I Have a comic coming out!

I have a story coming out in the soon-to-be-released ICONIC graphic novel from the Comicbook Artists Guild.

The concept of ICONIC is simple: new twists on old tales of classic literature and history. The heroes in ICONIC are folks you’re already familiar with: Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, St. George and the Dragon, and others. It’s 112 pages of fun and adventure targeted to comic book readers old and new.

My story is a reimagining of the tale of St. George and the Dragon. This time it’s all about a little boy named George versus the monster in his closet.

The book itself is a monumental effort by CAG, the first truly worldwide collaboration by its members. It’s debuting at the MOCCA Art Festival in NYC next month and will cost you a mere $10. More info on CAG and ICONIC can be found at http://comicartguild.com

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Review

Wolverine Review

Right off the bat let me say that XMO: W is an average film. Maybe a little below average, but I honestly did not expect much from the flick. I’m not one of those comic book fans who is slavishly tied to canon that I feel any deviation from the source material is grounds for complete dismissal of a film. In fact, quite the opposite. There are a lot of story details from comics that would never work on screen, either with respect to audience or budget. Most source materials need to and should change to fit the medium. As such, when I judge a superhero movie, I try to judge it from the point of view of how well it worked as a movie, first and foremost.

What did I like about the film? Hugh Jackman and Liev Schrieber had excellent turns in their respective roles. It was fun seeing Wolverine in his own flick. I thought some of the scenes were really well done cinematically, especially some of the final fight scene, and very evocative of comic book artwork. Ryan Reynolds was great.

In particular, I would point out the credit sequence. There is more style and substance in that set of images than most of the film. If you pay attention to the faces of Jackman and Schrieber throughout the war scenes, you can actually see the gradual change in their characters through those events. Victor Creed shows more and more bloodlust as Jimmy Howlett becomes more alarmed at his brothers behavior. It was nicely and subtly done. Perhaps the only subtlety in the film.

Beyond that, I felt that, as one film critic said, “all the explosions go off when they are supposed to.”

My biggest problem with the film was the effects. I simply do not understand how a summer tent pole movie could have been released with the sorry excuse for CGI that was on display here. Others have enumerated many examples, so it’s not worth going into specifics. I will say, however, that I thought the diamond effect on Emma Frost looked particularly like a Sci-Fi Channel Saturday movie effect. Seriously? She looked more like an impersonation of the jewel-encrusted teeth in a gang bangers grill than her body turning to diamond.

Gambit was also a completely unnecessary addition. Fan service at it’s worst. It would have been far cleaner to replace that entire sequence with Wraith and Wolverine going in search of Fred Dukes and finding the island location from him than shoe-horning in another popular character. I would like to know who thought outfitting Gambit like a cross between Peter Doherty and Johnny Depp from Benny and Joon was a good idea. The fight scene was completely nonsensical (in an even more logic-impaired film). Plus, let’s face it; Taylor Kitsch cannot act.

I really don’t think that the Deadpool character was as poorly served as most of the fans out there are claiming. Take the key points of the character from the comics:
- Smart-ass mercenary
- Undergoes Weapon X procedure to get healing powers
- Ends up with horribly scarred skin and almost limitless healing factor
- Has a teleportation device

As we see Ryan Reynolds earlier in the film, he definitely has the merc with a mouth attitude. He definitely does undergo a government procedure that gives him the healing power. And his skin is most definitely messed up in the end.

As for the teleportation device, all we need to do is look at Spider-Man the movie to understand the thinking on this one. You’ll remember that they took Spidey’s web-shooters and made them an actual part of Peter Parkers biology; I submit that the same thought process is at work here. It’s easier to make it a mutant power solution, as established with the Wraith character, working within the framework of the script than to tack on a technological gimmick.

