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Review: The Photographer by Guibert, Lefèvre, & Lemercier

  • Uncategorized
  • July 24, 2009

photographer1-2654870The Photographer
By Didier Lefèvre, Emmanuel
Guibert, and Frederic Lemercier
First Second, May 2009, $29.95

Lefèvre was a French photojournalist – he died, unexpectedly
and too young, in 2007 – and this book is an unusual combination of drawn
comics and [[[fumetti]], telling the true
story of part of his life. In 1986, Lefèvre took the first of several trips
into Afghanistan with the group Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF, aka Doctors
Without Borders), to report on the work of the MSF during the Soviet
occupation, particularly on one particular mission to set up a field hospital
in Zaragandara in the Yaftal valley up in the mountains of the north.

Nearly twenty years later, after hearing stories of that
trip many times, Lefèvre’s friend Emmanuel
Guibert, a well-known cartoonist and graphic novelist, turned that trip into
comics form, using Lefèvre’s words and photos.
As this book credits itself, it’s “A story lived, photographed, and told by
Didier Lefèvre, written and drawn by Emmanuel Guibert, laid out and colored by
Frederic Lemercier, and translated from the French by Alexis Siegel.” (I think
that means that Lemercier did the panel breakdowns from Guibert’s script – for
those who obsess about comics workflow – but that’s not completely clear.)

So every page of [[[The Photographer]]] is a comics page, with captions, panels, borders
and word balloons. But many of those pictures are not Guibert’s drawings, but Lefèvre’s photos – used as panels (wordless; the
captions and balloons never overlie the photography) or in strips of film to
convey time passing or just the atmosphere of a scene. It’s a style that
quickly fades into the background, but it gives The Photographer the power of a documentary – we see these people’s
real faces, and the real landscape they inhabit, as well as Guibert’s versions
of them.

(more…)

#SDCC: Overheard at San Diego Comic-Con, Day 1

  • News
  • July 24, 2009

The catch-all for all the off the cuff comments and interesting comments we’ve been hearing in the halls, following on Facebook, and tracking on Twitter.

Fernando Borrego: Only at comic con: bill nye gets a bigger ovation than nick cage

Chris Gore: Saw a guy at Comic Con wearing an NFL cap & called him Faggot!  Revenge for the 10,000,000 times I was called FAG in high school.  Win!

Bonnie Burton at the i09 panel: Pirates are the new vampire zombies!

BrianTruitt: Biggest irony of #sdcc: the one place you don’t have to stand in line is the bathroom.

paplikaplik: That lady’s trying to fit 200 lbs of Wonder Woman into a 90 lb costume.

mordantkitten: Damned if I haven’t found a way to sleep in line. Hee!

germainlussier: never seen hall h this full or full of females. its like a boy band concert.

ACED Magazine: Zoe Saldana has a
girlcrush on Megan Fox-but doesn’t know why casting decisions are made
by 65-yr-old men who want to see 25 year old girls rather than by looking to input from the younger generation who might want to see something different.

Paul Kupperberg “is 3000 miles away from Artists Alley and thinks the view from here is just fine.”

Geoff Johns, on the Green Lantern live-action movie : “I think the Green Lantern mythology has the potential to be one of
the biggest franchises in the world, superhero or otherwise. It’s as
epic as Star Wars and as deep as Lord of the Rings.
I think it could rival every other superhero out there if explored,
supported and executed right. … I think the success of films like Iron Man and The Dark Knight has shown us that good comics films can rule the screen. … I have immensely high hopes for Green Lantern.”

And finally, a tweet from Mark Evanier: “I’m at the con. Where the hell is everyone? The place is empty.”

(Thanks to Kim Kindya, Jenifer Rosenberg, Martha Thomases, and everybody else sending in their favorites. Photo by cranberries.)

#SDCC: Is McLovin ready to ‘Kick-Ass’?

  • News
  • July 24, 2009

27-mclovin-lgl-4797993

Who kicks more ass? McLovin’, or the Red Mist?

“There’s a reason why [Nicolas] Cage ain’t here…” So said Christopher Mintz-Plasse, co-star of Mark Millar’s comic-to-screen adaptation of Kick-Ass, brought to us at the San Diego Comic-Con in that room of rooms… Hall D! Director Matthew Vaughn presented alongside special guest Mark Millar, the aforementioned Mr. Mintz-Plasse (formerly McLovin’ of Superbad Fame…), as well as John Romita Jr., the comic book artist who brings Kick-Ass to life every month(ish) via Marvel’s ICON line.

