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Review: ‘The Incredible Hulk’

Going into this film, you will need to play a bit of a trick on your brain. You need to completely forget everything you experienced in Ang Lee’s 2003 version of the film, while still comparing this film to its predecessor.

You’re going to want to compare this film to Marvel’s previous blockbuster, Iron Man, but you shouldn’t do that — this is a whole new beast (pun intended) and needs to be treated as such.

That said, this film certainly delivers for the franchise, with the only major problem being the anticlimactic fight scene at the end, but we’ll get to that.

Starting off, the abbreviated back-story of this film is given to us in the form of the opening titles. Changing from the books: there is no Rick Jones and no Gamma Bomb, but instead a quiet gamma test on our Dr. Bruce Banner that goes horribly wrong, causing him to “hulk-out” and destroy the facility while also injuring his assistant/girlfriend Betty Ross. He goes on the run from the government, and we come into the story a few years later in Brazil, where Banner has now gone five months without “incident.” The first 15 minutes of the film keep the audience well entertained without the need of the Jade Giant, with some great character development and a fair amount of humor.

On the critical side of things, the biggest change from the first film was easily the look of the hulk and computer-generated imaging throughout the film. This was a drastic change from 2003’s “Shrek on Steroids” look. We’re given plenty of shots of the hulk in plain daylight and in action, and the look is next to flawless. If you are not a fan of CGI to begin with, you have to understand that you are going to see a movie about a gigantic green monster here, and no one is throwing Lou Ferrigno in green makeup this time around.

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The Weekly Haul: Reviews for June 12, 2008

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  • June 12, 2008

An odd blend of comics this week, with four new series, a couple of landmark issues (Invincible hit 50 and The Goon hit 25) and Geoff Johns making sure we remember why he’s THE MAN when it comes to superhero comics. On that note…

action866-3745456Book of the Week: Action Comics #866 — As in Green Lantern, Johns mines DC’s history for revelations that make big waves for today’s heroes. This issue marks the start of his Brainiac storyline, which begins with Braniac’s shockingly brutal theft of Kandar from Krypton.

That campy relic of Superman’s Silver Age becomes a tense and believable moment even before Johns uses it to lay out a mystery in the present (a Brainiac robot steals a sample of Superman’s blood while the main Brainiac seems imprisoned in his own ship). Check out the ComicMix interview with Johns about the story.

It’s that rare first issue of a storyline that delicately lets readers know something big is in the works without ramming that point down anyone’s throat. It’s epic but never self important.

As if that wasn’t enough, there’s the best Daily Planet sequence in a Superman comic in years, highlighted by this exchange about the newly returned Cat Grant. Lois: “I bet she has TMZ tattooed on her butt.” Clark (lifting his glasses): “I don’t see it… Kidding.”

Runners Up:

The Goon #25 — The return of Lazlo has the Goon thinking about turning tail, which shows just how lousy Eric Powell has made things for his scar-faced protagonist. It’s not as funny as your typical Goon tale, but that’s a good thing. And the end speaks for itself: “The war starts now!”

Powell’s art is in its finest, breathtaking form in this issue, from action sequences to emotional lulls. With his smooth designs and slight exaggerations, Powell is something of a modern Norman Rockwell who likes to draw demons being chopped up with cleavers instead of idyllic slices of life.

Captain Britain and MI 13 #2 — This series is essentially an answer to the question: What would Secret Invasion be like if Neil Gaiman wrote it? The British heroes continue to struggle to protect their homeland’s stores of magic from the invading Skrulls, which is complicated by old disagreements in the magical world and, of course, the apparent death of Captain Britain.

Even more than that other Skrull series, this book is capturing the “fate of the world in the balance” vibe, and it creates an interesting dichotomy between the surgically precise Skrull invasion and the unpredictable world of magic. (more…)

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Interview: Emily Horne and Joey Comeau on ‘A Softer World’

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  • June 12, 2008

asw3-200-7130368I’ve been reading A Softer World off and on for the last three years, but I have a good reason for my my irregular visits to Joey Comeau and Emily Horne’s photo-based webcomic.

