I thought this was a funny cartoon
-Swinebread
Showing posts with label Iron Man. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iron Man. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
My New Comics
This week’s best cover is Men of Mystery #71.
Iron Man: Legacy of Doom #4, Marvel Comics.
Red Sonja #35, Dynamite Entertainment.
Army of Darkness/Xena #4, Dynamite Entertainment.
Wolfskin #1, Avatar.
Men of Mystery #71, AC Comics.
The Stand Sketchbook Marvel Comics.
The Last Defenders #5, Marvel Comics.
Trade Paperbacks:
Usagi Yojimbo: Tomoe’s Story Vol 22, Dark Horse.
Aces: Curse of the Red Baron AiT/Planet Lar.
North Wind Boom Studios.
-Swinebread
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
My Top Ten Comic Book Movies
Heidi Meeley made a Top Ten Comic Book Movie list a while ago so I thought I’d make my own list. Note that I don’t include TV shows but I do include direct to video movies.
I don’t have a particular order.
Superman II – This film has some corny aspects but Superman II boasts the first spectacular superhero battle ever to grace the silver screen. You gotta love Supes flinging General Zod into the that coke sign. Plus, I really liked that fact that the villains are truly evil. After watching the Batman TV show it came as quite a shock to see psychopaths running around the with same powers as Superman.
Spiderman – Thee best adaptation of an origin story I’ve ever watched. Seeing Spiderman on the big screen is the fulfillment of a childhood dream. The overall sweep of the film is very evocative of the comics and Toby Maguire is excellent as Peter Parker.
Ghost World – This adaptation of Daniel Clowes’ comic of the same name, is an amazing film. It’s about the comedy and tragedy of two girls facing the horrible world of post high school in a suburban wasteland. It was nominated for best-adapted screenplay. It should have won.
Hellboy – A smoking and drinking demon saves the world. Ron Pearlman was born for this role and he made the character come alive. In some sense, Hellboy is the best visual realization of a comic book character ever.
X-Men – What I really like about this movie is that it’s a case of making lemonade out of lemons. It didn’t really have enough of a budget to do the X-men properly and so the creators focused on the emotional context of the characters, which is what the X-men are really all about anyway. Hugh Jackman is a total coup as wolverine and the chemistry between all the actors is truly what makes the movie.
The Mask – A zany and crazy live action cartoon is what you get with the Mask. Jim Carry’s best role imo and Dark Horse Entertainment’s first big success. What happens when your id is released onto the world? Watch The Mask and find out. The dance numbers are outta this world!
Iron Man – Iron Man is one of those movies that meets the expectations of the trailer, films rarely accomplish this. Casting Robert Down Jr. as shell head is a masterstroke and updating his origin story for our time works perfectly. It’s a tight film with plenty of action, lots of laughs and a pop culture mea culpa for the horrible things the US had done for the last seven years.
Justice League: The New Frontier – I’ve already done a review of this see here. An excellent straight to video movie adapted from an excellent comic.
American Splendor – A wonderful cross between a dramatic film and a docudrama, which I never thought was possible until I saw this film. The drama of everyday life and stress of just being alive spills onto the screen in a tale that only Harvey Pekar could tell but is relatable to everybody. One of the best films ever despite the fact it’s a “comic book movie.”
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Seriously, The first film was a very faithful adaptation of the original black and white comic that started it all. Aspects of it are very dark and not like the kiddy cartoon at all but ninja turtles still is rather funny. It never pretends to be more than it is but it delivers the goods with a solid action oriented story. Plus, seeing a Muppet splinter doing martial arts is awesome.
Honorable Mention:
Creepshow – An homage as opposed to an adaptation of the EC Horror comics from the 1950s
Persepolis – I haven’t seen the film or read the book but I suspect that both are very good.
V for Vendetta – A good movie and Hugo Weaving is amazing as V but since Alan Moore hates it, V for Vendetta can’t be in my top ten.
Batman Begins – You know, I’m not really a Batman fan and I’ve come to terms with that. I hate all the Bat films but this one. (and maybe Dark Knight but it’s not out yet).
