Well, not “back” technically. Down in Florida where my family is vacationing….the “getting to” of which via Jetblue was a horror story that I’ll write up in my next blog entry.
Most of my San Diego “news” has already been posted elsewhere. Yes, “X-Factor,” the continuation of “Madrox,” will be starting up in November. Yes, I’ve signed with Pocket books to do two Marvel novels, “Fantastic Four” and “Wolverine.” Yes, I’ll be leaving the Hulk because my work load has effectively quadrupled, although I certainly wouldn’t rule out coming back to it at some point in the near future.
Overall, had a really good time this year. Made a lot of very positive contacts, had meals with a variety of friends including Marv Wolfman, Len Wein, Mike Richardson, Mark Evanier, Maggie Thompson, Paul Dini, Chris Valada and her son (whose name escapes me, sorry, dude.) Attended fun parties including a Stan Lee bash where I met Dallas Cowboy Darian Barnes, who turned out to be a big fan of my work (he let me hold his Superbowl ring while he checked out my 800 Bowling ring, an action that Barbara Kesel opined had a bizarre subtext she didn’t want to dwell on.) Met John Landis and his son, attended the Eisners, participated in panels, actually walked the entire floor of the dealers room, resisted the temptation to drop $250 on a replica of the Shakespeare bust from “Batman”, meeted and greeted many fans including folks on this board (including various lurkers who I urged to participate), and found the time to buy and read the latest Harry Potter book (which I’ll start a thread on once more people have had a chance to read it, so please don’t comment on it here.)
For me, a high point was having the chance to chat with Ray Harryhausen. I asked him what he thought of today’s CGI effects versus the way it was done in his day. He made a really valid point: That he preferred the monsters and such that he produced in his day, because the fact that they weren’t perfect–but only close approximations of human or animal movement–gave them a nightmarish quality that heightened the fear element. But that the computerized images generated now are so perfect, that they’ve taken the fantastic and rendered them mundane. I think he may well be right.
In any event, more abot the Jetblue horror show later. We’re off now to visit with Shana.
PAD
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I read a screenplay for Howling Mad. It wasn’t very good. They wrote it strictly as a comedy, without any horror elements, so it basically turned into Walk Like a Man or something (not that I’ve ever actually seen Walk Like a Man, but it’s the best comparison I could think of).
I read a screenplay for Howling Mad. It wasn’t very good. They wrote it strictly as a comedy, without any horror elements, so it basically turned into Walk Like a Man or something (not that I’ve ever actually seen Walk Like a Man, but it’s the best comparison I could think of).
So… what you’re saying Percy is that one movie you may never see is exactly like another movie…
… that you may never see.
I’m glad to hear that there is still a possibility that you will write other Hulk projects in the future.
I’ve been a diehard fan of stop-motion animation almost my whole life. As a matter of fact, one of the first comic book stories I ever drew was an EC-type story of a stop-motion animator named “Harry Rayhausen,” who, due to the abuse and incessant deadline pressure from his producer “B.C. Degenerate,” finally snaps — with horrific results.
I love stop-motion animation, but since CGI came to its own in films like “Terminator II” and “Jurassic Park,” I’ve come to realize that its days are past. Face it, a Conestoga wagon and a team of horses can certainly get you from Missouri to Oregon, but these days, everyone hops on a plane, drives a car, or takes the train. And so it goes with stop-motion animation, mattes and glass paintings. While such older techniques have resulted in some stunning visuals on film in the past, CGI can do the same thing today even better and faster, with far more flexibility.
And, while I loathed the 1976 remake of the 1933 RKO “King Kong” classic for a lot of reasons (including its overall lame special effects), the CGI visuals I’ve seen to date of Peter Jackson’s inspired 2005 re-re-make are simply stunning!
>CGI can do the same thing today even better and faster, with far more flexibility.
Most importantly, CHEAPER.
And CGI has the further benefit of not having to rely on a certain level of genius to achieve great results. Even in its heyday, stop-motion was only really great when a few select artists employed it. Suffer through THE BEAST FROM HOLLOW MOUNTAIN or THE LOST CONTINENT to see what I mean.
On the other hand, I can’t imagine FIEND WITHOUT A FACE being as good without the utterly creepy stop motion (And since Hollywood is remaking everything else howcome FIEND never gets mentioned? Huh? And you might as well do ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS while you’re at it.
