Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 21, 2007 in Comic Books
Daredevil #97: Gladiator is on the loose, running for his life, and Daredevil is the only one who can stop him from – on never mind that! Take another look at that great cover art by Marko Djurdjevic (go ahead, click on the image to see it larger in full detail). The upside down composition of that illustration reminds me of an old movie poster or the cover of an old pulp magazine – you can taste the action (and maybe the rainwater too)! Marko Djurdjevic blog and website is also worth taking some time to gawk at some nice artwork (it looks like he has a DVD on the way too).
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 21, 2007 in Comic Books
Above: Spiderman goes to the disco!
The concept of a Spiderman musical sounds like the plot of a bad Bollywood film, except I’d expect that film to be more interesting to watch than this:
“He’s conquered the big screen and now Spider-Man could be swinging onto a Broadway stage. According to published reports, the popular comic book franchise is being turned into a musical — and there’s word organizers have already assembled a star-studded team behind the scenes.
Bono and The Edge of U2 reportedly would be in charge of the music, while “The Lion King” director Julie Taymor would lead the production. The musical could cost about $15 million to produce. Auditions will begin in July.”
…yup! Nothing like Bono teaming with up some Lion King lamers to get me unexcited about a project.
Meow! Seen above is the Catwoman vinyl statue designed by the Japanese manufacturer Kotobukiya. For all the full details check out this article at Toy News International.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 20, 2007 in Comic Books
I was looking though a batch of Marvel covers and came across the gem above, illustrated by Ricardo Tercio (click on the image to see it at a larger size). What I love about this cover is the sense of whimsy and drama, along with Tercio’s bold use of contrasting bold with muted color choices. And I admit it, I like seeing a cartoony take on Marvel characters every now and then (it’s a nice contrast to all of the steroid realism that we tend to see all the time). I’d urge you to check out Ricardo Tercio’s website here.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 19, 2007 in Animation
Twenty years ago today on April 19, 1987 the Tracey Ullman Show aired a two-minute animated short by Matt Groening that introduced the world to the Simpsons, a family from Springfield, USA. Here’s a well done interview with Al Jean on the subject that’s worth a read for any true Simpsons fanboy:
“As Homer and his family were being fleshed out in the first season, the show’s creators also began building the menagerie of side characters who inhabit Springfield. Despite the many smaller players he has helped create, Jean identifies his favorite without hesitation: “Comic Book Guy.”
“When we first came up with that character, I could not believe we were doing it,” he said. “A comic book guy as a featured character was unheard of. But everyone knew a guy just like him growing up.”
Obnoxious and condescending, “Comic Book Guy” mocks everyone—and everything—that crosses his path. Simpsons veteran Hank Azaria reached into his own past and found the perfect voice for one of the show’s most mimicked characters.”
“The idea of creating a balloon symbolizing the SW saga has been on my mind for a long time. But I was too shy to ask George Lucas (Lucasfilm) permission to do it.
Then I met with FanWars in 2005. They wanted me to make a Death Star – shaped PVC helium balloon. While discussing with FanWars leader Nicolas Lelong aka TK-9999, I spoke of my idea of a Darth Vader – shaped hot air balloon. For me, it was more of a joke and a fantasy, but Nicolas took it seriously and found the idea wonderful. He took contact with LucasFilm in order to try to get their agreement.
As soon as we got Lucasfilm’s approval, we made contact with the world largest manufacturer of hot-air balloons, specialized in special shapes and based in the United Kingdom. A Darth Vader helmet replica was sent to their engineers to help them recreate every detail. A vectorial file representing the Vader helmet in 3D was also sent to the engineers.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 18, 2007 in Animation
I just discovered this interesting animated film via Drawn, what’s interesting is that it’s not from Japan but from Korea and it came out last year (so it slipped under my radar some how). It looks like it’s got some nice quality character design and animation directed by Jo Beom-jin. By doing a bit of research I found that you can buy it on DVD at yesasia.com. Here’s the trailer from the film:
And here’s a quick plot summary from the New York Times:
“A futuristic city that is literally fueled by excrement provides the setting for this animated comedy concerning two dangerous delinquents who become inexorably tied to a deadly power struggle within the methane-laden metropolis. Soon after it’s discovered just how much power can be generated by fecal waste, the government installs special sensors on citizen’s anuses as a means of monitoring the production of the valuable natural resource.
Meanwhile, as the public becomes addicted to hallucinogenic and highly-addictive popsicles designed to keep them in line and stimulate even greater bowel movements, street thugs Aachi and Ssipak cross paths with a tough-talking porno star and incur the wrath of a dreaded group of outcasts known as The Diaper Gang.”
…and here’s the official website for the film (in Korean of course):
If this new film is good or bad will ride on the script and then the director, but I think Beckinsale has a good shot at making the role her own as long as they try to do something new (i.e. by going back to comic books rather than the film).
My favorite film with Beckinsale is Haunted from 1995, which i think is an under rated gem of a film, and one of the best haunted house movies that I’ve watched in a long time.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 18, 2007 in Comic Books
I’m sad to say that Wizard of Id co-creator Brant Parker has passed away. As a kid growing up in the 70s I always loved his work because it was very approachable, and yet the humor had a nice sophistication to it. Sadly Parker joins his Id co-creator Johnny Hart who passed away recently. Although I think both gentlemen would be pleased to know that their kids have taken up the torch for a shabby beloved medieval kingdom called Id:
“Brant Parker, the co-creator of the comic “The Wizard of Id,” who portrayed medieval kingdom for more than 30 years, died in Lynchburg, Va. He was 86. Parker, who died Sunday of complications from Alzheimer’s disease and a previous stroke, passed away eight days after longtime “Wizard” collaborator Johnny Hart died of a stroke, the Los Angeles Times said Tuesday. “Id” and its quirky inhabitants appears in more than 1,000 newspapers worldwide since its launch in 1964.
Hart was drawing the Stone Age strip “B.C.” when he sought out Parker, whom he’d known for several years, to help coax humor from the Middle Ages. The collaboration lasted until 1997, when Parker turned over “Wizard” drawing duties to his son, Jeff.
Creators Syndicate, the strip’s distributor, said “The Wizard of Id” would continue as a collaboration between the Parker and Hart families. Parker said a two-year stint at Walt Disney Studios in the late 1940s was his main cartoon-drawing classroom. He worked on several Donald Duck shorts and the 30-minute “Mickey and the Beanstalk”.”
Above are two new posters for 28 Weeks Later, the first one is for the domestic market while the second one is aimed at an international market. I don’t know how good this follow up film can be, but let the hype begin…
