Showing posts with label Comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Comics. Show all posts
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Monday, October 04, 2010
Friday, October 01, 2010
Saturday, September 04, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Spacetime's Finest
From etsy retailer deantrippe, comes this print of "Spacetime's Finest", described as a "reproduction of the best comics team-up that never happened, between The Doctor [...] and Batman & Robin...".
Make this story happen internet.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Ultimate relaxation
 | |
| Source: http://heypais.livejournal.com/69475.html |
Friday, November 20, 2009
Community: I am Batman
It is setups like this that have made me a fan of the tv show Community. I want to watch the Community webisodes, but I have yet to find a way to do so from Canada. I get cable, and two different NBC affiliates, but I can't watch shows online from my geographic region. Does that sound right to you?
ETA: Thank you youtube for The Community College Chronicles
This is my 500th post. Please make a note in the records of the day.
ETA: Thank you youtube for The Community College Chronicles
This is my 500th post. Please make a note in the records of the day.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Watchmen Review and thoughts on media
By request, this is my completely redundant and superfluous, though spoiler free Watchmen Review. Included are some free-floating thoughts on media.
I believe part of the depth of Watchmen fandom comes from the fact that it was only a 12 issue series. There was no second series of comics, no action figures, no Saturday morning cartoon, no time crisis, no re-boot. It could retain a purity that few superhero stories could claim.
The Watchmen "graphic novel" is one of a handful of works that deserves that somewhat pretentious term. To me the term "graphic novel" is to "comic book" as "working girl" is to "hooker". It is a gussied up term to be used in polite conversation to hide what you are really talking about to make it sound more respectable. But there is nothing shameful about comic books, so the term is unnecessary. However the depth and layered structure of Watchmen really sets this work apart and the bar high for works that followed. There are layers of the story found only with symbols, with background text, with appendix material. A book-within-a-book is interwoven between the panels providing counterpoint to the main story. This is not simply "sequential art" this book is something more. Those who have read it should not question why it has made Time magazine's list of the top 100 modern novels.
Film rights were sold in 1986 and a merry-go-round of scripts, studios and directors followed. Early limitations on special effects made many story elements difficult hurdles. The understandable desire of directors and developers to make there own mark on a film led to some interesting scripts, but nothing that pleased the fans that read them, or the studios that backed them. In the end director Zack Snider and screenwriter Alex Tse restored the look and content of the film to something that was as close to the source material as one could expect from the format.
Changing the medium of a story can be difficult, and one of the most problematic is adapting a beloved book into film. These are very different media, each with their own rules, strengths and limitations. There is a tension in the mind of the fan who's beloved book is being adapted into a film. There is a desire of seeing your imagination made real, while a dark shadow is cast by the knowledge that characters and dialogue will be cut, subtleties glossed over, and (perhaps worst of all) the point of it all will be missed. This tension was released last week and fans and neophytes alike got to see what all the hype was about.
The Watchmen film is a fantastic looking adaptation. The colour palette, cinematography and editing are all spot on. It may be cliche, but the pages really do come to life. Spanning 40 years of costumed adventurism, the opening credits are a fantastic montage which sets up the alternate 80's and are worth the price of admission. However the the musical choices throughout the film are heavy handed and, in IMAX, extremely loud. We don't need to hear "99 luftballon" to understand that we are in the 80's and cold war fears are running high.
The casting was well done; all the actors fell into their roles and filled out their latex well. All of the changes from the source material were fair, in my opinion. Smoking was a common feature in the book, and aside from the character cigar chomp of the Comedian, this has been cut to meet our modern sensibilities. The electric car had come to the world of the Watchmen, thanks to the alchemy of Dr. Manhattan, but this too was cut to make a point about 2009 energy consumption.
The story in both the book and film jump around in time, place and perspective. This is part of what made the comic so rich, but I don't know how well that plays on film. It was a pleasure to watch a story I was familiar with on screen, but in the end I don't know how good a film it was. Does it stand on it's own merits? After only one viewing, I can't say.
However it has been said that there will be additional material available in the subsequent DVD sets. Like the Lord of the Rings extended editions have shown, the theatrical Watchmen release may just be an extended trailer for the ultimate fan editions that will follow.
I believe part of the depth of Watchmen fandom comes from the fact that it was only a 12 issue series. There was no second series of comics, no action figures, no Saturday morning cartoon, no time crisis, no re-boot. It could retain a purity that few superhero stories could claim.
