Exfanding Review: Talking With Gods

I've been meaning to write up a quick review about the documentary film, Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods, for a while now. I received a copy of the DVD for Christmas, and I watched it right away, but somehow managed to forget about writing up a review.

And yesterday, while going back and forth between working from home, shoveling, and being awed by the amount of snow that had fallen overnight, I started thinking about Grant Morrison.

And how cool his life up on a hill, in a centuries-old mansion overlooking a lake in Scotland, must be. Sitting in his office, drawing and writing and typing. Madnesses and fantasies and horrors and magicks flowing from his head to his hands and into the completed work.

Grant Morrison doesn't have to shovel snow, I kept thinking.

But, on the off chance that he might someday have to shovel snow, he'd probably be able to overcome such a tedious chore with magick. Which alone makes Grant Morrison way cooler than anyone I know.

But this post is about the film, Talking With Gods, and alas, is not about the hypothetical situation wherein Grant Morrison must shovel snow but instead of exerting himself physically, he uses magick. And the snow vanishes.

Talking With Gods is an inside look at one of comics' most eccentric personalities, and one of its greatest minds.

Creator of mind-bending, and ground-breaking, titles such as The Invisibles, We3, and The Filth, and the complete re-imagining of the classic Silver Age super heroes, the Doom Patrol, and writer of All Star Superman (which is quite possibly the best run in the history of that character), Grant Morrison is on a level in comics reached only by the likes of...well, Alan Moore.

And, possibly with the exception of the great Mr. Moore, Grant Morrison is the comics creator surrounded by the most amount of intrigue and mystery and near-mythical stories of his personal life.

He practices magick and he's done more drugs than The Beatles and he lives in a castle and he's seen the apparition of John Lennon. He's traveled the world, and he's lived in other universes, and he knows the answer to the Great Mystery of Life.

He's also happily married, incredibly witty and funny, and one of the hardest workers in the comics industry.

In Talking With Gods, we see all sides of Morrison. We hear his life's story from the man himself and we learn things about him from friends and associates.

We get an inside look at his creative process--he fills notebooks with ideas and drawings, then he lays out his comics in thumbnail sketches. And we hear firsthand about the avalanche of ideas he brings to creative summits.

If you're a fan of Morrison's work, then this should be on your movie shelf. The filmmakers do a great job in presenting the material, and the high production values lend the film's look the same credibility that the subjects bring to it.

This one gets the Official Exfanding Stamp of Approval, so you know it's good.

-- -- -- --

You can watch the trailer at the film's official website.

Waiting for Wednesday, Volume 3, Issue 2

Well, it looks like we're in for yet another major snowstorm at Exfanding HQ, and if this one's as bad as the last one, I'll be sitting out the Wednesday ritual and opting instead to brave the weather some other day (probably Thursday) and let my comics sit at the store for a while.

Since I'm writing this on Tuesday afternoon and the weather reports keep changing (mostly, I might add, in order to increase the amount of snow we'll likely be assaulted with here on the East Coast), I'm just wondering if stores in this area will even get their shipments of new books today.

And, if they do, will anyone show up to buy them?

Last week (actually, just a couple days ago) when we were hammered with nearly 10 more inches of snow, I got stuck on a major highway...that was closed. While I was on it. Due to several accidents about a mile in front of me, the entire highway was closed, and it didn't re-open for just about 2 hours. While I was on it.

My just-about-1-hour daily commute home turned into a 4-plus-hour nightmare. Fortunately, I made it home in one piece, and I hope the accidents up ahead of me weren't too serious.

And, being that winter only officially started, what, 2 weeks ago, it's probably a good assumption that it'll be a long, snowy next month or three.

Still, we'll all get our comics fix eventually this week, so let's dive in to the new books.

It's not a huge week, but there are a couple of interesting titles hitting stands today, and one in particular that I'd like to talk about.

From Image, issue one of a new series called, Infinite Vacation. I pre-ordered this one after seeing it in Previews, mostly because it looked pretty cool and somewhat because Image books are selling out faster than I can buy them these days.
About that--the whole fast Image sell-out thing, I mean--it's starting to get ridiculous, and frankly, a little scary. And I don't mean to say that it's a bad thing that Image titles are selling out so quickly. That's a great thing for the company, and for smaller press books in general.

