"The Avengers" Premiere

The Avengers premiered last night in Hollywood, and all the stars were out and looking slick! I am really excited for this movie, and can't believe it finally opens in only 22 days!! Watching the premiere live last night on E Online and YouTube was good fun. They shared some more clips/trailers from the film, and had some decent interviews with the actors and director Joss Whedon. Its a quite fit cast, as you can see from the photos (more at OTRC.com), and the film promises to be action-packed. Can't wait!

Cool Art Monday - Fiona Staples

Like many folks, I loved loved loved Saga #1, the new comic by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. Excellent writing, intriguing story, fascinating new universe, engaging characters, and AMAZING art by Fiona. Sooo... for my first "Cool Art Monday" blog post, I'm sharing some of my favorite pages by Miss Staples, from Saga and more...

Saga #1

 

 

 

 

More by Staples

 

 

images from iFanboy Upstarts: Fiona Staples

New Comic - Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child #1

Happy New Comics Day, y'all! I picked up the usual favorites at my local shop earlier today, and also grabbed myself a copy of the all new Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child #1, published by Vertigo.  As you may have noticed, I'm a sucker for all things NOLA, so this new title was right up my alley. After reading this first issue, I'd say it gave me the taste of New Orleans I craved, while making for an entertaining read. The story is a typical one: young heroine thinks she'll lead a normal life until all goes wrong in her town and she discovers she's at the center of the chaos - forced to fight for her life and chosen to save her home. Very Buffy the Vampire Slayer, without the humor. But several aspects of the comic made it special for me.

The first issue carries us through several beautiful and distinct locations of New Orleans - from Treme to Louis Armstrong park to St. Louis Cemetery to the Garden District - taking me back down memory lane to that magical and haunting city.

Even more special was the lyrical narrative woven throughout the comic by writer Selwyn Seyfu Hinds. He describes it best in his own words in the "On the Ledge" note written at the end of the comic: "I wanted to find a narrative style that captured the thematic richness of New Orleans music, the pain and the joy, as well as the structural aspects of the town's songwriting, particularly with regard to jazz - the steady reprise of a verse structure, the improvisational flights of a solo." He surely succeeded, as the narrative adds the flavor and rhythm necessary to make Dominique Laveau a true New Orleans ballad.

Finally, I was instantly struck by the mystic beauty of the cover created by Raphael Grampa (above). It is simply gorgeous and shouts out to art nouveau, which I adore. I'm certainly looking forward to future covers by Grampa - check them out and other artwork by Grampa here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rafaelgrampa/

I leave you with more on NOLA from the pen of Hinds, also from "On the Ledge": "New Orleans swings... hard. Music and struggle code its DNA. It's as if the Fates were constantly running the city through some kind of cosmic balance meter. Sure you can birth Louie Armstrong and jazz itself; now here's a Yellow Fever outbreak to go with that. Man, that Mardi Gras and Essence Music Festival seem like too much fun, so how's about a murder rate high enough to make you weep? This is a city where you take your laughter with a side of tears and try to keep dancing the whole while."

Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child #1 is written by Selwyn Seyfu Hinds with art by Denys Cowan, and inks by John Floyd. Created by Hinds and Cowan.

Selina Kyle Rises

Entertainment Weekly's January edition is out, and it has some great teasers from 2012's most anticipated movie: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES! Eeeeeeeeeee! I am so excited for this film! I have to admit, I wasn't super keen on Batman Begins. Christian Bale is not my fave Batman. I prefer a more charming hero, a la Michael Keaton or Adam West, to Bale's pouty, creepy version. But then came Heath Ledger's brilliant performance as the Joker, and The Dark Knight became one of my favorite films. And I have confidence in the final installment of Christopher Nolan's trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. I may not be too stoked to see Bale as Batman again, but I am excited about the addition of one of my favorite actors, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and two lovely actresses, Marion Cotillard and Anne Hathaway!

In particular, I can't wait to check out Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle. They have only released a few pics of Hathaway as Catwoman, which of course keeps up the intrigue.

