The Mix : What are people talking about today?

BookExpo America 2009 recap

As with any convention, a lot of fast, disjointed thoughts kicking around. In no particular order:

  • The most action at the con was in the Diamond Comics aisle and the e-publishers area. Other areas seemed quieter.
  • There seemed to be fewer freebies this year. A lot, in fact. When asking about getting on the press list, most publicists were relieved when I asked for PDFs over paper copies.
  • One paper copy I did get was a preview of IDW’s upcoming adaptation of The Hunter by Darwyn Cooke, taken from the Richard Stark (Donald Westlake) Parker novel. Having read the thing and knowing that they haven’t printed the final version yet, they should just save time and print “Future Eisner Award Nominee” on the cover now. Barnes & Noble is going to move a lot of these babies. (Disclaimer: IDW will be publishing the print version of ComicMix projects, and they picked up the tab for lunch on Friday. We tried, but Ted Adams insisted.)
  • DC did not have an official presence at the con, which considering the amount of backlist books they do is very surprising. Marvel and Diamond did, and seemed to be well rewarded for their efforts, with many people showing up for signings and even more showing up later on Saturday for the finger food and drinks. (Sorry you missed it, Alan.)
  • Lines for comics creators were very long. Neil Gaiman made a “surprise” appearance at the Harper Collins booth signing The Graveyard Book and handing out previews of Odd And The Frost Giants (I say surprise because I don’t remember seeing it on his blog).
    Marvel’s signings for Peter David and Chris Claremont went strongly, Chris estimated that he went through about two and a half boxes of X-Men Forever. I lost track of how many Oz books Skottie Young and Eric Shanower went through.

  • Over at the Image booth, Frank Cho and Chris Giarusso moved a lot of copies of their books as well.
  • The crowd seemed a bit older, even for BEA. Not sure if it’s an actual age difference, or if the young folks got fire from publishing houses, or if everyone at traditional houses were just muted this year.
  • There will be photos surfacing of me and Torsten Adair. I will not say which of us is the evil twin.
  • I had two publishers who knew me from my days as an e-publishing pioneer come up to me and say that their sales in paper were flat and the only bright spots were in e-publishing. Nice to know I’m remembered as a prophet, even if it’s taken a while to get there.

All in all, a decent, if not spectacular, trade show. Always fun to see many of my colleagues in a much less frenzied venue than San Diego or even Wizard World. Hopefully I’ll be recovered in time for MOCCA this weekend. Oy.

Oh, one final shot– this is from Thursday’s CBLDF party, with Denis Kitchen, Heidi Macdonald, Milton Griepp, and ComicMix alumnus Rick Marshall ordering a drink– no doubt steeling himself for the upcoming hell week starting with the MTV Movie Awards and ending with his name being pinned to an idiot in a major motion picture. Pray for him.

Review: ‘Revolutionary Road’ on DVD

revolutionary-road-dvd-3d-1664948America had won World War II, becoming the first true Super Power of the 20th Century. But with it came a price and that was a desperate desire among the populace to preserve their freedom through an amazing sense of conformity. Being different was seen as being un-American and you were likely to be accused of being a Communist, which had replaced being a Nazi as the vilest kind of person.

The spread of television and the broadcaster’s desire to present a harmonious vision of an ideal lifestyle led to a sameness from coast to coast that the country had never experienced before. Nor had the country really seen the rise of suburbia as people commuted by the tens of thousands to jobs in the nearby city, which also had it s affect on society.

Against all of this, Richard Yates wrote the 1961 novel Revolutionary Road that was the first work of fiction to examine the cost this conformity exact from the soul of the individual and society as a while. The acclaimed work had resisted being adapted into film until Kate Winslet campaigned for nearly four years to get the film made by her husband, director Sam Mendes.

The resulting production, coming out Tuesday on DVD, quickly became a critics’ darling, garnering three Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe nominations. Starring Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, it told of the Wheelers and the day they woke up to declare they didn’t want to be trapped by the conformity that was suffocating them.

By 1955, they were married with two children, living in Connecticut while Frank commuted to Manhattan to work at the same business machine firm as his father while April felt suffocated in her perky home. She seized on the notion they should follow Frank’s youthful dream of living in Paris so he could figure out what he really wanted to do with his life. She had the then-radical notion of working to support him while he figured it out and her fervor was such that he initially signed on. As the summer progressed, you could watch his cold feet developing as he turned 30 and appeared to lack the courage to act.

The film does a nice job of showing Frank’s isolation despite being surrounded by an army of men in their gray flannel suits contrasted with April’s loneliness in the house. You see them fiercely trying to maintain their marriage while they each drifted in different directions. When April revealed her pregnancy, it became the moment they seemed to permanently part.

