tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64036978879012295002024-03-12T23:00:14.138-04:00Myth UnderstandingThoughts on stories and storytelling, life and living . . .Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.comBlogger226125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-28512387055489843982012-02-23T09:15:00.002-05:002012-02-23T09:15:50.051-05:00EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEAK: The Cover from My Latest Book!The artwork has been finalized. The final edits made. The file ready to send to the printer.<div>
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To celebrate, here is a sneak peak at the front cover of the The Book of God graphic novel:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W3AQAPmoH-M/T0ZJ1mgqgsI/AAAAAAAAAxo/VgCG9QufvaU/s1600/FrontCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W3AQAPmoH-M/T0ZJ1mgqgsI/AAAAAAAAAxo/VgCG9QufvaU/s640/FrontCover.jpg" width="416" /></a></div>
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I'll let you know when it can be purchased and where from, but for now I'm pretty excited that it's just finished, finally, and out of my hands . . .</div>
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. . . maybe into yours!</div>
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~ Ben</div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-34947172024347125332012-02-22T22:22:00.000-05:002012-02-22T22:22:45.844-05:00FILM REVIEW: The Secret World of Arrietty<br />
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<i>This was original posted over at my podcast's website, <a href="http://www.strangersandaliens.com/">Strangers and Aliens</a> . . .</i></div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://strangersandaliens.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/arrietty.jpg" href="http://strangersandaliens.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/arrietty.jpg" style="color: #cc3300; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-559" data-mce-src="http://strangersandaliens.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/arrietty-202x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://strangersandaliens.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/arrietty-202x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(201, 187, 160); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(201, 187, 160); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(201, 187, 160); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(201, 187, 160); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 586px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px;" title="arrietty" width="202" /></a>My kids and I are huge fans of Studio Ghibli. I love almost everything that I have seen from them, and my kids adore <em>My Neighbor Totoro</em> and <em>Ponyo</em>. Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio. I would compare the studio to PIXAR, perhaps, and the primary force behind their output over the past decades is one man: animator Hayao Miyazaki. You may be familiar with some of their movies, like the "kid films" <em>Ponyo</em> and <em>My Neighbor Totoro</em>, or the older skewing fantasy movies <em>Spirited Away</em> and <em>Princess Mononoke</em>.</div>
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When Ponyo hit theaters a few years ago, I hoped to get the kids in to see it but we missed the chance, so we watched it together on video. Not long after, I heard rumblings about a movie based on the classic children's book <em>The Borrowers</em>. For the last year or two, then, I have been waiting for <em>The Borrower Arrietty</em> (it's original title -- Disney changed the title for release here) to come to the States after its release in Japan. My intention: for my kids to see it on the big screen.</div>
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We finally got the chance. And it was worth the wait.</div>
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We ended up skipping <em>Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace</em> in 3D in favor of <em>Arrietty</em>, and I am SO glad we did. (Mainly for "pocket-book" reasons. We own that movie and can watch it any time we want, and by "we" I mean my kids.)</div>
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<dt class="wp-caption-dt" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><a data-mce-href="http://strangersandaliens.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/totoro.jpg" href="http://strangersandaliens.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/totoro.jpg" style="color: #cc3300; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-561" data-mce-src="http://strangersandaliens.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/totoro-300x200.jpg" height="200" src="http://strangersandaliens.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/totoro-300x200.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-width: initial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 586px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px;" title="totoro" width="300" /></a></dt>
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First, my kids' reaction. All of them liked it almost as much as they liked<em> My Neighbor Totoro </em>and more than they liked <em>Ponyo</em>. This is no faint praise, because all four of them love both of those movies. They are some of the few movies to get repeat viewings in my house. My son loved the way the family of borrowers, six-inch-tall people who "steal" from the "human beans" the things they need to survive and who live under the floors and in the walls of human houses, had created a habitat using human objects. A straight pin becomes a sword. Double-sided tape is used to scale walls. Fish hooks are grappling hooks. As they wandered through a richly detailed world of these things, it really excited my ten-year-old son's imagination. My daughters loved Arrietty, a strong young woman, and a far better roll model than Disney's own princesses. This is typical for Studio Ghibli -- strong, idealistic female lead character who react realistically in fantastic situations.</div>
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And I enjoyed the movie as well. Hayao Miyazaki is credited as writer for this, and did not direct as he usually does. I was a bit worried about this. The last Studio Ghibli film I saw without him as director was <em>Tales from Earthsea</em>, which I was disappointed in. The animation for <em>Arrietty</em> was close to flawless, though (there are a couple moments when the character interactions with the background felt a bit "off") and the "secret world" the borrowers inhabited is richly detailed and sumptuous. Like all Ghibli films, the animation and story feel both sprawling and almost epic, but intimate in the details.</div>
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The story itself is simple, and it feels almost like it is more of a character study than anything. The action is low-key, and it is the characters who carry the story forward. The film really is more about the emotions of the moment.</div>
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At its heart, though, this is a movie about friendship and family. The familial relationship is quirky and positive, although when Arrietty makes a new friend in the "human bean" boy who moves into the house, the contact comes because Arrietty disobeys her parents. There are consequences to all of this, even if it is not addressed specifically.</div>
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<em>The Secret World of Arrietty</em> is a movie I highly recommend. I believe that it would not be to everyone's taste, but if you appreciated the plot and tone of the earlier Studio Ghibli movies, you'll feel the same about this. And if you're not, this will be a good one to start with.</div>
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~ Ben</div>
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<em>Previous SCI-FI/FANTASY FOR KIDS reviews:</em><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://strangersandaliens.com/2011/12/sci-fi-for-kids-walle/" href="http://strangersandaliens.com/2011/12/sci-fi-for-kids-walle/" style="color: #cc3300; text-decoration: none;">Wall*E</a></div>
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<em>The Secret World of Arrietty is © Disney and Studio Ghibli</em></div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-10106646752051740192011-12-09T23:49:00.001-05:002011-12-09T23:49:40.379-05:00Amazing Spider-Man's New Poster<br />
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From <a data-mce-href="http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/169011-excl-the-poster-for-the-amazing-spider-man" href="http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/169011-excl-the-poster-for-the-amazing-spider-man" style="color: #cc3300; text-decoration: none;">SuperheroHype</a>:</div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://strangersandaliens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/spider-man.jpg" href="http://strangersandaliens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/spider-man.jpg" style="color: #cc3300; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-213" data-mce-src="http://strangersandaliens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/spider-man-202x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://strangersandaliens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/spider-man-202x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(201, 187, 160); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(201, 187, 160); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(201, 187, 160); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(201, 187, 160); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 586px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: 1px;" title="spider-man" width="202" /></a></div>
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I have to say, I love this poster. As far as posters go, this actually gets me excited. It's very, very simple. The spider symbol is something that is recognizable. I remember when the first Batman movie came out and the poster was simply the Batman symbol. That was all that was needed. For Spider-Man, the spider symbol is almost as recognizable, and everyone who is going to see the movie knows that this symbol means.</div>
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But I look at this poster and I know what this movie is about. It's about the person inside the superhero costume. And in some ways, the spider is a menacing figure in the poster. This poster tells me that this movie is meant to be about Peter Parker dealing with the whole "with great power comes great responsibility" idea, like the best comic book stories. In theory, if not in execution.</div>
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The imagery of the poster makes me want to see this movie. But . . .</div>
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The words! As a writer of comics, I often get caught up in the question, "Which is more important in a comic book, the artist or the writer?" "Writing or art?" (Answer: yes.) But the art and the writing should work together, and words on the page should serve to enhance the art and tell you something the art cannot. And the words on this poster, well, the something they tell me that the art cannot? "The untold story"? What's that supposed to mean? What story are they trying to tell? Are they trying to say they are going to tell a new story? Well, I hope so. Maybe they are trying to reassure people that yes, this is going back to tell the origin story but they are going to tell it in a different way? I hope so!</div>
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(One other thing makes me want to see this movie: Andrew Garfield. Everything I've seen him do, he has done phenomenally.)</div>
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Anyway, this poster looks great. If you want to see a bigger version, you can <a data-mce-href="http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/169011-excl-the-poster-for-the-amazing-spider-man" href="http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/169011-excl-the-poster-for-the-amazing-spider-man" style="color: #cc3300; text-decoration: none;">go to Superhero Hype here</a>.</div>
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What do you think? Do we really need another origin story for this character? Especially considering he's got about the easiest origin to tell: dude gets bit by radioactive spider, dude gets spider powers. There, I did it . . . on with the story! </div>
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~ Ben</div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-58983129005482414542011-11-22T21:51:00.113-05:002011-11-22T22:35:17.762-05:0011/22/63 ... a book review, but not THAT book!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v-zvV2bWwuQ/Tsxp6RM-1eI/AAAAAAAAAxE/I6T3fYh8JZk/s1600/between_heaven_and_hell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v-zvV2bWwuQ/Tsxp6RM-1eI/AAAAAAAAAxE/I6T3fYh8JZk/s320/between_heaven_and_hell.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br />
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So today is the anniversary of three deaths. JFK was shot on this day in 1963. Also, Aldous Huxley (author of Brave New World, among other books) died of an intentionally lethal overdose of LSD. In 1963. Finally, C.S. Lewis (author of the Narnia books) died on this day, as a result of a long battle with kidney disease. In 1963.<br />
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A couple weeks ago, one of the best-selling American authors of all time released a book entitled 11/22/63, about a time traveller who intends to stop the events of that date. You've probably guessed it has to do with the Kennedy assassination, not the two British authors. I haven't read the book (it's a brick -- seriously, a couple hundred copies of that book and I could build a garage) but that's okay, because that's not the book dealing with this date that I'm writing about for this blog post.<br />
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No, the book I'm writing about -- and recommending -- is called Between Heaven & Hell: A Dialogue Somewhere Beyond Death with John F. Kennedy, C.S. Lewis, & Aldous Huxley. Written by philosopher and C.S. Lewis scholar Peter Kreeft, the book is a modern Socratic dialogue between these three men.<br />
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Kreeft uses each of the men to express a different philosophy and a different view of who Christ was. Kennedy represents a modern American "Christian", or "humanist Christian" as Kreeft puts it. Someone who believes Christ existed and was wise, but that Jesus was not God and miracles were exaggerations of Christ's true actions. Huxley represents a universal philosophy, one that makes Christ's teachings an expression of universal truth, but not THE expression of THE truth. And Lewis represents "mere Christianity", the common and essential beliefs of Christians and the catholic (little "c" is intended here) church.<br />
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The book itself is brilliant. Sometime after these deaths on 11/22/63, these three men meet . . . somewhere "between heaven and hell". As the title suggests. Of course, their actual location becomes a matter of debate. As their conversation continues, they begin discussing "life, the universe, and everything" (not in those words). Questions arise about Jesus' divinity and whether someone can be intellectually honest if they merely believe Jesus to be a good teacher, the historicity of the Bible, free will, and what does "truth" even mean?<br />
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The book tackles deep questions and gives deep answers. It's a dense book, too, packing a lot into its 100 pages. But it gets you thinking. It gets you asking these questions. It gets you mulling over the answers.<br />
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It's all imaginary. Yes, yes, I know, obviously it is imaginary. But that's not what I mean. This isn't a matter of Kreeft creating a true "dialogue" through the manipulation of three men's writings. Rather, he casts these three men in representations of an argument, as opposed to the arguers themselves. Using these three famous men, who all happened to die on the same day, as a storytelling device, he crafts an engaging and dramatic conversation. In Kreeft's own words, "the purpose of the dialog is not historical accuracy; the <i>argument</i> is all, as it is with Plato's Socrates." Thus, Kennedy, who rarely spoke publicly about his religious beliefs becomes a symbol for modern "casual Christianity". Only when reading Lewis' lines, which contain numerous allusions to his famous writings about why Christianity can claim to be Truth (capital "T" also intentional), did I feel that this might actually have been what he would have said. (I've not read anything by Kennedy, and my knowledge of Huxley is limited to a few readings of Brave New World over a decade ago.)<br />
<br />
So I do recommend it. I recommend it to people who are Christians and want to explore answers to some of the questions being posed to them about their faith. (And these are important questions. Christians are, too often, afraid to approach some questions. Perhaps because they are afraid that the answer might invalidate their beliefs?) I recommend it to people who are not Christians, but wonder how anyone could possibly believe such hogwash as a man who claimed to be God.<br />
<br />
But beyond saying it's a good book, with a lot of meaning, I'd also like to recommend HOW you read it. Take your time. Reread some of the passages. It's a short book, perhaps an afternoon read. But I said before it is dense. Every sentence builds on the last, as arguments are made, challenges given, and answers explained. But don't let that deter you. Rather, embrace that and use exercise some of your extra brain muscle.<br />
<br />
~ Ben<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=benaveonl-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=083083480X" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-63215479941416888782011-11-17T00:26:00.006-05:002011-11-17T10:26:37.454-05:00U2 and the JLA (thoughts on digital media)<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<a href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ahk-toong.jpg" style="color: #cc0000; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: underline;"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-854" height="238" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ahk-toong-300x238.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: 5px; max-width: 576px;" title="ahk-toong" width="300" /></a>I’m looking through the iTunes store, and something catches my eye. It’s a featured album, it’s only $7.99, and seems to be some sort of benefit for a charity.<br />
<br />
The title? “AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered”.<br />
<br />
The contents? Every song from U2′s “Achtung Baby”, covered by a different artist. Some of the names I recognized. Others, I have no idea who they are. Most of them — even the names I recognized — were performers that, even though I had heard OF them, I had never heard. NIN and Jack White and Gavin Friday being the expections.<br />
<br />
But they were all much more well known that the bands on that old cover album I bought years ago. And I like U2. And it was for a good cause.<br />
<br />
And hey, I bought and liked Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark.<br />
<br />
So I bought “AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered”. And you know what? It’s not bad. How’s that for a blazing review. My entire review might as well be “it could be worse”.<br />
<br />
Truth is, it COULD be worse. I know, I’ve bought worse.<br />
<a href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Achtung.jpg" style="color: #cc0000; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-853" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Achtung-300x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right; height: auto; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 5px; max-width: 576px;" title="Achtung" width="300" /></a><br />
