Why "Criminal" Kicks in the Door & Re-Evaluating Reading Habits

So, albeit two weeks late, my copy of writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips new Criminal mini-series The Last of the Innocent finally arrived. 













With the weight of Incognito: Bad Influences still having me feel like I missed something (at which I will at some point later this year go back and read again), there was a part of me that was slightly hesitant to return to the world of Criminal. However, with my weakness for tough guys, schmoes, dames, and people always in danger ( see my current Coen brothers film fest entries...correlation perhaps??), it was just too hard to say no to another slice of noir-ish peanut butter and chocolate.

While this volume of the series  does have all those attributes mentioned, it is the theme of  never being able to go home again that resonates the hardest in this issue. Much like Teeg Lawless in The Dead and The Dying,  Riley Richards has a heavy sense of hopelessness. With an ill father, woman issues, and an embarrassment of vices which have put him in an uncomfortable spot, Riley is the archetype of a Brubaker protagonist, but it is the physical location of the town Brookview that is the star. Brookview is the image of an America that no longer exists ( as Riley states, " Feels like it's always raining in the city, but of course its sunny here. Hell, I can barely remember a day when it wasn't), with the present slowly corroding the edges.

The present is past, as1982 is the year of this chapter, and the parallels to the combustible Regean-era America is very subtle here through small visual indications ( one in particular is of some punks in the diner at an impromptu reunion). Riley remembers a Brookview that is straight out of an Archie comic, and Sean Philips does an amazing homage by giving us flashbacks in that style. As I am not into spoilers, I wont say anything else about this issue, but it has perhaps one of the finest final scenes and lines in quite some time. Let's hope #2 gets here on time! **Oh, and the final essay by Brubaker in this issue is lovely**

Part of my dwindling coursework ( which should be done for good next spring) deals with studying brain based, or cognitive, learning. In keeping with my insistence on testing the various theories in my coursework, I am starting a new reading regiment. Basically, I am adding more holistic based methods (themes, cognitive mapping), and I will go about breaking up more reading into smaller increments, i.e. one hour of theory, thirty minutes of classical literature, two hours of pdf files, etc. We shall see how it rolls.....

This week, the Coen brothers 2011 fest continues with the most polarizing films of the canon, Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers. After much debate, it was decided that folks should watch these two at some point by Sunday at their leisure, as we are, to a degree, selling the potential of these films short based on memory. [shrugs] Maybe we are wrong, but we are going to find out. Feel free to join in with comments about these films via twitter @jldprod2002 or here at the blog.

Black and White Surprises & Morrison's Superman

Last night our Coen bros. chronological film festival continued with "The Man who Wasn't There". I had only seen the movie once when it had been released on dvd back in 2001-2002, so I was prepared to either be pleasantly surprised or abysmally confounded. In viewing the films in the manner in which we have (chronologically), I have noticed a pattern these artists have of going up and down from film to film with the creative and narrative content of these films, really seeming to follow sensibilities that do tie closely to some aspects of genre but ultimately end in being a hit or miss by choice, not by meddling from others.

So keeping that in mind, I was ready for either awe or disappointment. Which Coen bros. film would show up? Or would it be something completely different? Well, this film is something completely different while maintaining certain narrative trappings that help them to construct these stories. Do we have a shmuck or shmoe who is potentially a patsy but yet is a protagonist? Check. Do we have a everyday, regular life context to spill into the fantastic, giving us a sense of that when life gets shaken up out of our routines that strange shit happens? Check. Is there bribery or reward involved. And check again. So everything is in place- The Schmuck living a regular life who gets involved too deep. Classic.

While this formula continues to work for the Coens, for this film they put a spin on it. By tinkering with the ideas of pop philosophy and psychology centering around the idea of existence (some would say existentialism, some would argue for the gestalt debate) of the post WWII era that began in Barton Fink, the Coens hit stride with the idea that to be an independent thinker is to be alone. While Barton Fink is a one trick pony of a writer who has used up his one idea, Crane the Barber (played by a tremendous Billy Bob Thornton) has been introspectively keeping to himself his whole life, watching and listening to the world. When we meet him, it seems as if it is the right time to move on his impulses that he has forsaken his whole life. These impulses ( taking a chance on opportunity, righting wrongs, etc.) initially seem to betray him when he tries to blackmail his wifes boss/lover and is put in a precarious spot. But even with the mistake of what happen (I'm not into spoilers, sorry) he does try to correct it on a karmic level constantly. But the rest of the world does not seem to understand, and even Crane the Barber seems to struggle with it as well.

"The Man Who Wasn't There" is also a cinematographic black and white wonder. I watched the film in HD via streaming and the picture quality was absolutely breathtaking. Roger Deakins scores for the brothers time and time again as director of photography (having come on board for Barton Fink), and this could very well be considered on level with the wide lens Kubrick-esqe flurishes of his heist film "The Killing". This film demands a re-watch simply to just soak in the lighting and atmosphere that are created. It is also of note that this film continues the Coens playing with film making in technical ways that began with "The Big Lebowski", e.g. how the camera moves, framing, subtle digital effects and of course lighting. Each film since Lebowski up to this point have had little tweeks in those areas. With this, the 9th film of the canon, the Coens are still taking chances, and it is very much worth the ride. Feel free to watch the film and tweet me about it @jldprod2002 or just comment here at the blog.

