The Dark M&M Game

So I've been playing the Dark M&M game, in which you look at a painting and try to figure out all the "dark" movies* they're trying to represent by their pictures. I aquitted myself nicely, I think, guessing 39 out of 50 without aid before turning to Google for assistance. With Google's help, I nabbed another couple and with further assistance from Wendy (we ended up consolidating), I bumped myself up to 46. Which means I'm still 4 shy of an assisted victory.

For those playing at home, the four I'm missing are 1) the Mountains in the background, 2) the reaper in the circular fence, 3) the lady carrying the two youngins, and 4) the Wile E. Coyote tunnel in the brick wall. Have fun. And tom? You should especially enjoy this.

[*note: not all the movies are necessarily scary/horror films. some are sci-fi or mystery/thrillers]

Update: if you don't want to spoil it don't read the comments within.

Keira Knightley and the Case of the Jump Cut

So then, the Keira Knightley Pride &Prejudice. Not impressed. Sure I had fun with it, but my suspicion was that the bulk of my joy derived from the fact that I've read the book multiple times and enjoyed the atrociously long version that came out a decade ago. This allowed me to cobble together some semblance of a plot and character motivations. It is also the only way I could have possibly kept the characters straight.

In all seriousness, this is not a good film. It will be passable or even enjoyable for fans of the story, but should be avoided will plague-fueled caution by those who are coming fresh to the Austen-tale. Do not be sucked in by the inclusion of the rock-jawed wonder of pirate cinema; even Knightley's teeth-gritting frolic cannot save this film for you. Flee. Flee like the wind.

I blame the director. Likely fearing the wrath of afficionados, he worked to slavishly include as many plot points and sub-plot points as he could rationally fit into a two-hour and seven minute film. Then he added more. The film is overpacked with all the goodies that make people love Austen, but like any ferry that exceeds drastically its weight-limit, the film founders and finally capsizes under its own fell weight.

In order to acheive all these points and include the "necessary" characters, Joe Wright (the film's "director") fashions a film that proceeds from one plot point to another with such dire alacrity that the viewer is helplessly beaten with scene after scene after scene with no opportunity to rest or take in the events (whatever they were), and is left, at film's end, a bloodied and exhausted wreck. And his paramount failure? The relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy grows sight unseen. There is so little onscreen demonstration of their transformation from mutual detestation into ardent, rampant passion that when things finally shake out with the two knocking foreheads in the sunrise, the viewer accepts that they are together and love each other and have chemistry only through the most extreme duress (i.e., the film ends with them in love and there is nothing we can say to dissuade the two characters of the fact).

In sum—high production values, a treat for fans, and crappy, crappy film-making:

[*note: indeed, there may or may not have been any jump cuts at all. but dang, it sure felt like there were.]

P.S. I broke my right thumb. The one on my drawing hand. Which isn't even a third as cool as it sounds. Plus, it makes typing a real pain. And makes me feel like throwing up about five-eighths of the time.

Sexism and My Super Ex-Girlfriend

As the topic of feminism (and the tangentials of sexism and misogyny) has come to interest me slightly, I thought I would discuss a particular point made in a discussion I mostly read by Tom Foss. In a largely well-thought-out post, he notes a recent accusation of misogyny in Uma Thurman's character in the film, My Super Ex-Girlfriend—a character who becomes a nightmarish stalker for flaccid Luke Wilson. Tom remarks:

I'm assuming here that the charges were made against the portrayal of Uma Thurman's character, G-Girl, a superheroine who is, among other things, clingy, emotionally unstable, manipulative, and prone to jealousy, all traits stereotypically associated with women.

My quibble here is minor, but one that I think presents an important note to the conversation. Clinginess, emotional instability, a propensity toward manipulation, and an inclination toward jealousy are not actually stereotypes of women—but are certainly stereotypes of Evil Ex-Girlfriends^tm. While G-Girl is probably guilty of wallowing in cliche, I think it mistaken to deposit her in the lap of female cliche as such. Most women in literature or in the national perspective are not viewed as these things—but in difficult ex-girlfriends, these traits are certainly cliche.