So this gets me poking around a little bit more, and I find iTunes has the Achtung Baby remastered album. Now, I already have the album. I already have most of the b-sides from the singles of this album. But there were a few I didn’t recognize. A look back at my library and I find that, indeed, I do not have two of the tracks.<br />
<br />
Well, I do now.<br />
<br />
Then I looked at the Joshua Tree remastered album, and there are some tracks there that I don’t have.<br />
<br />
Again, I do now.<br />
<br />
Some of these are tracks I have heard of, and others of them I didn’t know existed. But here were these songs, songs I will enjoy over and over again, available to me for the first time. Yes, just $1 a piece for a song and a smile and a legal way to listen to what, up until know (to my knowledge) has only been available conveniently and cheaply as illegal downloads. I can;t say for certain, because the truth is I haven’t looked.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Josh.jpg" style="color: #cc0000; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-855 alignleft" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Josh-300x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 15px; margin-top: 5px; max-width: 576px;" title="Josh" width="300" /></a>What a world we live in! A world of technology and wonder!<br />
<br />
And this is where digital comics need to start catching up! For just yesterday, I was looking for a way to read (again, legally) an old storyline from the Justice League of America series. It’s a long story, but basically I heard some guys on a podcast talking about the story, and I realized they were talking about a comic book I owned when I was a kid! I had always wanted to know what happened — I had part one of the story, and it ended on a cliffhanger. I thought it was a two part story, but here I find out it was actually a five parter! A mini-series. A graphic novel length story involving time travel and alternate universes.<br />
<br />
I wanted to read it.<br />
<br />
ebay had the other four comics I was missing for $5 each, plus $5 shipping. And that was the cheaper sellers. I wasn’t paying $40. Mile High Comics was more reasonable, with the comics coming in at $3 to $6, and My Comic Shop had about the same pricing.<br />
<br />
Then I had an epiphany. What about digital downloads? How cool would that be? Just look it up in DC Comics’ Comixology app! Download and read ‘em on my iPad.<br />
<a href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/207-1.jpg" style="color: #cc0000; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-856" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/207-1-200x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right; height: auto; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 5px; max-width: 576px;" title="207-1" width="200" /></a><br />
No luck. The catalogue just doesn’t go that deep. And then I thought about the pricing. For this storyline, I probably would have paid the $1.99 they are charging for old comic issues. But as I started digging around and looking at some of the other, older comics they had, I just wasn’t inclined to buy a digital file for $1.99 to $3.99. I don’t know if that says more about me than it says about them.<br />
<br />
With U2, I made an impulse buy. I didn’t think twice about buying a small handful of songs for $.99 each. These are things I will be going back to, maybe not over and over again intentionally, but they are now in my U2 playlist, and they will get randomly played when I’m in the mood for some U2.<br />
<br />
With the comics? Am I just a cheapskate? But the truth is, unless a comic makes a big, big impression on me, I’m not going to go back and re-read it. That $1.99 price (or $2.99 or $3.99 for new comics) is just high enough to keep me from making an impulse buy of something I'm never going to read again. And their catalogue is just limited enough (“limited” to well known characters and stories — it’s just not deep enough to get to the obscure kinds of things I like) to keep me from finding the things I would pay more for. (I do understand there are technical details that set price tag and content where they are.)<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, in other media, we have movies. Netflix is a science fiction lovers dream, with complete series like Dr. Who and Stargate and every single Star Trek episode from every single series. But for movies and television, with much more dollars at stake than anyone else, they still seem to be dragging their feet in fully embracing the brace new world of digital media. (I can’t speak to books, because I really haven’t bought any books to read on my iPad, so I haven’t searched or browsed. But I do know that my own books from Zondervan are available as digital downloads.)<br />
<br />
As for the story? Justice League #s 207, 208, and 209 and All-Star Squadron #14 and 15 (I think)? I can live without them. But maybe I can find them on the cheap at a comic convention in the near future . . . maybe even for less than a dollar . . . <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and on paper!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What do you say?How has your “media consumption” changed in the new frontier of the digital age?</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">~ Ben</span><br />
<br />
<i>For $15 and $13, I honestly recommend both of these albums, even if you already have the albums, because of the extra 14 tracks of rare material they come with. These are two of the greatest albums ever, so if you don't have the albums, well, you should. Or, do like I did and get the individual tracks you may not have through iTunes . . . </i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=benaveonl-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B005Y5D7JM" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=benaveonl-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B001NB3AW0" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><br />
<br />
<i><br />
</i>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-5535656619813532702011-11-15T23:36:00.000-05:002011-12-11T23:37:27.918-05:00You Know What? I'm OK with (some of) DC's Character Redesigns . . .<br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Superman.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Superman.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-849" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Superman-195x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Superman-195x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Superman" width="195" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
So, yes, I'm mainly talking about Superman.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
Because I don't care about, say, Animal Man. He was never an icon. And yes, Harley Quinn's redesign is pretty atrocious. I don't even know about the character and I hate the redesign.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
And Batman, Flash, Aquaman . . . they're basically the same. But for Batman, his costume has changed over time. He has benefited from the movies (starting with Burton's Batman until, most recently, The Dark Knight) because having your character in front of millions of people worldwide and looking different in the comic . . . well, the comic has to follow that example. Batman has followed trends and set trends.</div>
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Superman? His costume barely changed for the television series and the first four movies and Lois and Clark and the cartoons, and Superman Returns didn't do much to push forward the character's fashion sense.</div>
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To be clear, I love the classic Superman design. I truly, truly do. But, that said, I understand why they redesigned him. And I somewhat agree.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
The original Superman outfit was based on (my opinion) circus strongmen and trapeze artists. It was, like the character, very much a part of the times. And in that time, it was cool.</div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/christopher_reeve.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/christopher_reeve.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-850" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/christopher_reeve-215x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/christopher_reeve-215x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right;" title="christopher_reeve" width="215" /></a>The costume has changed a little since he first came on the scene . . . but not much. (For an overview of the costume change over time, check out these guys: <a data-mce-href="http://superman.nu/Costumes/" href="http://superman.nu/Costumes/">The Superman Costumes</a>.) I would almost say the costume became something timeless, but that's not quite true. It was became somewhat ridiculous until Christopher Reeve managed to wear it sincerely and without irony. He made it work, and he made it work well, because he believed that a man who could do all the things Superman can do and wanted to do all the things Superman did do would wear those clothes.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
That was the good old days, though. The days when people could be earnest, not cynical. The days when someone could wear tights and a cape and colored briefs that matched the cape over those tights . . .</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
No. They couldn't. We were forgiving. We accepted it and moved on, but now we've seen it all before and seen it all a lot and as talented as artists are, truth is, we just don't suspend our disbelief in the same way.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
So we get armored Superman. And I'm okay with that. I'm not reading the comic (hey, I'm not MADE of money!) but I'm okay that they've changed my Superman.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
Although I still think Wonder Woman should wears pants. Because, as impractical as it is for men to wear underwear on the outside, it's absolutely practical for woman to ONLY wear underwear. Right?</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
~ Ben</div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-79119518481380900532011-11-10T17:03:00.063-05:002011-11-10T17:39:57.586-05:00Green Lantern is a movie about Hollywood . . .I finally saw Green Lantern. For those who don't know, it's a superhero sci-fi fantasy action movie about Hal Jordan, who is given a ring (and a lantern, which charges the ring) that can create anything Hal can imagine using the power of green (also known as willpower) . . . which comes with a price: he is now a member of an intergalactic police force.<br />
<br />
The premise has a lot or promise, and could easily be something really fun and interesting or truly awful. Amazingly, though, using the Hollywood power of green (also known as money) it's not either.<br />
<br />
Here's my review: you know that kid that was always in your class who just coasted through school and never went beyond what they had to do in order to get by, even though they were talented and intelligent and maybe good looking? Who could have really contributed to society or been very successful if only they had applied themselves? But who slid through and never really did anything to live up to their true potential?<br />
<br />
That's Green Lantern. Not the character, the movie. End of review.<br />
<br />
But thinking about it, I had some more thoughts I've been trying to sort through. Green Lantern embodies something beyond a simple "good" or "bad" statement of opinion. (Don't get me wrong -- the following is still opinion. I'm fully aware of that.)<br />
<br />
The movie itself is half-hearted and goes through all the motions that superhero movies are supposed to go through . . . and tries to be both Superman the Movie and Iron Man (the first one), but does so without really knowing what made either of those movies work. On a purely technical level, it works, and on a conceptual level, it works, but all the in between stuff -- you know, scripting and acting and filming and effects -- just doesn't gel.<br />
<br />
An outline of the basic storyline would look good. "A" happens, then "B", then "C", which was caused by "A", and "B" and "C" together make "D" happen. But four people wrote the movie, and it feels like it has four different tones and four different characterizations for the main cast.<br />
<br />
This bothers me. It doesn't bother me as much as the kid I was talking about above (who I sometimes WAS when I was in school and who I came across many, many times when I was teaching school . . . and still do, even out of that setting). Because that kid is a living human being with a future and with a family and who is a part of society. No, Green Lantern is a story. A $200 million story. And if you've read my blog at all, you know that I believe that stories have power. Sadly, the power this story had was wasted.<br />
<br />
That's my general feeling about Green Lantern, and as I was thinking about it and all the wasted potential I started thinking about something more metaphorical. Green Lantern is a movie about itself. Green Lantern is about big, expensive, Hollywood movies.<br />
<br />
Here is a character who has the power to create whatever he can imagine, and when he does imagine things it just lacks . . . imagination. I know that something like this runs the risk of looking like a Looney Toons cartoon, and we already have a superhero movie like that in The Mask. But I just found myself being underwhelmed by it all. Once or twice, I thought the things he was doing were clever. The other times, it just felt bland.<br />
<br />
And, going to that other power of green, the one that the movie's producers have, they could have done anything their imaginations dreamed up as well. But I just found myself being underwhelmed by it all. Once or twice, I thought the things he was doing were clever. The other times, it just felt bland.<br />
<br />
That's when it struck me: Green Lantern, in all it's mediocre blandness, is a movie ABOUT ITSELF! And, in a bigger picture sense, about Hollywood blockbusters.<br />
<br />
I have a long list of things that should have been done differently to make Green Lantern better, but what scares me is that there are a LOT of people who are MUCH smarter than I am who worked on this movie . . . and this is still the end result.<br />
<br />
So instead of Green Lantern, I recommend the follow movies that Green Lantern is trying to be:<br />
<br />
Superman, which has the heart of heroism and all ages appeal . . .<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=myth-understanding-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B000IJ79UW" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><br />
<br />
Iron Man, which is edgy and has a strong, sarcastic, and confident "hero" at its core who has a lot of life lessons to learn:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=myth-understanding-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B00005JPS8" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><br />
<br />
The Mask, which has a more wacky, abut also more organic, variation on the superhero who can make anything he can imagine come into being:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=myth-understanding-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B00081912E" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><br />
<br />
Each of these films have flaws . . . but they also have a lot of heart.<br />
<br />
~ BenBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-79429637954227620092011-11-03T23:37:00.000-04:002011-12-11T23:38:29.488-05:00Good News on the Planet of the Apes<br />
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<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Apes.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Apes.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-637" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Apes-300x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Apes-300x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Apes" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
Hmmm. The title sounds like a pretty awful movie. "Good News on the Planet of the Apes".</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
But the truth is . . . I'm pretty excited about this little tidbit of news I saw people talking about on ye ol' internet:</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<a data-mce-href="http://www.deadline.com/2011/11/andy-serkis-closes-big-planet-of-the-apes-deal-should-fox-campaign-for-oscar/" href="http://www.deadline.com/2011/11/andy-serkis-closes-big-planet-of-the-apes-deal-should-fox-campaign-for-oscar/">Andy Serkis plans to reprise his roll as Caeser on the planet of the apes sequel.</a></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
Actually, it's two bits of news. First, they've signed Serkis to do it. Which means they're getting ready to do it. Whether they do it or not is another story -- a Hollywood story in which nothing is certain until it happens, and even then sometimes it's not certain. But they are getting ready to. This is good news.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
The other good news is that the main team behind bringing Rise of the Planet of the Apes to the screen is going to be behind the sequel. The writers, the director, and of course, Andy Serkis.</div>
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I really, really liked Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It was a quiet, thoughtful character driven sci-fi action film. It felt like an independent film with epic scope. And almost everyone I talked to about it (all six or seven of them) were ready to see more when the closing credits came. And the ending of the movie was a game changer, promising a sequel that pushed the character of Caesar, and the story of the world, into new places.</div>
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As much as I love the originals (and I do, very, very much) I'm ready for this sequel . . .</div>
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What about you? How did you like the new sequel? Is this good new or bad?</div>
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~ Ben</div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-56209541742774315132011-10-27T23:39:00.000-04:002011-12-11T23:39:55.844-05:00Yesterday Was Wednesday ... and that meant new comics!<br />
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So here's what interested me from the comic shelves yesterday . . .</div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Aquaman02.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Aquaman02.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-821" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Aquaman02.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Aquaman02.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Aquaman02" width="194" /></a><em>Oooo, scary . . .</em></div>
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Surprised that Aquaman was on my list? You wouldn't be if you read <a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/?p=787" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/?p=787">my initial thoughts on DC Comics going back and starting over all their series</a>. Aquaman is one of my favorite characters and I'm glad to see him get a bit of a new life.</div>
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But after reading the second chapter, does this look like this series can float? (Sorry . . .) The answer is yes. I enjoyed it. The threat that was briefly introduced last issue (to make room for introducing the main character) is front and center in this issue.</div>
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The one thing I'm waiting for, though, is a character arc. I'm not seeing where the character of Aquaman is going or growing yet. I just don't know what's at stake for the character. The plot of the story should reflect and push the growth of the character. That doesn't mean it won't happen, because this is a weakness of any serialized storytelling, as chapter builds on chapter.</div>
