Darkseid has the "common touch"!

Since I'm reading the second volume of the super-awesome Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus, it's time for another round of daily Fourth World panels! I did this last year when I read the first volume, taking one panel (or occasionally more) to highlight from each issue in the book. Here's a good example, and you can click the "Fourth World panels" link at the bottom of this post to see all of them.

So, to start off this volume, here's today's panel, from Forever People #4, chosen because I love the awesomely wacky artwork:



That's not even the highlight of the issue for me. The story sees the team captured and imprisoned by Desaad in his "Happyland" theme park. It's a genius idea by Kirby, with the heroes trapped in some form of torture in full view of the parkgoers, but "scrambled" to look like part of the attractions. Here's a favorite, featuring Beautiful Dreamer:



That's some pretty horrific stuff. And then there's an incredible scene, in which Darkseid visits to check up on Desaad and then goes out for a walk among the humans. They think he's just a guy in a costume, except for a little girl, who finds him scary. She gets shushed by her father, and here's Darkseid's response:



Damn, that's an awesome, freaky scene. Darkseid's maniacal laugh is enough to make anybody's blood run cold.
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Okay, more tomorrow! And maybe even a review of some sort!

Kirby: King of page layouts

In preparation for another month-long look at Jack Kirby's awesomeness (I just started reading the second volume of the Fourth World Omnibus, so watch for more about that tonight), here's a quick thing I noticed while reading Charles Hatfield's entry about Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure on the Thought Balloonists. He offered a sample page from the comic (Kirby's version of FF #102) in comparison to a page of Brian Hitch art from FF #554:



Just looking at that page, I noticed the simple techniques Kirby uses to guide the eye across the page as it's being read. Here's a diagram I threw together to demonstrate (I apologize for my rough mouse-based artistic skills):



I love how perfectly natural it becomes to follow these elements across the page, and using these subtle indicators to point out the important parts of the artwork, like Janus's expression in panel four or the gun in the the final panel. And this was Kirby working at his most "tepid [and] unadventurous", as Hatfield describes it. That sort of artistic skill was instinctual to him; he was a true master.
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Okay, that's a quick bit for now. Hopefully, I'll get to more Kirby stuff tonight. In the meantime, feel free to check out my contribution to Comics Bulletin's "slugfest" of Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.'s Kick-Ass #1, which comes out today. Also, I did a review of the Fablewood anthology from Ape Entertainment. Later!

UPDATED: Solicitationary blatherings: May 2008

UPDATE on 2/27: One book from Oni. See the first entry below.
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It's that time of the month again. I'm going with the same format as last month, jumbling everything together instead of separating comics out by company, and only mentioning new or notable books, rather than talking about everything that I'm planning to buy or check out. I'm writing this during the Oscar telecast, so forgive me if I diverge from the subject and start talking about Jack Nicholson or something.



Local #12 - The final issue! This has been a really good (if often late) series, so it will be sad to see it end, but probably satisfying, as it promises to come full circle and reveal what prompted Megan's twelve-year odyssey and what she learned, and various heartwarming crap like that. I'm sure I'll love it.
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Marvel 1985 - The long-teased Mark Millar miniseries shows up, but I thought it was supposed to be a photo-comic or something. This says it's going to be illustrated by Tommy Lee Edwards and have something to do with supervillains attacking our world. Eh, it'll probably be lame. Prove me wrong, Millar!



The Amazing Joy Buzzards, volume 1 - This new edition of the first volume of the awesome series about an adventuring rock band actually contains the first two volumes of the comic, with an upcoming new volume (the new volume 2) coming later this spring, I believe. So I implore everyone to check this out; it's super-cool.



Amazing Spider-Man - I don't usually read Spidey comics, but I gotta say, Marcos Martin is a great choice for an artist on the series. And that cover is awesome. I'll probably give it a flip-through.



The Complete K Chronicles - Keith Knight's weekly cartoon, which I think usually runs in alternative newspapers, is pretty good stuff. So, while I don't know if I'll buy the book, I will recommend it.



Final Crisis - Man, I'm conflicted about this one. I'm just generally not interested in big superhero events (or superhero comics at all these days). But! Grant Morrison! Big, crazy, universe-ending events involving Jack Kirby characters! Green Lantern! Wait, I don't care about Green Lantern. Eh, I'll probably succumb to Morrison's spell and read it. Dammit.



Finding Peace - A graphic novel from IDW about life in a wartorn country. It definitely sounds interesting, so I might try to make a point of reading it. We'll see. Also from IDW: the collection of the Cory Doctorow's Futuristic Tales of the Here and Now miniseries, in hardcover, for $24.99. Unfortunately, I don't think it's really good enough to be worth that much. But it will also be available for downloading, so I'll be sure to point out where you can do that when it comes out.



Firebreather - This Phil Hester/Andy Kuhn series is apparently a continuation of either a graphic novel or a miniseries that I haven't read. I like both those creators, so it might be worth reading. We'll see how it goes.



House of Mystery - A new Vertigo series, reviving an old Vertigo series (which in turn revived an old DC series). I might give it a try, since it does sound interesting, and I generally like Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges' Vertigo work. Hopefully this will be more like Jack of Fables and less like Salvation Run. Also: that cover is creepy.



Igor Movie Prequel - I hadn't heard of this movie, but it's an animated film about a mad scientist's assistant with the voices of John Cleese, John Cusack and Steve Buscemi. It could be okay. This prequel is written by Dara Naraghi, who sometimes comments here, so I might try to check it out.



