I Wanted To Believe

Last Thursday, I saw a preview screening of the rebooted X-Files: I Want to Believe, and like most of the audience I was pretty underwhelmed. I, and (I'm sure) many other X-Files fans, wanted to believe that this movie had a reason to be made. However, if this is Hollywood's idea of reviving the franchise, we should classify their thought processes as paranormal behavior. At best, X-Files: I Want To Believe is a glorified hour-and-a-half bad episode, with absolutely nothing worthy enough to warrant the return of Mulder and Scully. The plot fellows Mulder rejoining the FBI to investigate whether a questionable psychic has the ability to find a missing FBI agent. Why, with everything he had been through with the FBI, would he actually return to them is a real question mark, but I guess you're just going to have to suspend your disbelief for this one. As the story unfolds, a half-hearted Russian Frankenstein is revealed to be conducting experiments on the missing agent. The psychic, a former pedophile, looks to be the only lead for saving her life. That's about it. There's a semi-preachy stem cell sub-plot about Scully's struggle with a Catholic hospital council to save the life of a young boy dying of a rare brain condition. Oh, and FBI superior Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) makes a cameo that briefly wakes the audience from their boredom towards the end. But, that's it. Nothing else even semi interesting or bizarre happens. That's the whole film.

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson do a good job at bringing back Mulder and Scully, but honestly they could play these characters in their sleep. I hate to say it, but their paychecks were probably more of an incentive to make this stinker than the lousy script. If you do go and see it, don't expect the special effects to be anything better than what you would see on an episode ten years ago. In fact, just don't go. You're better off saving your money to see The Dark Knight for the fourth or fifth time or just renting the far superior original X-Files movie.

-Jon

Kirkman + Image = Invincible Partnership

I first heard that the comic series Invincible was getting animated when MTV called Star Clipper to see if we would be interested in carrying some Invincible related promotions. I thought, "Man, Kirkman must be really happy about that." The animation, which will be released on a plethora of platforms, will take the comic series and turn it into animated comics rather than a full-blown cartoon.

While the MTV news is a pretty big coup for Invincible and series co-creator Robert Kirkman, it has nothing on a more recent announcement: Robert Kirkman has been made an Image partner. Rumors had been floating around the internet a few days before, but on July 22nd the unprecedented move was revealed to be fact. Not only is Kirkman the only partner not to be a founder of the company, but he also is the first one that is exclusively a writer.

This move isn't just a bunch a hoopla, as it goes hand in hand with a change in direction in Kirkman's career. This Comic Book Resources story on Kirkman and his plans as a partner has a full low down on where his career is headed. The basics, though, is that he is going to focus on creating comics for Image and will help woe other creators to make more books with the Image "I" on the cover. He believes that "…Image was a very important contender in the comics industry at one time, and I'd like to do whatever I can to get it back up to that level…"

I, for one, would welcome a new age of big Image titles featuring some of the industries top talent. While I enjoy several of Images' current titles, I would love to see more creators taking a hand at creating original works. While rumors of upcoming big announcements and moves like making Kirkman a partner, it looks like maybe that's the direction things are headed.

-Nick

Good Knight!

Everyone has probably already been subjected to loads of hyperbolic praise in relation to The Dark Knight, but here is some more just for the heck of it. My Wednesday night was something like this:

Arrived at Ronnie's 20 to see an advanced screening of The Dark Knight. Score! Waited in line for an hour to assure prime seating in the IMAX theatre. Boo-yah! Learned that apparently its cool to save an entire row for your friends who couldn't possibly be on time to such an important event (a story for another time) Snagged a spot in the press section. Saw the Watchmen trailer. Merely a warm up.

Proceeded to be floored by 2 ½ hours of pure cinematic bliss that some would refer to as a comic-book movie, but I call film at its finest. It really is true. It was like watching a great crime-drama, only populated by superheroes. Christopher Nolan did it again, and better. He told a Batman story with the earnestness it deserves, while totally raising the stakes. Heath Ledger's Joker is a Tasmanian devil ripping through Gotham, leaving chaos and anarchy in his path. Yes. He is as good as you've heard or probably already witnessed. Aaron Eckhart portrayed Harvey Dent as the ever forthright and fearless prosecutor willing to take down Gotham's scum. I found myself rooting for him even with knowledge of his eventual demise. Christian Bale's portrayal of Bruce Wayne and Batman felt even more confident the second time around. The cast was impeccable throughout. The Dark Knight, I feel, will be remembered as the instant when 'comic-book movies' grew up. There is just too much substance to the story and themes covered for it to be written off as just another genre movie. Each character arc is as plausible as any other in what could be called a great film. The plot is impenetrable. Each twist is calculated, leaving you saying "I should have seen that coming." But you don't, because you are so engulfed in what's going on around you and what you've just seen. I have but one request. Mr. Nolan, please give me more.

