Modern Mythology

Artist-writer Batton Lash signs the Simpsons crossover poster made up from the cover art of the three-part series. 

Dozens of Simpsons fans coursed through the aisles of Metropolis Comics (16509 Bellflower Blvd.) Wednesday July 1 to purchase the latest comics and meet the creators behind the pages.

Artist-writer Batton Lash (creator of "Supernatural Law"), Bongo Comics honcho Bill Morrison and artist Tone Rodriguez, creators of the "Simpsons Crossover Event" comic books, had their ink-stained hands full with signing individual issues, posters and sketching for fans.

The crossover storyline ran in Simpsons Comics, Bart Simpson and Simpsons Super Spectacular. The series was written by Lash with art by Rodriguez and edited by Morrison. The story features many of the familiar Simpsons characters along with their favorite superhero, Radioactive Man.

Having a story line in a comic series crossover with other books isn't unusual -- in fact, it's a common practice of the larger comic companies like Marvel Comics and DC Comics. Most of you regular Modern Mythology readers are well-acquainted with semi-recent crossovers like DC Comics' Final Crisis and Marvel Comics' Secret Invasion.

What happened only once in a while many moons ago is now de rigeur for the big two, with new major events happening several times per year throughout several comics titles.

But that's the joke behind having a major crossover with the Simpsons, says Lash's wife Jackie Estrada, who explained that Lash, Rodriguez and Morrison offer this crossover with a nudge and wink to the fans.

Lash was particularly busy signing posters and taking requests for sketches -- even if it was for characters he didn't regularly draw himself. Speaking of Lash's characters; on the signing table beside his latest Simpsons work were collected and single issue editions of his series "Supernatural Law."

The humor and horror premise of Law follows the adventures of attorneys Alanna Wolff and Jeff Byrd who represent the "creatures of the night."

The comic series was created 15 years ago from characters that had previously been published in The National Law Journal and The Brooklyn Paper. "Supernatural Law" is still published as a printed comic but it also has a following online, says Lash.

To read the "Supernatural Law" Web comic and learn more about the work of Batton Lash visit exhibitapress.com.

Check your local comics retailer for copies of the Simpsons crossover issues.

The folks at Metropolis Comics told me the Simpsons signing was a success and promised to keep us in the loop for any upcoming store appearances.

Editor (and busy artist) Bill Morrison (left) and artist Tone Rodriguez sketch for Simpsons Comics fans. 

Related post:

Simpsons crossover event at Metropolis Comics

It's round two for Anime Expo 2009 at Los Angeles Convention Center July 2nd- 5th. This will be the second year that AX has been at the LACC, and the convention is growing bigger each year. All the ingredients that make AX one of the biggest conventions of it's kind world-wide have returned including: concerts, industry panels and of course, cosplaying.

AX is hosted by the non-profit Society for Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) and whose current mission statement is: "to popularize and educate the American public about anime and manga, as well as provide a forum to facilitate communication between professionals and fans."

Since the SPJA took over in 1992 Anime Expo has grown each year and hopes to continue to grow in 2009. Last year's attendance was up 5 percent from 2007, with the convention bringing in 43,000 attendees. This year attendees have a lot to get excited for. Main events include a concert by all-girl band Morning Musume, and AX Idol.

Morning Musume's story began in 1997 when Japanese producer Tsunku held auditions for a female rock vocalist for his band SHARAN Q held on the Japanese TV show ASAYAN. With the five runner-ups from the contest, Tsunku decided to create an all-girl group that sold 50,000 copies of their demo CD single "Seed of Love" and became MORNING MUSUME. While switching members in and out for the past 11 years Morning Musume has emerged as the top female band in Japan.

AX Idol is another fan favorite in which contestants enter the singing or voice acting competitions. The singing competition works similar to American Idol in which contestants sing tunes from anime and get critiqued by the judges, and the winner gets to record an album. The voice acting competition is a little more unique and has the contestants dub over part of a Japanese anime in English with the winner gettting a contract with Bang Zoom Entertainment to voice act.


