work and it's short enough that I may actually finish this one.
(I have judged this book by it's cover, and it is very, very good.)14. Had my first run-in with "image retention" on my plasma-screen TV. I just about had a heart attack. Luckily, the problem was relatively minor and I was actually able to fix it(!) using the "SCROLL BAR" function on the TV's menu screen. It took about an hour longer than it was supposed to, but at least I got it to work. Thanks for thinking up a solution to that little SNAFU, Panasonic.
(I approve.)15. Loving the t-shirts coming out of the ASTROBASEGO website for the new VENTURE BROS. season on Adult Swim. Well, most of them. I ordered an ORDER OF THE TRIAD shirt and that ugly grey one with the brown letters that says DEAN! on it. Fans of the show may remember that shirt being mentioned on one of the commentary tracks for the DVD releases. I thought they were just spitballing, but I'm glad they remembered it because it was and still is a pretty funny idea. Now if they'd just arrive in the damned mail...
16. I figured MOTHER OF TEARS would be in theaters for more than a week, so I missed my opportunity to see it on the big screen. As an Argento fan who has never been able to see his work in the theater, I'm pretty danged bummed about it. I'm still hoping the New Beverly will have a double-feature with INFERNO or SUSPIRIA sometime soon so I can fix that problem, however.
17. Everyone's talking about the WATCHMEN trailer, and while it does look a lot like the book, I do have some reservations, but also some potential for forgiveness. My initial concern arose when I recognized the SMASHING PUMPKINS song from the trailer. Did anyone else catch that it's from the BATMAN & ROBIN soundtrack, and was used in pretty much every commercial for that film? Is that really what Zach Snyder wants to evoke here? And the Joel Schumacher-esque quality of Ozymandias' uniform is pretty disturbing, although almost thematically appropriate given that he's the hero who sold out and made himself into an action figure. If that's where they're going with it, I can cut them some slack.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Dreamcasting 1.01 - The Fantastic Four
I'm avoiding work on this comic book script, and not the one I'm supposed to be working on either. So that's twice as much procrastination as usual! Anyway, I think dreamcasting is always kind of fun, so here's the first installment.
According to Chris Evans, it looks like Fantastic Four 3 is out of the question now, and since Marvel has no qualms about restarting even the most recent of franchises I figure someone over there has to be thinking about doing FF correctly. I think we can all agree that whether you hated or tolerated Tim Story's two "Fantastic" films, neither of them were anywhere near as fantastic as they could have been.
The rules? No actors can return from the original films, even if they were good the first time around (sorry Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis). Also, no actors who have starred in prominent roles in other superhero movies (sorry Christian Bale and Tobey Maguire). And since this is an ensemble cast, no huge stars can be present, as they would either distract from the team dynamic or become too cost-prohibitive to cast en masse.
Let the dreamcasting begin!
REED RICHARDS = PAUL BETTANY
Paul Bettany has played a number of intellectuals already, is considered reasonably attractive though never quite the leading man, making him kind of perfect. And he's lanky enough to be called "Stretch" before his powers even kick in. Although older than Hollywood would perhaps like to make Mister Fantastic, the character was kind of an old stick-in-the-mud when he appeared, and was popular enough to sell more issues in a single month than most Hollywood movies can sell tickets these days. So there has to be something to the "old charm."
SUSAN STORM = CLAIRE DANES
Beautiful, intelligent and a plausible blonde, Claire Danes fits Susan Storm to a "t." She's also about 8 years younger than Paul Bettany, which once you reach your late twenties is just enough age difference to be a plot point, but not a creepy one. She's got her action movie chops (the under-rated Terminator 3), but most importantly she has a strong, confident on-screen presence that will help prevent her character from being the token, damsel-in-distress woman that basically happened to Jessica Alba in the first two movies.
JOHNNY STORM = BEN FOSTER
Slightly younger than Claire Danes, check. Same ethnicity so they actually look like they could be siblings? Check. Blonde? Check. Bad-ass rising star who should have been nominated for an Oscar for 3:10 to Yuma? Check. Foster's going to be one of the hottest commodities within the next few years if talent is any indication, so the time is now to snatch him up to play the flighty, flamboyant and flambe Johnny Storm. And yeah, he already played Angel in X-Men 3... for about two minutes. And pretty much every human being has strived to forget that movie anyway, so I think the slate's fairly clean.
BEN GRIMM = ADAM BALDWIN
Adam Baldwin redefined "rough on the outside, cuddly on the inside" in Joss Whedon's Firefly, and has continued that career path on the surprisingly entertaining series Chuck. Sure, we've never seen him attempt a genuine Yancy Street accent, but he's a professional. Hell, he's worked with Stanley Kubrick. He has it in him.
ALICIA MASTERS = ZOOEY DESCHANEL
Alicia Masters is lovable, pure and simple. Naturally beautiful (that is, I don't think she spends too much time in front of a mirror), but she has to have a quality that makes everyone immediately recognize what a wonderful person she is. It is this quality, after all, that eventually saves the damned planet. Can't think of anyone better than Zooey Deschanel, the adorable star of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Tin Man. Though perhaps a bigger name than the role suggests, she's still not getting any major lead roles at the moment, so instead of distracting the audience with her smaller role, she should instead make audiences see her as a more intrinsic part of the core dynamic.
VICTOR VON DOOM = KARL URBAN
The trick with casting Victor Von Doom is that, as much as you'd want to cast Gary Oldman, Viggo Mortensen, or any of those other wonderful actors with a bigger-than-life presence, he still needs to be the same age as Reed Richards. They were, after all, in college together. So who, then, has a dark charisma, and preferably a career of being an also-ran despite an enormous amount of skill to help the actor stay in character? Karl Urban, so charismatic in The Two Towers, yet so incapable of finding a decent starring role (Doom, The Pathfinder), is perfect. And we already know that he's comfortable wearing a full suit of armor.
HARVEY RUPERT ELDER = RAY WINSTONE
A minor villain, but when the Fantastic Four reveal themselves to the public for the first time, they certainly can't A) defeat Doctor Doom, because the FF can never really defeat him anyway, and to do so in the first act would utterly diminish him as a franchise villain, or B) fight some chump, or faceless group of terrorists. The Mole Man's appearance, tied in directly with the Negative Zone portal built by Richards (we're using the Ultimate Origin, incidentally), as a wrangler of inter-dimensional monsters kicks the action off with a bang, and allows Ray Winstone to go nuts as the underlord of Manhattan.
