| about | recommendations | comics | contribute | shop | links | contact |
Now and again I'll throw out a few recommendations in film, music, books and even comics.
sign up for the weekly recommendations email
(please type 'add me!' in the subject)January'07
film
Guillermo del Toro's newest film is like an exquisite visual meal for the soul. What some are calling a cross between 'Schindler's List' and 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' is without a doubt the finest fantasy film in years...
If only 'best fantasy film' was a worthwhile accolade given the less than stellar films made in the genre... I'm looking at you Dragonheart, Dragon Slayer, Dungeons and Dragons and even Pete's Dragon. Rest assured, there are no dragons in this fim and better yet no window washing musical numbers with Mickey Rooney.
This is certainly the best film of it's sort since Peter Jackson's 'Lord of the Rings.' However, there really has not been a film before or after Jackson's epic trilogy to put those pictures into a genre set. Those works re-defined the film fantasy field and Pan's Labyrinth takes that field and expands it to sheer poetry and fable.
______________________________________________________________________
event
January 12-14, 2007 - Hyatt Regency Cambridge - Cambridge, MA
A few of you may know that I used to work sci-fi cons.I didn't work them a lot, but enough to know the score. Nothing quite like seeing a dude dressed as Data from Star Trek with mustard mixed into his sweaty make-up haggling over the price of a Brent Spiner CD ('Old Yellow Eyes is Back!'). No sleep, lots of TVs running shows I vaguely remember as a kid (now destroyed as I see them again) and an endless mob of costumed people smiling ...smiling ...smiling. I was usually half-awake and trying to keep my purchases to a minimum. And yet I still own a handmade sonic screwdriver!
In any case, ARISIA is one of the most diverse conventions around. Here you can meet graphic artists (and take part in a silent auction), chat with fellow fans and show off that Hawkman costume you've been working on for years. There's fun for gamers, and even a "DIY: Self-Publishing for Fun and Profit" talk!
Lots of fun and silliness... for three whole days.
What happens at the Convention stays at the Convention.
Centaurs tell no tales.
______________________________________________________________________
comic
Let's face it, there were a lot of comics that missed our shelves last year. This was probably one of them. Overpriced, not in continuity, Batman's on a year long cruise in the comics anyway so what's with this 'Year 100' jazz anyway!?
Set in a doom-filled America of 2039, remeniscent of Ridley Scott's dystopian 'Blade Runner' film, Batman is the enemy of a totalitarian police state. Robot sentries hunt the dark detective over moody futuristic skylines.
Paul Pope's painterly style adds another layer to the mythos of Batman much in the same way that David Mazzuchelli did in Batman: Year One. There is a touch of Milo Manera, a little Alex Toth and perhaps some Hugo Pratt in Pope's linework. Year 100 brings a kind of exhileration with it where the reader can palpably feel the joy one only gets from good comics. Remember that issue of Bone you first read, or the first time you read Gaiman and said to yourself 'Ah, comics!' That feeling.
"He's someone with the body of David Beckham, the brain of Nikola Tesla, and the wealth of Howard Hughes, who is pretending to be Nosferatu," Pope says.
And the best news is that if you like this book there is a world of Paul Pope books out there to enjoy such as Escapo, 100 % and my favorite Heavy Liquid. Now if only they would collect THB...
link to us!
If you like our site, just copy the banner below and post it to yours.