-Erika

A Superman World Record

It's a bird, it's a plane... It's Superman! No wait, It's like 100 Supermen! Actually, it's exactly 122 Supermen and Superwomen participating in a Guinness World Record attempt for "Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Superman" in Metropolis, IL. Celebrating Superman's 70th birthday last weekend, hundreds of Superman fans gathered in Metropolis, which is only a few hours outside of St. Louis, to set the record. The minimum requirement was 100 supermen dressed in official Superman uniforms, so no homemade customs were allowed. According to a newsarama article, the record attempt was almost failed when at 4pm only 68 participates had registered. The event was scheduled for 5pm, leaving at least 32 people needing to register and get in full custom in less than an hour. A further dilemma came when custom vendors ran out of customs. Was Lex Luthor up to his old tricks? However, the good people of Metropolis were treated to some super luck when a mysterious man unloaded 2 cases of outfits just in time. What a story, maybe it will make the front page of the Daily Planet.

The Super event is scheduled again for next year June 11-14 2009. Maybe you can help set a new record super-friends!

-Jon

Century

In Entertainment Weekly's first ever Comic-Con special ( issue #1003), Alan Moore's Watchmen may be the cover story but it is the preview of his next League of Extraordinary Gentlemen installment that has already brought customers into the Star Clipper even though it won't be released until 2009. While the series' last release the Black Dossier flew off the shelves when it came out back in November, ever since it has been a fairly elusive book. This evasiveness hasn't seemed to affect the series' popularity, which is good news for its new publisher Top Shelf Productions.

Top Shelf is a smaller publisher who's better known creators include Jeffery Brown and Craig Thompson. While Brown and Thompson create work that is fairly similar, Top Shelf's catalogue includes not only navel-gazing romantic memories like Brown and Thompson's work but also quirky superhero tales, spy stories, and adorable children's comics. Even with this diversity, Top Shelf lacks the market penetration (especially in the direct market) that a comics publishing juggernaut like the League's former publisher DC Comics possesses. It will be interesting to see if the League's next offering Century will bring Top Shelf into new places. With as popular as both Alan Moore and the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen are, I would be surprised if Century doesn't reach the same number of orders as its predecessors.

-Nick

Heroes Season 3

I think it is about time we start to get extremely thrilled for Heroes Season 3. With the new subheading "Villains" it seems as though the Heroes team isn't quiet ready to throw in the towel. From my understanding season 2 really just didn't get the same reaction as the 1st season, but in my opinion despite going through the writers strike they kept the story interesting enough to maintain some curiosity as to what they might have hiding up their sleeves.

This season promises to sorting out the super villains from the "true" super heroes, and it looks like the Petrelli family will have some explaining to do. There is also a rumor with the possible return of Linderman, and I know we've all been wondering what Sylar has been up to. Last season did leave us with some unanswered questions and defiantly not in a "Lost" kind of way, so let's just hope they can bring it back this fall with a POW!

Heroes season 3 starts on NBC: Monday, Sept. 22 "Heroes" clip show (8-9 p.m.); season premiere (9-11 p.m.)

-Erika

This Movie Ain't No Joke

At this point, what can be said about The Dark Knight that hasn't already been said in the countless articles and interviews about the blockbuster hit? It has broke multiple box office records, even overtaking the prestigious title of largest grossing opening weekend from last year's Spider-Man 3. It's redefined a new darker Batman for the big screen, forever breaking the batty Adam West cliché. Perhaps most importantly, it features Heath Ledger's haunting final performance that is so affecting it while quite possibly win him the first posthumous Oscar since 1976. All of the above make for great reasons to see the newest Bat installment, and still, the film is deserving of much more praise.

