The Avengers: I Finally Catch Up
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Reviews, Marvel Comics
Yeah, my bad. I finally got around to seeing The Avengers on the big screen with my old pal Dave Olbrich (he was seeing it for the third time).
I'll echo what is probably the view of 99% of the super-hero movie audience: (1) I loved it and (2) where was this movie when I was 13?
Afterwards, I had a few thoughts.
I was surprised by the sudden death of what I thought was a fairly major character in the continuity. I know Joss Whedon always likes to kill off someone in his movies – I'm sure the first draft of Toy Story had a sacrifice from Mr. Potato Head – so I should've been better prepared. But I wasn't. Sad to lose the character and sadder that the actor has lost a pretty good gig.
Tom Hiddleston was riveting as Loki, an excellent performance capturing the character's grandiose plans and his petty humanness. Here's hoping he gets as good a role in subsequent years and doesn't end up playing a Russian mobster on Person of Interest, or the put-upon dad in some lame sitcom.
This is my favorite Scarlett Johansson movie. And yes, I've seen more than one. Including that one. And that one too.
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The Avengers Overseas: Breaking Box Office Records
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Marvel Comics
So... this is happening: The Avengers is killing it at the overseas box office.
Those lucky overseasers got it first and they're filling up the Marvel treasure chest with a whopping $185 million so far.
Rolling Stone reports that the movie "has it all. And then some."
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Comic Book Jobs: Marvel Studios Interns
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Marvel Comics
Marvel Studios, the movie-and-TV division of the vast Marvel Comics empire, is on the prowl for a new season’s worth of interns.
These are part-time, unpaid positions, 20-30 hours per week and involve things like script coverage, internet and comic book research, “typical office duties,” and quick errands (I’m guessing coffee, dry cleaning and picking up comics at the LCS on Wednesdays).
But since this is part of Marvel, you’ll be reading early scripts for Marvel’s upcoming movies and shows, reading comic books and surfing the interwebs. How bad can any of that be?
Marvel Studios is responsible for for the Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four movies, as well as the upcoming Avengers and Thor so there's really no cooler place to want to work right now. Departments looking for interns include: Film Development, Marketing, Legal, Animation and Interactive.
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Marvel Monster Trucks: With Great Power!
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Marvel Comics
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If you're a fan of Marvel Comics, then you know about Marvel's monsters like Fin Fang Foom and Tim Boo Bah. But are you ready for Marvel's Monster Trucks?
Well get ready to rumble, you V-8ers, Red Staters and Import Haters!
Marvel Entertainment, no doubt a division that rests somewhere between Marvel Comics and Disney, has expanded its deal with Feld Motor Sports, the motor sports entertainment company (and owners of the Ringling Bros And Barnum & Bailey Circus, go figure).
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Marvel Team-Up: Comics + Pizza
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Marvel Comics
What do you like on your pizza? Pepperoni? Mushrooms? Spider-Man?
DecoPac, one of the leading cake decorating companies, already has a deal with Marvel Entertainment for cake toppers featuring Marvel Comics characters like Spider-Man, Iron Man and more.
And following a Direct Market tradition, the company has even created a series of limited edition cake decorations.
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Jonah Hex And The Lost Weekend
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Reviews, DC Comics, Marvel Comics
Well, I reckon it was bound t’happen, pardners. Jonah Hex has opened to just a $5 million weekend, meaning that it’s officially been labeled a bomb. Too bad. Jonah was – and is – an iconic comic book property, the creation of John Albano and Tony DeZuniga. Maybe the filmmakers should’ve gone with a more traditional western approach like The Outlaw Josey Wales or 3:10 From Yuma instead of the steampunkian world of The Wild Wild West movie? Who’s to say what would’ve worked, but the new one sure doesn’t.
The problem now is that because Jonah Hex is based on a comic book (not a graphic novel as some lazy reporters simply retype) – but one that none of the general public has heard of before – it’ll get tagged as a comic book movie, and worse, a failed comic book movie. And finger wagging along the lines of “is the comic book movie fad finally over” will start appearing as breathless know-it-all headlines in newspapers no one reads anymore.
