Monthly Archive: March 2010

The Johnny Hart comic strips B.C. and The Wizard of Id are being developed for both TV and feature film by the estate of the late Johnny Hart, animation producer Mark Simon, Creators Syndicate’s Jack Newcombe and The Metropolis Talent Agency. Simon is reported as saying they are working on family-targeted movie adaptations of both properties, and tween-targeted animated TV series.

No word if or how the estate of Brant Parker, co-creator of The Wizard of Id, is involved.

(And yes, we are making “Every Comic Eventually Gets Adapted” into a semi-regular feature.)

I first became acquainted with Kirby Krackle‘s music at New York Comic Con 2009, where no less than Joe Quesada himself told me to check out their self-titled first album. (Okay, it was a Twitter post to all his followers, but still.) It turns out the man knew what he was talking about, because I fell in love with KK’s self-described comic book rock on first listen – and before I knew it, I was a full-fledged Kracklehead. It turns out I had been wanting to hear a rock ode to Benjamin J. Grimm my whole life and didn’t even know it.

Today, Kirby Krackle’s much-anticipated sophomore effort, appropriately titled, E For Everyone, was released. I admit, I was afraid it was going to leave me in want of a retcon, but at the end of the last track I queued it right back up to listen again, and again, and again. Comprised as it is of a comic book shop owner and an accomplished indie-rock musician, KK’s biggest strength has always been its dedication to rock-solid musicianship and catchy hooks first and geeky subject matter second. I sang along to album closer Going Home at my desk twice before I realized it was a song about the band’s love for comic conventions, and that only served to enhance my enjoyment of an already great tune.

Their subject matter weaves in and out of different fandoms – E For Everyone opens with “Vault 101,” a pop-rock song about the video game Fallout 3 so catchy it should be regulated by the FDA, and it’s followed up immediately by “On and On,” a ballad that does more to demonstrate why we should care about Wolverine in three-odd minutes than his solo series has done in three-odd years. That’s the secret behind Kirby Krackle’s appeal: like geek-rock progenitor Jonathan Coulton, KK delivers songs by nerds, for nerds, that never pander and only rarely hew close to deserving the dreaded “comedy song” moniker. 

It’s not perfect, though, especially if you listened to their previous album as much as I did. No individual song is as grating on repeated listen as “Naked Wii,” but E for Everyone doesn’t hit the peak of brilliance as often, either. It makes for a more even listening experience but slightly lessens the album overall. Moreover, they repeat a few of their old tricks: “Henchman” covers the same ground as the earlier, better “Villain Song,” and “Roll Over” – a song about a ménage-å-every-female character-from-an-80’s-Saturday-morning-cartoon – takes over from “Marvelous Girls” in the “vaguely misogynist but still rockin’ party song” department.

Bottom line: If you’re reading ComicMix and you’ve listened to the first album, you probably love Kirby Krackle as much as I do, and this will scratch the itch for more you’ve had for a year. If [[[E For Everyone]]] is your first exposure to the band, then there’s plenty here to understand what all the hubbub is about. It suffers a little from more-of-the-same syndrome, but when the same rocks this hard, it’s difficult to care overmuch, and I can’t wait to see what the duo does next.

Kirby Krackle is very active on Twitter, so in their honor and in the honor of the man they’re named for, the final word in 140 characters or less: Don’t ask, just buy it!

When I was on the comp list at DC, I found myself in a very strange position– I was actually getting comics that I had no desire to keep.

Didn’t want to bag them, read through them and disliked them, and I actually got to the point where I would actually tear them up in front of my friends, just for the pure shock value. And they were shocked.

So I can appreciate what Nick Gazin is doing to get rid of the comics he doesn’t want any more– and I can certainly appreciate bringing in a Penthouse Pet to help.

NOT SAFE FOR WORK stuff ahead.

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J. Michael Straczynski, the Academy Award nominated screenwriter of Changeling, creator of Babylon 5, and former writer on Amazing Spider-Man and Thor, will take over the writing on Superman and Wonder Woman starting in July with Superman #701 and Wonder Woman #601, according to the DC Source blog.

JMS talks about taking over the reins here:

To kick off both efforts by appearing in the anniversary issues of
these two characters is a great opportunity, and a good jumping-on
point for readers.

If there’s any other message in this to readers, it’s in these two
characters as icons of hope, that it doesn’t make any difference where
you come from, or where you went to school, or who you are, there’s
hope. That a kid from Jersey with Superman as the icon that kept him
alive for years would one day end up writing the character is as
absoutely unlikely as it is utterly inevitable. And if that’s true for
me, it’s true for you, if you follow your dreams and your passions in
full flight.

No word on art teams yet– one wonders if Gary Frank will stick around and work with JMS again (they previously worked together on Midnight Nation and Squadron Supreme).

Artwork by Phil Noto.

Imagine being asked to portray a character who has been a comics legend for twice as many years as you’ve been around. A pretty big challenge was handed to Justin Hartley who took up the quiver as Green Arrow on SMALLVILLE a few seasons back. Now with a few years in green, Justin shares his feelings on being Oliver Queen and where he is headed in the series. Plus Sarah Jane gets two more seasons while COMMUNITY, 30 ROCK and THE OFFICE all get one more. 

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You have to wonder about the career advice Sarah Michelle Gellar has been receiving from her agent. Once she established that she could not only kick ass and stake vampires on [[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]], she also won over fans and critics by feeling the emotional impact of the events going on in her life. One reason the episode regarding her mother’s death is so well remembered has much to do with Gellar’s performance. We also saw that she could do other roles and gained attention in 1999 with Cruel Intentions.

Yet, since the series ended in 2003, she has made schlock horror films based on international offerings ([[[The Grudge]]]), slight comedies ([[[Scooby Doo]]]), and eminently forgettable films ([[[Suburban Girl]]]). In the fist category comes Possession, out this week from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Based on the 2002 Korean film [[[Addicgion]]], the American adaptation was filmed in 2007 and was initially set to release in 2008 before being consigned directly to DVD.

Set in San Francisco (although shot in Vancouver), the story is about a young married couple (Gellar and Michael Landes) trying to establish themselves while also taking in Michael’s criminal brother (Lee Pace). Lee creeps out Sarah so she insists he finally move out and this leads to a horrific car crash that sends both men to the hospital.

When Lee finally awakens, he appears in every way to have been changed…into his brother. He seems to possess Michael’s memories and is kinder, softer, and more emotionally vulnerable than he ever was before. With Michael comatose, Sarah has to decide whether or not to pull the plug on the life support equipment, complicated by the emotional connection she is forging with her brother-in-law.

Throughout, the question comes whether or not a freak accident swapped the men’s souls or Lee is faking it. This is intended to a psychological/supernatural thriller and while moodily shot using dim lighting, it also fails to emotionally connect with the audience. Largely this has to do with all three characters being woefully underwritten by Michael Petroni.  Directors Joel Bergvall and Simon Sandquist don’t help by letting the trio show much range. Lee Pace, we well know from [[[Pushing Daisies]]], can act and yes, he does the best job of the three by portraying two sides of the same man but even he feels flat.

Given that this story sprawls across a year or more, the lack of interaction with friends or family also robs the movie of feeling anything remotely real. Sarah’s brief interactions at work are the only proof that she has a life beyond her home.

The movie is a muddle and mercifully brief (1:25). The DVD comes complete with plenty of alternate and deleted scenes, none of which really would have helped make this a more enjoyable story. Then there’s the promo featurette that tells you absolutely nothing about the project.        

Gellar is an attractive, capable actress who has been repeatedly ill served by her film choices and maybe it’s time for her to find new representation.

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