The Dark Knight is a terrific film through and through. Though Ledger's Joker obviously warrants the most attention, all the actors deliver performances above and beyond your average comic book movie. Christian Bale, who I thought played a better Bruce Wayne then Batman in Batman Begins, now owns the moniker the Dark Knight. He brings a new Frank Miller-esqe violence to his role, giving a real context to the fear the character induces as a vigilante. Supporting actors Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman all defined their characters so well they bring their Gotham heritage to life. Maggie Gyllenhaal is a real surprise, making you completely forget Katie Holmes take on Rachel Dawes (even though it was one of Holmes' better performances). However, the main kudos must go to Aaron Ekhart's under talked-about Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Ekhart is both the true hero and the duped villain in Dark Knight, which manifest brilliantly in Ekhart's performance of the character two conflicting sides. Subsequently, this is just as much Ekhart's film as it is Ledgers, and many reviewers have neglected to mention this, overshadowing it with talk of Ledger's untimely death.

The Dark Knight is also director Christopher Nolan's best film since Memento. Nolan excels in psychological thrillers, and this film gives him not one but three infinitely compelling psyches to explore. In fact, he does such a good job it leaves audiences physically exhausted from the rush. Imagine watching the intense last scene in Se7en for two and a half hours, only hosted by a schizophrenic clown with no agenda except for simply enjoying the chaos. Nolan makes every beautifully shot scene count and there is no reason for him not to be nominated for best director for this masterwork.

One could go on and on justifying the many other awesome reason to see Dark Knight, like the Joker's shocking magic trick or the amazingly choreographed chase scene. So, if you haven't seen it yet, believe the hype and get yourself some tickets!

-Jon

An Uncanny Achievement

The Uncanny X-Men hit a milestone 500 issues this month, a feat rarely met in comics. It is especially turn in that unlike many other comic series, the Uncanny X-Men have never renumbered nor relaunched with a new #1. The issue pays tribute to those five hundred issues of stories all while kicking off the next phase of X-comics running under the banner "Manifest Destiny."

While I am somewhat befuddled as to how I got from issue #499 to #500, I am overall pretty glad that I am there. The issue presents some truly new status quo changes for the X-Men all while injecting into the book a level of playfulness not see in its pages in a long time. The characters more relaxed and quippy attitudes are a product of Marvel's merry mutants moving to San Francisco, a city that seems to accept them. They get visits form the mayor, parties, and the ability to walk down the street without having to hide.

Even though the issue features all these new developments, a slew of old X-concepts are reworked and reimagined as well. Classic villains the Hellfire Club gets a face-lift while the Blob takes a turn that you would never dream. I have never been more excited about Dazzle than in the one panel mention she gets from teen X-Men Pixie.

While most of what is going on in this landmark issue takes the X-Men in an exciting new direction, the story telling gets a little muddy at times. Various X-Men characters seem to show up at random in the issue and the scene-to-scene transitions have the same lack of definition at times. Some of these storytelling problems are the culprit of the art teams desire to deliver highly rendered illustrations than clearly constructed panels.

Even with these storytelling issues, Uncanny X-Men #500 is a solid kickoff for the next phase of X-Men books. It has been a long time since X-Men stories have been filled with so many new possibilities. I'll have to keep an eye on the series to see if it delivers on its potential.

-Nick

The Joker's Asylum

Throughout July, DC welcomes you to the Joker's Asylum, a special month-long weekly series featuring the best of Batman's rouge gallery. Starting with the Joker, the series will continue with self-contained stories about the Penguin, Poison Ivy,
Scarecrow, and Two-Face, all narrated by Gotham's leading psychopath the Joker. Each issue will feature a new and different creative team.

The Penguin issue is actually written by one of my favorite new talents Jason Aaron, which is surprising because I could have sworn Aaron had an exclusive contract with Marvel. I guess writing the disturbing life of poor old Oswald Cobblepot supersedes silly legal-bidding agreements with the competition. Any who, back to the Joker's significance to the rest of the series, Joker's Asylum is clearly being put out right in time for The Dark Knight film to help promote Heath Ledger's tragic Joker roll. However, after his untimely death, anything with the Joker name on it is going to get an extra boost of sales anyway.

So regardless, Joker's Asylum looks to be a fun summer exploration into villainous lunacy. Here are some interesting interviews about the
Poison Ivy and Scarecrow installments.
Keep on rooting for the bad guys, you loonies!

-Jon

Batanime

This week saw the release of the DC Universe's direct to DVD feature
Batman: Gotham Knight. Made up of six shorts, the film serves as a transition from Batman Begins to The Dark Knight and shows us just what has been going on in Gotham City since the arrival of the Batman. Warner Bros. has put together an impressive group of Japan's leading production houses to give each short its own visual style. Batman Begins scribe, David Goyer, and Batman the Animated Series director, Bruce Timm, are on board as well as is Kevin Conroy as the voice of Batman.


