Mesmo Delivery Packs a Whalop!

I've just been punched upside the head by a comic book. Mesmo Delivery, the debut full length comic by up-and-comer Rafael Grampa arrived today after what seems like months of waiting. And MAN was it worth it!

I don't recall exactly how I first noticed Grampa...maybe through Drawn. Probably through Becky Cloonan's blog. Whatever. The point is, I found his blog, and I was floored by what I was seeing there. I scanned the Portuguese, trying to figure out where I could buy his stuff, searched the Internet, looking for ANYTHING he had done. For months, there was nothing. Finally, one of those posts gave me a title...Mesmo Delivery. One quick Google search and PayPal purchase later, the deed had been done...Mesmo Delivery would be arriving at my house in 3 to 5 business days.

Wow, was it worth the wait. Mesmo is one part Grindhouse and one part Hard Boiled. It's one part Twilight Zone, one part Fight Club. It's a greasy, filthy, beautiful mess of a book that starts off going one direction and then totally flips you on your rear as it takes you out of your comfort zone and rubs your nose in all it's gory, freaky goodness. It's unlike anything else out there, and the artwork is so beautiful you can get lost in it. I can't wait to see what Grampa will do as a follow up to what was obviously a labor of love. Do yourself a favor, check it out as soon as you can. Then spread the word...we have to encourage this man to keep doing what he's doing!

Watchmen Trailer

Holy crap. One of the guys from work just told me this was out there...

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/watchmen/

For those of you who don't know, The Watchmen is considered the greatest comic book ever created. Literally. Ask your friendly neighborhood comic geek, and I doubt you will find many that will argue that this graphic novel is considered the best. Now, I've been really doubtful that they would be able to pull this story off. It's just too big and too complicated. But seeing this trailer?

I don't want to get my hopes up, but wow...Zack Snyder just may be able to pull this off.

Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Just so there is no confusion...Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, created by the amazing Joss Whedon, is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Hell, it's better than sliced bread.

Make sure to get there before July 20, because then they are taking them down and doing something with them. Like, put them on a DVD or something.

I'm gonna go watch it again...

New Coen Brothers Film!

Holy dear god, does this look like it's going to ROCK!



Coen Brothers dramas are great. Coen Brothers comedies are the BEST, though!

The Candidates and How They Will Affect Your Taxes

An article popped up on my iGoogle page a few days ago, titled "How McCain and Obama Will Change Your Tax Bill" I'm instantly interested, because the main argument of conservatives is that they don't want another "tax and spend Democrat" stealing all the money from their pockets. Yet, from what I understood of the candidates tax policies, it sounds to me like Obama will benefit 98% or the population, while McCains will only really benefit the top 2%. It turns out that isn't far from the truth.

The most intriguing aspects of the plans are clearly laid out in the table to the right. I don't understand how the American public has fallen for the claims of the conservatives. Everyone below $112,000 per year will do better under the Obama plan than under McCain plan. That's around 90% of the US. Those who would benefit the most are those below $66,000 dollars...those who need that money the most.

The Republicans can't even use the argument that the Democratic plan will increase the deficit...true, Barack's plan will increase the national debt by $3.3 trillion over ten years. But McCain's will increase the debt by $4.5 trillion. All so that the members of our society who need the money the least won't have to pay as much each year.

I don't understand the logic. Is this simply pandering to those in our society who hold the most power? Do the Republicans get something in return for what appears to be such selfish and elitist tax policies?

I understand that this study is fairly simple, in terms of overall economic policy in each campaign. McCain's camp claims that his fight against earmarks and rampant government spending will reign in the deficit numbers. Yet, that still doesn't explain how giving money back to the people who need it least will improve the economy. I'm sorry, I just don't see the gains claimed by trickle-down economics. (Maybe someone can show me a site that refutes that?)

The Incredible Hulk Movie Review

So...THAT is how you make a HULK movie!

Wow. Marvel is on fire. This is the movie that the Hulk deserves...huge, loud, violent and totally fun.