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The other problem I had? This was SHORT! Twenty pages for $2.99.</div>
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So I'm intrigued and interested and ready for chapter 3.</div>
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Oh, and look into the eyes of the creature on that cover . . . do you see it? Yes . . . it's issue #1's cover! Apparently, creatures from the Trench are reading DC's new 52 as well . . .</div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/LegionOrigin1.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/LegionOrigin1.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-819" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/LegionOrigin1-195x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/LegionOrigin1-195x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="LegionOrigin1" width="195" /></a><em>See that ring on his hand? I got one with my purchase of this book! Of course, the rings don't actually appear INSIDE the book. Guess they needed to put it on the cover for the promotion to make sense . . .</em></div>
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Last week was ALL Legion of Super-heroes. <a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/?p=802" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/?p=802">You can read my thoughts about it here. </a>And when I picked them up last week, I thought those three series (yes, there are three series about these character: two ongoing, as part of DC Comics' New 52, and one mini-series crossover with Star Trek -- yes, I don't understand it either and after reading the first issue I still don't understand it, but it's there) were it. Well, turns out there's a fourth series -- a mini-series that will explore and explain the origins of the Legion of Super-heroes.</div>
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I'm hoping that it will explain everything I need to know to really be able to understand and follow the Legion of Super-heroes, but so far not so much. This story felt choppy and again, I can't help feeling that it has fallen prey to the "twenty pages of a longer story at a time" weakness.</div>
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But it does have some interesting elements -- the science fiction universe that is home to a legion of super-heroes premise is infecting me, I think.</div>
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Still, I feel that this one will be better if read as a whole story instead of chopped up into chapters.</div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Western1.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Western1.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-818" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Western1-193x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Western1-193x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Western1" width="193" /></a></div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Western2.jpeg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Western2.jpeg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-817" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Western2-195x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Western2-195x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Western2" width="195" /></a></div>
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I'm a casual fan of the Western and it's tropes. I've worked on a couple westerns in the past, and I read them occasionally, and enjoy a good Western movie. So All Star Western piqued my interest, but enough for me to buy it until I started hearing good things about it.</div>
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By then it was too late. The New 52 was sold out.</div>
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However, as I mentioned in an earlier post about the New 52, this month when each second issue arrives on shelves, reprints of the first issue are also being sold. Yesterday, All Star Western #2 came out . . . so I thought I'd give the first two issues a look.</div>
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First, these books were littered with references to modern day superheroes. It takes place in the 1800's, but the story itself focuses on bounty hunter Jonah Hex arriving in Gotham City to track down a serial killer. The mayor of Gotham City? Mayor Cobblepot (an ancestor of the Penguin). One of the city's wealthy elite? Alan Wayne. Issue 2 references a "Crime Bible", something I heard about in some mini-series or other a couple years ago. Hex's city slicker helper in Gotham? Amedeus Arkham, a psychologist (if not the founder of Arkham Asylum -- I don't know the Batman lore well enough -- than an ancestor of the founder).</div>
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It's a tense, gritty, violent book. Prostitutes are the killer's targets. Issue 2 features a bloody shoot out.</div>
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The art is highly stylized, though, and I don't find myself taking time to really absorb artwork unless it is really, really good, but here I did find myself looking at the bold line work.</div>
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It's a $3.99 book, unlike most of the other New 52 books. And it has a longer page count. Issue 1 was a longer first chapter, all Jonah Hex. Twenty-eight pages of story. Issue 2 had a twenty page Jonah Hex story continuing from issue 1, and an eight page El Diablo story.</div>
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El Diablo, also known as Lazarus Lane. (Any relation to Lois Lane? Can't help wondering.) It's an "Indian curse"/"zombie" story about Lane, who, when unconscious, has some sort of dark spirit that takes the physical form of a whip wielding Zorro clone? I don't understand, but since I'll probably be getting #3 to get the next chapter in Jonah Hex's story I may be finding out more.</div>
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Also this week:</div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Kirby.tiff" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Kirby.tiff"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-822" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Kirby.tiff" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Kirby.tiff" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Kirby" /></a></div>
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Haven't read this yet, but it's a bunch (100 pages worth!) of short Jack Kirby stories from the beginning of his career. I love reading these kind of books. And I can't sing the praises of DC Comics Presents 100 Page Spectaculars enough!</div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Smurf.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Smurf.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-816" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Smurf.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Smurf.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Smurf" width="300" /></a></div>
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And my kids LOVE the Smurf comics. More than the cartoons!</div>
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The movie, you ask? What movie? There's no Smurfs movie . . .</div>
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~ Ben</div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-52946532223717739962011-10-22T18:04:00.000-04:002011-10-22T18:04:15.686-04:00Round UpI haven't posted in a while, and thought I'd do a little round up sharing what I've been u to lately.<br />
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First, I've been writing a couple different books for <a href="http://kingstonecomics.com/">Kingstone Comics</a>. I just finished a graphic novel documentary about the history of the Bible -- the actual book, how it was written, translated, and comes to us in its different forms today. I'm also writing the fourth, of twelve, chapter/issue of The Christ for Kingstone, which will be a comprehensive "life of Jesus" story.<br />
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Second, I've just finished writing a graphic novel about the life of Paul for Lamppost. The artwork has just started.<br />
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Watch this space for more details about when these books will be published.<br />
<br />
Or you could watch this space: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ben-Avery-storyteller-News-and-Stuff/348391039427">Ben Avery - storyteller</a>. This is my Facebook "fan page" or whatever it is they are calling it. If you're on Facebook and you're interested in details about what I'm up to, this is the place to go. Just click "like". (I think that's what you're supposed to do . . . I'm still figuring it all out even though I've been on Facebook how long?)<br />
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I've also been involved in a a podcast -- which isn't news. Also not news -- we haven't recorded a new episode for a few months. What IS news is that we are going to be "rebooting" the podcast, and new episodes will be showing up early in November. The podcast is called <a href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/">The Fanboy Tollbooth</a>, and it's a clean geek related podcast. I've been posting over there . . . although perhaps I should be posting some of those posts over here instead, since I've been letting this blog go a little.<br />
<br />
But here are some posts that may be of interest:<br />
<a href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/?p=779">Digital Comics: What They're Doing Right (sort of)</a><br />
<a href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/?p=762">The Avengers Trailer - Meh? Or Yay!</a><br />
<a href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/?p=787">DC's New 52? Giving comics and characters a facelift</a> (about the DC Comics reboot)<br />
<a href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/?p=802">New Comics: Legion of Super-heroes</a> (reviewing four different Legion of Super-heroes comics)<br />
<a href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/?p=797">Mama, just killed a man . . . with this SONG!</a> (be careful with this one, once you see it . . . you can't UNsee it)<br />
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Visit <a href="http://FanboyTollbooth.com/">FanboyTollbooth.com</a> to read other articles and listening to our previous podcasts. You can also "like" the podcast <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Fanboy-Tollbooth-Podcast/105466266196049">on our Facebook page</a>.<br />
<br />
~ BenBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-79803512254990686772011-10-21T23:40:00.000-04:002011-12-11T23:40:58.923-05:00New Comics: Legion of Super-heroes<br />
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When I was a kid, I had a couple Superboy and the Legion of Super-heroes comic books. I liked them. They had Superboy and a bunch of cool looking characters. It was in space and in the future and, to someone excited about Star Wars and Superman it was a cool convergence of both.</div>
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Of course, I knew nothing about the cast of characters and the continuing story and I was very, very confused about what was going on. Both comics started in the middle of something . . . had some cool action . . . and ended on a cliffhanger.</div>
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I still like the concept, though, but like X-Men comics I never got into any of the many series because of all the backstory and the huge cast of characters. Reading comics over time I got to know some of the main characters and concepts.</div>
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In the comic shop yesterday, there were four different Legion of Super-heroes comics . . . and I thought this might be a chance to give it a try. Two of them, after all, were from the new 52 . . .</div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/DCComicsPresentsSuperboyLegion.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/DCComicsPresentsSuperboyLegion.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-803" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/DCComicsPresentsSuperboyLegion-188x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/DCComicsPresentsSuperboyLegion-188x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="DCComicsPresentsSuperboyLegion" width="188" /></a><strong></strong></div>
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<strong>DC COMICS PRESENTS SUPERBOY'S LEGION</strong></div>
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<strong></strong>I decided to read this one first, since it was a reprint of an older Legion story.</div>
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I was very confused when I started reading it, because NOTHING went along with what I already knew about the characters, until I realized that it was actually an Elseworlds book: a stand alone story that has nothing to do with any continuity and is set in its own universe.</div>
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In the "real" Legion stories, super powered teens from the future are inspired to become superheroes by Superman's exploits in the present. In THIS story, Superman never existed because the rocket ship that carried him to Earth as a baby somehow went off course and wasn't found until the far future. So Kal-El lives in the future, has taken to calling himself Superboy (inspired by the OTHER superheroes from the present, who died early because Superman wasn't around) and Superboy now wants to build a "legion". Of "super-heroes".</div>
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I'm sure if I was more familiar with the Legion characters, I'd have found it even more clever than it was because of all the appearances of all the many characters. But as it is, I still found it quite interesting. It's a fun story, with super heroics and sci-fi ideas.</div>
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Recommended. The DC Comics Presents . . . series is a great deal. Each of these books is a 100 page "graphic novel" reprinting various classic and/or obscure story arcs from the past.</div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Legion01.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Legion01.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-804" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Legion01-195x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Legion01-195x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Legion01" width="195" /></a><a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Legion02.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Legion02.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-805" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Legion02-193x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Legion02-193x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Legion02" width="193" /></a><strong></strong></div>
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<strong>LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #1 and #2</strong></div>
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<strong></strong>So this new series is one of the "new 52", <a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/?p=787" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/?p=787">like I mentioned in this previous post</a>, and is supposed to be a great jumping on point.</div>
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It wasn't.</div>
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That's not to say it wasn't good. It was. And they worked to make it accessible, by carefully introducing characters as soon as you see them the first time, in both issues. But, just like my old Legion comics, coming into the first issue, the reader is coming into the middle of a story.</div>
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I did appreciate the science fiction elements, and it is well written.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
But unlike the "Superboy's Legion" book I read just before this, where the initial confusion was intentional, here it was unavoidable because it is still tied to directly to the old Legion of Super-heroes stories.</div>
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Recommended if you are familiar with the characters and storyline, but not if you are coming in with no knowledge like me.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/LegionLost01.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/LegionLost01.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-807" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/LegionLost01-195x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/LegionLost01-195x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="LegionLost01" width="195" /></a></div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/LegionLost02.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/LegionLost02.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-808" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/LegionLost02-195x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/LegionLost02-195x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="LegionLost02" width="195" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>LEGION LOST #1 and #2</strong></div>
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<strong></strong>Coming into this series, I found the same problem as the previous series . . . but this time, it worked.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
The first issue opens right in the middle of a story. A handful of the huge cast of superheroes from the future of the Legion has found itself trapped in the present. It's picking up from the same storyline Legion of Super-heroes picked up from, and the careful character introductions aren't there and somehow . . . I was drawn in.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
Maybe I was okay feeling lost because "lost" was in the title?</div>
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Supposedly, time travel is no longer possible in the "new 52" DC universe, and these characters are stuck. "Men out of time", so to speak. I liked it.</div>
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Recommended.</div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/StarTrekLegion.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/StarTrekLegion.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-809" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/StarTrekLegion-197x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/StarTrekLegion-197x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="StarTrekLegion" width="197" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<strong>STAR TREK/LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES</strong></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
It's geek fodder. "Who would win in a fight, Freddy or Jason?" "What if aliens fought predators?" "Wouldn't it be brilliant ifIron Man, Captain America, and Thor met the Hulk, a red-haired woman, and a guy I'm pretty sure I recognize from something who shoots arrows?"</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
I can't imagine ANYONE has ever sat down thinking . . . "what if the futuristic Captain Kirk and crew teamed up with superhero teens from the further future?"</div>
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But here it is. It's a classic Trek trope -- the old "alternate universe timeline" story, in which Kirk and crew find themselves in a mirror universe. And so do a small group of the Legion heroes. The same mirror universe. The two teams haven't met yet, in this issue. I guess that's in the next issue.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
But is it good? Surprisingly, it is.</div>
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Recommended? If you like this sort of thing.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
~ Ben</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
