COMICS/MOVIES: Living in 'Sin'

COMICS/MOVIES: Living in 'Sin'

Oh yeah, I can't wait to check out the 'Sin City' movie this weekend. I'll catch a Saturday afternoon show to avoid the scary teenage crowd at night, and plan on writing a review for the paper next week. Judging from early reviews by critics I respect like Roger Ebert and Shawn Levy, this is one kick-ass over-the-top crime noir fanboy treat. I imagine it'll be way too extreme for most of mainstream America to be a huge hit, and the inevitable backlash will probably ensue, but I'm psyched. These days, I kind of view watching movies in theaters as a trailer for the 2-disc special edition DVD I'll buy down the road, anyway.

If you haven't checked out Frank Miller's Sin City graphic novels, you're missing out. The first one, now known as 'The Hard Goodbye,' remains my favorite, all hard-edged dialogue and black-and-white art so sharp you can cut yourself on it. When I read this a decade or so ago, it utterly blew my mind in a way few comics have -- with its unrelenting violence, nihilist worldview and the iconic Marv, seen above, the most dangerous man in comics. Frankly, if the movie captures half of this story's power and mood (it's one of three adapted in the film), I'll love it. The next two novels in the series, 'A Dame To Kill For' and 'The Big Fat Kill', are also great, featuring the antihero Dwight (played by the awesome Clive Owen in the movie, which adapts 'The Big Fat Kill'). 'A Dame To Kill For' might be my second-favorite of the comics, all "Double Indemnity"-style twists and turns with a bad woman leading a weak man astray, and some of Miller's sexiest art. Fourth in the series is 'That Yellow Bastard,' an utterly depraved, wonderful slice of vengeance and payback as an aging cop hunts down a pedophile. This is the third slice of the movie, starring what I consider a perfectly-cast Bruce Willis as the cop. There's also a volume of moody, effective short pieces, 'Booze, Broads & Bullets,' a great 'sampler' of the series' style. and the less successful crazy-women-on-a-tear 'Family Values.' Pretty much regarded as the least of the series is also the, to date, last one, 'To Hell And Back,' which is more experimental in tone than the others, and lacks as compelling a protagonist as Marv or Dwight. But generally you can't go wrong picking up either 'The Hard Goodbye' or 'That Yellow Bastard' for a taste of what the sin is about and if you'll like it. Warning: it ain't for sensitive types.

Reminder: ...And don't forget about that Jay's Days Giveaway contest I'm running. All you need to do is tell me what the title of your autobiography would be in fitting with Jay's confessional autobiographical comix theme - and you might have a shot at winning some cool swag by cartoonist Jay Marcy! Thus far the entries aren't exactly overflowing my e-mailbox, so give it a shot! Many thanks to Alan, David, Fred, Dorian, Johnny B and anyone I've missed for their linkage. Deadline is April 29, two weeks away.

MEDIA: Magazine Maelstrom

MEDIA: Magazine Maelstrom

Before we commence, don't forget to enter my super-nifty Jay's Days Giveaway contest -- see details below. April 15 is the deadline!

We now return to the regularly scheduled post. Man, do we subscribe to a lot of magazines. This was brought home to me during the wife's recent month-long vacation, when I saved all the magazines for her to read. The stack was almost a foot tall. I'm a magazine nut -- actually majored in journalism with an emphasis on the field, but after an internship in college somehow ended up in newspapers instead. We need to winnow the subscription field a little, but there are admittedly some pretty good ones we get --

• Entertainment Weekly The magazine gold standard for me, the one I look forward to the most every week. Smart, sassy and well-written most of the time, with a good deal of variety in its entertainment content. It's mainstream, sure, but very good mainstream coverage. I've actually been a subscriber since the very first issue in 1990 with the exception of a year or two in college when I was too broke to renew. And they haven't even given me a gold watch.

• Time I took up Time again to follow along with the 2004 election mostly (and what fun that was). I get annoyed by Time's frequent frothy substance-free red state "lifestyle" covers (the recent "Who was Mary Magdalene" jumps to mind) but generally enough content to justify their low "media member" subscription rate I get. I like it better than Newsweek or US News & World Report.

