Archive for the ‘adaptations’ Category

Singing, dancing, and underwear on the outside. What’s not to like?

June 14th, 2012 by Susie

By now we’ve all seen the Avengers, maybe more than once.  And the Amazing Spider-man and the Dark Knight Rises aren’t out yet.  so how to fill the on screen super-hero void?  May I suggest Holy Musical, B@man?  It’s the latest project by Team Starkid, the folks who brought you A Very Potter Musical, a staged parody of Harry Potter.  They’ve given Batman the same treatment and it’s just as funny though songs aren’t quite as catchy in my opinion).  Their production values are much improved.  They’ve put the entire show on their website and on youtube.  Watch it, it’s a good time.  and if you haven’t see a Very Potter Musical or it’s sequel, give them a shot.

The Avengers: An expanded reaction

May 6th, 2012 by Susie

 

I saw the Avengers  yesterday, and yep, I loved it!  It was everything I’ve come to expect of Joss.  There was action, witty dialogue, and one or more gut wrenching deaths.  I’ll go into detail under the jump.

Warning: Here be spoilers!

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I’ve seen the Avengers, now what do I watch?

May 4th, 2012 by Susie

 

Disclaimer:  If you reading this prior to Saturday afternoon, I haven’t seen the movie yet, but am expecting to love it.  I have great faith in Joss
It’s Avengers opening day!  Some of you may have already seen it, maybe even at a midnight showing.  And after months of anticipation you might feel like there’s nothing left to watch to get excited about.  Or you loved the movie so much you want other movies and shows that capture the same feeling.  Well lucky you, I’ve got a few suggestions!  Whether you’re craving more funny, more superheroes, or just more epic Jossness, no worries, I’ve got you covered.
1) the Cabin in the Woods.  It’s still in theaters so it’s a perfect fix if you’re craving more of that communal adrenaline rush.
Why will it appeal to Avengers fans?  Well it features Chris Hemsworth, aka Thor.  And it is a humorous take on horror movies while still delivering actual scares.  Much the way I predict the Avengers will deliver everything you want out of a super hero movie, while having fun with the genre (though I suspect it won’t be quite as meta as Cabin in the Woods).  And it was cowritten by some dude with a familiar sounding name, rhymes with bleedin’.  Even if you hate horror movies (I must raise my hand here) there is a lot to enjoy about this flick.
2) Firefly and Serenity.  Serenity is Joss’ big screen debut, and while it’s possible to enjoy Serenity, without having seen any episodes of Firefly, the television show that preceded it, once you see Serenity, you’ll want to see everything involving Mal and the crew.  You might as well do it in order.  It’s only twelve episodes, not too much of a time commitment.
Why will it appeal to Avengers fans? Once again we’ve got the Joss factor.  But it is also really exciting, with a twisty plot, and intriguing, quippy, sometimes mysterious, characters.  Plus you want to see River Tam kick butt.  Trust me on that.
3)The Incredibles. The movie that solidified Pixar as one of the best companies currently making films, not just the best making kid’s films. Why will it appeal to Avengers fans? Superheroes, of course.  But also it blends top notch action with compelling character arcs.  You’ve got a guy who feels trapped in his unsatisfying job.  A marriage under extreme pressure.  A teenager who wants to blend into the crowd.  And a sociopath who would destroy a city, just so he can be the one to save it.
3) Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog.  Another unconventional take on superheroes.  This time focussing on a wannabe super villain.  Plus musical numbers!
Why will it appeal to Avengers fans? Again it’s the brainchild of Joss, along with his talented brothers and sister in-law.  And Nathan Fillion’s Captain Hammer  is at least as arrogant as Robert Downey Jr’s Ironman (though not as endearing).
4) The Specials.  It might not have the production values of the Avengers, it’s a worthy entry into the super team oeuvre (which is pretty small at least in feature films).
Why will it appeal to Avengers fans? The Avengers are Earth’s mightiest heroes.  The Specials–not so much.  They are the superhero community’s version of the D list.  There isn’t much action in the movie, but anyone familiar with super teams will appreciate the humor.  Plus it features Rob Lowe in a comedy before the world at large realized how funny he is.
And a few things to look forward to. Joss’ next movie is Much Ado About Nothing.  It’s a modern set interpretation of the Shakespeare comedy (my favorite of the comedies).  It was filmed in a month and entirely in his house.  It features many actors he’s worked with in the past, Amy Acker, Alexis Denisoff, Fran Kranz, etc.  It’s unclear when it’s coming out, or if it will get a theatrical release, but I’m excited to see it.
And also coming soon is the Amazing Spider-man.  I’m not sure Spider-man was in need of a reboot so soon, but Spidey is a great character.  I’m interested to see what Andrew Garfield brings to the role.

Fantasy Casting Call: Director Edition

April 20th, 2012 by Susie

The Avengers is only a few weeks away!  I’m super excited (and already have tickets for opening weekend).  I think Joss Whedon was the perfect choice to direct.  He knows how to direct dynamic action sequences without losing sight of character arcs, and can handle a large ensemble without having one or two characters dominating while the rest get lost in the shuffle.  And he always brings the funny.  So in honor of this excellent director/comic pairing, I thought I’d try matching up comic books I want to see adapted with the directors that should do the adapting.