ANNIHILUS = GARY OLDMAN
At the end of Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom can't be defeated or his presence over the sequels won't hold any weight. So instead, he has to be set back. The best way to do this is to use a villain that even Doom wants to defeat, forcing an uneasy alliance between our heroes and their greatest nemesis. After a perceived "first strike" by the Fantastic Four against the Negative Zone, Annihilus invades Earth in retaliation. And the only way to top a well-written Doctor Doom is to have the top villain in Hollywood, Gary Oldman, play his greatest threat.
What do you think, sirs?
According to Chris Evans, it looks like Fantastic Four 3 is out of the question now, and since Marvel has no qualms about restarting even the most recent of franchises I figure someone over there has to be thinking about doing FF correctly. I think we can all agree that whether you hated or tolerated Tim Story's two "Fantastic" films, neither of them were anywhere near as fantastic as they could have been.
The rules? No actors can return from the original films, even if they were good the first time around (sorry Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis). Also, no actors who have starred in prominent roles in other superhero movies (sorry Christian Bale and Tobey Maguire). And since this is an ensemble cast, no huge stars can be present, as they would either distract from the team dynamic or become too cost-prohibitive to cast en masse.
Let the dreamcasting begin!
REED RICHARDS = PAUL BETTANY
Paul Bettany has played a number of intellectuals already, is considered reasonably attractive though never quite the leading man, making him kind of perfect. And he's lanky enough to be called "Stretch" before his powers even kick in. Although older than Hollywood would perhaps like to make Mister Fantastic, the character was kind of an old stick-in-the-mud when he appeared, and was popular enough to sell more issues in a single month than most Hollywood movies can sell tickets these days. So there has to be something to the "old charm."
SUSAN STORM = CLAIRE DANES
Beautiful, intelligent and a plausible blonde, Claire Danes fits Susan Storm to a "t." She's also about 8 years younger than Paul Bettany, which once you reach your late twenties is just enough age difference to be a plot point, but not a creepy one. She's got her action movie chops (the under-rated Terminator 3), but most importantly she has a strong, confident on-screen presence that will help prevent her character from being the token, damsel-in-distress woman that basically happened to Jessica Alba in the first two movies.
JOHNNY STORM = BEN FOSTER
Slightly younger than Claire Danes, check. Same ethnicity so they actually look like they could be siblings? Check. Blonde? Check. Bad-ass rising star who should have been nominated for an Oscar for 3:10 to Yuma? Check. Foster's going to be one of the hottest commodities within the next few years if talent is any indication, so the time is now to snatch him up to play the flighty, flamboyant and flambe Johnny Storm. And yeah, he already played Angel in X-Men 3... for about two minutes. And pretty much every human being has strived to forget that movie anyway, so I think the slate's fairly clean.
BEN GRIMM = ADAM BALDWIN
Adam Baldwin redefined "rough on the outside, cuddly on the inside" in Joss Whedon's Firefly, and has continued that career path on the surprisingly entertaining series Chuck. Sure, we've never seen him attempt a genuine Yancy Street accent, but he's a professional. Hell, he's worked with Stanley Kubrick. He has it in him.
ALICIA MASTERS = ZOOEY DESCHANEL
Alicia Masters is lovable, pure and simple. Naturally beautiful (that is, I don't think she spends too much time in front of a mirror), but she has to have a quality that makes everyone immediately recognize what a wonderful person she is. It is this quality, after all, that eventually saves the damned planet. Can't think of anyone better than Zooey Deschanel, the adorable star of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Tin Man. Though perhaps a bigger name than the role suggests, she's still not getting any major lead roles at the moment, so instead of distracting the audience with her smaller role, she should instead make audiences see her as a more intrinsic part of the core dynamic.
VICTOR VON DOOM = KARL URBAN
The trick with casting Victor Von Doom is that, as much as you'd want to cast Gary Oldman, Viggo Mortensen, or any of those other wonderful actors with a bigger-than-life presence, he still needs to be the same age as Reed Richards. They were, after all, in college together. So who, then, has a dark charisma, and preferably a career of being an also-ran despite an enormous amount of skill to help the actor stay in character? Karl Urban, so charismatic in The Two Towers, yet so incapable of finding a decent starring role (Doom, The Pathfinder), is perfect. And we already know that he's comfortable wearing a full suit of armor.
HARVEY RUPERT ELDER = RAY WINSTONE
A minor villain, but when the Fantastic Four reveal themselves to the public for the first time, they certainly can't A) defeat Doctor Doom, because the FF can never really defeat him anyway, and to do so in the first act would utterly diminish him as a franchise villain, or B) fight some chump, or faceless group of terrorists. The Mole Man's appearance, tied in directly with the Negative Zone portal built by Richards (we're using the Ultimate Origin, incidentally), as a wrangler of inter-dimensional monsters kicks the action off with a bang, and allows Ray Winstone to go nuts as the underlord of Manhattan.
ANNIHILUS = GARY OLDMAN
At the end of Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom can't be defeated or his presence over the sequels won't hold any weight. So instead, he has to be set back. The best way to do this is to use a villain that even Doom wants to defeat, forcing an uneasy alliance between our heroes and their greatest nemesis. After a perceived "first strike" by the Fantastic Four against the Negative Zone, Annihilus invades Earth in retaliation. And the only way to top a well-written Doctor Doom is to have the top villain in Hollywood, Gary Oldman, play his greatest threat.
What do you think, sirs?
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Meet Snake-Eyes in What is Apparently a Dark Alley
My response to the new stills of Snake-Eyes in Stephen Sommers' G.I. Joe?
Well, at least Snake-Eyes looks right. It's nice to see that filmmakers have realized that it's important to see costumed live-action characters in interesting lighting when introducing them to an existing fanbase. Remember those X-Men pics that everyone hated, with flat lighting, flat backgrounds, that made some eventually really sweet costumes look like utter crap?
