Death of a Legend

Sometimes we let news pass us by. Sometimes, in pre-emptively mourning the loss of a great like Jerry Robinson (who is very much alive if ignored -- see Comic Con report below), we miss news of the passing of another figure who loomed larger than life in our past.

From the time I first read The Untold Origin of the Justice Society I have been a big fan of three things. The first was the Spectre, the dangerous manifestation of G-d's wrath in the DC Universe. The second was the Justice Society itself. But the third was something, or rather someone, real. That person was Jim Aparo (a great interview with Aparo discussing his early days with Charlton can be read here)famous for his work on the Spectre and on the Batman character. It was my interest in the Spectre that led me to be a fan of Aparo's, as he didn't actually do the art in "Untold Origin."



You can see from this Adventure Comics cover one of the reasons I so loved the Spectre character. He combined the "horror" element of the old EC books, but made even more explicit the moral lessons against crime. One thing Wertham forgot to mention in his critique of "Crime Stories" was that EC comics, and everyone else, usually ended with a twist where the "baddie" always got what he deserved. And in Spectre comics that sometimes meant getting gutted with giant scissors or melting like wax.

While many people, rightly, focus on the importance of Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams in the reinterpretation of Batman as the "Darknight Detective" in the early 70's. The reinterpretation that is considered the only "real" way to look at the Batman by most modern readers. Frank Miller's work, among others, was heavily influenced by the O'Neil/Adams work. Some overlook Jim Aparo's role during this era. He was a large part of the bullpen of young talent that was a part of this dynamic revolution of the Batman away from the campy/sci-fi version of the late Silver Age. Aparo, unlike Adams, continued to work on Bat-stories well into the "Modern Age." He drew the famous story where Batman seals the KGBeast in a wall in the sewers of Gotham, leaving him to drown and die (echos of Poe). And when DC Comics decided to kill the second Robin (Jason Todd), it was Aparo whose pencil did the deed.



So here I sit...saying goodbye to another great one.

JIM APARO PASSES AWAY
From Spencer Beck



The Aparo Family has asked me to send this information out to all parties. It is with the deepest regret I have to inform you of the passing of the legendary Jim Aparo early Tuesday Morning, July 19, 2005. Mr. Aparo, who was 72, died from complications relating to a recent illness. All Funeral arrangements will be a private ceremony for Family and Friends of Jim.

Aparo, born in 1932, was primarily self-trained as an artist. After years of working in commercial fashion design in Connecticut, his first break in the comics field was with a comic strip called "Stern Wheeler," written by Ralph Kanna, which was published in 1963 in a Hartford, Connecticut newspaper for less than a year. In 1966, editor Dick Giordano at Charlton Comics hired him as a comic book artist, where his first assignment was a humorous character called "Miss Bikini Luv" in "Go-Go Comics." Over the next few years at Charlton, Aparo drew stories in many genres--Westerns, science fiction, romance, horror, mystery, and suspense.

Aparo was notable for being one of the relatively few artists in mainstream comics at that time to serve as penciler, inker, and letterer for all of his work. These tasks were typically divided between two or more artists.

In the late 1960s, Aparo moved on to National Publications/DC Comics, which is where he came to fame in the Comics Community. Originally starting at DC on the Aquaman title, he then moved on to also work on the Phantom Stranger and DC's horror titles.

In 1971, Aparo worked on his first Issue of Brave & The Bold. Issue 98 featured the Phantom Stranger teaming up with Batman. Beginning with Issue 102 Jim was then the regular artist on the series and provided pencils & inks on almost every issue from 102 until the end of the series with Issue 200. Jim's work on Brave and the Bold was his favorite work of his time at DC as he truly considered the series his "baby." Also during this period Jim did one of the seminal runs on The Spectre, where his realistic style made the Ghostly character truly come to life.

After the end of Brave and the Bold, Aparo was co-creator for Batman & The Outsiders and also worked on the regular Batman and Detective Comics Series throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. most notably doing the Pencils on the "Death in The Family" storyline, which featured a phone-in vote deciding the fate of Robin II, Jason Todd.

Following a run on the regular Green Arrow Series, Aparo moved into semiretirement, contributing an occasional special or cover and doing a few private commissions before he eventually decided to move into full retirement.

He is survived by his wife Julie, his 3 children, his 4 Grandchildren and two step-grandchildren.

