Category Archives: Uncategorized

I suffer so you don’t have to

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I recently had the misfortune of reviewing Battle: Los Angeles and Red Riding Hood, both for Moving Pictures.

Quote:
Further evidence of the continuing degradation of the once-proud American action film, “Battle: Los Angeles” relies on egregious war movie stereotypes and clichés in this disastrously bad hybrid of “Black Hawk Down” and an alien-invasion picture. For their essentially 90-minute video game complete with quests and required trick shots to down enemies, director Jonathan Liebesman (“The Killing Room”) and writer Christopher Bertolini (“The General’s Daughter”) ostensibly took inspiration from the Battle of Los Angeles, a falsely reported World War II air raid, for their poorly crafted story of Marines making a last stand against alien invaders.

Quote:
“Red Riding Hood” opens with a beautiful panoramic vista of snowcapped peaks. Sadly, those 30 seconds offer the only quality moments in this vapid fairy tale from director Catherine Hardwicke (“Twilight”).

Remember, I suffer so you don’t have to.

Graphic Novels/Comics received 3/10/11

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Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

Morning Glories Volume 1: For A Better Future
Written by Nick Spencer
Art by Joe Eisma
Covers by Rodin Esquejo

Promo copy:

Morning Glory Academy is one of the most prestigious prep schools in the country… but something sinister and deadly lurks behind its walls. When six gifted, but troubled, students arrive, they find themselves trapped and fighting for their lives as the secrets of the academy reveal themselves! Collects Morning Glories #1-6.

I reviewed this for the March 1 Nexus Graphica.

Quote:
A synthesis of Buffy, The Vampire Slayer and an Orwellian nightmare, Spencer and Eisma reveal the diabolical realities behind the Morning Glory Academy, a prestigious prep school. Six brilliant students from different backgrounds join the school, encountering all sorts of weirdness: ghosts, torture, mind control experiments, and murder. Spencer deftly relates the teenage pathos and chaos as events unfold. Eisma’s clean draftsmanship and realistic rendering ideally bring life to this intriguing story. Much like the above-mentioned Buffy, the creators manage to make the truly terrible palatable and even enjoyable. Morning Glories Volume 1: For A Better Future offers an interesting take on the oft-told tale of teen angst and anguish.

Freeway
by Mark Kalesniko

Promo copy:

A down-on-his luck animator looks back in anger.

In his first new graphic novel since 2001’s acclaimed Mail Order Bride, Mark Kalesniko delivers a 416-page tour de force chronicling a single day—a few hours, even—in the life of his recurring dog-headed alter ego, Alex Kalienka.

Stuck in a horrendous traffic jam on his way to his increasingly miserable job as an animator at Babbitt Jones Studios, a burnt-out and depressed Alex alternately rages, reminisces, fantasizes and hallucinates. Thus flashbacks to his earliest days as a starry-eyed young animator snagging his dream job, through the increasingly depressing political battles and creative compromises, with a love affair gone badly wrong along the way, alternate with scenes of an increasingly agitated present-day Alex, who imagines a series of increasingly violent deaths for himself.

Then again, are they in fact fantasies, or prescient flashes? Is a threatening car tailing Alex just a paranoid fantasy or a genuine threat? Readers will have to wait until the very end of this hugely ambitious graphic novel to find out.

Moreover, woven into this narrative fabric is a series of imagined moments from two generations ago, a Golden Age of animation, when an earlier Alex made his entry into a much different Babbitt Jones Studio—as imagined by the increasingly despondent present-day Alex.

Loaded with fascinating insider information on two different generations of animators, skipping seamlessly among present and several different pasts, reality and fantasy, Freeway is another step forward for a major cartooning talent.

Abattoir Issue #3
Created by: Darren Lynn Bousman
Concept by: Michael Peterson
Written by: Rob Levin & Troy Peteri
Illustrated by: Bing Cansino, Rodell Noora and Dennis Calero
Cover Art by: Tae Young Choi

Promo copy:

After a local man brutally massacres his family, realtor Richard Ashwalt receives the unenviable task of putting the house back on the market. With his career and marriage on the rocks, this couldn’t come at a worse time for Rich. Before the house is even cleaned, a mysterious man named Jebediah Crone offers to purchase it. Everything about the situation seems wrong and Rich refuses despite his desire to unload the house quickly.

