Possible tag lines? Oh, we got some:
Seven Total Strangers Team Up For The Perfect Crime. They Don’t Know Each Other’s Name. But They’ve Got Each Other’s Liscensed Foot Clan Headbands.
Four perfect killers. One perfect pizza. Now all they have to fear is Dominos not delivering to the sewers.
And of course: Every dog rat has his day.
On the Odd Hours (Louvre Collection)
By Eric Liberge
NBM Comics Lit, 72 pages, $14.95
Art is in the eye of the beholder, we’ve been taught. But it’s also a matter of the soul so some works move people while others are bored silly by the same piece. Apparently, there’s far more to the paintings and sculptures than one might imagine if you buy into Eric Liberge’s graphic novel [[[On the Odd Hours]]].
The third in an imaginative series of graphic novels co-published by NBM with the Louvre Museum, this book tells of Bastien, a deaf mute who has had an internship arranged for him by his loving girlfriend. Instead, he winds up missing his appointment and being recruited by a deaf guard to join him on the nightly rounds.
The night guards are charged with looking after the souls of the artwork, sounding percussion instruments in order to let them free and roam a bit before returning to their usual positions for the daylight patrons. Bastien is being recruited because the guard is old and sick and the legacy must continue.
The premise is certainly an interesting one but Liberge fails to make Bastien an interesting character, robbing the entire story of its power. The plight of the deaf mute is a difficult one, but we’re told he’s been difficult from birth, refusing to train himself to operate in the world. We have no clue what his girlfriend sees in him or why we should care for someone with contempt for the rest of the world. Had we seen some redeeming feature, his frustration with the haring world would have worked a lot better.
His mentor, Fu Zhi, delights in slowly revealing the museum’s true self to Bastien but with his illness, one would have expected him to explain more and prepare Bastien for his new role. Instead, Fu dies and Bastien winds up being fired from his job.
The entire final section of the book is Bastien’s immature attempt to regain his work and to protect the Louvre’s treasures. By the end, I am left deeply dissatisfied with the story.
Liberge’s artwork is attractive and works in a muted palette, making everything, even the classic works, feel drained of life. He’s ill-served by the small format of the book, 6.5” x 9”, so everything feels cramped. His balloon and caption placement is also dreadful and could have used a helping hand from his editor for greater clarity.
Where he excels is in depicting how the deaf communicate and you gain a greater appreciation for their situation in a world built for oral and audio communication. A little less successful is how he shows the sonics freeing the souls of the artwork, especially as he frees most of them for the daylight climax.
Many will no doubt judge this as an artistic success for Liberge, who has graduated from fanzines to a fine career as a French graphic artist but for this patron, the work left much to be desired.
Sitting here at I-Con, the word is spreading throughout the Green Room with alarm that Dick Giordano, one of the most universally beloved figures in the comics world is gone.
Growing up as a comics reader, I was first aware of Dick as a superlative inker, usually in tandem with Neal Adams on Green Lantern and Batman. It was only later I learned of his work at Charlton, editing the line of Action Heroes titles followed by his short stint at DC as an editor.
I finally got to meet him at Paul Levitz’s wedding in the wake of the announcement that he was returning to DC. It wasn’t until December 1983 that we finally had a chance for a conversation — when he interviewed me to join the staff.
DC in 1984 was a company poised to explode into a new age. All the pieces were being put into place as Dick was recently named to run the editorial department and was setting the stage for creators from Frank Miller to Alan Moore do some of their best and most memorable work.
Working on staff at the time allowed me to see the man in action and to learn from him. He was a superb artist and had excellent story instincts which he happily conveyed with any and all to walk into his cluttered office. Every lesson I’ve learned in how to review portfolios and talk to artists, came from Dick. Whenever I was looking art artwork and I knew something was wrong, but the words failed me, I could walk into his office and show him the page. He saw my point and then grabbed a sheet of tracing paper and showed me (and often the artist as well) what was wrong, why, and how to fix it. (more…)
It is with profound personal regret that I report comics legend Dick Giordano died this morning.