The “silent” Deadpool part didn’t even bother me that much. Stryker clearly telegraphs this move in the assault in Africa when tells Wade he’d, “Be the perfect soldier if you’d just shut your mouth.” It seems natural that a sadist like Stryker would do just that when he had his opportunity. It’s also not beyond me to think that in a follow-up film, this Deadpool characterization would be so glad to be able to speak again that he would never shut up. It’s motivation to be more of a merc with a mouth.

The only part of Deadpool’s origin that wasn’t addressed in the film is the fact that he underwent the process in an attempt to stop the cancer that was rapidly killing him. Honestly, that part is unnecessary for this film anyway and could easily be shown/referred to in a Deadpool spin-off.

That leaves the whole “Weapon XI” situation. Yes, I thought it was goofy, but not unnecessary. The script they wrote left them no choice, really, but I’ll get to that in a minute. I’m fully prepared to let the moviemakers have a mulligan on this aspect of Deadpool. Heresy, I know, but here’s my justification: the doctors tell Stryker that he is unstable before he unleashes him on Wolverine. In comics, or comic book movies, that’s your get out of jail free card. It’s the equivalent of showing a gun in the first act. With one line of dialogue, you can write out the eye beams and even the teleportation if they want.

This is after all Comic Book Logic we are talking about.

In a world where Jean Grey becomes the Phoenix, then dies in the Blue area of the moon, only to be found at the bottom of the Hudson Bay alive because that wasn’t her, just a manifestation of the Phoenix Force using her as a template, only to die and then come back again…

Or a world where Captain America’s sidekick Bucky was blown up stopping a bomber in the last days of WWII only to find out that he was fished out of the icy waters by Russian soldiers, brainwashed and given a cybernetic arm, then keep in cryogenic freeze only to be revived periodically through the years as the Winter Soldier to conduct covert assassinations for the Soviet government until finally regaining his memory in 2006…

Well, I hope you get my point. To argue that that doesn’t make any sense when healing factors and weather control does seems a bit silly to me. If they say those powers didn’t stick, I’ll go with it.

There are two traps that I feel the screenwriters fell into that really hurt this film: (1) feeling the need for a “Big Bad” or “Boss Level” villain and (2) attempting to make the story too tight and self-contained.

The writers undercut Sabretooth as a possibility for the epic villain for the final set piece. Being that Victor and Logan are brothers and we are shown not only them growing up together, but they also have three other fight scenes with each other throughout the film. To make the last fight scene, as big and very the top as these movies seem to need, there’s no way it could have been Sabretooth. Likewise, there’s no way that the moviemakers would introduce a new character that late into the film. By process of elimination, Deadpool would be the likely candidate. Unfortunately the screenwriters wrote themselves into a corner in that he needed to be something more threatening for Logan and Victor to take one.

You can almost see the pieces falling into place: he needs more powers, from the Taskforce X group, also captive mutants to steal them from (optic blast), now we need to write Cyclops into the script, Victor needs to track them down and kill them, he’ll come into conflict with Wolverine, they need Wolverine’s healing factor… and so on. The film has it’s own logic in cause and effect. It’s not a good or particularly elegant script, but I can at least understand the hows and whys of the thinking.

The second trap that screenwriters fall into, and frankly I can’t understand the need for, is the compulsion to make everything fit neatly together. Emma Frost just happens to be Silverfox’s sister. Cyclops escapes into the waiting arms of Xavier. Silverfox has Tactile Mind Control to explain her ability to control Wolvie. Sabretooth and Wolverine are brothers. Silverfox gave Wolverine his name. I could go on. There’s simply no need to create some of these connections out of whole cloth just because you feel the need to have a deeper motivation for your characters. Life is not that tidy and these films don’t need to be either.

Sabretooth doesn’t need to be Wolverine’s brother for a motivation. It can be as simple as the fact that they are too similar. Most predators will fight for territory or pack status and that’s all the motivation you need for Sabretooth.

In the end, Wolverine suffers from the same problems that plague a lot of latter iterations of Superhero genre films: trying to pack too many characters and storylines into a small amount of time to the detriment of story and character development. Concentrating on good, solid storytelling rather than trying to make each additional film bigger and more bombastic than the last would better serve us as an audience.

