Don'tchu Forget About Me
"It's hard to see with so many around You know I don't like being stuck in a crowd"
-GN'R
One of the problems inherent in the massive avalanche of quality and noteworthy comics published these days is the potential for something you'd wanna read to slip past your radar. It's difficult for books to stand out in such a crowded market, and even more difficult for us, the fan, the consumer to dodge the distinctly 21st Century bombardment of advertising, schilling, punditocracy, blog-o-rama that hypes the same stuph day in and week out ad nauseum. I'm regularly and increasingly made more acutely aware of this, and find myself, on the hand-selling level, having to champion titles that landed on our shelves with the thud of disappointing initial sales.
So, because Forbidden Planet has to spine out many graphic novels (no matter how worthy) for space reasons, and because not everything makes it to our new release rack every Wednesday, and because the human mind's eye simply cannot ingest and absorb (nor one's wallet afford) everything that is thrown at it, let's discuss some recent "lost" treasures.
Waldo's Hawaiian Holiday- The sequel book to Repo Man, the cult 1984 film triumphantly written and directed by maverick filmmaker Alex Cox and one of my favorite films of all time, was recently released to far less fanfare than deserved, and that's a danged shame. It's by no means as classic as its source film- like so many screenwriters' sojourns into our medium, it reads like a screenplay never ADAPTED to comic form; decent dialogue and a clever premise left to dangle like so many wind chimes as Cox the director never seems to surface within these pages to breathe that intense Repo Man life into 'em- but it's nonetheless essential if you're a fan. Discover our punk hero Otto as he returns to Earth ten years later in the Bush/Clinton/Gingrich nineties [shudder]. "A Repo Man's got all night, every night!"
Klassic Komix Klub- Johnny Ryan's (Angry Youth Comix) follow-up to last year's Comic Book Holocaust. Here the king of yuck desecrates over 100 of the world's greatest works of literature. Ranging from Homer's Odyssey to Dickens' Great Expectations to Hunter S. Thompson's Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas (my fave strip) gets the savagely ludicrous Ryan treatment. Finally, all that time you wasted reading those dopey books your over-priced education required you plow through is rewarded! Please note, Johnny's books, especially KKK, are not for children, the elderly, newlyweds, people on prescribed neurological depressants or stimulants, and right-wing stiffs. They are not a thoughtful Mother's Day present, unless your mother's a whackjob. Klassic Komix Klub is not meant to be read on a New York City train full of over-your-shoulder readers, nor is it meant as a bedtime story for little Bobby. Sense of humor required. Contact a life coach if KKK gets in your eyes. Discontinue use if knees start to buckle from hilarity. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Green Arrow Year One- No joke. This HC collects a really good story by Messrs. Andy Diggle (w) and Jock (The Losers) (a) about the birth of the Emerald Archer, better known as Green Arrow. Jock's unconventional (esp. for a superhero book!) art makes this book one of the only GA titles I'd recommend to just about anybody.
Faker TP- Another book illustrated by Jock! Y'know, one of these days I'm gonna go out and get kidnapped, have some new stuff happen to me. Until then I'll likes what I likes and recommends what I recommends. Four friends party hard one night, like there's no tomorrow. The next morning, they are five. What if all reality lost a grip on you? Explore said conundrum in this this compelling psychological horror story from DC Vertigo.
Funeral of the Heart- by Leah Hayes. The first full-length collection of graphic short stories from the pen what created Holy Moly, one of our best-selling Fantagraphics single issues in years, . Were I to pick a successor book to Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children, FOH would be my pick, hands down. Ms. Hayes' new book, entirely created using scratch board, deftly and darkly displays the talent of one of NYC's most promising newcomers. Not only is FOH a terrific-smelling book
Aqua Leung- by Mark Andrew Smith (w) and Paul Maybury (a). The ancient city of Atlantis manifests itself in our world, pulling an average boy named Aqua into its magical, and formerly mythical saga, revealing the truth to him about his origin... including his father's savage murder at the hands of those in fear of his power. He must now begin a journey to take back his father's kingdom from the evil shark king and restore himself as the one, true unifier of the seas. I looooove this book. If you're too ig'nant or overly-crusty to dismiss this fine comic based on the story or pun of a title you're missing out. This imaginative tale is filled with delights, and is pure, unmitigated comic goodness. Artist Paul Maybury may wear his influences on his sleeve, but his execution is eruditic and whimsically fantastical beyond the telling. What monsters! Whatta book!
Til next time, kids: Let's go do some crimes! (Please note the above was a Repo Man reference, and was, by no means, and endorsement of crime by either the author, or The Weekly Planet. It don't pay, folks, and you will be caught!)
JEFF
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008
Unkiedev's Amazing Stuff
My poor pocketbook does NOT get the week off, as there are a plethora of amazing books out this week...What? Yes I'm a man and yes I have a pocketbook. What is wrong with you people? Shouldn't we all come together as a community and celebrate unity, not turn on each other like jackals? Why, just the other day I was driving my Hummer and... OH, now you have a problem with Hummers? Sure they're bad for the environment and kinda' annoying to other vehicles, but I have to drive something REALLY manly so people will stop giving me a hard time about my pocketbook!
The Nearly Complete Essential Hembeck Archives Omnibus, Fred Hembeck (w/a), Image
Fred Hembeck is a one trick pony...but that one trick is pretty great! Any comic fan who grew up in the 80's remembers his "Fred Hembeck Destroys the Marvel Universe," a silly cartoon book in which the eponymous Hembeck does just that. Fred is a comics geek, and through his jokes and stories he's been playing with all the toys in the comic book box for decades. Simple jokes worthy of Mel Brooks team up with the cartooniest cartoon pen in the industry for more super-hero fun than a dweeb should probably have.