Manga
This post is about American comics but if I included Japanese manga it would push many of the American titles off the top ten, but here’s a few:
Lone Wolf and Cub (Shogun Assassin) – Yes it’s from a comic book.
Naüsicaa of the Valley of the Wind – Hayao Miyazaki made the comic first so he could make the film.
Akira – Cyberpunk at it’s best.
-Swinebread
I don’t have a particular order.
Superman II – This film has some corny aspects but Superman II boasts the first spectacular superhero battle ever to grace the silver screen. You gotta love Supes flinging General Zod into the that coke sign. Plus, I really liked that fact that the villains are truly evil. After watching the Batman TV show it came as quite a shock to see psychopaths running around the with same powers as Superman.
Spiderman – Thee best adaptation of an origin story I’ve ever watched. Seeing Spiderman on the big screen is the fulfillment of a childhood dream. The overall sweep of the film is very evocative of the comics and Toby Maguire is excellent as Peter Parker.
Ghost World – This adaptation of Daniel Clowes’ comic of the same name, is an amazing film. It’s about the comedy and tragedy of two girls facing the horrible world of post high school in a suburban wasteland. It was nominated for best-adapted screenplay. It should have won.
Hellboy – A smoking and drinking demon saves the world. Ron Pearlman was born for this role and he made the character come alive. In some sense, Hellboy is the best visual realization of a comic book character ever.
X-Men – What I really like about this movie is that it’s a case of making lemonade out of lemons. It didn’t really have enough of a budget to do the X-men properly and so the creators focused on the emotional context of the characters, which is what the X-men are really all about anyway. Hugh Jackman is a total coup as wolverine and the chemistry between all the actors is truly what makes the movie.
The Mask – A zany and crazy live action cartoon is what you get with the Mask. Jim Carry’s best role imo and Dark Horse Entertainment’s first big success. What happens when your id is released onto the world? Watch The Mask and find out. The dance numbers are outta this world!
Iron Man – Iron Man is one of those movies that meets the expectations of the trailer, films rarely accomplish this. Casting Robert Down Jr. as shell head is a masterstroke and updating his origin story for our time works perfectly. It’s a tight film with plenty of action, lots of laughs and a pop culture mea culpa for the horrible things the US had done for the last seven years.
Justice League: The New Frontier – I’ve already done a review of this see here. An excellent straight to video movie adapted from an excellent comic.
American Splendor – A wonderful cross between a dramatic film and a docudrama, which I never thought was possible until I saw this film. The drama of everyday life and stress of just being alive spills onto the screen in a tale that only Harvey Pekar could tell but is relatable to everybody. One of the best films ever despite the fact it’s a “comic book movie.”
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Seriously, The first film was a very faithful adaptation of the original black and white comic that started it all. Aspects of it are very dark and not like the kiddy cartoon at all but ninja turtles still is rather funny. It never pretends to be more than it is but it delivers the goods with a solid action oriented story. Plus, seeing a Muppet splinter doing martial arts is awesome.
Honorable Mention:
Creepshow – An homage as opposed to an adaptation of the EC Horror comics from the 1950s
Persepolis – I haven’t seen the film or read the book but I suspect that both are very good.
V for Vendetta – A good movie and Hugo Weaving is amazing as V but since Alan Moore hates it, V for Vendetta can’t be in my top ten.
Batman Begins – You know, I’m not really a Batman fan and I’ve come to terms with that. I hate all the Bat films but this one. (and maybe Dark Knight but it’s not out yet).
Manga
This post is about American comics but if I included Japanese manga it would push many of the American titles off the top ten, but here’s a few:
Lone Wolf and Cub (Shogun Assassin) – Yes it’s from a comic book.
Naüsicaa of the Valley of the Wind – Hayao Miyazaki made the comic first so he could make the film.
Akira – Cyberpunk at it’s best.
-Swinebread
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
My New Comics
This week’s best cover is Cthulhu Tales #2.
The Twelve #5, Marvel Comics. .Witness protection.