Showing off Avid-fresh clips to a rabid audience, Vaughn was ensuring a final product that would bring a genuine adaptation that followed the comic to the letter, or in this case… the panels. “We are a genuine comic book adaptation with comic book authors involved
in the production of the movie… It’s really important to me that fans
of the comic like the film. I’ll be more upset if fans of the comic
hate the movie than anybody else.” Vaughn told MTV’s Splash Page blog prior to the screening.

And what a screening it was. Scenes including Nicholas Cage’s Big Daddy shooting his little girl, Chloe Moretz, begarbed in a bulletproof vest. A Paris Hilton joke warmed the crowd. And what of the titular hero? Aaron Johnson plays ‘Dave’, who in clips presented at the con, showed off the straight from panel to screen costume (no leather upgrades ala X-men here.), as well as comic-worthy violence. Tasers to a thug’s forehead? Check. Hit-Girl slicing and dicing bad guys enough to shame Beatrix Kiddo? Check. And McLovin’ as the hot-rodding Red Mist? Double check. The fans in attendance ate it up? How much? They demanded a reshowing of the trailer, and they got it.

But this begs to be asked… obviously Vaughn knew what to say and show the rabid comic fans in attendance, but Millar isn’t squeaky clean when it comes to his adaptations on film… lest we forget the curved bullets of amazing aptitude in Wanted: Not Quite the Comic circa 2008.

Look for ‘Kick-Ass’ at the tail end (sorry) of this year.

#SDCC: James Cameron presents ‘Avatar’

  • News
  • July 24, 2009

In the grand hall denoted only as “H”, swarms of Comic-Con goers were given a treat of global proportions. 24 minutes of James Cameron’s upcoming Avatar was screened for those on hand. Of course all recording devices were banned from use, but that didn’t keep bloggers away from their terminals as soon as the panel was finished. Here’s the low down of what we know was shown:

Jake Sully (being played by Sam Worthington) is shown entering a military briefing, confined to a wheelchair. We’re reassured by a gruff officer that it’s his job to keep them all alive… but (dun-dun-dunnnnnn) he assures the soliders in the room, including Jake, that he won’t be successful.

From here, we move quickly to a lab where we meet Jake’s ‘Avatar’, an artificial/alien body that will be piloted by Jake after his DNA is combined (via the Avatar program, natch) with the Na’vi alien race. We meet Dr. Grace Augustine (played by sci-fi fan favorite, Sigourney Weaver),  who helps load Jake into the Avatar machine, after a bit of playful banter.

Cue the special effects. We enter Oz, err, Pandora.

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#SDCC: Wonder Women: Sigourney Weaver, Elizabeth Mitchell, Zoe Saldana, Eliza Dushku

  • Uncategorized
  • July 23, 2009

eliza-dushku-sigourney-weaver-sdcc-5515017Sigourney Weaver received a standing ovation at the Comic-Con 2009 panel “Wonder Women: Female Power Icons in Pop Culture,” moderated by Entertainment Weekly.  The “ass-kicking” icon shared the dais with Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliette on Lost), Zoe Saldana (Uhura in the new Star Trek film) and, in an unannounced appearance, Eliza Dushku (Echo on Dollhouse.)

Weaver said “MTV called Ripley the second biggest badass after Clint Eastwood, but I think she could take him.” Apparently, the part of Ripley had originally been intended for a man, then Weaver came “and she was better,” said Saldana, who expressed her excitement about appearing with her.  Said Weaver of the part of Ripley, “I never thought about playing it as a woman, I thought about playing it as a person.”

With regard to the evolution of women’s roles, Weaver said, “I think that society is changing much faster than Hollywood understands.” She also said, “Hollywood gets really wrapped up in what women should wear and I was lucky when I did my action role that I got to wear real clothes.”

The other panelists also discussed their recent empowering roles. Saldana said, with regard to playing a new incarnation of Uhura, that it was “humbling” to continue the role of an original character that “everyone admired.”

Dushku talked about working on Dollhouse with Joss Whedon, known for creating strong female characters in his other TV series. “There was a reason I went back to Joss when I wanted to find my next role. My role in Buffy was so amazing. When I went back to him, I had such trust that he is the reason why I have all these opportunities. I asked Joss to make me the most multi-dimensional, deep character he’d ever done and he delivered.”