If you're like me you have a pocketbook, drive a hummer, eat only vegan (I have to do something to help offset the ecological blight of driving a Hummer,) and find that bad jokes and bad art = HILARIOUS!
Here in one volume are over 600 pages of solid Hembeck with a forward by Stan Lee. My advice: Buy this book, buy a coffee table and then put this book on it. Enjoyment and conversation will not ensue if you mix that order up. Fans of Hembeck may want to check out "the Magic Whistle" from ex-Sponge Bob scribe Sam Henderson, or any of Johnen Vasquez's material...especially his "Bad Art Collection."
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY
Did you go? It was fun! A bunch of us die-hards standing out in the drizzle waiting for a bag of free goodies! One nice man brought his two dogs, and they were the toast of the line. He certainly had more girls talking to him than the guy who kept talking about HeroClix...just sayin's all. Folks who didn't make it out missed out on more then just the cold:
Hellboy: The Mole, Mike Mignola (w) Duncan Fegredo , Dark Horse
One of the best Hellboy stories since Mignola stopped drawing...maybe since Hellboy: The Island. This book also collects a great little B.P.R.D. tale as well. I'm sure both will be used as epilogs in forthcoming Hellboy collections, but even still this single book may be my pick for best single comic from Free Comic Book Day.
I'll admit to not having read ALL the free comic books yet. Stop picking on me! There's a bunch, alright? I was only getting over my imagined persecution over the vegan thing, let alone my reading habits. Next I suppose you'll give me a hard time over being an avid bow hunter, or for my love of burning the Amazon rain forest, or for randomly shooting folks out of my window. You people are so judgmental.
Still, this week's comics are the cat's p-jays: Dark Horse has Buffy #14, as well as Conan #50 (Should be good) and the new Indy Jones movie adaption. I'll wait till the movie, thanks. Marvel's got Spidey and Mighty Avengers, and DC has a nice Batman/Joker trade: Joker's Last Laugh. Image has Madman and Scud. Great darn week for comics. Great darn week.
Friday, May 2nd, 2008
Not So Iron-y Man
Hiya folks! Some of you fine people may have noticed my absence in the Weekly Planet last week (perhaps even rued, or possibly rejoiced my absence?) but it was a hectic and torrid state of affairs that forced the interruption of my streak of nintety consecutive weeks writing this column. I'd like to think Cal Ripken would've been proud, but he probably, in reality, would've just called me a little wuss for missing last week. Any time you wanna throw down, fantasy Ripken... I guess it's time to dig my cleats in again and start a new streak.
When last this corny crusader wrote here, he began to detail the nifty and varied Free Comics Forbidden Planet would be giving away this Saturday, May 3rd 2008. He continues here:
More FCBD 2008 Highlights:
Viz Media Shonen Jump- The Shonen Jump Free Comic Book Day issue will be 32 action-packed pages all about the world of Shonen Jump. It will not only include manga previews of three of the most exciting series - Naruto, Bleach and Slam Dunk - but it will also include coverage of many Shonen Jump manga series, from One Piece to Death Note, designed to introduce new readers to all that Shonen Jump has to offer.
Top Shelf Owly- Not one, but four all-ages tales. In this FCBD edition, you're not only presented with an all-new Owly adventure by Andy Runton, but also three other all-new, all-ages adventures from Owly's friends: Korgi by Christian Slade, Johnny Boo by James Kochalka, and Yam by Corey Barba! Perfect for everyone in the family... and be sure to keep an eye out for Owly
Gumby' Coloring Comic Book- this spectacular coloring comic edition speaks for itself- "Break out the crayons!"
DC Comics Tiny Titans- A comic series that is perfect for kids of all ages! See what life is like at Sidekick Elementary and meet the new staff. Follow the madness that ensues when Beast Boy gets a puppy friend. Witness what happens when the girls meet a pink stranger with a melted ice cream cone. Find out what makes Wonder Girl such a trendsetter. All your favorite Titans, in their cutest possible form, are here and waiting for you!
Drawn & Quarterly's Gegika Manga Sampler- bringing together excerpts from new releases by two early masters of Japanese comics: Yoshihiro Tatsumi's Good-Bye and Seiichi Hayashi's Red Colored Elegy. Both drawn in the early '70s, these comics are still as remarkable as ever and will be brought to North American readers this May. Tatsumi's short stories expand the prolific artist's vocabulary for characters contextualized by themes of depravity and disorientation in twentieth-century Japan, while Hayashi's landmark full-length poetic masterpiece beautifully captures the quiet melancholy lives of a young couple struggling to make ends meet. All ages.
Graphic Classics- Included are Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat," adapted by Rod Lott and Gerry Alanguilan; Arthur Conan Doyle's eerie mystery "John Barrington Cowles," adapted by Alex Burrows and Simon Gane; and fantasy master Lord Dunsany's "A Narrow Escape," adapted by Milton Knight. Plus a one-page fable by Ambrose Bierce, illustrated by Mark Dancey, and "Frankenstein" author Mary Shelley's medieval romance, "The Dream," adapted by Antonella Caputo and Anne Timmons.
TwoMorrow's Comics go Hollywood- A special 32-page behind-the-scenes guide, where you'll learn what's involved in taking a character from the comics page to the big screen! It includes: Storyboards from DC's animated hit The New Frontier (courtesy of Draw! Magazine)! Jeph Loeb on writing for both Marvel Comics and the Heroes TV show (courtesy of Write Now! magazine)! Details on the unseen X-Men movie (courtesy of Alter Ego magazine)! A history of The Joker from his 1940s origins to his upcoming appearance in The Dark Knight (courtesy of Back-Issue Magazine)! And a look at Marvel Universe co-creator Jack Kirby's Hollywood career, with extensive Kirby art!