The Aparo family has asked that in lieu of Flowers or gifts, anyone wishing to honor Jim's legacy make a contribution to any worthy charity, as Jim believed that all charities were worth donating to.

For those wishing to send along their condolences and best wishes to the family, a P.O. Box has been set up for the family to receive cards. The address is:THE APARO FAMILY
P.O. BOX 28
NORWALK, CONNECTICUT 06852 - 0028

Thanks to all who have loved Jim's work and have supported his career.

Spencer R. Beck
THE ARTIST'S CHOICE
http://www.theartistschoice.com

Penguins and Politics?! I don't get it either.

My wife and I went to see, among other movies, March of the Penguins this weekend. The film was a magical documentary about the mating cycle of the emperor penguin and how amazing it is that any are born at all given the harsh Antarctic environment they are conceived in. It was a wonderful movie, but during the film I heard two of the most ridiculous things ever. Not the two most, but two of the most.

First, during a scene in which a Leopard Seal is about to eat a penguin a woman in the audience actually gasped and mumbled that she thought seals were herbivorous. As my wife said, "Seals are the puppies of the sea. What does she think they eat?" I quickly answered, "Kibbles and Bits." The all grain vegan version naturally.

Second, and even more bizarre (from the same woman even) I heard a truly non-sequitur analysis of the film. Maybe the dumbest thing I have heard since Conservative Christian's worried about Teletubbies advancing the "gay agenda." What follows below is a direct quote...emphasis is mine.

An OLDER WOMAN is exiting a dimly lit movie theater after watching a recently released documentary.

OLDER WOMAN
Wow! That really puts things in perspective! You know, I have this friend "x" who has been having trouble with her landlord recently and might have to move soon. I think I will have to send her to watch this movie...NO WONDER REPUBLICANS KEEP WINNING ELECTIONS.

WHAT?! Penguins have an awe inspiringly difficult and dangerous reproductive process and "x" has problems with her landlord and that is why Republicans keep winning elections?

Huh?

Or does she mean that compared to penguins our problems are minor and that is why Americans vote for Republicans?

Or because we don't understand the plight of the penguin that is why Americans vote Republican?

Or is it because we could learn more collective behavior from the penguins and that would get more Americans to vote Democrat? (The collective behavior was really impressive)

Is everything a political allegory for this woman? Hmm...the Red Sox won last year, guess that means a Republican victory!

I just don't get it.

Go see March of the Penguins you will have an enjoyable time and maybe you can tell me what Penguins have to do with Politics.

I just think...

This is weird. Somewhere along the way, I guess the MTV awards got really big.

Water will be the show's theme, and MTV promised to create the most elaborate water effects ever produced in an awards show. The water show will be engineered in the arena by the same production company that erected the fountain in front of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.

Celebrities again will pull up to the bayfront arena in gleaming yachts.

But they will receive competition from other stars who will arrive in souped-up cars for an auto show on the red carpet. As the celebrities arrive, viewers will get tours of those cars from the talent themselves.

I haven't watched that particular award show since a horrible moment a ways back, something that ruined the show forever for me...

No, not the kiss. I meant ditching Metallica to give an award to 'Black Hole Sun'. As if 'Black Hole Sun' was heavy metal. Ptah.

Anti-French Conservatives are Crazy

Especially when you can become an instant millionaire by investing in Rackham (see this pdf for information on becoming an investor, it's in French so I'll have to have Emmanuelle translate it for me).
The company has just decided to become public due to its success in the miniatures gaming market. You can see a sample of their great work on their website here. Given the beautiful sculpts, I would like to see Rackham enter the field as a legitimate contender in the hobby market. Currently, the three leading companies are Hasbro (through their Wizards of the Coast Brand see the D&D miniatures the leading brand of pre-painted minis), Games Workshop who set the standard in unpainted miniatures, and Topps (through their WizKids line of "clix" prepainted). To make themselves competetive, and a good investment, Rackham has also decided to expand their product list to include a line of pre-painted miniatures as well. By all accounts the pre-paints will be of the same caliber as existing Rackham products.

If you aren't familiar with Rackham, and if you read my posts you should be, they are the miniatures company that raised the bar on miniature sculpture quality.


(Click on image for a larger picture)

Currently, their miniatures are expensive because we Americans have to buy them through Canada, but with a public offering and with their good US sales I expect this trend to end soon.

Rackham's corporate offices are located in Montreuil Sous Bois, France.

