Contagious Obsession

Stephen King has always been known (among other things) for his willingness to try new formats, new ways to tell stories or to make stories available. His latest experiment is N., a short story that will appear in Just After Sunset (King’s new short-story collection he talks about here), and that Marvel has turned into a twenty-five mini-episode series you can watch here. Each episode has been coming out daily during August, but now the whole thing is finished. Adapted by Marc Guggenheim and drawn by Alex Maleev, N. is a strange mixture of traditional illustration, flash animation, and multicast voiceovers. You can check out the trailer here, and you can watch a short making of if you are interested. Enjoy!

Reading List: August

Since I know you were wondering what I read in August, here you have this month's Reading List:

The Blood Knight
The third book in Greg Keyes's Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone might be the weakest of the four. There are some revelations and cool stuff, but I am not sure it was completely necessary. The first eighty pages or so are not very good (too much fighting and little else), but then it gets better. Still, the strong characters make for a good read that leaves everything ready for the final installment.

My Horizontal Life
Comedian Chelsea Handler writes about twelve one-night stands she's had over the years, and the result is a hilarious book that will make you laugh until you cry. Highly recommendable.

The Necromancer
Written by Joshua Ortega and illustrated by Francis Manapul, The Necromancer tells the story of Abigail van Alstine, a teenager that comes to her witch powers and has to cope with the radical change in her life this triggers. Both story and artwork are excellent, and this tale of teenagers, magic, demons, and high school is too good not to read. Yes, it sounds like Buffy, but in all the good ways!

The Born Queen
The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series comes to an end with The Born Queen, Greg Keyes's last book in the fantasy saga. There is one thing that bothers me, but I guess that's the way things are meant to be. I enjoyed this series a lot, and I recommend it to everyone.

Crimson, vol I: Loyalty and Loss
Humberto Ramos's vampire series ended seven years ago. Since I am a big fan of the Mexican artist, it is rather surprising that it's taken me so long to check out the story of Alex Elder. I did buy the first issue back in the day, but I never really followep-up, and the trades are hard to find. A good thing I stumbled upon the complete collection in Matthews, North Carolina. An entertaining read!

Crimson, vol II: Heaven & Earth
This second volume of Crimson might be the best one out of the four. Things start making more sense, and a more unified vision brings the different elements together. Plus, it's packed with cool characters such as Scarlet X or Joe. And did I mention Scarlet X?

My Forbidden Face
The subtitle of this book, Growing up Under the Taliban: A Young Woman’s Story, pretty much says it all. Under the pseudonym Latifa, the author recounts her years in Afghanistan and how life-shattering the conflict there was. Moving.

Crimson, vol III: Earth Angel
The plot thickens, but not all is praise for Brian Augustyn’s script. First of all, I didn’t care much for Zophie. She is introduced in this volume, and we’re supposed to care about her, but she just didn’t do anything for me. What she does is prevent the reader from getting more Scarlet X time, which made me very unhappy. And second of all, this “chosen one” business is still unresolved. Why don’t they tell Alex once and for all? It doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense. Still, it’s an enjoyable read.

Crimson, vol. IV: Redemption
The final installment in the series, this trade ties every single loose end. The only problem is that, after five and half issues of fighting (every trade collects six issues of the original series), everything is solved in literally four pages. That bothered me to no end. Also, five and a half issues of fighting get kind of tiresome after a while. Still, I liked the series, even if it’s not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination.

Die Never

Wrath of the Lich King, the new expansion pack for the spectacular-
ly popular World of Warcraft videogame is coming out this fall. I'm not really a fan of the game, but the intros are always insanely amazing. And by now I guess you know what I'm about to say next, right? Exactly! Follow this link to watch Wrath of the Lich King's awesome intro, and bear witness to the rise of the armies of the undead. And pay special attention to that wicked dragon!

Fall Movies

It's that time of the year once again. Summer season is pretty much over at the movies, and fall season is about to begin. And there are lots of movies coming out that look interesting enough to warrant a little comment here on Sunny Jhanna. These are the movies I want to go see in the next four months:

IX. September
1. Burn After Reading (Sep 12)
The preview for Burn After Reading, the new movie from the Coen brothers, is not only hilarious, but also packed with stars: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand… Looks good, man!

