Casanova 13. I am busy putting together a list of my must read prestige books -- All Star Superman, WE3, Assault on Weapon Plus, Dark Knight Strikes Again (nothing that would surprise any of you) -- and this one is right on the top of the list. I love this book for the same reasons I love the others on that list -- at no point to I have to say things like "Oh, yeah, the Invisibles is great but the art is spotty in parts," or "Seven Soldiers is awesome but the end maybe leaves a little to be desired." I love the fluid line work and the colors -- like drawing with water. I love the crazy things the characters say: ""I'm a robot inside of a robot inside of another robot. I'm like a nesting doll that gives blowjobs steeped in existential ennui." And I love how Fraction thinks: I like how he balances the science fiction "cheat" -- not really a cheat since the existence of perfect replica robot people has been a core part of this book since early on --. Let me start that sentence again. I like how he balances the science fiction "cheat" to get out of the events of last issue (they were all robots) with the idea that even if you have a mad sci-fi escape maybe you should reject it for emotion and a blind faith in the power of the unique.
Punisher War Journal 18. Marvel with the product placement. Very disturbing. I have to believe it could be incorporated into the image more naturally. I mean I know they are in a guitar store, but the ad is to poorly incorporated it looks like a sticker has been placed over the art. I am not always against product placement -- people use products and GMC, for example, has some awesome product placement on 24. I don't even drive a car and now I associate the brand with the one thing that can save America. I am not saying Marvel should stop, but they should find a way to not make it so jarring. Cause it makes me hate comic books. Also, Chaykin continues to elude me.
Amazing Spiderman 555. Bachalo, on the other hand, I get. Bachalo I love. Bachalo would do a hell of a Casanova volume -- this is a guy who can do what that book needs: cute girls, and dense visual information. Check out the cover of this Spiderman issue to see how he has reached a compromise with people who say he is too cluttered: the image is a cluttered as he gets, but the colors isolate our heroes so we can see, nice and fast, what is going on. The same spare use of colors for the interior snow scenes is just beautiful and iconic. Bachalo draws a great Wolverine, though I suppose you could argue he is too cartoony. You can't argue such a thing for Spiderman. Bachalo is great for Spiderman, which is a character who needs to be a lot of fun, especially the Brand New Day version. The white borders are nice, especially with the snow, and cute girls Bachalo can draw like no man's business. Bachalo makes me want to date Betty. I know every time I write about Bachalo and cute girls -- and I write it a lot -- I sound shallow, but I think superhero comic books need cute girls and the ones that get all the attention are often no more than grotesque ... things. A note to the writer however -- grab a book on verse. There is more to writing poetry -- even Dr. Strange's speeches -- than the occasional rhyme. The use of rhythm was MAKING ME NUTS.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer 13. Oh, fine. Whatever. It is not terrible. I will keep getting this book. But you cannot make me review it every month.
Angel 6. Same here.
I also picked up an AMAZING oversized Ashley Wood book -- and I love Ashley Wood -- called Zombies vs Robots vs Amazons (and Amazons is code for lesbians), but that will need its own post I think, to capture all the greatness. Hint: the genre-mash up -- and that is kind of my thing -- is good, but the ART is what makes it work.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Chowder
Sara introduced me to a great cartoon on Cartoon Network called Chowder. It is a bit like Sid and Marty Croft re-imagined with a bit of kid-friendly Adult Swim anarchy and maybe a little Food Network thrown in.
I have linked to a highlights YouTube video below, but it fails to show two of my favorite things: the occasional use of claymation, and Schnitzel, a character who expresses himself by varying the tone of a single nonsense word, "Radda." You can see those things, and get introduced to what it is basically about, in this Cartoon Network commercial:
This YouTube video, 5 minutes of highlights, captures quite a bit of what makes it great.
The colors for one thing -- the show has surely one of the best color palates since Courage the Cowardly Dog. And though you cannot see as much of this as I would like in the clip, notice how Chowder's outfit has a pattern on it that stays stationary, like part of of the background, when he moves -- as if his shirt was an empty space moving over a pattern behind it. It is hard to appreciate in clips, but it is kind of mesmerizing on TV.
