Checked out this terrific art exhibit on Wonder Woman in Portland.
Wonder Woman Day is a charity event observed in Fleming, New Jersey and Portland, Oregon, in support of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Proceeds of the art auction go to local domestic violence shelters and programs.
The exhibit Amazing Amazon will be at Lara Sydney Framing Gallery in the Pearl District until Oct. 25, 2009. That's the night of the live auction, which will include many more Wonder Woman art items.
The gallery owner's mother Cynthia told me the opening was packed. It's a relatively small gallery, so plan on being crammed for the live auction. But you can bid through the silent auction up until the 24th.
There are numerous first-rate comics artists involved, and the caliber overall was impressive. I'd like to namedrop, but there are just too many. Scroll down on this page for names.
My furtively snapped cell phone pictures of course don't do these pieces justice, but here were a few of my faves.
Wonder Woman art fights domestic violence
Becoming Batman: a must-read?
* BUMP * My copy has arrived at last! Amazon had a devil of a time, with three false starts that they couldn't get this book, in the last month. But here it is at last! I'll certainly post a review, eventually.
How realistic is Batman? At best, this book will lay out a strategy for aspiring superheroes not imbued with superpowers. At worst, this book will stifle a decades-old ongoing discussion at college coffeehouses and bars everywhere. You know I "preordered" mine.
Scientific American - Dark Knight Shift: Why Batman could exist, but not for long. JR Minkel interviews Zehr about how one might train as the Dark Knight. A good read. Zehr's done his homework.
excerpt from Scientific American
What's most plausible about portrayals of Batman's skills? You could train somebody to be a tremendous athlete and to have a significant martial arts background, and also to use some of the gear that he has, which requires a lot of physical prowess. Most of what you see there is feasible to the extent that somebody could be trained to that extreme. We're seeing that kind of thing in less than a month in the Olympics.
What's less realistic? A great example is in the movies where Batman is fighting multiple opponents and all of a sudden he's taking on 10 people. If you just estimate how fast somebody could punch and kick, and how many times you could hit one person in a second, you wind up with numbers like five or six. This doesn't mean you could fight four or five people. But it's also hard for four or five people to simultaneously attack somebody, because they get in each other's way. More realistic is a couple of attackers.
Update
I haven't posted a review because I just... can't ... get through this book. I keep hoping it will pick up, but the first few chapters have been dry textbook introductions to genetics, biology and training. I'm actually caught in an unhealthy approach-avoidance with this book. So that gives you some idea, but I can't weigh in officially until - if - I make it to the end.
free comic book day in U.S. May 3
On Saturday, May 3rd, walk into one of the 2000 stores across America and pick up a free comic book. More than 40 publishers are releasing special edition comic books for Free Comic Book Day.
Joe Field, owner of Flying Colors Comics in Concord and President of ComicsPRO, the comic specialty retailer trade organization, is the founder of Free Comic Book Day. Field brainstormed the concept of Free Comic Book Day in his monthly column in Krause Publications' Comics & Games Retailer trade magazine in 2001.
“Free Comic Book Day is like a holiday for an original American artform,” Field said. “Comics can entertain, inspire and teach, and comics are the basis of Hollywood blockbusters, while also a great medium for telling smaller, more intimate stories. This truly is a Golden Age for comic books and graphic novels.”
With the release and the attendant publicity of the first Spider-Man movie in May 2002, the first Free Comic Book Day shone the spotlight on Hollywood’s favorite source medium. Their efforts were helped by comics’ broad appeal, and the day has grown each year.
Hi, I'm a Marvel, I'm a DC
in the endless parade of Mac/PC parodies, this series has me hooked, even tho I'm a DCer first.
...and here's the Batman one, just great.
TV Batmobile sells for $233,000
A shopper with $233,000 to spare went away with a vehicle fit for a superhero when a Batmobile from the 1960s television series "Batman" was sold at auction Tuesday. The car was the sixth of an unspecified number built for the 120-episode ABC series based on the DC Comics hero, according to Coys auctioneers in London. Four or five bidders helped drive its price more than 50% above the upper estimate, said Chris Routledge, an auctioneer at Coys. The car, which is almost 20 feet long, is black with scarlet lines to highlight its contours and winged chassis. "It's a fantastically iconic piece of machinery — the Batman appeal spans more than 30 years," Anthony Godin, auction manager at Coys, said Tuesday in a telephone interview prior to the sale. "It's the Batmobile! Who wouldn't want to own it?" Coys declined to identify the seller, a private collector. The winning bid came from a private museum based in the Cayman Islands, Mr. Routledge said late Tuesday in a telephone interview. The Batmobile was the 144th of 163 lots and had a lot number of 241. The sale included vintage cars and automobile memorabilia such as posters and branded souvenirs, and ran until past 9 p.m. London time yesterday.
