So I finally went to see THE DARK KNIGHT Friday evening, thus becoming the official last person on Earth to do so, I think. There have been about eleventy million reviews of it both in "legitimate" media as well as all over the comics blogosphere, most of which dissecting this film far better than I ever could, and reaching conclusions/drawing parallels that would have escaped me had I not read them beforehand.

So don't expect startling insights from me, that's all I'm saying. This is pretty much going to be a ramble, no Roger Ebert I.

Disclaimer aside, yeah- I had read much both positive and negative about this film, and it's been described as the best comic-book inspired film ever, as well as a completely bungled and ineffective sequel. Being aware of the consensus so far, and yes, I read spoilers, which did not spoil me all that much actually because I've been reading comics for a hundred goddamn years- I don't really agree with either stance; my reaction, typically, is in the middle somewhere. As I watched, I got caught up, and the film worked an effective disbelief suspension spell on me...so I guess that counts as a positive. I wasn't especially fired up for to see it, since frankly Batman Begins didn't exactly knock my socks off either. It had its strengths, and some good performances from its stellar cast (with one obvious exception), but it was big and ponderous and glum, and its jerry-rigged plot simply screamed out loud (in Ahnold voice) I AM A SERIOUS FILM! TAKE ME SERIOUSLY! I AM NOT LIKE BATMAN UND ROBIN! This is something that Dark Knight is guilty of as well, in spades. I don't want to see Bat-credit cards and Poison Ivy dancing in a pink gorilla suit, or corny jokes, but this fugging movie was oppressive. I didn't even care for the preview pics I saw; Batman was once again in that flat black Kevlar- looking almost like Dark Knight Iron Man. The Joker makeup was too radical; didn't care for the way it made Ledger look like a cadaver, plus the scars were (I thought) an unnecessary touch. Didn't help that every time I see scars like that on a fictional character, I think of a Sergio Aragones Mad or Plop! cartoon in which Tarzan jumps off a cliff into a river with a knife in his mouth, and emerges with his knife wedged halfway up his head next to his ears. Finding out that Two-Face was going to be shoehorned in there as well seemed to be creating a Spider-Man 3-style smorgasbord of super-villains. But as I said, most of my fears proved to be, if not ungrounded, at least not as bad as I had feared.

Yes, Ledger, who- appropriately enough, and contrary to the conventional wisdom that playing such an unhinged character must have scarred him mentally or something- plays the Joker with relish, using the cadaverous clown makeup to its full advantage, is stellar. He really should get an Oscar nom, and I'll be surprised if he doesn't. It would be a career-making performance, if only...well, you know. Based on what I'd seen from him in the past in films like Brothers Grimm and Knight's Tale, he was a good-not-great actor, likable enough but not especially memorable. He certainly seized the day this time, though. That scene with the Joker and Harvey Dent in the hospital towards the end was a bravura scene, one of several during the course of the film. Of course, that is in large part because the Joker was by far the most noticeable thing in the film. Aaron Eckhart (who impressed me a lot in Thank You For Smoking) was just as good in his role as Ledger, but it wasn't necessary for him to be as flamboyant until the end. Everybody else underplays- Christian Bale as the second banana whose name just happens to be in the title- or does it? Michael Caine, (especially) Gary Oldman, who can chew scenery with the best of them but remains curiously muted as James Gordon, Maggie Gyllenhal, who is less attractive than Katie Holmes but far more correct for the role than her miscast predecessor.

And yes, Bale's "Batman voice" is ludicrous. I think they should work on that in the sequel.

The story itself suffered from the compulsion to make each and every scene bigger better louder faster NOW, as so often is the case with today's modern summer blockbuster film. Fortunately, some thought seemed to go into many aspects of the story, not just how the Joker works, but the setpieces like the aforementioned hospital scene and its aftermath, and the haphazardly shot but no less exciting capture of the Joker. To its detriment, it piled on the hopelessness a bit too generously- not only could Batman not best the Joker except in abstract ways, the nonstop parade of misery and tension-filled situations such as the ferry boat scene towards the end just got oppressive. I know they were trying to be all down to earth and serious and shit, but whatever happened to adventure? The Pyrrhic victory Batman achieves at the end, while it certainly doesn't hamper the character, is very unsatisfying for the viewer. I know, I know, life isn't always satisfying. At least we were spared what I hate most of all, the pick-your-own-interpretation ambiguous ending. Actually, the closest thing to a thrilling adventure scene was the one which seemed most tacked-on: the far-fetched, but fast-paced and ultimately convincing forced extradition of the Chinese accountant/businessman/money launderer (it never was exactly clear how important this guy was supposed to be- at times he came across as like the head of the fricking Yakuza). If the film piled it on, at least the pile was consistently engaging. Despite my misgivings, my attention never wavered.

And I can certainly see the basis for all the post-9/11 symbolism many are trying to extrapolate from this picture; it seems to be obvious, and one has to stretch a little to not see parallels with Bush and the American response to terrorism and all that sort of thing. I honestly think that this stuff is a perhaps-intended byproduct of the script; I don't think the writers and director were trying to make it explicit but it doesn't hurt for publicity purposes if people see it in there. I have to take issue with the surveillance-by-Lucius Fox as Bush-wiretapping etc. interpretation; Fox isn't lingering on anyone in particular but is scanning a broad sweep- this doesn't seem like all that much of an invasion of privacy since no records were being kept. Maybe that is a political statement I don't want to make; I personally am opposed to wiretapping the public without proper channels being observed in any fashion or form.

Anyway, with these caveats, I can wholeheartedly recommend Dark Knight. It's not perfect, but it is a solidly crafted film (as far as I can tell) that is consistently entertaining, if you don't mind the gravely serious tone. It's definitely worth watching for Ledger's performance, and Eckhart's too for that matter. For every annoying thing, I found a good thing to balance it out and these days that's as good as one can hope for- even in a film that's as ultimately hopeless as this one. B+

At last it can be revealed- look what I have!

I've been acquainted with Fred Hembeck for about five years now, since I started this internet blogging thing, and I've seen him do many fine illustrations in his inimitable style for many other people, but I never thought to inquire about getting one for myself since my income for that sort of thing is very limited. However, finding myself with a little extra cash recently, I thought I'd give it a shot and get my own original Hembeck. But who or what should I ask him to draw? Dazzler? Brother Voodoo? Ultra the Multi-Alien? (actually, that would be cool...) Tusky the Walrus? Nah. Then it hit me- none other than the Official Mascot of the Johnny Bacardi Show, Super-Hip! I thought Fred's style would be a natural for the character, so that's who I asked for. And Fred did not disappoint- first quoting me a very fair (to say the least) price, and then giving me not only Tad Jutefruice's swingin' alter ego, but also Tad, his Uncle Bob Hope and his talking dog Harvard-Harvard, Tad's rival Badger Goldliver, and the rest of the faculty of Benedict Arnold High School! Needless to say, I was blown away!

And there you see it, up above. Ain't it beeyootiful? Click to see it grande style. I've had it for over a week now, but as I've mentioned before the indigo iMac and its attached scanner are still down, plus it's a bit too big for the scanner anyway, as well as the one we have at my job. Fred's been running all the pieces he's done in this style lately on his own website, and he told me he was going to put mine up eventually, so I just figured I'd wait and grab his scan. And there it is!

Groovy, man! Outtasite!

FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS!




Yep, it's Friday night, and once more we go back to the four-color ring for Bahlactus' Friday Night Fights. The theme this time is Ladies' Night, so here's one of my all time favorite comics ladies, Cameron Chase, duking with a nogoodnik Russian agent in issue #3 of her sadly short-lived solo title. Script by comrade D.C. Johnson, art by comrade J.H. Williams III.

I am making inroads towards having a functional scanner once more; in the meantime I still make do by stealing scans from scans_daily. Sorry about the moiré pattern; said scan poster needs to learn to use the descreening settings on his scanner.

