Parenthood a Berkeley perspective?

In Parenthood we are presented with a transformed Berkeley, CA, in which due to trade mark law I guess, Pete's coffee becomes Berkeley Coffee and Berkeley High becomes Roosevelt.  My wife and I began watching it last night, seeing the 2nd and 3rd episodes.

From the age of almost 2 to the age of 12 I was a resident of Berkeley, CA.  Every summer of my childhood there after, having left my hart there, I would work there.  I still have an aunt who lives there, one of a myriad of excuses I have to go back and visit.  So I consider myself a reasonable judge (if not up to date and fully informed) of a show about raising kids in Berkeley.  First cautionary disclaimer would be, Berkeley is possibly the most diverse place on the planet...so no one story or one opinion will fill you in.  Still I find Parenthood to be an odd duck, even for Berkeley.

There have been hundreds of stories presented on San Francisco, you know, that city across the bay.  However, Berkeley seems to be lacking in the story department.  It is in this way, unfairly, unlike an equally unique place I have lived in and love, Savannah, GA.  Savannah has often now been the subject of plots in film and comics.  It is a dynamic character and has its share of storyteller.  Especially now with a school that houses some of the brightest new stars in comics and film.  Berkeley has its share of storytellers, Al Young, Robert Hass, Ayelet Weldman and her husband Micheal Chabon are all well respected local writers.  Two of America's greatest cartoonist, Dan Clowes and Adrian Tomine have spent a sizable portion of their carrier in Berkeley.  Sure I can flip through pages of Eightball or Optic Nerve and find moments where I feel homesick.  But I don't have the sense that Berkeley is explicitly a character.  It was more so, in my comic Ordinary Betty and Ted the Milkman (although I am no Clowes or Tomine).  Berkeley has been portrayed in a number of fine documentaries,  for the epicenter it was in American culture.   Iconic apearences for the city have come in the form of; driftwood art in Harold and Maude, a college scene in the Graduate, Multicultural family dynamics in Made in America, the ghetto in Spirit Link, the title and more in Berkeley (which I only heard of when researching this post), through the lives of students in Boys and Girls and a pool scene at the Claremont in Mrs. Doubtfire.

Parenthood is the first time I am aware of that a TV series (still the most accessible of mediums) specifically states it is taking place in Berkeley and attempts to present Berkeley through the eyes of a fictional family. I was surprised to find out it IS filmed in Berkeley...and Mill Valley (where I grew up after moving), and Oakland (right next door to Berkeley) and a Universal Studio lot.  So far I have not had that moment of..."oh, I know that place," but I do confess architecturally it obviously is constant.

The casting is really the most interesting part of the production to me, but the characters are perhaps the reason I am not ecstatic about it. "Six Feet Under's" Peter Krause gives the cast credibility. While Dax Shepard (from Punk'd) would seem to be the warning flag going in.  The dropping in of an ex-lover and Shepard's bi-racial 5 year old son is actually interesting and fun, although predictable.  Apparently they did not partake in the well publicized School Nurse condom campaign at Berkeley HS (We at Tam had one that made the news too...but because we had to fight for it).  In reality I find Shepard's performance and character far more palatable and believable, so far he may be the reason I am watching still.  Monica Potter from Boston Legal so far is constantly just as annoying as Krause, in their dealing with having potentially a child with Autism.  From the perspective of a teacher and a psychologists son, I just want to reach into the screen and shake some sense of reality into them and shake their self obsession out (which is the point of the character...but it falls short of me caring about them). I usually feel Erica Christensen's performances are competent, and unlike her broth and sister in law, I am pissed at what she is pissed at.  Perhaps, because I have this insane busy American life, and feel that is a reality for most competent parents.  We struggle to find time with our kids.  Her TV husband Sam Jeager on the other hand plays the nice home husband...but the character is far to naive and again I find myself reaching for the screen when he is on camera...I really do not want to see another infidelity story.  The main issue facing Jeager and Christensen is Erin Hayes's Buddhist, wealthy, white mother with Asian or half-Asian kid, super flirty, super obnoxious....just pile on the stereotypes of progressive women who annoy the crap out of you...I know this character is more accurate a stereotype then some...I also understand its association with Berkeley...but man, do I hate being hit over the head with it.  If she brakes up their marriage, I will be annoyed by the transparency. I have some close friends that fit the good part this couple dynamic, and I just don't think they would act with quite the same stupidity. Bonnie Bedelia so far plays a bland "progressive" mom.  Which is disappointing, because most mom's I know of in Berkeley are very dynamic figures.  Ironically she was in the film Berkeley. On a great note, Craig T. Nelson continues the role he played in The Family Stone (a film I love and identify as a very Berkeley type family story)...but he is not as pure of hart in Parenthood...which is a good thing.  Gone are the days of Coach.  Lauren Graham from the Gilmore Girls, seems to be predictable and is another character I could do without.  Which is shame, because she is the reason we are watching their lives at this point, she has just moved back into her parents with her two kids.  Believable is that she is a bar tender from Fresno (a lot of bars there in comparison to grocery stores).  Her daughter is struck with dilemma of being held back a year after transferring to "Roosevelt" (which is much whiter then Berkeley High)...(my sister would be the authority here having lived in Berkeley too and teaches in Fresno now)...but my sense of this student struggling at a Berkeley HS not being a stretch. Graham's job interview scene made me super frustrated with my own interview process...if I could act that lame and be as close to getting the position as her...well it just was not realistic in this market.  Her struggles with her car are authentically Berkeley (lot of old clunkers there).  But you would eventually just give up and take the abundance of public transports (buses, bikes, BART)....it is so easy to get around cheaply in Berkeley and with her family dynamics...she would be aware of this solution right off.  The plot use of a twin bed seemed really lame.  I actually looked at the screen as she and her daughter struggle over room on the mattress...I said, "get another mattress...there is space right there." These basic solutions that down on you constantly, make it hard to believe these people.  The kids seem OK, so far and I would prefer to give them time to get into the characters.  But who has time for the kids when you are so annoyed by their parents.