Hmm...maybe if I lied to people and told them the company sold "Freedom Miniatures" that would encourage people to invest.

"You Stay Classy San Diego!" Impressions from the San Diego Comic Con: The first in a series of articles.

Every summer over a hundred thousand geeks make their annual pilgrimage to the San Diego Convention center for the world's largest gathering of comic book fans. There weren't always so many pilgrims, in fact the entire convention was once held at the El Cortez hotel, but since its humble beginnings the "Comic Con" has grown into a massive event where comic book companies "reveal" to hardcore fans the storylines an major changes the companies will bring about over the coming year. The Comic Con has also traditionally become a place where the collector can fill the holes in his/her collection at one of the many "$1 comic" retailers on the exhibition level.

San Diego in the Summer is a natural location to host a comic book convention. The city is beautiful, the convention center is huge, and there are is a newly constructed baseball stadium within walking distance of the convention.

As the convention has grown, so has the attention it has received from non-comic book entertainment providers. Particular attention has come from Hollywood and the Video Game and Toy industries. But as Brian Lowry pointed out in yesterday's Variety such attention doesn't come without a cost, "The negative aspect for Comic-Con loyalists basking in this relatively newfound attention is that the medium of comics has become secondary at its nominal gathering..." As the event has expanded and the popularity of Superheroes has increased, the number of comic book readers has decreased at an alarming rate. When I started reading comic books in the early 70s the print run for Action Comics (Superman's masthead title) was somewhere in the realm of 1 million issues a month, a TV guide sized figure if you will, during WWII it was well over 2 million. This May the title sold 44,009 copies and Superman (the highest selling Superman title due to artist Jim Lee's popularity) sold 65,321 and 70,205 copies of the two issues released in May. (Comic sales information based on Comic Book Actual Sales data reported by ICV2). At Comic Con itself, 6500 individuals crowded into a room to see a sneak presentation of Bryan Singer's eagerly awaited film. If Superman Returns has an opening weekend of approximately $100 million (that would be about 10 million tickets sold) more people would have watched the movie in one weekend than issues of the comic sold this year. So while the influence of Comics and Superheroes have grown, a fact that is undeniable just look at film/video game/toy releases, the actual medium of origin has become more a niche market.

An example of this phenomenon can be found in a conversation Brian Lowry overheard at this year's con, "I overheard a guy complain about Fantastic Four departing from the original quartet's origins." The complaintant's statement is true, as far as it goes, but it shows a lack of familiarity with recent comic events. Marvel's Ultimate line released an Ultimate Fantastic Four title 21 months ago where the origin had been updated and is surprisingly close to the film version. The Ultimate line of comics was created by Marvel EIC Joe Quesada as a "lead in" point for Marvel's non-comic ventures. Thus if you had just seen the Spider Man movie and wanted a good follow up, you could buy Ultimate Spider Man and not lose a beat or have to worry about tangled 45 year old continuity. This was a brilliant marketing move by Quesada as Ultimate titles are consistent performers with runs close to the 100k mark.

To see how little of the con is devoted to Comics specifically, take a look at the following picture. What do you see?

Do you think you are looking at a "Marvel Booth"? You would be wrong. The booth in the picture is the Activision booth who are advertising their new Marvel themed games. In this picture the game being advertised is Ultimate Spider Man and on the other side of the booth is their new Fantastic Four game. In fact the secondary marketing has become so important that Marvel set up their autograph table at the Activision booth, Marvel itself has no official booth at Comic Con (this is likely to change next year as Marvel now has a movie division). As I see it, Comic Books have become a "loss leader" for other products, highly profitable products. Even that is too fatalistic a statement though because comic books are actually still profitable, the profit is just small compared to other media with the same "product".

The decline of comic sales I see as a two way problem. First, we grognards of comic collecting have made the purchasing of comics expensive and specialized. The books are now printed on extraordinarily high quality paper with fewer ads than before and are primarily sold at specialty stores. In addition, collectors won't buy "reading" copies of books, we want them in pristine condition so the newsstand market has dwindled. We have made comics too expensive for new audiences.