Immortal Iron Fist - Now that the second storyline of the series has ended (a few months in the future, that is), we get another interstitial issue following the adventures of a past Iron Fist. This is the one from the mid-1800s, and it looks like a cool story, illustrated by Khari Evans. I'm sure I'll get to read it in about a year.



Immortal Iron Fist, volume 2 - And here's the collection of that second volume, in hardcover format, which will be too rich for my blood. I'll wait an excruciating few months until it comes out in softcover. But I can't wait to read it.



Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin - I've been meaning to read this Joe Casey/Eric Canete miniseries, so now I'll get my chance. It certainly looks pretty. Should be good.



Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas - This looks to be the big tie-in to the Iron Man movie, since it's written by Jon Favreau, the director of said movie. It's illustrated by Adi Granov, who (slowly) did the first arc of the current series, written by Warren Ellis. Eh, I'll wait until it's collected and see what the reviews say.



Invincible Iron Man - I don't think I'll be able to pass this one up though; Matt Fraction should be able to do some awesome stuff with the character and his world. Hopefully he won't get mired in whatever big events are going on in the larger Marvel universe and just stick with cool techno-spy stories or something. Salvador Larroca is illustrating, and I generally like his current style, as long as he doesn't get to reliant on the photoreferencing. But he can do some cool technology and action, so I bet Fraction will give him plenty of stuff to chew on. Don't let me down, fellas!



Monster Zoo - Doug TenNapel has been cranking out these graphic novels, hasn't he? There's not too much information in the solicitation about this one; I guess the title is all that's necessary.



Newuniversal: Shockfront - Warren Ellis finally gets to return to the New Universe revival that stopped kind of abruptly. I don't know if this is a new ongoing series or a miniseries, but it's illustrated by Steve Kurth instead of Salvador Larroca this time around. I dunno, I'll probably wait for the trade.



Pretty Baby Machine - This is a neat idea. Gangsters Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, and Machine Gun Kelly team up when they're all targeted by Al Capone. Could be cool. I don't know the writer, Clark Westerman, but the artist, Kody Chamberlain, did Punks, right?



Runaways: Dead End Kids - Joss Whedon's run finally ends next month (if it's not delayed again), so here's the collection. Looks like Marvel is going for the bookstore market, kind of like DC's trade dress for Jodi Picoult's Wonder Woman or Brad Meltzer's JLA. Eh, whatever. The story itself isn't bad, but it will certainly read better in one volume, rather than stretched out over a year or so.



Scrambled Ink - Comics from Hollywood animators that are supposedly "too big for the silver screen...undeniably innovative and stunningly beautiful...a great yarn spun in a whole new way". Wow, that's setting up some big expectations. If this isn't the best comic ever made, I'll be disappointed. And that's not going to happen. But it might be worth a look.



Sky Doll - The first entry in Marvel's collaboration with French publisher Soleil, this one is about a pleasure-robot becoming a freedom fighter, or whatever. It looks cool, so I'll probably check it out. Interestingly, Graeme McMillan wondered if the series is too sexy for Marvel to release uncensored, but hey, there's a nipple right there on the cover, so I guess not. We'll see how it turns out.



Steel Fist Riku - A superhero-like manga from DC/CMX, involving a martial arts-using crimefighter in a world full of talking animals. Could be fun.



Suburban Glamour - It's the collection of Jamie McKelvie's miniseries, so maybe now I can read it. It does look neat.



Tor - I'm not familiar with the original series, but this is apparently a revival of an old Joe Kubert comic, and it looks pretty cool. Hey, Kubert's an old pro, so it'll probably be pretty cool.



The Umbrella Academy: Apacalypse Suite - Here's the collection of the kick-ass series that just wrapped up last week. Gerard Way surprised everybody by actually writing a damn good comic. And Gabriel Ba is awesome, as usual. I'm surprised they're going for such a simple cover to the trade (if that is the actual cover) instead of having James Jean do one. Oh well, anyway, you should read this if you haven't already. It's awesome.



The War that Time Forgot - It's another revival of a weird old comic, in which WWII soldiers fought dinosaurs or something. I've heard the original is great, in a batshit-insane sort of way. So this new version will probably suck, and being written by Bruce Jones won't help. Although you never know, maybe it'll somehow be awesome. That is a cool Neal Adams cover though.
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I guess that's it, although I'm sure there will be more to add later, since companies like Avatar and Oni haven't put out their solicits yet. So watch for updates, if you care. And more content soon, so stick around.

Drifting Classroom: Children are evil

Before I start, I have to link to Jog's latest column on the Savage Critics, in which he discusses the work of horror mangaka Hideshi Hino. After reading that, I feel that my latest mission in life is to track down and read Hino's Panorama of Hell. Wow, it looks fucking insane, in all the best ways.

In other news, I see that Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan will be doing a new six-issue Demo series for Vertigo. Awesome. I loved the first series (even if I was a couple years late getting to it), so I'm all for more of it. Wood is one of my current favorite writers, and Cloonan is a current favorite artist, so I'm stoked to see them do more work together.

Okay, on with the show:

The Drifting Classroom, volume 6
By Kazuo Umezu



Behold, the face of childhood evil:



Man, that is one creepy-looking kid. That's right there on the first few pages of this volume, and it makes me sorry I had gone so long without reading this series. At first, I had forgotten what was going on at the end of the last volume, but I got right back into the swing of things; the kids stuck in their horrible future wasteland were all dying of bubonic plague, and that mean kid had led a group of troublemakers and trapped our heroes in a building with a plan to burn them to death. Good times.

