Me gusta leer y ver la tele

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Y otra película más

Como últimamente no hago más que escribir sobre películas, ahí va una más. Hace varios meses estrenaron en las pantallas del país The Notorious Bettie Page, una biografía de la famosa pin-up. Pero, ¿he dicho en las pantallas del país? Tal vez debería haber dicho en casi todas las pantallas, pues la peli jamás se estrenó en Chattanooga. ¿Distribución limitada? ¿Puritanismo exacerbado? No lo sé, pero la cosa no deja de ser curiosa si se tiene en cuenta que la señorita Page era de Nashville, Tennessee. Cualquiera podría pensar que se avergüenzan de ella, o algo parecido.
Sea como fuere, finalmente la alquilé en DVD (junto con Scoop, que ya mencioné), y la vi el lunes por la noche. El papel de Bettie lo interpreta la guapa Gretchen Mol, una actriz que no comprendo por qué no es más famosa. ¿Cuántas películas suyas podéis citar sin recurrir a IMDB? En mi caso, y pese a que me gusta bastante, sólo una: The Thirteenth Floor (que, por cierto, está muy bien). En The Notorious Bettie Page, filmada en blanco y negro, Gretchen Mol hace un trabajo extraordinario, y, en mi opinión, merece sin duda una nominación a los Óscar que probablemente no recibirá.
La peli en sí no es nada del otro mundo. Es interesante, tanto por lo que narra como por el período en que sucede, ofreciendo un acertado retrato de los pacatos de la época, y el miedo a los males que la horrible pornografía podría causar en la nación. (Por supuesto, la violencia extrema no es problema.) Cuenta con buenas actuaciones, y, durando hora y media como dura, entretiene sin hacerse pesada.
En resumen, y pese a no ser rival para Casino Royale (qué buena, qué buena), creo que fue un complemento excelente para Scoop. Buenas elecciones, sí señor.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

It's No Wonder...

A movie about books and authors. About characters and narrative. Throw in some comedy, some romance, and some absurd situations. It's no wonder I liked it. Stranger Than Fiction tells the story of Harold Crick (the ubiquitous Will Ferrell), a normal guy that, one fine day, realizes he can hear a voice narrating his whole life. What he does, what he thinks, how he feels: the narrative voice knows everything, and it's always right, down to the most minute detail. So, of course, when the voice says something like "Little did he know he was about to die", poor Harold freaks out. And with good reason. But that's all I'm gonna say.
The premise is really interesting, and I really enjoyed the movie. It's a shame the preview is way more revealing than my little paragraph (don't you hate it when they do that?), so, if you're interested in the movie, do not watch the preview.
The four main characters, played by Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Dustin Hoffman are well fleshed out, and beautifully acted. The story is quirky but fun and entertaining, and you find yourself feeling for all of them for different reasons. In short: both the characters and the story are (long time no see) compelling, intriguing, and interesting. So go ahead, watch the movie, and thank me later.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Once More, With Inking

Good news, everyone!

As this article quotes, Buffy’s back. You all probably know by now that Joss Whedon is preparing the return of our favourite upturned-wriggling-nose heroine, right after what happened in her TV show spectacular finale. Alas, we won’t be able to watch Mrs. Gellar in action, cause all of her "I’m-too-great-for-television-but-not-so-for-bad-horror-flicks" attitude. That, and also definitely because this time the adventures of the Slayer aren’t coming to your TV screen, but to the comic stores near you.
So, as he says on the linked interview, Whedon is planning on doing a comic series of between 24 and 30 issues, treating each one of them as episodes of a whole, just as if he was doing a new season of the show. In fact, this project is said to be its never-made 8th season, which has been fanficed countless times before. I despise all the Buffy comics I’ve set my paws upon (not counting Fray, not counting Fray!), but in this case I can’t wait to read them. I mean, we're talking about Joss Whedon’s own plot, and, for some of the issues, own writing here. Not that I’m a canon-is-the-most-important-thing kind of guy, but some of you have read Fray, or Whedon’s own X-Men series. We know what he’s capable of, regarding good prose.
On concerning the pretty pictures, I’ll let the experts here to judge if they’re good, excellent or, simply, crap. The one you see here is an extreme close-up on Mr. Knable... I mean, on Buffy, in all her cute-nosing glory. The artist got her all right, it seems to me. Sufficiently all right, at least. But I’m no expert on the matter, so, let the poll begin!

