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With Spiderman 3 I am all for using this space to review the film. I am going to try to see it Saturday, but the mixed reviews have me worried.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Grant Morrison's New X-Men 143
[This post is part of a series of posts looking at Grant Morrison's New X-Men run issue by issue; for more of the same click the New X-Men label at the bottom of this post].
As I said last time, much of what I have to say about this arc I said in an online essay -- the post for issue 142 will give you the link; only part six of the essay is about issues 142-145. Here I will give only stray notes.
In the headquarters of The World there is a place called the Euthanasium, where old experiments are killed. Grant Morrison is always very good at naming things.
Weapon 15 is a religious monster prone to monologuing: "What if there is no joyful reward in the fire," a mode Morrison also writes very well.
Some of Bachalo's most beautiful layouts are in this issue -- a full page panel of a building with smaller panels superimposed to show guys climbing, for example. Bachalo gives some amazing glamour shots of the three leads, including a Wolverine Attacks image in which the background has been removed -- only white remains -- to make it uber-iconic.
a series of identical small panels, like film reel, of Fantomex just shooting his gun over and over; in one of my favorite Morrison lines he says, in the first panel "I come in peace" then says in the last panel "Did I say peace?" -- this is why Fantomex is my favorite comic book character of all time. One of my other favorite New X-Men lines is in the issue: Fantomex remarks of shooting a guy with an old fashioned AIM uniform "AIM helmet. Design classic. I could clean up on eBay. But now I'm thinking... Would bullet holes make it more collectible or less?"
And Bachalo always has a sense of humor -- one guy is so freaked out his hair has turned white. Bachalo makes a point of giving him dramatic orange glasses so when his hair color changes, you know it is the same guy. Bachalo is cluttered and chaotic -- along with Geof Darrow, Bachalo is great at drawing debris -- but he always puts these little details in to make his art clear if you take the time to look past the mess, if you take the time to figure it out. Whether he should be asking the audience to take that time is up for debate, but I have always found it rewarding, especially on Steampunk.
As I said last time, much of what I have to say about this arc I said in an online essay -- the post for issue 142 will give you the link; only part six of the essay is about issues 142-145. Here I will give only stray notes.
In the headquarters of The World there is a place called the Euthanasium, where old experiments are killed. Grant Morrison is always very good at naming things.
Weapon 15 is a religious monster prone to monologuing: "What if there is no joyful reward in the fire," a mode Morrison also writes very well.
Some of Bachalo's most beautiful layouts are in this issue -- a full page panel of a building with smaller panels superimposed to show guys climbing, for example. Bachalo gives some amazing glamour shots of the three leads, including a Wolverine Attacks image in which the background has been removed -- only white remains -- to make it uber-iconic.
a series of identical small panels, like film reel, of Fantomex just shooting his gun over and over; in one of my favorite Morrison lines he says, in the first panel "I come in peace" then says in the last panel "Did I say peace?" -- this is why Fantomex is my favorite comic book character of all time. One of my other favorite New X-Men lines is in the issue: Fantomex remarks of shooting a guy with an old fashioned AIM uniform "AIM helmet. Design classic. I could clean up on eBay. But now I'm thinking... Would bullet holes make it more collectible or less?"
And Bachalo always has a sense of humor -- one guy is so freaked out his hair has turned white. Bachalo makes a point of giving him dramatic orange glasses so when his hair color changes, you know it is the same guy. Bachalo is cluttered and chaotic -- along with Geof Darrow, Bachalo is great at drawing debris -- but he always puts these little details in to make his art clear if you take the time to look past the mess, if you take the time to figure it out. Whether he should be asking the audience to take that time is up for debate, but I have always found it rewarding, especially on Steampunk.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Brad Winderbaum's Satacracy 88 Episode 8 Part 2
The second part of episode 8 of Satacracy 88 is up at itsallinyourhands.com, and they just won a people's choice Webby award, which is quite cool.
With the episode we are firmly back in Quentin Tarantino territory, as the warrior women gear up for their uber-battle as we learn about their past in a series of flashbacks (both aspects of Kill Bill), and a guy is shot in the back-seat of the car (which happens in both Resivoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction). The victim? Director Brad Winderbaum. Tarantino 's Resivoir Dogs character dies, as does his character in From Dusk Till Dawn which he wrote (that film was directed by his friend Robert Rodriguez); in Rodriguez films Tarantino plays characters who get killed in Desperado and Planet Terror. All of those Tarantino deaths involve getting shot, if I remember correctly (though the guns are useless in the vampire movie and the zombie movie).