Well, at least Snake-Eyes looks right. It's nice to see that filmmakers have realized that it's important to see costumed live-action characters in interesting lighting when introducing them to an existing fanbase. Remember those X-Men pics that everyone hated, with flat lighting, flat backgrounds, that made some eventually really sweet costumes look like utter crap?
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Is THIS the face of Scott Pilgrim???
(Hmmmm...)Now, according the Hollywood Reporter, Juno's Michael Cera is in negotiations to star as the titular character.
(The greatest line of dialogue in comics history. Possibly the greatest page in comics history. Easily the greatest use of swearing in the history of the English language. For reals.)Not sure I see it. He's talented, sure, but can he pull off the awkward, yet all-encompassing charm? Can he play bass, but not very well? And can he kick massive amounts of ass?
Looks like we have a "wait and see" on our hands, folks. I'm not sold yet, but if Edgar Wright can see it, then I'll give him the benefit of the doubt...
For now.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends thoughts
So writing about Spectacular Spider-Man got me thinking about this classic series from the 1980s. In watching the old intro on Youtube, two things came to mind that always bugged me.
1. Peter's apartment weirds me out. Pulling on a football trophy causes supercomputers underneath Pete's couch to appear? How does Aunt May not notice this? Has she never dusted that trophy? And how long until she realizes that he nerdy nephew never played a game of football in his life? And how do the people living beneath them feel about having a super-computer on their ceiling every day, except on those rare instances when there's a couch instead?
2. Yellow is not Dr. Doom's color.
I'm famous (again and again)
To those who don't know:
I was recently interviewed for both Viral on Veoh and Jonathan London's Geekscape podcasts about Bus Pirates. On Geekscape, I also got to go all Tarantino-like and review some movies, comics and videogames. Here are the links, hope you enjoy them, blah blah...
VIRAL ON VEOH:
http://www.veoh.com/videos/v6234985a7Fk56je?searchId=2381827141820972017&rank=6
GEEKSCAPE:
I was recently interviewed for both Viral on Veoh and Jonathan London's Geekscape podcasts about Bus Pirates. On Geekscape, I also got to go all Tarantino-like and review some movies, comics and videogames. Here are the links, hope you enjoy them, blah blah...
VIRAL ON VEOH:
http://www.veoh.com/videos/v6234985a7Fk56je?searchId=2381827141820972017&rank=6
GEEKSCAPE:
http://www.pod.geekscape.net/Geekscape065.m4v - Right click and Download and watch it in Video!!
http://www.pod.geekscape.net/Geekscape065.mp3 - Right click and Download the magic in Audio!!
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=211000351 - Click for iTunes video and all the action!!
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=212023196 - Click for some iTunes audio, baby!!
Da Fug? Spectacular Spider-Man is good?!
Well, I didn't see this one coming...
If you haven't checked out Spectacular Spider-Man on "Kids WB" (and I really hate writing that), then you should. It looks like Marvel finally has a decent animated series to their credit.
And before you argue, shut up. Have you actually tried watching X-Men: The Animated Series or the 1990's Fox Spider-Man series lately? I too have rose-colored glasses hiding in a drawer somewhere that I used to put on when talking about these shows, then I actually tried watching a few episodes. The writing was "eh" at best - good for Saturday morning, pale in comparison to the Bruce Timm-iverse. And the character models were so heavily detailed that the actual animation quality suffered as a result. Way too hard to make those characters move when each one always has to look "just so."
Spectacular, on the other hand, is shaping up quite nicely after a slightly rocky start. The art style is slightly mangafied. In fact, I'd venture far enough to say that the creators are probably big "Scott Pilgrim" fans judging from the character models. The result is a fluid, youthful feel that's very inviting once you get used to it.
From a story perspective, they're actually creating a very cohesive universe between episodes. Character arcs continue as the show progresses, and they're dovetailing a lot of characters' origins into plausible narratives that are faithful to the comics without being beholden to them. Granted, a few of the costumes leave a little to be desired. Electro in particular is something of a disappointment, but each villain also has a fair amount of pathos to them, keeping the show from being a "villain of the week" series and instead creating done-in-one plots with people you actually care about.
That said, it's a little annoying that villains keep "naming themselves" after something someone called them off-handedly only once. I wouldn't have noticed if it didn't happen twice in only three episodes.
Still, a list of things I appreciate:
1. Surprisingly infectious new Spider-Man theme song. Weird the first time you hear it, but it genuinely grows on you.
2. Gwen Stacy is one of the main characters. Apparently Mary Jane is showing up later, but the show's creators decided to use Gwen even though she hasn't been a series regular in any major Spidey series in years/decades.
3. The series really shows Spider-Man screwing up Peter Parker's life. The old series had Peter being late for dates and such, but in this one there are consequences. Peter has a curfew as a result of Spider-Man related activities, and so frequently has to call Aunt May in the middle of fighting for his life. Peter keeps trying to get pictures of Spider-Man to sell to the Bugle, but they always suck for one reason or another (blurry, or a window reflects the flash making it unusable, etc.) And the one time he does get a good picture, his byline proves that he was out taking pictures when he should have been helping as Peter Parker, making him lose his job. This is good stuff, people.
4. Armpit webs. Haven't seen 'em in action before, to the best of my knowledge. My roommate didn't even know Spider-Man suppose to have those.
And some flaws:
1. The naming thing is a little lame, as discussed above.
2. Every episode ends with an establishing shot, in which a spider web is super-imposed over the sky. Retro, but distractingly so.
3. Making all of the origins cohesive leads to some distracting coincidences. Two monsters in two weeks, both stemming from Doctor Connors' lab? Might be time to pack up shop, Doc. That place is cursed.
Still, even these problems are all a result of over-thinking rather than under-thinking. It is weird that people would name themselves something villainous, so they try to explain it away. And it's almost more of a coincidence if all of these failed scientific experiments are completely UNconnected, so I'll let that slide too. And at least the spider-horizon is a cute idea in theory.
Once again, however, I have to say that this is officially a TV show worth watching for Spider-fans and casual viewers alike, and I went in thoroughly expecting to hate its ever-loving guts too.
Go Spidey, Go!
