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Review: ‘The Vertigo Encyclopedia’
The Vertigo Encyclopedia
By Alex Irvine
DK Publishing, September 2008, $29.99
There are few ways to produce a traditional encyclopedia, usually beginning with an alphabetical listing. Most come with illustrations and are written in an academic style with little in the way of adjectives let alone opinions. Graphic presentation may be the key difference between one publisher and another. The role of illustrations grew in importance largely when Microsoft introduced [[[Encarta]]].
Leave it to [[[Vertigo]]] to show how things can be done in another way entirely. The DC Comics imprint was a natural evolution from a line of titles, largely edited by Karen Berger, in the late 1980s as writers such as Alan Moore, Jamie Delano and Grant Morrison began taking fresh looks at the occult and many of DC’s more offbeat creations.
Once the line was on its own, it quickly found its voice and thanks to DC’s design department, the covers certainly looked less like standard DC fare and more like paperback books. The subject matter also moved away from just looking into the shadowy corners of the DC Universe but pioneered a lot of creator owned material that began in the realm of the occult but also examined super-heroes, families, and even the search for God. The line has now become its own mini-publishing empire with comic books, original graphic novels and the just canceled Minx line of black and white digests for tweens.
DK’s [[[Vertigo Encyclopedia]]] examines the line’s output from its inception through today and as written by Alex Irvine, makes some of the tougher to comprehend titles, more easily digestible. Irvine is an accomplished novelist and major fan of the Vertigo line and his enthusiasm surprisingly comes through on many of the entries. The writing is clear and detailed and the significant titles that deserve the most space (Sandman, Preacher, Transmetropolitan) get it complete with significant events identified.
‘Lost’ Secrets Unearthed
While the networks are busy slugging out the fall television season with competing series both new and old, the viewers are left without a shepherd to guide them towards true quality programming. In 2009, that shepherd returns, and its name is Lost.
ABC’s award-winning smash-hit Lost has gained an unbelievable following in its four short years. It’s often a show of balance as some mysteries get solved ("What’s in the hatch?") and some never do ("What’s the frickin’ monster?"). Despite some of the rockier terrain that seasons two and three trekked through, fans have stuck through the turbulent times by having faith that their loyalty would be rewarded.
When Lost returns early next year, the shape of that reward will come into sharper focus. Season five marks the penultimate year for the series, as showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse previously inked a deal with ABC to end Lost after six seasons. Since that move, each episode instantly gains a higher sense of importance for both the show’s mythology and its fans’ patience. Nary an hour can be wasted with so many pressing questions to be answered, and with Lost officially on the downhill end of the slope, Lindelof and Cuse promise that the series will shift away from generating mysteries and into "answer mode."
There’s still some months before the new season, but information about the plot, characters and more are slowly find their way onto the internet. We’ve done some digging around and compiled the following list of points regarding what you can expect from Lost in the future. Be warned, however, as there are some spoilers ahead. Proceed with caution…
Scary Monsters, Super Freaks. by Martha Thomases
Halloween is Friday. Before the American Marketing/Advertising Complex discovered that All Soul’s Eve was a terrific occasion to sell home decorations and slutty costumes, it was the National Holiday of Greenwich Village and the Vast Homosexual Conspiracy. Before that, it was a chance for kids to dress up and beg for candy from the neighbors.
What about the true meaning of the holiday? What about its spiritual roots?
Originally, Halloween was All Hallows Eve, the night before All Saint’s Day. According to Barbara Walker, Christians appropriated the holiday from the Celts, who celebrated Sanhain, the feast of the dead. She says:
“The pagan idea used to be that crucial joints between the seasons opened cracks in the fabric of space-time, allowing contact between the ghostworld and the mortal ones.”
