The eternal struggle of Animator vs. Animation
Think of this as an animated XKCD…
Animator vs. Animation by *alanbecker on deviantART
(Not to be confused with XKCD in live action.)
Monthly Archive: April 2009
Peter David shepherding ‘Twilight’ parody to highlight Stephenie Meyer’s copyright
For those who came in late:
"Lady Sybilla" announced the publication of her very own sequel to "Twilight" entitled “Russet Noon.” She claimed that Stephenie Meyer had no copyright protection to her work (very wrongly).
Peter David, writer of stuff, in an absolute state of whimsy*, decided that simply mockery wasn’t enough, and a long, sustained campaign of mockery is what was called for. So he decided to invite people to a gang-fang called "Potato Moon".
And as Peter’s long-time stooge friend, he roped me into creating the cover for all of this, to help set the tone.
The story starts on Friday. You’ve been warned.
* Note: "Whimsy" is the auctorial equivalent of the famous last words, "Hey, everybody, watch this!"
Hugh Jackman is a dirty, dirty boy…*
It’s true! Look at him! That photo just says, "Guilty! Take me away, ladies!"
Sigh.
No, it’s just Hugh Jackman cementing his place in Hollywood history by putting his hand and foot prints into cement outside Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Personally, I was hoping he’d put claw marks into the cement as well, but you can’t have everything.
You’ve probably heard that Hugh will be in the film X-Men Origins: Wolverine opening May 1st, right? Okay. Go forth and see it and make this thing gross $80 million in its opening weekend.
* My wife made me write that headline. She’s been kibbitzing the entire time I’ve been writing this. "He’s going to Love Jail, isn’t he? Best. Post. EVAH."
It’s a good thing she hasn’t seen this picture, I shudder to think what she’d say…
Anime for Comics Fans; Comics for Anime Fans: Beauty and Literature
Welcome to the second article in our series, where American animation and comics and fans of Japanese anime and manga can connect with each other through pairs of titles that share tone, themes or character types in common.
Today’s pairing is about series that have been influenced by classic works of fine arts and literature, but with orginal twists.
BEAUTY AND LITERATURE
Anime/Manga: GANKUTSUOU
Anime directed by Mahiro Maeda, produced by Gonzo studios
Manga written by Mahiro Maeda, illustrated by Yura Arikawa
This is a fantastical re-telling of the classic novel, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, set in a space-faring future with some supernatural elements. Unlike the original novel, which was told from the point of view of the eponymous count, this story is told from the perspective of Albert, a young man who meets the Count at the beginning of the story and eventually discovers they have a disturbing connection. The anime also has a very different ending from the book – so don’t use this as a substitute for reading the book if it’s assigned to you for a class.
The 2004 anime’s most striking features are its lush and unique visuals. Instead of flat planes of color, the figures are depicted with textures and patterns that can delight – or boggle – the eyes. The Comic Con panelists said you can turn off the sound and just gaze in amazement at the characters’ costumes, some of which were created by real-life fashion designer Anna Sui. The series received critical acclaim as well — in 2006, Theron Martin of Anime News Network named Gankutsuou the best series of the year.
There is a manga adaptation of the anime currently being released, but for the full effect of the visuals you should go for the DVDs.
| Availability | Current Numbers | English-Language publisher |
| Original Japanese |
26 episodes, concluded
3 volumes of manga adaptation of anime
|
|
| US Manga |
2 of 3 volumes released so far
|
Del Rey
|
| US DVDs |
6 DVDs originally released from Geneon, which recently went out of business (but you may still be able to find it. Boxed set available.) FUNimation has picked up the license and is re-releasing them this year.
|
FUNimation
|
Spider-Man meets Saturday Night Live (again)
And to think it only took another thirty-one years.
Spider-Man is having another encounter with the folks at Saturday Night Live — only this time, cast members of SNL are writing the adventures instead of appearing in it, as they did waaaay back when in Marvel Team-Up #74, back in 1978. Noted comics fans Bill Hader and Seth Meyers are writing the Spider-Man one-shot, "The Short Halloween" which will be on sale on May 13th. Rick Marshall over at MTV’s Splash Page has the details:
The single-issue story promised to take a tongue-in-cheek look at the misadventures of a costumed party-goer mistaken for the real wallcrawler and kidnapped by Spider-Man’s foes.