BAHLACTUS SAID KNOCK YOU OUT.

Whilst traversing Google Reader the other day, an odd thing came up from one of the music blogsites I (ahem) "monitor"... a 1972 release by an English band I've never heard of called "Icarus" entitled...well, you can see the title for yourself right there above.

Of course, we've seen superheroes on album covers before (scroll down on that link), god knows, but I thought I had seen 'em all until I ran across this little jewel. Have any of you heard of it, or just plain old heard it?

And if you do click on the first link, and go to that page, and avail yourself of the kinda illegal special service that website provides in order to hear this album, well, I didn't tell you to, now did I? And let me know what you think!

Nick Cardy draws Bat Lash one more time in the above illo, which is slated for the upcoming collection of the recent Bat Lash miniseries, of which I only read one issue- and can't say that I cared for it at all, to the point where I didn't get the remaining ones.

This is a very nice illo; although it's been Photoshopped to distraction it's (typically) well-composed and expressive. Bat looks a little older than in his 1968 heyday, more full of face and grizzled- but don't we all? Anyway, it's nice to see Cardy draw him again, but one has to think that this piece would have been better served as the cover of a collected edition of the original O'Neil/Aragones/Cardy (and yes, Mike Sekowsky at the end) series, which they really really REALLY should think about putting out. Couldn't they have squeezed one more illustration out of Walt Simonson?

I don't know if Steve Ditko is a religious man, but truly, no one has ever taken Matthew 16:26- "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"- more to heart than he has. That much is abundantly evident from the man's career, which is examined in Blake Bell's long-awaited STRANGE AND STRANGER: THE WORLD OF STEVE DITKO.

Most of us who are even passingly familiar with comics know who Steve Ditko is; chances are even casual fans are aware of certain aspects of his career, most likely his input on one of the most popular comics characters of all time- Spider-Man, from his co-creator credit on the films if nothing else. Those in the know are also aware of his groundbreaking work on another Marvel Comics character, Dr. Strange. Others who are really up on things are aware of his Warren work, his Charlton efforts, and so on. In print, I'm sure there have been overview articles here and there in different comics-related publications, but none come to mind offhand- and no one has really attempted (although I know Eclipse certainly gave it the old college try in the Eighties) to do a comprehensive, thorough biography of this most influential of creators. Part of this is because of the subject's legendary innate reclusiveness, which ties in to his philosophical beliefs, making it a daunting task for anyone who isn't fully ready to go the extra mile and do what they must do to dig up information without his input...and part of it is because so much has been lost to the sands of time, with so many of the man's contemporaries and colleagues dying or experiencing memory loss. Mr. Bell, fortunately for us, had the determination and stamina to see this labor-of-love project through- and while it's not necessarily as thorough as I'd hoped (and I'll elaborate on that later), it's still an outstanding work- and certainly a boon for all who, like me, were introduced to the man's work at an early age and have grown up admiring it and knowing it for what it was...but want to know more.

I can't say for sure when I first saw Ditko's work; as with a lot of things from my early childhood the dates get fuzzy, especially considering how many of Marvel's reprint comics I bought art the same time, catching up on comics that I missed before I could read. I am mostly convinced it was in Amazing Spider-Man #16, which was cover-dated September of 1964, a breezy, funny Daredevil team-up that remains a favorite comic of mine to this day. Another early Ditko effort that I recall is Strange Tales #128, cover dated January of 1965- I remember the Ditko-illustrated Doc Strange story, "The Dilemma of the Demon's Disciple", very well, as I do the Torch and Thing story, which featured guest appearances by the then-Evil Mutants Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. Whatever it was, even at an early age there was something that captivated and fascinated me about Ditko's art- its odd poses and gestures, which often gave the impression that his people were floating in air rather than grounded as Jack Kirby's, Don Heck's, Gil Kane's, and many other early art heroes of mine were, his imaginative effects and renditions of otherworldly and supernatural subjects, its sheer storytelling smarts (even though I wasn't old enough to understand about that). Even though the first comics artist that I noticed and whose work I knew by name was Kirby's, it was immediately after that I knew and looked out for Ditko too. To regard his art on those old Marvel and Charlton comics is to look backwards in time at my own childhood- the sight of covers like the ones at above left and right of this paragraph evokes a feeling and mood that is certainly childhood nostalgia but something deeper, perhaps- the germ of my own creative impulses, perhaps, who can say. I bought Spidey and Strange Tales as often as I could in my pre-teen years, and when he started doing Beware the Creeper and Hawk and the Dove, I picked up an issue or two of them as well; I really liked the Creeper in particular. I was blissfully unaware of his personal philosophies, since a nine-year-old Kentucky boy just didn't have access to stuff like Wally Wood's Witzend and other venues by which he did Mr. A and that sort of thing. As I grew older, I always took note of Ditko's work when it appeared, but sadly as time passed by I could see that for reasons unknown but ones that I attributed to disinterest or just plain ol' old age and the loss of facility thereof, his work ceased to hold its sway on me. I suppose the last time I really was enthusiastic about a Ditko comic was his late 70's DC book Shade, the Changing Man- for a while there it seemed like Steve was interested in what he was doing again, and I got a little buzz of recognition there. But it didn't last long, to the point where I was shamefully annoyed when I'd see his work as fill-ins on titles like Daredevil or his backup features in various Eclipse comics of the 80's like the Djinn. In fact, I had ceased to follow his work to the point that I was really surprised upon discovering recently that his last published comics work was done at the end of the 1990's. Okay, self-indulgent establishment of bona-fides complete.

Strange and Stranger is, as I said, the most comprehensive overview of the man's life and work yet. Lavishly illustrated, it provides about as complete a look at Ditko's story- his early life, his career, and of course his embrace of the philosophies of Objectivism as articulated by (primarily) Ayn Rand as we're ever likely to get since the man himself is such a legendary recluse, who shuns the spotlight and who believes that his work, and his work alone, should represent him to the outside world, which he seems to fear and distrust. In that time-honored biography fashion, it begins with a look at his formative years, which I really didn't know that much about- interesting to find out his early influences; while his work has always struck me as totally unique, one can see how people like Eisner, Meskin, Jerry Robinson and Kubert shaped his style. Each phase of his career is at least discussed, some more in-depth than others, and the whole Objectivism/Rand personal philosophy thing is explored more than once- especially in how it infused his late 60's and 70's work. But even though there is ample text, this is also an art book, and an oversize one at that- the effect of seeing the many pages of Ditko art reproduced at twice that of a normal comic book size is somewhat breathtaking. Bell integrates the art and text very well.

Of course, I can nitpick (as I always do)- I was a bit puzzled as to why Bell chose to reproduce so many of the covers and interior pages sans color; one reason why covers like the above Spider-Man issues made such an impression on me was the mood-enhancing coloration (I know, Ditko didn't color them) and even though his work shines without it, I know color versions are easily available via the GCDb, and many other sources. Also, while I understand that omissions were necessary due to space considerations (Bell says so as much in the introduction), there's a lot of periods in Ditko's later career- his second stint on the Creeper in the late 70's, for example- that either weren't discussed at all or glossed over. I was also puzzled by the inclusion of a coda chapter of sorts, after Bell had seemed to wind up the book, which once again discussed the whole Ayn Rand/Objectivism thing- even though Bell went to pains throughout to discuss/explain and apply it to the man and his work. Apparently he felt it needed reinforcement, don't know.

