This is how I'm feeling about Marvel comics these days' from Wolverine and the X-Men #11 by Jason Aaron, Nick Bradshaw, and maybe Walden Wong or Norman Lee. (Three inkers, including Bradshaw, are credited this issue.)
In case you can't read that, Ben Grimm is saying, 'I need a scorecard to keep up with all these X-Men. You still got the guy with the giant maggots around?' That sense of humor is why this is my favorite X-Men book and second favorite Marvel comic (after Daredevil).
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Diabolique (1955) ' A man's wife and mistress plot to drown him, finally fed up with his cruelty, only for the body to disappear. There's a lot more to it than that, though, in this French thriller. Very moody and psychological as you watch the wife slowly go crazy, consumed with guilt, until a later twist resets all your expectations. Note that the preferred version is subtitled, since the film is French (and very much so, in some ways, including the blatant presence of the mistress).
It Happened in Hollywood (1937) ' A star of silent Westerns (Richard Dix) has trouble adapting to sound. He's a gosh-golly authentic cowboy, and he's not willing to let down his fans by playing a bad guy. Fay Wray is his co-star/love interest, and there's a sick orphan boy, just to emphasize how good to his kid fans the rider is. The most interesting scene involves a party they throw for the boy, featuring a number of then-celebrity look-alikes, stand-ins, and doubles. It's a real stretch for the film fan to identify everyone, although IMDB (see link) has a list.
A Lady of Chance (1928) ' Norma Shearer, in her last silent film, plays con artist Dolly, aka 'Angel Face', who's trying to snag herself a rich husband while avoiding a couple of old acquaintances who keep trying to horn in on her schemes. Then she falls in love with a cement inventor. I was surprised to see how much the plot turned on dialogue; this film seemed to have a lot more title cards than the earlier silents I've seen. She does a great job acting her emotions, but because of the several disgusting references to neighboring 'darkies on the plantation', I can't recommend it.
The Most Dangerous Game (1932) ' The first adaptation of the famous short story is still an effective thriller. Joel McCrea is the shipwrecked hunter, with Leslie Banks as Count Zaroff and Fay Wray as another victim. She's not the only thing this island adventure has in common with King Kong; the same producers made this one, using some of the same sets, and Wray's drunken brother is played by Robert Armstrong (Denham in Kong). It's a suspenseful adventure, even knowing the plot, with the hunter becoming the hunted. Dynamite last image, too, as we look through an open window to see a boat fleeing in the background to the sound of barking hounds.
Murphy's Romance (1985) ' I remember seeing this on HBO back in the day. Sally Field and James Garner fall in love, after she moves to his small Western town after her divorce. Not an impressive or important movie, just one with some great performances and atmosphere. I was a bit shocked at how they blatantly turn her down for a loan while admitting a guy would likely have gotten it. Nowadays, they'd probably do the same thing, but they'd know not to say it as such. Field's son is played by Corey Haim, back when he was acting, before he was celebritized.
One More Tomorrow (1946) ' Dennis Morgan, playboy, falls in love with Ann Sheridan, photojournalist, but winds up married to a remarkably hard-looking Alexis Smith when Ann turns him down because they're from two different worlds. The supposedly beautiful Alexis accepts because she just wants his money. He comes to regret choosing a woman who lies to him about wanting kids and badgers him into firing his long-time butler/buddy (Jack Carson). I mostly enjoyed watching the outfits. It's a remake of:
The Animal Kingdom (1932) ' This version is more stagey in execution, full of talk, but the incomparable Myrna Loy is the wife and the underrated Ann Harding the love, an illustrator this time. It's more frank in its treatment of the complications among love and friendship and 'proper' behavior, with Leslie Howard as the well-off Tom who's been living with (!) Ann's artist Daisy. Daisy didn't want to marry him, preferring their freedom, until she realized she wanted kids, but he's already planned to settle down with Loy's character Cecilia. She represents the young, the new, the beautiful, the thrill of the unfamiliar. She can't offer Howard the friendship and understanding Harding's woman can, but she does promise sex, even if she uses it to manipulate him. A late scene in the film makes the offering explicit, with Tom comparing her bedroom to a bordello, where she's for sale.
Neil Hamilton, whom you may know as the 60s Batman's Commissioner Gordon, shows up as a friend of the couple. I found it interesting to compare the changes between the two films. In the first movie, Tom is a book publisher who is tempted into putting out popular trash; the second has him putting out a small paper where the conflict is whether to publish an expose that might include his father and his business cronies. The first is much more about him and his choices, the second about how he fits into society. Both movies were based on a play written by Philip Barry (The Philadelphia Story and my favorite Holiday). The later one is more conventional and somewhat boring, while this one surprisingly feels more modern, even if Howard's effete gentleman is an acquired taste. Overall, the performances in the first are so much stronger.
These Three (1936) ' Based on the play 'The Children's Hour', about a malicious brat who spreads gossip that the two teachers at her boarding school are lesbians. In this movie version (also written by playwright Lillian Hellman), the rumor is heterosexual, involving a love triangle among Merle Oberon, Miriam Hopkins, and Joel McCrea (the star of the month on TCM, in case you wondered why I was watching so many of his movies). They all provide wonderful performances, as does Bonita Granville as the girl, and you can see the strong bones of the original underneath. Regardless of the subject of the lie, the point ' that it only takes a few words from the selfish to play into the evil minds of the credulous and destroy lives ' shines through, even with the tacked-on happy ending.
Woman Chases Man (1937) ' Miriam Hopkins is an architect who wants a millionaire to build her proposed housing development. Joel McCrea is his son, who controls the money. They will, of course, fall in love. This should have been better than it was, what with dad's propensity for losing money on funding crazy gadgets and various con schemes.
DVDs
Broadcast News (1987) ' My gracious, I can't believe this movie was out 25 years ago, and now here it is in a Criterion edition. Petite Holly Hunter plays a TV news producer, the kind of person who tells cab drivers which routes to take to get there most efficiently. William Hurt is the dumb pretty boy being groomed as anchor who succeeds because of her behind-the-scenes coaching. Albert Brooks is the smart journalist who can't make it on TV because of his looks and behavior; he just can't project the attractive authority needed. Plus, Jack Nicholson plays Dan Rather, basically.
The hoo-hah about the superficiality of what network news was becoming and how horrible it was that appearance was replacing information didn't make sense to me then, because I didn't know what news used to be. All I knew growing up was the pretty boys on the nightly news. Now, it all seems so long ago, since so many generations haven't ever seen news treated as anything other than entertainment.
Plus, the technology! Portable alarm clocks. Hard-wired telephones. Typewriters. Videotapes rewinding and replaying. All those print newspapers. The layoff scenes, on the other hand, are completely relevant to today. The classic lines are still poignant, such as:
'I am beginning to repel people I am trying to seduce.' 'Wouldn't this be a great world if insecurity and desperation made us more attractive?' 'I'll meet you at the place near the thing where we went that time.'
and this favorite exchange: 'It must be nice to always believe you know better, to always think you're the smartest person in the room.' 'No, it's awful.'
Edward Scissorhands (1990) ' Interesting watching this after recently seeing Dark Shadows. Johnny Depp was SO young, and he barely speaks. I don't remember Winona Ryder being so stiff in the role when I watched it before, but the images are still striking. I almost fell asleep by the end, which I'm attributing to it feeling like a fairy tale being told as a bedtime story, as the framing elements suggest. The only extras on the DVD, beyond separate commentaries by Tim Burton and Danny Elfman, are old electronic press kit elements, with the various actors spending half a minute telling us about their characters and a promotional making-of that repeats some of the same info. I miss Vincent Price.
