I saw Watchmen last week, twice actually. The first time I wanted to see it on my own terms so I went to a Wednesday matinee alone. Before the previews, I took particular delight in passing the time by reading a section of the Ten Cent Plague. With Watchmen coming to the screen, it felt as if the damage done by the comic book witch hunts of the 1950s was finally being lifted… at least creatively, but I digress.

That first viewing of the film was transportative. I didn’t come away thinking Watchmen was a perfect film. But I feel that I had seen as good of an adaptation as anyone could have pulled off. I was in a highly meditave state when I left the theater, something I hadn’t felt since… well…Groundhog Day of all things. I couldn’t stop thinking about the film and the comic. Then on Saturday, I went again with the wife and saw the movie on it’s own terms. Nobody walked out of either showing. No one bitched about the film and no dumbass brought preteen children to the movie. Mrs. Swinebread was lost, unfortunately, but that was more due to the fact that English is not her first language. She did like the fact that it was an adult film and she thought it was great that it didn’t have happy ending. She is Japanese after all.

There is so much to discuss about Watchmen that I could never mention it all but let me start with a that fact that Zack Snyder was screwed. If he adapted Watchmen for a general audience then the fanboys would rebel and tank the film. If he made a more direct adaptation of the comic then general audiences would be easily confused and the risk of financial failure looms. Snyder went with the latter, and I see it as the only real choice. And for the record I think 300 is an awful movie (although it’s not too bad if you think of it as a joke or a parody film).

There are several controversies that I feel I must address. The first, of course, is Dr. Manhattan’s Penis. All I can really say is “GROW THE F UP.” Seriously, folks need to get over their puritanical prudery. A naked man doesn’t equal porn. We’ve had full frontal female nudes in film for forever and now we get one CG cock and the whole world ends just because immature folks can’t stand the sight of the male member. This film has adult content. What a surprise, it is rated R. I take particular delight in hearing stories of families having to race out of the theater because their kids saw Dr. Manhattan’s wang. Rated R means rated R. If you are gonna get upset about something, then get upset about fact that one of the characters guns down a pregnant women. A funny thing is that I’m starting to see more positive comments from women about Doc M’s nudeness.

The sex scene on the owl ship is was probably too long and yes the Shrek song didn’t help sell the scene. I would have preferred a sweeter, more romantic coupling. I do understand what Zack was going for though. There is an unrelenting darkness to Watchmen and I think he was taking the time too lighten things up a little, plus if I thought the world was really gonna get nuked soon I’d be having raunchy sex in an owl ship too if I had one. I’m not defending Zack’s choice here but I do understand where he’s coming from.

It’s too violent? Zack likes his violence hardcore and so punched up the gore in several scenes. The brutality is all there in the GN but it isn’t as graphic as Zack makes it out to be. I didn’t have a problem with it personally except when Dr. Manhattan splattered the gangsters onto the ceiling. That distracted from the plot. There is a certain horror to the violence in the Watchmen comic but most of that horror happens in the mind of the reader. Zack tried to bring that same sense of horror by clearly displaying the awfulness of it directly. Of course there were no bodies in New York so that’s one point that went the other way. While shocking I was pretty neutral about it.

Is it’s too dark? A lot of folks complained that it was much too awful for a superhero movie. I recognize it is a downer of story but folks are bringing a lot of cultural baggage of what constitutes a comic book movie and what doesn’t. There’s a whole universe out there in the world of comics waiting to be discovered and it’s time for folks to look passed the X-men movies. That said, WB did market the film as a regular superhero flick in the vain of Dark Knight.

The ending was changed. Not a big deal. I was pretty neutral about it. The Squid would not have translated to the screen and would not have been understood or accepted by a mainstream audience. Plus, just think of all the exposition that would have been added to the film. *Shudder* Dr. Manhattan is the only preternatural thing (besides Nixon’s nose) in the film and to introduce a fake preternatural alien would have been too much.

It should have been updated? Oh Please, this is simply laziness on the part of some of the younger folks in the audience. It’s the same old “the past is not real and so has no significance” rant. Part of the problem here is that most folks don’t know a thing about history and don’t want know. Watchmen is a very complicated story moving through different eras but I guess some in the audience couldn’t tell the difference between 1985 and 1945. Detaching Watchmen from the events that shaped the America in the 20th century renders the story pointless. Plus, the Watchmen narrative is a cracked mirror of comic books trends and stereotypes from the 1940s to the mid-1980s.


