Went to Ohio last weekend to visit family between the holidays. Got my one volume edition of Bone back from my brother-in-law... it didn't thrill him. Can't blame him, it's a big book and (since I started to re-read it) slow at the beginning. We have similar tastes on somethings, but I don't expect him to like everything that I like.
During our visit, he downloaded the Watchmen animated comic to his X-Box, we watched the first chapter. It looked one part South Park, one part comic, and I guess they only hired one voice actor to do all the speaking bits. On one hand, it was kind of cool, the editing was good. The story followed the comic pretty closely (if not 100%). But the amount of time and talent put into the production, couldn't Warner Brothers/DC hire a few more voice actors? I mean I like Tom Stechschulte, and looking on IMDB, he hasn't been in much that I recognize his voice from -- in the back of my mind, I though he's done some other voice acting work in animation, like Super-Friends, or newer shows like animated Batman -- but to make him do both male and female voices??? And just read on another blog about the author wanting more ambient noises; I agree.
Saw a post about Top 10 over on Gene Ha's blog; sad to say, I've stopped reading it since Alan Moore left the book. I'm thinking it's about time to start re-reading Alan's run on the series.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Tween Super-Hero Looses Powers
I've been using Twitter and Plurk to do 10 word plots for a comic or pulp sci-fi story... I think Wired magazine did something similar... the magazine asked several famous writers to come up with a 10 word story. I'm not up to the point of doing 10 word stories, but I thought I could come up with some plot lines in about 10 words (give or take a few)... I've been using Twitter and Plurk because a micro-blog is a good place for a micro-plot...
Anyway, my latest idea is about a Tween super-hero that looses his powers...
I'm thinking an early Peter Parker with all the growing up crap that he dealt and balancing it with being a super-hero finds himself no longer in the spot light, no longer able to scale buildings or lift things 10 times his weight. Lets say in one of his internal battles about being a normal teenager, he decides to go to a rave with some friends. Our super-hero decides to do some harmless drugs like all the other normal teenagers, but it has a very negative effect on his super-powers -- lets say the drug was made by a super-villain and using the dancing teenagers as test subjects -- and we don't know if he'll ever get his super-powers back. Our hero wakes up the next day, tired, hung-over, feeling drained, but happy knowing he did something 'normal'... but not knowing he's lost his super-powers, until he goes out later that night trying to prevent a robbery.
Now, our super hero has made some enemies... and annoyed the hell out of a few other super-heroes. His ego was stroked by the media, he lived the rock-star life-style for some time, up until this point -- being invited to charity events, fawned over by the public, companies talking to his agent about signing endorsement deals, paid under the table by the mayor to help pay bills, attended super-hero gatherings at the UN, etc. But slowly, the reality of it all going away is slowly sinking in. It was tough balancing both worlds -- his super-hero life with his normal high school life -- but knowing that high school would end made the pressures bearable.
Slowly, our super-hero's life goes to hell. Does he try to get his super-powers back by trying to reproduce the accident that gave him his powers in the first place? Does he try to keep up his 'brand', not knowing if his powers will return or not? What will he do if one of the super-villains he's put away in jail, get out on parole... you know, the ones that actually know his secret identity? Will there be any sympathy/help from the super-hero community? How will the blog-o-sphere deal with his lack of visibility out fighting crime? Will he call for help from neighboring super-heroes to help him when one of his arch-villains show up or will he try to fight on his own? And what happens to the "King Pin"-type of criminal that slipped him the mickey to begin with be dealt with?
This 10 word plot actually has some good story material...
Anyway, my latest idea is about a Tween super-hero that looses his powers...
10 Word Comic Plot: Tween super-hero looses powers, how will life be afterwards? Think early Peter Parker becomes Lindsy Lohan.
