Siege TPB

Siege: The Cabal (drawn by Michael Lark) and Siege #1–4 (drawn by Oliver Coipel), written by Brian Michael Bendis

Reading this collection really brought home the odd aspect of reading a lot of contributing series in trade paperback form. I read New Avengers, Dark Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man and Secret Warriors in trade form; these all come out at different times, so exactly where they fit in with this story is rather complicated. I feel like I should be drawing a chart with arrows telling me where I am in the time line.

This trade is the UK version (from Panini Publishing), so it includes the Siege: The Cabal prequel, well drawn by Michael Lark, in which Norman Osborn is pushed to the edge when he tries to take down Doom and Doom retaliates. This leads to Loki persuading him to attacking Asgard, which leads into the big mini-series itself. The story is fairly straightforward: Osborn attacks Asgard, which is hovering over the American town of Broxton, Omaha, after Loki has provided an 'inciting incident' involving Volstagg. With cameras watching, they attack Thor, which causes Steve Rogers to assemble the New Avengers, the Young Avengers and the Secret Warriors to fight back. Meanwhile, the Sentry rips apart Ares after Ares rebelled against Osborn; Osborn brings in all of the Hood's supervillains, bringing together practically everyone for a massive rumble, especially when Tony Stark returns as Iron Man and takes back his armour from Osborn. The final issue is then a big fight with the Sentry, who has become the Void, leading to the return of the original Avengers.

The point of this sort of story is the spectacle – big fights, big explosions, big action, big wins for the good guys. Oliver Coipel does a very good job – he has a muscular dynamism but he also has a nice cartoony and angular hint to his work, with particular emphasis on the facial expressions, very impressive in the middle of big fight scenes and helicarriers exploding. I also like the fact that he draws good-looking heroes and villains; the good guys look heroic and the villains have a sneer on their faces. Coipel tells the story clearly and powerfully, so that you can always tell what is going on in the story, something that can get lost in a crossover series.

The other main contributor here is Bendis – this is the culmination of his Avengers stories since the infamous Disassembled storyline destroyed the original Avengers and then turned them into the number one franchise in the Marvel universe, finally bringing back the big three (Captain America, Thor and Iron Man) to the same team after Civil War and Secret Invasion and Dark Reign. This is effectively handled – the necessary story beats are all hit and the necessary emotions are involved – but it doesn't feel as big as it should or perhaps Bendis was aiming for; I sometimes get the impression that Bendis understands story and drama well, and he speaks a good story and what his comics will be about, but it doesn't always continue through to the actual comics he produces. For example, the fact that Iron Man can switch off Osborn's armour so easily makes you wonder why that didn't happen earlier? It's enough to make you think they ignored it so they could do a year-long storyline where Osborn was in charge … I'm probably being cynical – this is functional and fun mainstream superheroics (which don't overstay their welcome at four issues), but it could have been a little more special.

Notes On A DVD: The Infidel

I had hoped to see this film when it came out in the cinema, but timings and cinema availability were against me, so I was glad to finally catch up with it on DVD, which is where it is more at home than the big screen. David Baddiel, a comedian and writer for whom I have a certain fondness since his time on The Mary Whitehouse Experience and Newman And Baddiel In Pieces (I think I've even bought one of his books, and actually read it), has written a funny British film that is about something and also based on personal experience. Baddiel, a Jew who was confused as Pakistani when he was a teenager at school as well as later due to his skin tone, has taken this idea and used it as a starting point for a comedy about a hot topic – the nature of Judaism and Islam today.

The story is about Mahmud (Omid Djalili), a contented albeit not a particularly observant Muslim with a loving wife and two children who discovers that he was adopted and was actually born Jewish: his birth name was Solly Shimshillewitz ('Why didn't they just call you "Jewe-jew-jew-jew-jew" and be done with it?'). This obviously causes him some anxiety, and he has to learn how to be 'more Jewish' so that he can visit his birth father in a Jewish care home. He does this with the help of the angry taxi driver, Lenny (Richard Schiff), who lives across from where his mum lived and is the only Jewish person he knows. These sections are the funniest – Djalili and Schiff play off each other really well, and Baddiel writes some very funny scenes about being Jewish, such as learning to say 'Oy' properly ('And now onto “vey”.') and telling a funny story at a Bar Mitzvah (where the punchline is a nonsense collection of Yiddish words, based on a story Baddiel used to tell in one of his routines).

The drama of the story involves Mahmud's son getting married to a girl whose new step-father is an observant and known imam, so the family must prove they are very observant to appease the step-father, which leads to the inciting incident of Mahmud telling everyone he is Jewish to get out of being arrested for inciting religious hatred. Therefore, the end of the film is about Mahmud winning back his family and helping his son get married, which involves the most silly (and not in a good way) reason for everything to work out that I think I have ever seen in a film, particularly a film about a Muslim finding out he was born Jewish. It really doesn't fit and takes away from the enjoyment of the rest of the film, which is gently funny and enjoyable.

Omid Djalili is very good in the lead role – a fat and hairy man with a wife who is too attractive for him but who exudes warmth and humour, even when he is being an idiot. Schiff is also very good as the main supporting character, reeling off his dialogue with supreme ease (probably a walk in the park after The West Wing). There is also able support from a host of British comedians (Matt Lucas, Miranda Hart, Paul Kaye, David Schneider), and even a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo from Baddiel himself. It is not a subversive film or highly political (although it does make some political points), but it is an amusing little British film with a point.

Rating: DVD

[Explanation of my updated film rating system]

Thoughts On Dodgem Logic

Dodgem Logic is, according to Alan Moore, 'the 21st century's first underground magazine'. There have been five issues so far, so it seemed like an opportunity to compile my thoughts on it.

My reason for reading is obviously Alan Moore – he may have left comics but he's still writing. He writes an editorial each issue, 'Great Hipsters In History' (little information snippets in card form), and a lengthy article: the first issue was about the history of underground publishing, the second issue was about anarchy, the third issue had a particularly fascinating article about the nature of magic (and reality), the fourth issue's article was about science fiction, and the fifth issue had heroic couplets. It's great reading Moore's writing overview's of a topic; he's a well-read, intelligent chap with a great clarity to his prose. It's not all serious – the insert in the second issue was a comic book written and drawn by Moore called Astounding Weird Penises, about Astro Dick, which is … certainly something.

It's not all Moore – he has gathered a lot of contributors to help, including Graham Linehan talking about Twitter, Josie Long about whatever is on her mind, Robin Ince on pointless anger righteous ire, his wife Melinda Gebbie on various subjects, Steve Moore (no relation) on whatever he wants to write about, and a page of illustration from Kevin O'Neill. There are also various regular items, such as recipes, articles on guerilla gardening, post-civilised theory and scavenging. There might be an article about crafting or health or civil planning or genetically modified seeds, or even some fiction. It's certainly a diverse mix, with a lot of local input (there is also an insert for a supposed local-interest pamphlet, but I've only seen the Northampton version in the issues I've bought) and the quality of writing can seem uneven compared with Moore's pieces.

The underground feel of the magazine is seen in the design and the typesetting: each piece looks completely different from the next, and even pages within the same article change their design and typeface from one page to the next (which I find rather distracting – the decision might be a reaction to the conformity of design but it gets in the way of actually reading the words; design and typography choices do exist for a reason). Although there were very few typos within the magazine, it seems that copy-editing and production editing are not part of the underground ethos, another distraction for me (particularly the hyphen, my personal obsession). Still, I suppose it makes it feel like the genuine article; the first two issues were especially old-fashioned and rough around the edges. However, with an increase from £2.50 to £3.50 at the third issue, it has taken on a more professional edge and the binding and quality have increased; the fifth issue takes this to the extreme and mimics Vanity Fair in design and layout on the front fold-out cover.

Dodgem Logic is unlike anything I've ever seen, which is one of the reasons why I don't mind buying it. But would I buy it if Alan Moore wasn't contributing so much to it? Probably not – I don't think there's quite enough in it without his input to justify my requirements, but I'm very happy to keep buying a copy as long as he keeps putting out this seemingly personal project.