• Comics Buyer's Guide Wayyyy back in the early 1980s I was a subscriber to this for some years, back in the pre-Internet days of comic fandom. It was a lot of fun, but like a lot of readers I drifted away from it for my comics news fix. While I still buy Wizard with a guilty downcast eye frequently and read The Comics Journal whenever they're featuring someone I'm interested in, CBG is the most "amiable" of the comic mags in my mind, without snobbiness or rank immaturity. Its audience seems to be mostly aging fanboys with an emphasis on silver age and obscure comics. Anyway, they redesigned last year from a weekly newspaper into a monthly magazine and I took a flier on a year-long subscription. Still on the fence if I'll renew, though -- it's expensive, for one thing, and the writing is often really bland, with reviews that say little but "this is good." Great columnists, though, but there's the ubiquitous price guide taking up half the book (admittedly filled out with interesting factoids and reviews). If the subscription were about half the $40 annual rate, I wouldn't think twice about renewing, but that's a lot of dough for a mixed-bag magazine right now.

• The New Yorker Our most expensive magazine subscription but well worth it, even if half the time I never seem to get the entire issue read. Best in-depth reporting and feature profiles of any magazine I read.

• Parenting (or is it Parents, I never recall) - I of course being the perfect father need no reassurance of my parenting techniques (consisting mostly of repeated tickling and a couple diaper changes a week), but for some reason the wife insists upon it.

• Blender While the decaying dinosaur of Rolling Stone ambles along, this U.K.-inspired magazine from the "Maxim" publishers has taken the lead in great music coverage. I'm nuts for the info-packed, snarky feel of UK mags like Mojo, and this is the American equivalent. Sure, lots of scantily-clad ladies for the lads, but also surprisingly diverse coverage of everyone from the Britneys to Bright Eyes to Elvis Costello to the Flaming Lips. Anybody looking for a fun music magazine should read this one.

• Premiere Not as comprehensive as Entertainment Weekly, but good Hollywood coverage and profiles. A cheap subscription and good in-depth articles, which usually makes it worth reading every month.

• Giant Our newest subscripton, because they offered an insanely low $7/year rate. This new magazine bills itself as "the #1 entertainment mag for guys" which is usually a huge red flag, but I picked up an issue at a newsstand and was surprised by how much I liked it -- it's far more intelligent and lower in testosterone than "Maxim" and "Esquire" and the like. The issue I read actually contained references to Nabokov and a feature article about good ol' British pop legends XTC, and an interview with Ethan Hawke that was actually quite fascinating. It's a new magazine so I felt bound to give it a little support, to help it stand out from most of the brain-dead "men's mags" out there.

• Spin Got as a free subscription for some credit card points thing -- Spin is better than it once was, when it was all attitude, ultra-trendy and woefully poor writing. Columns by Dave Eggers and Chuck Klosterman earn points in my book. Still terrible reviews, though, and frankly, if it weren't free I don't think I'd be reading Spin. The problem with Spin is, I've never really felt like it has a compelling reason to exist.

• Columbia Journalism Review OK, this one's mostly for the job, but it's a very good journalism "insiders" zine.

Whew! I need to go read a magazine and take a break from this typing!

COMICS: Jay's Days Giveaway!

COMICS: Jay's Days Giveaway!

It's contest time here at the redesigned Spatula Forum! In honor of my one-year blog anniversary April 7, today kicks off the Jay's Days Giveaway. I've known Jason Marcy since 1992 or so, when we were both novice cartoonists in the small press game. Jay started out doing a goofy superhero parody called Powerwus, but for my money he really found his own voice when he started doing raw, funny and honest autobiographical comics. He wasn't the first person to tell his life story in comics, of course, but for my money he's one of the best. Jay is a bit of a neurotic guy, filled with self-loathing, big dreams, worries and passions. Pretty much like all of us, in other words. Reading his comics over the past decade or so, we've all watched him struggle in love, work and family, seeing him go from a single guy to a married father. Jay's carved out a nice niche for himself in the field of autobio comix -- not as insanely freakish as Joe Matt, younger and more optimistic than Harvey Pekar, but grittier and less whimsical than James Kochalka.


