Comics: Demo #1

Demo Vol 2, #1
The first maxi-series titled Demo, brainchild of indy superstars Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan, was a fantastic collection of one shots, detailing the trials of "real life" characters having some sort of paranormal power. Basically, an indy take on mutants. And, for the most part, it was great. There were perhaps one or two issues that didn't really capture me the way the rest of the series did. Sadly, with the inaugural story of this second volume, this issue is one of those. Becky Cloonan's artwork is, as always, engaging and dynamic..but Wood's story hinges on the ending; the answer that the main character is seeking. Which, from the beginning, seemed obvious and, if I may, a bit "been there, done that".

And an argument might be made that it's not the destination, it's the journey. Not in this case, I'm afraid. It's a one-shot and therefore the story isn't really given any room to breathe. Joan's recurring nightmare, her increasing obsession over that nightmare, the fact that she's been up for 9 days straight. None of that is really FELT, it's just SAID. So, while this story is too quick to really get involved, it also would have been a shame to give it any more definition since the ending was obvious from the beginning.

However, I'm still very optimistic about the rest of the series, I just wish this issue had been placed somewhere in the middle of the series, as it wasn't the best one to start off with.

Comic Review: The Bomb

The  Bomb – Steve Mannion

 

 The term ‘guilty pleasure’ has become both overused and a defensive shield for enjoying music, games, tv, etc, that others might possibly snub their noses at:

 

Sublime tribute band? Guilty pleasure.

Straight to DVD movies with poor CGI monsters? Guilty Pleasure.

Any Stephen King book in the last 20 years? Guilty Pleasure.

 

The time has arrived ladies and gentlemen to cast aside the moniker of Guilty Pleasure, grab your privates, raise your middle finger, and scream in a faux British accent, “Sod off! I fekkin’ love this!” Have pride in your opinions and trust in your taste.

 

The Bomb is just such a beast. Essentially, the book is about a vamped -up pugilistic roller skating Bettie and Veronica imagined by Big Daddy Ed Roth, Mad Peck, Sam Keith, or  John Kricfalus running around fighting zombies, Nazi-doctors, and mindless mutant thugs who are, as per usual attempting to ruin the collective lives of the Cleavers.  

 

Mannion’s world is brimming with page girl vixens and ham-fisted violence. He makes dutch-oven jokes and moose antlers seem sexy and fun. Mannion’s dialogue is reminiscent of Bazooka Joe comics with the same rim-shot punchlines. What this collection lacks in cohesion and plot (it reads like years of restarted mini-comics pasted together) it makes up for in the beauty and whimsical nature of the art. Each panel is a toss back to pre-comic code excellence without feeling cliché or forced. It is clear Mannion loves his work.

 

The book has, for me, destroyed the concept of Guilty Pleasure. I feel no guilt what-so-ever in stating that despite the lack of significant cohesion of the book, I am ready to shell out more money for Mannion’s current book Fearless Dawn.

Comics: The Unwritten, Vol.1

The Unwritten: Vol 1. Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity

Mike Carey and Peter Gross

Reviewed by Kire Carlson

 

Harry Potter is a chump. J.K. Rowling, despite her fame and billions, managed to patchworks bits of Tolkien and Vertigo's Books of Magic into a commercial tapestry which covered the world in milquetoast colors of feigned originality. Lost in the stitches of Rolwing's tale was that of Timothy Hunter; Vertigo's be-speckled and orphaned world mage. But really, where is the harm in that? 

 

Carey and Gross, both of whom muddled about in Hunter's universe  either directly or indirectly, have sought to claim what Rowling had stolen from society. Stories with punch. The tale of Unwritten begins as simple satire: Young Tommy Taylor, or Tom as he begs to be called, is the living blueprint of his father's bestselling fictional character: An aged Christopher Robin or a twenty-sometihng Alice Liddell. The disappearance of the real Tom's father has the world salivating with questions and accusations. A sudden scandal following TommyCon, divides the legion of fans into those who believe he is a fraud and those who are convinced he is the second coming. What follows is a traversing of the literary world and enough allusions to satisfy any bibliophile. 

 

Carey does what Carey does best. He leaves enough plot holes exposed to keep astute readers curious and willing to sit through anything. Those who followed his Hellblazer run will remember that it took him over a year to resolve many of the extensive an plot issues. Cary is a master storyteller and for those patient enough to follow him, the payoff rarely fails. Gross' work, although typically inconsistent and seemingly stuck in the 80's, is still stronger than most Vertigo books and in no way detracts from the overall story. In fact, it dose what the best Vertigo books do, it causes a healthy confusion in the reader as one tries to discern why TommyCon would have other authors featured or a family event would allow slash fiction depicting Tommy tooting his Magic Horn to be prominently displayed. 