Dark Reign: Zodiac

Dark Reign: Zodiac #1–3 by Joe Casey and Nathan Fox

In the basement of the lovely comic shop Gosh!, you can still find lots of cheap collections of various comic books, and the three issues of Dark Reign: Zodiac were there for £2. Seeing as a $2.99 comic book costs £2.20 nowadays, a presumably entire story for less than the price of one seems like a good deal. Also, I thought I remembered hearing good things from various review sites, and it's written by Casey, someone whose work I've enjoyed (such as Wildcats Version 3.0, mentioned yesterday). You now know the entirety of my logic for the purchase of these comics.

Having read the story, I'm still trying to work out exactly what the point of it is; I know that it might be because I'm not reading it within the context of the Dark Reign storyline that was going across the Marvel universe last year, but I can't see the point using my powers of imagination to place it within its time frame. A violent supervillain calling himself Zodiac, after killing the previous incarnation of the criminal organisation of the same name, has collected a small group of villains (Clown, Death Reaper, Manslaughter Marsdale, Dave Cannon aka Whirlwind) and is waging a vendetta against Norman Osborn for being told to go legit while Osborn is in charge, mainly because this Zodiac enjoys being a supervillain.

The first issue sees him kill 100 H.A.M.M.E.R. agents, then take down The Human Torch; the second issue sees him blow up the hospital where Johnny Storm is being treated, and convinces H.A.M.M.E.R. that the world is under attack from Galactus while Zodiac lobs a giant robot in to New York; the final issue sees a lot more mayhem before Zodiac reveals that it was all to recover the Zodiac key (a powerful weapon) so that he can take on Osborn properly. And that's it. Casey includes some funny dialogue (Zodiac tortures a H.A.M.M.E.R. agent, asking him what the acronym stands for), and it's certainly not something I've read in a Marvel comic book (Zodiac does feel a bit similar to the Joker on occasion), but I still can't work out why it exists as three-issue mini-series.

The other factor of note in the book is the art – Nathan Fox is not an artist I've seen before but he's definitely something new for a Marvel book (it reminds me a little of Keith Giffen in his Munoz days); he's a competent artist with a strong style of his own, full of detail and little extras that add spice to the panels (particularly sound effects). The characters are all individual and he moves the story along well. However, I found his faces rather ugly and his spandex looks crinkly and horrible, which I think is rather important in a comic book set in a superhero universe, but I know I'm old-fashioned like that. Still, he's an impressively different artist without needing my approval. I think he may be the reason why this comic book exists; decide for yourself based on the cover for issue 2 at the top of this post.

Why I'll Miss Wildstorm

With the sad news that Wildstorm will no longer be its own imprint within the DC, there have been many people lamenting the loss (including various creators at The Beat, Newsarama and iFanboy, as well as other people discussing the implications or just their favourite titles). I don't have the eloquence or 'big picture' insight that some of those do, but I did want to mention some of the reasons for me that make this a sad news item.

Comic books have succeeded on characters and fan favourite artists, but Wildstorm was a place where creators were allowed and encouraged to let their imaginations run and given room to do what they did best. James Robinson and Alan Moore had fun on WildCATS, with Travis Charest on art, and Moore created the wonderful ABC comics at Wildstorm as well as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen; Warren Ellis was given Stormwatch with Tom Raney, which became The Authority with Bryan Hitch (then with Mark Millar and Frank Quitely), and there was also Planetary with John Cassaday, and Global Frequency, which almost became a television series, and Ocean with Chris Sprouse (and I wish there had been more Desolation Jones); Ed Brubaker starts on Point Blank before creating Sleeper with Sean Phillips; Joe Casey did new things with a second volume of WildCATS and then the postmodern and ahead of its time Wildcats Version 3.0 with Dustin Nguyen, as well as the short-lived The Intimates; Brian K Vaughan did Ex Machina at Wildstorm with Tony Harris, while Kurt Busiek has been happily doing his Astro City in the same place, and Gail Simone used the Wildstorm backdrop for her Welcome To Tranquillity series.. There was also the brilliant mini-series The Winter Men by Brett Lewis and John Paul Leon – where else could something like that been done?

These were books I bought mostly as individual comic books as they came out, and they were individual voices that were unafraid to be themselves and enjoy doing it. Looking at the list of books I have collected over the years, and it's an impressive group of comics in its own right, made even more amazing that the series came from the same imprint that started relatively recently. How many publishers, including ones who have been around for longer, can boast such achievements? Great creators producing work that still stands up – Wildstorm will be missed. Yes, things went pear-shaped at the end, with the abortive relaunch of Wildcats and The Authority supposedly via Grant Morrison, but no publisher is great all the time. It's a shame that Wildstorm will no longer be around as good place to make comics, but we'll always have the stories that were produced there.

[EDIT: I wanted to add Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco's Arrowsmith and James Robinson and Paul Smith's Leave It To Chance to the list of great comic books from Wildstorm, after reading Timothy Callahan's piece at CBR.]

Notes On A Film: The Other Guys

The improvisational approach to the films of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay (Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers) has produced some really funny stuff but the films themselves aren't are great as complete cinematic experiences. I think it's the trade-off between a narrative and finding the extra funny in nearly every scene; the consistency of a structured screenplay with respect to all aspects feeding the story is unimportant when there's a good gag to be found. The Other Guys is no different from the preceding collaborations, but it is very funny in a lot of places, and that's what matters.

The story sees Ferrell, a forensic accountant detective who prefers to do the paperwork, and his partner (Mark Wahlberg), an angry detective who has been demoted because of shooting a baseball star, trying to work together when Wahlberg wants to be be hero cop (like the department stars, Samuel L Jackson and Dwayne Johnson, living all the action cop clichés in the first few minutes) while Ferrell is happy in the office. The plot is supposed to be topical – it's about the people in suits who steal billions via Wall Street, rather than drugs or jewels – but it is trivial compared to the jokes. There's the usual dialogue and insulting and snappy retorts, but there's also the great set piece of a silent brawl at a wake, or the night of drinking condensed into a panoramic photograph, or Ferrell's inexplicably hot wife (Eva Mendes) tenderly singing 'Pimps Don't Cry' to Ferrell after an argument (the attention to detail is impressive – they recorded a proper version of the song in blaxploitation funk style over the end credits, which made me think it was something actually from the 1970s).

The cast do well with the funny – it was nice to see Michael Keaton being funny again, as the captain who seems to speak in TLC song titles; Steve Coogan, who always complains that the UK sees him only as Alan Partridge, seems to channel Partridge for his banking 'villain' character; Ferrell can do funny in his sleep, but fortunately he's awake for this film, and Mendes is charmingly amusing; Wahlberg does a good job, perfectly suited to the angry man but also showing a funny side in the straight role. McKay does a good job of handling both the action and the comedy, so the film is enjoyable and well put together. However, it is not consistently funny because of the belief that ad-libbing and riffing is inherently more funny than working it out in advance. Not a film to see in the cinema, perhaps, but one to enjoy on DVD, with no doubt many, many cut scenes of the cast trying new things out or causing each other to corpse (one is even included at the end of the bizarre final credits, which are accompanied by financial statistics about the economic meltdown).

Rating: DVD

[Explanation of my updated film rating system]

Secret Warriors Vol. 2: God Of Fear, God Of War

Secret Warriors #7–10 and Dark Reign: The List – Secret Warriors by Jonathan Hickman and Alessandro Vitti and Ed McGuinness

This is only four issues of the main series, plus a one-shot, and not a lot of actual stuff happens, but Hickman fills it with sufficient action, intrigue and characterisation to keep you entertained. There is an issue dedicated to the Secret Warriors themselves fighting against Norman Osborn and his Avengers while their secret base is about to self-destruct, but it's more about plans being hatched, Fury doing his espionage thing and the judgement of Alex, the son of Ares and god of fear. I'm impressed with the different aspects Hickman brings to the book – lots of talking, but also big action (a whole bunch of LMDs defending the base); stories set in the modern world of money and spying and business, but then having Alex at the council elite of the earth's pantheon. It's a very interesting mix.