Yen Press' Maximum Ride- Yen Press presents a sneak peak at Maximum Ride, the new manga series from America's #1 bestselling author James Patterson! Max and her "flock" are pretty normal kids... except for the fact that they're 98% human, 2% bird - and can fly! Now, the twisted scientists that created them want them dead. Who will survive?
... Indeed, there's a surplus of cool, free swag we'll be giving away this weekend. The first 250 people to come to Forbidden Planet for FCBD will get a bag of everything we received for the date (I've lugged one home myself earlier this week- they're huge. Better bring a forklift.), separated out and grouped into age 12 and over sets, and all ages sets for the kids. We open at 10:00am, and will give out free stuph all day, while supplies last!
Hope to See You Here,
JEFFY
Wednesday, April 25th, 2008
GHOST RIDER!! (ahem) WAIT, NO, GHOST WRITER.
Hello one and all and welcome to another week of comic fantasticism. If this week's article has a different sound to it than you're used to, it's probably because this week's role of Jeff will be played by Mat K., who you might recognize from our "Welcome To Shibuya-Cho" segment. Due to various post-Comic Con craziness and shenanigans Jeff is taking a little break from playing informant. Let me start off by pointing out that there hasn't been a short week in forever. I mean really, once upon a time, (like not even a year ago), there were barely enough titles to fill 3 rows of our 30 foot long shelves with new titles, and on those weeks where there were more than could fit, it was still manageable. Nowadays be barely ever get let than 4 rows worth. With 10 million different things coming out every week, and the whole industry in over drive, its hard to pick out some, but I still gotta make the effort. SO HERE'S WHAT'S GOOD:
In case any of you have been dormant for the last year, DC's follow up weekly series to 52 was called Countdown To Final Crisis, and this week is the final issue, well, that is issue 1. Technically things that count down count to zero, but the zero issue is something else and will be called DC Universe: Zero. Just thought you all might be interested in the culmination of the last years worth of writing that went into this latest weekly from DC.
Now I'm one to typically read comics based on TV shows, but I do love the writing and the cinematography of Supernatural. And this week sees the release of the new comic series Supernatural: Rising Son. The story of Sam and Dean going with their father while he hunts down demons in search of clues as to why his wife was murdered. But more importantly, it's the story of Dean's first demon hunt.
Lets wrap this baby up with all the things that I'm going to be reading this week, and you should too. First off there's Birds Of Prey (love me some Barbara Gordon), Fallen Angel (the best book that you're not reading!!), Hack/Slash the Series, the New Exiles (still filed under the letter "E"), X-Force (like X-Men if people actually bled when you gut them), Uncanny X-Men (my superhero guilty pleasure), and Young Avengers Presents (just because i needed to know what the hell happened to them all since Civil War and stuff. And thats it. Read on and enjoy the rest of this little periodical (especially the ever amazing manga/anime info section known as Welcome To Shibuya-Cho, it has more pretty pictures).
MAT K
Wednesday, April 18th, 2008
Welcome To Shibuya-Cho
So this past week marked another end of an era, at least personally. The final volume of the Witchblade anime was released. And even though the ads themselves pretty much tell you how it's going to end, (Spoiler Alert if you haven't watched it yet), that didn't make it any less depressing when Masane gives her life at the end, leaving little Rihoko behind. It was very climactic, you know, the kind of end that completely engulfs the last four episodes of the series instead of cramming it all into one dense episode. Now, Masane was the third in a line of concurrent Japanese bearers, and if you saw the series, you know Rihoko is going to be the fourth, and considering the blade has been waiting with Masane until Rihoko was mature enough, she must be something special, like some Japanese version of Sarah Pezzini. So I wonder just how long does the Witchblade wanna hang around Japan for?
At this point, there's only one more thing I would have liked to see from the series, and that's maybe a little glimpse of the future it kind stops right at Masane's death. I understand from a writing perspective that this was Masane's story, and with no her, there's no story, The End. But it would have been nice to see maybe how Rihoko and Takayama (her biological father) get along, how their friends react and recover, and how the city recovers from the massive I-Weapon attack. But oh well, unless they make a Witchblade Season 2, I'm going to have to turn to dojinshi and fan fiction.
On a related note, something else depressing happened as Witchblade ended, I found myself having nothing to watch, no new series to look towards the monthly release of. Claymore the anime is finally waking it's way to the states, but thats too far away. Today I noticed when I came into work two new fledgling series that I ignored before in my excitement over Witchblade's release. The second volumes of both these series just came in and we're waiting on their thirds. These two series are Tokyo Majin, and Black Blood Brothers.
In Tokyo Majin the fate of the world (as it always is) is in the hands of 5 students with powers and abilities of their own trying to stop Demons, Zombies, and Alchemists, as well as other evil things from trying to bring about the final Apocalypse, (since the first few didn't quite end the world enough apparently). And in Black Blood Brothers a new strain of super infectious vampirism hits the streets, two brothers travel to a special place where vampires and humans live in peace, but tension builds between human soldiers and vampire refugees. The thing that caught my eye in both these series? The art and animation is pretty hot in both of them. And the dark elements of both intrigued me. Thats what I've got for you people this week. Until next time!
Ja Ne!
