More Strange Tales
If I were James Lipton I’d have to say, “I have read Strange Tales #1… and it is awesome.” Forgive me for gushing, but no single issue I’ve read lately has brought such pure delight (I know that sounds kinda dopey, but it’s appropriate) to my grizzled soul, such a contented smile to my cynical face as this comic has.
Sean T. Collins has more contributors interviews over at Marvel.com, this time with the lovely and talented Molly Crabapple.
Marvel.com: It’s cool that you’re able to use the piece for more than just a goofy romp with a Marvel character. Was that important to you, as an artist?
Molly Crabapple: I always like to do pieces that are a little more thoughtful and challenging. I mean, I have no problem with goofy romps, but it’s a lot more fun to be able to take a Marvel character and put an entirely different spin on them.
And the always amazing Junko Mizuno::
Marvel.com: So what’s your STRANGE TALES story about?
Junko Mizuno: Spider-Man and Mary Jane move to a town inhabited by Spider-People. In a town where everyone has the ability to web, Spider-Man finds it hard to be a hero and MJ makes every effort to help him stand out.
Marvel.com: So is Mary Jane the real hero of the story?
Junko Mizuno: I don’t think so…There’s no hero in the story. You’ll see when you read it.
Marvel.com: Why’d you select Spidey and MJ to work with?
Junko Mizuno: I picked them because I like drawing spiders and redhead girls.
She’s fantastic, and so is this comic.
See Also:
A WALL-E Comic? Sign me up.
More WALL-E goodness is good for everyone. The Oscar winning animated movie had to be one of the most beautiful movies across the board in years, and likely will continue to be. (Sorry, Jim Cameron, I simply do not have any faith that Avatar will be able to challenge WALL-E in visual beauty, as well as characters that people can relate to and adore).
Boom! Studios is bringing this Pixar property to you, and from what I understand their Incredibles book is pretty awesome too. J. Torres is writing it with art by Morgan Luthi. Good guy, Shaun Manning (who is now a dad! Congrats dude!) of Comic Book Resources spoke to Torres about the book:
The new series will take place before the events seen in “WALL-E.” CBR News caught up with Torres to discuss the new comic.
Pixar’s “WALL-E” began on an inhospitable Earth, where even the robots assigned to clean up the ecologically devasted planet have ceased to function. One WALL-E model robot survives, though, carrying out his duties in his own idiosyncratic fashion, with only a friendly cockroach to keep him company. Eventually, circumstances lead the robot to meet a more advanced droid named EVE and venture to a spaceship where the last human survivors dwell lazily.
One notable feature of “WALL-E” was that it was largely without dialogue, as the two main characters communicated using only a select few words, including their names. “‘WALL-E’ is a very visual comic, much like the first act of the movie in which there’s very little ‘dialogue,’” Torres told CBR. “So, think of comics like ‘Gon’ or ‘Owly’ or ‘Actions Speak’ by Sergio Aragones. Although, I do use more sound effects. The sound design in the movie was terrific and I actually love using sound effects, especially in comics aimed at kids. Makes them fun to read out loud.”
WALL-E also had some of the smartest political commentary in cinema, how that is going to translate to this book will be extremely interesting to see. Torres tackles that aspect as well:
The thing is, the creators of ‘WALL-E’ have said that they didn’t really plan on making any political statements with the film. It apparently all started with the simple concept of ‘the last robot on earth,’” Torres explained. “They decided he would be a trash compacting robot and it went from there. I’m not saying there isn’t a message there, one that’s become more and more relevant since they started developing ‘WALL-E,’ but the lesson is really more about the character’s arc and growth, you know what I mean? It’s the same in the comic book. Despite the title ‘Trash Planet,’ it’s more of a coming-of-age story for WALL-E than a morality play about the environment. But I do drive a hybrid and use reusable shopping bags and bins!”
Though one thing I must mention now with Disney’s deal with Marvel and Disney owns Pixar, I hope that Boom! does not get the shaft, as they have been producing some wonderful adaptations of Pixar properties.
Wildstorm previews the final issue of ‘Planetary’.
Man, am I sorry to see this series end. Warren Ellis is still the best at trying new things to get your brain working in comics, and his commentary is some of the best coming from a professional writer of comics. I love the guy, but frankly, there will never be anything as good as Planetary after this ends.
Wildstorm has your preview. Its alot of talk of time travel, alternate universes, and genre commentary. Which is all of which we expect coming from Planetary. When the book finishes, I’ll probably have some kind of retrospective. Speaking of…(goes to bookshelf to dig out the books).
Warehouse 13 gets highest ratings in SyFy history.
SCIFI Wire talked about how well the show is doing ratings wise.
Warehouse 13 continues to set rating records for Syfy. The show’s sixth episode, “Burnout,” which aired on Aug. 11, was the most watched series telecast in the network’s 17-year history, with a total viewership of 4.4 million.
The previous record for the most-watched series telecast on Syfy had been the fifth episode of Warehouse 13, aired the previous week.
More than 1 million of the 4.4 million total viewership came via DVR playback.
The six episodes of Warehouse 13 broadcast to that date, including full Live + 7 DVR data, all rank in the top 10 most watched series telecasts ever on Syfy.
In head-to-head competition in the 9 p.m. (ET/PT) time slot, Warehouse 13 outperformed TNT’s Hawthorne by +24 percent in Adults 25-54, +11 percent in total viewers, and +9 percent in Adults 18-49.
They are not exactly up against some stiff competition. If this was a Fall show going up against FlashForward, Heroes, Lost, etc. it probably would do very poorly. Its placed very well, given the fact that this show, if it as put on regular broadcast, say on Friday night? It would end up in last place. I mean, if I had to choose on Friday night–its not much of a contest for me, its Friday Night Lights all the way. Its the best show on television, duh.