Dina Reads Comics

I suck at updating, go kick a dog or something

2009-11-28T22:48:00.000-08:00

So, I haven't updated here since before Comic Con, and I swear I'd feel guilty if I wasn't just so busy being COMPLETELY AWESOME. Honestly, I've come to realize that maintaining this blog actually made it harder to read comics. I would feel pressure every week to buy the books ASAP, read them, and come up with pithy things to say on a regular basis. Is this how writers feel when they're on deadline? If so, I can completely understand why books are late all the time.

Anyway, the new plan for this blog is basically to update whenever I feel like it, which I'm sure won't be incredibly often. (Send your complaints in the form of money to my PayPal account.) I guess I should talk about comics a little bit while I'm here though, so I'll tell you what I picked up today, as my shop (Golden Apple) was having their own post-Thanksgiving sale, and I finally used the gift certificate to Meltdown (the "rival" store to mine) my boss sent for my birthday.

The regular comics this week:
Beasts of Burden #3: I do think I like this book, although I'm pretty sure it's more for the art than for the stories themselves. Never really been into talking animals, so I'm not sure if that gets in the way of it for me, but I can't say I'm truly invested. What I can say though, is that I'll still be picking up #4-I may not be completely hooked, but I still need to find out what happens!

Chew #6: Yeah, it's still good. I actually dropped Dynamo 5 to stick with it (Sorry, Mr. Faerber!), and I still don't regret that decision. Half-faced terminator robocop cleaver face trumps a more enjoyable X-Men anyday AND OH MY GOSH MY DOG JUST LET OUT THE WORST FART IN THE HISTORY OF FARTS. I CAN'T EVEN CONCENTRATE MY EYES ARE WATERING SAVE ME!

Ok, I'm back. Had to go into the bedroom, out of the nuclear blast zone of Roscoe.
Where was I?

Oh yeah, my weekly purchases.

Criminal-The Sinners Part 2: I want to have Mr. Brubaker's babies. That's really all I can say about that.

Alright, everything else I bought I hasven't read yet-I'd promise to tell you about them later, but we all know I won't.

Here's a list anyway, in case you're curious:
Unknown Soldier #14
Stumptown #1 (finally!)
Northlanders #22 (Plague Widow #2) Quickly, I must say that I'm pretty sure this is my favorite North arc, and I'm only one issue in. I'm fascinated by the whole premise already, can't wait to see where this goes.
The 4th Exterminators trade (why, oh why was this book cancelled?! Shame shame shame.)

And then with my gift certificate at Meltdown, I picked up the first Y: The Last Man trade (for lending, since nobody's gonna borrow my floppies), and Winter Men, which has come highly reccommended by just about everyone. Let's hope it lives up to the hype!

Ok folks, I'm off for now. See you when I see you!

Back in the High Life Again

2009-07-07T20:11:00.000-07:00

Sooooo much has happened since I last updated it's not even funny. Mainly awesome things-of course, I'm not going to go back and address them because my attention span just doesn't work like that. Instead, few quick notes:
-For any of you not currently frequenting the Standard Attrition boards, you really should. Aside from the fact that I post there and I know you want to spend more time in my presence, it's just a really awesome place. The creators who are represented there are like a who's who of my favorite books, and *Surprise!*-They're actually superfrickingcool. (Seriously, Brian Wood, David Lapham, Jason Aaron, Joshua Dysart, Jock...come spend your workday with us!)
-If you're coming to San Diego this year, you should let me know. Of course I'll be there, and rocking out like the cool mofo I am-if you want to have a quick chat or beer or whatever, just give me a shout!
-So Chew #1 is blowing up like Michael Bay-levels of crazy, huh? I honestly don't get it-I mean, I'm loving the book...as much as I can with only two issues out, anyway-but it's not like it's my favorite one on the shelf. Why Chew is going for $50 on eBay while Young Liars gets cancelled is beyond me. I'm all for raging successes of good books, I am! I just wish that this sort of love could strike a little more often than just for Chew #1 and Barack Obama Spider-man covers.
-Has anyone else seen the cover to Viking #2 and wanted to make love to it? I mean, I can't be the only one that thinks it's just the sexiest thing ever. UGH.
-What's with all the familly sex going on lately? Between Back to Brooklyn, Greek Street, and Jack of Fables, there's a whole lot of sketchy sex-maybe it's something in the water?

