The Joker has always been Batman’s most iconic and popular villain. We can argue why this is so, but it’s been true since at least the ‘70s, and shows no sign of changing any time in the near future. And so, with a major movie coming out last year with a high-profile Joker (though no one knew just how high-profile it would eventually be, after Heath Ledger’s surprise death and a billion dollars at the box office), DC signed up some more Joker-centric projects. Who could blame them?

Joker
Written by Brian Azzarello; Pencils and Covers by Lee Bermejo
DC Comics, November 2008, $19.99

This one was billed as the closest thing to a direct tie-in with that [[[Dark Knight]]] movie, and this [[[Joker]]] could function as a sequel – the Joker gets out of Arkham as the story begins. It’s pretty blatant, actually, with the Joker looking as close to Heath Ledger as a jumpy lawyer would allow, scarred cheeks (not an element of any previous Joker incarnations I can recall), and a brief Riddler cameo seemingly planned as a Johnny Depp casting call. (On the other hand, Two-Face is still alive in this story and Batman hardly appears at all – just at the end, when Azzarello was nearing the end of his page limit and nothing else would bring the story to any kind of conclusion.)

Joker is not precisely Joker’s story, though: it’s yet another worms-eye view of a superhero universe, the story of small-time hood Jonny Frost (and why, after seventy years of pulp comics, are we still stuck with dumb names like that?), who wants to be bigger than he has any right to be. So he volunteers to pick up the Joker when he gets out of Arkham, and he becomes the Joker’s right-hand man, sort-of. Then there’s a lot of violence – mostly against Two-Face’s gang – to show us how twisted and sociopathic and sneaky the Joker is.

(more…)

The weekend’s list of quick items:

• WATCHMEN WEEK: Where Were You in 1986? Part 1 | Comix 411
   
• Golden Age Comic Book Stories: Wally Wood does an EC story, and Frank Frazetta makes notes on redrawing it himself. Take a look and watch how the masters did it.
   
• Amazon Kindle is now also an iPhone App. But it still can’t do images yet. When it does, the comics industry changes forever.
   
• And while we’re on the topic, Barnes & Noble is back in the eBook Market with the acquisition of Fictionwise. Here’s hoping it works better than what they did with MightyWords… or am I the only person who remembers them? God, I’m old…
   
• Leonardo DiCaprio teams with ‘Dark Knight’ director Christopher Nolan for the sci-fi action film Inception, his next directing gig instead of doing the next Batfilm right away. Also, ‘Watchmen’ star Jackie Earle Haley stays with comic books, joins ‘Human Target’ cast.

Anything else? Consider this an open thread.

Walt Disney learned much from the work performed in [[[Snow White]]], his first animated feature.  The story was fairly basic and almost too short and to the point. For his second outing, he intended for something to further demonstrate his mastery of the animated form. As a result, his work in translating Carlo Collodi’s [[[Pinocchio]]] from book to cartoon kept changing through the production and as a result, the finished product was a giant leap forward.

The lush color palette and ease of motion employed by the characters is confident, evoking a storybook feeling while telling an entertaining tale.  You’re reminded of all this when re-watching the film on the new 70th Anniversary DVD, on sale Tuesday.

Disney took the popular 1883 novel, which focused largely on social themes and reshaped it into an American kid-friendly story with heavy lessons to be imparted. Interestingly, the movie, released February 7, 1940, didn’t fare well at first thanks to the global concerns over war, but grew over time to be an enduring classic.

How the book was adapted complete with an alternate ending is just part of the anniversary extras included on the Blu-ray and two-disc standard DVD editions. The Blu-ray also includes the single disc DVD which has just the movie, some trailers, and some music videos. The rest of the goodies, of which there are many, were not available for review since just the Blu-ray was provided to journalists.

So, let’s talk about the movie.  The story of the kindly toy maker, Geppetto, who constructed a boy puppet as a substitute son, is a lovely beginning. The turquoise fairy (renamed the simpler blue fairy in the movie) arrives and bestows life on the toy and promises to turn him into a real boy if he learns to behave and accept the responsibility that comes with life. Being entirely naïve about what that means, and presuming Geppetto too old to teach him, the fairy taps Jiminy Cricket to play the role of conscience. The boy begins a series of exploits that shows the audience the need to listen to the little voice in the back of your mind.

Pinocchio is easily lured away from the tried and true path, such as attending school, for the easier vices.  He’s constantly taken advantage of by adults, both human and anthropomorphic.  By film’s end, none of them are made to pay for their perfidy. In fact, they remain at large; tempting others to stray while Pinocchio, having learned his lesson, returns to Geppetto’s loving arms. As they manage to survive the whale Monstro’s hunger, Pinocchio earns his human flesh.

The animation is lush, the backgrounds colorful.  A lot of time and attention is given to showing off, especially early on in the toy shop as the various creations perform.  Later, there’s tremendous activity in the background, notably when Pinocchio and Lampwick find the other boys who are a busy bunch.

We all know the songs from the film and the signature moments such as the wooden boy’s nose grow long enough to house a bird’s nest when he lies.  There is a gentle humor to Jiminy’s commentary and affection runs strongly through the good characters.  It’s not a terribly scary movie, compared with the chilling Queen-turned-witch in the previous feature.  There are thrills, such as the escape from the whale, and the 88 minutes pass with nary a lull.

The film transfer is crisp, the colors as rich as ever.  The sound is sharp. If this is not in your family’s video library, it probably should be and you have three versions to pick from so it all depends upon how many extra bells and whistles you want.