The fact is, it’s hard to predict what emotion I’m going to feel when I take the plunge into a new iteration of ASW and its text-over-photograph, three-panel world. With other comics, I can usually anticipate the laugh or, in some cases, the snark-fueled sense of satisfaction the latest strip is likely to provide. Heck, with most strips I can at least anticipate learning the next plot point in an ongoing storyline.

ASW, however, is always a gamble.

One strip can prompt hysterical laughter, while the next can only make you shiver and and wonder what the unholy hell was going on in its creators’ minds when that strip was conceived. ASW can explore complex social issues one moment and the depth of depravity in the next.

The point is, I like having at least an inkling of what I’m jumping into before my feet leave the ground — so that’s why A Softer World has always been one of the more irregularly visited comics on my reading list. But I’m not too dense to realize that therein lies its appeal.

In fact, it was one of the more recent, controversial episodes of ASW, sent to me by a friend who is far more willing to suffer the emotional highs and lows of this tremendously creative series, that prompted me to roll the dice and become a regular reader once again — and to contact its creators about this interview.

COMICMIX: With most comics, script usually comes first and art later, but you go at it in reverse with A Softer World. Can you tell me a bit about the creative process for ASW? How does a strip typically come together for you?

EMILY HORNE: When we were both in Halifax, we used to be able to be much more collaborative about it. ASW started with us taking a typewriter and a stack of photos to the all-night copy shop and making a mess of comics all at once. Now that we live on opposite sides of the continent, it’s a bit more difficult. I usually make up three or four comics at a time and upload them for Joey to look at. He comes up with text for them as inspiration (and our 3x a week posting schedule) demands. If we are both online before it goes up, we’ll edit together.

JOEY COMEAU: Also, it’s worth noting that we try to keep the relationship between the images and text interesting and not always a literal illustration. Often times, the picture just feels like it goes with the text, even though they both seem to involve different things. Or, it’s also fun to have a conflict between the two. Very serious people making very serious faces, and ridiculous text.

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Alone Together In the Dark, by John Ostrander

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  • June 12, 2008

lab06popcorn-posters-6676198I remember the first time I saw the film Casablanca. It was at the 400 Theater in Chicago, just up Sheridan Road from Loyola University where I attended college. It was on the bill with Woody Allen’s Play It Again, Sam, an obvious but terrific double feature. I went stag but was lucky to get in at all; the small theater was packed.

I had missed or ignored Casablanca up until this point. I’m not sure why; I liked old serials a lot. The movie had certainly played on TV enough. I’d seen bits here and there or seen send-ups of it; callow youth that I was, I thought it wasn’t for me. Part of it was my own perverseness; my immediate reaction, on being told by everyone else that I must see this or I must hear that or I must read such and such is to say, “No, I don’t.” I get stupid stubborn about such things some times. Being told I would love the film I, of course, refused to see it. Finally, my curiosity overcame my perverseness and I sneaked off to view it without anyone else.

As I said, I went stag but I soon discovered I wasn’t alone. I was part of an audience, folks who mostly knew and loved the film. At the end of the singing of La Marseillaise, they cheered. When Captain Renault said, “Round up the usual suspects,” they cheered again. They laughed out loud at the funny lines (the movie is incredibly witty and they had actors who knew timing) and listened with rapt attention to Bogart’s speech at the end. Their delight and enthusiasm was catching on its own. And then there was the film itself.

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ComicMix TV: The ‘Incredible Hulk’ Interviews

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  • June 11, 2008

With a brand new Incredible Hulk ready to hit theaters this Friday, ComicMix TV talks to producers Kevin Feige and Gale Anne Hurd, as well as the film’s director, Louis Leterrier, about what fans can expect — and how it will compare to the Hulk’s previous, much-maligned turn on the big screen.

 

 

‘Superbad’ Writers to Script ‘Simpsons’ Episode

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  • June 11, 2008

Various sites are reporting that Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, co-writers of the recent comedy Superbad, are currently writing an episode of The Simpsons.

Much like most deals in Hollywood, the arrangement was initiated when the pair met Simpsons producer James L. Brooks at a party, made a connection (he liked Superbad), and then the pair wound up pitching ideas to the staff of the animated series. The episode is expected to air sometime next season, and Rogen could voice one of the characters introduced in the episode.