Last year attendees were waiting to see if the L.A. Convention Center would be a great place to hold AX. All the rumors of the area not being safe turned out to be false. That area of downtown next to Staples Center, LACC, and the Nokia Theatre has great lighting, and is within walking distance of all the hotels. A walk back to your hotel even at 2 a.m. doesn't feel dangerous. The most dangerous thing that I saw last year was everybody jay-walking across Chick Hearn Court from Nokia Theatre back to the LACC after a main event was over.

Sadly the Nokia Center will not be used this year. The official AX statement is, "Due to evaluation of 2008 usage, and planned programming for 2009, Anime Expo® will not be utilizing Nokia Theatre for main events in 2009. All major events including Opening/Closing Ceremonies, Concerts, Masquerade, AX Idol and AMV¹s will be held within the Los Angeles Convention Center." This is an interesting move with attendance always increasing, and the Nokia Center packed last year, but during these economic times I assume it was too expensive to rent out this year.

Anime Expo 2009 kicks off this Wednesday, and we'll have any ground-breaking news that comes out of the industry panels, and main events. So if you're in L.A., and you love anime, manga, or video games be sure to stop by North America's largest anime convention during the July 4th weekend.

For more information regarding Anime Expo 2009 check out the official site at
www.anime-expo.org.

Johnathan English of Oxnard, Calif., the first customer in line for a first-look midnight screening of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," dons an Optimus Prime mask as he waits with fellow "Transformers" fans at Universal Citywalk AMC Cinemas in Los Angeles, Tuesday, June 23, 2009. The film opens nationwide on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

DAVID GERMAIN,
AP Movie Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Alien robots have transformed into box-office superstars with $200 million in domestic ticket sales in just five days.

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" took in $112 million in the sequel's first weekend and $201.2 million since opening Wednesday, according to Sunday estimates from Paramount, which is distributing the DreamWorks movie.

It was well on the way to becoming the year's top-grossing movie.

That was a few million dollars higher than other studios were expecting for the movie, and the figures could change a bit when final numbers are released Monday.

Still, it was a colossal start for the "Transformers" sequel, whose opening five days amounted to nearly two-thirds of the $319 million domestic total the franchise's first movie did over its entire run in 2007.

Now playing in almost every other country except India, the movie added $185.8 million overseas, for a worldwide total of $387 million. That's well over half the $708 million global total for the first "Transformers."

That first movie began with a $70.5 million weekend. Based on how well the sequel has done, "Revenge of the Fallen" could join the handful of movies that have topped the $400 million mark domestically.

"I'd say given the momentum it has, it's got a real shot," said Rob Moore, vice chairman at Paramount.

Photos by Peter Kramer and Dan Steinberg / Associated Press

MICHAEL KUCHWARA
AP Drama Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Alan Cumming and Evan Rachel Wood have joined the cast of "Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark," the upcoming Broadway musical about the famous web-slinger.

Wood will portray Peter Parker's girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson, while Cumming takes on the role of Norman Osborn, also known as the villainous Green Goblin.

The musical, directed by Julie Taymor, begins preview performances Feb. 25, 2010, at the Hilton Theatre.

An opening date will be announced later -- as will the actor who will play Spider-Man.

"Spider-Man" will feature a score by Bono and The Edge of U2.

Taymor was the creative force behind "The Lion King," Disney's long-running musical, now in its second decade on Broadway. She will co-write the "Spider-Man" book with Glen Berger.

Taymor worked with Wood on the film "Across the Universe" and with Cumming on "The Tempest" and "Titus," both screen adaptations of Shakespeare plays.

"Evan is unique: she is a young actress with incredible depth for both serious and comic drama in films and theater, and on top of that, she has an extraordinary lyrical voice," Taymor said. As for Cumming, the director added: "He has such range and such charisma as a performer that I feel his Green Goblin will bring many surprises that will move and entertain us."

The story for the musical was inspired by the Marvel comic books hero -- who's also inspired three hit movies -- and will include the story of his origins as well as new material.

Other members of the show's production team include set designer George Tsypin, who did the sets for "The Little Mermaid" on Broadway; costume designer Eiko Ishioka; lighting designer Donald Holder of "The Lion King" and sound designer Jonathan Deans who has worked for Cirque du Soleil.