Things I liked:

The attention to detail was fantastic. I got Blade Runner vibes.

Of course, Jackie Earle Haley was great as Rorschach

The Silhouette’s V-J Day kiss!

Sticking as closely as possible to the comic.

All the stuff with Molock

The Sally Jupiter Tijuana Bible… it’s all gravy after that

I liked most of the stuff with Janey Slater

The opening… but everybody liked that

People are reading the comic… that’s cool and the best thing about this whole project


Things I didn’t like:

The music choices were not the best. I know zack was trying to make it feel like the time period but some of it didn’t work. As a good score would have been better. Did I mention the Shrek song?

The two lead gals acting wasn’t quite up to snuff.

There were some problems with tone. Zack sometimes has trouble capturing those softer moments.

Ozy’s exposition about himself didn’t work.

Having Janey Slater show up and say I got cancer was sorta off… although I understand Zack was pressed for time.

Billy’s vocals were not strong enough for me. The dispassion was good but the level was not.

Missed opportunities:
Zack tried to cram in as much as possible, so for me it’s not about missed opportunities but rather his interpretation of elements of the comic.

Things I was neutral about
The new ending
The new costumes
The running time
The Violence
The Mars stuff

I liked the Watchmen a lot but can see why some folks would have problems. It’s a very adult picture and people need to know this before they enter the theater. Snyder worked very hard in replicating the GN but he does have a few problems with communicating the right tone with Watchmen. If he was a little more experienced I think some things would flow better. We’ll get the extended DVD so that might mitigate the minor pacing and plot problems. Regardless, people are debating the merits of the film and the graphic novel and that kind of attention given to an actual comic book story is fantastic.


-Swinebread

Hitler finds out about the new Watchmen ending.

Hitler finds out about new Watchmen ending.




This was uploaded before the film came out but, oh man, is this still funny.


-Swinebread

Saturday Morning Watchmen

iSwinebread!

I Watched The Watchmen

Out of the gate- I'm a latecomer to the graphic novel. I only read it myself a couple of years ago so I don't have years and years of imagining this film. So all I took into this movie was a love of comics and a love of film.

My my 15-year old daughter read the book this last summer when we were camping and she's become obsessed with the Watchmen, convincing many of her friends to follow her lead. It was really important to her that it was just the two of us who saw the film together. We went to a matinee yesterday afternoon.

(Before I go any further let me just say the new trailers for Star Trek and Terminator Salvation both sent my inner geek on overload. They both sent chills up my spine.)

I don't think I have to post a spoiler warning here. I won't give any details of how this film deviates from the book. If you've read the book then you'll know what I'm talking about.

What did we think of "Watchmen?" This movie was about 90-95% pure genius in our opinion. When it worked, such as during the first 15 minutes of credits that summed up this alternative history through flashbacks to the tune of Bob Dylan's "Times They Are A-Changin'" - it literally kicked our asses.

And when it didn't work? Not all of the acting was up to par. I'm talking to you Carla Gugino. Fans of the book should shrug off some of the klunkier scenes and dialog in recognition that they were included to track the book and for fans of same, not to advance the film's narrative. That seems to be what mainstream critics who aren't familiar with the book are getting hung up on.

They could've cut the sex scene or shortened it. That's not something I'd usually type but there was so much other win in this movie.

But for the most part this film was flat out awesome. Some of the standout stuff-

• Jackie Earle Haley's Rorschach. He was pitch-perfect and menacing. I hated knowing what was coming for this guy.
• Jeffery Dean Morgan's Comedian. He sold a very unsympathetic character.
• Some standout scenes including the opening, Comedian's funeral and Rorschach in jail just before the jailbreak.
• Dr. Manhattan was very, very well-endowed. I'm glad they did cheat on showing his Johnson but did they have to make him John friggin' Holmes?
• GREAT special effects which is saying something in this digital age.

Dean and his daughter give this movie two thumbs up.

