New comics, Shatner, and more Bat-links.
Best thing I got at the store on New Comics Day:
…the Visions of Frank DVD, featuring nine different animated interpretations of Jim Woodring‘s comic work. (There’s a RealPlayer clip of one of the animations on this page to get a taste.) The dreamlike qualities of the comics translate very successfully to motion, at least in the half I’ve had time to watch so far. It’s a little pricey, considering it’s less than an hour long, but production value is high (particularly on the package…very sharp looking, and includes a small 16-page booklet which reprints a couple Frank strips), and how could you not want a DVD in your collection with this menu page:
I should also note that along with the original soundtracks for each of the animations, there is a second set of accompanying tracks by different artists, including one by the inimitable Dame Darcy.
I also ordered another Japanese Jim Woodring import item, this one a book called The Lute String, that was supposed to come in this Wednesday as well…but, alas, our entire order for this item was shorted by Diamond. I’ll have to wait for more Frank fun until next week, when the replacements will (hopefully) arrive.
Other new comics news:
The Batman Strikes #17 – So, upon seeing the Riddler on the cover, only one question comes to mind: are there any good character designs on this cartoon? Good heavens.
Marvel Milestones Bloodstone, X-51 and Captain Marvel II – “Quick, run into the archives and grab three completely random comics…we’ll slap ’em together and reprint them under one cover!” “Genius!”
DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore – Quite frankly, I’d rather they just 1) kept the old edition of this book in print, and 2) kept the Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow and Killing Joke books in print separately (and yes, I know there are economic reasons why they don’t). I foresee people looking for Killing Joke in the future not being terribly happy that it’s now only available in a $20 paperback. (Then again, it’s not as if Killing Joke didn’t go through a bazillion printings…they should be relatively easy to find…I hope.) Nice cover, though.
Ed The Happy Clown #4 – Have I mentioned that I hope he collects these, with the footnotes, when he’s done with the series? Probably. I wish I’d paid closer attention, and picked these up from the start.
Elfquest The Discovery #1 – Still not an Elfquest follower…sorry, but I thought I’d better mention it in case anyone wasn’t aware that Wendy ‘n’ Richard are doing a brand new full-color mini-series. For those of you who like this kind of thing, it looks like it’ll be the kind of thing that you want.
Mark Evanier pointed to the William Shatner DVD Club…and, as pal Dorian pointed out to me, it’s not a club sending out DVDs starring Shatner…it’s a club with DVDs picked by…well, take a look at the FAQ:
“…All films distributed through the William Shatner DVD Club are chosen by William Shatner himself with the help of his team of expert film critics and programming professionals from organizations such as the Sci-Fi Channel.”
And, quite frankly, I think they’re missing a bet. They should just have movies starring William Shatner. And when they run out of already-produced Shatner movies, they should start making new ones. One a month, every month, forever, each one starring the Shat, on any topic you can think of. (Well, except softcore erotica, like Red Shatner Diaries or something…I’m not ready for that.) Heck, maybe we could get another Spplat Attack sequel or something.
Because you demanded it…some more Batman TV show links:
Fiendish Observational Comedian has some Bat-comments, including the three Bat-characters he thinks (and I agree!) that have never been better portrayed in live action than on this show.
Fearless Fred Hembeck has some personal observations (under Jan. 12) about our favorite Bat-show…he is perhaps not as enamored of it as I, but you won’t be able to tell from the effort he put into his specialized Batman TV Page. Great stuff!
Tom “Superfrankenstein” Peyer has a fine selection of Batman TV show links and some good show stills…he did it last year, too.
Great work all around, Bat-friends!
