Top Twenty Films of the Decade

Before I get to my list, let me say I hate historical epics and biopics, I think no movie should really be over two and a half hours (learn how to edit people!), and while there are some literary adaptations on my list, for the most part I value originality. Oh, and I despise the Lord of the Rings films… So with that here’s my list of the Top Twenty Films of the 2000s:

1. Almost Famous (2000): How often have I seen a movie and thought, “man, why isn’t this movie longer?” No more than a handful of times. How often have I wished a film was longer after seeing it a second time? Just once. And that film was Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous. Just to clarify, I don’t think the film NEEDED to be longer, but watching this film is such a fun ride, I didn’t want it end. It may be the only film on my list that I would recommend to anyone and be almost certain they’ll like it. While all the films on this list have impressive casts, the list of talented actors in Almost Famous is ridiculous: Jason Lee, Billy Crudup, Kate Hudson, Zooey Deschanel, Patrick Fugit, Frances McDormand, Anna Paquin and many others I’m forgetting.

2. Memento (2000): I love puzzle movies, those flicks where the filmmakers give the audience a few pieces at a time and it’s their job to put it all together. Memento’s “start at the end, end at the start” format could have felt gimmicky, but it never does because it makes perfect sense to tell this story. Oh, and then there’s the ending, a twist so brilliantly executed, I’d put it on par with The Sixth Sense and The Empire Strikes Back on the “Oh. My. GOD!” scale.

3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004): If there’s one screenwriter who spent the decade trying to disprove the adage “there’s nothing new under the sun,” it’s Charlie Kaufman. I give Eternal Sunshine the nod over Adaptation and Synecdoche, New York because it has much more heart than those other films written by Kaufman. Jim Carrey gives one of his best performances here in a very non-Jim Carrey role, and Kate Winslet is her usual amazing self.

4. Serenity (2005): As a Joss Whedon addict, I had a hard time deciding where to put Serenity on my list. On the one hand, a legitimate case can be made for its place as the top sci-fi film of the decade. On the other hand, my judgment may be clouded by rampant fanboyism. So, Serenity lands at #4 for serving as a brilliant conclusion to a brilliant television series, introducing me to Chiwetel Ejiofor, and making me laugh my ass off right before ripping my heart out and jumping up and down on it.

5. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005): One of the reasons I’m a huge fan of Joss Whedon is his ability to take genre clichés and turn them on their head, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang follows that part of the Joss Whedon playbook with great success. In KKBB, you’ll recognize one scene after the next from other buddy cop films, but each one ends in a manner you’d rarely expect. Plus, it’s Robert Downey Jr. teaming with Val Kilmer, so the performances elevate the great script to another level.

6. The Incredibles (2004): I suppose it’s a bit odd that in this age of comic book superhero films, the best super hero film of the decade wasn’t one adapted from a comic book. Brad Bird’s The Incredibles does, however, borrow from a long list of comic book classics, most heavily from the Fantastic Four and Watchmen. As a comic book fan, moments like Elastic Girl going all Plastic Man and turning into a boat had me routinely geeking out throughout the film. And Dash’s chase scene towards the end of the movie is one of the greatest chase scenes in the history of cinema.

7. The Fountain (2006): I give director Darren Aronofsky a ton of credit for assuming an audience would have the intelligence and patience to last through the first twenty or so minutes of this film when they’d have no clue what was going on. The Fountain’s another one of those puzzle films, like Memento, that gives the you a little information at a time and trusts you’ll be able to figure it out. Visually, The Fountain is one of the more interesting films on this list, as Arnofsky decided to film the first scenes of the film with a palette so dark and drab you can barely make anything out and then increasing the brightness of the film throughout until he ends with an explosion of light.

8. Thank You For Smoking (2005): Before directing Juno, Jason Reitman wrote and directed an underappreciated dark comedy titled Thank You For Smoking (based on the novel by Christopher Buckley). And as perfectly cast as Ellen Page was in Juno, Aaron Eckhart was equally perfect as tobacco lobbyist Nick Naylor here.  The rest of the cast is sensational too. Talents like Maria Bello, Rob Lowe, JK Simmons, Adam Brody, Katie Holmes and William H. Macy all bring their A-game in small supporting roles.

9. Shaun of the Dead (2004): Shaun of the Dead is the only film on my list that I didn’t love the first time I saw it. On first viewing, I was enjoying the comedic elements and then all these characters I liked starting dying. It was quite unexpected. On second viewing, I realized that’s the brillance of Shaun of the Dead, it bounces from comedy to straight horror with ease. And unlike most horror movies, SotD makes you care about its characters before killing them off.

10. Young @ Heart (2007): While there were a ton of great documentaries released in the 2000s (off the top of my head: Religulous, Michael Moore’s films, Who Killed the Electric Car, Man on Wire, and An Inconvenient Truth), Young @ Heart makes my list because it’s an emotional rollercoaster without feeling manipulative. Following this elderly choir, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry and, most of all, you’ll be inspired. And the Young @ Heart choir’s performance of Fix You by Coldplay may be my favorite movie moment of the decade.

