It’s Indy Comic Book Week!
With major distributor Diamond Comics taking the week off from shipping comics this week, many stores are promoting indy comics. Check out www.indycomicbookweek.com for more details.
Here are a few indy recommendations from Nerdage:
Atomic Robo: This Red 5 title features a robot fighting Nazis. Lots of action and humor from Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener.
Breathers: In the near future, everyone must wear breathing devices to protect them from the earth’s poisoned air. But is the government telling the truth about the atmosphere? This much talked about minicomic is being developed as an independent film, as well.
Robot 13: Another robot hero, this one was discovered on the ocean floor in 1939. It’s got elements of Frankenstein, steampunk and Greek mythology, and should appeal to “Hellboy” fans.
- Matt Price
Happy 87th birthday, Stan Lee!
It’s the 87th birthday of the architect of the Marvel Universe, Stan Lee! Lee co-created many of the Marvel Comics mainstays, including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, the X-Men, Silver Surfer and more! You can follow the Man himself via twitter: http://twitter.com/smilinstanlee.
- Matt Price
Monday movie quote challenge #59
“I love that you get cold when it’s 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it’s not because I’m lonely, and it’s not because it’s New Year’s Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”
Identify who said the above quote in what film in the comments!
DC Comics shares holiday cheer with new, old stories
WORD BALLOONS
Tulsa-born writer Sterling Gates gets into the holiday spirit this year with a story in “DC Holiday Special 2009.”
This 80-page special features stories by Scott Kolins, Fred Van Lente, Jay Faerber, Beau Smith and others.
Gates’ story features Beast Boy and the Doom Patrol, and is a tale about finding family. Jonboy Meyers is the artist.
Another fun story in this year’s holiday special is Amy Wolfram’s tale of the Flash facing hustle and bustle at Christmastime, proving that no matter how fast you are, there’s still too much to get done in the holiday season.
Fred Van Lente, known for his work with Marvel, including “Incredible Hercules,” contributes a Martian Manhunter story to this special. Billy Tucci, who recently wrote and drew “Sgt Rock: The Lost Battalion” adds a Sgt. Rock Christmas tale. In total, the special contains 16 holiday-themed tales with characters including B’Wana Beast, Red Tornado and Adam Strange.
Readers can also revisit Christmas past with the collection “A DC Universe Christmas,” featuring 17 of DC’s Christmas-themed stories from 1940 to 2000. This 160-page trade paperback retails for $19.95.
“DC Universe Christmas” leads off with a story written by Denny O’Neil, the longtime editor of the Batman line of comics, and drawn by Frank Miller, the best-selling writer-artist of “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.” In “Wanted: Santa Claus – Dead or Alive!,” from “Super-Star Holiday Special (DC Special Series)” No. 21 from the 1979 Christmas season, an ex-convict finds a new perspective on life after playing Santa Claus in a department store. Also included, and similar to the Batman tale, is Jack Kirby’s 1940s tale from the pages of “Sandman,” in which a wrestler hired by mobsters reforms when he understands the spirit of Christmas.
In “Billy Batson’s X-Mas,” from “Captain Marvel Adventures” No. 69, from 1946, young Billy Batson must get a present for his superpowered alter-ego, Captain Marvel. The story was drawn by Pete Costanza.
Those who remember the Emmy-award winning “Batman: The Animated Series” will enjoy “The Harley and the Ivy,” a Christmas tale featuring Batman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, from “The Batman Adventures Holiday Special” from 1994. This story was later adapted into an episode of the series.
Other well-known artists whose work can be found in this edition include John Byrne, Berni Wrightson and Nick Cardy.
- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Movie review: Sherlock Holmes
Guy Ritchie (“Snatch”) takes the reins of the world’s most famous detective, directing Robert Downey Jr. (“Iron Man”) as the titular hero in “Sherlock Holmes.” Holmes is aided by Dr. John Watson (Jude Law), who has great affection for the quirky detective, but would prefer Holmes stop trying to run off Watson’s new girlfriend, Mary (Kelly Reilly).
Ritchie has recreated late 1800s London as a dreary, wet place, and his Holmes is a man driven nearly to madness by his ability to recall and sort details. He’s also more of a physical fighter than the traditional Holmes; Downey’s Holmes takes part in bare-knuckle brawling, and isn’t above using his fists to track down his man.
As the film begins, Holmes and Watson break up a ritualistic murder being committed by Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong). Even as Blackwood is about to be executed, he promises it’s not the end of his crimes.
Shortly after, Holmes is visited by Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), the only woman ever to outsmart him. She sets him on a missing persons case — but she’s apparently working for another mysterious figure.