I liked the art from Vitti; I liked his style and storytelling, the facial expressions (I loved the look of pride on Ares' face when he sees his son standing up to Norman Osborn) and the very different faces and anatomies of the characters (and not just the fantastic moustache on John Garrett). He does action well, although some of the larger action scenes needed a little more definition, but that could be the colouring, which is quite muted and on the earthier end of the palette. It's quite a contrast to McGuinness' art on the Dark Reign special. He seems to be aiming for a modern take on Steranko and Kirby, but in his muscular cartoony style; it's not my favourite art I've seen from him, even though I usually enjoy the dynamism and simplicity of his work.

The one-shot is set in the middle of the ongoing series, showing that Hickman has everything planned and under control, as he works through his specific plotting. However, he still has time for a sense of humour: Nick Fury's list in reply to Osborn's list is short and sweet ('Save the world. Punch Norman in the face. Have a beer.'), which made me smile. Although I've been up and down on Hickman's run on Fantastic Four, he seems to be more in control and consistent with these new characters in a very specific story (I've read somewhere that there is a planned ending for this book, something that makes me happy), and I'm enjoying Secret Warriors very much.

TV: Mad Men Season One

One of productive things I did while I was ill was watch pretty much the entirety of the first season of Mad Men that I had on the PVR from the BBC2 repeats on Sunday nights. As usual, I'm late to the party, but I have to admit that it is really good television and deserves all the hype and accolades it has received.

I remember when it was first being shown on BBC4 and the good previews/reviews it was getting. I wanted to watch it but I think it was being shown at the time when BBC2 was showing the entirety of The Wire, and I simply didn't have the space on the PVR to record another quality television series. There was also a strange feeling that I wouldn't be that interested in a series set in America in the 1960s about advertising. It's particularly strange when you consider that my day job is as the editor at a healthcare advertising agency, and so I have an understanding of the setting; perhaps I thought it would be a busman's holiday?

I'm glad that BBC2 showed the first series again so I could catch up because I now know for myself why the praise had been flowing in abundance – this is a show that was good from the first episode. Everybody probably knows the basic set-up – it's the story of the advertising men of Madison Avenue (hence Mad Men) in 1960, particularly Don Draper, creative director at Sterling Cooper. He is very good at his job, but he has secrets about who he is, and is unfaithful to his wife Betty (stuck at home in the suburbs with the two children, feeling depressed before it was diagnosed as such) but bearing the weight of his own guilt. The story follows the lives of various characters, including Peggy, Don's new secretary, and Joan who is office manager, and shows the sexism of the time, the constant smoking of all characters, the drinking during the day that was seen as normal, the way the secretaries were abused, the casual anti-Semitism, the horrible attitude towards divorced women, with the background of the election campaign leading up to JFK becoming president.

Mad Men is extremely well written, beautifully acted, the era lovingly recreated and it utterly absorbing, despite the fact that there are very few characters with whom you can actually sympathise. Even Peggy makes a decision at the end of the series that makes you reconsider her. The most sympathetic character is Betty, but you just want to shake her until she does something to help herself (I loved it when she was shooting at the neighbour's pigeons), which is why it is heartbreaking when she is used as a pawn by an agency who are trying to woo Don to work for them. Don Draper is a fascinating central character, a serial womaniser with a talent for creating copy and ideas but who phones his wife's therapist for updates on her mental state and refuses to connect with the younger brother who thought him dead. To make Don slightly more likeable, the series has the loathsome character of Pete Campbell, a junior account executive with ambition and the belief he deserves it because he comes from old money family, and he was perfectly cast because I didn't like him from the moment I saw him.

I realise that I'm showing how out of touch I am with the series by talking about the events of three seasons ago (BBC4 is showing the current series, season four, soon after transmission in the US) but I don't care – I'm just happy to have caught up with the latest quality American import, and I don't mind the proximity of the material to my actual work (I even recognised some of the real-life agencies mentioned in the series). Now, if BBC2 could just get on with repeating series two and three ...

Notes On A Film: Winter's Bone

A tentative step into the world of topical blogging: talking about a film I saw this week that isn't a geek-related blockbuster. I'm nervous, so be gentle with me ...

Winter's Bone has been getting lots of good reviews lately, and I'm always interested in seeing good films but simultaneously nervous about not getting what others see in them. Winter's Bone is a fairly miserable film, showing the reality of life in the Ozarks of south-western Missouri, which makes for an experience that I don't particularly seek out in my cinematic entertainments, but leaves you admiring the honesty of the film-makers and the powerful performance from Jennifer Lawrence in the central role.

Lawrence is Ree Dolly, a 17-year-old girl who has dropped out of school to look after her 12-year-old brother and 6-year-old sister because their mother is catatonic with depression and their father is not around, out making his money from cooking methamphetamine. The story starts with a sheriff informing Ree that the father has used the family home to secure his bond and, if he doesn't show up for his court date, the family will be evicted. So Ree has to seek out her dad to keep the small house they have, visiting the people who know where he might be (who are all vaguely related but are also in the lawless fraternity that exists out in these stark and desolate nowhere places, proud of their defiance of the police and not keen on any asking any questions, even if she is kin), trying to find some answers.

The film is unshowy and quiet – there is no score, with music only appearing occasionally, as when Ree visits the woman who had been involved with her dad after he left their mum. It's raw, unfiltered, bleak and frankly depressing – Ree is a smart girl but lives in a place with extremely limited options; she even contemplates joining the army just for the $40,000 associated with signing up. It's also a place where men don't regard women too highly, and a woman's place is to do what her man tells her. Ree knows all this, facing it with an intelligent but resigned determination; it's quite heartbreaking when she's teaching her younger siblings how to shoot a gun and skin squirrels for food because they'll have to know how to cope on their own in case anything happens to her.

It is adapted from a novel by Daniel Woodrell, so there is a bleak poetry to the film, and Debra Granik directs (and co-wrote the screenplay) without fuss or excess drama – some of the later turns in the story would have been more dramatic in another version of the same movie, but she maintains the dogged reality of the piece. She filmed in the area in which it is set, apparently using locals as background actors, giving it an air of authority and realism that makes even more depressing. There are some recognisable faces – John Hawkes is excellent as Ree's uncle, Teardrop, full of menace and anger but also some sense of family; Dale Dickey (most recently seen as Patty the daytime hooker on My Name Is Earl) is the grizzled wife of the most senior member of the local criminals – but the film is all about the impressive Lawrence, in nearly every scene, resilient and unbreakable in her determination to look out for her family but maintain the local customs, made even more impressive that her character is so young and has to be so old. This isn't the sort of film I'd see again, but it is an impressive piece of cinema, even if it is rather downbeat and grim.

Rating: DAVE

[Explanation of my updated film rating system]

Wolverine Weapon X Vol. 1: Adamantium Men

Wolverine Weapon X #1–5 and Wolverine #73–74 by Jason Aaron, Ron Garney and Adam Kubert

Because I've been enjoying Aaron's take on Wolverine in various mini-series and stories, I was keen to try his new series, especially because it would be about new villains and not be mired in continuity. This collection does that strikingly: Blackguard is a private military contractor who obtained the Weapon X plans and have used them on mercenaries to create its own Wolverines: men with nanite healing factors, unbreakable adamantium bones, enhanced reflexes and laser claws. When Maverick tells Logan about it, Logan's not happy and wants to shut it down. However, they are as good as he is and there are lots of them, so things aren't so easy ...

The story is a good excuse for lots of tough fight scenes that actually have a reason to continue beyond a few pages, and Garney does a great job, with visceral action, dynamic panels and great figure work, while he is still able to cope with the dialogue scenes that set up the plot. He's got a style suited to the dark violence of Wolverine's world and it's a lot of fun to see him unleashed. The thing that matches this is Aaron's internal narration from Logan; he's really got the voice down of the tough guy with a conscience and a soul and years of experience. The final chapter in particular, as Logan describes his attitude to bodies of water and the death it can provide is a great insight in the middle of a firefight.

The rest of the book is taken up with 'A Mile In My Moccasins', which is an amusing attempt at giving an overview of the typical Wolverine month, based on the amount of different comic books he appears in. A lot of the panels are a single day and a different scene, as it shows different interactions and team-ups along the way (with lots of nice in-jokes). The second half of the story is Logan having a chat with Spider-man in a bar about the state of Logan's life and his reaction to it. It's an enjoyable filler story, with decent art from Kubert (although it's a little dodgier in the second part), which shows a bit more of Aaron's range. It makes for a good collection.