Second, we also don't share the history of comics with the new generation of collectors. At this year's con I saw Jerry Robinson the creator of both the Joker and Robin the Boy Wonder, my two favorite Comic characters (actually I like Nightwing, but he is the original Robin grown up and he grew up with me). My wife was too intimidated by him, in that modest fan way, to approach and talk to him and I am sure she is not the only one, but even counting the timid fans there is no reason there shouldn't have been a huge line waiting to meet with this Founding Father of Comics. Alas, there wasn't. There were huge lines for a number of modern artists, all of whom deserve the lines, but no one really knew who Jerry Robinson was. That is the fault of fans my age and older, who buy our "Silver Age" books and don't notice the origin of the FF has changed, because as I said above we don't share the history of comics with young collectors. Otherwise, there would have been more than 20 people at the Forrest Ackerman panel. Though John Landis was one of the 20 people in the audience, so I was able to take this cool picture (more on the 4e panel later).

Marvel, more than any company, has attacked both these problems. In addition to pushing their titles forward with films/cartoons/video games/toys all with corresponding Ultimates releases, they have also begun releasing the "Essential" line of graphic novels which present the original stories (sadly in black and white) in large and extremely affordable compilations. You can read the first 100+ issues of the X-Men for somewhere around $50! The same goes for Spider Man. All these strategies appear to be working for Marvel, their book sales are up, their "Trade Paperback" sales are huge, and interest in their public identity is very high.

I am a hopeful fan. I hope that young people start reading these wonderful things called comics and I hope that the anti-comics trend started by Wertham (a schlock Frankfurt school hack) will be reversed. I am sick of seeing parents turn their children away from comics saying "why don't you get something to read?!" The underlying assumption being, as Wertham argued, that Comics stunt the learning process. While Cathy Seipp's comment about me, "Just imagine how smart you would be if you didn't spend so much time on comics etc.," is probably true. It is also true that my love of reading started with Werewolf by Night and that I am to this day a voracious reader enrolled in a Ph. D. program at Claremont Graduate University.

Local city politics

Normally my city, Rosemead, does not generate much news but that changed when our local city council voted to approve the building of a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Soon after the approval there was an election for city council for three of the five at large seats. A coalition of anti-Wal-Mart candidates won two of the three. Nonetheless, in losing one seat, the city council retained a majority in support of Wal-Mart.
Now a campaign has begun to recall the remaining city councilmen, Mayor Jay T. Imperial and Gary Taylor led by the anti-Wal-Mart slate, Councilmen John Nunez and John Tran and former write-in candidate Polly Low. Never mind that Imperial and Taylor served honorably during their tenure on council; Imperial himself has served his country well. While I do not criticize Nunez and Tran for their questionable moves when they were on the Garvey School Board, I am deeply disgusted at this recall campaign, and more specifically, disgusted by the style it is being waged.
Now, I pride myself as a son of immigrant parents. And like many immigrants in the San Gabriel Valley, my parents’ education and mastery of the English language are limited. This means my parents rely on their elected officials to do the right thing and explain to them policy. For many immigrant families in my community this is especially true for elected officials that share the same heritage.
Recently my mom signed a petition to put the recall on the ballot; this is peculiar considering she supports the incoming Wal-Mart Supercenter. She signed it because the people who claim to protect her, tricked her into it. What my mom expected was for the Nunez and Tran’s petitioners to tell the truth. What she did not expect was to be tricked into signing the petition when told that local Assemblymember Judy Chu supported it.
Three petitioners walked to my house where my mom was standing outside. One of them, a translator, tells my mom that “these people” (Imperial and Taylor) have served the city council for 30 years and what they wanted was a “regime change”. Despite the fact that their underlining reason for a recall was Wal-Mart (as their literature points out), none of that was mentioned to my mom.
After I told my mom about what the petitioners wanted, removing the two city councilmen so they could revoke Wal-Mart’s charter, she asked if there was a way to revoke her signature. She now realizes that this political machine is not there to help her; instead its purpose is to use immigrants her to meet its own objectives. They trick people who don’t know English well into supporting certain issues that end up harming the community.
Tran and Nunez are using their constituents for their own political game, taking advantage of a community that does not understand the language and ramifications of their actions. Instead of informing these people about Wal-Mart, their campaigners delve right into indoctrination and talking points as they coerce people to sign their petition. There are no real discussions to the benefits and consequences of a Wal-Mart. And yet these at-large city councilmen are supposed to be representing the city.
What Nunez and Tran’s petitioners do not mention is that under Imperial and Taylor, we’ve seen a growth of business in the community. These businesses include bringing commercial chains like a Target and Starbucks. But more importantly, they helped bring about small, ethnic, family businesses that showcase the diversity of the city. Also under their leadership, they are addressing the city’s changing demographics. This is a city whose population is growing as more immigrant families move in and make America home.
These actions cannot be accepted in a community that has faced adversity as they climb the latter toward the American dream. We cannot allow these practices to continue unabated. This is why I bring this issue to light and ask the citizens of Rosemead and the San Gabriel Valley to be vigilant against those who try to bully immigrants to causes that they do not truly understand nor support.