Monday, November 27, 2006

Los Tres Caballeros


Estas es una pequeña historia sobre tres ya no tan jovenes caballeros. Sir Pa-bblo del Valle de Dolid, enfundando con su ropajes negros y enarbolando su temible hacha con la que habia dada cuenta de un monton de enemigos. Sir Nash de la pequeña aldea de Akra, lucia en emblema del castillo de las dos torres y se atusaba su negro bigote. Y lord Helven caballero de la Ciudad de Val-encia lucia los colores de la misma, el morado y el amarilla. Se encontraron un dia en un cerca de un acantilado y decidieron continuar juntos por tan peligriso camino hasta que el caballo de Helven tropezo y salio volando por el acantilado (en la foto el caballero de la izquierda). Moraleja no mates a nadie en una realidad alternativa que te puede pasar lo mismo.

The Movie's Hot, Really Hot

I just came back from the movie theater, where I went to see the new Bond, James Bond. I've never been a die-hard fan of the franchise, but even though I've never been wildly anticipating the next installment in the series, I've usually enjoyed the movies.
When I first saw the preview for Casino Royale, I thought it looked good. And now that I've finally seen the film, all I can say is: wow!
With a plot that's, for once (at least in the recent past), not only intelligible but also plausible, the movie takes you on a rollercoaster from beginning (incredible "jump chase") to end (I won't say anything), and all the time you're rooting for Bond, James Bond, to kick ass. More ass. And talking about Bond, Daniel Craig is superb. I loved Pierce Brosnan, but I didn't cry "heresy" when I saw the secret agent's new face. I thought I should wait until I had seen the movie before praising or condemning Craig. And just in case you didn't see this coming, I loved him. I think he does a terrific job in bringing Double Oh to life, and he deserves all the accolades he's been getting.
The Bond girl, on the other hand… Well… She does a good job, and I'm sure Nash here undoubtedly thinks she's gorgeous, but I completely disagree. I was less than impressed with her in Kingdom of Heaven, and so I remain. But she does the job, and since -and now that I think about it- I've never been too fond of any Bond girl in the past (except for Sophie Marceau), I shouldn't be surprised this one doesn't cut it either.
Still, it's a great movie, and its almost two and half hours fly by so fast you'll be amazed it was actually that long. So do yourselves a favor, and go see it as soon as you can. Hey! Even the car is almost as cool as mine!

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Shun the Nonbelievers

Last night I watched Scoop, Woody Allen's second movie with Scarlett Johansson. It's kinda funny, cause up until this year, I had only seen a WA film, the quite forgettable Bullets Over Broadway. However, I went to the movies (The Bijou, not The Rave) in January to check out Match Point (I mean, it had Scarlett Johansson, come on), and I really liked it. So I ended up renting Mighty Aphrodite (que en inglés rima pero en español no) shortly after that, and even though it was cute and entertaining, I didn't like it anywhere near as much as I did Match Point. But on Friday I decided I needed more Woody Allen, and… Okay, that's not completely true. On Friday, I decided I wanted more Scarlett Johansson, and then I came across Scoop at the Blockbuster near my apartment. Since I had really liked Allen's and Johansson's first collaboration, I went ahead and rented it. And truth is, I really enjoyed it. It's a fun, upbeat, vastly entertaining movie. You're never quite sure what's going to happen next, and the dialogue is quite funny. Woody Allen ends up being a bit too annoying at the end, because he keeps doing the same thing over and over again; but Hugh Jackman is good, and Scarlett Johansson is fantastic. Besides being a really good actress and ridiculously gorgeous (remember: Sexiest Woman Alive), the fact that she spends the whole movie wearing these big, round glasses only makes her all the more attractive. So yeah, go ahead and rent it. If nothing else, you can always drool at her beautiful face. But there's more to the movie than that, I promise!

Saturday, November 25, 2006

A Thing of Beauty

Por segunda y probable-
mente última vez, voy a hablar de coches. Siguiendo con mi predilección nipona, nuestra invitada de hoy es de origen japonés. Y hablo en femenino porque en inglés, como bien saben los consumidores de literatura en este idioma, a los barcos, coches, y naves espaciales se les hace referencia con el pronombre she. Y qué preciosidad más hermosa que la máquina en la foto: el Honda Civic 2007. Y el coche en la fotografía tiene nombre y apellidos. La belleza en cuestión se llama Sanyan Storm. Y sí: eso es el parking de mi apartamento ayer, a las seis de la tarde :)

Friday, November 24, 2006

The Day The Music Died

A long, not so long time ago… Fifteen years ago, to be more precise, the great Freddie Mercury left us all alone.

He was born on September 5, 1946, so he would have celebrated his 60th birthday a couple of months ago. I’m not one for funerals and tributes myself, and when I go to Paris (if I go back to Paris some day), I don’t think I’m gonna leave flowers at Jim Morisson’s tomb. But Mercury was… greater than life itself. He definitely was a great vocalist, and I’m not the only one who thinks he’s still the best and most complete rock’n’roll singer ever. What a voice, and what a passion beneath every word he sung. Try to hear from beginning to end, let’s say, In My Defence, or Somebody To Love, and you will know what I’m talking about.

