Black Widow hates Spoilers too!

A few years ago, I used to enjoy spoilers of shows and movies. It wasn’t out of a need to be the first person to know the ending to a film, or the last five minutes of a tv shows finale. I just liked having the information. It’s not like I went around blurting out crucial plot points that some fans may be patiently waiting for. I just enjoyed them every now and then.

Nowadays it’s a whole different ballgame. Spoiling a films ending, such as the after credits sequence to Iron Man 2 (Don’t worry, no spoiler in the article), or revealing the final crucial minutes of a television show has gotten to the point of being silly. There’s no fun in it. Nobody wins anything, except maybe the satisfaction of being the first person outside of the creators of the show/film to know what’s going to happen next. I think our growing impatience with either waiting for a film’s release, or waiting for a tv show to end its season is ultimately ruining the initial impact of going into a film or show with as little information about it as possible.

More after the jump.

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Hey fellow Geekadelphians. It’s your friendly neighborhood sporadic blogger Dustin. Now as you are all well aware, today sees the release of Kick-Ass. I reviewed the film a while back, and Dan’s review will appear online shortly but I wanted to discuss something else about the film. I wanted to discuss why you’d be a horrible parent if you took your child to see Kick Ass. Now you may be an awesome parent, but if you take your child to this movie without doing the slightest of research, you fail at life.  It also means you never read my previous article on Film Going Etiquette 101. Hit the jump and lets get down to why you shouldn’t take your kids to see this movie.

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Our good friends Johnny Zito and Tony Trov, creators of the online Zuda comic  Black Cherry Bombshells and quite possibly the hardest working duo in the universe, are at it again.  Starting April 5th, The BCB universe will become a bit more crowded when it is revealed that Sheldon Vella’s comic SUPERTRON exists within the same established continuity. While that is awesome enough, the fun doesn’t stop there as Vella will also illustrate five Black Cherry Bombshells stories. Below is a bit more on this exciting endeavor:

“We’re really excited to finally team up with Shelly.  For the longest time we’ve thought of the Bombshells as the prequel to SuperTron,” says Tony Trov [BLACK CHERRY BOMBSHELLS' Co-creator].

“We’ve been dropping hints in both strips for a while.  Last year The Bombshells appeared in SuperTron’s dream and recently connections between the King and MOM Bot were discovered.”  Johnny Zito [BLACK CHERRY BOMBSHELLS' Co-creator] elaborates.

Black Cherry Bombshells is about ultra-violent girl gangs fighting for survival in a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas where every man is a Zombie.  The King, a cross-dressing kung-fu warlord, rules the land with mysterious, evil powers.  SuperTron is about a distant future where robots struggle to find their humanity in a world devoid of life.  MOM Bot, the first sentient robot, enslaves her mechanical offspring in a meaningless existence.

Sheldon’s stint at guest penciler will connect the Armageddon events between both series and catapult the web comics into their final chapters, beginning this year.

If you haven’t read either of these series yet, please take some time out of your twittering  schedule and give them both a look. You won’t be disappointed.

Image by Sheldon Vella

** Mild Spoilers Ahead. You’ve Been Warned!!**

I don’t want to say Kick-Ass kicks ass. Not because it doesn’t, but because that’s to0 easy a description of the film.  With a name like Kick-Ass, the movie had a lot to live up to.  Not just because it was based on the  successful Mark Millar/John Romita Jr. comic of the same name, but because if you give a movie a title like Kick-Ass, it better deliver.

It does. Oh boy, it does!

Kick-Ass tells the story of Dave Lizewski, a high school kid just trying to get by. A modern day version of Peter Parker but with one big difference. Parker was constantly picked on by students higher up on the popularity chain. Dave on the other hand,  isn’t even noticed. Practically invisible to all but his two friends Todd and Marty (Evan Peters and Clark Duke).  These three geeks hang out at their local comic shop  talking about girls, comic books, girls, and girls. It is during one of these conversations when Dave asks the question of why aren’t there any real life superheroes.

Pointing out that more people want to be Paris Hilton than Spider-Man,  Dave is then reminded by his friends that  if anyone tried to be a hero, they would probably be killed. Now at this point, any normal person would have ended the conversation and never think about it again, but after being robbed by two thugs while a bystander looks on and does nothing, Dave decides to take matters into his own hands. After a few hours of online shopping and a couple of clicks of the mouse, Dave is on his way to becoming something great. Well, almost.

