By the way, there's a Planet of the Apes comic out, and its really pretty good

In the midst of all this Planet of the Apes movie hullabaloo, I'd be remiss if I did not mention the current Planet of the Apes comic (from Boom!) which saw its second issue released last week. 

I can almost hear the Jerry Goldsmith music in my head

The two names on the cover are Daryl Gregory (writer) and Carlos Magno (artist), and I tip my hat to both.  I'm not overly familiar with either person's work, but both obviously referenced the heck out of the Apes movies, but set the comic in a period not covered in the movie series explicitly.  Doing some math, the suggestion is that this story occurs shortly after the framing sequence of Battle for the Planet of the Apes, or roughly 600 years after the main action in Battle. 

In just two short issues, Gregory has managed to frame his world within the grand scope of the Apes movies, set up multiple characters, the political situation, and reference the transitions occurring that would need to occur for the state of things between (chronologically) Battle and Planet of the Apes.  I'm impressed.

Artist Magno's style fits the material very well, with the rough-hewn world of the Apes and Humans pulling up a new civilization with hints of the old.  His faces are pretty great, and hew well to the style of the Ape makeup from the movies but using the freedom given to him by the pen to get anatmoy up to a grander scale on gorillas, etc...

I confess to some confusion at the... uh... very human anatomy of chimpanzee Alaya, but what I had dismissed as a Ren-Faire style to her dress actually makes quite a bit of sense after watching multiple hours worth of Apes movies.

Anyhow, this can't be a full recommendation as this is only the second issue, but I'm enjoying the series thus far.  Other Apes fans (even non-comic readers) should check it out.  Its a great bit of expansion on the film series and I really like Daryl Gregory's writing.

5 Planet of the Apes Movies in about 9 hours

Well, goodness.

What can you say about the Planet of the Apes Pentilogy that hasn't already been said?

I love these flicks, enough so that in 2001-ish, Target had the original Planet of the Apes for sale on DVD on a big display with the Statue of Liberty and everything, and I caused a pretty serious ruckus in the video department when I re-enacted this scene from the original POTA.



Like Nova, Jamie remained silent.

SO, this morning I arrived at the Alamo Ritz at 9:35 this morning to see Planet of the Apes unspool in glorious 35mm on the big, big screen.  And all of its 4 sequels.

Talking Heads

The video for Burning Down the House was probably the poppiest moment the band Talking Heads ever achieved.  The video got regular play on MTV, became the band's only Top 10 hit, and was where I remember first hearing their music.  The video hit in 1983, which would have made me about 8, and still very excited about whatever showed up on MTV, be it Tina Turner, Billy Idol or the J. Geils Band.

However, I really liked that tune.  Its a pretty darn good rock song, and I don't know if I parse the video now any better than I did 28 years ago, but I did like that there seemed to be something to figure out and I suspected it had something to do with the band members wrestling some inner-something.

We ALSO project David Byrne's face onto the side of our house

But, as a kid I didn't care so much about what the art was trying to say so much as the fact that I liked these people who all dressed in white suits, apparently weren't too worried about glamour or attitude and had a kick-ass blonde on bass.  Even then I thought that was unusual and nifty.

Signal Watch Reads: Action Comics 901

Action Comics 901
Reign of the Doomsdays - Part 7
Writer:  Paul Cornell
Artist (pg: 1-10, 18-20): Kenneth Rocafort
Artist (pg: 11-17):  Jesus Merino
Colorist:  Brad Anderson
Letterer:  Rob Leigh
Associate Editor:  Wil Moss
Editor:  Matt Idleson
 

Cool.

Look, this is a chapter in the multi-multi-part story we started talking about when it was still called Reign of Doomsday.  I didn't like the first several chapters, and I'll stick with my story that the first several chapters could have been done in about 1 issue instead of spread out all over creation.  But with issue #900, DC handed the story to Cornell, and from there this thing has taken off like gangbusters.

It's also very hard to talk about as a complete story as this issue represents more or less a sequence in a much larger story.  Fair warning, I suppose.

NathanC takes it to TV to promote classic film in San Antonio

Let me be clear: I am totally jealous of Nathan's gig as one of the voices of film in San Antonio, Texas. He's been working with the Bijou Theater and using his voice as part of San Antonio's public radio network to bring all kinds of films to The Alamo City for over a decade.

Here's Nathan appearing on local TV to promote the start of the TPR summer cinema series.



I'm heading down there for a picture or two, but I need to square with Jamie and figure out what we're going to go see.  I think Nathan represents my sole San Antonio reader, but if you want to go down there, lemme know.

I have to apologize to Nathan, because his choice to run my review of Santa Buddies may have tarnished his relationship with the Walt Disney Company.  One hopes that hasn't slowed him down too much.

Signal Watch Reads: Supergirl 64

Supergirl #64
"Good Looking Corpse - Finale"
Writer - James Peaty
Artist - Bernard Chang
Colorist - Blond
Letterer - Travis Lanham
Cover - Mahmud Asrar & Guy Major
Associate Editor - Wil Moss
Editor - Matt Idleson

Supergirl is in a bit of flux until the conclusion of Flashpoint the last week of August. After the pretty-terrific run by Sterling Gates, and only a short run post-New Krytpon, the series was to be handed off to current darling of comics, Nick Spencer. However, after one issue (Supergirl #60), Spencer and DC parted ways and the storyline was handed over to James Peaty, while Bernard Chang stayed on with art chores.

