Runaways is one of the most surprisingly fun and clever books I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. I first heard of Runaways after Brian K Vaughn did an arc of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 (titled “No Future For You”, and currently available in trade paperback). The story synopsis alone was enough to catch my interest, but the fact that Buffy creator Joss Whedon had worked on an arc of Runaways made it a must read for me. I got a chance to check out the first trade hardback today, just before Comic-Con. Brian K Vaughn’s brilliant writing, combined with some of my all time favorite comic artwork by Adrian Alphona make Runaways an incredible must read. It combines the quick wit of Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer with another of my loves, the world of Marvel superheroes and supervillains.
Guillermo del Toro is a true artist with a camera, and a cool guy to boot. Del Toro is a huge fan of the Hellboy comics, written by Mike Mignola, so when he brought Hellboy to the big screen, it was a perfect adaption to the comics. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army picks up where the last one left off, with Hellboy (Ron Perlman), Abe Sapien (Doug Jones), and Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) (John Myers is MIA because the actor, Rupert Evans was busy with the stage) kicking supernatural out of the BPRD in New Jersey. I was a huge fan of the first Hellboy, thanks to its perfect mix of sci-fi and fantasy. Then del Toro brought us Pan’s Labyrinth, which blew most people away. I definitely enjoyed it, but meh. And now Hellboy 2, which gives us the best of Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth, del Toro’s brilliant vision is perfectly executed in this excellent sequel to one of my favorite sci-fi films. MORE »
ABC Family, for some reason, picked up the comic book series The Middleman and hired the writer of the comics, Javier Grillo-Marxuach to pen the new show. The MIddleman turns out to be some serious super hero fun, but I can’t help but feel it would be better suited on the Sci-Fi Channel. The show follows the adventures of the milk drinking wise cracking Middleman played by Matt Keeslar, and his sidekick Wendy Watson (Natalie Morales).