You see, in any other superhero film, the protagonist would most likely have superpowers or be an insanely wealthy billionaire who can afford gadgets and countless hours of  martial arts training. Dave has neither of these things going for him.  He hasn’t trained. He has no money. He is just a kid in a costume.  So on his way home from school he happens to see the same two thugs who robbed him of his comics trying to break into a car. Deciding to take a stand against these punks proves to be harder than he imagined. And that’s what makes this movie so great.  The idea of being a superhero has been romanticized  so much recently that showing a kid being stabbed in the gut, crawling away for help only to be hit by a speeding car definitely kills the fantasy. The film doesn’t encourage the audience to take such actions. It just lets you safely live out the fantasy through Dave.

Read the rest of the review after the jump.

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If you live in Philly and have been looking for art classes that focus on making comics, you may be in luck with Pterodactyl Philadelphia. Beginning with their Spring 2010 session, you can take their “Making Comics From Idea to Print” course, as well as many other classes ranging from the basics of sewing, to animal sculpture. The comics class will be taught by Pat Aulisio whose work you can view here. Now these classes are scheduled to start April 12th beginning at 6:00pm and ending at 8:00pm.  Some additional information below:

In this course students will learn how to write, draw, and self publish their own mini comic. Students will create their own characters and story to illustrate in different dynamic comic book techniques . At the end of the course all comics will be collected into a class anthology.  Aside from the basics writing and drawing skills for comics there will be daily drawings games to pique the interests of the students like comic jams, drawing from a written description, and parody comics. Guest comic  creators will make appearances talking about individual techniques and comic skills. Students will also learn various comic book formats that will fit to each students personal choice, as well as different folding and bookmaking techniques for their final product.

Check out the Pterodactyl site for any additional info on course fees, cost of materials, or to find contact information if you have any additional questions.

Don’t live tweet the Lost season premiere tonight.  Nothing good will come of it. You’ll only incur the wrath of the universe if you do. Plus, it would be courteous to those who have avoided any and all sorts of spoilers regarding this final season.  Having said that, if you are trying to avoid any spoilers, avoid twitter and facebook for a few hours tonight. Especially if you happen to live on the west coast.

Just don’t do it.

Lost Season 6 Premieres Tuesday @ 8pm on ABC

Our buddy BRiAN and the great folks at Brave New Worlds have a new show coming up this Friday, February 5th, at their Old City location.  The four artists behind this show have decided to focus their talents on the villains of the Marvel Universe. Their statement below:

Meet the foursome of Spock BUCKTON, Brian Bangs, MEAT BALL and Seanson Kellboy. During the work week, these dopes work in what they like to call “the entertainment for people who like to watch other people ferociously hug on camera… and possibly more” industry and run a hilarious website called Popporn.com. Now, this might sound fine and dandy on paper, but over the years, this industry has taken a toll on them. That’s why, in their off time they have to revert to such childish behavior as faking “Secret Invasions” on each other’s houses and toilet papering each other’s lawns with crappy old Lobo back issues. And, believe it or not, they aren’t half bad at drawing pictures and even painting. Who knew??

Their upcoming show entitled ‘WE MURDERED THE AVENGERS’ will focus on the many villains of the Marvel Universe… especially the deformed ones. They feel that all villains deserve their moment in the spotlight, even if they’re kinda retarded.  And yes, they really did kill The Avengers… that’s why you haven’t seen them around town lately.

Be sure to check these guys out at Brave New Worlds this Friday. Thanks again to BRiAN and don’t forget to check out BNW’s new website  here.

We Murdered The Avengers
February 5th 2010
6-9pm
Brave New World Old City
45 North 2nd Street
Philadelphia Pa 19106

I feel that too many times with new comic creators, they try too hard to emulate or hopefully match their influences. I don’t see a problem with that, but nine times out of ten, it’s futile. The best case scenario is taking those influences, and injecting them into your work and coming up with something new and exciting. Bryan Lee O’Malley did it with Scott Pilgrim, and now Lamar Abrams has done it with Remake.

Remake is a collection of stories starring Max Guy. He’s a combination of both Astro Boy and Mega Man but he’s quite different. While he is a hero and he fights the good fight, Max Guy is immature, hot tempered, and childish. He demands the world pay attention to him. Or at the very least his friends. He doesn’t sound like that great of a hero but Max Guy is pretty awesome. He also has another thing going for him. No matter how bleak the outcome may look, Max Guy always wins. Every story ends with him defeating the enemy. In the first story, Max accidentally kills a cop who he thought called him a “gay robot” when he actually said “nice robot”. It’s a complete misunderstanding due to Max believing he could read lips. How did Max know he could read lips? I guess he just thought he could. Not long after this it is revealed that the cop he killed was actually an alien planning to destroy the world. Having his plans ruined, the outed alien hops into his spaceship and flies away vowing to return.  Max is then lifted up into the air by the citizens of the city and celebrated as a hero. This is only a taste of the wackiness that happens in the rest of the book.

