Weekend Reading: Batman, Doonesbury, Killraven and Kickstarter

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Reviews, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,

So the Olympics are finally over, and that means it's time to talk about real heroes, right? Y'know, the ones in capes!

For most of us, we have the belief that Bill Finger is the true creator of everything that made Batman great. Here’s why.

Jake Hinkson looks at The Dark Knight Rises and the other two parts of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy: “Unlike the set-bound comic-gothic theatrics of Tim Burton's Batman films or the plastic sex-toy quality of Joel Schumacher's films, Batman Begins is a full on epic.”

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Batman, Doonesbury, Killraven and Kickstarter

Q&A: Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Interviews, Movies,

Writer Rich Handley knows more about Planet Of The Apes than any three of you combined.

As the editor/compiler of two massive reference books - Timeline Of The Planet Of The Apes and Lexicon Of The Planet Of The Apes - he’s delved into the nerd minutiae of the movies, comics, TV shows and animated cartoons like Cornelius digging in the Forbidden Zone.

And we are all better people for it - because the only way to prevent the Apes from taking over, is to keep talking about it and disrupt the timeline.

On the occasion of the release of the new Apes extravaganza, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, I went right to the source to ask Rich a few questions about continuity, apes and more.

Note to all: This interview might contain some spoilers (you think?), so you are forewarned.

TOM MASON: So, reboot or prequel?

Click to continue reading Q&A: Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Tim Burton’s Seaweed: Euthora Timburtoni

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies,

Tim Burton has directed a ton of quirkily wonderful movies – from Beetlejuice and Batman to Edward Scissorhands and Alice In Wonderland. He’s won all kinds of awards and accolades and made Johnny Depp a star. But you know what he has that no other celebrity has so far? His own seaweed!

That’s right. There’s a new brand of Tim Burton seaweed, courtesy of Bridgette Clarkston, a University of New Brunswick researcher, up in Canada.

Clarkston, so obviously the smartest girl in school this year, discovered the previously unidentified species through DNA samples and named it Euthora timburtoni, citing the director Tim Burton as someone who inspires her. The underwater weed can currently be found in the water off British Columbia.

I think there’s still time to get her on a panel for San Diego and I think this could be the start of a whole new Hollywood trend. How about the James Cameron‘s 3-D krill? Michael Bay’s nudibranch? Dennis Dugan’s Clownfish? Someone should get their agent on the phone right now!

[Artwork: a cool Edward Scissorhands drawing by Tim Burton]

Read More | Euthora Timburtoni

NEWS: Planet of the Apes

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Movies,

Heads up, monkey lovers! Uber-Apes fan and writer Rich Handley has put his stinking paws on the history of one of the most beloved and maddening sci-fi franchises ever: Planet of the Apes. The origin of the species that began with Pierre Boulle’s novel, Monkey Planet, has encompassed movies, television shows, comic books, animated cartoons and so much more. Who can forget their Planet of the Apes lunchbox or their Mego action figure? Creators as varied as Rod Serling, Tim Burton, Paul Dehn, Doug Moench, Ian Edginton, Mike Ploog, Dale Keown, Gary Chaloner and Lowell Cunningham have been drawn into its orbit.

Now Rich has deftly organized all of the projects, spin-offs, and remakes and created Timeline Of The Planet of the Apes: The Definitive Chronology, a massive reference book suitable for the Monkey shelf of your bookcase. Rich chronologically organizes every recorded event of Planet of the Apes history starting from before Caesar’s birth and going way beyond [spoiler alert] Earth’s destruction. Rich says, “This book covers every film, television episode, cartoon, novel, comic book, short story and audio-tale produced under the Planet of the Apes banner over the past four decades.” He even includes a number of rejected and unpublished tales previously unavailable to fans.

Originally produced for a publisher that went belly-up, Rich pulled back his completed manuscript and is self-publishing through his own Hasslein Books imprint. Packed with 350 cover images, a recommended viewing/reading order, time travel trivia, a title/creator index of published fiction and a wealth of POTA inconsistencies and discontinuities, make the book a must-have item for any true fanboy.

Someday, the apes will rule us all, and it’s nice to see how they plan to do it.

[Full Disclosure: I used to edit the Planet of the Apes comic books for Malibu Comics and many of the folks who worked on them are represented in Rich’s book.]

Batman and Robin: Opposing Viewpoints (Part One)

Posted by David Torres Categories: Movies, Reviews, DC Comics,

My co-worker told me once that his brother liked “Batman and Robin”.  I said to myself that in no way was that even possible.  Well, he doesn’t like “Batman and Robin,” but he does like it a bit and feels some of the criticism about the film is too harsh.  I decided that this would make for a good blog and I asked him to write a review of the film while I would write my own.  Here is his review:

YES, THAT’S RIGHT, A DEFENSE OF BATMAN AND ROBIN…
by Evan C. Price

Viewing Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin for the first time since its release in 1997, I am surprised at the contempt for this sequel among comic book fans, IMDB and Ain’t-It-Cool regulars, and the usual assortment of internet grumps and trolls.

“Bane was a complex villain and they ruined him.”
“The worst comic book film ever made.”
“It raped my childhood.”
And so on.

Click to continue reading Batman and Robin: Opposing Viewpoints (Part One)

Read More | Wikipedia