Monthly Archive: March 2009

Interview: Matt Forbeck

Interview: Matt Forbeck

  • News
  • March 31, 2009

Matt Forbeck is a creative powerhouse. Over the past twenty years, he has created games of all sorts (including board games, roleplaying games, and computer games), has written novels and comics, and has won several awards – and has just been nominated for two Scribe Awards. But despite his decorated success, Matt is a very personable guy who is very devoted to his family. I recently had a chance to ask Matt some questions about his impressive career.

What first piqued your interest in gaming and comics?
I learned how to read with comics, especially the old Spidey series Marvel published with the Electric Company. They hooked me young and for life. Given that, I suppose it’s not surprising I became a voracious reader and got into fantastic fiction of all kinds. That set me up to fall hard for D&D. I first ran into the game when a friend’s mother bought it for him for Christmas on a Blue Light Special at K-Mart. Our mothers got us together to play, and we didn’t stop for months.

You are a very busy man. Do you still find time to game?
Not as often as I would like. I play lots of games with my kids now that they’re old enough to appreciate them. Like me, they’ll play just about anything, from Jenga or Blokus to Super Mario Smash Bros or Rock Band. Between my kids and wife and my work, though, I don’t have a whole lot of time for anything else.

When you do game, do you play your own games primarily, or do you check out things written by your industry colleagues?
I play other people’s games. I only play my own games when I’m working on them. Once they’re in print, I’m usually on to something else. I play them for game demos or when I’m thinking about an expansion for the game, but that’s about it.

I normally only play a game once or twice, and I’m rarely interested in who’s winning or losing. I’m there to pick it apart and see how it works, to learn what I can from it and figure out what the designer put into it. There are so many great games out there, it’s hard to dedicate myself to just a few.

Many people, including fans, look very closely at media tie-in work. Is there a lot of head-butting or other challenges that are not present with designing your own world?
Yes, although it’s not as bad as some might think. The toughest part is usually the outline stage. That’s when you’re trying to read the minds of your editor and your licensor’s approval stamper and figure out what they want. There’s often some miscommunication because the writer rarely has access to everything in the original creator’s head, so it’s like charging into a room blind. But if you can work it out in the outline stage, you save yourself lots of time and headaches down the road and make sure that everyone winds up happy.

 

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Andy Hallett: 1975-2009

Andy Hallett: 1975-2009

  • News
  • March 31, 2009

This just in from E Online:

Andy Hallett, who starred as Lorne ("the Host") on the TV series Angel, died of heart failure last night at age 33, according to his longtime agent and friend Pat Brady. The actor passed away at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles after a five-year battle with heart disease, with his father Dave Hallett by his side.

Hallett, from the Cape Cod village of Osterville, Mass., appeared on more than 70 episodes of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff, Angel, between 2000 and 2004. The accomplished actor was also a musician and sang two songs ("Lady Marmalade" and "It’s Not Easy Being Green") on the Angel: Live Fast, Die Never soundtrack, released in 2005.

The actor’s character on Angel was Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan, or Lorne for short. Hallett’s Lorne was a friendly demon, who, when not assisting Angel and his team in the investigation of various and sundry underworld mysteries, served as the host and headliner at a demon bar.

Back in 2001, Hallett told our own Jen Godwin that despite constant flirtation with David Boreanaz’ character Angel, and the occasional sly Elton John reference, "We don’t really know if he’s gay. I don’t really know. It’s funny, because sometimes he’s right in Angel’s face, and that’s when I feel it the most. And viewers would probably think, hmm, what’s going on here? This guy’s pretty curvy."

Hallett has spent his post-Angel years working on his music career, playing shows around the country. He had been admitted to the hospital three or four times in the past few years for his heart condition, according to Pat.

Another Angel castmember, Glenn Quinn, who played Doyle in season one, passed away in 2002.

A private funeral service will be held for family and close friends in Cape Cod, most likely over this weekend.

(Hat tip: Lisa Sullivan.)

Review: The Incredibles #1

Review: The Incredibles #1

My daughter and I recently sat down together to read BOOM! Kids’ new [[[Incredibles]]] comic. The concept behind these books, as we reported here back in July, was to present new stories set in the world of the film. My daughter was immediately excited to see characters she recognized on the cover (the first four collectible covers were done by Michael Avon Oeming with colors by Nick Filardi, and the fifth, limited edition cover was done by Mike Mignola). I figured that she would love the story no matter what happened since she already loves the film. It’s interesting what children notice that adults may not pick up on.

Since my daughter is a beginning reader, I read her everything, including the credits.  The credits page has a little introduction to each of the characters. My daughter and I both picked up on the fact that the ten-year-old boy, Dash, is listed in the credits above his older sister Violet. I considered this and figured that ten-year-old boys must be the target demographic for this comic. My little girl was highly displeased that a little brother would receive a higher billing than his big sister, and we had to delay reading the story for a few minutes while she vented about how little brothers are always stealing the limelight.

