Superhero Movie Opening Weekend

It's Saturday night, I'm at Superhero Movie here in Florence, Alabama, the movie is about to start, and the theater is definitely not empty. I'm here. And in this poorly lit theater, you can see the only other person here - my brother, who I dragged here with me.

I'm guessing this doesn't bode well. We'll see.

I Can't Think of a Good Title for This Post

I guess it's been a couple weeks since I've posted. I was off of work for a few days for various reasons and "got to" to lay around and do nothing for a while, so I was able to catch a few films. Silver Hawk had been sitting on my DVR for a few weeks. My brother gave me Comic Book: The Movie for Christmas, so I finally watched that. And finally got to sit through Superman: Doomsday. Of course, I've been playing catch-up with work and life since.

Dang but Kevin Smith got a lot of mileage out of writing that Superman Lives script. Probably more than he would've gotten out of it if it was the script they actually used for Superman Returns. It came up in Comic Book: The Movie, and even as a weird cameo in Doomsday. But I think the funniest telling was in An Evening with Kevin Smith. That DVD's a bit raw, but if your ears can handle it, it's pretty funny.

Doomsday wasn't bad. I wouldn't go out and spend the money on it for myself, but I was lucky enough to have a friend who bought it and didn't like it, so he gave it to me. I'm not sure if it needed to be PG-13. It seems like they just added some gratuitous language and a suggested sexual relationship between Superman and Lois just so they could up the rating. If you haven't seen it, you didn't miss a lot. You already know what I think of Silver Hawk, and I still need to post my Comic Book: The Movie review.

Ah, well; I'm off to see Superhero Movie.

Here's hoping I laugh more than twice.

They come in threes? (Spider-Man, Batman, Punisher)

Well, Spectacular Spider-Man is the third animated television premier I've missed. Maybe this'll be the last. And this one is only because I was too stupid to set the DVR in time. What an idiot. I've got it set now, so I'll be able to catch them from now on.

At least I was able to see The Batman two-part finale. I enjoyed watching the Justice League, but it seems odd that they had to pull in aliens for a finale the second time in a row. It's not like Batman doesn't have a rich history and cast of characters on his own.

Completely unrelated, I happened across the Punisher: War Zone official site. It's got limited content, but it's a pretty cool set up. Check out the link to the right under Upcoming Films.

Silver Hawk (2004) mini review

based on a comic
[5/10]

Tell me if you've heard this one. Rich philanthropist by day, costumed crime fighter by, well, other parts of the day. That's the first masked vigilante rule broken by Lulu Wong (aka Silver Hawk) - she seems to do most of her crimefighting during the day, and we all know that to be most effective she should be doing it at night. Of course, today, Silver Hawk not only has to fight poachers stealing panda bears, she has to go up against madmen bent on world domination!

Yes, Silver Hawk has all the makings of a standard, cookie-cutter superhero film. Though it does have Michelle Yeoh - that's got to count for something. And honestly, the fight choreography was enjoyable - Yeoh is pretty amazing.

It's too bad she couldn't completely make up for the silly writing and poor editing. I'm trying to figure out if the original, being made in Hong Kong, was a completely different movie, and they edited the crap out if for Western, English-speaking audiences. Some scenes are completely chopped - to the point that you can't really follow what's going on. And the dialogue? It appears to have been filmed originally in English (except for a few parts in Chinese), but then that English was dubbed over by English-speaking actors who didn't have accents. This doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Or maybe it was dubbed over by the original actors and it was just a poor job of looping in post.

Some other odd, random stuff I have to comment on -

The extreme-sport ninjas were an interesting touch.

Did that guy really just go to old-magazine-covers.com to find old magazine covers?

I was going to note this as not based on a comic, but according to Michelle Yeoh's website, it's based on a comic from the 40's and 50's. Of course, I can't find any other reference on the internet to this comic, much less any other pictures. But maybe that's because it's over 50 years old, and I don't know how to search the web in Chinese.

English actor Luke Goss (Blade II, the upcoming Hellboy II) plays villain Alexendar Wolfe, and Michael Jai White (Spawn, various DC-comics related animated projects, the upcoming Dark Knight) plays one of his henchman.

And the second masked vigilante rule broken by Silver Hawk: When you're about town in your secret identity, never, ever, fight exactly like your super alter ego. In broad daylight. In front of people. So that basically everyone can figure out your secret identity without a bit of detective skill.

See it if like Hong Kong films or Michelle Yeoh, or if you can't sleep and notice that it's on Encore Action tonight.

Don't see it if you're bored with the same old same old in superhero films.