Illness Means No Blogging

I think I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not going to ever do an entire year of posting daily, although it doesn't mean I'm entirely happy about it. The first two unexpected sabbaticals in this year of attempted daily blogging had specific reasons, which I thought would be the limit of my absences. I was wrong, and it was another reason entirely.

Thursday morning saw me wake up with a sore throat that felt like I was swallowing a golf ball, a fever, a wooziness, turning to dizziness when I stood up, and alternating between hot and cold. It wasn't a specific illness, but a bumper crop of symptoms to make me feel unwell and not want to do anything but stay under a duvet and doing nothing. I was lucky that my lovely girlfriend provided me with home-made soup to nourish me, but I couldn't concentrate at all. I watched films and some television stored on the PVR, but that was it. I couldn't even focus sufficiently to do anything on the internet. So blogging was not on the cards.

I was recovering by Saturday, but I was still too tired and not up to doing anything as focussed as writing. It is vaguely possible that I could have posted something on Sunday, but I didn't have it in me – I like to think there is at least some sort of intellectual process involved in what I laughingly call the content of this blog. I was surprised by the fatigue I felt due to the illness, and the impact it had on my creative impulse; looks like I can add 'not blogging when I'm ill' to the list of reasons for empty patches in my archives. Who knew? Back to the routine tomorrow.

Comics I Bought 26 August 2010

Pretend you've just read some witty banter – there are too many comic books to talk about to spare the time or mental effort for eloquent introductory prose ...

Batman #702
The first thing to hit you is how ugly the drawing of the Superman on the first page of this comic book: his fists are bigger than his head, his costume looks it's made of the same material as tea towels, and space between his torso and legs look drastically shortened. Not a good start. Tony Daniel's art is the not the reason I purchased this book; it was Grant Morrison's writing about Batman around the time of Final Crisis and just before The Return of Bruce Wayne. It's more enjoyable than #701, it has the lovely phrase, 'Essence of bullet', and seems to even link to the Neil Gaiman's What Ever Happened To The Caped Crusader? story. It seems to have more of a reason to exist, at least, although the validity of its existence is up to debate.

Fantastic Four #582
I'm not sure about the time-travel aspects of this, with regards to pre-cosmic-rays Reed Richards (and Ben Grimm and Victor Von Doom) fighting against the wonderfully titled Anachronauts while his father fights for his life against himself from another dimension who is trying to kill him – is it part of Reed's time line or not? – but this issue is fairly entertaining and has an emotional impact in the sacrifice of future Valeria and Franklin. I have to admit I won't be missing the art of Neil Edwards when Steve Epting takes over next issue; it's been better with good inkers (Paul Neary last issue, Scott Hanna this issue) but I was never going to love it, I'm afraid.

Heroic Age: Prince of Power #4
I'm extremely happy to have the continuing adventures of Hercules and Amadeus Cho, even if it's in mini-series form, and with what it is effectively a final page that is an advert for the next Hercules mini-series. I enjoyed this immensely, with the way that Amadeus saves the day (with the aid of Delphyne, and they are now a couple) and the Flash Gordon reference and the appearance of Atalanta (from Peter David's Pantheon from the merged Hulk days); however, it does end a little too rapidly after the build-up and the speed with which Amadeus and Delphyne become a couple seems rather fast. Still, this is good comics and I'm only grumbling because I love it. Roll on Chaos War.

Science Dog Special #1
I read Invincible in trade paperback form, so I hadn't read these stories, which were back-ups in Invincible #25 and #50. In this collection, we learn about the origin of Science Dog and his nemesis, both created at the same accident which evolved them when their molecules were transported one million years into the future (Science Dog was only the laboratory mascot). Now, Science Dog saves the world, and other worlds, with the aid of two helpers. It's a lot of of fun; Robert Kirkman writes some old-fashioned comic book fun, and it's really well drawn by Cory Walker – he draws a great evolved dog with a jet pack and a gun. I would like to see this as an ongoing series, but Kirkman's probably writing too much to do it. Just as long as we keep getting these occasional stories, that will do for now.

Usagi Yojimbo #131
I know I shouldn't enjoy seeing anthropomorphic samurai slaughtering other animals as much as I do, but this was a great issue of Usagi and Kato raining righteous fury down upon the mob of Boss Higa. I also enjoyed seeing Ayaka, the owner of the inn, showing spirit and rallying the townsfolk to stand up to Boss Higa, as well as the smile on the faces of Kato and Ayaka when Kato says he will stay to be the law in the town. Stan Sakai crafts another masterful issue of Usagi Yojimbo. But I'm just repeating myself.

X-Factor #208
Could it be we have a new artist on X-Factor that I like? And will Emanuela Lupachino stay to be regular artist? I like her style – there's a lovely rounded feel to the anatomy, albeit strangely breast-fixated, particularly on M, but it is very good, like a European-tinged Amanda Conner, with a strong emphasis on facial expressions, something important for Peter David's comedy work. I really enjoyed the characters interacting with each other this issue, with the addition of Rahne to the cast (with a secret?), and yet the plot lines still move along in a brisk fashion; he does a very good job with this book, and I'm always impressed by his ability to mix up the action and the humour and the characterisation.

Why Do I Like Genre?

(The short answer to the question is: I don’t know. The long answer is me waffling on several paragraphs without coming to a conclusion. And this probably won’t answer the question, even to my own satisfaction, which mean I will probably come back to it in the future.)

I’ve been thinking about why my tastes in fiction consumption veer towards the genre. I like comic books about rabbit samurai, a modern take on fairy tale characters, (intelligently done) superheroes, a former detective who gets psychic impressions from food he eats, a story that boils down to ‘What if Harry Potter was created by a writer to fight a conspiracy against people who control the world through fiction?’. I like books that mix up genres, such as hard-boiled with vampires (the Joe Pitt books), detective fiction with literature (Thursday Next) or with fairy tale (Nursery Crime Division). I like superhero cartoons, sci-fi television programmes, fantasy films, modern mixes of things (mythical creatures share a flat, Asbo heroes, teenage girl as private detective in high school, or teenage girl as vampire slayer in high school).

Things I don’t like for entertainment purposes: soap operas, 'corset' period dramas, dramas of any sort on ITV, any book that is considered as ‘literature’ (which usually involves chapter after chapter of descriptive passages where nothing happens and people feel miserable about something horrible that happened in their childhood), films that are considered ‘worthy’, autobiographical comix about a miserable cartoonist with an inability to connect with people (usually women). I have tried these, and will continue to consume them when well reviewed, but my heart won’t necessarily be in it.

I was thinking about this recently because I’m reading two books at the moment that I thought were genre but have turned out differently. One of them is Labyrinth by Kate Mosse, a 700-page novel that takes ages to do anything – a conversation where a single sentence needs to be uttered for the story to proceed takes three pages to happen. It just goes on and on and on, taking for ever to tell the story. It made me long for the compactness and urgency of genre novels. I think that the whole point of genre is to tell an interesting story as purely as possible, something that I enjoy immensely. There is no need to hide behind lengthy narrative – the vibrancy of the story is enough. This isn’t to say that the writing is any less beautiful; far from it. The appeal is good writing in an area where the author makes the rules.

I’ve always been drawn to comic books, and particularly superhero comic books, because of the limitless capacity of the medium to tell non-ordinary stories (although traditional narratives exist in the realms of comic books). Warren Ellis always quotes Harvey Pekar: ‘Comics are just words and pictures. You can do anything with words and pictures.’ Any story that involves elements that are outside the ‘normal’ parameters of narratives can work without the massive element required to translate the idea into, say, film or television (as can be seen by the fact that it’s only because of the advances in CGI that have allowed certain types of comic books/sci-fi/fantasy to succeed in the adaptation). Comic books have the immediacy that is required for genre story, allowing an almost unfiltered brain spasm to pass from author to reader, with no mess or fuss.

I think it comes down to liking a story: a novel narrative that has a specific reason to exist, because it must be told. Thoughtful pondering on the human condition and the nature of existence are all very well, but I want a plot, good characters, great dialogue, action, drama, weirdness, fun and entertainment. (This doesn’t mean that it can get away with being bad; my quality filter isn’t switched off just because it’s genre, although the limits are expanded to allow more flexibility.) I want to be entertained by my fiction, I want to be dazzled, I want to see something new. Is that too much to ask?