If My Super Ex-Girlfirend has anything to apologize for, it's not sexism (or worse, misogyny). More likely, it simply needs to say I'm sorry for trafficking in tired, lifeless writing and an undue reliance upon trite cliche. But then maybe not, how many guys have had ex-girlfriends who proved to be "clingy, emotionally unstable, manipulative, and prone to jealousy"? I know I have. (p.s. if you're one of my ex-girlfriends and you're reading this, I'm talking about one of the others. not you. never you.) It's kinda like the cliched ex-boyfriend who's abusive, possessive, and passive aggressive to the hilt? How many women have known that guy? I know that at various times in the past I have fulfilled the Passive Aggressive portion of that bill (really, I'm all better now. I promise.).

I think the reason we see those cliches crop up more often in literature is that a messy breakup has more intrinsic drama going on in it. Sure, my cleaner breakups has exactly as much drame going on in reality—but that was all underneath everything and wouldn't be easy to draw out in a story without a million-and-three thought bubbles. So maybe lazy writing is the culprit? Or maybe, as readers, we prefer to read about people in freaky situations so we can smugly go, "There but by the grace of God..." and continue enjoying our piña coladas from the safety of our poolside lawnchairs. Or something.

Tragedy Strikes

It's hard to believe and I'd never thought the day would come, but 9/11 is more famous than 7-Eleven. C'mon people, go out and show a Slurpee some love.

Testing. 1 - 2 - 3.

Test. For one reason or another, my Atom feed doesn't seem to be working very. At all. So I've switched the link above to respond to rss. We'll see if it works now.

25 Under-Read Comics

In a fit of inspiration drawn from Dave's recent contest in which readers would recommend one book that they had felt under-appreciated, I splurged and devised a new list. Now some of you may be getting tired of my "occasional" posts on comics, but really, you are the people who should be paying the most attention here. In comics, you will find unmined gold. Seriously. Some of the most amazing stories are not found in traditional novels or on the movie screen, but on the simple, illustrated page of a great comic. Some day, I will create a list of books by which to introduce oneself to the medium, but that's a tale for another time.

In any case, most of these are books that are worth the time of even those who have never cracked the cover of a single comic. If, however, you are an avid comic reader, you are without excuse. It's time to stop dilly-dallying and take hold of some very good books. These aren't necessarily the best books in the world (though some may be), but they are mysteriously under-read for reasons beyond reason.

And as per usual, results are displayed alphabetically rather than by any other method.

My Top 15 Under-Read Comics

1 - B.P.R.D. (by Mike Mignola and Guy Davis)

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While a familiarity with Mignola's Hellboy series of books is very useful prior to coming to the characters and circumstances surrounding his spin-off series, B.P.R.D., the adventures of the Bureau quickly take a life wholly of their own. B.P.R.D. stands for the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense and these guys earn their pay - whatever they're paid, they've earned it. While the initial installments of the series begin mundanely enough (mundane for the supernatural, that is), by the end of the fifth book, all bets are off and there's no telling where the stories going to go or whether the earth will have inhabitants enough to witness such events. Plus, it's funny.

2 - MISS: Better Living through Crime (by Phillipe Thirault, Marc Riou, and Mark Vigouroux)

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As a publishing company, Humanoids has some hits (this title right here) and some misses (Colère Noire), but the one thing that can be said is that it almost doesn't matter because in America, their material remains almost exclusively unread. In the case of MISS, this is a singular travesty. As far as crime/detective/noir comics, this work by Thirault, Riou, and Vigouroux is as good as or better than the more popular offerings by Bendis, Lapham, and Azzarello. Ed Brubaker ruminates in the book's introduction that it's unlikely that one would find a better example of crime fiction in the medium. I suspect he's correct on that count.