Maus as directed by Julie Taymor.  Maus is a masterpiece.  It’s the only comic to win the Pulitzer for literature.  And it’s probably unfilmable.  But if it ever is, Taumor is probably the only director who could pull it off.  I know her last comic adaptation, the Spider-man musical, didn’t work out so well, but Maus is far more in her wheelhouse.  Most of her work both on screen and stage has dealt with death and or tragedy.  She often uses masks and puppets to create moving and effective imagery, dealing with some of the darkest aspects of the human experience.  Maus is a holocaust survivor’s story as told by his son.  The Jews are depicted as anthropomorphized mice and the Nazis are cats.  Masks are a running motif throughout the comic.  Maus isn’t really a project I see movie producers clambering to make happen, but I’d be fascinated to see it.

Y the Last Man as directed by JJ Abrams.  In YLM a mysterious plague kills every male person and animal on Earth except for one man and his pet monkey.  The comic follows the last man on earth as he and a few companions travel through the ruins of society (the loss of half the world’s population overnight, caused some serious chaos) trying to figure out what happened.  This is complicated by the fact that he is the most valuable commodity on the planet, and is pursued by numerous governments and organizations.  JJ Abrams is one of the most successful television creators in recent memories.  He has a hand in such diverse projects as Lost, Felicity, Alias, and Fringe.  He’s recently had big screen success with Super 8 and the Star Trek reboot.  He’s got the chops when it comes to action, as well as suspenseful conspiracies (aside from pretty much all of the later seasons of Alias).  What he’s really good at is getting you really invested in characters in the midst of some crazy circumstances, and while the premise of YLM was great, what made it a must read were Yorick, Agent 355 and Dr. Mann.

Death as directed by Neil Gaiman.  Technically I’m cheating here.  At one time Neil was set to direct an adaptation of his comic Death the Time of Your Life.  But it seems to have fallen by the wayside.  I would love to see it revived.  Gaiman’s Death is one of the most original and compelling characters to come out of comics in the last twenty years.  And if anyone can get an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s work right, it’s Neil Gaiman.

Fables as directed by Peter Jackson.  Fables is a big story, it’s been running for over a decade and more than a hundred issues.  There are hundreds of major characters and thousands of secondary characters.  I actually don’t want to see a direct adaptation (although I think Jackson could handle it).  The Fables universe is expansive.  I’d like to see an original story set in the Fables universe, featuring some of the less used characters (like what creator Bill Willingham did in the Fables novel Peter and Max).  Jackson have proven that he can create fully realized fantasy worlds.  And he’s done darker stories.  I think he can balance humor, magical elements of the series, while not shying away from it’s creepy side.  I know he’d give us a fairy tale that didn’t reek of Disney.

Runaways as directed by Joss Whedon.  What?  You didn’t think I’d let Joss get away with directing only one comic book movie, did you?  Runaways is one of my all time favorite super hero comics (though the kids in Runaways aren’t traditional super heroes).  With a bunch of sarcastic, smart, angsty, pop culture reference making teenagers with superpowers at its center, Runaways felt like a spiritual successor to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Whedon was such a fan that he wrote an arc of the series after creator Brian K. Vaughan left.  Joss is the only choice to direct in my opinion.  It must happen.  But I’ll be generous and let Joss finish up promoting the Avengers, film  the next two films in the Big Damn Serenity Trilogy, and the Dr. Horrible sequel, and and Goners, and finally give us the long promised Ripper tv series, before he starts work on Runaways.  I’m nothing if not considerate.

The Avengers Assembled! Sort of

August 22nd, 2011 by Susie

 

Part of the cast was on hand at the Disney Expo thingy this weekend, where they showed four minutes of footage from the upcoming Avengers movie. I haven’t been able to find a video of it online, but here is a good description of it, as well as an article about the event.

I’m excited for the movie, mainly because it’s being written and directed by Joss Whedon. I don’t think it’s a secret that I love just about everything he’s done and it feels like there hasn’t been much output from other than a few issues of Buffy season eight, since Dollhouse went off the air. That would be because he’s been busy prepping a major tentpole motion picture. I think it has the potential to be fantastic. In his one previous big screen work Serenity, he delivered exciting action sequences that furthered the plot,while not losing sight of the characters, while also giving them strong emotional arcs and some really fun dialog. That is exactly what I want out of the Avengers.

I havent seen any of the movies introducing the individual team members, except the first Iron Man. Which I quite enjoyed. I think it’s a shame that the core of the team has been established and cast already, I would have liked some Whedon regulars in the cast. As it is the closest we’ve got to a Whedon connection is Cobie Smulders, whose How I Met Your Mother castmate Neil Patrick Harris starred in Whedon’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog. At least as far as we know. Maybe he’ll find places for Nathan Fillion, Amber Benson, James Marsters, Summer Glau, Alyson Hannigan, Adam Baldwin, and Felicia Day. Yeah, that’s a super team I would get behind.

 

(the poster is most definitely not an official poster, but it the best of the fan made ones I saw.  I could not find an artist to credit it to.  If anyone knows, leave it in the comments and I’ll include it.)

On The Day that Batman’s Parents Died

June 6th, 2011 by Susie

On the Day Batman’s Parents Died

A poem by me

 

On the day Batman’s parents died

 

It was Christmas

It was New Year’s Eve

It was Halloween

It was Bruce’s birthday

 

They went to the movies (it was Zorro)

They went to the opera

They went to the ballet

They went to the movies (it was not Zorro)

 

Little Bruce’s mother scolded him

Little Bruce told his father he hated him

His father hit his mother

His mother told his father she was pregnant again

 

Bruce pretended to be the Lone Ranger

Bruce’s mother read to him from Alice in Wonderland

Bruce’s father dressed up like a bat

Bruce’s butler stayed home with a cold

 

A black cat crossed their path

A clown juggled for pennies

A crow died

A criminal got away

 

There was a full moon

There was no moon

It was everyday

It was the only day

 

This was inspired by the fact that every Batman comic I’ve read  or movie or tv show I’ve seen, has set every flashback to Bruce Wayne’s childhood on the day his parents were murdered.  Of course each one contradicts the last.  But why not?  It all happened.  It is the only day that matters.