Jay's work has been in minicomics such as "Tales of the Petro-Canada Man" and "Aaaargh," and the last few years in the nice graphic novels "Jay's Days." Last year's "Jay's Days Vol. 3: Rise and Fall of the Pasta Shop Lothario" is his most mature, heartfelt and accomplished work yet, taking on Jay and his wife Kris' leap into parenthood. Having just become a dad myself, I really empathized with Jay wondering if he's good enough, ready enough to take on raising a kid, wondering if he'll ever "hit it big" in his career. Jay worries and whines a hell of a lot, but he never becomes too annoying (of course, I don't have to live with him, eh?).


So, now that I've introduced the man, I'd like to share his work. Here's the contest: In the spirit of Jay's confessional style, let's have the Jay's Days Most Embarassing Moments contest! Jay's work is all about telling us the sordid details of his life. So Spatula Forum readers, if you were going to write an autobiography, tell the story of your life, what would the title be? If I bought your book, what would you call it? Then, e-mail me your title to nikdirga @ hotmail.com. The winners will be picked from the most original, funniest and whatever the co-judge, my wife, likes the most. Feel free to tell us more about your imaginary autobiography if you want -- dust jacket copy, perhaps?

Thanks to my old pal Jay and Ron and Astor over at Landwaster Books for helping provide cool prizes. There will be three prize packages, including copies of Jay's Days Vol. 3 and Vol. 1, plus samples of Jay's rare early minicomics work and daily Internet strip! The deadline is April 29 - tax day, easy to remember, so have fun! Comment if you have questions, and fellow bloggers, be a pal and link to the contest!

LIFE: Easter makeover

LIFE: Easter makeover

And on the third day, Spatula Forum rose again. How's that for a hideously insensitive Easter reference? Anyway, in case you're confused by the new look, I got bored of my old Blogger template after nearly a year using it and wanted something a little less blocky and cleaner. Found this fine template over at Blogger Templates and dig it. Plan to tweak it a little bit here and there but generally happy with it. Comments or whatnot invited.

Yesterday we took Baby Peter on his first Easter Egg hunt. He was as interested in chewing on sticks and grass as he was in picking up plastic eggs, but what can you expect from a 13-month-old?

Gack. Am battling a minor cold and coughing like a Turkish sailor in an opium den. Monday, I'll post that groovy comics giveaway contest I've been threatening to do for a while. Stay tuned!

MUSIC: Gabba Gabba Hey!

MUSIC: Gabba Gabba Hey!

Watched "The End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones" last night, an entertaining look back at the punk rock forefathers' 20-year career. I'm a fan of the Ramones' 1-2-3-4 go! adrenaline-infused punchy songlets, and enjoyed this retrospective of their career. It's definitely tinged with tragedy, though, as three of the four founding members have died in the past five years -- two of cancer, one of an overdose. It's hard not to have the movie feel like a requiem. The directors' main mission is to give some respect and props back to this seminal, but long-overlooked band - you can make the case for everyone from the Clash to Green Day having gotten tips from the Ramones. Testimonials galore in this documentary, which also boasts a lot of nice archival live footage (not as much as there could've been, though).

The Ramones were like a Silly-Putty mirror image of a band like the Beatles, cartoony looking, signing about the KKK and pinheads and sniffing glue, yet professional and hard-working. You've got shy Joey, the lead singer, flaky Dee Dee, hard-assed brains Johnny, and drummer Tommy, who's booted from the band after challenging Johnny's authority and replaced with a never-ending Spinal Tap-esque series of new men on the skins. Lots of interview footage, even of Joey who died in 2001 (Dee Dee died in 2002, at the end of filming, and Johnny just last year). The band is all sharp personalities, the spark that lit the fuse of their uncompromising, raw music. The main focus of the film is their "peak" years of 1975-1980 or so, as the band desperately strove to break big, yet never really did. Like the Velvet Underground, they're one of those groups that became legends much later on. The Ramones puttered along until 1996 or so, but they really made their mark in the late 1970s.