In a previous post this week I talked about the DC comics re-boot and my reactions to it. Yesterday, DC revealed the final four new titles centering around Superman. The biggest of those announcements was that comic scribe superstar Grant Morrison, whom many consider to have already written one of the greatest Superman stories ever (All-Star Superman), and has kept the Batman franchise vital in the last decade, would be writing for the grand daddy original flagship- Action Comics #1. This announcement puts fanboys and girls in the precarious position of having a very large question finally answered- Can Morrison work magic on someone like Superman like he has on Batman? All-Star allowed Morrison to work outside of continuity to create a unique and loving space, but here he will be presented with a launching that we will for now assume have continuity placed upon it.

Action Comics #1(probably not final art)

But lets pause here for a moment. The previous statement about continuity is an assumption, and one of many this week not only by me but by others. What if DC is not that concerned with continuity any more? What if this is the beginning of some really great isolated stories that many fans have called for over the years after suffering supposed "event fatigue" and convoluted re-boots? This is the most interesting thing about what DC is doing--we have no idea how this is going to roll. And to this comics fan, that is a very exciting prospect.

So will Morrison work on Superman? It will take three to four issues, but by the end of the year we shall see.

Next week, we have a double feature planned for the Coen- fest 2011 with "Intolerable Cruelty" and "The LadyKillers", two films that are sure to be perplexing and polarizing. I will tweet the times for these films on Friday and Saturday, and should have commentary on the blog on Sunday barring injury.

Its All About The Story

Note: There have already been an overwhelming response to the DC comics announcement online...this is but another small one from someone who loves those books :)

I love a good story. Its why I love teaching English literature and reading strategies. My favorite types of stories, however, occur in monthly comics. Now I love a good Pynchon post-modern story, or an investigation of the human foibles constructed by a Hawthorne or Twain. But when a mix of incredible art work with a riveting story occurs in between the pages of that floppy, glossy folio, a child like excitement comes over to me to such a degree that I literally regress to that young boy who picked up his first comic, a Batman: Annual, on the rack of the Piggly Wiggly in my small southern hometown while hanging under the skirt of my mother as she waited patiently in the checkout line. Those beautiful books are magic--pure, simple, engrossing magic.

And those stories, the ones inside those magic books, have followed me to now. I'm older, a tad wiser, but still in love with those great stories. My own passions in life have led me to explore the art of stories: what are they, what do they mean to us, what allows them to ruffle our emotions? I am fortunate to be able to have conversations with a diverse body of persons both young and old, educated or full of imagination (or both), about the relational/contextual aspects of narratives to the individual. The stories that we love to a certain degree love us back because we share a living textual experience with them. Its a relationship; perhaps even a marriage of sorts.

So its understandable that from time to time our favorite stories need to go through a change. Society changes, we change--nothing is static forever, nor should it be.  This change is upsetting, like being in an intense relationship and then it suddenly ending because one realizes something has to give because growth is needed. While we may not connect again with those same stories and characters because you can never really go back again, change is an exciting time. And after a little while being enmeshed in that change, you reflect on that time and think about the good times-- the ones that made you happy, or sad, or elicited some type of emotion and made you call a friend and say "Did you read this?!?!". Its a great feeling. And it will continue.

So as DC comics makes massive changes its fine to be angry. Good. That is natural. You are angry that something that you love is changing and you are still the same person. Its not you, its them. But that is fine too. Love the memories and the special stories that now exist because you went through that period in your life. But also be able to embrace the new and move on. Your own development and change is just as important. But fear not boys and girls, you can always open your closet, or look on your bookshelf, or open up your comics app (wow, technology is really cool!) and visit those memories anytime you want. Those stories will still be there, and the new ones will be waiting for you to at least give them a chance. And that really makes me smile.

Because It Was Bound To Happen Some Time

Let me explain something about small town life in the bible belt of the southeastern United States. It is a very, well, um, conservative place, populated by god fearing folks who work hard and want to raise families and do the best they can sometimes, even if that entails being close minded and only open to  societal norms. While I have always been a fish out of water being raised here, and surrounded by a few  scant friends of like-mindedness, I always gravitated towards music and the arts to keep me optimistic. But alas, to be exposed to art one had to always travel out of town, at a minimum a little over an hour by interstate, although the real interesting stuff always was at least three hours away in either direction ( Mobile to the south; Memphis to the northwest; Nashville to the North; Atlanta to the East). Concert attendance required massive planning, money, reliable transport and always at least three friends to split costs.

So when my hometown announced they were building an outdoor venue to hosts concerts and events a few years ago, I was skeptical. I was sure the best I could hope for was pop country acts and revival tours with the likes of The Temptations featuring the one last remaining temptation--just real depressing shit. And so far, in its first season, that has been true (pop country act wise).

