Todd Klein's Blog, page 361

Golden Age of Figure Skating Show

Last night we attended a wonderful figure skating show at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, featuring a large cast of American skating champions from the past 60 years, many not seen in shows for decades. We had a terrific time, even with not great seats — our view is above. We'd brought our binoculars, so that helped us enjoy the performances. This show was being taped for TV broadcast on Christmas Day, so in addition to skaters on the ice, there were some who spoke from or were interviewed on the stage by Mary Carillo and others, and during the intermission two original members of the band America played a medley of their hits.

Due to poor lighting and our distance from the ice, most of my shots of the skaters came out like this one of Calla Urbanski and Rocky Marval, a favorite of Ellen, who took a few skating lessons from Calla. Like most of the performers, they were great, doing many of the dangerous tricks that made them famous quite a few years ago.

After the main performance, some skaters came back to the ice to redo jumps that hadn't gone so well, to be edited into the final tape. We were then able to sit much closer, as many people didn't stay, and I got a few more in-focus shots, like these of Sasha Cohen…

…Kimmie Meisner…

…and Nancy Kerrigan and Paul Wylie about to do a great pairs routine. The roster of skaters was impressive, and many wowed us, including Brian Boitano, Tara Lipinski, Evan Lysacek, Todd Eldridge and Sarah Hughes, in addition to those shown above. Old-timers Richard Dwyer and Tenley Albright showed that they could still be graceful on the ice, while some stars like Kristi Yamaguchi, Scott Hamilton, Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill and Dick Button spoke but did not skate. We enjoyed seeing them all anyway. It was a fine show, and we're looking forward to watching it again when it's broadcast.

Winter Moves In, Arctic Cat

Just over a week ago the last flowers were blooming, like this late Mandevilla vine climbing the front porch post…

…and this very late rose, well beyond "the last rose of summer." Then the cold weather moved in with purpose, keeping us well below freezing at night and in the low to mid 30s during the day.

Our little pond has been frozen all week. It's warming up some today, so the surface is melting…

…but the frozen bubbles in the ice are still there. How does this happen? It's a mystery to me. I mean, bubbles are usually short-lived, how do they become encased in ice?

Last winter our cats were young kittens, and we hadn't yet let them know about going out on the porch. Since spring it's been one of their favorite places to be, or it was for both of them until wintry weather hit. Tigger now won't go out for more than a few minutes, but Leo seems to have the Arctic spirit, and will sit out there under the rocker watching the birds at the feeders for an hour or more, even when it's close to freezing. I don't know how he does it.

That still leaves lots of time inside to go on Feederwatch at my studio window's small one. Other activities include playing soccer around the house with a pingpong ball, wrestling with and running with Tigger, and of course eating or thinking about eating, or suggesting pointedly that it's time to eat. Tigger seems to have developed other new hobbies: tipping over trash cans in the bathrooms (so that now we hardly use them) and pulling the drain plugs out of the sinks. I suspect it's going to be a long winter…

And Then I Read: VIKING, THE LONG COLD FIRE

© Ivan Brandon & Nic Klein.

Here's a brand new take on Vikings in comics form, and what a huge contrast it is to THE VIKING PRINCE reprint collection from DC I reviewed here recently. The writing is much more like an action film, with every word presented in dialogue balloons, no captions of any kind. Thus, we have no time and place given, no introduction to the characters except through their visual appearance and what they say about each other, and no window into their thoughts or motivations. I found this a little off-putting at first, but once I got past the initial pages, the action and dialogue carried me through, and it worked fine, though now and then I lost track of who was who. The story focuses on two Viking brothers, Finn and Egil, who are brutal and violent in a believable way; not terribly bright perhaps, but strong and crafty when they need to be. They've come into the world with little, and they desire much. The book shows how they go about trying to get it, as well as looking at some of their upbringing and the social world they live in. It's tough stuff, and fascinating work.