A visitor aims a "nerf dart" gun at a Transformer figure at BotCon 2009, the official Transformers convention, marking the 25th anniversary of the Transformer phenomenon in Pasadena, Calif., Friday, May 29, 2009. The show precedes the opening next week of the Transformers movie, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." BotCon runs through Sunday, May 31, at the Pasadena Convention Center. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)


Note: "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" broke the Wednesday opening box office record earning $60.6 million beating former record holder "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" which earned more than $44 million when it opened in 2007 (via Box Office Mojo).

DAVID GERMAIN
AP Movie Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," opening Wednesday, and "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," coming in mid-July, are this year's surefire Hollywood blockbusters.

Last year's smash hit, "The Dark Knight," was the biggest box-office behemoth in more than a decade.

If history holds true, the combination of "Transformers" and "Harry Potter" should more than match the whopping $533.3 million haul of last year's "The Dark Knight" and keep the movie business on track to beat last year's summer record revenue of $4.2 billion.

While ticket sales have been brisk this season, Hollywood fell into a bit of a slump this month, when receipts three weekends in a row fell short of business over the same periods last year.

Metropolis Comics in Bellflower will host a signing event to celebrate the comic book crossover of Simpsons Comics, Bart Simpson and Simpsons Super Spectacular next Wednesday July 1.

The final issue in the crossover story is released that Wednesday and customers can snag all three issues and get their copies signed.

Artist-writer Batton Lash ("Supernatural Law"), artist Tone Rodriguez and Bongo Comics honcho Bill Morrison will be on hand to sign copies of the Simpson crossover issues and do sketches from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

...And I should mention that there will be donuts with your Simpsons comics purchase.


Metropolis Comics is located at 16509 Bellflower Blvd., Bellflower, CA. For more information call (562) 263-0277.

 

 

  

By Ryan Riley, Contributor

Pulp Fiction (the bookstore, not the Tarantino film) is closing the doors of its location at Lakewood & Carson on Saturday, June 27, 2009, and will be moving into a new, larger location at 1742 Clark Av. (near Atherton St.). The new storefront will be open for business on Wednesday, July 1, 2009, just in time for new comic book day.

It was about five years ago that Mike Lerner opened up Pulp Fiction bookstore near Long Beach City College. The store was smaller and more streamlined than what was typical for comic book stores in the area, like Amazing Comics and the now-defunct 5-Star Comics owned by Rob Van Dam. Due to the size constraints of the store, Lerner adopted a leaner business model that focused more on stocking new comics, graphic novels & manga along with a limited number of higher-end comic book back issues. It's a business model that has since been adopted out of necessity by many of the larger comic book stores because of the dwindling returns from direct back-issue sales.

I was curious about Pulp Fiction when it first popped up, especially since it was giving LBC locals an alternative to the juggernaut that was Amazing Comics. But my wife developed a taste for the Chinese food at LV Seafood and loved to shop at Nused Books, both of which were across the street on Norse Way. Because of that, I would wander over to PF to look for comics while my wife shopped for paperback novels on the cheap, and I got to know Mike rather well during that time. It was happenstance that brought me there, but it was the discounted graphic novels (I had long since abandoned purchasing single issues of comics) and Mike's laid back-yet-knowledgeable demeanor that kept me coming back long after my wife stopped eating at LV Seafood (she became a vegetarian).

It will be interesting to see how Pulp Fiction will evolve now that it will boast more in-store space (and more storage space). It should make for a more comfortable environment to conduct in-store signings, if nothing else. If future book signings are anything like last February's, when Zeb Wells & Todd Nauck were signing the Spider-Man comic with the Obama appearance, then the extra space will come in handy indeed!

Fans who don't make it to San Diego for Comic-Con International already know plenty of ways to keep up on the announcements, creator interviews and celebrity appearances via the web.

How about those fans who want to see it live on their TV? 