2008 Free Comic Book Day Previews Pop Culture Crossover

Free Comic Book Day is May 3. A few pop culture crossover selections that will be available at comic book stores.


Movies

• Comics Go Hollywood (TwoMorrows Publishing)
  Not a comic, per se, but a background look at Justice League: New Frontier, Heroes, and the X-Men and Batman movies.
  

Books/Stories

• Graphic Classics (Eureka Productions)
  Adaptations of stories by Edgar Allen Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Mary Shelley, and others.
• Del Ray & Dabel Brothers Preview (Dabel Brothers)
  A little bit Dresden Files; a little bit Wild Cards; a little bit Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: Prodigal Son.
  

Animation

• Bongo Comics Free-For-All (Bongo)
  It's not a Free Comic Book Day without The Simpsons and Futurama!
• Gumby's Coloring Comic Book Special (Wildcard Ink)
  It's not a Free Comic Book Day without Gumby!
• Transformers Animated (IDW)
  Adapation of the first episode of the animated series.

Games

• Sonic the Hedgehog #1 (Archie Comics)
  It's not a Free Comic Book Day without...ok, that was probably old back on Gumby. This one's a reprint of the first Sonic comic.

Other

• NASCAR Heroes: All-Stars Special (NASCAR Comics)
  Superhero NASCAR drivers. What will they think of next?

February 2008 Previews Pop Culture Crossover

This month I forego Supernatural, Star Wars, Star Trek and several others for some new and different series and one-shots culled from movies, stories, games and other areas.

Movies

• The Complete Persepolis (TPB, Pantheon Books)
  I had to pick up the book that the Oscar-nominated film was based on.
• The Mummy Movie Prequel: The Rise & Fall of Xango's Ax #1 (one-shot?, IDW)
  There's another mummy movie coming out next summer?

Books/Stories

• The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle #1 (4-part mini, Dabel Brothers)
  Originally a series of books about a private detective and wizard, it has also been adapted into a SCI FI Channel series. This is an original story penned by the author of the series, Jim Butcher.
• James Bond: The Paradise Plot (TPB, Titan Publishing)
  Ian Fleming's popular spy. Collection of the aformentioned tale and the non-Fleming Bond story Death Mask!.
• Mack Bolan, The Executioner: The Devil's Tools #1 (5-part mini, Dabel Brothers)
  I read a book from this classic series quite a while back - I'm surprised this doesn't have a Mature Readers warning.
• Oz Book 1: Mayhem in Munchkinland! (TPB, Transfuzion Publishing)
  Why does the Wizard of Oz have so many dark adaptations and sequels?
• Pigeons from Hell #1 (4-part mini, Dark Horse)
  Based on a Robert E. Howard short story - I can't tell when it was written, but it was first published in 1938 - two years after Howard died. You can see the original story here. It was even adapted to an anthology TV show (like Twilight Zone) - Boris Karloff's Thriller.
• Wild Cards: The Hard Call #1 (6-part mini, Dabel Brothers)
  It's been forever since I've read them, but I loved this George R. R. Martin series about a horrible virus that, when unleashed, killed 90% of those affected, left 9% horribly deformed, and gifted 1% with amazing superpowers. The Hard Call is a new story in the Wild Cards world.
  

Games

• Brothers in Arms #1 (new series, Dynamite)
  Based on the WWII game by Ubisoft. Take a look at the website - the game looks pretty intense.

Other

• Gnome One-Shot (one-shot, superrealgraphics.com)
  I never thought I'd see a comic based on a lawn ornament.
• Thoreau at Walden (graphic novel, Hyperion Books)
  Walden; or, Life in the Woods - one of the many books on my to-read list. I think I actually have a copy on my shelf, collecting dust. This is an interpretation of Henry David Thoreau's philosophical treatise.
  

I left a lot out, but I didn't think it necessary to list another Friday the 13th story, or Night of the Living Dead collection.

The Gene Generation

So, what's the deal with The Gene Generation? Is it going straight to DVD? When will I be able to see it?

But nearly as important, is it based on the comic The DNA Hacker Chronicles? Or is the comic just a prequel, and the story got cooked up because it's so cool to base movies on comics (er, graphic novels) right now?

I'm not here to spoil anyone's marketing campaign; I just love comic book movies and really want to get down to the truth - is the film based on a comic book? If it is, I'd like to see the source material - what was the original comic like?

The answer took a little work.