And the next 10:
11. Hard Candy (2005): 2 characters in a house for 104 minutes, that’s it. It’s ballsy as hell (pun intended), and totally works. Also, anyone who questions Ellen Page’s range as an actress, her character here is definitely not the same as Juno, needs to see this film. 

12. Big Fish (2003): I saw this movie with my dad. Towards the end, I looked over at him and he looked over at me, we were both weeping. I find Tim Burton films are usually visually feasts with very little at the heart of them, but Big Fish is definitely an exception.

13. Wall-E (2008): Wall-E makes my list for two reasons. First, the opening thirty minutes or so that features no dialogue. Second, PIXAR’s vision of the future of the human race if we don’t change our ways.

14. Garden State (2004): I have a feeling if you’re not a guy in your 20s, this movie might not be quite as enjoyable. Nonetheless, I’m a guy in his 20s, so I love it. Also, it easily has the best soundtrack of the decade.

15. The Lookout (2007): If you’re looking for a film that will keep you on the edge of your seat, this is it. Definitely the most intense film on my list, The Lookout is much more than your standard crime drama.

16. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006): Visually stunning, Pan’s Labyrinth features a crazily inventive new world crafted by director Guillermo del Toro. And I love that the ending is wide open for interpretation.

17. Juno (2007): The second appearance on my list for both Ellen Page and Jason Reitman, Juno is packed with tight dialogue and great performances.

18. Stardust (2007): After seeing Stardust and Coraline, I now fully understand the obsession some geeks (especially female ones) have with Neil Gaiman. Stardust is just an incredibly fun fairy tale fantasy with a series of really clever scenes with really clever dialogue.

19. The Descent (2005): The Descent is a horror film that features an all-female cast and yet it’s more about female empowerment than exploitation. Weird. Also, the movie is scary as hell.

20. Iron Man (2008): I had to put at least one comic book adaptation on my list. Spider-man 2, X-Men 2, and The Dark Knight were the other contenders. I went with Iron Man almost entirely because of Robert Downey Jr’s gleeful performance as Tony Stark. “Yeah, I can fly.”

I Heart New RNC Chairman Michael Steele

I love you, Michael Steele. For those who haven’t heard, the new RNC Chairman has made it his mission to create a new hip-hop image for the GOP. No, seriously. While there are plenty kinds of crazy flowing from the near powerless Republican Party right now, Steele’s is the best kind because it’s incredibly entertaining.

 Obviously, creating a new GOP with hip-hop appeal is essentially an impossible task and not just because the party is devoid of any African Americans in prominent positions (other than Steele himself). As the brilliant Melissa Harris-Lacewell pointed out on THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW last week, hip-hop is largely about being authentic. Is there any profession that screams “inauthentic” like politician? Perhaps lawyer, but that’s it. Neither political party could ever brand itself as the party of hip-hop for that very reason. Nonetheless, I can’t wait to see how Michael Steele tries to accomplish this. It’s sure to be spectacular.

Melissa Harris-Lacewell had another insightful, and kinda geeky, quote when breaking down Steele’s election as RNC Chairman. It seems especially appropriate to share here given the banner for my blog. Here’s the quote:

“[The Republicans are] thinking Barack Obama is Superman, so what they needed to do was get some Kryptonite. Kryptonite comes from Superman’s own planet, so they went to “Planet Black Guy” and they said how do we get somebody from “Planet Black Guy” who can neutralize Barack Obama as [...] a unifier? This is their Barack Obama.”

Now as a huge comic geek myself, I’m going to take this analogy a bit further. I think Michael Steele may not be Kryptonite, but rather, Superman’s fellow Kryptonian, General Zod. The Republicans tore Zod out of his Phantom Zone prison, thinking the only way to beat Superman was with someone who was from his own planet and had all of the same powers. What they didn’t realize at the time was that Zod was batshit crazy. The Republican party has already lost control of their Zod, but unlike Superman, President Obama has no reason to try and stop Michael Steele because Steele is only going to help to destroy his own party.

Or, if you prefer an apt quote from the Batman universe, here’s one from Alfred Pennyworth (to Bruce Wayne) in THE DARK KNIGHT: “You crossed the line first, sir. You squeezed them, you hammered them to the point of desperation. And in their desperation they turned to a man they didn’t fully understand.”

Any bets on how long it takes before Michael Steele makes “Why so serious?” the new catchphrase of the GOP?

Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse: First Impression

For those who haven’t read any of the previous entries of my blog, I’m a big Joss Whedon fan, so I was super psyched to finally watch the premiere of his new show DOLLHOUSE last night. Here are my conveniently numbered first impressions:

1. I LOVE the supporting cast. Reed Diamond. Amy Acker. Olivia Williams. Harry Lennix. Tahmoh Penikett. All brilliant.

2. Even with giant scars across her face, Amy Acker is still one of the most beautiful women on the planet.

3. I’m already developing a huge man-crush on Tahmoh Penikett. He’s never been one of my favorite actors on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, but he was amazing in the DOLLHOUSE premiere. Did you see that flying knee? Impressive!

4. I’m really not sure if Eliza Dushku can handle the lead role. I think you need, like, a young Cate Blanchett for this kind of role. Someone who can play anything. I’m holding out hope though. Eliza did act circles around Sarah Michelle Gellar on BUFFY.