I'm sorry to say the Batmobile has sold to a private buyer. This means that those of us who hadn't yet come across this iconic four-wheeler at a car show or convention probably won't get the chance.
After a Bidding War, Batmobile Sells for $200K at Auction
by Alex Morales, Bloomberg News. From the NY Sun
latest developments in superhero evolution
Dan Kois speaks up eloquently in Slate today in Men without Tights: comics that reinvent the superhero genre. He dives into the subject of superhero evolution from the springboard of the NBC series Heroes. (I tried Heroes but couldn't get through one episode. I found it grim, slow-moving and emotionally gratuitious in the vein of many popular TV shows today, and it left my propensity for the superhero genre bored and weak with hunger. But I was forged in the '70s -- 'nough said.)
"Tim Kring, the creator of Heroes, admits to enjoying comic-book storytelling without having a deep background in the genre. He's proudly declared that his series diverges from comic books by presenting character-driven stories in which superpowers merely play a supporting role. But starting in the 1980s, many comic books embedded superpowers in recognizably real people and their superheroes in the real world. The progenitor of the trend is generally considered to be Alan Moore, whose Watchmen, written in 1986, was one of the first comics to seriously consider the dilemmas caped crusaders might face. In the 1990s and 2000s, comics creators have been even freer with the superhero tradition, doing away entirely with capes and tights, or mashing up the hero genre with comedy, coming-of-age, or romance. Heroes doesn't have a monopoly on humanizing the superhero story, or wrestling with the practical and ethical quandaries of superpowers; many contemporary comics are doing the same."
image from mainframe
DC comics postage stamps
How cool is this? Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Flash, Plastic Man, Supergirl, Superman. Top two rows are newer artist renderings. Bottom are comic book covers. Came out in July. 
Movie: My Super Ex-Girlfriend
Before you're oversaturated with the advertising just around the corner, check out the movie trailer on this film (NOT the TV trailer version with the annoying announcer). Combine superpowers with wacked morality and emotional instability and how can you go wrong? Well, it all hinges on the writers, and while trailers can be misleading, when this one sneaked up on me in the previews before The Devil Wears Prada, and I was rolling (that's old-school for ROFLOL). More accurately, I LMAO. Looks like Uma will be delightfully typecast as a (super)hero from now on. No complaints there.
ETA: Okay, I saw it, and there's a reason this flick never made mainstream. Oh well, still a funny concept.
Krrish - India's first superhero?
According to Wikipedia, "Unlike recent reports, Krrish is not India's first superhero: his predecessors include Marvel's Cerebra, Indra, Karima Shapandar and Neal Shaara and DC's Maya, as well as Spider-Man: India and the heroes from Virgin Comics and Raj Comics."
That said, here's an article out today by Justin Huggler, from the New Zealand Herald, with vital details on powers, costume, etc.
India's first superhero creates huge song and dance
"India has its first homegrown superhero in the form of Krrish, Bollywood's answer to Superman - an Indian with remarkable powers who travels to Singapore, saves the world from a mad scientist, gets the girl (played by Priyanka Chopra) and regularly breaks into song and dance numbers. The opening of Krrish in cinemas at the weekend attracted extraordinary attention, with India's 24-hour news channels giving over entire evenings to preview the movie. . .
... Krrish is the first Superman-style superhero: a being gifted with extraordinary powers and a ridiculous costume.
... Krrish is more a mix of Superman and Spiderman. Like Superman he is so strong he can leap over buildings; like Spiderman he can climb them. His costume - ill-advised given the heat in India and Singapore, where the movie is set - is black leather, complete with a face-mask.
... The film is a sequel to Roshan's 2003 hit Koi Mil Gaya, India's first science-fiction movie, which gave extraordinary powers to Rohit, an ordinary Indian. Krrish is the story of Rohit's son, Krishna."
female bodybuilders in pop culture
Terry Spivey's very readable article Cartoons and Accomplishments looking back over the years at female bodybuilder-types in movies, cartoons and the like belies his serious, longstanding, reverent devotion to Amazons. I'm happy to direct more readers to it. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable on the subject, but was delightedly surprised to discover more must-see films and books through this piece. Terry and I both have articles posted on fbbworld.com, one of my all-time favorite female bodybuilders sites. I tip my hat to you, Terry~
excerpt from Cartoons and Accomplishments
"Over the years I’ve been on a quest to see as many Hollywood films as possible in which women bodybuilders have had cameos, supporting or occasionally a leading role. Just last week, I had some friends sit me down to watch the DVD of “Napoleon Dynamite”. Half way through the film I recognized pro bodybuilder Virginia Brady in a short scene. Her acting skills left much to be desired but her physique was outstanding. The scene was basically farcical in its depiction. Ms. Brady was practically portrayed as a “woman of extreme proportions”. Like Barrymore, Virginia Brady was a caricature of herself with the upshot being that she was one more, strange person in this dysfunctional Idaho small town. My friends laughed out loud and speculated that she was really a man but I was quick to correct their crass misjudgment. Nothing more was said about her after I corrected them.
