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ComicMix Review: ‘Superhero Movie’

  • Uncategorized
  • March 30, 2008

[Editor’s Note: While ComicMix columnist Michael H. Price devoted a recent column to reviewing the superhero parody film Superhero Movie, regular ComicMix film reviewer Matt Raub braved hordes of pre-teen Drake & Josh fans this weekend to provide some addiitonal insight on the film. With ticket prices as they are these days, we figured ComicMix readers would appreciate the extra review before they parted with their money. -RM]

superhero_poster_preview22-4113094To begin with, this movie isn’t terrible. But before we get into that, a brief history lesson:

Scary Movie is a horror-spoof franchise that began in 2000 and was helmed by six writers that included the Wayans brothers and their team from previous projects. Also included were writers Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. This team’s only previous credit was the 1996 spy spoof Spy Hard, starring Leslie Nielson. As a whole, this was the creative team responsible for the first two Scary Movie films, but they opted out of a third film, and the franchise continued with Airplane and Naked Gun creator David Zucker at the helm. Zucker brought along Pat Proft, who he had previously worked with, and a new guy named Craig Mazin, who worked on a quirky superhero comedy from 2000 called The Specials.

Still with me here? Good, because we’re almost to the point, I promise. Upon leaving the franchise after Scary Movie 2, two of the six writers decided they weren’t quite done with the “spoofing genres” game and went on to write and direct Date Movie. (The original trailer for Date Movie even tagged the film as “from two of the six writers of Scary Movie.”) They also went on to do Epic Movie and, finally, winter’s kick-in-the-face: Meet the Spartans. At this point, if you’re not bleeding from the ears, you may be asking yourself, “Why did I need to know any of this?” Well, because those hating on this film based purely on its existence need to know that [[[Superhero Movie]]] was not the brainchild of any of the people attached to the three terrible spin-off-genre-spoofing-machines, be they [[[Date]]], [[[Epic]]], or [[[Spartan]]]. Instead, it is that of Craig Mazin, who created 2000’s superhero comedy [[[The Specials]]], starring Thomas Hayden Church and Rob Lowe (pick it up on DVD, it’s pretty good).

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Supermoney: The Superman Trial and Jerry Siegel’s Estate

  • News
  • March 30, 2008

supermoney-1584927For those who came in late… As has been widely reported, the Federal District Court ruled somewhat in favor of the estate of Jerry Siegel in its lawsuit to have all publishing rights to the Superman story in Action Comics #1 be taken from Time Warner’s DC Comics subsidiary and given to Jerry’s heirs. The decision runs 72 pages, but at heart is the judge’s ruling that because the property existed before Action#1, “work for hire” stipulations do not apply.

The New York Times did a good job covering the story; Mark Evanier, as would be expected, did a better job. For one thing, Mark got co-creator Joe Shuster’s first name right. The New York Times did not.

Whereas there is much cause for celebration, before we start dancing in the streets we should look at what’s at stake here.

Only the original concepts – only Superman, Clark Kent, the costume as portrayed in that initial story, and the abilities unique to Superman in that story – are in play. Perry White, the Daily Planet, Lex Luthor, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Bizarro, kryptonite, Jimmy Olsen and the rest are not on the table. Only the domestic rights are in play, and even then the estate would be in something of a co-ownership position with DC Comics. So don’t look forward to that Eros Comics Superman series quite yet.

Sadly for the Siegel family, this does not bring to an end a fight started by Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster 60 years ago. Actually, it’s just warming up.

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“Prowling” – Juggling the Blues with the Comics, by Michael H. Price

  • News
  • March 30, 2008

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“Ya gotta be a juggler to woik in dis racket,” a senior-staff powerhouse named Frosty Sloane informed me after I had landed my first job in a competitive marketplace, back around 1965.

“I thought we were selling shoes,” I answered him. Which of course we were. I had a fleeting mental picture of some Ed Sullivan Show juggling act involving wingtip clodhoppers and stiletto heels. Took a while for Frosty’s metaphor to sink in – but once I had experienced my first stampede of customers and watched Sloane accommodate ten or fifteen prospective buyers while I attempted to deal with one or two of ’em, I caught his drift, all right.

Frosty Sloane was so effective at the craft, with consistently high sales tallies to show for it, that he could afford to be overconfident. He would juggle products while juggling customers: If a shopper should ask to see one style of shoe, Sloane would bring out half-a-dozen selections and wind up selling two or three of those. And he was such a wisenheimer that I wondered how he could get away with some of his sales-floor stunts.