Spirited Away (2002) ' I understand this movie more than I did ' although not completely ' now that I know that Miyazaki made it in reaction to meeting a spoiled 10-year-old. All the weirdness teaches her to to work hard and think of others, although what she's asked to do seems like a lot to me. Gorgeous images, as expected from Studio Ghibli.
TCM Archives: Forbidden Hollywood Volume 3 (1932-1933) ' Of the six films here, all directed by William Wellman, I was most interested in the female-centered ones. I watched
The Purchase Price, in which Barbara Stanwyck's showgirl, to escape her racketeer boyfriend, becomes a mail-order farm bride and learns the virtue of hard work and arranged marriages.
Frisco Jenny, one of those self-sacrificing mother movies. Ruth Chatterton survives the San Francisco earthquake to become a successful brothel owner. Her love was killed, so she gives their child to a proper family. Later in life, he becomes the DA and prosecutes her for murder when she kills a criminal associate who was going to reveal her son's true parentage. It's Stella Dallas with more sleaze.
Midnight Mary, in which Loretta Young is a good girl who keeps having bad things happen to her. She's sent to jail for shoplifting when she didn't do it, and she falls in with a criminal gang because the other choice is starving. She's also put on trial for murder for shooting her gangster boyfriend when he was going to kill the rich guy who was nice to her, funding her attempt to go straight and be a secretary. The tacked-on happy ending is unbelievable, but the appeal of the film comes from the numerous scenes of Young's luminous eyes, full of emotion.
One thing about pre-Code movies is that they were full of women ready to shoot men, often to protect other men they loved. There are three other films in this set, but they're more political, social consciousness tales of struggling life under the Depression, and who needs to see that these days? The set also contains two specials about 'Wild Bill' Wellman, he-man movie director. I don't think he's all that skilled, based on these pieces, which zoom abruptly from scene to scene before simply stopping, but his life as a pilot and daredevil fascinates many.
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I got a quick taste of the Dance Class comics as part of the Papercutz Free Comic Book Day comic. Since then, I've had a chance to read the two slim volumes released so far, and I've enjoyed them.
So, You Think You Can Hip-Hop?
The books, translated from the French (where it's called Studio Danse), consist of single-page strips that each provide a gag. Yet reading a bunch of them together, a picture of these girls (and one guy, Bruno) emerge, and there's even a storyline in this volume, about preparing for and completing a performance of the Sleeping Beauty ballet.
Julie, Alia, and their friends are studying not just ballet, but modern dance, and even hip-hop. (I suspect the non-classical dances might have been introduced to draw more outrageous poses and different outfits.) That class is taught by KT, whom the girls all have a crush on. They also have a nemesis, the self-centered Carla, who's especially mean to the larger-sized Lucie. Not every strip takes place in dance class; there are also dance-related jokes set in the classroom or outdoors.
The art has a great sense of movement, particularly important when conveying such an active endeavor. Plus, attention is paid to their outfits, an important part of creating a realistic visual world for young women.
I appreciated the cartoony art style in that the girls are thin, but still drawn with varying body types. That's a problem I have with some other media portrayals of dance. I understand that in some cases, they're simply reflecting an unhealthy attitude often enforced in ballet, but I think they're also perpetuating it. Unfortunately, the jokes that involve Lucie are all about her weight or how much she likes to eat, which does become stereotypical and discouraging. Parents may also want to know that the kids are occasionally shown cheating in school or lying to their parents without ill effect.
Romeo and Juliets
This second volume will be out next month, showing the kids dealing with the visit of a famous prima ballerina. They also work on the ballet of Romeo and Juliet, where Romeo is played by a new student, Tim, who sets Julie's heart aflutter. Some of the punchlines involve modernizing the show, which I thought was cute, and thankfully, Lucie's jokes aren't so much about food. (Plus, the editor's note in the back discusses the topic of weight and representation as well.)
The publisher has posted the first page as a preview, so you can get an idea of the look of the series. It's a good choice for tween girls, many of whom have had these experiences or similar in their own dance classes, so long as they understand that some of the content is exaggerated for the humor and shouldn't be mimicked. Many of these cartoons are easy to pick up and relate to, especially at that age.
By the way, Béka is a pseudonym for a writing team, Bertrand Escaich and Caroline Rogue. The next volume, African Folk Dance Fever, is due out in November. (The publisher provided digital review copies.)
In KC's latest Westfield column, he tells you what he's enjoying about the Avengers vs. X-Men crossover event, as well as what he hopes results.
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To promote the newly released Comic Book History of Comics by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey ' out from IDW, collecting the six-issue miniseries published as Comic Book Comics ' they provided to Comics Alliance a preview of their story on the life of Osamu Tezuka, the 'god of manga'.
The story was originally published in issue #6. There's also some history of manga included. Click the image to see the story.
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Given how much I enjoyed the first season of Sherlock, I've been eagerly anticipating this second season. When I heard that the episodes were clipped when they aired on PBS, I skipped watching them and went straight to DVD, which allowed me to wallow in all of them at once.
I love this show, even more than Doctor Who. (They share a producer in Steven Moffat, who co-created Sherlock with Mark Gatiss.) It's a wonderful modernization of the characters and mysteries in clever and imaginative ways. I'm always impressed when I watch, both for the plots and deductions and also for the filming. Some of the scene transitions, as when Sherlock is explaining a hiker's death to Irene Adler, and they're transported into the scene as though envisioning themselves there, are technically breath-taking.
I also love the use of technology, cell phones and laptops and blogs and all, and what my husband calls Sherlock's 'deducto-vision', where they slow things down and use on-screen text to indicate how he draws his conclusions. The stories feel completely current and completely faithful to the character. They also vary in tone and approach enough to show the versatility of the premise.
Lara Pulver as Irene Adler in Sherlock
The three episodes of this season tackle the most famous Sherlock Holmes stories. 'A Scandal in Belgravia' introduces Irene Adler, The Woman, in a story with more sex than you usually associate with Holmes. It's also a cross-plotted conspiracy caper that could easily have been a feature film. (Only they did that, and it wasn't nearly as intelligent or entertaining as this one.) There's also a commentary with Steven Moffat (who wrote the episode), Mark Gatiss (who also plays brother Mycroft), producer Sue Vertue, Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock), and Lara Pulver (Irene). Remember, 'brainy is the new sexy', although showing such attractive leads naked helps, too.
Watson (Martin Freeman) and Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) on the moors in "The Hounds of Baskerville"
'The Hounds of Baskerville' updates the monster dog tale while still being a horror story, although some of the fear this time comes from wondering just what those secret military experiments are about. You may recognize guest star Russell Tovey from the BBC Being Human; he plays the haunted young man who's not sure what he's seen. He also participates in the commentary track, with Moffat, Gatiss (who wrote this episode), and Vertue.
Andrew Scott as Jim Moriarty in Sherlock
'The Reichenbach Fall' again pits Holmes against Moriarty (Andrew Scott), in an episode about what's important to Sherlock, those around him and others' respect for his mind. I was left astounded by the cliffhanger, ready for a third season already ' only I need to remember how quickly season one's cliffhanger was wrapped up, and in such a low-key way, and not get my hopes up too much. It's a very mean place in which to leave us, but a very historically accurate one, as Arthur Conan Doyle did the same thing to his readers.
The set also includes a nineteen-minute featurette, 'Sherlock Uncovered', which includes the actors and writers talking about the episodes and filming this season, especially in relation to what's changed from the previous (such as a bit more action) and the amazing special effects.
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Since it's a long holiday weekend, we thought we'd take in Men in Black III, which opened this weekend to good but not spectacular results.