MATT K
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The Best Things in Life
How are ya, folks? My name is Jeff and I'm the store manager and print buyer for Forbidden Planet NYC. What you're reading is a copy of our weekly newsletter, and every now and then I find myself having to write this introduction- usually on weeks such as this when we give out even more of these things than the thousands we regularly distribute on New Comic Wednesdays. What's so special about this week to warrant an over-printing? Well, chances are you may be receiving this at any one of a buncha hip and happenin' events goin down in our fair city right now. From something as geekily monumentous as New York Comic-Con at the Javits center, or either of the two excellently bodacious, 21 and over parties we're sponsoring Saturday and Sunday nights, to something as deceptively mundane as New Comic Day, whatevs the case may be, what you've been given and now grasp in your grimy mitts is the cumulative efforts of a number of FP staffers and friends, and is a regular, if massively distilled, dose of the cumulatively fierce awesomosity that is the FP, New York's single greatest emporium for comics, graphic novels, toys, Sci-Fi, Manga, and millions of other items, he wrote without a hint of humility or regret.
Whew.
In this edition of the Planet I'd like to discuss the forthcoming Free Comic Book Day. FCBD is a single day (this years it's Saturday 5/3) when we, and other participating comic book shops across North America and around the world (but why wouldja wanna go any place else, really?) give away comic books absolutely free and specially created by the industry's major publishers to anyone who comes into their stores. How every store handles the hordes of free comic seekers is different, but here's how FP is gonna rock it this year: simply, the first 250 people to come to our store looking for free books will get a bag of every single comic we receiveve for the occasion, kids under 12 years old receiving bags of books specifically designed for all ages readers! We'll will be giving out hundreds of other free books the remainder of the day, while supplies last.
Here's part 1 of a guide to what we're giving away May 3rd, a mere smattering of the wonders you'll receive FREE. Part 2, will follow next week:
All Star Superman #1 FCBD Edition (DC Comics) Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's Man of Steel opus.
Antarctic Press TP- a selection of Eisner-nominee Rod Espinosa's thrilling saga of Neotopia! In a world where Man has finally learned to exist in harmony with Nature, the citizens of Mathenia live happily under their beloved Grand Duchess. Unknown to them, she is Nalyn, a commoner impersonating Nydia, the real Duchess. When Nalyn is kidnapped by an enemy country bent on bringing back the age of technological excess, she must lead her country to war!
Broken Trinity (Top Cow)- Brought to you by the First Born and Witchblade powerhouse creative team of Ron Marz and Stjepan Sejic, Top Cow presents you with an epic tale of their three biggest characters/books, the triumvirate of Witchblade, The Darkness, and The Angelus!
EC Comics Sampler- Wally Wood's cover from Tales From the Crypt #26 wraps four classic stories from the EC Archives by some of comics' greatest creators of all time: Al Feldstein, Alex Toth and Harvey Kurtzman, Johnny Craig and the aforementioned Mr. Wood. Classic!
X-Men (Marvel)- In this gratis issue, the young mutant Pixie tries to save her town from a mysterious evil. But when the baddies prove too tough for any one hero to handle, Pixie calls in a little help from her friends. Guest-starring Cyclops, Wolverine, Colossus and the rest of Marvel's mightiest mutants, this spectacular story features the work of acclaimed scribe Mike Carey and fan-favorite artist Greg Land.
Hellboy (Dark Horse)- Hellboy creator Mike Mignola teams up with artist Duncan Fegredo for a look into Hellboy's nightmares, with John Arcudi and Guy Davis for a breathtaking twist to recent events at the Bureau - a preview of the events in the upcoming series The Warning, and with Hellboy Universe newcomers Joshua Dysart and Paul Azaceta team for another look into the world of their BPRD: 1946 series for an adventure from the early days of both the Bureau and its most famous member!
The Moth (Rude Dude)- The Moth returns with Steve Rude and Gary Martin, who are just getting warmed-up! If you missed the first 5 issues - fear not! This Free Comic Day special brings any newcomers out there up-to-date! Sexy bearded ladys, ill-tempered smoking midgets, and a 24-year-old in a Moth costume in charge of running a circus all await you.
International Graphic Noveld at Their Zenith #1 (Fantagraphics)-With a cover by Ganges artist Kevin Huizenga, this full-color comic provides special exclusive advance looks at seven Ignatz releases slated for later in 2008: Zak Sally's Sammy the Mouse #2, Richard Sala's Delphine #4, David (Epileptic) B.'s Babel #3, Marti's Calvario Hills #2, Sergio Ponchione's Grotesque #2, Leila Marzocchi's Niger #3, and the as-yet-untitled third installment of Gipi's "Wish You Were Here" series of graphic novelettes.
The Stranded (Virgin Comics)- What if your entire life - your childhood, your family, all your memories - was a lie? That is the question at the core of The Stranded, the inaugural title from the landmark collaboration between Virgin Comics and The SCI FI Channel! An epic adventure, The Stranded is here featured alongside Dan Dare in a special flip-cover edition for FCBD 2008. An icon since the 1950's, Dan Dare has been pulled out of retirement and into the outer reaches of the galaxy in this new series written by Garth Ennis!
All Ages Selections
Shonen Jump Sampler (Viz)- 32 action-packed pages all about the world of Shonen Jump. It will not only include manga previews of three of the most exciting series - Naruto, Bleach and Slam Dunk - but it will also include coverage of many other manga, from One Piece to Death Note!
Transformers Animated (IDW)- This special 2008 Free Comic Book Day edition celebrates the new Transformers Animated series. In this, their first official comic book release, readers will be treated to a special 30-page story featuring the debut episode of the animated series on the printed page! See the introduction of young Optimus Prime, veteran Ratchet, and newcomers like Bulkhead, as they go up against Megatron, Starscream, and the Decepticon forces!