Each of the six parts gives us a look into an interweaving story that has Bats taking on the likes of Dead-Shot, Killer Croc, and Scarecrow. There is also an element of rival factions of the mafia fighting to rule the Gotham underworld now that Falconi is out of the picture. This mob rivalry will surely be delved into deeper when The Dark
Knight is released next week and the Joker is put into the fray.

I have to admit I may have set the bar too high for Gotham Knight. When I first saw who was involved, my excitement was through the roof. I absolutely loved the DC Universe's New Frontier film, which I feel is this year's best animated feature next to Wall-e. I just assumed that lightning would strike twice. It's not that the Gotham Knight is at all bad. It just doesn't feel like a part of the world that Christopher Nolan has created for the new crop of Bat-films. It may be due to Gotham Knight's over the top anime style. Nolan's take on the Batman story is based in reality. Gotham Knight, in all of its superbly animated glory, is just too overly stylized to be a part of Nolan's world. All is not lost. Batman, done good or bad, is still Batman, and that's okay with me.

-Erika

What is your Type?

Calling all vampires, or if your not a child of the night, just fans of good tv like Six Feet Under. It looks as though starting this
fall you have something new to get your blood boiling about, because HBO presents Alan Ball's new series "True Blood" starting in September.

"True Blood" is based on the series "Southern Vampire Mysteries" by Charlaine Harris. The premise follows the co-existence of vampires and humans in a Louisiana town after a Japanese-made synthetic blood or – "TruBlood" – becomes available for purchase. Main character Sookie Stackhouse, is a telepathic waitress who works at a small town diner who falls in love with one of the vampires, Bill Compton.

Since Six Feet Under, Alan Ball has dedicated almost all of his time to getting this project off the ground. Being a fan of both American Beauty and Six Feet Under I am pretty confident that the show will be a success.

"Ball says, "this whole series is that it's about vampires, and so we don't have to be that serious about it. I think because of the
cultural climate that we exist in today, it seems like, oh well, they are a metaphor for gays because of gay marriage and gay rights and that kind of thing. But I think it's a bigger metaphor and at the same time it's also not a metaphor at all. It's vampires. "

Catch "True Blood" this Fall on HBO.

-Erika

03.06.09

The trailer for the Watchmen movie is out and the countdown to release has finally started.

A couple of things about the trailer: the effects look fantastic, amazing...incredible. The character design looks terrific, especially Dr. Manhattan's. On the other hand, unless you have some idea what the Watchmen is about, the trailer doesn't make a lot of sense. Other than eye-candy (which is really amazing) you don't have any sense as to what the storyline is. In fact, there are several flashbacks from the story included in the trailer, and if I were seeing this without having read the book I would be totally and completely confused. But it's only the first trailer.

I'm expecting a lot from this movie, and they've made a website where you can download screenshots, etc.

We're going to make a really great display at Star Clipper and we'll be showing the trailer on our flatscreen in back. We've got about 150 copies of the trade coming in stock next week, so if you haven't read the Watchmen before, now's the time to check it out!

-Ben

Hellboy II: the Golden Comedy?

When I saw Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy back in 2004, I was shocked by how different the interpretation of Mike Mignola's world was from that I knew from the comic pages. With Mignola involved in the production of Hellboy, I expected one of the most faithful adaptations of comics to screen. In fact, Del Toro worked had previously worked with the Hellboy creator on Blade II in an attempt to bring a Mike Mignola style alive on film. When I saw Hellboy reimagined as an angsty hero, hiding from world that will fear him all while struggling to get the girl I was underwhelmed.

Even with an at best lukewarm opinion of the first film, I was till excited to see the new one Hellboy II: The Golden Army>at a preview screening the other night. Del Toro had made some of my favorite movies (Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth) and the monsters for Hellboy II looked fantastic. As a expected, the movie did deliver some greater looking monsters and a strong visual style. I, however, was completely caught off guard Hellboy II's true strength as a comedy.