2. Righteous Kill (Sep 12)
Robert de Niro and Al Pacino together again! Righteous Kill stars both stars as cops looking for a killer who is killing the bad guys. Shouldn't they give him a medal?

3. Appaloosa (Sep 17)
Written and directed by Ed Harris, this western stars Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Renée Zellweger, and Jeremy Irons. Will it tank at the box office? Well, it is a western...

4. Lakeview Terrace (Sep 19)
The new Samuel L. Jackson thriller looks crazy and intense. I'll have to check it out.

5. Eagle Eye (Sep 26)
Shia LaBeouf and supercute Michelle Monaghan star in this thriller. If the movie is as riveting as the preview, this is going to be one amazing ride!

X. October
1. How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (Oct 3)
This has to be one of the best movie titles ever. It stars Kirsten Dunst, Simon Pegg, Megan Fox, Gillian Anderson, and Jeff Bridges, and the preview made me laugh out loud. And did I mention Kirsten Dunst and Megan Fox are in the movie?

2. Zack and Miri Make a Porno (Oct 31)
The new Kevin Smith movie has managed to change its original NC-17 rating to an R rating. But it doesn't really matter, since I was sold when I heard "Kevin Smith" and "Elizabeth Banks". Man, she's stunning.

XI. November
Quantum of Solace (Nov 14)
Now that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been pushed back to July, the new Bond movie is the only film I'm dying to see in November. Apparently, the story picks up about an hour after Casino Royale's last scene, so this movie is more of a sequel than any other Bonds before. Will it rock as much as Casino Royale did? We can only hope!

XII. December
1. The Day the Earth Stood Still (Dec 12)
A remake of the old movie, this new take stars Keanu Reeves as the alien who comes down to Earth to let us know how screwed we really are. I guess they wanted an actor who wouldn't show any human emotion...

2. Yes Man (Dec 19)
The new Jim Carrey movie (with cutie Zooey Deschanel) might be funny or a complete train wreck. Here's to the former!

3. The Spirit (Dec 25)
I already told you I'm going to see this movie as soon as it opens, since Scarlett Johansson looks hotter than ever. And I doubt I'll have anything better to do on the 25th, truth be told.

4. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Dec 25)
Brad Pitt stars in this movie about a man who ages in reverse. And if that sentence didn't knock you off your feet, there must be something wrong with you. Directed by David Fincher, it also stars Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton, who, coincidentally, also stars with Brad Pitt in Burn After Reading. And so we come full circle!

So what do you think? Did I leave any of your favorites out? Leave us some feedback already!

Eerie Hill

The sixth installment in the Silent Hill series, Silent Hill: Home-
coming, is coming out this fall for the Xbox360 and PlayStation 3. Check out this video to see a scary final boss, one of the game's signature creepy nurses (also seen in the movie), and some more goodness courtesy of G4's Adam Sessler and David Verfaillie, Lead Combat Designer for Double Helix, the studio developing this new chapter in the horror series. Enjoy!

Proyectos y retrasos

Tres noticias semi-interesantes.

Stargate: Atlantis termina con la quinta temporada. En vez de hacer una sexta, el Sci-Fi Channel nos regala Stargate: Universe, la nueva serie ambientada en el universo presentado por primera vez en la película de Roland Emmerich. Stargate: Universe empezará en 2009 como una película de dos horas, seguida, en verano, por la serie semanal. Nunca he seguido ni SG1 ni Atlantis, pero a Nash le encantan, así que espero que le entusiasme la noticia.

En segundo lugar, Warner Brothers dice que van a empezar con la franquicia de Superman de cero. ¿Cómo que de cero? ¿Acaso no era ése el objetivo de Superman: Returns? Tanto si lo era como si no, el relativo fracaso que la película de Bryan Singer supuso ha hecho que tanto fans como productores quieran borrársela de la mente y volver a empezar (lo que no me parece una mala idea en absoluto). Además, dicen que la nueva película será "más oscura", lo que me hace pensar que les gustaría hacer al personaje más parecido a Batman. Lástima que Batman ya exista y no sólo tenga su propia serie, sino que sea un personaje más interesante.