Not so Wonderous

May 14th, 2011 by Susie

The word is that after much retooling, NBC passed on the David E. Kelley Wonder Woman series that I have been kvetching about for the last several months. Woo hoo, it was shaping up to be a total debacle!
It does beg the question of why one comicdom’s most iconic superheroes, and argueably it’s most iconic female superhero, has been in development hell for so long. How many times have we heard about a Wonder Woman movie or tv show being developed, only to have it not see the light of day? This one got closer, as it actually filmed a pilot (partial or complete, I’m not sure of).
I’m not saying this is the one that should have happened, everything I heard about it made me sick to my stomach (except for the casting of Adrianne Palicki, she was great on Friday Night Lights!). I’m just wondering why a new live action Wonder Woman appears to be an impossibility.

The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffengger

April 19th, 2011 by Susie

 

I picked this book up at the event I attended last week.  I have been very eager to read it for several reasons.  The first being that Niffengger is one of my favorite authors.  Second, this is her first comic, and as you know if you read this blog, I love comics!  Lastly, it is about books and the role they play in in a person’s life.  And I love books too, of all kinds, pure prose, illustrated, memoir, essays, fantasy, humor, children’s, ebooks, and countless others.

The Night Bookmobile is unlike Niffenegger’s two previously published graphic pieces.  The Three Incestuous Sisters and The Adventuress were both stories told in brief poetic sentences accompanied by equally dreamlike, evocative illustrations.  The Night Bookmoblie is different to the point that if you did not know who the author of each was and put them next to each other, you probably would not guess they were done by the same person.

The story shares the magic realism themes of the other two, but is told in a far more straight forward manner, and the art is much more precise and grounded.  I don’t consider that a bad thing, I think this is the strongest of her three graphic works.  The other two are lovely to look at, and to muse on the narrative, but the Night Bookmobile pulls you into the story in a way the other two don’t.

The story is that of a young women who while on a late night walk, after a fight with her boyfriend, stumbles upon an RV calling itself the Night Bookmoblie.  She steps inside to discover it is bigger than it appeared and is filled with books.  But they are not just any books, these are every book she has read over the course of her life.  Not just books she owns, but everything she had ever borrowed from a library or friend, everything read for school, or read and discarded.  The Bookmoblie also has a catalog of every magazine, newspaper, pamphlet, road sign or cereal box she ever read as well.  It’s not mentioned, but I am sure it also has a database of every email and webpage also.  The discovery changes the way she reads, always aware that she is adding to the library each time she opens the book.  She becomes obsessed with finding the  Bookmobile again.

The art is incredibly detailed and true to life.  It compliments the story perfectly.  One particular panel, a close up of the a shelf of books in the Bookmoblie was particularly compelling.  She recreates the spines of a collection of children’s books with nearly impossible accuracy, it is clear it was done by hand and it is a wonder to behold.  I was drawn to examine each one and felt the same tingles of recognition when I spotted one I had read as a child that the protagonist was experiencing.

The story was originally published as a prose story for an anthology.  She later interpreted it into a comic for the UK’s  the Guardian.  I think it is especially suited to the medium, since the imagery is so vivid.  The book was published by Abrams, with as much attention to detail and artistry as the material deserves.  If you can’t tell by now, I really liked it and highly recommend picking it up

My longest post ever!: or My thoughts on Buffy Season Eight.

February 17th, 2011 by Susie

Buffy season 8 came to an end last month, with issue 40.  I have some thoughts on both the final issue, and the series as a whole.  I plan on going into detail about the plot, so anyone who has not read the whole thing, and is wary of spoilers, should not read beyond the jump.

Buffy the TV show meant a lot to me.  I connected to it from the moment it came on the air, and for the entire seven years it was on the air, I looked forward to every new episode.  I think I only missed seeing two episodes the night they aired, that whole time.  It is the reason I follow every project Joss Whedon works on with great interest.  Somewhere around season two, I became an unabashed fangirl, and haven’t looked back since.  And it’s fair to say my own writing has been heavily influenced by it.  In that I think a hero (or even more so, a heroine) should not be infallible, that they can make mistakes and fall down, and still remain a hero.

So when it was announced that Joss would be resuming the series as a comic, I was thrilled.  I could not wait for my friends to return, and find out what he had in store for them next.  The first twenty issues or so were pretty spectacular, beautiful art, and brilliantly written.  Having Joss write many, and oversee the rest, assured that the tone of the show carried over to the comics, and that the characters felt true to how they had been previously portrayed.  Those issues did a really good job bringing the audience up to speed with what the Scooby gang had been doing since the end of the series.  And also establishing new characters to root for, such as Renee and Satsu.

Spoilers from here on.  You have been warned, don’t whine to me if you read something you don’t want to.

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Wonder Woman series going ahead, and it sounds like a disaster!

February 3rd, 2011 by Susie

A couple of months ago, I posted that David “Ally Mcbeal” Kelley was developing a Wonder Woman series for television, and that I was very open that I did not think Kelley was the right person for the job.  Initially, all the networks passed on the script claiming that it would be too expensive to produce.  But NBC changed executives, and the new regime decided to order the pilot.