The man who guided two comics companies, Charlton and then DC, to greatness and served as collaborator, friend and mentor to more people than I’d have capacity to recall in a week – Neal Adams, Dennis O’Neil, Jim Aparo, Joe Rubinstein, Terry Austin, Steve Ditko, Frank McLaughlin, Klaus Janson, Al Milgrom, Bob Layton, Steve Skeates, and every young artist, writer and editor who passed through Continuity Associates and DC Comics during his tenure at those companies, to name but a very few. His own gifts as an editor and artist were nothing short of breathtaking.
Dick always defended creative freedom and aesthetic opportunity, sometimes putting him heads-on with management powers, often representing not his own work but that of the editors in his charge, most certainly including myself, for which I will be forever grateful. He knew the good stuff when he saw it, he knew how to improve it, he knew how to incubate it. Projects he saw through included Ditko’s Blue Beetle, Bat Lash, Deadman, Superman Vs. Muhammad Ali, The Dark Knight, Watchmen... really, way too many to list in one place.
As an artist, he drew virtually every major and most minor characters for Charlton, Marvel and DC, including his own early work with Joe Gill on Sarge Steel. Best known as an inker on Batman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow (separately and together), and Superman Vs. The Amazing Spider-Man. One of his very last creative projects was the forthcoming graphic novel White Viper with Erin Holroyd and Frank McLaughlin, serialized on ComicMix and to be released shortly by IDW/ComicMix.
Much of Dick’s best known efforts were done in collaboration with artist Neal Adams, with whom he partnered in a commercial art studio, Continuity Associates, in 1971. A great many comics artists both young and old worked in that studio, often collaborating under the name “the Crusty Bunkers.” He authored the book Drawing Comics with Dick Giordano and served on the board of directors of The Hero Initiative. Even in his corporate capacities, Dick always championed the cause of creator’s rights.
A very warn, opinionated, feisty man with a disarming sense of humor and a knowledge of illustration history second to none, Dick suffered through many health difficulties, including asthma, hearing loss, and ultimately leukemia.
Dick was my friend and my mentor as well; I had the privilege of serving under him for seven years at DC Comics where we worked on Green Arrow, Modesty Blaise and numerous other projects. Dick did a public service piece for me in promotion of The National Runaway Switchboard, and I was proud to be his editor on The White Viper.
I’ll miss him a lot; in this, I will not be alone.
Roald Dahl’s imagination is to be celebrated. His books never repeat themselves and offer readers a vivid variety of ideas and images, memorable characters and incredible situations. Thankfully, technology today allows the works to be adapted with an eye towards retaining as much of his creations as is possible. The latest such adaptation is Fantastic Mr. Fox, another stop-motion production.
Available this week through 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, the fall 2009 movie is available in the combo package of Blu-ray, standard DVD and digital copy. Directed by Wes Anderson, making his first animated foray, the movie is a largely satisfying and entertaining production.
With an all-star vocal cast including George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, and Bill Murray it tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Fox (Clooney and Streep), who live a poor but happy life with their eccentric son Ash (Schwartzman) and visiting nephew Kristopherson (Eric Chase Anderson). That is until Mr. Fox slips into his sneaky, old ways and plots the greatest heist the animal world has ever seen. When mean old farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean (Michael Gambon, Robin Hurlstone, and Hugo Guinness) join forces to surround Mr. Fox and his family, they don’t realize they are not dealing with any old fox.
Anderson, who says Dahl was a personal hero, added the opening and closing scenes to frame the novel and they have the right feel, giving the film a nice resolution. Co-writer Noah Baumbach nails the voices of the characters and retains their inventive personalities.