Comics I Bought 19 August 2010

I will get round to talking about the various Agents of Atlas and Atlas comic books I have bought, although not just yet. I mention this because I bought Atlas #4 as part of this haul of new books, but won't be discussing it until later. I have to keep giving myself things to write about after I've caught up on my backlog of comic book purchases, especially now that I've completed my list of films I've seen in the cinema.

Buffy: Riley one-shot
I'm not one of those people who hate Riley and therefore hate the idea of a one-shot devoted to him; I never really liked Riley in season four Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but then there was a lot about season four I didn't like (the only good things were Anya's development in her relationship with Xander, and the mostly silent episode Hush). I don't hold it personally against Riley. I don't think that the character deserved an entire issue devoted to back story for the season eight comic book series, but it's not an awful issue. Jane Espenson works hard to maintain interest in the dialogue between a husband and wife as they discuss what the husband is going to do on a secret mission for his ex-girlfriend. There's a page of black panels with word balloons, there are some nice lines of dialogue (Whistler: 'Torture the former cheerleader, save the world.' Angel on Buffy and Riley: 'I don't get what she saw in him.') and it all fits in nicely. However, it feels a little empty and pointless, and the art from Karl Moline is competent but not the best choice for likenesses. Not my favourite issue in the season.

Ex Machina #50
And so we reach the final issue of Brian K Vaughan and Tony Harris' comic book that was a mix of politics and superheroes and the 'real world' (famously having the attack on the Twin Towers as an important part of the story). It's been an enjoyable ride, and this book tries to cram a lot into the final issue, as we find out what happened to Mayor Mitchell Hundred after he stopped being mayor of New York. There is heartache and an incident that changes how you view the character of Hundred and the joke of what eventually happens to Mitchell eventually. It's powerful stuff, well illustrated by Harris as always, but it seems to be too much for this final issue, everything happening fast, especially when there splash pages and double-page spreads. I still haven't quite absorbed it all, especially the choices Mitchell makes in his political career, but I guess I need to read the whole series again to see the connections and themes moving throughout the whole story.

Fables #97
Another good issue from Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham, as we see how bad Rose Red was towards her sister back in the old days, and how she now feels badly about it but wants to do something about it now, after her talk with ... someone – Willingham frustratingly keeps the identity of the person who has been revealing the truth of the history of Rose and Snow; the closest we get is a splash page of Rose reacting to the revelation ('WOW'). You evil author man. The awakening of Rose is necessary when we see Geppetto having a secret meeting involving Brock the badger and Ozma, the young-looking witch who is now in charge of the magic users in the Fable community, to discuss an alliance. Good stuff as always.

Comics I Bought 12 August 2010

Or in this case, Comic I Bought, because I couldn't find a copy of Morning Glories #1 in town, which came out this week. It was my own fault for not preordering it, but it wasn't until I saw a preview and an interview with the creator about the book that I decided I wanted to try it out. That's a lesson for you to learn, kids. On with the single purchase of the day.

The Unwritten #16
In which Tom Taylor has a chat with his father, which explains some things, doesn't explain many more things, and leaves questions to be answered. I think this issue marks the end of the first part of the story, and the move into another section. It also sees the strongest parallels to the Harry Potter story: the wand (Glitterspar), 'your Sue and your Peter', the magic. But it also has differences, the main being the story of Lizzie Hexam, and the nice twist involving the publisher of the new Tommy Taylor story at the midnight launch. There's a lot to enjoy and intrigue in the story of The Unwritten, with a conspiracy and the literary GPS and an evil henchman, and Mike Carey and Peter Gross are doing an excellent job of telling it.

Comics I Bought 5 August 2010

I'm talking about comics from last month – last month. I can practically taste the topicality. It won't be long now; I'll be writing notes on comics I bought only a few days after they were actually in the shops, and a few days after everyone else who talks about comics has talked about them. I'll feel so current, I'll have electricity shooting out of my fingers ...

SHIELD #3
This comic book is a good comic book because it has two strengths that shine through. One is the beautiful art of Dustin Weaver: a clean line, strong storytelling, nice design, a slightly different style for each of the different time periods to depict them separately, and representations of the historical figures that identify them as such – it's an impressive feat and one he accomplishes well. The only problem I had was his drawing of Newton, naked to the waist as he acquired ancient secrets, as a toned and athletic man, something I find hard to believe and more a symptom of mainstream superhero comics. The other strength is the writing of Jonathan Hickman: you can tell there is a big story occurring in the pages but also the big story behind it all that will be revealed, and each issue is entertaining (something that can't always be said of his Fantastic Four run). He weaves together various aspects of history into the book, although he does play loose with the time line to suit his narrative: Galileo lived from 1564 to 1642, so he would have been 18 in 1582 when he repelled Galactus (a beautifully rendered splash page by Weaver), rather than the older character drawn in the book, and died before Isaac Newton, the narrator of this issue, was born (1643 to 1727); similarly, Newton is shown visiting the Deviant City as an adult in 1625, some 20 years before he was born; also, Nostradamus lived (historically, rather than in this book) between 1503 and 1566, making his meeting with Newton in 1652 a quite impressive achievement. However, I'm not complaining about the complex tapestry Hickman is weaving, just making a point (and he makes up for it in the postscript by having the creation of the Gregorian calendar, and the loss of 10 days, to be a cover up for the Galactus event); the only problem I have is that it would seem that Newton is now the villainous patriarch of the SHIELD, which is bloody typical of a Yank to make a Brit the bad guy.

Supergod #4
Even though the wait between issues has been sluggish to say the least, I'm still enjoying Supergod. The warped version of what would happen to the world if superpowered humans were created, filtered through the mind of Warren Ellis, is enjoyable (in a depressing way, obviously). The story is told from the point of view of a British scientist called Reddin, telling it to someone called Tommy over the phone (how are the phones working?) in a dry scientific fashion with flashes of humour, as he stands in a devastated London, although he seems unaffected. He tells of the Russian superhuman, Perun, fighting the Indian superhuman, Krishna; of Krishna seeing off the threat of Malak, who has been 'disassociating atomic bonds in proximate space', by aiming Malak at the moon and blowing a hole through it (which causes destruction to rain down on the Earth). Garrie Gastonny does a good job of drawing all this madness, keeping the theatrics and grim reality on an even keel, as Ellis has his narrator throw out some lovely phrases (the moon 'didn't have a chance, once an Indian God had decided to throw an Iranian Devil at it'). This isn't a story that is going to end well (the other two Avatar mini-series that make up this thematic trilogy, Black Summer and No Hero, weren't cheery endings either), but I want to read the final issue and see how it finishes nonetheless.

Notes On A Film: Salt

First things first: Salt is deliriously, wonderfully, stupidly preposterous; it's implausible, it's over the top, and frankly that's the whole point. It's 95 minutes of almost constant chase scenes, handled effectively and its lead is perfect in the role, doing action and acting and looking fantastic throughout.

From a script by Kurt Wimmer (he wrote and directed Equilibrium, so he knows about crazy action, and means that he is forgiven for anything he ever does again) that was originally about a male lead, the film is about Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie), a CIA agent who is accused of being a Russian sleeper agent and has to go on the run to clear her name and ensure that her husband is safe. That's all you need to know about the film: the rest is a fun ride of Bourne-inspired action and well-constructed destruction and exciting shoot-outs, even if it seems unbelievable. It's not that it is because it is a woman at the heart of the action – Jolie is far too good as an action star; it is because that the film goes for Bourne but has the physics-defying antics of the 1980s. When Jolie jumps off a bridge on to a truck, and then jumping on to another truck, it's completely ridiculous, but you buy into it anyway because you're too busy enjoying yourself.

Phillip Noyce directs with simple efficiency – he has handled action before in the likes of the Tom Ryan adaptations and the hilarious Rutger Hauer-starring Blind Fury (he's blind swordsman!), but he's got a diverse resume, including Rabbit-Proof Fence and The Quiet American, and also directed Jolie before in The Bone Collector, so he knows what he's doing without being overly fussy, a style that works for the film. Jolie is excellent, the centre of attention even when she's not saying anything; she is ably supported by the likes of Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor, but the film is all about her and she sells it completely (including the utterly ludicrous disguise in the last third of the film, at which point the entire audience laughed at the sheer stupidity). The film keeps you on your toes, providing genuine uncertainty about where it's going (even if you can see some of the twists coming, you still enjoy it).