Scotty passes on....

Looks like James Doohan passed on today... I remember growing up with the Star Trek Movies, so it's sad to see the original cast leaving us...

Besides, who spawned more impressions than Scotty? Well, maybe Kirk. But who else?

LOS ANGELES(AP) James Doohan, the burly chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise in the original "Star Trek" TV series and motion pictures who responded to the command "Beam me up, Scotty," died early Wednesday. He was 85.

Doohan died at 5:30 a.m. at his Redmond, Wash., home with his wife of 28 years, Wende, at his side, Los Angeles agent and longtime friend Steve Stevens said. The cause of death was pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease, he said

Comic-Con Revisited

Ok, since Comic-Con appears to have eaten Numbah One, I figure I'll do a bit of a post on it. (For far too much detail on our trip to the land of freaks and geeks you can check out Pererro, or LYTrules, whom we hung out with on Saturday night)

As a warning, due to far too many unforeseen circumstances we didn't get there until 3pm on Saturday.

Overall it was alot of fun. We've been to GenCon and Wizard World and they didn't hold a candle to this one. The exhibitors hall was huge! We wandered around there for a good six hours and still didn't see everything. Lots of cool booths, I thought the SciFi channel and AeonFlux booths were the neatest looking ones, but Star Wars had pretty much everything you could ever want to see from Legos to the most awesome lightsabers ever.

Also went to the masquerade on Saturday night, which was much fun. Watched most of it from Sails Pavilion which had a really big screen and free nachos. During intermission they had a live DJ who was pretty good, but it was kind of obnoxious for us because they were also playing some cool movie trailers I actually wanted to see and you couldn't hear them at all over the music. On the upside, if you like to get your groove on and don't like trailers it would have been cool. Phil Foglio was very funny as the M.C. and did a good save when one of the contestants wasn't ready with a goofy duck joke.

Lastly, got some fun autographs from Kenny Baker (R2D2), the guys from Penny Arcade, and Phil Foglio (who was kind enough to sign my SPANC box, a copy of Girl Genius, and an original sketch of Dixie). Almost got in line to get Jonen Vasquez's signature on something, but I didn't have my copy of Squee! with me, and the line was insanely long.

Anyway, that is all I have to say in a nutshell. Go next year if you didn't go this year - Slackers!

Star Wars Christmas Special

I just watched the worst thing ever... the Star Wars Christmas Special. Long, long stretches of Wookies with no narration or sub-titles. Horrible dance numbers. Costumes and production levels well below the movies it was based on. And Carrie Fisher sings. At the end, making it a suitable, horrible ending. I bought a bootleg at Con, and I sort of recommend it, just so you can see the worst thing ever. It's unintentionally hilarious, etc.

The WEA-zel

Is back... Did you miss him?

Gladiator

I can't decide if this is good or not--from unlinkable IMDB.

'Gladiator' Sequel on Horizon?

A follow up to Oscar-winning blockbuster Gladiator is being planned - without Russell Crowe, who was killed off in the original movie. Crowe, who played General Maximus Decimus Meridius and Joaquin Phoenix's character Emperor Commodus both died in the first movie. But Djimon Hounsou, who starred as African slave Juba, survived and insists the sequel is in development. He says there is "definitely the desire to do a sequel. They're not happy about what they have for now, so they're still working on it." And the 41-year-old actor is convinced he will grab more of the limelight this time round, adding, "I would probably be in the centre of it as one of the leads."

Hm.... well, it's not a shlocky, bring-em-back-from-the-dead type sequel. But... a sequel with no major characters from the first movie? Huh?

Paul Feig -- Geeks and Sex: American Style

Since this Wednesday marks the beginning of my favorite international geekfest, The San Diego Comicon, I thought that I would mark the occasion by reviewing the most recent memoir by Paul Feig the creator of Freaks and Geeks, his website can be found here and he is a regular commentator on Huffington's Post.

