Articles by van-jensen
Mon Aug 4, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Alex Robinson and Poker at Comic-Con
'Too Cool' creator's wife schools tournament
Alex Robinson, creator of the new Too Cool and Box Office Poison, writes on his blog about Comic-Con, though it has pretty much nothing to do with comics or movies. (And haven't we all had enough of that anyway?)
Instead, the subject is cards:
One proud note: on Saturday night, my wife and I played in this poker tournement at the show. There were about fifty-five players and I didn't fare so hot, going out about number fifty or so (excuses: I was very tired after the show and prefer to play in cash-games anyway). The awesome news is that Kristen managed to hold on, and wound up finishing third. She got to take home a trophy and a wad of cash! Maybe it's time to quit this comics racket and live off of my lovely bride's gambling wages...
Just to boost Alex's ego a little, he was kicking the crap out of me in a game of Scrabulous before it was shut down last week.
Mon Aug 4, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Review: 'Meathaus: SOS'
New anthology offers sweet art, so-so story
I was talking to cartoonist Jim Rugg recently about comics anthologies, and he said his thought as a reader is that each collection should have one great story, and then anything else good is just gravy.
In the case of the latest volume of Meathaus, SOS
The one great story in SOS, then, is the volume's first entry, a longish bizarro riff on Zelda (I think) from Farel Dalrymple. It's a story of two brothers who stumble into a mysterious cave and are attacked by an evil elf wearing a fedora and trench coat.
Dalrymple's art is as energetic as ever, and the story is a strangely edited puzzler that's worth multiple reads.
There's plenty more gravy in the 272 pages. Most notably Dash Shaw's melding of science fiction and nude modeling for art classes. I don't think any more needs to be said.
Mon Aug 4, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Duane Swierczynski Interviews Ed Brubaker
Writers talk crime
Talk about impossible to pass up: Here's an interview between two pretty brilliant crime writers, Ed Brubaker and Duane Swierczynski.
It originally ran in Crimespree magazine, issue 22. Here's a sample:
DS: Since Scene of the Crime, many of your regular series have been infused with this great crime/noir vibe—Sleeper was pure noir, Gotham Central was hardcore police procedural, and so on. Is “crime” the lens through which you view much of life?
EB: Yeah, and espionage, a bit. My dad and his brother (who I’m named after) were both in the intel field. My uncle was a big mucky-muck in the CIA and my dad was in Naval Intelligence. Not that either of them were ever forthcoming with details about what they did, but it probably accounts for my interest in that genre. And when I was a teenager, I was kind of a thief and a drug-addict. I did a lot of things I'm not proud of, and lived in a really ugly world of speed-freaks and scumbags for a few years. Nearly going to prison straightened me out, though. Scared the shit out of me at 18, basically. But you never forget sitting in the felony tank with 50 other guys fighting over sandwiches.
So, when I started writing stories for other people to draw, I just always thought of crime stories. Just before my first paying work, in 1991, I had read a lot of the Jim Thompson reissues from Black Lizard and had been on a real true crime binge, so that probably played into it a lot. But I think on some level, I identify with criminals, even though now that I'm older and a home-owner, I hate them. I never liked any of the ones I knew, really, it was just the life I fell into. I like the ones I make up, but they’re much more romantic than the criminals in real life
Mon Aug 4, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Paris Hilton and Stan Lee Creating Comic Spoof
Quick, what are the other signs of the impending apocalypse?
MTV's new Splash Page comics blog has some bizarre news about a partnership between Stan Lee and Paris Hilton. Let that sink in for a second or two.
Apparently the oddest dynamic duo are working together on an animated superhero spoof show for MTV. Details:
“We’re developing that right now and just going over scripts and drawing my character,” Hilton told us. “I fight crime.”
The infamous party girl will soon be seen in the upcoming twisted musical “Repo! The Genetic Opera” where she lampoons beauty-obsessed celebritities as a plastic surgery-addicted brat, and Hilton proclaimed her next target will be the capes-and-cowls crowd.
“It’s not like your typical superhero,” she promised of her Lee-created character. “It’s me basically as a superhero, so kind of using makeup and compacts as weapons. It’s kind of like a spoof on a superhero.”
Sun Aug 3, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Comic Book Movies Hit $1 Billion
The summer of the superhero reaches a big milestone
Comic book movies have finally been unseated from the top of the box office mountain, as the latest Mummy movie displaced The Dark Knight.
But there's still no debating this being the summer of the superhero, as comic book movies hit one HUH-YUGE milestone: $1 billion in ticket sales, according to boxofficemojo.com.
That includes Chris Nolan's Batman sequel (which is up to $363 million), Hellboy 2, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. Am I forgetting any?
Dark Knight was also the fastest movie to hit $350 million in sales, doing so in a scant 14 days. That's nine days faster than the previous best, set by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
UPDATE -- More official numbers now indicate Dark Knight is No. 1 again at the Box Office, pulling in $43.8 million to $42.5 for the Mummy. It's also poised to hit $400 million by early this week, now only $5.1 million short of that marker.