The stop motion work is fluid and attractive, with a nicely selected color palette to make the story feel, well, fantastic. Credit goes to not only Anderson, but to Henry Selick, who collaborated with him on The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. When Revolution Studios folded, Selick left to make the equally engaging Coraline while Anderson kept the Dahl book and cut a deal with 20th. The voices were recorded in a variety of settings for a different tonal quality but it’s so subtle as to be effectively pointless. But the performances themselves are terrific all the way through the cast.
The Blu-ray comes packed with a variety of extras to accompany the 89-minute feature. Making Mr. Fox Fantastic is a six-part featurette including the visual look, adapting the script to the stop-motion film, the puppet makers, the puppet animation, the vocal cast and Bill and his Badger (only the 7-minute from script to screen segment can be found on the standard disc). A Beginner’s Guide To Whack-Bat is a fanciful newsreel about the sport played throughout the film; while Fantastic Mr. Fox: The World of Roald Dahl celebrates the author as is appropriate.
Read your children the book then let them revel in this film, which will stand up to repeated viewings.
Since March Madness is slowly dissipating into subtle paranoia at this point, we figured we’d ease you down with this little intro to a cartoon from the amazing early 90’s sect. Debuting opposite “Wish Kid” (starring that AHHHH! Kid from Home Alone…) came this little gem of a series. Like the Super-Globetrotters, the Pro-Stars seem to live in lockers. They also fight crime and have amazing super sports-themed gadgets… And a few pastry white sidekicks. Folks, it don’t get better than this. Since it’s Saturday morning, we suggest a morning drinking game. Watch the into and down a gulp of your morning Mimosa every time they say “Pro-Stars”. We guarantee you’ll be sloshed happy by the end!
It might be the most obvious movie title of all time – HOT TUB MACHINE. Rob Corddry is here top explain just what it all means, plus we get another Amanda Waller and finally a look at SCOTT PILGRIM!
AND Rob rejoins us on Monday to discuss his plan to join the cast of THE BOYS big screen adaptation!
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The history of the world is rich with stories of personal triumph and epic events. In fact, so many stories remain to be told to modern day audiences, you would never need to leave the non-fiction section to find stories to tell. In school, we’re given such a surface review of global history that we’re constantly amazed to find out what really went on.
Take China for example. The country is our partner and rival in modern day affairs but what do we know of a land that can trace its culture back thousands of years? Sure, we were taught they were largely xenophobic and measured their rulers by dynasties but little else. But, to those growing up in the Pacific Rim, the stories of great warriors outnumber those we can tell about out forefathers.
This point is brought home in the release this week of the stunning [[[Red Cliff]]]. Director John Woo has wanted to tell this story about the fall of the Han Dynasty since childhood and spent years researching it, more years to craft a script and then months to film the story.
In 208 A.D., the Han Dynasty Emperor grants permission to the greedy General Cao Cao to form a movement that will pulverize two warlords who stand in his way. The warlords, Liu Bei and Sun Quan, are sworn enemies but know their only hope for survival is to band together and counter the attack. Although outnumbered by Cao Cao’s vast and fast approaching army, the warlords put their rivalry behind them and end up surprising all those who doubted their small brigade.
History, as we know, is written by the victors so most accounts make Cao Cao out to be evil incarnate but Woo wisely sourced most of the facts and character descriptions from the more level-headed Records of Three Kingdoms. This certainly makes all the players far from cardboard caricatures.
The story was so epic in scope, akin to [[[Lord of the Rings]]], that he shot a four hour film that was released internationally in two parts. A 148-minute edited version came to America last year, garnering excellent reviews although it didn’t perform well at the box office. The movie has been released by Magnolia Home Entertainment in a variety of formats such as the two-disc Blu-ray International Edition with the complete film or the single disc with the shortened version. Both come packed with extras galore.
In watching the 148 domestic version, I thought I had seen enough. The problem for me was that too many of the key players were not developed as characters with Woo’s emphasis on his trademark action sequences which were larger and more involved than ever. As a result, Cao Cao is not the standard movie villain but also remains enigmatic, his true goals and desires absent. Similarly, Liu Bei and Sun Quan’s enmity is left mentioned and unexplored so their alliance is missing the significance it should otherwise posses.