Well blogger/TV critic Jace Lacob, has had a look at the script, and it is worse than I had imagined.  You can see his summary here, but it does not bode well at all.  Some things that stick out for me as not just inconsistent to the character, but really bad writing in general are: that Diana is given three identities.  One is Wonder Woman, crime fighter.  Another is as Diana Themyscira, the CEO of an international corporation, who collects transforming aircraft (the hell?).  And finally  as Diana Prince, a mousy assistant.  I don’t get this conceit at all.  It is traditional for super-hero’s to have a super-hero identity, and a separate civilian identity (in fact in the comics she does sort of have three, wonder woman, Diana Prince, and the Princess of the Amazons.  But the princess/wonder woman identities are publicly acknowledged as the same).  But why have two civilian identities?  with two separate residences?  Especially when at least one of the identities, the CEO, sounds to be very recognizable as a public figure.  What is the point of the third identity?  This just makes the character sound a bit psycho.

Anaother red flag, that this is not a Wonder Woman I want to watch is this that as the CEO, she has  in her employ a gaggle of “nerds” whose function seems to be to make sexual inneundo about her.  For example when she instructs them to bone up on something, one replies the he would, “Bone you up right now, boss.”  That she tolerates this is makes her not just unbelievable as Wonder Woman, but as a successful business woman, as well.

Lacob says it best here, about what sounds likely to be one of the worst scenes to ever be filmed;

In the script’s most painful sequence, Diana is subpoenaed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and forced to give testimony about the events in Hollywood. She ends up filibustering about everything under the sun for several pages: the politics of the LAPD (name checking ex-police chiefs Daryl Gates and William Bratton), the economy, stimulus funds, pharmaceutical companies, Roger Clemens, the FDA and the FCC, and how networks will air commercials about erectile dysfunction but not for condoms. It’s clearly meant to be a showcase scene for the actress playing Diana, a calculated bid at awards and social relevance. Congratulations, David E. Kelley, the transformation of Wonder Woman from superhero to personal mouthpiece is now complete. Adding further insult to injury: real-life California Senator Dianne Feinstein is described as giving Diana a thumbs-up.

Pages of rambling about anything that crosses Kelley’s mind, is the big triumphant moment?  In a show about a super-hero?  What?

And apparently the episode ends with her weeping over her romantic woes!  DO NOT WANT!

Yeah it sounds horrible, and I do not get what NBC was thinking.  Are Harry’s Law, and the Cape doing that well?

Anyway here are the original concept sketches for Wonder Woman, way back in the forties.

Yes, she is wearing a bustier, but she was a warrior damnit!

And just because I think it’s awesome, here is Project Runway’s Chris March as Wonder Woman.

Epic Doctor Who Fan Comic

January 21st, 2011 by Susie

This has been out there on interwebs for awhile, but I only just discovered it last week.  A cartoonist going only by Rich, has created a Doctor Who fan comic spanning 247 pages, called the Ten Doctors.  He clearly has a deep affection for Doctor Who, because the comic is very much a labor of love.  It took over three years to complete, and is a very complex, but entertaining adventure.  As the name implies, it features all ten incarnations of the doctor, through David Tennant.  It was completed before Matt Smith debuted as Doctor Eleven, so he is absent.  It also features countless past companions, aliens, and enemies.  I got into Doctor Who with the new series, so I was only really familiar with the characters from the ninth Doctor’s era and onward.  My experience with old school Who, is composed only of two Tom Baker serials, and short youtube clips, of the other Doctors.  So I did not recognize all the companions, or enemies, or plot elements refferenced, but it didn’t really matter, the story was told well enough that I could infer the most of what I needed to know.  Whenever I did get confused, I could just scroll down to that page’s comment section, and there was usually someone who had posed my question already, and an answer from either Rich, or another reader.  Each doctor, and most of the companions gets a moment to shine, over the course of the comic.  Based just on reading of this comic, I now am a fan of Doctors two, and five, and the companions Jamie, the Brigadier, Ace, Romana and Leela.  (I was already a fan of nine, ten, four, and eleven, and all their companions)  There are plenty of humorous moments, and quite a few touching ones as well.  It is drawn in an animated style, with rough pencils as the finished version.  Someone on Devient Art is going through it, and inking and coloring the pages, but has only reached the sixth page, last time I checked.  Regardless, it is quite is an impressive accomplishment.  Rich has a few other comics, featuring original characters.  Based on the qulity of the Ten Doctors, I plan on checking them out.

You should be able to click on the following image to be taken to the first page of the Ten Doctors on Rich’s website.  If you are anything like me, you will spend the next few days reading the whole thing.

Fantasy Casting: Alias Power Man.

January 7th, 2011 by Susie

I had not been planning to do a follow up casting post, about AKA Jessica Jones, but Florence came up with such an inspired sugestion for Luke Cage, that I had to make it an official post.

In the Marvel universe Luke is the hero known as Power Man.  In Alias, while he is still Power Man, he mainly plays the part of Jess’ occasional ally, and hookup.

I’ll let Florence put it in her words, whom she would cast.

Luke Cage= Tyr from Andromeda. My favorite gorgeous deadpan Nietzschian must return to the screen. I’m sure the actor could portray some genuine emotion in his relationship with Jessica, but his default badassitude would be perfect.


I could not agree more.  The The actor in question, is Keith Hamilton Cobb.   He definitely can play a total badass, and he can smolder to boot.   And he has the superhero physique, as well.   This pick is so good, that I am not offering any alternative.  Though I would love to hear anyone else’s suggestion, in the comments

Fantasy Casting: Who is Jessica Jones?