Bloodfire studios is publishing the comic The DNA Hacker Chronicles as a prequel to The Gene Generation. But they're saying it's a redesign of a a "cuberpunk comic" that was a "sold out underground hit". The problem is, I couldn't find a single reference to the "underground" comic anywhere on the internet - except in reference directly to the Gene Generation movie. Bloodfire Studios' web site (linked above) states, "Creator Pearry Teo is quoted saying 'I've held back the idea of re-releasing the comic book unless I can find an amazing slew of artists and cutting edge minded people to work with...'" So, according to them, Teo is the original creator of the underground comic. The Bloodfire Studios ComicSpace page notes that "The DNA Hacker Chronicles is a 6 issue mini series from the mind of Pearry Reginald Teo" and that with it, they are bringing to the U.S. the "...the underground comic sensation that inspired the movie The Gene Generation."

Hmmm...

The Gene Generation MySpace blog mentions the re-release of the comic through Diamond Comics. It also says the film is based on the The DNA Hacker Chronicles, showing a pic of Bloodfire's new release. It also gives this little blurb:

From grassroots beginnings, The Gene Generation started out through artists and friends and fans who have a similar vision: That Cyberpunk is still alive and kicking. With only a couple of sketches in 2004, we have come a long way to finally completing a feature film. This myspace page is a dedication to those who have stuck with us as we continue (without studio backing) to push forward in spreading the word about this humble project, both as a comic book and a movie.

Which doesn't tell me much - except maybe both projects started in parallel.

But maybe it's really underground. I couldn't find references on the author's (director's) MySpace page, I couldn't find anywhere that's selling back issues of the "sold out" comic. I mean, sure, maybe it was self-published and there were so few copies that it's extremely rare. But I would think that somewhere on the internet, as much information as gets posted about everything, that somebody would talk about it. Nothing in Google searches, nothing in Wikipedia, nothing on ComicSpace. Nothing concrete on any site related to the Gene Generation or DNA Hackers; just the aforementioned vague references to the sold out underground comic hit.

There are even some interviews that talk about how the movie came about. Teo talks about getting the script in this interview - nothing about a comic. And the interviews on this Gene Generation MySpace page don't allude to a comic book source either.

And finally paydirt. One of the stars of the film (Parry Shen) blogged in December that the comic was coming out in January "to strengthen the audience base for the movie." But the final nail in the coffin was reading on comic book artist Matt Olson's web site that he was working on a "comic adaptation of a feature film." The internet trail can be a funny thing. I found his site from his MySpace page. But I got to his MySpace page from another MySpace page, where he left the comment, "I have this other book series in the works called 'DNA Hacker Chronicles' in the meantime (not my idear but based on a movie) ".

So, it looks to me like Bloodfire Studios cooked up the story for a little publicity.

I think my work here is done.

I'm sorry if I bursted anyone's comic book movie bubble...

But if there is some sort of weird underground comic that came before - somebody please let me know.

Comics on DVD

I've never been much of an anime fan, but Batman: Gotham Knight looks really promising. Comics2Film posted the Press Release for Gotham Knight (which is due out July 8). Apparently it bridges the gap between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Watching clips reminded of the Animatrix, which I really enjoyed; heck, I even went to see Dreamcatcher just because one of the Animatrix stories (Final Flight of the Osiris) was screening in front of it. The Animatrix ep was worth the $7, even if Dreamcatcher wasn't.

I now realize the following video has been around the 'net (now I'm a day late and a dollar short), but I just watched it, so I thought I'd share this look at Gotham Knight.

In other news, I never realized Sam & Max was adapted to a cartooon - but that complete series is coming out on DVD in a couple weeks. The weird thing about that is my son's name is Max, and we have some close friends who have a son two weeks younger than Max, whose name is Sam. They'll both be 1 in March.

And BTW, it looks like when it was released, Amazon dropped the price of The New Frontier by about 30%. You can pick it up now for $17. Hmmmm...they did the same thing with Confessions of a Superhero. I may think twice about pre-ordering from them...

A Day Late and a Dollar Short

Superhero Movie finally put up a site. Good grief - it's only a month away. I guess the movie won't have to live up to the hype.

Confessions of a Superhero (2008) mini review

about superheroes
[8/10]

You may not know Christopher Dennis, Jennifer Gerht, Maxwell Allen, or Joseph McQueen; but you know who they are when they hit Hollywood Boulevard - Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and The Incredible Hulk. Chris, Jennifer, Maxwell, and Joe are actually aspiring actors who make their living playing superheroes in front of Grauman's (previously Mann's) Chinese Theater while trying to find their big break. See them as they struggle with real life, and at times blur the line between reality and fiction (sometimes bordering on delusion). Confessions is an inside look at the subculture of characters roaming Hollywood Blvd who are struggling actors trying to make in the City of Dreams.