From the opening scene to the very last shot, Hellboy II is filled with laughs. From quippy one-liners to slap-stick fight scenes, Hellboy almost feels like a comedy that happens to have monsters and action scenes. Maybe I carry that opinion because the humor was the element of the movie that played the best for me. I was definitely underwhelmed again by some of the other elements of the movie. I found the romantic subplots uninteresting and a couple of the fight scenes boring. The most awkward part of the movie for me is still seeing characters like Abe Sapien that look like their comic book counterparts, yet who are truly different characters than the ones I read about regularly. While it is no fault of the movie, I find watching Hellboy movies like seeing someone you know acting completely unlike themselves.

Personnel problems aside, I would still recommend catching this movie in the theater. The funny parts are funny, but I would maybe leave before the end because it is a little too boring.

-Nick

Long Live King City!

Back in June, I pondered in a blog the fate of Tokyopop's OEL books in light of the shake ups facing that company. Since then, it has been revealed that some of my favorite books in the line won't live to see future volumes hitting the shelves. While there had been rumors of Tokyopop letting the creators shop those unpublished works to other publishers, it turns out that they were exactly that: rumors. Brandon Graham has decided to not let the publisher's decision to not release the second volume of his book, King City, stop readers from checking out the next installment.

Until the comic sees print in English, Graham is releasing a chapter a week of the series on his livejournal page. There you can already find the first chapter of volume two and follow the continuing adventures of Cat Master Joe and his faithful cat, Earthling. The first volume saw the pair navigate the dangerous streets of spy-filled King City while trying to survive mysterious super-naturally powered men, old loves, and dangerous gangs. He created a clever story and displayed a great sense of humor in the excellently drawn pages of volume one. After reading chapter one of book two, it looks like the same is in store the remainder the King City saga. After all, there is a reason that King City is up for an Eisner award and receives the endorsement of Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O'Malley.



If you dug what you have seen of King City, you should keep your eyes peeled for the return of Brandon Graham's other series Multiple Warheadz later this year. As the preview page above from his blog shows, it is going to be in full color!

-Nick

ZIP ZAP ZOO Makes this WISH COME TRUE!

New from Strangeco is series Wish Come True by all-star designer collective Friendswithyou. These bizarre carnival toys are all designed with a weighted bottom and built in bell, allowing them to rock back and forth and chime. But, what better way is there to describe them then their very own poem:

Roll us and spin us and then you will hear,
The secrets of the universe soon become clear.
Now pick a number and hold your breath,
It's time to take your very first step.
We will sing a song for you to help you make that
Wish Come True!

I've personally been trying to get the weird looking larva Mr.TTT:




So, if you happen to have it come on down to Star Clipper to trade and help me make my Wish Come True. Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk.

-Jon

Save Big this Weekend!

Save big this weekend, true believers! Virtually everything in the store will be 20% off all weekend long, with many items marked to 50% off for the rest of the week!

What's the occasion? The bosses are out of town!! While the cat's away the mice will play. Just remember though, we'll be watching you on the webcam!

This is our largest overstock liquidation sale in years - don't miss it!

-ben

The Loquacious X-Men

This week saw the release of Astonishing X-Men: Second Stage by Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi. Though it wasn't a bad issue, all I could think to say while reading it was, "It's going to be damn hard to out-astonish Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's Astonishing X-Men." So, in all fairness, no matter how good the new creative team is this is going to be some hard spandex to fill. Though Whedon's series was plagued with shipping delays that absolutely ruined Kitty Pride's "cliffhanger" demise, Astonishing X-Men was still a defining X-book since its launch in 2004. When fans heard about the creative team changes, opinions were mixed as to whether Ellis was up for the challenge of such a huge franchise.

It's always hard to develop a full opinion on a creative team after only one issue, but what I can tell from the debut is that Ellis likes himself some chatty X-Men. Ellis' X-Men even reads more like a sitcom than Whedon's X-Men, and Whedon is an actual sitcom writer. Perhaps this is just Ellis overcompensating from the get-go to win over long-time astonishing fans, but I know I don't want to read The Real World: X-Men. Again, this is only the first issue and Ellis has set up a strong plot to send the X-Men to Chapapanga, a beach junkyard, to look for a possible unknown mutant killer. Ellis is setting up a good contained plot and what worked so well for Whedon is how Astonishing X-Men worked as a stand alone story not implicitly tied to X-continuity. Hopefully, Ellis will have the same success.

The other major factor is art, and new artist Bianchi has defiantly not won me over yet. I'm really not crazy for any of the new costumes, but the new X-men street clothes are just atrocious. Emma Frost in camo pants and not even a bit of cleavage revealed. Come on it's Emma Freakin' Frost! Plus, did Storm's street clothes look like a bad homage to 90's TLC to anyone else? On the other hand, Cassaday stuck with relatively classic x-customs, but still made me completely love Kitty Pride. Meeoww!