The film nicely realizes 1950s suburbia, from the kinds of appetizers served to company, to the uniformity of business attire in the office. What it fails to do is show them in the greater context of their life. The two children are mere decorations with neither parent apparently having any relationship with them. April seems to have a mere two friends despite her participation, no doubt with the children’s peers and their parents. There’s no real sense of their social circle; instead, we’re told they were a special couple but we’re never shown what that means.

As a result, we’re told a lot but not shown enough to understand how they came together and then violently pulled apart. The dialogue is well done by Justin Haythe and delivered by top performers but ultimately, I’m left with an incomplete portrait. The stars are ably supported with the familiar likes of Jay O. Sanders, Dylan Baker, and Kathy Bates.

Nearly stealing the film out from under them is Michael Shannon’s performance as John Givings, a mentally disturbed adult who acts as the vocal conscience for April and Frank. The madman is the only one to see the hypocrisy of their world which is a metaphor that could have been explored further.

The film needed more to win me over but it’s a riveting drama despite its flaws. The DVD comes complete with a handful of deleted scenes, some of which expanded on the themes but reveal nothing new. The 30 minute Making Of featurette gives lip service to the themes but spends a lot of time on the costuming and set design, all of which contributed to the feeling of isolation.

There’s never a hint that while the couple battled the world they made for themselves, there were others slowly evolving beyond the constraints of the expected. Rock and Roll, the Beat Generation, and the civil rights movement were all bubbling to the surface at the time of the film, and the destination from [[[Revolutionary Road]]] could have been found had they worked together to find it.

Review: ‘[[[Valkyrie]]]’ on DVD

valkyrie-dvd-5151520World War II seems to have generated countless stories about heroism and bravery, stories told for the point of view of the allies and the axis, stories told about life on the homefront and life in the foxhole. As a result, it remains an enduring source of fodder for filmmakers as more and more details come to the surface. Through the 1950s and 1960s, most of the WW II movies were highly fictionalized accounts and by the 1970s war stories were played out, fewer and further between. In the last decade, we’ve had history to sift through and we now know of [[[Schindler’s List]]]. Valkyrie, Bryan Singer’s entry into the pantheon, intended to tell us of the closest a plot to assassinate Hitler came to working.  Presuming you were taught anything about the war in school, you might not even know there were over a dozen attempts to kill the Chancellor of the German Republic.

It’s a story worth telling but it should have been better told. The film was well structured by writers Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander and Singer is to be commended for shooting on location, which gave the film a great look. The cast, led by Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson, Terence Stamp, Bill Nighy and Eddie Izzard, is to-notch with many performers closely resembling their real world counterparts.

All that was missing was giving a damn about any of these players. The script drained each and every character of personality, sapping the energy out of a story that should have been as compelling as the facts. Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, credited as the mastermind behind using Hitler’s own Project Valkyrie against him, was actually an outspoken critic of Nazi Germany. He was a brilliant, well-educated man who spoke multiple languages, loved literature and was partial to horses as well as being a family man, raising four children and embarking on his mission while his wife carried their fifth child.

Wish some of that came through beyond perfunctory scenes of him leaving the family to go kill the Führer.  Cruise is restrained but also bland. The others allying himself were also drained of personality so we never understand why everyone revered Ludwig Beck (Stamp), who was actually quite the legendary figure and a reason so many signed up for the July 20 Plot. Instead, Stamp sits around and makes phone calls.

The actual plot is like a [[[Mission: Impossible]]] story with the usual complications but add to this a lack of conviction on the parts of various players, which at first slows and later tips the balance of action on that fateful day in 1944.  It’s fascinating to see the way communications worked back then, and how people had to sit around and wait for the news over the teletype or radio.

In the end, though, we see how the plot failed and what became of the conspirators but by then, their fates leave you unmoved because after nearly two hours you don’t care about any of them.

Instead, you can skip the movie and go the special features on the DVD, now available. There’s the usual Making Of which shows the detail that went into securing the locations and what some of the locale people thought of the production, especially those still alive who recalled that day. But, best of all, is the 42-minute documentary from Kevin Burns that tells a far more compelling story as the children of von Stauffenberg and other conspirators discussed what they remember plus what their lives were like in the years that followed. This made us care and showed an aftermath the film barely acknowledged. The documentary also tells us some 700 people associated with the plot were tried – that’s a much larger scope than implied in the film which would have given the story more impact.

If I were you, I’d rent the disc, skip the film and watch the documentary.

The Point -Joey Pants Directs A Film!

From THE MATRIX to DAREDEVIL to THE SOPRANOS, Joe Pantliano has entertained in front of the camera. Now he steps behind it for a new film that he showcases with us — plus even more Doctor Who on the way and a Buffy Movie. Really?