Dean Wormer

Watching the Young Turks

Blah blah blah blah Watchmen

I'm too tired to comment on my hopes and fears for the film

so just watch this nice non-spoiler (for the most part) review by the Young Turks




Oh I do have to say that I think casting Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach will turn out to be and inspired choice. It just seems right.


-Swinebread

Star Trek: Countdown #2

I'd like to do a little mini-review of IDW's Star Trek: Countdown now that I've read the first two issues in the series. In the course of this review I'd like to compare the upcoming Star Trek and Watchmen films and their respective directors JJ Abrams and Zach Snyder. In the course of doing so I may be revealing minor spoilers to the Star Trek film and a major spoiler in Watchmen if you're not already aware of the Big Change from the book at the end of that movie that's consumed comic fans on the net over the course of the past year.

If you've managed to remain blissfully unaware about the details of both those films and want to go into them cold then read no further.

***SPOILERS***

I like to search the net for pre-information about upcoming genre films. This includes set photos from spies, designs and interviews with the creators. So if I had to summarize the "feel" I've gotten for the Watchmen and Star Trek films coming out shortly I'd have to say that I've felt for awhile that Zach Snyder, a director I haven't had much use for, "gets" his material better than Star Trek's Abrams.

In interview after interview Snyder has displayed a demonstrable love for the source material that makes it clear to me that the film's in good hands. In fact: if Snyder's recent comments on the film are true he's already saved the film from what the studio was planning before he took the director's job.

When it comes to the infamous missing giant squid at the end of the film Snyder has a pretty good reason for reluctantly removing it from the story. As they plotted it out the story was already three hours long before they even got to the climax. The squid would've taken about 15 minutes to explain, which was 15 minutes they didn't feel they had.

JJ Abrams, on the other hand, has done nothing but make comments such as "this film is not for Star Trek fans" and admits that as a child he loved Star Wars more than Trek. Blasphemy in Trek circles.

On the other hand Abrams also talks about Star Trek being about the characters and about Rodenberry's optimistic world so he does have some understanding of Trek's appeal. Whether that translates into the finished film is up in the air.

Which brings me to the Star Trek: Countdown comics. I wasn't going to read these as it seemed more like an attempt to cash in on the film than they had some story to tell. Then I came across the first 8 pages online and read them but only for a pretty geeky reason: I wanted to see if the Romulan ships that Abrams, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman designed for the film and would be included in the comic looked like the ships I loved from the original television series.

What I found was that writers Orci and Kurtzman, who are also the screenwriters for the film, have an obvious reference for Trek and can tell a good story. Forget the alternate timeline stuff we've heard about. None of that is here. Instead we have a story set solidly in "our" Star Trek universe some years after the last Next Generation film.

There's so much they get right but let me just point out one little part out of the second issue that I just finished that had me chuckling. At the end of the first comic Data appears and he's now in command of the Enterprise. If you're one of the five people that saw the last Next Gen film you know that Data was killed (he had to be since they were ripping off Wrath of Khan.) In a meeting with Spock and a throwaway line it's mentioned that they haven't met since his memory engram was installed on his double.

In one small frame of the comic they sent a delicious "fuck you" to the Braga/ Berman team that so many of us think killed Trek on television by casually undoing one of their biggest mistakes. I love this.

As for the story itself it's centered on Romulan miner Nero, who will become the villain of the upcoming film, and his attempt to stop a disaster from befalling Romulus. He's an extremely sympathetic character in these books. He's falls strongly into the Trek hero tradition of bucking the powers that be to try and prevent very bad things from happening.

Of course this won't work for poor Nero, which is the point. We get to see why he's angry and why he blames the Federation and some of it's greatest heroes for what happens.

The bottom line is that these comics are actually making me a little more confident about the upcoming Trek film, which is not what I expected. If the film's as good as the comics then we have nothing to worry about. That's still a pretty big "if."

- Dean

No Hurm, No Foul

Watchmen's visionary* director Zack Snyder went into some detail about the DVD release of his pending film based on the classic graphic novel. The running time of the DVD will be a whopping 3 hours and 25 minutes. Mostly because it will include the Tales of the Black Freighter which will not be in the theatrical release.