Man, every volume of the series is full of that sort of delightful awfulness, with kids exhibiting the worst humanity has to offer in terms of distrust and murderous impulses. This volume veers a bit from the formula though, spending over half its length in the present day, following protagonist Sho's mother as she tries to figure out how to send a cure for the plague to him in the future. It's as crazy as everything else in the book, as we see her pursue her goal of helping Sho, shoving aside anyone in her way, to the point where people think she's gone nuts:



Interestingly, there are a few scenes where she is confronted by the mother of another of the missing children, who blames Sho for her son's disappearance. But Sho's mother shoves her aside and refuses to listen to her, giving her the same treatment she has been getting from everyone else. I'm not sure if this is supposed to represent anything, but it stuck with me. Is it a comment on how even those with noble goals can be single-minded, ignoring the plight of others? Maybe Umezu will do more with these characters in future volumes.

Also of note in the "Sho's mother" chapter is a harrowing scene in which Umezu shows that the ruthless, violent attitudes and actions of the kids aren't exactly a deviation from the norm. While she is at a baseball game planning to confront a famous player (it's a long story), her actions cause a giant brawl to break out, with fans and players rushing the field in a near-riot:



Key dialogue: "Kick the shit out of her!" Oh, Umezu, how you give me pleasure.

I know Matt Thorn said I was trying too hard to find metaphors in this series, but I've got another one that hopefully isn't too far off base. We learn that the plague was caused by a couple of diseased pet squirrels that a diplomat brought back from the United States. It sounds to me like a representation of fear that the influence of foreign cultures is corrupting the younger generation. Or maybe Umezu just hates squirrels.

In addition to the myriad deaths by plague here, we also get to see some drownings, accidental decapitation, and quicksand-related tragedies. That Umezu gets pretty innovative with the means of juvenile death. I don't know how he's going to keep up this carnage for another five volumes, but I can't wait to find out.

This week: Criminal! Kick-Ass! Rasl! Nana! Too many exclamation points!

Hey, how about them Coen brothers? They got their Oscar, for an excellent movie. Good times. Here's my usual weekly preview, and I should also point out my contribution to Comics Bulletin's Sunday Slugfest of The Megas, a new series from Virgin Comics created by director Jonathan Mostow. It's not bad, but not great either. Yet. Anyway:

New comics this week (Wednesday, 2/27/08):

Army @ Love #12

Hey, looks like there's enough of this series for a second trade now. So DC, hurry up and put this out so I can read it already!

Criminal 2 #1

All right, the new volume of the awesome series is out, in a new, bigger format. It looks cool. Can't wait to read it.

Dan Dare #4

I've been so-so on this series so far, but I saw some preview art for this issue, and it looks really sweet. But even at its worst, it's still some cool Garth Ennis comics.

Gravel #1

I bought the zero issue of this series, and it seemed interesting enough, but for the sake of funds, I think I might skip out on the series. I've just never been too into the Strange Kiss comics, so I think I'll pass. But I'm enough of a Warren Ellis follower that I'll probably regret it.

Jack of Fables #20

I'm forgetting what was happening in this story. I think Jack and company are still searching for treasure in the land of American fables. Maybe they'll find it. I bet it will be fun, no matter what.

Kick-Ass #1

Ah, Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.'s new "ultra-realistic" superhero comic. I've read a preview PDF, and I should have a review up on Comics Bulletin tomorrow, so tune in then to see what I think. I'll say this though: if you didn't like Millar's nihilistic tendencies in comics like Wanted, you probably shouldn't read this. (EDIT: here's the review)

Megas #1

Here's the aforementioned Virgin series "created by" Jonathan Mostow, director of Breakdown, U-571, and Terminator 3. It's got an interesting hook, positing an alternate history in which the United States was founded as a monarchy rather than a democracy, but not a lot happens in the first issue. It could turn into something interesting, but it's kind of dull right now. We'll see. Feel free to read my review for more details.

Mouse Guard Winter 1152 #3

Is there an actual schedule for this book, or does it just come out whenever? I forget when the last issue was. Maybe November? I'm trying to recall what was going on, but I'm sure I'll get caught up. It's a beautifully-illustrated series, so I'm sure I'll still dig it.

Narcopolis #2

I didn't write anything about the first issue of this miniseries, but it was kind of cool. I liked the speech patterns the characters used, and I do enjoy some nice, splatterific gore. Keep it up, Delano!

Rasl #1

New Jeff Smith! This isn't seeing much fanfare, but it seemed like a big deal when it debuted at San Diego last year. I believe it has to do with a dimension-hopping thief or something, but Smith's name is all I need to hear to get me on board.

Rex Libris #10

Ooh, this is also always fun. More adventures of everyone's favorite wordy, hard-boiled librarian (if he's not your favorite, he should be!).

Donald Duck Adventures Barks Rosa Collection Vol 2 Donalds Atom Bomb TP

Sweet. I love the Carl Barks and Don Rosa duck comics, so it's always cool to see them being collected into nice volumes like this. If I had more money, I'd buy as many of them as I could.

Franklin Richards Collected Chaos Digest

I've kind of quit buying these Franklin Richards comics, but they are quite fun, so I do recommend them if you like cute kiddy comics that ostensibly tie in to Fantastic Four.

Grease Monkey TP

I'm not familiar with this comic, but it does look nice. It appears to be about a talking gorilla mechanic who fixes spaceships. Hey, why not? Here's the official site, which has lots of information and previews and whatnot.