More than anything, it gave me a lot of food for thought in regards to Steve Ditko and his life, career, and legacy. Most people are conditioned, via a number of sources, to lust after fame and fortune and revel in whatever glories they can achieve whenever they can achieve it; look no further than today's professional athletes, or rappers' glorification of bling, cars, cribs and the trappings of wealth and fame, or the intense interest and participation in American Idol and its spinoffs. To get personal satisfaction and adequate remuneration for a job well done and nothing more is anathema, or at least incomprehensible, to most. Ditko, on the other hand, is the exact opposite of this, and he has declined many opportunities that would bring him much fame and fortune as a result of his inflexible beliefs. To those of us whom he touched as children, this is somewhat sad- we want this man who brought us so much joy to prosper, or at least be happy and secure and reap the benefits of his work. But this is immaterial- his beliefs sustain him, apparently, and he has always managed to get by. It's easy and hard to understand, all at the same time. Obviously, his pensions and veterans benefits must bring in a decent income, because he hasn't done much published comics work for almost a decade now, and I'm sure it isn't cheap and easy to maintain a downtown New York City office! I also find myself wondering about the man himself, and what kind of life he must lead- does he have a nice cottage-type house somewhere in the outer boroughs, with a backyard garden; on his way to the office, does he stop at the local 7-11 and get a newspaper, a cup of coffee and a pastry of some sort? Does he have neighbors to which he speaks sometimes, or pets, does he go to movies, watch TV? Read anything but his dog-eared copies of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged? Does he drink? Does he smoke? Does he like music? Sinatra, Dino, Polkas, Black Sabbath? Is he one of those cranky old men that shouts "You kids get off my lawn!"? Does he like the Yankees? Mets? Or does he follow the Pennsylvania sports teams? Does he even like baseball, or the NFL or sports in general? Today's athletes and their salaries must certainly drive him up the wall! Or does he exist day-to-day in that mysterious office, doing nothing all day but reading Rand by a single lamp, eating delivered sandwiches and fielding phone calls from would-be biographers? Will he someday see fit to PUBLISH a biography of his own making, which explains everything in his own words before he's gone? Will we know when he's gone, or will someone find him in that office, weeks after he's expired?

Of course, we won't find the answers to any of these questions, or any sort of affirmation or denial of idle conjectures in Strange and Stranger; it's just not that kind of a book. But as an examination of his career, and as a showcase for what made his art so special, it is outstanding and well worth the price. Given the level of difficulty that it took to get this done in the first place, I give Bell all the credit in the world, even if the subject probably wouldn't approve of the results. As far as Ditko the man goes, all I can say is I hope he's happy and content with the life he's led, and can look back with no regrets, because he certainly made your humble scribe very happy when he was a young boy (and for that matter, as a theoretical adult, too) with his talents.


ETA 8/3: Of course, there's always a dissenting opinion.

FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS!



Bahlactus is back and fully in effect after the hiatus with an all-new themed round of Friday Night Fights- this bout is for the ladies, and he hath decreed that we shall post fight scenes involving the fairer sex. So, for my first contribution, here's Courtney Whitmore aka Stargirl from JSA #'s 68-72, wreaking havoc on a bunch of henchmen that Rip Hunter describes as "genetically engineered soldiers from the year 2666" who have just popped in for breakfast and killed her family. I don't know exactly what issues these appeared in; I ganked them from scans_daily, OK? As usual, click to see them all biggerer.

Yes, it's ladies' night, and the feeling's right, oh yes it's ladies' night, oh what a night (oh what a night). Yeah, I busted out the Kool and the Gang.

BAHLACTUS SAID KNOCK YOU OUT.

I can has comics!

My DCBS shipment, which is supposed to be coming on Friday:

DIANA PRINCE: WONDER WOMAN TP VOL 02: More swingin', slightly sexist, somewhat sexy 60's adventure with everybody's favorite Emma Peel stand-in.

NUMBER OF THE BEAST #8 (OF 8): Boy I'm glad this is done. Hopefully there will be more Sprouse art upcoming, now that he's shown he can do a book on deadline...

MADAME XANADU #2: Hope this one's better than #1, that's all I'm sayin'.

DAREDEVIL #109

NOCTURNALS: CARNIVAL OF BEASTS (ONE SHOT): Now HERE's a welcome comeback. I eagerly snapped up every new Nocturnals series for a few years there, and had given up hope of ever reading any more.

AMBUSH BUG: YEAR NONE #1: Speaking of comebacks, welcome back Bob Fleming! Gee whillikers, I sure wish someone at DC would let him create a new series, and no, not Thriller. That's not new.

CATWOMAN #81: For some reason, I thought this was the last issue. Instead, it's the penultimate issue. That word again, penultimate.

NORTHLANDERS #8

LIBERTY COMICS A CBLDF BENEFIT BOOK (ONE SHOT): this one slipped under my radar, but the nice folks at DCBS were kind enough to add it to my order. I'm told it has a Monkeyman and O'Brien appearance, I miss miss miss MM & O'B. I read the cute Garth Ennis intro at scans_daily.

BLUE BEETLE #29- New regular writer Matt Sturges takes over with this issue, which also sees the welcome return of Rafael Albuquerque (is there a more difficult word in the English language to spell and type?), he of the clenched teeth and dynamic action pose, on art. I think Manhunter will show up at some point.


What am I missing?

Again, I won't even attempt to recap all the Comic-Con announcements for ya, because that's the job of people who write for blogs with larger readerships than l'il ol' mine; some of which (I'd bet) even get a little financial remuneration for their efforts. I'm sure you know several that can hook you up with all the straight dope. However, one of those announcements that intrigued me was one that the above illustration refers to, a revival of Marvel's Cloak and Dagger characters- scripted by one of our own, Occasional Superheroine Val D'Orazio. Congrats to her; I think she's got an uphill battle ahead making these characters, who have always been on the Marvel Universe fringe (they've been teenagers for like 20 years, right?) and whose ludicrous, oh-so-"relevant" in that early 80's way origin merely serves to reinforce my entirely personal conviction that their primary appeal is visual (which led me to buy their first appearance oh so many years ago, as well as the miniseries that followed soon after, since you know that I often let my eyes convince me to make purchases that my head is not so sure about) readable. How's that for a convoluted sentence! Anyway, I liked 'em OK, and it wasn't until they got lost in the mid-80's Marvel mutant titles quicksand that I gave up on 'em.

Nice to see so many people who I have become acquainted with via blogging getting pro gigs like this. Maybe someday Marvel will greenlight my Modred the Mystic pitch*.

So this might help you to understand when I say that the main reason why this news is so interesting to me isn't so much Miz D'Orazio but her collaborator Irene Flores; the illo above, as well as those at the bottom of this page, show a lively line and some beautiful color. Despite the usual yawn-inducing manga stylings, which make it look at first glance like about a hundred thousand other young artists who learned to draw by tracing their copies of Fruits Basket (for lack of a better example at hand), upon closer examination there is a lot of subtle nuance going on that reminds me a little of people like James Jean, or even some of the early/mid-70's Filipino wave such as Alex Nino or Spain's SanJulian. Anyway, it remains to be seen if I'll put my money where my mouth is, but I do like the pieces I've seen. An Emily Warren is credited with colors on the series; it's unclear if she did the color on the above piece.



I also happened upon this illo via my Google Reader; it's an illustration of the lead character in the sadly missed and short-lived TV series Wonderfalls, found on the PunchPants art collective blog. One of these days I'm going to get the DVD set and watch the episodes I didn't get to see.






*only kidding. I don't even know how to write a pitch.

CONFESSIONS OF A SPINNER RACK JUNKIE.




Yes, it's time once more for Confessions of a Spinner Rack Junkie- that more-or-less ongoing and often overdue feature in which I write capsule reviews of various works of sequential fiction that I have perused in the interval since the last time I inflicted such reviews upon one and all, or to be specific, the period from approximately July 1st to July 23, some of which may even still be on sale at finer comics selling establishments worldwide if you're lucky. Or not, as the case may be.

