Taking a trip into the coming soon realm of comics, PLANET GRIFFIN takes a quick look at some of the upcoming shelf warmers that may prove not to be for very long... TOP COW, for example, has recently cranked out a werewolf hybrid title called TRACKER, a 5 issue joint project between Top Cow and HEROES AND VILLIANS ENTERTAINMENT... Now, I can say now, the real draw of the book is the work of FRANCIS TSAI, who's not afraid to let you know where his inspirations lie, from the Evil Dead-like cover to some of the characters found in this series (tell me when you find the MAN THING). Anyway, the series revolves around an FBI profiler whose run-in with a werewolf complicates his current hunt for a serial killer. Simple, right? For better or worse, at least take a moment to give this one a second look as you browse the shelves. I'm sure Top Cow will thank you for your time. Moving on... Despite my love/hate with the Marvel U, here's one that I feel compelled to look for... MARK WAID and EMMA RIOS, with covers by TOMM COKER, bring back the good doctor... Kind of. Though no longer the Sorcerer Supreme, the man known as STRANGE is now free to explore the more darker side of the magic he's practiced through the years. No more Wong, no more Eye of Aggamatto, and no more brownstone with the fat skyline window. Of course, we'll only have 4 issues to ponder this brave new world. Let's hope its a really good one.
Maaaaan, those wacky kids from the IDW camp are off and running with their upcoming releases--- this title stands as no exception. While my knowledge of writer STEVE NILES has never ventured beyond 30 Days of Night--- and no sleep was lost on that thought--- I'll be the first to say that he must really be onto something if he was able to convince BERNIE WRIGHTSON to return to comics with THE GHOUL, a new monster-noir title that introduces an L.A. Detective caught up in a mystery so bizarre, he must turn to an investigator with a knack for solving the weirdest crimes imaginable!(Click the Ghoul for the 5 page preview)
Next time you head out to the shops, be on the look out for some of these titles and give'em a flip-thru. This is PLANET GRIFFIN.
PLANET GRIFFIN returns, after a bout of technical difficulties, returns to broadcast depth with the WEEKEND EDITION! Today, the PLANET returns to the world of ASSASSINS' CREED with a new series of short film episodes that serves as a prequel leading into the game.
Episode One: 1476 Florence, Italy. Assassin Giovanni Auditore investigates the murder of the Duke of Milan, and uncovers a conspiracy that implicates some of the most powerful families in Italy, and quite possibly, the Vatican itself! Giovanni must expose the web of treachery before he himself is assassinated!
The PLANET has come back, folks! Enjoy the weekend and stay tuned for the new features to come!
They say there's nothing new under the sun anymore... Everything's a derivative of something else. From conceptual to realization, the idea generators that be tend to either 'remake' foreign series for an American audience or 'smashgenre' (mish-mashing various genre types together)... In the world of television, you've seen it in everything from Australia's 'Kathy and Kate' ( Dud) to the BBC's 'The Office' (Hit), to this interesting little remake whose original series sparked the imagination... LIFE ON MARS.
The two versions were written similarly, both with great casts and an even greater premise:
In 2008, Police detective Sam Tyler (UK's John Simm/USA's Jason O'Mara) is struck by a car, only to awaken back in time as a police detective in 1973. Stunned and bewildered, Sam continues his police work under the command of Gene Hunt (UK's Philip Glenister/USA's Harvey Keitel), trying to figure out why he's stuck in time, and more importantly, if what he sees and feels as real IS real. The real kicker of the series is keeping the audience guessing whether Sam's gone mad, he's in a coma (both of which living inside his own head), or actually back in time.