3 - Blue Monday (by Chynna Clugston)

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When I cracked the first volume of Chynna Clugston's series, Blue Monday, and surveyed the cast of mod/goth outcasts, I was, well, unimpressed. As is often the case with the first volume of any series, the auteur is still trying to wrestle down her characters and their stories and personalities. Ever willing to offer the benefit to apparent doubts, I continued with the series and gradually fell in love with the misfits that inhabit her pages. It's a big thing when an author gets her audience to care about her characters and the events into which they become embroiled. This is doubly-so a feat when one considers that the book in question is largely a comedy.

4 - Clan Apis (by Jay Hosler)

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This wasn't the first comic documentary I had read and enjoyed, but it is easily the most accessible. Generally, the genre is fraught with maximum verbosity - pages that have more words than pictures (dangerous ground for a comic, to be sure!). Hosler presents, in a simple and entertaining story, the life of a bee named Nyuki. We follow Nyuki from her birth unto her demise at a ripe old age through all the stages of a bee's life and learn a ton while being thoroughly entertained.

I know. Sounds stupid, huh? But it's really pretty rad.

5 - Domu (A Child's Dream) (by Katsuhiro Otomo)

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If you haven't read Otomo's most famous work, Akira, you've likely seen the movie version at the least. And while Otomo certainly deserves every last laurel that extended piece of sci-fi, metaphysical. dystopian adventure earned him, I actually prefer Domu much more. It's a creepy and well-told story of the young versus the old, focusing on the childlike state of advanced senility. Oh, and mass murders.

And when you compare the kind of art Otomo was doing in 1980 to what was seen in American books at the time, you almost want to weep for the industry as a whole - for what could have been, if the American illustrators hadn't been hacks and ne'er-do-wells.

6 - Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President (by Kaiji Kawaguchi)

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Taking a unique perspective on the American, presidential race, Kawaguchi cobbles together a 2500 page work that is equal parts political drama, murder investigation, and soap opera. And it works. The series was compulsive enough that as each five-hundred page volume was released, I would find myself parked in front of the bookstore reading until I reached the volume's conclusion before I was able to drive home. That right there says something. Well, probably a couple things. But the thing that's relevant here is that Kawaguchi has crafted a marvelous series that you can actually purchase all in one go instead of over the course of a year and a half like me.

7 - The Goon (by Eric Powell)

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The Goon is everything that Evil Dead II would have been had it been funny. Now because I think Evil Dead II is hysterical, that ought to tell you something about The Goon - something of a value so vast and uncharted that I might just have to kill you now in order to save you from years of paranoia and paparazzi nonsense. Yes, it's true. The Goon is quite funny. In that mundane sort of way. Powell is so matter-of-fact in his comedic intentions that you could almost believe he meant to be serious. But then you read what you just read and realize you've been had - like your aunt Margaret that one time with the telemarketer and the electric poodle - and that Powell really does intend to be funny (and violent). And is.

8 - Inhumans (by Paul Jenkins)

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Admittedly, I wasn't that fired up to read this one. I was never really any kind of fan of the Inhumans (or really, any of those weird Inhuman/Eternals/New Gods types), but had this mini-series collection highly recommended by the lamentably defunct Jim Hart 3000. In any case, once I got into the second chapter, I forgot my dislike of the characters and found myself enjoying a really good story. Jenkins knows how to weave just enough human interest into the tale to keep the Inhumans and their plight sympathetic.

9 - Mister Blank (by Christopher Hicks)

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Okay. I've talked about this one before. And will continue to do so 'til people actually start reading it. Mister Blank offers wonderfully playful illustrations with the kind of bold lines that can really make a black-and-white book sing. Hicks is an amazing visual storyteller and the tale he tells here is some of the most fun I've ever had reading a book. His characters are vibrant and Sam Smith is the work of genius. Even Julie, the distressed damsel, should meet approval of wimmens who are hankering for worthwhile female characters.