In other words, it was the time when ghosts came out and scared the living. These days, ghosts seem like the least scary things around. In fact, there’s a lot of ghosts I’d enjoy seeing again. But this stuff scares me:
• I was working at DC in 1990 when the new Robin costume was introduced. That was a few years after Miller’s girl Robin in The Dark Knight Returns. The new version of the new costume was its enhanced safety features, including a full-length Kevlar cape and covered legs. Then I see this. I guess she’s not as frightened by bullets as she is by the possibility that someone might not see her ta-tas or nay-nays.
• Comic book companies used to have one mammoth super-hero cross-over in the summer, to amuse the kids at camp. Now, DC alone has Final Crisis, Trinity, Batman: RIP, Reign in Hell, and some Green Lantern thing about other colors of lanterns. At this rate, the Event That Will Change Things Forever will last forever. That’s pretty much existentialism but without the good wine and unfiltered cigarettes. That’s scary. (more…)
Harold Perrineau to Produce ‘Case 219’
Harold Perrineau is safely off the island and away from Lost so has signed to executive produce and star in a drama Case 219. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the independent production will be based on Walter Dean Myers’ Shooter. The trade says the 2005 novel “centers on the aftermath of a high school shooting from the perspective of three misfit teens.”
The cast will include Evan Ross, Leven Rambin and Taylor Nichols, and most likely Leslie Hope.
Since completing his role on the ABC hit series, he has completed similar duties on The Killing Jar, costarring with Michael Madsen. As an actor, he will next be seen in ABC;’s forthcoming The Unusuals.
Myers is a well regarded young adult author of fiction and on-fiction titles. His Fallen Angels made the American Library Association’s list of frequently challenged books, due to rough language and its depiction of the Vietnam War. He released a sequel, Sunrise Over Fallujah, earlier this year.
Television Notes
Here are some television tidbits we think you’ll find interesting:
- Fox TV Studios is moving ahead with Persons Unknown, having filled out its cast with Jason Wiles, Daisy Betts, Tina Holmes, Sean O’Bryan as Blackham, Lola Glaudini joining the previously announced Alan Ruck, Chadwick Boseman, Gerald Kyd and Kate Lang Johnson. The pilot will be directed by Michael Rymer (Battlestar Galactica) and the series has a 13 episode order. The series is an unusual co-production with Mexico’s Televisa and Italy’s RAI which explains why the pilot will be shot in Mexico City starting on Monday. The premise may sound familiar as the cast, virtual strangers to one another, wake up in the middle of nowhere and have to figure out how they got there and why.
- Speaking of Battlestar, as reported previously, Mary McDonnell makes her Grey’s Anatomy debut on the November 13 episode. She’ll be playing a doctor named Virginia Dixon, a surgeon who will do her best to bring “rules and order to the OR” according to ABC. Expect her to pop up in as many as four episodes throughout the remainder of the season. Other guest casting of note includes Alias veterans Carl Lumbly and Melissa George, the latter scheduled to appear in 11 episodes as a new bisexual intern.
- Doctor Who’s Billie Piper and husband Laurence Fox welcomed their first child, Winston James Fox, 6lb 11oz , after 26 hours of labor and an emergency Caesarean procedure.
- Buffy veteran and current star of How I met Your Mother, Alyson Hannigan, has reported she is pregnant with her first child. She married Angel co-star Alexis Denisof in 2003.
Marvel Heading to ‘1602?’
Recently, Neil Gaiman told MTV’s Splash Page that a film adaptation of his Marvel limited series 1602 would be an excellent idea.
“I would love it if somebody made a 1602 movie,” Gaiman told the site. “I would love to go and see that. That is something I would just love to sit in the audience and eat my popcorn on the first night and feel proud.”
Apparently, he’s not the only one who feels that way. Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige told MTV News that 1602 would be excellent on screen.
“Something like 1602 I think would be really cool to do at sometime down the line. I love it. It is spectacular,” says Feige.
However, Feige concedes, the timing isn’t quite right for Marvel to travel back in time.
