Thundercats, NO!

Nostalgia is all around us. We can't get away from it. The stuff that you liked as a child is guaranteed to boomerang back into your life when you're in your 20's and work enough to buy all that stuff you always wanted as a child.

Now some properties have been lucky enough to stick around in some form or another for the past 20 years. Transformers have rolled out more times than I care to think, just to find ways to stay relevant to "todays" youth. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have mutated to fit changing social and media climates and still find a way to stay radical and in a post-9/11 world we need GI Joe now more than ever. But the Thundercats... well, I don't know.

Debuting in 1985, the Thundercats were part of the onslaught of anthropomorphic animal crusaders that attacked the latest extraterrestrial threat daily on television but more importantly, they also had their sight set on your parents wallet. Looking back we know these cartoons were designed simply to sell more action figures, but at the time all I knew is that I had a light up Sword Of Omens, just like Lion-O and that was good enough for me.

I'd spend hours running around the backyard dispatching mutants like Monkian, Jackalman and Slythe. If they ever became too much for me all I had to do was light up that signal and the rest of the 'cats would come running (because the Thundercats were on the move, Thundercats are loose, of course).

I wish I still had this.

Tigra was always a favorite with his whip and ability to disappear. Cheetara ran right into my heart and started a crush that lasts to this day. Panthro mystified me with technology and nunchucks that unlike that poser Michelangelo's, HAD MAGIC FUCKING POWERS. Wilykit and Wilykat had awesome spaceboards before Marty McFly travelled to the future (and theirs worked on water). And Snarf was, well... there.

I spent so many hours with Lion-O and his crew from Thundera as a child I always missed them after they disappeared. So imagine my excitement in 1997 when Cartoon Network announced they would be bringing the original episodes of the Thundercats back as part of their Toonami programing block.

Well, that excitement was short lived. When I actually sat down to watch the show, it wasn't half as strong as I remembered it being. The animation was poor and the storylines more-so, even though the characters I loved were still there, the cartoon felt empty. In fact, the only thing from around that time that brought back good feelings about the Thundercats was the Relient K song, "I'm Lion-O".

Also, the four Thundercats comic miniseries that came out from DC/Wildstorm softened the blow a little bit as well. The comics were all very well done and added much more character depth and took the series to a darker and more mature place.

So I don't know whether or not to be excited about the recent leaked concept art for the Thundercats CGI movie that scheduled to come out in 2011. On one hand I'm excited to see Lion-O stick it to Mumm-Ra again, but then I remember that saddness of seeing the Ro-Bear Berbils and trying to remember just what I saw in the show originally. Hopefully things will turn out for the better and whenever this movie comes out it will blow me away and it will be followed by another with Lynx-O, Ben-Gali and the only cat to outfox Cheetara, Pumyra.

And if it sucks, well at least nobody else seems to remember Pirates Of Dark Water.

Yet.

Bend It Like Aang

"Avatar: The Last Airbender", debuted it's live action movie trailer last month with the release of "Transformers 2". Being marketed and named "The Last Airbender" (to reduce confusion with James Cameron's upcoming film "Avatar") will be the first in a trilogy retelling the cartoon fantasy epic that aired on Nickelodeon.



I have to admit that it was not the first season of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" that really dragged me into the series, since I first caught it on Nickelodeon during season 2. Going back and watching the first season, it does seem a little slower then the rest of the series which is to be expected, since the first season is a journey tale. A journey tale allows the viewer to experience new places, sites, people and cultures along side the main characters. "Avatar Book One" uses this plot device well, going from village to village giving a complete sense of the world. I have always enjoyed maps of fictional places in stories, from "The Lord of the Ring" books to the "Under Sea Over Stone" and "Narnia" series, as a kid I would pour over the maps included in the front and back of books. Luckily enough, each episode of "Avatar" starts with zooming into a map, harking back to my first travels into the fantasy genre.