10 - Palestine (by Joe Sacco)

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Even as I was seeking to extricate myself from the mire of pro-Israel-at-any-costs sentiment in favour of a more fitting Truth, I ran into Sacco's journalistic comic detailing his time spent in Palestine in the midst of the intifada. In it Sacco recounts the narratives offered by his largely Palestinian interviewees as he asks the simple question: what's it like in the midst of this crap?

Now, while I wasn't gullible enough to take every reported slight as goodness gracious gospel truth (as each story was the subjective report of the victims), Sacco's work shed a fascinating light upon the turmoil particular to that era (and likely upon the turmoil of the present era). Really, this is the perfect read for anyone who is both a thinking individual and knee-deep in the Israel-can-do-no-wrong ideology. Then again, it wouldn't be that helpful to the college sophomore who's ready and willing to jump onto any cause, so long as it's, quote-unquote, revolutionary.

11 - Same Difference & Other Stories (by Derek Kirk Kim)

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When I refer to Same Difference as a great-but-under-read book, I'm only speaking to the main story in the collection. Everything else in it is pretty lackluster. Fortunately, all that other stuff is mostly just appendix.

Same Difference is a kind of "coming of age" drama for two emotionally stunted twenty-somethings. While not bringing their arcs to melodramatic and overly cliched ends, Kim does offer them each their own sort of growth experience. You can tell that even though they're social misfits in their own ways, the author cares about them and maybe even relates on some level. This is really just a good clean story.

12 - Sidekicks (by J. Torres and Takeshi Miyazawa)

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A year or so ago, there was a movie about a superhero high school. I think it was called Super High or something (though that sounds more like a Marlon Wayans movie to me). In any case, it was a disappointment to me in that Sidekicks did the story years ago. And Sidekicks did it better.

I'm sad that the book never really caught enough of an audience to prompt Torres to continue it and so it really just leaves you hanging. *sigh* Still, the story and characters are engaging and I am still dying to know what happens. P.S. this needs to be said: I love Miyazawa's art (and was duly excited and surprised to see him on both Runaways and Mary Jane. w00t!).

13 - Sparks (by Lawrence Marvit)

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Marvit's Sparks was awarded an award from Friends of Lulu in 2000 for, I imagine, its portrayal of a quality female role. And whatever the specifics of the award, I'm sure Sparks merited it. It never ceases to amaze me how little recognized this book is. The so-called urban faery-tale remains among that elite and fabled coalition of four-star comics - despite the fact that no one ever heard of it. I've been singing its praises for nearly four years now and every last person who's read it on my recommendation has loved it. In that kind of tragic way it demands. (please see my Top 15 Female Characters in Comics list for more)

Of course, not everyone is going to adore Marvit's work. In looking for a page to which to link the title, I ran across a review by someone who must be a bitter old sea hag (like the one from Popeye). Either that or someone with her own opinion. But I prefer to believe her the former - as I don't see how anyone operating anywhere on the legal-to-drive side of her seventh bottle of gin could reasonably come to like conclusions as she.

14 - True Story, Swear to God (by Tom Beland)

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Quite frankly, Tom Beland's true-to-life (hence the title) reccounting of the events leading up to and encompassing his cross-cultured romance and life with his - dare I say it - soul-mate, is one of my favourite things to read. Pulling it off the shelf every now and again to reread offers one of the best feelings you can garner from reading a book. It's sheer joy. And in its purest form.

Not only is this one sure to woo the ladies into at least paying heed to comics as a valid medium of expression, but it may even cure the undead of their soulless march through a world now devoid of life in their pallid eyes. Why? Simply because not even the undead could remain unmoved by the luminescence of Beland's joie de vivre. And neither will you, my once-dead minions.

15 - Yotsuba& (by Azuma Kiyohiko)

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If there is one thing that I wish from my pilgrim's sojourn on this green and dusty world, it's that ADV would get it together and release English-language translations of Yotsuba's adventures beyond the three currently available. As much as I said that my heart sings when I read True Story, really that's nothing to the brilliance of pleasure derived from even a single chapter of Yotsuba&. Seriously, in the right frame of mind, there is nothing as riotous as watching Yotsuba interact with a world with which she is completely at odds. She is as much a stranger to the everyday as I am to that mythical land we call, "The South." This book gets my highest recommendation - and I even more highly recommend reading it out loud to anyone who will put up with such shenanigans.

