Superhero shoes
If you’re interested in superhero shoes for a Man of Steel, a Caped Crusader or even a Clown Prince of Crime, Limited Soles has a new product line you might want to check out.
These shoes from ACI International are available in three different styles, each featuring one of three DC Comics characters – Superman, Batman and The Joker. The shoes retail for $110 per pair and are available exclusively at www.LimitedSoles.com.The Superman 
shoe is limited to only 1,938 pairs, to celebrate Superman’s 1938 debut. Batman’s exclusive shoe is limited to 1,939 pairs, for his 1939 debut. If you’re more interested in the bad guys, The Joker’s shoe is limited to 1,940 pairs (also his debut year).
Each pair is individually numbered for authenticity and comes with custom packaging.
– Matt Price
Anthology focuses on unusual superheroes
From Friday’s The Oklahoman:
By Matthew Price
WORD BALLOONS
Unusual superheroes populate “Who Can Save Us Now?,” a superhero prose anthology from 22 writers, including Will Clarke, Jennifer Weiner and Sam Weller.
The anthology was edited by Owen King (“We’re All in This Together”) and John McNally (“America’s Report Card”).
Heroes include the creepy Silverfish, the cuddly-but-deadly Meerkat and dozens more.
“The idea was that superheroes mean really different things to different people,” King said. “And what we hoped, and we’re very happy with the way it turned out, is that would be reflected in the narratives.”
King’s character in the anthology is the Meerkat, a television producer who gains the powers and abilities of a meerkat.
“I was on the treadmill one day, trying to think about anything other than running,” King said. The show ‘Meerkat Manor,’ which he had been watching regularly, popped into his head.
“All of a sudden I had this idea that it would be funny, and it would also present an interesting conflict, to give a character the powers of a meerkat,” he said. “Because they’re cute and cuddly looking, but if you watch the show, they’re really brutal cold-blooded killers.”
He imagined a character with meerkat abilities who would be associated with a cute animal, and wondered what that would do to the hero’s self-esteem.
“I thought it would be interesting to put a character with self-esteem issues into a city that I thought had some self-esteem issues, which was Cleveland,” he said.
King’s co-editor John McNally created the creepy hero Silverfish for the anthology.
“My interest in superheroes was limited mostly to TV as opposed to comic books, so it wasn’t a genre I felt like I knew intimately,” McNally said, adding that he read “The Dark Knight Returns” and “a few other things in the Frank Miller mode” in college.
“Place is always really important to me in my own fiction, and the first thing I thought was I write a lot about the southwest side of Chicago, which is a very blue-collar place,” McNally said. “And I thought, what if we have a superhero who’s living in kind of a small bungalow on the southwest side of Chicago?”
McNally tells the story of the Silverfish — a hero who takes his namesake seriously, going so far as to survive on hair, glue and other silverfish food. McNally’s tale is told from the point of view of the Silverfish’s butler.
“I have this butler who’s living in small quarters on the southwest side of Chicago with the Silverfish, who’s been called the ‘creepiest superhero,” McNally said. “The title, ‘The Remains of the Night,’ is a play on ‘The Remains of the Day,’ the novel by (Kazuo) Ishiguro from the point of view of the butler.”
Other stories take different points of view, as well: “Girl Reporter” by Stephanie Harrell features the point of view of the “Lois Lane” type character, while other stories feature a sidekick or fan of the superhero of the story.
Both McNally and King (son of writer Stephen King) would like for “Who Can Save Us Now?” to lead to more superhero stories.
“It’s piqued my interest in terms of wanting to do something more,” McNally said. “I felt like there was a certain freedom to that story, that I found myself just having a lot more fun with it.”
King agreed.
“My fondest dream is that this will make enough of an impression that we could do it again,” he said. “I can easily think of another set of writers that I’d love to ask, ‘What’s your superhero?’”