However, more than how Hathaway will look in the film, I am eager to see how she portrays Selina Kyle / Catwoman. I have really been digging the new Judd Winick version of Catwoman in the DC 52 reboot. Will Hathaway's Catwoman be as wild and hedonistic as Winick's? Will she be as willing to risk life and limb for the joy of the heist? And will there be a hot, sexual relationship between Catwoman and Batman in The Dark Knight Rises, like there is in the current comic? Me thinks the answers to these questions are generally "no" - Hathaway will bring her own personality and style to Catwoman. Soooo... I guess we'll have to tune in July to find out - same Bat time, same Bat blog!

Scenes from an Impending Marriage

On my visit to Crescent City Comics, I picked up Scenes from an Impending Marriage: A Prenuptial Memoir by Adrian Tomine. Since I was on my honeymoon and had just survived a wedding myself, I was interested to read about Mr. Tomine's experience on his way to the altar. The book is autobiographical, covering the time from when he became engaged to his fiance Sarah through their wedding day.

This book may not be for everyone - it is not your mainstream action comic book, that's for sure. But for me, someone who had just recently found myself, as Tomine puts it, "sucked into a black hole of nuptial narcissism", I found it cathartic. From the couple's battles over the guest list to Tomine's obsession about creating perfect invitations, it made me feel better to know that I'm not the only one who's a bit baffled over the things we put ourselves through in order to participate in the bizarre social ritual we call "weddings".  My thanks to the author for giving us a sweet little book that allows the soon-to-be wed to pull back and have a laugh at ourselves, while still appreciating the tender and touching moments that go along with committing to a loving partner for life.

Here are a couple of the "scenes" to give you an idea:

From "Scenes from an Impending Marriage", written and drawn by Adrian Tomine

Crescent City Comics

My husband and I were in New Orleans for our honeymoon a few weeks ago, and we stopped by Crescent City Comics to pick up our Wednesday comics and check out the shop. The shop is a bit off the beaten tourist path, being far from the French Quarter and instead close to Tulane and Loyola Universities. But it was worth the trip. The shop was inviting and well-stocked, and the staff were friendly and helpful. I particularly liked their shelves of staff recommendations, stacked with solid books selected with care by folks who clearly do a lot of reading. We will definitely be back next time we visit the beautiful city of New Orleans.

And if an excellent comic shop isn't enough to get you to hop on the St. Charles Streetcar and head uptown, Crescent City Comics is also just across the street from Dat Dog, where we had one of our tastiest meals in New Orleans. The alligator sausages are Amazing like Spider-man!

 

Alligator sausages at Dat Dog, New Orleans, Louisiana

Batwing #4

Success! I was able to get all 4 comics on my list at Lee's yesterday, AND a copy of All-Star Western #2 I had previously missed out on. Huzzah! Then, from Lee's, my hubby and I went for dinner, Abita beer and comics reading at Marvin Gardens in Belmont...

We grabbed a spot in a back booth and I tucked right in to Batwing #4. Once again, I loved it! The action never stops in Batwing, and I continue to be impressed by Winick's ability to weave serious issues such as AIDS, orphan soldiers and violent warlords into a tale I still find highly enjoyable. In this issue, Batwing's "secret origin" was "unveiled!" Batwing, aka David Zavimbe, suffered through a tragic childhood fitting of any Bat-character, but is also haunted by his own terrible actions from the past, making him in some ways more tortured than the Batman himself. While I was not surprised by his secret origin, I did find it heartbreakingly realistic. And perhaps that is what I love most about this comic - it is believable. It is much easier for me to imagine a damaged villian massacring innocent people with machetes in Africa because, well, there are actually real people who massacre innocent people with machetes there. And it makes me happy to imagine that Batwing is doing something about it.

From the preview I saw, I was a little worried that I wouldn't be into the art on this issue, since I've grown attached to Ben Oliver's work in the first 3. But Chriscross did a good job. The art flowed from previous issues, but definitely had its own twist and style. I be a happy camper. Check it out:

 

Batwing #4 is written by Judd Winick, with art by Chriscross and Ryan Winn.