PS -- The last one, of course, reminds me of this:</div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/XmenTrek.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/XmenTrek.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-810" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/XmenTrek-196x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/XmenTrek-196x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="XmenTrek" width="196" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
Yes, Star Trek/X-Men. This one, also as un-needed as the Trek/Legion, at least had a couple moments in which iconic characters meet and do iconic things. Like this:</div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/spock.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/spock.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-811" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/spock-197x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/spock-197x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="spock" width="197" /></a></div>
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Spock giving Wolverine a nerve pinch? I like it.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
But I like this more:</div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mccoy.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mccoy.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-812" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mccoy-158x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mccoy-158x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="mccoy" width="158" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
Clever.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<br /></div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-63649770637998701912011-10-20T23:41:00.000-04:002011-12-11T23:42:19.347-05:00Mama, just killed a man . . . with this SONG!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Shatner.jpg"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-799 aligncenter" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Shatner.jpg" title="Shatner" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
And life had just begun . . .<br />
<br />
Here he is! The one and only Shatner, doing the Bohemian Rhapsody:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cKo4FMzt_hM" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
Wow. It's impressing me and depressing me at the same time.<br />
<br />
There's a part of me that loves seeing Shatner so much, especially with his run as Denny Crane on Boston Legal.<br />
<br />
There's another part of me that wishes it wasn't so much self-parody.<br />
<br />
And let's face facts, as awesome as Shatner can be . . . he just doesn't hold a candle to THIS Bohemian Rhapsody:<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tgbNymZ7vqY" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
Still and all, his new album, Seeking Major Tom, an album of space themed classic rock songs, just might be finding its way into my iTunes library . . .<br />
<br />
~ BenBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-15470561074058301022011-10-18T23:43:00.000-04:002011-12-11T23:43:38.842-05:00DC's New 52? Giving comics & characters a facelift . . .<br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
Well, DC is in month two of their "new 52" initiative, in which they have completely, only not really, rebooted their entire universe to start over at the beginning.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
Unless the character was popular. In which case, they aren't starting over from the beginning and instead they are continuing with their popular elements.</div>
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So Superman? Starting over from the beginning. Green Lantern? They just finished an epic storyline with him, so that still happened. Same with Batman.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
I find it interesting how they are trying to make things less confusing by making things more confusing . . . but, snark aside, this really seems to be a good thing.</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
First, comic shops are having a hard time keeping titles on the shelves. Orders for the second month of the New 52 saw their second issues in the top one hundred sales rankings, side by side with REPRINTS of their first issues.</div>
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Second, it seems that people are mainly buying them to READ, not to COLLECT. I'm not sure if this is industry wide, but the owners of BuyMeToys.com, my local shop, said that unlike other "events", people are buying one copy of the books. For reading, it seems.</div>
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Third, some of the characters were in need of a little more than a facelift. There comes a time when trying to cover up aging results in something like you'd find in Terry Gilliam's Brazil:</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;">
<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Brazil.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Brazil.jpg"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-788 aligncenter" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Brazil-300x169.jpg" height="169" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Brazil-300x169.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Brazil" width="300" /></a><em>No one really wants their heroes to look like this, even metaphorically, do they?</em></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
Besides, Superman has a movie coming out and he needs to be more hip and happenin'. While I don't agree with some of what they're doing to update the characters, the truth is every single one of these books is more accessible. Mostly.</div>
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Fourth, Aquaman! Yes, I know, with that one word I have destroyed ALL credibility. But it's good to see Aquaman in his own book. And I'm buying it. For a few issues, anyway.</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/aquaman.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/aquaman.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-789" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/aquaman-192x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/aquaman-192x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left;" title="aquaman" width="192" /></a>The first issue of Aquaman illustrates exactly what DC is trying to do. In trying to pull in new audiences, but satisfy old audiences, they start a new storyline with new enemies.</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
At the same time, Geoff Johns tells a story that introduces the character nicely, and sets up his place in the DC universe. It's a little bit tongue in cheek, wink and nod, but all the things that people make fun of the character for are addressed.</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
It's a low key issue, meant to bring everyone up to speed enough so that when the story really gets going, readers care about the character. Whether this succeeds or not is up to the reader, of course, but I felt like it succeeded. I want to see where this goes, so I'll be buying the next two issues to see if I like where it's going. It was a good start.</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
I only bought two other comics from the new 52. People who know me should not be surprised that I bought Aquaman. And I mentioned <a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/?p=779" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/?p=779">in my digital comics post</a> that I had bought the Justice League #1 that came with the print comic and the download code for the digital copy.<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/JL.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/JL.jpg"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-790 alignright" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/JL-196x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/JL-196x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right;" title="JL" width="196" /></a></div>
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What I didn't mention was that I wasn't all that impressed with the actual comic. It was serviceable, but it was meant to be a "how we met" story, and how do Batman and Superman meet? Well, they fight, of course!</div>
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I won't be buying any more Justice League. As impressed as I was with Geoff Johns' writing in Aquaman and other books I've read of his, this didn't do anything for me. I get that the book is a "how they met" thing, but I'd rather the book had opened with the team together and looked back at the other stuff over time. This is a team book, and at the end of the first chapter there's still no team, just the cliched "heroes meet, there's a misunderstanding, so they fight". I mean, honestly, this plot is the reason I don't like romantic comedies.</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/SwampThing.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/SwampThing.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-791" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/SwampThing-192x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/SwampThing-192x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left;" title="SwampThing" width="192" /></a>If Aquaman comes as no surprise to people who know me, Swamp Thing should do the same.</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
I love swamp monsters.</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
Especially in well made movies and comics.</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
Now, first off, let me say: I have never, ever seen a good swamp monster movie. "Creature from the Black Lagoon is as close as I've gotten, and that doesn't count.</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
But there have been some very good swamp monster comics. What makes a good swamp monster comic? Interesting characters doing interesting things that involve a swamp creature of some sort. (This is the same criteria I use for swamp monster movies . . .)</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
So is this a good one? I don't know. Why? Because I had no idea what was going on. For a comic that was supposed to be an accessible story, I found myself really, really confused. I felt like I was coming into the middle of the story. I don't like giving bad reviews, so I'm just going to leave it at this: issue one and two left me cold, and I'm going to give it one more issue. I don't expect everything to be explained in a story, but I would like to have some idea of what's going on. This book seemed to tie into plot lines from before the "new 52" relaunch, which I am not familiar with.</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
I almost picked up Animal Man, but flipping through it I was reminded of '90's Vertigo comics. That's not a knock. I really, really liked '90's Vertigo comics. But it's not for me right now.</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
There is a western title coming out, from the team behind Jonah Hex. When the second issue comes out at the end of the month, so will a reprint of the first issue. I plan to buy both, give those a try.</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
The bottom line: the new 52 has a wide variety of different titles and styles. If you want to get in on the ground floor, this is the time to do it. Most of the titles have first and second issues in comic shops now, or first and second issues available through the Comixology app. I was skeptical, but DC seems to have hit the right notes.</div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: left;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
~ Ben</div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-87805981896065663042011-10-17T23:44:00.000-04:002011-12-11T23:44:39.483-05:00Digital Comics: What They're Doing Right (sort of)<br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">
<a data-mce-href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Immortalironfist.jpg" href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Immortalironfist.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-780" data-mce-src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Immortalironfist-197x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Immortalironfist-197x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left;" title="Immortalironfist" width="197" /></a>I got an e-mail this morning from Comixology and Marvel telling me that they were running a "half off sale" until 11:00 AM.</div>
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That's half off $1.99. So already, Comixology is offering these comic book issues at a low price compared to current new issues ($2.99 to $4.99). This price covers almost all old issues -- issues that are collector's items in print and may run $10, $20, $50, or more in comic shops and on eBay; issues that were originally $.35 on the newsstand; and issues that are only a few years or months old and originally were $1.99 to $3.99 or whatever.</div>
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Comixology is a nice "equalizer" in that way. In digital comics, there is no collectibility. You can't invest, buying a $3 book featuring Obama with Spider-Man and hope that you can resell it sometime for a tidy profit. But on the flip side, you aren't spending $100 because you want to finally read that issue about Spider-Man meeting Obama and you realize that the only way that's going to happen is to buy it from one of those people who want to make that tidy profit. Again, though, because prices are so fixed, you're not going to be able to find that issue on eBay for $.25 starting bid because they finally understand that, really, they aren't putting their kid through college because they bought a comic book with Obama and Spider-Man inside and now they just want to get rid of them.</div>
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So prices are "fixed". Sort of. You can buy any of DC Comics' new books the same day they arrive in comic shops, but you will pay full cover price for them for a period of time, before the price drops to that magical $1.99.</div>
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And then there are the sales. DC Comics was running some fairly regular weekend sales, with a selection of half off comics. When the Green Lantern movie came out, you can bet that they had a bunch of Green Lantern comics for just $.99. When their big Flashpoint crossover was hitting stores, they ran a sale on Flash comics.</div>
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They also frequently have sales for the smaller publishers titles.</div>
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And now this e-mail from Marvel. This is the first sale from Marvel that I remember seeing, and like the DC sale, it has a time limit. For this one, all twenty-seven issues of Immortal Iron Fist are $.99 each. If you were to buy these at cover price, that would be about $100 you'd drop. If you were to buy the collections on Amazon, you'd be spending $42 (they have some of those "bargain priced" right now).</div>
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And I find myself in a quandary. As of this writing, I have one hour if I want to get in on the sale. This is a series I wanted to read, but my local comic shop didn't have the entire series by the time I realized I might like it (that's the way of things for me -- I'm late to the party, always). But if I'm going to spend the $27, why not spend the $42? I have birthday money, right? And I'll have the entire story on my shelf, in nice and tidy graphic novels. Then again, if I get it for my iPad, I don't have to worry about using shelf space. And really, am I going to read it again?</div>
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The truth is, while I have the comic apps, I haven't bought any comics on them. In fact, the only comic on any of those Comixology apps that I have on my iPad right now that I paid for, I bought at a comic shop! It's Justice League #1, the digital edition. Cover price $4.99, it came with the comic book and a code to put in to allow you to download the issue as well.</div>
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The clock is ticking. Just under an hour now. There's something else they are getting right: that sense of urgency.</div>
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In the end, I think I know what I'll be doing. I'll probably put off the choice . . . not do either . . . and then, if I think of it I'll get them from the library.</div>
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If I think of it.</div>
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What about you? Are you on the digital comics bandwagon? Or is it paper only for you? Or are you like me, hanging somewhere in-between?</div>
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~ Ben</div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-79182429459613471482011-10-12T23:45:00.000-04:002011-12-11T23:45:38.636-05:00The Avengers Trailer - Meh? Or Yay!<br />
<center><iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xuR3wSKeNOc" width="560"></iframe></center>First, let me say, The Avengers is a movie that has a LOT going for it, and I have some very, very high expectations. Why?
1. Joss Whedon. He's a co-writer, and I love almost anything he writes. Almost. He's also directing, but it's the writing I'm looking forward to. Zak Penn is also a co-writer, and he hand his hand in a lot of movies -- none of them, except X-Men 2 and Incredible Hulk, movies I've really liked, story-wise. But Joss Whedon, man. When he's good, he's really, really good.
2. Captain America. Thor. Iron Man. The Hulk. Each of these were movies I enjoyed, and they are meant to build up to the massive The Avengers movie. The actors for the first three really owned the characters, and I enjoyed watching all three of them in their character. The Hulk has been played by two different actors in his two previous movies, and a third actor in this one.
3. Captain America. Thor. Iron Man. The Hulk. These are great characters, and The Avengers features all of those characters. That's a LOT of strong personalities and dynamic performers, each of them able to sustain their own two hour movies. Bringing them together, in one story, could be recipe for disaster. But I echo Jeremy's thoughts: "However, from the trailer, I can assume at least, that Joss Whedon was able to find the perfect balance between them all." It'll be a juggling act, to be sure.
So, yeah, I have high expectations.
HAD high expectations. Until I saw this trailer.
First, I have to say, I'm not impressed with some of the costumes. In the Captain America: The First Avenger movie, they made what really should be a ridiculous costume work. It doesn't work for me now.
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<a href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/36049L.png.jpeg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-764" height="246" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/36049L.png.jpeg" title="36049L.png" width="461" /></a></div>
Maybe it's the lighting. Then again, he's looking really good here:
<a href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/36046L.png.jpeg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-765" height="267" src="http://fanboytollbooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/36046L.png-1024x475.jpg" title="36046L.png" width="576" /></a>
The helmet looks really cool, but that hoody type mask just feels like something I could make after shopping at Wal-Mart.
But enough nitpicking.
When I saw that the trailer was hitting computers earlier this week, I got excited. I'm looking forward to this movie and here was, finally, a peek inside.
Then I watched it.
I was not impressed. At all.
This is a good thing. A very good thing. Why? Well, it lowered my expectations. It tempered my excitement. I'm still going to be in the theater opening day, and if it's a good, fun movie I won't be disappointed because it's not a great, ground breaking film.