Director Matthew Ogens paints a vivid picture of what it's like to be these superheroes - a candid look at their day-to-day struggles. But there seemed to be something missing - maybe it would have added something if the director not only drew the viewer into their lives, but could have made more of an emotional connection with the superheroes. I'm sure that's not an easy feat for a documentarian, but we miss a feeling of empathy with these folks trying to reach their dreams, and all we're left with is sympathy.

For more info, check out the official site, or the director's MySpace page.


See it if you enjoy documentaries, like a good indie film now and again, or are just curious to take a look inside the lives of these struggling actors.

Don't see it if you're more inclined to stick with fictional superheroes.

(OK, technically, I know this is an '07 release, but I'm sticking it in 2008 since most of us couldn't see until the release of the DVD in January '08.)

The Surrogates

The year is 2054, and life has been reduced to a data feed. The fusing of virtual reality and cybernetics has ushered in the era of the personal surrogate, android substitutes that let users interact with the world without ever leaving their homes. It's a perfect world, and it's up to Detectives Harvey Greer and Pete Ford of the Metro Police Department to keep it that way. But to do so they’ll need to stop a techno-terrorist bent on returning society to a time when people lived their lives instead of merely experiencing them.

It's late, and I'm a bit tired, so instead of trying to come up with a description for The Surrogates, I dropped in Top Shelf's blurb for their first TPB. Variety reported last November that Bruce Willis had the starring role in Disney's film adaptation, and I'm adding it to Upcoming Films on the right because on Wednesday, they reported that Disney had set a release date.

It sounds like a great idea. If I remember correctly, Phantom Power had some positive things to say about the comic. Willis's comic book-related films seem to do better than his sci fi films. I wonder how a sci fi comic adaptation will fare. Let's hope this one is more like Unbreakable or Sin City, and less like Fifth Element or Armageddon.

January 2008 Previews Pop Culture Crossover

Quite a group of TPBs, minis, one-shots, and graphic novels coming from various areas of pop culture solicited in the January Previews.


TV

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus #4 (TPB, Dark Horse)
  More Buffy goodness. I don't normally list every new omnibus and TPB, but it is Buffy. Guess I better go back and finish the 3rd one before this comes out.
• Serenity: Better Days #1 (mini, Dark Horse)
  Prequel to the film, written by Joss Whedon himself.

Movies

• Army of Darkness/Xena: Why Not #1 (4-part mini, Dynamite Entertainment)
  Good grief. I don't even think I have a commentary on this.
• Buckaroo Banzai: The Prequel #1 (2-part mini, Moonstone)
  Sounds like they try to weave more crazy stuff in than even the film does.
• DNA Hacker Chronicles #1 (TPB, Abrams)
  Prequel to The Gene Generation. What's up with this film? Is it straight to DVD? When will it be out? Plus, is this another chicken-and-the-egg thing? Is a comic based on a movie or vice versa? More on that later...
• Fritz Lang's M (TPB, Abrams)
  Out-of-print mini series, packaged with the DVD of the 1931 film.
• The Godfather Chronicles #1 (new series, Boom! Studios)
  I guess you could argue this belongs under Books, but the films really gained the notoriety. This comic continues the story of the Corleone family, and the first arc is written by Mark Waid.
• Largo Winch Volume 1: The Heir (TPB, Cinebook)
  Comic that the upcoming French film is based on.
• The Last Winter (graphic novel, Image)
  Creepy looking film due out on DVD this summer. Ron Perlman and James LeGros? What's not to love? Here's the film's site.

Books/Stories

• Avengers Fairy Tales #1 (4-part mini, Marvel)
  I've been tempted to pick up these series from Marvel - their superheroes as fairy tale characters - but I haven't, yet. Are they any good?
• Dark Tower: The Long Road Home #1 (5-part mini, Marvel)
  Marvel's second adaptation of the Stephen King series.
• Dark Wraith of Shannara (graphic novel, Del Rey)
  Sequel to the original Shannara trilogy. I could never get through that series...I'm not really sure why.
• Holmes (graphic novel, AIT/Planetar)
  Appears to be a really off-beat adaptation of Sherlock Holmes.

Animation

• Star Wars: Clone Wars Photo Comic (one-shot, Dark Horse)
  They sure are milking this photo comic thing. I guess if people keep buying it, they'll keep making it.

Games

• Dead Space #1 (6-part mini, Image)
  Prequel to a Electronic Arts sci fi / horror game coming out in October. The game sounds Alien-esque, but it look pretty dang scary. Here it is at EA's site.

Other

• Super Friends #1 (new series, DC)
  Based on Mattel's new Super Friends toy line. (I gotta get me - I mean my son - a Batwing!)

