Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog

I was going to post this before I left but it wasn't free anymore. Now, thanks to Hulu, it is again.

If you haven't heard of it, Joss Whedon's super hero musical hit the web two weeks ago and got millions of hits. My brother in law and sister sent me the link within two minutes of each other. In fourteen days, it crashed the site, maxed out a panel at SDCC and sold out of t shirts. Because like everything else Joss Whedon has done, it's great.

Here's the whole thing:

Home

It took until 6 a.m. yesterday morning but I got home.

There's two things you should know about Comic-Con:

1. It's huge.

2. It's near Hollywood.

So unlike New York, there are lots and lots of celebrities around. And they're as overwhelmed as you are. People keep stopping them for pictures and shaking their hands. And after 1000 people do that in a day, they can't remember anyone's screenplay pitch or URL address. I saw Joss Whedon, Bruce Timm and Matt Groening all speak in rooms of 3000 people. I saw Seth Rogan and Ron perleman on then floor. I went to a party with Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell and Erin Gray. But I didn't make any serious contacts.

But it was a big, crazy, fun show filled with free stuff, open bars and no sleep. Since I was there with figures.com, the toy companies took me more seriously than the studios and publishers. I met reps and journalists I've respected for years. I saw friends I hadn't seen in years. And yes, I bought the big Millennium Falcon.

Transit

I am not home.

Currently, I'm in the Seattle airport waiting for my flight and drinking alone. My flihght last night was cancelled but luckily Joe Franzem's crew kept me from sleeping on the street.

Comic-Con had its definite ups and downs. I'll get into details when I finally get home.

Ben Month 13

July has been so crazy I haven't had time to show you pictures of Ben very week. Lately his development is all in actions rather than looks. He's walking and adding new words all the time but he looks the same.













I'll be home Monday.

Here

My flight was stuck on the runway for two hours so by the time I got in, took a cab to the convention center and got my press pass, I had 20 minutes to look around.

It looks awesome.

Leaving Again

I'm off to San Diego to cover Comic-Con for figures.com. This is my first trip to SDCC and I have no idea what to expect.

I will have wireless access this weekend but I'll also be writing a ton of articles for their site. I'll update here when I have time.

New NewsGroper Article!

Mr. T can't understand how Batman beat Spider-Man this weekend.

The Dark Knight

By now, everyone on the internet has given you their opinion of The Dark Knight. If I don't give you mine, I'll feel left out, like the internet hates me.

It's amazing. It's not only the best superhero movie ever made, it's a movie that will be incredibly hard to top. It does everything that a Batman story should do. Everything. It's riveting from the first scene to the last, and at two and a half hours, that's saying something. The plot is complex but never lost me. There's at least five twists I never saw coming. The schemes are both original and true to character. And the action is easier to follow than Batman Begins.

Yes, Heath Ledger is incredible. But Aaron Eckhart's Two-Face is definitive. I love Tommy Lee Jones, but next to Eckhart's, his performance is embarrassing. Morgan Freeman's given even more to do. Christian Bale gives the balanced performance that the evolution of Batman and Bruce Wayne demands. Michael Caine feels more comfortable even though he's hitting the same notes. And Katie Holmes is not missed(except by one idiot in my theater).

When I was at Art Asylum, Caesar (a great artist in his own right) had a theory about the Batman movies. He said that each movie corresponded to a different decade in Batman's history. With The Dark Knight, the theory still holds.

Batman (1989) - the 30's. Batman uses guns. The thugs wear fedoras. The action is terse and contained, like Golden Age panels.

Batman Returns (1992) - the 90's. It's about the psychological damage in the characters, more than the action. The look is big and stylized, the villains grotesque.

Batman Forever (1995) - the 50's. Everything is oversized, from the city to the layers to the traps., The villains are crazy, but not scary. And Batman always does the right thing.

Batman and Robin (1997) - the 60's. It's a 100 million dollar Adam West episode. Batman will not stop smiling. The villains are outlandish and spout puns and cliches. The action is unbelieveable, in that you don't believe in it. And it's terrible.