Along with an original story by the comics-savvy “SNL” duo, “The Short Halloween” features art by Kevin Maguire — the man who helped put the “funny” back in funnybooks during the late ’80s alongside another comedic duo, “Justice League” writers Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis.
Rick also has a brief interview with editor Steve Wacker about the project.
Happy 72nd birthday, George Takei!
Ohhh my.
Captain Hikaru Sulu.
Kaito Nakamura.
The Warlord Shank.
Announcer for the Howard Stern Show.
Lok Durd in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Activist. Asteroid. And, oh yes, comic book writer.
He’s 72 years old today. Long may he wave.
Webcomics You Should Be Reading: “Least I Could Do”
Truth time, FOMAFers*, I found this webcomic a couple years late. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s still going… but I know out there in cyberspace, someone will snicker when they see this week’s choice. I can see them now, sipping a Brandy Alexander, puffing away on a grape cigarello. I can see them, and frankly, I hate them. Anyways, back to the topic at hand. On a recent tour of the internet (which seems to get bigger every day, I tell h’yew h’whut, I came across a comic that made me chuckle. I skimmed back across a few more strips, and more laughs fell from my mouth. Two hours later, I’d realized I forgot about addressing my save-the-dates with my fiance, and was promptly put in the dog house. Because I was in the dog house anyways, I cracked open a browser, and continued laughing until the wee hours of the morning. What made me laugh you ask? Why don’t I tell you… it’s the “Least I Could Do”. Get it? See what I did there? Yeah, I’m that awesome, and that’s why you’re a FOMAFer**.
“Least I Could Do” is a wonderfully humorous tale of a would be casanova, Rayne Summers. In another world, Rayne might be just like most of us… a bit of nerd, a pinch of geek, a jot of immaturity, and a dash of twenty-something sex maniac. The misadventures of Rayne have been dutifully written by Ryan Sohmer, and drawn first by Trevor Adams, then Chad WM. Porter, and now Lar deSouza. The strip has been going on since February 10th, 2003. Presently, it’s boasting daily updates. Kudos to them. But enough with the wikipedia crap, right? Let’s get into why this strip is heavy on the yuck-yucks.
The Point – April 20th, 2009
If you’ve ever ridden on a subway and looked outside, wondering just what was out there in the darkness, now there’s an answer. It’s a new graphic novel and a true story to boot! Plus Mike Gold bashes The Beatles and we build our comic book shopping list for the week,
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Review: I Saw You… edited by Julia Wertz
I Saw You…: Comics Inspired by Real-Life Missed Connections
Edited by Julia Wertz
Random House/Three Rivers Press; February 2009; $12.95
Everyone’s looking for something: money, fame, recognition, wonder, love. For most of those things, you’re on your own. But, for the last one, there’s always the personal ads. Blatantly advertising for love can feel very needy and desperate, though – but what if the love is already there (or, at least, you hope it is) and just needs to be coaxed out? That’s the place for the missed connection – I saw you, you winked at me, the subway doors closed, and so on and on. A missed connection, if you’re inclined to think that way, if someone you should have really met and clicked with, but didn’t, quite, because of external circumstances.
Julia Wertz, the cartoonist of the webcomic [[[The Fart Party]]], is one of many people obsessed with missed connections, either checking incessantly to see if someone “missed” them, or just amazed at what some people think a “connection” is. She found herself checking Craigslist several times a day, and then decided to make a minicomic out of missed connection ads. She got many more submissions than she’d expected, and that minicomic anthology eventually blossomed into this book – a collection of comics by nearly a hundred contributors, all illustrating actual missed connections ad, imagining their own missed connections, or just inspired by the idea.
Happy April 20th!
What, do I have to spell out all the references for you? Here, watch this film of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and see if you figure it out.