En último lugar, Quantum of Solace, la extrañamente titulada nueva película de James Bond, ha sido retrasada una semana para, según afirman "aprovechar mejor las vacaciones de Acción de Gracias". Y para aprovechar que Harry Potter ya no se estrena ese mes, claro. Qué malpensado soy...

Organic #54

Bienvenidos una semana más a Organic, el webcómic más longevo de la Soleada Jhanna. Después de haber acabado con el Cientuertífico Loco, Koori y Tomatito se abrazan, exhaustos pero satisfechos de haber logrado derrotar a tan formidable enemigo. Un extraño momento de tranquilidad que nuestros héroes a buen seguro atesorarán. Pero, ¿qué pasará a continuación? Esto es Organic, así que tú decides!

Así se hizo

¿Interesados en ver cómo se hizo Gears of War 2? Si la respuesta es afirmativa, estáis de enhora-
buena, pues en la página de G4tv podéis encontrar el making of del juego, vídeo que dura la friolera de cuarenta y cinco minutos. Así que ya podéis sacar las palomitas, los refrescos, o lo sea que hacéis para entreteneros delante de la pantalla de vuestro ordenador, y prepararos para pasar un rato entretenidos viendo cómo se creó uno de los juegos más esperados del año. Enjoy!

Los dibujeros hablan

Hoy la cosa va de dibujantes de comics. Echadles un vistazo a estos dos vídeos que Newsarama tiene en su estupenda página web. El primero es una pequeña entrevista con Frank Cho, uno de mis dibujantes favoritos y autor de la hilarante Liberty Meadows que recomiendo a todo el mundo. Cho habla de varias cosas, entre ellas la película basada en su comic Zombie King que está intentando vender a algún estudio, y la portada de Hulk y Hulka que le censuraron los de Marvel. Y no es que ésta sea la primera vez que Marvel mete tijera a la obra del coreano. No hay más que ver lo que hicieron con Shanna, serie que, curiosamente, llevan ya mucho tiempo diciendo que van a republicar sin censurar. Ahora, que la gente ya la ha comprado. Desgraciados…

El segundo vídeo es una entrevista algo más larga a otro dibujante bien cachondo: Tim Seeley. Creador de Hack/Slash y dibujante de lo más atareado, Seeley se para a hablar unos minutos con la gente de Newsarama pese a estar acatarrado. Entre otras cosas, el autor explica por qué es mejor ver películas malas que películas buenas, y cómo surgió la idea de Hack/Slash, extraña y divertida serie de comics que no está nada mal. Espero que os guste!

Noticias mágicas

Y no muy buenas, la verdad. La primera es que Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, la sexta película de la serie cuya fecha de estreno era el 21 de noviembre, ha sido retrasada hasta el 17 de julio del año que viene. Como lo oís: casi un año extra de espera. El consuelo es que la espera entre ésta y la séptima película, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, no será tan larga como habría sido. Sin embargo, los responsables de la franquicia han decidido que Deathly Hallows, que adapta el último libro de la saga, sea no una sino dos películas. Los malpensados enseguida dirán -diremos- que es para ganar el doble de pasta, pero desde la productora se apresuran a afirmar que es para no tener que cortar todas las escenas y subtramas que de otro modo tendrían que quedarse en la sala de montaje. O sea, que Harry Potter 6 cae en 2009, Harry 7-I en 2010, y Harry 7-II en 2011. Menos mal que ya me he leído los libros, que si no no sé si tendría paciencia.

Bible Equals Astrology

My friend Felipe suggested we watched a documentary called Zeitgeist that had really impressed him. Since we had nothing else to do, we spent a couple of hours in front of my TV screen, and I am very happy I did.

Zeitgeist is divided into three parts, all of them very interesting. The first one claims the Bible is nothing but an astrology treatise, and points out all the elements Christians took from older myths, different religions, previous sun gods, and both astronomical knowledge and astrological lore. This part is very informative, terribly compelling, and I admit I watched it with a gleeful smile on my face --when my mouth wasn't wide open in revelation, that is. Needless to say, this is my favorite part of the documentary.

The second part is basically a deconstruction of 9/11, and how it all seems to point at the American government as the perpetrator of the attacks. Now, I'm not a big fan of conspiracy theories, but there are several points in this section that really make you think and question several assertions and statements that were made. Whether this is true or false, I don't know, but it sounds eerily plausible.