Superhero cakes
USA Today and BamKapow are all talking about superhero cakes this week. And several of the ones linked are very cool. Though they are pretty heavy in fondant, which is great for making stuff pretty or interesting, not as great for tasting. (”Ace of Cakes” guy is crazy about using fondant, for example.)
However, there’s an Oklahoman who I think is the best superhero cake maker on the planet. (Several of you will already know I’m talking about my wife, Annette, so you could say I was biased… but seriously, I think these are the coolest superhero cakes ever.)
Legion of Super-Heroes cake.
Spider-Man bust cake.
Superhero poker hand, starring Golden Age DC Comics heroes.
Wolverine’s fist breaking through the birthday cake.
A couple non-superhero cakes, after the cut.
Meeting “Feedback”
SAN DIEGO — Ran into Matthew “Feedback” Atherton, the winner of the first season of Sci-Fi Channel’s “Who Wants to Be a Superhero?” while walking the hallways of Comic-Con International. He was about to shoot an online Webisode in full “Feedback” gear, and told me to keep an eye out for it. When I have a link, I’ll post it here.
He’s a gracious and fun guy, and I look forward to continued success for him. It’s great that the “Superhero” winners so far have been guys who understand and love the comics medium and the superhero genre.
– Matt Price
Act 1 of Joss Whedon’s “Dr. Horrible” online
The first act of “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” is online at www.drhorrible.com. Starring Neil Patrick Harris and directed by Joss Whedon, “Dr. Horrible” is about a down-on-his-luck supervillain. Act 2 is scheduled to go up Thursday, and Act 3 is scheduled to go up Saturday. The videos will be online until midnight Sunday.
– Matt Price
Black Voices names top 25 black superheroes
Black Voices, an AOL site, follows up AOL’s top superhero movies with their own list, one of the top 25 black superheroes of all-time. Somewhat timely, with “Hancock” making a ton of money this weekend. Will Smith’s character from the film nabs a No. 7 spot. This list isn’t the same one I would make — “Meteor Man” is at No. 5, and “Blankman” tops Geoff Johns’ excellent Mr. Terrific. Still, some classic characters like Luke Cage and Black Panther make the cut, and Todd McFarlane’s Spawn comes in at No. 12. Black Goliath outranking The Falcon seems misguided, as the Falcon was a much more important character for much longer. Static, of “Static Shock” and the Milestone Comics, is No.1
Notable omissions: Captain Marvel, from the 1980s Avengers, though she never appeared outside the comics. I could argue for Hardware, Icon and Rocket, all from the Milestone line. Black Lightning would have been a nice comics-only choice, and I’d even prefer the SuperFriends Black Vulcan to some of the characters chosen. Bishop of the X-Men is another well-known omission. Neither Halle Berry’s or Eartha Kitt’s portrayal of “Catwoman” were named, though Berry’s Storm is listed. Nowhere to be seen on the list, despite an appearance in the summer’s most popular movie thus far, is James Rhodes, AKA War Machine.
Edit: I misread the list earlier, apparently, as Damon Wayans’ “Handi-Man” is listed as “NOT No. 1.”
– Matt Price
AOL names best and worst superhero films
AOL has compiled a list of the best and worst superhero films, by their estimation.
On a few, they are right on, but on several, they miss the mark.
Hard to argue with “Catwoman” as the all-time worst, but “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” also makes the worst list, while 1990’s “Captain America” escapes criticism? “FF2″ is miles more enjoyable than the “Cap” film. (And I say that with Captain America as my favorite character.) For that matter, both recent Jessica Alba-starring “Fantastic Four” films are listed in the worst 10, while the 1994 “Fantastic Four” film escapes criticism? (Maybe because it was never officially released, but, it is listed on IMDB.) I realize I’m one of a minority who like “Ghost Rider” and “Daredevil,” but I enjoyed each of those more than 1993’s “Meteor Man.” If you think that maybe AOL’s staff just took the 1990s off from watching superhero movies, well, what about 2007’s “Underdog,” a movie that begs for inclusion on any “worst superhero film” list?