One very genuine and accurate feature was Krause's battle with a possum.  They are common pests or neighbors (depending on your politics) in Berkeley.  That brought back "real" childhood memories for me.

Best Picture 10

Extra! Extra! Oscar has done something RIGHT.  Now I would switch out Star Trek for District 9 (Hay! I can hear you booing!).  However, that is not the point.  For the first time ever a list of nominees actually represents the breadth of film in America.  Quality is no longer held hostage to standards based on the latest trend of assessment.  Which in the past decade has equated to quality=melancholy ending, or melancholy ending after a string of bodies. 

You want a populist, box office smash, or technical evolution nominee? Look no further then Avatar. How about a populist feel good? Then there is Blind Side.  Have we ever had not one, but two (three if you count Up) Sci-Fi films?  Well with District 9 you get that and controversial social commentary on a low budget.  So your old fashioned and you need something with a little bit more edge, and more reality.  Well how about An Education.  That's fine but where is the brake out performances that everyone is talking about.  What about Precious? Check. But we are a country at War and we really aren't happy about it...Hurt Locker, check.  Hay where is the Coen brothers?...oh wait, A Serious Man IS there.  That's fine, but what we really need a film that is topical, a good character study, with brilliant quirky performances and great indy dialogue.  You got it, Up In the Air.  Fine, but years ago film evolved into an all of the above to incorporate a a wide gamut of emotions and takes us to familure territory, but in a totally new way...reinventing story, history, our emotions.  Thus Inglourious Basterds, must be on the list.  There all the bases are covered, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi, Box Office, Populist, Light, Heavy, Indy, Strait, Quirky, Smart, Great Acting, Great Dialogue...wait a second.  What about Animated and perfect storytelling (Avatar does not count)?...hay there is one more...my pick (Up in the Air a close second...name similarities aside)...UP!

How refreshing.

Moon

The first time I saw Sam Rockwell, I fell in love.  And it is not just that he is fellow product of the Bay Area acting scene, just a kid from Daily City.  It was like seeing Harrison Ford as Han Solo or Indiana Jones for the first time.  In Box of Moonlight as The Kid you saw all the quirky charms Rockwell brings.  With John Turturro's complimentary character and the surprising circular tale it is still one of my favorite films.  That very same night I saw Glory Daze not a great movie, but one that is nostalgic for people with a connection to Santa Cruz.  Illustrating his ability to transform I didn't even realize Rockwell was also Rob in that movie until weeks latter.

Since that night I have seen him live up to my admiration, only limited by opportunity and the quality of the film he is in. It is hard to beat his performance in The Green Mile...its hard to be anyone's performance in that film.  In Confessions of a Dangerous Mind he plays one of America's most interesting persona, Chuck Barris and saves the film for me.  He makes Matchstick Men and The Hitchhikes Guide to The Galaxy for me.  He is a welcome ensemble piece in Frost/Nixon.


In Moon what you get is a lot of Sam Rockwell.  This film has four things things going for it, Rockwell, its take on our energy future, its hart and its pithy length (1hr 37min).  In fact without this it would be just another 2001: A Space Odyssey, long, depressing and seen before.