My point in this little illustration is to draw your attention to a travesty of exploiting women who have accomplished a unique and exceptional achievement. Women bodybuilders had, at one time, a great deal of respect from filmmakers. I want to take a little time travel back to an era when that level of respect was high."
the evolution of King Kong's "woman"
The more I think about this version of KK, the more I like it (that of it which I saw). It really fleshes out the character of Kong, the action sequences are heartpounding, the spectacles are spectacular, the careful send-up to the '30s original was a brilliant decision. This despite the many problems with the story (it's a horrible story (manifest destiny, et. al); seriously, why would Kong be interested in anything that small? Why does Jack Black only use one facial expression?). The website is a marvel in Flash techology, very nice trip. I don't understand why I can't find my favorite image from the film anywhere, the rear view of Kong and Anne sitting side by side, looking out at the gorgeous sunset and scenery. Seems to me that would be a main image used in marketing. I'd like it for wallpaper. I like how they developed the Anne character. Here's a nice commentary on her evolution, tho I disagree with one point: the insects are marvelous.
ETA: Emma was graciously thanked me for this entry in an email and confirmed that this was not an assignment. Great to hear from you, Emma!
Kong's inamorata evolves: Bimbo to sexpot to heroine
By Emma Trelles - South Florida Sun-Sentinel - January 1, 2006
Excerpt (follow link for full piece)
A heroic heroine: Besides many disgusting insects, Jackson's 2005 flick offers the millennial Ann (Naomi Watts) -- a self-sufficient woman with integrity. She relies on her vaudeville skills (albeit questionable ones, but we're talking intent here) to defuse the strain between her and her captor, and she adapts quickly to her new digs on the island. In one scene, she settles next to Kong on his mountain perch and admires the sweeping vista and sunset. This beauty is an activist: She is horrified at Kong's enslavement, and not only does she try to block his capture but she also boycotts all of the hype surrounding his NYC debut.
She is a product of the era that fashioned her -- namely the 21st century, also a time when courtship often lacks giddy romantic overtures. Perhaps this is why Jackson chose to include a ludicrous sequence of Ann and Kong night-skating across an icy pond in Central Park. Maybe Jackson drank too many mai tais while editing the movie -- this is just one scene of several that a right-minded director would have shorn off. Or perhaps he thought a female viewer might find solace in that sort of thing, so starved for romance that we, Ann included, find it easier to connect with mythologized movie love than with the real thing.
Andy Serkis: Gollum & Kong
Yes! A story on the man behind the bodies and motions of movie creatures, the model for Gollum and King Kong - Andy SerkisOf Gollum and Kong
Andy Serkis gets inside characters' heads
NEW YORK (AP) -- In computer-generated bodies not his own, Andy Serkis has starred in two of the most humongously budgeted films of the decade. Serkis, who stands 5 feet, 8 inches, plays the role of Kong in Peter Jackson's $200 million-plus "King Kong." As he did for the "precious"-hungry Gollum in Jackson's $300 million-plus "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, Serkis' human performance has again been transformed by computer graphics into a fantastical creature. As with Gollum/Smeagol, each movement of the actor's was meticulously captured and enlarged into the computer-generated image that is the hulking, roaring Kong. Even Serkis' yawns and frowns were adapted to the facial structure of the gorilla's.
ETA
Saw the movie Xmas eve - excellent, everything you'd want, tons of eye-popping action scenes. Left while Kong was still King. Screw this Manifest Destiny, kill-the-monster crap. As it was, I still got a full movie-length experience, and it was perfectly good that way.
Superman digitally castrated!
Superman's bulge worries movie bosses
from Ananova
The new Superman is giving movie bosses a headache - because of the size of his bulge. They fear Brandon Routh's profile in the superhero's skintight costume could be distracting, reports the Sun. Hollywood executives have ordered the makers of Superman Returns to cover it up with digital effects. The Sun's source said: "It's a major issue for the studio. Brandon is extremely well endowed and they don't want it up on the big screen. "We may be forced to erase his package with digital effects."
Brandon, 26, has taken over the superhero's cape from the late Christopher Reeve. Wardrobe artists have had to fit him with a special codpiece for the new film out next year.
This pic is circulating on the net now, but no word on whether Routh's manhood has been reduced in it. Frankly, I don't see what the fuss is about. One thing's for sure, Routh won't ever need to leap tall buildings to get girls' attention after this publicity.