The last part talks about banks, money, and debt, and how the United States always seems to enter wars under the sketchiest circumstances. Is it all so the government can profit from the war? Is the government the highest power in the country? Again, I'm no friend of gratuitous paranoia, but some arguments here warrant being listened to.

The first eight minutes or so of Zeitgeist are not all that amazing, but I advice you stick with it and wait until Part I begins. If nothing else, watch just that part, and let us know what you think. I bet some people are very angry!

Always Scarlett

Vicky Cristina Barcelona, the latest Woody Allen movie, opened last Friday, and I went to see it because it stars Scarlett Johansson. What, you think that's not a good enough reason to go see a movie? Well, you're wrong.

VCB tells the story of best friends Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson), who go to Barcelona for the summer. There they meet Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) and María Elena (Penélope Cruz), and things become unpredictable.

The movie displays both some excellent qualities and some poor decisions, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. The acting is great, and the four main actors do a terrific job with their characters. The dialogue feels real and flows naturally, in that naturalistic Woody Allen way that makes characters feel like real people instead of fictional entities. The thematic concerns, such as love, dissatisfaction, moral ambiguity, and the question of knowing what you want/thinking you know what you want are very interesting and explored in depth.
On the lackluster side, the photography was bad, with plenty of blurry and out of focus shots that were obviously not meant to be that way. And on a less picky level, the voiceover that narrates the movie struck me as lazy filmmaking. Allen uses this technique to tell us things instead of showing us, and while I understand it keeps the ball rolling and it's even amusing sometimes, the overall feeling I got was one of "I'm telling you this so I don't have to bother wasting time on screen showing you". I think the actors could have conveyed what was being narrated through dialogue and interaction, rendering the voiceover redundant and annoying, a cheap device to help the story move forward.

All in all, and as I said, I enjoyed the film. And yes, had it not starred Scarlett Johansson, I would have liked it a lot less. But she's beautiful and looks phenomenal in this kind of contemporary movie (as opposed to period pieces, in which she doesn't look as great). I don't think I liked it as much as I did Allen's previous Scarlett Johansson movies (Match Point and Scoop), but Bardem's charismatic performance added a lot to this enjoyable film. But, in the end, it doesn't really matter what I say: if you like Woody Allen, you'll go see this movie, and if you don't care for his films, you'll skip it. So there you go: do as you please.

Fallecido

Carlos Meglia, fantástico dibujante argentino, falleció el jueves de la semana pasada, según informan Newsarama y The Beat. Meglia tenía cincuenta años, y la causa de su fallecimiento parece deberse a un tipo de infarto que le dañó la aorta.

Los aficionados al comic pueden disfrutar de su trabajo en Adventures of Superman, Spyboy, Elektra y Monster World en el mercado estadounidense, y de Irish Coffee y Cybersix en el mundo hispanohablante. Personalmente, yo descubrí al dibujante en Cañari, serie guionizada por Crisse y publicada por Soleil, con cuyos primeros -y tal vez únicos- dos tomos me hice en una de mis visitas a España.

Una triste pérdida para el mundo del arte que su amigo Humberto Ramos lamenta en su blog (también lo hace Francisco Herrera) con desgarradora honestidad.

Organic #53

Bienvenidos una semana más a Organic, el webcómic más largo que un nivel de Volfied sin bonus.

Tras aparecer en su forma gaseosa y apuñalar al Cientuertífico, Tomatito revela un nuevo poder al lanzar una onda de energía que parte por la mitad a su odiada némesis. De pronto, nuestros héroes le han dado la vuelta a la tortilla, y es ahora el Cientuertífico el que no ve de dónde le caen. Pero, ¿qué pasará a continuación? Esto es Organic, así que tú decides!

Bonus: inspiración.

A Classic Updated

A new Prince of Persia game is coming out for the 360 and other lesser systems later this year. Needless to say, the good folks at G4tv.com have a long video with cool gameplay you should really check out. Other than the excellent animation, I really like the color palette, and the bad guy the main character fights. Check out the video and get ready to be amazed!

