Glen Keane: The Art of Disney's Tarzan

Tarzan Fan

Gem TV is playing old Mike Henry Tarzan movies from the 1960s, which means my DVD recorder is working overtime this week. And the extra good news for all Tarzan fans is that there's more Lord of the Jungle on the way. For the first time in its 100 year history the classic Edgar Rice Burroughs story, Tarzan of The Apes is told UNCENSORED in comic book format! A new soon-to-be released series by Dynamite Comics will capture the savagery and action of the original while expanding on it with new elements. The story begins in the late 1800s, John Clayton, Lord of Greystoke, and his wife, the Lady Alice, are left stranded on a remote African coast. They must fend for themselves in this savage world, and the fact that Lady Alice is pregnant doesn't make things any easier! 

This new violent saga of Greystoke begins sometime in December in the US, written by Arvid Nelson and illustrated by Roberto Castro, and featuring covers by Alex Ross, Lucio Parillo, Ryan Sook, and Paul Renaud! Well, they had to it after they reworked John Carter, both in comics and in the movies (and Dejah Thoris is dressed exactly as I imagined her when I read the books as a 16 year old teenager)... old ERB must be smiling somewhere right now.


Burn brightly, Pete

Batman Reboot

For those of you who are not purveyors of Low Culture, you might be interested to hear that DC comics (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash) have recently rebooted their entire line. This has involved them shutting down all existing storylines on their 52 comics and starting again with a new set of origins in a bid to attract new and younger readers. They have successfully done this already with some of their brands like Batwoman where the character was re-introduced as a Jewish lesbian redhead with a socialite background - a radical departure from the previous incarnations of Batwoman, but one which has garnered a new following and created a new gay icon.


DC Comics successful re-launch of its entire line in September resulted in at least six of the publisher’s comics selling over 100 thousand copies led by Batman #1 which managed a very impressive total of 188,420 in the US. Might be time to drop into the comic store again and check some of The New 52 out.
Burn brightly, Pete

Crumby Week

Robert Dennis Crumb is an American artist, illustrator, and musician recognised for the unique and distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of America. Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded as its most prominent figure. Though one of the most celebrated of comic book artists, Crumb's entire career has unfolded outside the mainstream comic book publishing industry.  Bob Crumb turned 68 this week - Keep On Truckin Bob.

Happy Birthday Plastic Man

Plastic Man was a comic that grabbed my imagination as a kid as the main character could stretch his body into any imaginable form. His adventures were known for their quirky, offbeat structure and surreal humour and the drawings were fantastic in the true sense of the word. The artwork was similar to Wally Woods' drawings for Mad magazine in the 50s and 60s and as a kid who spent a lot of time convalescing and reading comics, Plastic Man was wonderful escapism.


Plastic Man was a crook named Patrick "Eel" O'Brian. Orphaned at age 10 and forced to live on the streets, he fell into a life of crime. As an adult, he became part of a burglary ring, specializing as a safecracker. During a late-night robbery his gang was surprised by a night watchman. During their escape, Eel was shot in the shoulder and doused with a large drum of unidentified acid. He escaped to the street only to discover that his gang had driven off without him. 


During his short convalescence at a monastery, he discovered that the acid had entered his bloodstream and caused a radical physical change. His body now had all of the properties of rubber, allowing him to stretch, bounce, and mold himself into any shape. He immediately determined to use his new abilities on the side of law and order, donning a red, black and yellow (later red and yellow) rubber costume and capturing criminals as Plastic Man. He concealed his true identity with a pair of white goggles and by re-molding his face. 


Plastic Man turned 70 this week. Many Happy Returns!

Avengers on Location

A shot taken on location with the new Avengers movie currently being shot by Joss Wheedon of Buffy fame. This scene shows Captain America battling extras suited up for what will eventually become aliens/humanoids via the magic of CGI.

Callahan

Cap: A Hero for Our Times?

I came across an interesting article on Captain America in a recent post from the LA Times and after reading a friend's recent blog on heroes and their importance in our lives, thought it may be worth re-blogging. The LA Times have a site labelled "Hero Complex" and an entry from March has an article by Scottish comics writer Mark Millar:


“Actually America’s economic decline makes Captain America more attractive to people in a strange way,” said Millar, one of the top names writing for Marvel Comics and a creator who has watched his anti-heroes hit the Hollywood screen in the films “Wanted” and “Kick-Ass.”



“Like Superman, he was created in a difficult time to give the country a little hope and the U.S.A. could use some good news right now with a nice, straightforward hero making everyone feel a little better,” Millar said. “James Bond performed the same function for post-imperial Britain after World War II. We’d lost our empire, but here was a hero who represented the best of being British and made us feel good about ourselves. As Brazil, Russia, India and China threaten the American empire in these difficult times, it’s nice to have a hero out there kicking ass and wearing a flag we all feel comfortable with.”