Overall, we found it a diverting summer movie, not outstanding, but not a waste, either. I don't regret seeing it, but I don't need to see it again or feel a need to get the DVD.
The great premise ' Will Smith has to go back in time to prevent the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) from being killed, which will erase his partner (Tommy Lee Jones) from existence, along with the work he's done protecting the earth from aliens ' plays out as expected, without many surprises. Since the second movie also dealt with humanizing Jones' character, some of this may seem a little redundant, if not for the fact that most people won't remember the details, since it's been ten years.
The movie puts special effects over story, which I suppose isn't a shock to anyone who's familiar with the franchise. (I'm ready for the 3-D craze to be over, since I think it drives the out-of-balance emphasis on special effects.) It's also got less humor than I hoped for, choosing instead to be heartwarming, only I felt those bits fell a little flat.
Will Smith seems to have lost his snap; he didn't fully keep my attention when he was on-screen. Sometimes he felt a bit remote or going through the motions. There were also too many characters who simply tell our heroes what they need to know or give them the macguffin they need, and not enough Emma Thompson as the new boss. (The movie fails the Bechdel Test, but that won't be surprising.) On the other hand, Michael Stuhlbarg as Griffin does a terrific job portraying a never-ending sense of wonder. He reminded me of a young Robin Williams, without the forced zaniness.
There may be SPOILERS following.
I was disappointed that the bad guy ultimately turned out to be just a crazy killer, without any motive but destruction. It was as though the agents were fighting Lobo. It's villain inflation, how you have to keep making them bigger and more dangerous, and eventually you wind up with a cartoon.
I also didn't care for the message that some bad guys deserve the death penalty, because I think it goes against the premise of Men in Black to begin with, which is about managing the aliens, not killing them.
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I don't like seafood. Just to be clear ' nothing from the sea. What about'? Nope. Not even'? Nope. To be honest, I'm not crazy about most vegetables either. So it should come as no surprise that I don't like most Japanese cuisine. There are some exceptions. I'm a big fan of teriyaki beef and enjoy a nice breaded pork cutlet. My finicky eating habits do make me something of an oddity in the manga community. So this month's Manga Moveable Feast focused on food manga provides something of a challenge for me.
Here's the thing. While I might despise Japanese cuisine, I actually enjoy reading food manga. In fact, I've read Oishinbo twice now. I'm getting ready to reread Not Love But Delicious Foods too. So what's the appeal of manga talking about food I don't like?
For Oishinbo, I like learning about the science behind Japanese cuisine. I'm impressed how through trial and error chefs over the centuries discovered preparation and cooking methods that brought out the best flavor from a particular ingredient. These methods became part of a fine cuisine tradition in Japan. Now we have the scientific tools to explain why these methods work so well.
For example, on pages 54-55 of the Japanese Cuisine volume, the lead character, Yamaoka, explains the proper cutting technique for making sashimi. '[Y]ou draw the full length of the blade through the fish in one gentle sweep'' He explains that this preserves the cell structure of the fish and thus the flavor, too. I won't ever eat any raw fish, but I enjoyed learning why slow and steady preparation is needed for the best tasting sashimi.
I'm also fascinated by some of the extremes to which people go for the perfect dish of a particular food. Later on page 137 of the same volume, we discover the secret to creating the perfect bowl of rice. '[I]f the size of the grains is not uniform, the rice will cook unevenly.' How do you ensure such uniformity? You have to inspect each grain of rice. That's a lot of work for a ingredient most Americans consider a bland side item.
This brings us to a second reason I like food manga. It lets me peek inside a different world. I'm not a gourmand by any stretch of the imagination. Most of the time, I'm eating just to put fuel in my body. It's rare that I take time to actually sit down and focus on the food I'm eating. Food manga gives me a new perspective on what I'm shoveling into my face.
A great example of the gourmand world is Yoshinaga's Not Love But Delicious Foods. This woman loves food, and her passion jumps off the pages. My reactions reading this book best capture my odd relationship to food manga. So often I find her descriptions of the food enticing, and the joy shown as she eats makes me a bit envious of the good time she's having. But when I look at the ingredient list for some of the dishes my only thought is, 'Gross!'
Her descriptions of the taste and texture of the food are truly impressive. Here are a few samples. '[T]his red wine stew is what I wanted to eat. The sweet, thick taste of meat that melts.' (53) 'The salt flavoring and sesame seed oil give it a great aroma, and the slight sweetness of the meat itself combined with the chopped garlic really does the trick.' (73)
I'm amazed at how she and others can pick out all the ingredients within a dish. Another series that shows off an impressive sense of taste is Drops of God. The protagonist, Shizuku, is able to distinguish different fruits and spices added to wines. For example, 'That most wine-like complexity, the fresh piercing mint scent, and the trademark black-currant aroma.' I realize that's not a skill accomplished overnight. Since it's not a skill I'm willing to learn, food manga allows me a glimpse of this world.
When you really get down to it, food manga has the same appeal all manga has always had for me; it takes me outside my world. I fell in love with manga because it was a new way to look at the world, storytelling, and comics. I don't agree with everything I read, but I appreciate having my horizons broadened.
Food manga is simply another way my world is being expanded. I'm introduced to dishes and ingredients I've never heard of before. I'm given a new perspective on food and an education on why I should care more about the food I'm eating. I can't say that I'll be eating any of the dishes I've read about, but I can apply those lessons to the food I do enjoy. Food manga just reinforces my love and appreciation of manga itself.
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With the general decline in newspapers, the best way to keep up with your favorite comic strips are book collections. Some of the most interesting short comics these days may not be carried in your local paper, or they may not even be syndicated. Here are a few I've enjoyed reading recently. (The publishers provided review copies.)
The Mighty Alice: A Cul de Sac Collection
by Richard Thompson Andrews McMeel, $12.99
I had no idea this strip was so charming and imaginative and freshly funny. (I know I contributed to a benefit zine for Thompson last summer, but that was because I had sympathy for a cartoonist with Parkinson's and he was so well-recommended.) This is the first time I've gotten to read Cul de Sac in large chunks, and it's wonderful.
The Mighty Alice is the four-year-old who anchors the suburban comic. This is the fourth collection, following Cul De Sac: This Exit, Children at Play (collected together with author commentary as Cul de Sac Golden Treasury: A Keepsake Garland of Classics), and Shapes and Colors. You don't need to know anything more than this, though: Alice is annoyingly precocious and sees the world in her own creative terms, where she clearly centers it.
It reminds me of two old favorites, Peaches, Queen of the Universe (although Alice is nicer) and Yotsuba&! (although Alice is smarter). It's nostalgic, in a way ' once upon a time, we all had the chance to explore and imagine without the concerns that bother those around her, her parents and older brother Petey. She's selfish, gloriously so, which makes it all the funnier when she gets her comeuppance, as from a jack-in-the-box.
Alice also has some classmates and her preschool teacher Miss Bliss. Her world is so beautifully realistic and yet, this isn't one of those strips where you have to have a family like the one shown to relate. The punchlines are much more vivid ' and unusual. Then there's the distinctive visual design, which makes clear that these are drawings, with a varying pen line and vaguely scratchy appearance. Yet Thompson can draw anything, it seems. I forget I'm seeing art when I read it, a high compliment.
Cul de Sac captures the bizarre obsessions and peculiar dementia of everyday modern suburban life, including Christmas sweaters, sibling interaction, picky eating, minivans, advertising culture, and summer camp. This book is full-color, which still surprises me when we're talking about comic strips.
Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson's
edited by Chris Sparks (designer of CulDeSacArt.com) Andrews McMeel, $29.99
Speaking of Thompson's Parkinson's, a portion of the proceeds from this benefit hardcover will benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation. It reprints artwork donated for a similar purpose; the originals will be auctioned off online through June 10 with the proceeds going to Parkinson's research.
It's a coffee table book, with a bunch of other artists providing comic strips, or more often, pinups, of Thompson's characters (often interacting with their own), but it's for a good cause, and the contributors are quite impressive. They include Bill Amend (Fox Trot), Sergio Aragones, Danielle Corsetto (Girls With Slingshots), Jim Davis (Garfield), Evan Dorkin, Cathy Guisewite, Dustin Harbin, Lynn Johnston (For Better or for Worse), Roger Langridge (who draws Petey's favorite 'Little Neuro'), Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine), G.B. Trudeau, and Bill Watterson, who provides an oil painting of Petey. But that's only a few ' there are many more cartoonists and artists who participate. Many provide accompanying notes commenting on the inspiration behind their piece or a moment with Richard Thompson or their own experiences with motion disorders.
The book also contains an introductory profile of Thompson, telling how he got the strip started and how he was diagnosed, among other key moments. It covers the formation of the book project and some of Thompson's influences and family background. It's a great resource for those interested in more about the man behind the strip, or for those who need a reminder of how kind artists can be to each other when one's in need.
Pearls Before Swine: Because Sometimes You Just Gotta Draw a Cover With Your Left Hand
by Stephan Pastis Andrews McMeel, $12.99
I used to love this strip, one of the few modern good ones carried in my local paper, but after reading the good-natured humor and caring outreach of the above two books, it seems a bit mean-spirited. It's certainly got a very different mood, with cynicism instead of curiosity ruling the day.
Maybe it's that, after reviewing Only the Pearls, the Pearls Before Swine iPad app, I feel more like my sense of humor doesn't match the author's. I don't find the cover all that funny, for example, although I applaud him doing whatever he wants in the face of his syndicate, foolhardy as it may be. He acknowledges that it reflects his 'general obnoxiousness' in the introduction, also written in the same style.
Certainly, there are plenty of fans who appreciate this approach, and for them, this is more of the same, even better. Rat tries to hang out with Civil War re-enactors. Zebra isn't helped by an elephant officer trying to work out a compromise between him and the crocs who want to eat him, although the pachyderm cop is a great visual. Pig has a sheep stalker. The crocs drill for gophers. My favorite (and the only time I could relate to him) was when Rat went searching for a company with good customer service.
Of course, there are the requisite cartooning jokes, when a version of Pastis argues with his characters, or those with unauthorized cameos from elsewhere on the comic page. One sequence memorializes Cathy Guisewite's retirement with her character's spirit floating through for a few strips. I was unsurprised to see it turned into a fat joke.
Max Overacts
by Caanan Grall Occasional Comics, $19.95 + $8.00 shipping
I first saw Grall's work in the Zuda book Celadore, released just as that imprint was ending. He has since moved on to this webcomic, about an aspiring thespian schoolboy who makes everything around him dramatic. His favorite thing is to soliloquize.
This collection, 'Hold on to Your Stubs', is labeled Volume 1 and collects the first 142 strips, with 12 additional not posted online, all in color. Although somewhat expensive to try blind (due to the small press and use of color), it's a great introduction, especially since it jumps right in. You quickly get a sense of Max's over-sized personality (and how annoying it is) through his everyday family and school situations. Sometimes he practices ventriloquism, talking to a puppet. As the book continues, his relationships develop, especially with a girl in his class.
Each page is one strip, since they're double-tiered and typically have eight or more panels. Grall's cartooning is excellent, balancing the emotionality of the characters and their exaggerations in clear, readable fashion. One of my favorites was a trip to the dentist, with Max demanding to be treated as an alien and climbing all over the chair. I didn't see the punchline, with the dentist demonstrating his own imagination, coming.
Even if you don't want the book, check out the website. Max Overacts was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic last year.
Continuing the motion comic adaptations from Joss Whedon's run on Astonishing X-Men, Astonishing X-Men: Torn will be available on August 14.
The motion comic version of Astonishing X-Men: Gifted first came out in September 2010, with Dangerous following last month. That was only the first half of the Joss Whedon and John Cassady run that began in 2005, though. The third book, Astonishing X-Men: Torn, reprinted issues #13-18 and will be adapted here.
The motion comic version of Torn, if it follows in the pattern of Dangerous, will consist of six 9-to-11-minute chapters (not counting credits) and no extras. The story features the team wondering about Emma Frost while facing off against a new version of the Hellfire Club.
Given how interconnected the continuing stories are ' you won't want to watch Torn without having seen the previous installments, and it leads into the next storyline, setting up a trip to Breakworld ' I assume this means we'll eventually see a motion comic of Unstoppable, the fourth and final version of the Whedon/Cassady run. Perhaps for Christmas?
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The third Blake Edwards movie returned to DVD courtesy of the Warner Archive is Victor/Victoria. (I covered the other two, S.O.B. and Skin Deep, last month.) It's also the best of the three, with its bizarre plot ' a soprano who can't get work pretends to be a female impersonator in 1930s Paris ' allowing for commentary on the economic struggles of entertainers, the civil rights of homosexuals (tolerated in the theater, not so much elsewhere), and gender roles and expectations overall.
Everyone in this film sparkles, from Julie Andrews' starving singer (who gets one of the best ever exit lines, as she shatters a wine glass in front of a club owner who's turned her down) to Robert Preston's gay entertainer, with his fluffy hair and touch of eyeliner and genius idea that sets all of it in motion. Don't forget James Garner's tough-guy gangster, immensely confused by his attraction to 'Count Victor'; his moll Norma (Lesley Ann Warren), who can't conceive of a man who doesn't want her; and Alex Karras as the muscle with a secret of his own. One of Warren's first lines, the simple 'Yay!' when Victor is revealed, is hilarious, especially in that brassy Chi-cah-gah accent.
Dialogue is clever and snappy throughout, making this a continually entertaining movie, whenever you watch it, first time or most recent. The songs are great, too, and the musical numbers contribute to the sense of farce. The writing's funny and impressive, and the performances amazing. (How rare it is that all the lead characters in a movie are terrific?) It's a simply fabulous film.
Since this duplicates the original retail DVD release, the special features carry over as well. The main extra is a commentary by Andrews and her husband, director/screenwriter Blake Edwards. There's also a cast and crew filmography listing for four people ' you know, the kind of thing they don't do any more because it dates quickly and IMDB is better for it ' an award listing, and the theatrical trailer.
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It's a conundrum, that it's easier to make money from old comics than new ones, because the costs are less (the work already exists, so no creative payments, and often no royalties), and there is a brand new market available with digital. iPad users, in particular, have shown a willingness to pay for all kinds of entertainment on their tablets. Companies putting material out for iOS (which also includes the iPhone and iPod Touch, but the bigger iPad screen is much better suited to comics) do have some programming and processing costs, but they're minimal, especially if you have a large backlog of illustrated stories ready to sell.
Which brings me to Classics Illustrated, that venerable brand name now available digitally from Trajectory. They've put over 120 of the 'graphic novels' (really thick comic issues) based on classic literature into the Apple iBookstore, priced at $4.99 each. (The Juniors are $1.99.) Trajectory has licensed the worldwide digital distribution rights from First Classics (so these comics are different from the currently running Papercutz Classics Illustrated in print). They're created this trailer, showing panels from The Three Musketeers, the first of the series:
Of course, no artist credit is given in the promotional materials, although the Grand Comics Database lists art by Malcolm Kildale. From that source, I also find out that this issue is 62 pages, which seems short given the $5 price.
