Random Comics News Story Round-Up

* Todd Klein on Green Lantern New Guardians #40. Sean Gaffney on Sword Art Online Vol. 4. Henry Chamberlain on Black River. Johanna Draper Carlson on Nimona. J. Caleb Mozzocco on some FCBD comics. Ryley Moore on Alias.

* not comics: this video is adorable.

* Ben Hatke would like to talk to you about the value of sketchbooks.

* new Leslie Stein. I quite like her diary comics. Here's the great Ron Regé Jr. at Vice.

* not comics: this article at Movie Mezzanine seems to hit every single angle of the release of Avengers 2 earlier this month in a way that would allow you to google as many follow-ups as you might like.

* I saw Avengers 2. I thought it was disjointed and odd. It felt like the guts had been cut out of it in a way that moments of potential dramatic catharsis seemed routinely unearned. It also had a particular form of sequel-itis that assumes everyone loves all the characters, which was kind of off-putting and I think led to a step-back in really nailing down memorable scenes, modern popcorn cinema's primary currency. The movie felt it was a short a half-dozen turn to your pal and high-five moments, and what was there was oddly underplayed. I enjoyed a lot of the spectacle and I liked its attention to saving-people morality, but I did fall asleep a couple of times and was aware of the time I spent in the cinema. I'll watch it again someday. I find most of those movies good company.

* as for what's out there in terms of general criticism of the movie, I don't have a rooting interest in licensed properties beyond realizing that kids attach to them. So while I can hope those properties function the way kids need them to, I mostly engage with character/cultural analysis as an intellectual exercise. That's probably the place where there's a whole lot more listening for me to do, in other words. It's just a hunch, but I bet the filmmakers thought they were casting the Black Widow and the Hulk in opposite-gender roles a bit -- the way Prince in Under The Cherry Moon was the Marilyn Monroe -- and felt this would give their nerdly courtship a unique spin. The scenes didn't work as well as two actors that talented and good-looking should have made them, a lot of telling not showing, and I don't think anyone thought through how the various reveals would play in terms of individual character beats. The same thing happens all the time in event comic books. These are all event comic books now.

* finally, Bob Temuka wonders after recent 2000 AD covers.
 
posted 5:05 pm PST | Permalink
 

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