It's a pretty well-done music documentary, although not the best I've ever seen -- the storytelling is pretty straightforward and doesn't dig tremendously deep into what made the Ramones tick musically. One thing I felt was missing from "End of the Century" was a sense of fun -- I listen to the Ramones when I want a pithy kick, a shot of energy, yet you come away from "End of the Century" feeling like the band was a bit of a downer, with Joey and Johnny bitter enemies (over a girl) for years, and Dee Dee lost in his heroin daze (the sequence of him leaving the band in the 1990s and becoming a white rapper may be the saddest/funniest part of the entire movie). The Ramones are a fun band to listen to, but it doesn't feel like actually being a Ramone was any fun (which might well have been the case). Still, "End of the Century" is a nice rocket ride paying well-deserved homage to one of the great unsung bands of our time. Gabba gabba hey!

COMICS: Quick Comic Reviews!

COMICS: Quick Comic Reviews!

Spider-Man/Human Torch #3 (of 5)
The last thing I thought I needed was another Spider-Man cash-in miniseries, but at the rate it's going, Spider-Man/Human Torch might actually be one of my favorite comics of 2005. This proudly light-hearted, old-fashioned superhero comic actually revels in the 40 years of Fantastic Four/Spider-Man comics history, rather than trying to be "hip" and "modern." The five self-contained issues simply follow the friendship and rivalry of Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four's youngest member over the years, with each issue stopping in at a different point in their history. This issue checks us in what would be about 1974 in "real" comics time, just after the death of Gwen Stacy in "Amazing Spider-Man." Writer Dan Slott has a fine touch on humor with being too goofy (see: "JLA: Classified" below) and moments of character that ring utterly true. The friendship between the two young superheroes, one an outsider and one a public idol, has rarely been done as well as it is here. Ty Templeton's brightly colored, fluid art is a real treat, too. And my god, how can any Spider-Man fan not love a comic that includes the swingin' '70s relic, The Spidermobile, the villainy of "The Red Ghost and his Super Apes," and to top it all off, a nice riff on those insanely silly Hostess Fruit Pie superhero comics ads of the era? Simply the most fun I've had reading a comic in a good while, and writer Slott continues to show why his star is on the rise. Grade: A

New Avengers #4
I'm still enjoying this. Like most of writer Brian Michael Bendis' work, it's weak on plot and strong on characterization and dialogue. The banter and camaraderie between the disparate characters shoved together here is the highlight for me, with the Spider-Man/Luke Cage dialogue a real treat. Still not sure where it's going, and worried it'll collapse in the next few parts, but enjoyable enough superhero team fun for me. And the most controversial claw-wielding "New Avenger" finally makes an appearance at the end of this issue. For what it is, this works for me, and is better than any of the "old" Avengers comics of the past few years for certain. Grade: B+

Shaolin Cowboy #2
I wasn't nuts about the first issue of this Geoff Darrow production, but part two is a whole lot better. Really, this experimental, beautifully drawn and utterly insane comic should've been released as one graphic novel, rather than two incomplete parts. In part one, mysterious cowboy monk encounters huge group of bad guys, proceeds to fight them all in Darrow's gorgeous, painstakingly detailed art. That was pretty much it, so I wasn't really into picking up #2. But I did anyway, and in this issue, we learn the violence is a plot by the evil King Crab, a... crab... angry at the monk for eating his family. Much violence ensues again, with the highlight being a man/crab kung fu battle that has to be seen to be believed. It's clearer now to me that Darrow doesn't mean this to be taken seriously at all, making it a lot easier to just bask in the glory of his art. The story apparently wraps this issue, and I'm not even sure if there'll be an #3. But overall, it's recommended as totally off-the-wall exploitation crab-fu fun. Grade: A-