Cho Strikes Back

One of my favorite comic book artists, the amazing (and salacious) Frank Cho, has signed an exclusive contract with Marvel. He has, however, plenty of other projects he's working on, so this whole "exclusive" contract strikes me as a "you can do whatever except work for DC" kinda deal. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, since I'd rather have him draw pretty much anything but superhero books. Anyway, read this interesting interview with Monkeyboy, and check out his new website. Enjoy!

Roadtrippeando

Como ya sabéis, Molo y yo estuvimos de road trip por Estados Unidos la semana pasada y la anterior. Os debo varias entradas con nuestras aventuras a lo ancho y más ancho de la geografía americana, así que, para calmar vuestro apetito, aquí tenéis un vídeo. Pero no es un vídeo cualquiera, no señor. Mi compañero de aventuras, el inimitable Felipe "Molo" Molina, cámara en mano, grabó todos los segmentos durante el viaje e hizo casi todas las fotos que podéis ver en el documental (y cientos más que no). A continuación, se metió en la sala de edición (mi salita) y montó el estupendo reportaje gráfico del que podéis disfrutar ahí arriba.

Espero que este testimonio visual os haga partícipes, aunque sea un poquito, de nuestras correrías de las últimas dos semanas. Mis largas y pedantes reflexiones sobre nuestras aventuras tendrán que esperar a la semana que viene. Enjoy!

PD: Justo bajo de la pantalla tenéis la opción de verlo en "high quality".

Late SDCC

The world-famous San Diego ComicCon took place last month, but since I was travelling, I didn't really get a chance to tell you guys about it. Since it's too late now, I won't go into detail, but will offer instead some highlights, all of them available at Newsarama.
1. For information about Top Cow and their projects, follow this link.
2. For information about Joss Whedon's new series Dollhouse, make sure you read this.
3. For information about the first movie of the new Terminator trilogy, Terminator: Salvation, read this article.
4. For insightful Lost comments by its creators, don't miss this panel.
5. For a comprehensive look at every single article Newsarama has on the topic, go here.
Enjoy!

Third Time's Not the Charm

I had to wait until my road trip was over to go see the new Mummy, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. I had been spectacularly underwhelmed by the preview, but I do like the first two movies (especially the first one), and I wanted to check it out. So I went to see it.

The movie has gotten ridiculously harsh reviews, and the truth is that this time I tend to agree with the critics. I found this third Mummy barely entertaining, and I think I can pinpoint what failed to impress me.

First of all, the story didn't exactly blow me away. The opening tale of the Dragon Emperor (Jet Li) wasn't compelling at all, and everything that followed was just half-hearted. The interaction between O'Connell and his son was okay, but I missed the O'Connell/Evey dynamic that was so much fun in the previous chapters of the saga. This lack of chemistry might have been due to the fact that Rachel Weisz didn't reprise her role and Maria Bello portrayed the character instead, I don't know. She doesn't do a bad job, but the chemistry just isn't there. Brendan Fraser is funny, but the witty dialogue and hilarious one-liners that were everywhere in the first movie are nowhere to be found. There're some attempts at comedy (mostly by John Hannah), and I even chuckled a couple of times, but the writing was lackluster. Also, and maybe worst of all, the plot seemed to drive the characters' actions on more than one occasion, and that bothered me. Some actions and behavior were clearly motivated because the plot said so, not because it was coming from the characters or flowed from the story. On at least three instances, I found myself thinking "Come on! Why would he ever do that?" The reason was that he did that because the plot demanded it for the story to move forward. Never mind it was stupid or that it didn't make sense. It just had to happen, and apparently the writers couldn't find a less clunky way to do it. A shame.

Some of the action scenes I did like, like the battle in the snow, but most of them left me indifferent. And that is a good way to describe the impression the movie made on me. I might as well have gotten up to get something to drink and then returned to my seat, and I wouldn't have thought I was missing anything important. My advice therefore is that, if you really, really like the first two films, then wait and rent this movie when it comes out on DVD. If, on the other hand, you thought the previous installments were just sort of okay, I think you won't like this movie at all. Your call.

Campbell Shares

Do you like the Return to Wonderland cover accompanying these words? It was drawn by J. Scott Campbell, and if you visit this site, you can read the step-by-step process as photographed and told by Campbell himself. A very interesting (and quick) read, and a great insight at how this amazing artist works. Enjoy!