The digital series is also available for the Barnes & Noble Nook and from the Kobo eBookstore. (Kobo used to be associated with Borders, but now it's aiming for an 'open-standards platform'. Which strikes me as trying to make lemonade out of the lemon of your partner going out of business.)
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Noted creator Mark Waid has posted at his blog the following:
I'm okay with torrenters and 'pirates' sharing INSUFFERABLE. Not just because, what the hell, it's free anyway, Mr. Cynic'my hand to God, even if we were charging for it, I'd still be happy because the exposure and promotion is worth more to me at this point than dollars and cents. But more than that'more than that'after having been hip-deep in the research for the past three years, I have seen zero conclusive evidence that, on the whole, 'piracy' removes more money from the system than it adds to it. Are there readers who would be buying my print comics who download them for free instead? Sure. Are there, conversely, potential readers who download one of my print comics, sample it, and then become a paying customer if they have access to ensuing print copies? Absolutely, and I've personally sold books to hundreds of them at store signings and conventions. Do the latter outweigh the former? (a) I don't care, because I can't stop the former, and (b) I believe, if you build up enough of a loyal fanbase, that potential exists; certainly, every meaningful* study undertaken on how piracy affects CD sales, DVD sales, etc. shows repeatedly that 'pirated' content of quality material can actually act as an effective marketing tool and lead to increased sales.
I apologize for quoting so much of his post ' although there's a lot more at the site ' but it sums up the current situation so well. Creators can't stop piracy, and those who accept that and use comic sharing to their advantage are those who are best going to survive in this brave new world.
In a time where there are plenty of free comic reads available as webcomics, from people who are either A) planning to make money in other ways (ads, merchandise, appearances) than old-fashioned publishing or B) haven't thought it through and are just enjoying having readers, your enemy is not pirates. Your enemy is ignorance, those people who don't know who you are or what you do or whether your work is worth reading.
Mark Waid took the smart approach ' he saw the sharing as an indication that there was an audience that wasn't being served. That would be the group that wanted to read the comic offline. So he started providing the product they want. He's now making his comic available both for reading online AND as a downloadable CBZ or PDF that sends readers straight back to his Thrillbent website.
That's a much smarter response than getting outraged and pissy about 'how dare they do something with my work I didn't allow them to?' I've seen creators take their approach and then, even worse, take down their comics, leaving the pirate versions as the only option. That's ceding the market to the filesharers instead of realizing they indicate a potential new audience.
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I am trying to think of two other art forms, other than poetry and comics, that give you less chance of earning a living wage. While one is fine art, the other mass, the two have other things in common, such as the devotion of those few left following the medium and the determination of the practitioners.
Chad Parmenter has combined the two in Bat & Man, a collection of 19 sonnets available from Finishing Line Press. Mark Cudd provides a handful of creepy illustrations. (I have not used the subtitle, 'A Sonnet Comic Book', shown, because there are few pictures and no comics in this book at all, and I find it misleading.)
The poems take the premise of Bruce telling Selina about his nightmares. The sonnets I'm familiar with are the old ones, such as Shakespeare's classics, so I found the broken lines used here, with statements wrapping from one to another, and the back and forth from character to character to mid-line, off-putting. Sometimes it seems like simply cutting every time you have enough syllables, as though hitting a carriage return on a typewriter, not based on structuring verse. I'm not familiar with modern poetry, though, or its rules or expectations.
Most of the poems, about Bruce's conception and childhood and drunken playboy state, could have applied to any well-off son, with the occasional bat image. There is no portrait of him as Batman, as a crime-fighter or a symbol of justice. I can imagine someone wanting to put this book together, with the hero such fertile ground for psychological exploration and symbolic examination, but I can't imagine anyone wanting to read it as more than a curiosity or proof of concept. Yes, you can write poems about Batman, but why would you want to?
Here's an interview with Paramenter that explains it was kind of a dare with himself. Here's a much more thorough review from a poetry perspective that includes samples of the poems and images.
When I first got into indy comics and fandom, almost twenty years ago now, I hung out on the CompuServe Comics/Animation forum, where I had the pleasure of meeting Steve Lieber, Ted Slampyak, Jeffrey Lang, and Nat Gertler (among many others). That team is the group behind a comic called Roadways, now reprinted in collected form.
Roadways was first published in 1994 by Cult Press. The four-issue miniseries was written by Lang, drawn by Slampyak (Jazz Age Chronicles, Little Orphan Annie), inked by Lieber (Whiteout, Underground) and later, John Drury. It's the story of a physics professor whose assistant goes missing. When he tries to find her, he winds up in another world, one where a river called the Road flows through the realities.
It's a classic science-fiction adventure in the style of Heinlein or Burroughs, where an intelligent man finds out just what he's capable of by being thrown into a world of tribes and evil rulers, where he's challenged physically as well as mentally. It's chock-full of ideas ' more so than there's space for, maybe ' and gorgeous, well-realized art. I love the square stone monster in the first chapter!
I won't part with my signed issues, because they're a fond memory of a particular time in comics, the black-and-white boom that allowed creators to put out their own works before webcomics became the preferred medium for that. But for those of you who don't have them, you may want to order the new collection packaged by About Comics (who has posted preview pages) and available only through Amazon.com.
I'm not sure how successful the strategy of avoiding the comic market entirely is these days ' I suppose it depends on how effectively you can get the word out to the potential audience through coverage like this ' but I know it allows for a lower price point, and on long-lost material like this, any sale is likely considered a bonus. If the book is print-on-demand, which Amazon also offers, then there aren't even any storage or print costs. My gripe is, as always, that such offerings don't allow me to get a deal or buy on sale or pick up a discount used copy, but that's not a detriment in the publisher's eyes.
I suppose it makes sense that the images and video clips released so far to promote the next DC Animated film, Superman vs. the Elite, revolve around the Elite, since everyone already knows Superman. The original cartoon film is due out on home video June 12. For more information, I've previously posted the trailer and more information on the DVD and Blu-ray versions.
The first clip released shows the Elite arriving, with a poor puppy dog getting the worst of the encounter:
They're led by Manchester Black, played by Robin Atkin Downes.
Three more video clips briefly introduce the various members, all created by Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke. In order, it's Coldcast (voiced by Catero Colbert) with electromagnetic powers; Menagerie (Melissa Disney), the bat-woman with pet snakes; and The Hat (Andrew Kishino), my favorite, because it's such a silly yet unbeatable superpower, having a magic hat, and a ridiculous reduction of the character he's inspired by, the Authority's Doctor.
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Following Superman vs. the Elite, the original DC animated film out next month, the next Warner cartoon movie release will be The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 (as revealed in the special features for Superman vs. the Elite).
The Dark Knight Returns Part 1, based on Frank Miller's classic graphic novel, is due out in fall of this year, with Part 2 following in 2013. Peter Weller, best known as Robocop but always Buckaroo Banzai in my heart, voices Batman, with Ariel Winter (Modern Family) as Robin. Harvey Dent is played by Wade Williams, and Michael McKean is Dr. Wolper, a psychiatrist who lets the Joker out of Arkham Asylum.
The Hollywood Reporter has an image gallery, from which these pictures were taken.
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Lionsgate has announced that The Hunger Games will be available on home video on August 18.
I haven't read the books, by Suzanne Collins, or seen the movie, but I still want to root for it to do big business, because it makes it very obvious how much a lie the idea that 'women can't star in action films' is. Jennifer Lawrence grabs the viewer's eye whenever she's on-screen, and the supporting cast, which includes Donald Sutherland, Stanley Tucci, and Woody Harrelson, is pretty impressive, too.