 

Ironically, the strongest tale in this TPB is not the Tommy stories but a tale of Rudyard Kipling, Oscar Wilde, and MArk Twain. Carey so convincingly appropriates these authors into his world, that one immediately empathizes with them and, because of this, Carey manages to turn Disney's vision from a kid friendly sing-a-long-for-profit into an allegorical attack on the powers that be. 

 

Essentially, Unwritten is about possession. It is about who owns the stories we love. It is about the freedom of expressing ideas. It is about owning an identity and the repercussions of such a task. It is the invisible thread which holds together stories and connects the real world's greatest escape: Stories. 

If you are not already, it is about time you open your mind to the world of literature and read the Unwritten.

Weekly LOST Discussion!

Season 6, Episode 1 & 2 (LAX Parts 1 and 2)
by Jessica "The Hoss" Tutton

I don't think there is any real way to "review" LOST, so I think the best forum for a weekly discussion of LOST would be a discussion format. I will post some of my thoughts and questions after an episode, and feel free to share your thoughts and feelings as well in the comment section below.

Let me to start by saying how bittersweet Season 6 of LOST is. It's great to finally see the show getting some answers, but sad to know all good things come to an end. However, I think a forced ending will enable the show to go out strong, and prevent any more "Nicky and Paolo" incidents (which the writers have apologized for since!) I am not at all confused by the show, I like the questions it poses. I love shows and movies were I am not handled all the details at once. I like trying to figure things out, and being left with some open doors. Thankfully, the writers of the show want to continue on in this fashion, answering many questions but leaving some hanging out there. In a recent Entertainment Weekly article, they say, "We don't want to explain everything the way midicholorions did for Star Wars." And thank goodness for small favors.

That being said, we did learn some interesting things last night. We learned the man in black is actually also the Smoke Monster. Which brings in the option of the Man in Black and Jacob being able to take on various forms. We also revisited the theme of the "universe has a way of course correcting"- Charlie told Jack "I was supposed to die." Someone on a forum I read pointed out that Kate and Clare were together, so maybe Kate will help Clare deliver Aaron after all. And of course, Christian Shepherd's body is "lost." Jack and Locke had a discussion about faith at the airport.

We also had some more questions raised. Here are some of mine:
- Are we dealing with parallel universes here? How did the past get changed as well? For example, Locke maybe went on a walkabout and Hurley feels lucky as they pull into LAX.
- Did Jacob jump into Sayid's body? Pete guessed this last night and I like the idea. Jacob did go and ask Hurley for help, not to save Sayid's life.
- Why was Desmond on the plane?
- Why wasn't Shannon on the plane? (Not that I miss her mind you, Boone said she decided to stay in her relationship.)
- Why couldn't the Man in Black leave the island, but Jacob can? And wouldn't it be dangerous for him to leave the island with his smokiness? I keep thinking the battle between Jacob and Man in Black is good versus evil and really what this is all about? Or is Man in Black's "home" not off the island?
- How is the Widmore vs. Ben thing going to fit in to everything else? Ben seems clueless. However, there have been indications before that Ben and Widmore could not kill each other.
- Are there multple time dimensions/ parallel universes- for example- we see the island underwater?

Anyways, just some thoughts after watching the first episode(s). LOST always makes you think a whole bunch. I thought it was a really great dive back into the spirit of what makes us love LOST. We have some questions, some answers, and only a few more episodes to discover it all. Stay tuned...

Jrunktards...Coming to an Eardrum near you!

So the time has come to unleash what will be the worst game show (in the audio format, silly I know) ever to hit your ears. We test our wits against each other while tackling questions and drinking. Expect expletives, slurring and dumb comments that have nothing to do with the answer.

So by now you are wondering, "How is the game played?" I'm so glad you asked, the game has 3 Sections: Movies, Comics & More and the Lightning Round. Each round is a little different.

Movies:

Quotes - Name that Movie

Word Association - Name that Movie (3 clues)

Comic Books & More:

Straight questions - Multiple Choice and Trivia Questions

Lightning Round:

Categories Scramble - Start with a Category and a crossfire of things in that category

Now you know how it is played you are definitely asking, "How does one win?" Well you determine that. After listening to the podcast you send us your vote. Either on our facebook page (facebook.com and search "Poptards Podcast!") or email us at info@poptardsgo.com. We will then reveal the winner the next episode.

After reading this, if you are interested in participating there are several ways you can. You can submit questions and categories via facebook or email or you can join us in the shenanigans when we record again. Hope to hear from you guys soon. We are recording this weekend so keep your ears to the ground for some cheekiness.