Organic #52

Bienvenidos a la quincuagé-
simo segunda entrega de Organic, el webcómic más popular de Sunny Jhanna! Y como bien indica el numeral, Organic cumple hoy un añito de acción ininterrumpida. Ya sé que dije que habría una celebración especial, pero lamentablemente no he tenido tiempo de hacer nada dado que me he pasado la semana de aquí para allá (más detalles pronto). Pero bueno: al menos mis viajes no me han impedido cumplir con la viñeta de hoy, en la que Koori asiste sorprendida al retorno de su ex-difunto padre. Tomatito, comprensiblemente cabreado, emula a mi querido Franky y le asesta una puñalada al ojo al Científico Loco y -desde ahora- Tuerto. El combate se pone interesante, especialmente con Koori volando ahora por ahí después de su inesperada mutación. Pero, ¿qué pasará a continuación? Esto es Organic, así que tú decides!

Kitten

A quick picture I drew with my black Sharpie while listening to SModcast. I guess this is as cute a picture of mine can get. And that's it, really. Enjoy!

Behind the Scenes

If you've already seen The X-Files: I Want to Believe, or maybe if you're just interested in what actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson have to say about their work in the movie, check out the following interview. And if you're still craving for more X-Files goodness, read this interview with series creator and movie director Chris Carter and writer Frank Spotnitz. Enjoy!

Running Robot

As I was going through my sketchbook, I found this cute picture. I checked the blog, because I was positive I had already posted it here, but apparently I just thought of doing it, but never actually did, so here you have it for the first time! I think I had been reading too much Dr. Slump at the time, and this was the result of it. Enjoy!

Cute Monster

Here you have a quick sketch of a tiny monster I drew a while ago. I was flipping through my sketchbook, and I came across this picture. I thought it was kind of cute, so I decided to post it, and see what you guys think. As far as I remember, I drew it in like five minutes or so. Enjoy!

Vuelve el héroe

Pues sí, queridos lectores, así es: El gran héroe americano vuelve a las pantallas de todo el mundo. A la gran pantalla, quiero decir. Y a las pequeñas. Y a las páginas.

Según cuenta Stephen J. Cannell, creador de la mítica serie al que todos recordamos como el tipo con barba que sacaba de la máquina de escribir aquella hoja al final de los créditos, The Greatest American Hero vuelve a nosotros. El impulso nostálgico que, durante los últimos años, no ha dejado serie de televisión sin su correspondiente remake cinematográfico, se ha apoderado de Cannell y William Katt, y vamos a tener Ralph Hinkley hasta en la sopa.

Primero, en la San Diego Comic Con de este año, se presentará (o se habrá presentado, cuando leáis esto) una serie de cortos animados de cuatro minutos basados en la serie, disponibles en Internet y para móviles. Dichos cortos cuentan con las voces de los tres actores originales (William Katt, Connie Selleca y Robert Culp), y transcurren entre las dos primeras temporadas de las tres que duró la serie de televisión.

Segundo, en formato comic, como serie limitada de seis números dibujada por Clint Hilinski y escrita por el mismo Katt en colaboración con Christopher Folino y Sean O'Reilly. Los tres primeros números narrarán el origen del personaje (adaptando, al parecer, el episodio piloto original), y los tres últimos seguirán la acción donde la tercera temporada la dejó. Además, Katt ya advierte que la serie será recopilada en tomo en cuanto se hayan publicado todos los números.
Y tercero, como película cuyos detalles se están negociando en este momento, y de la que Cannell dice se centrará en los tres personajes principales de la serie: Ralph Hinkley, Pam Davidson, y Bill Maxwell. Según Cannell, la historia será la misma que se contaba en la serie, pero con algunos cambios, y será dirigida por Stephen Herek con guión de Chris Matheson y Ryan Rowe.

¿Emocionados? ¿Aterrados? No dejéis de dejarnos vuestros sesudos comentarios!