Best/Worst of 2008 in Television

I watch a lot of television. I’ve broken it down into 4 relatively arbitrary categories: Animated, Comedy, Drama and Sci Fi/Fantasy. I left Reality sows off the list because, really, no one cares. Some may argue with the categories, but, Hell, it’s my list, so screw ‘em.

The programs on this list represent shows that were new or ongoing in 2008. As a result, some of them are from the end of last season and some are from the Fall premieres this season. There were some programs that I discovered or were broadcast for the first time in America in 2008 (Primeval, Sarah Jane Adventures) but they were originally produced and/or run in 2007 in the U.K. I did not include them in my choices though they are on the complete list.

I didn’t always have enough to fill out a full 10 shows for each category, so some are a little light. In order from least bad to worst and in order from good to best, here are my top picks.

Animated
Worst of 2008:
3. The Simpsons – I haven’t laughed in 3 seasons now.
2. King of the Hill – This show hasn’t been funny since... Ever. Really.
1. Aqua Teen Hunger Force – What was seriously edgy, surrealist humor became pure random nonsense this season. It was like watching a 5-year old paint on the wall with crayons.

Best of 2008:
4. Batman: The Brave and The Bold – I thought I would hate this show, but something about it’s bubblegum sensibility really caught me up in it.
3. Robot Chicken – What needs to be said about this show that we haven’t all said before?
2. Family Guy – See Above.
1. The Venture Brothers – Bitingly good satire of all the Saturday morning cartoons we grew up on.


Comedy
Worst of 2008:
5. Testees – A lame attempt by FX to capitalize on the same sense of humor as “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”
4. Gary Unmarried – I watched it because I like Jay Mohr, but this is stock-standard sitcom fare.
3. Big Bang Theory – Sorry to any who can stand this, but these are non-geeks writing what they think geeks are like, but with a laugh track.
2. Little Britain USA – The original Brit-version was hit or miss. This one is all miss. A combination of generic skits that could be set anywhere with skits that are broad American stereotypes but have no insight or wit. Watch “Tracey Takes On” to see how an English(wo)man really skewers Americans.
1. Kath and Kim – I turned this off after 10 minutes. The characters and writing were that abhorrent.

Best of 2008:
5. My Name Is Earl – Coming off of a rocky last season, they’ve found their legs again this Fall.
4. Chuck – In addition to being good fun, Adam Baldwin is always great to watch. This is the show you should watch instead of Big Bang Theory.
3. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia – You either love it or hate it. It’s rude, crude, irreverent and offensive.
2. The Office – It is a well-written show. It’s not the U.K. Version, but it shouldn’t be a retread. Over the life of the show, they've made the format they're own and managed to grow the characters without losing the essence of the show.
1. How I Met Your Mother – Consistently well-written and it has NPH! Also, the writers for this show and Chuck write geeks better than the Big Bang Theory. Jokes carry over from episode to episode, so doesn't feel like a one-and-done sitcom. I really, really enjoy this show.


Drama
Worst of 2008:
5. The Unit – Wow, this show jumped the shark right at the beginning of the season and kept going. I'm still watching, but mostly out of morbid curiosity.
4. CSI: New York – Even Gary Sinise couldn’t prevent the writers from turning this show into CSI: Miami, Jr. I watched up to last season's finale but couldn't bring myself to watch it again this season.
3. Big Shots – An American attempt at remaking Manchild from the U.K. Instead of keeping the same half an hour format, they made it a full hour-long drama. It had a decent cast, but they lost all the fun of the original.
2. 24: Redemption – Well, that was a pointless 2 hours I can never get back. I'd go into detail, but someone reading this might not want a spoiler.
1. The Cleaner – Benjamin Bratt is really a stand-out in this show, unfortunately it is too preachy and the directing overly melodramatic. The premise wears thin after 2-3 episodes.