Even though the setting for "Avatar" is one of high fantasy, the first season hits with humor hard. This could be the creators' roots showing up in this work both Michael Dante DiMartino and Byran Konietzko got their start in T.V. on "Family Guy" "Mission Hill" and "King of the Hill", not so much the kung-fu action. Granted the laughs can be immature at most points, though there are a few quick turns of phases and call back jokes for a little more sophisticated chuckle. I'm not saying animal snot doesn't make me laugh (it does), but it is nice to have another level of comedy mixed in to it.

It's that mix of comedy with action that has me nervous about M. Night Shyamalan's written, produced and directed adaptation "The Last Airbender". Shyamalan has been able to weave his plots in the past to surprise audiences, though I haven't thought of him as working well with comedy or action. I won't be surprised if his rendition focuses heavily on a small group of friends being chased throughout the world by the army of firebenders, instead of a coming to age journey. Playing up tension and suspense which are strong suits for Shyamalan, might not leave much room for humor in a 2hr. movie.



Watching the trailer and seeing this poster, point out M. Night's other calling card: his use of muted colors. Coloration in his past works have been important, the use of red in "The Six Sense" and purple in "Unbreakable". "The Last Airbender" however was a cartoon, a brightly colored spectacle. In the trailer and poster I don't see a vast color palette. Where the visuals missed for me the audio was a direct hit. James Newton Howard the composer from "The Dark Knight" nailed it. Every episode of "Avatar" was filled with eastern sounding drums, driving the action and emotion. I'm excited to find out if James Newton Howard is signed to do the whole trilogy or just came to work the trailer.

Overall I'm excited and no matter how "The Last Airbender" turns out next year, I will always have the DVD sets to watch over and over again.

Dead Snow

So have you ever been writing a movie and thought, "Man this movie needs Nazis". But then you think, "No wait, it needs Zombies!".

Then you're stuck in the eternal holding pattern: Nazis or Zombies? Zombies or Nazis?

Well my friend, Norway has figured it out for you:



I don't know just what it is, but there's something about watching Nazi Zombies charging through the snow to Beethoven's "Ode To Joy" that makes me want to just sit back and say: Thank you Norway.

That's Moranic...

I've just discovered some unsettling news:

Rick Moranis hasn't had a job since 2006.

Not only was his last appearance in a direct to dvd sequel, it was a sequel to Disney's animated "Brother Bear", cleverly titled "Brother Bear 2".

Yes, the man who brought joy to millions and starred in such films as "Honey, I Shrunk The Kids" and "Ghostbusters", hasn't had a major, let alone any role in almost 3 years.

If that doesn't depress you, consider this: Pick a Baldwn. Seriously, anyone of them will do. Alec? Stephen? William? Daniel?

They've all gotten work within the past year, hell all of them have films coming out next year. But the star of "Little Shop Of Horrors" and "Spaceballs"? Nothing slated for the forseeable future.

Starred in The Flintstones 2 as Barney Rubble. Rick Moranis did not.

If that doesn't surprise you howzabout this little nugget? Daniel Stern was in a movie last year. Forgot about him, didn't you?

Seriously. This guy.

Sure, Moranis is probably living off of fantastic royalty checks from "Little Giants" and "Strange Brew", but does the world really need to wait three more years before this relatable nerd makes us chortle again at the inherent awkwardness that lies inside all of us?

I hope not.

II Am Legend?

So rumor has it that there's a sequel in the works for the flick I Am Legend.

Which may be hard considering that, you know, Will Smith's character dies at the end, oh and spoiler alert for people who don't know that Will Smith dies at the end of this movie from last year.

Now don't get me wrong, I really dug this film, in fact I'd go so far as to say I liked it a lot. But this is going to be a straight up sequel, focusing on what I guess would wind up being Will Smith's charred corpse, shuffling around the floor of his basment lab or something.

Originally the plan was to have a prequel (I think I owe George Lucas a dime for using that word), in which we see Smith's character, Dr. Robert Neville trying to fight a losing battle across, as the disease slowly spreads to pockets of survivors across NYC. But I guess this idea was scrapped since the studio would basically be making a pointless prequel since everyone would know Neville's quest was all for naught if they had seen the first film, or second film I guess it would be then.