Hieronymus B GN

New from Top Shelf, it's a book by German artist Ulf K., about "a lovable and humble clerk". It's always good to get some European comics published over here, so I might try to check this out. Here, have a preview.

Krash Bastards GN

A new graphic novel from Joe Casey and Alex#13. I'm not sure what it's about (crazy, manga-style action, as far as I can tell), but I dig Casey's writing, so I'll try to score a copy. For more information, here's an interview with the creators that contains some preview art.

Maakies With Wrinkled Knees HC

I thought this came out last week, but it's on my shop's list for this week, so maybe it was delayed. Not that I'm going to be able to afford it, but I figured I would point it out again, since Tony Millionaire is awesome.

Mixtape Art of Jim Mahfood vol. 1 HC

Also awesome: Jim Mahfood. That guy has a wild, fun aesthetic that I really like. I don't know if this is comics or just art, but it will be worth checking out (but not buying, for me, because it's too expensive. Sorry, Jim!).

Punisher Max HC vol. 4

Damn, I just keep getting farther and farther behind on these. Someday I will read these. Someday. Really!

Beauty Pop Vol 7 TP

I hear this is a good shojo series, so I suppose I could read it someday. Probably not anytime soon though.

Crayon Shinchan vol. 1

I should really check this out. I like the TV show on Adult Swim. It's like a weird collection of Japanese neuroses, in which no characters have any internal monologue; they just spit out whatever horrible thoughts they are thinking. Ah, misanthropy!

Gin Tama Vol 5 TP

Another series I hear is quite enjoyable, about samurai and aliens, or something. Maybe I'll get to it someday.

Honey and Clover Vol 1 TP

But this one shouldn't wait. It's really, really good. I already read it every month in Shojo Beat (here, read my reviews!), but I recommend everybody check it out. It deserves to be super-successful. Let's make it the next Naruto, people! Okay, that's not going to happen. How about the next Fruits Basket or Hikaru No Go? Eh, I'd settle for Yotsuba&!.

Monkey High Vol 1 TP

This was previewed in Shojo Beat a couple months ago, and it doesn't look too bad. If only the title was literal, I would be all over it...

NANA Vol 9 TP

Oh, crap! I'm gonna have to rush out and get this one. What will happen next in the tumultuous saga of the Nanas and their pals? I can't wait to find out. Here's my look at volume 8, if anyone missed it.

Wild Ones Vol 2 TP

And here's another shojo series that I could get into, given the chance. It's the one about a girl and her yakuza bodyguards, for anyone who doesn't remember. I think it might be one of the few series that got previewed in Shojo Beat that I feel like I might want to buy. Like I always say, maybe someday.
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And I think that's everything. Not a huge week for pamphlets, but there are plenty of manga and graphic novels to get. I guess I'll be busy. Okay, come back later for more content!

Jumper: Jumpscars: These scars are of the emotional variety, I suspect

Not too much news at the moment, so let's get right to tonight's thing:

Jumper: Jumpscars
Written by Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir
Art by Brian Hurtt



I never finished reading the novel that the new movie Jumper is based on (there's kind of a story behind that, but it's probably only interesting to me, so I'll skip it), and I always regretted not knowing how it turned out. I'll probably end up seeing the movie (I don't think too highly of Hayden Christensen, but Samuel L. Jackson is always cool, and the action scenes look pretty awesome and innovative), but from what I hear, it doesn't have too much in common with the book, other than the central premise of a guy that is able to teleport himself to anywhere in the world. But while I doubt I'll get to the book anytime soon, and the movie will probably have to wait until DVD, I do have this prequel comic that effectively sets up the background of the plot. So at least there's some outlet for my teleportation cravings (I can also dig up some comics featuring Nightcrawler if they get especially bad).

Apparently, in the world of the film, people occasionally are born with the special ability to teleport, or "jump". But there's also a secret police force, called "Paladins", who hunt down these "jumpers" and terminate them. Judging by the reviews I've read, the movie doesn't give them much motivation, other than a line or two in which one of them says something like, "Only God should have the ability to be everywhere at once." That's not too egregious for an action movie; people would probably rather just focus on special effects and teleporation-based fighting. But it's an interesting idea, and writers Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir use this prequel to explore it a bit, giving the Paladins a bit more backstory and motivation.

It's an interesting reversal; rather than following a jumper, the book sticks with Jessica, a young woman who is a Paladin-in-training. Actually, her younger, earlier days as a trainee, which make up the bulk of the story, take place in flashback; in the present, she is tailing Hayden Christensen's character in order to determine whether he should be terminated. She ends up making a decision and taking a side in the conflict (I'm not sure if her character shows up in the movie or not), but the flashbacks show us what led her to that point.

In that first mission, she moves into an apartment building where jumper activity has been detected, hoping to find out who the culprit is. We learn that they are usually young kids, since the Paladins catch and do away with jumpers before they get old enough to be really dangerous. This sounds pretty horrible, and we see a sequence in which she and Samuel L. Jackson (that's him on the cover, before his hair turned silver) hunt down another kid jumper with the intent of killing him. It's hard to take (they are the bad guys, after all), but we do also learn some of their motivations, which make it seem like they aren't completely misguided. Basically, they assume that jumpers, lacking any physical (and thus moral) restraints, will begin to view themselves as above other humans, and thus endanger everyone else. It's a bit of a weak justification for child murder, but wars have been waged for less.