The new Marvel film “Captain America: First Avenger” is set in the 1940s & war-torn Europe. Under the guiding hand of director Joe Johnston, the movie melds the boys-own spirit of “The Rocketeer” (directed by Johnston) and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (Johnston was key art & concepts) with current expectations of masked-man moviemaking.


Burn brightly, Pete

He Won't Get Far on Foot...

Today was my annual pilgrimage to my accountant to sort out my Income Tax return. Each year I head down to the Tweed River and visit the Coolangatta Bookshop stocking up on American detective novels that are difficult to get here in Brisbane. This year I picked up a half dozen of titles I've been chasing as well as a book by one of my favourite cartoonists John Callahan. His books are always difficult to get here in Australia and a quick search of Amazon shows that they are also disappearing from publication in the US as well. The Coolangatta Bookshop stocks mainly second hand books purchased from the states and shipped to Australia by the container-load, hence the availability of Callahan cartoon collections.


Callahan became a quadriplegic in an auto accident at age 21. The accident was after a day of drinking and as a direct result of his alcoholism. Following his accident, he became a cartoonist, drawing by clutching a pen between both hands. 


His visual artistic style was simplistic and often rough, although still legible. Callahan often dealt with subjects that were considered taboo and he scoffed at the reactions of critics who labeled his work politically incorrect. 


“My only compass for whether I’ve gone too far is the reaction I get from people in wheelchairs, or with hooks for hands. Like me, they are fed up with people who presume to speak for the disabled. All the pity and the patronizing. That’s what is truly detestable.”


In 2000, there was talk of Robin Williams starring in a movie based on the cartoonist's life, but it never eventuated. Callahan died from complications from his quadriplegia last year at age 59. I was fortunate enough to pick up a second-hand copy of "Do What He Says! He's Crazy!" today at a great price.
Burn brightly, Pete

Avengers Assemble

Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame has begun shooting The Avengers this week in the US with Cleveland standing in for New York City.  Police cars with NYPD logos whizzed by, extras were running down the street screaming as part of a battle scene, which was among the first to be shot in Cleveland. Whedon plans to shoot exterior sequences throughout the rest of the week  in downtown Cleveland. Images are now up on the web with live footage of the shooting caught on mobile phones. Basic looking images at first glance, but its good to see it under way and the film will give the aging JLA cartoons from DC comics a run for their money with this big budget effort.

I recently saw Captain America in the cinema here in Australia and there was a brief preview at the end of the film featuring some previous Marvel stars from recent films like Thor and Iron Man. Robert Downey Jnr had a nice line in the teaser  but I'm not sure if it was a teaser only or actually part of the upcoming Whedon film. It'll be interesting to see how the stories are reshaped and updated to explain the whereabouts of the Cosmic Cube which shifts through a few different story arcs. And the special effects bill for this feature will be amazing with the likes of the previous marvel characters plus newcomers like AntMan etc.


Burn Brightly, Pete

Captain America

Saw the Captain America movie last week - in fact I've been sitting through a spate of super-hero movies of late : Thor, Capt America, Green Lantern. I was surprised by Captain America and it was much better than I thought it would be. All the patriotic hype was there as would be expected and I expect we'll see a new SHIELD film come along before long with the new interest in spy movies and the possibility of terrorist cells in the US.

I would recommend Captain America - it has a similar feel to the Rocketeer and has that same Boy's Own escapism. My 24 year old daughter and 20 year old son both enjoyed it so it was good to know that it wasn't my nostalgic longing for the comics I read in the sixties that coloured my point of view. The movie was lovingly put together with great costume and casting, a reasonable storyline that adhered reasonably closely to the comics (except for Bucky's death) good sense of humour, obligatory guest spot by an aging Stan Lee (this may be his last) and some great song and dance routines (yes - I'm not kidding!).

So if you're looking for some escapism, give the Cap a go. The red,white and blue and big musical sounds of the forties might delight and surprise you too.... and make sure you stick around after the credits. My buddy and I and one other guy were the few in the know that Marvel films always have a teaser for their next production right at the end of the credits and the new avengers film is looking pretty good as well. Seems like super hero movies based on 60s comics are the flavour of the month right now in Holloywood.
Burn brightly, Peter.

So how come No-one wants a Wonder-Woman TV Show?

Brightest Day,....

Every time I see a new trailer, the new Green Lantern movie is looking better and better. If you haven't seen a trailer yet track down the latest version.
Burn brightly, Peter.