In what is being dubbed a Comic Con first, fan-fave channel G4 and Lucasfilm will air The Star Wars Spectacular! Saturday July 25 at 2 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on G4.  Hosts Olivia Munn and Kevin Pereira will guide the coverage.

I have not taken advantage of G4 in the past when it comes to the Comic-Con and I am blown away by the amount of coverage this event is getting across all media.

Speaking of coverage, Modern Mythology will be at the San Diego Comic-Con.  It's our inaugural Con coverage as a blog (I went last year and video profiled a local writer-artist for the Press-Telegram). I'll drop more details in the near future.

No, Olivia Munn (above) will not be helping me -- Darn it.


Image by Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images

US film director and executive producer Michael Bay, right, US actress Megan Fox, center, and US actor Shia Labeouf, left, arrive for the German premiere of their movie 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen', in Berlin, Germany, on Sunday, June 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Maya Hitij)

CHRISTY LEMIRE
AP Movie Critic

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A joyless cacophony, an insistent and seemingly endless onslaught, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," director Michael Bay's follow-up to the 2007 smash "Transformers" plays more like a parody of a Bay movie.

You name it, it gets shot up, blown up or otherwise obliterated in a massive fiery ball, from suburban homes and cars to aircraft carriers and even an Egyptian pyramid. Along the way, our sense of sanity and humanity also get destroyed, as we feel as if we are being held captive by these walking, talking, shape-shifting robots -- both the good guys and the bad.

The Autobots and Decepticons aren't the only ones assaulting us in their epic battle: Regular people are just as obnoxious -- probably more so -- with their nonstop yelling and yammering. Everyone is overcaffeinated, everyone screams their lines, perhaps so they can hear each other over the explosions and the thunderous score.

Who knows, and more importantly, who cares? It is impossible to become emotionally invested in the Transformers, cool-looking as they may be when the movie settles down for a rare moment (the work of the venerable Industrial Light & Magic), because it's impossible to tell who's doing what to whom. It's all one messy amalgamation of twisted steel and shattered glass, accompanied by generic crunching and shrieking sounds. The only robots with any discernible personality traits, aside from bravery or antagonism, are the Autobot twins, Mudflap and Skids. These are shockingly crass and unfortunate black stereotypes, jive-talking fools who can't read and bumble their way from one mishap to the next. They are Jar Jar Binks in car form.

After only an hour, it all feels boring and numbingly repetitive, and one glance and the watch tells you you've got another solid hour and a half to go.

What's that, you say? You want to know what the "Transformers" sequel is about? How quaint. Basically, it follows the further adventures of plucky, young Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf, seriously straining his likability), who is yet again stuck in the middle of the eternal fight between the noble Autobots and the evil Decepticons.

The mythology is much more dense than that, though, as we learn from several self-serious, expository speeches delivered by Autobot leader Optimus Prime (voiced as always by Peter Cullen), Decepticon leader Megatron (Hugo Weaving) -- oh yes, he's back -- and the elderly Brit, Jetfire (Mark Ryan). Something about millennia of history and oppression, and capturing the energy of the sun. (Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman returned to write the script, along with Ehren Kruger, inspired by the Hasbro Transformer toys and the animated '80s TV show.)

Megan Fox is also back as Sam's impossibly hot girlfriend, Mikaela, with whom he hopes to maintain a long-distance relationship as he heads off to college. (The first time we see her, it's from behind in a pair a Daisy Duke shorts as she's bent over a motorcycle seat; this, and running across the desert while maintaining perfect lip gloss, are all she's asked to do.) Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson also provide eye candy as commanders of a secret team that works alongside the Autobots to hunt down any remaining Decepticons; this requires them to look hot in camouflage as they squint pensively into the sunset.

Laughs are unusual in this brawny endeavor, but if anyone gets them, it's John Turturro as a former secret agent who gets hauled back into the fray. You'll feel as if you've been dragged in, too.

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," a DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures release, is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, language, some crude and sexual material, and brief drug material. Running time: 150 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.

Some early images of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen and Anne Hathaway as the White Queen have surfaced on the web from Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland."

Check out Depp above and click here to go to the Huffington Post for shots of the others.

The film is coming to theaters in 2010.