~ Ben
<em>Hat tip to <a href="http://www.comicbookmovie.com/" target="_blank">www.comicbookmovie.com</a> for the screencaps.</em>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-25736827294301854412011-06-04T12:11:00.000-04:002011-06-04T12:11:52.179-04:00REVIEW: X-Men First Class<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O_StGnVtf6s/TepEoGk9MeI/AAAAAAAAAvQ/JSygENSyr0w/s1600/X-Men+First+Class+Movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O_StGnVtf6s/TepEoGk9MeI/AAAAAAAAAvQ/JSygENSyr0w/s1600/X-Men+First+Class+Movie.jpg" /></a></div><br />
THE REVIEW:<br />
<br />
X-Men First Class is a prequel to the OTHER X-Men movies that manages to surpass them. It's a strong film, and it feels like a movie . . . instead of feeling like a comic book movie. Packing a lot of characters and a lot of action sequences into two hours and twenty minutes, X-Men First Class is exciting and funny and fun.<br />
<br />
It's not perfect. The main bad guy, Sebastian Shaw, has an unexplained change in motives and, well, more. (See the spoiler notes below.) But with so many characters, there was very little time for the background characters, yet most of them still have pretty satisfying character arcs. The exceptions: Tornado-man and Azazel, who stand around in the background and look cool and kill people. (I'm sure Tornado-man has a name, I didn't catch it.)<br />
<br />
Overall, though, it's a slick movie with emotional pay-off. The acting, for the most part, is good. I've heard complaints about Kevin Bacon -- I really liked him in the movie. A lot. And as much as I loved Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan as Professor X and Magneto, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender were very likeable as the younger versions of the characters.<br />
<br />
Overall, a good movie that, for me, is the best of the franchise.<br />
<br />
GEEK'S TAKE: <br />
<br />
Comic book fans: not sure how you will like it. It is a prequel to the movies, so it has very little to do with comic book continuity. However, it didn't bother me. I knew nothing about Sebastian Shaw before, but I liked what he was in the film (mostly).<br />
<br />
I still think it would have been better if, as a complete reboot, it had featured the comic book cast of Angel, Cyclops, Beast, Iceman, and Marvel Girl. As a group, that's my favorite team of X-Men. Of course, that would have meant a reboot to the movie franchise.<br />
<br />
SO WHAT DOES IT "TEACH" ABOUT STORYTELLING?<br />
<br />
As a writer, I appreciated a lot about this movie. With a few plotholes (a couple elements seemed to be left on the cutting room floor -- it felt like this may have been a two hour and thirty minute film originally, and if my suspicions are correct, I hope it's successful enough to get a director's cut), it still managed to give a satisfying and emotional story.<br />
<br />
Any action sequences came directly from the plot and were driven by the characters. Unlike the later X-Men movies, this one feels like a lot of time and thought was spent on the story. In a way that resonated with me, the plot built on the relationships of the characters to push things forward. It all rises to a climax that that, because of the personal character and relationship groundwork laid earlier in the story, becomes more tense and more interesting.<br />
<br />
Along with that, the theme of the movie gets explored from many different angles.Almost every scene is about choosing to become the person you want to become, and each character is given a chance to choose what they are going to do. Those choices all have a payoff in the climax of the movie.<br />
<br />
BOTTOM LINE<br />
<br />
I really enjoyed this movie. The 60's setting helped separate it from the other X-Men movies and gave it a different sort of vibe compared to other superhero movies. I wish there had been a bit more clothing . . . maybe it was a budget thing? Not for kids (not just because of content, it's just a more mature film), X-Men First Class is a heartfelt action film, with character development, fun, menace, and action.<br />
<br />
SPOILER NOTES:<br />
<br />
How is it that Sebastian Shaw goes from being a Nazi scientist interested in mutants to being a mutant himself? Was he a mutant in the beginning, which adds an interesting level to his character but doesn't seem to be what the story is showing? Or did he make himself into a mutant, which seems to go against the whole "mutants are the next step and regular people are doomed to be overrun" thing? It feels like there was a tiny bit of exposition missing between the 40's and the 60's.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-74191227701769890442011-04-29T17:17:00.000-04:002011-04-29T17:17:25.564-04:00Superman . . . Because I Just Had to Say SOMETHING . . .<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-81zZyc0NzhA/TbskybEA_rI/AAAAAAAAAvA/vbVI5n3bKCQ/s1600/supesflag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-81zZyc0NzhA/TbskybEA_rI/AAAAAAAAAvA/vbVI5n3bKCQ/s1600/supesflag.jpg" /></a></div>Back in the late '70's and the early years of my life, this was Superman. It wasn't until I grew up that I understood how cynical things were in that time and that part of what made Superman and Star Wars, as movies, successful was the earnestness of optimism.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/04/27/superman-renounces-us-citizenship/">So there's a whole lot of talk about Superman renouncing his American citizenship.</a> It's funny -- I was just thinking about how Superman really represents the best of America. He's an immigrant, he believes in good and evil, he believes in using his powers for good, and he's okay looking like a square doing it.<br />
<br />
And he stands for "the American way", which is, simply put: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
And now he's saying:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bu12Cfgurus/TbsmNA5YqcI/AAAAAAAAAvE/xjcqnS2cGKE/s1600/panel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bu12Cfgurus/TbsmNA5YqcI/AAAAAAAAAvE/xjcqnS2cGKE/s1600/panel.jpg" /></a></div>Followed up with this:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uS5lwJX3UnQ/TbsmOzmn-FI/AAAAAAAAAvI/RD0jAgf5Oas/s1600/panel2l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uS5lwJX3UnQ/TbsmOzmn-FI/AAAAAAAAAvI/RD0jAgf5Oas/s320/panel2l.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><br />
Now, I read the story in question. It's an okay story. Superman decides to give up the "American citizenship" because a Middle East government took his participation in a peace rally as an endorsement of the American government in the peace movement. So Supes decides to give up his citizenship to avoid things like that in the future, with his reasoning in the above panel.<br />
<br />
In other words, Superman is now a citizen of the world. And the truth is this: Superman, in the stories he inhabits and also in the real world, is a symbol. A symbol of "truth" and "justice" and the "American way". Remember when, in Superman Returns, they didn't say "and the American way"?<br />
<br />
This is nothing new.<br />
<br />
This says nothing about the symbol Superman has become. It says everything about the people in charge of the symbol.<br />
<br />
The same could be said about America. America is a symbol, but what America actually is says more about the people in charge of the symbol than the ideal the symbol represents. The American dream, the American ideal -- these are good things. It's the people who make it look bad.<br />
<br />
Anyway, the American way isn't enough? I guess it depends on what you see as the American way. Corporate greed? Political corruption?<br />
<br />
Or "truth" and "justice"?<br />
<br />
America's not perfect. But the things America stands for? They are ideas worth standing for. Maybe not if you're from Krypton, I guess . . .<br />
<br />
~ Ben<br />
<br />
PS -- The fact that this is causing a stir, does that mean that comics are still relevent?<br />
<br />
PPS -- Is Clark Kent retaining his citizenship? That changes the story a bit if he does, don't you think?Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-11176961804114633712011-04-25T22:14:00.003-04:002011-05-10T11:43:03.697-04:00What Stargate's "Demise" Can Teach Us About Life (and Storytelling)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O4-ObpeDgIg/TbYlYkDHdqI/AAAAAAAAAuc/ZnX3w4U9XJ4/s1600/thegate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O4-ObpeDgIg/TbYlYkDHdqI/AAAAAAAAAuc/ZnX3w4U9XJ4/s320/thegate.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
If you know me, you know I am a big fan of Stargate Universe. This is obvious if you follow my tweets (I'm <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/whisperingloon">@whisperingloon on Twitter</a>) or if you listen to my podcast (<a href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/">The Fanboy Tollbooth</a>), especially <a href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/?p=642">the most recent episode</a> and it's "The Adventures of Ben and Lou, Lou Bitterman" segments, which features a sci-fi fanboy dealing with Lost withdrawal and finding comfort in a Lost replacement show: Stargate Universe.<br />
<br />
Spoiler alert for "Ben and Lou": Stargate Universe was canceled.<br />
<br />
Which is what this blog post is about. No, not Lou. Stargate Universe. And the universe of Stargate.<br />
<br />
Here's the deal, for those who are unfamiliar with Stargate. I'm going to avoid arcane details for people who could care less about the Stargate franchise, because this blog post is both about Stargate (which is really only for geeks -- which I am) and the art of storytelling and how it relates to life (which is really only for humans -- which I am as well).<br />
<br />
But you do need some background. There have been three Stargate series (although I count them as four because I'm a geek). Series 1 is Stargate SG-1, which ran for 10 seasons. To me, the last two seasons were a new series because it featured two new cast members in lead positions and had a completely different story arc going. Meanwhile, during the last few seasons of Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis was also on the air. It ran for five seasons. Finally, after an abrupt cancelation of Stargate: Atlantis, a third Stargate series, Stargate: Universe, was launched.<br />
<br />
So what happened? Well, much has been written about how Stargate died and how it didn't pull in the numbers and all of that, and how science fiction fans are not watching television live, when advertising matters, but instead are watching online or recording it to watch later, when they can skip advertising. Much more will be written about the issue in more general terms, because while science fiction is ahead of the curve in these matters, all of Hollywood, from movie makers to television creators, are trying to figure this out. And they are a lot smarter than me, so I'm not going to figure this out.<br />
<br />
Okay, they're a lot richer than me anyway.<br />
<br />
No, I'm looking at this with an eye toward storytelling and connecting with your audience. Again, without getting into the arcane details, here's what happened with the different Stargate series:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--XaFTSw9m8g/TbYlZeOyvII/AAAAAAAAAuk/BE-wtmC9SHo/s1600/sg1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--XaFTSw9m8g/TbYlZeOyvII/AAAAAAAAAuk/BE-wtmC9SHo/s320/sg1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Almost the entire "main" cast from the ten seasons of Stagate</i></div><br />
Stargate: SG-1 always seemed to be ready to be canceled, to me anyway. So the show was very episodic, with self-contained stories, but as they went they started doing some longer story arcs that resolved themselves at the end of the season, when they thought they'd be canceled. Now, I don't know if that is true, because I only started really watching Stargate last summer. This is just my impression. But a number of seasons have season finales that would have made for very satisfying series finales. Toward the end of the series, though, the season finales started becoming big cliffhangers. Like "how will the universe survive?" type cliffhangers. And after one of those cliffhangers, at the end of season 10, Stargate: SG-1 was canceled. But no fear, the storyline was resolved in a very well made direct-to-DVD movie. And then, to top it off, they made a second direct-to-DVD film, a stand alone movie that gave a satisfying send off to some of the characters. Another direct-to-DVD movie was planned . . . more on that a few paragraphs in the future.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LxrokuA3iCs/TbYlbGC6klI/AAAAAAAAAus/l3y_B8-y6zk/s1600/sga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LxrokuA3iCs/TbYlbGC6klI/AAAAAAAAAus/l3y_B8-y6zk/s320/sga.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Love this image of the Stargate: Atlantis cast.</i> <i>Can you tell that Atlantis had something to do with water?</i></div><br />
Stargate: Atlantis is much more cut and dry. Every season ended on a cliffhanger, and they were told that Stargate: Atlantis was going to be canceled and they had just enough time to make their final episode serve as both a sort of conclusion to the show and a sort of cliffhanger. And the cliffhanger was going to be resolved in a direct-to-DVD movie . . . more on that a few paragraphs down.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8bcFp3fsKMs/TbYlaC0-nFI/AAAAAAAAAuo/Y6OVben2c2k/s1600/SGU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8bcFp3fsKMs/TbYlaC0-nFI/AAAAAAAAAuo/Y6OVben2c2k/s320/SGU.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Stargate: Universe's Lost-like ensemble cast</i></div><br />
Stargate: Universe was even MORE cut and dry. Less space opera fantasy and more Lost-like or Battlestar Galactica-like, it was a continuing story that was meant to be more gritty and more "real". Very few episodes were just stand alone episodes. Instead, you had to watch every episode to make sense of what was going on. Ratings got lower and lower . . . and then, after season 2 was in full swing and had pretty much been set in stone, Stargate: Universe was canceled. The finale airs next Tuesday, and it is supposed to end on a cliffhanger. (I've heard someone say that it would either serve as an exciting cliffhanger or a bittersweet finale, or something similar. we'll find out next week.)<br />
<br />
Of course.<br />
<br />
So the suggestion of a direct-to-DVD or direct-to-digital download has been floated around. Something that would give some closure to the novel-like storytelling used for Stargate: Universe. But it was just announced that MGM has officially stated it will not happen, and now sets are being struck and offices cleared out.<br />
<br />
This means that the Stargate: SG-1 movie, which was supposed to be an incredible adventure to send off the main character of Stargate (Richard Dean Anderson's character O'Neil -- can't remember if it's one "L" or two -- who wasn't in the first DVD movie and was a minor character in the second) is dead. This means that the Stargate: Atlantis movie, which was supposed to wrap up any dangling plot threads (and there were a few) is dead. This means the Stargate: Universe movie which would have completed the planned plot (three seasons worth!) is dead.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jUWI1m3_xls/TbYlZC3avfI/AAAAAAAAAug/_cb3-fyqHDg/s1600/Stargateinfinity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jUWI1m3_xls/TbYlZC3avfI/AAAAAAAAAug/_cb3-fyqHDg/s320/Stargateinfinity.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>It also means no resolution for the Saturday morning Stargate show, something no one cares about anyway (although I strangely want to see it because of the intense negativity toward it)</i></div><br />
<br />
This makes me sad. For two reasons. One, I like the story and the characters! A lot! Two, I've had comic series canceled on ME before, before I had a chance to finish the story I wanted to tell, and that hurts! It happened with ArmorQuest (although I've had a chance to revisit that, and more AQ stories in in process as we speak) and it happened on Lullaby and The Imaginaries. Like the Stargate: Universe people, I dream of a chance to make the comic book version of a direct-to-DVD movie . . . perhaps just 48 pages to complete Alice and her fellowship's quest in Lullaby or 48 pages to complete Tanner and Greatman's mission. So far as I know, that chance will never come.<br />
<br />
But on the flip side, ending the Stargate franchise like this is, in a way, satisfying to me. The more I thought about it, the more "real" this felt. And not in the way that Stargate: Universe was supposed to be more "real" because it was all gritty.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pLloroqIMxI/TbYnPWYacXI/AAAAAAAAAuw/7NZfNwRqPUg/s1600/FX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pLloroqIMxI/TbYnPWYacXI/AAAAAAAAAuw/7NZfNwRqPUg/s320/FX.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Stargate: Universe also boasted some of the best and most beautiful TV sci-fi visual effects</i></div><br />