Right?

Well, not exactly.

Like the speculator craze that took over the comics industry in the 1990s, today people are buying up multiple copies of Image books and selling them online (and, in some despicable cases, in stores) for well above cover price. Why? Because Image books are by nature I know that several retailers have put limits on the number of these books that a single customer can buy, just to ensure that more people (you know, like the ones who'd like to read the books) have a chance to purchase them.

Now, when I see an Image book that looks even slightly interesting, I order issue one in Previews, knowing that there's a pretty good chance that I'd miss it completely otherwise.

With Infinite Vacation, though, the premise sounds great, and the creators have a proven track record. Writer Nick Spencer (Morning Glories--the first of the new, hot Image books of 2010) is a rising star in the industry, and his books are well-crafted and his knack for dialogue and character development is a major selling point for me.

Here's the solicitation information for issue one:

WELCOME TO THE INFINITE VACATION, WHERE CHANGING YOUR LIFE IS ALWAYS JUST A CLICK AWAY!

Mark lives in a world where alternate realities are up for sale, and buying and trading your way through unlimited variations of yourself is as commonplace as checking your email or updating your status. But when other "hims" start dying suddenly and he meets a mysterious girl who wants nothing to do with "life-changing," he'll learn the truth about the universe he stumbles through, and what happens when your vacation turns on you.

FROM THE WRITER OF THE HIT SERIES MORNING GLORIES AND THE ARTIST OF OLYMPUS!

AN EPIC HIGH CONCEPT SCI-FI LOVE STORY PERFECT FOR FANS OF ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, (500) DAYS OF SUMMER, AND INCEPTION.

See? Told ya it sounded cool. So, if you can get to a store before they're all sold out, take a look and see if it's your kind of thing. With that, I need to be on my way. There's work to be done, and snowstorms to prepare for. But first...what are you Waiting for?

Pleasantly Surprised by Your Failure to Disappoint Me

I'm not sure what happened during that magical transformation into the New Year, but suddenly, every geeky thing I do is enjoyable. By the end of 2010, I had become jaded about all of my favorite specific fandoms (Mega Man, Star Trek, etc.) and disappointed by my broader fandoms (video games and movies, especially). We're barely two weeks into 2011 and there hasn't been a single geek-related thing for me to complain about. And I'm very good at complaining.

As I discussed yesterday, I saw TRON: Legacy--a sequel to a movie that's been acceptably sequel-less for almost three decades--and enjoyed it as much as the original. Two of the three new computer games I've played so far this year are enjoying the prestige of a five-star rating on my Backloggery, an honor enjoyed by less than two dozen of the 500 games on my list. There's honestly not much more to report just yet, but that's an amazingly good start to the year.

Really, that's all I'm here to say. 2011 is off to a good start because I'm genuinely enjoying my fandoms, sans complaints, for the first time in I can't remember how long. Isn't that the way it should be?

TRON vs. TRON: Legacy

So you've seen TRON, Disney's 1982 sci-fi classic. Maybe you've seen TRON: Legacy, the 2010 follow-up; maybe you're hesitant to see it because of Hollywood's nasty habit of sullying the memories you treasured when they resurrect your favorite movies decades later. Either way, the question is the same: How do the two compare?

Though TRON: Legacy is, plot-wise, a sequel, the film itself is in many ways a remake of the original movie, updated for modern audiences. I'm no TRONaholic--I enjoyed the original movie well enough--so diehard fans of the first film should take this with a grain of salt: TRON: Legacy is on par with the original TRON, something that can't be said of many remakes and belated sequels.

TRON is a very dated classic, and TRON: Legacy is a worthy successor that improves on certain parts and doesn't deliver as strongly on others. It's suffient to say that I enjoyed them both about equally. Rather than give you a full-out review, which you can get from plenty of other sources who are more interested in the material, I'd like to compare a few of the elements that are present in both movies.

Retro or modern--who'll come out on top?