5. I thought the second half of the episode was much better than the first. Which makes me think once the status quo is established, the show could really take off.

6. I love the twisted nature of the concept. Moral ambiguity is fun!

7. The theme song and score are pretty awful. Which is surprising given how brilliantly the music was handled on Buffy and Firefly. Hearing the music from the final episode of Buffy when they’re fighting all the uber-vamps in the Hellmouth still gives me goosebumps. The Dollhouse score often sounds like something out of a Lifetime movie of the week.

8. I know Whedon said there wasn’t going to be BUFFY or FIREFLY-like humor, but there really was a lack of the funny here. I’m hoping for at least a few more laughs in future episodes. Something closer to ANGEL perhaps.

9. I love the serial elements that are being set up here. Tahmoh’s character’s search for the Dollhouse. The rogue (and presumably first) active, Alpha.

10. I can’t remember where I first said it (Facebook or Twitter), but I reassert the song Fox SHOULD be using in all the promos for the show is The Ting Tings’ THAT’S NOT MY NAME.
—————

Now for anyone who cares about rating the overnight numbers for DOLLHOUSE were as follows: 4.73 million viewers in the first half hour. 4.70 in the second.  2 million in the coveted 18-49 demographic (second place for the night). I choose to interpret the numbers optimistically:

1. DOLLHOUSE gained 1 million viewers over it’s lead-in, THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES.
2. These numbers DO NOT include DVR viewers. And given the show was on Friday night at 9 and it’s aiming at a younger audience than the CBS and ABC line-ups, I’m assuming there will be quite a few of those.
3.  It held onto its audience throughout the episode, losing only .3 million for the second half hour. Which suggests, at the very least, those viewers liked what they saw and will be back next week (and hopefully they’ll recommend it to their friends).
4.  It performed well in key demos. Second place in adults 18-49. Second place among adults 18-34. First place among men 18-34.
5. The premiere is currently the #1 most watched show on HULU and it’s in the top 10 downloads on iTUNES.

My Favorite Comic Books of 2008

If there is any “best of” list I feel eminently qualified to write, it’s the one for best comic book series of the year. There are a few rules about my list, mini-series are not included (sorry “Marvel 1985″) and it has to be a series I read in the single issues and not just in the collected trade format (sorry “Y: The Last Man”). If there’s a theme to my list, it’s that it features a bunch of Marvel characters I never cared about as a child. At various points in my childhood, I was obsessed with the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and Spider-man. The one corner of the Marvel universe I could never get into was the Avengers’ books. And now I’ve made a list that includes the big three of those Avengers: Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor. Here’s the list:

1. Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season 8 (Writers: Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard. Artists: Georges Jeanty, Karl Moline.): Feel free to scream, “Bias!” Yes, I’m a huge Buffy fan, but if you had ask me to make this list last year, Buffy would not have received the top spot. While the first year was pretty good, there were some growing pains in switching mediums in those first issues. This second year, however, has been near perfect. Goddard’s arc, “Wolves at the Gate”, bounced between hilarious and tragic with ease. And Whedon’s return to the world of future slayer Fray did not disappoint.

2. Captain America (W: Ed Brubaker. A: Steve Epting): Ed Brubaker has to be given credit just for writing a book called “Captain America” for so long without the title character appearing. This year ended the 30-plus issue story arc that started Brubaker’s run on the title and finally introduced us to the new Captain America, Bucky Barnes. Brubaker has a knack for taking absurd villains and turning them into credible threats. There’s actually a robotic bad guy with a television in his chest and a camera for his head. I never knew Cap had such a lame rogue’s gallery, but Brubaker makes it work.

3. Thunderbolts (W: Warren Ellis, Andy Diggle. A: Mike Dedato, Roberto De La Torre.): For the record, I’m choosing to ignore the disappointing Secret Invasion tie-in issues. Warren Ellis’ reboot of T’Bolts was a thing of brilliance. I know hardcore fans of the old Thunderbolts may not love the distortion of the original concept, but the idea of an Avengers-style team of villains worked perfectly in Ellis’ hands. With his noir style, Dedato, who I’m not a huge fan of normally, was the perfect artist for the book. Ellis’ decision to leave the book left me worried, but then Andy Diggle came on board and managed to deliver some of the darkest, most intense issues of the reborn series.

4. The Immortal Iron Fist (W: Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker, Duane Swiercynski. A: David Aja, Travel Foreman.): Here’s another book, like Thunderbolts, where there was a mid-year switch of creative teams and the quality of the book didn’t suffer. Before Brubaker and Fraction started this book, I didn’t have any feeling one way or the other about Iron Fist. After their first story arc, I painted him on my closet door. Duane Swiercynski took over the writing duties and with his first arc managed to continue the momentum started by Fraction and Brubaker. And then he wowed me with a futuristic Iron Fist issue which I’d list as one of my favorite single issues of any comic this year.

