Meanwhile…

I finally got around to watching the animated Wonder Woman DC produced this year.

I thought it was pretty great. The voice cast is excellent – Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, and Alfred Molina lead, with smaller roles for the likes of Rosario Dawson, Oliver Platt, and Virginia Madsen (oh, and now I see it also featured Beth from NewsRadio – I’ve always liked her). It’s a solid telling of Diana’s origin story that doesn’t pull any punches (though there’s a suspicious lack of blood on the swords – I guess decapitating someone is okay unless there’s actually blood, then look out!). My only complaint would be the same as with Justice League: New Frontier, that it needed another twenty minutes or so for some character development.

On a personal level, I thought it was awesome that they didn’t give Wonder Woman the ability to fly on her own. She had to use the old invisible jet to get around (actually, I always thought a jet would be the best way to get around even if you can fly – I imagine it would only take one mid-flight bug swallowing to send you scrambling to your local superhero vehicle dealer). As I watched her kicking the crap out of a monster in a dark New York alley, I couldn’t help but think of my Scarlet Ranger (whose origin is rooted in Greek mythology as well). In the Justice League animated series I never quite connected the two, as Wonder Woman was always flying around, but here I really saw it. Really, Kelly and Diana are nothing alike in terms of personality, and Diana is a far more skilled combatant, but it was fun to to see how Kelly might look in battle.

It put me in the mood to write her again, so we’ll see what comes of that.

Reading

I’ve nabbed a gargantuan tome of short stories by T.C. Boyle, on Gay’s recommendation.

(Speaking of Gay, she’s got a pair of new stories up that you should check out, here and here.)

I do occasionally venture into that world of non-genre, contemporary fiction. A quick perusal of my bookshelves will find Rick Bass’s The Watch, Mark Richard’s The Ice at the Bottom of the World, and Eudora Welty’s A Curtain of Green. As I recall, each had at least a couple of stories I found excellent, though it’s been some time since I read any of them.

There’s also Colson Whitehead’s The Intuitionist, which I loved. It’s sort of an absurdest espionage story involving elevator inspectors that delivers some sharp social commentary. Great stuff. I really need to look into getting some of his other books.

A month or so ago TwoMorrows had a sale on their Modern Masters books, and I nabbed a couple (actually, looks like they have a sale going now, too, though not quite as good as the one I got). Volume 9 featuring Mike Wieringo, and Volume 10 featuring Kevin Maguire.

Mike was artist on an excellent run of Fantastic Four (along with writer Mark Waid) and an great visual storyteller. These Modern Masters books present a lot of the raw pages he drew, and even without the dialogue I have no trouble at all following the story. His art is full of fun, contagious energy. I identify a lot with Mike, the kinds of stories he likes, the moods he enjoys evoking, his unwarranted insecurities concerning his art. His sudden death a couple years ago pretty well crushed me. One of these days I’ll get a copy of his creator-owned Tellos. I don’t know why I keep putting it off. Maybe because I’ll feel awful, knowing that he won’t be able to produce more?

Maguire was artist for the (in)famous Justice League International era of DCs premier superhero team back in the late ’80s, early ’90s. For those unfamiliar with the period, this was shortly after DCs big Crisis reboot of the Universe. Their big heroes (namely Superman and Wonder Woman) were all sort of tied up being modernized, so the company put together a new Justice League of lesser-known characters. There are few heroes I love more than the 2nd stringers, they guys who should never win but manage to anyway, and Maguire’s expressive art really made you love them. He’s one of those artists who doesn’t work as often as I’d like, and it’s a treat every time he pops up. His recent Batgirl arc of Batman Confidential was a hoot.

I finally read V for Vendetta, by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. I particularly liked the film version and the book didn’t change my opinion. They both work in their own ways. The film solved a few problems the book had and updates it for modern audiences, but it delivers a different philosophy, so I see how people might be a little irritated by it. People like to say the movie is an attack on the Bush administration, but I think that says more about Bush than the film. Plus I don’t get people saying Evey was a prostitute; she tries to be, for like one panel on page 2. What would people say about my entire summer of 2001?

Watching

I recently obtained a Playstation 3 and holy crap does Blu-Ray look good. We nabbed Superman and Goodfellas for cheap and they look amazing.

(FYI, if you ever want to see my cry like a baby, you’ll put on Superman and queue the scene where Superman saves Lois from the helicopter crash. Goddammit it gets me every time.)

My day job has gone into crazy overtime busy season, so I’m getting pretty much nothing done (other than my twitter stories, of course). I am, however, finding time to read and what not. A little, anyway.

Reading

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young. This is the recent comic book adaptation of the classic Baum book, and it is absolutely gorgeous. I’ve never read the originals, but I understand this is pretty faithful to the novels. It’s a lot of fun, and I recommend nabbing the hardcover so you have a version to read to your kids. Work is already under way on Marvelous Land of Oz, the next book in the series.

Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville. I mentioned some time back that I read Iron Council, which is actually the third book in the series that begins with Perdido Street Station. As much as I loved Iron Council, I think this may have been a tiny bit better. So good. I can’t recommend Mieville’s books enough. If you enjoy fantasy or steampunk, you will certainly enjoy these books.

I just started in on the behemoth Illuminatus! Trilogy, by the Roberts Shea and Anton Wilson. At the rate I read, I will report back sometime in 2013.

Watching

I finished up the last season of Veronica Mars this past weekend, sort of on accident. I didn’t realize I’d reached the end until popping the last disc to discover it contained only speacial features. There are only twenty episodes in the third season, so I must surmise the network didn’t let them finish properly. Two episodes would have easily been enough to let them wrap up a few hanging plot threads. While it’s a shame it ended on such a whimper, I enjoyed the show immensely. The first season is easily one of the best seasons of television ever made, and the second is nearly as strong. The last season was decent, certainly better than most of what gets put on the air. Any fan of mystery and noir will find a lot to like.

Paris, Texas, which is quite good. Moving character drama with powerful performances all around, and some great visuals. At first when I saw the bleak, desert landscape, I immediately thought, “Paris is in northeast Texas, and this is clearly west Texas!” But the film didn’t fall into that usual Hollywood fumble. You can kind of tell that the script wasn’t actually finished when they started filming, but the way the main character develops smooths out the rougher edges of the story and the viewer can fill in the gaps pretty easily. The asshole in me wonders why you would ever turn a camera on anyone other than Nastassja Kinski.

I’ve always wanted to watch director Wim Wenders’s Wings of Desire as well, so maybe that’ll go on the queue sometime soon.

From Hell. I probably should have seen this years ago, being both a comic book geek and Alan Moore fan. I’d never really heard much good about it, though, so it just kind of slipped my mind. I’ve also never read the book, so I have no attachment to the source material. It was better than I expected, even if it didn’t blow me away. It looked great, and the story is a fun and interesting alternate history murder mystery procedural conspiracy tale. It fell short in the actually making me scared or suspenseful department, though, which is unfortunate.

That’s about it for now. Anyone reading or watching anything interesting?

I’ve been a bit too busy to write much that’s fun, but here’s a movie review I whipped up for this silly company newsletter thing at work. There are no spoilers, in case you’re worried.

After a really lame July, there’s actually been a number of good movies this past month. When I get chance I may post more about some of them.

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This past weekend I went to see the new Harry Potter movie. The movie was fine, I enjoyed it. But there was a scene that reminded me of a common storytelling event that I’ve grown weary of – amazement at the fantastic.

Mostly this annoys me in stories in which the character should be a veteran of the incredible. Harry, for example, has battled dragons and giant snakes, rode a flying car to escape spiders the size of horses, and routinely encounters ghosts at his school. Is he really going to be impressed when someone waves their wand and cleans up a room?

I’m not saying there shouldn’t be a sense of wonder imparted to the viewer. But don’t have Harry staring like a slack-jawed yokel every time someone levitates a pencil or fixes a crack in a window.

This is one of the reasons I’ve grown a little tired of the “origin” story and tend to not write them for my superheroes. How many scenes do we need of someone looking at their hands in wonder, or trying to figure out how their powers work for the first time, often with “wacky” and “hilarious” results.

We see this so often because of the standard storytelling device wherein an outsider is chosen to tell the story. This outsider offers basically the same perspective as the audience, and provide someone normal that the reader/viewer can identify with. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s an effective way to tell a story. But I think when it comes to these fantasy and science fiction stories, especially late in the story when the character should have long since acclimated to the fantastic happenings around them, it’s a little bit of a stretch. We should consider, too, that the audience has likely seen something far more impressive in other stories.

Save the awe for when something genuinely awesome happens.

And work has been busy, so I haven’t really had a chance or the energy to post here. Which is unfortunate, because I have some ideas in mind.

The people behind Public Enemies should have read my article over at the Flash Fiction Chronicles on how to focus your story and not waste a bunch of time on unimportant world building.

I wonder how many Transformers 2 reviews will use some version of this title? Or did when the first film came out?

I don’t think I ever talked about the Bayformers here, but I intesely disliked the first film. It pretty much did everything wrong. I only saw it at all because my 8-year-old nephew brought it over one day.

This isn’t because I dislike the Transformers. Are you kidding me? I can’t get enough of them. I, a grown-ass man, actually own the first season of the original series on DVD. And it holds up…not that well, actually. But I like it anyway! And I can watch those old cartoons with that same nephew and have a good time. The ideas are fun, and the personalities of the transformers are endearing. It was cheesy, poorly animated, full of plotholes and inconsistencies, and clearly they had little-to-no budget; they are very much a product of their time. The producers of the new films have no such excuses! When I imagine what the new Transformers could have been in more capable hands, it makes me sad.