Then we began to read the story.  We begin with an evil robot villain from the 24th century named Futurion. I found it clever and artistic that all of Futurion’s speech bubbles looked like little computer readouts, with ones and zeroes replacing “i” and “o”. My daughter, however, found this to be highly confusing. Granted, she has only recently learned to read, but she was quite frustrated by the fact that letters had been replaced with numbers and felt that someone had made a mistake. I told her that it was kind of like a joke since zeroes and ones look similar to the letters. She said “This isn’t a very funny joke”.

Once I convinced my daughter that we didn’t need to send the writers to see her teacher about the difference between a zero and an “o”, we continued with the story. A large portion of this story, which was written by BOOM! EIC Mark Waid, takes place at the home of the Parr family (the secret identities of the Incredibles). Most specifically, there is a serious discussion between the parents while the children are in another room, and then some neighbors come over for a visit.

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Scribe nominees announced; DeCandido gets IAMTW GrandMaster

Scribe nominees announced; DeCandido gets IAMTW GrandMaster

  • News
  • March 30, 2009

The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers is pleased to announce this year’s nominees for the 2009 Scribe Awards, which honor excellence in licensed tie-in writing—novels based on TV shows, movies, comics, and games. In addition, Keith R.A. DeCandido, whose Farscape series for BOOM! has just gone to third printings on the first two issues and a second printing on #3, will be awarded the IAMTW Grandmaster Award at the awards ceremony at the San Diego Comic-Con– assuming he can get a hotel room.

The nominees for this year’s awards are:

Best General Fiction Original

Burn Notice: The Fix by Tod Goldberg
Criminal Minds: Finishing School by Max Allan Collins
CSI: Headhunter by Greg Cox

Best General Fiction Adapted

Death Defying Acts by Greg Cox
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull by James Rollins
The Tudors: King Takes Queen by Elizabeth Massie
The Wackness by Dale C. Phillips
X-Files: I Want To Believe by Max Allan Collins

Best Speculative Fiction Original

Ghost Whisperer: Revenge by Doranna Durgin
Ravenloft: The Covenant, Heaven’s Bones by Samantha Henderson
Stargate SG-1: Hydra by Holly Scott & Jamie Duncan
Star Trek: Terok Nor, Day Of The Vipers by James Swallow

Best Speculative Fiction Adapted

Hellboy II: The Golden Army by Bob Greenberger
The Mutant Chronicles by Matt Forbeck
Star Wars – The Clone Wars: Wild Space by Karen Miller
Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans by Greg Cox

Best Young Adult Original

Dr. Who: The Eyeless by Lance Parkin
Primeval: Shadow Of The Jaguar by Steven Savile
Disney Club Penguin: Stowaway! Adventures At Sea by Tracey West

Best Young Adult Adapted

Iron Man: The Junior Novel by Stephen D. Sullivan
The Dark Knight: The Junior Novel by Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohen
Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3D by Tracey West

The Point – March 30th, 2009

The Point – March 30th, 2009

From Martian Manhunter to Mission Impossible, Phil Morris has action hero in his bloodline and an equally deep love for comics. Can you guess his all time favorite single issue? Plus Mike Gold reveals his cartoon mentor, DC reveals a plan for Sunday comics and Spider-Man gets checked out of the library for good.

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Webcomics You Should Be Reading: “Garfield Minus Garfield”!

  • News
  • March 30, 2009

Howdy folks! We’re back here today to take a step into the post-modern… a step into the existential… a step into a parallel dimension. No, not the twilight zone. Today’s ‘Webcomic You Should Be Reading” is an experiment utilizing one of America’s most cherished cartoon characters. Who you ask? Why, it’s Jon Arbuckle, the would-be owner of an obese and lazy cat, named Garfield. We’re quite familiar with the Garfield strip, aren’t we? Since 1978, the world has been privvy to the the misadventures of this lazy fat cat and his awkward geek of an owner. Years later, an Irishman (Dan Walsh) took an idea shared by many, and gave it birth in webcomic form. Mr. Walsh graced the interwebs with Garfield Minus Garfield.

In a nut shell, take Jim Davis’ acclaimed comic, and remove the titular main character… What do you end up with? As Dan Walsh puts it… you get “…[the] reveal [of] the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle agianst loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb.” I just say you get to take a cherished comic, and make it a post-modern laugh fest.

Now, obviously enjoyment of the material comes with the knowledge of the source material. When “G-G” works, it works well. Minus his kitty companion (or really any other elements in the strips) Jon is sad, pathetic, and possibly schitzophrenic. Successive reading of multiple strips in a row only makes the joke funnier. But, when the majority of the strip leaves bookended blank panels… this fan grows quickly bored. Why? Well, the joke itself of removing that darn cat can make for some funny asides by Jon. Dramatic pauses add to the humor of most of these situations, but, in these strips in particular… it leaves a little too much to the imagination. Given the decades worth of material though, Walsh has plenty to work with, and there are plenty of funny re-imagined strips to present to we, the surly and overly critical internet population.