After his boss decides to sell the house to Crone anyway, Richard finds himself a person of interest in a second murder investigation. When the murder weapon with his prints on it is discovered, Richard goes on the run. Tired and haunted by horrifying visions, Richard returns to the house in search of answers. He finds all traces of the massacre gone, including the crawl space where the youngest boy was murdered. Richard tears into the wall and finds a mirror covered in runes, but what he sees in its reflection haunts him to his very core.

Earp: Saints for Sinners Issue 2
Created by: Matt Cirulnick & David Manpearl
Written by: M. Zachary Sherman
Illustrated by: Mack Chater & Martin Montiel
Cover art by: Alex Maleev

Promo copy:

Wyatt Earp, famous lawman, has decided to retire in the wake of losing his brother Virgil in a train robbery. Doc Holliday, Wyatt’s former partner and best friend, convinces him to start his own small casino, the AOK, in the last boomtown in America – Las Vegas. Bringing with them Wyatt’s brother, Morgan, and Doc’s girlfriend, Kate, everything looks to be coming up roses…until Flynn, the biggest billionaire in Vegas, arrives with a private security group, the Pinkertons, headed by one Alan Pinkerton, to back him in “suggesting” that Wyatt should pay them for protection.

Morgan, outraged by this, decides to go on a heist with famed criminal Jesse James, a modern day Robin Hood who steals from the rich to give to the poor after taking his cut, of course. He is captured by the Pinkertons and interrogated, but escapes back to the AOK where Flynn and the Pinkertons pursue him.

In a final battle in which Morgan is killed and the AOK is set ablaze around them, Wyatt rips the shirt from Alan Pinkerton only to recognize the tattoo on his chest…Pinkerton was the mysterious train robber who killed his brother, Virgil.

Dungeon Quest: Book Two
by Joe Daly

Promo copy:

What if Cheech & Chong lived in a RPG?

In 2010’s Dungeon Quest Book One, Millennium Boy decided to grab his hobo stick, his bandana, and his Swiss Army knife, bid his mom goodbye, and head off on a quest for adventure. Joined by his best friend Steve (weapon: baseball bat; clothing: wife beater, cargo pants and sandals), the muscle-bound Lash Penis, and the silent but deadly Nerdgirl, he began a mystical quest to find the missing parts of the Atlantean Resonator Guitar.

In this second book, our heroes continue their quest by wandering through the primeval gloom of Fireburg Forest in search of the prophet and poet Bromedes, who can unlock the mysteries of Atlantis for them. Along the way, they encounter giant spiders, river trolls, and copious amounts of killer weed. Joe Daly’s delightfully unique stoner/philosopher dialogue and distinctive character designs, coupled with hilarious over- the-top Role Playing Game action (complete with periodic updates for each character’s status in ten criteria, including “dexterity,” “intelligence,” and “money”), propel Daly’s story into heretofore unachieved action-comedy heights.

I reviewed Books One & Two for the March 1 Nexus Graphica.

Quote:
Millennium Boy, Steve, Lash Penis, and Nerdgirl grab their weapons and journey on a mystical quest to recover the missing parts of the Altlantean Resonator Guitar and to return the borrowed penis sheath to prophet and poet Bromedes. Using role playing game tropes as a template, Daly, creator of the acclaimed Red Monkey Double Happiness Book, illustrates the often twisted reality of the contemporary slacker with little subtlety but from a fresh perspective. Littered with violence, inappropriate sexual innuendos, misguided bravado and infused with hilarity, Dungeon Quest (of which two 136 page volumes are available) promises a uniquely entertaining graphic novel experience.

Graphic Novels/Comics received 3/10/11 was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

Graphic Novels/Comics received 3/10/11

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Reply

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

Morning Glories Volume 1: For A Better Future
Written by Nick Spencer
Art by Joe Eisma
Covers by Rodin Esquejo

Promo copy:

Morning Glory Academy is one of the most prestigious prep schools in the country… but something sinister and deadly lurks behind its walls. When six gifted, but troubled, students arrive, they find themselves trapped and fighting for their lives as the secrets of the academy reveal themselves! Collects Morning Glories #1-6.