100 BULLETS #93 Another well-done (and tenser/grimmer than usual, I might add) issue what will engage the already engaged, baffle the uninitiated, and even baffle the initiated upon occasion. I think I'll just cut and paste this review for the next 7 issues. A-

ACES: CURSE OF THE RED BARON GN: Y'know, out of many neglected comics genres these days, none is more neglected (well, maybe romance comics) than those dealing with World War I adventures. And I suppose there's good reason for that; it was a hell of a long time ago, even before the creation of what we think of as comic books, and it fell to WWII to get all the attention of not only the fledgling funnybook market, but Hollywood as well. Still, I find myself enjoying WWI stories whenever I run across them; one of the best books that I have read in recent years was Mark Helprin's A Soldier of the Great War, which was the reminisce of an Italian soldier in that conflict. But there have been some good WWI comic-book stories out there, mostly courtesy of the fine folks at Warren and EC as well as DC's Enemy Ace feature, and this one, I think, belongs on that list as well. In that grand buddy-pic tradition, we get two fighter pilots, one a Yank and one British, both of whom claim to have shot down the legendary Red Baron, teaming up to find his lost treasure, the whereabouts of which are supposed to be revealed by a map which the latter claims to have taken from the wreckage of the Baron's plane. Of course, complications ensue and we get not only the "Ghost of the Red Baron", but OF COURSE a deeper (and stranger, to say the least) conspiracy behind it all- it's at least a clever and novel one. Co-written by Shannon Eric Denton, whose name sounds familiar but whose work is not and G. Willow Wilson, whose byline has graced a couple of recent Vertigo projects, it moves along at a crisp pace even though there is the occasional clumsy bit of dialogue- I don't think that even a Brit (and I'm being sarcastic here, don't get mad, my British readers) would refer to another pilot as a "terrifying infant". Artist Chris Square-Briggs lays a small-town water tower full of ink and wash on his illustrations, and that certainly sets a mood, but much of this is almost too dark and murky for what would seem to require a lighter approach. He also has a real problem with 3/4 perspective when it comes to his renderings of characters' heads. These problems aside, he does tell the story effectively for the most part, and seems to get the period detail (no expert am I on that score) right, always important. If you're inclined to like war comics like the ones I've mentioned above, as well as Garth Ennis' recent forays into the genre, and appreciate a novel twist- I think it's safe to say that you'll find this a good read. It's not perfect, but it is entertaining enough to be worth your time. There's a MySpace page, if you'd like to see more. B+

BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM! #1: Yet another attempt at perpetuating the trademark, this time infusing a generous dose of that Disney Channel/Cartoon Network/Nickelodeon pseudo-retro-Flash animation style that someone somewhere behind a desk hears that the kids seem to like to watch on TV these days, and like those programs, this is all very manic and abstract and never lets up for a frigging minute in being active because all kids (as we know- or so we're told) these days suffer from ADD and microscopic attention spans and you have to constantly bludgeon them with a visual assault or they'll lose interest and go play video games or read comic books or something. Anyway, it works pretty well for those TV networks, as any selected viewing of the likes of Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Fairly Oddparents, The Replacements, you name it, bear out. And fortunately, if they're going to tread this path, they picked a pretty good artist to do so in Mike Kunkel. His style is loose and energetic, and as a writer he does a decent job of continuing the lighthearted tone of Jeff Smith's pretty-good Monster Society of Evil, from which this is supposed to be spun off. Like many others who have already held forth on this, I can't imagine who DC thinks will buy this; there's no cartoon tie-in to grab the kids' attention, X-Men and Batman fans can't care less, and the geezers who remain devoted to the original Beck/Binder comics of yore probably regard this with disdain. So there ya go. DC fairly reeks of desperation when it comes to Captain Marvel, and they try so hard to make him a success somehow...and unlike Smith's series, this one gives off a definite "let's throw THIS against the wall" vibe. I wish them luck, but I still maintain that Smith miniseries aside, there is no audience for an ongoing Marvel Family book- and I have no reason to believe that this benign but meaningless trifle of a comic will be any more successful at reviving and maintaining the franchise than any of the others. B

BLUE BEETLE #28: The second of Will Pfiefer's fill-ins doesn't work as well as the first; while he does a good job with the characters- no one stays on character better than Mr. Pfiefer- the story itself is weak and devoid of any surprises. The art doesn't help; it's trying to remain true to the Rafael Albuquerque pseudo-manga pseudo-animated pseudo-realistic style that has been established so far, except they're just not as good at it- storytelling choices that are just not quite sharp enough, dodgy anatomy, you know. Since Rogers and Albuquerque wound up the mini-epic of Jaime's battle against the Reach, we've been treated to a host of fill-ins and apparent tryouts, and while Pfiefer's professionalism shows through, very little else of it has been all that impressive...not the best way to stimulate interest in your struggling sales-wise title, Dan. I hope that they put some kind of regular team in place soon, so the creator-go-round can stop and hopefully some momentum can be reestablished. C+

THE BOYS #20: Outside of the dick-measuring contest between Butcher and the Homelander, which almost does the one thing that I have long maintained was a deal-breaker for me with this book, i.e. make the superhero characters look worse than the black-leather clad "good guys"- balance being everything with me here- not a whole lot happens in this issue; it's mostly a big infodump as Wee Hughie continues to get debriefed by The Legend and we apparently ramp up for the next big story arc. OK, fine. I've yet to be really let down by this book so far, so we'll see. B+

B.P.R.D.: THE WARNING #1: Picking back up where the last Arcudi/Davis miniseries left off, this time trying to get to the bottom of the mystery of the Fu Manchu-looking guy who's been appearing to Liz in her visions, as well as the presence of Lobster Johnson around the BPRD HQ. So far so good, Davis is excellent as always. Y'know, this newish character Panya, the mummy lady, reminds me a lot of the distinguished classic film actress Dame Edna May Oliver. Just an observation, more later hopefully as subsequent issues come out. A-

FABLES #74: While this issue is still of the same high quality that previous issues have been, and Willingham, Buckingham and Leialohaham have certainly achieved a consistent sort of excellence, I must note that this issue also continues a trend of recent issues that extends back many months, with only a couple of exceptions: in this big battle against the Big Bad Adversary that Willingham has established, he's done story after story in which we get a truncated view of the events of said war, mostly shown to us via minimal depiction and a lot of exposition- we're being told rather than shown how utterly and completely the good guys are dominating as they win it, and the whole thing is being baldly presented as such a fait accompli that of course discerning readers are immediately suspicious and await the other shoe's falling, which is now being hinted about here and there. OK as far as it goes, but I prefer to experience my storytelling revelations in a less transparent fashion, I do believe, so even though I'm fully invested in this series and genuinely like many of the characters I'm just a hair put out by the sheer artifice of it all. Artifice in a comic book series, what a concept- you'd think by now I'd be used to it wouldn't you? B+

HELLBLAZER #246: No real surprises here, in the second part of Jason Aaron's two-part fill-in; it's pretty much S.O.P for when people look into Constantine's background, and especially into the Newcastle event. Aaron does a great job with the dialogue, especially John himself. I gotta say that I found myself liking Sean Murphy's art this time out; while it's sometimes sloppy and he really likes to take liberties with facial expressions and such, it's often very sharp and reminds me a little of Chris Bachalo circa Shade. Since it looks like Diggle's moving on soon, and hopefully taking Manco along with him, I wouldn't mind seeing these two take a turn at doing this book regularly...as long as Aaron doesn't let Scalped slide. B+

