Witchblade #124

Witchblade #124 came out shortly after my last visit to B&M Amusement, but I couldn't wait to see what happened next after the last scene in issue 123. Therefore, I stopped by the comic book store on my way to see Coraline, and got it. And, as usual, it was great.

Starting with the awesome cover, this issue is packed with sweet artwork by Stjepan Sejic, the regular artist on the series who keeps delivering month after month. I remember him saying he couldn't wait to prove everyone wrong about him not being able to draw the book monthly, and so far he's been doing exactly that. Perish the naysayers!

Ron Marz's script is, once again, a great read that offers compelling characters and the most realistic dialogue I have ever read in a comic book. As for the story itself, ish 124 serves as an epilogue for the Crown Heights story arc that does indeed continue the aforementioned last scene from Witchblade #123 with unexpected results and soon-to-come cataclysmic consequences.

This book sets the stage for the War of the Witchblades storyarc we've all been dying to read, and that will begin next month with issue 125. And if you haven't been dying to read it, it means you haven't been following the best ongoing series out there, buddy. So it's about time you paid attention and started buying Witchblade. You will make both Top Cow and yourself really, really happy.

Buttons for Eyes

Seeing as Coraline was much better than The Unborn, I think this should have been the movie to mark my return to The Rave, but hey.

Henry Selick, the director of the movie, seems to have a thing for stop-motion animation, seeing as he also directed The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach. This time, Selick draws inspiration from the book by Neil Gaiman, and the result is a spooky, trippy movie that's equal parts whimsy and weird, with some nightmarish elements and a few laughs to balance the whole act.

I won't reveal anything about the plot, just so you don't know what to expect, but I had a good time watching this movie. Also, I got to see it in 3D, and while there were not many things that popped out of the screen, it did add an unexpected depth to every scene in the movie. Still, I don't think the third dimension worked as well as in Beowulf, the last 3D movie I had seen previous to Coraline, but it didn't really matter.

Coraline offers monsters, mice, circus antics, dysfunctional families (is there any other kind?), and spectacularly strange characters in a world that alternates from grayishly unsettling to warmly colorful, and it boasts fancy and imagination and wild creativity. And did I mention the monsters?

I am not sure that I would give it as high a grade as it's gotten pretty much everywhere, but it sure will keep you entertained for an hour and a half. So go see it and let us know what you think!

Anita

Los retratos y las caricaturas me fascinan, no puedo evitarlo. Al mismo tiempo, me encantaría ser capaz de hacer buenos dibujos en cualquiera de ambos géneros (o en los dos: por pedir que no quede), así que de vez en cuando me da por intentarlo, no siempre con los resultados deseados.

El dibujo de hoy es una suerte de retrato/caricatura de Natalie Dormer, la actriz que interpreta a Anne Boleyn en The Tudors. Pese a que me gusta el dibujo, creo que no se parece demasiado a la actriz, sino que podría ser prácticamente cualquier morena de ésas que le gustan a Nash. En ese aspecto, el dibujo no logra su objetivo, y por eso no acaba de convencerme. De todas formas, ahí lo tenéis para que me digáis qué os parece. Enjoy!

El honor de la reina

El honor de la reina es la continuación de las aventuras espaciales de Honor Harrinton, que comenté previamente en el blog. Esta segunda parte me ha gustado bastante más que la primera: el ritmo es más rápido, y hay más acción, tanto política como bélica, aunque esta última es muy realista y yo personalmente no termino de entender el sistema de escudos ni por qué tienen que hacer tanta maniobra extraña en el espacio para pegarse con los misiles.

Esta vez la buena de Honor es la jefa de una “pequeña” delegación de su país que pretende entablar relaciones diplomáticas con unos vecinos para que sus muy odiados y temidos adversarios no se les adelanten a la hora de establecer bases militares en sus fronteras. Lo malo de estos posibles aliados es que son unos fanáticos ultra cristianos, machistas a más no poder y que además odian la tecnología, aunque como se ve necesitan de ella para vivir. Si estos son los aliados, os preguntaréis quiénes son los malos de la peli. Bien, se trata de unos cuantos tipos todavía más fanáticos y más machistas que fueron expulsados del planeta porque eran demasiado fanáticos, que quieren vengarse de la expulsión del planeta, y que, cómo no, cuentan con la ayuda de los acérrimos enemigos de Honor, que les han proporcionado naves nuevas para intentar hacer fracasar las negociaciones y quedarse con ese trocito de espacio. Así que nuestra prota no solo lucha contra los malos, sino que tiene que vencer la mediocridad de mente de sus aliados para hacerles ver que una tipa dura como ella es capaz de cargarse a quien haga falta por el honor de sus reina y no es necesario tener testículos para llevar acabo dicha misión.