I reviewed this for the March 1 Nexus Graphica.

Quote:
A synthesis of Buffy, The Vampire Slayer and an Orwellian nightmare, Spencer and Eisma reveal the diabolical realities behind the Morning Glory Academy, a prestigious prep school. Six brilliant students from different backgrounds join the school, encountering all sorts of weirdness: ghosts, torture, mind control experiments, and murder. Spencer deftly relates the teenage pathos and chaos as events unfold. Eisma’s clean draftsmanship and realistic rendering ideally bring life to this intriguing story. Much like the above-mentioned Buffy, the creators manage to make the truly terrible palatable and even enjoyable. Morning Glories Volume 1: For A Better Future offers an interesting take on the oft-told tale of teen angst and anguish.

Freeway
by Mark Kalesniko

Promo copy:

A down-on-his luck animator looks back in anger.

In his first new graphic novel since 2001’s acclaimed Mail Order Bride, Mark Kalesniko delivers a 416-page tour de force chronicling a single day—a few hours, even—in the life of his recurring dog-headed alter ego, Alex Kalienka.

Stuck in a horrendous traffic jam on his way to his increasingly miserable job as an animator at Babbitt Jones Studios, a burnt-out and depressed Alex alternately rages, reminisces, fantasizes and hallucinates. Thus flashbacks to his earliest days as a starry-eyed young animator snagging his dream job, through the increasingly depressing political battles and creative compromises, with a love affair gone badly wrong along the way, alternate with scenes of an increasingly agitated present-day Alex, who imagines a series of increasingly violent deaths for himself.

Then again, are they in fact fantasies, or prescient flashes? Is a threatening car tailing Alex just a paranoid fantasy or a genuine threat? Readers will have to wait until the very end of this hugely ambitious graphic novel to find out.

Moreover, woven into this narrative fabric is a series of imagined moments from two generations ago, a Golden Age of animation, when an earlier Alex made his entry into a much different Babbitt Jones Studio—as imagined by the increasingly despondent present-day Alex.

Loaded with fascinating insider information on two different generations of animators, skipping seamlessly among present and several different pasts, reality and fantasy, Freeway is another step forward for a major cartooning talent.

Abattoir Issue #3
Created by: Darren Lynn Bousman
Concept by: Michael Peterson
Written by: Rob Levin & Troy Peteri
Illustrated by: Bing Cansino, Rodell Noora and Dennis Calero
Cover Art by: Tae Young Choi

Promo copy:

After a local man brutally massacres his family, realtor Richard Ashwalt receives the unenviable task of putting the house back on the market. With his career and marriage on the rocks, this couldn’t come at a worse time for Rich. Before the house is even cleaned, a mysterious man named Jebediah Crone offers to purchase it. Everything about the situation seems wrong and Rich refuses despite his desire to unload the house quickly.

After his boss decides to sell the house to Crone anyway, Richard finds himself a person of interest in a second murder investigation. When the murder weapon with his prints on it is discovered, Richard goes on the run. Tired and haunted by horrifying visions, Richard returns to the house in search of answers. He finds all traces of the massacre gone, including the crawl space where the youngest boy was murdered. Richard tears into the wall and finds a mirror covered in runes, but what he sees in its reflection haunts him to his very core.

Earp: Saints for Sinners Issue 2
Created by: Matt Cirulnick & David Manpearl
Written by: M. Zachary Sherman
Illustrated by: Mack Chater & Martin Montiel
Cover art by: Alex Maleev

Promo copy:

Wyatt Earp, famous lawman, has decided to retire in the wake of losing his brother Virgil in a train robbery. Doc Holliday, Wyatt’s former partner and best friend, convinces him to start his own small casino, the AOK, in the last boomtown in America – Las Vegas. Bringing with them Wyatt’s brother, Morgan, and Doc’s girlfriend, Kate, everything looks to be coming up roses…until Flynn, the biggest billionaire in Vegas, arrives with a private security group, the Pinkertons, headed by one Alan Pinkerton, to back him in "suggesting" that Wyatt should pay them for protection.