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Comics Reviews: Week of 11-07-07
In what I intend to be an ongoing series, here are my comics reviews for titles that shipped on November 7th, 2007, in alphabetical order.
A few notes going in:
A) I only review comics that I either buy or read in their entirety. Since it's coming out of my own pocket, this means that I'm really only reviewing comics that I'm interested in. If I seem to have a general tendency towards positive reviews, then that's why. I'd review a lot more books, good, bad and in between, if I had the money to spend on them.
B) I'm not reviewing every single comic I buy. I'll try to stick to notable titles or issues that I take issue with.
C) I'm also going to try to keep these reviews short. I know, I know, it's going to be an uphill battle. But I swear I'm going to try.
ASTONISHING X-MEN #23 (Marvel)
Writer: Joss Whedon
Penciller: John Cassaday
Whedon's and Cassaday's run on X-Men ranks among Claremont's and Morrison's as my favorite runs on any x-related title, but the sporadic shipping schedule has indeed hurt the book. Joss Whedon - possibly my favorite writer, period - has crafted a series of memorable tales with spot-on characterization and a number of surprises, but his organic pacing suffers a bit when you don't clearly remember what happened last because it's been so long since you read the last issue. I guarantee you, however, that this thing will read like gangbusters in trade.
In this issue, the Breakworld saga continues, Cyclops gets to kick ass (which, let's be honest, he's hardly ever done outside of this series), and Whedon recycles a plot device from Season 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Normally that's something that I would complain about, except that it's such a good idea that he actually tricked me with it both times. As always, Cassaday proves that he's probably the best damned artist in the business today, and probably one of the best ever.
B+
THE EXTERMINATORS #23 (DC/Vertigo)
Writer: Simon Oliver
Penciller: Darick Robertson
Some critics make a big deal about whichever comic is at the top of their pile each week - the one book that they just can't wait to read. Me, I make a big deal about what I keep at the bottom of my pile. That's the book that I'm confident will make every other thing in my buy pile look bad if I don't save it for last. And every time it comes out, that book is The Exterminators.
If you haven't been reading it, issue #23 is not the issue to start. Actually, The Exterminators is one of those books that really need to be read from the first issue to be fully appreciated. The manner in which Oliver and his team of artists has taken a seemingly slice-of-disgusting-life series and turned it into an apocalyptic tale of survival is nothing short of a marvel.
In this issue, the battle continues, having officially begun a few issues prior. It's the Bug-Be-Gone boys versus an army of Mayan Hissers (giant cockroaches) and their messianic resurrected human leader. The most action-packed issue of the week is from Vertigo. You don't get to say that very often. Classic stuff.
A
FREDDY VS. JASON VS. ASH #1 of 6 (DC/Wildstorm)
Writers: Jeff Katz and James Anthony Kuhoric
Art: Jason Craig
Based off the unused screenplay for the film everyone on the planet (who counts) wants to see, this mini-series brings us the long-awaited face-off between Ashley J. Williams, Jason Voorhees and Frederick Krueger. It just doesn't bring it to us in the first issue. Sigh...
Playing like a direct sequel to Freddy Vs. Jason, the story opens with the two surviving cast members from that film returning to Crystal Lake because, as Ash himself admits, they're idiots. We're then introduced to the new status quo. Jason continues to haunt Camp Crystal Lake, but he's haunted in turn by the decapitated head of Freddy Krueger who torments him with some pretty horrific visions. Freddy himself posits a solution - Jason needs to acquire a copy of the Necronomicon to free both unstoppable monsters from their torment. On the last page, Ash (who has been narrating this whole time) shows up. Presumably, he's going to have something to say about this Necronomicon business.
I'm cutting this issue a little slack. Normally, decompression is a frustrating storytelling style in comics (I'm looking at you, House of M), but given that this series is supposedly based pretty closely off of a screenplay it makes a certain degree of sense that this is the structure we're getting. Aside from the a-little-overused voice-over, this issue plays like the beginning to what might be a very fun movie. I just hope that they get to actual "versus" part of the title soon.
B
GROO: HELL ON EARTH #1 of 4 (Dark Horse)
Writers: Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier
Art: Sergio Aragones
Groo is back! This is a good day for people of the world everywhere who know how to A) read, and B) find a comic book store. In this latest mini-series, Groo finds himself in the Kingdom of Uslip, currently suffering from two princes arguing over who deserves to reign. Prince Buco, who has managed to actually become king, spends all of his energy on building weaponry, even though there aren't any wars at the moment. Prince Guco spends his energy bitching about not being king, and warning the people about the effect all of the new factories are having on the environment.
The people listen to Guco enough to be dissatisfied, but not enough to change their lifestyles. Meanwhile, neighboring kingdoms hear that Uslip is building weapons, so they start building weapons too. Everyone is preparing for war, but no one knows why.
If those metaphors are pretty on-the-nose for you, that's because they are. But the delight of Groo is the way Aragones and Evanier manage to tackle topical issues head-on without ever feeling like, oh, I don't know... Crash. It's deft and it's funny, albeit in a smile-to-yourself constantly manner more than a laugh-out-loud one. And Aragones art is pleasantly cartoony whilst at the same time being insanely detailed. The spread on pages 2 and 3 holds up just as well as some of Hitch's crazier issues of The Ultimates, and that's not something that can be said lightly.
Oh yeah, Groo is in this issue too. He hasn't killed too many people yet, but the mini-series is still young.
A
HOWARD THE DUCK #2 of 4 (Marvel)
Writer: Ty Templeton
Penciller: Juan Bobillo
Someone asked me recently why anyone gives a damn about Howard the Duck when the Marvel Universe has Spider-Man, the Avengers and X-Men vying for our attentions too. The reason is simple: In the Marvel Universe, filled with iconic heroes, villains and anti-heroes, gigantic space battles and Civil Wars, the only voice of reason is a anthropomorphized talking duck. That's how insane the Marvel U is these days (and, if you think about it, always has been).
This latest mini-series got off to an entertaining start, but as of the second issue I'm a little concerned. The writing is spot-on and Juan Bobillo cements his position as one of the best unsung artists in the biz, but with all of the craziness going on in the world - both real and fictional - it seems somewhat anti-climactic to use a Howard the Duck book to comment on fame and viral videos. Still, it's not fair to judge the book based on something it's not trying to be, but it does lose points for - at the moment - being more-or-less completely disposable.