So instead we MAY (being the operative word here) get a sequel.

Which would make sense had the studio used the original ending they filmed:



and not the second one where, well the Fresh Prince becomes slightly less fresh after blowing up his lab with a grenade.

They could have used the original ending but thought, "nah forget it".

If we're somehow lucky, this sequel will center around Neville's ghost palin' around with his wacky break dancing cousin, and together they solve mysteries and bring down a corrupt toy company. Also, Sinbad guest stars.

But this movie would have to be made in the 80's somehow.

Pulling for it...

So I've always been a pretty huge Disney fan.

When I was little, it was my dream job to work at the Mouse House, and it's always been a little part of me. So as a result I keep a close eye on the stuff going on at Disney, whether it be at the parks or in the movies.



While Disney's newest release might not look like much more than a dog-version of Buzz Lightyear, but to a diehard Disney fan it's a step in a new direction.

Bolt marks (no pun intended) Disney's first animated release after the appointment of John Lasseter as Cheif Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Principal Creative Advisor of Imagineering.

If his name sounds familiar it's probably from some of his other film work, which includes:
Toy Story
A Bug's Life
Toy Story 2
Monsters Inc.
Spirited Away
Finding Nemo
The Incredibles
Cars
Ratatoullie
WALL-E

Yes, Lasseter is a founding member of Pixar Studios. And thanks to Disney's 2006, $7.4 Billion buyout of Pixar, he's now Disneys heir apparent.

Once brought on board, Lasseter along with other Disney execs. approached Lilo and Stitch director Chris Sanders about the current feature he was working on, American Dog, saying it wasn't quite where it needed to be. After not listening to and resisting any changes Sanders was removed and replaced with Bryon Howard and Chris Willaims, two Disney writers making their directing debut.

Bolt seems like a lot of fun and so far reviews have been over-whelmingly positive. So will Disney see newdirection with Pixar's King Midas at the helm? I'm hoping so.

Meh...

So November 21st sees the release of the newest book to film adaptation: Twilight.

And I really have to say I can't see what all the buzz is about.

I love to read, and I'll pretty much demolish whatever is put in front of me. So when I heard that this "Harry Potter for the Goth set" was the next big thing, I genuinely thought it was something worth hitching my wagon to.

A little backstory about yours truly: I've always been a reader. As a child I demolished the complete Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and everything by Madeleine L'Engle (even the obscenely dry Many Waters, and yes that is a pun considering that the book revolves around the great flood of Noah).

I'd blow through R.L. Stines Goosebumps in a sitting. Bruce Coville's fun kid-horror books like "The Monsters Ring" or his sci-fi "My Teacher Is An Alien" series posed no threat. And while we're somewhat on the topic, when it came to vampires in literature I'd go for anything like James Howe's "Bunnicula" and the subsequent "Howliday Inn" and "Celery Stalks At Midnight" to Anne Rice's "Interview With The Vampire. "The Vampire Lestat, and "Memnoch The Devil".

Awesomeness between two covers

So in summation: I was a kid on the cutting edge who knew my shit.

So when given the opportunity to sink my teeth into this already established franchise (horrible pun), I leapt at the chance.

I have to seriously ask why?

I'm more than halfway through the first book in the series which the upcoming feature film is based off of, Twilight, and I can't help but be disappointed.

The dialogue is clunky and the exposition is terrible. I don't care about any of the characters because there is nothing to them. We can buy the mystery about Edward Cullen since he is the vampire whose mystery we're supposed to unravel, but when your main character (here being 17 year old Bella Swan) really doesn't do anything, what is there to relate to or feel for?

She's awkward and shy. She doesn't excel in gym class. She moved from Phoenix where she lived with her mom to a town outside of Seattle to live with her dad. There, I've summed up everything you can learn about the character in the first 234 pages of the book in three lines.

The first person style of narration doesn't help the book much either, as it feels more like slowing down the story instead of having you involved in it, like it should. But more-so than anything, the book is just BORING. We're treated to days of Bella going to school, where she pines for a boy who's a dick one day, and slightly less dick-ish the next. It moved so slow that I took a four week hiatus from reading beyond Chapter 7, because I felt like the book had just become a chore.