Morgan, outraged by this, decides to go on a heist with famed criminal Jesse James, a modern day Robin Hood who steals from the rich to give to the poor after taking his cut, of course. He is captured by the Pinkertons and interrogated, but escapes back to the AOK where Flynn and the Pinkertons pursue him.

In a final battle in which Morgan is killed and the AOK is set ablaze around them, Wyatt rips the shirt from Alan Pinkerton only to recognize the tattoo on his chest…Pinkerton was the mysterious train robber who killed his brother, Virgil.

Dungeon Quest: Book Two
by Joe Daly

Promo copy:

What if Cheech & Chong lived in a RPG?

In 2010’s Dungeon Quest Book One, Millennium Boy decided to grab his hobo stick, his bandana, and his Swiss Army knife, bid his mom goodbye, and head off on a quest for adventure. Joined by his best friend Steve (weapon: baseball bat; clothing: wife beater, cargo pants and sandals), the muscle-bound Lash Penis, and the silent but deadly Nerdgirl, he began a mystical quest to find the missing parts of the Atlantean Resonator Guitar.

In this second book, our heroes continue their quest by wandering through the primeval gloom of Fireburg Forest in search of the prophet and poet Bromedes, who can unlock the mysteries of Atlantis for them. Along the way, they encounter giant spiders, river trolls, and copious amounts of killer weed. Joe Daly’s delightfully unique stoner/philosopher dialogue and distinctive character designs, coupled with hilarious over- the-top Role Playing Game action (complete with periodic updates for each character’s status in ten criteria, including “dexterity,” “intelligence,” and “money”), propel Daly’s story into heretofore unachieved action-comedy heights.

I reviewed Books One & Two for the March 1 Nexus Graphica.

Quote:
Millennium Boy, Steve, Lash Penis, and Nerdgirl grab their weapons and journey on a mystical quest to recover the missing parts of the Altlantean Resonator Guitar and to return the borrowed penis sheath to prophet and poet Bromedes. Using role playing game tropes as a template, Daly, creator of the acclaimed Red Monkey Double Happiness Book, illustrates the often twisted reality of the contemporary slacker with little subtlety but from a fresh perspective. Littered with violence, inappropriate sexual innuendos, misguided bravado and infused with hilarity, Dungeon Quest (of which two 136 page volumes are available) promises a uniquely entertaining graphic novel experience.

10 Best Alien Movies

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As part of their regular Editors’ Choice feature, the folks over at Moving Pictures asked me to compile my ten best alien movies.

Quote:
As with any genre, or subgenre in this case, a vast majority of the films are mediocre or downright bad. Over the past 90 years, largely forgettable movies such as “Independence Day,” “Communion,” “Megamind,” “The Brother from Another Planet” and “It! The Terror from Beyond Space” briefly infiltrated the public consciousness. Very few of the stories deserve to survive beyond their initial exposure, but in this edition of Editors’ Choice, you will find 10 sensational alien movies that helped to inform the cultural zeitgeist and emerged as the very best the form has to offer.

For #10, I chose District 9.

Quote:
In 2009, moviegoers rediscovered low-budget science fiction with two surprising box-office and critical successes: “Moon” and “District 9.” The latter, the feature debut for director Neill Blomkamp, garnered four Academy Award nominations including Best Motion Picture of the Year. Stranded on Earth in 1982, aliens, derogatorily referred to as “prawns,” are confined to District 9, a government camp inside Johannesburg. Over 20 years later, Multinational United (MNU), a paramilitary group hired by the South African government, attempts to relocate the interned to a new camp dubbed District 10. Inspired by the disturbing apartheid-era events from District Six, Cape Town, Blomkamp successfully structures the fascinating exiled-alien society within the real world pinnings of politics, corruption and greed.

To uncover the remaining nine, check out my piece at Moving Pictures.

10 Best Alien Movies was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

10 Best Alien Movies

Posted on by
Reply

As part of their regular Editors’ Choice feature, the folks over at Moving Pictures asked me to compile my ten best alien movies.