January 4th, 2011 by Susie

As I reported in my last post, ABC is developing a television series based on Alias (the comic, not the previous ABC series by that name). While it is yet to be seen how well the comic will translate into a series, we can still have fun trying to cast it.
Jessica Jones, the heroine of Alias, is a private detective with super powers.  Those being:  flight, super strength, and near invulnerability to injury.   She was once a costumed superhero, going for a time by the name of Jewel, and later briefly by the name Knightress.  However she was never among the top tier of heroes, such as Spider-man or the Fantastic Four.  During her tenure as a superhero, she went through an ordeal that left her emotionally scarred, and caused her to retire from the game. It also left her with a very thick, defensive shell built up around her, to keep her from being vulnerable again.   Essentially she prevents others from hurting her, by inflicting all the damage herself.   She drinks a lot, she sleeps with guys that she doesn’t care about, and that don’t care about her.  And she keeps anyone that might care for her at a safe distance, with a great deal of sarcasism, cynisim, and if that doesn’t work, hostility.
So who could possibly play a character this caustic, and still hold the audience sympathy?   I have three choices.
My first pick, is not known for her portrayals of wounded antiheroes.   In fact she is best known for playing one of the most relentlessly cheerful characters ever to grace a television screen.  Jewel Staite played the adorable, optimistic, genius mechanic Kaylee Frye, on the late, long lamented (by me at least, and a few others) Firefly.   Part of my reason for casting her would simply be because Jessica is so different from Kaylee, that it would be really interesting to see her play that end of the spectrum.   Another reason is that she sort of reminds me of the way artist Micheal Gaydos, drew Jessica.

And she would have no problem portraying the Jess’ youthful exuberance, in flashbacks to her more innocent Jewel days. (Just noticed I cast an actress named Jewel to play a character code named Jewel, that is imaginative of me).  I have not seen her in many roles outside the “verse” , so I don’t know what kind of a range she has, but she endeared herself to me so much as Kaylee, that I want to see her carry a series, even if I’m not entirely certain she can pull off Jessica acerbic wit. (Although she did manage to make Simon to feel like a moron, more than once).

My next two choices on the other hand, would have no problem with that aspect of the character.

Caroline Dhavernas, was the lead on another series that was cancelled far too early.  If Firefly’s run was short, then Caroline’s show Wonderfalls’, was microscopic.  Only three episodes ever aired on network television.  Luckily around twelve episodes of this quirky, funny, and often touching but not cloying, show were filmed, and they were released on DVD.  (Coincidentally Jewel Staite guest starred on a few episodes).

As the main character Jaye, Caroline displayed a talent for the biting, yet deadpan delivery, which is just how Jessica sounds in my head.  While Jaye was just naturally antisocial, rather than having become so due to a trauma, I have confidence that Caroline could convey that she was covering up a deep secret.  She is about to debut in the cast of Shonda Rhymes’ new show Off the Map, which is one of the reasons I plan to watch it, but if that show doesnt take off, or even if it does, she would be perfect in the part of Jessica.

Like the my other picks, I am shocked that my final choice has not had a bigger career.  She is incredibly talented.  Alicia Witt has been working steadily since she was fourteen years-old, yet she is not a household name.  She has been in projects as varied as the family drama Friday Night Lights, the sitcom Cybill, and the scifi epic Dune.

She is probably closer to the age that Jessica is meant to be in the comic, than the other two.  (Though who knows if the network, would want a heroine as old as, [gasp!] thirty-five).  And since she  has been in the business for so long, she could probably relate to Jess’ loss of innocence, and idealism, about her chosen profession.  Despite no longer being a twenty-something ingenue, she is absolutely stunning.  Which I’m sure would help grease the wheels of casting.  Plus she too is a master of the dead pan delivery.

Here is quick side by side of each.  Got a favorite among them?  Or your own pick?

So those are my top picks.  Any ideas about who should be the supporting cast?  Anyone out there scream Luke Cage to you?  Or Miss Marvel?

Jessica Jones on network TV?

December 19th, 2010 by Susie

Entertainment Weekly recently reported that ABC is developing Brian Michael Bendis’ Marvel series Alias as a TV series.  It centered on private investigator Jessica Jones, a former super heroine.  Bendis is listed as a consultant, while Melissa Rosenberg is credited as the writer. It’s going to be called Aka Jessica Jones, as calling it Alias would be pretty confusing. I hate to be negative about a project that is so early in the development stage, but I have some serious reservations about this. I really liked Alias, (earlier this year I named Jessica Jones one of my top female characters) but I can’t really see it translating well as a television series. Especially on risk wary network television. Jessica’s back story is pretty dark, while it’s about equal to some of the stuff seen on SVU and CSI, I doubt that the network would sign off on it for a lead female character. So it would likely be watered down. They will probably be worried that Jess’ drinking, and self destructive behavior, would turn off viewers, and try to make her flaws more “relatable”, like compulsive eating. Gone also would be the references to the surrounding Marvel universe, which was pivotal to the series, to illustrate and contrast Jess’ role within it. They would have to go, since it’s unlikely Marvel would grant them the rights to use Spider-man, or the Fantastic Four, and it would confusing for the casual viewer anyway. And while in the comics Jess’ cases were pretty gritty, with a superhero element thrown in, the series is probably going to want to inject a whole lot more action into it. Altogether it would probably make the show pretty unrecognizable from it’s source material. Also worrying is that Bendis is just a consultant, while Rosenberg is in charge. Her only credit listed in the article is writing the screenplay for Twilight. That movie was a huge financial success, so it makes sense that she would be given more oppurtunties as a result. It’s just that I found that movie dreadfully boring (I haven’t read the book yet, so I can’t say how much of that can be blamed on the source material, over the screenplay).
I really hope that I’m wrong. I hope that whatever comes from this is awesome, regardless of how much it resembles the excellent comic series. I’m just skeptical, about the likelihood. Between this news, the David E. Kelley run Wonder Woman series, and the Jossless Buffy reboot, the next few years are not looking promising for female superheroes on screen.

