Two in Review

Marvel Comics

The idea is revolting, the execution (no pun intended) is even more gruesome, and yet, this has been one of most fun Marvel reads for me in a while. Although the writing and art really began to fall apart by the time you get to the Black Panther issues, the shock and awe of the overall work (as well as Greg Land’s always fantastic ‘Fantastic’ work) is worth the read.

DC Comics

A uniquely crafted tale of love and lost, “Identity Crisis” invites us into the innermost circle of power, trust and kinship  that is the JLA … alongside of which are soon found faught-ful misgivings, distrusting and acts of deceit.

Singular in its demand for your attention, Brad Meltzer’s riveting dialogue immediately begins to unravel and expose to us the cost at which super heroes are forced to sacrifice, in striving to maintain their sense of safety and anonymity. The underlying story is layered and dynamic, and at the same time, succinct in all the right places.

Though not entirely to my taste, Rags Morales does deliver an appreciably solid set of character designs and environments. His style feels a tad modern, yet it carries with it enough of a thowback to the Golden Age to feel relevant for this book. It also doesn’t hurt that he had Michael Turner pushing each issue a bit, with so many iconic cover pieces.

An excellent read … even for those fairly unfamiliar with the DC universe (as I consider myself to be).

Doubt Movie Poster

Doubt is the kind of movie that leaves you and your friends debating long after the credits roll.  It tells the story of a caring priest, who may have crossed a line with one of the school’s students, and the old-fashioned, legalistic nun who is determined to bring him down.  The acting in this movie is phenomenal - with heavy-hitters like Philip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep, and Amy Adams, we ought to expect no less.  For a movie that was adapted from a play, it feels surprisingly well-suited for film (ironically unlike Revolutionary Road, which came from a book, yet felt like a play), with a plot that raises more questions than it answers.  As you would expect from a movie like this, the truth is intentionally withheld from the viewer so that we may come to our own conclusion, questioning things like our faith, trust, and authority along the way.  The only complaint I have with this fine film is the amount of scenes where something happens that you absolutely know is important (an expression, a question, etc.), but is never explained or reconnected to anything else in the film.  It’s frustrating to know that there are clues that you cannot follow because no further exploration is given to these scenes in the movie.  Other than that, I count Doubt as one of the best movies of the year and certainly a must see for anyone who wants to get in a debate with their fellow viewers.

Marvel Comics

Andy Kubert brings some excellent pencils to one of my favorite Marvel characters and although I wasn’t entirely keen on Orson Scott Card’s execution of this re-invention of the Tony Stark/Iron Man origin story, it is definitely an entertaining effort.

For me, this book definitely falls into the intended-for-younger-readers distinction that many of the “Ultimate” titles have associated with them.

Whedon, Matthews, Conrad

Taking place somewhere in between the Firefly series and the Serenity movie, this collection of pages is a fantastic romp of western adventure, with our favorite band of misfit crusaders. Though technically the second book of its kind (you have read ‘Those Left Behind‘, right?), this story is a stand-alone tale by Whedon and Matthews, simply meant to entertain or as I like to think of it, a love letter to dedicated fans. William Conrad returns with an enjoyable visual style, but what I really became attached to were the great cover illustrations by Adam Hughes.

It is short set (only collecting 3 issues), but of course, a must-read for any fan … and frankly, I’d recommend buying a copy just to read the introduction by Adam Baldwin. “The man they ‘Jane’…”.

Having just returned home from watching this film, all I can think is “wow.”  If it were possible to just let you tap into my emotions as a review it might do this work of art justice.  But as it stands, I can only attempt to recreate that emotion with words.  Let me get this out of the way first - this is an absolutely incredible film, and it will be a travesty if it doesn’t manage to snag several Oscars this coming February.  Considering director David Fincher’s track record (with Panic Room as arguably his only blemish as a mature filmmaker; we don’t count Aliens 3 because even James Cameron made Piranha 2: The Spawning), it’s saying something to note this as his best film yet.  Fincher tells this story so beautifully that the almost three hour run time feels like nothing.  But this is not just his show - Brad Pitt turns in what is probably the best performance of his career, the writing is superb, the cinematography is beautiful and unique, and the music is so good you almost don’t notice it.  If I seem all over the place, it’s for good reason: this film is so good that I’m simply gushing to say everything I feel about it (and that’s quite a bit).

