Posts Tagged ‘Hulk’
9 items.
Jan27
For the record, I am painted green in today’s strip because I want to be more like The Hulk.
And yes, I am wearing pants.
I didn’t get an opportunity to watch this, the first-ever all-pirate Super Bowl mostly because I have been spending the weekend installing laminate flooring in my kitchen. Most of my spare time has been spent recuperating.
But consider yourself lucky that you got a strip today. I could have very easily sawed off a thumb. I was dealing with circular saws, compound miter saws, even tiny handsaws for three days straight.
This basically makes Cami’s one-liner in the last panel perfectly moot in the real world. I operated power tools, dammit! POWER TOOOOOOOLS!
All things the same, I did get to see the trailers in question… just not during the Super Bowl. All of them I caught on line long before Sunday.
I saw the first few Hulk teaser trailers a while ago and think they’re very well done. The don’t show much of ol’ Jade Jaws, and that’s good. The people involved in this movie know half of the draw is seeing how they put a 8 foot tall green behemoth on the screen.
I’m still pretty amazed that Ang Lee is directing this thing. I mean, this is the same guy who directed Sense and Sensibility. It doesn’t add up.
The latest Daredevil trailer makes the movie look really good, but I’m still afraid Ben Affleck is gonna screw it up. He wouldn’t have been my first choice to play The Man Without Fear. Hell, Matt Damon would be better! But, like I sucker, I go see it.
Terminator 3 looks lamest of the bunch. For some reason, this seems like Ah-nold’s last hurrah as an action hero. I don’t seem him making any more pictures like this.
The plot of Rise of the Machines looks predictably lame. To up the ante, there is an even MORE advanced Terminator coming after John Conner – the T-X. And, of course, it’s a woman. So what do they send back in time to protect him? Another T-800 which, by this point, must be shockingly behind the curve-technology wise. And why are the outsides of these things getting more wrinkled and leathery? Hmmm…
Anyway, that’s it for current stuff. Here’s some gristle to chew on…
Last Friday’s strip got a very strong response. Apparently a lot of you feel just as strongly about Jerry Bruckheimer as I do. But I’m beginning to think it’s less and less the fault of producers like him, but instead, the sweeping gullibility of the American public. Did anyone else see that Darkness Falls was #1 at the box office this weekend? Expect some commentary on that this Wednesday.
Secondly, last Friday I made mention of an e-mail I received from “a certain Carmike Cinema employee” who told me how Kangaroo Jack sold out two showings in his theater. I was mistaken when I thought he wished to remain nameless. That was not the case.
So, credit where credit is due, Adam Douglas is the one who provided me with that heart-stopping statistic. Sorry, Adam.
I guess you could say I’m just trying to put right what once went wrong. Kind of like Dr. Sam Beckett in Quantum Leap…
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I don’t know how long this blog is going to be today because… I’m really tired.
Blah, blah, blah.
I hope the third panel didn’t scare you too badly. If it did, just remember Daddy is only making funny faces!
I have to admit I totally forgot that The Hulk was coming out this weekend. I guess I just haven’t been paying attention to the advertisements that have been bombarding me since March.
“MADISON AVENUE, SMASH!”
All things the same, I’m excited to see the flick. But if I hear one more person complain that the CG Hulk looks fake, I’m going to scream. Odds are, these people aren’t reading the comic books and saying out loud “No way that could ever happen!” It’s fantasy, you MORONS!
Still, I can see where they are coming from. After all, the success or failure of this movie hinges on whether or not you think the 15 foot tall green man on screen is realistically interacting with his environments. Even if the dude blinks funny, it’s gonna yank you right out of the picture.
Personally, I’m already on board just to see the character do all the things in the comic book Lou Ferrigno could never do on the TV show.
Leap 3 miles – “Gotcha covered.” Snag a missle out of mid-flight – “Sure, we’ve got that.” Clap the hands and cause a sonic boom – “What, like I did last Tuesday?”
I also have strong faith that director Ang Lee will find a human element that will really draw us into this world and CARE about the characters. He has skill and I trust in his vision.
Anyway, that’s it for me. More later if I can think of something.
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I just wanted to say that I saw a one-hour behind-the-scenes documentary about The Hulk on the Sci-Fi Channel and I am VERY impressed. Dennis Murin and his team at ILM have outdone themselves with their creation and animation of the title character.