So anyway, Jessica suspects that this kid in the building is the jumper, but she wants to get concrete proof, if possible. Hey, you don't want to go around killing kids for no reason, right? She also ends up forming a relationship with the building supervisor, a cute guy who travels around a lot. You can probably see the obvious twist coming, but that's part of the tragedy of the story, and it helps us understand the choices she makes in her career. It's not a bad bit of writing, and I bet it will inform my viewing of the movie, whenever I get around to it.

And luckily, illustrator extraordinaire Brian Hurtt (The Damned, Hard Time, Queen and Country) provides the artwork, so it's also a great-looking book, full of nice character work and beautifully-realized locales. He really makes the characters come to life, putting the reader right in the moment. And he also makes the action jump right off the page; there are some bursts of violence that are really shocking (I did mention the child-murdering, right?). As much as I like Hurtt's moody black and white art in The Damned, it's also really nice to see it colored, and Jared M. Jones, Dean Trippe, and Pop Art Studios do and excellent job on that here. I especially dig the teleportation effects, which seem to mirror the style of the movie very well.

So, it's a pretty good little book, in my opinion. It's probably not of much interest to anybody who doesn't plan to see the movie, but it seems like it's been doing pretty well at the box office, so maybe some of those viewers will want to seek out this prequel. So if you're one of those people, I urge you to give the book a try.

This review was based on a complimentary copy provided by Oni Press.

Oscars 2007: In which I am conflicted

It's that time of year again, when Hollywood gets together to celebrate itself. I looked at the Oscar nominees and offered commentary last year, so why not do it again? But first, I wanted to link to my review of Cory Doctorow's Futuristic Tales of the Here and Now #5, which adapted the short story "I, Robot", over at Comics Bulletin. It's kind of a negative review, so if Dara Naraghi reads this, I hope I didn't offend you or anything; I was trying to be as honest as possible about what I thought. Overall, I've found the series interesting, with the adaptation of "Craphound" being the best entry. This one isn't terrible, but I just didn't like it enough as an adaptation of the story. Eh, you can read the review for details.

I also wanted to point out this news story on Newsarama, which reports that David Fincher will be directing a movie adaptation of Charles Burns' Black Hole. That should be pretty awesome, although I don't know how well it will work as a movie, since it's kind of a set of serialized chapters. I'll interested to see how it works out.

Okay, On to:

Oscars 2007:

2007 was a pretty darn good year for movies, so I don't think I'll have as many complaints or objections to the nominees as I did last year. Let's see how it goes, starting with the more "minor" categories first. And I'll leave out the ones in which I have no idea, like Best Short Film.

Achievement in sound editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Skip Lievsay
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Christopher Scarabosio and Matthew Wood
"Transformers" (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins

I'm never sure about these technical categories, but I would go for either No Country for Old Men or There Will Be Blood. They both sounded great. But these categories usually go to loud movies, right? So maybe Transformers will win. Eh, whatever. There's a reason I get these out of the way first.

Achievement in sound mixing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal) Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
"3:10 to Yuma" (Lionsgate): Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
"Transformers" (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

Uh, ditto what I said for the last category. Maybe Ratatouille? I dunno.

Achievement in film editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Universal): Christopher Rouse
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn): Juliette Welfling
"Into the Wild" (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment): Jay Cassidy
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Dylan Tichenor

Ah, now this is one I feel like I'm better able to comment on. I'll say No Country for Old Men should win, since that's one nice, tightly-structured film (and by the way, for anybody who doesn't know, "Roderick Jaynes" is a pseudonym for the Coen brothers). There Will Be Blood could also compete (those two will probably be duking it out in quite a few categories). I didn't see The Bourne Ultimatum yet, but if it was anything like The Bourne Supremacy, I wouldn't want it to win, since all the camera shaking and fast cutting in the latter film made me feel like I was missing all the action. But maybe that's a question of cinematography rather than editing. And here's where I start mentioning the movies I thought should have been nominated (but never would be because they didn't make enough money): Sunshine, which had some incredible stuff, including excellently-edited subliminal imagery. Okay, that's all.

Achievement in makeup
"La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
"Norbit" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount): Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Norbit?! Really? Come on, that's ridiculous. There must have been something else worthy of recognition than yet another guy in a fat suit. I saw Mrs. Doubtfire 15 years ago. So it's gotta be one of the others (I can't think of any that should have been nominated). We already saw Bill Nighy with tentacles on his face in the second Pirates movie, so I don't see what would have made the third one any better. So I'll go with La Vie en Rose, even though I haven't seen it yet. Why not?

Achievement in visual effects
"The Golden Compass" (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners): Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Walt Disney): John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
"Transformers" (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

This one will probably go to Transformers, which was cool-looking enough to win, I guess. But maybe Pirates has a chance. My only choice that I can think of to add would be Sunshine. Usually, I can think of a movie that had more subtle effects instead of the big, loud CGI variety, but nothing comes to mind from 2007.

Achievement in art direction
"American Gangster" (Universal): Art Direction: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
"Atonement" (Focus Features): Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
"The Golden Compass" (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners): Art Direction: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
"Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount): Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Art Direction: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

These seem like pretty good choices. I would think it will come down to Sweeney Todd or Atonement; both those films were beautiful. If I was going to add one (or replace, say, The Golden Compass), I would say The Darjeeling Limited, which had Wes Anderson's usual awesome style. But nobody else seemed to like that one.

