Weekly Comics Discussion

This week’s shipping
list is a light one for me, now that I’m
switching back to trades. I expect Ultimates 2
#3 only. However, other options include new
issues of Aquaman, Batman,
Green Arrow, JLA, JSA, and
Outsiders from DC, as well as offerings from
Marvel that include Captain America,
Incredible Hulk (which is being written by
Peter David once again), Marvel Knights 4,
Marvel Knights Spider-Man, The
Punisher, and Ultimate X-Men from
Marvel. Marvel’s big push this week is for the first
issue of Young Avengers, which can be
previewed here.

“Fantastic Four” flinches

The film version of Fantastic Four has been pushed back one week until July 8, 2005. Fox claims that this has nothing to do with competition and everything to do with better positioning. Why is it a better position to release your film one week after one of the two highest grossing weekends of the year? (The July 4 weekend was the highest grossing until Star Wars and Spider-Man started coming out on Memorial Day.) Could it be because the loss of general moviegoing traffic is less damaging than coming out two days after the Spielberg/Cruise collaboration of War of the Worlds? I know the conclusions I’ve come to, and they don’t agree with the Fox press releases.

Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian,
or Kevin Smith guests on Degrassi: The Next Generation

No, the Canadian teen soap franchise isn’t exactly SF or fantasy, but Kevin Smith, director of Clerks, Dogma, and other films, and author of many a comic, appears in the next two episodes as himself (Jason Mewes and Alanis Morisette also appear).

I thought this bizarre turn of events would be worth reviewing. Part 2 airs Valentine’s Day.

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The Sirens of Titan

“I have been a soreheaded occupant of a file drawer labeled ‘Science Fiction’… and I would like out, particularly since so many serious critics mistake the drawer for a urinal.”
–Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons

The late Douglas Adams acknowledged that this novel influenced him when he wrote The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that Alan Moore had been reading it when he wrote Watchmen, given the similarity in some of the plot elements (though Watchmen, like HHG, becomes something else entirely).

When I was a teen, I got into Vonnegut’s writing, and have since read everything he’s written. The quality varies, but his best books have become required reading in some circles, and I plan to review five of his best genre novels over the next couple of months.

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Berman Reacts to Enterprise Cancellation

Oh yeah, this guy needs a good smacking.

Berman speaks with Sci-Fi Wire. He just doesn’t get why fans are tuning out. That statement, right there, should be Paramount’s final clue about him. He doesn’t understand the fans. He may never have, he just got lucky with smarter people around (Ron Moore and Ira Steven Behr come to mind).

Maybe his luck’s run out.

(Update 2-7-2005) Even User Friendly has a comment on the subject.

JMS Commentary to be removed from “Crusade”

As some of you may have heard, JMS was more than a little irritated by the DVD release of Crusade. It seems that he had agreed to record a commentary for one of the episodes on the condition that it be left intact, since he planned to tell the fans why the show got cancelled. Well, Warner edited those comments out and left the rest intact. After much conversation, (to quote JMS when I asked him about this via e-mail last December: “We’re talking. Loudly.”) it has been decided that future pressings of Crusade will not include his commentary. The deal was an “all or nothing” type of deal, so they’ve agreed on the “nothing” bit. Existing copies, such as those available here, still have that commentary track. I’ll keep an eye for a new pressing when I’m doing the weekly DVD column, and let you know when the commentary-free
batch is available. I’d suggest getting this version; I’ve listened to the commentary, and even though it’s not complete, it is interesting and informative.