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#SDCC: Twilight Saga: New Moon panel with Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner

  • News
  • July 23, 2009

As reported here earlier today, Twilight fans practically took over San Diego Comic-Con in a desperate attempt to get to be seated for the Twilight Saga: New Moon panel. Thousands of fans, many of them screaming with excitement, camped out in the hopes of being in the front row when the stars of the film, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner took the stage. Place-holding in line has become a huge controversy, and there were reports of minor scuffles over such disagreements  as anxious fans worried about where their place in the panel might be. The convention allowed the campers to come in a freshen-up in the morning, and many had high hopes of being spotted in the crowd by their favorite heartthrob. There are even reports of moms offering cash to people seated toward the front in exchange for switching seats with their daughters. By all accounts, the hours leading up to the panel could only be described as Frenzy, and New Moon has been a top trending topic off and on all day on Twitter. Right before the panel, many heartbroken fans were tweeting their sadness at not being able to get into the panel.

Earlier in the day, there was a press conference where the actors were asked questions about the upcoming film. As press pictures were released, flamewars began as some fans became catty about the seating order and appearance of the stars (check out some of the comments at this site).All of the stars seemed to be slightly bewildered by the the full media onslaught of the press conference. Pattinson described the convention as “terrifying” but was reportedly more talkative than at last year’s con. When asked about their new-found fame, Lautner replied “None of us saw it coming, and this past year has been a ride for us.”

In the hour prior to the panel, a rumor began to circulate that Robert Pattinson would not be in attendance at the panel. The Twitterverse did a collective sigh of relief when he was apparently spotted with some guards about 15 minutes before start time. Once the panel began, sites seemed to be crashing from overload left and right. The second someone posted a link to an alleged live feed, that site was overloaded with fans hoping to get a peek at what was going on. All accounts were likening the screaming crowds to the cacophony of fans at early Beatles concerts.

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idw-10th-anniversary-logo-338x200-4839724

#SDCC: IDW Publishing panel – digital comics, Bob Schreck, Danger Girl and Bat Boy!

  • Uncategorized
  • July 23, 2009

idw-10th-anniversary-logo-338x200-4839724Through the lens of IDW’s tenth anniversary, founder Ted Adams and IDW editors and creators addressed a packed room about a wide variety of new projects. Adam Schlesinger liveblogged it, and we also got other info (funny about that)– here are the highlights:

  • Jeff Webber talked about the iPhone comics. IDW already has 80 titles available on iTunes now, with much more on the way. Webber talked about the power of the iPhone as a distribution
    system to capture non-comics fans, which is natural, given the changing
    nature of comics distribution out of comic book shops and into
    bookstores and the internet.
    Apparently, non-typical comic readers enjoy slideshows, rather than a
    zoomed in page, because it’s easier to read. Also, the swiping from
    panel to panel increases the interactivity of the medium, which draws
    non-typical comic fans in. Chris Ryall concluded that 20% of top 100% of book sales on iTunes have been from IDW.
  • Bob Schreck has just been announced as part of the IDW editorial team. They announced a book called Black Roads, written by Bill Willingham
    (of Fables fame) and illustrated by Gene Ha (Top 10).
  • J. Scott Campbell brought Danger Girl from Wildstorm to
    IDW, following long time editor Scott Dunbier.

Upcoming projects:

  • Hammer Of The Gods by Mark Wheatley and Mike Oeming will be collected– first the Image series, and then the sequel that debuted on ComicMix.
  • Also from ComicMix: miniseries of GrimJack and Jon Sable Freelance.
  • A hardcover version of Winter World
    by Chuck Dixon and Jorge Zaffin (original never-collected miniseries
    and unreleased sequel).
  • Dave Stevens’ Rocketeer “Deluxe” collections
    with all new coloring, and to celebrate they gave away vintage 1980’s
    Dave Stevens prints to everyone in the panel (pictures to come).
  • A new
    Star Trek series about Nero, the villian in the movie.
  • Seduth by Clive
    Barker, with art by Gabriel Rodriguez with 3D effects.
  • New comics from Jennifer Love Hewitt (Ghost Whisperer), Brea Grant (Heroes), and Billy
    Martin, the guitarist from Good Charlotte.
  • A Weekly World News book,
    including Bat Boy, Ed Anger, Manigator, PhD Ape (simian
    psychologist to the stars), and lots of other Weekly World
    News-inspired stories.
  • An adaptation of Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn.
  • A Harlan
    Ellison project called “Phoenix Without Ashes.” Ellison fans will remember that as the original title of the pilot episode of The Starlost, a series that Hollywood mucked up beyond all sorts of recognition in the 70s.

Review: ‘Green Lantern: First Flight’

  • Uncategorized
  • July 23, 2009

The care and attention to detail given the direct-to-DVD animated films based on DC Comics’ properties is evident. As a result, watching Green Lantern: First Flight is a visual treat. Following the others in this line, it is entirely on its own and disconnected from any other video so casual watchers will not be burdened with tremendous amounts of continuity.