5. All-Star Superman/Astonishing X-Men (W: Grant Morrison. A: Frank Quitely. / W: Joss Whedon. A: John Cassaday.): This may totally be cheating, but I can’t give these books separate spots on this list. Combined, five issues of the two series were released in 2008. That being said, those five issues were insanely good. Morrison/Quitely and Whedon/Cassaday were two of the best creative teams over past few years (both their runs are now complete). They also seemed incapable of sticking to any kind of strict release schedule. While both books are brilliant, they couldn’t be more different in terms of structure. All-Star Superman consisted of a series of very elaborately plotted stand-alone stories. While Astonishing X-Men was basically a giant 25-issue story arc driven almost entirely by great character moments. Both series are available in beautiful hardcover formats now, go pick them up!

6. Thor (W: J.M. Stracynski, A: Oliver Coipel.): 2008 was the year of Thor. Not only did he star in this brilliant title, but he also appeared in a great series of one-shots by Matt Fraction. Growing up, I never understood the appeal of Thor. And I certainly didn’t get why a Norse god spoke like a character out of Shakespeare. But Stracynski decided to drop the ‘thou’s, recreated Asgard as a floating city in the Midwest, and transformed Loki into a woman. Stracynski is at his best when he’s creating a new world or recreating an existing one, and he does that perfectly here.

7. The Invincible Iron Man (W: Matt Fraction, A: Salvador Larroca.): More than any other book on this list, I’m recommending Iron Man exclusively based on the writing. I really dislike Larroca’s work here. If an artist is going to rely so heavily on photo reference, why not use reference of the actors from the hugely successful film featuring these characters? Larroca casting Nicole Kidman as Pepper Potts is just distracting. Fraction, however, wrote one of the best Iron Man stories ever in his first arc. And if you were a huge fan of the Iron Man movie, the first trade serves as a great introduction to the Iron Man comic books.

8. Criminal (W: Ed Brubaker, A: Sean Phillips.) If you like noir, this is a must read. Actually, if you like noir, you’re probably already reading it. But even if you’re not a big noir fan, it’s worth checking out. Currently the book is on hiatus while the creative team works on their pulp title INCOGNITO, so now is the perfect time to catch up by reading all the trades.

9. Captain Britain and MI:13 (W: Paul Cornell, A: Leonard Kirk.): I know Marvel publishes a ton of team books. So why should you read this one instead of one the 5 Avengers titles or 6 X-Men titles? Well, first it’s set in Britain, so you get cool British slang. Second, it features one of my favorite underused Marvel characters, Pete Wisdom. Third, it spun out of a huge crossover event (Secret Invasion) and managed not to suck. Fourth, the villains powers are all based in magic, so it has a very different feel than all those other Marvel team books. Fifth, it’s written by a television writer who can actually finish his scripts on time! And sixth, it’s just plain awesome.

10. The Boys (W: Garth Ennis, A: Darick Robertson.): Was is often juvenile? Yes. Did it often enter the realm of bad taste? Absolutely. But Ennis loves to deconstruct the super-hero genre and he does it with great success here with each and every issue. And that’s why The Boys makes my list; it’s like Watchmen with excessive violence and plenty of dick and fart jokes.

Honorable Mention: Ex Machina, Daredevil, Jonah Hex, Booster Gold, Action Comics, Wolverine: First Class

Sunday at New York Comic Con

Before I dive into my Sunday coverage there are a few things I forgot to mention about Saturday. During the Torchwood panel, when asked what her favorite American sci-fi/fantasy show was, Eve Myles answered “BUFFY” almost before the questioner completed the question. This received resounding applause from the audience. And it’s another reason I now love Eve Myles.

I also wanted to tell everyone I have officially mastered the art of line cutting. For years people have said to me, “Oh I didn’t see you there, Erik” or “Erik, why’d you sneak up on me like that?” As far as I can tell I just fade into the background well (like a thinner, less-muscly Batman). These powers served me greatly during Comic Con, as I was able to jump ahead in line for multiple panels. I wouldn’t have gotten into the Watchmen panel if I didn’t and I wouldn’t have had such a good seat at the Torchwood panel if I hadn’t. If you want to attempt to cut in line, here are some rules to follow: 

1. Look for a group of people chatting that aren’t paying attention to who’s ahead of them in line. Work your way in front of them. This is especially easy if the line hasn’t become anything resembling single file yet.

2. Look for tables covered with stickers or fliers next to the line into the panel. Walk over to the table, pretend you’re looking at the fliers. Soon enough you’ve magically become part of the line.

Not once did anyone call me on my line-cutting. Granted I’m 5′8″, weigh 135 lbs, and was dressed like a normal person. If you’re 6′4″, tip the scales at 3 bills, and are dressed like Optimus Prime, my line-cutting strategy probably won’t work as well for you.

Onto Sunday at Comic Con! I walked the show floor a bit when we got there. I picked up some posters (a Buffy one from Dark Horse included) and some free comics. Still no bookmarks (my inner librarian was frowning). I was very impressed by SEGA’s presence at event, they were showcasing all of their upcoming mature-rated Wii games. The Conduit, House of the Dead Overkill, and MadWorld we’re all there and playable. Sadly, I never got a chance to play any of them. Graphically, the Conduit looked AMAZING for a Wii game.  You can tell the guys who made Viewtiful Joe crafted MadWorld as the cel-shaded look is very similar (just devoid of color). Deadly Creatures was playable at the event too, but I really didn’t get a look at it. Overall, it gave you a great impression on how 3rd parties are ready to step up this year on Wii (finally!!!).