I'm thinking an early Peter Parker with all the growing up crap that he dealt and balancing it with being a super-hero finds himself no longer in the spot light, no longer able to scale buildings or lift things 10 times his weight. Lets say in one of his internal battles about being a normal teenager, he decides to go to a rave with some friends. Our super-hero decides to do some harmless drugs like all the other normal teenagers, but it has a very negative effect on his super-powers -- lets say the drug was made by a super-villain and using the dancing teenagers as test subjects -- and we don't know if he'll ever get his super-powers back. Our hero wakes up the next day, tired, hung-over, feeling drained, but happy knowing he did something 'normal'... but not knowing he's lost his super-powers, until he goes out later that night trying to prevent a robbery.
Now, our super hero has made some enemies... and annoyed the hell out of a few other super-heroes. His ego was stroked by the media, he lived the rock-star life-style for some time, up until this point -- being invited to charity events, fawned over by the public, companies talking to his agent about signing endorsement deals, paid under the table by the mayor to help pay bills, attended super-hero gatherings at the UN, etc. But slowly, the reality of it all going away is slowly sinking in. It was tough balancing both worlds -- his super-hero life with his normal high school life -- but knowing that high school would end made the pressures bearable.
Slowly, our super-hero's life goes to hell. Does he try to get his super-powers back by trying to reproduce the accident that gave him his powers in the first place? Does he try to keep up his 'brand', not knowing if his powers will return or not? What will he do if one of the super-villains he's put away in jail, get out on parole... you know, the ones that actually know his secret identity? Will there be any sympathy/help from the super-hero community? How will the blog-o-sphere deal with his lack of visibility out fighting crime? Will he call for help from neighboring super-heroes to help him when one of his arch-villains show up or will he try to fight on his own? And what happens to the "King Pin"-type of criminal that slipped him the mickey to begin with be dealt with?
This 10 word plot actually has some good story material...
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Snakes and Ladders
Read Snakes and Ladders, The Birth Caul, and Miracleman Book Two earlier this month... The Miracleman book is still a solid read, but the other two didn't thrill me as much. I think after reading Alan Moore's treatise on magic (via Promethea) these two are a pale companion read.
When Alan announce we was quiting writing comics and devote himself to learning magic, I didn't know what to make of it (I've always love his books). The Birth Caul and Snakes and Ladders were written after his decision (or near to it). In both books, I see the germination of ideas that he later expounds upon in Promethea -- the Tarot as a creation story (myth) explanation; heaven is about escaping the trappings of the mundane and reaching (intellectual) enlightenment -- and I also see his pain over his mother's death...
I've also picked up another copy of Watchmen and finished reading it... I think at the time it was mind blowing; I just started getting back into comics from a long dry run and a comic store owner recommended it to me. His condition was, take it home and read it, if you like it, buy it; if you don't bring it back. Well, the next week, when I went back, I paid him for the book.
In the mean time, I think I have either misplaced my copy, or I have lent it out to someone else to read... Even if I do find my other copy, I'll probably end up giving this copy away to someone to read.
Watched the Watchmen movie trailer... it looks good. I think because I've already read the book (maybe this has been my 3rd or 4th time through it now) the story doesn't seem to be as mind blowing as it once was... I think I'm use to Alan's comic "twist endings" that for a new generation of kids, Watchmen will be simply amazing, but to me, I've seen Alan's genius for years now, that popular culture is finally just reaching what I already know about the man. I've seen Alan's genius back when Swamp Thing was coming out... the man could take an old story and twist it into something new and amazing by re-telling Swamp Thing's origin story. In the process, he created a new "comic language" (visually and verbally) in the process; adding a new dimensions to the comic craft... and I see his influence on comic creator since.
When I saw Dark Knight, I was blown away. The visuals, the sounds, Heath Ledger's acting, the story... all the elements were there for a great Batman movie. But in the back of my mind, even though it's not a strictly an Alan Moore story, I see his fingerprints (see The Killing Joke).