In fact, the script for this feature, premiering tonight at the San Diego Comic-Con and going on sale Tuesday, does a nice job of encapsulating the necessary backstory for the Guardians of the Universe and the Green Lantern Corps. The film moves along at a nice pace and with most of it taking place off planet, the animators have a terrific time designing locales, aliens, and interpreting the GLC from comics for the screen.  I can quibble and say that I wish the original Gil Kane design for Hal Jordan’s costume were used or that Abin Sur resembled his comic book counterpart but it’s all minor.

The story is a fresh take on Hal Jordan inheriting the power ring and joining the Corps. As adapted from the 1990s version, Sinestro shows up to act as his trainer and reveals his corruption, forcing the student to fight the teacher. On the other hand, in the comics, Sinestro (voiced nicely by Victor Garber) was so manic about instilling order; he first blurred and then stepped over the line between protector and dictator. In this film, Sinestro is just corrupt and dismissive of the Guardians.

The Guardians suffer in translation. Originally, they all appeared identical, based on Israel’s David Ben-Gurion, so they could act in concert. Here, they are more distinctive to the point of looking goofy. They used to be mostly omniscient but here are weak and flawed, annoyed that a flawed human received the great Abin Sur’s ring, forgetting the ring’s programming to seek out the most appropriate candidate. These living power batteries are mishandled and their influence diminished.

Perhaps the biggest change between the comics and the film is that the yellow power that Sinestro adopts is not taken from Parallax, the embodiment of fear, but is some unexplained substance that rivals the green energy the Guardians used for their Corps. It just exists and is nowhere near as dramatically compelling. Screenwriter Alan Burnett usually doesn’t make errors like this and it’s a shame it hurts the film’s impact.

Hal, who was very nicely handled in [[[New Frontier]]], is less an imposing figure here, despite Christopher Meloni’s solid voice work. He questions the Guardians, bonds with his fellow corpsmen, and does heroic work but doesn’t resonate as a hero or as the Greatest Green Lantern of them all. As a result, the film is nowhere near as powerful as it should be.

The two-disc DVD comes complete with feature trailers on the previous animated released along with an intriguing sneak peek at the next offering, September’s [[[Superman & Batman: Public Enemies]]]. A short featurette on [[[Blackest Night]]] is a nice teaser for the comic books. The second disc comes with a short chat with Geoff Johns about Green Lantern along with Johns and others talking about Sinestro and the Guardians. The GL-themed episode of [[[Duck Dodgers]]] is included along with a two-part [[[JL Unlimited]]] animated adventure.

Overall, it’s a nice package and worth a look but the lack of a strong lead character and stereotypical villain posturing robs the story of the potential power.

Here’s a four minute preview of the movie, via MTV SplashPage:

#SDCC: Mondo Marvel

  • News
  • July 23, 2009

If it’s a major convention, it must be Mondo Marvel. Panelists included Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, Jason Aaron (Wolverine: Weapon X), Dennis Calero (X-Men Noir), Matt Fraction (Invincible Iron Man), Paul Tobin (Models, Inc.), Frank Tieri (Dark Reign: Lethal Legion), Steve Wacker (Spider-Man editor), Jim McCann (New Avengers: The Reunion), and C.B. Cebulski (Marvel talent liaison) gathered to discuss Dark Reign, Marvel Adventures, and pretty much everything else the House of Ideas has on its plate. Newsarama’s got the liveblog, but here are some highlights:

  • Black Widow: Deadly Origin by Paul Cornell and Rom Raney is four issues, starting in October. “Some deep, dark secrets from her past,” said Quesada.
  • X-Men Noir: Mark of Cain is out in November, featuring the same team of Fred Van Lente and Dennis Calero.
  • Captain America/Black Panther is a 4-issue series by Reggie Hudlin and Denys Cowan, involving Black Panther’s father.
  • Paul Tobin talked about the “bold new direction” for the Marvel Adventures line, with Quesada saying that they’re bringing “cohesion” to those books.
  • Andy Diggle and Roberto de la Torre on Daredevil, starting in September.
  • Matt Fraction got a compliment for “giving Colossus his balls back.” Yep.
  • Quesada said that Allan Heinberg is in the midst of writing a “massive” story involving the Young Avengers.

More One More Day discussion, the return of Fantomex, and true tales of cosplay gone wrong at the full Newsarama liveblog as well as Marvel’s own recap.

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