Noir Watch: Detour (1945)

I'd read a bit about Detour in Eddie Muller's history of noir, Dark City,a great handbook for growing an appreciation or understanding of noir.  Detour was extremely low-budget, shot in about a week, and shows its rough edges pretty much everywhere in the film.  But after one viewing I can see why folks come back to this movie again and again.  Its not always about the professionalism of the product when you've got story and actors that make it work. 

So, Wonder Woman to be on "Batman Brave and the Bold" (briefly)

Dear lord, its not nearly enough, and I could watch this all day... but Wonder Woman is our partnered-up hero in the opening section of this week's coming Batman: Brave and the Bold on Cartoon Network. 

The main segment is Green Lantern Hal Jordan, which is cool, too, but...  Wonder Woman, ya'll.



See, I haven't seen the Adriane Palicki Wonder Woman, but could it have been anywhere near as much fun as this?  This is a pretty darn good take on the Lynda Carter-infused, retro-40's-60's version of the character.  It's a few degrees away from my George Perez/ Phil Jimenez/ Greg Rucka/ Gail Simone take, but this is pretty great.

By the way, this season's Batman: The Brave and the Bold has been non-stop greatness.  The show was good before, but this year it really came into its own as a fantastic world of DC that's perfect both for kids and adults and just reminds you not just why superheroes are great, but why the DCU is so much fun.

Red Cross is a Good Idea Today

This Spring has seen its fair share of tragedy due to horrendous storms which cost hundreds of lives.  The pictures coming out of Joplin today are every bit as heartbreaking as those from Alabama a few weeks back.  At The Signal Watch we're regular donors to The Red Cross, and we like to encourage you to join us in chipping in a bit more when the need is sudden and great.

You don't have to be from Alabama or Missouri to want to help.  And you don't even need to get up from your computer.  Please visit RedCross.org today and consider a donation.  Its a super sort of thing to do.

10 things I currently like

As I went on and on about things I didn't like in a few recent posts, I thought I'd share a few things that I have enjoyed of late.

1. Game of Thrones - This show got off to a rocky start with an all-exposition pilot, and I wasn't sure I was going to care all that much about a fictional history of a fictional land when there are very real histories to care about.  But it did have a certain je ne sais quoi, and by the end of the 3rd episode, I was in for the full season.  I can't spell anybody's name, or remember half the names, but its still a really well produced show.  And Peter Dinklage's character is my new hero.

2.  Batman Inc.  - Yesterday I read Batman Inc. # 2-5.  There's not a lot of emotional depth to this one that I enjoyed in prior Morrison Batman work, but its a compelling story and epic mystery. I think he does a great job of picking up Rucka's vibe with Batwoman, and I would likely pick up an El Gaucho series all on its own (which...  probably just me on that one, I guess).

3.  Batman Beyond - I did read Adam Beechen and Ryan Benjamin's first few issues in the collection entitled Hush Beyond, and I quite liked it.  I was a big fan of the TV series and straight-to-video movie, and I wasn't tired of the universe that was developed for the show and the JLU cartoon.  Beechen and Benjamin clearly were both familiar with the series, and its a fun read.  Very glad this series is ongoing and they they're giving Superman Beyond a One Shot to see how that goes. 

4.  Treme - I haven't made it through The Wire*, so don't start on me that this isn't as good as The Wire.  Its a damn good show, although parts have gotten a bit cute for my taste this season.  And its a good reminder of what happened and is still happening in our backyard.  Great ensemble cast, amazing ability to weave in culture and music, and it has Khandi Alexander outside of a CSI show that I can watch without feeling my eyes burn.  It is also job #87 or so that Kim Dickens has had in the last few years (JimD is right, Kim Dickens is pretty great).

5.  Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - A co-worker turned me onto this band, and they're much more listenable than  I would have guessed.  I particularly like the cut "I Love Creedence". 

6.  Friday Night Lights - yeah, I know its already been canceled, but I love this damn show.  And its so sad so many people bring their baggage from high school and apply it to missing one of the best shows on network TV.  The one downside is that I'm not sure the show ever got better than its pilot, which was one of the best hours of TV I've ever seen.  Also:  Connie Britton I could watch doing crossword puzzles or delinting sweaters.


7.  American Gods - is pretty good.  I need to just block out some time to finish it.

8.  Edamame - why nobody told me about this stuff before is mindblowing.  You are all on notice for not alerting me to edamame before now.


9.  The ACL Fest Lineup - Go figure, the one year I don't buy a 3-day pass, its a great line-up.  I'm only going Sunday. 

10.  My goofy gym - I love places with goofy names, and that includes my new gym:  Planet Fitness.  It just seems sort of half-baked, like they decided "eh, that's good enough" and called it a day.  Inside, the gym proudly declares itself "The No Judgement Zone" in four foot letters, which isn't a misspelling of "Judgement", but its also not how you see it usually spelled (ie: judgment).  And for that, I JUDGE THEM.  Also, literally everything in the gym is purple, yellow or black.  I can only guess this is seriously screwing up the rods and cones within the eyeballs of the employees.


*park it.  I will watch it eventually.