Todd Klein's Blog, page 168

Watching WONDER WOMAN

Image © Warner Bros.

I’m going to begin this with general comments. Later, after a spoiler warning, I’ll address some specific points that I think won’t give anything important away, but if you want to avoid all mention of plot elements, you might want to come back after you’ve seen the film.

I enjoyed the film, I think in large part because of the performance and persona of Gal Gadot, who is an example of perfect casting, born for the part. Sure, others could play the King of Siam, but Yul Brynner was perfect for it, it’s that kind of thing. Her every move, expression, word, gesture and emotion seemed true and right for Wonder Woman. Even her slight Israeli accent works well here. Gal’s skills in the action scenes as well in the character ones hit the mark every time. Chris Pine was fine as Steve Trevor, the rest of the cast, who are largely supporting players, were good too, but Gal made it work for me.

There were no boring parts, always a good sign, though lately I’m more impressed with a film, script and actors who can carry quiet moments equally well, and this film does that. There aren’t many of them, but they work. The effects and action sequences were fine, if a little too frequent in the second half for me. Mixing in moments of super-slow-motion has become a familiar thing in action films, but I kind of like it as it gives my old eyes a chance to see what’s going on better. I saw it in 3D, but did not notice any particularly great uses of it, and often saw none for long periods, so I expect the 2D version would have been fine.

Okay, on to more specific plot and script comments, in case you want to stop here. More below.

 

 

 

 

The top screenwriting credit goes to Zack Snyder, and this film is crafted to fit in with the other DC character films he’s directed, so it’s framed in a brief modern-day sequence, but we don’t learn a great deal from that except that Diana is unchanged, has an impressive base of operations, and is still being heroic. Most of the film is a flashback to her origin, beginning on Themyscira. That sequence is handled quite well, I thought. Young Diana wants to train for battle, her mother wants to protect her. Other Themyscirans help Diana learn what she needs to know. In one early moment, Diana’s mother tells her a bedtime story about her origin that seems too simplistic, but later we learn part of it is not true, so that leaves the rest as just a bedtime story and not necessarily so. A nice, subtle idea.

When American Steve Trevor arrives in his crashing plane, I got the first jolt of unexpected plot: it’s a World War One German plane. In the comics, of course, Wonder Woman was created in the early years of World War Two. When Steve succeeds in convincing Diana to join him in fighting the Germans, it’s all World War One, “The Great War,” with Steve working as a spy for the British. In retrospect, I can see why this was done. It avoids the film becoming “Wonder Woman vs. Hitler.” It also means that, for Diana in the present, this entire story happened over a hundred years ago, freeing later stories from being tied to this continuity and these supporting characters. That could be a good thing or a bad one, depending on how she’s handled in later films.

Once Diana and Steve meet, the language question is always a problem, but here they at once speak to and understand each other perfectly. This seemed odd and wrong at first, but it is explained later, and by inference, subtly lets us know that Themyscira is not ignorant of the world at large, another nice touch.

There are several villains in the story, some obvious ones who are not particularly interesting or well-rounded, and an implied hidden one who is revealed late in the film. He’s the only one who really worked for me.

The usual clash of cultures when Diana enters man’s world takes place in London in this film, and I thought was well handled and entertaining.

The third act of the film takes Diana, Steve, and a band of comic misfits to the front lines where various plans and plots are to take place. Here Diana asserts herself and becomes the true hero we all want to see. I liked that, but the war scenes do go on for a long time. Some of the plot gets too convoluted and tricksy for me, too. Finally, Diana’s growing powers seem to go even beyond anything in the comics, but there is an explanation of that in the film that works when you think about it.

In all, I enjoyed the two hours I spent watching “Wonder Woman,” and recommend it, particularly to witness Gal Gadot’s wonderful performance. Perhaps a second film might be even better, we’ll see.

Logo design for Comic-Con International: San Diego’s 2017 Souvenir Book

Captain America and Thor © Marvel, Mister Miracle and Kamandi © DC Comics.

Every year the San Diego Comic-Con puts out a large, thick, lavish souvenir book filled with features and art focusing on that year’s Comic-Con themes. They’ve just revealed the 2017 cover with a Jack Kirby tribute. The art is by Bruce Timm, based on Jack’s cover for JIMMY OLSEN #141. The logo and cover blurb are by me. The full announcement is HERE.

In late November, 2016, I was contacted by Gary Sassaman, Director of Print and Digital Media for the Con, who told me about the cover plan to celebrate the centennial of Jack Kirby’s birth. He said they were planning an homage to the above cover dated Sept. 1971, with Jack’s photo in the center circle. Would I be interested in doing the logo and cover copy in a similar style? Of course I said I was, sounded like fun.

