Ricky Gervais Show… Animated
Even though I’ll be in Peru at the time, I’m getting really excited about the upcoming HBO Animation version of the Ricky Gervais Show Podcasts.
Here’s what Ricky has to say about it….
Had a conference call about the HBO animation. It’s weird. I’m really excited about The Invention of Lying and Cemetery Junction and the tour and the Flanimals movie and everything else I’m doing, but when I watch a new animatic or talk about the press campaign for the HBO thing I actually get an adrenalin rush. I want it to be a success like I’ve never wanted anything else to be successful. It’s partly because I love working with HBO. It’s partly because it started out as a laugh – a labour of love. It’s partly because the animators have done an amazing job. And it’s partly because there’s nothing quite like it.
The Cure Do Indeed Know the Way to San Jose
During their recent stop at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, the veteran .alt-rockers pulled over three hours of material from their catalog that now spans three decades and ranges from self-loathing, anxious intensity to blissful, starry-eyed pop infection.
Watching them perform both hits and fan favorites from beside the stage, I was reminded of seeing them 3,000 miles away, at the Philadelphia Spectrum in 1992. It was amazing how reminiscent the setlist was of what I remember of that show from 16 years ago. Heavy doses of tunes from Disintegration and Wish were spread among classics throughout the engaging and finely-tuned set.
In terms of technical prowess, The Cure were at the top of their game Wednesday night. Robert’s voice hardly cracked at all as he stretched out the whole notes at higher registers than most people could ever hope to sing in, Jason’s drumming was steady minus one barely noticeable hiccup toward the end of the main set, Simon’s bass playing was as rhythmic and punchy as ever and Porl proved yet again why he has such a reputation as such a great guitar player.
His skills shone through the most during a Wish track that Robert Smith pointed out that they haven’t played live in a long time, Doing the Unstuck. Just as in The Cure’s live film Show, Porl’s guitar solo on the song borders on the unbelievable.
I recall around the earlier 90s, how people would refer to The Cure’s material at the time as “the newer stuff,” which seems so strange in retrospect. When one looks at the thirty year history of The Cure, it seems like the most natural split between “new Cure” and “old Cure” would fall immediately after the Wish tour that supported the album of the same name.
Since the end of the Wish Tour, The Cure has settled into something of a pattern, releasing a full length album of new material every four years, and finding an audience and critics who question the legitimacy of The Cure’s extended career. The new material is always held up to the mirror of best of The Cure’s fabled past.
A few years back Robert Smith decided to shake up the lineup that was The Cure from the mid-90s to the mid 2000s and welcomed Porl Thompson back into the fold, who had departed following the successful Wish Tour. Porl’s return has been welcome among fans, who have felt that The Cure’s efforts since his departure had been noticeably missing his lush and textured guitar parts. Porl was admittedly a lot of fun to watch strut around stage in his high heels and outfit that would have fit in well were he a member of Marilyn Manson. Since he’s been back in the band Porl’s stage person has evolved to the point of perhaps even surpassing Robert Smith’s notorious appearance in its ability to turn heads.
Somehow the material that’s emerged thus far from the upcoming album gives the impression of having a renewed vitality and relevance, an impression which was strengthened by the fact that the newest material played Wednesday night mostly held up to the large number of classics on display. Besides, hearing unreleased material is always a highlight for a lot of fans at a live show regardless of critical opinion of said songs.
Highlights of the evening included the blisteringly intense closer Killing an Arab, the energy that always takes over the crowd during Just Like Heaven, and hearing fresh versions of old tracks now performed with guitar lines where there once synths.
One thing that distracted me a bit was the fact that some songs still had synth lines being played even though there was no keyboard present on stage. A small matter indeed, if not a little disheartening to think of The Cure using backing tracks. I recall The Cure performing Never Enough at the 1991 Brit Awards and famously being the only performers to not use any backing tracks.
Ah, why lament? Probably best to appreciate that The Cure can still put on as strong a show as they do after thirty years.
