Sentinels - This Should Be Good!

If you stuck around after the credits at the new Wolverine movie, this will be old news to you, but this photo, tweeted by Bryan Singer the director of the upcoming movie X-Men: Days of Future Past, confirms that Trask Industries will feature prominently in the plot of the new film. For those of you who haven't read the comic books, the CEO of Trask Industries: Bolivar Trask is the creator of the Sentinels. Giant mutant hunting robots that pack an incredible arsenal of weaponry, and have the ability to adapt and neutralize most mutant powers, various incarnations of the sentinels have been a staple villain in the comic books for years. With any luck, the film, which features some returning members of both casts of X-Men: First Class, and the original X-Men trilogy, will stay fairly true to the Days of Future Past, comic book plot line. Which I will keep to myself, so as to not spoil anything.
Here's a gratuitous photo of Hugh Jackman on set because Wolverine is my favourite. X-Men: Days of Future Past is scheduled for release May 23rd, 2014. It will be worth the wait!

Man of Steel

When it comes to superheroes, no one is more iconic than Superman. People around the world recognize his blue suit, red cape, and the stylized "S" that adorns his chest. And, in a summer movie market awash with comic book movies, none have been as highly anticipated as Man of Steel, which opened last night in theatres in North America.

However, as with any beloved icon, this new depiction is going to come under tremendous scrutiny from the fans. Directed by Zach Snyder (300, Watchmen), under the watchfull eye of Producer Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy) this film has all of the ingredients necessary to be a huge summer blockbuster.
Henry Cavill leads a star studded cast in the title role as Superman, and I thoroughly enjoyed him in the role. He is just reminiscent enough of a young Christopher Reeve, to trigger my nostalgia for the original films, while being ripped enough to make me forget the poor effeminate bastard that they had in the role for Superman Returns (Which was an absolute atrocity of a film by the way, and I move that it should be forever stricken from the cannon, and banished to the Phantom Zone forever). The ladies that attended the screening with me last night shared my opinion: Superman should look like a man! Cavill achieves this, and brings a bright, fresh energy to the conflicted central role.
The supporting cast is equally dynamic. Russell Crowe achieves a precise level of distinction in the role of Jor'El, Superman's Kryptonian father, while Kevin Costner's humble strength is quietly brilliant in the role of Jonathon Kent, Clark's adoptive father. Lawrence Fishburne takes a reflective approach to Perry White, the Editor in Chief of The Daily Planet, and Amy Adams is a pert, perky Lois Lane. I found the Lois/Clark dynamic to be one of the biggest changes to this franchise reboot. Gone is playful game of cat and mouse between Lois & Superman/Clark. Lois discovers Clark's secret immediately, and chooses to help him maintain his anonymity. It's more than a little disconcerting. Michael Shannon's portrayal of General Zod was the only character that I found lacking, but more because of the writing than anything he did with the role.
I loved the cinematography of this film. It was filled with quiet reflective moments of peaceful imagery of life on earth, rain drops falling in a bucket filled with clothes pegs, a butterfly resting on a split rail fence, a dog cavorting in a field of wheat, all images that evoked quiet moments of solace during Clark's early time here on Earth. I felt that these images, used as they were in conjunction with flashbacks to tell Clark's earthly back story invoked a sense of appreciation of the simple pleasures that had shaped Clark into the caring benevolent benefactor that he becomes. When combined with the stunning, lightning fast action sequences, of which there are many, the film takes on a certain duality that lends itself well to the content.
Of the many action sequences in this film, two stood out as remarkably impressive. The first is a fire on an offshore oil rig where Clark saves the day with a miraculous feat of strength. The second is during a conflict between Superman and Zod's Kryptonian warriors, a female Kryptonian scythes through an entire squad of Army Rangers, as though they were stalks of wheat. Her superior speed and strength are showcased at an incredible frame rate, leaving the viewer with no doubt that the humans in this film are far outclassed by their adversaries, which is why Superman's arrival on scene is equally dynamic. I also need to mention that Superman's flights in this film feel fantastic in 3D. Each time Superman breaks the sound barrier it just feels right.
If I had a complaint about the film, it would be that the filmmakers choose to focus too much on the sci-fi element of Clark's alien origins, especially where General Zod and this platoon of Kryptonian warriors come into play. In my opinion, the Kryptionian's don't need battle armor, fancy weaponry, and gunships to achieve total domination over Earth, but the second half of the movie is full of these images, which feels like overkill. The fear inspired by Zod in Superman II, is caused because he can, at a whim, destroy anything in his path, using only the same abilities granted to Kal'El by our planet's yellow sun.
While I did enjoy the film, certain elements of this movie do feel rushed, and glossed over. The whole Clark/Lois relationship for one. Also, while there were a number of wonderful scenes from Clark's childhood in Kansas, the one scene that was oddly missing was his actual discovery by Jonathon & Martha Kent. I really wanted to see that moment, and the instantaneous bond that formed between Clark and his adoptive parents. There are other things as well, but these are the big ones for me. While not everyone will enjoy the liberties that have been taken with this origin story, I feel confident that it will do well at the Box Office, and I discovered this morning that a sequel is already in development. I look forward to the sequel, hoping for a more human driven story line, hopefully with the introduction of Clark's true nemesis, Lex Luthor.