B
THE NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI #5 of 5 (Marvel)
Writers: Brian Michael Bendis and Brian Reed
Penciller: Jim Cheung
So after four issues of showing how the Illuminati dealt with previous major Marvel events, we get an issue setting up the next Marvel event. And it's pretty good. After Spider-Woman brings the Skrully corpse of Elektra to Tony Stark (which isn't very well explained in the issue itself, so it helps if you've been reading New Avengers), he gathers the Illuminati to discuss the ramifications, and to determine if Earth is truly at war... and possibly already conquered.
Then *SPOILER* Black Bolt talks without destroying the planet. Apparently, he's been a Skrull since shortly after the Kree/Skrull War. Didn't he use his vocal powers between then? I might need to read Paul Jenkins' Inhumans mini-series and Silent War again, but hasn't he? And speaking of Silent War, does this mean that the Skrulls want Maximus the Mad in control of the Inhumans? How could that possibly help anyone's cause, besides Maximus of course?
Decent questions. Marvel has a history lately of asking decent questions, then failing to give us interesting answers. Civil War and M-Day never satisfactorily dealt with most of the ramifications of their events, at least across the line (a few series did a decent job, but they were exceptions, not the rule). So we'll see where this goes. Still, that's the future. This issue? Bang-up job by everyone involved. Great writing (it's nice to see Tony Stark openly doubting himself for a change, and basically echoing everything Luke Cage has been saying since Civil War ended), excellent pencils. If Secret Invasion fails to impress, this issue of Illuminati might suffer in hindsight, but as it stands:
B+
SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP: MODOK'S ELEVEN #5 of 5 (Marvel)
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Penciller: Francis Portela
One of the shinier gems of the year ends on a high note - full of unexpected twists and turns, yet never hard to follow. Excellent characterization, quality art. If you missed this series, you'd better get the trade. I mean it. I now realize that I don't have much else to say here besides a general praise for everyone involved with this series. As usual, one of Marvel's ancillary titles has again outshined most of their flagship best-sellers.
Series Rating: A
WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY: ARMAGEDDON #1 (of 1) (DC/Wildstorm)
Writer: Christos Gage
Pencillers: Neil Googe & Horacio Domingues
Confession time. Aside from the aborted runs on The Authority and WildC.A.T.S., the only two Wildstorm titles I've been reading are Stormwatch P.H.D. (now passed) and Welcome to Tranquility. So when the writer of Stormwatch pens an issue of Tranquility, I'm in, but skeptical. Original characters are increasingly sacred these days, with only Brian Michael Bendis attempting to tell stories with new characters once their originator is done with them. Frequently, this is because writing characters using their popularized voices if very difficult. Would you want to write a Y: The Last Man issue, knowing that you're just going to be compared to Brian K. Vaughan?
Well, Christos Gage steps up to the plate and knocks Tranquility out of the park. This issue feels almost exactly like an issue of the regular series. It's a bit more dense than usual (that's Gage for you), but the characterizations are spot on and fit comfortably into the word Gail Simone originally created. No easy task, particularly for a writer as talented as Simone.
In this issue, Maximum Man - the elderly hero who turns into a young Greek God at will, and at the start of the issue is enjoying it immensely with all of the young women in town - gets sent to the near future, where a sudden attack from all super-villains past, present, and possibly future has left all of the world, with the exception of Tranquility, in ruins. Maximum Man does what he can to help the world, although an interesting conversation with Acolyte raises some doubt. Isn't the world supposed to end someday? Who are we to prevent it?
The rub comes at the end of the issue, which almost makes it a disposable Elseworlds title (Superman kills Lois Lane? It's okay, it's just Elseworlds!), although given that the issue advertises that we should read Wetworks: Armageddon next, I guess it's an Elseworld destined to pass, although the story we just read might have almost no relevance to it except as a teaser. If this issue does contribute to the story later on, I'll be very pleased, but given the uncertain possibility that it won't...
B
Y: THE LAST MAN #59 (of 60) (DC/Vertigo)
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Penciller: Pia Guerra
All good things come to an end. It's been argued, however, that the good things in Y: The Last Man actually came to an end 5 or 6 issues ago. It's true that this series lost a bit of much-needed steam after the revelation of why all the mammals in the world with a Y-chromosome died (an explanation which, as of this issue, is in still in dispute in the comic itself), but there are some surprises to be found. Namely, the ending of the last issue, which managed to shock the hell of out everyone I know who has been reading the book.
The follow-up, however, is a little anti-climactic, making a key character's death seem a little less significant than it probably should have been. Add to that the unexpected revelation of why Alter has been so obsessed with finding Yorick Brown all these years, which I think a lot of people forgot was even in question (if you think about it, it was never really even set up as a mystery... maybe this issue would have been more effective if it was). It was interesting, but lacked the dramatic heft that would really have helped the series truck to its finale. It does make a certain degree of sense, and deftly ties into an earlier (seemingly stand-alone) storyline, but for what looks to be the last big revelation of the series... it lacks "oomph."
Still, Y: The Last Man remains a quality series, even if the last 6-7 issues play more like an extended denouement rather than a climax. Maybe Vaughan can pull this all together in the last issue to really make the ending sing. If anyone can, it's definitely him.
C+
(Note: No DC U books this week. Weird...)
A few notes going in:
A) I only review comics that I either buy or read in their entirety. Since it's coming out of my own pocket, this means that I'm really only reviewing comics that I'm interested in. If I seem to have a general tendency towards positive reviews, then that's why. I'd review a lot more books, good, bad and in between, if I had the money to spend on them.
B) I'm not reviewing every single comic I buy. I'll try to stick to notable titles or issues that I take issue with.
C) I'm also going to try to keep these reviews short. I know, I know, it's going to be an uphill battle. But I swear I'm going to try.