I have linked to a highlights YouTube video below, but it fails to show two of my favorite things: the occasional use of claymation, and Schnitzel, a character who expresses himself by varying the tone of a single nonsense word, "Radda." You can see those things, and get introduced to what it is basically about, in this Cartoon Network commercial:
This YouTube video, 5 minutes of highlights, captures quite a bit of what makes it great.
The colors for one thing -- the show has surely one of the best color palates since Courage the Cowardly Dog. And though you cannot see as much of this as I would like in the clip, notice how Chowder's outfit has a pattern on it that stays stationary, like part of of the background, when he moves -- as if his shirt was an empty space moving over a pattern behind it. It is hard to appreciate in clips, but it is kind of mesmerizing on TV.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Mitch on Hook
[Guest blogger Mitch reviews Hook, and claims it is good. I am clearly going to have to watch it again and pay more attention.]
Hook was on TV on Easter Sunday – I'm sure some programmer at TNT is patting himself on the back for his own cleverness in playing a movie about Peter Pan's return to Neverland on a Christian holiday that celebrates Christ's resurrection. Congratulations on your ironic commentary dude. Guess what? You're still a programmer at TNT.
Here's what Roger Ebert had to say about the Steven Spielberg directed film when it came out in 1991:
"The crucial failure in Hook is its inability to re-imagine the material, to find something new, fresh or urgent to do with the Peter Pan myth. Lacking that, Spielberg should simply have remade the original story, straight, for this generation. The lack of creativity in the screenplay is dramatized in the sword fighting sequences between Hook and Peter, which are endless and not particularly well-choreographed. They do not convince me that either Williams or Hoffman is much of a fencer. Has any Hollywood director ever given thought to bringing in a Hong Kong expert like King Hu to do second-unit work on the swordfights? The cheapest Asian martial arts movie has infinitely more excitement in its sword sequences than the repetitive lunge-and-shuffle that goes on here."
Movies like The Matrix and Kill Bill would of course prove Ebert right about implanting the kung-fu sword fighting, but his request for it here, in a Peter Pan movie, proves that he is missing at least part of the point. I like parts of Hook very much and I disagree with Ebert on the re-imaging thing. I could go the rest of my life without seeing another tepid stage production of the Peter Pan musical, with its always fake-looking wire flying, singing, etc. There are hiccups in this film, sure, but there is merit.
It's a compelling idea: that Peter Pan has grown up and must embrace his inner child to be a better father. His relationship with Tinkerbell is revised – we learn that she has always been in love with him – and in one really interesting scene she kind of seduces him. I remember this scene freaking me out as a kid, because the situation felt so wrong and adult for two such innocent characters, which was the point. Also, the scene where Hook wins over Peter's son by having him smashing clocks seemed to express Barrie's whole point of Neverland. The Lost Boys and pirates there are people frozen in time, who would rather live in a fantasy world than deal with real world problems.
Then there is Dustin Hoffman – one of my favorite actors – in an unusually hammy role. Captain Hook's eccentric self-esteem issues and his interactions with Bob Hoskins intelligently update a one-note villain into a strangely compelling character. Hook's mood shift during his suicide monologue displays Hoffman's strong comic timing: "I'm going to kill myself Smee. Don't try to stop me. Seriously, Smee. Don't try to stop me. Try to stop me, Smee. Please, try to stop me."
I also think this movie is the perfect use of Robin Williams' abilities. His silliness is restrained at the beginning and, once he rediscovers himself, he gets to go nuts at the end. Unlike his patented "crazy" roles, like in Aladdin and The Fisher King, or his overly solemn roles, Good Will Hunting and Insomnia, Williams plays a straight man for much of the movie. I've always thought his matter-of-fact manner when he whips out the checkbook on the pirate ship was very funny.