Vader's Little Princess

I was out and about today, and I stumbled across a fun little book that made my day.

Vader's Little Princess, Written and illustrated by Jeffery Brown, is a collection of comic images that focus on the theory that Darth Vader raised Princess Leia from toddler to teenager and the trials and tribulations that they would have faced. Back in May, it actually spent some time on the NY Times Bestsellers list.

The illustrations are simple, yet work well with the quirky sense of humor inherent in the book.
As the father of a young, independent, strong-willed little "princess" of my own, and a huge Star Wars fan, I appreciated where both Vader and Brown are coming from.

Below are a couple of images from the book, just to give you a sense of what's in store.

Do yourself a favour and buy a copy for yourself and the little princess in your life!

AND MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE:

Jennifer Lawrence looks fantastic as Mystique

Bryan Singer, the Director for the upcoming X-Men film: Days of Future Past, just posted this teaser photo of Jennifer Lawrence on his twitter feed.  Here's hot young commodity Lawrence, in full make-up as Mystique in her natural form.
A sequel to X-Men: First Class, Days of Future Past borrows its subtitle directly from the comics, and with any luck, will share some of the major plot points, including the introduction of Bishop, and split and divergent time lines.
But back to what's important.  Jennifer Lawrence looks HOT as a yellow eyed ginger, covered only in blue prostetics. Sadly, not as hot as Rebecca Romijn Stamos from the original X-Men films, but hot enough that a lot of people are going to take notice.
I know I did, and this taught me something interesting about myself.

Advertising Genius

I just wanted to share this image with you, since I think it is a piece of advertising genius, all the way from 1987. I found it in an issue of Marvel's X-Men (Issue #213) that I was reading this morning. I am currently working my way through the entire back catalogue of the original run of X-Men just because I can. This advertisement actually appears as a half page ad on one of the advertising pages right next to a real ad. It alludes to a sub plot that has working its way through the series for at least 25 issues at this point, but has yet to come to a head. This is the first example of this kind of subliminal advertising that I have come across in this series, and I am really impressed with the concept. By having this piece masquerade as a real public service announcement in the pages of its own magazine, Marvel draws attention to what is obviously about to become a huge plot point in the series. I imagine at the time of initial publication this ad generated a lot of buzz and hype about the upcoming events. And that in turn would have sold more comic books. Genius, pure and simple.

Stan Lee On Comic Book Men!