Sat Aug 2, 2008 — by Van Jensen
SDCC: The (Maybe) Imminent Demise of Monthly Comics
Douglas Wolk, Joe Keatinge and others talk floppies and the future
I know, I know. More news from San Diego? A full week later?
Apologies all around, but this is too interesting to pass up. Newsarama has a recap of a panel where a few industry folks discuss the potential demise of comics in their monthly, floppy form.
Douglas Wolk and Joe Keatinge are the headliners, and everyone has a different opinion with plenty of insight to back up their thoughts. Things went toward the chicken and egg argument, as illustrated by this quote from retailer Carr D'Angelo:
Wolk asked D’Angelo about difference between the return on investment between monthly comics and graphic novel.
“We call them our perennials,” he said, about graphic novels that always seem to sell. “If we can find a new product we can turn endlessly, it’s like what Scrooge McDuck wants, a machine that turns lead into gold.” He named Persepolis and Blankets as examples, saying his investment was virtually guaranteed when he ordered them – unlike with monthly comics.
“I can never have too many Y the Last Man trades,” D’Angelo said. “It’s an endless supply of business. But I couldn’t do that if there weren’t 60 issues in the first place, building up goodwill, and building up an audience, and building up reviews.”
Sat Aug 2, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Comics Heal Poland-Israel Relations
Exhibit encourages understanding
There's a neat story in the Jerusalem Post about a comic book exhibit that's aimed at easing the sometimes strained relationship between Israeli and Polish citizens.
Lingering anger from the Holocaust apparently has left something of a schism between the two peoples, and comic books are seen as one way of healing those old wounds.
If you didn't know, 2008-2009 is Israel-Poland year. One of the many events taking place in this framework is the launching of Polisra, the first Israeli-Polish comic book - to be featured at an exhibition at Holon's Israeli Cartoon Museum and at the Tel Aviv comic books festival. The Polish Mickiewicz Institute, which initiated the book, hopes it will be a channel in creating dialogue on topics considered taboo in the two nations' histories. ...
[Publisher Amital] Sandy views Polisra as an opportunity to deal with history and the stereotypes connected to it. One story in the book, for instance, portrays a Polish woman who buys a picture of a Jew counting money for her new house. According to Polish tradition, such a picture brings prosperity to a new home. When no such prosperity arrives, the woman complains of the picture's failure to the salesman. The next frame depicts the salesman in his villa, surrounded by such pictures, exclaiming that, "It works for me!"
"Humor is a great method to examine our values. It takes a situation, flips it upside down, and gives the viewer a whole new perspective on it," Sandy says.
Sat Aug 2, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Review: This Week in 'Trinity' - Part 9
Your weekly dose of DC's big three
This ridiculous villain thing has officially gone too far.
First, we have the "evil trinity" of Despero, Morgaine Le Fey and Enigma. Then there's been Howlers galore and a trio of baddies headlined by the Eraser or White Out or whatever his name is.
And now? Swashbuckler!
He shows up amid the chaos of the bombed mall and lays a kiss on Diana's gubmint pal (also stealing her ID), and then later fails to steal Nightwing's mask. Both while offering B-movie banter.
He's apparently another villain in league with Le Fey, who along with her cronies is amassing more goodies that "define the essence" of key people. It goes back to the continued theme in this series of objects being instilled with a mysterious energy force of the earth.
Elsewhere, Bruce fights off attacking Howlers with Clark's help. They apprehend a few without being branded like Diana, but we don't know what happens with that yet.
As Clark is inner-monologuing about Bruce forgetting an earlier encounter with the Howlers, Diana comes over the shortwave to let them know the Crime Syndicate was responsible for mass kidnappings.
Two things here: The Crime Syndicate? And, wait a second, when did these kidnappings happen? Off-panel, I guess.
Fri Aug 1, 2008 — by Van Jensen
The Weekly Haul: Comics Reviews for July 30
Rounding up the latest issues
A pretty slow week in comics, as everyone's still gasping for breath post Comic-Con (including me, even though I stayed at home this year). Not even a dozen books worth reading this week, and I somehow missed the JSA annual. Still, some interesting stuff, with a strong DC showing.
Book of the Week: Blue Beetle #29
There's also a bizarre bit of text added that says: "No trespassing: Violators will be Prosecuted." Except the last word is crossed out and "Persecuted" is written over it. Meaningless fluff that distracts from an attractive bit of art.
Like I said, though, the issue is good stuff aside from a few minor awkwardnesses as Sturges warms up to the series. Jaime keeps on adventuring, though he's falling into a big mess involving Intergang and smugglers.
Sturges uses that to create a nice dynamic, as Jaime is forced to take a side in the immigration debate. This is a really good jumping-on point, if you've been thinking of giving the series a try.
Runners Up:
Green Lantern #33
Johns uses subtlety in examining the reasons Sinestro went mad with power, and the prophecy of the Blackest Night finally is starting to be revealed.
Thor #10
Continue reading The Weekly Haul: Comics Reviews for July 30 ›
Fri Aug 1, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Billy Crudup Talks 'Watchmen'
Dr. Manhattan speaks
The Geek Files has a short interview with actor Billy Crudup, in which he talks about playing Dr. Manhattan in the upcoming Watchmen film.