Bongo Comics Free For All (Bongo)- Sample The Simpsons and Futurama in the comfort of your own comic collection with this special pocket-sized digest edition from Bongo Comics - boasting the best in humor comics! Marvel Adventures Iron Man (Marvel)- Iron Man! Spider-Man! Hulk! Ant-Man! The Mandarin! Marvel's Mightiest Merry Mugs vs. The Mandarin!
"And Remeber: I'll eat anything you want me to eat. I'll saw anything you want me to saw. So come on down, I'll... chew on the dog! Arroooo!"
And to Our Regulars Old and New: All the Best!
JEFFY
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
WAIT! Come Back!
As most of you should know by now, we're in the midst of a monumental SALE down here at The Planet. If you received this newsletter with your purchase of some of the terrific stuff we purvey and didn't know your items had been discounted, turn right the heck back around, baby, and take advantage of 15% OFF EVERYTHING WE SELL!!! Buy more stuff! Forbidden Planet needs to clear a lotta stock and storage space, and we hold a store-wide sale so rarely (the last one was about four years ago!) that it behooves you to come back as much as possible through Monday morning when the sale ends. Once more, in big, bold, and beautiful typeface:
15% OFF Everything Thru Sunday, 4/13!!!!!!
Oh, and one other upcoming event of ginormous note: New York Comic-Con is imminent, set to descend like a dorktacular mothership UFO upon our fair city next weekend. Forbidden Planet is still selling tickets to the Con, however supplies are limited, and will most likely dry up soon, so get yours ASAP. And, like TIE fighters scrambling from a Star Destroyer, there's tons of special events, ins, outs, and what have yous spewing forth from the Con's gaping maw. Not to be outdone, good ole FP is co-sponsoring an invitation only event with Image Comics, Evil Ink and Clutter Magazine to celebrate the release of Coheed and Cambria frontman Claudio Sanchez's new graphic novel of The Amory Wars. What's more, and what should tantalize, titilize, and entice you kids out there is The Forbidden Planet Post Comic-Con Party, Sunday April 20th!!! Everybody out there's invited to party your butts off with us at Arrow Bar, located at 85 Ave A @ 6th St. The shindig officially kicks off at 8pm with DJ Patrick A. Reid and his special guest The Qualia, but, aside from any other drink specials we'll have, there's a rockin Happy Hour from 5-9pm. Whenever you show up, show up. All the cool kids are going.
Releasing 4/9/08
Harlan Ellison's Watching- Kudos to Dark Horse Comics for their rootsy dedication in re-releasing classic yet ludicrously long out of print prose TPs from some of SF/Fantasy's most essential and influential authors. And I ain't talking 'bout those Aliens vs. Predator novels you've been after. Rather, such works as Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar series (lovingly adapted by Mike Mignola in comic form as Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser and available now at Forbidden Planet, as you may remember from an earlier column), and works by my favorite author Mr. Harlan Ellison- namely his rock n' roll novel Spider Kiss, and this new edition of Watching, his scathing, pertinent and timelessly relevant collection reprinting over fifty essays covering twenty-five years of cinema critique and expose. Featuring such faves as "Luke Skywalker is a Nerd and Darth Vader Sucks Runny Eggs", HE's Watching is essential reading for anyone who ever claimed to have a favorite movie, anyone who's spent hours and hours in a dark theater absorbing the flickering images and bombastic sounds, and anyone who's ever polished off a garbage can of popcorn slathered in "butter" topping in said theater and farted thier guts out for hours after. I already own this book in multiple formats, but the Dark Horse Edition is tops on my list of purchases for Wednesday the 9th.
Oh, and to the girl who kept the copy of Ellison's Shatterday I loaned her years ago, the hardcover first edition that Unca Harlan signed and dedicated to me, lent with a promise it would be returned in a few days by a salacious young woman I was enamored of, who returned a year later sans book and demanded I take her out to dinner lest I never see it again, I say this: There are better, more attractive and effective means of procuring a date than holding a fella's favorite tome hostage.
"See You at the Party, Richter!!!"
JEFFY
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008
Not So Secret Invasions
There are some invasions of particular note this week, and not all of 'em feature pointy-eared alien baddies, shape-shifting their way into the pantheon of Marvel Comics' superhero troupe and thus infiltrating our society in order to enslave the human race a la Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Battlestar Galactica (which returns this Friday- a happy, happy day indeed!), and about a million other SF books and movies that play upon our fears and expose our inate and inane paranoia.
The past few weeks in comic culture featured the emergence of anonymous and assinine "blogger" named marvel_b0y, a supposedly disgruntled low level editorial staffer at the House of Ideas venting his editorial frustrations by spreading spoilers and trashy office gossip. Said blogging has been hotly debated, with speculation on his/her identity ranging from ex-52 editor Steve Whacker to an inside job of viral marketing meant to drum up some form of publicity for the company's already high-profile releases of Secret Invasion and Spider-Man: One More Day. Regardless, this writer finds Marvel_b0y's credibility spotty at best, shameless at worst, to the point of disgust. There are so many other worthy endeavors and legitimate concerns within the comics industry to pay attention to than to give credence to some cowardly jamook on the inter-web spreading pointless bile. That being the case I hereby cease giving this self-professed "attention whore" any more ink now.
Another invasion of sorts is imminent at the good old FP: CONSTRUCTION CREWS! 840 Broadway's lower levels and surrounding sidewalk need mondo structural re-construction and oh, baby, are we all gonna feel the crunch. We'll be losing about half of our storage space for a few months, meaning we've gotta jettison a ton of material fast.
That means you make out, dear Forbidden Planet customer! Make out like a bandit!
The other invasion? A little Marvel comic book named Secret Invasion releases this Wednesday and I'm sure a few of you are interested in this title.
"Did you ever think anything you didn't say?"