Unfortunately, Williams plays straight man to dozens of untalented kids, who Spielberg often employs as heartstring-tuggers. These kids live in what appears to be the Ewok village, eat blue and yellow Play-Doh and play basketball on skateboards, which must be what Spielberg thinks every kid wants more than anything. Also weird is how Peter doesn't remember his past, even after seeing a stage play about it and even though his adopted mother is named Wendy, who lives in a house that looks EXACTLY LIKE the scenic design of the play. Also, as one review pointed out, Captain Hook's magnificent pirate ship NEVER LEAVES THE DOCK.
Anyway — it was nice to celebrate the not-so-miraculous return of the almighty Pan last Sunday. Amen.
Hook was on TV on Easter Sunday – I'm sure some programmer at TNT is patting himself on the back for his own cleverness in playing a movie about Peter Pan's return to Neverland on a Christian holiday that celebrates Christ's resurrection. Congratulations on your ironic commentary dude. Guess what? You're still a programmer at TNT.
Here's what Roger Ebert had to say about the Steven Spielberg directed film when it came out in 1991:
"The crucial failure in Hook is its inability to re-imagine the material, to find something new, fresh or urgent to do with the Peter Pan myth. Lacking that, Spielberg should simply have remade the original story, straight, for this generation. The lack of creativity in the screenplay is dramatized in the sword fighting sequences between Hook and Peter, which are endless and not particularly well-choreographed. They do not convince me that either Williams or Hoffman is much of a fencer. Has any Hollywood director ever given thought to bringing in a Hong Kong expert like King Hu to do second-unit work on the swordfights? The cheapest Asian martial arts movie has infinitely more excitement in its sword sequences than the repetitive lunge-and-shuffle that goes on here."
Movies like The Matrix and Kill Bill would of course prove Ebert right about implanting the kung-fu sword fighting, but his request for it here, in a Peter Pan movie, proves that he is missing at least part of the point. I like parts of Hook very much and I disagree with Ebert on the re-imaging thing. I could go the rest of my life without seeing another tepid stage production of the Peter Pan musical, with its always fake-looking wire flying, singing, etc. There are hiccups in this film, sure, but there is merit.
It's a compelling idea: that Peter Pan has grown up and must embrace his inner child to be a better father. His relationship with Tinkerbell is revised – we learn that she has always been in love with him – and in one really interesting scene she kind of seduces him. I remember this scene freaking me out as a kid, because the situation felt so wrong and adult for two such innocent characters, which was the point. Also, the scene where Hook wins over Peter's son by having him smashing clocks seemed to express Barrie's whole point of Neverland. The Lost Boys and pirates there are people frozen in time, who would rather live in a fantasy world than deal with real world problems.
Then there is Dustin Hoffman – one of my favorite actors – in an unusually hammy role. Captain Hook's eccentric self-esteem issues and his interactions with Bob Hoskins intelligently update a one-note villain into a strangely compelling character. Hook's mood shift during his suicide monologue displays Hoffman's strong comic timing: "I'm going to kill myself Smee. Don't try to stop me. Seriously, Smee. Don't try to stop me. Try to stop me, Smee. Please, try to stop me."
I also think this movie is the perfect use of Robin Williams' abilities. His silliness is restrained at the beginning and, once he rediscovers himself, he gets to go nuts at the end. Unlike his patented "crazy" roles, like in Aladdin and The Fisher King, or his overly solemn roles, Good Will Hunting and Insomnia, Williams plays a straight man for much of the movie. I've always thought his matter-of-fact manner when he whips out the checkbook on the pirate ship was very funny.
Unfortunately, Williams plays straight man to dozens of untalented kids, who Spielberg often employs as heartstring-tuggers. These kids live in what appears to be the Ewok village, eat blue and yellow Play-Doh and play basketball on skateboards, which must be what Spielberg thinks every kid wants more than anything. Also weird is how Peter doesn't remember his past, even after seeing a stage play about it and even though his adopted mother is named Wendy, who lives in a house that looks EXACTLY LIKE the scenic design of the play. Also, as one review pointed out, Captain Hook's magnificent pirate ship NEVER LEAVES THE DOCK.
Anyway — it was nice to celebrate the not-so-miraculous return of the almighty Pan last Sunday. Amen.