With the episode we are firmly back in Quentin Tarantino territory, as the warrior women gear up for their uber-battle as we learn about their past in a series of flashbacks (both aspects of Kill Bill), and a guy is shot in the back-seat of the car (which happens in both Resivoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction). The victim? Director Brad Winderbaum. Tarantino 's Resivoir Dogs character dies, as does his character in From Dusk Till Dawn which he wrote (that film was directed by his friend Robert Rodriguez); in Rodriguez films Tarantino plays characters who get killed in Desperado and Planet Terror. All of those Tarantino deaths involve getting shot, if I remember correctly (though the guns are useless in the vampire movie and the zombie movie).
Comics Out May 2, 2007
It's a Joss Whedon extravaganza today, with no less than three books out today:
Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's Astonishing X-Men #21. Whedon and Cassaday continue to fire on all cylinders. Lots of great art and lots of big melodrama, twists and turns, and lots of big jokes including a joke on the first page about the amount of time that has passed since the last issue. Joss Whedon is always fun, and this is my favorite comic book by him. But that could be because I am a sucker for all things X-Men.
Joss Whedon and Michael Ryan's Runaways #26. One perhaps fair complaint you could make about Whedon is that all of his books sound like Whedon. He could not, like Grant Morrison, do All Star Superman AND the Filth -- Whedon only has the one tone. Still, Runaways is fun, and the next issue looks like a blast.
Joss Whedon and Georges Jeanty's Buffy the Vampire Slayer #3. Yeah, this is why people either love or hate Whedon. He is the same on every book so if you don't like his thing, it will make you nuts, especially three times this week. Buffy is reminding me of the current JLA-JSA team up -- you just better remember who all these people he keeps bringing back are, or off you go to Wikipedia. I do remember, so it is OK for me, but it is not my favorite storytelling mode. This is a book for people that have seen all seven seasons, and I am not at all sure that is a good thing. There is a picture of Whedon in Buffy's dreamscape and one of the girls is reading Fray; Very insider baseball, if that is the expression. Still, it is fun to read, jokes, melodrama and so on -- just like on X-Men, just like on Runaways. The art is a little dodgy in places, but it is pretty good. On Buffy, on Angel, and on Firefly, and on all three comics this week, Whedon always nails that big hook for act breaks, episode breaks (if it is a cliffhanger), and issue breaks. Just throw something out of left field, and bam, you are done. Fun if you like that kind of thing. Annoying if you don't. I think this guy is a good storyteller, but I would not call Runaways or Buffy necessary reading.
Plus
Mike Mignola and Ducan Fegredo's Hellboy: Darkness Calls #1. Mignola is no longer drawing. The new guy does not suck, but I always thought Hellboy was a great design and had great art but not so great stories. The new guy is fine, but the Mignola art was always the point for me.
And
Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca's Sensational Spiderman Annual 2007. A Spiderman story. A sweet romantic little story, about the pleasures of marriage, with its ups and downs. Fraction must be very happy at home, and his wife must be happy with him.
Plus the last issue of 52. I am very angry at Matt Fraction right now. He wrote a whole thing on his website today, praising 52 in a way that made me want to read all of 52. I love the Matt Fraction, Matt Fraction loves 52, and he said the only thing anyone could say to get me to buy the book, which is that he was unimpressed with the first dozen or so issues but it turned around for him. I read the first dozen or so issues and then bailed, just like he did, so I was not around for this mysterious epiphany. So now I am going to have to get the trades. Ugh.
Nothing in the news jumped out at me, but you may disagree: review, recommend, discuss.
Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's Astonishing X-Men #21. Whedon and Cassaday continue to fire on all cylinders. Lots of great art and lots of big melodrama, twists and turns, and lots of big jokes including a joke on the first page about the amount of time that has passed since the last issue. Joss Whedon is always fun, and this is my favorite comic book by him. But that could be because I am a sucker for all things X-Men.
Joss Whedon and Michael Ryan's Runaways #26. One perhaps fair complaint you could make about Whedon is that all of his books sound like Whedon. He could not, like Grant Morrison, do All Star Superman AND the Filth -- Whedon only has the one tone. Still, Runaways is fun, and the next issue looks like a blast.