Well, there was just too much stuff to list everything. Is there anything you liked that I missed? Maybe that new Star Trek: New Frontier series?

December 2007 Previews Pop Culture Crossover

Finally got that December Previews. Guess I'll have to keep getting these on-line so this doesn't happen again. Special thanks to morpuddypond who sent me the copy I used for this edition. Hope you enjoy Rex Libris - it went out in the mail today!

OK; so here's my monthly Previews list of interesting comic crossovers with movies, television, books and video games. So, I'm a couple months late, but I've got January and February waiting in the wings!

TV

• 24: Cold Warriors (one-shot, IDW)
  48 pages of commercial-free Jack Bauer. Does this mean every 2 pages is a full hour of Jack's life?

Movies

• The Terminator Omnibus Volume 1 (TPB, Dark Horse)
  Terminator gets the massive book treatment in this 352-page volume.
• Jumper: Jumpscars (TPB, Dark Horse)
  It's a comic-book prequel! I still can't tell if that's a combo of "Jumps Cars" or "Jump Scars". The film's out now...it actually look interesting - here's the site.

Books/Stories

• Lords of Avalon: Sword of Darkness #1 (6-part mini, Marvel)
  Swords and sorcery. Adapted from Kinley MacGregor's book.
• Moby Dick #1 (Marvel Illustrated) (6-part mini, Marvel)
  I've been meaning to pick this up for years. Which raises the question - do you read the book or the comic first?
• Rogue Angel: Teller of Tales #1 (mini, IDW)
  Never heard of this series of books. Dang, I'm really late with this list - this is already out.
• Tiger and Crane #1 (4-part mini, Bluewater Productions)
  Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung (or Huang Fei-hong) is probably the most prolific film character - he has been portrayed in well over 100 movies. Out of the few I've seen, Jackie Chan's Drunken Master films and Jet Li's Once Upon a Time in China series are pretty amazing. This mini-series teams Wong Fei Hung up with an American spy to prevent the Japanese from winning World War II.
• Zorro #1 (new series, Dynamite Entertainment)
  Originating in the early 1900's Zorro has also been the subject of numerous stories and films. This incarnation is written by Grendel creator Matt Wagner.
  

Games

• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (graphic novel, Dark Horse)
  I have a special place in my heart for the first person shooter, Star Wars: Dark Forces, but looking at the game this comic is based on it may just surpass it. I'm just glad it's coming out for the PS2. Check out the official site.
• The World of Dungeons & Dragons #1 (new series, Devil's Due)
  I haven't picked up any of the Dragonlance or Forgotten Realms series Devil's Due has put out (though I was a major fan of the books based in both worlds back before marriage, family, job, and blogging), so I don't know the quality of the stories they're currently publishing. I wonder if this series will include stories outside those two worlds.

Some of these books are already shipping...anyone care to share if they're any good? And did I miss anything worth noting?

Man-Thing (2005) mini review

based on a comic
[6/10]

In the swamps of Bywater, Lousiana, someone is killing anyone who wanders in after dark. Is it the crooked owners of the new oil rig, the troublemaker that wandered into the swamp and hasn't been seen for months, or is it the Man-Thing?

Man-Thing burst onto the Marvel scene at nearly the same time as Swamp Thing did at DC in the early 70's. From what I've read, it's chalked up to one of those coincidences (like having 2 meteor movies come out at the same time). Anyway, although they have similar etiologies, Man-Thing seems to be a bit less human (at least functionally).

Man-Thing was released straight-to-DVD. Well, it first appeared on the Sci Fi Channel, which made me think it was produced by them specifically for release on cable, but the television version is rather cut up. Make no mistake, this is no made-for-TV-movie. It's rated R and is intended to be much more of a horror film than the campy 1982 Swamp Thing.

The movie is fairly good for a going straight to cable, and ending up on Blockbuster's shelf a couple months later. It doesn't stand out as one of the better comic book movies, but it's worth a watch. There are a few corny moments, but for the most part, the film is pretty solid and keeps you interested.


See it if you want to see the rare horror-film-based-on-a-comic-book.

Don't see it if you want to stick to good wholesome superhero-beats-up-the-bad-guys comic-book-based films.

Pop Candy's Comics Crash Course

Over on her Pop Candy blog, Whitney Matheson is offering a 4-part crash course in comics. Understandably, this is primarily for non-comic-afficianodos, but I'm sure it'll be interesting nonetheless. She starts with 25 Essential Graphic Novels.

Some good stuff - a lot I haven't yet read; a few I haven't even heard of.