June 28th saw the release of Paul Feig's latest memoir Superstud: Or How I Became a 24 Year Old Virgin, the follow up to 2002's Kick Me. Superstud contains a series of linked essays in which Paul Feig discusses the development of his sex life, from childhood to the loss of his virginity (though he does have an afterword to let us know he has in fact survived the harrowing experience and is a happily married man).

Before I get into the "meat" of the matter, I would like to point out one small part of the writing craft in this book. Feig displays an amazing proficiency with being able to end one chapter with a sentence that seemlessly ties it into the next story. In fact, this particular feature made it impossible for me to put the book down until I had finished it. Not surprisingly my favorite seque was the first, "Little did I know that my own mother was conspiring against me." This line comes mid-page at a chapter break! Who wouldn't have to turn the page after reading this line? What does he mean that his mother was conspiring against him? You'll have to read the book to find out, but it has to do with the same reason I was continually attempting to "borrow" the "girl sitting in front of me in 7th grade's" copy of Vogue.

In his discussion of how one self-described geek struggled through the trials and tribulations of sexual experience, Feig makes one thing clear -- the universality of "dating" horror stories. Whether you lost your virginity at 24 or 14, you will still come across many examples seemingly plucked from your own life and placed in the pages of someone else's memoir.

Feig's narrative takes a straight forward and linear approach to the issue. So the first section, or book, (the one with the most essays if not the most pages) covers the quintessent and overpracticed activity known as masturbation. From his days of pre-understanding "good feelings" to his rabid hunt for visual stimulation, these chapters are thoroughly entertaining. As an aside though, I have to note that his comments during his "book store" days regarding the "Freaks and Jocks who beat him up in school" being the ones shoplifting from the local bookstore are unfair. More likely it was someone like me, in fact if he weren't a decade older than me and a Michigander I would have thought he was directly insulting me. You see, I was the kid who had found an affection for reading, but was too poor to buy books and whose parents dispised "Role Playing Games" so I acquired some by 5 finger discount. And to be honest...how many stoners and jocks do you know who would steal books?

Feig ends his "book" about masturbation with the most natural of endings...that of parental discovery and transports us into the world of middle school and high school dating. We all remember those days. People cooler than us constantly going out to parties or to go "cruising." We all have our use the concert to get the woman story, but I have to admit that mine pales in comparison to Feig's. Feig's date with Jill Holsteader to an REO show rates among the all-time most nightmarish and hilarious experiences penned to date. Just when you think the date can't get any worse, it does. But the whole thing is made tolerable, as these things can be in the best of cases, by the love of Feig's father.

Now would be a good time to mention that Feig's representation of his parents in this book is wonderful and demonstrative of the love he feels toward them. He states in his dedication that his parents probably wouldn't have wanted the book dedicated to them if they were still alive, but given his kind and loving presentation of his parents I would have to disagree. They might have thought their son was a little crazy, but they would have had the one great parental mystery answered for them and known that their child loves them dearly.

After the high school dating section Feig moves us into his post-high school dating days, divided into two sections Wayne State years and summer before USC (with a brief Christmas first SC semester reprise). The last section, naturally, contains a biblical stylized chapter in which Feig loses his virginity.

I could go into detail as to how each of his dating experiences reflects some part of my own, but to do so would be to give up too much of the ghost and not allow any potential readers of Feig's memoir the joy of self discovery. I am also now tempted to write my own memoir of my personal sexual adventures. In a way that is the highest compliment one can give a book, the desire to produce something similar to share with the world. In that way we can participate in a dialogue with someone who connected with us.

In a world where most people aren't Don Juan, it is refreshing to read the escapades of someone almost just like us.

Oh and before I forget, read the chapter that Feig begs you not to read. He really does mean that you shouldn't read it, and the subject is disturbing, but for some reason I thought even more highly of him after reading the chapter. That is the opposite of his fear.

Oh right, I also command you to go out and buy Freaks and Geeks right now, or at least put in on your Netflix queue.

Just kind of interesting...

Jackie Chan says Chris Tucker is holding up Rush Hour 3. You don't usually see Chan bashing people, so I guess it must be pretty severe...

Ahem.

Well, most likely going to catch FF4 this weekend for the anniversary. LYT, who generally has a good head for movies, says it's only a quarter as good as Batman Begins. But, that still makes it a good movie, right? I'll post on it on Monday, most likely.