According to Rogen:

We went in and pitched them like five ideas and surprisingly hadn’t done some of them. And we all kind of settled on one in the meeting and then we went out and wrote an outline and they gave us notes on it.

(via toonzone, CelebrityCafe and somewhere in the jungle of IGN)

Happy Birthday: Susan Van Camp

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  • June 11, 2008

Born in Flint, Michigan in 1959, Susan van Camp has always loved art and doodled pictures on all her school notes as a child.

Her first commercial work was in roleplaying games, on Steve Jackson’s Car Wars. She worked on Tales from the Aniverse for Arrow Comics in 1984, and then Varcel’s Vixens for Caliber Comics.

In 1994 Van Camp began doing artwork for a brand-new card game, Wizards of the Coast’s Magic: The Gathering. She has also worked for several other game publishers, including Flying Buffalo, FASA, Pinnacle, and Alderac.

In 1996 Van Camp produced her own roleplaying game, Dragon Storm. Today she  continues to do artwork for various roleplaying games and to produce and sell Dragon Storm as well.

Archie Goes Digital With ‘Bronze Age’ DVD-ROM

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  • June 11, 2008

Following in the footsteps of previous digital media initiatives, Archie and the crew from Riverdale will soon be making their adventures available via the ol’ computer machines.

A recent press release from Archie Comics indicates that the publisher has put together a new DVD-ROM collection that will feature high-quality image files from a large number of Bronze Age Archie comics.

The specs, according to the official PR:

This includes a total of 97 comic books covering a span from February 1970 through December 1979, including annuals, all articles, and every single advertisement. All comics can be printed or viewed on your PC. The high-quality DVD-ROM is compatible with nearly every platform, including Windows 95 / Me / 98 / XP / 2000 / Vista, Mac OS X, Mac OS 9 and below, Linux, Mac OS X Intel. Purchase the Archie Bronze Age Series at your local computer software store or buy it online at http://stuffshop.archiecomics.com/arbragesedv.html

Since the Archie titles remain one of the only current series that seems to stay afloat selling in supermarket checkout lines, I have to wonder how well they’ll do in the new frontier of "computer software stores." I’m not going to bet against them, though, as it seems like anything is possible with Archie.

‘Iron Man 2’ Release Date ‘Unrealistic’ Says Jon Favreau

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  • June 11, 2008

After Marvel Studios released a comprehensive lists of upcoming films and their release dates, Iron Man director Jon Favreau recently told fans on his MySpace page that the March 2009 scheduled start date for filming of Iron Man 2 is "unrealistic."

Apparently, Marvel Studios was a bit hasty in announcing release dates for the upcoming slate of films that, if all goes as planned, will eventually lead to a big-screen team-up involving all of the characters in The Avengers. When asked about year’s time between the scheduled release of Iron Man 2 and Avengers, the director (who has also been pegged as a potential director for both of the films) said, "I was really bummed when I saw that there was only a year between the two when Marvel announced the release dates. It would be impossible to direct both."

According to Favreau:

It’s been five weeks since the one and only phone call my reps have gotten from Marvel. I know their hands are full with the Hulk and I’m sure they will get into it shortly, as they tell me they intend to. I ran into the Marvel guys at the Hulk premiere and everyone sounded eager to get to work on IM2.

I am concerned, however, about the announced release date of April 2010. Neither Robert nor I were consulted about this and we are both concerned about how realistic the date is in light of the fact that we have no script, story or even writers hired yet. This genre of movie is best when it is done thoughtfully and with plenty of preparation. It might be better to follow the BB/DK, X/X2 three year release pattern than to scramble for a date. It is difficult because there are no Marvel 09 releases and they need product, but I also think we owe it to the fans to have a great version of IM2 and, at this point, we would have less time to make it than the first one.

Owch.

EZ Street: New Ideas

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  • June 11, 2008

In today’s brand-new episode of EZ Street, by Robert Tinnell and Mark Wheatley, Scotty has a great idea. Danny agrees it’s a great idea. But will the brothers be able to work together?

Credits: Mark Wheatley (Artist), Mark Wheatley (Colorist), Mark Wheatley (Letterer), Mark Wheatley (Writer), Mike Gold (Editor), Robert Tinnell (Writer)

More: EZ Street

 

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