The Watchmen "graphic novel" is one of a handful of works that deserves that somewhat pretentious term. To me the term "graphic novel" is to "comic book" as "working girl" is to "hooker". It is a gussied up term to be used in polite conversation to hide what you are really talking about to make it sound more respectable. But there is nothing shameful about comic books, so the term is unnecessary. However the depth and layered structure of Watchmen really sets this work apart and the bar high for works that followed. There are layers of the story found only with symbols, with background text, with appendix material. A book-within-a-book is interwoven between the panels providing counterpoint to the main story. This is not simply "sequential art" this book is something more. Those who have read it should not question why it has made Time magazine's list of the top 100 modern novels.
Film rights were sold in 1986 and a merry-go-round of scripts, studios and directors followed. Early limitations on special effects made many story elements difficult hurdles. The understandable desire of directors and developers to make there own mark on a film led to some interesting scripts, but nothing that pleased the fans that read them, or the studios that backed them. In the end director Zack Snider and screenwriter Alex Tse restored the look and content of the film to something that was as close to the source material as one could expect from the format.
Changing the medium of a story can be difficult, and one of the most problematic is adapting a beloved book into film. These are very different media, each with their own rules, strengths and limitations. There is a tension in the mind of the fan who's beloved book is being adapted into a film. There is a desire of seeing your imagination made real, while a dark shadow is cast by the knowledge that characters and dialogue will be cut, subtleties glossed over, and (perhaps worst of all) the point of it all will be missed. This tension was released last week and fans and neophytes alike got to see what all the hype was about.
The Watchmen film is a fantastic looking adaptation. The colour palette, cinematography and editing are all spot on. It may be cliche, but the pages really do come to life. Spanning 40 years of costumed adventurism, the opening credits are a fantastic montage which sets up the alternate 80's and are worth the price of admission. However the the musical choices throughout the film are heavy handed and, in IMAX, extremely loud. We don't need to hear "99 luftballon" to understand that we are in the 80's and cold war fears are running high.
The casting was well done; all the actors fell into their roles and filled out their latex well. All of the changes from the source material were fair, in my opinion. Smoking was a common feature in the book, and aside from the character cigar chomp of the Comedian, this has been cut to meet our modern sensibilities. The electric car had come to the world of the Watchmen, thanks to the alchemy of Dr. Manhattan, but this too was cut to make a point about 2009 energy consumption.
The story in both the book and film jump around in time, place and perspective. This is part of what made the comic so rich, but I don't know how well that plays on film. It was a pleasure to watch a story I was familiar with on screen, but in the end I don't know how good a film it was. Does it stand on it's own merits? After only one viewing, I can't say.
However it has been said that there will be additional material available in the subsequent DVD sets. Like the Lord of the Rings extended editions have shown, the theatrical Watchmen release may just be an extended trailer for the ultimate fan editions that will follow.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Sci-Fi Connections
Stephanie Fox at io9.com has created a brilliant piece of Chart Porn connecting as many TV shows movies and video games as possible. Their methodology includes several kinds of crossovers: Direct Crossover, where characters from one series or another have actually met in a story; Easter Eggs, where elements of one series have appeared in another (often as geeky in-jokes), and Brand Crossover, where market forces have brought two disparate things together for no good reason, such as Transformers/Star Wars.
I can't find where they actually document each branch, which I assume has been left as a exercise for us geeks at home.
[Link io9 Chart]
Previously on Slashboing:
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Unseen Indiana Jones
Introducing a new feature on Slashboing: Comics. The first offering was inspired by The Temple of Doom.
Slashboing: The Comic Strip
Originally uploaded by Drhaggis.
Slashboing: The Comic Strip
Originally uploaded by Drhaggis.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Superheroes rock my dreams
For your amusement, I present an unedited description of an awesome dream I had last night:
I had Batman's cape, a wizard's wand and possessed some of Superman's powers. I used the shadow of my cape and a series of concealment spells to infiltrate a mountain controlled by Lex Luthor and an army of dark wizards and Orcs. Once inside I used my heat vision and cold breath to forge purple Kryptonite into some kind of lens that I would use to defeat Luthor.
Any Freudians or comic-book geeks want to take a crack at this one?
I had Batman's cape, a wizard's wand and possessed some of Superman's powers. I used the shadow of my cape and a series of concealment spells to infiltrate a mountain controlled by Lex Luthor and an army of dark wizards and Orcs. Once inside I used my heat vision and cold breath to forge purple Kryptonite into some kind of lens that I would use to defeat Luthor.
Any Freudians or comic-book geeks want to take a crack at this one?
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Friday, November 30, 2007
Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #562: Teh Fez and Anvl
Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #562
Originally uploaded by Ape Lad.
