I never understood why men give women flowers or why, in turn, the ladies seem to love them so much.  In my mind, which may be twisted beyond reality, the gift of flowers is the gift of death.

They’re grown for their beauty.  And right when they reach their peak, they’re cut from their lifeline and given as gifts only to die a few days later.  It’s freaking creepy.  Sure, they make a nice bouquet.  But it’s a bouquet of impending unnatural death.  Far better to leave them on the vine to live their life cycle as intended.

I never give flowers because that sick image of wilting death haunts me when I pass by a florist.  Potted plants?  Now that’s a gift!  Potted plants have their own little home and will live as long as you take proper care of them.  It’s just like a relationship, beautiful and full of life when you take proper care, wilting and dying if you ignore it.  What a perfect living metaphor for a relationship.  Of course, you could just suck at taking care of plants in which case, don’t read too much into it.

So I know I’m probably alone on this, but why do the ladies love flowers so much?

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Heyoo, readers. WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE IN MAY!

Heh, kidding kidding. Actually, the Large Hadron Collider isn’t quite a sci-fi disaster movie about a micro black hole or a runaway chain reaction of strangelets. But man if it were, Lance Henriksen’s got a new job! This new particle accelerator they’ve finished that straddles the border of France & Switzerland is said to be the latest means of determining if Higgs-bosons , the theoretical origin of mass exists (and even if they don’t, awesome!) All kinds of exotic galactic soup may bubble up from the near-light-speed acceleration and collision experiments in this machine. Cross your fingers and hope for the best…

But hey, it’s been fun/frightening to think of such galacti-cataclysmic events going on somewhere on Earth. It’s an absolutely PERFECT excuse to throw a Kiss-Your-Butt-Goodbye party!

Totally unrelated artwork to come, bear with me folks!

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From the Office of the Don:

On a Thwip and a Prayer

By Donnie Sturges

Greetings, fellow geeks!

When we last left our hero, he had just written and posted his first article for the irrepressible web mag called Spwug to establish his geek cred.

Meanwhile, at the Hall of Internets, The Don returned to discover an interesting after-effect of his online activities…

*crickets*

Well, I’m back for round two! For this installment, I will be reviewing the new Saturday morning cartoon that debuted back in March – The Spectacular Spider-Man. And although it may seem like I’m running off a one-note theme, I assure you that’s not the case. I’m reviewing it because the Universal Code of Intergalactic Species states that I must. And because it’s cool.

Spider-Man, though extremely popular thanks to the three mega-successful films that have come out in the past several years, hasn’t had a popular animated series since the mid-1990s. Spidey did experience a brief resurgence in 2003 with a CGI-animated series on MTV that tied in to the first film. Unfortunately, that series lasted about as long as Uncle Ben’s appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15.

Luckily for our web-slinging hero, his unwavering popularity has endured thanks to his blockbuster films, as well as the recent controversies plaguing him in his four-color adventures. So, it was only a matter of time before an animated Spider-Man series would grace television screens again.

And the newest incarnation couldn’t have arrived in any more capable hands. Cartoon fans may remember a little animated show that Disney aired from 1994 to 1997 called Gargoyles? Created, written, and produced by Greg Weisman, Gargoyles became a decent hit and found a loyal fan base quickly. Sadly, creative differences forced Weisman to leave the show right after the beginning of the third season. The show was cancelled soon after.

But Weisman has returned to write and produce the new Spidey series. Anyone familiar with Weisman’s writing knows how in-depth and complex he can be with his story and characters – a trait he has been able to carry over to Spectacular Spider-Man.

So how does it hold up? Let me tell you - I’ve been able to watch the first six episodes so far. And those six episodes have punched me repeatedly in the face with fanboy glee.

First, let’s start with the new theme song. I think I can see what their intention is. It’s the first theme to have lyrics since the original Spider-Man cartoon in the 60s. And I think that’s what they were going for. It kinda feels like the old theme, but updated to appeal to the alternative rock crowd. It’s not my favorite theme, but it gets the job done. And it hardly takes away from the rest of the show.

Now, one of the first things you will notice is the animation style. It’s animated by the same folks who did the Teen Titans animated series, and you can definitely see the influences here. Thank the maker that didn’t include importing the sudden chibi-fits like the Titans characters would fall into. I hated those. They made my eyes bleed.

Another plus on the animation style is that we get to see lots of dynamic movement by our wall-crawler. His moves are impressive. He doesn’t just jump around execute simple moves like he did in the 90s animated series. No. This boy is all over the place! Flips, spins, bounces – crazy acrobatic stuff you’ve come to expect thanks to the movies. It’s all here, and it is glorious.

