Spurgeon and Butcher on TCAF and More -- Two of my favourite writers about comics join forces to promote this coming weekend's Toronto Comic Art Festival (which I am beyond bummed out about not being able to attend, damn it) and talk about lots of other stuff, including The Greatest Comic Shop in the World, The Beguiling, as well as Butcher's dead-brilliant solution to the sexism and misogyny rampant in corporate comics today.

Tom Spurgeon Interviews Christopher Butcher.

This is one of the best interviews I've read all year, and I hope you've already clicked over and aren't even reading my babbling anymore. But if you are, I'll just finish by saying I wish to hell I had known Butcher needed a Zuda San Diego party invite, because for some strange reason I had one and had zero use for it. I would have overnighted it to him, I swear to God. It's the least I could have done to repay him for the hospitality and kindness he showed me when I visited Toronto back in 2005.

If there's any way at all you can get to TCAF this weekend, I urge you to do so. It's everything about a comic book festival done right, by people who actually have good ideas about how the industry and artform need to be stewarded. Have a blast, everybody.

Labels: good comic shops, industry, movies

// posted by Alan David Doane @ 6:39 PM [LINK TO THIS] | 0 COMMENTS | E-MAIL ADD | SUBSCRIBE

 
The Descent -- I came to this movie very late, but if you haven't seen it and you like scary movies, The Descent is the best one I've seen in many years. Here's Ebert's spoiler-free review. Pay careful attention to what he says about not letting ANYONE tell you ANYTHING about the movie, other than to see it. Re-read his review once you have, because he cannily includes points you won't even notice until you see the movie.

We watched it last night, and I was amazed to find a horror film in 2006 could contain new ideas, new shocks and genuine horror. Download it, add it to your Netflix queue, steal an old lady's matinee ticket on your lunch break -- but if you haven't seen it, see it.

Labels: movies

// posted by Alan David Doane @ 6:59 AM [LINK TO THIS] | 1 COMMENTS | E-MAIL ADD | SUBSCRIBE

 
Brokeback vs. Crash -- DVDFile's Mike Restaino eloquently explains why it's so ridiculous that Brokeback Mountain was denied a Best Picture Oscar.

And speaking of Crash, I watched the first half or so of the David Cronenberg film of the same name this past weekend, and was once again unable to finish it, despite my love of James Spader. Anyone wondering if any art is just too twisted for me should have a look at Cronenberg's Crash. If they can take it. I find I can't...

Not that the movie shouldn't exist, or that others can't enjoy it, it's just interesting to me to find out what my own limits are. Crash presents a pretty good example to me of where I really prefer not to go with the art I consume. It's just too goddamned disturbing.

Labels: linkblogging, movies

// posted by Alan David Doane @ 12:11 PM [LINK TO THIS] | 0 COMMENTS | E-MAIL ADD | SUBSCRIBE

 
Monday, Briefly -- Thanks to everyone who bought an item or items in the Mid-Summer Fundraising Sale. My wife and I packed and addressed dozens of packagaes yesterday, and this week we'll be shipping stuff out. Thanks also to everyone who linked to the sale, it's much appreciated.

I'm frankly in awe of the quality of today's update on Comic Book Galaxy proper. Two powerful and well-reasoned opinion columns (both of which incorporate reviews and/or previews) and a terrific review of a landmark comics work. Make sure you click over and spend part of your day with the Galaxy gang, they're doing good work.

I'm also thrilled with the job Chris Hunter has been doing since he accepted the Editor-in-Chief position here at the Galaxy. He's doing fantastic work, and I'm grateful to have the site in such talented hands. Thanks, Chris.

Didn't get a lot of comics reading done over the weekend -- Saturday was spent with the family in Albany, at Earthworld Comics, at the New York State Museum, and finally at the Spectrum Theater to see a great documentary called March of the Penguins. Between the stunning bottom-of-the-world footage and the sardonic narration of Morgan Freeman, you really can't go wrong. But the real appeal of the movie lies in the dramatic story of the penguins themselves. When you see the genuine drama that their mating cycle entails -- for example, standing up in the same place for four months without eating in order to protect an egg at 50 to 100 degrees below zero in brutal wind and snowstorms -- well, come on. Those little birds are tough. Seriously, it's 80 wonderful minutes of film. if it's playing anywhere near you, check it out.