Achievement in cinematography
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (Warner Bros.): Roger Deakins
"Atonement" (Focus Features): Seamus McGarvey
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn): Janusz Kaminski
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Roger Deakins
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Robert Elswit

Man, this is a tough category. I saw all of these except The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (which looked incredible, judging by the previews), and they all looked really good. So any of them could win. I would add Rescue Dawn, Away From Her, Black Book, Across the Universe, and Gone Baby Gone to the list of possible other nominees. And I'll choose The Assassination of Jesse James, since it's not up for much of anything else.

Achievement in costume design
"Across the Universe" (Sony Pictures Releasing) Albert Wolsky
"Atonement" (Focus Features) Jacqueline Durran
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
"La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse) Marit Allen
"Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Colleen Atwood

Whoa, another good category. I don't have anything much to add, except maybe Black Book. I expect it will go to Sweeney Todd, or maybe La Vie en Rose, unless Atonement is on a roll or something. I don't know, I'll choose Sweeney Todd. I liked Johnny Depp's suits.

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
"Atonement" (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
"The Kite Runner" (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant Productions, Distributed by Paramount Classics): Alberto Iglesias
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
"3:10 to Yuma" (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami

Atonement should definitely win this one; it had an amazing score that used typewriter noises as percussion in a really cool way. Ratatouille was also nice enough. And I think There Will Be Blood should have been nominated; the way the score would swell to a piercingly-loud crescendo was almost unbearably tension-raising.

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
"Falling Slowly" from "Once" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova
"Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
"Raise It Up" from "August Rush" (Warner Bros.): Music and Lyric by Jamal Joseph, Charles Mack and Tevin Thomas
"So Close" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
"That's How You Know" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

If Once doesn't win this one, I'll be pissed. The scene where they sang that song was incredible. Also, did Enchanted really need three out of five nominations? There must have been something else that could have gone in the place of at least one of them.

Best animated feature film of the year
"Persepolis" (Sony Pictures Classics): Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Brad Bird
"Surf's Up" (Sony Pictures Releasing): Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

I hope this goes to Persepolis, even though I haven't seen it yet. But it looks great. Ratatouille is also pretty good, but it's not one of my favorite Pixar movies. My suggestions: Meet the Robinsons and Paprika. The former might have stood a chance of being nominated, but not the latter; non-Miyazaki anime doesn't usually get any mainstream recognition.

Best documentary feature
"No End in Sight" (Magnolia Pictures) A Representational Pictures Production: Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
"Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience" (The Documentary Group) A Documentary Group Production: Richard E. Robbins
"Sicko" (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company) A Dog Eat Dog Films Production: Michael Moore and Meghan O'Hara
"Taxi to the Dark Side" (THINKFilm) An X-Ray Production: Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
"War/Dance" (THINKFilm) A Shine Global and Fine Films Production: Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

I haven't seen any of these, but I bet there could have been some others here, like The Devil and Daniel Johnston (unless that didn't come out in 2007). I don't know if Sicko will win, since Michael Moore is too controversial a figure, and he didn't really make a huge splash with the movie. So maybe it'll go to No End in Sight; liberal "issue" docs usually seem popular. I'll go with that one.

Best foreign language film of the year
"Beaufort" Israel
"The Counterfeiters" Austria
"Katyn" Poland
"Mongol" Kazakhstan
"12" Russia

I didn't see any of these, but they seem like a weak bunch. I would suggest Black Book, and there must be something else. Maybe 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days? I don't know, I'll go with 12.

Adapted screenplay
"Atonement" (Focus Features), Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
"Away from Her" (Lionsgate), Written by Sarah Polley
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Man, another tough category! I think any of them could win (although I haven't seen The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), since they were all really good. I'll go with Away From Her, since it's one of its only nominations, but any of them would be a good choice.

Original screenplay
"Juno" (A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production), Written by Diablo Cody
"Lars and the Real Girl" (MGM), Written by Nancy Oliver
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.), Written by Tony Gilroy
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Brad Bird; Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
"The Savages" (Fox Searchlight), Written by Tamara Jenkins

Ooh, I need to see The Savages. This one will probably go to Juno, since the popular quirky indie of the year often wins this category. Although Michael Clayton might also have a chance. Myself, I would add The Darjeeling Limited, but that's just me.

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Casey Affleck in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (Warner Bros.)
Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilson's War" (Universal)
Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild" (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
Tom Wilkinson in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)

I don't think anybody's going to beat Javier Bardem here; he was awesome. Casey Affleck was also really good, but there's no way he's beating Javier. And I can't think of any other possible nominees. That's all.

Performance by an actor in a leading role
George Clooney in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Tommy Lee Jones in "In the Valley of Elah" (Warner Independent)
Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises" (Focus Features)

And nobody's going to beat Daniel Day-Lewis here, although Viggo Mortensen was also really, really good. Any other year, and he would be my pick. Oh, and my other suggestions for nominees would be Christian Bale in Rescue Dawn and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in The Lookout.

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There" (The Weinstein Company)
Ruby Dee in "American Gangster" (Universal)
Saoirse Ronan in "Atonement" (Focus Features)
Amy Ryan in "Gone Baby Gone" (Miramax)
Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)

From what I've seen, both Amy Ryan and Saoirse Ronan were quite good, and I've also heard Cate Blanchett did a good job. I'll go with Ronan. I can't really think of any other possibilities. Maybe Marketa Irglova in Once? Helena Bonham Carter in Sweeney Todd? Zoe Bell in Death Proof? I dunno.