Lamar Abrams draws these stories in a way that many would look at and go “I could draw that”. That’s the deception of its simplicity. It’s simple but there’s a lot of care that went into it.  There’s also some amazing comedy bits that blend in perfectly with the action. In a story called “Vs The Cat Thing”, Max eats his favorite cereal called Marshmallow Kittens which is made of real marshmallow kittens. It’s adorable and disturbing watching Max chow down on marshmallow meowing cats. Not taking the advice of his roomate/best friend Cardigan, he gets terribly sick. When he throws up, his sick turns into the titular Cat Thing and they battle. In the middle of this fierce battle, there is a three panel sequence where Max and Cat Thing growl at each other trying to prove how vicious and angry they are. I never laughed as hard as I did when that happened.

Abrams can stage the action and the quiet moments (if you want to call them that) well, the pacing is quick and breezy, but he can throw these amazing random bits of comedy into the middle of a situation and it stops you in your tracks. You don’t expect certain things to happen, and they just do. Then after you finish laughing for a few minutes,  you get right back into the story not missing a beat.

As it stands, Remake is one of those amazing bits of comics gold that should be more well known. Lamar Abrams has created a very entertaining and hilarious universe and I hope he will continue to tell more adventures of Max Guy. I can’t wait. Definitely pick this book up if you can.

Lamar Abrams website

I waited until the absolute last possible day to put this list up. I thought I’d have gotten a chance to see Fantastic Mr. Fox and Sherlock Holmes before I put the list together, but they’ll still be around in January.  As it stands, I have come up with my five favorite films of 2009.  This list is filled with the films that stuck with me long after I left the theater. Michael Bay won’t be happy. Let’s kick things off with with number 5:

5) Where The Wild Things Are

A movie based on a book I haven’t read since I was 5.  Yet I was excited for it.  Was it the cast? Was it the visuals? I don’t know really. The first trailer was a doozy though. It made everyone warm inside. Then the film came out and a lot of folks went cold. I guess a dose of reality wasn’t what the people wanted. It is a very heartbreaking film as you watch Max lose a part of his childhood innocence. It upset many people to think that watching something so personal would be celebrated. However I don’t think “celebrated” is the right word to use for Max’s impending maturity. It was honesty. It made you tink back to your childhood without wearing the nostalgic blinders and challenges you to think about the moment you had to “grow up”. This is the first of two films that brought me to tears. Not afraid to admit.  I would be rude to not mention the amazing use of practical and visual effects.  The combination of the two to bring the Wild Things to life was seamless. I personally think the use of these type of effects shouldn’t completely take you out of the film but instead look and feel natural. Spike Jonze definitely succeeded in that department and many others.

The rest of the list after the jump. (more…)

Brian at Brave New Worlds recently showed me this hilarious photograph taken by Kristofer Rhody. Just figured I’d share it with the rest of you guys.

Happy Tuesday everybody!!

The guys over at Brave New Worlds have been doing their Book Discussion Club the last couple of months and are  preparing to start a second monthly meeting. Their second discussion club will meet for the first time next Monday, November 16th @ 7pm, and will focus on the Mike Mignola series Hellboy. This month they’ll  kick things off with the first volume of Hellboy, “Seed Of Destruction“.  If you’re like me, and haven’t read Hellboy in a while now, it would be the perfect time to get back into story. For those of you who have yet to jump into the series or have no idea what I’m talking about, this would also be a great opportunity to begin reading this epic story and discuss it with others. If you need to buy “Seed of Destruction” or any other comics for that matter, head over to Brave New Worlds today. You can also RSVP to this event by joining BNW’s Facebook page here.

Hope to see you there!

I love going to the movies. I know there are folks out there who would rather wait for the film to be released on blu-ray and watch it at home, but I like going to the movies to watch whatever has caught my eye. This past Wednesday afternoon I caught a matinee showing of “Michael Jackson’s This Is It.”  Going into this particular film, I expected a few things. Applause, cheering, maybe even people singing.  Which I’m okay with because it’s the audience responding to the film.

However, thirty minutes into the film two women came into the theater and went on to distract the audience, myself included, from the remaining 80 minutes of the film. They were the rudest people I have ever had the displeasure of sitting in a dark room with.  The worst part about this was that they sat directly in front of me. While everyone else was listening to “Billie Jean“, I was hearing a conversation about a doctor’s appointment. I was none too happy about that. Even after repeated attempts to get them to be quiet, they kept on going.

It is because of those two clowns I decided to make a short list of what ruins a movie theater experience for me. This list is solely about the audience and ways to help make the experience better for your fellow man.  Hit the jump and we’ll get started.

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