Of course Black Freighter will be released on it's own DVD to coincide with the release of the film but I can't imagine how fans of the book would want to see it any other way than included in the overall story since it parallels and complements the larger Watchmen narrative.

Here's the trailer for that DVD if you haven't seen it-



(*Warner Brothers requires under pain of broken fingers that you refer to Zack Snyder as "visionary" whenever you mention him in writing.)

Watching the Watchmen Watchers

With the Watchmen Trailer out, I decided to read the comic again since it’s been awhile. I’d forgotten how great the story is and I was reminded how practically every comic book has ripped it off since its initial publication in 1986. I’ve noticed some folks dismissing Watchmen but it really was a quantum leap forward in sequential storytelling. If you don’t believe me pick up some back issues of Secret Wars II that came out the same year and you’ll see what I mean.

After Watchmen came out, a light turned on about how great comics could really be, and I’m talking about structure here. As an example: to this day, I can’t stand over exposition in comics. It really bothers me when captions describe what is already clearly shown happening in he panels; basically I think it’s insulting. I can see that Superman is flying you don’t need to tell me he’s flying too. Watchmen got rid of this and other tired techniques and basically pushed the boundaries on how to tell a great comic book story in the same way Citizen Kane pushed how to make great movie.

The dark and somewhat nihilistic take on superheroes is much more of a downer nowadays and I can see why some folks are put off by it but you have to remember this was all new in 1986. To the general public superheroes were a joke and comics didn’t tell adult stories when I grew up, so it was really nice to read something that stimulated the intellect. I mean hey, Watchmen reminded me that gold is only made in the heart of supernovas.

A lot of folks were taken aback by the trailer before Dark Knight and so rushed out to pick up a copy of Watchmen. I’ve been reading folks reviews on Amazon.com. Here's a few:

I first heard of Watchmen when I saw a trailer for its movie. Liking the trailer very much, I bought a copy of the graphic novel to see what it was about. What I expected was a light fun read full of pointless action like most other comics.
I couldn't have been farther from the truth.
What I read instead was a captivating novel with wonderfully developed characters and an intriguing plot with romance, action, and deep questions involving morality and the value of a human life.

I have never been a reader of comics, and this is only the second graphic novel I've tried. I have to say, I am so glad I did! I still have 3 chapters left, but every panel of Watchmen is beautifully crafted, both in the story and the illustration. I will admit that I bought this so I will have some idea what the upcoming movie is about, and now that I have read the novel, I really hope Hollywood has done it justice!

There is a reason Time magazine named it one of the best novels of the 20th century - Watchmen transcends all other comics (with the possible exception of Frank Miller's epic The Dark Knight Returns) in its art, depth and believability. If you have never read a comic before, you don't have to worry: unlike Superman, X-men or any of the other established comics, Watchmen is entirely self-contained.

I thought it was a very very good book...for it's time! Don't get me wrong, yes, it was a great book! Everyone should read this!! I just thought it was a long long long long read, for such a so so ending. If you haven't read this, please give it a try, I just didn't think it lived up to the "Best Graphic Novel"

I'm not going to make this long but basically I saw the trailer for the movie and was blown away. When I found out it was based on "the greatest graphic novel of all time" I knew I just had to get a copy. I'm not much of a comic person but the artwork is impressive. The story has interesting characters, the ending is VERY unpredictable. Other than that, if you're like me and you read lots of novels, short stories, and movie scripts don't expect to be knocked off your feet.

Not a masterpiece everyone makes out to be. Although compare to other graphic novels, it's alittle bit better. Bascially a murder mystery that along the way in solving it, goes into each of the character's backstory until mystery is solved in the end. Ending somewhat disappointing and boring.

Wow, Time Magazine 100 top novels. Basis for Major Movies. The work that changed a genre. I had to read this book. Well, after finishing I realize I really didn't have to read it. I figure this book is like Fried Chicken. If you have a passion for Fried Chicken you will attempt to elevate it to the level of fine dining. But sorry its just fried chicken full of grease and salt and thats what makes it good. you should be happy for whatever merit there is in that. This is a competent comic book for a mature audience. It has mediocre artwork, the characterizations are thin and often poorly reasoned. But gosh its got some gory violence, space monsters and even a competent love scene.