The movie has already made almost $400 million domestically (actually $392) and $650 million worldwide. In case you somehow missed out on the premise of the film, here's a trailer:
Lionsgate, for some reason, doesn't do combo packs, so each edition is two discs, either Blu-ray ($39.99 suggested price) or DVD ($30.98), plus a digital copy. The highlight of the special features is an eight-part documentary, 'The World is Watching: Making of The Hunger Games', that covers the film's creation plus fan reactions. There are also featurettes on
'Game Maker: Suzanne Collins and The Hunger Games Phenomenom'
'Letters from the Rose Garden' ' Donald Sutherland on the development of his role as President Snow
'Controlling the Games', about the game control center
'A Conversation with Gary Ross and Elvis Mitchell'
Plus an archive of marketing material and the 'Propaganda Film (in its entirety)'. I assume you know what that is if you've seen the movie.
Thankfully, Lionsgate also doesn't stuff the Blu-ray with exclusives; the only extra not on the DVD set is 'Preparing for The Games: A Director's Process', which 'looks at the progression of taking three key scenes from the book to the screen.'
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This month's Manga Moveable Feast is dedicated to the topic of food manga. It's a subject dear to my heart, as here at the site we've reviewed the following titles in that genre:
Antique Bakery by Fumi Yoshinaga (Digital Manga)
The Drops of God by Tadashi Agi and Shu Okimoto (Vertical)
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Iron Wok Jan by Shinji Saijyo (ComicsOne/DrMaster)
Book 1
Book 13
Book 16
Kitchen Princess by Natsumi Ando
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 4
Book 5
Book 6
Book 7
Book 8
Book 9
Kodoku no Gourmet (The Solitary Gourmet) by Masayuki Kusumi and Jiro Taniguchi
Mixed Vegetables by Ayumi Komura
Book 1
Book 8
Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture by Masayuki Ishikawa
Book 1
Book 2
Neko Ramen by Kenji Sonishi
Book 1
Book 2
Not Love But Delicious Foods by Fumi Yoshinaga
Oishinbo: a la Carte by Tetsu Kariya and Akira Hanasaki
Book 1: Japanese Cuisine
Book 2: Sake
Book 3: Ramen & Gyoza
Book 4: Fish, Sushi & Sashimi
Book 5: Vegetables
Book 6: Rice
Book 7: Izakaya (Pub Food)
Toriko by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro
Book 1
Book 5
Yakitate!! Japan by Takashi Hashiguchi
Book 1
Book 2
Book 4
Book 14
(Some, including me, may quibble with including exaggerated and/or humor manga such as Toriko and Neko Ramen in this list, but I am told, in the call for participation, that some do consider them part of the genre, so they're listed here.)
For this food MMF, host Khursten Santos at Otaku Champloo has, in addition to collecting review and article links, posted a history of the genre and her experience cooking beef garlic rice bowl and bacon nabe. (Note: since she can read Japanese, her recipes are from the original Oishinbo series, not the excerpts published here.) Another blogger has made the asparagus recipes from the translated Vegetables volume. As a comic critic who has my own recipes section of this site, I love reading about other bloggers' experiences making food.
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Perhaps inspired by the late-70s exhibit of artifacts from Tutankhamun's tomb, there seems to have been an early-80s trend for Egyptian-set movies.
The Awakening (1980), a new release from Warner Archive, is an example of the type, where a standard thriller is enlivened through gorgeous scenery of the country. It's based on a novel by Bram Stoker, The Jewel of Seven Stars. As this contemporaneous review says, 'like Mr. Stoker's Dracula, [the story] involves a father's efforts to save his daughter from a supernatural figure determined to possess her.' In this case, it's a reincarnated, murderous Egyptian queen.
Charlton Heston is an archaeologist seeking to discover the ancient tomb of Queen Kara with his assistant, Jane (Susannah York with a bad blonde pixie cut). Their close work relationship and shared interests upset his pregnant (and grumpy) wife (Jill Townsend). She's right, of course, that his priority is not his family. When she enters premature labor, he dumps her at the hospital and goes back to work.
As Heston and York open the tomb, the wife has the baby. Every time they progress, the wife screams. This is a horror film, but not the monster kind. Throughout, the emphasis is on psychological frights, particularly the fear of possession, of losing yourself in someone else. I found the idea of being pregnant and alone in a foreign country while your husband runs around the desert with his assistant pretty scary.
The baby is born dead but comes back to life when the mummy's sarcophagus is opened. Foreshadowing! The wife takes her new daughter and leaves Heston, who's obsessed with cleaning out the tomb. During a dispute with a government official over ownership of the artifacts, a freakishly accidental death begins the series of disturbing events. Then the film jumps forward 18 years, to when the nearly adult daughter (Stephanie Zimbalist) wants to reconnect with her father. Overall, it's less The Mummy, more The Omen or The Exorcist mixed with Final Destination.
The Awakening was the first film directed by Mike Newell, who went on to such well-known movies as Four Weddings and a Funeral and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He's very good with suspense, cutting among simple elements to create a feeling of dread and fear. Viewed today, the movie seems to move slowly, since we have much different expectations of filmed entertainment, but it is still effective in creating an apprehensive mood in the audience. The viewer continues wondering what will happen next, knowing it will probably involve someone's death. Unfortunately, the ending is unsatisfying, stopping (in my opinion) too early.
The movie can be ordered from Warner Archive or Amazon.com. There are no extras on the disc.
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Brave, the new Pixar movie opening June 22, is not only giving Disney a new princess ' it's also providing a new family vacation tour experience.
I wasn't previously aware of Adventures by Disney, which promises to provide 'immersive, hassle-free, and unforgettable group guided-family vacation experiences to destinations in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.' Disney's recreated France, Germany, and the like at Walt Disney World; for sites like the Great Wall of China or the ruins of Pompeii, they can't bring them to Florida, but they aim to provide the same level of service in taking you to them.
Given the strong sense of place present in many Pixar films, it doesn't surprise me that the Scottish setting is being promoted as a key part of Brave, as well as something else for Disney to sell as a source of everlasting family memories. The new Adventures by Disney tour of Scotland promises a '9-day, 8-night quest through Edinburgh, the Isle of Skye, the Isle of Lewis, and Inverness [and] takes families through the rugged Highlands, allowing them to experience first-hand the history, culture, nature, legends, and lore of Scotland that inspired Merida's story of bravery. ' For 'Scotland: A Brave Adventure,' Adventures by Disney's trip-planning specialists worked directly with the expert storytellers on Pixar's Brave production team to incorporate the castles, landscapes, and legends that inspired the lush settings and memorable characters in the film -' creating a Scotland experience that could only come from Disney.'
Or God, depending on whom you wish to credit for those landscapes. It sounds like quite the active vacation, with plenty of hands-on activities, including Highland Games, making pastries, lessons in Celtic music, horseback riding, archery, and tapestry-making, as well as private guided tours of the National Museum of Scotland and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Scottish home of the Royal Family. No prices are available yet, but based on the Egypt trip they offer, it'll be over $5000 a person. Plus airfare.
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'Forbidden Hollywood' is such a fun title, suggesting all kinds of naughtiness in film. Most recently, it was used for a three-volume line of TCM Archives DVD collections with some of the best pre-Code movies out there, including the one that sums it all up for me, Baby Face starring Barbara Stanwyck.
Now comes news (scroll down) that the Warner Archive is reviving the label, with six DVDs coming out June 26. The high point for me is the release of Jewel Robbery, a 1932 film with William Powell and Kay Francis.