I'm sure Ellis has plenty plans to keep readers hooked on Astonishing, plus the newly designed Dazzler should be something...

-Jon

Delightfully Disturbing

Revenge, Obsession, and Retribution are the words given to Kazuo Umeza's "Cat Eyed Boy Vol. 1". At first glace this book might look very intimidating, at about 544 pages, but make no mistake there is so much brilliant writing and storytelling it hardly seems overwhelming after only the first 10 pages.

Cat Eyed Boy's creator, Kazuo Umeza is known in the states for his more recently translated work "The Drifing Classroom" which is a story of an apocalyptic future, where everyone is fighting for survival. Cat Eyed Boy carries a similar epic quality but in tales of bone chilling horror told through the eyes of the title character.

Cat Eyed Boy is the story of a demon boy who is too human for the demon world and too demon for the human world. Being forced to stay in the human world, trouble always seems to find him everywhere he goes. Cat Eyed Boy falls into the stories the same way he falls in between the two worlds. Sometimes he can play a character in the tale or just be a Rod Serling or Crypt Keeper-type narrator. Either way you look at it I promise anyone reading will not be disappointed. Umeza has a way
with horror manga that has undoubtedly influenced many other great writers today.

-Erika

The Colt of Mahfood

Be very wary folks, those tricky advertisers are at it again. First, they get us kids smoking cigarettes, because they know how much we want to be like our favorite fictitious mascot Joe Camel. Now, there recruiting comic artists to get us drunk. At least that's the way the city of Philadelphia is reacting to the new Jim Mahfood Colt 45 ads. The ad campaign, illustrated by Mahfood, promotes the slogan "Works Every Time" on a number of murals throughout the city of brotherly love. Already Pabst Blue Ribbon, which produces Colt 45, has taken a number of complaints from parents and advocacy groups arguing the campaign is distasteful and aims to attract children.

Besides the controversy, I have to admit that the Mahfood Colt 45 cans are pretty freakin' cool, and though I'm a light drinker if I find any of these I will definitely be picking up a pack, if not just for the art alone.

-Jon

COWA-bunga dude!

It's really hard these days to find things all age appropriate, but Akira Toriyama knows how to make it happen. His newest release COWA is about the next cutest thing to a bunny rabbit snuggling a kitty cat with a tiny doe prancing around in the background. Okay, you get the idea, but Cowa is just so darn cute.

Cowa's main characters are Paifu a little half-vampire, half-werekoala and his best friend Jose Rodriquez a little ghost boy. The little monsters live in a town called Bat Ridge, which reminds me of Halloween-town from the Nightmare Before Christmas. Together Paifu and Jose are always getting themselves into some kind of trouble. Paifu, Jose, and Paifu's arch nemesis Arpon (who decides to tag along) meet ex-sumo wrestler named Maruyama and ask him to help them find a cure to a monster flu that could kill the whole town. Follow the four of them as they encounter colossal fighters, scary places, and imaginative challenges to find the cure that could save the whole town.

Akira Toriyama is known for his other master works such as Dr. Slump and the Dragon Ball series.

Dark Horse Presents Some Awesome Comics!

I'm not sure how many of you Star Clipper blog readers out there regularly read the version of Dark Horse Presents on Myspace, but this months edition is killer. Not only does it contain the latest "Umbrella Academy" tale, but also it delivers a Tara McPherson comic and a comic tie-in for Joss Whedon's internet musical "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog."


Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.

While the musical will focus on villain Dr. Horrible (played by Neil Patrick Harris), the Dark Horse Presents comic focuses on his arch nemesis, Captain Hammer (portrayed by Nathan Fillion). The musical may have a limited free run on the web starting with July 15th's first installment in the three part series, this Captain Hammer web comic should be available for reading indefinitely.

In fact, you can still check out all of the comics from the 12 months that Dark Horse Presents has been online. Comics that have run in the online magazine include Dark Horse mainstay series like "BPRD" and "the Goon" as well as indie comic classics like Evan Dorkin's "Milk & Cheese" and brand new work like Whedon's previous DHP offering "Sugar Shock". For those of us that are less tech savvy or just don't like to read a lot on line, Dark Horse plans to release a collection of the first six issues of the series in square bound form some time this fall.