Confession of the week: I've never read anything Hellboy ever. Luckily for me, BPRD 1946 came in on special order yesterday, and I'm about to get into it. I hope it's good, for Dysart's sake!

GUESS WHO'S BACK, MOTHEREFFERS!

2009-07-06T16:08:00.001-07:00

Finally, after only 90 whole days, I've wrested power of my URL back from the hands of the greedy Domain Registrar From Hell.

I know you've missed me. I know I've fallen way, WAY behind on too many things in comic news. I will not address all of them now (what the heck kind of machine do you think I am?!) but I will say this: I'M BACK. AND I WILL SHARE MY OPINIONS WITH YOU WHETHER YOU LIKE THEM OR NOT.

...But only if you come to my website to read them, so you still kind of have a choice.

Either way, I'll have a really real update for you all tomorrow.

Kisses!

Haiku time!

2008-10-23T12:09:00.001-07:00

I've decided it's time to switch it up. This time around, all of my comments will be delivered in haiku form. Here we go:

DMZ:
Kristian is back!
Staten Island has never
looked hotter than this.

Rest:
Milo writes comics?!?
No, he's just a producer-
The book seems cool, though.

Welcome to Hoxford:
Good thing it's a book-
If this were a movie, I'd
be too scared to watch.

Dynamo 5:
This book is X-Men,
but with characters that you
actually like.

Astonishing X-Men:
Oh Warren Ellis,
Is there nothing that you won't
insert sex into?

Hawaiian Dick:
Short stories in back
Make it worth the three dollars
all by themselves.

Noble Causes:
They're ending the book,
but at least I get to keep
my Dynamo 5!

That's all for now, as I still haven't finished reading Air, Unknown Soldier, and Fables. Maybe I'll update on those later with limericks!

PS-I cheated on one of these, and left a syllable out of one line. Sorry, but I couldn't make it work no matter how hard I tried! And I mean, come on-would you have noticed anyway if I hadn't told you?

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

2008-10-23T11:35:00.000-07:00

That's right! NOW is the best time of the year, hands down-pumpkins, holidays where you wear costumes and get free candy, jacket weather, big piles of leaves to jump in, and oh! Lots of comic news!

Let's get started, shall we?

I skipped last week's comic-buying venture, mostly because I'm super-busy, and once the weekend rolls around it just makes sense to wait until the following Wednesday. SOooo, I have two week's worth of reading fresh in my head. First, the news:

This week, word came down that David Gordon Green was attached to direct the Steve Niles book Freaks of the Heartland. While there's no shock that a Niles book is up for a movie adaptation (30 days of Night, anyone?), DGG directing certainly IS. He's actually one of my favorite directors, but certainly not for his ability in adapting from books, or even for his experience in this genre.

He's known as a Southern Gothic director, who crafts these sleepy little gems of character development in slow-moving, "talky" films. (See "Snow Angels", "All the Real Girls", "George Washington"...no, really. Go SEE these movies-you'll thank me later.) Recently he made a notable departure with "Pineapple Express", but this isn't even another comedy: It's horror, AND a comic book adaptation. While I'm totally sure DGG can pull it off (mostly because I blindly love him and can't imagine he'd release anything that wasn't top-notch), I'm really curious how he's going to do it. Guess we'll wait and see.

I was going to insert the new round of comments I have for the books I read last night, but I've gotta run to grab lunch, and don't want to leave this sitting until I get back. Today's blog updates part 2, in a few hours!

Sooo many things...

2008-10-02T13:49:00.000-07:00

You ever put off doing laundry for so long that the pile starts to resemble a mountain and the larger it gets, the less you want to do it until one day you're just like "Eff it", and buy a whole new wardrobe?