IDW Publishing’s “Reign of Starscream”
REIGN OF STARSCREAM ISSUE 1 REVIEW
INTRO
I should begin with a bit of a disclaimer. I am firmly in the camp of fans of both Transformers and movies in general that found 2007’s live action movie to be about as disappointing a summer blockbuster movie as it could be. The quality of the Michael Bay adaptation has served as a fair warning for me to stay an Episode I-sized safe distance away from any merchandise that shared the branding signifying a crossover with Bay’s vision of Transformers.
If you’re someone weary of tie-ins to the Transformers movie, or of movie tie-ins in general, don’t let that stop you from giving Reign of Starscream a chance. IDW’s sequel to the blockbuster film has managed to take the movie Bay & Co. created and make it feel like Transformers without diverting from the Transformers movie continuity.
CREATIVE TEAM
Written by first time scribe Chris Mowry and IDW Editor-In-Chief Chris Ryall, Reign of Starscream gives the impression that its creative team take their inspiration from the potential of the movie and follow that inspiration down the path of a promising and original story.
It’s impossible for an outside reviewer to know which aspects of the writing can be accounted to which of the two writers. Together they make a capable and competent writing team, with the exception of a few rare and forgivable moments of somewhat stilted dialog.
It should be duly noted that Alex Milne’s line art on the Reign of Starscream is as impressive and detailed as ever. Milne is probably one of the few comic book artists whose work actually looks better the more he leans toward realism. Milne’s panels remind one of the high quality of art seen in comics like Marvel’s Civil War series. Milne’s storytelling has also improved vastly over the sometimes confusing panels of his earlier books.
If one criticism of Milne’s art is to be made, it is that some of his original character designs share more of a G1 Transformers design than a more complex Transformers movie design scheme. This choice would be welcome except that it is occasionally distracting to see various characters that appear to be from different continuities. (If these character designs come from supplementary Transformer movie merchandise, I apologize to Milne for my ignorance.)
The colors in this issue, very skillfully handled by Josh Perez, shouldn’t go unmentioned either.
Perez manages to create a wonderful feast for the eyes with limited color palettes. Perez is one of those colorists with the potential to become a recognized comic book name, despite the fact that comic book colorists are seldom able to stand out among fans.
THE STORY
Long time Transformers fans will see story elements and added details that harken back to the original G1 story lines, as well as fill in some fairly large cracks left in the movie’s foundations.
It’s probably safe to say that we get to see a bit more of the situation on Cybertron than we saw in Bay’s film, and it provides a whole new context for some of the more puzzling elements of the live-action movie.
For anyone with concerns about a lack of Decepticon characterization, have no fear. This book is all about Decepticons, and is narrated and shown almost entirely through Starscream’s point of view, as you might guess from the title.
Reign of Starscream’s narrative tone feels a bit heavy on the exposition, but the first issue establishes details and ideas necessary for the story that promises to follow.
Mowry and Ryall blend the necessary exposition with enough original action and material to reassure the reader that they are setting up an original and entertaining ride for readers.
Numerous details absent from the movie are filled in for readers. For example, are you wondering what the heck happened to Barricade to cause his curious absence? You’ll find out.
What about the remains of the Allspark? What of the data obtained by Frenzy? This first issue hints at the possibility of getting the answers to some of the questions.
SUMMARY
Don’t discount this as a movie tie-in. This series promises to be as valid as any other original comic, instead of resting on what we’ve already seen on the big screen and on DVD.
Let me put it this way. Reign of Starscream is described as a sequel to the movie, and it remains to be seen if its story fits into the plans for the movie sequel. Having had the opportunity to read Reign of Starscream, I can claim a lot greater interest in seeing what IDW has planned as a follow-up to the Transformers movie than anything Michael Bay can deliver.
When the inevitable production of Transformers 3 begins, the movie’s producers would be remiss if they didn’t allow Chris Mowry and Chris Ryall the opportunity to present a treatment.
Reign of Starscream, available April 30th.
Unsung Media 