Ultimately, a film like this is going to live or die by its story.  This is a timeless tale that ought to be told to all who are mature enough to listen.  It is essentially a love story, but a love story like no other.  It tells of a mother’s infinite love for a child, the passionate love of those caught in the moment, the unconditional love that persists no matter the odds, the love that comes through friendship, and - perhaps most importantly - the sacrificial love that it takes to do the right thing even when it’s hardest.  I challenge anyone to come away from this movie without being touched and inspired to love a little better.  Surprisingly, the story is lifted from its serious tone periodically with moments of true comedy.  It’s the perfect balance of grim and glee… it’s life.  Despite the supernatural condition of the protagonist, this story feels so real and true.  Whatever you do, just do yourself a favor and go see this movie and discover that it’s never too late to start your life over again.

Bill Milner, Neil Dudgeon

Despite the general sense of inventive uniqueness and overall like-ability (it is at times cute and entertaining), this film left me feeling more annoyed, irritated and frustrated than I normally prefer. Watching the movie in its entirety does bring about redemption, from the standpoint of the story and characters, as well as in my own case, yet, I am hard-pressed to recommend this to anyone.  Maybe it is because so much of the film resonates as painfully genuine or because I found the injection of French independence and pop culture so grating, but even my love for the 80’s action genre couldn’t keep me happily bound to this.

See if it if you’d like, but it isn’t a mission I am assigning to you, by any means.

Noah Emmerich, Edward Norton

What started out as a really rough beginning (it took me a while to realize that I wasn’t supposed to be thinking the football game was taking place 10 years previous and was actually a intramural sports league) quickly became an riveting narrative of deceit and corrupt authority figures. The interactions between Farrell, Norton and Voight are fantastic … unique and real. Falling in along the same lines as The Departed and 16 Blocks, this movie has enough in the ways of feeling of pain and loss to stand as genuine and vested.

As an aside, definitely one of my favorite moments was seeing Jon Voight as a drunk grandma over a Christmas dinner … simply amusing.

Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell

Aside from the illustration work by P. Craig Russell, which is outstanding (and almost immediately endearing), my first reaction to the story line of this Neil Gaiman piece was not an entirely appreciative one. The premise felt weak and under-articulated and the characters, while distinct (especially in provoking that mental “I better remember this” token), were not necessarily enjoyable.

Perhaps it was the complete interconnection between later parts in the book and Russell’s art (seriously, his character lines are great!) or (more likely) it was my finding out this particular book was an adaptation for younger audiences and not the actual Gaiman novel, but my appreciation for the literary piece as a whole is much higher now. In fact, by the end of the book I found myself excitedly searching online for more details on when the animated feature film adaptation was going to be released. If after reading it you find yourself in the same predicament, this is where you want to be.

Mike Mignola

As part of our local comic shop’s awesome monthly specials, I was recently able to pick up both Vol. 1 and 2 of the first Hellboy series, all of which I had somehow yet to read. I just finished the first volume, and I have to say, it wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be. I mean, it had all of the same great quasi-macabre style and coloring that made me fall in love with Mike Mignola’s work in the first place and the story is a lot richer than what I have enjoyed about the movies. But, for some reason, it took me a while to get into a good vibe with the book. I had to pick it up and re-start it a few times and really work to get my mind in a place where I was entirely loving the it.

Of course Mignola’s horribly beautiful art, fantastically rigid lines and subtly playful dialogue eventually won me over half-way through and by the end of the issues, I was excited to move on to the next volume. I do wonder though, if I would have continued reading them if it had not been for affection for the artistic form or my delight with the movie(s). Hmm.

If you liked either of the movies, I’d definitely recommend picking up at least one of Mignola’s books (why not start with this one?) and getting into the gritty comic horror goodness that lead to the feature films.