That's kind of what maintaining this blog is like. Once I go a week without updating, I think of more and more entries I want to make, and the fun of it suddenly starts to look more and more like a daunting chore.

I apologize for that, I really do. I'll try to change, but like any addict I'm sure I'll slip again. Either way, there are a few things I'd like to bring up today.
Actually, there's way more than a few, but my memory is shot and I can only remember things for roughly 72 hours, so that's what you're gonna get.

-MY LETTER WAS PUBLISHED! FOR REALS!!! For the first time in history, I sent something to a letters page, and it ran in the issue! It's kind of the most exciting thing ever, and I feel like I should have an IMDb page now, or something. Anyway, for any of you who want to see the wonderful glory that is my wrathful letter to Robert Kirkman, be sure to pick up issue #8 of Astounding Wolf-Man!

-Back to Brooklyn. Oh man. This is a new title from two names that roughly translate into "golden" and "golden golden", AKA Jimmy Palmiotti and Garth Ennis. If you're a fan of (awesome) things like Brubaker's Criminal, oh man. Buy it.

-Minx died. Sigh. Maybe someday publishers will realize that teenage girls don't want to read books geared towards teenage girls*-they want to read GOOD books geared towards people with taste. Sadly, some great writing got swept under the bus there, and hopefully the marketing push from now on will be more focused to point out that existing comics are GOOD, rather than these new lines that delineate "comics for them" from "comics for you". *-Although, I will concede that pre-teen girls do want to read books written for girls. But I swear by the time I hit 13, those Babysitters Club Books were long forgotten.

-I'm really really upset about the most recent issue of Fables. What should have been a captivating story was rendered completely distracting due to the shoddy artwork of this issue. I understand that comic artists are people too, and that everyone needs to take some time off-honestly, I do. But for a line as beautiful as Fables-one whose covers are all worthy of wallspace, and interior pages are a delight to look at, this recent issue was a total letdown. With apologies to the artist-it's nothing personal, I promise-it was just so poorly done. Let's all hope for the speedy return of Buckingham.

Kick-Ass, Shmick-Ass.

2008-08-22T15:20:00.000-07:00

I mentioned a few posts ago how excited I was about the development of Mark Millar's Kick-Ass into a movie. Especially so, once I found out that they're sticking with the original story (no sanitizing for the masses), and one of the major players had been cast, in Christoper Mintz-Plasse. But now, disaster has struck.

As in, more players have been announced. Some people of no real working history, blah, blah, and, oh yeah-NICHOLAS CAGE.

Seriously, guys? NIC FRICKING CAGE?!? That guy is like Jack Kevorkian to every worthwhile comic movie. Or any movie in general. I mean, have you guys SEEN Ghost Rider? I understand he's one of the biggest comic nerds in Hollywood (a son named Kal-El?), but seriously who messed up so bad that they decided Nic Cage would be the best person to cast in this situation? I mean, if we're using fandom as a worthwhile reason to cast someone in a movie, then shit-you can call me Jean Grey.

I don't even know that part that he's supposed to be playing, as the character hasn't really been introduced in the book yet (thanks for the spoiler on character development, by the way), but I guarantee that it's a terrible idea.

Dear whoever's in charge of casting,

For your career's sake, I hope somehow, somewhere, there's a National Treasure 17 being conceived that makes him have to leave this project.

Hopefully yours,

-Dina

Humans are people, too

2008-08-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

So, I went to the shop yesterday, even though I only had two new issues that interested me come out this week:

Air #1, and Anna Mercury #3.

I needed to go, since I was scared that Air would sell out, and I couldn't remember if I'd added it to my pulls. Once I got to the shop, my (usually)infallible CSG stopped, looked at Air, and said: "I hate to do this, but um..." and I could tell what he was about to say. He hated it.

Now, generally, his reccommendations are spot-on. House of Mystery? House of Awesome. Crooked Little Vein? Twisted Little Book. However, I wasn't willing to accept this and leave it alone. I mean, I'd read the preview-it looked if not just plain good, at least it was different. And interesting. And I'd liked Cairo, her previous work. I bought it anyway.