One big revelation: Ang Lee acted out the majority of the Hulk’s movements through a motion-capture suit. According to him, it was easier to perform the scenes himself rather than instruct an actor on his vision.
Don’t try and tell me Steven Speilberg would ever do that!
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Just in case you guys don’t know what those big green fists are that I’m referencing in today’s strip, here’s a link to the acutal product they’re selling to your kids. Just to send the message home, here’s a picture, too.
Man, that kid is scary. Too much sugar in his diet.
Let’s stop for a minute and think about this product. While undoubtably cool, is this the kind of item you want to willing hand over to a TV-addled 10 year-old? It’s not as though they aren’t ALREADY going around punching everything and everyone. Now we need to give them a bigger surface area to hit with and ELECTRONIC SOUNDS?
I envision many sad, sad parents after this weekend.
The Hulk marketing machine seems to be churing at full-tilt. His ugly mug is on everything from my can of Mountain Dew to my stylish birthday party paper plates?
It raises the question “Why the HELL did director Ang Lee allow Universal to market his picture with such wanton abandon?”
Part of the answer may stem in the price tag for the movie. Apparently Universal has sank over $150 million dollars into it plus another $20 million at the last minute to make the Hulk “extra real”. No wonder they’re trying to recoup on their investment.
I don’t think there’s a doubt in anyone’s brain that The Hulk is going to pull in serious green (HA, HA!) this weekend. Whether it can remain for the long haul remains to be seen. Terminator 3 is on the horizion and pitching straight up the middle of Hulk’s audience – geeks who wished they were powerful. If anything, I think it’s a safe bet that it’ll be better than Daredevil There’s no Ben Affleck factor to drag it down!
Still, even though I know the Hulk Hands will be fodder for childhood nostalgia site X-Entertainment in a few years, I really want a pair just so I can sock anyone in the mouth who says the CG Hulk looks fake.
Jared. I know where you live.
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The joke for this comic comes straight out of the conversation we had during Monday’s recording of The Triple Feature movie podcast. It’s my line, though. So no one is getting ripped off. The more I started thinking about these reports about Ray Stevenson’s performance, the more fun I thought I could have with it in comic form. So, there you have it.
Punisher: War Zone comes out this weekend and I guess the third time is the charm? Kind of weird there have been as many Punisher movies as there has been Spider-Man films, don’t you think?
Truthfully, I don’t understand how the first two movies could have failed. The Punisher is a revenge archetype. The only made – what? – a dozen or so Death Wish movies with Charles Bronson, right? Just crib a few plays from them.
I liked Thomas Jane as The Punisher in the last movie, so it’s a shame they couldn’t bring him back. Too bad they decided to transplant Frank Castle to Miami for no good reason in that one. I’m glad they’re bringing things back to New York for Punisher: War Zone. And Ray Stevenson has the look down cold.
I have no doubt in my mind that this movie will by a hyper-violent turd burger. But I’m still psyched to see it because I’m curious how close they can get to doing it right. The teasers and the production photos are on the right track – even if Dominic West as the villain Jigsaw looks stupid. I’m also kind of encouraged by the fact that the most violent, bare-knuckle, no-holds-barred Punisher movie was directed by a woman – Lexi Alexander. Incidentally, she used to be a World Karate and Kickboxing Champion. How bad-ass is that? Her and semi-pro boxer Uwe Boll should have a chat.
So, yeah. Even though the movie will most likely be completely without a plot, over-the-top with a nu-metal, ‘roid rage sensibility… I’m looking forward to it. They’re using a lot of visual references from the comics – Specifically the work of Tim Bradstreet – and they’ve got Wayne Knight as The Punisher’s weapons supplier and intel guy Microchip! If you read any Punisher stories from the 90’s, you know what a great character that guy was.
Anyway, I’ll give you the rundown of the movie next week.
In the meantime, check out this interactive comic book for Punisher: War Zone that the studio – Lionsgate – produced in promotion with the film. The comic establishes the Punisher’s background and the final chapter is a teaser for the film. It’s good, pulpy fun.
That’s it for me! Have a great Wednesday!