But he was much more than that. He was also an extraordinary piano player, and maybe one of the five best composers of the past century. I mean, from out of his mind the world has been able to enjoy immortal hymns such as We Are The Champions and Bohemian Rhapsody. And he was capable of writing songs in very different styles of music just as if he had invented them. Rockabilly in Crazy Little Thing Called Love, hard rock like Death On Two Legs, love ballads as Love Of My Life, epic themes as The Show Must Go On or even carefree cabaret songs like Seaside Rendezvous. But, above all other things, he essentially was a frontman. The greatest showman the 20th century left us.

All hail one of the greatest artists of all times. And God save the Queen.

PS. - The Great Moment On Screen posted yesterday, that now has disappeared completely (f*#+'@ YouTube, goddammit!) and I'm placing here again, doesn’t need being introduced. You all enjoy one of the most revolutionary video clips ever. And the song isn’t bad too. Hard as I try, I always hear it through the end with my eyes moistened.

PS. – I had also always been looking forward for using the title of this post on something. “The Day the Music Died” is such a beautiful and strong sentence that I couldn’t help myself. For all of you who doesn’t know what it makes reference to, please listen to the marvellous song by Don McLean, the no-presentations-needed American Pie. And then look at the link explaining all the lyrics and cultural references. Ahhh… I love music, don’t you?

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Mars Attacks!

Quince días después de mi último post, y ya iba siendo hora, reaparezco por la Soleada Jhanna para demostrar mi alegría porque, sí, aún queda vida en Marte. Veronica Mars, esa gran serie de la que todo el mundo ya ha oído hablar maravillas por aquí, se resiste a desaparecer. Hace más de un mes nuestro querido máximo blogueador del reino, finn5fel, escribió un post acerca de la inminente cancelación del show. Los directivos de la CW habían amenazado muy seriamente con recortar la tercera temporada en que está inmersa esta serie, y reducirla a trece míseros episodios si no mejoraba sus resultados de audiencia de forma considerable.
Según esta otra noticia, no es que lo haya hecho. Al menos de una manera clara. Pero los directivos de la cadena han ampliado el plazo a siete episodios mas. En fin, que tendremos una temporada de veinte episodios, si la cosa no vuelve a cambiar. Si Veronica Mars no llega a ver su cuarto año de emisión, al menos su creador, Rob Thomas, tendrá una cantidad de episodios suficiente como para cerrar decentemente la serie. Cosa que esperemos no tenga que verse obligado a hacer. One must dream.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Children of the Rock

I went to the movies on Sunday. The event: the Horrorfest, which Chattanooga was one of the 35 cities in the country hosting. The deal was: 8 horror movies released only during the weekend of Friday 17th- Sunday 19th. You could get a pass for the 8 movies, or just go see the ones you wanted. Since I was in Nashville Friday and Saturday, I only had Sunday to go to The Rave. And not all 8 movies were showing every day. Instead, they had 2, 3 and 3, or something similar to that. Anyway, I went to see Wicked Little Things, with my expectations low and my skepticism high, but lo and behold, I found the movie tremendously entertaining (and the main character tremendously hot, by the way). And it's surprising that I actually liked the movie, especially when you take into account that it pretty much includes every single horror-movie cliché you could possibly think of. (Except, mercifully, for the Indian cemetery --this time it's a mine.) The hot girl, the creepy kids, the haunted place, the hick that's in the know (he even limps!), the evil land developer, the fake plastic spider, the horny teenagers making out in the car before meeting their untimely death, the scary dolls, the car that's stuck, the heroine walking around at night with only a long t-shirt and even longer legs, the guy that fidgets with the car keys before starting the engine, the old pictures and press clippings, the family new in town... Everything you could possibly conceive of is in the movie. But I guess it's because of its decidedly B-series flavor that the movie embraces and revels in that the film is good. Instead of being pretentious and allegedly innovative, it's just an honest scary movie that doesn't overstay its welcome (clocking in at 1:35 minutes it'd be kinda hard to do so). So I don't know about the other seven movies, but this one is worth seeing, enjoying, and, on a couple of occassions, laughing at. Enjoy!