I enjoyed Salt, even though I knew it was preposterous as I watched it. It is not a great film but it does what it sets out to do and does it well, and Jolie cements her status as the best female action star working today, even if she is far too skinny to be plausible.

Rating: DVD

[Explanation of my updated film rating system]

Notes On A Film: Toy Story 3

I didn't want to see Toy Story 3 when I first heard about it, especially as it was to be 3D. The first two films were so perfect, I didn't think Pixar could match them; I thought that it was Disney milking a lucrative franchise. And I was going off 3D films as well, so that added to my lack of desire to see it. Even when the glowing reviews started to pour in, I thought I would watch it on DVD. Fortunately, my girlfriend had an urge to see a film one lovely Saturday afternoon a month after the film had come out, and I'm very grateful she did.

Toy Story 3 is every bit as good as you have heard from everyone else – a superb piece of cinema disguised as a children's movie about toys. Exquisitely rendered, highly emotional, tremendously thrilling, incredibly funny, utterly absorbing and heartbreaking, Toy Story 3 is absolutely wonderful and I can't find the words to describe how good it is.

The third film sees Andy as a 17 year old, about to go to college, who has to decide what happens to his toys – does he take any to college (Woody), put them in the attic or throw them away. Due to a mix-up, the toys that have survived Andy's teenage years end up being donated to Sunnyside Daycare, where Woody wants to clear up the misunderstanding and rescue them. Of course, things aren't as simple as that, especially with the new toys they meet at the centre are involved. There is excitement, laughter (Spanish Buzz Lightyear is perhaps the standout), thrills, chills, and more moments of adult themes than should be legal for an animated movie – the incredible balancing act of the child-like and the adult that is the hallmark of Pixar is maintained once again.

The strange thing was that I didn't notice the 3D – I think that the digital animation allows for the best use of the immersive nature of 3D without needing to poke you in the eye with it. It goes without saying that the film looks beautiful, but everything else about the film is perfect as well: the script doesn't waste a single frame, the large cast of characters are all given equal moments, the characterisation drives the story, the new characters don't overwhelm the main heroes, and the moments of heartache that infuse the plot and the film (particularly the end) are a delight. There are riffs on moments from the previous films, and there is even another homage to Star Wars, particularly to a final scene of Return of the Jedi (which connects with the riff on The Empire Strikes Back in Toy Story 2; now, if I could only find a Star Wars riff in Toy Story, the parallels would be complete). Which brings me to the concept of trilogies – I don't think that the three Toy Story films make a true trilogy; it's more of the continuing saga of a cast of characters with connections and themes. Not that it matters: Pixar have created three five-star Toy Story films, which is an incredible achievement, and ones that will keep the whole family entertained for years to come.

Rating: DAVID

[Explanation of my updated film rating system]

Notes On A Film: The Sorcerer's Apprentice

I think that my love of genre entertainment comes across strongly on this blog, which is why I wanted to see this film. I wasn’t expecting it to be anything special, but I was curious to see how the film would handle magic in the modern setting. The end result is neither disappointing nor anything special, but scrapes through as well-made passable entertainment.

The set-up: Merlin has three apprentices – Balthazar (Nicolas Cage), Veronica (Monica Bellucci) and Horvath (Alfred Molina); Horvath betrays him to his enemy Morgana (Alice Krige), who kills Merlin. Veronica traps Morgana in her own soul but, to stop Morgana killing Veronica, Balthazar traps her in a ‘grimhold’, which looks like a Russian nesting doll (no, really). Balthazar then spends the next millennia trapping other Morganian sorcerers (including Horvath) in the grimhold while searching for the Prime Merlinian (stupidest name ever), the sorcerer (and Merlin’s successor) who will be able to finally kill Morgana.

The present day (thereabouts): our hero as a 10 year old happens upon Balthazar’s shop, where Merlin’s dragon ring recognises him as the Prime Merlinian; however, our young hero accidentally knocks over the grimhold, releasing Horvath, who fights with Balthazar and they get trapped in magical vase with a 10-year lock, meaning that our hero is led to believe that he made this all up. Ten years later, our hero Dave (Jay Baruchel) is a physics student at New York University, whose life is changed when the sorcerers return, Horvath is after him, and Balthazar takes him on as his apprentice.

Seeing that this film was based on Cage’s idea to do a live-action version of Fantasia, it’s a lot of effort to set this up. However, it works to a degree to initiate the special effects, training montages, developing a relationship with a girl so far out of his league she’s in another universe, sacrifice and accepting responsibility you’d expect. The magic is well handled, and I liked the attempted science connection, although it seems for the most part that magic is mostly about telekinesis (either lifting things or using plasma bolts) – quite a limited range for what is something essentially only limited by the imagination – and the Chrysler building eagle coming to life is a nice touch, if illogical when it seems to save a character as if it is a sentient creature in its own right (how did it come to life at that point?).

Cage plays it fairly straight as the approximately 1,300-year-old sorcerer, which seems like a missed opportunity for his over-the-top acting style, but it doesn't drag the film down. Baruchel does nerd well, but I found his voice to be slightly annoying and his delivery irksome, which gets in the way of empathising with the main character. The most fun is provided by Molina, who can always be relied upon for good value (he was the best thing in The Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time, for example), and he enjoys playing the bad guy with relish. The strangest appearance is Bellucci – her role is nothing more than a glorified cameo, appearing in the early flashback sequences and right at the very end; what was the point of having such a well-known actress in such a slender part? It made no sense.

Jon Turteltaub, who seems to only work with Cage on film now after the National Treasure films, directs with efficiency; you know where every story beat is going to hit and he does it correctly. It is a Disney film – Baruchel has a wisecracking black room-mate at college, to demonstrate diversity, and the hero characters all end the film happily – but why does that mean that the crux of the story is all about love? Horvath turns against his best friend Balthazar because Veronica loved Balthazar and not Horvath – how petty a reason is that for him to join forces with somebody who wants to destroy the world? And why does Morgana want to destroy the world? I've never understood that as a genuine motive. However, at least it is not a complete Disney movie – if it had been a super-traditional Disney film, the apprentice would have been the 10-year-old kid learning lessons about himself; this version with an older protagonist has a little more validity.

On the whole, it was enjoyable enough, and I even liked the homage to the Fantasia dancing mops and buckets sequence (although I'm not sure how much currency it would have with the younger audience). I'm not sure if it has opened the door for a Doctor Strange movie (this film has a lot of similarities, with Balthazar as a Strange type and Horvath as a Baron Mordo type, especially the extensive use of New York as the backdrop to the film – I half expected them to fly over Manhattan and see the unique window of a certain sanctum sanctorum in Greenwich Village), but I don't think it did any harm. But I left it with a strange thought: the final moment of the film sees Dave take the beautiful girl (who is rather blatantly given a task to do in the final act just to show she is not just a pretty face) on the Chrysler eagle to go to Paris – surely they are going to get very, very cold flying over the Atlantic sitting on top of a metallic bird?

Rating: DVD

[Explanation of my updated film rating system]

Notes On A Film: The A-Team

I'm going to admit it up front: I rather enjoyed this film. I'm not saying that it's perfect by any means, but it was an entertaining way to spend two hours in the cinema. There were laughs, there was spectacle, there were explosions, there was characterisation, there was fun. Admittedly, there was also excessive editing, excessive noise, silly plotting and a feeling that this was a 15-rated film masquerading as a 12A, but on balance the positives outweighed the negatives. Just.

Because of the Orange ads running in front of all movies for seemingly for ever, it felt that you had already watched The A-Team film, what with seeing the flying tank scene week in, week out. But there are sufficient diversions to keep you amused. The film starts as it means to continue: at speed, noisily and not bothering to make that much sense. The getting the group together at the start almost has the feel of the old-fashioned Bond pre-sequences – a quick example of the sort of stuff you're going to get and the manner in which it will be delivered. Then with a quick 'Eight years and eighty successful missions later', we're into the story – effectively, The A-Team Begins. [An aside: we're getting a lot of origin stories at the moment, aren't we? Is it because franchise is the new king of cinema, and the proven formula of 'how it all began' is the easiest hit for 'give them what they know'?]

