SUPER Disappointment

(DISCLAIMER: I have been a SUPERMAN fan my ENTIRE life, since my older brother introduced me through his numerous comic books when I was a small child. I remember walking or riding my bike the mile up to the corner store once a month to check out the new arrivals on the comics rack, and wishing I could afford to take them ALL home. As an aspiring artist/cartoonist, I was fascinated by the colorful drawings and dynamic exploits of the pulp heroes, especially Superman.

Although I no longer regularly buy comics-- other than the occasional collected editions or specials-- the movie adaptations and incarnations are irresistible to me.)

Well, I went and used some of my "Premium Sitting Time" (due to my recurring debilitating lower-back issues) to go see Man of Steel. From the previews, I knew it would be visually stunning. Space. Battle scenes. Rockets. Explosions. I expected all of that. The movie delivered. In spades.

PLUS, They Got The Cape Right. Long, flowing, majestic. Like an ALEX ROSS painting. (Google it)

(SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't seen PoS-- I mean MoS-- yet, STOP READING!)

What I didn't expect was the gratuitous over-use of Russell Crowe's "JOR-EL", the Attention-Deficit-Disorder plot, or the TERRIBLE portrayal of Jonathon "Pa" Kent by Kevin Costner. He was so uninteresting and unlikable, I was kind of GLAD he got killed early on....

Even the handsome, well-built CAVILL can't watch this garbage...!

SURE, they HAD to re-tell the 'Origin of SUPERMAN'. Gratuitous sci-fi flick, with laser-battles galore. (BTW, Michael Shannon's striking resemblance to David Letterman made General ZOD a little distracting for me...!) I just couldn't get into it. Crash-landing on Earth, whole nine yards...

 The kid who plays the YOUNG Clark Kent DOES do a good TOM WELLING (TV's Smallville).

The movie jumped from 5-minute scene to 5-minute scene. No time to really build a connection with ANY of the characters. They touched on issues and scenarios without ever fleshing ANYTHING out.
General Zod's henchmen spoke with Russian accents...? Really..?
Jor-El 'sends his son to save them'...? Really...?
A 'Clark-on-the-lam' goes to church to ask a priest if he should surrender...? Really...?

A black Perry White, I'm okay with that. But with a diamond-stud earring...? Really...? Okay, I GUESS we can try a trendy update, but isn't he a bit OLD for that...?
The aforementioned out-of-character Jonathon Kent. He TRIED to be good, but it just didn't work for me.
Amy Adams-- Worst. Lois. EVER! (Corny team-up with holographic Jor-El didn't help, either...!)
The wanton destruction-- of both Smallville AND Metropolis-- was a bit much. Whole buildings and entire city blocks decimated, with NO mention of deaths or casualties...? Riiiight....
And the ending...?? Apparently, the people who wrote, produced and directed this movie NEVER READ THE COMIC. They missed the one character trait, the singular moral compass that has defined this superhero for 75 years.
Come ON....

But, maybe I'm wrong.... What do YOU think...?

The very prolific and influential comic book artist JOE KUBERT died last weekend. He was 85.
Read the full article HERE.

Also a pretty thorough read HERE.

When I was a young kid, I didn't appreciate his work because I thought it too 'sketchy' and sloppy. "How can people think that's good...?", I thought aloud. Later, I marveled at his body of work and the strong composition in his drawings. He was a master storyteller and and darn good artist.

NBC Casts "Wonder Woman" for TV Pilot

'Friday Night Lights' Star Adrianne Palicki Lands the Lead in NBC's 'Wonder Woman' Reboot

Read the entire article HERE

Legendary Comic Artist Dick Giordano Dies

Self portrait by Dick Giordano for Nov. 2003 tome

DC NEWS: SILVER AGE INKER/EDITOR DICK GIORDANO PASSES AWAY

- Comic Books Resources (www.comicbookresources.com/) reports that Dick Giordano, legendary penciler, inker, and editor for DC Comics has passed away at age 77. A freelance penciler and inker from the 1950's into 1965, Giordanobecame editor in chief of Charlton Comics, the company in which Steve Ditko created characters under his watch such as the Question and Captain Atom. He also gave first breaks to other legendary artistic talents such as Jim Aparo and writer Denny O' Neil. A New York native, by the end of the 1960's he had been hired by DC as an editor as well as an inker, always producing by deadline. He often worked alongside Neal Adams on runs on BATMAN as well asGREEN ARROW/GREEN LANTERN, among other projects such as SUPERMAN VS. SPIDER-MAN and SUPERMAN VS. MUHAMMAD ALI. He became Executive Editor in 1983 and held that position until 1993. During that reign, the two most famous works he authorized were "CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS", which helped create and cement the "cross over event" in comics, as well as Alan Moore's "WATCHMEN", where he encouragedMoore to create characters based on Charlton Comics characters rather than use those characters outright, to make it more timeless. Talent such as Marv Wolfman heralded Giordano as a "line editor" - an editor who advises without heavy handed orders. In his later years, he worked for Hero Initiative, an organization which seeks to help old retired comic book creators and artists. Current DCartist and Wildstorm editor Jim Lee stated how it was Giordano's brief words of encouragement in a rejection letter that helped Jim Lee continue to plug away and try to enter the industry (which he did, at Marvel Comics). Current top DC editor Dan DiDio called Giordano "an inspiration" and Diane Nelson, president of DC Entertainment, stated that, "Dick Giordano has left a lasting legacy as a comic book artist and as a DC Comics executive." His long time collaborator and friend Neal Adamsstated, "Inking my work was the LEAST significant thing that Dick did for-meant to me. I loved Dick like a brother and a friend. He cared for and loved me. I was made better by him. For a time, we were partners, on a handshake. NO ONE didn't like Dick Giordano and respect him. Who can say that? Look at that face. JUST,...look at it." Another giant of the comic industry, gone. R.I.P.

New Burger Joint

This is an old concept from a few years back that I finally drew out. Took me a while to scan & color it, since it's been languishing in my "Jungle OUT THERE" folder under some stuff....

The premise is one of a place where I would be afraid to eat....!
"Quick, Robin! The Bat-Antacid and Antidote!"