I haven’t seen Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, and, gods willing, won’t have to. I would rather, for example, pick up a copy of another long awaited sequel, Hobgoblins 2, which was just released today on video. Judging by the reviews, I would be better off.

My favorite review is by the good people over at Latino Review. In fact, that might be my favorite review of any movie ever.

What’s troubling to me is the general attitude toward movies like these (and others, such as the upcoming GiJoe movie, which I’ll also be skipping even if I totally want a giant poster of Scarlet). Everywhere I go I see dismissive comments such as “it’s about robots fighting,” or “it’ll be mindless fun” and “it’s based on a toy, get over it.” I see this idea a lot with comic book and video game movies. These are not reasons or excuses! So because it’s based on something you already enjoyed in another form, be it a comic book, toy, etc., means someone can completely ruin it on celluloid? And you’ll pay them to do it?

There are movies that are fun and feature giant robots/monsters/aliens, explosions, and beautiful people that don’t require me to completely shut off my brain or have my intelligence insulted to enjoy. Some are even successful. More of these please, Hollywood.

So last night I finally saw Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York.

I’m a big fan of Kaufman’s other films. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaptation, and Being John Malkovich are all brilliant works. Adaptation in particular spoke to me as a writer on multiple levels, and I think it’s one of those films all artists should see.

Thar be spoilers ahead, if you care.

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Crazy! I’m still trying to catch up. Sometimes it seems like a vacation just means doing twice as much work and being twice as stressed the week after you get back.

Star Trek rocked. I had the pleasure of seeing it in the Arclight Dome in Hollywood, surely one of the best theaters on the planet. I thought it was a pretty pretty movie full of pretty pretty people, and a blast to experience. Then I saw it again a few days later on my birthday and enjoyed it even more. I could go on about it, but I feel like all the discussion probably happened while I was away. Suffice to say I loved it.

(Oh, yes, I aged a year in a mere day on the 14th. Talk about time dilation. Birthdays ceased to have much meaning for me after they allowed me to start drinking legally, so I don’t really think about it anymore.)

My chosen traveling reading material was solid. Torso was quite good (though my copy kind of fell apart while I was reading it, which is irritating). Loyola Chin and the San Pelligran Order was also quite enjoyable, though I liked American Born Chinese more. Strangers in Paradise I only got through some of, and I’m still on the fence about. If I have any recommendations there, it’s to skip the first volume (the first three issues). They’re a little more, I dunno, cartoony than I was expecting, and not really to my taste. But between those initial issues and the next volume, Moore really refined his style and the mood of the book. I’m digging it so far. We’ll see if it interests me enough to continue past the third trade.

One of the highlights of my trip was visiting the Echo Park Time Travel Mart in LA. The Time Travel Mart is part of a network of children’s writing centers. I nabbed one of the little chapbooks full of stories written by the kids there about how much they hate writing. It seemed appropriate.

There are various other such themed stores around the country, if there’s one nearby you should check it out (I’m aching to swing by the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. next time I’m in New York). If I’d known about the one in San Francisco I would have gone there and gotten some pirate booty while we were in town.

I almost missed it, since it went up over the weekend, but Frank has an excellent new story up over at Every Day Fiction – check it out.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was about as disappointing as expected. They crammed a lot of unnecassary characters in, and to do so they condensed and butchered the portions of Logan’s origin story that are actually interesting.

Part of the problem is the taming of Wolverine for a mass audience, which is strange because the untamed Wolverine has about as mass an audience (in comic book terms) as you can get. The film completely passes over the years he spent feral and savage in the Yukon, living with wolves. His time with the Weapon X program is chopped down to like one mission. They don’t cover any of his time in Japan (though there is a hint at it after the credits). I’m not being fanboyish here – I certainly don’t expect the film to be slavishly devoted to the source material. It’s just frustrating when they ignore so much great material in favor of some 30-second fan wank appearance of Emma Frost or Gambit or other characters who have nothing to do with Wolverine’s origins.

Oddly enough, Wolverine is kind of a Mary Sue. For a character that has had tragedy after tragedy heaped upon his comic book incarnation, nothing bad really happens to him here. He has help at every turn. When he needs more power, someone comes along and gives it to him. When it looks like he meets someone who can defeat him, people who hated his guts five minutes before show up to save the day. This is motherfrakkin’ Wolverine, people. If anyone is custom made to have horror after horror perpetrated on him, just so that he can stand back up on his own and slice the shit out of whoever did it, it’s him.

There are other things to not recommend the movie as well – the last third of the film is fairly predictable and chock full of cliche. The filmmakers also underestimate the audience and feel like they have to explain things that are obvious.

It’s not all bad. There are some fun action scenes. There are some great performances from most of the cast (though I can’t imagine who thought it was a good idea to put Will.I.Am in there). If you want to completely shut off your brain and enjoy a fun action flick, you’ll find something there to enjoy.