“Y’see, half o’ th’ customers who come in here durin’ a slower stretch – they don’t even know they’re customers, yet,” Frosty counseled me, as if dispensing the Wisdom of the Ages. “They’re jus’ sleepwalkin’, browsin’ away like as if they knew what they were doin’. An’ ya gotta figger out how t’ get their attention.” No sooner had he spoken, than a woman wandered into the department, browsin’ away – just like the man said.

“Watch dis,” Frosty said, “an’ I’ll show ya what I mean by ‘sleepwalkin.’” He strolled toward the browser, nodded in her direction, and then spoke: “Tickle your ass with a feather, ma’am?” He paced the question just rapidly enough to blur its words.

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Review: ‘Batman: The Killing Joke’ Deluxe Edition

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As I picked up a copy of the new Batman: The Killing Joke 20th anniversary hardcover, I flicked open the first page and sliced my finger on its edge. The paper cut seemed fitting, a physical manifestation of the violence contained within the book.

What I always forget about this story in the few-year intervals between readings is just how short it is, at 46 pages. And so each time I’m amazed all over again at how Alan Moore and Brian Bolland teamed to pack such intensity, ferocity and (surprise, surprise) humanity into those pages.

The Killing Joke is without question one of the greatest encounters between Batman and his nemesis, and the real reason is that the story serves both as a zenith for the Joker’s depravity and for his pathos. Even if this origin story isn’t true (as Bolland writes in his afterword), Moore shows a trace of a person behind the maniacal grin. It makes a Joker that’s more real, and more terrifying.

This new edition ($17.99) is of note for the top-notch packaging as well as Bolland’s re-coloring (see the differences between new and old right here). I’m sure there are those who hate the changes simply because it’s different, but the new colors really do improve the book, giving it a subtlety and grimness not present in the original.

The only additional features are a few of Bolland’s sketches and a new short story from him about wanting to murder Batman. It’s not bad, per se, but doesn’t add to the main story and comes across like padding. I suppose it’s a necessary inclusion, though. I mean, 46 pages!

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Happy Birthday: Marc Silvestri

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Born in 1958 in Palm Beach, Florida, artist Marc Silvestri joined Marvel Comics in the late 1980s, and became the penciller on Uncanny X-Men from 1987 to 1990.

In 1992 he and six other artists broke away to form Image Comics. Each artist had his own imprint, and Silvestri’s was Top Cow, which is best known for its major hits Witchblade, The Darkness, and Fathom. Top Cow has continued to be a major portion of Image, although Silvestri has spent less time doing his own art and more time publishing.

He has returned to Marvel a few times to work on various X titles.

 

ComicMix Radio: Battlestar Galactica Takes Off For The Final Season

After this week’s marathon broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel, Battlestar Galactica begins its final voyage — but where is it headed? Executive Producer Mark Verheiden fills us in on all he can dish here on ComicMix Radio and in an exclusive interview you’ll find on ComicMix later this week, plus:

— An historic court decision may change Superman as we know him

— Calling All Robots begins production

— The Lone Ranger back in the movies – Hi Ho!

—  And an  exclusive Graham Crackers Comics variant could be in the mail to you — if you win by e-mailing us at: podcast [at] comicmix.com

So live a little… and just  Press The Button!

 

 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-1158272 or RSS!

 

‘Doctor Who’ Rescheduled, Russell T. Davies Annoyed

  • News
  • March 29, 2008

Outpost Gallifrey reports that Doctor Who Executive Producer Russell T. Davies has become quite vocal in his disappointment regarding a decision to move the hit series to an earlier timeslot on the BBC, as well as other changes planned for Season Four.

According to various reports cited by the Doctor Who news site, the decision to move the program to 6:20 PM in the weekly schedule, and a push to film in high-definition video, have met with significant opposition from Davies and others involved with the show.

From a Broadcast report posted on the site:

Russell T Davies is predicting that Doctor Who could lose up to 1.5m viewers when it returns in a new 6.20pm slot next month.

The writer and executive producer of the series told the Broadcast television drama conference today that the BBC should maintain the later 7pm-7.15pm slot and the budget for the sci-fi series but it had mucked it up.

The BBC believes the programme would do as well in the new slot, he said. "Well, we’ll see, but I think I’m right."

Not all time travel is welcome.

See what they did with that "time travel" line? Clever.

What does this mean for the American audience? I’m not certain, but it seemed worth noting for all of the Doctor Who fans here at ComicMix. Feel free to discuss in the comment section.