I understand that a satisfaction comes from a completed story. There is something in human nature that wants an ending for a story, and especially wants a satisfying ending to a story. I do not know exactly why this is. I have some ideas, mostly philosophical (in the loosest sense of the word) and religious, and maybe just a little bit psychological . . . but only accidentally. As humans, we want to see justice. We want to see people we care about (and characters we care about) prevail. We want to see people face challenges and overcome them. We want to be encouraged that there is a happy ending to all this strife. (Because, as I believe, there IS in truth a happy ending to all this strife.) This is when we are watching the news, watching our friends, and watching our stories.<br />
<br />
So, for Stargate fans, when they watched the characters they grew to love on Stargate: SG-1, they were glad to see the heroes beat the bad guys and overcome their personal issues.<br />
<br />
And when they watched the characters they grew to love on Stargate: Atlantis, they were sort of glad to see some conclusion to the problems those characters faced, even if there were some lingering issues.<br />
<br />
And when they watch the characters they grew to love on Stargate: Universe (admittedly, fewer Stargate fans seemed to love these character, partly because they were harder to love since they weren't as heroic or perfect) they aren't going to get a chance to see them overcome their main conflicts. (Although, in reference to the last parenthetical, there were a LOT more conflicts and the characters have had to make greater strides to overcome their problems and some problems were, indeed, overcome.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y61O4rm1MHE/TbYnQPzii4I/AAAAAAAAAu0/-kEqAXfsEHE/s1600/stargate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y61O4rm1MHE/TbYnQPzii4I/AAAAAAAAAu0/-kEqAXfsEHE/s320/stargate.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>No more new journeys through the gate to explore strange new worlds and seek out new . . . sorry</i></div><br />
But here's what I like about the Stargate franchise going out like this: it's a lot like watching the people in our lives. Life doesn't wrap up a character arc in a nice bow and then roll credits. No, we overcome a problem and then face another or perhaps the other problem comes back to bite us. And so things that I have seen people complain about in Stargate: Universe, and things that bugged me, don't anymore. For example, in Stargate: Universe, characters from the other two series have shown up. And they've shown up in ways that are a little vague. One character was promoted to command a starship. Another character has become the "big boss", having been promoted to general. Another character, who used to be a "suit" (in SG-1) and was made into an "officer" (of sorts, in Atlantis) showed up as a "suit" again in Universe. How? Why? They never said. Meanwhile, another character shows up and very little seems to have changed. And in the meantime, the crew who make up the main cast of Stargate: Universe? Their story is either going to have a bittersweet ending or just be forever a cliffhanger.<br />
<br />
In other words, here's what we can take away from Stargate: Universe:<br />
<br />
Life goes on. No, I don't mean that in the William Shatner telling Trekkies to "get a life" sense. And I don't mean "you show was canceled, but don't worry, life goes on".<br />
<br />
I mean that "life goes on" has become the THEME of the entire franchise.<br />
<br />
People grow.<br />
<br />
Challenges come and go. And come. And go. And . . .<br />
<br />
There's only one set of end credits.<br />
<br />
Now, for some these kind of statements may strike a negative chord. For others, it's a positive one. And for others, it's bittersweet. But this is the theme of the franchise, and like any theme of any story, what the audience does with it is up to the individuals of the audience.<br />
<br />
Am I reading too much into a science fiction fantasy? Perhaps. Is this what the creators intended people to think about? I doubt it.<br />
<br />
But this IS what science fiction is for, isn't it? To make us think about our world and our place in it? Come to think of it, that's what all storytelling is about.<br />
<br />
This is a situation where the theme is unintentional, I think. But, like any story, the theme must be grappled with (or ignored) by the receiver of the story. And I think that too often, storytellers forget that the themes of their stories do connect with the readers or viewers. Conversely, sometimes I think storytellers think too much about their themes, forcing a theme that's not there and missing the theme that has appeared.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lIaGJHAC-Ok/TbYn7FU5FBI/AAAAAAAAAu4/cIZBBfazfAo/s1600/WormholeExtreme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lIaGJHAC-Ok/TbYn7FU5FBI/AAAAAAAAAu4/cIZBBfazfAo/s320/WormholeExtreme.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>Maybe Stargate will get some sort of hipper, edgier reboot?</i> </div><br />
I'll still be interested if they do a new Stargate series or movie . . . and if they ever came knocking on my door to ask me to help them out with a Stargate: Universe comic, I'd not hesitate to say yes. But unless they REALLY botch next week's episode I have a feeling that even if the plot is left hanging, I'll have a good feeling about the franchise.<br />
<br />
Until then, I have two more episodes of Stargate: Universe to watch. (Yeah, I would be watching as I write this, but I watch it using iTunes . . . so not only do I have to wait until the day after the show airs, I'm also one of the fans who contributed to its demise by not watching it live . . .) <br />
<br />
~ Ben<br />
<br />
UPDATE: The third to last episode, "Epilogue", could have (with just a few tweaks) been the final episode of the series. And the whole "life goes on" aspect of things I was talking about was directly addressed in the episode.<br />
<br />
2nd UPDATE: The penultimate episode, "Blockade", was tense and emotional and exciting and satisfying. This series just kept getting better and better, especially this season.<br />
<br />
LAST UPDATE: There is NO way the producers and creators did not know they were facing cancellation when they wrote the finale. In fact, it felt to me like the episode itself, when the characters were talking about a life or death situation they faced, it was almost like they were talking ABOUT the show. And it ended as I hoped . . . (without spoiling it for you) it ended with the implication that the characters have more stories in front of them, but we just won't see them . . . for now.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-7525921211737231952011-04-22T14:40:00.000-04:002011-04-22T14:40:00.719-04:00THE WAY OF THE WRITER: Some Under 140 Character Thoughts on Writing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LbVhTR3x_Mo/SahTrn097yI/AAAAAAAAAfA/pSdzrhNUb58/s1600/sam01web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LbVhTR3x_Mo/SahTrn097yI/AAAAAAAAAfA/pSdzrhNUb58/s320/sam01web.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Here's a collection of some of my Tweets on writing. I'm @whisperingloon on Twitter, and I usually tweet about writing, comics, and movies. You know, geek stuff.</i></span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">As a creator, don't ignore negative criticism. Ignore negative critics. There's a BIG difference.</span></span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">I've found as a comic book writer, I learn MORE from actually drawing my simplistic little comics. 24 Hour Comic Day was a GREAT boon to me.</span></span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Drawing, however awfully, pushes me to think like an artist. So when I script for an artist, I've walked a few miles in their shoes.</span></span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Ugh. Not a good sign when the WRITER is bored by the story ... time to take a step back and start over, methinks.</span></span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Best tool for great comics: EDITORS</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> </span></span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dragons! Big 'splosions! Swords! Mechanical armor! I love my job! Some days more than others. This is one of those days more than others! :)</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the days of ink and scroll the only hard drive crash you had to worry about was a club to the head or insanity. So I guess I have it good</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Worst part about freelancing: Being told outright you don't get the job A. b/c you're not good enough or B. b/c you're not important enough. <i><-- That tweet followed by this one --> </i>I should have a thicker skin by now, but I still don't. <i><-- which was followed by this one --> </i>There's got to be some sort of cream that can do it. Probably prescription only, tho. :)</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>These were all posted on the same day:</i></span> </div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a class=" twitter-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23ComicWriting" rel="nofollow" title="#ComicWriting">#ComicWriting</a> To writers: If you give a character dialogue in a panel make sure to actually mention that character in the panel description. <i><-- That tweet followed by this one --> </i><a class=" twitter-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23ComicWriting" rel="nofollow" title="#ComicWriting">#ComicWriting</a> To artists: writers are sometimes forgetful, so remember to look at the dialogue to see if you need to draw someone in a panel</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a class=" twitter-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23ComicWriting" rel="nofollow" title="#ComicWriting">#ComicWriting</a> EVERY page should end in a "mini-cliffhanger" to take readers to the next page.</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a class=" twitter-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23ComicWriting" rel="nofollow" title="#ComicWriting">#ComicWriting</a> The page doesn't have to end with someone's life in danger. Just give the reader a reason to want to know what's next.</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a class=" twitter-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23ComicWriting" rel="nofollow" title="#ComicWriting">#ComicWriting</a> Your page could end with a question in dialogue. An unexpected event. Something to push the reader to keep reading.</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a class=" twitter-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23ComicWriting" rel="nofollow" title="#ComicWriting">#ComicWriting</a> Think of the end of each page (esp. odd numbered) like the commercial break of a TV show. Make readers curious what's next.</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"> </div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><i>And these were also all posted on the same day (it's about writing for comics, but there's a lot that can be applied to prose and film):</i></span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">some people say a comic is like a movie mixed with a novel. It's not.</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a class=" twitter-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23ComicWriting" rel="nofollow" title="#ComicWriting">#ComicWriting</a> a comic book is like a movie mixed w/ poetry. Make every word count. Each line should push your plot forward.</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a class=" twitter-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23ComicWriting" rel="nofollow" title="#ComicWriting">#ComicWriting</a> each action and line of dialogue should reveal something about your characters.</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a class=" twitter-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23ComicWriting" rel="nofollow" title="#ComicWriting">#ComicWriting</a> long conversations are easy/lazy. Edit yourself. Push yourself to reveal the same thing in fewer words.</span> </div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a class=" twitter-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23ComicWriting" rel="nofollow" title="#ComicWriting">#ComicWriting</a> & make sure something visual is going on. Movement, setting, or action. Point OR counterpoint to the dialogue.</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a class=" twitter-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23ComicWriting" rel="nofollow" title="#ComicWriting">#ComicWriting</a> Long dialogue? Short? There is no right or wrong. What's best for the story? Strive for that.</span> </div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a class=" twitter-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23ComicWriting" rel="nofollow" title="#ComicWriting">#ComicWriting</a> You may love a bit of dialogue, but let it go to serve story/characters/pacing. That's what readers care about.</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> </span></span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a class=" twitter-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23ComicWriting" rel="nofollow" title="#ComicWriting">#ComicWriting</a> Edit yourself. Push yourself. Have someone else edit you (very important!). Ask & answer hard questions. Repeat.</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Back to solo tweets:</i></span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Overweight. Scruffy. Wearing a black t-shirt ... w/ a comic book character on it. I'm not doing the comic book writer stereotype any favors.</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>And from my alter-ego, Professor Negatron:</i></span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a class=" twitter-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23HowToMakeComics" rel="nofollow" title="#HowToMakeComics">#HowToMakeComics</a> <a class=" twitter-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23FromAspiringWriter" rel="nofollow" title="#FromAspiringWriter">#FromAspiringWriter</a> Tip #1: The bigger the explosions, the less character development you actually need.</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a class=" twitter-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23HowToMakeComics" rel="nofollow" title="#HowToMakeComics">#HowToMakeComics</a> <a class=" twitter-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23FromAspiringWriter" rel="nofollow" title="#FromAspiringWriter">#FromAspiringWriter</a> Tip #2: Snappy, semi-witty dialogue is easier than character driven dialogue, so use it often. Or only!</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">~ Ben<i> </i></span> </div><div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; text-align: left;"> </span></span></div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-34557576543750571652011-04-21T10:07:00.002-04:002011-04-25T23:33:50.244-04:00Dinosaurs and Fraggles (more thoughts about comics and kids)I have kids.<br />
<br />
I read comics. <br />
<br />
I write comics.<br />
<br />
I like comics.<br />
<br />
I love my kids.<br />
<br />
My kids like comics.<br />
<br />
Now, for the record, my kids like my comics. But obviously, that's not enough. My kids like to read -- a LOT. And my son and daughter can only read ArmorQuest or TimeFlyz so many times. So that means I'm constantly looking out for appropriate books for them.<br />
<br />
Today I left the comic shop with two titles that were supposed to fit the bill. And beyond that, a day or two ago I got some in the mail.<br />
<br />
First, I picked up last week's Fragle Rock vol. 2 issue #3.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N6Yyd7C7Zv4/Ta-VwzHeGBI/AAAAAAAAAuU/a8eK81oTnOU/s1600/fraggle03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N6Yyd7C7Zv4/Ta-VwzHeGBI/AAAAAAAAAuU/a8eK81oTnOU/s320/fraggle03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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My feelings about the Fraggle Rock comic series thus far are no secret. I've reviewed them twice already (<a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2010/07/comics-worth-reading-fraggle-rock.html">here</a> and <a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2011/01/why-i-love-fraggle-rock-comic-book-some.html">here</a>). This latest issue is more of the same. Nice stories with sweet endings and wonderful art. (The Uncle Traveling Matt story is simply gorgeous!) I can't wait for the hardcover collection of these three volume 2 issues, mainly because the floppy copies don't last long in my house. I told you, my kids read a lot!<br />
<br />