Granted I picked it up again today and read an additional four chapters since I was stuck sitting in a parking lot for an hour and a half while waiting for someone, but it was more out of necessity than actually wanting to read it (as I strongly considered taking my copy of Michael Chabon's "Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay" instead).

You should probably read this

Working at Hot Topic, I'm in the awesomely pendulumic business of peddling pop culture, and I have to say I don't like where Twilight is leading the youth of today. For how much buzz this film is generating, you'd figure the books could cure cancer, world hunger and the economy all at once, while at the same time detailing your car.

While I'm keeping an open mind, and still trying to read the book so I can see the movie when it comes out, the book is a severe letdown. It's hard to understand why this book has done so well for it's self, not just to spawn a full length feature but also print sequels.

A quick internet search reveals that not only was Twilight not too warmly received but the following books all less so. So much so that a leaked version of the manuscript for the fifth garnered such snark from fans that the whole project was shevled.

The Hollywood machine is a hard one to understand though.

J.K Rowling's Harry Potter has been a grand slam on every front since it's release. Both the books as well as their adaptations have done amazingly well and garnered much deserved praise. It's a safe bet that the remaining film relesases will do just as well, both financially and critcally.

A synonym for excitement: Harry Potter

The Lord of the Rings has been a pinnacle of fantasy literature for decades, and after years of lackluster adaptations it finally recieved a worthy mulitmedia heir while in the caring hands of Peter Jackson.

The Chronicles of Narnia, by longtime friend of J.R.R Tolkein and noted author C.S. Lewis are often mentioned in the same breath when it comes to fantastic all-ages reading. But those movies have struggled to find their audience. So much so that Disney is constantly looking at the box office numbers, dvd sales, and licensing to determine whether or not it's worth it to go ahead as planned on the rest of the films in the series.

A scene from Wanted Chronicles of Narnia

A similar story can be told for Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" series. While the books have been fantastically received the film it's self didn't perform as well as expected, and as a result the two sequels didn't even get into pre-production.

So what does this mean for Twilight? Well it'll take a few weeks to see where this goes, and I'm not always the best judge of this stuff. I mean, I'm still hoping for a sequel to Lemony Snicket's "A Series Of Unfortunate Events".

Yes. I'm a sucker

Repo: The Genetic Opera

So two things I love are horror/sci-fi movies and musicals.

There's no way to dance around it. I really do enjoy musicals.

So when I heard about Repo: The Genetic Opera, I was more than elated.

Yes, that is Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The combination of the two genres just made sense in my mind. This was BEFORE the film adaptation of Sweeney Todd came out, and for what it's worth Repo looks like it does it better.

The film releases this weekend, and I have to say I'm a little disappointed. Because, it turns out that it's not getting a nationwide release and is only showing in major cities. Thankfully it'll probably be released on DVD within the upcomming year, so I'll be fully able to enjoy it but for now this is the best we can get. Soundtrack clips online:

Flash in the pan?

Today on MTV's comic book website the "Splash Page" (note the article is missing now), writer Grant Morrison may have slipped up and by saying he could say nothing actually in turn said a whole lot.

Since Morrison's currently involved in a few film properties, and the Scottish-born writer just brought the long dead Flash, Barry Allen back to life the interview turned towards his thoughts on the long drawn out process of bringing the Flash movie to life:

“Yeah, that’s the kind of thing I can’t talk about,” Morrison said. “Yes, I have talked to them. I’m deeply involved in those discussions. I know what’s going down with all of that, and it’s actually really exciting. But beyond that, I can’t say anything. I wish I could tell you. I’m sure announcements will probably be made at some point, but I can’t say anything.”

So by saying he's deeply involved in discussions, knows whats going on with the property, and that there will be announcements made at some point, isn't he just kind of letting the cat out of the bag?