I'm proud to say that my CSG is now officially a terrible person. This book was great! The characters were engaging and mysterious, the enemy was introduced and appropriately nefarious, and the story moved along quickly enough that it never got boring. Most importantly, I was intrigued. Who is this Zayn, and what does he want with Blythe? How does he afford all those plane tickets? How the heck did he not know that Lancaster was involved with the Etesians when he had their symbol tattooed on his fricking hand? All of these questions need answers! And this is why I will be buying issue #2.

CSG, you're on watch.

Hi There

2008-08-15T09:19:00.001-07:00

It's uh...been a while. Sorry about that, I really am. I've just been so unmotivated. Even though I already had my fonal comic-con post all written up, and I really did want to tell you all about how the DC booth was a total disappointment, and Which lines were the most ridiculous, and how I really didn't understand why the Ghosbusters guys were giving out chapstick and Doritos. (Cool Ranch, for those who are curious.) I mean, is there a connection there that I'm missing?

but alas, you'll just have to live with the knowledge that I'll never get to tell you about who the nicest creator/artist duo I met were (Brian Lynch and Dave Crosland, hands down), or which booth was a guaranteed clusterfuck at any givent point in time (Warner Bros., thanks to their elusive giant Watchmen bags).

But hey, you'll live, right?

So now, on to business. I was reading The Hollywood Reporter today (again, every day), and I found out that Millar's Kick-Ass movie, while set to be directed by Matthew Vaughn, was actually passed on by every major studio due to the excessive violence and young age of the main characters. So, instead of raising the ages, or toning down the violence, Vaugh decided to raise all $30 million for the movie himself, and go it alone.

Oh man-can you imagine seeing this thing at Sundance?

Also, apparently Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin') is cast as one of the leads, which is awesome. So excited for this movie!

In other news, the I Am 8-Bit gallery opening was last night. It was sponsored by Colt 45 (free 40's!), and was supposed to be super, super cool. I was pretty excited to go, and rounded up a few friends to take in the sights. Except when we got there at 8:20 (it was supposed to start at 8:00), there was a line three buildings down and around the corner. (And it was already full inside!) So, unfortunately knowing that the fire marshal was going to shut this down was before we would ever get in, we redirected our enegies and instead drank some wine at a nearby French place.

So, moral of the story is: Never underestimate the power of hipsters to show up at any event that has to do with free malt liquor, hot dogs, and art based on video games.

The good news is that on my way back to my car, I passed the gallery again, and everyone was outside-turns out some genius sprayed the fire extinguisher, and everyone inside had to move it on out.

Looks like we had the better night after all!

The Disner Awards, Part 2b

2008-08-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

Miscellaneous Costumes, continued! (And I'm not sure, but I have a feeling I saved the best for last...)

Commendation for "Most annoying thing to walk around the con floor while dressed as":And truth be told, I saw this guy the next say, and his left hand was a hammer. He made various attachments! ATTACHMENTS!! (No sign of Woozy Winks, though.)

The "Comic-Con cliche'" Award:

Seriously, no Con is complete without a Goku. I can't believe I went 3 days before seeing this guy!

The "Oh, I get it-that's a pun!" Award:

In case you don't know what Pocky are, click here. Also note, that he was wearing a giant Pocky box on his back, that I failed to photograph. In case you're wondering, that lunchpail was full of sporks. He made me take one.

The "What's sad is this isn't the first time this has been done" Award:Smart money says there's a reason his friend list didn't make it into the costume...

The "I can't believe I saw you here last year" Award:Points for improving the sign? I wonder how much money he would have made if he charged for the high-fives instead...

The "Is that really a SPIKED CODPIECE?!?" Award:

Answer: Yes. Yes it is.

The "Nothing's creepier than a grown man wearing a homemade Pikachu costume" Award:

Actually, maybe if he was holding a sign that said "Free Candy"...