Celldweller and Devil’s Due Remix ‘Halloween’

  • News
  • March 29, 2008

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For those in search of some appropriate mood music to accompany Devil’s Due Publishing’s Halloween: Nightdance, it sounds like the crew at DDP has you covered.

The publisher recently posted a free download link for a techno/rock/orchestral remix of the original Halloween movie theme, courtesy of  the musician known as "Celldweller" — or maybe it’s courtesy of the artist formerly known as Klayton. I can’t be sure.

Either way, here’s the musician bio from the news section of the DDP site:

Celldweller – the versatile outlet of the artist, performer, producer, songwriter, programmer, and remixer Klayton, fuses the electronics of drum & bass and techno, with rock and orchestral elements, meshing the synthetic and the organic, darkness with beauty, into a cohesive blend entirely its own. Celldweller’s sound has captured the interest of the Film/TV/Video Game industry having licensed every track from the Debut Celldweller album, including credits in James Farr’s Xombified Online Series, recently adapted to comic form by Devil’s Due Publishing.

Credits include: “CSI” (Superbowl Spot), "Spider-man 2,” "Spider-man 3,” “Superman Returns,” “Silent Hill,” “Doom,” "The Last Legion,” “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” “Supercross,” “XXX: State of the Union,” “Constantine,” “Catwoman,” “Redline,” “The Punisher,” “Dirt,” “Friday Night Lights,” “Paycheck,” “Timeline,” “Mindhunters,” “National Security,” “Bad Boys 2,” “Crackdown” “The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift,”  “Need For Speed: Most Wanted,” “Project Gotham Racing 3,” “Enter the Matrix” and “XGRA.”

You can download the track via the DDP site.

It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry, by Martha Thomases

  • News
  • March 29, 2008

2191_4_03-4722877My Wednesday ritual is pretty well set. I get up early enough to do a few hours of work, then go uptown to volunteer. On my way, I stop at Forbidden Planet so I can pick up the new comics. Since I live in Manhattan, I have my choice of several excellent comic shops. Forbidden Planet is near the 6 train, so that’s where I go (also, excellent service, friendly staff, and loads of prose books along with the comics). I can usually read at least one comic while I ride the train, and sometimes, another one in the playground near the hospital. After my stint is done, I ride home, do some more work, and curl up with the rest of my pile.

This week, because it’s spring at last and the sun was out, I decided to take the 6 train all the way down to Bleecker Street instead of taking the F to West Fourth, so I could do the extra walking in my own neighborhood instead of walking through the black pit of hell that is the lower level of the West Fourth Street Station. Everything is blooming early this year – magnolia trees, daffodils, forsythia, the strawberries on my terrace that reliably bear fruit on Arthur’s birthday – so there is color everywhere. Even Frosty Myers’ wall is back where it belongs, in soothing blues. I realize all this mass transit talk is boring to those of you with cars, but it’s all part of the minutiae of New York that makes this kind of urban living its own micro-organism.

Anyway …

 

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Universities Taking Up Graphic Novels

  • News
  • March 28, 2008

persepolis_cover_big-8717525A couple of stories came out today in university newspapers revealing the continued growth of interest in comic books and graphic novels is beginning to manifest on campuses.

At Louisiana State University, officials selected Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis as the summer reading book for incoming freshmen. The Daily Reveille covers the story:

“It’s a very different choice from what we’ve done in the past,” said Sarah Liggett, English professor and Student Reading Program committee chairperson. “It’s a focus on the Middle East, which is certainly very much in the news today, and it’s the first summer reading selection to be created by a woman. You see not only what she felt in the words, but you see it in the pictures.”

From the responses in the article, it sounds like the choice is going over much better than at Ithaca College, where the student paper’s editorial board berated the choice of Persepolis on grounds that it wasn’t intellectual.

In other news, Emerson College is considering adding a comics/graphic novel program, according to the student paper there. For now, the college has added some new comics-related courses, which aren’t for credit but instead offer certificates for those who pass the courses. Andy Fish is the instructor.

[Fish] is currently working on a DC comic project illustrating the graphic novel “BATMAN 1939” and his own comic “The Boy Who Wished He Could Fly.”

“Who knows if walking among the student body, or hanging out in the Dunkin Donuts on the corner is the next Frank Miller or Will Eisner?,” Fish said. “Graphic novels have been gaining respect among the squares, and I think it is great that Emerson is offering this program, and I’m delighted to be a part of it.”

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