So what, pray-tell, does Mr. Jim Davis think of this Frankensteining of his most famous creation?

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Nebraska elementary school library lends Spider-Man graphic novel to six-year old

Nebraska elementary school library lends Spider-Man graphic novel to six-year old

  • News
  • March 30, 2009

Yeah, you better look over your shoulder, Spidey.

KETV, an Omaha, Nebraska TV station, recently aired a story about the mother of a 6-year-old boy who brought home a copy of a Spider-Man graphic novel from his elementary school in Millard Nebraska.  The book is J. Michael Straczynski’s Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2: Revelations, which was rated “PG, Ages 12+” by Marvel.  The report showed panels featuring John Romita Jr.’s art depicting Mary Jane in a bikini and a short skirt from Amazing Spider-Man #39, the "Nuff Said" issue.

Physha Svendsen, the mother of the boy at the center of this dispute, contends that the book is not age appropriate for elementary school students and wants it removed from the school library.  Donna Helvering, the school district’s head librarian, said that the school will form a committee to evaluate the complaint within 30 days and the committee will decide whether to keep the book on the school’s library shelves or not.

You can see the report for yourself at the KETV web site.

ComicMix Quick Picks – what day is it? March 32nd?

What it’s been like here recently…

cartoon from www.weblogcartoons.com

Just way too much stuff to go through, and we’ve been very busy with the print announcement and rushing to get things ready for the Previews catalog, and I have dozens of tabs open to blog about and consolidate. Wheeee!

So this will be more of a high-speed link dump from the last few days. Onward:

  • The cast and crew of Battlestar Galactica at the United Nations – "We are all Cylons. We are all Colonials." Alex Epstein’s take on the last episode of BSG: Seriously? That’s What You Got? My favorite comment on the finale, from Sabrina: "There can be no more spoilers for BSG, because they spoiled it themselves."
     
  • Don’t forget tonight’s Family Guy/Star Trek The Next Generation crossover.
     
  • Non-comics link of the day: John Mellencamp on The State of the Music Business:
    Over the last few years, we have all witnessed the decline of the music business, highlighted by finger-pointing and blame directed against record companies, artists, internet file sharing and any other theories for which a case could be made. We’ve read and heard about the "good old days" and how things used to be. People remember when music existed as an art that motivated social movements. Artists and their music flourished in back alleys, taverns and barns until, in some cases, a popular groundswell propelled it far and wide. These days, that possibility no longer seems to exist. After 35 years as an artist in the recording business, I feel somehow compelled, not inspired, to stand up for our fellow artists and tell that side of the story as I perceive it. Had the industry not been decimated by a lack of vision caused by corporate bean counters obsessed with the bottom line, musicians would have been able to stick with creating music rather than trying to market it as well.
    Hmm– maybe it is a comics link after all.

  • ‘The Phantom’ will be on SciFi or SyFy or whatever they’re calling it. Impress me: get Billy Zane to do cameos.
     
  • Speaking of SciFi’s name change: SciFi Founder Hates Syfy, Issac Asimov would have hated it, and yo9 for the win.


  • Dharma wants you… since the 70’s apparently.
     

Anything else? Consider this an open thread. (Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.)

Review: ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ on DVD

Review: ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ on DVD

Pop culture is influenced by so many different factors and timing determines what will catch on and endure while other things, quality be damned, wither and die.  A perfect example is the Award-Winning darling of 2008, Slumdog Millionaire.

Based on the 2005 novel by Q & A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup, it was optioned for film by British production companies Celador Films and Film4 Productions who hired Simon Beaufoy to adapt it. By the time director Danny Boyle read the script and accepted the assignment, it was 2006. The budget was set at $15 million, meaning the producers needed a partner – enter Warner Independent which gambled $5 million for the right. Shooting began in November 2007 and it spent much of 2008 being screened at festivals starting with Telluride and the Toronto International.  But, a Warner Bros. exec saw the finished product and felt that once you added in prints and marketing, it was not likely to recoup its costs.

A different exec at 20th Century-Fox saw it but saw something different and bought the film from Warners and scheduled it for late in the year. By the time it opened on November 12, the economy tanked and people were in a mixed state of financial panic and political euphoria.  People wanted something to latch on to, something to make them forget the scary real world, at least for two hours.

[[[Slumdog Millionaire]]] was the perfect antidote for what was ailing our psyche. As a result, it has earned, through this past weekend, worldwide revenues of $268,103,477 making it hugely profitable and turning the stars Dev Patel and Freida Pinto into celebrities. Pretty heady stuff.

The movie, coming out on DVD Tuesday, is incredibly moving, exciting, funny, poignant and very predictable. While it was the Feel Good Movie of the Year and therefore swayed voters into giving it many prizes, it is not the greatest film of the year.  In addition to the enjoyable story, it also shined a documentary-style eye on India’s slum life and we watched in gaping fascination. This was not Bollywood or some idealized view of life, but the actual way the majority of the people lived in the heavily populated country. This, more than the story, may be one reason it was so well-received around the world.

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