A comic book geeks Christmas wishlist:Part 1

HD-DVD's/DVD's

1. Batman Begins HD-DVD--
One of the best comic book adaptations in the past 10 years is a must have for any fanboy. The HD-DVD has the best picture and audio available for your home viewing experience and has a wealth of extras. At under $25 this is a steal for Batman fans.
2. Heroes HD-DVD--
This set is loaded with extras but it's a little pricey. I own the standard DVD edition and it looks great so the HD-DVD version must be spectacular. One of the best tv shows available on the HD-DVD format.
3. Battlestar Galactica DVD--
I'm going to have to recommend the standard DVD's instead of the new HD-DVD's for season 1. There have been complaints about both the HD-DVD's packaging and picture quality. The first two seasons of BSG are available in three volumes on DVD along with the newly released BSG:Razor.
4. Transformers HD-DVD--
Right now, Transformers is an HD-DVD exclusive title. Anybody who's a fan of the old cartoon or big robots and things that go BOOM, should buy this flick.
5. Alien Nation The Complete Series/Ultimate Movie Collection DVD--
This is one of the most underrated shows I've ever watched. I can't believe this doesn't have a bigger following. The DVD's are only ok quality-wise and there are almost no extras, but its the only way to watch the show at the moment. A box-set of all the TV movies was recently released as well.

WANTED, a trailer review.

I just watched the trailer for the new comic book adaptation of WANTED, coming out this summer and, was surprised with the apprpoach. The filmmakers decided to take out some of the most interesting parts of the comic book. There seems to be no mention of supervillians, or superheroes. In the comic book universe of WANTED, supervillians defeated the superheroes and ruled the world. There were intersting characters and settings.

What suprises me just as much as the exclusion of the "superhero" concept is the fact that early script reviews cite over-the-top violence, which is what I assumed would be trimmed in the making of a big budget Hollywood movie.

With comic book movies being so popular now, I find it confusing why the studio would take out one of the most intersesting parts of the story and lose a huge share of potential views.

Glory Days--SETTING

The characters were heroes in the golden age which would mean they were active some where from the 30's to mid 40's. This meant the story could not take place in present time because the men would be older than I wanted so, I decided to place the comic book in the 80's. This gave me a chance to play with archetypes from the 80's which would contrast the golden age heroes and their era.

Glory Days--CHARACTERS

I should have posted this before the partial synopsis I attached to the pitch. After coming up with the idea and a pitch for the comic book I started to think about characters.

I decided I would use well known archetypes. I knew I wanted a speedster, muscle-man, and a sidekick as characters. But, I had trouble coming up with a leader for the group. I knew I didn't want a "Superman" type of character. I wanted someone that would fit with a common type for the 40's era. So I went with a character with who had a military background and gave the team a name that would recall a golden age feel.

I had to figure out ages for the characters that would be appropriate for the time in which the stories took place. This brings me to my next topic..


Next post--SETTING--

Heroes: Volume II Finale

Wow. Where do I start? This season has been a little bit of a letdown. I wouldn't call it the train wreck some have labeled it but, vol. 2 has been weaker than the first season. In season one the show gradually build to it's climax but there was a sense of something grand from the very beggining. Volume 2 felt rushed. The writers strike couldn't have helped but one gets the feeling that the creator lost touch with what made the show popular. New characters were introduced with very little care for there place in the overall scheme of things and old characters were killed off without much thought.

Something good things to come this season were the introduction of Kristen Bell and David Anders. Both actors and their characters have made an impact on the show and it should be interesting to see what happens with their characters in the next story arc.

Nathans death is shocking and serves as a great finale to vol. 2. but, I felt he was one of the best actors on the show and his character was the most layered. It'll be interesting to see how the show fills the void of one its most important charcters.

