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!

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...

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.

Secret War Trailer

OK, this is pretty sweet...

SECRET INVASION Animated Webisode!


So far, Secret Invasion has been stellar. It looks like it's going to be just huge. I'm normally not a "comic book event" king of guy, but apparently there have been so many hints about this, and so much groundwork laid for this story that I can't help but think that there will be no cheating here. Big story. Big consequences? Loads of fun.

Y'know...I DO feel better now!

I've spent tonight catching up on my Google Reader feeds, and the always entertaining GiantMonster has steered me right yet again. Point your browser of choice at The Fail Blog and feel better about your life.

Oh! And on a completely random note, I downloaded the album "The Great Unwanted" by Lucky Soul from eMusic this weekend, and it's my current can't-stop-listening-to-it album of the week! You can listen to the whole album on their website...check it out!

Orgy of Covers from YANP and Of Montreal!!!

I know that I've discussed the godsend that is the "You Ain't No Picasso" music blog before, but MAN, that site has just outdone itself!

Not one...not TWO...(or three or four or...) but FIFTY SEVEN covers, all performed by one of my new favorite bands, Of Montreal.

It's because of YANP that I discovered Of Montreal in the first place. They posted a link to their cover of Bowie's "Moonage Daydream" (don't worry, it's in the collection above) that just blew me away. I couldn't stop listening to it. So now, I've got about four albums worth of other songs to explore.

Do yourself a favor and get over there before they're taken down.

RadioLab

Radiolab is an amazing podcast that I discovered through a segment on This American Life (another very good podcast). However, the Radiolab is currently blowing my freaking mind.

Forget podcasts that deal with movie reviews or the latest gossip from Capital Hill (or even reviews of Buffy the Vampire Slayer! *ahem*) Radiolab covers the BIG questions. "What is a soul?" "Where does morality come from?" "Why do we sleep?" But these aren't exercises in Philosophy. The hosts interview scientists and experts in each of the fields they cover to try and reasonably ANSWER these questions. Now, they do this with varying degrees of success, but the answers they FIND are ALWAYS intriguing, and presented in entertaining, thought provoking ways.

Some people may be turned off by the stylistic elements of the show. (Sounds and conversations are layered over one another at times to draw parallels and illustrate examples) but I find the entire thing fascinating and well worth the hour each episode lasts.

There are currently five seasons to download. I can only hope more are on the way soon!

OMGFreeMovies.com

I'm hesitant to even mention this site. I fear that spreading the word that this site exists will just hasten it being taken down, but after having finally watched the movie 300...a movie that I just couldn't force myself to shell out the money to watch otherwise, I can see it's worth, and wanted to be sure and spread the word.

OMGFreeMovies.com is exactly that. Free movies, online. I'm surprised by how well it works. I'm not one to usually do the pirated content thing. I get all my music from eMusic.com (and the occasional iTunes purchase when there is just no other way to get it) and the majority of my movies are seen through my netflix account. However, yesterday, I had a craving to finally give 300 a chance. It's a beautiful comic, and I enjoyed the art immensely when it came out. However, I have remained unconvinced, despite all my friends telling me that I would enjoy it, that it could successfully be translated into a film. Thus, when Giantmonster linked to omgfreemovies.com, and I saw 300 listed there, I figured it would be a good chance to finally find out. (I was plesantly surprised, by the way...much better than I could have imagined it!)

So, there is my recommendation...get your movies legally, but for those films that you just don't think would be worth plunking down the $9 to catch in the theater...there is this site.

I can live with that.

XKCD.com

I've been really enjoying this web comic I found called "XKCD". It's just crudely drawn stick figures with some of the most clever gags I've ever read.

Today's was a great example.

Wikipedian Protester

The strip also does something you don't see a lot of in any form of comics...it gets very romantic. Not necessarily hearts and roses, but romantic in the sense of expressing huge emotions. Take this for example:

It's such a simple, sweet sentiment. Not something I'm used to finding in a web comic (let alone the Internet as a whole!)

Many of the jokes revolve around the web, or science of some kind. I think I would love to sit down and have a beer with the guy that does this site. I just love the way his mind works.

Enjoy!