I did manage to read some comics yesterday, though -- some of The Complete Crumb Comics Volume 17, which has some of my favourite Crumb stories in it, as well as stuff I'd never read before -- and I even talked my wife into reading John Porcellino's forthcoming Perfect Example, which she liked, especially John P.'s story of the pain of a high school crush.

If I know what comics women would like to read, why doesn't the comics industry?

Labels: monday briefing, movies, real life

// posted by Alan David Doane @ 5:29 AM [LINK TO THIS] | 1 COMMENTS | E-MAIL ADD | SUBSCRIBE

 

Point Blank -- I finally was able to pick up the Point Blank DVD re-release yesterday, after weeks of hunting it down and finally having to special order it from the local mall DVD store. It was certainly worth the wait.

Although obviously not tied directly into comics in any way, I have a hard time believing knowledegable readers won't be blown away by this film: Point Blank visually and from a storytelling perspective is simpatico with the work some of the most accomplished creators I can think of, including Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (this movie is about as close to Sleeper as you can get, at least until the story of Holden Carver is actually filmed), Darwyn Cooke and Gil Kane.

First and foremost, the movie's look, feel and especially the animal naturalism of Lee Marvin in the role of Walker was a direct inspiration for Kane's landmark His Name is...Savage; some of the night driving scenes, so marvelous with their shadows and neon signage, reflect the pop noir sensibilities of Cooke and his stylistic brethren. The use of vertical angles as a visual motif reminds me of Frank Miller's Daredevil heyday, and the love affair that director John Boorman's camera has with the architecture and settings throughout the film can clearly be seen in later works by directors as diverse as Quentin Tarantino and Jim Cameron. Los Angeles becomes a character under Boorman's skilled stewardship, here closing in on Marvin and his enemies with the stark diagonal planes of the LA river basin storm drains, there opening up the world as Marvin stalks the Hollywood hills with the city laid out beyond him in magnigficent, eye-popping clarity.

The story is one of passion, treachery, and revenge; the mechanics of the story are implicit not only in the spare, at times near-impressionistic dialogue, but in the stunning visuals Boorman's camera utilizes. From the acid-trip grooviness of the backstage nightclub battle, with the action reflected and commented on by the models' faces cast huge on a projected screen, to the splashes of psychedelic colour on Marvin's face at the conclusion of the scene, colour, lighting and angles are counted on to carry so much of this story -- and they bear the burden well.

I don't know if Patrick McGoohan was thinking of this film when he created The Prisoner, but fans of that series will also see echoes on the screen, in the way each scene is colour-coded across the board. On the commentary track, Boorman talks at length about his theories of colour in relation to the film, and it's a lesson with strong practical applications for anyone working with colour, in movies, comics, or any artform.

Point Blank is a movie I know I will be returning to again and again, to relish Marvin's primal scenery-chewing presence, and to bask in the glow of Boorman's vivid colour choices, so wonderfully recaptured on this DVD. If you want to tell stories, or if you just enjoy them being told to you well and with a challenging wit and intelligence, Point Blank is absolutely indispensible viewing.

Labels: movies

// posted by Alan David Doane @ 7:47 AM [LINK TO THIS] | 2 COMMENTS | E-MAIL ADD | SUBSCRIBE

 
Sunday Afternoon DVD Stuff -- Just back from the local mall, where I special ordered the re-release on DVD of the Lee Marvin clasic Point Blank, which I have never seen. Enough people I trust tell me it's good that I plunked down the deposit for the special order with no reservations at all. It should come in this coming Friday, so, keep your fingers crossed for me.

I actually spent much of the day yesterday looking for this DVD, which was released last Tuesday, but came up empty in three different stores in Saratoga Springs. I guess there's not enough smart film lovers in either Saratoga or here in the Glens Falls area for any store to order a copy -- Jesus, that is a depressing thought. I might have been able to find a copy in Albany, but I didn't feel like driving all the way down there, and I couldn't justify it with a coincidental trip to the comics shop, since nothing of consequence came out this week that would make it worth all the hassle.