But today there was light. Today the paper confirmed one of my favorite bands of the last decade, an influential band, was coming to my hometown to play a show in August. No road trip necessary, no hotel accommodations, no parking headache-- nothing required but me driving about ten minutes from my house to the show. While it may be an anomaly, it is an anomaly I will take and always appreciate. Here is hoping to more pleasant surprises.

Taking a Deep Breath

I have for some reason in the last few weeks begun to feel really stressed out. In order to combat this I have tried changing my diet, adding an extra hour to my workouts, ceasing certain activities, increasing others. Basically, I have been testing through variables to isolate whatever has crept into my subconsciousness and decided to derail the train that had been running so smoothly.

I'm afraid, however, it would be somewhat delusional on my part to say that the train itself wasn't breaking down internally. As I have been poking and proding myself both physically and mentally the stress fractures have become fairly clear. Years of self-abuse have caught up to a man in his mid thirties. I have worked hard to get myself into the best mental and physical shape possible to deal with the doctoral track meet that is my working life for over two years now, but I fear the bad behavior I submitted my body to for over a decade is, in a cliched way, coming back to haunt me. This does not deter me from keeping the better habits I have acquired in the last few years, e.g. running, not smoking, nutritional standards, lots of water, etc.; but something is chemically not right upstairs.

Brain-based education is a field in my discipline that examines the neurological, physiological, and psychological aspects of how and why we learn. While epistemology is a main focus for me in this area, our discussion ( I am taking a class in BBE) of the need for chemical balance in the brain alerted me to the possible problems I am feeling. The dance of the chemicals inside our head is delicate, and I believe that when I have kept it in a massive imbalance, it has not seemed apparent that there was a problem. It is in righting the ship and trying to get back to a fair balance that the funkiness is perhaps occurring, a sort of the closer to neutral I get the more awful I feel because it is not the norm I established for my little special chemical processes. Thinking about this frankly scares the shit out of me. But it is what it is. I have to deal with it.

Why Memory Can Fail You

Memory is a strange and wonderful thing especially in regards to how one places sentimental attachment to the context, environment or even people that you experience an event with ( Avatar people pay attention!). Films and television are especially a strange ground for memory for the simple fact that we have such strong ties to these stories we experience either individually or communally.

So last night we watched "O Brother Where Art Thou?"in our Coen bros. chronology fest, and based on chronology it was by far the worst film the Coens had made up to that point ( I believe it was made in 2000). This was a surprise to me and the few others who joined in ( shame if you did not) because the main conversation that was had afterwards was how much we had all liked the film years ago or upon the first time we saw it at the movies. So what happened?......

The film has a quite heavy, bloated, and dogged middle, help up by a less than dynamic first and last acts. This is compounded by the fact that this is an attempted musical, and note that I said an attempted musical. The strung together musical adventure, touched on in Lebowski in a more hallucinogenic and episodic nature (to a much greater effect), was something that the Coens seemed to be working towards for quite some time, as they had grown more sophisticated with the integration of existing music into film as a type of added layer to the existing narrative, both through sight and sound.

So, we all liked this film originally. Why? It would seem we were seduced by the bluegrass. Having had little exposure to it at that time, I can safely say in reflection that indeed, yes, the soundtrack was fresh enough at the time of first viewing to cloud my better film judgement, which apparently was the consensus amongst most. I mean, bluegrass...who knew ( and I am from the south!).

(SIGH) So "O Brother" is a fail. A big cinematographic beautifully lit yet poorly structured fail. Proceed with caution on your viewing. Up next weekend, we move on to "The Man Who Wasn't There". Feel free to join the fun by giving me a tweet @jldprod2002 or here at the blog.

Adventures in the geek-o-blog-a tweet-averse

May felt very, very long. Granted we (as in this community and state) started the month having survived an epic natural disaster, so thing did not exactly get off to a great start. I'm still sorting my feelings out, as every time I travel into town I am still shocked to find things that are not there that my brain was conditioned to see. Time, time, time--it will just take time. But I am not mentioning this in a dark way, or even a depressed way, its just that I feel like it is good to mention and discuss that it happened because sometimes denial hinders recovery.

Over on the more comfy geeky side of my brain, DC comics announced a huge re-launch of its entire universe come August 31st  http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2011/06/01/a-note-from-the-dc-comics-co-publishers-we-hate-secrets/ and has basically sent the geek-o-blog-a tweet-averse on fire with something akin to a negative bloodlust. (SIGH). And I hate that negative ranting. Yes, opinion is the right of the individual, I appreciate  a good opinion. But there are people (and people who write blogs and articles) who do nothing but discuss the negatives of a medium that only looks to entertain and perhaps make someone's week a little more tolerable. I know comics have along way to go with representations of diversity, image, and equality, but they will get there as the writers, artists, and editors continue to learn more about how to go about doing it. When you rush to diversify without understanding what that entails, thats when stereotypes and other horrific slaps in the face happen to various cultures and groups.

Its the weekend, so its time for the Coen Bros. chronological film festival to continue! This weekend, its "O Brother, Where Art Thou?". So if you have some Wash kin to get together with, gather up and feel free to post your comments to me on twtter @jldprod2002 or just in the comments section of this here bloggin place. My thoughts on the film will be posted soon, probably along with some other non-sensical rants of some type.