Keeping it real quick this week. Reads You Need is proud to introduce WWH Aftersmash: Damage Control #3 to the club. It’s sad to see this series end now that the last issue is the most stupendous issue. With only three short installments, this series has quickly become the best superhero humor book on the market. Ah WWH Aftersmash: Damage Control… we knew ye so little.
Highlights of this comic book include: Dawnye McDuffie’s smart dialogue, Salva Espin’s charismatic character designs, and the incredible colors of Guru eFX. I hope this book merits a Secret Invasion: Damage Control mini this time next year!
If you didn’t get the main premise of this post from the ridiculously long title, then you might want to turn back right now. But if you get the gist, then let me pose the question in a more specific manner:
Who had any idea that the fantastic comedy Run, Fat Boy, Run was written by eccentric comedian Michael Ian Black and directed by sitcom star David Schwimmer??!!!
Michael Ian Black, for those who of you not in the know, is a comedian who has an interesting resume of television, movie, and advertising reaching back into the 1990s. I know him best from The State, the MTV show that tore down my world of comedy as a young lad and rebuilt it into a bigger, better, and stronger machine. Since that time, he’s worked on various productions (such as Sierra Mist commercials). I think that Run, Fat Boy, Run is probably my favorite of his 2000s work. This past week on the AudioShocker, I ragged on his film Wedding Daze. That one was a bit stinky. But Run, Fat Boy, Run makes up for that.
David Schwimmer, well, he was Ross on Friends. A show that I loathed for its constant replays that messed up my Simpsons rerun watching schedule and caused me many headaches when I couldn’t change the channel. No doubt that the guy’s a great comedic actor, but still he was no Friends after all and that has to count for a few points against him. He’s redeemed himself in my eyes by taking on the director’s role of Run, Fat Boy, Run. His work here is terrifically minimal while being character obsessed (you could say Juno was like that too but the difference here is that Run, Fat Boy, Run is good while Juno was passable). Schwimmer, however, has always been partially redeemed in my mind for starring in the movie Breast Men (something I still need to see…).
No wonder I enjoyed Run, Fat Boy, Run so much (we talked about it in a past podcast but I can’t remember when). Of course, Simon Pegg deserves props for his rewrite of the script. How’d I know that? From this interview with Michael Ian Black, of course. And the whole cast deserves props too because they’re great. Don’t go in expecting to piss yourself from laughter but do know that this movie is genuinely funny while having more heart than it knows what to do with. And thanks to Dylan Moran, the movie also has more butt cheeks than it knows what to do with.
Back in style as we talk about eggs, grammar, Kevin Smith movies, Estelle, American Boy, Day 26, Danity Kane, Bad Boy Records, songs about strippers, Teddy Pain, vocoders, Irina Palm, The Mist, Wedding Daze, Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, Jason Biggs, Planet Terror, Death Proof, Grindhouse, Joox, Black Fist, Jordin Sparks, Chris Brown, Lil Mama, The Wire, Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron, Daniel Clowes, Mighty Avengers 12, Black Panther 39, Ms Marvel 25, X-Men Legacy 209, New Avengers 39, Skrulls, Secret Invasion, supervillain psychology, Galactus, Batman, Identity Crisis, Green Arrow, and way too much more.
Marvel Adventures Avengers. One of my favorite comics coming out monthly right now. This month in Marvel Adventures Avengers #22, the creators decided to tackle the concept of the Black Panther. Being the T’Challa aficionado that I am, I’m going to be hard to please. The bad news is that the Black Panther was portrayed out of step with his usual character in this issue by ignoring key traits all while depicting his piece of Africa as an antiquated and backwards nation.
First of all, we never see a glimpse of Wakanda’s technological ability. The entire core concept behind the existence of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee’s Wakanda was that the nation was a secret hotbed of technological advancement buried deep in within the heart of Africa. This was supposed to create a contrast between the notion of technological superiority and rural African location – essentially, the concept of Wakanda took a backwards 1960s stereotype and flipped it on its head.
But here in Sumerak’s Wakanda, we really only witness the backwards stereotype. There’s not a hint of T’Challa’s scientific or technological prowess. And, in my opinion, to deprive the character of this aspect of his being is to take the science and technology out of Iron Man or Hank Pym (the latter, coincidentally, was another character recently tackled by Sumerak in this series… yet he appeared with his technological cunning intact).
