Noah Emmerich, Edward Norton

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

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.

From Harmonix and EA

Anyone that knows me knows that I’m a huge fan of music games and, more accurately, a huge fan of Harmonix’s music games.  I own every game they’ve worked on since Frequency.  I wholeheartedly believe that Guitar Hero has changed the landscape of gaming, appealing to casual and hardcore alike.  Then, after the Guitar Hero series was handed over to those skateboard game guys (Neversoft), Harmonix released Rock Band, and took things up a notch.  Herein lies my problem: I love Rock Band 2 because it’s so much like the amazing first one, but I also have problems with Rock Band 2 because it’s so much like the amazing first one.  I know, I know, I sound crazy.  But as much as this game is awesome because it is more of Rock Band, it is just that - more of the same with a little added to justify the increased numeral at the end of the name.  Don’t get me wrong, the game adds a ton of new excellent songs (and some crappy ones), and if you import your songs from the original and/or have any downloaded content you end up with a massive set list.  But Rock Band 2 might as well be called “Madden in music form” because I see some minor changes that make me wonder why couldn’t we just update the last one and call it a day?  Do I really need to buy another disc for this?  Then again, the game was pretty great to begin with so, logically, it’s still great.  This is my dilemma, as I said - I love it and shun it for the same reason.  I’ll tell you what, just play “Livin’ on a Prayer” and it’ll make all your second thoughts go away…

Written by Brian K. Vaughan, Art by Niko Henrichon

It’s no secret that Brian K. Vaughan is one of the best writers in the industry.  It’s also no secret that his best work comes from his original properties.  Don’t get me wrong, his run on Ultimate X-Men was great, but I’ll take Y: The Last Man or Ex Machina over those mutants any day.  Pride of Baghdad, however, represents something unique for Vaughan, a chance to approach some serious real-life issues in a way only few comics have done before.  Vaughan tells the story of a pride of lions as they escape the Baghdad Zoo after American jets bombed the city in 2003.  The story was inspired by true events, but the breaks from reality are excusable as Vaughan and Henrichon tell an important story.  If you don’t come away from this read with a little more empathy towards peoples unwillingly thrust into war, you’re probably a Nazi… shame on you.  It’s interesting how portraying events through an animal’s actions and speech (check out the seminal Maus as well) can do enough to shift your paradigm and make you realize how blind you may be to certain realities (yes, the animals talk but I can assure you this is no Lion King).  The story is gritty and vicious and expect all your emotions to be manipulated, but that’s what makes this work so incredible.  And Niko Henrichon’s art?  Amazing… simply amazing.  I dare you not to be wowed.  My only complaint is the the reading goes by so quickly, I felt like I barely got a chance to be in their world before I was forced out.

Glenn Howerton, Kaitlin Olson, Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day

The Patty’s Pub gang was back last week with the premiere of Season 4 and it had me laughing all the way through the night. Irreverent, ill-tempered and as foul-mouthed as before (sorry, Mom), this show is just a train-wreck of hilarious that still hasn’t stopped to count the bodies. If you happened to miss the earlier episodes, do yourself a favor and hit ‘em up on Hulu. You’ll probably regret it in the long run, but like a couple of crazies filled with tape-worms, after one bite, it’ll be what you are craving for later on. Trust me.

Edgar Allen Poe, Gris Grimly

Gris Grimly’s dark and brazen visual style (with just a hint of youthful simplicity) is an insanely perfect match for Poe’s usual fare of ghastly grim short-stories. Filled with gritty lines, eccentric character designs, and exceedingly authentic word interpretations, you can’t help but be drawn into this delightfully dark collection. Woven by two gentleman who, despite the decades of cultural dissimilarity, are both masters of such a homologous craft. Poe, with his intricate and devilish use of descriptive metaphors and quander-ous parrallels; Grimly, with his cadaverous choices in typefaces and color schemes. A quasi-collaborative effort that is near harrowing enough to have you sleeping with the lights on.

a Veer production

Bringing exactly what you would expect for a movie with the name of typeface, this film offered a fantastic glimpse into the world of lettering and type and really, the heart of everything I love about being among the realm of “designers”. Empowered in his own obvious passion for this font, director Gary Hustwit takes us through the dramatic history of the beautifully elegant, rigidly commanding and oppressively conforming (depending on your point of view) Helvetica sans-serif.

Collecting superb imagery of designs, the processes taking place behind those works, and interviews with a variety astounding international designers, it is an immediate addition to any fontographer’s library. Right up there next to his old-school Staedtler Mars lettering kit and home-made printouts of font foundries.

Dulé Hill and James Roday

Shawn and Gus are back in full force and I am loving every minute of it. This new season already looks to give us all the same wonderful level of quirky fun humor (with tons of added pop-culture nostalgia) we have come to love from this detectivating duo. If you haven’t seen any of the previous episodes, don’t be afraid to jump in here … you won’t be lost. And as a bonus … if you like what you see, there plenty of great episodes for you to go back and fill up on. Yummy.

Having now seen the both the first and second episodes of the new season, it also looks as though the writers are going to be delivering more than just quippy lines and and laugh-out-loud Psych-outs. Between the relational struggle with Henry and Shawn’s returning mother, and the lingering love interest that is Santa Barbara’s cutest Junior Detective, Juliet, things are sure to be stirring.

Along with the new season, come all-new “Lil Shawn and Gus” clips, which are just fabulous. Cute character designs and the same level of fun-ness as the show. Now if only we could get the Pysch-out moments put onto the DVD sets. USA Networks, what do you say? Hmm?

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson

A unique and intense thriller, with a strong cast and dedicated director, this movie had all of the makings for continuing the majestic paranoia that is the X-Files legacy. Sadly enough though, keeping with the tradition of X-Files is the one area where I feel this 1 feature film and 9 seasons sequel falls short.

Sure, it felt great to see Duchovny and Anderson in roles so fitting to my teenage memories of sci-fi; and yes, Chris Carter does deliver on his imbued promise of over-arching conspiracy … but really, without the focal point on an extra-terrestrial or para-normal phenomena of any kind, this newest film didn’t feel so much a capstone on to a great series as it does just an above-average thriller starring two of our favorite FBI special agents.

A great movie overall, but I have a feeling true hardcore fans are going to feel less inspired by this story of love and persevering hope and be more disappointed in the lack of “smoking men” and “spooks” that come through so strongly in the first X-Files film. I will say, though, that the quality of production and character dynamics shown here has me queuing up all the old seasons on Netflix, in hopes that my appreciation will grow as I fill in the story-line gaps I have missed.

The “Two” in Review (by Matt):

Not even interested in seeing this movie… not at all.  Budget bin at best, and to be honest I’m not even going to give it the fair chance to prove me wrong.  Yeah, I’m hatin’ on this one…