Saturday, February 26, 2005

One of those artists you meet and then are proud to say you've met him, Ovi was offering free sketches to all takers at the Emerald City Comicon. I couldn't pass up an opportunity to get a new take on Aquaman from someone like the writer/artist of Pigtale (a quirky comic about a private eye, a pig, and a wolf with a super-plasma weapon). As was to be expected, I got something completely different from all the other sketches. And oVi also added to my fish count. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

AQUAMAN
by Ovi Nedelcu
6 February 2005
(permission to post given 6 February 2005 in person)
ovinedelcu.com

by Tegan at 8:21 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Nielalien celebrates five years of celebrating Dr Strange today. Cheers!

by Tegan at 8:07 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Friday, February 25, 2005

Conan #13: "The Devil Within": After the last issue, I hunted down a collection of Conan from the library (Conan the Librarian!) and started reading the original tales. At the ECCC I told this to Kurt, who quickly said, "Make sure you get the Del Rey version, 'The Coming of Conan', since it has all the original words." Luckily, this is the one I picked out of the library's selection of titles, so I'm not just reading Conan, I'm reading the Kurt Busiek approved Conan. Anyway, getting back to this issue, it's another solid tale which illustrates Conan's nature as well as what molds him into the King he later becomes. The artwork grows and grows on me, I just want to see more of it. I wish I could have gotten an Aquaman sketch from Cary Nord. Ahem... if you aren't reading this series, you are missing out on a great book. Yes, it's heroic fantasy, but it's lovely classic heroic fantasy and well worth a browse. Give it a shot. Maybe buy the first collection.

Flash #219: "Truth or Dare Part 1": Wonder Woman, Cheetah, Reverse Flash, Giganta... I felt like I was watching some particularly good version of Super Friends at times. A solid issue, even if I really don't know why WW is blind. Zoom is extremely disturbing in his sequences, particularly when he mentions having been a policeman once.

Strange #4: Well, there's danger from an unexpected source, although much become clear throughout the book. The one who seems to be helpful really isn't. I'm getting sucked deeper and deeper into this book, and I'm looking forward to the next issue.

by Tegan at 8:29 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Triplets of Belleville: I believe the animation style would best be described as "grotesque", and the story also reflects that. The first half of the movie is really slow. It takes a long long time for the pieces to start pulling together into something more and more fascinating. I don't think I could call it a great movie, but there is a lot in there to take in. I suspect this is one of those movies that improves on subsequent viewings. The animation, once you get past the distortions, is simply amazing. The attention to detail is clear even on the first watch-through. In short, since this is a rapid review, I can say that this is a fun movie. I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, though, and if you do watch it be aware that it starts very slowly and builds to a very odd finish.

by Tegan at 1:41 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

I just spotted some new books on Amazon that amuse and mystify me: Aquaman Big Color & Activity Book with Stickers and Aquaman Jumbo Color & Activity Book. I'm looking forward to seeing what version of Aquaman these use.

I also found some non-Aquaman ones... Batman Jumbo Color & Activity Book, The Flash Big Color & Activity Book with Stickers, The Flash Jumbo Color & Activity Book, Green Lantern Big Color & Activity Book with Stickers, and Green Lantern Jumbo Color & Activity Book.

Polite Scott covers The New Marvel Ratings.

Mercury Studios added pictures from the article in the Oregonian about them.

Mark Evanier lets us know that Song of the South is (probably) finally going to be released by Disney. I've seen a copy... in PAL from England. I recall thinking that the problems with it were mild and Disney's fears were overblown. Put it fully in context and none of it should be an issue with any intelligent person. The comment about the movie being slow as seen in the article Evanier links to is also pretty much right on.

by Tegan at 10:18 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Heh, Warren Ellis used one of my panels of Aquaman from my recent review as his Old Comics Zen image.

I suppose I should be flattered and not annoyed that I didn't get a linkback for it, but I'm thinking he couldn't have gotten that particular image from anywhere else. After all, are there any other nuts out there who are printing out B&W copies of Golden Age Aquaman from microfiche then scanning them to write long-winded reviews about them? Still, he hasn't indicated sources on most of his other Old Comics Zen posts, so I'm not unique.

And hey... it's Warren Ellis. What more is there to say, really?

And besides, it reminded me I need to get to work on my next Retro Review. Any requests, or shall I just go with More Fun #75?

Update: I think maybe Warren might have liked the panel after the one he used even better:

by Tegan at 11:04 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty #7: With 24 full pages of story, this book really shows me that decompression in comic book storytelling both works and doesn't work. At the end of each issue I just want the next one. But the book was paced well and was full of detail. This one reveals a major aspect of the story. It doesn't shove it into your face, but the revelation answers a lot of the questions I've had about this series. I wonder now how many more issues there are.

Noble Causes #7: I loved the center page spread, showing a bunch of heroes, including WildGuard, fighting the menace. The story was strong, as usual, and the fun of seeing my letter printed in the back was also nice.