In March, 2017 Gary sent me this cover sketch by artist Bruce Timm. Gary wrote:

“Because the dimensions of the Souvenir Book are different compared to a 1970s comic, Bruce Timm’s layout has changed things a bit. So I think instead of apeing the original Jimmy Olsen lettering, I’m going to ask you to do what you would consider a classic 1970s DC title design a la Gaspar Saladino. We’re going to drop all of the other cover trade dress. And then on the lower right it will probably end up saying ‘2017 Souvenir Book,’ since we’re celebrating multiple 100th anniversaries inside.”

This all sounded fine to me, and actually easier than the original plan. Gaspar Saladino is my favorite letterer and logo designer, and I thought I’d have no problem doing something in his style that would work. While the original Jimmy Olsen logo on the Kirby cover was designed by Ira Schnapp, Gaspar did the cover blurb at lower right, and he designed the logos for Jack’s other Fourth World and later titles for DC, and did most of the cover lettering on them, so his style was the right choice. Even though Gary needed to get approval for this plan from DC and Marvel, I decided to go ahead and work on the logo.

Supergirl logo by Gaspar Saladino, 1970, © DC Comics.

I needed to do a two-line title, and I wanted to use a telescoping drop shadow to give it more depth, but rather than going for the full telescoped effect, as seen on the SUPERMAN’S PAL logo above by Ira Schnapp, I thought I’d use the simplified version that Gaspar was beginning to use at the time, example above. In this style, only the outer outlline of the telescoping is shown, the many inner lines are removed. I also thought the cover art called for a logo in an arc above the circle and characters at the top.

Here’s my design sketch, which I sent to Gary. He approved it with one change, to remove the exclamation point at the lower right. I placed this sketch in Adobe Illustrator and worked up the logo there by tracing the lines and shapes with the pen tool.

Here’s the first stage with just the letters done, the drop shadow still to come. The very wide letters of COMIC-CON are more my style than Gaspar’s but the second line is something my lettering role-model might well have done.

Here’s the finished logo with color added. I wanted to keep it simple, and I thought white would work best for the letters. Here I tried shades of blue in the drop shadows.

I also did this version using red and orange, which I thought would probably go best with the cover art if it followed the general color scheme of the original Kirby cover.

In April, Gary sent me this raw scan of the cover art by Bruce Timm, which I thought was very cool! I was buying and reading the Fourth World Kirby comics when they came out, and I think Bruce captured the feel perfectly.

One issue we had to resolve was the Jack Kirby photo. We all liked this particular photo best for our cover, but the original photo could not be found. The best we could find was this one, which I think was scanned from the back pages of a 1978 SILVER SURFER original graphic novel by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby published by Simon and Schuster. The author photos were probably taken for that book. It’s rather grainy, and the shadowed areas lose detail, but it’s such a great picture.

I put together this cover proof in Adobe Illustrator after tweaking the Timm art and the Kirby photo in Photoshop (and giving the latter a sepia tone, which I thought worked better with the color scheme), and adding my red-orange logo. I also created the burst cover blurb in my best Klein after Saladino style. Everyone liked it, and I was asked to make just a few minor changes.

Here’s the final cover again to compare. The changes were to have Mister Miracle’s cape go over the logo, and to put a thin black line around the circle with Kirby’s photo in it. I also needed to put an ® mark next to Comic-Con. Once this was okayed by Marvel, DC, Bruce Timm and the Con staff, I assembled the elements exactly the same way in Adobe InDesign to the specifications of the printer, and sent it to Gary in late April.

I had a great time working on this assignment, and am very pleased with the result. I’m planning to be at the Con this summer, where I expect to see this book all over the place. If you’re going, perhaps you will too!

 

And Then I Read: WONDER WOMAN #15

Image © DC Comics.

I’m pleased to see that Greg Rucka is continuing to run two different storylines in this title, alternating issues between a present-day story and a “year one” story. This is the first of the new present-day story, and it apparently finds Diana Prince in a mental asylum, where her belief she is Wonder Woman is being treated as madness. Diana herself is silent on the subject, and some of those talking to her may be part of whatever delusions she could be having. Wonder Woman’s powers are not in evidence.

Meanwhile, her friends Steve, Etta, and Barbara are in hiding from a black ops team that has destroyed their own secret government base and operation. Their pursuers work for an organization called Godwatch which is obsessed with Diana and Themyscira, and trying hard to find both. On the real Themyscira, Diana’s mother is brought a message, or perhaps a warning, of trouble ahead. She is marshalling her troops. Finally, a cool reveal on the last page.

All meat, no filler on this fine issue written by Greg Rucka, art by Liam Sharp. Highly recommended.

And Then I Read: UNFOLLOW #14

Image © DC Comics.