Quote:
As with any genre, or subgenre in this case, a vast majority of the films are mediocre or downright bad. Over the past 90 years, largely forgettable movies such as “Independence Day,” “Communion,” “Megamind,” “The Brother from Another Planet” and “It! The Terror from Beyond Space” briefly infiltrated the public consciousness. Very few of the stories deserve to survive beyond their initial exposure, but in this edition of Editors’ Choice, you will find 10 sensational alien movies that helped to inform the cultural zeitgeist and emerged as the very best the form has to offer.

For #10, I chose District 9.

Quote:
In 2009, moviegoers rediscovered low-budget science fiction with two surprising box-office and critical successes: “Moon” and “District 9.” The latter, the feature debut for director Neill Blomkamp, garnered four Academy Award nominations including Best Motion Picture of the Year. Stranded on Earth in 1982, aliens, derogatorily referred to as “prawns,” are confined to District 9, a government camp inside Johannesburg. Over 20 years later, Multinational United (MNU), a paramilitary group hired by the South African government, attempts to relocate the interned to a new camp dubbed District 10. Inspired by the disturbing apartheid-era events from District Six, Cape Town, Blomkamp successfully structures the fascinating exiled-alien society within the real world pinnings of politics, corruption and greed.

To uncover the remaining nine, check out my piece at Moving Pictures.

Stuff received 3/7/11 STAPLE! edition

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Let’s take a quick look to see what I picked up this past weekend’s STAPLE! Expo.

Society of Sinister Simians Limited Edition Book
by Chet Phillips

Promo copy:

“The Society of Sinister Simians” explores the mysterious world of an evil collection of vicious and power hungry primates that held sway over the land centuries ago. Thanks to the efforts of the ill-fated Sourcrust archeological dig of 1887, details of this foul organization have finally come to light. In this book you will learn of The Society’s immortal leader, his powerful and brutal cadre of ministers and advisors, as well as a variety of assassins, spies, soldiers and frightful supernatural figures.

Twenty-four evil simians are fully illustrated and are accompanied by extensive biographies in the text. A map detailing the realm of sinister sway, two-page spreads of weapons and medals galleries, as well as an addendum of sinister ephemera are also included.

Click image to enlarge

Signed and numbered from a limited edition of 50.

This hand bound, softcover book is covered in rich Arista burgundy bonded leather. A silver foil hot-stamped image and title adorn the cover. The structure is a stab binding (sewn with a black thread) with rounded corners and printed floral metallic paper end sheets. It was printed on a digital press on Cougar Opaque 80 lb text. Book Dimensions- 5.25" x 7.25"

When I first saw this gorgeous tome, I had to pick up my eyeballs off the floor. WOW!

Buffalo Speedway Volume 2
by Yehudi Mercado

Promo copy:

Figgs is a lifer. He’s 23 years old, he’s been delivering for Houston’s Turbo Pizza for eight grueling years, he lives with his dead-beat best friend, Super Cheese, and he’s got a supreme crush on his Friday regular, a rich girl named Pia. Life sucks, but it’s about to get suckier. The day is June 17th 1994. Today the Rockets will battle the Knicks in the NBA Finals, America will host the World Cup and OJ Simpson will lead the LAPD on a slow speed chase. These will cause a perfect storm of events, keeping a nation home watching TV, resulting in the BUSIEST PIZZA DAY EVER.

In the One Bad Day tradition of Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, Clerks and Do The Right Thing, we go deep inside the dangerous world of pizza delivery drivers. They’re fast, they’re furious… they’re f***ing your wife.

Click image to enlarge

At last the second volume of Mercado’s pizza delivery epic! I reviewed Volume 1 in Nexus Graphica.

Quote:
On June 17th 1994, the Rockets battle the Knicks in the NBA Finals, America hosts the World Cup, and OJ Simpson leads the LAPD on a slow speed chase. These events combine to create the perfect storm for Houston pizza delivery. That one day in a city of over 3 million people, everyone stays home, watches the TV, and orders pizza. Accurately compared to Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Clerks, and Do the Right Thing, Buffalo Speedway chronicles the unusual tribulations of the delivery drivers from Turbo Pizza, Houston’s last independent pizza place. The talented Mercado’s humorous observations and insights are only marred by the fact that this volume ends mid-story.