ASTONISHING X-MEN #23 (Marvel)
Writer: Joss Whedon
Penciller: John Cassaday
Whedon's and Cassaday's run on X-Men ranks among Claremont's and Morrison's as my favorite runs on any x-related title, but the sporadic shipping schedule has indeed hurt the book. Joss Whedon - possibly my favorite writer, period - has crafted a series of memorable tales with spot-on characterization and a number of surprises, but his organic pacing suffers a bit when you don't clearly remember what happened last because it's been so long since you read the last issue. I guarantee you, however, that this thing will read like gangbusters in trade.
In this issue, the Breakworld saga continues, Cyclops gets to kick ass (which, let's be honest, he's hardly ever done outside of this series), and Whedon recycles a plot device from Season 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Normally that's something that I would complain about, except that it's such a good idea that he actually tricked me with it both times. As always, Cassaday proves that he's probably the best damned artist in the business today, and probably one of the best ever.
B+
THE EXTERMINATORS #23 (DC/Vertigo)
Writer: Simon Oliver
Penciller: Darick Robertson
Some critics make a big deal about whichever comic is at the top of their pile each week - the one book that they just can't wait to read. Me, I make a big deal about what I keep at the bottom of my pile. That's the book that I'm confident will make every other thing in my buy pile look bad if I don't save it for last. And every time it comes out, that book is The Exterminators.
If you haven't been reading it, issue #23 is not the issue to start. Actually, The Exterminators is one of those books that really need to be read from the first issue to be fully appreciated. The manner in which Oliver and his team of artists has taken a seemingly slice-of-disgusting-life series and turned it into an apocalyptic tale of survival is nothing short of a marvel.
In this issue, the battle continues, having officially begun a few issues prior. It's the Bug-Be-Gone boys versus an army of Mayan Hissers (giant cockroaches) and their messianic resurrected human leader. The most action-packed issue of the week is from Vertigo. You don't get to say that very often. Classic stuff.
A
FREDDY VS. JASON VS. ASH #1 of 6 (DC/Wildstorm)
Writers: Jeff Katz and James Anthony Kuhoric
Art: Jason Craig
Based off the unused screenplay for the film everyone on the planet (who counts) wants to see, this mini-series brings us the long-awaited face-off between Ashley J. Williams, Jason Voorhees and Frederick Krueger. It just doesn't bring it to us in the first issue. Sigh...
Playing like a direct sequel to Freddy Vs. Jason, the story opens with the two surviving cast members from that film returning to Crystal Lake because, as Ash himself admits, they're idiots. We're then introduced to the new status quo. Jason continues to haunt Camp Crystal Lake, but he's haunted in turn by the decapitated head of Freddy Krueger who torments him with some pretty horrific visions. Freddy himself posits a solution - Jason needs to acquire a copy of the Necronomicon to free both unstoppable monsters from their torment. On the last page, Ash (who has been narrating this whole time) shows up. Presumably, he's going to have something to say about this Necronomicon business.
I'm cutting this issue a little slack. Normally, decompression is a frustrating storytelling style in comics (I'm looking at you, House of M), but given that this series is supposedly based pretty closely off of a screenplay it makes a certain degree of sense that this is the structure we're getting. Aside from the a-little-overused voice-over, this issue plays like the beginning to what might be a very fun movie. I just hope that they get to actual "versus" part of the title soon.
B
GROO: HELL ON EARTH #1 of 4 (Dark Horse)
Writers: Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier
Art: Sergio Aragones
Groo is back! This is a good day for people of the world everywhere who know how to A) read, and B) find a comic book store. In this latest mini-series, Groo finds himself in the Kingdom of Uslip, currently suffering from two princes arguing over who deserves to reign. Prince Buco, who has managed to actually become king, spends all of his energy on building weaponry, even though there aren't any wars at the moment. Prince Guco spends his energy bitching about not being king, and warning the people about the effect all of the new factories are having on the environment.
The people listen to Guco enough to be dissatisfied, but not enough to change their lifestyles. Meanwhile, neighboring kingdoms hear that Uslip is building weapons, so they start building weapons too. Everyone is preparing for war, but no one knows why.
If those metaphors are pretty on-the-nose for you, that's because they are. But the delight of Groo is the way Aragones and Evanier manage to tackle topical issues head-on without ever feeling like, oh, I don't know... Crash. It's deft and it's funny, albeit in a smile-to-yourself constantly manner more than a laugh-out-loud one. And Aragones art is pleasantly cartoony whilst at the same time being insanely detailed. The spread on pages 2 and 3 holds up just as well as some of Hitch's crazier issues of The Ultimates, and that's not something that can be said lightly.
Oh yeah, Groo is in this issue too. He hasn't killed too many people yet, but the mini-series is still young.
A
HOWARD THE DUCK #2 of 4 (Marvel)
Writer: Ty Templeton
Penciller: Juan Bobillo
Someone asked me recently why anyone gives a damn about Howard the Duck when the Marvel Universe has Spider-Man, the Avengers and X-Men vying for our attentions too. The reason is simple: In the Marvel Universe, filled with iconic heroes, villains and anti-heroes, gigantic space battles and Civil Wars, the only voice of reason is a anthropomorphized talking duck. That's how insane the Marvel U is these days (and, if you think about it, always has been).
This latest mini-series got off to an entertaining start, but as of the second issue I'm a little concerned. The writing is spot-on and Juan Bobillo cements his position as one of the best unsung artists in the biz, but with all of the craziness going on in the world - both real and fictional - it seems somewhat anti-climactic to use a Howard the Duck book to comment on fame and viral videos. Still, it's not fair to judge the book based on something it's not trying to be, but it does lose points for - at the moment - being more-or-less completely disposable.
B
THE NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI #5 of 5 (Marvel)
Writers: Brian Michael Bendis and Brian Reed
Penciller: Jim Cheung
So after four issues of showing how the Illuminati dealt with previous major Marvel events, we get an issue setting up the next Marvel event. And it's pretty good. After Spider-Woman brings the Skrully corpse of Elektra to Tony Stark (which isn't very well explained in the issue itself, so it helps if you've been reading New Avengers), he gathers the Illuminati to discuss the ramifications, and to determine if Earth is truly at war... and possibly already conquered.
Then *SPOILER* Black Bolt talks without destroying the planet. Apparently, he's been a Skrull since shortly after the Kree/Skrull War. Didn't he use his vocal powers between then? I might need to read Paul Jenkins' Inhumans mini-series and Silent War again, but hasn't he? And speaking of Silent War, does this mean that the Skrulls want Maximus the Mad in control of the Inhumans? How could that possibly help anyone's cause, besides Maximus of course?