The Un-Men #10, DC Comics. Freaks is Freaks..
Army of Darkness: Home Sweet Home #9, Dynamite Entertainment. Back to the shack.
Zorro #3, Dynamite Entertainment. The origin continues.
Dead of Night #4, Marvel Comics. Memories.
Cthulhu Tales #2, Boom Studios. Steve Niles pens a story..
North Wind #5, Boom Studios. The conclusion. I almost picked this issue as best cover. More please.
All-New Iron Man Manual #1, Marvel Comics. Tony sure has a crapload of different suits
Doctor Who: Classics #6, IDW. Werewolf Doctor.
Serenity #3, Dark Horse Comics.
The Last Defenders #3, Marvel Comics. .Man, this had a sucky cover.
Project Superpowers #3, Dynamite Entertainment.
Bat Lash #6, DC Comics. The Gun fighting conclusion!
The Walking Dead #49, Image. A child shall lead?.
Red Sonja #33, Dynamite Entertainment.
Iron Man: Legacy of Doom #2, Marvel Comics. Mogan Le Fey!.
Trade Paperbacks:
Life Sucks, First Second.
-Swinebread
Friday, May 9, 2008
Why Is Iron Man a Good Movie?
This is why:
"The last thing you want to do is punish your audience for buying the ticket. I remember [the Schwarzenegger movie] The Last Action Hero – they were marketing it as an action movie, but it made fun of action movies, and, as a result, of the people who were going to see the movie. With Elf I thought it had to be a Christmas movie first and foremost – it couldn’t make fun of being a Christmas movie. And with superhero movies, it’s very much a Joseph Campbell rise-of-the-hero mythic story you are telling."
Simultaneously, though, Favreau aims to make films that are authentic and of their time. "I know when I made Elf, having grown up in New York, and Christmas movies meaning New York to me, to be able not too long after 9/11 to show the Empire State Building and all these landmarks and have people think of them in a way other than just as a terrorist target, it felt like it was liberating, offering hope and simplicity. It was such a complicated, anxious time.
"And now that it’s six or seven years later, in Iron Man, I think you can let the times inform the backdrop even more and you don’t run the risk of pulling people out of the story. The big thing was to express these anxieties everyone is feeling. ... Tony Stark is a guy who is literally oblivious, fooling around, having drinks in a HumVee, then he wakes up to see himself in a hostage video. I think that’s how America feels."
The words of director Jon Favreau posted here.
-Swinebread
"The last thing you want to do is punish your audience for buying the ticket. I remember [the Schwarzenegger movie] The Last Action Hero – they were marketing it as an action movie, but it made fun of action movies, and, as a result, of the people who were going to see the movie. With Elf I thought it had to be a Christmas movie first and foremost – it couldn’t make fun of being a Christmas movie. And with superhero movies, it’s very much a Joseph Campbell rise-of-the-hero mythic story you are telling."
Simultaneously, though, Favreau aims to make films that are authentic and of their time. "I know when I made Elf, having grown up in New York, and Christmas movies meaning New York to me, to be able not too long after 9/11 to show the Empire State Building and all these landmarks and have people think of them in a way other than just as a terrorist target, it felt like it was liberating, offering hope and simplicity. It was such a complicated, anxious time.
"And now that it’s six or seven years later, in Iron Man, I think you can let the times inform the backdrop even more and you don’t run the risk of pulling people out of the story. The big thing was to express these anxieties everyone is feeling. ... Tony Stark is a guy who is literally oblivious, fooling around, having drinks in a HumVee, then he wakes up to see himself in a hostage video. I think that’s how America feels."
The words of director Jon Favreau posted here.
-Swinebread
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Free Comic Book Day 2008
Free Comic Day Came and much fun was had by all. It started with me getting to the movie theater just a tad late to meet Dean Wormer and his gaggle of Deltas to see Iron Man but all was well. It looks like Marvel Studios is off to a great start and Iron Man might not be such a B-Lister (as the Press has dubbed him) anymore. There were many things I enjoyed about the film but the choice of actors and the humor rose to the top for me. I’ll have a longer review later. What was also very cool was seeing this film with kids; sometimes I forget how exciting these things can be for the younger set. Plus, nobody kicked the back of the chairs, spoke on their cell phone, or mouthed off during the film. What more could you ask for?