I did, yesterday, though, buy two other DVDs, since I was really craving some good-movie satisfaction after studying Roger Ebert's The Great Movies over the past few nights at bedtime. I picked up Dark City (which I had never seen) for 8 bucks at Borders. Between the excellence of the movie and the full-length Roger Ebert commentary track, 8 bucks for that disc is about the biggest bargain in DVDs that I can think of. I also, in the same store, picked up Night of the Hunter with Robert Mitchum. I liked it for many of the same reasons Ebert does, namely the sense of dread, the oddness of the child actors and the fabulously skeevy Mitchum performance. But I was surprised and a bit disappointed in the third act's overtly religious tone and sudden removal of Mitchum as anything other than a bit player. The transference of father-figure status in the mind of the boy as Mitchum is taken into custody also fell flat for me -- I get what director Charles Laughton was going for, and maybe it even could have worked with the right set-up, dialogue and direction, but as it is I'm kind of wishing I'd just rented Hunter, although I am happy with my purchase of Dark City and can see myself watching that one again and again.

Amazing, too, how much of Dark City you can see in works that came after, including The Matrix and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Also interesting to me was how much Mitchum's character in Hunter was probably an influence on the evil misogynist preacher serial killer in the final season of Buffy.

Labels: movies

// posted by Alan David Doane @ 12:24 PM [LINK TO THIS] | 0 COMMENTS | E-MAIL ADD | SUBSCRIBE

 
Last-Minute Weekend Shocker! -- Well, I can't really say I am surprised, but Roger Ebert's Fantastic Four review has changed my plans for tonight, at least. I trust Ebert implicitly -- more than any other movie critic, I find he is able to accurately convey to me the feel and form of a film -- and his fairly definitive condemnation of this latest Marvel superhero movie has me thinking if my kids ever see it, it'll be on DVD. If the studio sends me a review copy. Maybe. Parenthetically, why they even bothered to continue after seeing The Incredibles is a genuine mystery to me. At the very least, they should have reevaluated the script and tried to get a little of the superior film's energy, wit and imagination into FF. Stupid Hollywood make Hulk's head hurt. Bah.

So, in other news, lots of good stuff going on over at the main site today, including new editions of BREAKDOWNS and LAST CALL from Chris Allen and Johnny Bacardi, respectively, and also a Jef Harmatz review of James Kochalka's THE CUTE MANIFESTO, which Alternative Comics head honcho Jeff Mason told me earlier this week should be shipping within the next couple of weeks. It's worth your time and money simply for the inclusion of REINVENTING EVETRYTHING, in my opinion, but there's a ton of other fun stuff in there as well, making the book probably the second most essential Kochalka volume after the monster-sized AMERICAN ELF collection.

In strange neighbourhood news, my wife said she noticed a former co-worker of hers sitting extremely upset on the curb at an accident scene within walking distance of our house yesterday afternoon. Checking the morning paper, it seems this woman was driving a UPS truck that got slammed into by a motorcycle allegedly speeding down these quiet city side-streets, and the operator of the motorcycle lost his arm when he slammed into the back of the UPS truck. Jesus. Even knowing I wasn't at fault, as this woman apparently wasn't, that would still be pretty traumatic. And it makes me realize how lucky I was to get away from my own car accident a few months ago with only a stiff neck and back pain...

Labels: meta, movies, real life

// posted by Alan David Doane @ 6:49 AM [LINK TO THIS] | 0 COMMENTS | E-MAIL ADD | SUBSCRIBE

 
What's Good For Spider-Man? -- You see a lot of Spider-Man DVDs these days. Displays in seemingly every store push hundreds and hundreds of copies of the webhead's film debut at you. Buy. Me. Now!!

Is it good for consumers? Well, it makes a desired film easy to find.

Is it good for comics? I don't see how it can't be, considering how much more intertwined with the industry this movie is than any previous comics film. I wish Ghost World had had as much information related to Dan Clowes and Eightball as the Spider-Man DVD has stuff about John Romita, Stan Lee and the other people who contributed to the book over the decades. It's impossible to view the DVD without having an acute awareness that this is a character with a rich history, and hey, in case you want to see more, there's a coupon for three free issues right in the DVD case.