Jewel Robbery is a romantic comedy in which Francis, as the bored wife of a rich man, gets taken hostage by a clever gentleman thief (Powell) during his robbery of a jewelry store. The two form an instant connection, leading to complications when the police try to catch the robber.
Also included in the new Forbidden Hollywood collection are these movies:
Ladies They Talk About (1933), a prison film with Barbara Stanwyck as a bank robber
Hard to Handle (1933) with James Cagney
The Mind Reader (1933)
Lawyer Man (1932) with William Powell and Joan Blondell
Man Wanted (1932), Kay Francis' debut at Warners, in which she plays a hard-charging magazine editor with a male secretary
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Equal marriage rights may still be a political hot potato, but the best sign that the younger generation doesn't have a problem, even welcomes them, is how comic companies are getting publicity by announcing gay weddings.
At the beginning of this year, Archie Comics released Life With Archie #16, in which Kevin Keller, their gay character created by Dan Parent and introduced in late 2010, married his boyfriend. Clay Walker was also Kevin's physical therapist, as Kevin was injured serving his country in the military (just to stack the deck with patriotism).
Today, Marvel Comics placed a short mention on The View (like Marvel, ABC is a Disney company) about the upcoming Astonishing X-Men #50 (out tomorrow!), in which Northstar will propose to his boyfriend Kyle.
They need the publicity because I doubt anyone would suspect that cover, a generic hero battle shot by Dustin Weaver with a chick in front falling out of her costume, of containing that kind of content. (Who's bird-head-girl anyway?) The interior page shown is by Mike Perkins, and I wish Kyle looked more pleased, less like he was disgusted and freaked out.
The actual wedding will take place in Astonishing X-Men #51, out next month. Covers are by Dustin Weaver and Marko Djurdjevic; I'm not sure who did the one provided here.
Northstar, created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, came out in 1992, so now, twenty years later, he gets to solemnize his love. That's nice.
Such a comfortable feeling, putting in this Blu-ray and (after the various promos) seeing a beautiful view of a trip to the country. It's the perfect introduction to the world of Studio Ghibli, with their stories of magical discovery in simple, natural life.
Shawn (David Henrie) is going to spend at week at the house where his mother grew up, one where he will discover an amazing secret: There are little people in the walls who live on discards they scrounge from the human 'beans'. But first, there's the drive through the detailed recreation of a Japanese city. As the car moves through the credit sequence, we go with it into a more wholesome, heartwarming world.
But then, I expected no less from a Studio Ghibli release. The animation is beautiful, creating a place to get lost in. Nature is always a partner of our existence, and scenes with the teenage Arrietty (Bridgit Mendler) scampering through the outdoors, fleeing the cat, are some of my favorites. I also adore the way she's turned her room into a jungle, with flowers and leaves everywhere, and a later rain scene is equally impressive in its skillful drawing.
Arrietty and her parents (Amy Poehler and Will Arnett) are discovered by Shawn after she goes on her first borrowing trip with her father. The cleverness of their inventions, like the rock and string elevator and the way they reuse bits of castoffs, have always impressed me. (Many are taken from the original book by Mary Norton, The Borrowers.)
The conflict revolves around a fundamental question: how much can we trust those not like us? Arrietty would like to believe that Shawn wants to help them, but the adults are fearful of any notice from the big people, believing it will only bring them danger. Sadly, they turn out to be correct, as the housekeeper (Carol Burnett) is determined to prove herself right about the little people in the floor. Burnett does an amazing job, by the way, with a number of scenes punctuated only by sounds ' chuckles, humming, muttering, and similar noises we make to ourselves.
I've previously linked to the movie trailer as well as a series of clips if you'd like to see samples of the movie.
Throughout the story, I felt relaxed, allowing myself to sink into this escape. Although there are scenes of both adventure and danger, those, too, were reassuring in their artistic achievement. It was just what I needed, to visually soak in these beautiful images and reminders of what's important: family and friends. Between the scenes of little people life and the garden environment of the home, the movie is full of imagination in so many ways.
This story is perfect for animation, since the characters of various sizes can be drawn without worry about matching up special effects. It's a gorgeous film with an involving story, although what happens isn't the only point. How it happens ' or rather, the way we see it unfold, in a fully realized drawn world ' is the true source of enjoyment. This may very well be my new favorite Ghibli film.
Special Features
The two-disc Blu-ray combo pack comes with a DVD copy of the movie and these extras:
The original Japanese storyboards ' I was amazing to see this was the entire 94-minute film in storyboard form, with the soundtrack played on top.
14 minutes of Japanese trailers and TV spots, with English captions ' These are very repetitive in imagery, using the same few shots from the movie, but fans will like seeing how the film was promoted in its home country. No menu listing is provided, only chapter stops to move through the 27 clips. Near the end are five or so insurance company tie-in ads.
A music video for 'Arrietty's Song', performed by singer/ songwriter/ harpist Cécile Corbel. There aren't any movie clips included, just performance footage with some nature images inspired by the film. The clips were put in the other video, see below.
The only extras on the DVD edition are a music video for 'Summertime', performed by Bridgit Mendler, voice of Arrietty, with a certain amount of twang, and a two-minute making-of for that music video. I would rather not have seen Mendler in person, since she comes across as a typical Disney starlet-in-training. Her portrayal doesn't match my view of the Arrietty character, although it is nice to hear that she wrote the song herself. These two features can also be seen on the Blu-ray.
The movie soundtrack is available in English, French, or Japanese, and/or with subtitles in English, French, or English for the hearing-impaired. (The studio provided a review copy.)
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The three Spider-Man movies will be re-released on Blu-ray with new 'collectible' slipcovers ('O-ring packaging' in industry lingo) on June 12. All three include an offer for a free movie ticket (up to $10 value) for The Amazing Spider-Man, out July 3, as well as an UltraViolet digital copy. Other than that, the bonus features are the same as previous Blu-ray releases, with the exception of the first film.
As the press release has it,
The Spider-Man Blu-ray includes two never-before-seen bonus features ' 'Spider Sense Trivia Challenge' ' Rise to the ultimate web-slinging challenge as you test your Spider-Man movie knowledge in this trivia game. Do you have the spider sense to achieve the highest score? 'The Spider-Man Cutting Room' ' Create and share your own video using clips and music from the movie!
Additionally, Spider-Man 2 'includes both previously released theatrical and extended versions of the film, with additional footage and fight sequences not seen in theaters.' This Marvel website post has the full list of special features.
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The Small Press Expo, held in Bethesda, Maryland, on September 15 and 16 this year, has announced a final call for the 2012 Ignatz Awards.
These awards are the only 'festival prize' in comics, which means that the winners are selected by the votes of those who attend SPX. The list of nominees on the ballot are previously chosen by a jury of five cartoonists.
Eligible works must have been released between July 1, 2011, and May 31, 2012. (These dates have been changed from prior years and from the information available on the website. Previously, the eligibility period ran July to June.)
To submit work, send six copies to SPX Ignatz Awards c/o Big Planet Comics 426 Maple Ave East Vienna, VA 22180 Submissions should be received by June 7, 2012. (Less than a month away!) Digital works should submit URLs. The print comics will later be donated to the Small Press Expo Collection at the Library of Congress.
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As first mentioned last year, IDW has announced the fourth volume of my favorite superhero series, Love and Capes by Thom Zahler.
After getting married in 2010 (reprinted in Going to the Chapel) and then settling into life together, Abby and Mark, the Crusader, are now expecting a baby!
'I'm thrilled to be able to tell another chapter in Mark and Abby's adventures. And there's no greater adventure than parenthood,' said Zahler. 'Except, of course, for a fight for existence itself against an all-consuming galactic threat, and this book isn't about that. Well, probably not. Fifty-fifty, tops.'