On a Personal Note: Up In The Air

This may be the strangest review you read this year. I just got back from seeing Jason Reitman’s Up In The Air staring George Clooney as Ryan Bingham. A man who is hired to fire people and who has constructed a lifestyle and philosophy that is based in the seamless existence one can live when free of stuff and people. Sometimes a piece of art hits the right tanner and fits into the rhythm of that moment in your life. This film has already been doing that for weeks as it is focused on job loss, and we are emerging from one of the worst economic down terns in our nations history, and job loss as a lagging indicator still sharply focuses how far we have to go, and how this environment has effected us daily in very personal ways. That broader note that this film strikes while still relevant to mine (anyone looking for an Art Teacher) is not precisely the same note that hit me at this time and place.

Last week I had facial bone surgery as part of a permanent solution for my TMJ issues. Pre-Op, I had made a mix for me during the week, for my daughter perhaps when she sleeps and for my future students to help them work efficiently; it is called the Pacify Lullaby. I had also seen this surgery as part of a recent upswing in being a better person, husband and father (there is always room for improvement). The surgery was conducted by friends and went just about perfect, the night over in the hospital was not even close to as bad as the ones my wife had when our daughter was born, so it was beyond expectations. Post-Op I have spent this time coming down from steroids and dilaudid, watching my faces inflammation change into something not quite what it was before. I have not been able to smile, and talking has been intolerable for much of this time, I am on a liquid diet which makes it difficult to stomach the nutrition you need to keep yourself healing well. The toll this has taken on me, my wife and our daughter has taken us a bit by surprise, despite us working in this field. To top it all off they both have both had a severe illnesses this week. Despite them being home more then we had thought, I have felt very isolated during my transformation. As have they. Things have been so bad that I have not drawn a single panel of the pages upon pages of comics I had planed on cranking out pre-op. Yesterday was for some odd reason the worst of it (my pain is non existent and my inflammation is nearly gone). However, the highlight of my day, and really the highlight of all of my days, was being with my exhausted wife and our daughter who has uncanny abilities to bounce back with optimism. I lay there nearly dead with depression unable to control the muscles to even fake a smile and I was enjoying it as much as one could. It was certainly a welcomed change to my day alone.

Seeing Up In The Air helped me process this sense that I have had, and have from time to time; what it would be like without my wife and daughter. This week plus has sharpened the sense of how lonely that would be. In Reitman’s Juno my wife and I identified with

Juno MacGuff and Paulie Bleeker’s characters. Particularly when we think of ourselves in high school and/or our friends in high school. We are not high school sweet harts, so in a way Juno was a glimpse into what might have been. In Bingham I see another, “what if?” There are aspects of my life that are seamless, or designed to be so. I have always been enamored with Japanese culture and idealized it with this seamless design aesthetic. A purity of purpose and the world to go with it. Many of the comics I love depict sad cases, which I secretly admire for their rituals. When I worked in the coffee industry, I was Bingham (or perhaps his apprentice…my pal Donald totally fit this bill). The way in which Bingham approaches security in an airport is precisely how I aspire to approach it…this IS more difficult with a 2 year old. If my wife and I are not lucky enough to be struck dead at the same time and I am the one who caries on (lucky for me the statistics are not in favor of that) I am almost sure I will live the retired cartoonist/art teacher version of a man living out of a carryon and enjoying the burden less illusion.

Up In The Air in quality falls close to Juno (just not as lovable), but it falls close Reitman's Thank You For Smoking in feel. That said it really is its own animal. The opening sequences is pitch perfect (amazing how comics iconic gutters help sell a story about America). The palette visually fist the tone of the film. There is a nice pace to the film that is not jarring, a challenge considering the introduction of documentary style medium shots of people reacting to being fired. Clooney’s performance as it has said plays on all his strengths. And yes the character grows, but not outside reason. Vera Farmiga does compliment Clooney as, much as Anna Kendrick makes his character have to really grow to appreciate her. His hometown pulls on a thin strand with surprising results only catalyst by the relationships he has maintained under business duress and while up in the air.  The pieces all fit. The tapestry of story for fills the tapestry of visuals that make up the film and America’s amazing landscape when viewed from the air.

Now I feel a fog has lifted and am motivated to make comics tomorrow, the snow on the ground helps too.

The Media Arts Hights of this 21st Century's First Decade

The first Decade of the 21st Century was SO 21st Century.  While this dismal decade stood in stark contrast to the roaring '90's it improved in one small area.  The Aesthetics, Form, and Function of arts and popular culture.  The cyclical point of art brought us a less ambiguous next step after Post-Modernism.  While no broad term has stuck, I would define it as a nostalgic collage of juxtaposed and mashed pieces that serve a narrative.  Which reflect post-modernist sentiment with a reduction in resurrection and experimentation; so what comics have been doing all along. This increase in quality is as much a reflection on the 90's, as being perpetuated by dogged corporate and political misreading, the narcissism generation, and a culmination of unprecedented events almost entirely to blame on poor planning and slow policy change.