I Love LA

This Saturday, I will jump into my car and drive down to LACMA Saturday night to see The Killers starring Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner on the BIG SCREEN!

Sure...Sure, you say, "But this weekend is Fantastic Four and the box office is slumping!" Blah, blah, blah.

I'll be seeing FF on Saturday, just like you, but watch The Killers and compare it to the "films" that are coming out now and you will understand why the box office is slumping.

Besides, it is followed by a noir film starring Victor Mature. You know you want to watch Sampson!

Batman Begins

OK, like I said, old news. One bit was interesting, though--just how much this reminded me of the old Batman, Blind Justice comic. Now, that's a re-release... the orig. game out with Detective 600, and Detective is, I think, above 750, so divide 150 by 12 and you have 12.5 years ago. That actually doesn't seem old enough for the storyline, which had Bruce Wayne framed as a Communist Spy, but anyway.


Basically, it introduced Henri Ducard, and Batman in ninja training fighting lots o' guys. Obviously, BB had a lot of scenes from Year One, including and especially a bunch of bats attacking a SWAT team, but it seemed to be more based on this particular comic, a comic that was conveniently re-released this year.

So, public service announcement, etc.

Back!

Well, haven't been on in a while. I fell into this weird no-pop-culture hole. Anyway, roaring back with three movies in one day! Saw Batman Begins, War of the Worlds, and Shark Boy And Lava Girl.

Anyway, War of the Worlds first, since the other two are old news. I don't know what to say about this movie--first off, I really did not enjoy it. Not for the usual reasons, either: I really have nothing bad to say about the acting or effects. The ending really, really needed some work, but it's about 2 minutes long, so whatever.

I just found watching this film to be a harrowing experience. The characters, who are not astoundingly likeable, are hunted constantly, endlessly. The action is almost too intense, as their continued survival is pretty silly at times. Also, the machines have bad physics... their forcefields make grenades explode for some reason, and the forcefields just don't work later, for some reason.

The ending needed work... sure, it's classic. But, microbes were edgy back in the day, and not so much anymore. Remember how much the joke in Toy Story about Buzz Lightyear wanting to keep his helmet closed? Too bad the aliens here are too dumb. Actually, the re-telling here really hurts... now, instead of it being almost a whim when the aliens invade, it's been planned since before human civilization. Which makes it a thousand times stupider that they didn't keep their helmets on, because they've been on Earth before and somehow didn't notice all of the microbes.

At least before it seemed to be a first contact. Not, they're coming back, and they're still shocked by viruses. Waah waah wahhhhh.

You probably ought to see this movie. It's amazing and affecting and blah blah. Really, you should. It's harrowing, though.

Oscars of Adventure Gaming Announced

As you may or may not know, this weekend is the weekend of the Origins International Games Expo. This annual event kicks off the Summer Convention season for the Adventure, and recreational, Gaming industry in the United States. The convention is organized by the Game Manufacturers Association and highlights the best products of the past year and hints at the products in the upcoming year. In essence the Origins show is an event run by the Gaming industry for Gaming fans.

While shows like GenCon, the largest gaming convention in the United States, are the first place that most games are released to the public, the Origins show is where most games are advertised one month before the massive wave of releases.

More importantly, Origins is when the American Gaming industry rewards excellence in achievement for last year's crop of Gaming Products.

That is why I am happy to provide this year's list of winners, with commentary (if you don't want my comments, you can merely see the results and the full ballot here):

Origins Awards 2005 Winners
Congratulations to all the winners! Thanks to everyone who participated this year!

Best Play-By-Mail Game

Enlightened Age Entertainment
Fall of Rome

I don't have any knowledge of this game, but it does look quite interesting. I am not the hugest PBM fan, especially with the innovations of online gaming, but I am a fan of turn based strategy games and most PBM games are of this sort. In fact, the only PBM game I have ever played is Hyborian War. I will have to defer to the expertise of the jury on this one.

Best Historical Board Game
GMT Games LLC
Sword of Rome

It is not surprising that GMT games won this year's top Historical Boardgame Slot (my personal choice would have been Memoir '44) as GMT makes games of consistant quality play. Their Card Driven Games are quite enjoyable, and the company supports internet play by including Cyberboard support. So you don't need a nearby friend to play.