Best of 2008:
5. Generation Kill – An amazing HBO miniseries about an advanced Marine Recon unit during the invasion of Iraq. Watch it back to back with Band of Brothers.
4. Breaking Bad – I was blown away with Brian Cranston as the lead in this series. Two of the five top shows in this category are from FX Channel. That should tell you something.
3. Mad Men – Darren Star did an excellent job capturing the era of 1960’s Madison Avenue. A laconically paced show, it has more going on in the silence between dialogue than most films.
2. Sons of Anarchy – Imagine “Hamlet” meets the Hell’s Angels. It’s great to see Ron Perlman playing a role without makeup. There are so many great things I can say about this show, but really you need to track it down and watch.
1. The Wire – The best show on television. Ever. Over the life of the Wire, the show-runners have turned the spotlight on drugs, law enforcement, the education system, government at all levels, corruption and more. It is at times raw, depressing, occasionally upliftng, but always moving.

Honourable Mentions:
Boston Legal – David E. Kelly passed on “Life On Mars” just so that he could get one last 13 episode season for this show. It had some dips the past few seasons, but these last episodes were a tour de force of writing and acting. They all went out on a high and I’ll miss them. Denny Crane!

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – I’ve no idea how the rest of the season will go, but the beginning of Fall 2008 has been some of the best shows in the past 2 seasons. They are really focusing on Grissom’s characterization (William Peterson) and how the entire cast relates to him and each other. Some quality television here..

In Plain Sight – This USA network program really surprised me. I thought I would hate it, but it’s surprisingly well-written. Mary McCormack plays a believable strong female lead with many, many faults. Her family drama can be tiring, but the stories revolving around her job as a Federal Marshall are good.

In Treatment – HBO’s adaptation of the critically acclaimed Israeli show Betipul, created by Hagai Levi. It’s about a psychotherapist, Dr. Paul Weston, and his weekly sessions with his patients, starring Gabriel Byrne. The shows broadcast once a day, five days a week. Each day was a different client and that client’s story would continue the next week at the same time. I found it arresting. I would save up and entire week’s worth of shows and watch them in a marathon.

Leverage – This show is too new to put on any best of list, but it is worth keeping an eye one. Timothy Hutton stars as an ex-insurance investigator who leads a crew of crooks and con-men who pull jobs to help out the little guy. Very light, tongue-in-cheek writing with some good action on the side.

The Mentalist – A Fall 2008 new procedural starring Simon Baker as an ex-TV mentalist (think Derren Brown) who now works with the police to help solve crimes. I’ll admit, the actual plots may not be the most original, but Simon Baker is so much fun to watch that it has shot to the top of my watch list. Even the supporting cast are great to see when they interact with him.

The Riches – Sadly, this show has been put on the chopping block. For anyone who is a fan of Eddie Izzard, this was the perfect opportunity to see him really stretch out in an ongoing series. He’s always been great in movie roles and cameos, but The Riches really let him grow. Smartly written as well. Every time I thought they had plotted themselves into a corner, they managed to pleasantly surprise me with a twist.


Sci Fi/Fantasy
Worst of 2008:
5. True Blood – I tried. I did a full 6 episodes, but I found it boring. Maybe it’s because Vampires are so labored at this point and this seemed another retread of an old idea but trying to make it weird enough to justify being an HBO program.
4. Smallville – It is so painful to watch this show now. Even the geekgasm I get from seeing live-action versions of my favorite DC characters cannot overcome the tortured dialogue, logic gaps and high school soap opera relationships.
3. Moonlight - Yet another ill-fated vampire drama. “What if he’s a vampire, but he’s also a Private Investigator? And he’s been around since the 50’s? Gold!” No, not really.
2. Flash Gordon – Oh My GOD! This was craaaaaaaaap.
1. Knight Rider – I have never, NEVER, turned off a new program before the halfway mark. I always try and give it the benefit of the doubt; maybe even 3 episodes before I give up on it. This season, I deleted 2 programs from my TIVO after only 10 Minutes; “Kath and Kim” and “Knight Rider.” It was bad. Not “So bad it’s good” bad. Just bad.