PRESS THE BUTTON to Get The Point!

And be sure to stay on The Point via badgeitunes61x15dark-8531182, RSS, MyPodcast.Com or Podbean

DreamWorks Animation schedules five films every two years; Shrek, Madagascar & Kung Fu Panda sequels coming

kung-fu-panda-3

I’m in a rush for Book Expo, so I’ll just cut and paste the press release:

GLENDALE,
Calif., May 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc.
(Nasdaq: DWA) announced today its plans to release five feature films
every two years, adding an additional film every other year to its
existing two picture a year release schedule on a going-forward basis.
The Company also announced its upcoming slate of animated feature film
releases through 2012.

The Company’s slate through 2012 now includes eight feature films
from DreamWorks Animation’s talented and seasoned creative leadership
team, including five original films and three sequels based on the
Company’s existing blockbuster franchises, Shrek, Madagascar and Kung
Fu Panda. As has been previously announced, all DreamWorks Animation
feature films are now being produced in 3D.

“Our exceptionally talented and highly experienced creative team is
bringing to DreamWorks Animation a significant number of imaginative,
original and cutting-edge ideas today,” said Bill Damaschke,
Co-President of Production and President of Live Theatrical. “Having
achieved a high level of success and consistency in our creative
process and having in our development pipeline more great story
concepts than ever before, we are very confident in our ability to add
one original film every other year.”

The upcoming animated films on the Company’s future theatrical release schedule are currently planned as follows: How to Train Your Dragon, which is based on the book of the same name by Cressida Cowell, will be released on March 26, 2010. Shrek Forever After will be released on May 21, 2010. Oobermind (formerly titled Master Mind) will be released on November 5, 2010. Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom will be released on June 3, 2011. The Guardians (working title), based on the forthcoming books by William Joyce, will be released on November 4, 2011. Puss In Boots (working title) will be released on March 30, 2012. The next chapter of the Company’s hit franchise Madagascar
is due to be released on May 25, 2012. On November 2, 2012, the Company
plans to release one of three original projects currently in
pre-production at the studio. The first is The Croods (working title).

cbldf-logo-5228876

CBLDF party tonight at BookExpo NYC

cbldf-logo-4005788Kick off the summer convention season tonight at the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund‘s
Book Expo Welcome Party! Enjoy free gourmet bites and a cash bar, while
mingling with the best and the brightest authors and pros from the
graphic novel world! The party runs from 6:00 to 9:00 PM at Hudson
Terrace, conveniently located near the Javits Center on 621 W 46th
Street between 11th & 12th Ave.

This event is open to all
BEA attendees and CBLDF supporters. The party is free for current year
CBLDF members. A suggested donation of $10 is asked for non-members. If you sign up for membership at the party, you’ll receive a CBLDF lapel pin.

What: CBLDF’s BookExpo Welcome Party
When: May 28, 6:00 to 9:00 PM
Where: Hudson Terrace, 621 W 46th Street between 11th & 12th Ave
How Much: $10 suggested donation, and free to CBLDF members!
Dress: Business Casual

About
the CBLDF: The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund was founded in 1986 as a
501 (c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of
First Amendment rights for members of the comics community. They have
defended dozens of free expression cases in courts across the United
States, and led important education initiatives promoting comics
literacy and free expression. For additional information, donations,
and other inquiries, call 800-99-CBLDF or visit them online at
www.cbldf.org.

scrooge-mcduck-7960055

Ecocomics! (Or: where did they get those wonderful toys?)

scrooge-mcduck-8712282If you thought comics weren’t dismal enough nowadays, just wait until they meet up with the Dismal Science. Lo, we shall combine comics and economics and there shall be Ecocomics:

In the Marvel Universe, Canada is responsible for creating some of the
most deadly super-soldiers in history. Wolverine, Sabretooth, Deadpool,
Kane, and Agent Zero were all deadly assassins who were empowered by
Canada’s Weapon X program. This secret division of the Canadian
government went to great expense to create nearly unstoppable weapons
(and in almost all cases, allow them to escape shortly thereafter).
This gives rise to a single question: WHY?

What threat was Canada so afraid of that the government felt the need to constantly produce human death machines?

“Holy Crap, Quebec is getting uppity again, let’s coat another mutant in adamantium!”

Or:

It has occurred to me that building repairs must make up something like
90% of the economy in comic book universes. This must be true to combat
the rampant destruction in the comic book world. Nearly ever major
title from DC comics showcases this constant and overwhelming
destruction. Superman frequently levels Metropolis while “protecting”
its citizens. Riots happen in Gotham City roughly every five minutes. A
FRICKIN DARK GOD POSSESSED EVERY LIVING SOUL ON THE PLANET AND
DESTROYED TONS OF BUILDINGS WHILE BURNING EVERY BOOK EVER WRITTEN!