On the road again… see ComicMix folks Robert Greenberger, Glenn Hauman, Aaron Rosenberg, Matthew Weinberger, and probably even more of us this weekend at I-Con 29, back at the campus of SUNY/Stony Brook on beautiful Long Island. In addition, you’ll be able to hear Aaron and Glenn on Destinies: The Voice Of Science Fiction on WUSB 90.1 FM, or online at http://www.wusb.fm.
Glenn’s schedule (subject to change):
Meet the Pro’s – Friday from 8:00pm – 10:00pm in Islip Ballroom
Good Prose/Bad Film – Saturday from 12:00pm – 1:00pm in SAC 302
Pimp Your Talent – Saturday from 3:00pm – 4:00pm in SAC 302
Superman: An American God? – Saturday from 4:00pm – 5:00pm in ESS 001
Business of Publishing – Saturday from 5:00pm – 6:00pm in SAC 302
Slans, Mutants, and Vampires Rule! – Saturday from 7:00pm – 8:00pm in SAC 302
Eye of Argon/Amanda McKittrick Ros Reading Competition – Saturday from 11:00pm – 12:00am in Ronkonkoma Room
Smack Yourself in the Forehead Moments – Sunday from 10:30am – 11:30am in SAC 303
Just Add Sex – Sunday from 2:00pm – 3:00pm in SAC 302
Aaron’s schedule (subject to change):
Meet the Pro’s – Friday from 8:00pm – 10:00pm in Islip Ballroom
Popular Media Licenses & Gaming – Friday from 8:00pm – 9:00pm in ESS 131
State of the Industry – Indie Press/Freelance edition – Saturday from 10:00am – 11:00am in ESS 001
Writing Media Tie-ins – Saturday from 11:00am – 12:00pm in SAC 302
Business of Publishing – Saturday from 5:00pm – 6:00pm in SAC 302
So You Want To Be a Game Designer? – Saturday from 9:00pm – 10:00pm in ESS 131
Matthew will be on various and sundry comics panels, and Mr. Greenberger, of course, will be doing the world famous I-Con Movie Previews both Saturday and Sunday.
Stop by and say hi. Tickets are still available. It’s a hell of a convention, and literally has something for everyone and the only way they’d get a bigger dealers room would be to rent Nassau Coliseum.
Ever since Hulk was little boy, his favorite show was Diff’rent Strokes. Hulk’s favorite episode was from the 7th season, entitled ‘A Special Friend’. Why was this Hulk’s favorite episode? Because Hulk learned about Arnold’s friend, and her epilepsy. Hulk take this disease very seriously. Way more seriously than Hulk take his own comic serious. You still think fans care about Red Hulk? Fans know there be only one Hulk. And Hulk is green. Green with purple pants. Now me remember! Hulk came to ComicMix today to talk about Purple Day! Hulk wear purple pants to raise awareness for epilepsy!
If you like Hulk, and want to show support, first Hulk say “HULK SMASH MOUSEY-CLICKY-THING HERE!“. There you’ll find plenty of ways to help support epilepsy awareness. Also, you become smart on epilepsy facts by reading on their interwebs. Be smart like stupid Banner! Me learn that epilepsy effects 1 out of every 100 people. Me learn that 3 million Americans have epilepsy. Me learn more, but you should visit site by yourself.
Hulk personally am buying a tee shirt from their store, and then Hulk will donate his Facebook status to let people know about Purple Day. Hulk have many friends on Facebook. Hulk great at Farmville, and always tag Metal Guy in photos when he drink too much in Avengers Mansion. Hulk remember being Avenger. Now Hulk can’t be Avenger, because he don’t know which team to be on. Hulk ask short-claw-stubble-face which team he on, and he just start crying.
Columns / Glenn Hauman / News
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