My six-year-old son recognized Spider-Man on sight before we took him to the movie, but he didn't really care about him one way or the other. Since the film, the character has captured his imagination and I've never seen him so interested in devouring everything he can about a fictional character. Action figures, t-shirts, comics, hats, snow boots, all are plastered with Spider-Man, and he loves it. As a comics reader with a full 30 years invested in reading and enjoying comics, it's extremely gratifying to see him take such delight in Spider-Man. I don't care too much for any of the current comics series, but you know, when I was my son's age, I did. Today I think From Hell, Ghost World, Forlorn Funnies and other great comics show the vast potential for a medium that I fell into partly because of -- Spider-Man (and thanks, Gerry Conway and Ross Andru -- they were there when I discovered the book and you know how that is). So maybe 30 years from now my son will have similarly matured and refined tastes. Maybe he'll move on to something else. Who cares? Right now he's deliriously happy with something that won't hurt him, and that's good for him.

Is it good for Spider-Man? I don't really know what that means. Marvel's characters have lagged behind DC's for decades in terms of becoming genuine cultural icons. To the vast, uncaring public whose known for decades that Clark Kent was Superman and Bruce Wayne was Batman, 15 years ago only real fans knew who Peter Parker was. Now everyone knows.

The Spider-Man movie has pushed the character over the edge into full-fledged cultural icon status.

Labels: corporate comics, movies

// posted by Alan David Doane @ 12:21 PM [LINK TO THIS] | 0 COMMENTS | E-MAIL ADD | SUBSCRIBE

 
Indie Press Titles On the Silver Screen -- This is an article that first appeared at the site Independent Publisher.


"A Conversation with Alan David Doane of Comic Book Galaxy and Chris Staros of Top Shelf -- Comic Book Movies Score Hits and Misses."

Comics have long played a part in movie making, the obvious examples being Superman and Batman. But do the films really capture the essence of the authors' and artists' original creations?

A breakthrough occurred in 1994 when the movie version of The Crow seemed to bring the comic's dark mood and look to the screen, and this spring's Spider-Man wowed audiences with high-tech special effects. But what about the "alternative" comics being published by independent presses, many of which deal with real people, true crime, or teen angst.

Over the past year film adaptations of indie comic and graphic novels have been made: From Hell, Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys, Ghost World, and Road to Perdition.

"We've seen pretty definitively that movies based on comics lack the depth and gravity of the comics they're based on," says Alan David Doane, Editor-in-Chief at Comic Book Galaxy. "For example, while From Hell is probably the best, most complex, challenging and progressive work ever created in comics, it became on film a mildly interesting horror story, despite an obvious desire on the part of the filmmakers to create a serious, high-quality film."

Doane feels that lighter weight material like Spider-Man and X-Men seems to fare better, translating their simplistic good vs. evil themes into compelling, if forgettable, popcorn movies.

"Ghost World is probably the best film I've seen made from a comic book, and the key thing there was that Dan Clowes was intimately involved with the movie's production. I think the more the creator is involved the better the chance that the resulting movie will be a work of enduring excellence. No one is going to remember Batman Forever in ten years -- hell, no one WANTS to remember it now -- but Ghost World (the 2001 movie was directed by Terry Zwigoff and starred Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson) is an excellent translation of a comics story that will be well-regarded for decades."

Comics have always been cultural and social barometers, often expressing views and opinions "not ready for prime time." Just like independent films, this raw and impulsive form of expression is somewhat intimidating to consumers, many of whom act more as collectors than art-lovers. But the overall trend has to be encouraging to a genre that's been fighting for respect and shelf space.

"I think that the recent movies based on comics so far, like From Hell, Ghost World, X-Men, Spider-Man, etc., were all quite good," says Chris Staros of Top Shelf Productions and publisher of From Hell. "More importantly, they did well at the box office, which insures that Hollywood will keep their interest in basing movies on graphic novels and comics." Indeed, Staros reports that two new Top Shelf comic book adaptations are underway: Mephisto and the Empty Box and Creature Tech have just been sold to Hollywood.