Without consuming everything and with my own beaten path, the following are what I would call the highlights of Media Arts of this the first decade of the 21st Century.  There are a number of easy explanations for art not seen here...I did not see it.  Nevertheless, there is plenty scrutinizing opportunities available.  So, let the fun begin.

Note: the bold items are from 2009 (some include other years).

1.    Big Book of Frank, Jim Woodring (comic)
2.    The Acme Novelty Library, Chris Ware (comic)
3.    Queens Of The Stone Age-Rated R (album)
4.    Love & Rockets, Los Hernandez Bro. (comic)
5.    The Venture Bros. (tv)
6.    Eightball: The Death Ray, Ice Haven, and David Boring by Daniel Clowes (comic)
7.    Lost in Translation (film)
8.    Teaching Visual Culture: Curriculum, Aesthetics, and the Social Life of Art by Kerry Freedman (text)
9.    Asterios Polyp, David Mazzucchelli (comic)
10.    Eagles Of Death Metal-Peace Love Death Metal (album)
11.    The Royal Tenenbaums (film)
12.    iPod/iPhone (tec)
13.    Takashi Murakami ("fine art")
14.    Jason’s Hey Wait!, Why are you Doing This?, I Killed Adolf Hitler (comic)
15.    Pixar (films)
16.    Shag ("fine art")
17.    Freaks and Geeks (tv)
18.    The Daily Show with John Stewart (tv)
19.    Mad Men (tv)
20.    The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (novel)
21.    Mario Galaxy (video game)
22.    The Complete Calvin and Hobbs-Bill Watterson (comic)
23.    From the Lower East Side to Hollywood: Jews in American Popular Culture by Paul Buhle (text)
24.    The Comics Journal (magazine)
25.    White with Foam, Mad Love (album)
26.    Optic Nerve, Adrian Tomine (comic)
27.    The Cheese Monkey-Chip Kidd (novel)
28.    Krazy & Ignatz, George Herriman (comic)
29.    Interpol-Our Love to Admire (album)
30.    Facebook (tec)
31.    Pixies (Live Music)
32.    Humbug, Harvey Kurtzman et al. (comic)
33.    Juno (film)
34.    DC: The New Frontier, Darwyn Cooke (comic)
35.    America’s Best Comics-Edited by Matt Madden and Jessica Able (comic)
36.    An Inconvenient Truth (film)
37.    Ghost World (film)
38.    Carnival (tv)
39.    Sabra Fields ("fine art")
40.    McSweeny’s Quarterly No. 13 –Edited by Chris Ware (comic)
41.    Blackalicious-Blazing Arrow (album)
42.    Elf (film)
43.    Justice League Unlimited (tv)
44.    Cirque De Sole (live performance)
45.    Wii (tec)
46.    Robert C. Jackson ("fine art")
47.    Tom Strong, Alan Moore & Chris Sprouse (comic)
48.    It's Blitz!, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (album)
49.    Weeds (tv)
50.    Fantômas-The Director's Cut (album)
51.    System Of A Down-Toxicity (album)
52.    NPR (radio)
53.    Tomahawk-Tomahawk (album)
54.    Lord of the Rings (films)
55.    MSNBC (tv)
56.    Dan in Real Life (film)
57.    Whip It! (film)
58.    Judd Apatow’s Films (films)
59.    The Complete Peanuts, Charles M. Schulz (comic)
60.    Spider-Man II (films)
61.    Jack Cole and Plastic Man –Art Spiegleman and Chipp Kidd (text)
62.    Dillinger Escape Plan-Irony Is A Dead Scene (album)
63.    O’Brother, Where Art Thou? (film)
64.    Simpsons (tv/film)
65.    Orbital-The Altogether (album)
66.    Lost (tv)
67.    Iron Man(film)
68.    Promethea, Alan Moore & J. H. Williams III (comic)
69.    Thursday Comedy Primetime on NBC (tv)
70.    X-Men II (film)
71.    Battlestar Galactica (tv)
72.    Everything is Illuminated (film)
73.    The Family Stone (film)
74.    The Great Women Cartoonists-Trina Robbins (text)
75.    Shepherd Farley ("fine art")
76.    Fair Weather, Joe Matt (comic)
77.    Gorillaz-Demon Days (album)
78.    Star Trek (film)
79.    George Sprott, 1894-1975, Seth (comic)
80.    Sponge Bob Square Pants (tv)
81.    Secret Chiefs 3-Book Of Horizons (album)
82.    Big Love (tv)
83.    Little Miss Sunshine (film)
84.    The Fog of War (film)
85.    Hellboy (film)
86.    Fantomas-Melvin’s Big Band(Patton), Kid 606, Lucky Stars (live performance)
87.    Doubt (film)
88.    The Authority, Warren Ellis & Bryan Hitch (comic)
89.    Milk (film)
90.    The Powerpuff Girls (tv)
91.    Avengers Forever, Kurt Busiek, Roger Sternand & Carlos Pacheco (comic)
92.    V for Vendetta (film)
93.    The Golem’s Mighty Swing, James Sturm (comic)
94.    Stranger then Fiction (film)
95.    Firecraker (film)
96.    Bjork, Yeah Yeah Yeah’s (live performance)
97.    Roketo (comic)
98.    SNL (tv)
99.    That ‘70’s Show (tv)
100.   Munich (film)