The story itself – some stuff about the being Iraq and treasury plates and lots of money and things going wrong and the A-Team being wrongly imprisoned and then going out to clear their name – is mostly irrelevant; it's just there for the film to exist. It's there to allow for the outrageous flying tank scene or the rather nicely plotted heist scene (where the action and the planning are shown flitting between each) or the huge climax with implausibly big action (and rather a lot of CGI). Joe Carnahan directs with crazed abandon, hurtling the story along and throwing everything into the mix. He suffers a little from the excessive editing disease that has infected action cinema of late, meaning that some scenes lose their power by the fact that they happen too fast. However, he does a good job and approaches the film with the right tone of stupidity and fun that the material needs.

The other important aspect of the film is the team itself – they distinguish what makes this adaptation of the television series worth doing in the first place. For all the goofiness of the show that I watched as a youngster, we kept coming back for Hannibal, Face, BA Baracus and Murdock. In this respect, they get it half right: Quinton Jackson as BA may look the part, but he doesn't add anything else to the character (and his voice sounds a little high, although I probably wouldn't say that to his face); Liam Neeson may look the part, but he can't do comedy, which is an element required for that charm that George Peppard had. On the plus side, Bradley Cooper has the required easy-going charisma and grin for Face, and Sharlto Copley (so good in District 9) is a lot of fun playing it over the top as Murdock; these two successfully bridge the balance of channelling what was good about the original characters but doing their own thing with it.

There are some other good things I enjoyed, such as the nice reveals that show thought behind plans for the action (such as the final escape set-up), or Patrick Wilson as the creepy CIA man, but there were also things that I didn't enjoy, such as Carnahan thinking he can put himself in a small cameo in the film and thinks he can get away with it (he can't, and he should nip that in the bud before he goes completely Tarantino). But I enjoyed it: I had fun and I won't turn it off when it comes on television in three years' time.

Rating: DVD

[Explanation of my updated film rating system]

Irredeemable TPB 2

Irredeemable #5–8 by Mark Waid and Peter Krause

Although the story can be summed up in the phrase 'What if Superman turned evil?', there is more to the story of the Plutonian and his murderous spree, killing millions of innocents as well as most of his former friends. It examines the idea of morality in the seemingly rigid boundaries of a superhero comic book, based on the Silver Age notion of 'If you get superpowers, you become a hero'. It also allows for Waid to play around with some of the standard concepts in traditional superhero comic books, something he does very well.

In this collection, which starts with a wonderfully chilling scene that ends with the phrase, 'This has been a pre-recorded message. Sleep tight.', the remaining heroes are trying to locate the Plutonian using the Modeus robots created by Mr Qubit. There is some poking fun at the notion that black superheroes only end up with electrical powers, but there are more serious scenes as we get some more back story of the Plutonian, learning about the Children's Plague incident and his role in it, and what happened when Samsara found out about it, and that the Plutonian's citadel is in the middle of a volcano (very Silver Age). There are also the levels to which Plutonian has obsessed over Bette Noir, who is now married to Gilgamos but hasn't told him about it. However, the best aspect of the story concerns Cary (Charybdis) after the death of his twin, Scylla, for which I have to say: well played, Mr Waid.

I'm becoming accustomed to Krause's art on this book – it is not flashy or particularly modern, but it does the job very well, giving the book an atmosphere that harks back to the Silver Age but without losing modernity. There are no 'wow' pages to dazzle or detract from the story, but this serves the book well because the story is the focus here, as Waid plays a delicate game of doing a story he could never do at either of the two big mainstream publishers. The only thing I would wish for is that the trade paperbacks collected more issues – it is clear that Waid is not writing for the trade in specific arcs, because the books just finish at the end of another issue of the comic series, so Boom! could easily collect at least six issues in a book instead of just four. But perhaps I'm just greedy ...

Chew TPB 2: International Flavor

Chew #6–10 by John Layman and Rob Guillory

The thing about Chew that makes it even more special is that it is not afraid to keep on taking the story further. It's pretty unusual to begin with – Tony Chu is a cibopath, someone who can pick up psychic impressions from anything he eats, who works as an agent of the FDA, now the most powerful agency in America after a bird flu epidemic killed millions, making chicken illegal. But Layman doesn't stop there in this new collection: he brings back Chu's old partner, who now has robotic parts on his face and chin; a USDA special agent has a 'specially trained rat named “Jellybean” equipped with miniature cameras and parabolic microphones for surveillance'; there is a 'cibolocutor', a man who communicates solely through cooking; and there is fruit that, when cooked, tastes exactly like chicken but is actually from outer space. This is the sort of stuff that comic books do best.

The book isn't all about the wonderful craziness – Layman has interesting characters and well-plotted storylines. The cast are funny and odd and strange and intriguing; the dialogue has a rawness and a reality and a unique feel to it; and the story takes unexpected turns that keep you wanting more. It's bizarre and oddball book, but in all the good ways, and I'm really glad that it exists, and it was wonderful news when it won the Eisner award for Best New Series.

The other important contribution to the book is the art of Guillory, which suits the tone of the book perfectly; his art style, which feels like a mixture of Ben Templesmith and Jim Mahfood, creates the ideal reality for the balance of oddness and realism can exist without clashing. His people all look like complete individuals, none more obvious in the difference between Chu and his older brother, even though you can see the similarity. Together, these two artists make such a good book that it's enough to tempt me to buy the individual issues, just so I can get the story quicker.

Don't Make Me Angry; I Can't Write When I'm Angry

I'm not going to be sharing my thoughts on recently consumed pop culture this evening. Nothing on comic books or trade paperbacks or films or television or novels. I'm not even going to dredge up some old writing and post it in place of more topical content.

The reason? I'm angry. I'm angry about being angry about something completely insignificant and pointless.

It's a really silly thing, so trivial and utterly worthless that I'm angry about the embarrassment of the incident of anger. And I can't write angry.

One of my many failings as a writer is my inability to channel the strong emotions and powerful feelings into any type of coherent and legible text. I don't like writing when I'm angry or sad or despairing or devastated; I feel that I have to approach whatever topic I'm considering from a dispassionate stance. This is possibly due to my training as a scientist, but I want to talk about a piece of art that someone has created through hard work with some respect for that process. So I can't write when I'm actually angry.

This doesn't mean that I don't write about something that has angered me – there are many posts based on irrationally strong reactions to a piece of pop culture (I am a geek, after all) – but I still have to wait until I compile my thoughts.

I'm going to sleep off my anger and hope to feel more reasonable tomorrow morning, so that I can write again.

Cartoons On British Television Redux

Just over 2 years ago, I wrote about the meagre offering of regular animated superhero series on free-to-view television in this country. With the recent the school summer holiday, where cartoons are used to pacify the kids for a while in the morning, I thought it was time for a revisit to the theme (although I did talk about Batman: The Brave And The Bold earlier this year, so it's practically a regular feature).

The PVR was working overtime because CITV had a three-cartoon slot, which featured four series: Fantastic Four, which was replaced by The Batman, Justice League, and The Legion of Super Heroes (why don't they use the hyphen that the comic book does? Do they think kids can't handle it?). The Fantastic Four is something I watch solely for the more obscure corners of the Marvel universe they include in it, because it's certainly not for the pointy-chinned antics of main characters – I'm amazed Johnny and Sue haven't punctured themselves with their spike where most people have a jaw.

The Batman is better drawn than Fantastic Four but it would seem that they haven't bought the later series because they only showed the episodes BEFORE the arrival of the Justice League (they appear in the final moments of the two-parter where the Martian Manhunter helps Batman stop an alien invasion, which made me think it was a particularly harsh test to allow Batman in: why the hell didn't the Flash and Green Lantern help out with an alien invasion that was looking like it was going to destroy the world? No, leave it to the non-powered human. Don't join, Batman – they sound like a bunch of dicks). I'd really like to see those episodes without having to resort to YouTube.