Oh… and if you didn’t visit the site yesterday, I posted the strip that was intended to go live on Monday but was delayed due to a broken scanner. Don’t forget to check that out as well!
Thanks!
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Okay, if you’ve been on the internet at all today, you know that the first trailer for The Avengers is tearing thing up.
(Although, oddly, when I tweeted about it without linking to it, several people wrote back “Uh, link?”)
So that’s what this blog post is for. If you haven’t seen the trailer for The Avengers yet, here it is:
INITIAL REACTIONS
Immediately I was impressed that there was an adversarial tone between the individual members of the team. “I don’t play well with others,” Tony Stark quips. “Big man in a suit of armor – take that away and what are you?” Captain America sneers. Oh, and is that Thor taking a flying leap, about to smash Captain America’s shield?
This is all very much in keeping with the comics. The “friendly misunderstandings” that lead to heroes battling each other before banding together to fight the common enemy. Total “Who Would Win in a Fight” geek bad-assery on display here.
Clearly Joss Wheadon is giving Tony Stark all the best lines – at least in the trailer. I hope this is the case throughout the movie. One of the biggest advantages to the Iron Man films was Robert Downey Jr’s motormouth style. With a script by Wheadon, you’ve got the best of both worlds when it comes to words and delivery.
What I really like is how close to the vest they’re keeping Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk. Barely any screen time or dialogue for either of them in this trailer. Everyone else we’ve seen in action in other movies. But these two are the last unknown variables. Expect Marvel to continue to keep fans on a string regarding those two.
What’s you reaction to the trailer? Personally, I think it was perfectly executed and it gives me high hopes for May 2012. Why don’t you leave your comments below. C’mon. You know you wanna…
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If you travel in geek circles, the big news today was that Marvel aired the latest trailer for The Avengers during some… sporting event last night? Football? I don’t keep up on these things.
Let’s focus our attention on what really matters.
This trailer is the extended online edition which is somehow 30 seconds longer than what aired last night without telling us too much more about the movie.
I’d say Marvel is doing a pretty good job of whipping up a nerd frenzy. They’re showing us just enough without giving away too much. With each additional release, they show a little more, but they don’t go overboard. Clearly they know that the Hulk is their ace in the hole and they’ve done a good job obscuring him up to this point.
GeekTyrant did an excellent job of dissecting the trailer and grabbing stills – a few of which I’m going to share here. But you should really check out their article for more details.
Here’s our best look at the Hulk so far.
And because you all know what a huge Iron Man geek I am, here are the two stills that got my heart racing.
Suiting up…
…and would you look at that? I see some additional back thrusters and shoulder-mounted weaponry in that still! Looks like Iron Man got an upgrade!
Yeah, I know, I’m hopeless.
What’s your reaction to this trailer? Leave your comments below!
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You know, it’s funny. When I announced that I was ending Theater Hopper back in January (which feels like a lifetime ago), one of the things I highlighted was how I was finding it difficult to advance my art forward in a way that was not so time-consuming.
Well, I would say this final arc is certainly pushing my art forward, but it is no less time-consuming.
Things were so much easier when all I had to do was come up with a joke and draw a couple of characters facing each other to deliver it. Toss in the occasional visual gag to break things up a little bit and we had a formula for success!
With this last arc, I’m drawing fire, splatter, characters in different costumes – COMPLICATED costumes – and drawing 2 to 4 additional panels per comic. It’s madness!
Maybe there’s some truth about art and suffering. I’m punishing myself a little bit for ending the comic. Or maybe I just want to try to end things as best I can?
Either way, I appreciate everyone’s patience as we head into the last month. July’s pretty much it and then NO MORE THEATER HOPPER! Can you believe it? I can’t.
Actually, I’m not sure I can wrap this up in 4 or 5 more comics. I’d like to produce more, but the way I’m going, that doesn’t look feasible. Am I gonna have to break my August 6 deadline? I might…
I’m embarrassed that I might not hit deadline I set for myself almost 7 months ago. Maybe I should have planned better. But maybe I don’t want to say goodbye just yet, either?
Hell! It’s my comic! I’ll do what I want!
And I have! A theater engulfed in fire? Victor engulfed in rage? What does this mean for Tom, Cami and the rest! Stay tuned, true-believers! You’ll find out soon enough!
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