The Star Clipper Blog

The Flash: Rebirth

2008-08-18T08:24:00.003-05:00

If you've been reading Final Crisis you are probably aware the Barry Allen Flash is back. However, his return will not only be in the pages of Final Crisis but also in his own new series The Flash: Rebirthcoming out early next year. Created by powerhouse team Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Schiver, Rebirth focuses on the Silver Age speedster who was lost to the DC universe during Crisis on Infinite Earths in the 80's. Long thought dead, Barry Allen has actually been out-running death, in the literal sense, for over twenty years. This major revelation in Final Crisis makes for a perfect cornerstone for the DC crisis events, and also a dream come true for many Flash fans. Now that he has returned, Johns and Van Schiver hope that his reintroduction will not only be his character's rebirth, but also the rebirth of the Flash universe, much in the same way their Green Lantern: Rebirth reinvigorated that character figuratively and sales wise.

Artist Van Schiver elaborates, "Flash, for me, I feel like he's stagnated somewhat over the years. I think there are some easy ways that artists can use to show a Flash moving quickly. And I want to toss all of those out and come up with some brand new ways to show, with a still picture, a human being moving near the speed of light. It's incredibly, incredibly exciting." Writer Johns goes further, "It's a rebirth because it's about what the Flash Universe is going to be. It's about who the Flash is going to be. It's about what superspeed is. It's about a lot of things. It's about re-envisioning the whole Flash Universe." Other Flash characters including Jay Garrick and Wally West or also promised to appear in Rebirth.

The Flash was always my favorite DC character growing up, so I couldn't be more excited about such a great creative team revising the franchise. I've honestly felt like the Flash series has been awful lately, and it will be nice for such a recognizable DC character get the attention he deserves for once.

-Jon

A Kick-Ass Movie

2008-08-16T11:56:00.001-05:00

Mark Millar's ultra-violent series "Kick-Ass" is next at being adapted to film. Director Matthew Vaughnof "Layer-Cake" fame is reportedly shopping it around to studios and being met with blank stares by the execs. It seems the source material is too dark for the suits to get behind. Did they not see "The Dark Knight?" Anyway Vaughn has raised a large chunk of money to go it alone and has already started casting. Christopher Mintz-Plasse (you may know him as McLovin) is said to be playing baddie the Red Mist.

Kick-Ass deals with the struggles of a 16 year old nerd, Dave Lizewski, who one day makes a superhero get-up to fight thugs. The thing is Dave is just a normal kid. What happens next is what you would expect. Beat-downs, some given some received, questions of Dave's sexual orientation, and little girls with excellent swordsmanship. Issue #4 of Kick-Ass arrives August 27. Check it out if you haven't yet.

-Erika

The Leaked Wolverine Trailer

2008-08-15T08:12:00.003-05:00

The title says it all folks. Here is the leaked trailer to X-Men Origins: Wolverine! Debuting at San Diego Comic-Con, the trailer was met with a roar of applause after a hearty introduction from Hugh Jackman. The Australian actor explained to the enthusiastic crowd that if it wasn't for there loyal support "there would be no Wolverine, and I would probably be in a gas station serving gas." As you can hear in the footage, the audience not only loved Jackman reprising his role as Wolverine, but also really responsed to Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth, Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, and especially Taylor Kitsch as Gambit.

The trailer looks alright to me. The new Sabretooth is a huge improvement over Tyler Mane's take in the first X-Men movie. However, it looks a bit overfilled with characters, and for that matter, not even Wolverine characters. I'm excited about Gambit, but his appearance should have been in X-3 not Wolverine. If they're going to have it exploding with Wolvie characters they should at least be Omega Red or Lady Deathstrike, who are actually part of the Wolverine universe. Regardless, as long as it improves on X-3, which shouldn't be hard, Wolverine should be pretty kickin' bub.

