Getting Caught Up: September 2009

Here comes a series of articles I found online, didn’t find it worth a full post, but certainly worth linking to:

Comics

• Rob Liefield and the Bible just do not mix. I’m sorry, people. They don’t. Then again, maybe the Book of Revelation is up his alley. Except for the happy ending everyone forgets.
• IDW Publishing is announcing a book about the artistic styling of Steve Ditko.
• Comic veterans Danny Fingeroth, Denny O’Neil, Tom DeFalco, Scott Hanna, and Tom Raney appeared at the Brooklyn Book Festival, discussing the state of the comics industry today.
• Comic Book Resources has an exclusive preview of an upcoming comic based on the Die Hard movie franchise.
• DC is bringing back their “80-Page Giant” comics. At least they got something right. Also, there’s a new writer for Teen Titans. Felicia D. Henderson will take over at issue #75, and the solicit claims that it will herald a fresh, new approach to the heroes. Like relaxing on the angst and not killing members off?
• So is there a difference between zombies and the Black Lanterns? DC says yes. I say just barely, and that doesn’t make it any less stupid.
• The awesome folks at X-Ray Studios had their own ideas for a Batman remake prior to Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Their run on the spin-off comic begins hitting the stands this week.
• A look at the Small Press Expo, a “Comic-Con” for the independent comic companies.

Television

• Bleeding Cool‘s Rich Johnson loves Noel Clarke (formerly Mickey in the revamped Doctor Who series, and who can blame him? Here’s Noel reviewing the Catwoman movie, and here’s a look at his next project. Russel T. really should have used him more. Or at all. And I do want to see that movie when it comes out.
• A panel with four people responsible for the sets on the classic Star Trek television show.
• John Hart, who substituted for Clayton Moore on episodes of The Lone Ranger, passed away recently.
• Ed Liu at Toon Zone examines the G.I.Joe opening credits.

Movies

• Why is movie censorship OK for one group but not for another? David Bosse takes a look.
• Edward James Olmos chats with The Hero Complex about the upcoming Green Hornet movie.
• As a connection to the Gojira/Godzilla comparison I did the last couple of week for the Saturday Night Showcase, the classic monster movie is being released on Blu-Ray. Just to be trendy, I would think, since the movie was never shot in HD, and I don’t know what upscaling it will do, if anything at all.
• Why can’t anyone make a good video game movie?

Video Games

• Disney didn’t just move to buy Marvel. Disney Interactive went for video game company Wideload. I’m not sure why. What few games I’ve heard of in this article from Wideload certainly doesn’t impress me.
• Electronic Arts is standing up to what they consider to be a trademark bully.
• Peter Molyneux, one of the biggest names in game development, has no love for demos. Personally, I like them. It lets me know if I want the game or not. Like Batman: Arkham Asylum. And with as tight a budget as I have, that’s a good thing.
• What connection, if any, should video games and politics have? Bitmob examines. (h/t: GamePolitics.com, who also wonders if game developers would make good politicians.)
• Video games being used to combat post-traumatic stress disorder (formerly known as “shell shock”) in Iraqi veterans? If it works, I approve.
• Destructioid’s article title says it all: Keiji Inafune Dumps on Tokyo Game Show 2009. Inafune is the man responsible for Capcom’s Mega Man franchise.
• The Copyright Alliance is seeking the aid of the President and Vice President (does Biden actually do anything but the occasional interview faux pas?) in protecting the rights of game and other media creators.

Music

• Mark McKinnon makes the case against music piracy. As a future creator myself (probably not of music, but I can make the same case for my chosen field), I’m behind him on this.
• And to end things off, here’s a neat video I learned about via Toon Zone.