The Dark Knight

It's not often that a movie leaves me speechless. I think it happened with 'Pan's Labyrinth.' But 'The Dark Knight' just stopped me in my tracks. This isn't simply a comic book movie, or a Batman movie. It falls into the crime and noir genre, but transcends it as well. It's big ideas cloaked in the garb of pop culture. It's art, and if you have a problem with me saying that, too bad.

Much has been made of Heath Ledger's Joker, and for good reason. It's a definitive performance by an actor, consistent and fully developed. Many have said that Jack Nicholson's Joker could never be topped, but instead of outdoing it, Ledger gives us a completely different vision. Nicholson's Joker was a mobster turned eccentric criminal, Ledger's Joker is a force of nature, schizophrenic, without reason or motivation. He brings method to chaos, but never tries to control it.

This is contrasted with Christian Bale's Batman. He plays his character in three ways, Bruce Wayne the smart ass, carefree playboy, Bruce Wayne the determined do gooder, and the raspy voiced Batman (some people hate the voice, I just can't believe Bale can augment his voice without screwing up his vocal chords). To me, the performance is understated, and can be lost when compared to the Joker, who's a swirl of facial ticks, gestures, and quips. But that's the point, Joker is the 'unstoppable force' while the Batman is the 'immovable object.'

Ultimately, I tip my hat to the director Christopher Nolan, and fellow screenwriters Jonathan Nolan and David s. Goyer. They've taken the best aspects of the Batman mythos (most notably Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's 'Batman: The Killing Joke' and Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's 'Batman: The Long Halloween') and swirled them together into a pop masterpiece, filled with twists and turns and puzzles to keep you guessing throughout the film. The fight scenes, a previous weakness in Nolan's films, are better in this, and the cinematography is gorgeous, filled with grayish blues and sickly orange-yellows at night. Nolan also knows when to give the audience moments to cheer and laugh amid the pathos, but in this film they are far between.

'The Dark Knight,' in the end, is a tragedy, and like the best of tragedies, it hurts. No doubt they'll make another Batman film, but this one stands so well on its own merits, that I certainly would not mind if they never ever made another one.

FallCon Sketch Cards

If you're one of the attendees at FallCon this year, you'll be the lucky recipient of an original sketch card! The organizers have asked a slew of artists to each make five sketch cards for the show in October, and these are my contributions. I normally don't draw superheroes, but since this convention is primarily superhero driven, I included a couple drawings of the good ole' Webhead.

T-Shirt Design-Speed Aliens!

This is the first in hopefully many t-shirts that I'm attempting to design, this one featuring the alien characters that you've previously seen posted on this blog. (By the way, I still haven't figured out names for them. Suggestions?) I want to post this on Threadless, but if that falls through, I'll attempt to get the shirts printed myself.

Some Spots

A couple quick spot illustrations I did recently. The top is Sara and her cat Zoe, and the bottom is Toby walking and listening. I normally don't draw them this cartooned, but I think the style really works for the size and subject matter.

Illustration Friday-Hoard

Back to cavemen for Illustration Friday.

Forgotten Camera, Forgotten Planet

So, I realize that I'm extremely far behind with Illustration Friday since this was done for the topic prior to this week's. I'm trying to catch up, but I figure best just to put up something once it's finished.

Reading Comics: Batman-The Long Halloween

So, this will hopefully be the first in a long series where I review/comment on comics that I find to be worthy of note. They won't always be current, but will be works that I think are significant to the medium, and just plain good. First up: Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Batman: The Long Halloween.
Set during the Year One era, the story traces Batman's pursuit of Carmine 'The Roman' Falcone, Gotham City's untouchable crime lord. But amongst this pursuit is a serial killer dubbed 'Holiday,' who strikes on a holiday each month, killing members of either the Falcone family, or their rivals, the Maroni family. And peppered in with this are an assortment of Batman's rogues gallery, from the Joker, Scarecrow, and Riddler, to more obscure villains such as Solomon Grundy and the Calendar Man. Catwoman also plays a prominent role, but Batman (and you, the reader) can never tell whose side she's on.