As promised, Stan Lee, the creator of the Marvel universe himself, did make an appearance on Kevin Smith's AMC show Comic Book Men last night.  Stan was being photographed for a charity event, and the producers decided to use Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash as the backdrop for the shoot. The store basically shut down for the day, and the staff had a private audience with Stan.  Which was obviously a dream come true for Walt. The whole event was remarkably reminiscent of Stan's appearance in Kevin Smith's movie, Mall rats, as in both instances Mr. Lee was bombarded with esoteric questions that only true super hero fans could ever appreciate.  This time around though, it was interesting to hear Stan's unscripted answers.  It was actually very endearing to watch Walt, Mike, Ming, and Brian sit down cross legged on the floor on the comic book store to listen to Stan tell stories and answer their questions.
Stan was incredibly poised, funny, and had a great sense of humour about the entire affair.  Stan dodged a variant of the age old question of "who would win in a fight, The Hulk, or Thor" by stating that whenever two super heroes fight in a comic book it is important to have the fight end in a draw so that the fans of both heroes are never disappointed. This way the fans will argue the fine points of the match up for years to come, generating further discussion, and interest.". Well played Stan, as this continued interest also sells more comic books!  During one of the round table cut away scenes, Kevin Smith described Stan as a living legend, a true ambassador for the world of comic books, and I know that I am inclined to agree with this assessment.  Excelsior!

The Walking Dead: My First Comic Book

So I just finished reading all of the existing issues of The Walking Dead.  102 issues in under 4 days, all while working a 40 hour work week.  I will be honest, it became something of a compulsion.  I just couldn't stop!  I got sucked in.
Another confession: Before this I had never really read a comic book.  I know!  Shocking right!  I have no problem admitting to the world at large that I am a full on super hero geek.  But comic books weren't  really something that I had access to as a kid, and while I certainly was exposed to alot of mainstream comic book super heroes in my youth, it was usually through either big screen movies (Superman, Batman) or cartoon adaptations (Spiderman, X Men).  While I always recognized that these characters had their roots in the comic book format, it was never really something that I chose to delve into.  (The one exception to this statement was Marvel's Wolverine: Origins Graphic Novel when I was in my mid 20's because like every other Wolverine fan out there, I just had to know...).

The Walking Dead has been a really wild introduction to this medium.  I was first introduced to the franchise through the fantastic television adaptaion on AMC (only 8 days until the launch of Season 3!!!), but the comic has actually been around since 2003.  The premise: Small town cop, Rick Grimes, awakes from a lenghty coma after having been shot while on duty only to discover that his world is now populated by hordes of shambling flesh eating zombies, re-animated by some unknown global (At least I assume global) catastrophy.  All of the modern convieniences that we have come to rely on are gone, (electricity, running water, telephones, the interweb, grocery stores, everything!) along with established government and social order.  Small pockets of survivours band together in an effort to increase their chances of survival.  Scavenging for food, gasolene, and ammunition and securing defensible living quarters have  become the keystone for the continued existance these individuals. 

What makes this series so interesting to me is the interactions between the various surviving characters.  While there are zombies throught this series, it is the human element that really stands out.  In a society with all of its rules stripped away, The Walking Dead really puts it's central characters under a microscope.  The choices that they make when faced by such hardships are what really define them.  They are all faced with hard decisions, and time and time again they are put in situations where they have to make choices that directly impact not only their own suirvivial, but the survivial of those around them.  People that they have come to feel responsible for.  Because of the breakdown of society, there is no law enforecement or judicial system, so everyone is limited only by their own sense of morality and what they deem as acceptable behaviour to ensure their own survival.  Each and every member of the "core" group has their own motivations for these choices, often in direct conflict with the choices of other members of the group.  It is the dynamic of these relationships that really kept me engaged throughout the series.  They core group also frequently encounters other groups of survivors who are working at cross purposes to their own desires, and this is when the fireworks really start. The scripts are really well done, and much more focused on the human element than I would have ever expected from a comic book.

 Ofcourse I would be remiss not to mention the fantastic art work of The Walking Dead as well.  Drawn entirely in gray scale, the art lends an incredible amount of depth and detailt to the post-apocalyptic world that the characters inhabit.  The tone that this black and white rendering adds to the project as a whole is quite incredible.  As a contrast all of the the cover art is drawn in colour, and I enjoy the flashes of insight that these isolated glimpses reveal.   I have included some of my favourite cover art throughout this post so you can get a sense of what I'm talking about.  While these are only 4 of the 102 issues covers currently availale, I think all of these images speak volumes. 

Now that I am caught up to the current issue, lightyears beyond the television series, I honestly can't wait for the next issue to be released...8 days and counting.  This is something I hope to be able to follow for years to come!