Grand Central - The birth of the HellaPhone

It's an idea so simple, you can't believe that no one has already created it. One number to reach all your phones. That's the genius of GrandCentral.com.


Who among us doesn't have at least two telephone numbers? Home phones, cell phones, work phones...how many friends do you have that require not one phone call to try and reach them, but sometimes as many as 3? ("Hmm...he's not answering his cell...I'll try his home phone...") Grand Central is the cure for all of that. The idea is to pick a new telephone number through the site (a free service, as of this writing), and then tie your various phones to that number. Now, hand out this new number to all your friends. The next time they call your new number, not only will they reach your cell phone, but they'll reach every number you have tied to your Grand Central number.

But that's just the start. They have online voicemail. They have "Spam" filters, that protect you from phone solicitors. They have a tool that allows you to record your phone calls. You can switch phones in the middle of a call, whether they use the same phone number or not.

I've only started to look through everything this site claims they can do, but I'm more than curious enough to give it a shot. I can foresee issues (who wants to get a work call at 9:45 at night?) but it looks like the pros far outweigh the cons. I'll be sure to post again when I get used to the service!

Comics on a Cosmic Scale

It's funny that writer Brian Michael Bendis first became known for his smaller, character driven crime pieces, because recently, he has been writing some of the most epic, cosmic storylines this side of Jim Starlin.

The Illuminati, a five issue limited series penned by Bendis, is the best example of this concept. As of this writing, 3 issues have come out, and each book has topped the previous one in it's ability to blow my tiny mind. The basic gist of The Illuminati is that a small team of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel canon, The Sub-Mariner, Iron Man, Professor Xavier, Black Bolt, Mr. Fantastic and Doctor Strange, gather at times of great crisis to handle threats too big to be taken care of by conventional means. So far, we've seen them act on past events, usually cleaning up the messes left after the threat has already passed. In the first issue, they ensured that Earth would be spared any more harm in the wake of the Kree/Skrull war. In issue two, they decided the fate of the Infinity Gauntlet. The most recent issue (and best issue so far) deals with The Beyonder. Now, part of the enjoyment from these stories comes from simply revisiting these classic Marvel moments, but the spin that Bendis puts on these stories make them feel new and fresh. (At this point, I should probably mention co-writer Brian Reed, with spectacular art by Jim Cheung...they have a lot to do with the success of this book, I imagine.)

While the collection of heroes at first seemed a little odd (these are the most powerful? What about Thor? Why isn't Captain America included?), the personalities clash and blend in such wonderful ways. Add to that the fact that each issue puts these characters in the most dangerous situations imaginable (both the Infinity Gauntlet and The Beyonder have the power to wipe people from existence by simply wanting it) and you get some tense, sometimes dark books. However, it is Bendis, so you can be assured of some genuinely funny moments in the course of the stories.

The only warning I can think of in terms of this book is that if you aren't steeped in Marvel culture and history, you may not fully appreciate them. While I enjoyed the issue dealing with the Kree-Skull war, I had never read those issues of the Avengers, and it has been my least favorite of the series. I can imagine similar reactions to non-comic readers towards the stories about the Beyonder and the Infinity Gauntlet. Without knowing the history of these storylines, the danger (and, admittedly, nostalgia) would be mostly lost.

That having been said, I simply can't say enough about this title so far, and I recommend it to anyone who loves Marvel comics. Do yourself a favor, and pick them up!

A Quick Spider-Man 3 Review!

So, I'm just back from the film. I'm still trying to digest it all...it seems like there was a LOT of movie.

I liked it. I enjoyed the entire thing, and I'm sure I'll watch it again, but I don't think I liked it as much as Spider-Man 2. I can't tell you why, though. It just didn't leave me quite as satisfied as that film did. Here is a quick synopsis (I'll keep the spoilers to a minimum!)

The Good
The Villains! - Christ, you can really see where the money went in this movie. Venom and Sandman look amazing. I couldn't believe some of the Sandman scenes. To be honest, if there is one reason to see this film, it is Sandman. Not only because he looks fantastic, but because Thomas Haden Church did an amazing job of fleshing out his character in the few moments of character development he was given in this film. There is a pretty quick scene in the very beginning of this film that tells us pretty much all we really need to know to enjoy Flint Marco.