I can’t wait to see the psych workup on Richie Rich. (Hat tip: Amy Goldschlager.)

Happy Birthday to Harlan Ellison and Mark Wheatley!

harlan-2-9488537We here at ComicMix would like to wish the happiest of birthdays to two of our favorite people:

Harlan Ellison, who despite various attempts directed at him of annihilation, assassination,
bloodshed, butchery,
carnage,
destruction,
foul play,
homicide, knifing, liquidation,
lynching,
manslaughter,
massacring, murder,
shooting, stabbing, slaying, taking out, terrorism, general mayhem, and the rest of the works up to and including editing, has somehow survived to the distinguished age of 75. Happy birthday, unkie Harlan.

Mark Wheatley, who as far as we know has never been the object of anyone’s ire, and is the creator of Mars, Breathtaker, EZ Street, Lone Justice, and Frankenstein Mobster, turns 55 today. Celebrate by reading some of his great works today!

Review: ‘[[[Taken]]]’ on DVD

taken1-3080009No one knew what to make of Taken when it opened in late January and the film garnered largely positive reviews but as the winter dragged on, the Liam Neeson action film took in more and more money. As it hits DVD, the global box office take stands at a robust $220,789,777 and was the feel good movie of the season.

The movie, though, is thoroughly predictable. Liam’s 17-year-old daughter goes to France with a pal and immediately gets kidnapped by a white slavery ring. Former Special Forces (or whatever) Dad flies over and is told he has a mere 96 hours to find her of she vanishes forever. So, we know there will be mayhem, the clock will tick down and he will save her. It’s a modern day Charles Bronson flick. I get that.

The trick is to make the journey an enjoyable one and frankly, it’s so standard that there’s little to be entertained by. Fights, car chases, double-crossing people, been there, seen that.

Neeson is not your first thought as an action star, [[[Star Wars]]]  not withstanding. He’s more the everyman and he wrings your sympathy and you cheer to see him in action, regardless of the predictable outcome.

What would have been a lot more interesting would have been to show us two points of views, not just Liam Neeson’s. The most original thing in the film is the moment he tells her she will in fact be kidnapped. From that point, it would have interesting to see parallel tracks – while Liam Neeson sought his daughter throughout Paris; we also see what Maggie Grace as the daughter had to endure. As it stands, she appears to be the only one who was not drugged, not sold right into street prostitution and by happenstance, the sole virgin capping off an auction for international clientele. That makes her a little too precious and frankly, would have given Grace, a capable actress if too old for the role, something to do other than look terrified or cry.

In fact, other than Neeson, no one is given much of anything to do or so say to round out the story and show us the world Neeson thought he left behind.

Cowritten by Luc Besson ([[[The Professional]]]) and Robert Mark Kamen ([[[The Transporter]]] films), the film felt on autopilot from beginning to end. And with 96 hours to accomplish his task, we’re never given a good sense of when Neeson sleeps, eats, or actually rests. Sure, he’s driven, but he can’t be at his peak for that length of time and the story avoids the issue entirely, a common problem with stories like these. Pierre Morel directs with a nice attention to detail and setting, getting a good, smoldering performance from Neeson but everything else looked pretty much like his Transporter.

The movie comes in the release edition and an extended version that amplified the violence here and there but adds nothing to the story and barely three minutes to running time. The extras are perfunctory with Le “Making Of” featuring everyone gushing over how wonderful everyone else was. The Inside Action: Side by Side Comparisons of six sequences is more interesting.

The stars and crew are all capable of so much more; the overall product is a lackluster affair.

Doctor Tennant Gets Animated – Again

  • Uncategorized
  • May 26, 2009

Well, David Tennant is continuing his buyer’s remorse by voicing a second Doctor Who animated story.

Dreamland, the seven-part, six-minute per part story, which really isn’t a sequel to the animated episode The Infinite Quest as much as a new, separate story, will also feature the voice talent of renown actor David Warner. Like Tennant, Warner participated in several Big Finish Doctor Who audio adventures. 

The episode has been written by Russell T. Davies stablemate’s Phil Ford, a regular behind both The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood. He also co-wrote the upcoming Doctor Who special, The Waters of Mars, expected to air in November.

Like The Infinite Quest, Dreamland is expected to be released on DVD after initial broadcast. Who might actually be airing the show in the States (pun not intended) remains unknown at presstime.

Categories

Archives

Everything you need to make great comics!

comicmix-pro-300x69-2

Nucleus X

Bookshop Zaks