Monday, November 20, 2006

Work in Progress 04

Well, I ended up getting rid of as many white spaces in the background as I could part with, and I'm much happier with how it looks now. Still, the scanned version doesn't really capture it, but I guess it'll have to do. So there you go. This Work in Progress series ends here. It's okay to cry. I'll miss it too.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Work in Progress 03

I decided I would use my Prisma markers to add some color to the drawing, but the truth is that I'm not too happy with how it turned out. I'll say that the scan looks much worse than the original (I don't know why), but I'm still thinking about doing something else to it. I might add some more grays to try to get rid of that "there's a lot going on" feeling that bothers me. We'll see…

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Work in Progress 02

I don't have too much to say about this one. I just went over the picture and inked it. As an interesting detail, I'll say that it took me twice as long to ink it than it took me to draw it. I guess it's because I have to be more careful when I'm working with ink. The media: quill and black Higgins ink.
As for background information, I was listening to Stephen King read his book Bag of Bones while I was working on it.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Work in Progress 01

This is a picture I'm drawing for my friend Katie's birthday. I know it's kind of weird, so don't try to make sense out of it. It's just a random pic with random stuff thrown in for fun. As it's obvious, it's done with pencil on white paper. And tomorrow, you get to see the inked version.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

¿Cuánto puedes ofenderte?

La semana pasada fui a ver Borat, película que dudo estrenen en España, y cuyo título completo es "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan". Y sí: el título está "bien" escrito.
La peli cuenta las aventuras de Borat, un reportero de Kazajistán que viene a los Estados Unidos para aprender del país y ayudar a mejorar el suyo. La película está rodada como si fuera un auténtico documental, y el creador, el cómico inglés Sacha Baron Cohen, nunca les dice a las personas con quien se encuentra que todo es parte de una gran broma en formato fílmico. Cuando se presenta, siempre dice, en su horrible inglés apenas comprensible, que está rodando un documental para su país, y todo el mundo lo cree. Y gracias a sus habilidades sociales y satíricas, Borat consigue sacar lo "mejor" de cada persona que entrevista. Desde el tipo de la tienda de armas que, sin pestañear, recomienda una pistola cuando Borat le pregunta qué arma es la más efectiva para matar judíos, pasando por los menguados miembros de una fraternidad haciendo un road trip, o la reacción del público al "himno" de Kazajistán cuando escuchan el verso que dice algo así como "Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan, everybody is buying our little girls", al vendedor de coches que le explica a qué velocidad exacta debe atropellar a un judío para no dañar el coche, el falso documental desvela los odios y verdadera naturaleza de todo aquel que aparece en pantalla. Y todo ello arrancando las carcajadas más sinceras -a la vez que horrorizadas- del público.
Borat es una película capaz de ofender a prácticamente todo el mundo independientemente de su religión, raza o preferencia sexual, lo cual tiene ciertamente mérito. Cerca de mí, en la sala, había una señora que, en un momento dado, apartó la cara de la pantalla con un rictus de náusea que ojalá hubiera podido inmortalizar en una foto. La escena en cuestión: una pelea en la que el protagonista y su mórbidamente obeso director de producción se dan golpes por diferentes plantas de un hotel… completamente desnudos. Impagable cuando entran en el ascensor y la gente tiene que fingir que no pasa nada raro, o el enorme -y quiero decir enorme- rectángulo negro de censura que a Borat le cuelga entre la piernas durante toda la escena. Priceless.
En fin. Que si tenéis la oportunidad, no os la perdáis. Tal vez no merezca el 93% que le dan en Rotten Tomatoes, pero es verdaderamente entretenida.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Números dos y cómo encaja todo

Acabo de leer el número 2 de Wetworks y Gen13 (ya sabemos que el dos de WildCats no saldrá, como mínimo, hasta marzo), y he decidido escribir sobre ellos.
Gen13 no me está gustando tanto como pensaba. En este número aparece Lynch -con los dos ojos bien-, y somos testigos de qué le pasa en el ojo -o quién le pasa en el ojo-. Los dibujos están bien, como siempre que Talent Caldwell hace algo, pero la historia no es que sea nada del otro mundo. Estoy considerando seriamente dejar de comprarla y esperar al tomo.
Wetworks, sin embargo, sí me está gustando mucho. La historia está muy bien, y aunque tanto en el número 1 como en el 2 hay varias viñetas y dibujos que no están a la altura del resto, la trama es interesante, y el grupo hecho a base de retales me encanta. Sin duda seguiré comprándola.
Y con respecto a la pregunta de qué pasa con las nuevas series de WildStorm, por qué algunas cambian mucho, otras poco, y otras nada, tiene que ver con el evento llamado Worldstorm. Básicamente, tras los acontecimientos en la miniserie Captain Atom: Armageddon, se ha rehecho la realidad, pero nadie lo sabe. Entonces, muchas de la cosas y personajes de antes siguen igual, otros han cambiado un poco, y otros han cambiado mucho, pero nadie lo sabe. (Hasta que aparezca alguien que sí lo recuerda todo, claro.) Bueno, nos lo creeremos.
Al que sí que me gustaría volver a ver es a Backlash. De hecho, el otro día estuve escuchando el podcast de DC del panel de WildStorm en la convención de San Diego en julio, y uno de los asistentes les preguntó a Lee y compañía si íbamos a ver una nueva serie de Backlash. Desgraciadamente, la respuesta fue que no hay planes. Crucemos los dedos para que cambien de idea.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Gears of War