The Justice League suffers from a similar problem in that ITV have only purchased the rights to show the first season – I'd love to see Justice League Unlimited, but that doesn't seem to be on the cards. But Justice League was hampered even more by the fact that it was only one season over and over again, and they messed up the showing it: the first episode of the three-part opening story (based on the invasion by the White Martians) was on one day and then the next was five episodes into the series, and they never showed the remaining two episodes in that story. CITV obviously think that kids don't notice such jumps in logic ...

The best part of this mini-festival of superhero cartoons was seeing The Legion of Super Heroes on television rather than a computer screen. I have the fondness for the Legion, so it was a very pleasant surprise to see them animated, which is probably the best medium for them. The strange choice was the characters they decided upon to be the regular cast: Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Triplicate Girl, Brainiac 5 (who is a robot for some reason), Phantom Girl, Timber Wolf and, most bizarrely, Bouncing Boy, who is the comic relief. Cosmic Boy shows up later on, Chameleon Boy becomes a regular in the second series, and there are small appearances from the likes of Colossal Boy, Karate Kid, Ferro Lad, Shrinking Violet and Dream Girl, and cameos from the likes of Sun Boy, Element Lad, Tyroc, Blok and Ultra Boy. There was even an entire episode devoted to the Legion of Substitute Heroes. This was one of the pleasures of the series – the huge cast of the comic book turning up in various disguises. I liked the animation style, even though it had flashes of manga tics in the first series.

It wasn't all enjoyment, however; the novice Superboy of the first series was a little tiring (although he wasn't Superboy in the second series, perhaps due to legal reasons). The trouble of having a large cast in a cartoon meant that most of them were fairly one-dimensional. These niggles were small in comparison to the two main problems with the second series: Superman X (or Kell-El) and Imperiex. The 'crap' Superman as I dubbed him (or the 'evil' Superman as my girlfriend dubbed him) was just plain annoying – a clone of Superman who was immune to kryptonite from the 41st century who was trying to save his time from the villain Imperiex and ended up coming back with the Legion to the 31st century to stop him. Every time he was on screen was pretty painful and his character was just a depressing irritant. But he was a joy compared to the villain of the second season, Imperiex. A bluff, loud, stupid, pointless character with a generic 'I must take over the universe because that is what I do' raison d'etre, he was the main source of stories and so you couldn't avoid him. I thought he was an embarrassing and silly villain who made no sense for the series; it was only when I used the power of Wikipedia that I discovered that Imperiex had been created by Jeph Loeb in the Superman comic books, and suddenly everything was made clear.

Despite this abundance of awfulness, I was sad to learn that there were only two seasons of 13 episodes each – the breadth of stories that could be told with the Legion means that we're missing out on some good cartoons. But I'm used to that living in the UK ...

Notes On A Film: Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

Breaking my routine by talking about a film I have seen in the same week – I thought I should get in to the habit. The other reason is that this film has playing again and again in my head, providing me with continued joy after the credits rolled.

I've only read one of the Scott Pilgrim books by Bryan Lee O'Malley (see here) and, while I enjoyed a lot of aspects of it, I didn't love it the way a lot of people do. However, I really loved the film, I can't wait to have it on DVD to watch it again to get all the jokes, and it makes me want to go back and read the rest of the series. Does this make me a hypocrite?

The story is slender: Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a 23-year-old slacker in Toronto who is the bassist in a band, is immature and dumb but somehow endearing, who is chastely dating a 17-year-old school girl called Knives Chau as a rebound a year after the painful end of another relationship. He sees and falls for Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Wanstead), an American, but doesn't immediately break up with Knives, and discovers that he has to fight Ramona's seven evil exes if he is going to date her. But the bare description of the plot isn't what the film is about: it is a joyous explosion of visual delight streaming across your eyes and stimulating your synapses with wonderful information overload, leaving you giddy with happiness and fun.

Just about everything about this film is perfect for it: the cast, the humour, the computer game fight scenes, the plethora of jump-cut gags (like Scott putting a hat on when people comment on his hair), the silliness, the over-the-top-ness of it all. I'm sure the music was good, which is important for a film which is about a band trying to get a record deal and interacting with lots of musical types, but the sound at the cinema I watched it was really bad, so I can't be sure. The great thing about the film is the way that it is able to capture the unreal sensibility that feels fabulously real: Scott has these fights that defy gravity, punching opponents into piles of coins, able to do martial arts even though he's a skinny dweeb, flaming swords coming from his chest, but you don't question it because Edgar Wright sells it so completely.

Wright is the perfect director for this: his kinetic camerawork, the ability to cope with humour and action and surreality and drama and conversation, adding caption boxes to explain aspects of the story, yet keeping it all real. The ghost of Spaced hovers in the background – the training on that series was perfect for this film. As Simon Pegg tweeted, 'It is the closest thing you will ever see to a third series of Spaced.' It's so manically edited, Wright needed two editors on the film – they must have been exhausted – but it's not because he's trying to hide any problems with the film, but rather highlight the magic and hyper-reality of the feelings of the characters, as the computer game visuals reflect the connection to something more real for them.

I could list all of my favourite bits (Chris Evans as Lucas Lee and the trailers for his films; Brandon Routh as a vegan who has gained psychic powers because through his dietary choice; Ramona fighting with a massive hammer; any of the fight scenes) but that doesn't do the film justice. There are some weaker aspects – I didn't get quite the same enjoyment from musical fight scenes as the computer game ones; I thought that the condensing of the story turned the focus entirely on Scott, meaning Ramona isn't as fully realised as in the book – but that's just the nitpicky of a geeky type. Scott Pilgrim Vs The World is a funny, kinetic, exciting, even moving film about growing up and taking responsibility, told in the style of a computer game-addled brain. In a good way.

Rating: DAVE

[Explanation of my updated film rating system]

Comics I Bought 29 July 2010

Time for the final week of comics from July, which brings me even closer to my goal of discussing comic books in the week they actually arrive (and I run out of things to write about. Possibly). Let's talk comic books.

Batman: Return of Bruce Wayne #4
Is this mini-series the most fun Batman mini-series ever? Bruce Wayne making his way through different times – what's not to love? In this issue, it's cowboy Batman, as the silent loner (but no guns, of course), as he encounters Vandal Savage again, as well his evil descendent Doctor Thomas Wayne, and gets shot by Jonah Hex at the end of the book. There are lots of nice bits as Grant Morrison plays connect the dots with Batman history and adding his own additions. The only slightly negative aspect is Georges Jeanty's art, which doesn't live up to the high standards of the previous three artists – he was a late replacement for Cameron Stewart, so he does a good enough job but it's a little inconsistent and I would have preferred Stewart.

Fantastic Four #581
I've been having a lot of problems with Jonathan Hickman's last few issues of Fantastic Four, where nothing has been happening and there's no sense of drama or tension that you hope for in a comic book. This issue actually has plot and a story and a reason to read it: Reed Richard's father goes back in time to Reed's time in college, asking for his help in the Great Hunt, a cruel idea on behalf of Immortus 600,000 years in the future to eradicate all Nathaniel Richards from existence. Now, that's got my attention. They even have to ask for help from Victor Von Doom, and end up in a collapsed chronopolis in the future – I finally want to read more. It's such a refreshing change, my head is still spinning. The other bonus is that they got Paul Neary to ink Neil Edwards' pencils – I've been complaining about the shoddiness of Edwards' for a while now, so this is a fantastic improvement: it's sharper, it's stronger, it's cleaner, it's just better. I even liked the cameo of Professor Heinz Wolf as Reed's professor of philosophy (a very British in-joke). Hurrah for a good comic book.

Usagi Yojimbo #130
Stan Sakai has a lot of fun with this issue of Usagi Yojimbo, the first part of 'Return To Hell', where he has Usagi and Kato return to the town where they first met to sort out Boss Higa, the man who wronged them and took over the town – he has Usagi playing the tough guy to scare off some of the huge number of thugs hired by Boss Higa, and it's really funny. He also shows a deft touch showing a connection between Kato and Ayaka, the woman who runs an inn and who knew Kato from the previous story; it's a lovely piece of storytelling, as you'd expect from Sakai. The issue ends with Boss Higa shouting, 'Kill them!' to his goons at our unarmed heroes – I want the next issue NOW.