Dollhouse
The first panel I attended for the day was for Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse. I was not going to put my line cutting ability to the ultimate test, so I got in line fairly early this time. The panel was just Joss and Tahmoh Penikett. The moderator was Matt Roush from TV Guide. I have to say it was a weird panel. It was a theater full of people who love Joss Whedon but none of them had seen a full episode yet. Ten minutes of footage from the first episode was shown. It didn’t blow me away. I’m still not sold on Eliza Dushku as a strong lead character the way Joss is. Rewatching Buffy recently, I found Eliza’s performance to be brilliant, but I’m not seeing the same thing in the few Dollhouse clips scattered around the internet or in the 10 minutes I saw on Sunday. You can tell Tahmoh’s definitely going to fit in in the Whedonverse, he has that ability to jump from drama to humor. It was fairly evident at the panel. The program of events said we’d all get Dollhouse posters. That did not occur, but perhaps they gave them out at the door upon exiting. I, however, stuck around for the next panel in that theater.

FRINGE
Basically, the entire cast of Fringe was there. I think the observer was the only one not present. The moderator for this panel was AWFUL. He asked questions that were moronic compared to the normal audience queries. And he let the audience start asking questions way too late in the panel. I learned the guy who plays Walter Bishop is just about as crazy as his character. Joshua Jackson is great with the one-liners. Lance Reddick is apparently much more laid back than any of the characters he’s played on television recently.  At one point Josh Jackson recounted his trip to an NFC playoff game where he was in nosebleed seats, freezing his butt off, and he looked at the jumbo-tron and saw the observer (from Fringe) down on the sidelines. And asked himself, “What the hell, Fox!?” Jackson was visually dismayed (hanging his head) when the producer at the panel mentioned they had actually tried to work a deal to get the observer a seat close to the President during the Inauguration.

That was the last panel of the convention for me. I took one final trip around the convention floor and then headed home. I had a good time this year. It’s going to be a long wait until 2010’s NYCC, given it’s been moved to October.

Saturday at New York Comic Con

I’m back from my first day at NYCC and here’s what I saw. I started by walking the (always crowded) show floor, picked up a bunch of free swag (mostly pins, comics and posters, no bookmarks this year, sorry library!), and then I headed to the IGN theater for my first panel of the day:

WATCHMEN/FRIDAY THE 13TH/TERMINATOR SALVATION
So they started with Watchmen, thankfully, and artist Dave Gibbons came out to introduce some footage. It turned out we were going to get to see the first 18 minutes of the movie!!! Followed by an exclusive clip not yet seen anywhere. If you’ve read Watchmen, none of this will be spoilery, if not, you may want to scroll past all of this.

The film opens with yellow and black logos for the production companies and then we head into the Comedian’s apartment. While he smokes a cigar, a fairly old, broken-down Comedian watches television. The TV programs offer exposition as to what’s going on in the world of Watchmen. Dr. Manhattan is mentioned on what looks like a Sunday morning round table show. There’s a clip of Nixon as President in his 3rd term. A shadowy figure busts into the Comedian’s apartment. A smackdown commences. The fight’s much more involved that what’s on the page in the comic book, and you can tell both these guys can throw down. Eventually, the Comedian loses the battle, gets tossed out the window and we’re headed into the title sequence. There’s some slo-mo used here but it’s not on the level of 300, and I didn’t find it distracting. The title sequence is used as another opportunity to offer details about the Watchmen world.  We see clips of super heroics throughout the years (good and bad).  After the opening credits, we head back to the Comedian’s apartment where detectives are investigating his death. When they leave, Rorschach uses his grappling gun to enter through the window. (If you can’t tell from my descriptions, a lot of the cinematography is panel for panel from the comic book.) Rorschach offers some narration while he searches the apartment then he discovers the Comedian’s costume and that’s basically where the clip ended.  

The previously unseen clip they showed next is where it gets extra-spoilery! It opens in a prison cafeteria. Jackie Earle Haley sporting Rorschach’s red hair is in line. One prisoner comes after the unmasked Rorschach attempting to attack him. Rorschach grabs a thing of boiling fry oil and dumps it on the prisoner’s face. The guards grab Rorschach and he starts yelling, “I’m not locked up in here with you! You’re locked up in here with me!”

The audience goes nuts. A Q & A follows. Nothing really revelatory comes out of it. The Friday the 13th section of the panel begins, I watched the trailer (which showed just about everything in the movie) and then I left for other panels.

MARVEL’S CUP O’ JOE
No major announcements made here. I think Joe Quesada casually mentioned Jonathan Hickman would take over Fantastic Four after Mark Millar finished his run. That makes me happy. The Ultimate line will end after Ultimatum and be replaced with “Ultimate Comics.” Have no clue what that means. The good news is Stuart Immonen is leaving Ultimate Spidey when it switches to Ultimate Comics, so I can finally drop that book. Sorry Bendis! The panel was boring me, so I left.