As I said before, one of the great things about having Weisman on board is that his incredible writing talents are showcased here in full force. Within the first few episodes, he has already planted seeds for plot and character development that won’t be revealed until several episodes down the road. This series is episodic, but at the same time it has ongoing storylines that make it appealing to the die-hard fans that watch it from week to week.

And Greg is no slouch in handling the characters on this show, either. The show focuses on Peter and his two friends – Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborne. What? No Mary Jane? Not to worry, she shows up soon enough. All the other supporting characters are in place as well. Under Weisman’s guidance, each character is developing nicely and at a great pace. Each episode gives us a little more background of each character, especially our main trio. Whether it’s going out for the football team, trying to make money to help Aunt May pay the bills, or showcasing a little romantic tension between a cute blond and a straight-A student who is oblivious, Weisman and his writing staff prove that they get the characters – they match their printed counterparts perfectly. And those of you who love J.K. Simmons’ portrayal of J. Jonah Jameson in the movies will love how close to that version he is portrayed here, even if it isn’t Simmons.

One of the interesting approaches to the show has been the decision to practically reset the series. But instead of starting the first episode off with the origin like you would think, this show starts several months after 16 year-old Peter Parker has gotten his abilities. We’re thrust right in the middle of his life, but not too far that we can’t get a quick grip on our bearings before getting thrown head first into Spidey’s first on-screen battle with some thugs.

And I think this is one of the major strengths of the show. Without having to mess with origins, Weisman has given himself and his writing staff plenty of room to work their magic. Their plotting and pacing are outstanding. And they are no stranger to the history and mythos of the characters and the comic. In fact, they incorporate elements from the comic book quite well into the series. A perfect example – instead of starting off with Peter and Mary Jane, as has been standard procedure for the past several years, Weisman and crew go back to the roots and make Gwen the first woman in Peter’s life. In a perfect execution of remaining faithful to the source, MJ is merely mentioned for a few episodes as the girl with the “nice personality” before her final onscreen debut as Peter’s date. And to add a cherry to the web-spinning sundae (that probably wouldn’t taste very good now that I think about it), her first appearance is punctuated by her now legendary line – “Face it tiger, you just hit the jackpot!” Oh, and minus several million cool points to you if you didn’t know what the line was. I’m ashamed of you.

If I have one issue with the show, it’s that currently it appears like part of the story has already settled into a formulaic and repetitive plot device. So far, most of the villains in the show deviate from their original beginnings and are instead created by Norman Osborne’s company Oscorp. And almost every episode has followed this formula – shadowy big boss man is tired of his plans getting thwarted by the webhead, so each episode he has Oscorp take a guy and turn him into a super-powered villain to unleash on Spider-Man. The only thing keeping it from getting too redundant is the gradual reveal of the underlying machinations behind these creations.

Overall, I think The Spectacular Spider-Man is a solid little show – a great addition to an already colorful TV resume. I eagerly anticipate each episode. And in today’s society where it seems like Saturday morning cartoons are in danger of going the way of Peter’s marriage, this show is a perfect web-sling in the right direction.

The Don spins a yarn, any size, but can only catch a cold.

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Late again. Sorry, folks.

How many of you play video games? And how many of you care how good the games you play look?

As I’ve looked at the video games released in the past few years, there have been two trends that I’ve noticed when it comes to graphics.

One is the ‘we need to push the envelope as hard as we can’ trend, where games like Crysis require the absolute best possible machines to run them in their full glory. Games where it is not uncommon to hear, “I’m upgrading X on my PC so I can play Y,” in reference to that game.

On the other hand, though, there is also a movement of ‘let’s make it so this game can run on as many machines and consoles as possible’. Games like World of Warcraft and many of the games that are fully cross-platform, which garner comments like, “Well, it’s not the prettiest game out there, but it still looks pretty good.”

I understand the desire to have the most badass, beautiful game out there, but at the same time, as a member of the game industry, I’d rather have my game being purchased and played by as many people as reasonably possible.

It raises the question of how important graphics are to the average user these days. Is it worth satisfying one segment of the buying population to lock out another?

So, which camp, if either, are you in? Do you think games should always be on the bleeding edge of technology, or do you think games should be playable by the largest number possible?

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Hello, dear readers.

I am proud to introduce our newest writer to the Spwug fold, Donnie Sturges! He’ll be writing his column, ‘Office of the Don’, every Thursday.

And now, his first post:

Well, hello! I suppose I should start this off with the Universal Greeting:

Bah weep granah weep ninni bong…

My sincerest apologies. I seem to be all out of Energon treats. Hopefully, you won’t mind sticking around for a bit anyway. You see, I was given this great opportunity to provide you readers with a weekly fix of… well… whatever I have in mind. Maybe I’ll review a comic book, movie or video game. Maybe I’ll offer up a witty editorial. Maybe I’ll do The Safety Dance. Maybe not that last one.