Best of 2008:
5. Life On Mars – I’ve heard so much negative blowback from pretty much everyone I know that they were going to do an American remake. I was surprised at how much I like this series, in spite of that. I’m lucky in that I have not seen the original series, so I have no bar against which to measure. I’m glad, actually, as it allows me to enjoy the program without the original influencing my own impressions.
4. Fringe – This show was slow to get started. At first the characterizations were sketchy, the scripts seemed to jump about and the whole endeavour came off like it didn’t know what it wanted to be. Since then, I think they’ve settled into a good groove. They’ve established an arc story, fleshed out the characters and put in some solid writing. It has enough of the weirdness to be a good successor to the “X-Files” and some thriller/action fromthe influence of “Alias.” I’m looking forward to the ongoing story.
3. Reaper – Ray Wise as The Devil. Let me say that again, “Ray Wise as The Devil.” Laura. Palmer’s. Dad. Is. The. Devil. Is there any more to say? Other than that it is a fresh, original idea, has a fun cast and witty writing? Cannot wait for its return this season.
2. Doctor Who – Well, who doesn’t love Who. David Tennant is a joy to watch, even though I cannot stand Donna Noble. At. All.
1. Battlestar Galactica – Consistently the best Sci Fi show on television. It has shown itself to have crossover appeal to people who do not normally watch Science Fiction, at least in my crowd. When my friends’ wives, who would normally be watching “Grey’s Anatomy,” started having BSG watching parties, I knew there was much, much more to this show.


The complete Television Watched List (in alphabetical order):
Animated:
- American Dad
- Aqua Teen Hunger Force
- Batman, The
- Batman: The Brave and The Bold
- Family Guy
- King of the Hill
- Legion of Super-Heroes
- Moral Orel
- Robot Chicken
- Simpsons, The
- South Park
- Spectacular Spider-Man, The
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars
- Venture Brothers, The

Comedy:
- 30 Rock
- Big Bang Theory
- Carpoolers
- Chocolate News
- Chuck
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
- Entourage
- Gary Unmarried
- How I Met Your Mother
- It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
- Kath and Kim
- Little Britain USA
- Miss Guided
- My Name Is Earl
- Office, The
- Reno 911
- Sarah Silverman Show, The
- Saturday Night Live
- Scrubs
- Testees
- Unhitched
- Welcome to the Captain

Drama:
- 24: Redemption
- Big Shots
- Boston Legal
- Breaking Bad
- Cleaner, The
- CSI
- CSI: New York
- Dirty Sexy Money
- Eli Stone
- Generation Kill
- Grey's Anatomy
- In Plain Sight
- In Treatment
- Las Vegas
- Law and Order
- Law and Order: Criminal Intent
- Law and Order: SVU
- Leverage
- Mad Men
- Mentalist, The
- Monk
- New Amsterdam
- October Road
- Psych
- Riches, The
- Shark
- Sons of Anarchy
- Unit, The
- Wire, The

Reality:
- 30 Days
- Amazing Race
- American Gladiators
- Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
- Deadliest Catch
- Hell's Kitchen
- Intervention
- Kitchen Nightmares
- Mythbusters
- So You Think you Can Dance
- Survivor
- Survivorman

Sci Fi/Fantasy:
- Battlestar Galactica
- Doctor Who
- Eureka
- Flash Gordon
- Fringe
- Heroes
- Knight Rider
- Legend of the Seeker
- Life On Mars
- Lost
- Moonlight
- Primeval
- Reaper
- Robin Hood
- Sanctuary
- Sarah Jane Adventures, The
- Smallville
- Stargate: Atlantis
- Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
- Torchwood
- True Blood

Interview:
- Colbert Report, The
- Daily Show, The
- Real Time with Bill Mahar
- Showbiz Show with David Spade, The

Best/Worst of 2008 in Film

I limited my Best/Worst list of movies only those pictures that were released in 2008 that I saw in theatres. DVDs or other means did not qualify. With that being the case, I only saw 18 movies that met those qualifications.