I walked the show floor again. Mark Sheppard from Battlestar Galactica (as Romo Lampkin) and Firefly (as Badger) was just sitting around near the SEGA booth. Sadly, I could not remember his name or either of his characters names at the time. Yes, deduct some of my fanboy points. I just totally blanked. So, ultimately, I didn’t say hello or anything. I guess I could’ve said, “That was a great episode of BSG last night.” As he was actually in last night’s episode….  Enough about my brain fart and onto the next panel:

MARVEL ANIMATION
Panel started by showing off ratings numbers for WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN on Nicktoons. Apparently, it’s that network’s biggest hit ever. Yay! The show is great if you haven’t seen it. Then a clip of the HULK VS. dvd was shown. That looked quite bad ass. Then we got to see some concept art for the new SUPER HERO SQUAD show. (I don’t know if that’s the exact title.) It looks very kiddie, but it could be a fun show. It’s the first cartoon to feature the entire Marvel Universe. Nerf Herder, who did the Buffy theme song, did the theme for this show too. It sounded quite catchy. They showed a short clip, it was cute but forgettable. Then we got to see a full-episode of the new IRON MAN cartoon the premieres in April. It looks like a mix of computer animation and anime. It’s definitely not my thing. It’s follows a teenage Tony Stark, Rhodey, and Pepper. Next panel:

DEAD LIKE ME
So there’s going to be a Dead Like Me direct to DVD film. I had no idea. Basically, the whole cast was there. Honestly, it wasn’t the greatest panel. It was cool to see the actors from the show but they didn’t have a ton to offer.

TORCHWOOD
This may have been panel of the day. Or as I will to refer to it the EVE MYLES IS THE NICEST, FUNNIEST, MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN ON THE PLANETpanel. Eve stole the show here. She was so charming and so nice and cordial to everyone who asked a question. She seemed genuinely disappointed when the panel had to end. Her little giggle is hilarious. And she said the word “cheeky” more times than I could count. A friend came to the panel with me and after it was over I said to him, “I am now in love with Eve Myles.” And he said, “Yeah. So am I. And I’ve never even watched Torchwood.”

Sadly, we couldn’t go to her signing because our parking ran out before that. So we left. And that was my Saturday at Comic Con. Also, I saw the hottest Asian Wonder Woman ever.

Comic Con!!!!!!!!!

 Less than 12 hours until I’m at New York Comic Con. I’ve got my outfit picked out. (Yes, I’m a huge dork.) Packed up my comics to get signed. And printed out the schedule of events I’m looking to attend. You can see my list below. You’ll notice multiple events that occur at the same time, the fact is you never know what panels you’re actually going to be able to get into if you’re not willing to wait in line FOREVER. So I’ve got first, second, third, and fourth choices because I’m crazy like that. (I will wait forever for Whedon’s Dollhouse panel though):

SATURDAY

• Watchmen/Terminator 11-12:30 IGN

• Chip Kidd Bat-Manga 12:15-1:15 1A21

• Cup o’ Joe 12:30-1:30 1A08

• Marvel Animation 1:45-2:45 1A06

• Disney’s Up and Surrogates 2:30-3:30 IGN

• Dead Like Me 2:45-3:45 1A14

• Intellectual Property 101 2:45-3:45 1A21

• DC Universe 3:00-4:00 1A08

• Torchwood 4:15-5:15 1A08

• Breaking Into Comics 4:30-5:30 1A15

• Frank Cho Spotlight 5:30-6:30 1A06

• UP Preview Screening 5:30-7:30 IGN

• Computers and Comics 5:45-7:30 1A15

• Hero Initiative Auction 6:30-7:30 1A14

• Venture Brothers 6:45-7:45 1A08

SUNDAY

• Coming of Age Comics 11:00-12:00 1A18

• MoCCA 11:00-12:00 1A21

• Chuck 11:15-12:15 1A08

• Dollhouse 12:45-1:45 IGN

• Watchmen Portraits 1:30-2:30 1A07

• 5 Themes/Twilight Zone 1:30-3:30 1A04

• TMNT 1:30-2:30 KidZone3

• Mondo Marvel 1:45-2:45 1A24

• Fringe 2:00-3:00 IGN

• TMNT 2:45-3:15 Variant Stage

• What are Kids Reading? 3:00-4:00 1A17

• Marvel Your Universe 3:00-4:00 1A24

It is a bit of a mixed bag o’ panels. Some of them I’m just a huge geek for (Dollhouse, Fringe, Torchwood). Others I think could help in ordering the right graphic novels for the children’s section at the library. And others deal with the business of comic books, and as an artist and writer, I’m always looking for information on how to enter that field. I’m also hoping to get my picture taken with April O’Neill and the Ninja Turtles. But the Dollhouse and Fringe panels may keep that dream from becoming a reality.

I’d have to say my favorite NYCC panel in years past was in a fairly tiny room and it was entitled “World Building.” The panelists were J.M. Stracynski (Supreme Power, Rising Stars), Jeff Smith (Bone, Shazam!), and Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Runaways, Ex Machina).  The panel discussion was just three writers talking about their process. And because the work of those three was so different, it was a great discussion and I learned quite a bit. I also was glad I brought a notebook because I took copious amounts of notes.  So I’m hoping I stumble onto (or into?) another great panel like that.