“You need to know those characters very well,” explains Feige. “You need to know each and every one of those characters and who their present day reincarnations are in order to enjoy and understand and appreciate how Neil was able to reinvent them and do that period spin on them for 1602. If you don’t know them yet and if they haven’t had their own stories yet, I don’t think it would be as much fun. If you don’t know them well and you haven’t been introduced to them in a similar medium in their traditional environments, plucking them out of that won’t seem as unique or different.”
Written by Neil Gaiman, 1602 is a "What If?" storyline that focuses on classic Marvel heroes such as Spider-Man, Wolverine and Iron Man as set in an Elizabethan time period. It has spawned sequels such as Marvel 1602: Fantastick Four (written by Peter David) and 1602: New World (written by Greg Pak). Gaiman, who is a proponent of a film version of the comic, also says that he’d rather see a Guillermo Del Toro directed Dr. Strange before any version of 1602. The odds of that are fairly high as Feige recently indicated a Strange film could debut post-Avengers. Gaiman was attached to write the Strange script for del Toro and may still be involved.
Whole Lot of Hollywood
There’s nothing like reading a butt ton of Hollywood news in the morning. Nothing, that is, save for the smell of napalm. Variety and The Hollywood Reporter had their workshop elves up late last night as a whole slew of news pours in today. Because we love you, we’ve summed up the bigger points to make it easier on you fine folks. Feel free to send us baked goods in return.
- Steven Soderbergh will direct Cleo, a rock ‘n’ roll musical about the life of Cleopatra. Catherine Zeta Jones and Hugh Jackman are being courted to star as Cleopatra and Marc Antony respectively. Soderbergh and Zeta Jones have teamed up previously on Traffic, but this will be the director’s first pairing with Jackman who will appear in Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming musical epic Australia.
- An adaptation of Electronic Arts’ videogame Army of Two is setting up at Universal Pictures with Bourne Ultimatum co-writer Scott Z. Burns scripting. Variety mentions in its sub-headline that Peter Berg may direct, though there is no further mention of it in the article. Army of Two would add to his already busy film slate that includes Dune and Radical Studios’ Hercules. Universal, which has already acquired BioShock with Gore Verbinski, is looking at Army as a "buddy film."
- Believe it or not, Ripley’s Believe It or Not breathes new life this morning. Variety reports that Chris Columbus is in talks to direct the Jim Carrey film about columnist-explorer Robert Ripley. News comes in after Tim Burton’s China-based botched attempt in 2007. That storyline has been dropped in favor of Columbus’ pitch. Once his deal is closed, Paramount will hire a writer for the project with an eye at a 2011 release. It’s hoped that Ripley will spawn a franchise.
- Looks like The A-Team is in for a bumpy ride, as long attached director John Singleton has pulled away from the project. Originally set for a June 2009 release, Twentieth Century Fox now pegs the film for June 2010. No word on how casting will be affected, though Tyrese, oft rumored as B.A. Baracus, has close ties with Singleton, which could prove hopeful for Ice Cube advocates. Fox has also relocated Dwayne Johnson’s Tooth Fairy from June 2009 to November 2009, while Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel (no, we’re not kidding) is on track for Christmas Day 2009.
- Director McG will direct Dead Spy Running based on the upcoming spy novel by Jon Stock. The novel reportedly "aims to reinvent the spy genre," described as a mix of "The Bourne Identity with the works of John Le Carre." McG would direct at least the first installment in a planned trilogy and produce alongside Jeanne Allgood of Wonderland Sound and Vision. McG is in the midst of post-production work on Terminator Salvation.
- Crispin Glover will play the Knave of Hearts in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland for Disney. The Knave is put on trial for stealing the Queen of Hearts’ tarts and is is defended by Alice. The actor joins Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter on the Lewis Carroll adaptaion. This will be Glover’s second experience with performance-capture technology, the first being Robert Zemeckis’s Beowulf.