The art by Nic Klein (no relation) is quite accomplished. My only small complaint is that sometimes the techniques used (and there are a number of them, often on the same page) tend to be so attention-getting that they pulled me out of the story. The styles run from traditional comics linework with dot-screen shading, to several kinds of painted work, to what seems a multi-media approach, all excellently produced, but as I said, kind of distracting, especially when the style keeps shifting. This oversize hardcover makes a fine showcase for the art, though, and the reproduction is quite good, too. Obviously Nic put a great deal of effort and time into this project, and it shows on every page.

If you like high-testosterone action and cutting-edge art, give this book a try. Recommended.

Incoming: FABLES 100

Image © Bill Willingham and DC Comics, art by Joao Ruas.

Just arrived today, and I think it looks good, perhaps even superb. To me it has the kind of bounteous feel of the early DC Annuals I found in my youth; not only lots of great reading but many bonus features. This book was a sore trial to me in the weeks before it shipped from DC, lots of last minute changes and frantic hard work. At almost the last minute, editor Shelly Bond informed me that we needed to ADD four pages. She had paged it out at exactly 100 pages, but that's an impossible number for printing comics, since they must be printed in signatures of no less than 8 pages. So, rather than cutting four pages, we added four, including the one-page Three Blind Mice gag on page 4 and the Castle Dark blueprints on page 78. It's amusing to see that even the back cover copy calls it a 100-page issue, when it's really 104.

And Then I Read: ASTRO CITY – SILVER AGENT 1 & 2

Images © Juke Box Productions.

In this two issue special, Kurt Busiek has told a complex story about one of his heroes, one involving time travel in an unusual way. Silver Agent has been sentenced to death, but heroes from the far future snatch him from his jail cell and offer him a new life of adventure with them. Trouble is, historical records suggest the the Agent appeared in many previous eras that he hasn't yet experienced (and in other issues of ASTRO CITY we've seen a few of them). The answer is a journey of jaunts back through time, acting the hero in many different eras, and ending back in his own jail cell, his fate sealed. So, despite this complicated plot, it's really a human story about heroism. About having the courage and determination to do what you believe is right despite knowing it will lead to your own end. And Kurt handles it all wonderfully. I'm reminded a bit of Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man, and T.H. White's Merlin from The Sword in the Stone, but Kurt's tale is original and moving.

The art by Brent Anderson and covers by Alex Ross are, as always, excellent. And as I write this, I pause to marvel at the amazing consistency of ASTRO CITY. I believe it's had the same creative team of Busiek, Anderson and Ross, with colors by Alex Sinclair and letters by John Roshell of Comicraft for all of its fifteen years of existence, quite an accomplishment. (And I'm sure Kurt will set me straight if I'm wrong.) They all continue to do fine work year after year. If you'd like to sample ASTRO CITY, this might not be a bad place to do it. Highly recommended.

And Then I Read: BRIGHTEST DAY 9

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

By the ninth issue of a series, I expect to have some idea of what's driving the plot, but in this case, I don't. Mysteries still abound, unexplained events continue, and heroes struggle both physically and mentally with an unknown power, given a font and style that suggest a white lantern, but we never see it. Is it the white lantern from earlier issues, now a part of all these characters? If so, it's far from clear.

The largest story segment is a conflict between the Martian Manhunter and Green Arrow, in a mystic forest of some kind that GA is protecting, while MM wants to burn it. The whys are all unknown. I'm getting impatient. Just barely recommended.

And Then I Read: LEGACIES 3 – 4

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

This series combines the idea of a regular man-on-the-street's perspective of super-heroes, in the spirit of Marvel's MARVELS, and a Cliff's Notes summary of the entire history of the DC universe. It might have been a rather dry and predictable effort were it not for some quite good writing by Len Wein and excellent art, on these issues by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Dave Gibbons (main stories), Dave Gibbons alone on one backup, and Joe Kubert alone on the other. Even if you're quite familiar with the material here, it's a great pleasure to see it come to vibrant life in the hands of these master artists, and Len keeps the story moving through the viewpoint character Paul Lincoln and his family and friends. The only art I'm not impressed with is the opening two pages of each issue by Scott Kolins; it's okay, but pales compared to the rest.

Here's the classic meeting of the Golden Age and Silver Age Flashes that ushered in the whole idea of multiple worlds of super-heroes. The original version by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino is the source, but this version is a visual treat despite the large amount of dialogue.