Free Form Comments
Say whatever you want to in the comments to this post -- random, off topic thoughts, ideas, suggestions, questions, recommendations, criticisms (which can be anonymous), surveys, introductions if you have never commented before, personal news, self-promotion, requests to be added to the blog roll and so on. If a week goes by and I have failed to add you to the blog roll TELL ME TO DO IT AGAIN, and KEEP TELLING ME UNTIL IT GETS DONE. I can be lazy about updating the non-post parts of this site. Remember these comments can be directed at all the readers, not just me.
ALSO. You can use this space to re-ask me questions you asked me before that I failed to answer because I was too busy (but now might not be). That is often the reason I fail to get back to people, and on a blog, after a few days, the comments thread dies and I just kind of forget about it. Let's use this space to fix that, because it does need to be fixed; I look like a jackass sometimes, leaving people hanging. I will TRY to respond to any questions here.
AND you can use this space to comment on posts that are old enough that no one is reading the comments threads anymore. For example, if you thought of a great quote for the great quote commonplace book, but now no one is reading that, you could put it here.You do not have to have a blogger account or gmail account to post a comment -- you can write a comment, write your name at the bottom of your comment like an e mail, and then post using the "anonymous" option.
WRITING FOR THIS BLOG. If you think your free form comment here might be better as its own post, but you do not want it to be public yet, email it to me. My email address is available on my blogger profile page. If I think it will work on this site, your post will be published here with your name in the title of the post. You can propose what you will, I am always looking for reviews of games, tv, movies, music and books.
If you think what you have to say -- new topic or comment on an existing topic -- would be better to hear than to read, use the CALL ME button on the toolbar on the right.
ALSO. You can use this space to re-ask me questions you asked me before that I failed to answer because I was too busy (but now might not be). That is often the reason I fail to get back to people, and on a blog, after a few days, the comments thread dies and I just kind of forget about it. Let's use this space to fix that, because it does need to be fixed; I look like a jackass sometimes, leaving people hanging. I will TRY to respond to any questions here.
AND you can use this space to comment on posts that are old enough that no one is reading the comments threads anymore. For example, if you thought of a great quote for the great quote commonplace book, but now no one is reading that, you could put it here.You do not have to have a blogger account or gmail account to post a comment -- you can write a comment, write your name at the bottom of your comment like an e mail, and then post using the "anonymous" option.
WRITING FOR THIS BLOG. If you think your free form comment here might be better as its own post, but you do not want it to be public yet, email it to me. My email address is available on my blogger profile page. If I think it will work on this site, your post will be published here with your name in the title of the post. You can propose what you will, I am always looking for reviews of games, tv, movies, music and books.
If you think what you have to say -- new topic or comment on an existing topic -- would be better to hear than to read, use the CALL ME button on the toolbar on the right.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Jason Powell on Classic X-Men #21, part a (UXM #115)
[This post is part of a series of posts looking issue by issue at Claremont's X-Men. For more in this series see the tool bar on the right.]
“Visions of Death”
More characters from the Adams run, Sauron and Ka-Zar, show up here, in a story that is actually split down the middle. The first half is the X-Men vs. Sauron, while the second half is part one of a the “Sun God” two-parter. The unorthodox construction may also be a nod to Adams, who experimented a bit with non-chronological storytelling when he segued from his Sauron story to his Savage Land story back in the ‘60s.
The two-page spread on Pages 2 and 3, with Wolverine attacking Sauron, is a true widescreen visual treat. From there, the entire first half of the comic demonstrates Byrne’s talent for fight choreography, with Cyclops and Banshee in particular getting some good licks in. Cyclops blasting a hypnotized Wolverine with his eye beams is fun too.
Another hypnotic villain so hot on the heels of Mesmero from only four issues ago feels repetitive. To be fair, it’s not Claremont and Byrne’s fault that two of the X-Men’s Silver Age villains were both hypnotists; still, as time goes by, we’ll see that Claremont really enjoys his mind-control plots.