So the money I dropped on Fraggle Rock wasn't a gamble. I love the thought and care and creativity and energy that goes into each issue.<br />
<br />
But the money dropped on the next book, this week's Super Dinosaur? I had no idea what to expect. But I went ahead and bought it anyway.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PqCzTfHGb_g/Ta-VxqxgnTI/AAAAAAAAAuY/Ne1O5zjOyfU/s1600/SuperDinoCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PqCzTfHGb_g/Ta-VxqxgnTI/AAAAAAAAAuY/Ne1O5zjOyfU/s320/SuperDinoCover.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Super Dinosaur is interesting, although I feel strange reviewing it. Generally speaking, I only review things I really like. I figure, if I really like it I should tell people about it. if I don't like it, why waste my time being negative?<br />
<br />
The thing is, I'm on the fence about Super Dinosaur.<br />
<br />
Now, the art is simply amazing. No doubt there. And the concept? It's everything a kid could possibly want. Lots and lots of explosions. I mean LOTS. And lots of bad guy dinosaurs with names that are amusing puns. Lots of action. Lots of cool high-tech toys. But I have to wait until the next issue to know if my "inner child" is really falling for the story. There are some elements that seem to want this to rise above just being a Saturday morning cartoon concept into being an emotional story for all ages. Bottom line, though: kids who like dinosaurs and big 'splosions will like Super Dinosaur.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QGUPELhW9oc/Ta-VuQ5qekI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/uz2xZZW6_MY/s1600/SuperSiblings.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QGUPELhW9oc/Ta-VuQ5qekI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/uz2xZZW6_MY/s320/SuperSiblings.png" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Now, while interviewing Patrick Scullin for the "Twitterview"segment of the podcast I co-host (<a href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/?p=642">The Fanboy Tollbooth</a>) I learned he had an interesting plan for his Super Siblings comics: the print version is intended for kids with its action adventure focus, while the webcomic is intended for "aprents" with its geek humor focus. I didn't know that, because I hadn't read his print comic.<br />
<br />
So I got his print comics in the mail a few days ago, and I enjoyed it. (Haven't passed them on to the kids yet -- that's where the real review would kick in.) I'd recommend them for anyone with kids who like comics.<br />
<br />
<i>UPDATE: My kids have read the above mentioned comics and I'm happy to report they liked them all. My son and daughter both especially liked the "Uncle Traveling Matt meets laundry mat" Fraggle story from Fraggles #3, but enjoyed the whole thing and said it actually felt too short. My son also gave thumbs up to Super Siblings, although my daughter was a bit disappointed because the sister is the bad guy. And Super Dinosaur got the most enthusiastic response from my son. When I asked him why, the answer was: "It's got dinosaurs and explosions." So, until Chronosaurus Rex appears in the new TimeFlyz stories I'm working on, it looks like Super Dinosaur is on the top of my son's reading list. </i><br />
<br />
~ Ben<br />
<br />
PS -- Some of my OWN all ages comics . . .<br />
<br />
<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=benaveonl-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0310713617&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe> <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=benaveonl-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1933428635&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe> <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=benaveonl-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1933428872&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-22766764887562166892011-04-20T16:25:00.000-04:002011-04-20T16:25:32.476-04:00THE WAY OF THE WRITER: Best Tool for Great Writing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LbVhTR3x_Mo/SahTrn097yI/AAAAAAAAAfA/pSdzrhNUb58/s1600/sam01web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LbVhTR3x_Mo/SahTrn097yI/AAAAAAAAAfA/pSdzrhNUb58/s320/sam01web.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I'm in my minvan, waiting for a red light, my eyes are wandering as I listen to an old time radio drama and I see the tailgate of a small pick-up truck. It belongs to some sort of service company, plumbing or something. I don't know. I don't remember who it was, all I remember is seeing the slogan on the back of the truck:<br />
<br />
"YOUR FOLLOWING QUALITY SERVICE"<br />
<br />
And all I can think is, "MY following quality service? What do they know about MY following quality service?" And then I chuckle to myself about my grammatical joking at their expense.<br />
<br />
And then I stop chuckling to myself because not only do I have no one to share the joke with, not only would most people not really get the joke without me taking the time to explain it . . . it's not a very funny joke.<br />
<br />
But it does highlight an important issue I've been thinking about a lot. The company spent money to put their message on the truck, and in doing so they spent money to put an incorrect message on the truck. They were missing the apostrophe and the "e" to make "you're" instead of "your". Because the message they wanted to get across was that "you ARE following".<br />
<br />
Simple mistake. Common mistake. Easily avoidable mistake.<br />
<br />
The editor is the writer's best friend. (Good editors, I should say.) The editor takes what you've done and pushes you to make it better. The editor doesn't let a missing apostrophe make you look careless (at best) and uneducated (at worst).<br />
<br />
In a world where anyone can publish anything at anytime . . . editors are needed now more than ever. And if you don't have one, because your project isn't big enough, find one.<br />
<br />
~ Ben<br />
<br />
Other "Way of the Writer" posts:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/05/way-of-writer-why-write.html">Why Write?</a></div><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/06/way-of-writer-weight-of-writer.html">The Weight of the Writer</a><br />
<a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/06/way-of-writer-holistic-writing.html">Holistic Writing</a><br />
<a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/06/way-of-writer-intentionality-part-1.html">Intentionality, part 1</a><br />
<a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/07/way-of-writer-nothing-new-under-sun.html">Nothing New Under the Sun</a><br />
<a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/07/way-of-writer-intentionality-part-2.html">Intentionality, part 2</a><br />
<a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/10/way-of-writer-its-so-rewarding.html">It's So Rewarding</a><br />
<a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/10/way-of-writer-productivity.html">Productivity</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/10/way-of-writer-inspiration.html">Inspiration?</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/12/way-of-writer-keep-your-head-up.html">Keep Your Head Up</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/12/way-of-writer-dig-deep-or-method.html">Dig Deep, or Method Writing</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2010/01/way-of-writer-fear.html">Fear</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2010/07/way-of-writer-dramatic-storytelling.html">Dramatic Storytelling</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2010/07/way-of-writer-formula-for-great-story.html">Formula for a Great Story</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2010/09/way-of-writer-just-write.html">Just Write</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2011/02/way-of-writer-what-can-vws-lil-darth.html">What Can VW's Li'l Darth Vader Teach Us About Storytelling?</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2011/02/way-of-writer-comic-writers-should-be.html">Comic Writers Should Be Comic Artists</a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2011/02/way-of-writer-twitter-as-dialogue-coach.html">Twitter as Dialogue Coach</a> </div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-53585898509490476722011-04-18T21:43:00.000-04:002011-04-18T21:43:48.562-04:00Artistic ProgressionAs a comic book writer, I'm at the mercy of artists, in more ways than one. Let's face facts: the reason people like something like ArmorQuest or The Hedge Knight is because those artists are A-MAZE-ING. Was the writer any good? Maybe, but if the artist isn't . . . people aren't as likely to give it a chance.<br />
<br />
So I've been very, very pleased to see the last two volumes of TimeFlyz are in some very, very good hands. TimeFlyz is a very important story for me. It has a lot of "educational" components, it has a fun time travel action adventure, and there's an emotional climax to a sort of deep character arc.<br />
<br />
The artist is Eric Merced, and he's been putting some sneak peeks of his artwork on book 8 up on his Twitter-stream. One of the things he did was put the progression of a panel, from sketch to finish. I asked him if I could share his work, and he agreed.<br />
<br />
When Eric included a comment about the artwork, I've included it here. The character he is drawing in this is Darchon, the evil time traveling spider and he's using Manga Studio to draw it. <br />
<br />
Step 1:<br />
<br />
Eric says: "How about some process stuff like me drawing a character from the graphic novel? Ready? Let's go."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qsuv2ixR5-8/TazjsWbMvHI/AAAAAAAAAtw/lvlqfzZwLc8/s1600/Darchon01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qsuv2ixR5-8/TazjsWbMvHI/AAAAAAAAAtw/lvlqfzZwLc8/s1600/Darchon01.jpg" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Step 2:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2F7EhOH2nOw/Tazjsm85XqI/AAAAAAAAAt0/-cO6GRxfanw/s1600/Darchon02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2F7EhOH2nOw/Tazjsm85XqI/AAAAAAAAAt0/-cO6GRxfanw/s1600/Darchon02.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Step 3:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T8BGO6e0Xfo/TazjuOgillI/AAAAAAAAAt4/PyRuQtbAMOo/s1600/Darchon03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T8BGO6e0Xfo/TazjuOgillI/AAAAAAAAAt4/PyRuQtbAMOo/s1600/Darchon03.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Step 4:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Eric says, "already into the inking stage. This has replaced the whole Penciling stage in my work."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PmSeYMDHM1M/Tazjuu-ntKI/AAAAAAAAAt8/qRZ-2pawC3g/s1600/Darchon04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PmSeYMDHM1M/Tazjuu-ntKI/AAAAAAAAAt8/qRZ-2pawC3g/s1600/Darchon04.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Step 5:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a_dhjg3g2Sk/TazjvHt2WiI/AAAAAAAAAuA/_R9j94WyNG4/s1600/Darchon05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-a_dhjg3g2Sk/TazjvHt2WiI/AAAAAAAAAuA/_R9j94WyNG4/s1600/Darchon05.jpg" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Step 6:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Eric says, "Despite the fact I may sketch something out a certain way, I usually end up changing it in the final."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_8N8nWK72ow/TazjwDiT1WI/AAAAAAAAAuE/sT8FUMVdyJQ/s1600/Darchon06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_8N8nWK72ow/TazjwDiT1WI/AAAAAAAAAuE/sT8FUMVdyJQ/s1600/Darchon06.jpg" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Step 7:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"I use red to lay in details. It's better visually and allows me to draw under the actual drawing."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6N_Ehm-dP5A/Tazjw5CMH-I/AAAAAAAAAuI/qOlYMYR9U4c/s1600/Darchon07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6N_Ehm-dP5A/Tazjw5CMH-I/AAAAAAAAAuI/qOlYMYR9U4c/s1600/Darchon07.jpg" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Step 8:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"A little bit of resizing."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZM7GPJu7NRs/TazjxkSLHdI/AAAAAAAAAuM/ADo96sasZFc/s1600/Darchon08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZM7GPJu7NRs/TazjxkSLHdI/AAAAAAAAAuM/ADo96sasZFc/s1600/Darchon08.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Step 9:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"The final version. This is how I work on every panel in Manga Studio" </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TLBUxRezKbM/TazjrvLxvDI/AAAAAAAAAts/PLG6ut6240k/s1600/Darchon09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TLBUxRezKbM/TazjrvLxvDI/AAAAAAAAAts/PLG6ut6240k/s1600/Darchon09.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Eric likes sharing process type things like this a LOT. If you are or want to be an artist, his is a great blog and Twitter-stream to follow.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/eric_merced">Eric on Twitter.</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_710071786"><br />
</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.ericmerced.com/">Eric's blog.</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As soon as I know the release date for TimeFlyz books 7 and 8, I'll let you know. Books 1-6 are available now . . .</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">~ Ben</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=benaveonl-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0310713617&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></div><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=benaveonl-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0310713625&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><br />
<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=benaveonl-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0310713633&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=benaveonl-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0310713641&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=benaveonl-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=031071365X&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=benaveonl-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=bpl&amp;asins=0310713668&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;m=amazon&amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;f=ifr" style="padding-top: 5px; width: 131px; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" align="left" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=benaveonl-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0310713668&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-2936807035304077372011-02-21T12:10:00.001-05:002011-02-21T12:13:20.765-05:00THE WAY OF THE WRITER: Twitter as Dialogue Coach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LbVhTR3x_Mo/SahTrn097yI/AAAAAAAAAfA/pSdzrhNUb58/s1600/sam01web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LbVhTR3x_Mo/SahTrn097yI/AAAAAAAAAfA/pSdzrhNUb58/s320/sam01web.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>While this post relates mostly to writing for comics, it does have it's application to film and prose as well . . . </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have long held that the old maxim about comic books which says they are "part movie, part novel" is completely and utterly incorrect.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Something a little more accurate would probably be they are "part movie, part poem". In other words, to borrow from Conan O'Brien's "If They Mated":</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-haOANq_Nl3U/TWKPuWjCzNI/AAAAAAAAAtY/RV1zW1RX4kw/s1600/emily-dickinson.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-haOANq_Nl3U/TWKPuWjCzNI/AAAAAAAAAtY/RV1zW1RX4kw/s200/emily-dickinson.gif" width="153" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CQS7Q7UxCBo/TWKRVO1YJeI/AAAAAAAAAtk/TKoLwAoacaI/s1600/plus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CQS7Q7UxCBo/TWKRVO1YJeI/AAAAAAAAAtk/TKoLwAoacaI/s200/plus.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DjkM_MX2uLw/TWKPxIGrrOI/AAAAAAAAAtc/Y7wvOssMTxs/s1600/george-lucas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DjkM_MX2uLw/TWKPxIGrrOI/AAAAAAAAAtc/Y7wvOssMTxs/s200/george-lucas.jpg" width="170" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i_mhgYYkxPQ/TWKRVde_4GI/AAAAAAAAAto/vR01l7QFcIY/s1600/equal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i_mhgYYkxPQ/TWKRVde_4GI/AAAAAAAAAto/vR01l7QFcIY/s200/equal.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6TLEZiZvuEQ/TWKPymoeQYI/AAAAAAAAAtg/sls73lYyVxw/s1600/stan_le.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6TLEZiZvuEQ/TWKPymoeQYI/AAAAAAAAAtg/sls73lYyVxw/s200/stan_le.jpg" width="159" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So comics share the illusion of the passage of time and visual language with film; and they share the use of words to convey emotion, motivation, and added information with poetry . . . and together they tell a story in a way that is completely different than both, because comics are able to pull from both the visual and the textual.