HELLBOY: THE CROOKED MAN #1: At the risk of repeating myself a bit, since I've been gushing about this since I first read it several days ago, I'm a sucker for the sort of supernatural backwoods stories that are best exemplified by Manly Wade Wellman's great Silver John (aka John the Balladeer) stories, and that's exactly what we have here. Also what we have here is the return of the true Hellboy, the one that Mike Mignola himself writes (and no offense to Arcudi or Dysart, who have done superior work on the B.P.R.D. stories)- taciturn, gruff, no-nonsense but also reserved and calm, with the quiet air of a being who has seen just about everything and is prepared to deal with it, as far from the childish, surly movie caricature as can possibly be, and serving as a reminder that the four-color version is still superior to the celluloid version, no matter how much of a special effects budget Del Toro has. After looking into some "stuff" down South, HB finds himself wandering through the Virginian Appalachian Mountains, and getting involved with the mountain folk, who seem to be beset with witches and possibly the Devil himself. Along comes a tall, lanky former resident of the area, who's traveled abroad after fleeing his own encounter with evil, and now he's back to face his fate. Hellboy is almost a passive bystander in this scenario, and while you know he'll get to beat the hell out of something eventually (and get hell beat out of him, too) it's refreshing and gratifying just to get to absorb the situation through his eyes, rather than with him goosing the proceedings along- when he finds out something, we find out something. Absolutely invaluable in this is the art of Richard Corben; while sometimes he teeters on the edge of cartoonishness with some of his facial renderings, he is a master at establishing mood and illustrating backgrounds; this story reeks of atmosphere and it's all thanks to him. He takes Mignola's dry scripting and fleshes it out brilliantly. I think people forget that he initially made his name doing gore and horror for the undergrounds; in fact, he used to sign his work "Gore" sometimes. This is a brilliant reminder of just how good he is. This is one of the best comics I've read this year, and this is only part one. A+

MANHUNTER #32: Second third comeback issue is stronger than its predecessor, with lotsa fanservice- Blue Beetle fans get served via apprearances by not only Jaime Reyes but that title's gender-switched wannabe Al Swearengen La Dama, Batman fans get served via the impending Joker team up, even those few and proud of us who are Chase fans get served via the longish scenes with our Kate and DEO Director Bones. All of this is ably, if grubbily, illustrated by Michael Gaydos, who adheres to the Alex Maleev/Mike Lark/Steven Gaudiano template in his approach. Yet another really good book that far too few people are reading. And so it goes. A-

NORTHLANDERS #7: Sven gets payback of sorts in this penultimate issue of the first ongoing arc, and if it's not exactly cathartic (Sven remains too conflicted for that) it's at least very well illustrated, even as events sort of devolve into one big "yaaargh" before it's over. Gotta mention Massimo Carnivale's outstanding cover this issue, it's nicely detailed and is rendered to look like Prismacolors and ink. One thing this series has going for it if nothing else; the art. B

NUMBER OF THE BEAST #7: Well, the Authority shows up in this one, and it perks up a little, but mostly this remains an anonymous, convoluted, immaculately illustrated superhero Matrix swipe, and even though I'm in till the bloody end thanks to Mr. Sprouse, I really would be happy if he'd devoted his talents to something else, thus enabling me to happily remain in complete and blissful ignorance of the whole thing, like (I suspect) about 3/4 of the rest of comics fandom. C

OMEGA THE UNKNOWN #10: Unsurprisingly low-key windup to what certainly has to be considered perhaps the strangest thing that Marvel Comics has ever put out- I think that when all is said and done its greatest legacy will be the amount of grist for the thought mill that it provides, not only in its apparent surface themes, such as the whole individuality vs. conformity, integrity vs. media-generated shallowness, but also other interpretations that have already begun to spring up...and how cool is that, to have a comics series with enough depth to allow continued discussion, unlike so many series that are here today and forgotten tomorrow? I've said it before, but I think we really have to hand it to Marvel for putting a comic like this out in the first place, especially since it falls so far outside of the purview of what they usually do. I know that there was some controversy at the beginning from original creator Steve Gerber and his partner Mary Skrenes, and as he feared this was quite a departure from the more straightforward superhero saga they together crafted...but I have a feeling that he would have respected, if not openly admired, this take on his creation. A

PATSY WALKER: HELLCAT #1: I had to work WAY too hard to parse Kathryn Immonen's choppy, disorienting dialogue style while I was trying to read this; too much disconnect and disjoint in service of trying to maintain a crisp pace, I guess- although the exchange between Patsy and Iron Man begrudgingly shifted into focus and provided an example of how I think she wants this comic to read all the time. I hope. Fortunately, she's got David LaFuente on art; he's definitely manga-inspired, and the cutesiness works well in the opening scenes but not so much when they get to the Alaskan bar, but he keeps things moving at a quick pace with some nicely done action sequences and helps bring out the wit that is floating around in the script. Special mention must go to "color artist" Jon Rauch- he cranks up the candy colors in the opening fashion shoot scene to great effect, and works the color palette very well later on in the normally drab Alaska scenes, contrasting Patsy's loud hues with the grays, browns and greens the scenery calls for. Excellent job. This is off to a decent enough start, hope it gets sharper. B+

POWERS #29: In which a lot of stuff that's been coming to a head for what seems like years (and this current storyline has been going on for at least one, perhaps two) and Mike Avon Oeming does a great job of ramping up the intensity. What this issue's events mean in the long term (and this book has some LONG terms, believe you me) is anybody's guess, but I remain impressed how Bendis stays with this title, especially in the face of everything else he has going on these days. A-

SCALPED #19: The spotlight this time is on Red Crow's slutty daughter, who sports a laundry list of addictions and personality disorders. However, this we already knew, so we get to find out a little bit more about why she is the way she is, and as is par for this particular course it ain't pretty. Such unrelenting grimness often becomes wearing, but Jason Aaron is skillful enough to know when to pull back the reins a bit. In fact, I think injecting a bit of humor in this book would be a major mistake, which is something I rarely say; Scalped is completely out of balance in its unrelenting bleakness but that's why it works so well. I don't think anybody's gonna get any life lessons out of this when all is said and done, except perhaps in a cautionary way. Davide Furno is back on art; I was under the impression that he was on board for the last two issues only. It's OK; he's not bad even though his somewhat Colan, Watkiss-or-Mandrake-ish loosey goosey style isn't as satisfying as R.M. Guera's mix. A-

WONDER WOMAN #20: OK, I got this because after I had read #21, I didn't really have a good handle on why exactly Wondy was traveling through realities or dimensions or time or something and encountering the various sword-and-sorcery characters of DC's failed 1975 line expansion, including JBS favorite Beowulf. After reading this, I really don't feel much more enlightened. Maybe when I read #'s 22 and 23. I will say this, though, after #21 and this I do have a newfound respect for Aaron LoPresti and Matt Ryan's art; while it's not distinctive stylistically, looking almost exactly like obvious inspirations the Dodsons and especially Adam Hughes, they do depict the goings-on in fine fashion- moreso in the fantasy fighting stuff than the real-world goings-on, but fine just the same. I can't imagine why hardcore Wonder Woman fans wouldn't be delighted with this version of the character, but I know they're a finicky lot. B-


And that's about it for this time out. New comics due Friday, and I'll also cover the first three issues of The Infinite Horizon as well as the collected Black Diamond. Oh, and don't want to forget Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko, which I'm gearing up to feature by itself.

If you're looking for constant San Diego Comic-Con information, well, you should look pretty much anywhere else, because I just don't have the time or energy to post all the news and info that's coming in waves. But the Comics Blogosphere is in full force at Nerd Prom, (those who, unlike me, can actually afford to go) and many are posting tons o'photos including the ever delightful Bully, and the most excellent Michael at The Legion Omnicom, who unbeknownst to him has made my day- for the first time, thanks to the above picture (from this SDCC photo stream), has given me my first look at Thriller co-creator Robert Loren Fleming! That's him at right, next to Keith Giffen. I've spoken to him and emailed him more than once, but other than a sketch I seem to recall seeing somewhere back in the 80's, I've never laid eyes on the dude until now.

Lotsa Thriller mentions around here lately, huh! I REALLY need to get around to redoing that website.

Sending out Bacardi Show Birthday Greetings to Thriller artist TREVOR VON EEDEN.

Don't know what the status of the Jack Johnson project is right now; hopefully the rough spots are being smoothed out so we can see this thing sooner rather than later.




Oh- also, My dear Mrs. B is celebrating another trip around the sun as well...but she said not to write about it on the blog. Oops!

I'm working on reviews, which should be up (hopefully) before all comics shops remove the books I'll be reviewing from the shelves!