- In HBO news, Gary Cole joins the cast of Entourage as Hollywood agent Andrew Klein, Ari Gold’s (Jeremy Piven) oldest friend. Cole will first appear in a three-episode arc in the currently airing fifth season, then return as a series regular for next summer’s sixth season. Klein could step in as Vinnie Chase’s new agent, as the foul-mouthed Gold was offered a studio executive position in the series’ most recent episode. The news comes one day after Variety announced a seventh season of Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, also on HBO. Curb is HBO’s longest running series.
Aaaaaand we’re spent.
Jack Ryan Returning to Film
As reported yesterday, Sam Raimi has abandoned beloved Tom Clancy icon Jack Ryan. The director was attached to reboot the Ryan franchise, but had to bow out to focus on his upcoming Spider-Man sequels.
"Because I’m committed to Spider-Man and making that picture," said Raimi, "I think it’s going to knock me out of the running for the Jack Ryan picture."
Luckily for the spy thriller hero, Raimi’s departure doesn’t necessitate a bullet in the back of Ryan’s brain. According to Moviehole, there are still active plans to launch a reboot. In fact, with Raimi officially off the project, it looks like Ryan will grace the big screen sooner than expected.
"Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mace Neufeld have been rehired by Paramount as producers on the franchise, with a mandate to come up with a Jack Ryan original ASAP," a source close to Paramount tells the Web site. By Any Means Necessary, the film Raimi planned to reboot the Jack Ryan character, "has been abandoned."
di Bonaventura (Transformers) was previously involved with By Any Means Necessary. Neufeld, meanwhile, has produced every Ryan installment to date from The Hunt for Red October to The Sum of All Fears. He’s overseen three different actors portray the role of Jack Ryan: Alec Baldwin (The Hunt for Red October), Harrison Ford (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger) and Ben Affleck (The Sum of All Fears). Moviehole wants Harrison Ford to return to the franchise, which is a possibility as the film "may feature an ‘older’ Ryan as opposed to a younger version." It’d be cool to have Ford back in the series, but that would leave Liev Schrieber, who played a younger version of Ryan’s CIA operative pall John Clark in Sum of All Fears. Schrieber was one of the few excellent elements of that film. Willem Dafoe played the role in Clear and Present Danger.
Jack Ryan first appeared in Tom Clancy’s novel The Hunt for Red October in 1984. Since then, he’s elevated from lowly CIA operative to National Security Advisor. In Debt of Honor, Ryan is tapped for the Office of Vice President and is later elevated to the Presidency after his predecessor is assassinated. In the Clancy universe, Ryan is currently retired.
Manga Friday: Does Three Times #2 Equal Six?
This time I’ll be reviewing the second volumes of three series that I covered the first time around – so I should know what’s going on. But, with manga, that can be a dangerous assumption…
Kieli, Vol. 2
Story By Yukako Kabei; art by Shiori Teshirogi
Yen Press, October 2008, $10.99
I reviewed the first volume of Kieli back in April: this is the one set on a far-future colony world, about a ghost-seeing orphan girl and the brooding immortal soldier she met. This is actually the end of this particular story: Kieli was originally a series of novels (by Kabei), and these two volumes adapt the first one, The Dead Sleep in the Wilderness.
(Is every moderately successful Japanese story re-merchandised within an inch of its life? Just the other night, I was watching the movie Train Man, which was itself based on a novel and had also been translated into a manga – and probably a kelp-based snack food and a line of men’s underwear, for all I know.)
I’d though Kieli would be a long, episodic story, in which she and Harvey (the undying, tormented soldier I mentioned above) travel around this world, always one step ahead of the fiendish Church Soldiers (bent on putting Harvey into his final rest and taking for themselves the high-tech stone that he has in place of a heart), putting unquiet ghosts to rest in one town after another. Well, that’s partly true – I expect elements of that plot turn up in later novels – but the series has the structure of novels rather than that of manga episodes, which means larger plot arcs with more going on in each “episode.” (more…)