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal)
Julie Christie in "Away from Her" (Lionsgate)
Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse)
Laura Linney in "The Savages" (Fox Searchlight)
Ellen Page in "Juno" (A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production)

Everybody loves Ellen Page these days, but I really hope Julie Christie wins. She was incredible as a women succumbing to Alzheimer's. Why did Cate Blanchett get nominated? I heard that movie was awful. Marion Cotillard might also have a chance, since that movie is supposed to be really good. I would also submit Carice Van Houten in Black Book.

Achievement in directing
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Julian Schnabel
"Juno" (A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production), Jason Reitman
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.), Tony Gilroy
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Paul Thomas Anderson

I think it's another showdown between No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood. Maybe it's finally the Coen brothers' year. I'll go with them. As for other suggestions, I'll make another pitch for Wes Anderson and The Darjeeling Limited. Oh, and Joe Wright did an awesome job with Atonement.

Best motion picture of the year
"Atonement" (Focus Features) A Working Title Production: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers
"Juno" (A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production) A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production: Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.) A Clayton Productions, LLC Production: Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production: Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production: JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers

Ditto the last entry; it comes down to No Country and Blood. Although Atonement also stands a chance. Michael Clayton doesn't seem likely, although maybe I'll change my mind when I see it. Juno is the "lucky to be included" choice for the year, but it's also quite good. Really, I can't complain about this set of nominees. But if I was going to throw out my own choices, I would include The Darjeeling Limited, Rescue Dawn, and Black Book, which I think are all "best picture" material.
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And that's everything. Anybody else have any picks or guesses? We'll see how close we are are on Sunday, after which I might add some comments or something. See you then, and I should be back with more comics content tomorrow, hopefully.

Shojo Beat: Good riddance to bad (i.e. poorly-designed) robots

I thought I would have some external reviews to link to, but I guess not, or at least not yet. So I'll get right to business:

Shojo Beat
March 2008



That's right, Bryan Lee O'Malley provides the awesome cover to this issue! Check out that kick-ass image! He's a pretty cool fellow, methinks. The interior sees him do a standard interview, and I learned from the introduction that he is "known to his fans as 'BLOM'". I guess I'm not much of a fan, because I had never heard that before. Is it actually true? The nickname I hear used most often is "Mal". Anyway, he also contributed a yonkoma-style four-panel strip, which I hope I won't get in trouble for reproducing here, for any non-subscriber fans of BLOM/Mal:



As you probably saw from the cover, this is "the art issue", which means there are a few pages discussing artistic tools and techniques, including an interesting comparison between a page of Japanese manga (with notes about artistic details like screentones and effects) and its English translation (with details about translating dialogue and sound effects). It's not really anything groundbreaking; if you've read anything about comics art production or translation, you'll be familiar with everything discussed. But it's a good start for any of the kids, who are, you know, the actual intended audience of this magazine.

We also get to hear the first mention of the new series to replace Absolute Boyfriend, Gaba Kawa. It's only five chapters long, and it's something about a trouble-causing demon girl. We'll see what that's like next month.

Okay, on to the manga! There are two previews this month, starting with:

ION
By Arina Tanemura

This is only a short preview, excerpting less than a full chapter of this early work by Arina Tanemura, creator of Full Moon and Gentlemen's Alliance, and a popular creator that Viz has been promoting the hell out of (she was their special guest at last year's San Diego Comicon). Myself, I don't really like her style, since the ridiculously large, sparkly eyes she draws on all her characters creep me out. This one was earlier in her career though, and it seems like she hadn't quite reached her later heights of ocular dysmorphism, so it's not as offputting here. The story concerns a girl named Ion who recites the letters of her name as a sort of good luck charm, which usually works. Apparently, she's going to find out from the leader of her school's occult club that she has psychic powers or something, but we don't actually get that far in this preview. Instead, the focus is on the annoying student council president, who is determined to make her his girlfriend, prompting her to flee whenever he draws near. Eh, it's cute and everything, but not something I would read. But I did want to comment on the costume design. It seems like manga creators (especially in shojo) like to design neat uniforms for their fictional schools (see Vampire Knight, or Tanemura's own Gentlemen's Alliance), and this one is no exception. Tanemura's design of a sort of belly shirt over a dress (or pants) looks cute enough on girls, but absolutely ridiculous on the boys. And the class president's "long hair tied back with a bow" look doesn't help matters:



I don't know, I just found that hilarious. That's all.

B.O.D.Y.
By Ao Mimori

This preview is a full chapter about a girl who likes a boy in her class because he seems quiet and studious. But then she finds out he works for a host club, and is scandalized. And that's about all there is to it, at least in this first chapter. It doesn't seem like a premise that would lead to much of a variety of stories, but maybe Mimori expands the cast a bit in later chapters or something. It seems cute enough, and the art is fairly appealing, if not especially memorable. So, yeah, I don't think I'll bother keeping up with it. Somebody let me know if it turns out to be great or something.