Decent questions. Marvel has a history lately of asking decent questions, then failing to give us interesting answers. Civil War and M-Day never satisfactorily dealt with most of the ramifications of their events, at least across the line (a few series did a decent job, but they were exceptions, not the rule). So we'll see where this goes. Still, that's the future. This issue? Bang-up job by everyone involved. Great writing (it's nice to see Tony Stark openly doubting himself for a change, and basically echoing everything Luke Cage has been saying since Civil War ended), excellent pencils. If Secret Invasion fails to impress, this issue of Illuminati might suffer in hindsight, but as it stands:
B+
SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP: MODOK'S ELEVEN #5 of 5 (Marvel)
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Penciller: Francis Portela
One of the shinier gems of the year ends on a high note - full of unexpected twists and turns, yet never hard to follow. Excellent characterization, quality art. If you missed this series, you'd better get the trade. I mean it. I now realize that I don't have much else to say here besides a general praise for everyone involved with this series. As usual, one of Marvel's ancillary titles has again outshined most of their flagship best-sellers.
Series Rating: A
WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY: ARMAGEDDON #1 (of 1) (DC/Wildstorm)
Writer: Christos Gage
Pencillers: Neil Googe & Horacio Domingues
Confession time. Aside from the aborted runs on The Authority and WildC.A.T.S., the only two Wildstorm titles I've been reading are Stormwatch P.H.D. (now passed) and Welcome to Tranquility. So when the writer of Stormwatch pens an issue of Tranquility, I'm in, but skeptical. Original characters are increasingly sacred these days, with only Brian Michael Bendis attempting to tell stories with new characters once their originator is done with them. Frequently, this is because writing characters using their popularized voices if very difficult. Would you want to write a Y: The Last Man issue, knowing that you're just going to be compared to Brian K. Vaughan?
Well, Christos Gage steps up to the plate and knocks Tranquility out of the park. This issue feels almost exactly like an issue of the regular series. It's a bit more dense than usual (that's Gage for you), but the characterizations are spot on and fit comfortably into the word Gail Simone originally created. No easy task, particularly for a writer as talented as Simone.
In this issue, Maximum Man - the elderly hero who turns into a young Greek God at will, and at the start of the issue is enjoying it immensely with all of the young women in town - gets sent to the near future, where a sudden attack from all super-villains past, present, and possibly future has left all of the world, with the exception of Tranquility, in ruins. Maximum Man does what he can to help the world, although an interesting conversation with Acolyte raises some doubt. Isn't the world supposed to end someday? Who are we to prevent it?
The rub comes at the end of the issue, which almost makes it a disposable Elseworlds title (Superman kills Lois Lane? It's okay, it's just Elseworlds!), although given that the issue advertises that we should read Wetworks: Armageddon next, I guess it's an Elseworld destined to pass, although the story we just read might have almost no relevance to it except as a teaser. If this issue does contribute to the story later on, I'll be very pleased, but given the uncertain possibility that it won't...
B
Y: THE LAST MAN #59 (of 60) (DC/Vertigo)
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Penciller: Pia Guerra
All good things come to an end. It's been argued, however, that the good things in Y: The Last Man actually came to an end 5 or 6 issues ago. It's true that this series lost a bit of much-needed steam after the revelation of why all the mammals in the world with a Y-chromosome died (an explanation which, as of this issue, is in still in dispute in the comic itself), but there are some surprises to be found. Namely, the ending of the last issue, which managed to shock the hell of out everyone I know who has been reading the book.
The follow-up, however, is a little anti-climactic, making a key character's death seem a little less significant than it probably should have been. Add to that the unexpected revelation of why Alter has been so obsessed with finding Yorick Brown all these years, which I think a lot of people forgot was even in question (if you think about it, it was never really even set up as a mystery... maybe this issue would have been more effective if it was). It was interesting, but lacked the dramatic heft that would really have helped the series truck to its finale. It does make a certain degree of sense, and deftly ties into an earlier (seemingly stand-alone) storyline, but for what looks to be the last big revelation of the series... it lacks "oomph."
Still, Y: The Last Man remains a quality series, even if the last 6-7 issues play more like an extended denouement rather than a climax. Maybe Vaughan can pull this all together in the last issue to really make the ending sing. If anyone can, it's definitely him.
C+
(Note: No DC U books this week. Weird...)
Friday, October 26, 2007
Where the hell have I been?
(Self-explanatory, I think.)I've been on a bit of a sabbatical for the last week. Already? I know, I know. I'm beginning to feel a bit like Bill Watterson. Not that talented, mind you, just in need of more sabbaticals than most deem appropriate. And my apologies.
What have I been doing? Well, besides generally getting my life together (which we will not speak of, since this isn't one of those blogs), the last week has consisted primarily of getting to know The Orange Box better than the last girl I dated and finishing my first feature length horror screenplay.
(Bill Watterson predicts my early 20's with astounding accuracy from the year 1980.)We'll get to the screenplay in a minute. Right now, I'm wondering if anyone else is encountering a hell of a learning curve on Team Fortress. No tutorials, no single-player, Team Fortress 2 just throws you into the deep end of the pool and expects you to figure out the rules to water polo. No dice, guys. I get the general principle, but my interest is already waning. Luckily, I still have Half-Life 2, Episodes 1 & 2 left. That should keep Valve in my good graces... For now.
As for my screenplay, "Bad Science" is officially a first draft and not some incomplete mass of black space and dialogue taking up small amounts of nevertheless valuable space on my hard drive. I'll be shopping it around shortly, as soon as a few close friends and associates have a look at it. It's either an enormous piece of shit or, in its way, the best thing I've ever done. Probably both.
(Bill Watterson provides a textbook example what will surely be Hollywood's reaction to my latest screenplay.)A conversation with my roommate got me thinking today about learning how to read. Amazing, isn't it, how we turn large numbers of strung-together abstract symbols and consider it a language? A part of me also finds it hard to remember a time when learning to read was a goal, not a memory. I used to annoy the hell out of my elementary school teachers, begging them to finally teach us how to read, when in fact I'd pretty much figured it out myself. But on what?