Joss Whedon and Georges Jeanty's Buffy the Vampire Slayer #3. Yeah, this is why people either love or hate Whedon. He is the same on every book so if you don't like his thing, it will make you nuts, especially three times this week. Buffy is reminding me of the current JLA-JSA team up -- you just better remember who all these people he keeps bringing back are, or off you go to Wikipedia. I do remember, so it is OK for me, but it is not my favorite storytelling mode. This is a book for people that have seen all seven seasons, and I am not at all sure that is a good thing. There is a picture of Whedon in Buffy's dreamscape and one of the girls is reading Fray; Very insider baseball, if that is the expression. Still, it is fun to read, jokes, melodrama and so on -- just like on X-Men, just like on Runaways. The art is a little dodgy in places, but it is pretty good. On Buffy, on Angel, and on Firefly, and on all three comics this week, Whedon always nails that big hook for act breaks, episode breaks (if it is a cliffhanger), and issue breaks. Just throw something out of left field, and bam, you are done. Fun if you like that kind of thing. Annoying if you don't. I think this guy is a good storyteller, but I would not call Runaways or Buffy necessary reading.
Plus
Mike Mignola and Ducan Fegredo's Hellboy: Darkness Calls #1. Mignola is no longer drawing. The new guy does not suck, but I always thought Hellboy was a great design and had great art but not so great stories. The new guy is fine, but the Mignola art was always the point for me.
And
Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca's Sensational Spiderman Annual 2007. A Spiderman story. A sweet romantic little story, about the pleasures of marriage, with its ups and downs. Fraction must be very happy at home, and his wife must be happy with him.
Plus the last issue of 52. I am very angry at Matt Fraction right now. He wrote a whole thing on his website today, praising 52 in a way that made me want to read all of 52. I love the Matt Fraction, Matt Fraction loves 52, and he said the only thing anyone could say to get me to buy the book, which is that he was unimpressed with the first dozen or so issues but it turned around for him. I read the first dozen or so issues and then bailed, just like he did, so I was not around for this mysterious epiphany. So now I am going to have to get the trades. Ugh.
Nothing in the news jumped out at me, but you may disagree: review, recommend, discuss.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
From Bill Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words 4 (Commonplace Book)
More annoying words from Bryson:
Factious, Factitious: Factious applies to factions and thus refers to something that promotes internal bickering. Factitious applies to that which is artificial, such as applause for a despotic ruler. Neither should be confused with fractious, a terms for something disorderly or unruly.
Feasible does not mean probable or plausible, as is sometimes thought, but rather capable of being done. An action can be feasible without being either desirable or likely.
Flammable and Inflammable mean the same thing; the root of inflammable is "inflame"; flammable was invented in the 20th century because too many people thought they "in" meant "not" as in incombustible (something that WON'T burn).
Fulsome is one of the most frequently misapplied words in English. The sense that is usually applied to it -- that of being abundant or unstinting -- is almost the opposite of the word's historic meaning. Fulsome is related to foul and means odious or overfull, offensively insincere.
Habits: customary habits, or usual habits are redundant phrases.
Home, Hone: Hone means to sharpen, home means to seek out a target.
Iterate, reiterate: because reiterate means to repeat, many people assume iterate means simply to state; in fact iterate also meas to repeat. On another point again is always redundant with re- words (reaffirm, repeat) and should be deleted.
Factious, Factitious: Factious applies to factions and thus refers to something that promotes internal bickering. Factitious applies to that which is artificial, such as applause for a despotic ruler. Neither should be confused with fractious, a terms for something disorderly or unruly.
Feasible does not mean probable or plausible, as is sometimes thought, but rather capable of being done. An action can be feasible without being either desirable or likely.
Flammable and Inflammable mean the same thing; the root of inflammable is "inflame"; flammable was invented in the 20th century because too many people thought they "in" meant "not" as in incombustible (something that WON'T burn).
Fulsome is one of the most frequently misapplied words in English. The sense that is usually applied to it -- that of being abundant or unstinting -- is almost the opposite of the word's historic meaning. Fulsome is related to foul and means odious or overfull, offensively insincere.
Habits: customary habits, or usual habits are redundant phrases.
Home, Hone: Hone means to sharpen, home means to seek out a target.
Iterate, reiterate: because reiterate means to repeat, many people assume iterate means simply to state; in fact iterate also meas to repeat. On another point again is always redundant with re- words (reaffirm, repeat) and should be deleted.
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