Enough ranting. I could go on and on. It’s this simple: Mark Sumerak dropped the ball on T’Challa’s characterization and his depiction of Wakanda. He wrote the Wakandan military force as shirtless men just barely wearing enough to cover their crotches. He made them jump around with spears. He failed to incorporate the main element of Wakandan culture that makes it most interesting and exceptional. Instead, he focused on the notion of Wakanda’s isolationist politics. The final product is a story set in a stereotyped and antiquated version of Africa not at all in step with the modern world.
To add insult to injury, did the editor proof the colors here? Everyone has blue eyes. That includes the Black Panther. I’m no comic book historian, but this could very much be a first for the King of Wakanda. Ulises Arreola, colorist on this book, needs to do a bit of homework next time. Even Wolverine, a character fairly well known among comicdom to have brown eyes, gets the blues too.
I could continue to pick this apart. Suffice to say that the Black Panther did not get the royal treatment in Marvel Adventures Avengers this month. I’m not going to stop picking the book up just because of this. The stories – on the whole – have been solid. I’m just very let down by a series I typically expect to give my hopes a good lift.
An interview with Gotham Chopra, Chief Creative Officer and Editor in Chief of Virgin Comics. We talk about establishing a comic book publishing house, Shakti comics, Director’s Cut comics, Virgin Voices comics, and a partnership with the Sci-Fi network. Working with Mike Carey, Mukesh Singh, Jeff Parker, Garth Ennis, John Woo, Nic Cage, Jenna Jameson, Guy Ritchie, Jonathan Mostow, Andy Diggle, Ed Burns, and more. Such series as Dan Dare, Virulents, Shadow Hunter, Gamekeeper, 7 Brothers, and more. Plus an EXCLUSIVE announcement about the next Hollywood celebrity to be a featured creator at Virgin Comics… here’s a hint… claws, Broadway singing, and a blockbuster movie planned for 2009.
It’s baaack. Reads You Need. This has been a busy week for me, but I want to let you know about a few comics that came out last Wednesday that you should be checking out.
The Last Defenders #1: This exceptional first issue is the best book I read from the whole stack of Wednesday, March 12. Joe Casey and Jim Muniz take the notion of an average, if not troubled, superhero team and reinvent it for the post-Civil War Marvel Universe. It’s almost like a superhero sitcom full of sci-fi, big fights, and quirky characters (with Nighthawk at the center of the storm). The writing takes chances but it still provides solid traditional superhero story elements.
The 99 #6: If you follow my weekly posts on here at all, you probably know how much I love The 99. I even emailed scripter Fabian Nicieza to see if he would like to do an interview on the AudioShocker podcast. He graciously declined due to the fact that Stuart Moore is soon to be the new series writer. Still, this issue by Nicieza is terrific and well worth picking up.
Wonder Woman #18: I tried this series earlier in its relaunch and it just didn’t do it for me. But the combination of Gail Simone and Bernard Chang is stupendous in this issue, and I highly recommend you pick it up. Chang’s art is a fantastic blend of Steve Dillon and Aaron Lopresti, bringing both grace and personality to the page. Simone’s story is solid and fun, promising more great future issues.
On a side note, comic fans should keep their eyes glued to the AudioShocker site tomorrow as we release an interview with Gotham Chopra, the creative director behind the upstart comic book publisher, Virgin Comics. Gotham talks about the difficulties of launching a new comic book publisher. He discusses his experiences working with creative talent such as Nic Cage, John Woo, Jenna Jameson, and many more. And at the end of the episode, Gotham makes an exclusive announcement about the next celebrity soon to work with Virgin Comics.
I was going to say that The Bank Job was the first ‘drama’ that Jason Statham has been in, but a quick IMDb search put the kibosh on that. Perhaps, this is the first non-action driven movie that Statham has bothered to star in. Whatever the case may be, I dug this movie quite a bit. I learned the term ‘mutton digger’ from this film and for that I am forever grateful. It requires no explanation.
The movie is a loosely based upon the 1971 robbery of a London bank. The heist goes off beautifully until the robbers’ walkie talkies are picked up by a local Ham Radio operator. The robbery allegedly has national security implications and the press is quickly gagged. As if that weren’t enough, Statham’s crew is also pursued by a sadistic bookie, crooked cops, and agents from MI5. Did I mention there was a cute girl (Saffron Burrows) in it?
I wouldn’t say the film is extremely well acted, but the characters have that John Cleese sort of humor that keeps my attention. Well, everyone except the David X character. He seemed like a caricature if anything. Statham appears extremely calm throughout the film. His voice and his eyes do all the acting for him. Diehard Statham fans may lament the lack of kicks, punches, and headbutts until the last 10 minutes of the film. I have a feeling that Statham wrote that short sequence into his contract, ‘I must be able to hit a dude with a brick - or I walk.’