JLA: Classified #5
Goofball superhero comedy, in part two of Keith Giffen and Kevin Maguire's "I Can't Believe It's The Justice League" storyline. What with the DC Universe's increasing grimness lately, it's nice to see a superhero comic all for laughs, and I've got a soft spot for the "comedy" Justice League of the '80s this series revives. Still, this issue seemed a little "off" to me; the Marx Brothers type comedy got a bit shrill and over-the-top, with a little too much shouting and flailing of arms. A few scenes also lacked clarity to me. But any comic that ends up with the heroes accidentally banishing themselves to Hell is OK with me. Grade: B

POLITICS: Death before dying

POLITICS: Death before dying

If anything, the sordid Terri Schiavo mess illustrates how effective the radical conservative takeover of America has become lately, and how hideously ugly it is when politics intertwine with deeply personal matters of life and death. The Republicans in Congress seem far more concerned with smut on TV, steroids in baseball and interfering with states' rights than in doing anything substantive for the nation's welfare. Moderates have been marginalized as Tom DeLay does his merry little dance for the cameras.

I am a firm believer that we all should have the right to die if we choose. I live in the only state to approve doctor-assisted suicide, and I simply don't think the federal government has any role in telling you or I we can't make those decisions for ourselves. Of course, the tricky part of the Schiavo case is she's brain-damaged, and the two poles of her family have been battling it out for years over what her fate will be. It's a wretchedly ugly mess, which has no possibility of a "happy ending" for anyone. I pity both the husband and the parents, who have been swept up in a cable news-powered, politician-hijacked whirlwind beyond their control.

But when right-leaning bloggers like Andrew Sullivan are pointing out the incredible hypocrisy behind the politics of it all, there's something rotten in D.C. Sullivan manages to distill this issue nicely in a few sentences:
"So it is now the federal government's role to micro-manage baseball and to prevent a single Florida woman who is trapped in a living hell from dying with dignity. We're getting to the point when conservatism has become a political philosophy that believes that government -- at the most distant level -- has the right to intervene in almost anything to achieve the right solution. Today's conservatism is becoming yesterday's liberalism."

It's sad to see the moderate wing and fiscal conservative elements of the Republican party be stomped into the dirt as their party is kidnapped. States' rights, once a principle of conservatism? Thrown out the window if the federal govt. doesn't like what the states are doing, as witnessed by their repeated assaults on Oregon's suicide law. I don't want to be told how to live - or end - my life by the likes of John Ashcroft or Tom DeLay (who, coincidentally, is under investigation for numerous improprieties -- gee, do you think inserting himself so prominently into the Schiavo business is his way of diverting attention from his own political and legal problems?). Fortunately, some Republicans are voicing dissent -- but the question is, do they have the spine to truly take on the extremists who have taken over their party? Is it too late?

The whole Schiavo business may end soon, or it may drag on for years to come. She can't tell us what she wants (and the ultimate moral of the story might be, for god's sake get a living will made). "Death with dignity," we call it here in Oregon. Man, there's not much of either in this affair right now.