"For me, the most significant benefit of all of this is the fact that great comics are being re-introduced to the public at large again, showing people the potential of a medium that they've pretty much forgotten over the years," says Staros. "Sales of graphic novel to the bookstores and libraries are on a big upswing right now, and that's fantastic, as this will help comics become on par with film and other media as a source of entertainment for everyone."

Doane is not quite so optimistic: "Progressive and visionary creators are usually marginalized in the marketplace at the time their social commentary is most vital," he says. "When R. Crumb was creating his masterpieces, the most popular comic books were Spider-Man and Green Lantern. While Dan Clowes was brilliantly spearing middle America's lethargic complacency, comics fans were "investing" in fifty copies of Youngblood #1 in hopes of someday buying a second mansion with their profits."

"That's part of the reason why Comic Book Galaxy is so committed to seeking out the diversity in the small press, alternative and independent comics community. Visionary creators like Rob Vollmar, Paul Hornschemeier, James Kochalka, Farel Dalrymple and others are creating works that comment on the vast scope of human experience and selling to an audience in the low thousands, while absolute garbage sells in the tens or hundreds of thousands to a delighted audience of willing suckers. So, yeah, the great, forward-looking comics are out there and always have been, but they're pretty hard to find under all those copies of Uncanny X-Men."

"The reason the most progressive creators have the edge over mainstream comics, and over the mass of pop culture in general, is that they are creating intensely personal and visionary work grounded in human experience and with the simple ambition of making a human connection to the readers. The guys doing Spider-Man are looking to entertain some overgrown children while stashing away money to buy a second house or a new TiVo recorder."

Although comics artists responded quickly and powerfully to the Sept. 11 tragedy, Doane doubts that this will have a lasting impact, or that comic book artists at large have developed a stronger social conscience.

"September 11th comic books may have gotten Joe Quesada (Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics) on the Today Show, but I don't think the vast, untapped potential audience for comics was reached because of it. What will change society's (non-)relationship with comics is the creation of works with adult appeal -- stories grown-ups can be interested in and entertained by and want more of -- and getting them into the hands of those potential readers. I see recently an expansion of the graphic novels section in stores like Borders, but discouragingly, the biggest and best independent bookstore where I live has marginalized graphic novels in-between kids' books and science-fiction. So there's work yet to be done."

Does Doane see any rays of hope on the horizon?

"The Internet is bringing about a sea change. Creators are in closer contact with their readers -- and editors and publishers and fellow creators -- than they have ever been at any time in history, because of the Internet and the ability to send large files of comic book artwork out over a broadband connection. The Internet's impact on comics -- and everything else -- has been huge, and it's still at the very beginning stages."

"As connections and computers get faster and more and more people get online, look for even more visionary and personal comics to come out of it, because publishers are also, in a sense, becoming secondary. Any talented creator with a computer and a halfway decent connection can get their work directly to their readers with no middleman at all. It's amazing. Now all we need is a visionary micro-payment system to fulfill that particular potential of comics."

"That said, I'm always going to prefer to have my comics on paper. It's some sort of tactile thing."

Labels: meta, movies

// posted by Alan David Doane @ 8:58 PM [LINK TO THIS] | 0 COMMENTS | E-MAIL ADD | SUBSCRIBE

 
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan -- Got the STII Special Edition DVD yesterday and spent some time watching it last night and this morning. I haven't yet just sat and watched the actual film, as such, all the way through. I've seen the movie so many times that it's almost an afterthought. I'm sure I'll watch it sooner or later, but the story itself, yeah, I know it pretty well.

Even this director's cut. Because the local ABC affiliate has been showing that version (with the revelation about Scotty's nephew and a couple other scenes) for years, and I have a pretty good quality tape of it that I made a couple of years ago. I'm glad they chose to include that stuff on the DVD, though -- I think it makes it a better movie, and on the commentary track, I learn director Nick Meyer feels the same way.