New Wonder Woman TV show.

October 4th, 2010 by Susie

According to this article Warner Brothers is developing a Wonder Woman series for television.

http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/10/wonder-woman-tv-show.html

It does not say how far into development they have gotten, or which network will likely air it.  It does say that they have chosen David E. Kelley to be showrunner.  This seems like a bad fit to me.  Kelley has had success in the past, creating such shows as, Ally McBeal, Chicago Hope, The Practice, and Picket Fences, none of which have much in common with Wonder Woman.  I don’t know what the plans they have in store for the show, but I would think it would have to be an action drama to some extent, and Kelley doesn’t have much experience with action.  I am not much of a Kelley fan, I have not been able to stick with one of his shows for much more than a season or two.  In my experience, he tends run out of character driven stories pretty quickly, and then relies on increasingly  absurd plot twists, and controversial stunts, just for the sake of controversy.  His characters are usually very quirky, and as the series progress they seem to lose any humanity that makes them relatable, devolving into a walking mass of unusual ticks.  This does not bode well for his Wonder Woman, as though she has gone through many different characterizations over the course of her sixty plus years of being published, she has never come across to me as either quirky, or neurotic (another Kelley main stay).  I guess we will have to wait and see what comes of it.

Dream Casting, Sandman Casting Call Part 1: In which I explain why I hope the Sandman movie never gets made, and then decide to assemble my dream cast anyway.

September 18th, 2010 by Susie

Anyone I’ve ever spoken to that has read Sandman, says the same thing.  That it should never be made into a movie, because it couldn’t possibly be done right.  Yet it has been in development, at one studio or another, for at least ten years.  The reason for this is that it is a beloved property, that many consider comic books first masterpiece.  So why don’t it’s many fans (me included) want to see it filmed?

To start off with it, it is seemingly impossible to film.  The story is long, taking ten years, and seventy-five issues to tell, not including spin offs, and follow ups.  Trying to compress that into a single, or even several two hour movies, would be very difficult.  Beyond that, it is a story that jumps around in time, and space, and worlds (Faerie, other planets, heaven, hell, and most often dreams).  It often requires a strong background in history, mythology, religion, and DC comics, to fully understand.  And it sports a cast of characters that number in the hundreds, many of whom are important, to the tale as a whole, and absolutely essential to their small part of the story.  In short it is a story that has already been told, in the best way it could be.

Still in the right hands it could be done.  There could be someone out there, talented enough to simplfy that complex narrative into something satisfying, that still holds the charm and beauty of the original.  And we would all still have the comics for when we wanted the real thing.

The bigger issue in my mind, is how integral to the story, the art is.  Not just because, it being a comic, all the action is drawn, but because of how the various artists chose to interpret it.  The artist usually changed every time a new story arc started.  Which meant the characters often looked different each time you saw them.  Which gave the reader a fresh perspective on them.  Many of the characters appearance changed according to whom they were speaking to, or where they were, at any given time.  Which could get very confusing, if it was attempted on film.

The main reason I don’t want it filmed, is because I love it so much.  Anything short of brilliant would be heartbreaking.  And there is so much potential for failure.  I have often said if it was made into a movie, I’d boycott it , just to spare myself the agony of seeing what was done with something I hold so dear.  That is a lie, though.  I would absolutely see it.

Partly because I want to support, Neil Gaiman and all the artists that worked on it, by paying for a ticket, and hoping a little of the money gets back to them, after the theater, the studio, the director, the cast and crew, all get their cut.  Mainly, on the off chance, that somehow it turns out like that other beloved franchise, that people claimed was utterly unfilmable, Lord of the Rings.  Even though those films were not a direct page by page adaptation of the books, most fans agree that Peter Jackson got it right nevertheless.  And it caused many people to buy and read the books, that likely would not have otherwise.  If the Sandman movie did the same for the comics, more the better.

No, I could not resist seeing it.  Although I am totally one of those assholes, who would complain loudly afterward, if it was bad.  Actually, I doubt I could wait until the end, I would likely  jump to my feet, screaming “No! No! No!” the second the credits read, “and Jennifer Lopez* as Death.” And I would keep screaming the whole two hours, or until I was asked to leave.  I’m not proud of it, but it would happen.

I am also the type of person who loves coming up with fantasy casts, for movies that haven’t been made yet.  I seriously once stayed up most of the night, coming up with the ideal cast for a production of Pride and Prejudice, as done by a mix of humans and Muppets.

Which brings me to the point of this long winded post.  I have decided to do a series of posts, in which I pretend that by some twist of fate, I am a bigwig, hotshot casting director, who has been tasked with putting together the cast for the hypothetical Sandmam movie.  I will do individual  posts for each of the major characters, and subsequent posts will have two or three of minor characters lumped together.  We will see how far I get, before running out of steam.  I will try to avoid divulging too many details of the character’s fates, for anyone reading who has not yet read Sandman, but still may.  And if you like comics at all, I suggest giving it a try.

My pick for the person to play Morpheous, will be coming either later today or tomorrow.  I will choose my directer right now.  The only director I think could do the project justice, would actually be the combined forces of Guillermo del Toro, Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, and Alfonso Cuaron.

*I actually don’t universally hate Jennifer Lopez.  She was very good in Out of Sight.  She just should under no circumstances be cast as Death.

Scott Pilgrim Trailer!!!

March 25th, 2010 by Martin

Excited about the Scott Pilgrim movie yet? Watch the new trailer on apple!!!