If you're relatively new to the DCU, this crash course is a fun way to catch up. If you're a long-time reader you can still enjoy the fine art and good writing. Sure, it's not going to develop much suspense, we all know where things are going, but LEGACIES is a fun read. Recommended.

And Then I Read: GREEN LANTERN CORPS 51

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

As this is a "Brightest Day" tie-in, one might not expect much of a complete story, and it's true that this is merely a chapter in a longer one, but I found it to hold up pretty well on its own. Writer Tony Bedard has a lot of characters and plotlines to juggle, and handles them well. The Cyborg Superman who has taken over many of the Alpha-Lanterns has ex-Guardian Ganthet in his clutches, and is trying to force him to remove the Alpha-lantern machinery from his subjects. Ganthet is not really qualified for this, leading to tragic results. Meanwhile, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner and Sora, three Lanterns sent to investigate, have been stripped of most of their ring power, and are forced to hide out in a deep cavern with the remaining "populace" of this planet Grenda, all robots, trying to convince them to rebel against the Cyborg Superman. Things are not going well for them, either.

The art by Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes is quite good, very much in the detailed, realistic style of the other current GL titles. I'm not sure how they're managing to keep such a uniform approach, but it works fine for me, making the suspension of disbelief in the unusual settings and situations quite easy. I'm not loving the Alpha-Lantern Revolt storyline, but it does interest me enough to want to read more. Recommended.

And Then I Read: EMERALD WARRIORS 1

© DC Comics, Inc.

This new spinoff from the Green Lantern books features Guy Gardner, an Earthman GL who I don't like all that much, Ganthet, a former Guardian of the Universe, now self-demoted to Green Lantern, who I haven't formed an opinion of, and Atrocitus, head of the Red Lanterns, who I find quite repulsive much of the time. Despite that, I'm giving this book a try.

As a new series, I expect to find it beginning with an accessible story that explains things, and this one does that well. We first see Guy Gardner doing his part as a GL, with considerable excess of force, but well. Then he requests a new assignment: to explore regions of space beyond the knowledge of the Guardians. To his surprise, they agree. Next we see him joining Ganthet, and they review their pact with Atrocitus (from the other GL books). Finally we focus on Atrocitus and his minions, and he's acting a bit more human in this book, though is still not at all likeable to me. Finally the story ends with a new plot thread that will no doubt lead the things forward. Writer Peter Tomasi is doing a good job here; he's made Guy more interesting to me in his time on GL CORPS, and Ganthet seems to be handled well, too. I'll stay for a few issues to see where things go.

The art by Fernando Pasarin and Cam Smith follows the trend of the other GL books: realistic, highly detailed, lots of explosive action and cool effects. The storytelling is fine, too. I like it.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: NEONOMICON 2

© Alan Moore and Avatar Press.

Despite the humorous homage to EC Comics on this variant cover, NEONOMICON is dead scary and stomach-churning stuff. There've been plenty of Lovecraftian mythos storylines in comics (HELLBOY comes to mind), to the point where the chills and horror that writer's original works can bring to a fresh reader have become  clichés  that are almost comfortable in their familiarity. Not so here. Alan Moore knows how to push a reader's buttons, or at least mine, and in his hands Lovecraft's themes become truly horrifying, ugly, brutal and nightmarish.  The two government agents investigating are drawn into what they think will be an orgy disguised as some kind of devilish worship, but they are soon unmasked, and find that involuntary sex is only a small part of the evil they're going to face. Or at least, one of them is going to face…but I can't say what happens to the other without spoiling the story, should you care to read it.

Jacen Burrows does a fine job of capturing the unblinking horror of the writing, with detailed and yet somehow claustrophobic realism. The ominous colors by Juanmar help convey the mood. Lovecraft's work, and that of his followers, is woven into this tale in various clever ways, but it's not for the squeamish, or easily offended. This is dark, powerful stuff that may leave you shaken, and clearly things can only get worse from here. Anyone who thinks Alan Moore may have mellowed with age, this series might well change your mind. Recommended with the above qualifications, definitely not for minors.