Tales From My Coffee Table
Plaque, Legos, Dozers… These things build up. So too does the rather heaping mound of comics, books, and assorted curiosities on the coffee table back at Casa de Ayers. I get sent and/or buy a whole lotta stuff in my capacity as buyer for FP (not to mention my lot in this life- Jeff Ayers, geek) and most weeks simply cannot keep up with the volume. Don’t get me wrong, there are worse problems to have, but there are many quality works that need to be rescued from this oblivion periodically. Let’s see what’s currently mixed in the pile.
TRON Ghost in the Machine- I’ve been gobbling up nearly everything I can in terms of news, tidbits, and images in anticipation of next year’s TRON sequel, Legacy, and this book just adds fuel to that fire. This was originally released by Slave Labor in single issue form over the course of some years due to long delays between installments. As such its already shaky plot became much more tenuous, though it works much better here in this collected edition. The story concerns Jet Bradley, son of TRON programmer Alan Bradley and yadda yadda… It’s no masterpiece (and I deplore the book’s look/design, shrunken down to Manga sized trade with slick paper presumably so that such a specialty book might sell in a Barnes & Noble in Tuscaloosa), but if you’re fiending for a TRON fix as much as I am right now then this’ll do nicely.
And be sure to watch the rather thrilling trailer for TRON Legacy for the umpteenth time. And get some exercise. Some fresh air would also be nice. Maybe some sun.
Translating Hollywood- Ah, movie posters. Those often iconic images commissioned by Hollywood to help get you to plunk down your twelve bucks that many of us end up plastering on our walls for years to come. Picture your favorite film, hell, even one of your least favorite, and it’s a good bet you can also picture its theatrical poster (or DVD cover, which is the same more often than not). Since World War II, when Hollywood really stared to ramp up international marketing, much of what Americans would consider an iconic movie poster is entirely different from what our human brothers and sisters around the globe would. Translating Hollywood documents nearly sixty years of international movie poster design, offering side by side comparison and cultural insight as to the differences.
As an added bonus, for the book fetishist in me, it’s a really well put together, gorgeous tome. Casebound hardcover (no dustcover to maintain through the years) always goes down well. What a swell book!
Asterios Polyp- There’s little else for me to add that hasn’t already been said about this phenomenal story by David Mazzucchelli (Cityof Glass, Batman Year One), except that having finally read the entire book I can unequivocally write this about it: Book of the Year. Easily. Next time you have a chance to pick one up don’t hesitate.
And that’s it for this edition, sure to be the first of many. There’s a never-ending avalanche of geekdom sliding down upon me. Keep it comin.
PUSHING DAISIES Wins 4 Emmys.
The most creative show that was formerly on television, Pushing Daisies, won four Emmys Sunday night, including the absolutely adorable and totally awesome Kristin Chenoweth taking Best Supporting Actress in a comedy.
Series creator Bryan Fuller spoke about the award wins:
It’s a tremendous honor to see ‘Daisies’ win in so many categories — and in the spirit of the show, win posthumously. Now can we please make the ‘Pushing Daisies’ movie?
Woah. Really? In the meantime, at least we get the Pushing Daisies comic from DC/Wildstorm. Which Fuller, in talking to Comics Alliance’s Laura Hudson, mentioned that its going to be a kind of zombie film with Ned and Chuck taking on a new kind of zombie.
Alan Moore on BLACKEST NIGHT.
More from that Mania.com, interview where I last excerpted a bit Mr. Moore’s thoughts on the Marvelman situation. This time, the legendary author takes DC to cause on their epic miniseries, Blackest Night.
To say the least, he’s quite cranky. He frequently goes on tirades blaming readers, writers, artists and publishers for what he sees as an industry circling the drain. I don’t mean to paraphrase, but the amount of venom is rather astounding and honestly, quite sad for me to recount. He even seriously doubts that the industry will be here in five years.
The final straw however was:
I think the lights are going out all over the comics industry. A lot of this is the fault of the publishers, a lot of it is the fault of the artists and writers, and I think, as you say, some of it is the fault of the readers.
The genesis of the interview was how Moore talks about Blackest Night as having been ripped wholesale from a story he did in Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #2, which is reprinted in DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore. The story predicted the end of the Green Lantern Corps, and well, its not a ripoff if you continue from that story, and actually expand on the eight pages.
If you’re going to call it a ripoff of a story you did, than you can probably say that about a lot of stories in comics as the stories told today came from somewhere before. I mean, V For Vendetta had roots in 1984 and, well, not to be a jerk or anything but League of Extraordinary Gentlemen very clearly came from the works of other authors.
I’ll shut up, but Ethan van Sciver had something to say about Moore’s comments.
Source: Alan Moore Talks Blackest Night [Bleeding Cool].