If I’m not entirely beat, I’ll try to post my impressions of Saturday at Comic Con tomorrow night. If not, I’ll post something next week about the con as a whole.

Previously… in Comics

 I haven’t done any blog posts about comics yet. I’m rectifying that now. Time for some comic book reviews! I have no idea if I’m going to do this on a weekly basis. Last week saw Marvel’s Dark Reign really kick into gear. Dark Reign’s flagship title, Dark Avengers, launched. Dan Slott introduced us to the bizarre new team over in Mighty Avengers. Andy Diggle began revealing the new roster of the Thunderbolts. And Matt Fraction gave us a glimpse into Emma Frost’s mindset in the Marvel Universe’s new status quo.

The following books were all released on January 21st. They’re listed in the order I read them. Spoilers will be kept to a minimum.

Thunderbolts #128 (Writer: Andy Diggle, Artist: Roberto de la Torre): In the previous two issues, Diggle did a spectacular job writing the Thunderbolts as Warren Ellis had reimagined them. It was an incredibly dark and intense story that lead to the dismantling of that team’s roster. In this issue, Diggle pulls back the curtain on his team of Thunderbolts. Sadly, judging by this issue, his T’Bolts aren’t quite as interesting as Bullseye, Venom, and company. It’s obviously way too early to start panicking here. Only a fraction of the team has even been introduced. But this group seems to lack much of the personality their predecessors had in spades. I do have to give props to Diggle though for his Obama appearance which both made sense for the story and established Norman Osborn as a lame duck appointment by the outgoing Bush Administration. Dark Reign is all Bush’s fault!

Dark Avengers #1 (W: Brian Bendis, A: Mike Deodato): You ever have a favorite band break up and then the lead singer puts out a solo album? The music sounds similar to that of the band you so loved, but it’s just not nearly as good. That is Dark Avengers. I flipped open this book and it looked remarkable like Warren Ellis’ Thunderbolts. Mike Deodato’s drawing all the same characters: Norman Osborn, Venom, Bullseye, Moonstone. If only the characters didn’t have to speak, because those word balloons pointed at their mouths are not nearly as engrossing. But even if Brian Bendis could channel Warren Ellis perfectly here, I’d still have to question the overall concept. Basically, we have a team of villains dressed up in the costumes of unregistered heroes like Spider-man, Wolverine, and Iron Man. Supposedly in the Marvel Universe, Iron Man is despised for his role in Secret Invasion. Spider-man and Wolverine are fugitives.  Why would Norman Osborn dress up his team like these social pariahs? It’d be like the Democrats trying to win the White House by nominating a George W. Bush clone. It doesn’t make any sort of sense.

Mighty Avengers #21 (W: Dan Slott, A: Khoi Pham): Thank you Dan Slott. Thank you for giving me a classic Avengers title to love. I adore this book. Going into the issue, I knew very little about the new team. I knew it involved Hank Pym and I could see Scarlet Witch and Jocasta were on the cover. That’s it. The roster Slott has chosen, assuming this is the permanent roster, is almost Nextwave insane.  And like Nextwave, it’s also brilliant. The dialogue is tight, often funny, and perfectly in character. While I’ve always felt Brian Bendis has trouble with team books (his best issues of New Avengers always only deal with 1 or 2 members of the team), Dan Slott’s writing shines when the scene is full of costumed crusaders. I do have to say Hank Pym’s new costume is atrocious; I have no problems with his new codename though. 

Uncanny X-Men Annual #2 (W: Matt Fraction, A: Mitch Breitweiser and Daniel Acuna): I’m sure I’m not the only one who was completely baffled by Emma Frost’s inclusion in Norman Osborn’s Dark Reign inner circle. She’s a good guy now! She’s been one of the white hats since the mid-nineties when she mentored Generation X along with Banshee. So while Brian Bendis did very little to justify her place at the table, Matt Fraction has taken up the challenge in this Uncanny X-Men Annual and does an admirable job of explaining her motivation. In addition to learning more about the White Queen’s thinking, we also get insight into her relationship with Namor. Pairing these two together was a genius move on Fraction’s part. Having two of the most arrogant members of the Marvel Universe interact, often through some intense flirting, brings out the best in both characters. I look forward to seeing these characters together more often. The art here is gorgeous. Mitch Breitweiser handles the present, while Daniel Acuna deals with the flashbacks. It’s unfortunate such a beautiful issue has to be marred by a fairly awful cover from Terry Dodson.

X-Factor #39 (W: Peter David, A: Valentine de Landro): I’m going to listen to Peter David’s plea on the recap page of this issue and not play spoiler. What I will do is implore you to pick up this issue! From the cover, I’m sure everyone knows this is the issue where Siryn and Madrox’s child is born. And like most of the best X-Factor stories David’s written, there’s a ton of humor, there’s some tragedy, and there’s no big superhero battles. The art is a vast improvement over the last story arc that introduced Darwin to the group. And, yes, there’s a huge twist here. A huge gut-wrenching twist that would be impossible to spoil without just outright saying what happens. Rarely in any creative medium do you have a moment so original, so unique, that your jaw just drops because you did not and could not see it coming. That is what happens in this issue. It’s impossible to over-hype.