Each episode offered clues to what could be (seeing lost souls, hospital 'progress reports' on Sam's condition bleeding in through radio and TV broadcasts, the odd character suffering from the same 'lost in time' condition, and let's not forget about the little spaceships... Yeah, you heard me right...), making for an interesting mix of sci-fi and police procedural. I found the BBC version to be incredibly thought-provoking as Sam figured out what happens, going back to present day, yet longing to get back to 1973 (To which, Sam jumped off a building to solve that problem). The American version was slightly different, where Sam learns the answer by 'waking up' to realize that he's 'living' the David Bowie song... (The series writers of the American version were hard pressed to come up with a series finale that could actually make sense seeing as how the network pushed the series producers to rush the end due to poor ratings)
If you haven't seen either series, PLANET GRIFFIN recommends you give them a try--- the BBC series is vastly superior to its American counterpart, sad to say, but then, a radical idea must have an equally radical pair of balls to realize it. (The moral of the story, folks) The American cut, recently released on DVD, is still worth viewing (only the crappy ending kills it, everything else is actually pretty cool). In addition to radical ideas, the BBC gave it another go in a sequel series in which a future female detective awakens in the 80's (at least she was spared the era of The Mary Whitehouse Experience), struggling to find her way back while investigating a serial murder spree.
DOUG TENNAPEL is, in PLANET GRIFFIN's humble opinion, a Creator's creator... For anyone who seeks to produce their own body of work, this is certainly a guy to talk to!
I've been a fan of the bizarre worlds of Doug since the days of EARTHWORM JIM(remember SEGA, kids?), and later, my kids would become enthralled with CATSCRATCH on TV.
Outside of an already impressive workload, Doug still finds the time to crank out books... Original Graphic Novels, to be exact (y'know, those things that Joe Q. couldn't find any benefit in?). With 9 OGN's under his belt so far, (2 of my favorites I feature here) Doug proclaims his interest to continue doing a graphic novel per year till the end.
My hero.
Anyways, his philosophies and techniques in the craft of what he does is incredibly inspiring and well worth listening to, especially if you wish to learn the old school ways of traditional storytelling.
I'll admit, I was floored when I noticed that this guy inks 4 page blocks at a time!(a technique PAUL POPE talks about, and I utilize) Moreover, the simple explanation of great storytelling over 'perfection' was key in reigniting the fire under my ass to get work done!
Look, don't take my word for it, check out his work for yourself HERE. Tell me what you see. I see a reason to get back to work.
PLANET GRIFFIN is back at broadcasting depth within the recesses of this popculture matrix to follow up on the recent animation posts from yesterday. Now that you're warmed up, the Planet has followed up on the recent announcement made yesterday from ANIBOOM(currently in a partnership with Marvel Entertainment), proclaimed as 'The world's first virtual animation studio'. After 6 weeks and 10+ hours of sifting through almost 8,000 animators, Marvel judges have narrowed down at least 5 finalists in their 'motion comic competition'. (The finalists receive $2,000 to expand on their submissions into a full length story; eventually competing with a 'Wild Card' finalist for a grand prize of $10,000 and to debut their prize motion comic on the Marvel Digital Network.) The winner will be announced November 16th.
The motion comic project is Marvel's campaign for its newest digital initiative for 2010. Marvel hopes to inject new life into its titles. Of course, motion comics are still in its infancy, so the jury's still out on that one. (Spider Woman was Marvel's first big step into the motion comic arena, selling it's episodes for $1.99 on iTunes. Now, you can watch them for free onHULU... Kinda tells you something, doesn't it?) Now maybe it's me, but you would think with all of the corporation's liquid assets at their fingertips, Marvel could have put out its own 'Ninja Scroll' or 'Ghost in the Shell' classic by now, much less motion comic classic. Their current animation roster alone hasn't generated the kind of buzz they had hoped--- Too many people buzzing about Green Lantern, for instance--- to really get fanboy's attention. You would think that the Mouse House couldn't have turned to powerhouse's like PRODUCTION I.G. or STUDIO GHIBLI(Disney DOES have workable interests in both arthouses). Just ask yourself: Is my money worth what I watch when I make mine Marvel? The finalists pieces do warrant some merit, and with the finalist money, they should be able to crank out some amazing product. I guess time will tell, huh? To check out the rest of the finalists, go HERE and decide for yourself. This is PLANET GRIFFIN--- keeping your back straight and your knees clean... No bowing down. No bending over.