Anyway, the reason for this post is to let you know to change your contact lists if you have me at the Excite.com address; Excite.com has gone to a really horrible user-hostile interface for their email and I'm phasing that one out of use. I started a shiny new Gmail account instead: johnnybacardi AT gmail DOT COM. Please address all blog-related correspondence therewith. Especially if you're a publisher and want to send me something to review.

Cheers.

Odds and ends:

Sometimes I think I should enable titles here; since I've started using Google Reader to read everyone's blogs (well, not everyone, but you know what I mean) it does make one's posts stand out a little bit more. Still, after five (almost six!) years, I'm kinda "what's the point" about it.

Holy gosh, I haven't posted here since Wednesday! I was doing better there for a while, but real life has been very busy lately and I haven't really had anything particularly pertinent to say about anything anyway. As always, I appreciate those who hang with me.

While I'm going on and on about me, did you know I had a Flickr account? Well, now you do. Believe me, it won't be as impressive as those by the likes of Kevin Church, Katie West or Zoetica Ebb, but recently I've had access to a good camera and have been moved to take a shot or three, and thought it would be a good place to put them. I am no photographer, and have no pretense towards being one, but many of these shots will be of a more personal nature (i.e., me, things and places around me and stuff that informs my personal life) so if you're curious, then by all means check it out. And leave a fricking comment, whydoncha- no one has done so yet. I won't get mad.

The Flickr account isn't in the sidebar yet; actually, lots of things aren't, and that's just sheer laziness on my part. I used to simply go in and edit the template, and in some ways that was quicker, but when I changed to this look, I started using the new tables or whatever you call them, and hate to mix and match. The new way of adding links is not all that much more difficult, but for some reason I kinda procrastinate about adding stuff using it, and that's why my link list is so incomplete. So honest, it's not because I don't like you if your link isn't included at right, it's just because I'm a lazy bastard. Chances are I follow you on Reader, and one of these days I'll get around to completing (or at least updating) the list. I hope.

It seems like much of the stuff I could be using for blog fodder, I'm posting on Twitter instead. I will do some linky stuff shortly; if you follow me on Twitter, some of this will be familiar (I hope) but bear with, please. If you're on that highly addictive messaging service, and you don't follow me, well please feel free to do so- I need all the followers I can get if I'm going to rule the world someday.

OK, since at odd times in the last five plus years this has, much of the time, been a TV/Movies/Music/Comics/Sports (not necessarily in that order) blog, here's a little about each:

Last night was the big two-hour grande finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and all things considered it was an appropriate sendoff to a series which has been often frustrating, but more often wonderfully imaginative and sometimes moving, in spite of everything. Of course, none of it turned out like I thought it would, which just further proves that I'm not so smart. While Nickelodeon, on the one hand, has seemed to do everything in its power to dumb the show down and drive away viewers via its scheduling, at least they did air the show in the first place, and I suppose they should get credit for that even though it seems like they never really understood what made it special in the first place, preferring the more conventional likes of Spongebob Squarepants and The Fairly OddParents, lively and entertaining cartoons but neither possessing or requiring the amount of depth and attention that Avatar needed. Nick just never really seemed to like the show, as if they were confused and intimidated by the attention it got from many critics and fans outside the preteen and tweenage demographic that is their purview. Anyway, last night's episode resolved many longstanding plot threads, but maddeningly left many dangling, even creating a couple of new ones. I have it on good authority that one reason was because "they didn't get the originally planned, full four seasons" and why? "...the film that canned the series early. Timing and all that.". This motion picture, set to be made by none other than that Happening guy M. Night Shyamalan, is to be a live action version, which would seem to be counter-intuitive to the appeal of the concept, at least as I relate to it, but you never know. MNS has a lot to prove after the lackluster box office of his previous film, and that may motivate him to excel- if he's got it in him. His last attempt at full-blown fantasy, The Lady in the Water, was a bizarre disaster. I will say this- it's going to be a little strange to not be anticipating the next episode; it's an odd feeling to know that the Nick series is now done. In a strange sort of way, I almost hope they don't show reruns all that much; it just won't seem fitting, somehow, to see the "Sozin's Comet" episodes come on on a Thursday afternoon, out of order with no buildup or context to speak of. I get the same feeling from seeing reruns of Justice League Unlimited, more on that later.

Other TV shows I've been spending some time on include The Middle Man, which is still enjoyable in fits and starts but the arch tone wears me out after a while. It wants to be a hip, quirky and lighthearted adventure story, and sometimes gets pretty close, but often it just tries too hard. Venture Bros. is still going strong, showing remarkable depth and complexity while remaining as absurd and fun as ever; if you're not watching this show, you really should be. Netflix or rent the first two seasons on DVD, and you can even get caught up with season three via adultswim.com. My NCIS viewing remains consistent, even though it's not really must-see TV anymore. Should be interesting to see what happens with the cast; looks like they're trying to break them up but that seems like a remarkably bad idea. I still watch the occasional Justice League Unlimited episode on Cartoon Network; while they seem to be perpetually stuck in episodes from late in the penultimate and the final season, many of those are highly watchable and have their share of classic moments, such as the Flash's super-speed dismantling of the Braniac-possessed Luthor, and Batman dodging one of Darkseid's Omega beams. I'm pretty much caught up with previous seasons of HBO's Entourage; new episodes begin in September. It's not exactly essential, but it has a great cast with good chemistry, and is often very funny. I started out watching AMC's Mad Men, and was quite enamored of it, but missed something like the third and fourth episodes, figured I'd be lost and decided to catch up via DVD in time for the season 2 premiere. Uh...didn't happen. There's still time, although I think the second season begins this week or next. I also kinda got interested in HBO's Big Love, about a polygamist and his attempts to live a normal (well, relatively speaking) life in the monogamous world, as well as the various situations that arise within his sect. It's got a good cast, too, with Bill Paxton as the lead and Harry Dean Stanton, Chloe Sevigny, and others in supporting roles. I rented the first DVD of season one, but never could really get the time to sit and watch it so I sent it back so I could get further down my Netflix queue. I'll get back to it someday. It's got a really nice intro, which features the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows"- you can see it right here. Anything else? Hm. Dirt's second season was a strike-truncated disappointment, and then it got canned, too bad. I find myself watching reruns of Two and a Half Men in the afternoons sometimes; it's surprisingly funny and nasty in equal measures, with a cast of pros playing the material well. The CW Saturday morning Spider-Man series overcame a tentative beginning to become a surprisingly good watch; the script is often witty and is often fast-paced and fun. I think that's it. Almost worthy of Tom the Dog, huh!

Movies? I've seen a few lately. Iron Man, Hellboy II of course; and I also caught a showing of WALL-E a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't as nuts for WALL-E as many were; it was entertaining and very well animated (I expect no less from Pixar) but I found myself second-guessing the science and logistics constantly. For example, the film expects me to believe that the former residents of Planet Earth, having evolved into still-somewhat-human blobs, could immediately begin to walk, and survive the turmoil on the ship in the movie's resolution, as well as rebuild their planet- I didn't think these people even had much in the way of bone in their legs, especially enough to support all the weight they had put on! And one tiny plant is enough to convince the ship that Earth is habitual again? What about the obviously-still-depleted ozone layer? The winds that were still coming up at regular intervals? Sure, we got a look at some more greenery as the film wound down, but color me skeptical. I've yet to go see Dark Knight; everybody and their uncle is praising it to high heaven, but I wasn't all that enamored of Batman Begins, not enough to drop six bucks towards seeing its sequel, no matter how good Heath Ledger may or may not be. I also viewed the new Watchmen trailer online; it's very impressive although it does kinda look like all the other recent comic-book based films lately; the Billy Corgan music was somewhat disconcerting as well. Just a little too 90's for a property that's still associated with the 80's in my mind. I think Ozymandias looks like a dork in that black domino mask; IIRC he spent most of the comics (which I haven't read in ages) without it. Yeah, I'm nitpicking. Recent Netflix rentals include Michael Clayton, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Black Snake Moan, Crank, and the Aqua Teen movie- the first was very good but marred somewhat by a contrived ending, the second was marvelous, the third was ludicrous but kept my attention, the fourth entertaining, and the last became too much to take after a while- 15 minute doses of absurdity can be fun; two hours of same was just too much, and I bailed on it. I plan on doing a proper movie post soon; stay tuned.