Absolute Boyfriend
By Yuu Watase

Here's the big event of this issue, the final chapter of one of the series that started running in the first issue of the magazine. And, as I had heard, it's a pretty awful, anticlimactic ending. The series was never great (it seemed like Watase lost interest somewhere around the "Night gets turned into a tiny version of himself" storyline), but it deserved a better sendoff than this. What happens is [SPOILERS, even though I've pretty much made clear that I don't think the series is really worth reading. But if you can't bear to find out what happens until you read the final collection, skip to the next review], after Soshi moved away last chapter and left Riiko and Night to live happily ever after, Night burns out his circuits and "dies" (although Watase does leave open the possibility of a sequel, so he could come back someday). But it's not like he gets to profess his love to Riiko as she holds him in her arms and he breathes his last breath (fires his last electron?); instead, it happens off-panel, and Riiko comes home to discover his body being taken away. Maybe Watase was depressed or something. "You thought you were going to get a happy ending?!? Suckers!!! There's no such thing as 'happily ever after'! Love dies for no reason, and you will never find true happiness! Bwa ha ha ha ha!!!" So, yeah, it's a crappy ending to a pretty sub-mediocre series. I will say that there is one bit that is kind of affecting; when Riiko discovers that Night is "dead", she desperately and frantically tries kissing him to wake him up, like she did way back at the beginning of the series. Watase doesn't back down on that point; she portrays the loss as a devastatingly sad scene:



So it's not like she just has Riiko move on with her life like she had lost a toy or something. I'll give her that point; she's a good enough creator that she managed to wring a slight bit of real emotion out of a terrible anticlimax. But only a little. Now I'm going to have to try to read Fushigi Yugi or something, and try to forget about this little misstep.

Crimson Hero
By Mitsuba Takanashi

Ah, now we're finally getting to the good stuff (along with the promise of a return to the series' regular plot). This chapter sees Nobara's adopted volleyball team, the Eagles, challenged to a high-stakes game against the college team that her mentor Ryo supposedly plays for, but was kicked off because...you know what? I'm not going to go into a long explanation. It's all soap operatics and whatnot, so I'm sure you get the idea if you haven't been reading the series, and if you have been reading, you know what I'm going to say anyway. So I'll just say that I'm looking forward to the next chapter, which will hopefully be full of good volleyball action, which I've always thought was the best part of the series. And it'll be extra dramatic for all involved, with Nobara needing to prove herself, Ryo needing to obtain a prominent place on the college team in hopes of an international career, and other characters all invested in the outcome in some form or another. Plus, Nobara's not-quite-boyfriend Yushin shows up, so there will be that added drama. Good times, I hope, and even if it's disappointing, they've stated that Nobara will be returning to Tokyo after the game, so we can all get on with the normal drama of her high school team.

So this chapter is mostly setup for that upcoming game, with a nice flashback involving Ryo's high school days and his relationship with a girl that wasn't as dazzled by his talent as everyone else was.



Since she died tragically, he'll get to prove his worthiness to her and earn her love from beyond the grave. Ah, the stuff of teenage romance. Anyway, it's a decent chapter, but I'm excited for some hot court action next month. Don't let me down, Takanashi!

Vampire Knight
By Matsuri Hino

After the big "Zero confronts his evil vampire creator" storyline that recently concluded, we get some hints as to possible future storylines, as Zero gets framed for her death (which Kaname actually committed...and I'm probably trying to explain the plot too much again). But the real highlight of the chapter for me was this scene, in which Yuki tries to convince Zero to drink her blood:



We need more comedy like that; this series is too serious for its own good. Other than that scene, there's not much of note going on here. Maybe something will happen next month (but probably not).

Honey and Clover
By Chica Umino

This series continues its excellent mix of humor and character-based drama, as we see the gang scramble to finish their final projects by the end of the school year. Morita's project is especially funny:



But will he finish it on time and be able to graduate? Here's a hint: he's already been in college for seven years, and doesn't seem too keen on leaving. We also get some of the series' now-trademark drunkenness and violence, and a nice moment between Mayama and Ayumi. And that's just in this month's first chapter (each issue contains two chapters of the series).

In the second chapter, Professor Hanamoto gets the opportunity to travel to Mongolia with a colleague to do some research for a book, and he asks if Hagu would like to go with him. This leads to an excellent, affecting flashback about how Hanamoto convinced Hagu to come and attend the college, leaving the home she shared with her elderly grandmother. He decides to ask her after he discovers her artwork and can tell that she is trapped by her circumstances:



It's a quick, simple scene, but it's lovely, conveying Hagu's artistic drive and Hanamoto's protectiveness and encouragement. It's the kind of thing Umino does so well, building her characters through quiet, personal moments in between the loud, wacky antics.

The chapter closes out with a bit in which the whole gang ends up helping Hagu search for a four-leaf clover to give Hanamoto as a going-away present:



Good times. I can't wait to read more next month.

Sand Chronicles
By Hinako Ashihara

This month, we get to see Ann and Daigo's reunion, as he comes to visit her in Tokyo for her birthday. So there are a bunch of cute scenes of them going on a date, and some teenage awkwardness that seems pretty realistic:



We also see Fuji's meeting with the man who might be his father, and it's pretty disappointing (for him). The guy doesn't seem very accepting or even interested in him, and Fuji is obviously left reeling, although he does his best not to let it show. Then he meets up with Ann (after Daigo has left for home) and does something rash (buy the series to find out what. Mwa ha ha ha!). It's a nice portrait of a reserved teenager struggling with emotion and trying to keep it all on the inside.

So it's another fairly quiet chapter in this notoriously bumpy series. I'm expecting some highly emotional drama to come crashing in and upset everything really soon. Or maybe Ashihara has gotten the big tragedy out of the way and is settling down to tell a story of teenage romance. We'll see what she has in store; I expect it will be good reading.
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So that's it for this month. Ah, I do love my Shojo Beat! And isn't everybody proud of me actually doing some regular posting? I hope I didn't speak too soon. More tomorrow, if all goes well, and I'll probably look at the solicitations that are coming out this week. And I'm thinking of doing a sort of "special event" soon, so watch this space!