It’s a little harder to argue with their top 10, with “Spider-Man 2″ atop the list, but I’d probably reorder much of their top 10, and give a higher placing to “Superman: The Movie.”
– Matt Price
Women journalists share take on superheroes
Over at BAM’s blog, ace reporter Brandy McDonnell points out a recent poll of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists. The group took a look at superhero films, and what worked and didn’t work within the genre. Check out awfj.com for the full roundup and commentary.
– Matt Price
Movie review: Hancock
Hard-drinking superhero Hancock (Will Smith) finds himself out of favor with the public in “Hancock,” a film directed by Peter Berg.
The 1996 screenplay “Tonight, He Comes,” by Vincent Ngo, was considered one of the great unfilmable screenplays, about a superhero with an existential crisis having an affair with a married woman.
Rewritten by Vince Gilligan and eventually renamed “Hancock,” the movie that viewers see is neither the dark superhero drama of the screenplay or the light Will Smith comedy of the trailers. The jittery, TV-style camerawork keeps the film from feeling epic.
When crusading public relations specialist Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) is saved from near-death by Hancock, he decides to do the ne’er-do-well superhero a favor: repair his public image.
But when he brings the superhero home for dinner, Ray’s wife, Mary (Charlize Theron) is upset by the hero, and his influence on her young son, Aaron (Jae Head).
There are a few laughs as Ray shows Hancock his career mishaps via YouTube. But halfway through the film, as an uncomfortable chemistry develops between Hancock and Mary, the movie is turned on its head.
A surprising revelation begins a tonal shift into a darker story, possibly more in tune with the original screenplay, but incompatible with the first portion of the film. The exposition comes fast and furious as everyone’s relationships are explained, but by the time it’s done, the audience has stopped caring.
Smith and Bateman are fine in their performances, but the movie is a mishmash of styles and ideas that never comes together. The PG-13 film feels like an R, with constant strong language and drinking; “Hancock” is by no means a superhero film for the whole family.
The film was produced by Akiva Goldsman, who won a screenwriting Oscar for “A Beautiful Mind,” but also stalled the “Batman” franchise for nearly a decade with “Batman and Robin.” He might have been better off staying away from superheroes.
— Matthew Price
Hancock
PG-13 1:32 2 stars
Starring: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman
(Some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language.)
DVD review: Confessions of a Superhero
From Friday’s The Oklahoman:
The documentary “Confessions of a Superhero” takes viewers into the mind of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the Hulk — but not in the way you might think.
The film looks at the superheroes that populate Hollywood Boulevard, outside Graumann’s Chinese Theater. Christopher Dennis, who resembles a thinner Christopher Reeve, portrays Superman, officially licensed by no one, taking pictures for tips. But he follows a strict code of ethics, at one point informing a newcomer posing as Ghost Rider of the rules of being a costumed character. Dennis is obsessed with Superman, and his apartment is crammed with Super-memorabilia.
The other characters aren’t as obsessed with their characters, but they have their own eccentricities.
Maxwell Allan, who plays Batman, has a resemblance to George Clooney and says that has kept him from getting other roles. He battles anger issues and claims a dark past, but his wife says she believes “about 50 percent” of what he says.
Joe McQueen, an aspiring actor who was formerly homeless, wears the sweltering Hulk outfit in 100-plus degree weather. He continues to audition, hoping to land a role that doesn’t have his face covered in a giant green grimace.
Jennifer Gehrt is a Tennessee bombshell who dreamed of making it in Los Angeles. While she attempts commercial auditions and works on her marriage, by day she’s the Wonder Woman of Hollywood Boulevard.
Despite the performers’ baggage and the quirkiness of their profession, the dreams of these four people shared in this visually interesting and compelling documentary are arresting and real.
— Matthew Price