Hopefully you’ll keep visiting The Office of The Don to see what I have to offer up each week. But first, I feel it necessary to prove I am worthy of such an honour. And to do that, I present to you a review of the very first comic book I ever read that made me a comic book geek. And that distinction goes to Marvel Tales Featuring Spider-Man # 172.

The year is 1984. Christmastime. A young boy bearing a striking resemblance to a nine-year-old version of me begins to go through his stocking. What does he find? I mean besides candy, a comb, some socks and a couple of Hot Wheels cars?

If you said anything other than the issue I just mentioned, you haven’t been paying attention. Shame on you.

So there it was in my hands, Marvel Tales #172, courtesy of my grandparents. Now, the thing that caught me eye immediately was the cover:

What an intense image! Spider-Man is in some serious trouble! And what’s with that text box? The Final Chapter?!? Ominous! Do I even know what the word ominous means at the age of nine? I don’t know! But man, I’ve got to read this right now!

And so I did, pouring over each page with an intense fever. I took in every detail of Steve Ditko’s art as it melded perfectly with Stan Lee’s storytelling. With the turn of each page, I slid farther and farther to the edge of my seat. I was gripped.

Let me take a moment to break things down with a brief story synopsis: Peter Parker’s Aunt May has fallen ill and is in the hospital. In order to save her, our hero unselfishly donated some of his blood to help her recover. Oooooh…. there’s just one problem, Peter. You didn’t consider the fact that your irradiated Spider-Blood would make things worse.

And so, with Aunt May’s condition worsening, Peter has to retrieve a special serum - the only thing that can save his Aunt’s life from the sudden radiation poisoning. This retrieval ends up pitting him directly against Doc Ock himself. And minions! Man, I hate minions. Always running around, minioning everywhere.

The fight between our favourite wall-crawler and the insidious human cephalopod ends up at Octavious’ secret lair. Did I mention that this is an underwater lair? Yeah. Based on the cover, you already know where this is going. Amidst all the fighting, heavy damage is dealt to the lair’s structure, causing the whole place to start falling down around their ears. Ock takes advantage of the situation, and just as a HUGE chunk of steel falls on top of Spidey, - pinning him - Ock escapes.

So now our intrepid hero is trapped beneath several tons of steel, water pouring in all around him from the outside (Did I say a brief synopsis? I meant the opposite.). As he lies there, our boy Petey’s got all sorts of negative thoughts going through his head. But, all of them are focused solely on the family and friends he feels he let down. Not once does he think of himself. With all these thoughts running through his brain, Spidey realizes that he can’t give up. With every ounce of his strength, every muscle straining and aching and screaming in agony, Spider-Man… slowly… lifts… the heavy hunk of steel, inch by inch. And with his final effort, Spider-Man does this:

Wow. Simply incredible. And in case you were worried, let me assure you - the Wall-Crawler successfully escapes, delivers the serum to the hospital, and saves his Aunt May for what will become a regular staple of the series.

As a young, impressionable boy of nine, this comic book had a major impact on me. Stan Lee conveyed perfectly through his characterization of Peter Parker the human struggle. He was able to balance realism with the fantastical. Sure, Peter Parker was a superhero, but he also had to deal with all the same emotional issues and real life problems we all did. And this issue was the perfect example of that. With each panel illustrating how Spider-Man struggled to lift the heavy chunk of steel off of him, I strained with him, hoping against hope that he could do it. Every page was met with exuberance. And if Lee’s writing was the winning pitch, Ditko’s artwork was the hit that knocked the issue out of the park. He was able to perfectly convey all of the emotion and action perfectly on every page. It pulled me into the story. It made me believe. It made me a fan - a comic book fan and a Spider-Man fan.

I find out not too long after that Marvel Tales was just a series that reprinted older issues of Amazing Spider-Man. But, I didn’t care. I was already on my way into geekdom. I started collecting other Spider-Man books, and eventually, other titles. To this day, my collection continues to grow, much to my wife’s chagrin. But, it’s no big deal. Anytime she gives me a hard time about it, I challenge her to a lightsaber duel.

But that’s another story for another time.

            Tune in next week when I do something crazy. What could it be? Will I splash water on a poodle, or will I unlock the secrets of the universe? With my geek cred proven, it could be anything. Come back to The Office of the Don next week to find out.

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I’ll have my post up tonight or tomorrow, folks. Sorry for the delay.

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Oh sure, a new anime spring season is upon us…  But sometimes, it’s the nuts and bolts of the industry that’s the most interesting and rewarding part.  Just a quick entry this week to show what this blogger’s been watching lately.  Some recent, some not; but it’s always inspirational to see animators both professional & upcoming work, talk and show off their stuff.  