-Recognizers-

Seems like as good a place to start as any. I give credit to the original Recognizers for being ominous in their simplicity, and for neatly coming apart in pieces as though they were made of easily disassembled blocks. However, the new Recognizers are sleeker and, more importantly, more obviously functional. The original design always seemed like there was a lot of wasted material under the cockpit, but the new version shows that there's a use for all that excess.

Winner: TRON: Legacy


-Disk Arena-

In both movies, the Disk Arena serves as an introduction to the computer world's games. I like that there's a chance for character development in the original--Flynn doesn't initially realize the gravity of the situation, and the audience learns with the character what this place is all about. The sequel, however, capitalizes on the full action potential of the Light Disks, and wastes no time in doing so. I am easily won over by cool weapon battles and big explosions (or disintegrations), so there's really no contest here.

Winner: TRON: Legacy


-Lightcycles-

The orignal Lightcycle battle was a simple video game concept translated onto film. The sequel updates the visuals, of course, and adds an extra layer of complexity with multiple levels of the playing field, but this time the opponents play dirty. I respect the creativity of, say, whipping out your Light Disk to sneakily take out another racer, but in a way that felt like a corruption of the simple exhilaration of what a lightcycle fight should be (which was probably the point). Both versions are cool, but I think I'd rather stick with all those tricky right angles.

Winner: TRON


-Solar Sailer-

I'm looking at two things here: the Solar Sailer itself, and the things that happen while the characters are on it. In both movies, the vehicle provides a respite for the characters, but there's a gorgeous sky for them to look at in the sequel, while the characters find themselves being chased in the original and need to execute a track switch and a high-speed getaway. Though I'm a sucker for a beautiful sky, the danger User-powered creativity in the first Solar Sailer scene win me over.

Winner: TRON


-Characters-

Though there's some overlap with the characters betwen the two films, there's a fundamental difference between them: TRON has a slew of minor and supporting characters, whereas TRON: Legacy has only a handful of people and programs with names. Not only does the sequel have more time to focus on characterizing the most important players, but it also has anything that was developed in TRON as a starting point. And, frankly, I was more interested in watching the somewhat dynamic characters of the sequel than the basic computer programs and annoyed-at-their-boss-counts-as-characterization humans of the original.

Winner: TRON: Legacy


-Music-

The sequel has a score by Daft Punk that's part Inception, part modern video game with retro sensibilities. I'm pretty sure the original had music.

Winner: TRON: Legacy


-Pacing-

I don't know if this counts as an "element that [is] present in both movies," but the original movie got pretty slow in some parts, mostly because (the way I see it) the film was really more of a chance to show off cool ideas and technology than anything else--if a scene wasn't building up to, showcasing, or cooling down from a snazzy visual feast, then it probably wasn't too interesting.

The sequel has a leg up on the original in this department because, at least on a first viewing, it's interesting to see how things have changed since TRON, even when nothing is blowing up. Plus, there's a lot less time spent watching people get from place to place, which is what slowed down the pace in The Hidden Fortress.

Winner: TRON: Legacy


-Charm-

OK, now I'm officially making up categories. The biggest selling point of the sequel is that it's flashier than the original--its charm is primarily in its dazzling special effects. The original, however, is an exploration of what a video game or the inside of a computer might look like if it were to come to life--its charm is in its creativity.

Yes, the graphics are heavily outdated, but they're true to the technology of the time, and there's something about the honesty and simplicity that helps to make the movie a classic. TRON: Legacy is a good movie because it builds on its source material in a stylish way; TRON is a good movie because it's unique and just plain fun. In an age where every action movie has state-of-the-art visuals, the original film, no matter how dated it may be, has more staying power because of its charm.

Winner: TRON

--

...So there you have it. TRON: Legacy wins, right? Only if the categories above are of equal weight. Charm goes a long way...but not enough to call this any more than a tie.

There's more to compare, and there's plenty to argue about, but these are the things that caught the attention of a guy who almost unprecedentedly enjoyed a movie sequel as much as the original. As someone who can scarcely be considered more than just a casual fan, that's good enough for me.

However, I do admit I missed the tanks. Those were pretty awesome.