A Flash movie by David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Blade, Blade II, Blade: Trinity) and supposedly/hopefully starring Ryan Reynolds has long been in the dreaded purgatory that is "pre-production", but if a big name creator like Grant Morrison is involved that means things may be progressing.

(Why so) Seriously...

I know this won't find you in time.

Your mind is already made up.

But I just have to say it:

Don't be the Joker for Halloween.

I know, I know, Dark Knight was really sweet. And yes, Heath Ledger did reach new levels of badass-ery with his portrayal of the Joker. Everyone knows this and everyone agrees with you.

And therin lies the rub: Everybody is going to be the Joker.

This isn't the first time it's happened either. A blockbuster comic book adaptation where one of the young stars passed before his time and inspired a veritable bonanza of Halloween goers?

=

But Chris, you say, I'm going to be different! My costume is going to epic! I'm going as the Joker in the Nurse costume!

Nope. Not gonna do it. Sorry bro, you and every frat guy ever have already had the same thought.

Alright, so hopefully you're starting to see things in perspective. So what should you dress up as? I dunno but here's my picks for the 3 costumes you can pull out that will keep you ahead of the curve:

Two Face

Amidst the sea of Jokers you'll be the one Batman villain to stand out. Don't go all Batman Forever though, the Tommy Lee Jones route was too over the top.

Rorschach

Beat everyone to the punch at what will be one of the biggest costumes of next Halloween. Watchmen is shaping up to be the next big comic movie release and Rorschach will be the breakaway character. Yeah, I'm calling it.

Gambit

The release of the X-Men Origins: Wolverine is still almost a year away, but after years of beggin X-Men fans will finally get a chance to see Gambit in action. So why not bust out this fan favorite before he gets his chance to shine? Besides I've never seen an awesome Gambit costume.


Honorable Mention:

Hong Kong Phooey

No he doesn't have a movie coming out and nobody has cared about this character in decades, but seriously? Why not?

Who Watches The Watchmen?

One of the most lauded comic books of all time is ready to make it's film debut this March (03-06-09 to be exact), but much to the chagrin of many a movie fan and comic reader the future is looking bleak for this motion picture.

Based on the 1986 book by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Watchmen served as a deconstruction of the current superhero archetypes. Watchmen has often been credited, alongside the grim and street level works of Frank Miller, as being the catalyst that started the current age of comics. And if Director Zack Snyder has his way it will do the same to the current slew of comic book based movies.

Well I'd hate to break it to you, but there's someone out there who doesn't want you to see this movie:

He worships a snake god and wears finger armor

All things considered, Alan Moore is kind of a curmudgeon. Although a skilled writer and one of the most critically and fan acclaimed writers of our time, it seems he hates movies. Especially when the movie just happens to be based on his material.

No seriously. He wears finger armor

Does his name sound familiar? If not his catalogue of work most certainly will: From Hell, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and V For Vendetta. All of these films have been based off of his best selling graphic novels (a term I hate for the most part, but we'll discuss that next time).

All of these books are not only by the same man, but they are considered by many to be some of the greatest works ever created for the format. But as for the movies? Ehhhhh...

Moore has seeked to distance himself from anything Hollywood has to do with his works hoping to keep them as two separate beings. Now if this was a smart move considering what the movies became or to be what caused the movies to be somewhat subpar, who knows? Moore has requested that his name not appear on anything based off of his works as well as signing over his option checks to the co-creators of the projects.

While there is a gaggle of fans (Moore included) out there who believe that there's no way a Watchmen movie can be filmed and still contain all the complexity of the source material, members of the media who have seen footage of the film claim it to be awe inspiring.

Luckily for Moore he's not alone in his crusade to keep this movie out of theatres, although his ally is in it for a different reason.

Fox recently filed an injunction against Warner Bros. claiming that they actually own the distribution rights to the film and that they need to be paid in order for the film to come out. The case goes to trial just two months before the films release date, and while it loooks like Fox is fishing for a paycheck, there are those who say Fox is after something else all together.

The rights to the 1960's Batman television show.