Meyer himself comes off a little icy and deluded in his commentary. The funniest part is how he's evidently still in denial over having Merritt Butrick wear a jaunty sweater tied around his neck in one crucial scene. Meyer spends about ten minutes defending the decision, which was obviously a bad one as long ago as the time of the film's initial release. Despite Meyer's claims that all films are somehow dated and anchored in their own era, a good director will endeavour to excise obvious fads and slang that will make the film even more of its time. Meyer goes on and on -- and on about the fucking sweater on the commentary track until you want to punch him in the mouth. Clearly he's taken a lot of heat over that sweater over the past twenty years, and he kind of, sort of concedes that if the audience is taken out of the movie by an anomalous element (which the sweater does do, in spades) that the director has failed. Then he defends himself some more. It's as funny as it is annoying.

Another amusing element is the way William Shatner's hubristic excesses are sort of taken for granted. No one bothers saying Shatner is a pompous ass all out of proportion to his minor gifts -- it's taken as a given and then the discussion proceeds from there, with multiple references from Meyer and writer/producer Harve Bennett touching on how Shatner's ego affected the film and his performance. Probably the funniest moment from Shatner is when he takes credit for the Spock death scene. Shatner loves taking credit for things, and yet the one time he actually is justified in taking credit -- the fifth Trek movie -- well, I for one can't wait to see his interviews on that DVD.

Ah, Star Trek. I said recently that selected Next Generation episodes and this movie, the Khan movie, are about all the Trek you need. Watching Khan last night with my wife, I said "You know, Star Trek never got any better than this." And I believe that. A few TNG and one DS9 episode may have been nearly as good, but the high point of Star Trek was 1982, and this DVD proves that definitively. The bad decision was not giving the franchise to Leonard Nimoy to oversee when Roddenberry died. Michael Pillar and Rick Berman were made wealthy men ass-raping Roddenberry's child for years and years, and the sad, sorry excuse for Star Trek that is on today ("Enterprise") is just a pathetic reminder that there was once life in the franchise. This DVD is a much better reminder, and again, really, all the Star Trek anyone needs.

Labels: movies

// posted by Alan David Doane @ 11:21 AM [LINK TO THIS] | 0 COMMENTS | E-MAIL ADD | SUBSCRIBE

 
Entry 0019 -- I go for months without renting movies or even thinking very much about the medium of film. I rented a couple of excellent movies for weekend viewing, though, and just finished watching the second of the two.

The Others is an old-fashioned ghost story with a twist so modern that to even compare it to anything else might risk giving its delightful conceit away. Trust me that it's 100 suspenseful, tension-filled minutes that had me guessing right up to the very end. Gothic and intimate, it's a great movie to watch with somebody you love -- or at least like very much.

Monster's Ball is a movie I'd wanted to see for months, and finally had to settle for the VHS copy at the video store, as the DVD has been all rented out every time I dropped in to try to score a copy. The movie's acting pedigree -- Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry and Peter Boyle -- is absolutely stunning. The story, about the generational sickness of racism, and of letting hate fall away from you, is by turns horrifying and riveting. The most powerful movie I've seen in quite some time, Monster's Ball is no popcorn movie, but food for thought that pulls no punches.

Labels: movies

// posted by Alan David Doane @ 8:32 PM [LINK TO THIS] | 0 COMMENTS | E-MAIL ADD | SUBSCRIBE

 
Entry 0005 -- My wife and I just finished watching Vanilla Sky. Like many of my favourite movies (Eraserhead, The Matrix), it is composed of multiple layers that get peeled back like the layers of an onion. There's a somewhat clumsy moment of exposition at the end that puts the film squarely in the Total Recall neighbourhood (and apparently led to many, many bad reviews), but for the most part the film is a fascinating puzzle about identity, self-pity and regret. It's also visually beautiful, with some amazing camera work (and one outstanding, non-computerized scene in a deserted Times Square). Tom Cruise's cheery, breezy arrogance plays well to the character he plays here, a child of privilege who life is turned upside down, inside out, and reduced to an horrific nightmare in which every attempt to reclaim his personality and identity is stymied and twisted, by time, by circumstance, by deception. Not a perfect or transcendant film, Vanilla Sky is nonetheless compelling and thought-provoking, and a movie that will reward future viewings.

Labels: movies

// posted by Alan David Doane @ 6:38 PM [LINK TO THIS] | 0 COMMENTS | E-MAIL ADD | SUBSCRIBE