I've never liked first person shooters all that much, but I have to say that Gears of War, coming out for Xbox 360 this week, looks impossibly awesome. Maybe it's because it's actually not a FPS, I don't know. I've seen the reviews and the gameplay (not only the cool cinematics), and I think I can confidently say it is the best-looking game I've ever seen. Watching the review (which you can find here as a downloadable video) I could see, for the first time, that this was a game for the new generation systems. You've probably had that feeling, when seeing a new game, when you go like "And that's a [insert system name here] game? Why couldn't they do that before?" But with this one, you really see why.
And since I've mentioned the page, you could do worse than checking out Game Trailers.com, where you can find cinematics, walkthroughs, and reviews for pretty much any game you can think of. As long as it's fairly recent, of course.

Monday, November 13, 2006

INFILTRADOS

El viernes pasado fui con un viejo amigo a disfrutar de una película de las que hace tiempo no se hacían: de la mafia. Está protagonizada por un montón de buenos actores, como Leonardo DiCaprio, Alec Baldwin, Mark Wahlberg, Vera Farmiga, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, y Matt Damon, todos a las ordenes de Scorsese, y para mí Mark Wahlberg hace uno de sus mejores papeles y el resto no lo hacen nada mal. Aunque el tema de los infiltrados, tanto en la poli como en la mafia, se ha visto en muchas películas (Donnie Brasco con mi amigo Deep, es de las últimas y mejores), en ésta han rizado el rizo al meter infiltrados al mismo tiempo en los dos bandos. La trama está bien, y la acción es bastante real, sin grandes persecuciones ni tiroteos, sino que se centra más en la creación de los personajes. Lo único que se le puede echar en cara es que en una ciudad tan grande es demasiada casualidad que la prota se líe con los dos protas, pero por lo demás podéis disfrutar de una película bastante entretenida y con final bastante sorprendente. A mí sinceramente me pilló fuera de juego por completo.
Claro que para cuando Mario lea esto seguro que no podrá verla en cine, así que, si no fuiste en su momento, alquílala en DVD.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Stations of the Bool

The 50th book I've read this year, Lisey's Story wasn't what I was expecting. I had heard it was kind of a romance novel, and I guess it is. I had also heard said romance had some supernatural elements -duh, it's Stephen King!-, and it certainly does too. Also, just by looking at the cover of the novel, I thought there would be a shovel involved, and I sure was right. I don't know. I guess I was expecting some kind of lover returned from the grave, but that is not what the book is about at all. There are some supernatural elements, yes, but if you've read the Dark Tower books, you'll recognize Boo'ya Moon for what it is. The DT connection was cool -even though it's never stated this is Midworld-, but more than a supernatural romance, Lisey's Story is a fantastic -as in fantasy- romance with flashbacks within flashbacks.
The story is interesting in the three different timelines we get to witness in the book, but the truth is that there's not a lot going on in either one of them. The one with the most action (and by that I mean "actions" as in people doing things and a story moving forward, not fist fights) is the one that's further away from the now of the main timeline, and still there's not much there either. As I said, they are all interesting and compelling, but the book is really slow-paced. The characters are great, and there's really not much that I would call pointless or that could be edited out: the story is cohesive and doesn't wander off too much. But I guess I would have liked some more action as opposed to so much reminiscing and remembering, and living in memory lane instead of the present. When discussing the use of flashbacks in his book On Writing, King says that, as a writer, he's more interested in what's gonna happen, than in what already has. However, Lisey's Story is a story about not one but two past stories. Yes, they're neatly intertwined, and the complex structure is enjoyable, nicely crafted, and well handled, no complains there. Also, the book doesn't seem to drag on or anything, even though the pace is not too fast. But still, I wish it would have been a little different.
So I liked it, no question about it. It was good and enjoyable. It's just that I won't be recommending it to anybody anytime soon. And if this sounds a bit contradictory, well, maybe it is. Maybe you should read it and tell us what you think. Oops! Did I just recommend it?

PS: To hear Stephen King talk about the book, go here and click on the first link (it says BBC Interview).

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Mad! Is! Back!