Time Tunnel: The Complete Series
Art by Tom Gill
Covers by George Wilson
Introduction by Alan J. Porter
Afterward by Daniel Herman

Promo copy:

It’s back, the complete reprint of Gold Key comics Time Tunnel comic book series. This is the second volume of Hermes Press’s complete reprints of all of the Irwin Allen sci-fi television show tie-in comic books. Now, for the first time in over forty years read both issues, back-to-back, together with documentary material, essays, blue prints from the show and more! Full color and digitally remastered, Time Tunnel: The Complete Series brings these comic books back looking better than when they first hit the stands.

Hell’s Alphabet Coloring Book
Written by Jason Murphy
Art by Kristin Hogan

Promo copy:

It’s a tome of hideous evils. It’s a catalog of iniquity and suffering.

And it’s a coloring book!

Let Hell’s Alphabet be your baby’s first step into reading. And demonology.

Click image to enlarge

An Uncle Shelby’s ABZ Book for the demonic set, the witty, offensive, and downright funny Hell’s Alphabet Coloring Book supplied one of the show’s most pleasant surprises.

Stuff received 3/7/11 STAPLE! edition was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

Stuff received 3/7/11 STAPLE! edition

Posted on by
Reply

Let’s take a quick look to see what I picked up this past weekend’s STAPLE! Expo.

Society of Sinister Simians Limited Edition Book
by Chet Phillips

Promo copy:

"The Society of Sinister Simians" explores the mysterious world of an evil collection of vicious and power hungry primates that held sway over the land centuries ago. Thanks to the efforts of the ill-fated Sourcrust archeological dig of 1887, details of this foul organization have finally come to light. In this book you will learn of The Society’s immortal leader, his powerful and brutal cadre of ministers and advisors, as well as a variety of assassins, spies, soldiers and frightful supernatural figures.

Twenty-four evil simians are fully illustrated and are accompanied by extensive biographies in the text. A map detailing the realm of sinister sway, two-page spreads of weapons and medals galleries, as well as an addendum of sinister ephemera are also included.

Click image to enlarge

Signed and numbered from a limited edition of 50.

This hand bound, softcover book is covered in rich Arista burgundy bonded leather. A silver foil hot-stamped image and title adorn the cover. The structure is a stab binding (sewn with a black thread) with rounded corners and printed floral metallic paper end sheets. It was printed on a digital press on Cougar Opaque 80 lb text. Book Dimensions- 5.25" x 7.25"

When I first saw this gorgeous tome, I had to pick up my eyeballs off the floor. WOW!

Buffalo Speedway Volume 2
by Yehudi Mercado

Promo copy:

Figgs is a lifer. He’s 23 years old, he’s been delivering for Houston’s Turbo Pizza for eight grueling years, he lives with his dead-beat best friend, Super Cheese, and he’s got a supreme crush on his Friday regular, a rich girl named Pia. Life sucks, but it’s about to get suckier. The day is June 17th 1994. Today the Rockets will battle the Knicks in the NBA Finals, America will host the World Cup and OJ Simpson will lead the LAPD on a slow speed chase. These will cause a perfect storm of events, keeping a nation home watching TV, resulting in the BUSIEST PIZZA DAY EVER.

In the One Bad Day tradition of Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, Clerks and Do The Right Thing, we go deep inside the dangerous world of pizza delivery drivers. They’re fast, they’re furious… they’re f***ing your wife.

Click image to enlarge

At last the second volume of Mercado’s pizza delivery epic! I reviewed Volume 1 in Nexus Graphica.

Quote:
On June 17th 1994, the Rockets battle the Knicks in the NBA Finals, America hosts the World Cup, and OJ Simpson leads the LAPD on a slow speed chase. These events combine to create the perfect storm for Houston pizza delivery. That one day in a city of over 3 million people, everyone stays home, watches the TV, and orders pizza. Accurately compared to Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Clerks, and Do the Right Thing, Buffalo Speedway chronicles the unusual tribulations of the delivery drivers from Turbo Pizza, Houston’s last independent pizza place. The talented Mercado’s humorous observations and insights are only marred by the fact that this volume ends mid-story.