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Weekend Reading: Bob Bolling, Dave Simons, Kirk Alyn and Chuck Jones
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Reviews, Television, DC Comics, Marvel Comics
Hey Librarians! Pack up your decimals of Dewey and head out to Washington DC, where all the cool graphic novels are going to be talked about. It’s the American Library Association’s annual conference, and it’s set for June 24-June 29. Early Word has the word on all the graphic novel programming just waiting for you.
Dave Simons: It’s been one year since the death of the acclaimed artist Dave Simons and his friend Daniel Best and 20th Century Danny Boy remembers him with stories and quotes, like this one: “Here is my recipe for a winning comic book cover: Flame. Gorilla. Skull. Hot chick. Other elements of interest: Nazis, dinosaurs.” I would totally buy Flaming Gorilla Skull Chick Vs. Nazi Dinosaur #1 from any publisher. Even at $3.99. I’ll even write it. And I wish Dave was still alive to draw it.
Superman Serials: The Bijou Blog takes a look at those Superman movies that most comic book fans don’t care about: the old serials like Superman and Atom Man Vs. Superman, starring Kirk Alyn. “His Superman seems stern at times, then happy-go-lucky, but also happens to take a sadistic glee in cracking two crooks’ heads together. The cape appears to give him some trouble. Alyn is seen to push it out of his way several times and he never runs while in costume, doing more of a ballet leap to keep from tripping.”
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Weekend Reading: Frazetta, Viz, Carl Barks and Facebook
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Marvel Comics
You know it’s going to be a bad week when one of the most beloved fantasy artists passes away. He was absolutely one of my favorite artists and one of the first artists who, like Jack Kirby, could get me to buy pretty much anything with his name on it.
Tom Spurgeon has an excellent overview of the late artist’s career. “Frazetta’s art on the Warren Magazines Creepy, Eerie and eventually Vampirella combined some of the pulp tendencies for which he was soon to become very well known with a sense of classic horror. They remain some of the company’s most iconic pieces of art.”
Viz Media: I often post job listings here for Viz Media, the longtime manga publisher in San Francisco – longtime as in they’ve been doing it since it wasn’t quite so cool to do it. So I was saddened to hear that they let go more than 50 of their staffers. That’s, I think, the largest layoff of comics professionals that I can remember and certainly the largest in recent years. I hate to see that kind of thing happen, and I wish everyone the best as they figure out what to do next. Heidi MacDonald at Comics Beat recently posted this link from Dan Blank’s website; I’ve practically memorized it.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Frazetta, Viz, Carl Barks and Facebook
Read More | Comics Beat
Deep Thoughts: Iron Man and Twilight
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Marvel Comics
“Hey Cullen! Isabella! Get in the house this instant!”
Did you know that in 2009, according to the folks at Social Security, the most popular names for kids were from vampire fiction? And it’s not Dracula, or Vlad, or Alucard or Vampira. That’s old school thinking. The new popular names are from Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight, the book-and-movie franchise.
Cullen jumped up 300 spots on the list from the previous year, Jacob is #1 for boys, Isabella (the formalized version of Bella) is #1 for girls and Bella is #58. I think it’s great that the Twilight series of books and movies has spawned an entire generation of children named after the characters. I hope it means that naming your kids Peaches, Apple, Brooklyn and Pilot Inspektor in lockstep with nutty celebrities is on the outs, and the Twilight franchise as name-generator is in.
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Weekend Reading: Iron Man, Modesty Blaise and Honey West
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Reviews, Independent, Marvel Comics
So did you see Iron Man 2 yet? Did you, huh, did you? Two things amaze me about the Iron Man franchise. One is that Robert Downey, Jr. was born to play Tony Stark. There’s none of the brooding self-importance that comes with other super-hero movies - Iron Man is serious but it’s also fun. The other is that in the right hands - and there are hundreds of right hands on any movie - even a second or third tier super-hero property can be turned into a good movie. If Downey, Jr. was playing Hank Pym in the Ant-Man movie, I’d be there in a minute.
Now while you’re saving your money for the Iron Man 2 DVD, here are a few fun things to occupy your eyes and mouse.
Brian Hibbs: I know why people, myself included, like to talk to artists and writers because it’s all so cool, but I think more interviews could be conducted with retailers since they are the comic book business. Retailer Brian Hibbs is a very smart guy - I may not always agree with him but he carries a good argument with him and he knows his business. Tom Spurgeon at Comics Reporter gets to the heart of the matter with a lengthy but hugely worthwhile interview.
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