The "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone else in your Star Wars Reenactment Guild where I saw you sneaking off to" Award:

I hope he and his poke balls never find out where I live...

And finally, the Honorable Mention for "If I were the "dressing up for cons" kind of gal, I'd totally wear the crap out of this:

Seriously.

Stay tuned for the General Convention Awards!

Disner Awards, Part 2a

2008-07-28T15:19:00.000-07:00

Miscellaneous Costumes Division! (Or, well, half of it. I've got tons of stuff here, people!)

You know the deal, let's jump in:

The "I thought my costume was AWESOME until I saw this guy-"

...Award:
Bonus points for actually channeling another Star Wars entity, the Ewoks!

The "I finally figured out what to do with all of those worthless pieces of paper everyone keeps shoving in my face" Award:

This guy is my all-time favorite. (All it takes is some masking tape and a dream, people!)

The "OH MY GOD IT'S EATING HER LEGS!!!1" Award:
(In the words of my friend Shawn, "I can't decide if I like it, or REALLY like it".)

Award for "Not having ANYTHING to do with comic books, or, well, just about anything": Seriously, an In 'n Out Burger guy? Who thinks of this stuff?

Meritorious Achievement in "Lack of Costume Planning": After I took this guy's picture, I asked him what booth he bought the Kirby in, and he replied "Oh no, I made this!" HE MADE IT. He literally sat at home, slaved over the sewing machine, and thought to himself "Man, this is a great idea-I'm going to have so much fun holding this gigantic Kirby doll over my head through huge crowds for hours at a time. I can't wait!". Try to wrap your minds around that fact.

I've got too many more to just throw in this post, so check back again tomorrow for more!

The First Annual Disner Awards! (Part 1)

2008-07-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

Phew, Comic-Con this year was a BEAST. But now that it's over, we've got some free time to, you know, reflect. After flipping through the pictures I've taken so far, I've decided it's best to award my own prizes for exemplary performance. And what better way to do that than rip off the title from the famous comic industry awards? Here's part one, the Joker division:

1) The "They Really should Start Checking People for Weapons" Award:
Seriously, this is a real switchblade knife. WTF?

The Award for "Actually Creepy in Real Life":(Just taking this guy's picture was seriously creeping me out. He kept licking his lips and rocking back and forth on his heels. Way to commit, really!)

Conversely, the "You are WAYYYY too happy to be playing this character" Award:
He looks like he brought that crowbar as a gift to my birthday party!

The "I had no idea Joker wore glasses" category:
Comic-Con: Not letting physical impairments get in the way of your costume dreams since 1978.

The "Parents should really research what they're letting their 8 year olds dress up as before allowing it" Award:
(As I took this picture, he hissed: "Why so serious?")

The "You're not fooling anyone, we all know that's a pom pom on top of your head" Award Winner:Bonus points are awarded for the use of his sister's lipstick, too.

Sexiest Adaptation:
I'd do her.

"The Best Overheard Pissing Contest" Award:
Joker on Right: "Where'd you get your jacket?"
Joker on Left: "Ebay."
JR: "Oh, I made mine. It took forever."
JL: "Cool. Is the red for your smile facepaint, too? It looks kind of light compared to mine..."
JR: "Oh, it's lipstick."
JL: "Oh."
::awkward silence::

And finally, the Award for "Excellence in being completely oblivious to the background tongue action going on just feet behind you" goes to:

Disco Joker!

Thanks for reading this installment, guys. Next post: The Miscellaneous Costumes division!

Quick Sunday Morning Update

2008-07-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

So, we miscalculated this morning and arrived before the doors opened. This was a mistake, considering they checked our passes, ushered us through the doors, up some stairs, through the registration and ballroom areas, then back downstairs, and outside again where we started. (Did someone say clusterfuck?)
Then we waited for the doors to open, were one of the first people let in, and ALREADY there were lines closed for things because too many people were there.

This marks the third day that I've been shut out from getting a Watchmen t-shirt. Oh well, it would have been too big anyway.