The story moves along briskly and does not lag. You get from concept to plan to caper to chase to resolution on schedule, much like the MTA train from New Haven to Grand Central. I find this extremely important to a movie like this. This is not the place for introspective monologues or cathartic breakdowns. I’d like to thank the director and editor for their work here.
The Bank Job is simultaneously plausible, wrly funny, and compelling. You may be tempted to draw parallels to Snatch and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, but this film does not rely on slapstick or unintelligible accents to entertain. The plot is simple, the twists are predictable, and it all works. A caper film without all the Hollywood flash - trailer below:
An interview with Brandon Thomas, writer and co-creator of the comic book series The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury from Archaia Studios Press. We talk about the series debut, clues for future issues, Lee Ferguson pencils, Marc Deering inks, Felix Serrano colors, Matty Ryan letters, Joe Illidge edits, character design, pitching to publishers, New York Comic Con NYCC, Newsarama, comic book fans, superhero demographics, working with Rob Liefeld, Youngblood, getting name dropped by Mark Millar, and way more. P.S. What you hear is not true. We love you, Neal.
This thread I posted was a prime example of online comic book community collaboration. It was irreverent, tactless, sporadic, and it touched many different types of people from casual fans to comic book professionals.
Here’s a shot of the image that was central to this thread (click on it to see it bigger):
The concept was easy: fill in the blank word balloons. I’d post the best three on my Nasty Musings blog.
Well here I am on the AudioShocker and I’m going to post my favorite three replies to this thread. Sorry Nasty Musings, maybe you’ll win next time. Here we go:
2. I appreciate this post by President Kang for the sheer fact that it takes an obviously dirty picture and puts ironically innocent words to it. It’s almost dirtier than the other posts because it refuses to mention the obvious…
1. But then again, this post by DugC shows that mentioning the obvious is still pretty damn funny. This raw and direct approach is, in my opinion, the winner.
Thanks to everyone who participated. There wasn’t a single bad entry. And remember, “All Rhodes lead to Rome!!!” (thanks, NoPrize).
The Emancipation of Mimi was a pretty big comeback success considering Carey’s somewhat public breakdown a few years ago. It allowed us to finally bury the hatchet and get overGlitter. Anyway, Mariah’s new joint Touch My Body just landed and features Jack McBrayer of 30 Rock fame. Do the beat, video, content, and vocals hold water? Let’s find out!
The Beat: While it was produced by Tricky Stewart, (Umbrella) I doubt you’ll be hearing the studio cut in the clubs anytime soon. This beat is mellower and more subdued than his other work (Me Against the Music and B2K’s Uh Huh). Personally, I need more knock, a faster tempo, and less synth mashing.
The Video: Oh Kenneth! Is this the only role you know how to play? Mariah and Jack play dressup while romping through her house and his fantasy. Mariah is no stranger to campy videos (Heartbreaker,Honey, etc) so it all made perfect sense to me. Of note: no backup dancers.
I don’t care what anyone says, Mariah looks damn good! Did you know she’s going to be 39 this year? I also just discovered that she and I share a birthday. Mariah - interested in a joint party?
Lastly, I doubt that Mariah is familiar with 802.11n, and last time I checked it was still a draft protocol, but what do I know?
The Content: Yeah, yeah, it’s a throwaway love song. Fine, but you can’t deny the genius of the lines:
If there’s a camera up in here then I best not catch this flick on YouTube
Church! seriously people, YouTube is no place for your personal business. Save it for RedTube.
Boy you can put me on you like a brand new white T / I’ll hug your body tighter than my favorite jeans
Hands down, the best line of the entire track.
…’cause I’m all up in my business like a Wendy interview
Imagine, all that - and I haven’t even gotten to sexy stuff!
The Vocals: Mariah is best known for being able to hit crazy high notes. Sadly, age has taken its toll and like so many others she too has resorted to the vocoder. At first I thought it was just a weird double - but no dice. To her credit, she doesen’t use the demon-box to hit high notes or commit Cher & T-pain grade felonies. I can appreciate that.
The Bottom Line: The Voice is looking good despite an unexciting beat, a campy video involving a unicorn, and a vocoded delivery lacking her signature high notes.
Christina Ricci, Teen Wolf, The Spirit, Millervision, Yes Man, Just Like Me by Jamie Foxx and T.I., and War Machine #1.
On The Next Podcast...
It's classic conversation on movies, music, and comics with Neal in Peoria, IL and Nick in Scottsdale, AZ on Podcast Episode 063 on Tuesday, January 13, 2009!
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