MOVIES: Ladder 49 review

MOVIES: Ladder 49 review

We meet Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix) on the worst day of his life.
A firefighter in Baltimore, he responds with his crew to a huge warehouse blaze, with people trapped inside. In the course of rescue work, Jack gets separated from his team and is unable to get out of the burning building. “Ladder 49” starts with this harrowing sequence — and then backs up to tell us how this man got here.
Over the next two hours, we go back and forth between Jack’s terrifying ordeal and learning who he is — looking at his 10-year career as a firefighter, from a wide-eyed rookie to a married father with children, an experienced old hand who’s seen the best and worst of the job.
“Ladder 49” nicely combines pulse-pounding fiery action with characters you care about, good performances and a solid feel for drama and comedy. It’s got heart.
And it’s far better than the overwrought 1990s movie “Backdraft,” which tossed in insane arsonists, fire investigators and family bickering. “Ladder 49,” for the most part, sticks to chronicling the life and times of one firefighter, the highs and the lows. You really get a feel for a fireman’s job.
It’s anchored by a very sturdy performance by Phoenix, one of my favorite young actors. Phoenix is one of those actors who at first glance doesn’t appear to be doing a lot with the role, but who grabs you with his subtle presence. As his boss and mentor, John Travolta chews the scenery as usual, but he reins it in a little to create an appealing supporting role.
Director Jay Russell has crafted what I’d almost call a “feel-good movie” about death-defying work. He’s clearly out to pay tribute to the men and women who do the job (although there’s no women firefighters seen here). He stages action excellently, and really makes us see the camaraderie between Jack and his blood-brother co-workers.
As “Ladder 49” progresses, though, it gets darker, as the real toll of fighting fires becomes apparent. It takes some unexpected detours, and digs deeper than the typical action blockbuster.
I’m uncertain about the movie’s ending, which tips the movie’s balance a bit too much toward melodrama and canonizing firefighters. Firefighters are heroic, without a doubt, but they’re also complicated human beings. Making them into flawless icons drains any chance for dramatic development in a movie. “Ladder 49” comes close to that pitfall.
But most of the time, “Ladder 49” walks that line competently. Even if it stumbles a little in the end, it’s still a compelling look at how firefighters are made, and why they do what they do.
*** of four

MUSIC: LCD Soundsystem

MUSIC: LCD Soundsystem

I'm a white guy, so I can't dance. I'm not a huge dance music/electronic fan - my knowledge of the genre pretty much stops with Moby - but great reviews made me decide to pick up LCD Soundsystem's self-titled debut CD on a whim. And I'm enjoying the heck out of this beat-packed, propulsive "dance-punk" album so far. The two-CD set compiles the album proper on the first disc, with the second disc featuring seven previously vinyl-only singles. LCD is basically James Murphy, an East Coast hipster who splices together influences from '70s ängst-pop like Can and Kraftwerk, '80s Talking Heads and a dash of punk-rock sound into appealingly bouncy, droll electronic jams. It's great fun stuff, riding in on that enjoyably retro dance-rock wave including bands such as Franz Ferdinand and The Killers.

The dry humor of Murphy's work really helps dispel that "too cool for school" aura that puts me off most club-type music. His monotone David Byrne-esque chant/singing is mannered and catchy. The leadoff track, "Daft Punk is Playing at my House," is all tongue-in-cheek bravado, with a pounding rhythm and yes, a cowbell solo! On disc 2, Murphy goes for all-out comedy in the great "Losing My Edge," all about a self-proclaimed hipster's loss of relevance ("I've never been wrong. I used to work in the record store"). Other songs like "Yeah" (featured in two versions), "Movement" and "Disco Infiltrator" continue to play with Murphy's outsider-looking-inside viewpoint, where stark beats expand into machinated walls of sound. A few of the tracks venture into different territory, notably the White Album Beatles homage of "Never As Tired As When I'm Waking Up." LCD Soundsystem ain't deep, but if you're inclined it'll get you dancing. And if you're a sad old white guy like me, you'll bob your head and look quite absurd as you drive along listening to it in your Subaru.

ETC.: Catching up

ETC.: Catching up

Geez, does Blogger have a case of the slows lately or what? I've read that 30,000 to 40,000 new blogs are being created a day, which is a lot of damn blogs when you think about it. Of course, 29,990 of those will never be updated again after the first two posts, but that could explain the strain free sites like Blogger are facing lately. I can't complain too much because gosh darn it, it's FREE using Blogger and I've been generally happy with 'em, but hopefully they'll catch up with the blogging spree soon and have less issues...

Realized my posting last night may be the very first time I've ever put my picture on the blog. My apologies to the sensitive. So much for the Witness Protection Program. Please be alerted the camera adds 200 pounds, removes my hairline, adds wrinkles and makes me look like a combination of Nic Cage and a dead Elvis impersonator. The boy on the other hand is actually 150% cuter in real life.

In the spirit of radical renovation have decided to copy other blogs and use a headline to indicate what my postings will ramble on about. Am considering a full template revision just in time for this lil' ol' blog's first anniversary which is coming up April 7. Where has the time gone?