-Jon

Spaced is the Place

2008-08-14T08:06:00.003-05:00

It's finally here! From across the pond to your DVD player, it's Spaced. Meet Tim and Daisy, two down on their luck twenty-somethings posing as a couple in order to rent a cheap flat (that's British for apartment). Tim (Simon Pegg) is a skateboarding comic-book artist. Daisy (Jessica Stevenson) is an unfocused writer. Watch as they stumble through post adolescence in hopes of finding success, friends, maybe even love. If you've never seen the show, it's from the same team that brought us Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. So be prepared for big laughs and pop culture references only the most seasoned geeks will pick up on.

The road to proper to DVD release in the states has been a bumpy one for Spaced. However, the wait was well worth it.
We get:
all fourteen episodes with commentary by the shows cast and crew, and commentaries by famous fans of the show like Kevin Smith, Patton Oswalt, and Matt Stone
Something called the Homage-o-meter that reveals each reference in the show
Outtakes, trailers, and talent bios
A feature length documentary
A music video, and more…
Take that UK only release! Seriously, reader take note. Spaced is something not to be missed. Check it out before they make a watered-down U.S. version and every other schmo thinks they were the one who discovered it.

-Erika

Oni Launches Onslaught of Titles

2008-08-13T06:31:00.002-05:00

Scott Pilgrim fans everywhere got to geek out hard over the reveal of vol. 5's, "Scott Piglrim vs. the Universe", cover and release date (February 4, 2009) when both where revealed at this year's Comic-Con. Those lucky fans that got to go were able to score a plethora of killer SP merch including a full-color comic collecting assorted previously released shorts and a new –t-shirt. For those that couldn't make it down to San Diego this year, there is just going to be a lot of looking on in jealousy at the array of awesome stuff we won't get because all this Scott Pilgrim goodness was Con exclusive.

While February may seem like a long time away, Scott Pilgrim's publisher has an army of titles that they plan to launch in the meantime. This report on the Oni Press panel at Comic-Con provides a pretty good list of the various titles they will be releasing. Looking over the publishing slate, it appears that Oni is really throwing themselves at publishing comics in a way they haven't been the last couple years. With things like a line of color ongoing comic series, Oni is venturing into new avenues all while releasing graphic novels and miniseries by creators they are traditionally known.

St. Louis area resident writer Cullen Bunn (of the Damned) is one of those creators returning with a black and white miniseries. The new title, The Hollows, is a horror title set in a Missouri Ozarks town. With the series, Bunn and artist Jeremy Haun are out to challenge the notion that you can't scare people with comics. Bunn doesn't mince words about the subject, saying on his blog,,"Not only are we doing everything in our power to make this book scary … We want it to be the most frightening comic in the last 15 years." While a tall order, maybe "The Hollows" will join "Pigeons From Hell" and Richard Corben's "Haunt of Horror" series as one of the top horror titles on the market.

-Nick

Set the Umbrella to Stun!

2008-08-12T07:27:00.002-05:00

Gerard Way's Umbrella Academy is returning and buzz has it that it could already be taking the leap to the big screen. The extremely well received comic will see a second series with a tentative release for November 2008 from Dark Horse. Original artist Gabriel Ba is onboard for the second run as well, and will also be taking over cover responsibilities from James Jean, who has devoted his time to a fine art career. Way and Dark Horse are keeping quiet on the primary plot and problems the Umbrella Academy will face. However, series 2 will pick up after the events in Apocalypse Suite, with the team living together again for the first time in years. Their new close quarters will put the already unconfident team under much more undo stress, increasing the disfunction in this dysfunctional family. Luckily, they're staying in a basement bomb shelter, so if tensions get too high, they'll be as safe as the can be.

However, the more stunning news is that there is already talk of Umbrella Academy being made into a film after only one graphic novel. Dark Horse has worked out a deal with Universal studios that will license out 3 of there titles to be feature films. Way explains in an interview with comic book resources that he hopes if Umbrella Academy gets picked that they will be on the fifth or six trade by that point. Though personally, I think if they fleshed out Apocalypse Suite it could make a really decent film. I've become so attached to Gabriel Ba's art that I would even like to see it as an animated feature.

This weekend, Way participated in a high profile panel discussion with Grant Morrison at comic con. Check out the coverage for the latest on Umbrella Academy.