Then I had nothing else to do and couldn't bear being on the convention floor a second longer, so I headed upstairs (an hour early!) for the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia panel. I'm not exactly sure what this (or most any of the other panels, actually) have to do with comic books, but watching a new episode before the season premieres is a nice way to kill an hour until Shawn is finished shmoozing and we can get out of here for good.

Unfortunately, I apparently wasn't the only one with this idea. Right now it's 9:53 and the BALLROOM with a capacity of Idon'tknowwhat, is already two-thirds full. This year was a beast, and honestly I'm not sure if that's good or bad for comics.

But either way, I'm off to twiddle my thumbs for the next half an hour. Talk to you soon!

DISPATCHES FROM THE CON

2008-07-26T21:08:00.000-07:00

I'm irresponsible, I know. I've been in San Diego since Thursday, and I have not updated any of you on the goings-on. There's so much to say, I don't even know where to start. First off, I gotta let you know that I have roughly 4534536 pictures, but I'm too lazy to even try to edit and upload any of them right now. Maybe tomorrow? I'll try and do my best to whet your appetites with the following:

-I have never seen so many people in all my life. For that matter, I have never seen so many people trying to shove free meaningless pieces of paper in my hand. I have been told about more upcoming projects, movies, TV shows, high school graduatons, and coming out parties than have ever existed in the world. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm SICK OF ALL THE FREE STUFF!

-A word of advice to all future con-goers. No matter how comfortable you think they may be, do not wear flip flops to a con. You WILL get blisters between your toes. I never thought this was possible, but believe me, it is.

-This place is rife with the "celebrity" sightings. So far I've seen Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, Jamie Pressly, Inconsiderate Cell Phone Man, Scott Ian of Anthrax, Method Man, and THOUSANDS of half-naked chicks.

-Highlight of the day: Waiting in line to get Everybody's Dead signed by Brian Lynch (more on these guys later), I overhear this AWESOME exchange:
Brian: So, did you read the book?
Fan #1: No, not yet.
B: Nobody's read the book!
F1: I just bought it! ...but I can't wait to read it!
B: Ok, well here you go. ::hands back signed copies:: hope you enjoy it!
::Fan #2 walks up::
Brian: So, did you read the book?
Fan #2: Yes!
Brian: Oh, cool-did you like it?
F2: ...No...
B: Oh.
::beat::
B: So why am I signing this?
F2: Ebay?

I've never seen anything like it. I also thought it was kind of balls that Brian still signed the comics for the guy, and not even with a dedication. If that was me, I swear I either would have refused to sign it, or signed with a fake name, or even just have written some sort of something on it that would have hurt the resale value. Maybe "the owner of this book has herpes", or something of the like. I guess that means Brian's just the bigger man.

I have so much more to write about than this, there's pages filled with notes of things I want to tell you guys, but I'm just so fricking spent. (And yes, it's only 9:30. Sue me.)

More updates soon!

The Dark Blight

2008-07-24T11:57:00.001-07:00

While I, perhaps even more so than most appreciate a good magic trick, there was something gnawing at me the whole time I was watching The Dark Knight in IMAX last night.

It took me a while to put my finger on it, and then all of a sudden it hit me.

First it was interesting when they pushed Harvey Dent down to "Lower 5th St.", considering the only city I've been to with that system is Chicago.

Then it got worse.

Why does the Batmobile have Illinois plates?
Why is the Joker walking down a wide avenue with a storefront behind him called "Sweet Home Chicago"?
Why does this look like the spitting image of the windy city?

BECAUSE IT IS.

What happened? I mean, maybe I should have known about this before, but due to my self-imposed blackout of all news Batman (I hate ruining the movies before I see them), I hadn't heard about this latest travesty.

I understand if the Nolans feel that Chicago looks more like what they picture Gotham to be in their heads. But why the heck wouldn't they just shoot Chicago in a generic "Gotham" fashion? As a New Yorker, one who's been to the Gotham Comedy Club, eaten at the Gotham Bar & Grill, and read the ny-centric website gothamist, I'm truly offended.