Taking Stock: Disney/Marvel...one unafiliated cartoonists perspective

Marvel was once Timely, then Atlas, then Marvel, then briefly Atlas/Seaboard before returning to Marvel, but always a comic book company first, until they were bought by New World Entertainment. Then they were bought and almost destroyed by Revelon’s Ronald Perlman. Then saved from the brink in heroic fashion by Isaac Perlmutter and Avi Arad owners of Marvel subsidiary Toy Biz. Saved from the clutches of Perlman and bond holder Carl Icahn. Then the other day Disney bought Marvel for $4 Billion.

Behind the Curtain

First off lets admit to the intriguing conspiracy theories that haunt Walt Disney. He was a 33° Freemason and an illuminist and they are concerned with Masonic symbolism and the use of our political, economic, educational, and cultural institutions to control our society from behind the curtain. This is not inconsistent with the ideals of forming a Republic by our forefathers, and has loose associations with Skull and Bones (Bush, Kerry), our political dynasties (Bush, Kennedy ect…) and stories like Alen Moore’s dissection of Jack the Ripper in from Hell. There is much there to speculate and conspire about, what is interesting here is the purchasing of a cultural media company founded and built on the blood sweat and tears of Jews (although there seems to be wide variety of cultural influences these days). As Paul Buel has written about there is an underground or outsider ethic that has come with Jewish influences on American pop culture, an antithesis in many ways to Freemasons. This is an interesting merger in that regard. I must disclose that I am a son of both cultures.

Not Moving

New York City has been the home for Marvel. Unlike its chief rival, DC, its characters predominantly occupy the mythos of the city. That being said it has had ties to LA for decades, heck even the Uncanny X-Men currently reside in my old stomping grounds San Francisco. They have even had a place in Florida at Universal Studios for years. So for Marvel this is not a major physical move.

Comics

With the Bullpen (which is hardly in its heyday) things are not changing; Disney wisely believes in the controlling powers at Marvel (Joe Quesada ect…). But, as I have stated before, this does not mean more people are going to read Marvel Comics. There is little evidence to show that trickledown effects of broader exposure of franchise characters has helped in reversing the trends of lost readership (mid 20th century comics use to be read by boy's, girls's and adult males in the millions...now we are happy with 10's of thousands even with a growing adult female readership), in the younger demographic there has long since been more engaging mediums to occupy their time. However, there will always be a place for comics in American culture, and I now believe this to be the case, based on a broadening diversity of readership and cartooning.

Time Warner (WB) ownership of DC Comics, MAD Magazine (formerly EC), former subsidiaries of Image comics, ABC comics (or has Alan Moore ended this?), The Spirit and CN comics, has not lead to more comics sales, but it has lead to a stable environment and cross pollination of intellectual properties. Some of which have been quite good (i.e. the work of Darwyn Cooke, Alan Moore, Chris Sprouse, J. H. Williams III, Tim Sales, Jeff Loeb, Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, Mark Schultz, Jamie Hernandez ect…).

With an inverse model, the licensing agreement between Lucas Films and Dark Horse however may have increase comics readership, because of the introduction of a new, highly popular intellectual property into the comics medium, that continues the story in a way that the films could not expand on. Ironically, Marvel once had the Star Wars contract.

Disney itself, is not foreign to the comic book business. There has been a great deal of sharing of employees between Disney and comic companies. From Disney Quest use of employees from comic book publishers like Image, Marvel, DC and Malabu to Disney’s own publishing of quality comics, highlighted by their well-respected use of Scrooge McDuck in comics by Don Rosa.

How this will effect the broader comics market in America may prove to be no more substantial then anecdotal. It remains to be seen how it will affect Fantagraphics, Drawn and Quarterly, Top Shelf, Slave Labor, Oni, Archie and pip squeaks like Ben Cohen Ink. With so much diversity out there in today's market this big move may end up being inconsequential in comparison to seismic shifts of the past. That being what was once a plethora of sometimes innovative often aping comic book companies have been consolidated into two big companies and a large number of upstarts, that are actually mostly independently minded will thus remain primarily unaffected.

Disney the Media Conglomerate

We are living in the media, media arts and pop culture age of a Rockefeller type era. You have “liberal” NBC Universal, which has licensing contracts with marvel from film to theme parks. Rupert Merdoc (Fox) and a rightwing conspiracy that is so prevalent that they have become the media they so often attack. They of course know a thing or two about comics and cartooning with the Simpsons in their quiver. CBS seems to be to be the most behind the ball, but people still watch their shows, don’t ask me why. Viacom which owns Nick, which of course has a comics magazine, plays the part of hip stick it to the man, i.e Disney (don’t belive me…watch iCarly). All the while apeing their business model (new theme park to open in New Orleans…I guess Sponge Bob is leaving Universal’s cartoon alley too…leaving Bullwinkle, Krazy Kat, Popeye and the rest of cartoon ally to themselves…How does that work with Fantagraphics publishing the old strips?). From a comics perspective moderate/liberal Time Warner (DC) now has an even bigger rival in moderate/conservative Disney (Marvel, Pixar, ABC, Touchstone, Miramax and ESPN). Marvel is one of three pantheons of American pop culture that truly contributed to the evolution of our cultures obsessions with mythos, the others being the DC Universe and the Star Wars Universe (I exclude Star Trek, because it is a show that only steps into the realm of supernatural from an exploratory scientific fictional basis). What is significant is other than Lucas films we have lost all independently grown, self-sufficient major players in the media arts market.

Movies

Disney has gone out of their way to stress that both the comics and the films of Marvel under current management will go unchanged by Disney. This is good news, because it became crystal clear that when Marvel controls the development and production process of a film about their characters you get a better bang for the nostalgic buck (Iron Man).
The big change is the conversations that have already conspired between the best animators and film storytellers, Pixar, and the best superhero comics, Marvel. If these two seriously have the opportunity to work together, this could prove to be a brilliant merger.

TV

While Disney television is adequate and Marvel has pretty much been adequate, I am not expecting a big boost in this area. If people are thinking this will suddenly make WB Animation have a rival, you are in for a disappointment. That being said, we may find that Disney’s army of digital animators benefits Marvel and some gems comes from it. Neither Marvel or Disney as far as I understand it have virtuosos in the traditional animation vain anymore, so the jury is still out.


Fun Parks

With Nickelodeon's plan to brake ground in Louisiana, I wonder how long it will take for Sponge BoB and Spidy to vacate Universal's theme park. It will be hard to warrant visiting Universal , Orlando's Dr. Suess World, where I proposed to my wife...I think we will be at Disney World hanging out with Pluto and Iron Man (in fact I know we are going there in this winter for a TMJ conference). I also wonder if they will utilize Marvel's characters in Disney Quest's superhero section...that would be very cool.

Toy's

Despite having been bought by a Toy manufacture (Toy Biz...that was formerly a Marvel subsidiary) I have yet to be blown away by marvel Toy's...although their line of vintage X-Men and Avenger's based off of the original Kerby drawings were cool (my two year old daughter loves Bobby, Hank and Jean...but she recently threw Bobby and Hank down the stairs and Hanks head fell off and eventually Bobby's hips broke..we are both sad now). I remain indifferent to Disney's toys, but I hold out hope that it may improve what has been a substandard design process for Marvel toys in the past. Clearly Disney knows how to merchandise.

Taking Stock

Ok, I am totally pissed at my self for not having invested in Marvel in the 90's...DUMB. For those who have read Dan Ravi's Comic Wars...this buy out has a special soap opera wrinkle to the story. It also will likely lead to higher value to Marvel stocks, which had improved from vastly from the Perelman days. With the success of Marvel films like Spider-Man and Iron Man and a competent comic publishing scheme things can only go up even more now.

Non-Super-Hero-Comics ect...

With Tim Gunn's (Project Run Way) appearance in the resurrection of Millie the Model (still not sure what Iron Man has to do with it), there is a resurgence in house of trying to appeal to female readership at Marvel (hopefully more effectively then their more resent attempts...see my note Joe v Kelly). The potential merger with successful (if not lame) Disney productions like Hannah Montana (Nick's iCarly is much cooler...to my 2 year old...ok and to Erin and I too) could have potential use in a multiple of mediums. Under Stan Lee editorial leadership there were a number of other comics written for "girls;" Nellie the Nurse, Sorority Sue, Wendy Parker and the most popular Patsy Walker (I think I would start here). I don't think you will be seeing Sherry the Show Girl at Disneyland anytime soon. The potential is there for some interesting resurgences from Marvel's archives (I hope they please Trina Robbins). If only Simon and Kirby had created Romance comics for Marvel...oh the possibilities now.