Excalibur Comics
They've got a ton of back issues here!
After a dim sum lunch at a Chinese restaurant, we headed over to our first comic store, Excalibur. They still had a great selection of free comics available and all of us picked up several titles. I think I was most happy with the EC reprint myself. The kids had a lot of fun exploring the store and it reminded me of when I discovered the comic book store for the first time. What’s really interesting is that the Excalibur owners and staff are very serious about their comics. It’s the best place for back issues in the city and they are very knowledgeable about the comic book field. They don’t go in much for extras like toys and games and consequently carry a decent selection of indy and mature titles. Dean was feeling little punch drunk from the Indiana Jones 4 trailer and so he picked up Vol. 1 of Dark Horse’s Indiana Jones omnibus.
Cosmic Monkey
This is the sign on the side of building. How many comic characters can you identify?
For round two, we zipped off to Cosmic Monkey. Dean and the deltas hadn’t been to the store’s new location so part of the fun was watching their reaction to what turned out to be an incredibly fun leg of our free comic book day tour. The experience didn’t disappoint, as a herd of comic creators (mostly from Periscope) was inside along with a bunch of hipster fans. We all raided the free comics and I got a copy of Gumby this time around. Dean was impressed with the selection of new titles and he picked up the 2nd issue of the Army of Darkness / Xena crossover that he’d missed out on. While the kids got some Iron Man sketches from Jessie Hamm, Dean revealed that one of his female offspring was really into horror comics. This told me several things: 1, Dean is a very cool dad; 2, his daughter is very cool (but I already knew that as all his kids are very cool); and 3, Comics have changed permanently and thank goodness for that. Some of the kids also picked up some Harvey Dent buttons.
I hope the World of Comics is a little less Secret nowadays. heh heh
Andy Mangels and Kurt Busick
Andy had a new book out on the history Iron Man and Kurt had copies of his Conan and Astro City titles.
Some of the Creators at Cosmic Monkey
That's Ron Randall with his back to the camera talking to David Hahn. Paul Tobin is covered up by Ron and then next to him is Colleen Coover with Kieron Dwyer (reading to whom I assume is his son) next to her.
Shannon Wheeler and Carolyn Main
Shannon is known for Too Much Coffee Man and Carolyn for her deliciously naughty cartoons
A Cosmic Monkey Comic!
Hey remember that 24-hour comic party that CM had a about an month ago (see here)? Well Jim Valentino produced a comic for CM with their very own mascot. It's great and only available at Cosmic Monkey. Lucky me! Thanks to Andy for allowing me to post a couple of pages.
Cosmic Monkey T-Shirts!
Cosmic Monkey, the local sensation.
Things From Another World
A bike next to a comic book store sign, now that's Portland!
Our last leg of the comics’ journey led us to Things From Another World, a chain in the Portland metro area. TFAW is more of a corporate style of store and has lots of toys, other knickknacks in addition to comics. The place was jam-packed with kids. All the stores had grade-schoolers but Things had the most. That might be because there was a big sale going on and their parents might have found the reduced prices too enticing. The sad part was that most of TFAW’s free comics were gone by this point and so I just picked up the Hellboy Golden Army giveaway, It wasn’t that big of a deal anyway as these guys like to stamp their info on the comic covers, which I think is kinda lame. While perusing the store Dean convinced me to pick up the first issue of the D.C. Fontana’s Star Trek by IDW. I was really turned off by the last Year Four title but this one is much better.
A cute Vietnamese family was buying a bunch of stuff when I snapped this shot.
The kids had great time, Dean had a great time, and I had a great time. Free Comic Book Day rules!
-Swinebread
Excalibur Comics
They've got a ton of back issues here!
