DVD review: Watchmen – The Complete Motion Comic
If watching the “Watchmen” movie has left you eager to find out more about the world of the characters, there’s now a DVD option to discover the original comics.
“Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic” animates each chapter of the original series, taking the original art by Dave Gibbons and using most of the original script by Alan Moore (even though Moore isn’t credited on the DVD, as he wants no part of adaptations of his work). Like the graphic novel, and for that matter the film, it follows the masked adventurer Rorschach as he attempts to find out who is killing costumed adventurers. It is set in an alternate 1985 where Richard Nixon is still president, and a superman named Dr. Manhattan changed the course of history.
The DVD works somewhat like an audio book, with Tom Stechschulte providing the voices for all the characters. He’s pretty good at varying up his tone, but it becomes distracting when the female characters are obviously a male talking with a higher voice.
It’s not as complete as the graphic novel – the text excerpts are missing, as are some parts of the dialogue. It’s an innovative way for DC to find another way to capitalize on the success of “Watchmen” in another format, but it’s not a superior experience to reading the book.
- Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Former ‘Prince of Persia’ joins Resistance on ‘Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles’
THE NEXT LEVEL
Actor Yuri Lowenthal moves from animation to video games to live-action projects with ease. The “Prince of Persia” voice actor today guest-stars on “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” in the first part of a two-part arc.
“The character I’m playing is Christopher Garland,” Lowenthal said in a phone interview. “He’s a sonar man on a submarine. He’s also a member of the Resistance.”
The Resistance is the human resistance to Skynet in the future world on “Terminator.” Lowenthal’s two-part arc includes the episodes “Today’s The Day Part 1,” airing tonight, with the second part scheduled for next week.
“It’s in many ways a self-contained story within that world, that plays more like a movie than a TV show,” Lowenthal said. “We felt like this particular crew formed a strong bond and had something really good going on.”
Lowenthal said he enjoyed the action-packed pace of “Sarah Connor Chronicles”:
“Stuff like this is why I got into acting in the first place: running around on a submarine in the future, fighting evil robots with a plasma rifle,” he said.
Lowenthal’s also a popular video game voice actor, who has portrayed the title role in “Prince of Persia: Sands of Time,” as well as parts in “Halo 2,” “Medal of Honor 2: Rising Sun” and “Rave Master.”
“It’s all voice acting whether you’re doing an animated series or a video game, or any of those kind of jobs,” Lowenthal said. “They all have their different techniques. For video games, you’re in a booth, by yourself. Only on one or two occasions ever have I gotten to record with other actors at the same time for a video game. I guess it’s just more efficient for them to do one character at a time.”
Lowenthal said the workload on a video game voice project is faster, and can be harder on the voice, as there are multiple yells and grunts to record.
“Usually for a video game, you show up on the day of, and you get right to it,” Lowenthal said. “The director may go over some basic things with you, so you have a little context. But then you’re in there, using your imagination to create the world that they’re trying to create in their game, you have to create that for yourself.”
NEXT WEEK: Find out how Lowenthal became the voice of Superman in “Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes.”
By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Jeffrey Dean Morgan learns to like dark ‘Comedian’ in ‘Watchmen’
WORD BALLOONS
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – After playing a patient in need of a heart transplant in “Grey’s Anatomy,” Jeffrey Dean Morgan said he needed some bulking up to play the part of the nihilistic superhero the Comedian in “Watchmen.”
“I did two months of training just for the opening sequence, that opening fight training,” Morgan said at the press junket for “Watchmen. “It was great; it was a lot of work. I hadn’t done anything physical, I’d been lying in bed for the last two years on a TV show, so atrophy had set in.”
Morgan said the hard work was all worth it.
“When you see the final product, obviously I was duly impressed with myself,” he said, laughing. “It all paid off.”
Morgan said he was unfamiliar with “Watchmen” prior to being approached for the film, and hadn’t grown up with comics and graphic novels. In the “Watchmen” graphic novel, it’s the Comedian’s murder that sets the plot in motion, and his connections with the other characters in the film are explored via flashbacks. Morgan was sent a copy of the Alan Moore-Dave Gibbons graphic novel to see if he’d be interested in the part of the Comedian.
“I remember looking at it, I got to page 3 and threw it over my shoulder and said, ‘I’m dead already! Awesome project,’” Morgan recalled. “I called my agent … and he said, ‘Can you just keep reading, you jackass?’”
Morgan read the book, and then read it again. And again.
“I’ve read it probably 50 times,” Morgan said. “I’m a fan now. I’m certainly a fan now.”
While the Comedian is possibly the darkest character in the “Watchmen,” Morgan said he wanted to convey the character’s humanity, as well.
“In my first read, it was, you know, this guy’s horrible! He’s completely amoral and nihilistic. But every time I’d finish reading it, I’d go, ‘Maybe it’s because I’m playing him, but I like this guy!’” Morgan said. “I almost am sympathetic toward this character, so I’m trying to find that humanity. And there’s not a lot of opportunity to do it. I’ve got like two scenes to make the audience go, ‘Maybe he’s not all that bad.’”
– by Matthew Price
A version of this story ran in Friday’s The Oklahoman
Matt needs to let it go sometimes
Via XKCD. This is me virtually any time anybody online who isn’t a comic-book retailer starts talking about comics retail, or anybody who isn’t a journalist starts talking about journalism. Fortunately I usually just IM people to gripe rather than get into an online argument, at least.
Comics vodcast: Batman – Battle for the Cowl 1, Action Comics 875, X-Men Manifest Destiny – Nightcrawler
New storylines start in “Action Comics” 875 and “Batman: Battle for the Cowl” #1, as Nightcrawler takes on a solo mission in “X-Men: Manifest Destiny – Nightcrawler.” Kyle Roberts and Matt Price share their thoughts.
Comics vodcast: War of Kings 1, Fantastic Four Dark Reign 1, Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk 3, Superman: New Krypton 1, Black Panther 2.
Kyle Roberts and Matt Price discuss War of Kings 1, Fantastic Four Dark Reign 1, Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk 3, Superman: New Krypton 1 and Black Panther 2.
Rourke, Johansson reportedly in “Iron Man 2″
Scarlett Johansson with Bulgari necklace
MTV, among others, is reporting that Mickey Rourke has signed on to play a Russian villain in “Iron Man 2.” Meanwhile, Scarlett Johansson, who appeared in the comic adaptation “The Spirit,” also is said to have joined the cast, as the spy Black Widow. “Iron Man” was one of the big hits of 2008, starring Robert Downey Jr. as wealthy industrialist Tony Stark, who becomes the superhero Iron Man. Jon Favreau is scheduled to return as director in “Iron Man 2,” which is set for a 2010 release.
Let’s have some more pictures of Scarlett Johansson to celebrate after the break.
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Merry Christmas!
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas to all from Nerdage!
- Matt Price
Happy Thanksgiving!
Whether you’re spending Thanksgiving with family, friends, or the Justice Society of America, Happy Thanksgiving from us at Nerdage!
- Matt Price
Like a Flash
Running around like the Flash (take your pick of Jay, Barry, Wally or Bart) trying to get things done today. I do plan to have a shipping list and commentary up sometime this afternoon! Thanks for your patience, dear Nerdage readers.
– Matt Price