Black Spider-Man! - Spider-Man in the black costume looks really, really good. I've always thought they did a pretty good job of making me buy the classic red and blue costume, but the black costume? Freakin' awesome!

Mary Jane! - OK, I still have a hard time buying the Peter / MJ romance. They don't have a lot of chemistry together on screen. But wow, do I enjoy looking at Kirsten Dunst. At least in the Spider-Man films.

The Bad-ish
There was very little that was really bad about the film, but there were a few things that made me cringe.

The Cheese - OK, I love the fact that Sam Raimi isn't afraid to get corny. Hell, he built and entire career off of it! And Spider-Man is by NO means some dark and gritty hero a-la Batman. But Peter dancing down the road, pointing to every hot chick that passes by? Even the great Bruce Campbell would have trouble pulling that off (by the way...the Bruce Campbell cameo in this ROCKED!)

Gwen Stacy - I don't think I can really blame Bryce Dallas Howard for this. She wasn't given a lot to do here, except show up and be pretty. I would have liked more of this story, and a little more character development. Maybe that would have saved her?

Three Villains - The villains may have been the best thing about this movie, but having three of them hurt it, as well. I bought the reasons they were all there, and the film did a good job of making the whole thing feel organic, but as I said earlier, there was a LOT of movie going on, and I think they could have narrowed the focus a bit more and had a tighter plot. The Hobgoblin material could easily have carried a shorter, tighter movie.

Overall, I'm hardly disappointed. This is a great summer popcorn movie. I just wish it could have been a great movie. Period.

Butch Walker is a Rock Star...

Having been a fan of the fantastic Marvelous 3, I was really looking forward to seeing Butch Walker's new band, Butch Walker and the Let's Go Out Tonight's. Dear God, I wasn't disappointed.

I'm awful about recounting concerts. It generally gets distilled into something along the lines of "He rocked!" or "Eh..." But in this case, I'll give it a try, because I feel the need to encourage everyone to just try and catch his show. Just try.

For one thing, you can see that he's having the time of his life. I, for some reason, always feel very protective of my adopted hometown of Columbus, OH, and I always wonder what these New York rock stars think of playing for a crowd in the Midwest. I never had to wonder that while Butch was on stage. The man owned us from the moment he took the stage, running, jumping, sweating, singing his heart out. It's really a joy to behold. I found myself grinning from ear to ear, and jumping around like a fool by the end of the concert. Highlights included my favorite Marvelous 3 song, "Cigarette Lighter Love Song" and their rousing version of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run". I left that concert feeling tired, drunk and satisfied. It's been a long time since I had as much fun at a rock and roll show.

(Wow, I really didn't do this justice! Just go see him.)

Dan Beahm and the Invisible Three - Amplifier is OUT!

The brilliant Dan Beahm and his amazing band, the Invisible Three, have not only got their new disc together, they're giving them away FREE!

...

OK, not really giving the DISCS away. But you can hear the whole damn thing on his site. That's almost as good, isn't it?

Click your way over there, give it a listen, and support your talented local musicians! I guarantee you'll love it. (especially "Separate But Equal"...that song is amazing.)

My Pull List

So, earlier this week, my wife asked me how much I spend a week on comics (I had been teasing her about how much money she spent on scrapbooking stuff...last time I pull THAT!)

But it brought up a good question...I have no idea how much I spend each month on comics, or even how MANY books I pick up!

So, I thought it would be fun to go through this month's pull and see what on the list.

Superman Confidential - Not a huge Superman fan, but if Darwyn Cooke is on the book, I'll be buying it.

Nextwave : Agents of Hate - Not the best Warren Ellis book on the stands, but one of the only ones to come out on a regular schedule. I've enjoyed it so far, but won't miss it too much when it's gone in a few issues.

The Walking Dead - Oh HELL yeah! One of the best books on the stands. Issue #33 nearly made me gag. That's some intense stuff.

Desolation Jones - Really enjoyed the first arc of this book, but now it's almost ruined by Zezelj's art. It's pretty, but you can't tell one character from another!

Daredevil - I honestly didn't think even Brubaker could follow Bendis' run. He's not only followed it, I think he's surpassing it. The man is amazing.