The "Laugh-out-Loud Cats" are a turn of the century style single panel comic created by Adam "Ape Lad" Koford. It features "the exploits of one Meowlin Q. Kitteh (a sort of cat hobo-raconteur) and his young hapless kitten friend, Pip."
Adam mixes internet memes, news stories, and pop culture then stirs in "Krazy Kat" and "The Yellow Kid" simplicity resulting in something that really is magical. Such a combination of art, technology and interactivity could not have existed 5 years ago.
After I made a comment on one of his recent comics, a new piece was posted with my idea incorporated, within an hour. This I am a honoured to be part of the creative process.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Top 5 Fastrack Training Moments
There comes a time in an adventure story where the young and isolated hero-to-be must learn how to fight with a sword. This usually has to be accomplished in a very short period of time, so later on in the story he can show up the villains who have been using a sword for years. Sometimes this calls for a montage.
Here are my Top Five occurrences of this, presented in no particular order.
Order of the Stick:
Captain Scoundrell trains Elan. Set on the pirate's airship, this is a glowing homage to fast-track training needed by would-be heroes. The hows and whys of training are highlighted best here. [Part I] [Part 2]
Star Wars:A New Hope: Obi-Wan trains Luke. On a different kind of pirate's airship, the novice Luke learns to wield his sword of light. More importantly it is another opportunity to describe the nature of the force to the audience.
Heroes episode "Landslide" : Kaito trains Hiro. No airships this time, but the plucky Hiro must learn the way of the sword, and more importantly the way of the warrior.
Lord of the Rings:Fellowship of the Ring: Boromir trains the Hobbits. A tall mountain stands in for the airship here, as Boromir give the little ones a refresher in dodge, turn, parry and thrust.
Stardust: Captain Shakespeare trains Tristan. The pirate's airship again becomes the centre for training, as shopkeep Trisan learns swordwork, dancing and fashion sense.
Here are my Top Five occurrences of this, presented in no particular order.
Order of the Stick:
Captain Scoundrell trains Elan. Set on the pirate's airship, this is a glowing homage to fast-track training needed by would-be heroes. The hows and whys of training are highlighted best here. [Part I] [Part 2]
Star Wars:A New Hope: Obi-Wan trains Luke. On a different kind of pirate's airship, the novice Luke learns to wield his sword of light. More importantly it is another opportunity to describe the nature of the force to the audience.
Heroes episode "Landslide" : Kaito trains Hiro. No airships this time, but the plucky Hiro must learn the way of the sword, and more importantly the way of the warrior.
Lord of the Rings:Fellowship of the Ring: Boromir trains the Hobbits. A tall mountain stands in for the airship here, as Boromir give the little ones a refresher in dodge, turn, parry and thrust.
Stardust: Captain Shakespeare trains Tristan. The pirate's airship again becomes the centre for training, as shopkeep Trisan learns swordwork, dancing and fashion sense.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
The Arguement Against Cursive
cursive (click "all sizes" to read it bigger)
Originally uploaded by Ape Lad.
It is "Sunday Flickr Favourites" time again, with this case against cursive by the indomitable Adam "Ape Lad" Koford.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
eShopping Therapy
I have been working some longer hours lately and haven't had a chance to get much shopping done. Both the necessities and the luxuries have gone wanting. Given that, and the strong Canadian Dollar, the only answer is to shop online.
I used to think that the online experience would never replace the tactile pleasure of the brick-and-mortar store, but I was wrong. While shopping for Guitar Hero III, I had to go to five different stores. When I bought Guitar Hero: 80's, it arrived promptly from Amazon.
Here is what all arrived today, even though it was made up of four different orders from two different sites:
Some may note that I did not provide a link regarding "Led Zeppelin." If you don't know who this band is, a Wikipedia page will not help you. You have either been living in a cave your entire life and the whole mouse-keyboard interface is confusing to you, or you don't have ears for hearing. Both tales are sad, but neither can be cured by a hyperlink.
Here is what all arrived today, even though it was made up of four different orders from two different sites:
- New, better-fitting Jayne Hat via ebay from Liquid Fractal
- Two "Order of the Stick" comic books
- "Five Fists of Science" Steampunk comic book
- The complete studio recordings of Led Zeppelin.
- The entire series of "The Prisoner"
Some may note that I did not provide a link regarding "Led Zeppelin." If you don't know who this band is, a Wikipedia page will not help you. You have either been living in a cave your entire life and the whole mouse-keyboard interface is confusing to you, or you don't have ears for hearing. Both tales are sad, but neither can be cured by a hyperlink.
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