C’mon now, the old school stop-motion style deserves some props, sure. And Tim Burton made stop-motion truly awesome with The Nightmare Before Christmas. But really, Jurassic Park, and countless films since then, managed to help me “suspend disbelief” thanks to the combo of CGI and old school effects, much more than those old Sinbad movies ever did.
I saw the War of the Worlds remake, and enjoyed it, despite the involvement of Mr. Cruise. Do you really think an old school stop-motion version would do so well in the box office in this day and age? Do the fans of that old style out-number the common movie-goers? I doubt it.
CGI can at times be awesome. Stop-motion can at times be awesome. I love them both, but I can appreciate that CGI can do a much better job at entertaining the mass audience than stop-motion. If PJ’s King Kong was stop-motion, it would likely go straight to video. Fortunately it isn’t stop-motion, and I, for one, cannot wait to see a CGI Kong wail on two T-Rex’s at once and hand them their áššëš. Hurray for mammals!
BTW, it’s my first post here ever. I’m a long-time fan of PAD’s work (his gray hulk is my all-time favourite character). I love Fallen Angel upside-down, backwards and sideways. I enjoy reading all the silly arguements you have with each other about politics (at least you’re passionate), and how sometimes this site is basically Troll Food. Just kidding. Or am I? It’s wide open.
Keep on posting, you magnificent bášŧárdš 😉
Marc wrote: “Fortunately it isn’t stop-motion, and I, for one, cannot wait to see a CGI Kong wail on two T-Rex’s at once and hand them their áššëš. Hurray for mammals!”
About the battle with the t-rexes — the teaser Jackson showed at San Diego showed two, while Jackson, as I recall, said in his intro there were going to be three.
Marc,
Welcome to the jungle!
I agree with you–if Jackson had gone with stop-motion I’d be filled with fear, simply because I don’t think anyone can pull it off now and the audience has been trained to expect CGI. But Ray’s point is valid. It’s sort of like the way modern cinematography is vastly superior to 3-strip technicolor in terms of realism…but when one looks at GONE WITH TEH WIND or, for that matter, SUSPIRIA, one’s jaw tends to drop at the unreal beauty of it.
Longtime Lurker here and only my second post. It was great to hear Peter’s interview with my friends out in San Diego. I don’t know if posting a link is cool so I’ll wait for permission to do so. But it was a real pleasure!
well, been on vacation in NJ for a week (visiting the folks)…so haven’t heard any comic news for, well, a week.
first thing I hear is PAD leaving Hulk. I know it’s old news by now, and the bìŧçhìņg has been done, but I just wanted to add my $0.02. I’m not a ‘long time’ comic reader (‘long time’ being a relative term, obviously)…but my fondest comic book reading memories revolve around PAD’s Aquaman and Hulk. Those were always the two books I saved for last, knowing that they’d always leave me with a good feeling about my pile that week.
I’d been out of collecting for about 8 years, having just recently returned. Tried Jones’ Hulk, but wasn’t my cuppa. When I heard PAD was coming back onto the title, I was thrilled. A little like trying to recapture the ‘glory days’ (so much else had changed). The few issues that I got to read didn’t disappoint.
While I’m thrilled to hear that it’s because Peter has too much other work, I’m really disappointed about this. I don’t think I’ll be picking up the title after Peter leaves because ‘the Hulk’ just isn’t the same as ‘Peter David’s Hulk’.
Still looking forward to Lee making her reappearance when Fallen Angel begins anew…will check out FNSM, and will certainly be picking up the new X-Factor.
But I will continue to miss Peter on Hulk and Aquaman. Two characters which, IMO, he uniquely defined and continually surprised and impressed.
I guess, as I found out back here in NJ this week (where I found that one of my old childhood haunts, the Parsonage Diner, had shut down), you can’t go home again 🙁
Well, this is most appropriate here, so…
Just finished reading an article that makes it sound like the Transformers movie could be heading to limbo: no script, Bay may leave the film, and the producers aren’t agreeing on anything.
If that’s the case, is there any chance that the Comic-Con folks, in the future, do not do something so stupid as to allow anybody to take up so much floor space with an 18-wheeler, as was the case with the “life-size” Optimus Prime semi?
It was the dumbest advertising I’ve ever seen, and even more so when there’s no guarantee of a movie.