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned Joe Madureira before, since he's one of my favorite artists. I remember when I discovered him in the first Deadpool miniseries, one of his first gigs. He quickly developed his own style and was one of the first artists to blend Japanese manga elements with traditional American superhero comic books. His run on Uncanny X-Men was nothing short of fantastic, and his pencilwork wowed pretty much everybody. Then he left Marvel to create his own book, Battle Chasers. It was a phenomenal book, with a cool story and awesome, beyond-description artwork. Of course, it was ridiculously late, and kind of ended after 9 issues or so. (Actually, "was left there to die after its creator lost interest" would be a more accurate description: shame on you, Mad!)After designing videogames for a while, the man with the crazy signature is back. Months ago, Marvel announced Madman was going to draw the third Ultimates series, which will be released at some point next year (riiiiiight). Meanwhile, and -one would assume- in between months-in-advance-drawn Ultimates pages, Joe Mad finds time to draw a cover here and there. You'll remember I talked about the Onslaught Reborn project a couple of weeks ago. We all made fun of hack Liefeld and his nonexistent drawing skills (just check out Captain America's chest again if you have forgotten). Well, since alternate covers are all the rage in comics nowadays, Marvel has gotten some actually cool artists to draw alternate covers for the series -I guess they do want to sell some of these books after all. And, of course, they're getting fan-favorite artists to do it. Michael Turner, another one of my favorite pencillers, has drawn this one. Before seeing it, I had read people were saying how dull, boring, and unoriginal it was. I was skeptical, but I confess I agree with them. Don't get me wrong: Turner is an amazing artist, and I wish I had even half his talent. However, when you compare it to Joe Mad's cover (gracing this post with its presence), well… It pales in comparison. That Joe Mad cover is just a little example of what makes him a superb artist. Unfortunately, everybody knows he suffers from the same malady J. Scott Campbell does: he's soooooo slow the only way he could actually be any slower would be for him to draw with an eraser instead of a pencil. Which is kind of ironic, I think. I mean, how could you draw something so kinetic, so full of energy, so incredibly dynamic as the cover above, being such a slow artist? Truth is, I don't know, but I confess the finished pieces are always strikingly amazing. But I've learned from past mistakes, so when Ultimates 3 comes out, I will not buy it. I will only buy it when it comes out on paperback. That way, I will be able to read the story and enjoy the pretty pictures in one sitting, instead of waiting for maybe two years. I guess I'm getting smart.

Friday, November 10, 2006

LateCats

And talking about late artists, WildCats by Jim Lee is already late. The first issue came out in October, and the series is supposed to be bimonthly precisely to avoid being late. Well, as you can read in this interview, in which Lee at least apologizes and blames himself for everything, WildCats #2 has been delayed until… March 2007.
But it gets better. Last year, Jim Lee and Frank Miller started their All Stars Batman & Robin, which is supposed to be a 12-issue series, I think. Well, the fifth issue won't be out until next year, and the first three issues came out last year. Do the math: there has only been one issue of ASB&R published in 2006, and the series is supposed to be monthly! So, out of 11 comic books Jim Lee was supposed to draw this year (9 ASB&R and 2 WC), he has drawn… TWO! Amazing.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Words of Wisdom

I was reading this month's Wizard Magazine (issue 182) when I came across an interview with old pro Keith Giffen. Giffen has been writing comic books for the last thirty years, and, from what he says and how he says it, I think I would like this guy if I ever met him in person. This is what he has to say on one of my favorite topics: late artists.

"I put so much detail on the page, it tales me two days to draw a page." Well, you might want to rethink your drawing then, skeeter. "Yeah, well, I'm working for the art sale afterwards, and it looks good in a frame." Then you know what? Die in a fire. You're a comic book artist! You wanna do posters, do posters! You're on a deadline here!

Take that, lazy artists! If only the editors talked to the superstars like that…

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Morenas

Lo prometido es deuda. En un comentario hace poco dije que hablaría de morenas guapas, y aquí lo tenéis. Por supuesto, el post va dedicado a nuestro Nash favorito.
Como, por alguna razón incomprensible, Nacho prefiere el pelo oscuro (aunque, leyendo mi lista sí se comprende, claro), he decidido hacer una lista con mis morenas favoritas, a ver qué le parece. Ni qué decir tiene, va a decir que es terrible, pero bueno. Ahí va mi Top 10 Morenas:

1. Jessica Biel. La primera, sin duda. Probablemente la segunda mujer más hermosa del planeta, después de Scarlett Johansson.
2. Kate Beckinsale. La hemos visto en las no muy buenas Underworld y en muchas otras. Auténtica belleza británica.
3. Laetitia Casta. Increíblemente bella, y para que se note que no sólo de americanas vive el hombre, ahí tenéis a la corsa más fantástica que jamás se haya visto.
4. Evangeline Lilly. Conocida por su papel en Lost, esta chica -de nuestra edad- es más que guapísima. Y resulta que es canadiense, con lo que seguimos añadiendo sabor internacional.
5. Angelina Jolie. Poco hace falta decir de ésta. Fantástica escena huyendo de la habitación del hotel al principio de Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
6. Adriana Lima. Supermodelo brasileña de fama internacional gracias a su trabajo para Victoria's Secret. No hay más que mirar las fotos y tratar de cerrar la boca luego.
7. Elizabeth Hurley. Otra de la que hay poco que decir. Y mira que me gustan poco las películas de Austin Powers, hahaha.
8. Erica Durance. Si Kristin Kreuk en Smallville es guapa, Erica Durance, en el papel de Lois Lane, le gana por goleada. Por no hablar de la petarda que pusieron de Lois en la olvidable Superman Returns.
9. Jenna Dewan. La descubrí en el tráiler de Step Up -peli que no he visto-, y la chica promete. Y, algo que Halagan apreciará, salió en un episodio de Joey.
10. Jennifer Connelly. Cómo ha crecido desde sus días en Labyrinth con David Bowie y las creaciones de Jim Henson. Lo único bueno de The Hulk, y ni por ésas se salva la película.

Y creo que eso es todo. Seguro que me dejo alguna en el tintero, pero para eso está Nash: para gritarme y señalar las que se me han pasado por alto. Y ahora, a dar vuestra opinión.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

GMeP: FR - ¡Ya Está Aquiiiií!



Siguiendo un comentario de Nash, aprovecho para poner un Gran Momento en Pantalla que tarde o temprano iba a acabar poniendo. Es una escena del final del sexto episodio de la primera temporada de esa serie tan maravillosa que era Fraggle Rock. Y lo pongo en español por dos razones: primero, porque el doblaje de esta serie debe ser uno de los mejores de la historia; y segundo, porque fue nuestro coblogueador Nash el que citó hace poco este episodio como uno de sus favoritos de la serie. Jejeje, coincido plenamente.

Como antecedentes: Musi (esa fraggle poetisa y soñadora… y azul) piensa que no deberían seguir comiéndose las construcciones de los curris (esos diminutos currantes que sí que son para comérselos a todos), porque arruinan todo el trabajo que les lleva hacerlo. Consigue convencer a sus amigos (Gobo, Dudo, Rosi y Bombo), pero para conseguir involucrar a todos los fraggle del mundo, decide recurrir al increíblemente increíble Convincente John...

En fin, relajaos y disponeos a disfrutar de un par de minutos de nueva infancia. Y, si puede ser, preparaos un bocadillo de Nocilla para disfrutar de la experiencia a tope

Monday, November 06, 2006

Belated Happy Halloween

Yes, I know Halloween was last week. I didn't do anything special, other than going to bed even earlier than usual. Still, I drew the accompany-
ing cute little picture the following morning while in a meeting (drawing helps me concentrate, believe it or not). The silly pic is drawn directly with pen, so no chance of erasing anything. But the real juicy part of this post is the accompanying video. I hope you like the costumes, and that you tell us which one is your favorite. Enjoy!

PS: Halagan said he posted something today, but it's nowhere to be found. I hope we'll see it tomorrow!

Sunday, November 05, 2006

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Sunny Jhanna!

Hace exactamente un año, Sunny Jhanna hizo acto de presencia en la enredada red que llamamos Internet con un post de escasa relevancia. Muchas cosas han pasado desde entonces. Hemos pasado del posteo más errático al ritmo más brutal, con un post diario desde hace 65 días que nos ha llevado a un total de 163 con éste. El número de Posteadores Oficiales del Reino ha aumentado hasta tres. El número de lectores se ha disparado de cero a… más de cero. Los posts han pasado de tener nula relevancia a ser relevantes... para dos o tres personas. Hemos adoptado el español como lengua co-oficial del Reino. Hemos hablado de cómics, de películas, y de libros. Hemos hablado de actrices macizas como Scarlett Johansson y Jessica Biel. Hemos exhortado a todo el mundo a que lea The Age of Unreason de Greg Keyes. Hemos visto viñetas de mi novela gráfica, que sigo mencionando insistentemente. Hemos puesto posts irrelevantes, posts interesantes, y posts increíblemente atractivos y detallados (no preguntéis cuál es cuál, hahaha). Hemos hablado de videojuegos, y cantado las virtudes del Supaplex, ese gran juego. Hemos aprendido el Noble Arte de la Acronimización Brutal, y a nadie sorprende ya leer sin previo aviso cosas como SMG, SJP, ODA, o GMTA. Hemos alabado a Scott Campbell y nos hemos burlado de Rob Liefeld. Hemos visto tráilers de películas, vídeos cachondos, y tonterías varias. Hemos hecho comentarios y más comentarios sobre todos los posts, discusiones que normalmente han terminado de dos formas: o bien ensalzando las virtudes de Scarlett Johansson, o bien pidiéndole a todo el mundo que lea The Age of Unreason. Hemos invertido horas y horas de nuestro preciado y valioso tiempo en escribir, leer y comentar. Y creo que puedo decir con total certeza que nos hemos divertido un montón y, si no hemos conseguido otra cosa con esto, al menos ha servido para mantenernos en contacto prácticamente diario a pesar de la distancia que nos separa en el mundo real. Y antes de ponerme sentimental o demasiado trascendente -eso se lo dejo a Halagan y su ocasional disquisición filosófica-, mejor paro y no hago el ridículo. Eso sí, hay dos cosas que tengo que decir, o si no reviento: adorad a Scarlett Johansson y leed The Age of Unreason. Enjoy!