I picked this up since there has always been a lot of hype about it in the gaming, comics and online world. It barely held my interest. It is a dark and gloomy story that is more melodrama than anything.

All I can say after I finish this book is "WOW!" LITERALLY! Its also my first graphic novel I read, I got it for my 20th birthday this year after I saw the previews in theaters while watching BATMAN: The Dark Knight. It is my favorite birthday gift this year. People that have not read this, BUY IT NOW!!! YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!!! Its my new favorite book now!

I think I speak for a lot of people(who didn't read watchmen before) when I say "The movie trailer was CONFUSING!!!!!!" That's probably the main reason why I bought this book. I'm only half way through, but WOW the writing is good. Now I know why it's in the Time Magazine top 100 list and won a Hugo. If you plan to watch the movie but was confused by the trailer, or just want a really really really good comic to read, buy this, you won't regret it.

The characters are what make Watchmen great. There are so many fascinating and deep characters here, and Moore uses them to explore morality on virtually every level. For this is what Watchmen is on its basic level: a morality tale, albeit a fairly bleak one.

Tons of readers are giving credit to Moore for inventing the neurotic superhero. But Kurt Busiek doesn't. Nor does Grant Morrison. Nor do most superhero writers. They give the credit to Superfolks, a comic novel (not graphic) that came out in 1977. With a quote from Nietzsche. With the smiley yellow face. With a superhero up to his neck in personal problems. And with a lot more humor.
Superfolks clearly "inspired" Moore to write Watchmen.
So check it out on Amazon. Don't just take my word for it, because I'm biased. I wrote it.

Normally when I see or hear a lot of hype or hyperbole about something, I choose to ignore the subject, due to being disappointed too many times in the past.
But with this product I'm glad I gave in and tried it.
I've never read a graphic novel in which the characters are so well; "fleshed out" as these.

The whodunit on steroids…

Watchmen is probably one of the greatest comics ever written. Unfortunately in today's modern time the story has lost a lot of what made it great because the direction that the industry has taken. With everyone going for darker, grittier stories Watchmen just hasn't been able to stand the test of time. A great story but, you can't go in with a regular state of mind when reading it. It's a great story and worth the read.

The storytelling and artwork are as cohesive as you'll ever find, and if you're like me, you'll find yourself picking this book up every few years to give it a fresh read.

I am happy with my purchase. I got it quickly and in great condition

Incredible story, even if the ending left me a little unsatisfied. Cant wait for this to hit the big screen.

On the surface this is a story about superheroes. But it isn't deeds or super powers that are the hallmark of these characters, but rather it is who they are. Who are these people that dress up in costumes and fight crime?

I love comic books, and I wanted to love Watchmen. I expected to love it. It won a Hugo, after all. Well...it started off great, with the murder of a retired costumed hero, the Comedian. We're soon introduced to Rorschach, a somewhat mentally disturbed but very effective sort of good guy and a bunch of other costumed heroes, most now retired. The book went downhill soon after. One of the good guys, a Superman clone, is framed and goes off to Mars in a huff. A very boring chapter of his philosophical depression then follows. In the end, the "bad" guy is too powerful to be believed (he's a human without supernatural powers but he can catch a bullet in his hand--I don't think so), the plot too complex to be plausible and it depends, to a large extent, upon science that had not been previously introduced. You can use cloning and telepathy (to give an example) only if you introduce cloning and telepathy early in the story. It's like Kirk saying, "Scotty, time for the interdimensional transport beam," when no such thing has ever been mentioned. The reader does not appreciate such cheap tricks. In the end, this is a pompous work that takes itself way too seriously. Too bad. It could have been great.

Maybe in its day it was revolutionary and unique, but it hasn't stood the test of time for me. I'll stick with V For Vendetta- a true classic.

*Disclaimer: I only read a small portion of this graphic novel*

Since I'm hating on a widely acclaimed graphic novel, I feel like I first need to give some taste credentials. Sandman was awesome, Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men is a trip and Moonshadow was phenomenal. For a graphic novel to be good, it should have a good story, good art, good characters, witty dialog, and humor. I'm willing to believe that the story behind the Watchman is amazing because why else would people like it so much, but everything else is just terrible.