Aunque mejor que su predecesora, esta novela no tiene ni mucho menos la calidad de obras como Tropas del espacio o ciertas novelas de Arthur C. Clak como dicen en la contraportada.

The Treachery so Far

I just finished reading the fourth issue (out of six) of The Dark Tower: Treachery, and it left me a bit indifferent. However, it is not only this book, but the whole arc. I think both the writing and the art are as good as they were in The Gunslinger Born and The Long Road Home, but I guess the novelty is wearing off. I am still interested in the story, but it moves forward really, really slowly. I like the artwork, but I think Jae Lee is more than starting to repeat himself. There's barely any backgrounds, and the few background elements we do get to see are all the same: gnarly trees, huge rocks, arches --all in the type of vertical composition the artist seems to favor. And let's not mention that ubiquitous mist that serves as an excuse not to finish figures and scenery. It does add a feel of mystery, of the unsettling supernatural, but it's getting real old real fast. Or maybe I just need a break from the action (what action?) and stop buying the series after issue six comes out. I don't know if there will be another miniseries after this one, but chances are it will happen, especially if the book keeps selling well. However, at $3.99 per issue, I think it's time to start considering getting the next series in trade. I will have to wait longer, yes, but that would accomplish two things: I would get a welcome break both in the action and the price. Come to think of it, it really is a no-brainer. Or maybe I have just forgotten the face of my father.

Tormenta

Mi querido amigo y coblogueador Nash me regaló, a través del tercer y también querido Blogueador Oficial del Reino Halagan, los tres primeros libros de The Dresden Files para mi cumpleaños, y la verdad es que tenía un poco de miedo antes de empezar con la serie. ¿Qué pasaría si no me gustaba el primer libro? ¿Tendría que tragarme los otros dos por compromiso, por no ser un mal queda? ¿Tendría que fingir que me habían gustado? Afortunadamente, todas mis preocupaciones se revelaron infundadas, ya que Storm Front, el primer libro de la serie, es no sólo entretenidísimo sino altamente recomendable.

Jim Butcher, el autor de la novela, nos presenta un mundo de urban fantasy en el que Harry Dresden es el único mago que practica en público. Afincado en Chicago, Dresden se gana la vida investigando casos extraños y ayudando a la policía a solucionar algún que otro crimen relacionado con lo sobrenatural. En esta realidad, la mayoría de la gente no cree en la magia, y muchos piensan que Dresden no es sino un farsante, aunque nada podría estar más lejos de la realidad.

En Storm Front, varias subtramas interesantes se desarrollan simultáneamente, pero lo mejor de todo (y probablemente la razón por la que a Nash le gustó la serie de televisión basada en los libros) es el personaje principal, Harry Dresden. Dresden es un tipo duro, sarcástico, que recibe más palos que una estera pero que sigue volviéndose a poner en pie para resolver el caso. O para recibir más tortas, que es igual de probable. Junto a Dresden, varios personajes secundarios hacen acto de presencia, quedando bastante claro que formarán parte del reparto regular en futuras entregas de la larga serie. (La undécima novela sale en abril.)

Storm Front se lee rapidísimo, y es entretenido, divertido y ocurrente, con grandes personajes como el propio Harry o su "ayudante" Bob (me río sólo de pensarlo), y con buenos diálogos y escenas de acción muy bien pensadas. En resumen: de lo más compelling que os podáis imaginar. Si el resto de libros son como mínimo igual de buenos, creo que tendré que añadir una serie más a las que ya sigo. ¡Ciertamente recomendable!

The Unborn

My return to the movie theater after an over-a-month-long absence could have been more memorable, truth be told. But I chose to see The Unborn, and so it wasn't.

The Unborn, written and directed by David S. Goyer, is one of those scary movies that don't really scare you. Or thrill you. Or make you care. Actually, I should have remembered the last movie written and directed by Goyer that I saw was The Invisible, and that movie wasn't exactly amazing. At the very least, The Unborn is entertaining, especially during the first half. Superhot Casey Beldon (played by Odette Yustman) is trying to figure out what her visions and nightmares mean, and this part of the film is kind of unsettling. You don't know what's going on (unless you've seen the preview, of course), and the story takes its time unfolding through a variety of strange scenes that display some neat visuals and cool ideas. That part was fun. However, as soon as Casey figures out what is happening (is she going crazy? Is some spooky ghost actually trying to get her?), the movie takes a turn for the worse, and everything becomes rather silly, derivative, and spectacularly unoriginal.

So save your money, dear reader, and skip this movie. Maybe one of the other horror movies now playing will be better. (Dare I going to see The Uninvited? Dare I?) As for The Unborn, what can I say? It wasn't bad enough to make me angry, but I doubt this is the best the genre has to offer this year. And if it is, well, then I will be scared.