Meanwhile, rumors of Blackwood’s resurrection have London in a panic. Holmes and Watson learn that Adler’s missing person is connected to the Blackwood case, but can they put the puzzle together in time to stop the plot?
Eddie Marsan (“V for Vendetta”) plays Inspector Lestrade, the police detective who seeks Holmes’ assistance.
Downey’s a charm to watch, as always, and while the fight sequences, and the movie as a whole, go on just a touch too long, it’s still a fun diversion. Arthur Conan Doyle purists might decry the emphasis on action, but audiences should have a lot of fun with the modernized “Holmes.”
— Matthew Price
X-Mas Origins: Santa
As you celebrate the holiday, enjoy this fan-made Santa Clause/X-Men Origins mashup that’s pretty clever:
NewsOK Comics Podcast: World’s Finest 3, Image United 2, Fall of the Hulks Gamma
On the Christmas edition of the NewsOK Comics Podcast, Matt Price and Kyle Roberts discuss two team-ups and a funeral.
‘Kid Flash’ series put on hold
At a video statement at Newsarama discussing plans for 2010, DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio states that the Kid Flash series, which was to be written by Tulsa native Sterling Gates, has been put on hold. Additionally, a planned co-feature with Wally West has also been sidelined. DiDio indicated that the “Flash” plan for next year was to focus solely on the recently revived Silver Age Flash.
“Your ‘Flash’ fix will be Barry Allen, pure and simple, for 2010,” DiDio said in the video.
Gates still has several DC projects in the works for the coming year – he’s involved with in a four-issue arc on “Adventure Comics” and he’s writing “Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton” with James Robinson. And Gates is still the regular writer on “Supergirl” with artist Jamal Igle.
- Matt Price
Full Q&A: Chance Thomas of “Avatar” game
Composer Chance Thomas provided a lot more information about working on the music for the “Avatar” game than what I was able to work into the recent Oklahoman article. Of local interest, Thomas grew up here in Oklahoma City, and formerly played in a band with Edgar Cruz. But his composing skills, especially in the video game industry, are nationally renowned.
Chance Thomas conducts an orchestral recording session.
Here at Nerdage, I’m providing the entire Q&A, which is an interesting look into working on a game of truly massive scale. For more information about the award winning composer Chance Thomas, see www.hugesound.com.
Matt Price: What are some of the technical innovations of this game?
Chance Thomas: James Cameron’s Avatar is the world’s first stereoscopic 3D videogame. That means it has the potential to deliver the same degree of depth of field immersion as the best 3D theatrical films. Being able to pull this off was a crucial factor in Cameron’s decision to hire Ubisoft’s Montreal studio to create his game. Apparently the guys in Montreal were the first engineers in the world to figure out how to do this for a game in a commercially manageable way. Pretty big deal.
Chance Thomas scores ‘Avatar’ game
Chance Thomas took a step into director James Cameron’s world with the game based on the “Avatar” film. Thomas, who grew up in Oklahoma City, composed the music for the game, available now for multiple game systems.
Thomas has had a long, thriving career in music, composing for the Oscar-winning short “The ChubbChubbs” and many successful video game scores.
With “Avatar,” Thomas wanted to make sure his music shared a resonance with the score of the film.
“I met the film’s producer John Landau in Montreal at the very beginning of my contract,” Thomas said in an interview. “I expressed to him my strong feelings about the importance of aligning the aesthetic of the game score with that of the film. … So I asked John if he would arrange a meeting between myself and the film’s composer James Horner (‘Titanic,’ ‘Braveheart,’ ‘Star Trek’).”
While it took some time for the two composers to align their schedules, the pair did eventually meet.
“It was an important meeting for me because, while in some cases we were on the same frequency, in other cases, he had a different take,” Thomas said. “So it was useful for me to understand those differences in order to bring those colors and flavors into the game score as well.”
To create the music, Thomas created themes for the two races that are at the heart of the “Avatar” conflict.
“The Na’vi are the alien planet’s indigenous humanoid species. They are a native people, spiritually connected with the natural world around them,” Thomas said. “The music for the Na’vi is a blend of tribal elements (rough-hewn drums, organic percussive instruments, flutes, chanting, etc.) and orchestra.”
Meanwhile, the Resources Development Administration (RDA) represents a military industrial complex.
“These are scientists and soldiers, with all their assorted tech, machinery and weaponry,” Thomas said. “The music for the RDA is represented with Western film orchestra and massive percussion mixed with tech and synth elements.”
Thomas said creating the score for the “Avatar” game required a massive amount of music.
“If you took all the music files I delivered and played them back to back from start to finish, it would take you more than 4½ hours to hear them all,” Thomas said.
- By Matthew Price
From the Dec. 18 The Oklahoman