I find it interesting that instead of continuing with the story set up in Ang Lee's flaccid 2003 movie, they instead seem to have embraced the old Bill Bixby TV show. We've got a Bruce Banner on the run, trying to find a cure, and keep from hurting those around him.

The acting is all stellar. Ed Norton does his usually fantastic job as Bruce Banner. Liv Tyler is good as well. I like that she wasn't just a damsel in distress in this film, though she did play that part as well, but her Betty Ross helped move the story along. (Though, I wish we could have had someone who had a bit more of a bookish quality about them...she IS supposed to be a scientist in this, after all!) Still, she and Norton seemed to have some real chemistry between them, and you bought that they were in love. Then, there was Tim Roth. God, he was just creepy in this. Genius casting as the big villain of the film, and he was a great foil to Ed Norton.

As for the Hulk himself, there were a few problems. Outside of Gollum, I've never bought a CGI character in a live action film. It almost always pulls me from the story, and this Hulk was no different. He didn't seem quite real, though the decision to make him look not just solid but hard was a good one...much better than the squishy Hulk of the Ang Lee film. However, he did suffer from not looking quite real enough in many shots, not to mention the fact that his size relative to everyone else changed throughout the film (sometimes he looked 10 feet tall, others, around 7 feet tall)

Still, overall, the movie was great. It's a good time to be a superhero fan.

Best. Post. Ever.

Many props to Giantmonster for this post. God, I'm dying over here.

My Music Video Holy Grail...

I love YouTube. I fell in love with it early, with the classics (All Your Base Are Belong To Us, Star Wars Kid, Numa Numa) But there has been one place where it has always let me down...that Holy Grail that just didn't seem to exist online. It was a barely remembered song with a kick-ass video that I remembered from my Sophomore year in college (my Mtv Year) Michael Penn's "Look What the Cat Drug In (Long Way Down)" I always thought the song was pretty good, but that VIDEO...

It's taken over 10 years, but tonight, for the first time, I found it on a random Google Video search. My holy grail. (Be warned, you will probably have to sit through a dumb commercial)



...crap. Not as cool as I remembered it. (Still pretty damn sweet, though!)

Any other holy grail videos out there? What can't you find?

MUTO - Graffiti Animation

Holy crap!

Muto is a project started by "Blu", who is apparently a graffiti artist from Italy, and who is one part Salvador Dali and one part tripping acid. Creepy, gorgeous stuff. The amount of work and imagination that went into this just stagger me.


MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Via GiantMonster

Iron Man Review! (spoiler free)

I watched Iron Man tonight thinking, "Jon Freaking FAVREAU made this?!" Seriously, who knew that all along, all we had to do was ask Mikey, and he would make the ultimate superhero movie (you're money, baby!)

So, you read right...ultimate superhero movie. I guess it makes sense. Iron Man is MADE to be put on screen. Nothing looks better CGI'd than a robot. And Tony Stark has always been written to be a super charismatic bastard...who would be more fun to bring to the screen?

But forget all that. It's pretty easy to see why this film worked. Robert Downey Jr NAILED it. You can say what you want about how he could draw on his experience with addiction and blah, blah, blah...but no. Downey was a movie star in the very best sense of the word. He was up on screen, bigger than life, yet believable, and obviously having the time of his life.

Then, there was the story. It was simple. They didn't try and over-explain. It only contained what was needed to tell the tale they set out to tell. Too many times, superhero movies fall in love with what they can do and forget that there has to be a decent story to back it up. Not this time.

I realize I'm babbling a bit, but this is the babble of love. I love this movie, and while I'm a little sad to see X-Men 2 knocked out of the top spot for best superhero movie ever, I'm totally jazzed that Iron Man was such a success. I only hope that people aren't upset when they hit the comic shops next week, hoping to check out the Tony Stark they saw in the movie, and instead they find...whatever the hell they're doing to Iron Man in the comics recently. I mean, he's had a mental breakdown in his own book, he's started a superhero civil war, he's the new director of SHIELD...not a good time for him to get popular in the cinema. (God, if only a good Daredevil movie was out right now...THERE'S a book people would love after picking up a few issues!)

PS - stick around to the end of the credits! Great moment, especially for fans of the comics!!!!