(Via io9.)

Kick-Ass trailer is seriously Kick-Ass

December 23rd, 2009 by Martin

I don’t know how long this has been out, but this Kick-Ass trailer I just found on youtube mostly features Hit-Girl… kicking ass.

I don’t really know where this came from, but I think it’s way more interesting than the official trailer, personally.

Next Book Club

October 4th, 2009 by jason

wonderful-wizard-of-oz-1We’ll be reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the recent Marvel adaption by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young, issues 1-8. Tentatively scheduled for Saturday, 7 November.

Return to the Labyrinth volumes 1 through 3

September 17th, 2009 by Susie

return-to-labyrinth-2-cover

I have known about and avoiding this manga sequel from TokyoPop to the classic Jim Henson movie the Labyrinth, for a few years now.  The Labyrinth is one of those special movies that I have watched many times since I was a child, and treasure as much now as then.  So when, around  five years ago I stumbled across the listing on Amazon for the first volume, I was taken aback.  I could not help but be worried that the people producing this series would miss the charm and wonder of the original.  I did not even want to take the chance that it would disappoint, so I left it alone.  I am not sure what made me check if the library had them now, but I am glad I did.  No, author Jake T. Forbes has not quite created a story as brilliant as the movie.  He has crafted a narrative that pays homage to the original, while cutting it’s own path through the Labyrinth. This time it is Toby, whom you may remember as the baby that heroine Sarah had to rescue from the Goblin King, who is the teenage hero. He finds himself pulled into the Labyrinth and makes friends both new to the audience as well as familiar ones.  His adventures in the first volume while not boring, do feel a little like a retread. However  it is as the story progresses and we learn of King Jareth’s designs for Toby and his motives and also as we get a broader view of the world he inhabits that I found my self truly invested in the story.  Volume 3 took the plot in a direction I was not expecting, and of course left us with quite the cliffhanger.  There is one more volume  in the works however it looks like the books have been released at least two years apart and number three  just came out last May, so I will be waiting for the conclusion for a while.  I especially appreciated that the author planted references to other Jim Henson fantasy works, such as the Dark Crystal, Fraggle Rock and the Story Teller.  Jim Henson’s work from the Muppets and beyond, was my very first fandom and it is still my most favorite.  Sorry Joss, I love you too!  I am really glad my fears for this project were completely unfounded.  If I have a small complaint, it is that the creatures that were created just for the manga don’t look like they were created by the same person who created the creatures for the film.  And of course they weren’t, Brian Froud designed the firies, Ludo, and Hoggle for the film, while Chris Lie is the artist on the manga.  It also would be nice if the series was in color, but then it would take even longer to be published.  The series has it’s own website and forums at goblin.net.

cool superhero mural in San Fran

June 30th, 2009 by Martin

san_fran_muralMore photos of this awesome mural (and some backstory) over at Mission Mission. Additional photos on my old friend Doctor Popular’s blog and flickr stream. And some more over at what I’m seeing.

Julie Taymor’s Spider-Man

March 5th, 2009 by florence

Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark Check out this awesome and unlikely combination: Spider-Man + Broadway musical+ Julie Taymor directing + U2 composing = Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark.

I adore Julie Taymor and her entirely unique twisted dynamic view, so I can’t wait to see this show. They have cast Evan Rachel Wood as Mary Jane. I loved her as a young lesbian on ‘Once and Again’, and I thought she did a decent job in Julie Taymor’s ‘Across the Universe’.  No casting for Peter Parker yet, but they’re supposed to start rehearsing in the fall and debut in January 2010.

Watchmen iPhone Game (MMO)

March 3rd, 2009 by Martin

Those who know me realize that I haven’t been posting much on here because I’ve been focusing most of my extra-curricular efforts on developing a puzzle game for the iPhone. But that’s not why I’m writing today! I actually just read over at massively.com that there is going to be a Watchmen game for the iPhone released at the same time as the movie (this Friday). As far as I know, this is also going to be the first MMO (massively multiplayer online) game for the iPhone. There is also a video of some interviews with the developers, and it shows some of the gameplay too. Interesting stuff.

Married With Comics – comics that came out 11/19/2008

November 23rd, 2008 by Martin

This week Florence and Marty discuss Invincible #55, and Ender’s Game #2. As usual, spoiler alert applies.

Invincible #55

Florence: Invincible this week focused on one of my favorite characters, Allen the Alien.

Marty: You don’t think it was also about the dad?

Florence: I DO think it was also about the dad, but the dad isn’t one of my favorite characters. Honestly, I’d forgotten why Allen was extra-strong, why he was in the same place as Invincible’s dad, but I didn’t have any problem going along for the ride. I wasn’t that caught up in the central fight of the story, but I just enjoyed seeing Allen again, and there was an interesting revelation about the Viltrumites that seems like it will advance the over-all story.

Marty: That’s what I’m talking about. FINALLY we’re getting back to the main story. It’s been at least four issues now since we saw Allen or the father. This issue was almost good enough to make up for all the time we had to put up with side-stories and such, but the fight scene did seem to go on forever.

Florence: What did you think of the new lion guy?

Marty: I think he’s actually a tie-in from something. I’m not sure what.

Florence: Something else in image?

Marty: *looking it up* Battle Beast actually just appeared before in issue 19, I don’t think he’s a tie-in from anything else. So never mind. Anyway, yeah, I’ve thought Allen was one of my favorite characters since he was very first introduced. He was pretty bad-ass in this issue. He’s totally invincible now!

