Stuff only I care about….
Green tea may work as an anti-inflammatory for people with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
How to make a plastic bag keeper.
R.E.M.’s music catalog dissected once song at a time.
“Now That The Day Is Over“, The Innocence Mission’s beautiful collection of lullabies, will make you want to burn your Baby Einstein collection. Buy it for your baby.
Keren Ann makes aliyah. At least one good thing came out of the Second Lebanon War.
Michael Chabon’s new book, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union is finally out. Chabon briefly mentions in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the movie film version of Kavalier & Clay, which was going to star Tobey Maguire and Natalie Portman has “stalled, totally stalled.” Sigh.
Every child should have a plush Minotaur. I’ve ordered one for mine.
Chabon says Portman for Kavalier and Clay movie
My dear Natalie Portman (she’s pretty) is a “strong likelihood for the part of Rosa” in the movie adaption of one of my most favorite novels ever - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - according to author Michael Chabon.
Good casting.
Golems = Awesome.
The Spirit lives on
Groundbreaking comic book legend Will Eisner died yesterday at the age of 87.
From the “Will Eisner: A Spirited Life” newsletter. Yes, I subscribe. Now move on.
Legendary comics and graphic novel artist and writer Will Eisner died last night, Monday, January 3, 2005, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at the age of 87, following complications from quadruple heart bypass surgery.Will Eisner didn’t create Superman, Batman, Spider-Man or even Archie and Jughead. Some comic book fans may scratch their heads when asked to describe his work. But every artist and writer in comic books, as well as graphic artists across the entire spectrum of modern illustration, television and film, owes a debt to him.
In 1941, Eisner created a goofball detective named Denny Colt who died (not really) and was reborn as “The Spirit,” the cemetery-dwelling protector of the public - and pretty girls in particular. The Spirit possessed no superpowers. He couldn’t see through his girlfriend’s clothing the way a curious alien like the Man of Steel might scientifically investigate Lois Lane. And he wasn’t a brilliant technologist like Batman, imagineering hokey gadgets and psychedelic compounds for all-night parties with the Joker.
No, Will Eisner wasn’t about “pows,” “kabooms” and “bams” but rather looked at comic books as an art form.
In an interview with The Onion, Michael Chabon, author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay used Will Eisner as an influence on the character of comic artist Joe Kavalier:
The only thing I would say about him that I really did draw from an actual creator is that I gave him Will Eisner’s rather surprising and unshakable faith in the medium of comic books. That was rare at the time. In fact, I think Eisner was unique in feeling from the start that comic books were not necessarily this despised, bastard, crappy, low-brow kind of art form, and that there was a potential for real art. And he saw that from the very beginning, which was very unusual, and I took that quality and gave it to Joe Kavalier. I think that was the only direct borrowing I really did.
Eisner will remain one of the most influential comic book artists of all times.
Chabon! Chabon! Chabon!
I have learned to embrace and not shun away from my nerdom past.
I freaking love comic books. Always have. I have also always loved to read. I’m also a Jew. So when Michael Chabon published The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay I was in heaven. Yes, thousands and thousands of people all over the world read the book but how many of them knew that Chabon was alluding to the Fortress of Solitude when Josef Kavalier was in an ice-infested environment? Not many I suppose.
Anyway, two super cool Chabon news items.
The first is that the trailer for Spiderman 2 is online. Chabon of course scripted the movie. He also wrote a treatment for the first X-men movie but the studio wasn’t into it. You can check it out here on Chabon’s website.
Dark Horse comics will be releasing “The Amazing Adventures of The Escapist” which was the comic that Kavieler and Clay wrote in his novel. The comic will be released quarterly and according to the article in the Forward, “each adventure in the first 80-page anthology is illustrated in the style of a different comic-book era.”
Two words: KICK ASS
Mad, mad props and kavod to Steve at Protocols for linking to this article. You made my day.
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