I have to say, out of the “Worst” list, I would only qualify 1 and 2 as being outright terrible movies, beginning to end. The other three aren’t that bad, just not all that good.

In order from least bad to worst, here are the bottom five.


Worst of 2008:
5. Wanted -
Once you get beyond the pretty action sequences, this is just a pretty car with no engine in it.

4. Harold and Kumar 2 Escape from Guantanamo Bay -
I was expecting more from this movie. Beyond NP, there’s very little to recommend it. You can lose the last half and nothing would be missing. They emphasized emotion over comedy.

3. Get Smart -
Honestly, just not that funny.

2. Mother of Tears -
Dario Argento’s latest. Complete dreck from beginning to end. Lots of of naked flesh though, so that’s a plus.

1. Righteous Kill -
Deniro and Pacino team together for the first time since Heat and it is the dumbest, most predictable script with some of the worst direction from beginning to end. There’s nothing redeeming about this film.

In order from good to best, here are the top five:

Best of 2008:
5. Tropic Thunder/Hellboy II: The Golden Army -
This is really a toss-up. I felt both of these needed to be included in the top five. I found Tropic Thunder to be a blisteringly funny take on the Hollywood business (although Stiller was a bit over the top at times). Hellboy is gorgeous and well-put together. It gets a bit schmaltsy at times, but an altogether solid selection.

4. In Bruges -
Beautiful cinematography, quirky story and wonderful performances. It’s both charming and dark in its comedy. If you really pay attention, the script actually has more philosophical depth to it than is apparent from a surface viewing.

3. The Dark Knight -
While I think this is a masterful film from Nolan to Bale to Eckhart and especially Ledger, but it gets too bogged down in its own philosophy at times. As a result, some of the dialogue gets heavy and overlong resulting in some serious navel-gazing. That’s why it ranks below Iron Man.

2. Iron Man -
This is how you make a comic book film. I have one or two VERY minor complaints, but overall a superbly put together film.

1. Frost/Nixon -
I am by no means a Ron Howard fan. That being said, this is the best film I’ve seen this year. It has the single best shot I’ve seen on film this year and it’s all do to Frank Langella’s acting.

The complete Movies I Watched List (in alphabetical order):
Appaloosa
The Bank Job
The Dark Knight
The Forbidden kingdom
Frost/Nixon
Get Smart
Hancock
Harold and Kumar 2 Escape from Guantanamo Bay
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
In Bruges
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
Mother of Tears
Pineapple Express
Quantum of Solace
Righteous Kill
Tropic Thunder
Wanted

I'm keeping myself busy...

Well.... Let's see...

- Designing 3-4 websites at work -- I'm a web designer now!

- Story editing a comic/film treatment for a friend

- Helping organize a collective of comics creators and put together an anthology book

- Working on an outline for a 6-8 page comic story for that anthology

- Laying out plans for recording my first podcast

- Getting excited about seeing Quantum of Solace Saturday afternoon.

- Marvelling at my lack of cynicism about an Obama presidency

What are YOU doin'? :)

Relief

Tavis Smily just spoke on NBC Election Night coverage and quoted MLK. It bears repeating for everyone:

"Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But, conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is right. -Martin Luther King, Jr."

Hmm,,, Interesting

"MySpace addicts are somewhat vain – focusing heavily on establishing and fine tuning their online personas by customization of their personal profiles

Facebook addicts focus more on engagement – interacting with applications, music and people both on and off the platform

Twitter addicts are most interested in fostering communication and exploration – sites that allow a user to understand what their contacts are doing, provide a platform for content discovery and encourage users to actively participate are the most likely places to find hardcore twitterers."

Source: http://ping.fm/Lis6o