Final Crisis: Superman Beyond 3D #2 (W: Grant Morrison, A: Doug Mahnke): The last issue of this book came out roughly forever ago. I don’t know if it was by design or because of delays, but the span between issues means I had no clue what was going on when I started reading this issue. Frankly though, that’s hardly a new feeling for me when reading a book written by Grant Morrison. I did remember enjoying the first issue, even though I didn’t remember what the heck was happening in it, so I decided to pick this one up despite the $4.50 price tag. It’s your fairly standard Grant Morrison issue. There are some great moments and other moments when you inevitably say to yourself, “what the hell was that?” Personally, I’ll be happy if I never have to read another book in 3D again. In addition to having to wear the ridiculous glasses, trying to read word balloons while looking at 3D images is a recipe for a splitting headache.

Trade of the week:
Fables: War and Pieces (W: Bill Willingham, A: Mark Buckingham): I finally got around to reading the latest Fables trade this week. If the title didn’t make it obvious, “War and Pieces” is the final battle between Fabletown and the Adversary’s forces. I loved the Cinderella story that leads into the war. She should really have her own Alias-style secret agent book. The main story, however, I found lacking. It’s anti-climactic, perhaps intentionally so, but that doesn’t make it any less disappointing. I thought Boy Blue’s post-war narration was a mistake. It took all the suspense out of the conflict. The last chapter feels rushed and really could’ve been expanded into an additional issue. There’s one moment featuring Boy Blue towards the end of the story that truly deserves a full page, but receives only a small sliver of one. If there was one aspect of this story that I loved, it was Prince Charming’s arc. Charming is really the star of those four chapters. And his relationship with Sinbad is also a huge highlight.

A Brand New Day

I haven’t posted anything since the inauguration of President Obama and, mostly, I blame that on giddiness. Seriously, I’ve been too happy to type. It’s been difficult sitting still. I constantly want to jump around and do cartwheels. It’s a welcome change from the last eight years.

Anyway, I’m now working on some new blog posts that I’ll have up soon. One on my favorite comic book series of 2008, another one about geeks on TV, and another on the new best night of television. (Not necessarily in that order.)

Also, a big thank you to Brea Grant for posting my speedster art on her blog and linking back here. She is tremendously cool for doing that.

Heroes’ Daphne Artwork

For those who may not know me all that well, over the past few months, I’ve become a big fan of actress Brea Grant (seen below looking adorable):

I’ve become a fan not just because of her work on Heroes and Friday Night Lights, though she’s amazing on both of those shows, but also because she has a wonderful blog that I check out whenever I’m bored at work. She’s a big geek. She reads comic books. She watches sci-fi tv shows. She’s incredibly accessible for her fans and very down-to-earth. She’s an actress you can really root for to succeed.

I had wanted to draw or paint a picture of Brea’s character from Heroes, Daphne, for a while, but I’d been busy and I also didn’t have any great ideas for the composition. I really wanted it to be something awesome. Then last week I started working on a birthday present for a friend of mine. I drew a portrait of her 5-month old son:

 

Yes, he does have that much hair. I actually “cut” it in the illustration because it was just looked too ridiculous otherwise. Before I started playing with his hair, it looked like something out of that faux-commercial from SNL for Baby Trump Wigs. Even with all that hair, he’s still one of the cutest babies I have ever seen. I finished the illustration and I was really happy with it. And once I get my artistic mojo going, it’s hard to stop it. So, of course, that is when the idea finally hit me for the Daphne drawing. This is by far the geekiest piece of art I have ever created and if you’ve seen my portfolio, that is saying a lot.  Here it is:

 

My first idea was to do Daphne, with trademark smirk across her face, running away from Hiro’s outstretched hand. I had had that image in my head for a long time (at least a month or two). It could’ve been cute, but it didn’t blow me away. Then this idea hit me. I couldn’t tell you when, it’s all sort of a blur (pardon the pun), but once the idea of the three speedsters racing appeared in my mind, I knew that’s what I was going to draw. I was super-psyched, and once I found all my reference, it took me about 4 hours to knock it out.

Initially, I thought about painting it. Sort of a rainbow of speedsters, going from Quicksilver in blue to Daphne in purple to The Flash in red. But I was so happy with the baby’s portrait I had just finished, I decided to stick with graphite for this one too. I think Brea’s likeness is just a little off. Her face is all of an inch and a half by an inch on the paper, so it’s tough to get all the details perfect when you’re drawing something in such a small area. I almost feel like doing a full-sized portrait just to prove to myself I can get it right. But overall, I’m happy with the final result. I love the composition as a whole.

I don’t have a title for it yet. Suggestions are welcome. I could go with something obvious like “Battle of the Speedsters” or  “Race of the Speedsters.” I also like the idea of a caption, perhaps “The speed force is totally overrated” or “… and I’m running in HEELS!”

–Erik

Note: I’ll probably post a link to a larger version of the drawing later. The picture above was taken with my digital camera. I think it will look a bit better when I import it using the scanner. Here’s a larger version: http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=79006421&albumID=1059614&imageID=40386035