-Jessica Lovejoy
Love Ya,
JEFF
Monday, March 7th, 2008
Creators of '85 Stop by for a Chat
Danny Simmons and Floyd Hughes, co-creators of '85, stopped in to Forbidden Planet for a signing a couple weeks ago, and they were kind enough to let us film a quick interview:Wednesday, March 26, 2007
Area Geek is Human, Too
Certain ailments, fevers, delusions, and sicknesses are plaguing me as of press time, so please forgive any gaffes or faux pas that may arise below. Give a brother a break.
However, I was not so inflicted last week when, mistakenly, I wrote that Graham Nolan was the director of the next Batman flick. Nor am I an ig'nant dummy. By way of CORRECTION with regards to last week's article, allow me to state that every credible geek worth his spice in the galaxy knows that the next Dark Knight is helmed by the talented Christopher Nolan, myself included. I suppose the lesson here is don't write the Weekly Planet on the floor, under-staffed, ringing register, ordering books, covering bag-check, and catching up with an old and favored customer named Graham. Don't try this stuff at home, kids!
Notable Comics Releasing 3/26:
All Star Superman #10 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. This Eisner Award winning title is easily the best book published by DC Comics today. By leaps and bounds.
Transhuman #1 From Jonathan Hickman, creator of The Nightly News, Pax Romana and Red Mass For Mars, comes TRANSHUMAN, a mockumentary that covers the discovery of superhuman genetic engineering, the companies built on the back of that discovery and the marketing war to bring it into each and every one of our homes. Ya ever see the movie The Stuff? That was pretty cool.
Suffering from "Spells" in a Tennessee Williams Sense,
JEFFY
Labels: jeff ayers
Contributor Art
Death and Dream (Daniel) from Sandman
(detail, unfinished)
http://alicemeichi.com
- illustration portfolio
Artist's Note: Drawn upon Mr. Gaiman's announcement that that Death: The High Cost of Living film will be set in London... and the fact that Daniel doesn't get enough love. The finished version can be seen on my site soon!
Labels: alice meichi li, contributor art
Embracing the Inner Bimbo
Now I've been a longtime fan
of Sam Kieth since comic
book store employees stared in puzzlement
at a 10-year-old me using her allowance to
purchase floppies of The Maxx
during its first run. (Having
parents that didn't understand English very
well definitely worked to my advantage as
a kid!) So imagine my excitement as I found
out that #2 of My
Inner Bimbo was *finally* releasing
after over a year's delay!
Were I more pretentious I would spout a pedantic
list of philosophers and psychologists from
which Kieth derives his themes, but pretension
takes effort and I'd like to focus my energies
on other "p"s that come far easier for me
-- "proselytization" and "psychoanalyzation".
Yes, that's right. My Inner Bimbo is
a diamond in the rough -- Kieth's psychedelically
surreal art shining through in black and white
as well as potent elixir of his personal vocabulary.
Reflecting upon The Maxx,
you will find the dynamic between Lo, the
protagonist, and Bunny, his inner bimbo, pointedly
reminiscent of Mr. Gone's sexist fantasy-play
with a kidnapped and pink-enrobed Julie Winters.
Indeed, there is a strong visual comparison
between the two pairs (a balding, older, long-faced
man and a baby-faced, buxom blonde) and suggests
that My Inner Bimbo may be Kieth's
further extrapolation of the vitriol and emotional
dependency between these two examples of his
personal pantheon of archetypes.
Both are stories of naive femininity coming
into its own after periods of traumatic suppression.
While Julie Winters' rape as a college student
caused the mental creation of her stronger
Jungle Queen counterpart, Lo's premature marriage
to a much-older woman froze his emotional
development and caused it to manifest in the
form of his inner bimbo who is now finally
embarking on her own journey of growth.
Parallels are abound in this book, as similarly-drawn
juxtaposed panels depict Lo treating Bunny
in the same way that he, as a 17-year-old
wide-eyed blonde, was treated by his obviously
more dominant future wife. Transference, much?
Ironically enough, we also found that Mr.
Gone's twisted serial-raping ways manifested
from his own molestation by an older woman
as a child. Names change, but the patterns
and character mythologies are reincarnated
until they can finally be resolved. Yet, instead
of the older male figure acting as the somewhat-otherworldly
guiding force for the younger female to face
their dark past, it's the opposite in the
case of My Inner Bimbo.
The crux of the plot is the evolution of the
bimbo. Initially an unquestioning and eager
sex slave; she then takes her first steps
as a critical Greek chorus, adding sarcastic
comments to Lo's woe-is-me monologue from
a Kids Say the Darndest Things perspective.
In issue #2, Bunny is further tinged with
worldliness, her hair occasionally turning
black a la the Jungle Queen, and takes an
interest in philosophy and personal development.
She demands to be addressed as "Liza", taken
from Lo's reading of My Fair Lady in the role
of Eliza Doolittle, and sets forth to find
emotional independence for herself -- and
by proxy, for Lo.
My Inner Bimbo is an alternate subtext
reinforcement of developing one's inner Anima,
first pioneered by The Maxx. It is
the painful adolescence of Kieth's portrayal
of our feminine side, and an expository and
all-too-realistic reinvention of his first
beloved characters. Let's just hope we won't
have to wait another year for #3 to hit the
shelves!
*Alice Meichi
Li
Labels: alice meichi li
The Static Age Part 4: In Space!
Critters 4 (1991) - The first film to blast off into the unknown and the only one that would actually make sense. The Crits (or critters to all y'all country bumpkins) are actually ALFs (no, not the friendly furry kind from Melmac) so setting their fourth and final film in space brings the series full circle. Although not my favorite, it's still a pretty fun watch.