Time Tunnel: The Complete Series
Art by Tom Gill
Covers by George Wilson
Introduction by Alan J. Porter
Afterward by Daniel Herman

Promo copy:

It’s back, the complete reprint of Gold Key comics Time Tunnel comic book series. This is the second volume of Hermes Press’s complete reprints of all of the Irwin Allen sci-fi television show tie-in comic books. Now, for the first time in over forty years read both issues, back-to-back, together with documentary material, essays, blue prints from the show and more! Full color and digitally remastered, Time Tunnel: The Complete Series brings these comic books back looking better than when they first hit the stands.

Hell’s Alphabet Coloring Book
Written by Jason Murphy
Art by Kristin Hogan

Promo copy:

It’s a tome of hideous evils. It’s a catalog of iniquity and suffering.

And it’s a coloring book!

Let Hell’s Alphabet be your baby’s first step into reading. And demonology.

Click image to enlarge

An Uncle Shelby’s ABZ Book for the demonic set, the witty, offensive, and downright funny Hell’s Alphabet Coloring Book supplied one of the show’s most pleasant surprises.

STAPLE! This weekend

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The 7th annual STAPLE!, the independent media expo, happens this Saturday and Sunday March 5-6 in Austin at the Marchesa Hall and Theater. This is one of my favorite events of the year. Reviewing last years event, I observed “a mish-mash of seemingly unrelated exhibitors, the 2010 STAPLE! abounded with odd delights.”

Rather than merely writing a review, I am actually involved with this years convention. On Saturday at 1 PM, I am moderating a panel discussion with Atomic Robo creators Scott Wegener and Brian Clevinger. (For more on Atomic Robo and his creators, check out my recent Nexus Graphica column.)

Additionally, I’ll have a home at the show as I’m helping Alan J. Porter sell his goodies (along with a few of my very own), so I’ll be at his table on and off all weekend long. I’m not sure exactly where it’ll be in the hall, but if you’re there, be sure to stop by and say “howdy.”

Hope to see everyone there!

STAPLE! This weekend was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

STAPLE! This weekend

Posted on by
Reply

The 7th annual STAPLE!, the independent media expo, happens this Saturday and Sunday March 5-6 in Austin at the Marchesa Hall and Theater. This is one of my favorite events of the year. Reviewing last years event, I observed "a mish-mash of seemingly unrelated exhibitors, the 2010 STAPLE! abounded with odd delights."

Rather than merely writing a review, I am actually involved with this years convention. On Saturday at 1 PM, I am moderating a panel discussion with Atomic Robo creators Scott Wegener and Brian Clevinger. (For more on Atomic Robo and his creators, check out my recent Nexus Graphica column.)

Additionally, I’ll have a home at the show as I’m helping Alan J. Porter sell his goodies (along with a few of my very own), so I’ll be at his table on and off all weekend long. I’m not sure exactly where it’ll be in the hall, but if you’re there, be sure to stop by and say "howdy."

Hope to see everyone there!

Vanilla: A review of The Adjustment Bureau

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I guess expecting three positive reviews in a row was too much to ask.

Quote:
For his vision of the PKD short story “Adjustment Team,” “Bourne Ultimatum” writer and first-time director George Nolfi wastes the excellent performances of and chemistry between Matt Damon and Emily Blunt in the vanilla “The Adjustment Bureau.”

Quote:
Nolfi’s screenplay and direction vastly underplay the story’s inherent paranoia to the point of making it virtually nonexistent. While numerous scenes showcase Norris running scared through and under the streets of New York, for the obvious lack of tension present, he may as well been strolling down 6th Avenue, a Starbucks latte in hand. Damon and Blunt give their level best, but the screenplay and direction hamper their every move.

Quote:
Aside from the storytelling snafus, Nolfi the director falters. Relying on the very basics of filmmaking, he uses no unusual lighting or angles. Most shots come from straight on, giving the whole production the feeling of a stage play. Especially in light of “Black Swan,” the film’s dance numbers, potentially important, seem pedestrian.

See the rest of my critique at Moving Pictures.

Vanilla: A review of The Adjustment Bureau was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon