Alas, I had to spend the evening writing our family Christmas letter for this year. So, no real post.
Also, I must now spend time further investigating the magic that is Kanye West and his new album. And, Ninja Assassin is on HBO, and its sort of distracting. This movie has really embraced how much blood there is in the human body and the various spray patterns you're likely to see from Ninja weapons.
Here's Kanye's video for Power.
I suggest blowing it up to full screen size.
I always like when I can't quite get my head around what an artist is doing. And maybe I'm overthinking Mr. West's work, or maybe not. But I figure its 2011. Go big or go home.
For the Runaway short film, go here.
Film. Comics. Sci-Fi. Superheroes. Pulp. Noir. History. Superman. 20th Century Archaeology.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
I'm going with spelling it "Hanukkah"
Today is the last day of the festival, but I wanted to wish our readership, Jewish and not-Jewish alike, a happy Hanukkah.
We hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday season, and we hope those celebrating Hanukkah had a great one.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
"Walking Dead" reminds me what drives me nuts about Zombie fiction on a weekly basis
I like the TV show "The Walking Dead". Its well acted, the producers treat the subject with respect, the show does its best to use the Zombie Apocalypse as a spring board for observing humans under pressure, the cinematography is okay, and the moral and logistical dilemmas are interesting. I'm on board. Mostly.
But, man... sometimes its hard to buy Zombie Fiction.
I won't go into the logistics of zombie metabolism and how the only Zombie movie I've seen handle the logical endgame of zombies logically was 28 Days Later (organic things gotta eat. Either the zombies start eating each other, or its a wildfire that will burn itself out).
Nor will I go into how I suspect anything as virulent as Zombie-ism, and that requires a slow death to take effect and renders its carriers nigh-mindless, would likely get quarantined and shut down within two days.
I also won't get into the logistics of the unlikely the spread of anything beyond a localized zombie outbreak would be (do zombies fly on international flights? If so, the TSA really needs some improvements.).
The one thing I've learned about Us since 9/11 is that if we think a situation is getting slightly outside our comfort zone, we will freak out. Fear of death (especially of a death that would lead to a wretched, rambling undeath) is an incredibly powerful force. I mean, it rains a little and traffic gums up for hours. We think teeter-totters are too dangerous for kids. Heck, we're currently deciding its not big deal to let perfect strangers take nude pictures of us so we can get to Vegas without having to drive. And we certainly don't have any problem throwing anyone who is not ourself under the bus in the name of self-preservation.
So when I see a touching scene of a woman still cradling her sister ten seconds after she's gone full zombie and the slightest nip means the same awful fate for her?
1) We have a pretty good understanding these days of how infection is spread. If we're willing to stand on the other side of glass in hospitals for newborn babies and send Purell sales sky rocketing when a few people have the flu, I don't see people anybody lovingly cradling their blood-soaked loved ones. And much like 28 Days Later, if any blood did get on you, you would freak the @#$% out.
2) I don't know how many people would really sit around and wait for someone infected to slowly die, metabolize, and become a zombie. Especially while holding or touching that person. Walking Dead and other shows suggest that we'll all sit through the transformation of our loved ones (or even friendly acquaintances) right up to the point of zombification. I believe a few people would want to do that, but in any kind of group? The first rule is going to be "we don't wait".
3) People are going to let the ones with the least risky plans take the lead. Given what we now consider completely normal in the name of "national security" and the siege mentality we've agreed to live under in - surprisingly mundane aspects of our lives because its "safer" than if we didn't agree to the changes- suggests we want someone else telling us what to do in high pressure situations. When you're in the zombie apocalypse and someone suggests "anybody who gets bit gets a bullet in the skull" and you parse it logically, you're going to agree. And when something bad happens to Uncle Louie, you're going to fall back on the fact that we all agreed, the decision was made when he threw in with your group, and that he's gotta take a bullet. There not going to be teary scenes as you help guide Uncle Louie to the sweet zombie beyond, and, likely Uncle Louie is going to be onboard with a quick exit.
And I assure you, if you're in my Zombie Apocalypse survival group, anyone who gets so much as a nip is getting a bullet.
And, no, the Zombie Apocalypse scenario is not going to wind up looking too much like a democracy.
4) There will be safety in numbers, so I don't see people deciding to break off because of philosophical disagreements (unless there's a critical mass willing to give up their safety). This is going to lead to some bizarre set ups for survivors (which is what I think Walking Dead is sort of trading on as a show, its just not gotten to the tragically pragmatic part quite yet).
Now, I understand that this stuff (the cradling the zombie-bit sister, carting around a nigh-zombie and leaving him alone with worried looking colleagues) is done for dramatic effect. Its also done to get the same emotional impact you get when you want to stand up in a theater and tell the co-ed "don't go in the dark room! The killer is in there!", but... it always takes me out of the scene. It just always feels like "hey, somebody here would surely say something." And, honestly, at this point in my zombie media consumption, I've seen the slow death a dozen times. I'm more interested in seeing the scene play out where Alpha Leader tells mourning sister "you don't get to stay with her and hold her. We're not going to let her suffer for hours or days until she turns. She's laying there until she's passed out, and then we're finishing her and burning her."
As it has appeared in most movies, Zombification isn't a flu. It isn't even something a lot tougher you can possibly beat with medicine or recover from. It has 100% chance of killing the carrier and 100% chance of that carrier getting up and rabidly attacking anyone they can reach with their teeth. I don't even see survivors taking the chance of spreading infection by burying the corpses when the bodies can decompose into the water table, and/ or lie dormant and/ or dig their way out. I see a lot of pyres happening.
Sure, I've got an Omega Plan in place for Zombie Apocalypse. Lets just say it doesn't end with sunshine and roses for anyone involved. And, frankly, I don't really get how and why the nuclear options don't ever appear in zombie movies. Instead, its almost always scrappy survivors squabbling and trying to figure out what to do with the dead weight victim who will inevitably turn and cause drama.
I do get that part of Zombie fiction is that everyone second guesses the solutions and opinions of those trying to survive. But at some point, you do sort of get tired of characters doing something because it sounds good in a writing room and not because it seems... true. Even true to a premise as far-fetched as zombie apocalypse. Its a concern with a weekly show that it will rely on "dramatic" scenes to keep the juice flowing and get those tears out of the audience. And I'm not sure how long an audience is going to stick with "Cruelly Pragmatic Survivors of the Apocalypse".
While I am very much enjoying this season of The Walking Dead, I'm beginning to remember why I quit reading the comic book series upon which the show is based after the second volume. At some point, I just quit buying some of the story. I haven't watched the season finale yet, but did watch the 2nd to last episode this evening. Looking forward to the finale, and I have high hopes that the show is going to last long enough that we'll see all kinds of variations and reactions to Zombie Apocalypse.
But, man... sometimes its hard to buy Zombie Fiction.
I won't go into the logistics of zombie metabolism and how the only Zombie movie I've seen handle the logical endgame of zombies logically was 28 Days Later (organic things gotta eat. Either the zombies start eating each other, or its a wildfire that will burn itself out).
Nor will I go into how I suspect anything as virulent as Zombie-ism, and that requires a slow death to take effect and renders its carriers nigh-mindless, would likely get quarantined and shut down within two days.
I also won't get into the logistics of the unlikely the spread of anything beyond a localized zombie outbreak would be (do zombies fly on international flights? If so, the TSA really needs some improvements.).
The one thing I've learned about Us since 9/11 is that if we think a situation is getting slightly outside our comfort zone, we will freak out. Fear of death (especially of a death that would lead to a wretched, rambling undeath) is an incredibly powerful force. I mean, it rains a little and traffic gums up for hours. We think teeter-totters are too dangerous for kids. Heck, we're currently deciding its not big deal to let perfect strangers take nude pictures of us so we can get to Vegas without having to drive. And we certainly don't have any problem throwing anyone who is not ourself under the bus in the name of self-preservation.
So when I see a touching scene of a woman still cradling her sister ten seconds after she's gone full zombie and the slightest nip means the same awful fate for her?
1) We have a pretty good understanding these days of how infection is spread. If we're willing to stand on the other side of glass in hospitals for newborn babies and send Purell sales sky rocketing when a few people have the flu, I don't see people anybody lovingly cradling their blood-soaked loved ones. And much like 28 Days Later, if any blood did get on you, you would freak the @#$% out.
2) I don't know how many people would really sit around and wait for someone infected to slowly die, metabolize, and become a zombie. Especially while holding or touching that person. Walking Dead and other shows suggest that we'll all sit through the transformation of our loved ones (or even friendly acquaintances) right up to the point of zombification. I believe a few people would want to do that, but in any kind of group? The first rule is going to be "we don't wait".
3) People are going to let the ones with the least risky plans take the lead. Given what we now consider completely normal in the name of "national security" and the siege mentality we've agreed to live under in - surprisingly mundane aspects of our lives because its "safer" than if we didn't agree to the changes- suggests we want someone else telling us what to do in high pressure situations. When you're in the zombie apocalypse and someone suggests "anybody who gets bit gets a bullet in the skull" and you parse it logically, you're going to agree. And when something bad happens to Uncle Louie, you're going to fall back on the fact that we all agreed, the decision was made when he threw in with your group, and that he's gotta take a bullet. There not going to be teary scenes as you help guide Uncle Louie to the sweet zombie beyond, and, likely Uncle Louie is going to be onboard with a quick exit.
And I assure you, if you're in my Zombie Apocalypse survival group, anyone who gets so much as a nip is getting a bullet.
And, no, the Zombie Apocalypse scenario is not going to wind up looking too much like a democracy.
4) There will be safety in numbers, so I don't see people deciding to break off because of philosophical disagreements (unless there's a critical mass willing to give up their safety). This is going to lead to some bizarre set ups for survivors (which is what I think Walking Dead is sort of trading on as a show, its just not gotten to the tragically pragmatic part quite yet).
Now, I understand that this stuff (the cradling the zombie-bit sister, carting around a nigh-zombie and leaving him alone with worried looking colleagues) is done for dramatic effect. Its also done to get the same emotional impact you get when you want to stand up in a theater and tell the co-ed "don't go in the dark room! The killer is in there!", but... it always takes me out of the scene. It just always feels like "hey, somebody here would surely say something." And, honestly, at this point in my zombie media consumption, I've seen the slow death a dozen times. I'm more interested in seeing the scene play out where Alpha Leader tells mourning sister "you don't get to stay with her and hold her. We're not going to let her suffer for hours or days until she turns. She's laying there until she's passed out, and then we're finishing her and burning her."
As it has appeared in most movies, Zombification isn't a flu. It isn't even something a lot tougher you can possibly beat with medicine or recover from. It has 100% chance of killing the carrier and 100% chance of that carrier getting up and rabidly attacking anyone they can reach with their teeth. I don't even see survivors taking the chance of spreading infection by burying the corpses when the bodies can decompose into the water table, and/ or lie dormant and/ or dig their way out. I see a lot of pyres happening.
Sure, I've got an Omega Plan in place for Zombie Apocalypse. Lets just say it doesn't end with sunshine and roses for anyone involved. And, frankly, I don't really get how and why the nuclear options don't ever appear in zombie movies. Instead, its almost always scrappy survivors squabbling and trying to figure out what to do with the dead weight victim who will inevitably turn and cause drama.
I do get that part of Zombie fiction is that everyone second guesses the solutions and opinions of those trying to survive. But at some point, you do sort of get tired of characters doing something because it sounds good in a writing room and not because it seems... true. Even true to a premise as far-fetched as zombie apocalypse. Its a concern with a weekly show that it will rely on "dramatic" scenes to keep the juice flowing and get those tears out of the audience. And I'm not sure how long an audience is going to stick with "Cruelly Pragmatic Survivors of the Apocalypse".
While I am very much enjoying this season of The Walking Dead, I'm beginning to remember why I quit reading the comic book series upon which the show is based after the second volume. At some point, I just quit buying some of the story. I haven't watched the season finale yet, but did watch the 2nd to last episode this evening. Looking forward to the finale, and I have high hopes that the show is going to last long enough that we'll see all kinds of variations and reactions to Zombie Apocalypse.
Noir City Christmas
There are many reasons I wish I lived in San Francisco/ The Bay Area. Its prominence as a world hub of innovation and technology. The amazing mix of cultures. Sea lions. So many sea lions. Architecture and history. Increased opportunity to pop in on Steven and Lauren and eat all their food. Could secretly live in Dug and K's basement for weeks before they'd notice. Local law-enforcement's encouragement of recreation of scenes from "Bullit". All the sourdough and Rice-a-Roni one could eat. Would see it on local news when Mythbusters finally accidentally blow themselves up.
But today: I wish I could be in town for the Noir City Cruel Yule and back again in January for the Noir City Film Festival.
What better way to ring in the holidays than with dangerous dames, pistols and tough talk?* If you're in the Bay Area, I highly recommend checking out the programs Eddie Muller and co. have put together to keep one of the great cinematic traditions alive.
*actually, this may be my Christmas with Jamie, anyway
But today: I wish I could be in town for the Noir City Cruel Yule and back again in January for the Noir City Film Festival.
What better way to ring in the holidays than with dangerous dames, pistols and tough talk?* If you're in the Bay Area, I highly recommend checking out the programs Eddie Muller and co. have put together to keep one of the great cinematic traditions alive.
*actually, this may be my Christmas with Jamie, anyway
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Happy Birthday to The Dug/ Pearl Harbor Day
 |
| feliz cumpleanous, a ti |
Well, here's to another fantastic year for Dug and to the heartbreaking loss we faced on this day. Let's celebrate/ mourn!
Monday, December 6, 2010
You're on your own.
I'm tired and I think I'll go read and whatnot. You're on your own. The remote turns on the cable and the TV and there's diet soda in the fridge.
Also: Jon Hamm has a good job. I think he knows that.
Also: Jon Hamm has a good job. I think he knows that.
 |
| Shut up, Jon Hamm |
I am pretty sure you won't finish reading this meandering blog post
It would be bad form to not have a post ready for a Monday, but I'm kind of running dry at the moment. Bear with me.
The weekend
The holidays are here, and that meant Saturday we were able to attend a lovely get together at Matt and Nicole's place. Sweaters were worn, cocktails embibed, and a cold front hit just before the party, so it didn't feel odd or unseasonal.
I learned a lesson in trying to be a safe driver: if you're planning to cab it around town - do not decide its time to call a cab at 2:00 AM on Saturday night/ Sunday morning during the middle of holiday revelry. They will never, ever show up. And you will spend an ugly hour regretting that last cocktail with SyFy Channel on mute showing some horrendous movie with Alan Cumming painted blue, and Jamie just staring at the window and repeating "where are they?", only to give up and force a sober Nicole to drive you all the way back to your house at 3:10 AM.
Today was fairly lazy. Played with the dogs. Read. Cleaned up a bit. Walked the dogs. Fixed the fence. Slept for a while in the afternoon, facedown on the sofa. Denied the fact that I need to go to Lowe's and do a few last bits of Christmas shopping (I am way, way out ahead on Christmas shopping). Met up with Matt and Nicole at a sort of Italian bistro near Nau's, ran into Keora and Laura (wife of SimonUK).
And now I'm sitting in front of the fake fire with sleepy dogs.
Big 12 and Longhorn Football
OU won the Big 12 Championship, which is secretly good news to me (as OU is my second favorite college team, but we do not say such things in Austin).
And it looks like UT's long-bemoaned Offensive Coordinator, Greg Davis, will be leaving UT's coaching staff by hook or by crook early this week.
I don't know much about Davis. He doesn't get in front of the mics or cameras very often, but I know that in a city that screeches to a halt on game days, I have never heard one person who didn't second-guess or immediately leap to chip in to question Davis's coaching and play calling. That's not an exaggeration for dramatic effect, that's a fact. And it seems that UT's great recruiting of the past 10 years finally wasn't able to overcome the deficit in offensive coordination. At some point, you can't have 100K people in the stadium all slapping their foreheads, and everybody but the Offensive Coordinator knowing that the play called was not going to work.
That's not to say people aren't warily eyeing Will Muschamp (UT's Defensive Coordinator), his millions per year and the fact that UT oddly already anointed him Mack Brown's successor despite the fact that Brown isn't scheduled to retire or leave Texas. I don't think Muschamp is on the chopping block quite yet, but if UT is giving up as many touchdowns next year as they did this season? That sweetheart deal is going to dry up pretty fast.
Anyway, strange days for Texas football.
On the positive side: Looks like Oregon will challenge Auburn for the National title spot! Very happy for our man in Oregon, Fantomenos. The Ducks have been building to this point for a while, and I'm personally planning to dress in green and watch that one.
Jackie Chiles returns
Back in the 1990's Seinfeld was (and still remains) one of my favorite shows. Many will remember the OJ-case inspired character, Jackie Chiles, loosely based on now-deceased showboating attorney Johnny Cochrane.
A colleague of The Signal Watch is a contributor to award-winning legal blog Abnormal Use, which recently swung an interview with the actor who portrayed Jackie Chiles, Phil Morris. We encourage you to read the interview.
I confess that, yes, I do still watch Smallville on the CW (I'm quite a fan of Ms. Durance who plays Lois. Rowr.). For the past few years, Morris has guest-spotted on the program as J'onn J'onzz/ John Jones (aka: The Martian Manhunter), and he's been a real highlight in a show that I usually enjoy semi-ironically (because, man, Smallville...). I figured it was too much to ask that they spin the character off into his own, better show, so I take what I can get.
You can also see Morris in new clips as Jackie Chiles on Funny or Die!
Congrats to Abnormal Use for a great 2010!
Spider-Man play suffers another injury
An actress playing a major role as a villain suffered a concussion when a rope smacked her in the head. This same actress has to sit in her harness 6 hours per day.
I really do think people will turn up to watch the show, but its for the same reason you go to NASCAR races: horrendous accidents.
Never Assume
You people can enjoy the malarkey that is The League in small, bite sized chunks and opt in or out of dealing with me as you please. Even Jamie has the option to tell me to shut it, and/ or leave the room. But there is a person who does not have any options. 8 hours per day, 5 days per week, my officemate (who also reports to me in the org chart) has to sit and listen to whatever I say. And I kind of just talk. And talk. And talk and talk and talk and talk and talk all day every day.
And its kind of unfair. Literally nobody else on the planet has to put up with my monologuing or fear for their livelihood. And so it came to pass that I was completely under the impression that my officemate and I were on the same page that KANYE WEST IS THE GREATEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED, EVER.
Apparently, not so. So, if anyone else has some ideas for what to get an officemate for Christmas that isn't the new Kanye West album, please let me know.
The weekend
The holidays are here, and that meant Saturday we were able to attend a lovely get together at Matt and Nicole's place. Sweaters were worn, cocktails embibed, and a cold front hit just before the party, so it didn't feel odd or unseasonal.
I learned a lesson in trying to be a safe driver: if you're planning to cab it around town - do not decide its time to call a cab at 2:00 AM on Saturday night/ Sunday morning during the middle of holiday revelry. They will never, ever show up. And you will spend an ugly hour regretting that last cocktail with SyFy Channel on mute showing some horrendous movie with Alan Cumming painted blue, and Jamie just staring at the window and repeating "where are they?", only to give up and force a sober Nicole to drive you all the way back to your house at 3:10 AM.
Today was fairly lazy. Played with the dogs. Read. Cleaned up a bit. Walked the dogs. Fixed the fence. Slept for a while in the afternoon, facedown on the sofa. Denied the fact that I need to go to Lowe's and do a few last bits of Christmas shopping (I am way, way out ahead on Christmas shopping). Met up with Matt and Nicole at a sort of Italian bistro near Nau's, ran into Keora and Laura (wife of SimonUK).
And now I'm sitting in front of the fake fire with sleepy dogs.
Big 12 and Longhorn Football
OU won the Big 12 Championship, which is secretly good news to me (as OU is my second favorite college team, but we do not say such things in Austin).
And it looks like UT's long-bemoaned Offensive Coordinator, Greg Davis, will be leaving UT's coaching staff by hook or by crook early this week.
I don't know much about Davis. He doesn't get in front of the mics or cameras very often, but I know that in a city that screeches to a halt on game days, I have never heard one person who didn't second-guess or immediately leap to chip in to question Davis's coaching and play calling. That's not an exaggeration for dramatic effect, that's a fact. And it seems that UT's great recruiting of the past 10 years finally wasn't able to overcome the deficit in offensive coordination. At some point, you can't have 100K people in the stadium all slapping their foreheads, and everybody but the Offensive Coordinator knowing that the play called was not going to work.
That's not to say people aren't warily eyeing Will Muschamp (UT's Defensive Coordinator), his millions per year and the fact that UT oddly already anointed him Mack Brown's successor despite the fact that Brown isn't scheduled to retire or leave Texas. I don't think Muschamp is on the chopping block quite yet, but if UT is giving up as many touchdowns next year as they did this season? That sweetheart deal is going to dry up pretty fast.
Anyway, strange days for Texas football.
On the positive side: Looks like Oregon will challenge Auburn for the National title spot! Very happy for our man in Oregon, Fantomenos. The Ducks have been building to this point for a while, and I'm personally planning to dress in green and watch that one.
Jackie Chiles returns
Back in the 1990's Seinfeld was (and still remains) one of my favorite shows. Many will remember the OJ-case inspired character, Jackie Chiles, loosely based on now-deceased showboating attorney Johnny Cochrane.
A colleague of The Signal Watch is a contributor to award-winning legal blog Abnormal Use, which recently swung an interview with the actor who portrayed Jackie Chiles, Phil Morris. We encourage you to read the interview.
I confess that, yes, I do still watch Smallville on the CW (I'm quite a fan of Ms. Durance who plays Lois. Rowr.). For the past few years, Morris has guest-spotted on the program as J'onn J'onzz/ John Jones (aka: The Martian Manhunter), and he's been a real highlight in a show that I usually enjoy semi-ironically (because, man, Smallville...). I figured it was too much to ask that they spin the character off into his own, better show, so I take what I can get.
You can also see Morris in new clips as Jackie Chiles on Funny or Die!
Congrats to Abnormal Use for a great 2010!
Spider-Man play suffers another injury
An actress playing a major role as a villain suffered a concussion when a rope smacked her in the head. This same actress has to sit in her harness 6 hours per day.
I really do think people will turn up to watch the show, but its for the same reason you go to NASCAR races: horrendous accidents.
Never Assume
You people can enjoy the malarkey that is The League in small, bite sized chunks and opt in or out of dealing with me as you please. Even Jamie has the option to tell me to shut it, and/ or leave the room. But there is a person who does not have any options. 8 hours per day, 5 days per week, my officemate (who also reports to me in the org chart) has to sit and listen to whatever I say. And I kind of just talk. And talk. And talk and talk and talk and talk and talk all day every day.
And its kind of unfair. Literally nobody else on the planet has to put up with my monologuing or fear for their livelihood. And so it came to pass that I was completely under the impression that my officemate and I were on the same page that KANYE WEST IS THE GREATEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED, EVER.
Apparently, not so. So, if anyone else has some ideas for what to get an officemate for Christmas that isn't the new Kanye West album, please let me know.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
I Heart All Star Superman
I recently got my hands on a copy of the Absolute Edition of DC's All Star Superman.
Man, I love this comic.
Written by Grant Morrison, drawn by Frank Quitely and inked & colored by Jamie Grant (all from Scotland, btw), this book sums up so much of what I love about Superman comics. To see it in DC's deluxe Absolute format, with the pages blown up to almost the size of the original art, and to really soak in Grant's exquisite colors... its just a huge pleasure to see story, art, form and function come together.
If you come to the book skeptical of Superman, there's nothing here to convince you away from your opinion. But if you do like what's in the book, the important thing to know is that this isn't some wild departure Morrison has envisioned. He's seamlessly echoing the types of stories you could read from the 50's - mid 80's (before the Byrne/ Wolfman "everyman" reinvention that also works, just differently), and adding very Morrison-ish bits that, on reflection, aren't so different from the wild stories that spawned Superman walking around with a lion's head, Bizarro, as king of the ant aliens, etc... Morrison even has down Silver-Age Superman's always-understated way of dealing with the uncanny and bizarre.
The plot is basically this: Superman learns that a recent trip to the sun is leading to his death. And the events that lead up to his last moments.
I often actually wonder if modern readers who picked up the series understood what Morrison was doing. I suspect most didn't get the careful blend of new and old, the asides (like Lois wondering if Superman was playing yet another massively elaborate prank on her), characters like Samson and Atlas showing up to woo Lois... and all done with a mostly straight face.
A lot of people ask "who is the mask? Superman or Clark?" And we know the 1980's told us Superman was just an outfit a farmboy from Kansas put on, but we also know that prior to 1985, this wasn't so much the case. It was Superman in a disguise, an alien wanting to be human, to fit in and have friends in a way that nobody would question if he were green and had antennas as "the alien".
Like all outsiders, Superman is an observer and does comment upon us. But when he's himself, and is confident in his Superman-ness (and not given to plodding, heaped upon "flaws" and "insecurities") its not that he's too perfect, its that he can be... alien. "Yes, I will fly into the corona of the sun and save the space crew" is something Superman and no other character can say, and there's something amazing about that certainty when you see it done up right. But at that point, you kind of have to forget about Superman as a man, or as a character one relates to, and look at him as something else entirely.
Certainly, that complicates the character. But its also something, I suppose, a reader is either comfortable with or not. Alien-ness does not preclude character, nor does it preclude character interaction, development, etc...
Clark isn't, as Tarantino would suggest, what Superman thinks of us. But as Clark he does appear so very human, and in Quitely's depiction, its the best argument for how nobody would ever guess, that we can see the value of the Kent identity, all the more shocking when its stripped away to reveal the "S" beneath. And, of course, Morrison and Quitely work in site gag after sight gag as "Clark" saves people without them noticing, and shouting at Clark for his oafishness. Its a brilliant little addition from the spirit of the Donner movies more than the comics.
This book doesn't address the question of "can you relate?", which I find a loaded question. But the characterization returns to form with the stoicism of the 1950's and 60's (and which Reeves and Routh portray in the movies), and I actually quite like that granite stillness in the face of chaos.
Which is why Morrison's Lex, and his monologuing in episode 5, "The Gospel According to Lex", flips the tables and is so compelling (and why Lex becomes increasingly fascinating for adult readers, leading to his role as the featured character in the current run of Action Comics). What's more compelling to the reader once labels of "good guy" and "bad guy" are stripped away? The self-made genius billionaire with endless ambition, or the alien with the true moral compass and bullet-proof skin?
In many ways, to me, and I realize this is only me... If I'm looking for someone to observe through, its the alien who is watching and trying to help, not the unbridled ambition blaming some outside force for his failures. At the end of issue 5, Superman/ Clark breaks and pleas with Lex for sanity, and is dismissed (the story also suggests Lex likes Clark, which is... interesting). Lex could have been so much more (Superman is, after all, good friends with Batman).
I haven't finished re-reading the book, but it did strike me how much the success of All Star Superman paved the way for today's post-Infinite Crisis continuity interpretation of the character. Lex as both mad scientist and billionaire, the return of the whimsy and "anything goes" attitude of the books, reintegration of the Legion... all these things.
And, of course, Morrison gives us a Lois that a Superman, an alien who can see his own cellular mitosis and burn holes in mountains by peering at them, can love. Its up there with Kidder and Neil as live action Lois, with Waid's firebrand Lois...
And, of course, Morrison saved Jimmy Olsen. With issue #4's tribute to the best Jimmy Olsen stories... man.
The book is out as two paperbacks, and I can't really recommend them enough.
Now that DC sounds like they're wrapping up Superman's cross-country trek a bit early (or differently), and the New Krypton story is done, maybe its time to return to Metropolis and take a page directly from Morrison. Its hard not to believe Paul Cornell, handling Lex in Action, isn't already headed this direction.
Man, I love this comic.
Written by Grant Morrison, drawn by Frank Quitely and inked & colored by Jamie Grant (all from Scotland, btw), this book sums up so much of what I love about Superman comics. To see it in DC's deluxe Absolute format, with the pages blown up to almost the size of the original art, and to really soak in Grant's exquisite colors... its just a huge pleasure to see story, art, form and function come together.
If you come to the book skeptical of Superman, there's nothing here to convince you away from your opinion. But if you do like what's in the book, the important thing to know is that this isn't some wild departure Morrison has envisioned. He's seamlessly echoing the types of stories you could read from the 50's - mid 80's (before the Byrne/ Wolfman "everyman" reinvention that also works, just differently), and adding very Morrison-ish bits that, on reflection, aren't so different from the wild stories that spawned Superman walking around with a lion's head, Bizarro, as king of the ant aliens, etc... Morrison even has down Silver-Age Superman's always-understated way of dealing with the uncanny and bizarre.
The plot is basically this: Superman learns that a recent trip to the sun is leading to his death. And the events that lead up to his last moments.
I often actually wonder if modern readers who picked up the series understood what Morrison was doing. I suspect most didn't get the careful blend of new and old, the asides (like Lois wondering if Superman was playing yet another massively elaborate prank on her), characters like Samson and Atlas showing up to woo Lois... and all done with a mostly straight face.
A lot of people ask "who is the mask? Superman or Clark?" And we know the 1980's told us Superman was just an outfit a farmboy from Kansas put on, but we also know that prior to 1985, this wasn't so much the case. It was Superman in a disguise, an alien wanting to be human, to fit in and have friends in a way that nobody would question if he were green and had antennas as "the alien".
Like all outsiders, Superman is an observer and does comment upon us. But when he's himself, and is confident in his Superman-ness (and not given to plodding, heaped upon "flaws" and "insecurities") its not that he's too perfect, its that he can be... alien. "Yes, I will fly into the corona of the sun and save the space crew" is something Superman and no other character can say, and there's something amazing about that certainty when you see it done up right. But at that point, you kind of have to forget about Superman as a man, or as a character one relates to, and look at him as something else entirely.
Certainly, that complicates the character. But its also something, I suppose, a reader is either comfortable with or not. Alien-ness does not preclude character, nor does it preclude character interaction, development, etc...
Clark isn't, as Tarantino would suggest, what Superman thinks of us. But as Clark he does appear so very human, and in Quitely's depiction, its the best argument for how nobody would ever guess, that we can see the value of the Kent identity, all the more shocking when its stripped away to reveal the "S" beneath. And, of course, Morrison and Quitely work in site gag after sight gag as "Clark" saves people without them noticing, and shouting at Clark for his oafishness. Its a brilliant little addition from the spirit of the Donner movies more than the comics.
This book doesn't address the question of "can you relate?", which I find a loaded question. But the characterization returns to form with the stoicism of the 1950's and 60's (and which Reeves and Routh portray in the movies), and I actually quite like that granite stillness in the face of chaos.
Which is why Morrison's Lex, and his monologuing in episode 5, "The Gospel According to Lex", flips the tables and is so compelling (and why Lex becomes increasingly fascinating for adult readers, leading to his role as the featured character in the current run of Action Comics). What's more compelling to the reader once labels of "good guy" and "bad guy" are stripped away? The self-made genius billionaire with endless ambition, or the alien with the true moral compass and bullet-proof skin?
In many ways, to me, and I realize this is only me... If I'm looking for someone to observe through, its the alien who is watching and trying to help, not the unbridled ambition blaming some outside force for his failures. At the end of issue 5, Superman/ Clark breaks and pleas with Lex for sanity, and is dismissed (the story also suggests Lex likes Clark, which is... interesting). Lex could have been so much more (Superman is, after all, good friends with Batman).
I haven't finished re-reading the book, but it did strike me how much the success of All Star Superman paved the way for today's post-Infinite Crisis continuity interpretation of the character. Lex as both mad scientist and billionaire, the return of the whimsy and "anything goes" attitude of the books, reintegration of the Legion... all these things.
And, of course, Morrison gives us a Lois that a Superman, an alien who can see his own cellular mitosis and burn holes in mountains by peering at them, can love. Its up there with Kidder and Neil as live action Lois, with Waid's firebrand Lois...
And, of course, Morrison saved Jimmy Olsen. With issue #4's tribute to the best Jimmy Olsen stories... man.
The book is out as two paperbacks, and I can't really recommend them enough.
Now that DC sounds like they're wrapping up Superman's cross-country trek a bit early (or differently), and the New Krypton story is done, maybe its time to return to Metropolis and take a page directly from Morrison. Its hard not to believe Paul Cornell, handling Lex in Action, isn't already headed this direction.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Sort of what I'm Up to
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| In my head, this just improved Santa 1,000,000 percent |
I'm doing my last bit of traveling for 2010 and am attending a conference in Houston. Lots of nice folks doing interesting stuff in libraries.
In a lot of ways, traditional public and academic libraries are likely behind corporate entities who have been struggling with business needs issues for decades in data management and deep storage. In an institution such as a library that is asked to store literally anything that it is handed (and make it available to the world on demand), that management becomes a complex issue. Its not enough just to have the item, but that item has metadata around it that describes the item. The web's half-baked manner of tagging, keywords, etc... kind of works, but its not useful for preservation, curation, true findability and longterm use and storage. Ie: Its not enough to just have the thing and have it sitting on a server where Google might find it anymore than a traditional library would be terribly useful without a card catalog.
So. Anyway, that's some of what I work on most days. And its pretty focused at this conference.
The big challenge (not one that really falls into my jurisdiction) will be the mad scramble for the next few decades to turn paper into 0's and 1's, describe it and make it available. Its one thing to have... stuff in a library, just sitting in a box or on a shelf. Its quite another to imagine actually dealing with every page, every picture, every... everything that can be in even the smallest library. Not to mention trying to wrangle the brand new stuff created everyday and all the stuff that's deteriorating on shut-down hard drives, etc.. that never really existed as paper created in the past 20 years.
Its... a big task. So be nice to your local archivist, digital librarian, metadata librarian, what-have-you.
My part is the fun part, and that's working with these folks and trying to provide them with solutions, support, tools, etc... And finding new opportunities for researchers to work together and find one another's work thanks to TECHNOLOGY.
Also, the catering at this thing was really good. I confess to liking prosciutto more than I ought.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Here's Some Dapper Folks Enjoying the Holidays
I'm off in Houston and busy, so here's some pics of the office holiday party at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.
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| Don and Peggy ponder the meaning of the holidays |
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| This makes me weep for myself when I ponder the office parties and lack thereof at my different employers |
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