(I agree, Bill.)It chagrins my mother a bit, but the very first things I ever consciously remember reading were a pair of comic books, poured through back-to-back. These issues were a "gift" of sorts from my brother. Specifically, they were books that he no longer wanted or considered disposable. My brother's tastes and mine began to veer in different directions from that very point onward.
(No slight to Sergio Aragones' pencils, but Cheetara - not Chakaal - was my first cartoon crush.)First, if I remember the order correctly, was issue #51 of Groo the Wanderer, by Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier. In it (if memory serves), Groo - the stupidest and most deadly man alive - tries to impress brave female warrior Chakaal by helping her rid a village of helpless citizens from two warring factions. Chakaal's plan is to send messengers to both armies, each message ostensibly from the other side, enticing them to engage in battle at a certain location beneath a dam. Once they were in place, Chakaal and the villagers would destroy the dam, killing both armies in the ensuing flood. Easy, right?
Groo, in an attempt to impress Chakaal, intercepts both messengers and is shocked to discover that both armies are giving up the war forever. Infuriated that Chakaal's plan will fail as a result of them declaring peace, he murders each army single-handedly. Realizing that he screwed everything up, Groo explains everything to Chakaal and the villagers, who are already in place beneath the dam. Chakaal marvels at Groo's ability to solve the village's problem single-handed, and starts falling for Groo. Everything ends well... until Groo remembers they forgot to implement the last part of Chakaal's plan. Groo destroys the dam, flooding the valley and killing all of the villagers he was supposed to try to save.
Yeah, a few words slipped by me here and there, but the first thing I ever read dripped with more cleverness and irony than "Go, Spot, Go." I think that's a good thing, don't you?
(20 years later, I still think this cover is bad ass.)Next came G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #52. In this issue, the Joes are off on a training seminar when Stormshadow - the king bad ass of my childhood - crashes the party. After breaking crossbow bolts in mid-air and fighting off an entire squad of trained soldiers, he reveals that he has seen the error of his ways and wants to defect from Cobra (or something to that effect). And he would have said as much, had the Joes not attacked him on sight! His rival, Snake-Eyes - the other bad ass, who in this issue cuts a statue in half so skillfully that it stays intact until he stamps the ground - takes pity on Stormshadow and offers him his cabin in the woods to hide and find himself.
Meanwhile, Zartan is looking for new recruits for his gang of mercenaries. Placing all of his candidates in a "last man standing situation," in which the survivor gets to join, a bevy of ultra-violence ensues (well, ultra-violent for the Comics Code era, at least). The victor finally reveals himself to be the guy who stood back, let everyone else kill each other, then blew up the seeming winner. I'm not sure what I learned from this, except maybe to fight dirty should the need ever arise. Thus far, it hasn't come up. But I'm waiting...
(True for almost any art form, I think.)
Meanwhile, Zartan is looking for new recruits for his gang of mercenaries. Placing all of his candidates in a "last man standing situation," in which the survivor gets to join, a bevy of ultra-violence ensues (well, ultra-violent for the Comics Code era, at least). The victor finally reveals himself to be the guy who stood back, let everyone else kill each other, then blew up the seeming winner. I'm not sure what I learned from this, except maybe to fight dirty should the need ever arise. Thus far, it hasn't come up. But I'm waiting...
(True for almost any art form, I think.)The above cartoons, aside from the comic book covers, are from Bill Watterson, and were discovered at the following delightful web site: http://ignatz.brinkster.net/cbillart.html
Bill Watterson's work on Calvin & Hobbes was probably the third anything I ever read, and has been massively influential on me both as an artist and a person. When I was extremely little, I sent Bill Watterson a crudely written letter telling him how much I loved his work. I included my phone number, just in case he wanted to call. (He didn't.) I guess my parents must have mailed it somehow, because a few months letter I got what I now realize was basically a form letter from Bill telling him how much appreciated that I loved the strip.
Both the letter and the envelope it came in had drawings of Calvin and Hobbes on them, and were probably printed en masse, but the gesture was nonetheless appreciated and - eventually - both were framed and reside at my parents' house along with the bulk of my comics and the few other important heirlooms of my life. My parents go through a cleaning frenzy about once a year, after which I usually discover that at least a few of my things have been given away to Good Will or some such. And I'm fine with that, but if they ever get rid of this letter, my umbrella (I'll talk about it another time), or my comics, I will have to murder them. My childhood consisted of moments, days, weeks and years that are now largely lost to me (my memory can be hazy at best), but nothing makes them more vivid than the stories I read when I was just getting influenced to become the man I am today (for better or worse).
Sorry for the delay in postings, you three people who actually read this. I'll try to keep up with this self-inflicted workload more often now that my time has been freed by the clutches of my own ridiculous imagination, shooting out of my brain in screenplay format.
Bill Watterson's work on Calvin & Hobbes was probably the third anything I ever read, and has been massively influential on me both as an artist and a person. When I was extremely little, I sent Bill Watterson a crudely written letter telling him how much I loved his work. I included my phone number, just in case he wanted to call. (He didn't.) I guess my parents must have mailed it somehow, because a few months letter I got what I now realize was basically a form letter from Bill telling him how much appreciated that I loved the strip.
Both the letter and the envelope it came in had drawings of Calvin and Hobbes on them, and were probably printed en masse, but the gesture was nonetheless appreciated and - eventually - both were framed and reside at my parents' house along with the bulk of my comics and the few other important heirlooms of my life. My parents go through a cleaning frenzy about once a year, after which I usually discover that at least a few of my things have been given away to Good Will or some such. And I'm fine with that, but if they ever get rid of this letter, my umbrella (I'll talk about it another time), or my comics, I will have to murder them. My childhood consisted of moments, days, weeks and years that are now largely lost to me (my memory can be hazy at best), but nothing makes them more vivid than the stories I read when I was just getting influenced to become the man I am today (for better or worse).
Sorry for the delay in postings, you three people who actually read this. I'll try to keep up with this self-inflicted workload more often now that my time has been freed by the clutches of my own ridiculous imagination, shooting out of my brain in screenplay format.
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