-Jon

Pick up a copy before it is GON

2008-08-11T07:35:00.003-05:00

What is prehistoric has pointed teeth and supposed to be extinct? It isn't Yoshi, but yet another video game superstar. I am talking about GON the tiny dinosaur that somehow escaped extinction, which you might recognize from the very popular Tekken 3 video game. GON's is no basic dinosaur; he is an omnivore with a huge appetite. He is very strong for being as small as he is and has all the characteristics for loving. GON can sometimes be clueless and other times a brilliant hero.

GON, created by Masashi Tanaka, is one of the most beautifully drawn manga series I have ever seen. The lack of dialogue in this series has changed the way people view manga. It is very interesting to see something done like this, a lot of times with manga the stories are very intriguing but the art just doesn't follow suit. In this series I think Tanaka has created the perfect combination, making GON script free. What makes him such an interesting artist it he allows his work to be more widely appreciated, by all ages even the ones that can't even read yet. As we all know finding something everyone can enjoy is very hard to come by these days.

GON, now in its fifth readers follow GON as he sets out on a new adventure to tackle an enemy he has never seen before. Has GON finally met his match? You will just have to read it to find out.

-Erika

Masashi Tanaka: "People always ask me why I have done this. From the beginning, I didn't think it was necessary. Manga should be without grammar. I also think that it is strange to give animals human language and make them talk. What I set out to do with Gon was to draw something that was more interesting than anything you could say in words. Manga still has great potential that does not exist in other media. I plan to continue developing the art of expression."

Double Trouble

2008-08-06T07:39:00.002-05:00

Even though San Diego's Comic-Con International is over, a torrent of news from the show continued to fill comic news sites for days after. With so many stories, it can be hard for anything to really standout. When I think back on the reports from the convention floor, however, I really feel like twin comic artists Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon had a real strong weekend.

The brothers announced a 10 issue Vertigo series, miniseries "B.P.R.D 1947", won a collective 3 Eisner Awards, and were a apart of one of the break-out books of the convention: Pixu. In addition, Gabriel Ba is also drawing "Umbrella Academy: Scarecrow Blue " (the next miniseries for the title). With so many titles in the works, it is a wonder how they'll get all of those comics done.

On the Vertigo series "Daytripper" and Dark Horse's "B.P.R.D. 1947", Ba and Moon will team-up on the art chores. The B.P.R.D. series will utilize both of the brothers' styles to tell the story written by Mike Mignola and Joshua Dysart while "Daytripper" sees them not only drawing but writing the series as well. Such a team-up by the pair can be seen seamlessly being achieved in the book "De: Tales," which was released by Dark Horse in 2006.

As to what lies past this epic load of comics for the twins, who can say. Umbrella Academy creator Gerard Way has repeatedly stated that Gabriel Ba is the artist of the offbeat superhero series. Mike Mignola, on the other hand, isn't so definite about the pair's future on further B.P.R.D miniseries. In a Wall Street Journal article on the duo, Mignola says "They're becoming hot properties… If we only get one book from them, that's more than we deserve." After all this media coverage on the twosome, I have to agree with Mignola that the siblings are hot properties and I believe they are ones worth watching.

-Nick

Watch the Watchmen on iTunes

2008-08-05T07:28:00.003-05:00

It looks like Watchmen fever has started early. Copies of Alan Moore's seminal book have been flying off the shelves at Star Clipper. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the movie trailer being attached to The Dark Knight. I was planning on reading it again when I discovered that iTunes will be releasing each chapter of Watchmen as animated "motion comics." They've inserted cinema-like camera moves and animated (rather crudely I might add) each panel of Moore's book. You can actually watch the Watchmen and hear them too. Silk Spectre's voice is totally done by a dude, but you'll get over it. Although, it would have been nice if they had gotten the actual actor's to voice their characters.

I have to admit seeing Dave Gibbons' art animated, be it crude or not, has gotten me excited about the upcoming movie. However, we're still looking at panels of the actual book. This is not live action. I think what makes Watchmen so special is what it proved the graphic novel medium could do. I will most definitely be anticipating Watchmen when it is released next year. I love the characters, and I like the choice of not casting huge stars. Nevertheless, I am almost certain that the movie will lose some of the elements the book had.