How dare they take something that us "mad" New Yorkers have owned for over 100 years and appropriate it to a wholly new city?

While I may be the only person who has a complaint about this movie, I don't care. At least when they filmed Rent in San Francisco, they tried to make it look like New York. This was simply offensive.

I'll probably never get one, but I still expect an apology.

Harumph.

PS-Am I the only one that thought Christian Bale's "Batvoice" was ridiculous? Come on!

SDCC Scavenger Hunt!

2008-07-23T15:48:00.000-07:00

So, I originally dreamed up this scavenger hunt for my friends and I to have a little friendly competition. Then it grew into something a bit bigger than that. I figured maybe some of you guys attending the con might want in on the action.

There will be fantastic (in my opinion, at least) prizes, so why not give it a shot? I'm sure you'll have at least a few minutes here and there of downtime. Here's something to fill that Sunday afternoon void!

And because I'm a nerd, but I'm still low-tech, it's hosted on a geocities account.
Find the list (and win the booty!) here.

Good luck!

Congratulations Kirkman!

2008-07-22T17:06:00.000-07:00

It's been confirmed that he's been made a partner at Image Comics, where he writes my faves (aren't you sick of hearing about these?) Astounding Wolf-Man, Invincible, and Walking Dead.

Here, Hear!

(Apparently this was supposed to be the big announcement from Image at the con on Friday, now I don't feel so bad about having to miss it in exchange for helping out at Brian Wood's booth for a few hours!)

Oooh, snap!, and Detective Comics Comics!

2008-07-22T14:35:00.001-07:00

Brian Wood gets a none-too-nice shout out in this sick freestyle about comic books and all things G4:

http://www.g4tv.com/thepile/videos/27187/ComicCon_Freestyle_101_Murs_Living_Legends.html

Man, I wish I could have a Wii, too.

PS-Did you know that the DC in DC Comics actually stands for Detective Comics? That's almost as redundant as people calling an ATM an "ATM Machine", or a DMZ a "DMZ Zone, for that matter.

The more you know!

More things I want:

2008-07-21T17:02:00.000-07:00

I found this amazing watercolor portrait by Dustin Nguyen of some of Gotham's most famous um...residents...and can't help but post it here as well:

Looks like this isn't the first painting like this the artist has done, but it's certainly my favorite. You can view the original post (bigger!) here, on his blog. Hopefully he'll be making some prints!

Cliff Chiang Art!

2008-07-17T15:31:00.001-07:00

Cliff Chiang posted some new pinups on his site (www.cliffchiang.com) recently, and oh man, WANT:
I'm HOPING these are for sale at the con next week. If they're not, I might have to steal the original. Just sayin'.

The rest of the set can be found here, including Teela from Masters of the Universe, Supergirl, and Scarlett from GI Joe!

Anti-Horrible!

2008-07-15T12:48:00.000-07:00

So, the site's back up. And I saw it. Dr. Horrible is awesome!

But on a slightly different note, anyone notice the resemblance to another certain comic book Doktor?

Light Week

2008-07-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

So, I just took a gander at the list of comics coming out this week, and man! There's only ONE issue of the lines I currently read being released tomorrow. (Helen Killer #3)

I hate going to the shop to buy only one thing, but I also hate missing out on something awesome. Is there a really great comic that you think I'm crazy not to buy this week? Something that simply everyone should be reading? Let me know! (dinasaurus at gmail dot com) The top 5 suggestions will be on my pull list for tomorrow.

Thanks!

Simply Horrible!

2008-07-15T10:09:00.000-07:00

So, Act I of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog went live today...and promptly crashed. For those of you who don't know, this is a 3-part web musical written by Joss Whedon (Astonishing X-Men), starring NPH, and Nathan Fillion (Serenity, Firefly), about some sort of crazy mad scientist who vlogs while trying to take over the world. Or something.