Hellraiser IV: Bloodline (1996) - Now let me preface this by saying I'm not a big Hellraiser fan. The special effects are nice and all but I just don't dig on it. Now as far as Bloodline, the concept is really pushing it. On a space station in the future, a relative of the inventor of the original puzzle box decides it's his duty to put an end to Pinhead and his Cenobite cronies once and for all. And how? By making a reverse puzzle box, of course. Not only is the concept ridiculous but it probably would have worked better if it wasn't in space. Pass on this one and pretty much every Hellraiser after this.
Leprechaun 4: In Space (1997) - The Leprechaun movies are some of my all-time favorites but this is the only one in the series that I can't stand. They were too aware of the fact they were making a bad movie so they didn't even try to make it a good "bad" movie. There's no real reason behind having him in space other than to add wacky futuristic elements. I guess they just wanted to jump on the "in space" bandwagon. Notice how each movie so far has been the 4th in it's franchise. So I'll give them credit if they were aware of this trend and did it on purpose, but I highly doubt the masterminds behind this turd were that smart. The most important part of a Leprechaun flick is Leprechaun's silly rhymes, which are non-existent in this installment. Yes, this one sucks, but don't let that stop you from checking out Leprechaun in the Hood and Back to the Hood which are quite possibly some of the best.
Jason
X (2002) - People talk a lot of
yang on this flick, but I honestly love it.
It successfully did what Leprechaun 4
tried to: take your main character out of
his element and put him on a futuristic space
station. They were aware that they were making
an "in space" movie and didn't suck at it.
They took everything I love about the Friday
the 13th series and super-sized it with
uber technology. Whether you wanna admit it
or not, Jason hasn't been remotely interesting
since part 7 and its other horror movie cliche:
the girl with psychic powers (hopefully someday
I'll cover those flicks), so I welcomed X
in all it's far-fetched glory. A must-see
for all true quality schlock fans.
Since then I haven't seen any franchises try
to execute an "in space" flick. Why not? Fear
of a flop and backlash from fans? Who cares,
bring on the cheese. I could only imagine
the stuff Chucky would pull on an unsuspecting
space crew, Freddy could easily invade the
dreams of Elm Street descendants in the future,
and pretty much anyone at anytime could pull
of a chainsaw massacre. So let's do it, fledging
film makers. Shoot me into outer space!
Oh and by the way... if you're not busy this
Friday and are into heavy music, check out
my band. We're playing just a few blocks from
the Planet at Otto's Shrunken Head.
All the info is conviently located on this
super-rad zombie flyer, that I drew by the
way. See you there!
- Matt D.
Labels: matt d
Welcome to Shibuya-cho
And, let's face it, volume 6 was really climactic. I mean, we found out Seimei was still alive and everything looked as if it were about to hit the fan. Lo and behold, I'm reading volume 7 and the aptly named "Septimal Moon" chapters, and I finally get to the end and what?! "In the next volume of Loveless..." Don't get me wrong, I'm glad it's not over, I just had to let you guys know I'm sorry about the incorrectness.
Moving on, last week we received an awesome little surprise of Air Gear vol. 6 -- the manga AND the Vol. 6 DVD coming in. The manga showed up a bit early, but the DVD came just in time. The DVD is also the last volume of the series (pending the decision on the second season). And while they changed a few things around to make the ending make sense, you can expect Benkei and Yoshitsune to be their awesome selves.
Now, you all know I'm an Air
Gear fanboy, so I'm not gonna hang on that
too long. The only other thing you need to
know this week is Paprika
is finally here! Now the DVD auto-plays in
Japanese, but it does come with English subtitles
for those of you who want it. And if you don't
know Paprika, this is the latest
movie from Satoshi Kon (Perfect
Blue, Millennium Actress, and
Tokyo Godfathers).
A group of psychotherapists create a device
that allows them to travel into the dreams
of their patients to help them overcome their
issues, but someone steals a set of the D.C.
Minis and starts mixing the crazy dreams of
the patients into everyone else's heads...
even while they're awake. Action, adventure,
and tons of bizarre dream imagery makes for
an awesome movie, but this has that extra
spice... Paprika.
See you all next time, and don't hold that
Loveless thing against me.
Ja ne!
Mat K.
Labels: mat k
Unkie Dev's Amazing Stuff
SUPERTURKEYS
Superman stands
for all things American, and Thanksgiving
is no exception. Superman loves eating turkey.
Remember that one issue when a Kryptonian
turkey returns from Krypton and ole' Supes
destroys Metropolis trying to chop its neck
off with an axe-head made of Green-K, and
then Jimmy Olsen turns into a mermaid? It
was awesome. The next issue had Bizarro superturkey
arrive in Metropolis, cackling a hideous "Elbog,
Elbog" and trying to eat pilgrims.
Batman, on the other hand,
HATES turkey. There was a great Elseworlds
story where Benjamin Franklin became Batman...
or Turkeyman, rather. Scene One involved Benjamin
"Bruce" Franklin-Wayne arguing that the turkey
should be our national bird, being versatile,
plentiful and indigenous. After this debate
England, guns down his parents in an alley.
"The British are a superstitious, cowardly
lot," says Ben, "though those that fear bats
and liberty deserve neither," and donning
a turkey costume, beat the red-coats in the
streets of Philadelphia with Turkey-rangs,
electric kites and a special horse-drawn carriage
shaped like a turkey. I think Mark Waid wrote
it.
BLACK FRIDAY
This week we all become sharks
in the shopping frenzy as the bleeding corpse
of the holiday season floats ever closer.