The artwork is gross and uninteresting, the characters, at least in the first 60 pages, are completely boring, uninteresting and hollow. And there's not a moment of comic relief. Here are some minor, but representative examples to support my claims.

The dialog and characters are completely inane. The novel begins with the death of "The Comedian," and old super hero, and we then see the reactions of his former colleagues. Everyone flashes back to days of old and I don't know how many times they made retarded comments like "We'd always thought he'd get the laugh last." It's not even funny in an over the top sort of way, it's just lame. I skipped to the middle to learn a little about the antihero's origins, and you find that he's being analyzed by a psychologist who, we are told by the author, is a really nice guy and one of the best in his field. But he's just dumb. He fully believes the crazy antihero is becoming more sane when he claims to see butterflies and daisies in a Rorschach test. And then, later, the psychologist appears wounded to the core when the antihero makes fun of him and calls him out. How is this at all believable. What kind of psychologist goes through his career never encountering a moment of adversity. It just makes no sense. I know these sound minor, but every page is filled with stupid stuff like this. It's all like the idiotic scene in V for Vendetta, when the main villain is broken because his computer has an affair with V.

I know that it's arrogant and mean to come down hard on a graphic novel so many people know and love without even reading enough to get into the story. But, there are so many glowing reviews of this piece or literature that Alan Moore can deal with a little bit of criticism. The whole story just felt so hollow and empty that it seems pointless to continue reading to find out more.

Some of the reviews on here are a little ridiculous. YES, it is a tedious read. YES, the plot is difficult to understand and follow. YES, some of the themes are dated. However, that does not negate the fact that this is, by far, the BEST.Graphic.Novel.Ever. The characters feel real, the plot is absolutely mind blowingly good once you fully grasp it, and the action is perfectly paced. I absolutely cannot wait for the movie!

In short, Watchmen is a great, great comic that has had a profound influence over the years. If you've been at all impressed by the more adult comics in recent times, you not only have this volume to thank, in part, but you also owe it to yourself to give this book a read. You'll be happy that you did.


-Swinebread

Watcthfriends - Watchmen meets Super-Friends

It had to be done by somebody right! Great job Ironycoast!





-Swinebread

Comic Con For Me

Of course Comic Con is going on this weekend but for obvious reasons I haven’t been paying much attention, But here’s a few stories that sparked my interest.


Rose McGowan and Robert Rodrigez talk about the new Red Sonja movie that's due out in late 2009 (here). It looks like it could be a lot of fun and I like what both McGowan and Rodrigez had to say about the Character and the project. The director, Douglas Aarniokosk, seems like a total putz though with statements like this:

"We're trying to do what Chris Nolan did with Batman, and that's [to] take an established story and an established character and reinvent it," he said. "You didn't have to see the other 'Batman' [movies] to appreciate it. You didn't have to read the comics to appreciate it."

You don't even have care about the Red Sonja at all to appreciate it... sigh

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The Greatest American Hero is set for a comic book debut this fall. The cast and crew reunited for walk down memory lane to talk about a what made the show so special and why it was canceled before its time. Plus, there’s a buzz of for possible film in 2009. See Here

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Frank Miller’s adaptation of Will Eisner’s classic comic The Spirit might be really cool or it might suck and maybe Samuel L. Jackson might make or break the film project. See here

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Watchmen, Watchmen, Watchmen… blah, blah, blah see here

Also, watch Dave Gibbons discuss his experience with the film here

Take a gander at the Nite Owl's ship here

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The Warlord is returning to comics for his 35th anniversary and this time the relaunch will be done by the character's creator Mike Grell. See here. This a big relief after the reimagining that DC did a few years ago stunk so bad. It is time to get back to the original version. Hopefully the new Warlord will be a success so some Warlord Showcase Presents will get published.


-Swinebread

Busy Busy, Busy, but here’s a few tidbits.

The Watchmen Trailer…


Wow, I’m not impressed at all. I was really looking forward to this film. Now? Not so much. The CG looks cheesy, the music sucked and I F***ing hate the slow mo. Watchmen is already a 12 issue graphic novel, so screen time shouldn’t be wasted on visual masturbation, my suppressed fears about the director of 300 just might be confirmed here. I really appreciated what Zack Snyder was saying about the comic and the project but I’m dubious now. Watchmen is a deeply psychological work full of rich subtext and just slo-moing scenes directly from the comic is not the way to go.

