Many Meetings
Whew, that hiatus got out of control fast. Two weeks ago we were getting ready to move and it turns out there isn’t much time for drawing when you’re packing everything you own and hauling it across town. I figured we’d be okay once we had everything at the new place, but then Comcast didn’t show up for two days. In that time our wireless network was running unsecured for about a day to make it easier for the cable guy to check settings, and in that time someone managed to get into my e-mail and take one of my credit cards for a small joyride.
That and unpacking took me through most of that week, and then we were off to Florida for a short Memorial Day weekend vacation. We had a good time at Daytona, though I think I prefer the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic. Daytona seemed just a tad bit run-down after decades as a Spring Break destination, but it was still a nice place for a short visit. The only really annoying thing about that area is the horde of timeshare salespeople trying to give you free stuff in exchange for a high pressure sales pitch. They were even more pushy in Daytona than in Vegas, and that’s saying something.
We got back in from Florida on Monday last week. At that point I figured I’d work on the comic, but the next day the wife and I had to pack and head down to our hometown to attend my brother-in-law’s wedding. Most of the week was spent with family flown in from around the country, wedding preparations, and all of the other thousand tiny things that go into a wedding. We had a great time, but I was only able to crack my laptop open once in five days.
So I humbly apologize for taking so long to get to comic 33. I’ve always looked at #33 as something of a milestone after Jeph Jacques of Questionable Content mentioned on his #33 that most comic artists give up at that point. It took a little longer than I anticipated, but #33 is up and I’m still kicking.
I saw Iron Man and the new Indiana Jones while down in Florida. Iron Man is definitely one of the best superhero movies that I’ve ever seen. It hits all the notes that we’ve come to expect from a superhero origin movie since the original Superman, but Robert Downey Jr. elevates the film past genre cliches into the realm of the perfect comic book movie. Indy 4 was just meh. It started off pretty strong, but by the end I found myself scratching my head and thinking “what the hell?” The film lacked the spark that made 2/3 of the original trilogy excellent.
That’s it for today. See you all at the next update!
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Man, sounds like life opened the Pandoras box on you these past coupla weeks. Good to see you updating again though.
I have to painfully agree with you on the Indy comment. That was a hell of a movie at first, and that Shaia kid definitly pulled his weight. But toward the end of the movie I had to keep asking if the director was having E.T. flashbacks during the filming. Last Crusade was my favorite all in all, so I didn’t expect them to top it with part 4, but they could have at least avoided ‘jumping the shark’ like they did.
Funny thing about Iron Man is that I didn’t really expect much going in. I used to always think that with any superhero movie, it was a terrible decision to cast a big name star as the hero, because it causes the viewer to see that star more than the character they are playing. For instance, George Clooney or Val Kilmer as Batman was just painful. And I cant think of anyone that liked Daredevil, Catwoman or Elektra. But Marvel Studios pulled it off, and Robert Downey Jr was one of the best performances in a superhero movie ever. Gotta ask though, does this make you excited for the new Hulk movie at all?
As always, I’m lovin’ the comic and I look forward to seeing more in the future.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:19 pm
That’s about the same thing I thought with Indy. I really like Shia LaBeouf and thought he carried himself well, though he’s no Harrison Ford. I just wish that they’d done something other than Roswell and space aliens. Even the plot was internally inconsistent. Mind controlling aliens from another dimension who use flying saucers to travel through space? Oh well.
The thing about Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man is that I couldn’t name a single thing that he’s been in between Weird Science and now. He was more famous for his substance abuse than his acting in my mind. Either way I think that he was the perfect fit for the part and I’m glad that they pushed to get him in there despite his past issues. I don’t think it really matters if an actor is a big name or not as long as they can pull off the part.
I’m indifferent about the Hulk movie. It could be great. I’m definitely more excited now that I see what Marvel is doing with their complete creative control.
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:36 pm
I just saw Iron- I mean Titanium Gold Alloy Man. It was quite good. I never really got into the Iron Man shows or comics, largely due to lack of exposure I suppose. But that may have been what made the movie that much better to me. I didn’t expect Stark to be suck a cocky mo fo for one. I thought for the most part he was always serious. Other than enjoying that and the timing of lots of things I also greatly enjoyed seeing how his suit worked and how he developed it. I, admittedly, had even totally forgotten about Tony’s… how to put it without spoiling something for the uninformed… ‘vital’ connection to the suit. I thought something else entirely. Like I said, lack of exposure.
When I saw the blueprints for his first attempt I actually thought it was a prototype for War Machine.
Anyway, as for Robert Downy Jr.’s ‘fame’… yeah… what fame? I know he was famous to a degree and he’s done some things, been in the limelight here and there for better or worse. But really… to think of him as famous enough to be distracting from the character was laughable. You’d have to be an awful big fan of his for that to be true I’d think.
I have absolutely no interest in The Hulk. Never have. Thought it was sort of stupid. A lame and drawn out Jekyll and Hyde affair. Not to mention I find it annoying when people refer to him as a ’super hero’. That boggles the mind.
June 2nd, 2008 at 11:54 pm
I’d go see Hulk just because R.D. Jr. is making a cameo as Tony Stark. Otherwise I’ll probably wait for the reviews to come in before rushing to the theater.
June 3rd, 2008 at 5:20 am
You guys have to think though. There is absolutely no actor who could have played Tony Stark better’n Robert Downey Jr. Stark is supposed to be an alcoholic playboy, and not only does Downey Jr. have that to a science, but he looks like him without make-up or wigs.
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:36 pm
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June 4th, 2008 at 2:50 am
What’s your point? I didn’t say he wasn’t good for the part. I think he was perfect for it. I just said he didn’t somehow wind up distracting me, and he wouldn’t most people.
Hmm. He’s going to make a cameo in the next Hulk movie eh? Still won’t go out to the theater to see it (or probably rent it, like I said not a fan of The Hulk) but that’s interesting. I wonder if it’s purposeful or if it’ll feel tacked on to draw some people to go see this Hulk Movie.
The only actor I can think of ever distracting me a bit from the role was Topehr Grace as Eddie Brock. There was only one moment though that did. When Venom suit Spiderman takes the pictures from him and goes down into the sewer and he yells at Spiderman. It totally rang exactly the same as ‘Damn it Kelso!’