My Top 5 Critically-Acclaimed-but-Still-Under-Read Comics

16 - Bone (by Jeff Smith)

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Really, with Scholastic's recent spree of republishing Bone in colour and marketing it to school libraries, it might not be on the under-read list for long. Still, I'm always genuinely surprised to run into those who imagine they like comics but have not yet cut out time from their busy schedules of talking about Batman or Wolverine in order to take in the full grandeur of Smith's grand opus. Really, these aren't people who like comics. They're only people who like to ride in on the coattails of true fans, hoping that we won't notice while they try to sit at the table with the big kids. We notice all right. And we're not amused.

Okay, we're partially amused. But only because the act is so vulgar and presumptuous.

Really, guys. If you haven't read it yet, just do it. You're only harming yourselves by your own laziness.

17 - Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth (by Chris Ware)

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Probably the only comic more lauded in literary circles is Spiegelman's Maus (and that only due to its Pulitzer Prize - really, it was a good start but there are so many superior works out there).* Blankets might be getting some similar press, but not quite as much I think. Blankets just isn't weird enough to be considered genius in literary circles (whether its the superior work or not).

I think part of the popular allure of Jimmy Corrigan is the extreme level to which it is inaccessible to the average reader. Despite (and sometimes because of) Ware's strict lines and engineer's grace, the book sits as an arcane proof to the reader's deliberation, to his courage. True, the book well-rewards he who finishes its length, but it seems the very thing that makes it popular is the thing that renders it largely unread. I suspect that most people who tout its glories have never even finished Jimmy Corrigan. And that alone almost make the read worthwhile.

After all that, I'll say that I loved the book and read it leisurely over the course of a week while soaking in a hot bath and indulgin my senses in a palatable sake.

*note: don't give me that Watchman/Dark Knight Returns crap. that stuff's for sissies.

18 - Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind (by Hayao Miyazaki)

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As Miyazaki's films grow in popularity on American shores (due largely to the influence of Princess Mononoke and Disney's recent DVD releases of his vintage works, probably a lot of people are familiar with his film version by the same name, Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind. The truth is, that movie - as fun as it can be - is junk. When compared to the fullness of Miyazaki's vision as revealed in his comic book telling of the story, a mere two-hour film could not begin to tell his story with any degree of justice. We often admit that of course a book is better than the movie it spawned, but Hey, movies appeal to one's visual sense and will be more readily consumed for it. Well, Nausicaä, the book, has every bit of the visual spark offered in the film (and more), but never once sacrifices character or story in its gradual build up. Do not miss this story.

19 - Queen & Country (by Greg Rucka)

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For some reason, though I never hear an ill word spoken about Greg Rucka's espionage-laden baby, it surprisingly has not garnered nearly the audience that it ought. I suppose this is the way with genre-works in the comics field that are not The Genre-Work (i.e., spandexed adventures).

In any case, after just having rewatched Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, I've become well-aware of just how well Rucka carries on the traditions begun in those books/films. His prime, Tara Chase, also made (like Sparks's Josephine) my Top Female Characters list, because, well... she's extremely well-written. In fact, she's written with any number of flaws. She makes horrible mistakes of judgment. Undergoes absolutely horrid treatment by friend and enemy alike. And seems as likely to self-destruct as to die at the hands of an enemy. In short, she's perfect and I adore her.

20 - Usagi Yojimbo (by Stan Sakai)

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Back in 1985, I visited my first comic book store. I was in fifth grade and had no idea that the writer/artist who was there making a guest appearance was anyone important. Fifth graders know so little. Actually, I suppose that at the time, Stan Sakai wasn't nearly so important to the history and lifeblood of the medium as he is today. After twenty years, his samurai rabbit is still seeing adventures through with a nobility that is rare to find in adventurers of any stripe - let alone those found in comics.