-Nick

Larson Steps Down As Publisher of Image

At Wizard World Chicago, it was announced that Erik Larsen is stepping down as Publisher of Image Comics. Four years ago Larson took over the reigns as the publisher in order to help revitalize the company. While at first I was skeptical as to how different an Image run by Erik Larsen would be compared to one steered by his predecessor and fellow Image founder Jim Valentino, I think that the product Image has been putting out has really jumped in quality.

During the last four years, I have gone form not buying a single Image title to having their books standout as some of my favorite ones being put on the shelves. Some of my favorite new series in recent years have been Image titles like "Godland," "Fell," and "Casanova." Great titles like "Madman" and "Jack Staff" have moved under Images banner at the same time. All the while, "Walking Dead" moved from a title with good buzz to one of the biggest hits graphic novels have seen in recent years. It isn't even mentioning Images growing interest in original graphic novels and anthologies like "Popgun" or "24/7" filled with a diverse collections of new and top industry talent. I have found all these changes to be pretty startling compared to where the company was previously.

Image's Executive Director Eric Stephenson has already been named the new Publisher. Eric Stephenson practically worked at Image in one form or another since its beginning days. In tenure as Executive Director, he was the second-in-command and right hand man of both Valentino and Larsen. These interviews with Larsen and Stephenson about the change shed a little light on the direction that Stephenson is going to take the company. He worked very closely with Erik Larsen and its seems like he is going to keep Image steered in the direction of putting out some great comics.

-Nick

Happy Fourth of July!

Have a great holiday, everyone! Yes, we are open for a half day.

-Ben

I CAN HAS FUNNY RECOMMENDATION

In the midst of comical Internet sites constantly popping up it’s hard to find something worthwhile. I thought I would share one I really enjoy. It is called I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER.
I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER was created January 11, 2007 by Eric “Cheezburger” Nakagawa with another friend referred to as "Tofuburger".

It started with just a single picture of the “Happy Cat" asking for a "cheezburger," You may be asking yourself exactly what makes that so funny? Well, everyone knows cat enthusiast love sharing photos of their cats doing funny stuff to anyone willing to look. Being a cat lover myself I love looking at all the funny and cute things cats do. This site gives the creative outlet to cat lovers, and even people who just know how to make you laugh with their wittiness. I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER operate like far side calendar everyday funny pictures are posted to give you a smile at the beginning or the end of your day. I hope everyone enjoys ICHC as much as I do.

Who knew a cat’s greatest ambition in life was to eat a cheeseburger?

-Erika

Futurama - The Beast with a Billon Backs

Sweet Zombie Jesus! Futurama is back again with its second full-length DVD feature film The Beast with a Billon Backs. The story picks up roughly a month after the first movie Bender's Big Score when a giant space anomaly rips open a hole into another universe. When the Planet Express crew investigates the hole, they ultimately discover yivo, a giant cloud of space tentacles that wants to date the entire parallel universe. Weird, weird stuff.

Yivo, voiced by rabble-rouser David Cross, more mates then dates with the universe, making for one of the strangest romances ever told. The Beast with a Billon Backs has some interesting moments, but suffers from too many disjointed plots and ridiculously fast pacing. Also, it is no where near as good as its predecessor Bender's Big Score, which tells an ingenious time traveling love story about Fry and Leela.

Fans of the show should enjoy this zaniness, but it would be a horrible place to start for people unfamiliar with the series. Hopefully, the next to films Bender's Games and Into the Wild Green Yonder will be better, and have a broader appeal.

-Jon

Worth opening up your Wall*Et

Great science fiction is meant to help us understand humanity’s place in the universe. It’s meant to raise questions. In Wall-E, Earth has been turned into a landfill by years of neglect from humans too eager to play video golf and eat through a straw. When Earth’s human inhabitants take a 5-year space cruise, it is left to a team of robots to clean up their mess. Eventually, 5 years turns into 700, and we are left with only one lonely robot. His name is Wall-E, and he is about to embark on a most excellent adventure.

Pixar is unstoppable. The visuals in this one alone are worth the price of admission. The themes covered are deeper than anything an animated movie released by a major studio has ever tried to convey. It is almost shocking with what they get away with in showing human apathy. It’s like if Silent Running, 2001, and Blade Runner had a baby, only a lot cuter. I don’t want to away too much. You’ve probably seen the trailers. You get the gist of it. Simply put, all humans must see Wall-E!

-Erika