Warner Bros. currently holds all the rights to the program and has yet to release the show on dvd. By getting the rights Fox would then hold a piece of one of America's most recognizable television shows, but also be able to pop out some dvd's and make some easy dough.

So who's watching the watchmen?

Well certainly not Alan Moore, but hopefully we'll be able to this March.

Why comics?

It's a pretty straight forward question. Why comics?

With all the different ways and mediums for people to be entertained, why comics?

Maybe it the fact that comics haven't really changed all that much since their start decades ago. Some forms of home entertainment such as music and movies come out with new ways of distribution all the time. It seems like as soon as you dedicate yourself to a format a new one lays right on the horizon. Meanwhile a comic book from today will look almost exactly like a comic book from the 40's.

There's also a complex simplicity to it. A man much smarter than me once said that comics are "words and pictures, and whats better than that?".

Coming soon to a theatre to you: something nothing like this

People have been telling stories with words for a long time, and people have been telling stories with pictures a helluva lot longer. A good comic will have the perfect harmony of writing and art, but a great comic will make each stand out even more on their own.

It wasn't until I got back into comics a few years ago that I realized that they were actually written and drawn by somebody. Moreso than that but there were people whose JOB this was. Soon I started taking note of which writers and artists I liked. Who else have they worked with? What title did they leave their mark on? It's quite similar to how movie fans will follow certain actors or directors career from film to film. Comic fans will follow writers and artists from book to book or story to story.

Speaking of, there are so many stories to tell too. Perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions out there is that: COMICS = SUPERHEROES. When someone asks you if you watch tv, they usually aren't referring to one particular genre. So why should it be the same for comics? That would be like flipping the television channels and seeing nothing but gritty court room drama on every station. It would get old REAL fast.

>
Bored yet?

The darkly religious black humor of Preacher, the tongue in cheek politcal mayhem of Transmetropolitan.

The beautiful hauntingness of The Sandman, the comedic sci-fi tragedy of Y: The Last Man.

The familiarity and fun of Fables, the cryptic revolving ambiguity of 100 Bullets.

All of the above are fantastic books and not one of them has superheroes in it. They also all disprove one of the other biggest comic misconceptions: Comics are for kids. While some comics can just be read, enjoyed and put back down, many are complex and layered stories that need to be played out over time. It's not continuity, it's depth. Also just for content sake, while there are lots of all ages friendly books out there, there's lots of stuff out there that would be rated PG-13 and up.

What's he doing to Sue Dibny?

So why comics? I think a better question would be why not comics?

Mission Statement

Hi, my name is Chris. I read comic books.

And frankly, I don't understand you people. Now before you throw your arms into the air, threaten to take your ball and go home, please hear me out. I know that some of you may get it, and I appreciate that, but to everyone else let's talk. Just you and I...

According to Box Office Mojo the latest film in the Batman franchise, The Dark Knight, has grossed $525,831,387 domestically since July. Based on an average ticket price of $10 we can assume that about 52,583,183 have seen the flick.

You like me? You really like me?

Now according to Diamond Comic Distributors sales estimations, the Batman comic has sold (about) $931,167 over the span of July to September and based on the average cover price of $3 for a comic issue thats 310,389 issues sold.

All I ever wanted was your love

52 Million vs. 300 Thousand.

Why must comic books be our cultures dirty little secret?

Stanley Leiber is the father of the modern comic book, but with his first published work he hid behind the nom de plume "Stan Lee" because he didn't want the fact that he wrote a comic ruining the chance of future jobs. After that, when meeting people he'd introduce himself as a writer, when further questioned about what he wrote he would answer "periodicals", only until after further pushing he would reveal he wrote comic books.

Neil Gaiman's Sandman series won a World Fantasy award for issue #19 "A Midsummer Nights Dream" in 1991, and right after that the rules of the Award were changed so another comic book could never win again.

You can find Superman tee shirts, bathtowels, floormats, backpacks, flatware and many other licensed goods at any big box store, but if you want a Superman comic book you have to go to a specialty retailer.

When did we get so cool but ignored?

What do you have against us?

You don't have to come in alone anymore.