Me

There is little potential for this to effect me personally. I screwed up when not pushing a friend of my fathers to help me get into working for Disney. He, I think jokingly offered me a job when Disney Quest was in development. If I had known then that Marvel would be acquired at some point, I might have dropped out of comics school (SCAD). This would have made my step-brother exceedingly happy, he has always felt I have been foolish in sticking with my underground comics interests. I doubt my current work on SHAME will lead to the halls of Marvel... err...Disney, but you never know...I am hoping for the poor, but pure world of DQ or Fantagraphics. I have sent submissions to Marvel in the past, but not since embracing the alternatives. When I picked up Wolverine by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller in ninth grade, I made mine Marvel and was in pursuit of drawing the X-Men...but my development has steered me farther and farther away from that goal. I have always enjoyed, playing the hater of Disney, while secretly enjoying it. WB was a more comfortable fit...but Marvel I am never bashful of supporting and have held to a standard they rarely have met since the 80's...who knows where my mind and my carrier will be now that the world has turned inside out.

Quick...X-Men Origins; Wolverine Review

I went and saw Wolverine with my wife and my Dad last night. The first Marvel comic I remember owning my Dad bought me in 1882, A Marvel Limited Series: Wolverine No. 1 by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller (Vermonter)...it was like getting high or havening an orgasm for the first time...you will always chase that first one trying to repeat, but it never is the same. Every X-Men related comic... after that I read was an attempt to regain that sensation. Last night was another failed attempt...but realistically speaking not a bad one.

Disclaimer: I never read Dead Pool so I had to do a little research. Also I really have not seriously fallowed the X-Men since Uncanny X-Men #275...so I am no expert anymore. When I left very little was still known about Wolverine's origin...but still being close to comics in general you hear things.

A few notes:
My Dad and Erin I guess thought it was OK....no viral response like Watchmen and we did talk a little about it afterwards...clarifying things for Dad.

Our seats sucked and our necks hurt most of the time.

The movie did not suck...Not even close to being as disappointing as X-Men III...but it was not as good as X-Men II...Erin and I loved that.

(spoilers bellow)

We had a discussion about who Wolverine and Sabertooths father was...it was confusing because the guy you fisrt think is his dad and gets killed by Sabertooths Dad looks to be played by Hugh Jack men...then all the sodden in the first Star Wars rip off moment Sabertooth's dad is killed by the young wolverine and he says he is his father...confusing right. We are clear that they shared a mother, but I thought they were only half brother's not full brothers...and if victor's dad is his then why does he look like his step dad and the step dad.

Dead pool being beheaded, falling, having two swords and the design of his face all looked like Darth Mals death in Episode I of Star Wars...but there is some chicken and egg thing here...but of all the Star Wars movies to rip off if that is what happened...arg.

I understand in terms of continuity why Dead Pool has all these powers...but as far as I know he only can heal...no teleporting or cyclops plasma vision....and the swords don't come out of his arms like Wolverine's claws. It all seemed kind of lame to me.

My other big complaint was that when Wolverine escapes from the Weapon-X program and is naked in the wilderness instead of being found by a young couple James MacDonald Hudson and Heather McNeil (future Guardians of Alpha Flight and Department H heads), he is found by the Canadian version of the Kents...now we are riping off Superman too.

On a positive note...I never liked Gambit...this movie changed my mind.

Ryan Reynolds was perfectly cast as Dead Pool and his part in the beginning of the movie was pitch perfect.

So its a good duper hero movie, it is fun for X-Men fan's and if you get a good seat you will enjoy it.

I last heard that Jackmen is interested in focusing on Logan's time in Japan...given my first Wolverine experience I am super siked about this possibility and believe they can pull it off after watching this film...if they stay closer to the flawless source material provided by Claremont.

My Watchmen Review

At the end of the Mars scene, Dr. Manhattan’s humanity carries through more effectively in the film version of Watchmen, then in the comic. The success of this primarily CGI seen is accredited to the ensemble of an actor in a motion capture suit, his scene partner, animators, the script writers, storyboard artist, the cinematographer and the director. This is the only scene in my opinion that was appropriately more effective in telling the story then the comic version. That being said it is one of a handful of vital linchpin moments for the story and there were not many singular moments that were poorly done, but this story was designed specifically for the strengths of sequential art storytelling not for what some have suggested cinematic storytelling.

With comics you freeze moments, juxtapose theme. You allow readers to go back and ponder, or pause and observe minute details. You create simple and complex communications that can be metaphorical both in the terms of the layered visuals and words. You can tell an entire story in one panel or over an infinite number and in just like other kinds of books, you can provide no information at all and allow the reader to interpret (imagine, think) for them selves…this accurse in the “gutters.” In film, this approach makes for a challenging movie and often cannot be done; it is just not possible. In film beyond a millisecond of processing from the viewer most of the thinking for them happens after the fact in discussion or in reviewing and, yes, pausing and rewinding when you watch it on your TV or Computer at home.

The end of the Mars scene shows you the humanity, while the comic has you interject this. The showing for this singular moment is much more powerful and clear, because we are witness to it. Other scenes that take advantage are gratuitous at worst and negligible at best. The author of the comic, Alen Moore, not Neil Gaimen (as was suggested in one terrible review) has tried his best to distance himself from the film version, donating his share of the profit to his collaborating cartoonist Dave Gibbons. This is very understandable, because he wrote it in a way that was intended to make it unfilmable…as many including the director have suggested it is.

If you have read and enjoyed the comic, or studied it you will likely enjoy the movie. Those in this small club who did not like it are simply asking too much of the movie and its creators. The anti-hype of the omitted giant squid is nothing to get upset about. I certainly had my nit picks. The lack of focus on the “normal” characters such as the cops, the therapist or newsstand I felt took away from the grounding in reality that was intended in both the book and the film. We saw them, but they did not drive the story as much in the film. You didn’t get into the therapist home life. You did not get into the conservative conspiracy theories of the newspaper sales men. Both these help ground Rorschach in reality where he is not a lone wolf, but more sympathetic. Also at the newspaper stand you miss in this cut of the film reference to the boy and his comic in any great detail (but we all know that is available and will be more of a focus in the DVD). The newspaper stand has always served as a time stamp and a comment on the comic industries marketing failures and successes. This commentary is lost on the movie audience. The director Snyder, new going in it was a challenge that was likely unattainable. I even went in looking to witness an artist reach for success in the face of certain failure. It was not a spectacle of failure, but it predictable comes up short. As my friend Z@K said, it is made for those of us who loved the comic. Not for the casual audience.

All this is nice behind the scene’s nut and bolts stuff…but the truth is if you were not going to enjoy the comic you were not going to enjoy the movies. The comic was written as a critique of two things. One the Thatcher era politics in Britain, the US, the USSR and the worlds fears of nuclear holocaust. Two superhero comic books. It is an alternate universe in more ways then one, hell Nixon is president and its 1985. If you don’t like complex stories of mysteries, comments on geopolitical, critiques of pop culture, violence, sexuality, interpersonal dynamics, the human condition, history, and what could have been, than this is not the book for you. This is not the only comic to deconstruct the superhero iconography; Dan Clowes’s Eightball #23 (The Death-Ray), Chris Ware’s simple summation in his ACME series and D.P.7 in the Marvel New Universe are three of my other favorites. The last being the most palatable. When watching the film I commented during the preview of Observe and Report that it had a Tarantino feel to it. My wife commented that Watchmen was like a Tarantino version of Spiderman and every other superhero film. I did want to point out to her that Watchman predates the comic fan Tarantino’s films and the film is a critique of all of these comic superheroes (so they stole iconic elements from all kinds of superheroes when writing the book), but I am sure Tarantino influenced Snyder and I did not want to get into a chicken and egg thing. She felt it was self-indulgent and wanted to go and tell the director that they were not hot shit. She has not read the book, but that is not an excuse. I do not think she would like the book because it is disjointed…she doesn’t like that form of storytelling. I do. But if I was going at it from Mars I would not have enjoyed it, because in the film form it would have been to confusing. But I had reference points provided by reading the book to help me enjoy the moving parts, the cinematography, the acting, the sound track.

Speaking of which the film score and soundtrack was surprisingly smart. We are dealing with five decades of American history with some monumental changes, but the soundtrack along with the cinematography, set design, costume design and acting grounded each era very specifically in referential points that I thought were just as effective if not more then the book. Most of the songs were iconic and well known, but fit specifically the era they were portraying. I am not one for promoting over played songs, but in this case, it worked. The only time a song was out of place was when Jimmy Hendrix version of All Along the Watchtower was being played as we approached the climax…in 1985. This may have been a nod to the brilliance used in Battlestar Galactica with the same song. The score during the 80’s sued this Genesis/Joe Satriani vib that fit odd but perfectly for me having grown up during that time. I also felt the cheesiness of some scenes served the intentions of the stories critiques. Therefore, I over looked some oddities visually…but I could not go with the horrid Nixon impersonation. Most of the storytelling elements were pitch perfect if not put together right for a film.

All this being noted I would give it an A for effort and leave it at that.