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But in a more concrete sense, comics share something else with poetry: the careful use of words. In a novel, words are chosen for impact, but there is more freedom because there are more words. In poetry, each word must be carefully selected to express the author's intentions in as concise and powerful a way as possible. This doesn't make one type of writing easier or more difficult than the other, it's just my observation in trying my hand at both.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Comics have a similar goal, but with an added limitation: actual page space. There is only so much room on a page, and every word takes away from that valuable real estate. I remember reading an interview with Neil Gaiman when I was first getting into the actual writing of comics in which he spoke of a single panel in a story that gave him, the artist, the letterer, and the editor trouble because the panel was beautiful, but the entire panel had stuff they didn't want to cover. So the question was what should they cover? What was the least important detail on the panel to cover.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For film writing, dialogue doesn't take up physical space, but time. Every added word adds split seconds, which add up to seconds, which add up to minutes . . . which adds to shooting time and the length of the film.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Enter Twitter. Every time I struggle to write a Tweet, so I can fit it into Twitter's 140 character limit, I find myself thinking about how similar this is to the struggles I have with my dialogue writing in both film and comics. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There's one big difference: Twitter ALWAYS wins. It is 140 characters no matter what. With comics or screenplays, I sometimes can let myself get lazy. Fortunately, this is where having good feedback from writers I respect my my editors comes in. I cannot stress enough that the MOST VITAL part of the writing process is getting feedback from people whose opinion and feedback you can trust. It's often all too easy to spot writers who believe they're good enough editors of their own work. Yes, there are probably a lot of great writers out there who simply don't need editors. I'm not one of them. And neither are you. (Sorry for being so presumptuous, he said, writing a blog post without the use of an editor.) And even those writers who ARE great, well, usually, they recognize the importance of having a great editor who can make their great writing even greater. (See, an editor would have said, "You used the word 'great' four times." And I would have argued, "Well, I did it for symmetrical reasons or something." And the editor would have said, "Take out the first 'great', it's redundant." And I would have.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, Twitter can be a HUGE time waster. In fact, if I ever do <a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/search/label/writer%20s.%20blockhead">Writer S. Blockhead</a> again (a badly drawn comic about the hypocrisy of writer's block), the first one will be about Twitter. But, Twitter can also be a great exercise in word choice. 140 characters is a very comfortable character count for comic book dialogue. Can your dialogue fit into a Tweet? Why not? If there's not a compelling reason, consider revising it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Or at least having an editor look at it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">~ Ben</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Other "The Way of the Writer" articles:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/05/way-of-writer-why-write.html">Why Write?</a></div><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/06/way-of-writer-weight-of-writer.html">The Weight of the Writer</a><br />
<a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/06/way-of-writer-holistic-writing.html">Holistic Writing</a><br />
<a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/06/way-of-writer-intentionality-part-1.html">Intentionality, part 1</a><br />
<a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/07/way-of-writer-nothing-new-under-sun.html">Nothing New Under the Sun</a><br />
<a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/07/way-of-writer-intentionality-part-2.html">Intentionality, part 2</a><br />
<a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/10/way-of-writer-its-so-rewarding.html">It's So Rewarding</a><br />
<a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/10/way-of-writer-productivity.html">Productivity</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/10/way-of-writer-inspiration.html">Inspiration?</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/12/way-of-writer-keep-your-head-up.html">Keep Your Head Up</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2009/12/way-of-writer-dig-deep-or-method.html">Dig Deep, or Method Writing</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2010/01/way-of-writer-fear.html">Fear</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2010/07/way-of-writer-dramatic-storytelling.html">Dramatic Storytelling</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2010/07/way-of-writer-formula-for-great-story.html">Formula for a Great Story</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2010/09/way-of-writer-just-write.html">Just Write</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2011/02/way-of-writer-what-can-vws-lil-darth.html">What Can VW's Li'l Darth Vader Teach Us About Storytelling?</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://myth-understanding.blogspot.com/2011/02/way-of-writer-comic-writers-should-be.html">Comic Writers Should Be Comic Artists</a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-72358256240419627432011-02-16T10:17:00.001-05:002011-02-16T10:19:38.095-05:00THE WAY OF THE WRITER: Comic Writers Should Be Comic Artists<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LbVhTR3x_Mo/SahTrn097yI/AAAAAAAAAfA/pSdzrhNUb58/s1600/sam01web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LbVhTR3x_Mo/SahTrn097yI/AAAAAAAAAfA/pSdzrhNUb58/s320/sam01web.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
How's THAT for a title? I couldn't POSSIBLY really mean THAT, could I?<br />
<br />
Well, I could. And do. I'll admit, there's a twinge of jealousy whenever I read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Comics-Sequential-Art-Principles-Instructional/dp/0393331261?ie=UTF8&tag=benaveonl-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Will Eisner's Comics and Sequential Art</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=benaveonl-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0393331261" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> (a book anyone who wants to make comics should read) and I get to the part where he says (paraphrasing here) the best comics are made by artist/writers. In other words, artists who write and draw their own comics will usually have a better end result than writer/artist TEAMS because the artist who works on his own project knows exactly what he wants, whereas the artist working from someone else's script can never put on hte page exactly what was intended by the script.<br />
<br />
Generally, that's true. Some exceptions, of course. For example, not all artists understand story structure or dialogue. And, obviously, many writers can have an image in their head that they would never be able to put on the page because they just don't have the physical dexterity. I firmly believe that writers can learn artistic principles and artists can learn storytelling principles, but storytelling is easier to learn than art because storytelling is strictly a mental discipline while art is a mental and physical disciple. Just like some people will never be able to play drums as well as other people or dance as well as other people or hit a golf ball as well as other people, some people will never learn to draw as well as other people. That doesn't make writing an easy task to learn, just an easier task to learn.<br />
<br />
But back to Eisner's statement, there is a qualification: a talented writer/artist individual will do a better job than a talented writer/artist team. But if an individual is not gifted as a writer or as an artist, that person not going to suddenly be able to create a brilliant comic just because he or she is doing both.<br />
<br />
So why do I give this post this title: "Comic Writers Should Be Comic Artists"? <br />
<br />
Here's why: if you want to be a comic book writer, you need to train yourself as a comic book artist. You need to go ahead and draw some comic book pages to give yourself an idea of how sequences can flow on a page. To give yourself an idea of what can and cannot appear in a panel. To give yourself an idea of and appreciation for the time a pages takes to be drawn. To understand what you are asking for when you write a complex page layout or a huge battle scene (which sometimes cannot be avoided, but still must be understood).<br />
<br />
I've taken part in three <a href="http://www.24hourcomicsday.com/">24-Hour-Comic days</a>. I've succeeded twice (once went OVER the page limit!) and failed once. <a href="http://aceofdiamondscomic.blogspot.com/2008/09/ballad-of-freak-page-1.html">Here's one of them</a> (a successful one -- Ballad of the Freak was actually placed in the 24 Hour Comic Day book for that year, in the publisher's words "not because you can draw, but because you actually told a story" -- like he needed to tell me I couldn't draw). Even when I failed, the experience itself was not a loss because each time, I stretched myself creatively and learned a lot about writing for comics.<br />
<br />
So I'm not saying that the only people who should be writing comics are people who are artists. The fact is, some artists really are talented as writers and artists and some artists should stick to drawing.<br />
<br />
What I'm saying is that if you are a writer, even if all you can draw are stick figures, you should carve out some time to actually draw some comic book pages. Maybe draw a stick figure version of the script you're writing. Maybe just have some fun drawing something no one will ever see but yourself. For me, right now (and this is what made me think to write this blog posting) I'm drawing a comic called <a href="http://broken-trident.blogspot.com/">Broken Trident</a>:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.benavery.com/brokentridentpages/Title_files/BrokenTrident0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.benavery.com/brokentridentpages/Title_files/BrokenTrident0001.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
This is me, in public, exercising those artistic muscles. Laying out pages. Lettering. (Writers, you can't really appreciate how important it is to keep your word counts down until you've lettered a page yourself.) Drawing characters and actions.<br />
<br />
They say that if you want to be a writer, you need to read. But I'll add to that from my experiences. If you want to be a comic book writer, you need to read. Read some comics, yes, but read lots of books without pictures. And draw.<br />
<br />
What do you think? Am I way off base? Artists, would you suggest it goes the other way round as well? That comic book artists who take the time to write actually become better comic book artists? Let me know what you think in the comments below . . . <br />
<br />
~ Ben<br />
<br />
Some recommended books for comic book writers: <br />
<br />
<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=benaveonl-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0393331261&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=benaveonl-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=006097625X&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;">&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=benaveonl-20&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;o=1&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;p=8&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;l=bpl&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;asins=0060780940&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;fc1=000000&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;IS2=1&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt1=_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;m=amazon&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;bc1=000000&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;f=ifr" style="padding-top: 5px; width: 131px; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" align="left" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"&amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;</iframe><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=benaveonl-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0060780940&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6403697887901229500.post-19813583870673256712011-02-07T12:01:00.001-05:002011-02-09T22:38:03.866-05:00THE WAY OF THE WRITER: What can VW's l'il Darth Vader teach us about storytelling?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LD5BAWFzL-o/SahTrn097yI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_FaCIEqoSUU/s1600/sam01web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LD5BAWFzL-o/SahTrn097yI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_FaCIEqoSUU/s320/sam01web.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
I love this ad. I'm not the only one. Not by a long shot. There's a reason they "leaked" this ad before the Super Bowl . . . they knew it was gold, and didn't want it to be lost in the shuffle:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/R55e-uHQna0?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
So, aside from being cute and making my nine-year-old giggle like a mad man . . . what can this teach us about storytelling?<br />
<br />
A couple things. First, it has to be said, this commercial is great because it is a one minute mini-movie, and it has an definite beginning, middle, and end. The character wants something, the character works hard toward getting that something, and the character grows in the process as he achieves his goal. Hilariously. There's even a three act structure in there. But I'm not going to get into that . . .<br />
<br />
But here's what I was thinking about:<br />
<br />
This commercial uses the icon of Darth Vader to hilarious effect. And it works. Why? Because we know the character. The imposing, powerful visual of Darth Vader is not just a part of pop culture, but culture in general.<br />
<br />
And I was thinking about Darth Vader in the original trilogy of Star Wars and the prequel trilogy. The original trilogy builds this iconic character subtly. There is a LOT of showing and only some telling. We fear Darth Vader. Why? Because everyone else does. We SEE that. We fear Darth Vader. Why? Because he kills people. We SEE that. We feel for Darth Vader's plight. Why? Because he has to choose between a life of power and a sacrifice for this son. We SEE that. Yes, there were some details that were told to us -- that he and Obi-Wan used to be friends, but even that was told to us with an ironic twist. It came from an unreliable narrator.<br />
<br />
This is why the original trilogy worked.<br />
<br />
And why the prequel trilogy didn't.<br />
<br />
No, I'm not going to get on a "the prequel trilogy stunk" geek rant. <a href="http://fanboytollbooth.com/">I have my podcast for that</a>. (If you haven't listened to the podcast, you should. I think you'd like it. It's a few friends just chatting about pop culture stuff, with some comedy "sketches" thrown in for fun.) First of all, it's an easy target. But I want to get into one detail: those prequel movies have so much exposition. So much of those movies rely on what is TOLD to us.<br />
<br />
"Show, don't tell" is a common mantra in writing books. And for good reason. Let's look back at the VW ad. Whether you are a geek or not, most likely it worked for you. (Unless you have no soul.) (Just kidding about the soul bit. Of course you have a soul. It's just a dark, bleak one.) (Again, just kidding.) I'd be willing to bet that someone who has never seen Star Wars would get this commercial. Why? Because you know this kid really, really wants to have the force and be able to make things come to him . . . or knock things over . . . or make the dog bend to his will. Why? Because we SEE that. There is no dialogue. No narrator telling us "all he wanted was to have the power". The kid never says to Mom "I wish I had the force". Dad doesn't explain his actions.<br />
<br />
It's just good storytelling.<br />
<br />
~ BenBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266790689307321870noreply@blogger.com2