After a dim sum lunch at a Chinese restaurant, we headed over to our first comic store, Excalibur. They still had a great selection of free comics available and all of us picked up several titles. I think I was most happy with the EC reprint myself. The kids had a lot of fun exploring the store and it reminded me of when I discovered the comic book store for the first time. What’s really interesting is that the Excalibur owners and staff are very serious about their comics. It’s the best place for back issues in the city and they are very knowledgeable about the comic book field. They don’t go in much for extras like toys and games and consequently carry a decent selection of indy and mature titles. Dean was feeling little punch drunk from the Indiana Jones 4 trailer and so he picked up Vol. 1 of Dark Horse’s Indiana Jones omnibus.
Cosmic Monkey
This is the sign on the side of building. How many comic characters can you identify?For round two, we zipped off to Cosmic Monkey. Dean and the deltas hadn’t been to the store’s new location so part of the fun was watching their reaction to what turned out to be an incredibly fun leg of our free comic book day tour. The experience didn’t disappoint, as a herd of comic creators (mostly from Periscope) was inside along with a bunch of hipster fans. We all raided the free comics and I got a copy of Gumby this time around. Dean was impressed with the selection of new titles and he picked up the 2nd issue of the Army of Darkness / Xena crossover that he’d missed out on. While the kids got some Iron Man sketches from Jessie Hamm, Dean revealed that one of his female offspring was really into horror comics. This told me several things: 1, Dean is a very cool dad; 2, his daughter is very cool (but I already knew that as all his kids are very cool); and 3, Comics have changed permanently and thank goodness for that. Some of the kids also picked up some Harvey Dent buttons.
I hope the World of Comics is a little less Secret nowadays. heh hehAndy Mangels and Kurt Busick
Andy had a new book out on the history Iron Man and Kurt had copies of his Conan and Astro City titles. Some of the Creators at Cosmic Monkey
That's Ron Randall with his back to the camera talking to David Hahn. Paul Tobin is covered up by Ron and then next to him is Colleen Coover with Kieron Dwyer (reading to whom I assume is his son) next to her.Shannon Wheeler and Carolyn Main
Shannon is known for Too Much Coffee Man and Carolyn for her deliciously naughty cartoonsA Cosmic Monkey Comic!
Hey remember that 24-hour comic party that CM had a about an month ago (see here)? Well Jim Valentino produced a comic for CM with their very own mascot. It's great and only available at Cosmic Monkey. Lucky me! Thanks to Andy for allowing me to post a couple of pages.
Cosmic Monkey T-Shirts!
Cosmic Monkey, the local sensation. Things From Another World
A bike next to a comic book store sign, now that's Portland!Our last leg of the comics’ journey led us to Things From Another World, a chain in the Portland metro area. TFAW is more of a corporate style of store and has lots of toys, other knickknacks in addition to comics. The place was jam-packed with kids. All the stores had grade-schoolers but Things had the most. That might be because there was a big sale going on and their parents might have found the reduced prices too enticing. The sad part was that most of TFAW’s free comics were gone by this point and so I just picked up the Hellboy Golden Army giveaway, It wasn’t that big of a deal anyway as these guys like to stamp their info on the comic covers, which I think is kinda lame. While perusing the store Dean convinced me to pick up the first issue of the D.C. Fontana’s Star Trek by IDW. I was really turned off by the last Year Four title but this one is much better.
A cute Vietnamese family was buying a bunch of stuff when I snapped this shot. The kids had great time, Dean had a great time, and I had a great time. Free Comic Book Day rules!
-Swinebread
Friday, May 2, 2008
Free Comic Book Day and Other Strangeness
Don’t forget Free Comic Book Day is tomorrow at a comic book store near you. It’s gonna be a wild ride around here as the festivities will also include Iron Man and Dim Sum. I’m looking forward to it as I’ll be spending the day with Dean Wormer and his unruly Deltas.