MARVELS #4

I think this is the first exposure I had to Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross. And, I was blown away from the moment I held the comic in my hands. I love the cover. Busiek and Ross produced inspirational work. Marvels was very different from the usual comic books I read at the time. The art and writing complimented each other to establish a "real world" feel and give weight to something that never seemed grounded to me before. It changed the way I thought a comic book story could be told. There were many well told stories in the comic book medium long before Marvels but, at that time and, at my age I had not been exposed to them. Marvels broadened the scope of stories that I would read in years to come.

Heroes review later tonight

Tonights episode is adverstised as the season finale. I hope there's a way for them to shoot more episodes but with the writer strike still on it doesn't seem possible. That's a shame because this season has been weak and I'd hate for the show to go out with a whimper.

Glory Days--The Pitch and a Partial Synopsis

Glory Days Pitch and Synopsis

GLORY DAYS is Golden Girls meets the JLA. The story is about four superheroes, now living in their twilight years, who relive their glory days of fighting super-villains and saving the day. They deal with love lost, death, loneliness and worse, no 401k.

In the 40’s Richard Lucas led the world’s greatest superhero team, THE FREEDOM SQUAD. As CAPTAIN COURAGE his sharp mind and fantastic inventions saved the world a hundred times. Forty years later Richard is just like any other retired citizen. He’s had failures and regrets. But, when Richards estranged son manages to steal his old super suit, he’s given one last chance to make things right.

In the process Edward manages to drag the last three surviving members of the Freedom Squad into the sweeping action. There’s Forrest Jones-AKA-MR.QUICK, once the fastest man alive. Now, he just a sixty-five year old man who can’t walk without the aid of his cane. And Arthur Kent formerly BEHEMOTH, whose immense size and strength pale in comparison only to the size of his heart. And, last but not least Edward Jackson, who as eternal sidekick KID JUSTICE, will finally get his chance to shine.

Issue #1 Synopsis

The story opens as we see the Freedom Squad in their Prime. Mr. Quick speeds down a busy metropolitan street as Rich flies overhead. Behemoth and Kid Justice are traveling in the Freedom Squad-mobile, and all end up at the same busy intersection. Suddenly the ground breaks up beneath them and a drilling vehicle bursts thru the concrete. It’s the Mole-Men, dangerous subterranean humanoids. They are big, white, and brutish monster men, with glowing red eyes.

Ordinary citizens run in a panic but the Squad stands their ground. Richard is the first into action as he fires his ray-gun at the Mole-Men. He hits one of the monstrous men and it disintegrates into a pile of dust. Kid Justice leaps into action. He charges one of the beasts but is grabbed and thrown like a rag doll. Behemoth catches Kid Justice before he hits a brick wall. Mr. Quick jumps in and overwhelms a villain with his speed, hitting it a hundred times before it can lay a finger on him. In no time at all the villains are restrained or a pile of ashes. Peace is restored and are our heroes remain unscathed.

Forty years later Richard is in a secret room in his mansion. He’s looking thru an album marked, “Friends”. The walls are covered with old superhero memorabilia; costumes, trophies, gadgets, and a giant key to the city. He walks over to his old anti-gravity belt and puts it on. It still fits, albeit a little snug. He hovers for a moment....

Glory Days--Coming up with the the idea

I think I read a book on writing that suggested throwing two completely different topics together. I love the tv show Golden Girls and, I love comic books so I decided to throw the two ideas together. This must have been four or five years ago, maybe more. I thought it would be a great way to use a time period in comic books that I love.

The Golden Age of comics is a nostalgic period for many readers and for many reasons. I figured it would be interesting to see Golden Age characters in their golden years. So the idea was born and began to grow in my mind. I let it sit for a while, and then I took pen to paper and began writing.

Next Post--THE PITCH

Glory Days---The blog about the creation of a comic book.

I've enjoyed blogging so much I decided I would use this as a way to force myself to finish my idea for a comic book. Hopefully it works. I'm inconsistent when it comes to sticking to a schedule for my writing.