PopTards & PopCorn: The Room

By: Jess "The Hoss" Tutton

My husband and I spend some time looking at the 'Youtubes' for hilarity. We went on a binge once of internet lists of best of worst movies, and joyfully watched scene after scene. While I don’t think “The Room” is the worst movie ever made, it surely is on someone’s Top 20 list. It’s the kind of movie where you expect people to start shedding clothes as you think to yourself, “Surely the crappy dialogue, and 8^th grade play-style sets must ensure this is pornography.” But, no. This is a seriously crafted movie. That is what makes it worth writing about here. In fact, the advertisements bill it as having the passion of Tennessee Williams, at the same time being a lighthearted comedy. I don’t remember much about my English classes in high school, but I DO remember Tennessee Williams is not a jovial kind of guy. I also really seriously doubt the producer was making a comedy. Maybe he just forgot how to make a pornography and had to cover it up somehow?

            The “star” of this movie is Tommy Wiseau, who is also credited on screen as both the movie's producer and executive producer. As per Wikipedia, “Without any studio support, Wiseau spent over $7 million on production and marketing for the film. Wiseau promotes the film as a black comedy and insists that its humor is actually intentional, although cast members have publicly disputed these claims and many audience members generally view the film as a poorly-made drama.”

 Tommy Wiseau looks like he stepped right out of a Warrant video from the late ‘80s, or worse, the early ‘90s. This film was made in 2003. He wears white baggy pants, a long mop of hair, and he walks like he has two large packages of salami taped to his inner thighs. He looks like some sort of German form of Milli Vanilli.  This man gives acting and directing, and frankly spending $7 million, a bad name.

                Actually, let me just stop this review right here, as I just realized, there is NOTHING to review here. It’s just that bad. It would be just a waste of yours and my time to give it any sort of credence and seriously considering the “plot” or “actors” should be taken seriously. Let’s not fool ourselves here folks. Instead, I will present a list of things that make “The Room” worthy material to consider if you are let’s say bored and needing a laugh, or trying to create some sort of fun new drinking game.

1) Wiseau films everyone’s exit from a scene. Pro-long-ed-ly. Apparently he hasn’t discovered a little tactic those in the biz refer to as “editing.”  There are at least 20 minutes in the film of entry and exit. Without words. So realistic! What is Spielberg thinking?

2) Whenever Wiseau’s character (Johnny)  enters a scene, he addresses someone as “Oh, Hi __________.” As woodenly and lack of affect-ly as possible. Because my friends, that is how good movies are made. And how you address all of your friends

3) Wiseau’s character (Johnny)  has a best friend named Mark. We know that they are best friends because Johnny tells us over and over again that they are best friends. Johnny also repeatedly tells Mark, “I am so glad you are my best friend.”  However, you see these two together, and you can’t possibly imagine on what planet these two could be friends. It’s kind of like a T-Rex and a sweet little kitten hitting it off. Huh? How? Right.

4) Mark is amazing. He looks like he fell off a truck headed to a Baywatch convention.

5) Lisa is the conniving girlfriend of Johnny and centerpiece of the film. Lisa looks like she gets her hair and make-up advice from Teen Magazine circa 1988. I know this because this is when I read Teen magazine. You couldn’t be less interested in Lisa. Yet all of the men in the movie are head over heels for her, and she is able to wrap them around her finger. Even though all she does is bitch at people and lie about being pregnant, which no one challenges her on…  

6) There are enough plotholes in this movie to devour a small town/ Hellmouth style for all the Buffy fans out there. Here is an example. Claudette states in a nonemotional tone, ^“I got the results of the test back. I definitely have breast cancer.” And this is never discussed again at any point in the movie. Of course. And why would it be?

7) The biggest insult in the movie is referring to someone as a “chicken.” Be still my beating heart at such a horrible insult. And guess what? They ACTUALLY act it out. And not well. You think acting like a chicken would be mere childs-play. Wiseau looks something like a man being shot with a semi-automatic 20-30 times in slow motion. Chickens everywhere are deeply offended.

8) The flower shop scene. I can’t even do it justice. It’s like someone wrote words down on a paper, had people recite them, and then played them back in high speed dubbing. With as little emotion as humanly possible. In fact, scratch that. This scene had to be done by cyborgs. There is no other way. Here it is, in all of its glory:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S9Ew3TIeVQ

            Well, considering I never actually WATCHED this film, just watched about 30 minutes of it on Youtube, and thereafteredly wrote this review in 20 minutes, I think my work is pretty slamming.  Really, you don’t need to see the film. I would strongly suggest watching some of the clips on Youtube. This is a pop culture site, so I figured it was okay, and I wanted to kick something in as a Poptards submission. Sadly, this has been bouncing around in my head since I watched it last night and I really needed someone else to enjoy it. Besides, I have to get back to work people.

PopTards Episode 9 is UP!

Uncle Dunklenutz, Slai and JD start a new segment called DoubleTake wherein we watch and discuss a classic from our childhoods..this episode, we're talking Teen Witch (1989) and then come back to the present to talk about Legion and Youth in Revolt!