PS238 #10: Ok, I like Prospero a lot, and Tyler is always fun... I'm just not terribly fond of Angela. I would have liked to see more of Victor and Zodon, I think. I can't get enough of Victor after learning that he's based on a real person that I (sort of) know. On the other hand, it's nice that Prospero can be understood by somebody. I wonder if his speech balloons have been translated by anyone yet? I couldn't ever figure out the first appearance balloons. Tyler's choice of comic to copy with the putty was cool. And I loved Victor and Zodon's project at the end, too. I want some.

by Tegan at 9:06 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Today is Free Mojtaba and Arash Day. "Lately, we have been reading about bloggers who have been made jobless because they blogged about their jobs. In Iran, blogging may put you in jail. A little extreme? Yes."

How to Destroy The Earth.

It's possible to get spyware installed on your machine by hitting the Next Blog button on the top of all Blogger pages. You pretty much have to be running IE (the evil browser), but it's still nasty.

Dorothy of Oz images from Wondercon.

Mercury Studios makes the paper.

A very neat gag pulled in New York in the form of a McDonalds Bathroom Attendant.

by Tegan at 7:58 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Monday, February 21, 2005

It's been a week or so since we went to see this play. Hubby-Eric and I try to take in local productions of Oz plays whenever possible, and so when we saw that Robert Frost Elementary was putting on a production we got ourselves tickets and went to see the fun.

Like any elementary school production, the actors were a mix of uncertain, frightened, bold, and wild. The Tin Man and Dorothy were hard to understand, but the Lion and Scarecrow were loud at times. Dorothy was nervous and spoke her lines too quickly, while the Tin Man just couldn't project well enough for the packed gym.

This was a production unlike any I'd seen before. Apparently a local acting group, Studio East uses this adaptation for their presentation of Oz. It mixes elements of the MGM musical with "The Wiz", and throws in some extra parts just for fun. The result is a good change of pace from a standard version of the play, and more parts for more players.

For instance, in this version of Oz, like in the books, Toto can talk. Once Dorothy and Toto get to Oz, the kid playing Toto stood up and started spouting hilarious one-liners. When he met the good witches (yes, plural), he said "Hel-lo Nurse!" Another addition was Blanche, the not-so-evil sister of the Wicked Witch, who was in forced training to be a wicked witch and wasn't so good at it. Also, the idea for the Yellow Brick road was borrowed from The Wiz in the form of five dancing taxicabs who lead the crew.

Here's a picture of most of the main cast during their curtain call. The good witches are on the ends, next up are the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Dorothy, Toto, and the Lion without her mask on.

Some other last thoughts... Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West gets to sing "No Bad News", which is one of my favorite Oz songs of all time. When she asks one of the flying monkeys if he has any good news, he said, "Well, I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico." Big laugh... The Tin Man got to sing "Slide Some Oil To Me", but he was hard to hear... This adaptation included "Jitterbug"... The tornado was done through a great "dance" in which most of the kids on the crew ran around the gym, down the aisles of seats and stomped around on the stage while waving little banners and yelling "WHOOOOSH!"... The taxicabs were one of the highlights of the show, with neat little dances during scene changes, but the if anyone stole the show it was Toto... Blanche turns out to be a great addition, as it's implied at the end that she tells the good witches how to work the ruby slippers so Dorothy can get home. In addition, the girl playing Blanche was excellent... I had a thought as to why Dorothy can't take the slippers off when the witch tells her to, I mean, she's been walking down this road all day, her feet must've swollen up a bit...

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but overall it was a great production, especially for an elementary school. Apparently we're going to a production of "The Wiz" by a middle school soon... I'm looking forward to that.

by Tegan at 6:29 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Sunday, February 20, 2005

I know you are all following my adventures, and misadventures, of training for the Seattle 3-Day walk with baited breath. If that's so, you can read about it over on the boring blog. But I think it's time to once again mention that I need donations to make the minimum level so I'll actually be allowed to walk. The net proceeds will support breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment through the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund. Try saying that three times fast.

If you can donate, please go to my 3-Day page and give until it hurts. Or until it feels good. Whichever works for you.

Many thanks go out to my sponsors so far: Elayne Riggs, Erin Schadt, Maggie Olson, Robin Hess, Polite Scott, and Tom Abrahamson (In Memory Of Elizabeth Zarlengo).

by Tegan at 9:20 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Wallace & Gromit Movie.

Blockbuster is being sued for lying about late fees.

Franklin directs us to screenwriter John Rogers take-down of comic events. Rogers also covers other comic books in another entry, including Aquaman.

Parody of Christo's "Gates".

Stupid Motorist Law. Arizona is finally enforcing a law that requires motorists to reimburse the state for the cost of rescues. Via Various and Sundry.

Who owns the copyright on an NBA star's tattoo?

Strindberg and Helium. I watched them... very wierd.

The Former Owners. Otto's odd experiences with getting someone else's problems.

WonderCon report from Anna of Dorothy of Oz.

Virginia Hey on how to NOT treat guests at a convention. Hubby-Eric and I intend to someday write a full guide on how to attent a convention, and the proper treatment of "celebrities" or guests is going to get a chapter.

Bloggers talking about blogging.

by Tegan at 9:56 AM Seattle time - Permalink