This is the most interesting issue of UNFOLLOW in a while, as it explores the life of Larry Ferrell, the multi-billionaire tech company head who conceived and funded the entire Unfollow tontine or game, call it what you will, in which 140 people were willed shares of his vast fortune. Through past issues we’ve seen their jubilation turn to fear and anger as members of the group become victims of one another. As in a tontine, the fewer survivors there are, the larger the share for those who remain. As the issue opens, the 140 are down to 86 after the bloodbath on Akira’s island retreat last issue.

Ferrell is a strange and quirky person, high on the autism scale despite his technical brilliance, and someone who does not deal at all well with people. As the issue opens in Ferrell’s past some years before the 140, a reporter, Nathan Baer, has arrived at Ferrell’s home for a promised interview. It will be the first ever interview for the reclusive billionaire. Ferrell appears briefly, but soon ducks out without speaking to Baer, and things go downhill rapidly for Baer after that. Ferrell’s story is filled in by his new fiancee, and his oddities are striking, but Baer’s attempts to find out more turn Ferrell against both him and his fiancee, which does not bode well for either.

While this is probably only a momentary respite in the death spiral of the 140, I enjoyed it quite a lot. Recommended.

And Then I Read: THE ANNOTATED WIND IN THE WILLOWS by Kenneth Grahame

What a great find this was for a dollar at a recent book sale. It’s huge: over 9 by 10 inches and two inches thick. Like all the “Annotated” series (begun by Martin Gardner with “The Annotated Alice” in 1960), this is NOT the way to first read a book. Instead, it’s a wonderful way to revisit a favorite book and learn many new things about it.

All the Annotateds follow the same plan: the original book text in the center columns, notes and comments by the editor in the outside columns, or on additional pages where needed. The editor in this case is Annie Gauger, a Grahame scholar, and her notes are often full of great information that helps enlighten Grahame’s text in various ways, from explaining outdated terms to citing influences to drawing on social, scientific or historical events and practices of the time that are relevant. Gauger brings out themes I hadn’t noticed, such as Grahame’s very few female characters and nearly complete avoidance of mothers and wives. The book is so well written that, until it’s pointed out, readers rarely notice how the animal characters keep changing in size and even physical characteristics, not to mention the many different artistic interpretations of them, some as real animals, some as people with animal heads, and others a mixture. At some points Toad of Toad Hall is a tiny creature, at others he’s large enough to drive a car! Somehow, Kenneth Grahame makes it work.

There’s plenty of additional material, including a biography of Grahame and his family that tells the sad story of his son Alistair, who Grahame aimed the book at. Some parts were told originally in letters from Kenneth to Alistair, and they are all here. Brian Jacques’ introduction focuses on the ever-shifting mixture of animal and human in the characters, as also happens in his own books.

It took me a long time to read this, but I enjoyed it all. Highly recommended, if you can find it.

And Then I Read: THE MIDDLE AGE BOOK ONE by Steve Conley

Images © Steve Conley.

I don’t read many online strips…okay this is the only one, but I love it dearly. Steve Conley has been making great comics for a while, including ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS and BLOOP. This new effort is his best yet, in my opinion. Sir Quimp of Grawlix is a hapless but courageous knight on a seemingly hopeless quest to win back his lost love. His first task on that quest is to acquire a magic sword, Maledicta, the Sword of Woe, from its resting place in the skull of a dragon. He does that on the very first page, launching him on a terrifying journey facing horrific foes of many kinds. The sword is a talking one, and what it has to say to Sir Quimp is always entertaining, from dry sarcasm and witty criticism to occasional actually helpful suggestions. Through it all, Sir Quimp remains hopeful and cheerful about his impossible quest. At times I can’t help thinking of the pair as Margaret Dumont and Groucho Marx from the Marx Brothers films, with the sword as Groucho.

Steve’s work on the strip is superb, combining clear, charming cartooning and funny writing with lovingly rendered details and excellent lettering in a way that I haven’t seen since Walt Kelly’s “Pogo.” The only problem with this collection is that it’s too short! But you can find more on Steve’s Patreon site.  You can also find this first collection on Steve’s website along with other cool stuff.

I heartily recommend it!

And Then I Read: SHADE THE CHANGING GIRL #6

Image © DC Comics.

Last issue I was commenting that the birdlike alien from Meta, Loma, who inhabits the body of Megan on Earth, seemed to be giving up on trying to make that work, and wanted only to go home to Meta. This issue, the spirit of Megan herself arrives from somewhere and tries to get her body back. Suddenly, Loma finds she wants to keep it after all. While most of the people around her and at school think she’s gone crazy, Loma-Megan does have a few friends who are trying to help. Meanwhile, back on Meta, Loma’s true body has been found wearing the madness coat that has transported her spirit to Earth, and Loma’s friend on Meta is being forcefully interrogated to find out how that happened and how to get the coat to release her. Back on Earth, some kind of spirit friend is giving Loma-Megan advice on how to handle Megan’s angry spirit. Then there’s a puzzling teaser at the end that I didn’t get at all.