My only concern for Watchmen is that it is a little dated... The story came at the height of the iron age of comics; they were being cranked out fast and furiously as retailers were cashing in on fan's blind dreams of collecting comics and one day retiring by selling off their collection. Stories were plentiful, but not meaningful. Alan took some of DC's lesser know intellectual properties, created a alternative world back story, and asked the age-old question, does the means justify the end? And how terrible can the means be, before it doesn't? The story asks a meaningful question and leaves the reader to decide (think about it more).
Now, Coming off the Dark Knight success -- here you have the Joker dishing out enlightenment to the common person, forcing them to make moralistic choices with sever (real, damning) consequences -- to a movie where someone has already made those choices, brings about a type of "world enlightenment" (see LSD in the drinking water), then asks the question "was I right in playing God?" Should be interesting to see how the general audience responds... I just don't think it will have the same impact.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Kung-Fu Panda
Erika and I went to see Kung-fu Panda last night at the AMC theaters in Downtown Disney, Orlando. When we arrived to pick up our pre-paid tickets, there was a huge giant inflatable Wall-E outside the doors. Many years ago, when the wife and I went to Disneyland, there was a similar inflatable crystal ball from Eddie Murphy's The Haunted Mansion movie... didn't take a picture of it, but it did light up at night -- very cool. Don't know if the Wall-E light up...
I would highly recommend Kung-Fu Panda! Visually rich, good music, lovable characters, good plot. I didn't tear it apart too much; this one I just wanted to enjoy, without being super critical; and I did. I'd give it a 5 out of 5 stars... now I want to go out an rent more old school Kung-fu movies... takes me back to my childhood, with watching Kung-fu movies marathons on Sunday afternoons... the movie was good enough, I could see another sequel to it.
I would highly recommend Kung-Fu Panda! Visually rich, good music, lovable characters, good plot. I didn't tear it apart too much; this one I just wanted to enjoy, without being super critical; and I did. I'd give it a 5 out of 5 stars... now I want to go out an rent more old school Kung-fu movies... takes me back to my childhood, with watching Kung-fu movies marathons on Sunday afternoons... the movie was good enough, I could see another sequel to it.
Monday, March 10, 2008
MegaCon '08
So, went to MegaCon 2008 with a few GFLUG friends... And all I can say is that I feel old. I've read fantasy and sci-fi books, comic books, and manga magazines. I've followed sci-fi, brit-coms and anime shows. I've play video games and D&D. I've written computer program. I'm not into doing costumes or LARPing. Overall, I feel like I have a good grasp on nerd-culture. But what is with all the otaku kids? And I'm talking otaku in the creepy, basement dwelling, furry, cuteness, obsessed sense of the term, not just Japanese culture nerdom.
It was an interesting slice into 20-something culture. I was just coming to grips with vampires and goth-culture, but I feel like there's been a major shift in nerdom that I wasn't aware of -- I think out-right BDSM cosplay was the most 'shocking'... and along those lines, 'free hugs' and 'you can spank my pet' signs people wore around.
Anyway. Fun was had by all. I picked up a few issues of Love and Capes. It's given me some ideas for a LEGO display we'll have there next year, so look for us. And please don't call me 'ojiichan'.
It was an interesting slice into 20-something culture. I was just coming to grips with vampires and goth-culture, but I feel like there's been a major shift in nerdom that I wasn't aware of -- I think out-right BDSM cosplay was the most 'shocking'... and along those lines, 'free hugs' and 'you can spank my pet' signs people wore around.
Anyway. Fun was had by all. I picked up a few issues of Love and Capes. It's given me some ideas for a LEGO display we'll have there next year, so look for us. And please don't call me 'ojiichan'.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Email from Dead Poets
So I got a spam messages this morning from Elizabeth Browning, telling me that I need to buy a penis enlargement pill. This is so wrong on so many levels... I know Elizabeth is a romantic poet and all, but to endorse enlargement pills? *sigh*
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