PD: El dibujo de Talent Caldwell no tiene absolutamente nada que ver con el texto, pero es una de mis portadas favoritas de todos los tiempos. ¡Ojalá pudiera comprar el original!

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Por falta de dragones no será

Nuestro día consecutivo de posteo número 64 (¿sexagé-
simocuar-
to?) en Sunny Jhanna -sí, queridos: más de dos meses seguidos- nos trae dragones y tierras lejanas. O, en otras palabras, que no sabía qué poner hoy, hahaha. Tengo un post preparado, pero es para mañana domingo, así que he decidido improvisar algo hoy. La verdad es que poco hace falta decir que no sea obvio. Este dibujito es parte del segundo número de mi novela gráfica, de próxima aparición -espero- este mes. A la izquierda tenéis mi dibujo a lápiz, y, a la derecha, la mágica transformación a tinta y color cortesía de mi hermana. Fijáos en la textura de la piel, que está muy bien. Y lo del fondo, por si os lo preguntáis, es el Mar Interior.
Y con esto os dejo por hoy, que tengo que ir a la escuela a ver la producción de Pride and Prejudice que nuestras queridas chicas están representando. Enjoy!

Friday, November 03, 2006

Se acelera la descomposición

Parece que podréis leer el segundo número de mi apenas mencionada novela gráfica en algún momento de noviembre (probable-
mente a finales de mes). Mi hermana está trabajando duro para terminar de colorear el episodio y cumplir con los brutales plazos de entrega que su despiadado compañero de proyecto le impone, y ahora mismo está trabajando en la página 40 de 48. Yo, por mi parte, sigo entintando la tercera parte para aligerarle la carga a mi querida hermana, y ahora mismo estoy trabajando en la 63 (la tercera parte comprende las páginas 49 a 72). Y, por extraño que parezca, ¡me estoy divirtiendo!
Así pues, paciencia. Ya sé que Nacho se pregunta qué demonios van a hacer los buenos, y no quiere ver fantasmas ayudando a terminar con los villanos. ¿Qué pasará? ¿Aliados inesperados? ¿Héroes que regresan de la tumba? ¿Tías buenas con espadas? (eso seguro). La respuesta, a finales de mes.

Disclaimer: Actual text may vary.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Ah, the Younglings...

New X-Men: Academy X takes us back to the days of The New Mutants. The premise of this series is pretty much the same: the young mutants are at Xavier's School to learn to control their powers… and their hormones.
The first TPB collects the first six-issue story arc, Choosing Sides. The first two issues are drawn by Randy Green, who replaced Michael Turner in Witchblade (see Green's rendition of the character here), and has drawn, among other things, the first few issues of the Emma Frost series. I really like Green's artwork (the picture accompanying this post is his), so I enjoyed those two ishes. However, the remaining four are drawn by some guy whose name I have forgotten already, and they're not exactly good. Only, that's too nice: the guy's terrible, okay? The story is okay, and the relationships between characters are interesting and show promise, but the ugly pictures are too much to withstand. I know the artist will change in the future; I just hope it's next issue!

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Slaying in the Future


Me acabo de leer así, de golpe, los ocho números de Fray, la primera serie de cómics/novela gráfica escrita por Joss Whedon. El tomo salió en 2003 o así, y aunque lo compré a primeros de septiembre, aún no le había hincado el diente. Y ojalá lo hubiera hecho antes.
La acción transcurre en el siglo 23, y la protagonista, Melaka Fray, es una ladronzuela adolescente que un buen día descubre cuál es su herencia de sangre. Y dado que estamos hablando de Mr. Whedon, ya os podéis imaginar en qué consiste dicha herencia. Imaginaos una mezcla de Buffy y El quinto elemento, y más o menos lo tenéis.
La historia es dinámica y se mueve a paso endiablado. Los diálogos, al más puro estilo Whedon, son estupendos, punzantes, y sarcásticos. Y los dibujos, obra de un tal Karl Moline, a quien no tenía el gusto de conocer hasta la fecha, son estupendos.
En resumen: que si queréis leer una buena historia, haceos con Fray, y agradecédmelo luego. Y es que siempre estoy pensando en vosotros :)