Despite sometimes being confused by the storyline, I did enjoy this issue. The dialogue, characters and art are entertaining enough to bring me back for more, and much of the storyline made sense and worked for me.

Mildly recommended.

And Then I Read: HAL JORDAN & THE GL CORPS #12

Image © DC Comics.

Larfleeze, the conniving Orange Lantern (one and only) has made a mistake. He let the Green and Yellow Lantern Corps members out of their Brainiac bottle. He’s powerful, but his foes have a secret weapon: they know what he’s most afraid of…losing all his wonderful stuff. Meanwhile, Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner and the last two Guardians of the Galaxy (that we know of) are hurtling across that galaxy to join the fray, and when they do, Larfleeze is in even more trouble. For the first time in some years, all of Earth’s space-going Green Lanterns are together in the same fight. As with THE FLASH, this title seems to be heading back toward familiar territory, and I like that, as it’s been a while. A fun issue in which all the players have their star turns, nicely written by Robert Venditti and illustrated by Ethan Van Sciver.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: GREEN LANTERNS 12

Image © DC Comics.

Green Lantern wanna-be Frank has been given an amazingly powerful ring of his own that accesses the powers of all the various ring colors, and can be used by anyone, none of that “chosen by the ring” required. It makes holding off Earth’s true Green Lanterns, Jessica and Simon, easy for him. In fact nearly everything is easy if it can be done with force. The problem is, Frank doesn’t know how to control the power he has, and the many emotions it’s tied to. In a way, the ring is controlling him. Becoming a true hero? Now, that’s harder. Getting people to admire and applaud him rather than fear him? Harder still. A well-told story by writer Sam Humphries and artists Eduardo Pansica and Julio Ferreira.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: DR. OX’S EXPERIMENT by Jules Verne, illustrated by William Pène du Bois

Dust jacket. All illustrations © William Pène du Bois.

Here’s a book I didn’t know existed but was delighted to find in a used bookstore recently. I’d heard of the humorous Jules Verne short story, and might even have read it once, but the real delight came from the wonderful illustrations by du Bois, a favorite author and illustrator of books for children in his own right. While many of his own books are mostly pictures, several are novels for older children, including the Newbery award-winning “The 21 Balloons,” and equally wonderful “Peter Graves” and “The Giant.” Though born in New Jersey, du Bois spent ages eight to fourteen in Paris, and perhaps came to love the work of Jules Verne there. Much of his own work follows similar themes of science fictional adventure stories.

In addition to the illustrations on every two-page spread throughout, the book’s unusual design gives it additional charm. You read the entire book sideways, with each spread forming a large page, as seen above. There’s an introduction by science writer Willy Ley outlining Verne’s life, and an afterword by Dr. Hubertus Strughold analyzing the science in the story.

Front cover of the book inside the dust jacket.

The story itself is only mildly amusing. Dr. Ox and his assistant Ygene have come to a small, bucolic Flemish town in mid 1800s northern Belgium where little has changed in hundreds of years, and the entire populace and their animals have become lethargic and extremely slow in every way. For instance, at the local opera house, the musical pace is so slow that it takes an entire day to perform one act of an opera. The most important men in local government are the Burgomaster Van Tricasse and his friend Counselor Niklausse who run things by doing as little as possible. Somehow Dr. Ox has convinced them to set up a new gasworks that he says will supply the entire area with gas-fueled lighting, and the plant and infrastructure is soon built, but actual lights seem to be taking a long time to arrive.

Endpapers.

As the story progresses, we find out the real “experiment” is to flood the town with pure oxygen to see what effect it might have on people, animals and plants. The effects on people are soon seen where the gas is being emitted: everyone becomes animated, energetic and soon excitable, irritable, argumentative and even violent. Animals are equally affected. Plants achieve such vigorous growth that giant vegetables and fruits are soon being produced. Eventually the town is so roused to action that they decide to declare war on a neighboring town and gather to march on it.

This is more of a social comedy than a real science fiction tale, and Verne’s ideas about humor are rather bland and obvious. The illustrations are generally more amusing than the text. The afterword by Strughold explains that, though based on ideas of the time, the science in the book is actually wrong in most areas, and oxygen, while dangerous if breathed in large amounts for long periods, does not have the effects described. I love some of Verne’s adventure stories, but humor was not his forte. I’m still delighted with this book because of all the terrific art and design.

Recommended.