See, I don't know, because I haven't been able to view the video, since the site crashed. From my friends who have seen it, I hear it's pretty awesome. Unfortunately, I'll have to take their word for it. There was a release saying that they were working on the outage, and you can access the episode via iTunes in the meantime, but I sadly discovered that in order to do this, I'd have to buy it for $1.99. I'd probably pay it if it weren't already available for free from the creator himself, but it's the principle of the thing!

So, I wait. This better be awesome.

The excitement builds...

2008-07-10T09:58:00.000-07:00

So, one thing I've never experienced before (and hadn't anticipated) in connection with a con, was the flurry of press releases and invites that fly around in the weeks leading up. Maybe because I've never been smart enough to apply for a press pass, but it seems I've gotten myself on the mailing list for all (or at least a lot) of the messages being sent out to the press corps. Some of the things that I've been privy to (and keep in mind, the emails only started coming yesterday afternoon, which is when I'm guessing the mailing list went live):

IDW announced that Joe Hill will be a comic-con guest of honor (!) and will be signing special limited-edition slipcased sets of Locke & Key (exciting!). Also, Darwyn Cooke will be announcing a new project, and Ben Templesmith (Fell, 30 Days of Night) will be premiering an exclusive ashcan of his new line Welcome to Hoxford.

THQ is hosting an exclusive party Thursday night for the video game Darksiders: The Wrath of War, which was created by Joe Madureira. No info is posted as to what consoles it is for, but either way, I doubt it will be avilable for Wii. (Man, I'm such a girl)

Sex Drive, a new movie being billed as the "next American Pie", is having advanced screenings in LA before the Con starts. The movie features James Marsden and Seth Green, which means I will be there. I'll let you know how it is once I see it!

Will Wright will be making a speech on opening day, about his new game Spore, and how the comic book creator makes it easy to bring your character to life in a comic book setting.

Midway is hosting a panel to discuss the new game Mortal Kimbat vs. DC Universe, which sounds exciting, but then I remember that every time I tried to play Mortal Kombat, all of my Street Fighter moves didn't work. My brother totally kicked my ass. Where is Dhalsim when you need him?!? YOGA FIRE!

Shout! Factory announced a 20th Anniversary DVD box set for MST3K, with all major players and even the robots appearing in a reunion panel during the con. Wonder if they'll show any movies?

And finally (so far), the UK series Spaced will be launched on DVD in the US, so Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) will be appearing, and there will be a screening late Friday night.

That's all for now, kids. I'll keep you posted as things develop!

Interesting News

2008-07-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

So, I was reading the Hollywood Reporter this morning as I usually do with my AM schedule, to catch up on what's going on in the industry (important in my line of work), when I stumbled across this very interesting piece of news.
Apparently, Vertigo's recently cancelled (and consistently genius) line Exterminators, has been optioned into a TV show by Showtime. This is pretty interesting to me, not only because a comic that I enjoyed will be adapted, but also because these aren't things that happen overnight. From the little that I know about the process, they've been in discussion on this for months. I know that Vertigo lines are creator-owned, but I find it hard to believe that they wouldn't have caught wind of this, and maybe wanted to hold off on the cancellation until this panned out. Now there's going to be (hopefully) a second wind of demand for this line, and no new issues will be made. Seems kind of "cart before horse", no?

Then again, in the article Simon Oliver does say that he originally conceived of the book as a TV pitch, so maybe once that got rolling he had something to do with the line being cancelled?
I don't know. Either way, it should be an interesting show, that's for sure.

On a related note, it does seem that I'm seeing more and more comic books being optioned for shows and movies. I know this is an age-old practice, but has anyone else noticed the recent feverish upswing this has taken? I mean, an Elfquest movie was announced today, Millar followed up Wanted with the announcement that Kick-Ass (only 3 issues in!) will be a movie too, Whiteout is also getting the treatment, Warren announced Red was going to Summit for a movie, and Ocean is over at Warner Bros, AND Goon is going to be given the movie treatment by Fight Club's David Fincher. And that's only the things I've heard about in the past month!

Anyone else just a little bit breathless about it?