Zahler does an excellent job blending traditional superhero comic adventures and expectations with touching romance and well-observed domestic comedy. Love and Capes always entertains me in inspiring ways.
This six-issue series launches in August ($3.99 for 32 color pages, available for order in next month's Diamond Previews), but to promote What to Expect at the San Diego Comic-Con, IDW is pre-releasing the first issue with the 'Baby Name' variant cover shown here. (Click for large verson.)
IDW will also be reprinting all three previous collections for resolicitation to comic shops in August.
Similar Posts: Love & Capes Returns in 2012 With What to Expect § Diamond Omits Love & Capes #11 From Previews Catalog § Love and Capes #1 § Free Love and Capes for Valentine's Day § Love and Capes: Do You Want to Know a Secret? ' Best of 2008
Due to job circumstances, I may be moving over the summer. Even if I don't, I've decided I have too many possessions in my life. So I'm drastically pruning the manga collection. End result for you: good deals on like-new books!
Single volumes are $5 each. Buy 5 or more, shipping is free. (I'm sorry, but I can only ship to US or Canada.) Shipping is free on sets. I may be ambitious in trying to sell the larger groups as a bunch, but I'm hoping maybe a library would be interested?
Act now! After a week, I'm going to start getting rid of these in other ways. If you're interested in any of the below, please email me.
Sets
Hikaru no Go 1-23 (Viz) ' $198 cover price, asking $100 Karakuri Odette 1-5 (Tokyopop) ' $57 cover, asking $30 Musashi #9 1-13 (CMX) ' $130 cover, asking $55 Otomen 1-12 (Viz) ' $117 cover, asking $60 Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei 1-8 (Del Rey) The Story of Saiunkoku 1-7 (Viz)
Afterschool Charisma 2-5 (Viz Signature) ' $52 cover, asking $30 Bunny Drop 1-5 (Yen Press) Kingyo Used Books 1-4 (Viz Signature) Princess Knight 1-2 (Vertical) ' $28 cover, asking $15 Saturn Apartments 1-4 (Viz Signature)
Arata: The Legend 9 (Viz) *Black Butler 9 (Yen Press) Dawn of the Arcana 3 (Viz) The Earl and The Fairy 1 (Viz) Hana-Kimi (3-in-1 Edition) 1 (Viz) Itsuwaribito 4 (Viz) Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You 13 (Viz) *The Lizard Prince 1 (CMX) Maoh: Juvenile Remix 7 (Viz) Mikansei No. 1 V1 (Tokyopop) Nightschool The Weirn Books 1 (Yen Press) Oresama Teacher 5, 8 (Viz) Sakura Hime 7 (Viz) Skyblue Shore 1 (Tokyopop) Slam Dunk 21 (Viz) *Tesoro (Viz) Venus Capriccio 1 (CMX)
*Ignore these, it's a private marking system so I know where to find the books.
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Deb Aoki has been posting a five-part series exploring the question of whether young comic creators inspired by manga will be able to make a living with their art. So far, three parts have gone up:
Part 1 ' why the art-related economy is broken
Part 2 ' problems with using the label 'manga' for non-Japanese works
Part 3 ' what art school lacks in training young artists
The pieces are based on Twitter conversations, and they explore a number of economic factors, including the lack of support of original comic content of any kind, the superhero-heavy focus of the US comic industry, and the general unwillingness of manga fans to support non-Japanese work. Businesses in North America, when they do hire young creators, want them to work as hired hands on properties owned or licensed by them.
I found the most telling quote of the whole piece this one, by Erica Friedman:
I recently spoke to a high school class who asked me how they could break in to the industry. I asked them how many manga they bought by American artists and they told me 'none.' But they didn't see the connection.
Your purchases fuel the kind of industry you want. Traditionally, that meant people telling you not to buy things you're not enjoying. In this case, it's the more positive flip side: buy what you wish was a viable market.
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It was kind of weird watching a movie with such a specific timeframe on a spring Sunday afternoon, given how much it fetishizes the magic of the titular holiday. The earlier Valentine's Day had more universal appeal, since that holiday is more anticipated by more people. Everyone wants to be in love then, while most sane people I know don't want to be anywhere near Times Square for New Year's.
There are lots of likable actors involved, but I would have enjoyed this more if I was more of a Jon Bon Jovi fan, since he plays a rock star everyone's crazy about, except for his ex (Katherine Heigl ' and she really is the brand marker for this kind of movie, isn't she?).
The plots are sitcom-ish: An overprotective single mother (Sarah Jessica Parker) can't cope with her daughter (Abigail Breslin) growing up. A pair of opposites (Ashton Kutcher, as a comic book artist, and Lea Michele, as a singer) get trapped in an elevator. The woman running the ball drop (Hilary Swank) is afraid of heights. An expectant couple (Seth Meyers, Jessica Biel) wants to be the first to have the New Year's baby. A woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) who just quit her job is trying to complete her bucket list with the help of a courier (Zac Efron). They all play out as you'd expect, with few surprises.
Now, a few days after seeing it, I don't remember much of it at all ' yet I know a couple of people who want to borrow my DVD, just to check it out. It's comfort viewing, where we all know exactly what we're going to get.
The special features include a commentary with director Garry Marshall, which I didn't listen to, and a gag reel, half of which has already been included in the bloopers shown during the credits. The Blu-ray edition has all the extras, with three short promotional featurettes with cast and crew plus deleted and extended scenes with Marshall's commentary. I bought the DVD because I didn't really want more of this film.
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The Shonen Jump Alpha website has posted a list of 10 Things We've Learned From Bakuman, the manga about making manga. The list items are short, illustrated with panels from the manga series, but it's hard to argue with the wisdom of lessons like 'It's a Tough Field to Make It', 'Being a Mangaka's Really Tough on Your Social Life (Except with Other Mangaka)', and 'If You Don't Try, You'll Never Succeed.' Even though the series is about manga, much of this applies to comic-making as well.
Where Bakuman differs from the usual stories we hear about aspiring comic creators is in its use of a team ' a writer and artist who are separate people ' and its emphasis on the virtue of editors. The insight into how the Japanese manga industry works is the book's strongest virtue, in my opinion. It's a key reminder that there's no one right way to make comics.
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I really liked the first issue of this new color series, and I was curious to see where Ted Naifeh would go in Courtney Crumrin #2. He took us in a direction I didn't expect, by flashing back to many of the same events of issue #1, but this time showing them from the perspective of Holly, the new girl. (Note, even, that the covers are something of a reversal to each other in positions and facings.)
You might fear this would seem repetitive, but it's not. Instead, it deepens both the new personality and the world she and Courtney inhabit. Instead of simply being a new antagonist for the title character, Holly now has her own motivations and desires. Some of her actions, cast as villainy in the first issue, are more understandable and even relatable.
It also supports what I've seen as the theme of this series, the idea that perception matters. What seems wrong or bad might not be when you understand more about the choices behind the decisions or when you take the perspective of someone unlike you. It's an argument for tolerance, basically. Even monsters can be understandable, and people on opposite 'sides' may have a lot in common.
Specifically, we see just how much Holly is like Courtney ' only a younger Courtney. Holly needs to learn some of the same lessons, and Courtney simply saying, 'Don't do that' isn't enough teaching. We also get to meet more of the kids Courtney took revenge on in the past. We may have been rooting for what she did, especially if we read previous stories, but we weren't previously encouraged to think about what their lives would be like now and whether the punishment was commensurate. It's a fascinating new take on a long-running setup that provides food for thought for new and old readers alike.
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