-Erika

Cooke Adapts Parker

2008-08-04T07:45:00.004-05:00

San Diego's Comic-Con International maybe have been jammed packed with comic news and scoops on a load of related-media projects, but one of the more exciting stories came early in the Con. On Wednesday July 23, IDW held a press conference with Darwin Cooke to announce that Cooke is going to adapt Donald Westlake (aka Richard Stark)'s Parker series of novels to comics with a series of four graphic novels. The series is probably best known for having its first installment the Hunter adapted into the films Point Blank and Payback.

Sadly, I have to admit that my knowledge of the books originates with those movies as well as articles in the back of Ed Brubaker's Criminal. While the director's cut of Payback may be the most faithful adaptation of the novel, its John Boorman's Point Blank that I love. Lee Marvin's performance as the obsessive and laconic Walker (a Parker stand-in) is utterly gripping. The film's cold-hearted plot of revenge is excellently delivered through new wave inspired visuals and editing. Thinking about what I love in the movie makes me excited to see Cooke's take on things.

Darwin Cooke has created some of the strongest comics in mainstream tights and capes market with books like New Frontier and the Spirit. Hopefully, his solid cartooning and ability to capture classic tough guys like Catwoman's Slam Bradley will come through in his adaptations. According to this Comic Book Resources article, bringing Westlake's Parker to comics is something that Cooke has been striving to do for years. Will this enthusiasm for Parker translate into good comics? Cooke has been talking to Westlake about the project and plans a fairly faithful translation of the original novels. Sometimes, however, a little distance from the original work is what leads to a strong adaptation. Through that distance, the adaptor has the ability to see what elements need to be changed or cut to make the strongest story possible for the new medium.

Cooke hasn't let me down in the past, so I would be surprised if he does now when working on a projected so suited to his strengths. I know one thing for sure, though. While Cooke is busy bringing Parker to the comics' page, I'm going to go hunt down Westlake's novels and do some reading. With that, I think that Westlake and Parker have already won.

-Nick

Notorious Comics

2008-08-02T10:26:00.003-05:00

Musicians and a comic book artist working together isn't such a strange notion these days. I know most of you are aware of My Chemical Romance member Gerard Way having explored the world of comic books with Umbrella Academy as well as singer Claudio from Coheed and Cambria. Now it looks like someone new is hitting the scene. The very famous and much adored Tori Amos has joined up with Image comics to have her song adapted into comic book form.

Comic Book Tattoo is the name given to this nearly 500-page book. It is a full color anthology adapting her songs into "a lush volume of sequential art."

Each song is given to different artists to interpret his or her own way, and from the look of it quiet a few comic book rock stars have made their way into this anthology. From being forwarded by Neil Giaman, some artist featured are Pia Guerra, John Reppion, Leah Moore, David Mack, Mike Drigenberg, Colleen Doran, Jonathan Hickman, and tons more.

What I like about this book is not only does it appeal to Tori Amos fans, but it also strikes the interest of comic book fans. I have never really been a die-hard Tori fan, but over the years I have liked what I've heard. I am really excited to see how this book will turn out.

- Erika

I Wanted To Believe

2008-07-31T08:32:00.002-05:00

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

2008-07-30T06:30:00.003-05:00

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!

2008-07-29T08:16:00.000-05:00

width="425" height="344">

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

2008-07-28T08:30:00.003-05:00

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

2008-07-26T08:40:00.003-05:00

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

2008-07-25T08:16:00.001-05:00

width="425" height="344">
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

2008-07-24T08:41:00.003-05:00

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

2008-07-23T06:58:00.003-05:00

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

2008-07-22T08:56:00.004-05:00

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

2008-07-21T11:09:00.002-05:00

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?

2008-07-19T09:15:00.003-05:00

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

2008-07-18T17:41:00.003-05:00

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?

2008-07-17T12:09:00.000-05:00

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!

2008-07-16T08:18:00.008-05:00

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