Ex Machina - I can't believe that Brian K. Vaughan can keep up so many fantastic, quality books each month. This one kind of smolders. It sneaks up on you when you aren't ready for it. Intriguing, fascinating look at politics and our culture.

Criminal - Another gem by Brubaker. I missed Sleeper desperately when it ended. So nice to have something of that caliber again.

Y the Last Man - Vaughan again. Every issue surprises me. This book is begging to be made into a mediocre movie that could never begin to stand up to it's source material. =)

The New Avengers - Bendis has been really on and off for me recently. But when he writes a good story, it's gold.

Ultimate Spider-Man - My favorite Bendis book. Even beats what he did on Daredevil. The man can write teen angst.

Conan - Every month, I think I should drop this book. Yet, I pick it up, read it, love it and wonder how I could ever think of dropping it. I thought that Busiek leaving would give me my out, but Truman is knocking out of the park now too. Damn it.

All-Star Superman - Not a book I thought I would enjoy. Grant Morrison is SO hit or miss, but I came for Quitely and I'm sticking around for the fun neo-Silver Age-y madness.

The Boys - Not as good as Preacher, but it's a fine substitute. As the story is starting to build some steam, I'm becoming more and more of a fan.

Astonishing X-Men - Dear God, it's been years and years and years since the X-Men have been good. And this is really, really good. I love you Joss Whedon!!!

The Spirit - There's that Darwyn Cooke again! It's somehow very appropriate that he's doing this book. He still seems kind of fresh on the scene to be "legendary", but his storytelling is some of the best I've seen in years. A worthy heir to Eisner.

True Story, Swear to God - I am so wrapped up with what is going to happen in this book. It's hypnotic. Wish it came out more.

Ultimates - Bryan Hitch can make me believe in anything. This is bigger and better than any blockbuster movie ever made.

Runaways - The best of the Brian K. Vaughan books. And that's saying a hell of a lot. I love these kids, and the fact that no one is safe while Vaughan is on the book makes this the most "must read" of all my books. I live for this book. Buy the damn book already! (Joss Whedon is taking over once Vaughan leaves for Hollywood to write "Lost"...is that reason enough!?)

100 Bullets - I'm just sticking around to see how it ends now. This book started SO strong, but it's just gotten muddy as hell. Maybe if I sit down and read it front to back? At least the art is still gorgeous.

Astro City - Wish it came out more. It's like comic books distilled to their essence.

Fell - The best Warren Ellis in ages. Please tell me this isn't canceled. Please! (I miss it! Where did it go!?)

The Goon - God, this book is cool.

Local - Brian Wood's slice of life books rock my socks off.

Planetary - I so don't want this to end. This one has it's hooks in me deep. OK, I lied earlier. THIS is the best Warren Ellis book.

Stray Bullets - And here she is. The big momma of them all. The most outrageous, insane, you-never-know-what-you're-gonna-get book on the market. It doesn't come out near enough, and I don't care. I'll wait years between issues if it keeps up the quality. My favorite book.

Now, these don't all come out every month, but it's a pretty good representation of what I'll pick up. Besides, I always have a mini-series or one shot that I'm picking up. So, that's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...23, 24, TWENTY-FIVE!? And let's see, at around three bucks a book, that makes...um...seventy-five dollars?! (you won't tell my wife, right?)

Flight Anthologies

I'm going to do a huge favor. You are seriously going to thank me. Ready?

...

Go Buy the Flight Anthologies

I can honestly say that these things have brought me more comic reading pleasure than anything that I have bought in a long time, and those are some strong words considering how many books I'm currently reading!

I need to learn the story behind these books, and happily, while I was looking for some pictures of the book online that I could upload here, I found that they have a website! And it's a pretty, informative, full-of-links-y website that I am sure I will waste many, many hours on!

But what I really wanted to get across are the artists that contribute to these things. I know some of them...you have your superstars like Jeff Smith and Becky Cloonan, but you also have a TON of people who I have never heard of before, but who I cannot wait to explore! For example, who is this Doug Holgate guy, who turned in this charming story about a dog shot into space, but every website I find on him seems to be down!? And where can I buy more work from Kazu Kibuishi (who I just discovered is the guy behind Copper!?!)



The amount of inspiration and beauty in these books are mind-blowing. Seek them out and discover what comics are capable of.