Here’s What Alan Moore recently had to say about Snyder:

When asked by Entertainment Weekly if he was curious about Snyder's version of his story, he replied: "I would rather not know."

Moore, who previously disowned the Warner Bros adaptation of his comic V For Vendetta, voiced his disapproval of Snyder due to his involvement with 300.

"He's the person who made 300. I've not seen any recent comic book films, but I didn't particularly like the book 300," Moore said.

"I had a lot of problems with it, and everything I heard or saw about the film tended to increase [those problems] rather than reduce them: [that] it was racist, it was homophobic, and above all it was sublimely stupid."

Furthermore, the comic scribe insisted that he hadn't been in contact with studio Warner Bros regarding the Watchmen adaptation: "No, they've all been told not to. They get the message... I don't want anyone who works for DC comic books to contact me ever again, or I'll change my number."

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I’ve been absorbing I Shall Destroy All The Civilized Planets, which collects all the Golden Age comic stories by Fletcher Hanks. It’s one of the weirdest things I’ve ever read. At first these stories almost seem like a joke or a 60’s, underground comic parody, but these bizarros were actually published. The art style is akin to a crossing of Robert Crumb and Basil Wolverton but with less talent than either. The narrative of these odd gems is hard to describe other than to say that the heroes tend to abnormally torture the villains by the end after some ridiculously grand scheme. This collection is the naked lunch of comics.


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Overdroid is in town and we met for a quick get-together yesterday. He brought along a copy of the Arkham Horror board game, which I’ve been itching to play. Well, it was a hell of fun time. We were quickly overwhelmed by the machinations of Nyarlathotep. OD was killed when the crawling chaos manifested after only a few turns of play and I didn’t last much longer in a head to head fight with Nyarly. In fact, OD told me that it was the shortest games he’s ever played, which ended up being OK because we didn’t have a lot of time anyway. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had losing, but then this is a horror game after all.

Overdroid also had a copy of Basic Roleplaying. I was a surprised how huge it was. Due to our short schedule, I didn’t really have time to look through it. Maybe Diamond Distributing will see fit to send me the copy of Basic Roleplaying that I ordered.

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I came across a great list of literary takes on superheroes via NPR’s website here. Check it out.

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Arkonbey made a joke about me cutting down on comics now that Swinebread Jr. is on the way, but I do need to cut down. I’ve been surprised how many comics, especially trades, I order and then wonder what the hell was I thinking when I signed up for this. The only kink in the plan is that a significant amount of items that I have ordered, many months ago, have not shown up and now, with budgets tightening, I might be in a rough spot. Oh well, I’ll figure it out…

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Speaking of Swinebread Jr, now he really could come at any time... I can' t wait to be a Dad, but I guess I will have to wait for a little longer.


-Swinebread

Randomness

An interesting and slightly clueless (did this guy read any comics made before the 1990s?) article titled "how superhero movies made comic books cooler if not better on io9 caught my attention. Most of these changes I don't consider making comics any better but yes maybe cooler for a little while at least.

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engaging Watchmen costume design video



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Chaosium is running a new pole on their webpage's sidebar called: Which Genre would you most like to see as a Chaosium BRP setting? (See here) The choices are Fantasy, Historical Horror, Post Apocalypse, Pulp, & Science Fiction. Of course I chose Post Apocalypse. head over and make your vote count.


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Black Cat on Spectacular Spiderman this Saturday (may 17th) at 10AM on The CW. I've always liked her, so I'm glad she's getting her TV due. Black Cat takes me back to a time when I first read comics and reminds me of what I used to enjoy about the Spiderman stories. Oh and the Black costume symbiote shows up as well. What, No Secret Wars?


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Ron Perlman talks Hellboy

In all of Guillermo’s movies, the monsters are the ones who are the most human and the humans are the ones who are the most monstrous. He’s been playing in that world ever since he made his first film and that’s a theme that fascinates him for all the right reasons. And even if you don’t see it necessarily on the surface of the entertainment he is giving you, it’s there and this is why you are so stirred when watching his films for reasons that you can’t even really articulate. There’s so much there that he’s grappling with.