Usagi's book is one of the most consistently well-written, well-executed stories available in print. Sakai's hand is evident in gorgeous expression every step of the way. While other books may rise and fall in their ability to tell a story and do it well (the adage about too many cooks rings especially true in books produced by Marvel and DC), it is a comfort to know that I can always depend on this one book - above all others - to deliver the goods.

5 Runners-Up for the Under-Read Comics List

21 - Berlin (by Jason Lutes)

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Now I did some looking and I honestly can't figure out what happened to Berlin. It just sort of disappeared. [UPDATE: I read that Lutes is still working on the second book of the trilogy. It just takes a really long time.] Be that as it may, the available volume, Berlin: City of Stones is ambitious and feels important. It tells a story not many could know these days; it speaks of life during/under/about the decline of Weimar Germany, prior to the rise of Hitler and the National Socialists. Lutes visual intricacies are a joy of visual communication. This might appear on the main list, but the fact that the story is unfinished and shows little sign of closing is slightly damaging to its position.

22 - Jar of Fools (by Jason Lutes)

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Any time one runs into a naysayer claiming that comics really can't convey, with any depth, the human condition, one need only go so far as to point the dear simpleton to Lutes's Jar of Fools. Telling the story of a has-been magician and a man in the grip of senility, Lutes excels in using words when necessary but allowing his illustrations to speak as much as his dialogue - if not often more. He shows none of the evident fear of so many of his contemporaries: the fear of mixing both verbal and visual language to the diminishment of neither.

23 - Leave It to Chance (by James Robinson and Paul Smith)

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After reading and loving Robinson's Starman I was happy to have this recommended to me. I was even happier to learn that Paul Smith was its illustrator. That right there is some dynamic duo.

With Leave It to Chance we are given the gift of a wonderfully pure comics experience. Free from so much of the tripe that has come to weigh down the sequentially illustrated adventure over the last twenty or thirty years, this book shines in its lack of pretensions. As Chace Falconer finds her path and embarks on her hero's quest, we might find ourselves hopping a little inside to the knowledge that we get to come along for the ride. With all the reticence over recommending contemporary comics to our daughters for fear of their exposure to the kind of misogyny so frequently reported on concerned sites, Leave It to Chance offers opportunity unfettered and may be recommended without hesitation.

24 - Owly (by Andy Runton)

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Shockingly, I only have a single volume of Owly. Runton's book featuring the friendly, vegan owl is so unassuming that when I go out in hunts for new reading material, I entirely forget that I need/want/must have the two other available volume. Owly is really a treat to experience (O RLY? YA RLY). With dialogue told in pictures rather than words (a la the handouts US soldiers often give out to their conquerees), the tale is told in entirely visual fashion. And it's sweet, heartfelt, and all the other gooshy things you could think of to say toward the end of describing this very good book.

25 - Pop Gun War (by Farel Dalrymple)

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Pop Gun War is weird. No, really. It's so weird that I can't imagine more than five percent of comic readers actually enjoying it. I, of course, was won over instantly upon reading the opening few pages. Imagine, if you can:

A dark, monkish figure (very Rasputin-ish!) steals a toy car from a kid in a tie and leaves him crying only to place the toy in a huge pile of such similarly acquired toys in his, er, den? Later, in a smokey bar, he is playing poker and the little girl with the eye-patch raises him a large fish. WIth glasses. He evidently wins the hand because he and the fish are later seen walking to his apartment. Upon arrival, he tells the fish: "Welcome home. Yes, it is a bit cluttered, I know. Now that we're together, I no longer need these things. I will make this right." ANd then he gives back the toys to all the kids in the neighbourhood. He is filled with an overwhelming sense of good but then catches sight of a flying boy, at whom he begins to hiss - only to cover up this hiss with an awkward chuckle when he discovers to his embarrassment that his fish may have noticed his reaction.

See? Genius!