Florence: haha…

Marty: There was also a page at the end of the issue with the dad’s face pretty close up, and he had blood all over his mustache. I feel like that was some kind of weird nod to an obscure fetish or something.

Ender’s Game #2

Marty: I felt like this second issue was not nearly as strong as the first. They are really glossing over what were, in my recollection, my favorite parts of the book. Basically Ender’s introduction to all the games at battle school, and then of course his learning about the battle room, which they really only get to at the end of the issue. So maybe we’ll learn more about that (with Ender) in issue #3. I did realize after reading this issue that with only five issues total, they’re really going to have to cram the story in.

Florence: I thought they were too heavy handed about Ender’s importance, and all the behind-the-scenes manipulations that went into bringing him into battle school. It’s possible that I’m being more forgiving to the book, I was much younger when I read it, and remember really loving it, but at the time it felt much more from the point of view of Ender. We weren’t privy to information outside of his knowledge, and we were really immersed in his experience, which made the revelation at the end of the book a very emotional shock.

Marty: I had a similar impression, but I’m really not remembering 100%. I think they right away go into the perspective of the instructor in this second issue, and I don’t remember that from the book at all.

Florence: I remember hearing lots of rumors about an Ender’s game movie a few years ago, and I always felt very protective of the story, and skeptical that they would do it right.

Marty: I’m pretty sure it’s still in the making. I hear something new about it every few years. IMDB has it listed as still in pre-production.

Florence: I have to say, I do really like the art of this comic (especially the color). And, in a way, I’m glad they’re doing it as a miniseries, rather than trying to stretch out the story into a much longer arc. It’s definitely a story that has a beginning and an end.

Marty: The coloring of the comic really reminds me of Orson Scott Card’s run on Ultimate Iron Man. I wonder if the artists are the same. (Looks like it’s the same artist, Pascal Ferry, who did Ultimate Iron Man II, 2008.)

Marty: I feel I should say something about what a bastard Orson Scott Card has turned out to be.

Florence: He’s listed as the creative director, and executive director, but not the script writer for the comic.

Marty: His politics are what damn him.

Florence: …his eagerness to apply his whacked-out religious beliefs to social commentary on his blog.

Marty: I’m still interested in reading the rest of these, and will probably continue to pick them up.

Iron Man Pumpkin!

November 5th, 2008 by Martin

My co-worker Carie sent out this amazing pumpkin that her friend Buffy (or perhaps Buffy’s husband) carved.

Kermit Bale

November 2nd, 2008 by Martin

This is probably relatively old news (I’ve been meaning to post it for a while), but if you haven’t already seen this livejournal post full of side-by-side comparisons between Kermit the Frog and Christian Bale, you really should go check it out. It’s simply brilliant.

Now, I feel dumb for admitting this, but I’ve have to admit… I don’t know where the Kermit photo I clipped is from. When does Kermit dress up as batman? Was it in Sesame Street? I did some youtube searching, and I can’t seem to find it. Anyone know?

Blotchmen and other Watchmen Parodies

October 29th, 2008 by Martin

I’ve been meaning to write something about a whole slew of Watchmen parodies that have started cropping up all over the net in anticipation of the movie, and seeing Kevin Cannon’s Blotchmen today reminded me of this endeavor. Blotchmen was created as part of the 24 Hour Comics Day event right here in Minneapolis. (I should have at least stopped by to check it out while it was happening. Maybe next year.) I think it’s especially cool because as well as parodying Watchmen, it also pays homage to a couple of my favorite children’s books at the same time. Just go read it!

Back when I was looking for this stuff, I discovered the official watchmen movie site hosts a feature/page they call The Gunga Diner, that looks to basically just aggregate all the Watchmen parody stuff it can find. It’s cool, but what I don’t like is that there are a lot of entries that don’t cite their sources. Maybe they just had the stuff emailed to them, but the Watchmen Peanuts sketch they host can easily be found to have originated from Evan “Doc” Shaner’s DeviantArt account. (Looks like it wasn’t a totally original idea, as Jeff Parker did something similar a while back.) Likewise the Lil’ Watchmen comic Gungan Diner hosts can be found (with quite a bit more digging necessary) over at the Silver Rage Archive/TOC.

An image that Gunga Diner doesn’t actually have listed is this awesome Jay Ward’s The Watchmen sketch by Jay Fosgitt, AKA, Four Panel Hero. (Jay Ward created Rocky and Bullwinkle.)

KO Fight Club, who I have linked to before, because it is a board gaming webcomic, has a whole page devoted to how they parody Watchmen (and another page about why).

Here’s a cool illustration of Watchmen Watches.

The Watchmen Movie site also hosts a page that links to a bunch of Watchmen fan films. I haven’t really watched them all yet, so I don’t know if that page is better about sourcing its material.

And finally, if you haven’t seen it already, the Mad Magazine folks made a seven page Watchmen Parody (PDF format) in their signature style. It was apparently distributed at San Diego Comic Con earlier this year.

Marvel Zombies fan film

August 19th, 2008 by Martin

This fan film is not for the weak of stomach.


Originally found by Rurik on Bam! Kapow!, where you can find some other fan films. (Not as many, of course, as you can find on youtube, where there are literally hundreds.)

WATCHFRIENDS — Superfriends/Watchmen Trailer Mashup

August 13th, 2008 by Martin

Someone calling himself Vic DiGital said it took him about a day to create this awesome mashup. (Link via my new favorite blog, Topless Robot.)

Dr. Who-ible

August 8th, 2008 by Martin

My friend doc pop (aka Doctor Popular, aka Drown Radio) drew this awesome cross between Dr. Horrible and Dr. Who. I hope he doesn’t mind that I post it here. I just had to share.