On another note, a fellow coworker’s son lucked into a comic book windfall. Apparently he was looking around on Craig’s List and found an ad for a box of comics for 50 bucks. See, some poor sap was being sent off to Iraq and he told his mom to sell his stuff. Well, when my coworker’s son got the box home, he discovered it had a bunch of old comics. He didn’t have all the details but my coworker said that there was a superman from the forties or fifties and a lot of Spidermans from the sixties. If that soldier makes it back, I wonder if he’ll be pissed his collection went for so little. More info to come if I can get it.
I just finished reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy, a wonderful post apocalyptic novel, and a great work of literature. The simplicity of the book is its strength IMO. The father and son relationship is the core of the story (it’s that relationship that helps them endure the gristliest of horrors) but I also really enjoyed the survival aspect. Adventure can be found in the purest things, an old house, a rusty truck, or a destroyed forest. It’s my understanding that The Road is being made into a movie and it’s shooting right now. I heard on the local news that the studio is looking for a pregnant body double for Charlize Theron here. Yup, a quick check of IMDB revels that some of The Road is being shot in Oregon. That seems a little strange as the book is set in the South but Oregon does have a varied environment. Also, some of the scenes will be shot at Mt. St. Helens, which makes perfect sense at it has a blasted landscape, of ash and downed trees.
Remember Free Comic Book Day tomorrow!
-Swinebread
P.S. I swear I'll get to your comments soon, thanks for checking in.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Happy May Day
You know, without those wonderful commies there'd be no Iron Man. His origin is directly tied to them, plus many of his early villains were communists. Maybe they should have opened his movie today rather than tomorrow? heh heh.
-Swinebread
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
The Possible 2008 Blockbuster Movie List
Release dates are always subject to change, but here we go month by month
January
Cloverfield
Rambo
February
Jumper
Fool’s Gold
March
Horton Hears a Who
10,000 BC
April
Forbidden Kingdom (Stars Jet-Li & Jackie Chan)
Leatherheads
May
Iron Man (sure to coincide with Free Comic Book Day)
Speed Racer
The Chronicle of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
June
Kung Fu Panda
Get Smart
The Incredible Hulk (the franchise restart)
The Love Guru
Wall-E
July
Step Brothers
Batman: The Dark Knight
Hancock
Hellboy 2
August
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Pineapple Express
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
South of the Border
September
Death Race (remake of Death Race 2000)
Nowhereland
October
Body of Lies
Saw V (snore)
Whiteout
November
James Bond
Madagascar 2
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
December
Star Trek
January
Cloverfield
Rambo
February
Jumper
Fool’s Gold
March
Horton Hears a Who
10,000 BC
April
Forbidden Kingdom (Stars Jet-Li & Jackie Chan)
Leatherheads
May
Iron Man (sure to coincide with Free Comic Book Day)
Speed Racer
The Chronicle of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
June
Kung Fu Panda
Get Smart
The Incredible Hulk (the franchise restart)
The Love Guru
Wall-E
July
Step Brothers
Batman: The Dark Knight
Hancock
Hellboy 2
August
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Pineapple Express
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
South of the Border
September
Death Race (remake of Death Race 2000)
Nowhereland
October
Body of Lies
Saw V (snore)
Whiteout
November
James Bond
Madagascar 2
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
December
Star Trek
Monday, September 10, 2007
Iron Man Trailer
here
Looks good. Lots of small stuff in there for the fanboys.
Oh and in case you missed it on every other site Indy 4 is called:
It's gonna be a fun film year in 2008... (I hope)!
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Spiderman Cartoon and Iron Man Comic Con Trailers
The Fanboys came through and posted the con exclusive vids for Iron Man and the Spectacular Spider-Man Cartoon! It looks like the buzz with Iron Man is worth it so far and now we just might have a Spidey done in the same style as the WB Batman and Justice League. Great stuff!
EDIT AGAIN: I found another copy of the IRON MAN trailer, not as good as the first one but here goes (Thanks to Sequentially Speaking):
EDIT AGAIN: >
-Swinebread
EDIT AGAIN: I found another copy of the IRON MAN trailer, not as good as the first one but here goes (Thanks to Sequentially Speaking):
EDIT AGAIN: >
-Swinebread
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