See full article here


-Swinebread

Some Great Alan Moore Vids

Alan Moore on Watchmen (spoilers!)


Alan Moore on Movies adapted from his comics


Alan Moore on fame


-swinebread

Watchmen Characters Revealed!

Director Zach Snyder has revealed the first shots of the Watchmen for his upcoming film. The film finished principal photography a few weeks back and comes out one year from today.

Revealed in the photos are the five main characters and cast members, The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) and Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman).

The Watchmen will hit theaters March 6th, 2009

from here
The Comedian


Nite Owl


Ozymandias


Rorschach


Silk Spectre


They sure look great and are nice adaptations of the comic versions. In fact, I think I like Ozymandias' movie costume better than the original. This just keeps getting better and better. I'm more excited for this film than anything coming out this year.

I just got a strange feeling that that Watchmen will have this bizarre cultural affect and retro 80s will be very popular in 2009.

Sadly, this film and the graphic novel are more topical than ever.

-Swinebread

Random Comic info

The Ten-Cent Plague by David Hajdu is getting some good buzz. It deals with the censorship of comic books in the McCarthy era and the creation of the Comics Code Authority that ruined many a good story, many a good genre and many a good creator. Despite the vileness of the topic, I find this period in the history of comics incredibly fascinating and I intend to pick up this book at some point.



I bought the Justice League: the New Frontier video, but grabbed the single disk version. So, I don’t have any of the bonus material. As it turns out that’s the real treat of this release as reviews have been mixed. I haven’t broken the seal yet so I may take it back for a 2-disk set. Apparently there is a pretty good doc on the history of the Justice League.



Some interesting responses to my Men are from Marvel, Women are from DC and DC’s Super Feminine Mystique posts:

Leftarrow here

Brainfreeze here

Brainfreeze here part 2


New Pic from Watchmen.

After production wrapped a while back on the Watchmen movie a frame was released.


One more hint that this could be a really great film.

-Swinebread

Dave Gibbons Visits Watchmen Set

It's perhaps the most surreal experience of my life...

...And I'm standing amongst them. Nite Owl shakes my hand. The Comedian slaps me on the back. Silk Spectre smiles a dazzling greeting. I'm overwhelmed by the depth and detail of what I'm seeing.

But more than that. I'm overwhelmed by the commitment, the passion, the palpable desire to do this right.

I'm starting to feel a glow that eclipses even Dr. Manhattan's...

-Dave Gibbons
December 2007

From the Watchmen Movie Blog here

Too soon to get excited... Too soon to get excited... Too soon to get excited... Too soon to get excited... Too soon to get excited... Too soon to get excited...

Can you name the character whose costume is behind him?

-Swinebread

Random Movie Stuff

This stuff has been posted everywhere at this point but I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon.

The New Indy 4 movie poster:

Please don’t let this be like the Star War prequels.


Here's a couple of stills from the Whiteout film.



As I haven’t been paying attention, Will Eisner’s The Spirit is in full production right now. I feel like compete tool for not knowing this. In this pick we see Frank Miller on the set. It’s being shot in the same style as Sin City and 300. More info here (links at the bottom at page)




These comments by Jeffrey Dean Morgan on the set of Watchmen gives this old fanboy even more hope that the film version is in really good hands. Zack Snyder actually carries around a copy of the graphic novel on set all the time.

Reviews for I Am Legend are mostly positive (see here) but it looks like there’s a problem with the end of the film. From what understand they shot multiple endings for the movie. So maybe they never really knew how they wanted to end it. I’ll keep that in mind as I see the film, which unfortunately will not be this weekend.



-Swinebread

Wanting to Watch Watchmen

In case you don’t know: Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ dark superhero masterpiece is being made into a movie for a 2009 release. These stills from watchmencomicmovie.com (here) give me hope that it will be of high quality. Fans of the graphic novel will notice many important but subtle clues in these pictures. Could it be true? Could a great Watchman adaptation be on the way? I hope so.

Who Watches the Watchmen? You and me in 2009!



Oh and read the graphic novel… it’s totally worth it. Read it.





-Swinebread