Comics? The usual suspects that I've been enjoying, and I hope you've been reading my reviews to know what I'm talking about. One which really grabbed me was Hellboy: The Crooked Man #1, the first chapter of what promises to be another excellent miniseries. Set in Appalachia in 1958, and dealing with witches and hillbillies, it shows Hellboy as almost peripheral to the events displaying a detachment that Ron Perlman couldn't begin to portray. Richard Corben is on art, and he's excellent; people forget, I think, that he was first and foremost a horror artist back in the day who used to sign his work "Gore". I'm a sucker for that backwoods supernatural stuff anyway; this reminded me a lot of Manly Wade Wellman's excellent tales of Silver John, aka John the Balladeer, who encountered various ghosts, witches, and demonic creatures as he wandered the hills with only a silver-stringed guitar and a little bit of experience in dealing with such matters. I don't know if any collections are available, but if so I give them my highest recommendation. Ah! Here's one- a bit pricey, but worth it I think if you can afford it. Also, thanks to Bully, I've been reading Blake Bell's new bio of Steve Ditko- fascinating stuff, and it reproduces a LOT of great art at a bigger-than-normal size...and the effect is somewhat breathtaking, especially if you revere Ditko's 60's work as much as I do. Of course, I'll write more about these, and the other comics I haven't reviewed yet, later this week. On a related note, here's info about some mighty sweet art books by a number of talented artists- here's a couple of samples:



Yep, that's Darwyn Cooke and Cam Stewart! Each of them has their own collection available. I really would like to get a copy of Stewart's The Apocalypstix, but I thought I was still on Oni's comp list so I didn't preorder. I haven't received anything from Oni in months now, so I guess that's no longer the case, and as a result I'm going to have to find a copy somewhere. Such is life.

Music? I haven't really picked up anything new lately- mostly it's just finding old stuff that I haven't heard in ages or haven't heard at all here and there on the Interwub. Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue came out before I got interested in the Beach Boys; having made up for lost time since then (1977) it was inevitable that I would get around to it eventually, even though to be honest I wasn't crazy about the songs Dennis had on 70's Boys LPs like Carl and the Passions. Much to my surprise, it sounds nothing like those cuts at all; it's consistently tuneful and clever, and Wilson uses his croaking vocal to his advantage a la Tom Waits or hoarse Harry Nilsson circa Pussy Cats. I also have obtained XTC's Wasp Star (Apple Venus Vol. 2), now eight years old- better late than never and well worth the wait, the only question being why the hell did I wait so long?!? Also, the two most recent issues from Lindsey Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac, Under the Skin and Say You Will; Skin is stripped-down but tuneful, Will is overlong, and suffers from being in actuality a Buckingham/Nicks album with Fleetwood and McVie as the rhythm section and Christine McVie barely present except for a few lost-in-the-mix felt-but-not-heard backing vocals, but there are some very good cuts by both singer/songwriters. Been also listening a lot to Rosebud, the self-titled debut, and only release by, a contingent of LA musicians from 1971 that came out on Reprise and featuring Judy Henske and Jerry Yester, who as a couple released the noteworthy Farewell Aldebaran a yer or so earlier. I had heard one cut on a Warner/Reprise Loss Leader, a lovely tune called "Lullabye II (Summer Carol)", previously and was very interested in hearing the rest of this hard-to-find release. Never did find it on vinyl. It's OK, if unremarkable, kinda-country-pop-rock stuff and so far the aforementioned track is the standout. I fully intend to give it time to grow on me. Otherwise, it's been a panoply of stuff; I listen to several CDs on average every day of every week.

Boy, this is a long post, huh!

Sports? Beseball season has been pretty good so far; my White Sox are hanging in there in first place, managing somehow to hold off the Twins and Tigers in the AL Central, with smoke and mirrors, seemingly, sometimes. I think they have what it takes to win that division, and even make it to the Series if they can stay focused. My beloved Atlanta Falcons are just trying to regroup and rebuild after one of the worst NFL seasons ever with a new coach, who strikes me as somewhat vanilla but if he can get this team tougher and playing smarter, then I'm all for it, and a new rookie quarterback who probably won't see action right away, plus a new feature running back who was impressive in the backup role in San Diego, but is unproven as in the feature role over the course of a season. They've lost a ton of other players on both sides of the ball, as cleaning house was the order of the day in ATL. Hate to say it, but a 6-10 season would be a minor miracle. That said, I think they'll be at least competitive- their division isn't the strongest. The University of Kentucky is gearing up for a new football season with high hopes, and of course basketball isn't far from anybody's mind in Lexington, even in September.

One more thing- by all means, check out the "Items of Interest" box in the sidebar there at right; it's where I select other blog posts that I run across in Google Reader and want to share. I think most of them will be of interest to a lot of you!

OK, now I'll wind this up and get on with the rest of my Sunday. Thanks for reading, if you've made it this far, and stay tuned for more later!

As of right now, I'm supposed to be getting some new comics this Friday- after last month's shenanigans, some uncertainty remains- and here be a list of them, with pertinent commentary:

NORTHLANDERS #7: I'm still interested in Brian Wood's Viking saga, and the art is certainly worth the price of admission, but if I was forced to cut titles this would probably be the first to get dropped.

FABLES #74

BLUE BEETLE #28
MANHUNTER #32: These titles have so much in common- both fringe DCU, both with pretty-good but not-great script and art, both selling in equally unimpressive numbers. But they're both also among the most entertaining mainstream superhero comics published by either of the Big Two, especially now that Catwoman has been shitcanned.

HELLBOY: THE CROOKED MAN #1: Hellboy with Richard Corben? Fine with me! I was pleasantly surprised the last time he took the artistic reins.

THE BOYS #20
POWERS #29

HELLBLAZER #246
SCALPED #19: Jason Aaron scripts both of these; Hellblazer was pretty good; Scalped has been magnificent so far.

PATSY WALKER: HELLCAT #1: I've seen some reviews of this here and there, have even seen some preview pages. Looks good to me, and I'm looking forward to reading the whole thing. Could be fun.

B.P.R.D.: THE WARNING #1: The welcome return of the Mignola/Arcudi/Davis team. Seems like a long time since we've had some new Guy Davis art...

NUMBER OF THE BEAST #7
100 BULLETS #93

I also have the first issue of DC's Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam!; the latest from AiT/PlanetLar, Aces, which I am almost finished with; the first three issues of Phil Noto & Gerry Duggan's Infinite Horizon series, which I have yet to complete as well; Wonder Woman #20, and several back issues of Blue Beetle I have yet to comment on. I think that's all.

While I'm taking inventory, here's my July order, just in case anybody cares:

DAREDEVIL #111
MEAT CAKE #17
DIANA PRINCE: WONDER WOMAN TP VOL 03
THE BOYS #22
PATSY WALKER: HELLCAT #3
MADAME XANADU #4
MANHUNTER #34
BLUE BEETLE #31
AMBUSH BUG YEAR NONE #3
HELLBOY: THE CROOKED MAN #3
B.P.R.D.: THE WARNING #3
SCALPED #21
NORTHLANDERS #10
HELLBLAZER #248
FABLES #76
100 BULLETS #95
FINAL CRISIS #4

To paraphrase Heidi: WANT.

If you can look at this pic and not hear the Dethklok theme in your head, you're a better man than I, Gunga Din.