The second-half of the comic is laden with some fairly tangled exposition to set up next issue’s big fight. It’s more tangled than it needs to be, when the essential plot is not too complicated: a villain called Garokk (aka The Petrified Man, aka the “Sun God”) and his priestess, Zaladane, has built a temple over the “geothermal heat-sink that warms the savage land.” If the temple is not destroyed, the Antarctic winters surrounding the area will close in and destroy the Savage Land for good. Ka-Zar needs the X-Men’s help to defeat Garokk and destroy the temple. Fairly simple really, but there is a lot of extraneous material in the exposition for some reason.
There’s a good bit at the end in which Cyclops refuses Ka-Zar’s request, with Wolverine becoming enraged that – as with their first Magneto fight in Uncanny #104 – Cyclops is making the X-Men look like cowards. Again, Claremont is looking at every scene in context of everything he’s written up until now – finding parallels among earlier stories and mining them for use in fun character bits like this one.
Before the X-Men change their mind about helping out, there is a panel of the X-Men leaving the village of the Fall People, and Colossus saying goodbye to a native girl named Nereel. Her reply: “Farewell, my Colossus! I will cherish you always!” This brief bit was never expanded upon in any later issue of Uncanny. However, the b-story of this issue of Classic will at last fill in the gap as to what went on between these two, and X-Men Annual #12 (published only a few months later but not to be covered by this series until quite a ways later, sorry) will present a rather touching epilogue.
[Just a few things I noted: The splash page you mention above as "wide-screen" does seem very modern doesn't it? There is a shift in visual tone here more connected to the X-Men I grew up on than what came before.
The Sun God is wearing jeans, right? That is some goofy stuff.]
“Visions of Death”
More characters from the Adams run, Sauron and Ka-Zar, show up here, in a story that is actually split down the middle. The first half is the X-Men vs. Sauron, while the second half is part one of a the “Sun God” two-parter. The unorthodox construction may also be a nod to Adams, who experimented a bit with non-chronological storytelling when he segued from his Sauron story to his Savage Land story back in the ‘60s.
The two-page spread on Pages 2 and 3, with Wolverine attacking Sauron, is a true widescreen visual treat. From there, the entire first half of the comic demonstrates Byrne’s talent for fight choreography, with Cyclops and Banshee in particular getting some good licks in. Cyclops blasting a hypnotized Wolverine with his eye beams is fun too.
Another hypnotic villain so hot on the heels of Mesmero from only four issues ago feels repetitive. To be fair, it’s not Claremont and Byrne’s fault that two of the X-Men’s Silver Age villains were both hypnotists; still, as time goes by, we’ll see that Claremont really enjoys his mind-control plots.
The second-half of the comic is laden with some fairly tangled exposition to set up next issue’s big fight. It’s more tangled than it needs to be, when the essential plot is not too complicated: a villain called Garokk (aka The Petrified Man, aka the “Sun God”) and his priestess, Zaladane, has built a temple over the “geothermal heat-sink that warms the savage land.” If the temple is not destroyed, the Antarctic winters surrounding the area will close in and destroy the Savage Land for good. Ka-Zar needs the X-Men’s help to defeat Garokk and destroy the temple. Fairly simple really, but there is a lot of extraneous material in the exposition for some reason.
There’s a good bit at the end in which Cyclops refuses Ka-Zar’s request, with Wolverine becoming enraged that – as with their first Magneto fight in Uncanny #104 – Cyclops is making the X-Men look like cowards. Again, Claremont is looking at every scene in context of everything he’s written up until now – finding parallels among earlier stories and mining them for use in fun character bits like this one.
Before the X-Men change their mind about helping out, there is a panel of the X-Men leaving the village of the Fall People, and Colossus saying goodbye to a native girl named Nereel. Her reply: “Farewell, my Colossus! I will cherish you always!” This brief bit was never expanded upon in any later issue of Uncanny. However, the b-story of this issue of Classic will at last fill in the gap as to what went on between these two, and X-Men Annual #12 (published only a few months later but not to be covered by this series until quite a ways later, sorry) will present a rather touching epilogue.
[Just a few things I noted: The splash page you mention above as "wide-screen" does seem very modern doesn't it? There is a shift in visual tone here more connected to the X-Men I grew up on than what came before.
The Sun God is wearing jeans, right? That is some goofy stuff.]
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