What to buy, what to buy? Drugs and illegal
fire-arms make the perfect gift for the young
and the old, as they are certainly the catalyst
of many a new experience. Forbidden Planet
does not sell these items, not even if you
wink at the counter and ask to see the *wink-wink*
"Back-issues," *wink-wink.*
Gift guides, however, are stupid. Suffice
it to say Forbidden Planet is stocked to the
snots with DVDs, t-shirts, graphic novels,
comic, manga and gift certificates. Why shop
anyplace else for gifts this season? Dad would
LOVE some Hellboy Heroclix,
and Mom is just stupid for Crisis
on Infinite Earths. Why not
get little sis a scale model replica of Hawkeye's
bow and cowl, plus wouldn't Grandma be the
talk of the nursing home in her Battlestar
Galactica "Frak Me!" T-shirt?
Yes. Yes she would.
FUNNY
BUSINESS
The
Goon: Chinatown - Eric
Powell (w/a), Dark Horse. The Goon
is a tough-as-nails, battle-scarred mobster
who is the only thing standing between the
poor schlubs he shakes down for protection
money and screaming bog-lurks, giant land
squids, zombies, and the occasional bowling
midget. He drinks, he fights, and he carries
with him deep scars. Chinatown, the
Goon's first full-length original graphic
novel has been eagerly anticipated by Goon
fans. Chinatown promises to be a
prequel of sorts, detailing secrets from the
Goon's dark and mysterious past... but don't
think it'll be too serious. The last time
the Goon took trips down memory lane still
involved slap-stick, football thugs, and his
bearded circus aunt..
Multi-award winning cartoonist Eric
Powell got great exposure this year
working with writer Richard Donner
on the "Bizarro World" storyline
in Action Comics.
The Chinatown graphic novel marks
the beginning of what Dark Horse is calling
"The Year of the Goon." Yup, 2008 will bring
in new Goon merchandise and the return of
the Goon comic going monthly. Indulge the
disgusting misanthrope within: Read the Goon!
You should also pick up Street
Fighter Volume 4: Bonus Stage
(Various creators from Udon Comics).
If you have ever liked Street
Fighter II you will dig this.
Creators like Adam Warren and
Ultimates 3's Joe Madureira
bring quick, fun stand alone stories of globe
spanning beat-downs just in time for Thanksgiving.
DANG. Out of room. I shouldn't have spent
so much time making up malarkey about Ben
Franklin and his turkey vigilance. Nah, that
stuff was gold. Pulitzer, thy name is "MINE!"
By Guest Contributor: Unkie
Dev
Labels: unkiedev
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
The Future: Far More Futuristic Than Originally Expected
Shooting
War
by Anthony Lappe & Dan Goldman
"I'll tell you 1 and 1 makes 3."It's 2011 and John McCain is president, America still writhes in an impossible quagmire in the Middle East, Dan Rather and Bill O'Reilly are kickin', gas is fifteen bucks a gallon, and terrorist cells are going at it a la The Invisbles by infiltrating the system from the inside (the popular video game of the moment is Infidel Massacre, secretly developed by the super tech savvy Abu Abdallah -- Big Mac chomping leader of The Sword of Mohammed). Jimmy Burns, small-time activist and hipster, witnesses and inadvertently video blogs the terrorist bombing of a Starbucks in Williamsburg. Global News Network pirates the footage, airing it and instantly propelling Jimmy to celebrity "journalist." On assignment embedded in Iraq's civil war, Jimmy finds himself in the midst of chaos and destruction, faking his way through the muck that we're currently helping create.
-Living Colour
Were I a Hollywood jamook I'd pitchline Shooting War as Max Headroom meets DMZ.
Writer Anthony Lappe, unlike
the majority of the punditocracy, has actualy
been to Iraq, executive editing the Guerilla
News Network's website and producing an award-winning
documentary on the embattled nation called
Battleground: 21 Days on the Empire's
Edge. So he's got street cred in spades.
Storytelling-wise -- his pacing, dialogue,
and media savvy excel. Shooting War
is damn harrowing, man. Dan Goldman's art,
a technique combining photography, vector
illustration, and digital painting is fluid
and lucid. Unlike last week's pretty and gussied
up Silver Surfer release,
the reader can always tell what's going on
and the story is only complimented more so
by it's art. Congratulations, Dan. You're
the only comicker I've ever to pull this style
off WELL!
Shooting War was originally serialized
online at ACT-I-VATE, but
we should all rejoice this hip, relevant and
important comic work is now available in a
beautiful hardcover. It's accessible by the
masses/mundanes and readily available for
those of us book fetishists; just check out
Dan's provocative cover!
The best compliment I got reading Shooting
War on the train to work this morning
was the lady next to me sucking her teeth
and muttering under her breath why she had
to be subjected to such filth. Guess my morning
reading wasn't laced with enough pics of Brangelina
for her. Good.
- Also of note: Southland Tales, Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly's long-awaited and much-ordealed second film hits theaters nationwide this week. And while many of you will flock to Beowulf (why must every genre film look exactly like Lord of the Rings mixed with a cauldron of 300-style violence? And, yes, I am very familiar with the Anglo-Saxon poem and its influence on Mr. Tolkien -- I'm just sick of Hollywood's exploitation of fantasy classics, and quite frankly need not see some uber-dude actor viciously behead the baddies while gnashing his teeth in front of a green screen for some time to come... ever again, really), I'll be checking out the former. Hope to see ya there. Oh, but make sure you've read Richard's prequel graphic novel first! It features the fantastic talents of artist Brett Wedele (I've gone so far as to have bought an original page from him for someone special to me!) and is sure to enhance the experience.
"How can you tell a network executive is
lying? His lips move!"
-Max Headroom
Luv-luv-luv Love Ya,
JEFF
Labels: jeff ayers