I originally read the series back when it was serialized in the late '90's, and having read the series subsequent follow-ups (Batman: Dark Victory and Catwoman: When in Rome), I wanted to go back and take a fresh look at the series. My first impression was just how fast of a read it was. Loeb's writing is sharp and to the point, and Sale treats the page as a canvas, including splash pages and double spreads throughout. Is this a weakness? Not necessarily. It gives each issue a structure, with an opening splash page, and then a double spread. It also focuses our attention on the characters, who are drawn with great detail and character. This isn't to say that Sale doesn't give attention to the environment, Gotham has an excellent, retro atmosphere reminiscent of the first animated series, but the characters are the central players in the story.
My second impression from re-reading the series is that it reads well as a monthly serial, but was clearly not designed as a 'graphic novel.' Loeb does an excellent job of bringing the reader up to speed at the beginning of each issue, with narration that makes it clear who the main players are, and where we are in terms of the story. It's a technique that you don't find often in serialized comics nowadays, to the detriment of readers. But if you were to read three or four issues back-to-back, you may begin to find the writing repetitive. My advice? Give some time between chapters/issues. Granted, you'll want to keep reading, cause Loeb and Sale keep you on the edge of your seat.

But the one of the key elements in the story, and one of the things that most intrigued me about the story when I first read it, is Gotham's transition from organized crime to its cadre of psychotic super villains. One of the things that I never understood about Batman was how people like the Joker and the Penguin were equated with crime in the sense that we understand it. Okay, it's a comic and it's a fantasy, but still... their crimes never resembled anything that we would see today. They were extraordinary. But when this story opens, the mob still has control over Gotham city, people like the Scarecrow and Poison Ivy are just distractions from the main threats to Batman and the city. But by the end, the psychotic villains make a claim to take over, aided by one of Batman's former ally's, district attorney Harvey Dent, now Two-Face. It's a story element that the filmmakers of the current Batman films seem to have picked up on. And I have almost no doubt this story by Loeb and Sale has played a part.

The ending reveals the identity of Holiday, and fits in well with the Batman mythos, adding to it and enriching it. But Loeb also throws in a trick, something that you can't help but question, a loose thread that never quite gets tied up. It may infuriate some readers, but in some ways, it's the sign of a good mystery, leaving you guessing even after the end.

Illustration Friday-Wide

Another installment in my caveman comic strips.

Horror Vacui-Final Design

Here's the final image for the 'Summer Night at Horror Vacui' print. It will be a limited edition screen print for the Minneapolis College of Art and Design MFA Print Portfolio. I always have a difficult time matching colors with screen printing, so we'll have to see what the final print looks like.

Wrinkles-Illustration Friday

Little late on this Illustration Friday piece. I stuck with the caveman imagery from my 'Primitive' post, albeit with completely different characters.

'Summer Night at Horror Vacui' Pencils

So, even though I'm done with my MFA Thesis, I still have some unattended business to finish up. Namely, the MCAD MFA Print Portfolio for 2008. The theme is 'Horror Vacui,' and these are the pencils for the screen print I'm doing. The top image will be superimposed on the lower half of the bottom image once the inks are complete, and then a spot color will be fitted in with the final print. Changes, as always, will occur. I'll post progress images as they happen.

Illustration Friday-Primitive

'The Ballad of Toby & Sara'

Well, after months of drawing, inking, printing, and preparation, it's finally here (well, almost). If you're in the Minneapolis area, stop by the SooVac to get a look at the first two issues of 'The Ballad of Toby & Sara.'

'The Ballad of Toby & Sara'
Comic Release Show
Soo Visual Arts Center
2640 Lyndale Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN
April 23-May 11
Reception May 9, 6-9 PM

Lutefisk Sushi Volume C! Premiere May 2!

The premiere of the Cartoonist Conspiracy's Lutefisk Sushi quickly approaches! Mark your calendars for the opening reception on May 2 at Altered Esthetics in Minneapolis. Click on the above image for more details.

Sneak Peek! Lutefisk Sushi Comic!

Here it is! My contribution for the Cartoonists Conspiracy Lutefisk Sushi box set! Have a sneak peek...