(Note: Talking a little fanboy geeky. Very little, as you will see. I don’t know much. You’ve been warned.)
Recently finished Identify Crisis (2004) … or as I like to call it “A-Watchmen-featuring-people-we-know.”
Novelist Brad Meltzer wrote the graphic novel and his thriller-writing background came through in the storytelling, the pacing, and the plot. Meltzer, as it turns out, has quite a comics pedigree, including upcoming arcs in DC Universe and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Who knew? Probably a lot of people. That’s pretty much how my life rolls.
Also recently finished the three-issue Batman: Cacophony by Kevin Smith (yes, that Kevin Smith), which I also thoroughly enjoyed. Especially the ending. Smith, by the way, also has a pretty good comic book pedigree.
A friend gave my The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way of the band My Chemical Romance. It was OK. Yes, just OK. But that’s … well … OK.
Anyway, reading the stories by the people who are known for things other than comics got me thinking. What do full-time comic book writers, those who sweat ink and think in thought bubbles, what do they think? How would you like it if someone who’s name is recognizable came to your workplace, dabbled around for a few weeks or months and then left?
Some comic writers do enjoy crossover success and name recognition, like Alan Moore (Watchmen, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, V for Vendetta) and Frank Miller (300, Sin City, Batman). Most, though, are like the rest of us: anonymous to everyone but a few people.
What does Michael Golden think? Or Matt Fraction? Or Jim McCann? How do they feel about these “famous” people treading into their world?
I don’t know either. But that’s what I’m using my 10 minutes for today. Just pondering.
Found this little deal at the local comic book store and immediately thought of my oldest brother and the old Northgate Mall cinema in Durham.
I don’t know what it is about Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension. I distinctly remember seeing it in the little mall theater in the town I grew up and I associate it with my brother — although I don’t think I saw it first with him.
Either way, this movie is a schlocky, tongue -firmly-in-cheek-while-secretly-taking-itself-too-seriously romp. It’s the kind of movie that, by today’s standards, is difficult to watch. Yet, despite the flaws, it has that nostalgic whimsy that many of the movies of that period possess.
And now, because of nerds like me who are into nostalgic whimsy, I found this. Buckaroo Banzai, the comic. Typical for me, I’m late to the party. There’s a lot of stuff out there. But at the shop, I was so taken aback, I immediately seized the first two issues.
Not for me, mind you. I’m going to send them to my brother in celebration of our movie relationship. Right after I read them.
Or maybe I’ll just tell him about them.
For the record, the comic book shop guy was not impressed. He shook his head slightly when I said, “I had no idea this was out there.”
“I have no idea why,” he said as he rang me up.
He must not be too into the whimsy.
(P.S. Here’s another video. This one’s related to the Buckaroo comic series. Just F.Y.I.)
The film is getting a lot of buzz this week leading up to the opening on March 6. We’re talking Batman-type buzz; “An-Actor-Died-After-Filming” Buzz. Possibly the most interesting part of the fanfare is the “R” rating. Director Zack Snyder (“300″) has made no qualms about where the film should be rated. Some people say this will kill second-week and later box office receipts (since the movie isn’t really a father-son activity).
Two quick observations:
I remember hearing the same type of buzz surrounding The Wedding Crashers. That movie was one of the first rom-coms in a long time to get an “R”. The success of that movie ushered an onslaught of other, like-minded fare, most recently Zak and Miri Make a Porno. The “R” rating supposedly makes the movie specifically aimed at adults. Most superhero movies are aimed more for teens.
However, this is not the first comic superhero movie to get an “R” rating. Marvel’s The Punisher (2004) has that honor, I believe.
So … who’s with me? Next Friday, midnight? Who’ll be “Watching the Watchmen”?
Also recently finished the three-issue Batman: Cacophony by Kevin Smith (yes, that Kevin Smith), which I also thoroughly enjoyed. Especially the ending. Smith, by the way, also has a pretty good comic book pedigree.
Found this little deal at the local comic book store and immediately thought of my oldest brother and the old Northgate Mall cinema in Durham.