Batman Begins (2005) - the 70's. Just like the O'Neil and Adams run followed the campy '60's, so does this movie save the franchise. It's moody but realistic. Batman travels the world and is serious about his methodology, not just driven. We're given the clerarest view of a city that needs Batman. Ra's al Ghul is in it.

The Dark Knight (2008) - the 2000's. It's scarier than Batman has ever been, both in his character and his enemies. The superhero theatrics take a backseat to the true crime drama.

94% on Rotten Tomatoes!

Don't Forget Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy!

The line-up's a lock and going to rule. Come down and we'll talk about The Dark Knight.


MEATY, BEATY, BIG and BOUNCY
Sunday, July 20 10PM
EUROPA
98 Meserole Ave. (corner of Manhattan Ave.)
Brooklyn, NY.

with
Maddog
Alex Grubard
Kumail Ali
Danny Solomon
Eric Andre

hosted by Jon Clarke

and a full set of music by
INDACULTURE

$5

Hellboy II: the Golden Army

On our last day in North Carolina, my mom watched Ben so Renee and I could go to the movies. When we got back, she asked us how it was. I replied, "If you like Hellboy I..."

Guillermo Del Toro's new movie has everything the first movie had and everything the comic delivers. Where the first movie covered the pulpy Lovecraft/Indiana Jones feel of the larger stories, this one goes straight for the anceint folklore and myth that fills most of Mignola's shorter books. It looks as if Del Toro spent his entire budget on monsters, since there are more varied and interesting creatures in this film than the last Star Wars.

The cast all delivers, if in the same notes as the first film. However, Johann Strauss is introduced and shines. Del Toro had originally conceived him as a cg character before his budget was slashed. The suit with its moving gears and clunky boots is an upgrade, not a comprimise.

The script advances the relationships but the tone doesn't feel like the stakes have been raised. I never felt like this was a bigger story than the first, just a bigger movie. It's just as good as the first movie and completly satisfying. But with Del Toro coming off Pan's Labrynth and planning to take on The Hobbit, I expected even better.

Let's let the other critics weigh in.

2 One Liners on NewsGroper!

Both the Bill Gates and George W. Bush jokes are mine.

They're on the front page.

New Indy review!

When I heard the new series of figures of Indiana Jones would be based on Last Crusade, I had to order them online, even at a higher price. And I had to review them for figures.com.

Read the review!

Back

That was 10 days of no internet service. Interesting 10 days too. Just yesterday I climbed up a two-story house and kicked a door in, then called the cops on Exxon. Saw Hellboy II too.

I'll fill you in as time goes on but it's good to be back online.

Leaving

We're off to North Carolina for the next 10 days for a family thing. As always, I don't know what wireless situation we're heading into so posting may become intermittent. I'll do what I can.

Have a good holiday!

Introducing Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy!

I like three things in life:

1. Comic books
2. Writing
3. Rock n' roll

Now I have comedy shows on all three.

The first was Comic Book Comics, which was a huge success but we never did another one. Mainly because Mike Drucker and I started the second, Writer's Room right after and that's still running (the next one's this Sunday but I'm out of town. Go see it anyway).

Writer's Room is a monthly show and sometimes it's one of the few spots I get. Mike's running another show with John Knefel at Creek and the Cave and I've been wanting to do something a little less dry and a lot louder. So Alex Grubard and I are starting a new show in Williamsburg:



Here's the deal. Six comics who love music perform in front of a live 'house band'. The band closes the night with a full set of their original music in a Williamsburg club/lounge setting. There's nothing wrong with any of this.

We're still finalizing the details but we do know this:

MEATY, BEATY, BIG and BOUNCY
Sunday, July 20 10PM
EUROPA
98 Meserole Ave. (corner of Manhattan Ave.)
Brooklyn, NY.

with
Maddog
Alex Grubard
Kumail Ali
Danny Solomon
Eric Andre

hosted by Jon Clarke

and music by
INDACULTURE

New NewsGroper article!

Here's Christopher Walken reading about the closing of 600 Starbucks and totally freaking out.

LEGO Death Star

4000 pieces. 400 bucks. 2 movies. In stores in 2 months.

That's no moon.