One of GMTs drawbacks is their reliance on traditional "counter" mechanisms in the gaming format. Modern gamers tend to like "pieces" rather than counters both due to visual and pragmatic reasons (counters are very easy to lose). But this drawback wouldn't be much of one if the cost of GMT games was kept down. Sadly, The Sword of Rome comes in at $65.00. Not a bargain, but the gameplay is innovative and enjoyable

Best Historical Miniatures Line
Brigade Games
WWI: Western Front 28 mm

These are nicely scultped pieces by Michael Owens and are useful both for diorama and miniatures wargaming use. My own gaming tends toward fantasy or "ancients", but these are a fine looking batch with broad applicability.

Best Historical Miniatures Game
Clash of Arms Games
Dawn of the Rising Sun:
The Russo Japanese War 1904-1905

No comment

Best Board Game
Days of Wonder
Ticket To Ride

This game won last year's prestigeous "Spiel des Jahres" in Germany and it would have been a shock if it didn't win the Origins award for best board game. Ticket to Ride and it's sequel Ticket to Ride: Europe are innovative an enjoyable games for the whole family. What is remarkable in both of them is their ability to create a game with sufficient strategic challenge which is also playable by the entire family. As the saying goes, "five minutes to learn...a lifetime to master." The simple mechanics and high end playing components make for an almost ideal gaming experience. Go and immediately add this to your board game closet. You will play it far more frequently than Monopoly. Though Betrayal at House on the Hill and War of the Ring are fantastic games, it is the combination of complexity and accessibility that make this stand out in my mind.

Best Miniatures Game
Ad Astra Games
Attack Vector: Tactical

Innovative and extraordinarily complex. I just don't know if it is fun yet. I only have a few friends with sufficiently advance mathematics capabilities to play this game with. See the word vector in the title? This uses vector movement, a realistic addition to be sure, but too realistic? Still it is good to see innovation win in these categories.

Best Miniature Line
Dark Sword Miniatures, Inc.
Elmore Dragons

Balderdash! This demonstrates pandering fanboy-ness beyond belief. It's not that these are bad miniatures, they most certainly are not, it is just that they don't compare to the Rackham stuff coming out of France. The Rackham miniatures are so beautiful that I am afraid to even attempt painting them.

Best Collectible Card Game
Z-Man Games, Inc.
Seven Masters Vs. The Underworld

This won more from a refusal to accept commerical success than anything else. I have been playing Shadowfist for a while and I do like the game, but I have to say that the "Vs." game system is hands down my favorite from the past year.

Best Traditional Card Game
Atlas Games
Cthulhu 500

This game is fun, but I really believe that Atlas' other major card game last year, Gloom, deserves the award. Gloom was innovative in two ways. First, card design. The translucent cards allow for card/effect stacking with great fluidity. Second, it is a game where you try to make your opponent live a less tragic life than your own. You want to suffer more and die horribly. Gloom could best be described as the card game most likely to become a Tim Burton film. Cthuhu 500, while fun, just didn't live up in my mind to Gloom. Tragically, Gloom wasn't even nominated.

Best Role Playing Game
Atlas Games
Ars Magica: 5th Edition

Great game, great company. One problem. No one plays this game.

Best Role Playing Game Supplement
Wizards of the Coast
Eberron Campaign Setting

Maybe the best "campaign setting" ever. I currently use this.

Best Fiction Publication
Guardians of Order
Path of the Bold

Umm...okay, whatever. I couldn't read past page 6. This was dull and trite fiction

Best Non Fiction Publication
Steve Jackson Games
Pyramid Magazine

Best Game Accessory
Steve Jackson Games
Cardboard Heroes Castles

Inexpensive and useful.

Vanguard Award
All Wound Up
Twilight Creations, Inc.

Intrigueing innovation to make a boardgame using wind-up toy zombies. On that alone they should get a prize. But the rules are ambiguous and the pieces have trouble staying erect.

Flames of War
Battlefront

Fire as She Bears! 2.1
Starboard Tack Press

Pirates of the Spanish Main
WizKids, Inc

Gamers’ Choice Award

Legends
Harlequin Games

Desert Rats – British in the Desert
Battlefront

Axis and Allies D-Day
Avalon Hill

A Call to Arms (Babylon 5)
Mongoose Publishing

VS System
Marvel Origins and X-Men VS The Brotherhood
The Upper Deck Entertainment

Cthulhu 500
Atlas Games

World of Darkness Storytelling System Rulebook
White Wolf

Betrayal at House on the Hill
Avalon Hill

I'll add more comments later.