Speaking of old school animation, I miss the depravity of underground great Ralph Bakshi. Alot has changed since the days of COOL WORLD(but we already know that)... Oh, how my head turned when I came across GUSTAVO COVA's latest animated feature, BOOGIE el ACEITOSO, based on the works of famed artist ROBERTO FONTANARROSA.
The movie tells of the misadventures of a hardened hitman surviving in the graphically violent, and comedic, Argentenian underworld. Boogie drinks, smokes, scratches his ball, and shoots alot of people in his mission to prove that he's still on top of his game despite the younger rival who's new to the scene. Originally conceived as an ironic take on Dirty Harry of the 70's, Boogie found a huge fan base in Mexico in 1979 when his adventures began running regularly in PROCESO magazine as a black and white strip.
Using cut-out animation overlapping highly elaborate backgrounds, Cova creates a parody of the various aesthetic styles from the 70's era--- Dark action film context with bursts of color. As the film debuts simultaneously in Mexico and Argentina, America should get its wake up call sometime in early 2010 when it hits DVD here. I can't wait!
A mysterious, former monk-with-no-name travels the barren wastelands of the earth with a bounty on his head, accompanied by a talking mule named Lord Evelyn Dunkirk Winniferd Esquire the 3rd. A bizarre cast of characters pervades the weird visual world of THE SHAOLIN COWBOY.
GEOFF DARROW, co-creator of BIG GUY and RUSTY THE BOY ROBOT and HARD BOILED (along with Frank Miller), as well as the conceptual designer of the MATRIX trilogy for the WACHOWSKI BROTHERS, has finally announced that he will co-direct SHAOLIN COWBOY as a traditional animated feature along with a soon-to-be-named Japanese director. While he says the film will remain truthful to his highly detailed style (i.e. trash-strewn, corporate labels everywhere, etc.), the real draw of the announcement lies in his decision to go with traditional, hand-drawn animation versus the current trend of CGI . As a fan of his style, I champion the idea that old school is not dead, and that despite the incredible advances of digital animation, it only works when real talent is the motivation behind the tech.
Of course, realizing how long it takes for Geoff to illustrate a page, one can only hope that it doesn't take twice that to animate.
Taking a trip into the coming soon realm of comics, PLANET GRIFFIN takes a quick look at some of the upcoming shelf warmers that may prove not to be for very long... TOP COW, for example, has recently cranked out a werewolf hybrid title called TRACKER, a 5 issue joint project between Top Cow and HEROES AND VILLIANS ENTERTAINMENT... Now, I can say now, the real draw of the book is the work of FRANCIS TSAI, who's not afraid to let you know where his inspirations lie, from the Evil Dead-like cover to some of the characters found in this series (tell me when you find the MAN THING). Anyway, the series revolves around an FBI profiler whose run-in with a werewolf complicates his current hunt for a serial killer. Simple, right?
For better or worse, at least take a moment to give this one a second look as you browse the shelves. I'm sure Top Cow will thank you for your time. Moving on...
Despite my love/hate with the Marvel U, here's one that I feel compelled to look for... MARK WAID and EMMA RIOS, with covers by TOMM COKER, bring back the good doctor... Kind of.
Maaaaan, those wacky kids from the IDW camp are off and running with their upcoming releases--- this title stands as no exception. While my knowledge of writer STEVE NILES has never ventured beyond 30 Days of Night--- and no sleep was lost on that thought--- I'll be the first to say that he must really be onto something if he was able to convince BERNIE WRIGHTSON to return to comics with THE GHOUL, a new monster-noir title that introduces an L.A. Detective caught up in a mystery so bizarre, he must turn to an investigator with a knack for solving the weirdest crimes imaginable! (Click the Ghoul for the 5 page preview)
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