Jesus wept.
Originally uploaded by jbacardi

From a store of sorts (it shares a building with a wrecker service) across the street from my workplace, a sight to make strong fanpersons weep- several late 70's- early 80's issues of X-Men and one lonely Doctor Strange, all in wretched poor condition, left on a rack out in the sun and elements. It rained the other day, and the man left them sitting right where they were (a little closer to the door than in this picture, but still...), getting wet. I'd say the rack is probably worth more now than all these books combined.

If you're concerned with values, that is- I'm sure they're still somewhat readable. But I don't want to buy them to find out!

Click to embiggen, and see just what exactly is on display...

I'll never forget the first time I read a Hellboy graphic novel- it was 1994, and I had purchased the trade paperback of Seeds of Destruction, which I had been eyeballing for some time. I don't exactly recall why I hadn't been buying the single issues- while I was not yet a fan, I was intrigued at how Mignola's style had shifted from the stylized-but-Frazetta-inspired work that had graced the pages of Rocket Raccoon, on through the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser adaptations for Marvel/Epic, and getting progressively more streamlined in the adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula for Topps Comics. Guess perhaps I was reluctant to take a shot on an unknown character, perhaps I just overlooked them on the racks- unimaginable now, but that was before Mignola became MIGNOLA. Anyway, when my comics shop got in the trade, I took a shot and dropped the fifteen or so bucks, and took it home after work one Friday evening. Of course, this being 1994, I had to watch the new episode of X-Files first, but when I finally settled in, after the kids went to bed, I gave it a read. And boy, was I hooked. I loved this character- aside from Mignola's dynamic art, he had created a character that was gruff and no-nonsense, but also capable and very charismatic. I liked this demon guy and the world he inhabited, as presented to us by Mignola and (at first) John Byrne; it spoke to my love of pulp-style adventure as well as supernatural folklore, and I couldn't wait to read more. Since then, I haven't missed a series, even buying a few of the not-bad but not-always-satisfying prose novels, as well as the B.P.R.D. spinoffs, and nearly all of them have been at least entertaining, in different degrees, and some have been among the best comics I've ever read.

So of course, when the character made the transition to film, I was right there when the first Hellboy movie made its debut in 2004 (gosh, it doesn't seem that long ago!), and my reaction was, to be kind, mixed. As with its predecessor, HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY is a solid action picture with an exceptional visual panache, courtesy of its imaginative director. Also, as with its predecessor, my biggest problem is in its depiction of the lead. The Hellboy of the comics, the one I like, and have followed for over a decade now, is not the same character that is on the big screen- and while I understand that concessions have to be made and streamlining is inevitable, the Hellboy I like isn't as surly, rude, and childish as the scriptwriters and Ron Perlman make him seem. In the books, HB is respected by everyone in the Bureau, here, he's a pain in the ass as much as anything, making him a lovable lug, I guess, but one wonders why it's necessary. I dislike the whole "secret government agency" angle; it's always been my understanding that the BPRD is an above-ground agency that goes out of its way to avoid the spotlight. How can Hellboy be "the World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator" if he's relegated to urban legend status, as he's supposed to be in the movie? I didn't like that they trotted out, yet again, the dog-tired X-Men-inspired "unthinking, uncaring humanity hates us because we're freaks" trope. Focus groups and corporate decision-makers may think so, but NONE of this is necessary in order to tell a good Hellboy story. Just isn't.

More than anything, though, I absolutely despise the Hell-boyfriend/Liz Sherman girlfriend subplot that the movies are saddled with; in the comics, this is not an issue. I know, I know- mainstream audiences, always perceived to be a hard sell on movies of this nature, pretty much require some sort of romance or romantic interest for the lead. But to me, the HB/Liz romance is contrivance of the most obvious and unnecessary sort- it demeans both characters, and gives these films a "chick-flick", for lack of a better term, dimension that just grates. And I won't spoil, but there's a development in this romance which I am not looking forward to seeing developed.

Other characters get spotlights- the HB/Abe friendship gets better treatment, and the whole Barry Manilow scene is cutesy but charming, injecting a little needed humor. Fine. Abe's characterization is pretty consistent with not only the previous film but the books as well; that's mostly because he doesn't really have a personality to speak of in either. He's a persnickety, prim and proper fella, who's as refined and cultured as HB is crude and rude, we get it. At least in the comics Mignola gives him a spooky sort of detached nobility, but that doesn't come across in the movie because he's Robin to HB's Batman here. His romance, such as it was, with the Elven Princess was handled well, but really wasn't developed. Of course, this is not surprising because we only have so much film to work with. Selma Blair is still a natural as Liz Sherman, as good here as she was in the previous film; unfortunately, she isn't given much to do except act pissed off most of the time...she does it very well, I must say. Johann Krauss, the "ghost in the bag" of the comics, makes his first appearance; at first I was a little offput by his portrayal but the more I thought about it, I began to like it- in the B.P.R.D. stories, he just kinda gets added to the team because he is part of the spirit world and was necessary in that function. But in the film, he's brought in to ride herd over the HB/Liz/Abe trio, at first overbearing and priggish but eventually fitting in with the team. The ghost effects and his containment suit looked great. Another reason Krauss is added is as help for Jeffery Tambor's Tom Manning character; as the director of the team, he of course butts heads with Hellboy, and is usually played for laughs, as only Tambor can do- no one does weak-willed blowhards better. Still, it bothered me because I thought HB and Manning came to a kind of understanding in the first film, even bonding a bit over the "wood matches for cigars" thing. In the sequel, we're back to antagonism- and while Manning's character often has it coming, it's as if the first film's events are conveniently forgotten.

OK, that's enough bitching about characterization. Script-wise, this is actually fine- the dialogue is very good, and while I disagree with how some of the characters are portrayed and a couple of the plot wrinkled come across as quite random, they interact well and the action setpieces blend in well with the downtimes in between. It moves at a brisk pace, rarely drags, and there's dramatic tension in all the right places. Of course, the ideas, such as the Troll Market, the pasture in Ireland that hides the entrance to where the Golden Army is hidden, the clever tying in of the calcium-devouring "tooth fairies", are all very Mignolaesque, and I'm sure reflects his input. In fact, this whole "Fairie kingdom declares war on humankind rather than fade away" is something that's been kinda simmering on the backburner in the comics; there have been countless scenes of the shadowy fen folk standing in the shadows and lamenting their eventual extinction- it fits right in to the whole mythos, both page and screen. There weren't too many instances where I was bugged by scientific impossibilities; This is a SPOILER, highlight to read: I did wonder why Hellboy gave the crown to Liz at the end to melt with her heat; you'd think that the amount of heat necessary to do such a thing would have incinerated Abe and burned up Krauss' containment suit. I would think it would have made more sense to have HB just crush the crown in his big stone hand, and probably more fitting as well.

And the visuals- well, if you've seen Pan's Labrynth, you know what Del Toro's imagination (and that of his effects crews) is capable of. The aforementioned Troll Market (made me wish for a big-screen adaptation of Neverwhere), the battle with the plant elemental (reminded me of Swamp Thing, it did) and its surprisingly lovely aftermath, the scene in the Irish countryside (brightly lit, a stunning contrast from the rest of the darkly lit film settings) in which the gateway to the Golden Army's "barracks" reveals itself, reminiscent of the "rock-biter" in the otherwise heinous Neverending Story- all pulled off with aplomb.

Anyway, I guess I'm in the minority in my reaction to these films; most seem to be content with this calculated-for-maximum-appeal Hellboy and his friends. And really, this is not a deal-breaker for me either. The pros of the Hellboy movies so far outweigh the cons, and I can tell you that if you're on the fence, and aren't too attached to the comics version, you'll have a great time at The Golden Army. me, I'm attached and still came away enjoying it. It's a lean, mean, imaginative action film/monster movie, and I'm glad that we live in a time that such material can be given the presentation that would have been unthinkable in Hollywood as far back as 1993, when the character saw print for the first time. I hope that if and when we get another sequel, this will always be the case.