Summer of the Sequel

More often than not, I am going to remain faithful to the idea of writing about comic books, the hobby of collecting, etc. Every now and then, however, I'm going to pop out on a little side trip to movie land...there's enough related between the genres (especially with the number of adaptations that have been spit out by Hollywood recently).

I did some research recently, and it appears that the movie mill is scheduled to spit out 42 sequels this year. Some will go direct to video (as I suspect Goonies 2 and an Arnold-less True Lies 2 are slated for that fate), others will hit the cinema, as some already have to great expectation and fanfare. There is a certain fan annoyance factor that comes with this sort of thing (the old question of "can Hollywood do anything original?"), but I have to admit that it's smart marketing on the part of the producers. By going sequel, you know there's a built in audience waiting to create an emotional connection with characters they connected with in the first film (28 Weeks Later notwithstanding).

In an effort to feed our unending appetites that demand more, bigger, louder, Hollywood and points abroad have given the fanboy in all of us the following seventeen films that the comic-book/fantasy/horror/sci-fi crowd is likely to take a gander at, some of which even have comic book or video game ties...

28 Weeks Later, the follow up to 28 Days Later
AVP 2, sequel to Aliens v. Predator, originally explored in Dark Horse comics
The Bourne Ultimatum, the third adaptation of the Robert Ludlum trilogy
Day Watch, the sequel to the Russian vampire film Night Watch
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, from the trailers, appears to be an adaptation of the Galactus story from the 1960's that first introduces the Surfer (however, there is no mention of Galactus on IMDB...so, who knows?)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Hostel: Part 2
Jeepers Creepers 3 (I'm guessing this one is going straight to video)
Live Free or Die Hard
National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets
Oceans 13, kind of impressive - two sequels out of a remake of a Sinatra film
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Resident Evil: Extinction
Saw IV
Shreck the Third
Spiderman 3
Wolverine (a prequel featuring the X-Men fav, true believers...sorry, had to get my Stan Lee reference in, also likely to spill into next year rather than this one).

This doesn't take into account other sequels slated to go into production, such as the next Harry Potter, the next Sin City, and even the Batman sequel that's currently being shot. For those of you looking for something original...don't look to Hollywood. Hell, even most of the comic books out there are derivative...and I still enjoy 'em.

Enjoy the cinema ladies and gents, looks like this summer it's gonna be a familiar place to be.

A quick note on FF: Rise of the Silver Surfer

I don't know yet whether or not I will go to see this film. I have only seen parts of the first Fantastic Four film and didn't think a whole lot of what I saw. I am, however a Silver Surfer geek. I have several issues of of the original series published in the 1960's as well as a number of the one-shot specials, etc. (although the series that was published during the 1990's wasn't nearly as well done as the original, so I have only a limited number of those issues).

All that aside, I wanted to mention that I feel that the Surfer looks good in the previews (I'm not saying anything about the movie, just the Surfer's appearance), and it's interesting to note that Doug Jones is playing the Marvel standby.

For those of you comic geeks who are unfamiliar with Jones, trust me, you have seen him before. Jones is a veteran of the comic book film adaptation game having appeared in Batman Returns (1992), Tank Girl (1995), Mystery Men (1999), The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000), Men In Black II (2002), Hellboy (2004), and the upcoming Hellboy II (2008), not to mention other fantasy favorites such as the Hush episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as one of the Gentlemen, and as both Pan and the Pale Man in Pan's Labyrinth.

You may not recognize Jones as he is often in monster make-up (in Hellboy he played Abe Sapien).

Musing on why Sean Connery is an idiot...

Don't get me wrong...I have enjoyed many a Sean Connery film, but the man is indeed an idiot.

Connery was Peter Jackson's first choice to play Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings. Connery turned down the role, in spite of a very sweet deal that included a percentage of the movie's profits because he, and I am paraphrasing, just didn't get it. He has reiterated that position after seeing the movie.

So...to put it in perspective, Sean "Zardoz" Connery turned down LOTR and instead did The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Idiot.

That link to the right...

For Comic Collector Live takes you to free software with which to catalog your collection. Currently the free version that is available is a beta testing version and it's not bad. It needs work, but not bad. As far as free software goes, I would recommend it. For the most part it is easy to use and it allows me to track my purchases.

I have cataloged somewhere between a quarter and a third of my entire collection (I'm guessing), which currently has me at just under 800 books, and here are the issues I have come across -

What's in the database -

• Occassional missing titles (rare).
• Some titles not completely updates (rare).
• Occassional variation in the cover title v. the database title (rare).

How the database works -

• You can only sort on issue number within the data entry interface.
• It does not link to a price-guide, so it is up to the owner to update collector worth - not a bad thing, as it also forces the owner to grade the comic book. Still, I can't deny that it would be nice to have the automatic update.
• There are currently only two reports that coalate any sort of data from the database - a summary that outlines cover value, price paid, and resale value (if you grade and update the comics in your database), and an overall report that provides title, price paid, grade, etc.
• Unfortunately, you cannot currently sort by grade or price. Hopefully that will be dealt with in the next version.
  
• Based on some studies of CGC rated comics I have come across, the rating software, which asks 12 questions, is a tougher grader than the guys at CGC - nothing wrong with that either as it is better to err on the side of caution when grading, than to overestimate a book's worth.

In spite of many of the issues, it has been nice to be able to catalog my books. I recently finished grading most of my Silver Age and early Bronze Age comics (I still have to catalog my Vampirella's) and it was very illuminating (especially since I look for the cheapies, and some of the books I paid $2.00 for could be worth $50.00 or $60.00).

Like I said, the database software is not without problems, but I have found it to be useful and I do recommend the program for anyone who doesn't want to spend gobs of money on some of the other software out there. Also, looking for an online price guide? I have a link to the right.

Vilkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome

As the writer who brought you sports rants in www.theangryfan.blogspot.com and Western Maryland arts and entertainment in www.wi-fred.blogspot.com, I have decided that it's time to add another writing venture to my little part of the blogosphere - so I present to you the Gibbering Idiot Press. Here I will be writing about comic books and all things related to that old pulp genre.

Sometimes there will be rants about histories, characters, movie adaptations, etc. From time to time I hope to have guest writers provide their views.

As for me, a little background -
I have been collecting for over 20 years.
I briefly worked for a comic book shop in Hampton, VA in 1993, mostly handling the convention circuit for the owner.
I have a thing for Silver Age/early Bronze Age comics.
I have a thing for movies adapted from comics...although I wish more of them were done better.