Don't Give Up

I was anticipating the new X-Files movie because I love the show. I bought the whole nine seasons on July 2007, and spent ten months watching my way through all that goodness. It was a huge coincidence that, when I was more than halfway through the series, series creator Chris Carter announced the new movie would open on July 25. I had just enough time to finish the show comfortably, and be ready for the movie. And not only did I finish watching the show, but I avoided seeing even one preview for the movie. Therefore, I went to the theater having no idea what I would find.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe is pretty much a standalone episode that could have very well been part of the regular show. I liked the movie, but it didn't blow me away. I enjoyed meeting Mulder and Scully again, and seeing how the intervening years had affected their lives and appearance. It was the interaction between Mulder and Scully that I enjoyed the most in the movie. The story, on the other hand, was okay and actually quite terrifying for a couple of reasons, but it wasn't the best X-Files story I've been told. It was suspenseful and intense, but it also had lots of calmer scenes in which Mulder and Scully talked and revealed their personalities and views of the world.

There were only a couple of references to previous events on the show, but nothing that would prevent the occasional moviegoer to enjoy and understand the film completely. There were a few new characters, like hot Amanda Peet's Agent Dakota Whitney, and an old (and very dear) character from the show that just put a smile on my face as soon as he appeared.

To sum it up, The X-Files: I Want to Believe is a worthy addition to the series while working as a standalone movie, and if you're in the mood for some thrills and interesting ideas and debates, by all means go see it. And did I mention how gorgeous Gillian Anderson is?

PS: If you go see the movie, stay until the end of the credits. You're welcome.

Organic #51

Bienvenidos una semana más a Organic, el webcómic más aclamado de Sunny Jhanna.

El virus mutante desarrollado por el Científico Loco ha empezado a hacer de las suyas, tal y como Koori está empezando a experimentar en carne propia. Y, la verdad, es que la azulada exploradora no parece muy contenta con su situación. ¿Qué pasará a continuación? ¿Huirá de la base ya no tan secreta del científico para revisar su plan de ataque? ¿Aprovechará sus nuevas alas para lanzarse en una embestida mortal contra su más odiado enemigo? Esto es Organic, así que tú decides!

Bonus: el dibujo original del genial y añorado Michael Turner que ha inspirado la entrega de esta semana.

Mind of Mad

Joe Madureira is, along with J. Scott Campbell, my favorite comic book artist. Like Campbell, Mad isn’t exactly a prolific artist, but at least he does have some sort of excuse, since during the last few years he’s been working as a concept artist for videogames rather than drawing comics. Well, thanks to this cool site devoted to the life and works of Joe Mad, I just found out about the project he’s working on as we speak. Said project is called Darksiders, and it’s a videogame that will be released for the Xbox360 and PlayStation 3. In this cool video, Joe Mad talks about different aspects of the game, and I encourage you to check it out. If you don’t care about what he has to say, you can watch this clip instead, and you’ll see the cinematic intro for the game. But if you’re like me and understand that yeah, cinematic sequences look nice and all but you don’t actually watch them more than once, you might then find this clip interesting. It shows gameplay from Darksiders, and it looks like this game is going to be awesome. And in this one, you can see more gameplay, and you also get to check out some of Mad’s terrific designs for the game. And if, after all this, you’re still not excited, then you should watch this one, in which the creators talk about the story for the game. What? You don’t think playing as War, one of the four Horsemen of Apocalypse is cool? You don’t think that amazing sword he’s carrying is badass? You don’t? Then you’re just weird.

Canepa Rocks My World

The last issue of my beloved Sky Doll is out, and the fine folks at Newsarama have posted this interview with creators Alessandro Barbucci and Barbara Canepa. They talk about the series, what their influences were, and how the whole thing came together. More importantly, the tease at the future fourth volume of the series, Sudra (which, if you ask me, can’t be finished quickly enough), and they reveal Sky Doll will consist of six volumes. And then, to top it off, Barbara Canepa confesses to be an atheist. I mean, can she get any better? She is super cute and talented beyond description, and now it turns out she has a great personality to go with her other charms! I doubt you will ever read this, Barbara, but, if you do, just know that you rock!

Step On My Head

Gears of War 2 is coming out in November, and Adam Sessler got design director Cliff Bleszinski to talk to him about the game. But not only does good ole Cliff talk about the game –he also plays it for him… while being interviewed! At any rate, in this video we get to see new enemies (like the priest or the armored Boomers), new weapons (that scorcher looks sweet), and new features (like that portable shield you can set up and hide behind). And, while you’re watching the video, check out that sweet finishing move: Marcus’s boots have never been so deadly!

PS: You can see the gameplay without the interview in HD here