“Kings of Power 4 Billion %“, by Paul Robertson (Pirate Baby Cabana Battle Street Fight 2006), recently completed in January

“Altitude Adjustment“, a student film by Nick Butera at CalArts, May, 2006

“God Slayer“, by Johnathan (PersonaSama) Kim from his CalArts presentation, May 2007

Brad Bird (direction, Pixar — Ratatouille, The Incredibles, The Iron Giant) for ThinkTank.com, Jan. 2008

Glen Keane (supervising animator for Disney),  in an interview & discussion over his work on Tarzan

More to come!  See ya’ll next week!

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Last Monday, I had a chance to catch Vexille at the AFI Dallas Film Festival. It was everything I had hoped for in a CG action film and more. Now, I could be the one to tell you why you should watch it, but I’ve got something even better. Thanks to the folks at FUNimation, I had a chance to speak with Vexille’s director, SORI, so I’ll let him be the one to sell you on it instead!

SPWUG: It sounds like you do movies that cover a lot of different subjects — fantasy, science fiction, sports, mystery — what kind of genre do you prefer?

SORI: I love entertainment, so I don’t really restrict myself in genre. I do like anything entertaining. I like action. I like emotional stories. I like to mix action and story — not just action-driven films, and not just story, but both together.

SPWUG: So was that your reason behind creating Vexille?

SORI: I wanted to make it a mixture of film as an entertaining commodity and a commercial commodity, and also at the same time an art form. I wanted to make something that combined these elements so that it is not just a commercial success, but so that it is also an art form.

In Japan, animation is received very differently by different people and it is very difficult for animation fans in Japan to understand and appreciate the art form of films — they prefer the commercial aspects of animation over art. So it’s sort of a different take in terms of this film.

SPWUG: I noticed something… you used a lot of butterflies in Vexille. I think I know what it is supposed to symbolize, but I wanted to hear from you what the symbol of the butterfly meant throughout the movie.

SORI: Freedom. It is the symbol of freedom.

SPWUG: Ah. Okay… I guessed wrong.

SORI: (laughs) The butterfly was in Ping Pong as well, and it is also symbolized in Ichi.

SPWUG: Does the butterfly symbolize yourself as well then?

SORI: It’s not that I particularly like butterflies, but I think that something in me has the dream of flying out and to be free.

SPWUG: So you express this freedom through your filmmaking?

SORI: The reason why I wanted to participate in the entertainment industry is because people are tied down with a lot of stuff. They go to get entertainment to escape from those everyday things that tie them down, so I believe that a part of me involved in the entertainment industry is also symbolized by the butterfly through entertaining — and that a part of me is expressing this freedom in the entertainment that I create.

SPWUG: Do you have any plans on what your next project will be yet?

SORI: Ah (laughs), well, I haven’t told this to anybody yet, so you’re new, the first to hear this… I’m looking at doing another live-action film. In Japan, scale-wise this movie will be much bigger, though it probably still doesn’t even compare to Hollywood. It would be categorized as a fantasy film — kind of like a Lord of the Rings fantasy.

SPWUG: And is there anything about [Vexille] that you want the fans to know about, and the questions they should be asking themselves after they’ve seen it and as they are walking out of the theater?

SORI: I worry that the people are losing human contact… that people are losing direct one-on-one contact with each other. People are using so many information-driven technologies — the Internet, cell phones — there’s so many connections made through technologies that there’s no longer any physical contact.

Communication is becoming so technology-driven, so I would like people to think about perhaps the danger of relying on these convenient technologies so much, and what may or could happen if we continue to rely on this technology-driven society.

—-

Thanks go out to Jackie Smith of FUNimation for setting this up, and to Chiho for translating for us. Look for the Vexille DVD from FUNimation to be out on shelves May 20th, 2008!

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Bob Gandy is a talented artist who enjoys painting on just about anything he can find. His work is eclectic with inspiration from traditional Japanese and Chinese brush paintings. He’s also got a webcomic, and has been known to settle disputes through LAN Party Starcraft.

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It’s cherry blossom season here in the Nation’s Capital! The trees are in full bloom and the Tidal Basin is awash in gorgeous pale and deep pinks. And it would be overwhelmingly romantic were it not for the unbearable crowds of people.

The cherry trees were a gift to the city from the mayor of Tokyo in 1912. The first National Cherry Blossom Festival was held in 1935 and expanded into a two week celebration in 1994. The first Cherry Blossom Queen was crowned and the Cherry Blossom Princess was started in 1948 (see who has been crowned Cherry Blossom royalty and check out an interview with the current class).

Among the many events planned for the festival is the sixth annual anime marathon hosted at the Sackler Gallery (they’re playing the new Appleseed flick).  Tickets are free and are distributed on a first come first served basis.    The absolute best part about the Cherry Blossom Festival?  My favorite local Japanese restaurant, Temari, serves cherry blossom mochi!

Happy Cherry Blossom Festival!

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