Most of that screen time is in the digitally animated form Manhattan takes after a lab accident leaves him a super-powered god figure. Here are a couple good bits:
"And he was being asked to be a dutiful man at the same time by his government, so he was trying to attend to both of those while trying to carry on a relationship, and I think ultimately he discovered, through his own journey, that he was no longer as interested in people as he was in the ... universe. ... So I think my experience of doing it was the experience of asking that question each and every day."
Fans got a glimpse of Dr Manhattan in footage screened at Comic-Con. To play him, Crudup wore a motion-capture suit covered in lights, with dots on his face as a reference for computer generated effects to be added in post-production.
"It was a burden for about the first day, until I saw what these guys [his fellow actors] were in, and then they also had to go work out and watch what they were eating, blah di blah, blah, blah," Crudup said. "I was as happy as a clam. Basically came in and put on my pyjamas, stood on my apple box and tried to figure out Dr Manhattan."
Fri Aug 1, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Peter David on Ted Stevens' Hulk Necktie
Embattled Alaska senator digs the green goliath
This is pretty funny stuff. Sen. Ted Stevens, the Alaska Republican who's being investigated for lots of financial improprieties, was photographed by Doug Mills of the New York Times wearing a Hulk tie (see at right).
Over at his blog, former Hulk writer Peter David has this to say:
The embattled senator has been depicted wearing a Hulk necktie based on the cover of Hulk #401, written by yours truly. Apparently it's his favorite tie when he's in trouble. I'm starting to get an inkling of how Rowena felt upon learning that her art was a favorite of Saddam Hussein. In the words of Groucho, it's a club that you really would rather not be a part of since it would have you as a member.
The comments are pretty funny, including this gem:
He likes the theme because he's often quoted saying, "Don't make me Ted Stevens. You wouldn't like me when I'm Ted Stevens."
Fri Aug 1, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Onion: 'Al Gore Places Infant Son in Rocket'
A surprisingly apt 'Superman' parody
From the Onion:
EARTH—Former vice president Al Gore—who for the past three decades has unsuccessfully attempted to warn humanity of the coming destruction of our planet, only to be mocked and derided by the very people he has tried to save—launched his infant son into space Monday in the faint hope that his only child would reach the safety of another world.
"I tried to warn them, but the Elders of this planet would not listen," said Gore, who in 2000 was nearly banished to a featureless realm of nonexistence for promoting his unpopular message. "They called me foolish and laughed at my predictions. Yet even now, the Midwest is flooded, the ice caps are melting, and the cities are rocked with tremors, just as I foretold. Fools! Why didn't they heed me before it was too late?"
Al Gore—or, as he is known in his own language, Gore-Al—placed his son, Kal-Al, gently in the one-passenger rocket ship, his brow furrowed by the great weight he carried in preserving the sole survivor of humanity's hubristic folly.
"There is nothing left now but to ensure that my infant son does not meet the same fate as the rest of my doomed race," Gore said. "I will send him to a new planet, where he will, I hope, be raised by simple but kindly country folk and grow up to be a hero and protector to his adopted home."
Read the rest right here.
Thu Jul 31, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Okla. Pol's Offensive Comic Doesn't Win Him Election
Anti-gay comic mailed to potential voters, who don't respond kindly
You might remember Brent Rinehart, the Oklahoma county commissioner who mailed a crudely drawn and deeply offensive comic (one page at right) to voters in the hopes of winning reelection.
Well, he lost. And lost badly. From the Olkahoman:
The embattled and controversial Rinehart received only 21 percent of the vote and failed to make a runoff in the Republican primary.
“Too many hurdles. Mountain too high. Too many battles,” Rinehart said. “You hope throughout everything that the public sees and understands and so you do your best, and I’ve done my best.”
Rinehart didn’t hold an election watch party Tuesday, instead opting to see “The Dark Knight” with his girlfriend.
Rinehart came in third out of three candidates amid allegations of criminal wrongdoings while he was in office.
He used the comic book to claim that homosexuals and Satanists and liberal good ol' boys were responsible for the effort to keep him out of office.
Thu Jul 31, 2008 — by Van Jensen
'Terminator: Salvation' Teaser Poster
Big, nasty robot mug returns to one-sheets
The teaser poster to Terminator: Salvation is online, and probably in a theater near you.
Not too much excitement, just a big ugly robot face. Does that imply Arnold is coming back? We'll see.
Thu Jul 31, 2008 — by Van Jensen
SDCC: Dark Horse News
Announcements out of Comic-Con
Dark Horse was nice enough to compile a full list of the publisher's announcements out of San Diego (including a new Martha Washington -- at right -- book).
That's very appreciated, as the lunacy of Comic-Con made it impossible last week to keep up with everything every publisher was doing -- though our ComicMix team did their best to bring you as much news as possible.
Any publishers who want to send over similar news dispatches can hit us up through the usual channels.
After the jump is Dark Horse's complete news breakdown, listed by day.
