A taste of this year's New York Comic Con

Yesterday,my sister Stephanie and I attended Professional's Day at the 2011 New York Comic Con which was available for folks in the media and the biz,along with those eager fans who brought four day passes to the show.

Our goals were partly to see the latest in comics,movies and other pop culture related topics and also to promote my debut ebook novella,The Hench Woman's Handbook. That went well but more about me and mine later. For now,let's concentrate on some of the highlights of Thursday's early bird special edition of the con:

BEHOLD THE SUCKLORD!



It was an unexpected delight to come across one of the rising stars of season two's Work of Art,The Sucklord himself. He was on hand to promote a new edition of trading cards which profiles his offbeat toy creations and yes,he is exactly as he appears to be on TV,which is why I'm rooting for him to win it all on WOA.



While his 3-D rendition of Gandalf(based on the velvet painting version he chose for the opening challenge)may not have been what some of the judges were looking for,his unabashed adoration of the LOTR saga is a cheer worthy shout-out to all the geek boys and girls everywhere.

He was cool to talk to and nice enough to have his picture taken with my sis,so best of luck to you,sir,on your quest to success in this and other realms:



AVAST,YE AVENGERS!



Naturally,there was a huge display for the upcoming 2012 movie The Avengers,that had Captain America's suit in a showcase and a replica of what I assume is the main control room for this team to assemble in.

With the release of the first major trailer for The Avengers,interest along with coverage has increased more than tenfold. Personally,my main reason for wanting to check it out is due to Joss Whedon being in the director's chair here. Even during the most troublesome plot lines of Buffy The Vampire Slayer,my mantra was always was "Trust Joss."

Unlike Bryan Singer's ill-fated but well meaning attempt to revive Superman on screen, Whedon's fan love won't be a hindrance. I don't want to jinx it but this Marvel movie could give the new Dark Knight film a real run for it's money:



A BEVY OF BOOKS,BOTH OLD AND NEW



Many of the sci-fi/fantasy imprints of several well known publishers were set up on the showroom floor to offer new titles and promote some of their back list offerings as well.

The folks at Tor were handing out copies of The Eye of the World,the first book in Robert Jordan's celebrated fantasy series The Wheel of Time. A graphic novelization has just been released and the last completed(with assistance from Brandon Sanderson) book in the epic saga,A Memory of Light,is due out next year.

Since I have seen many devoted fans of the WOT novels clamoring for more back in my book selling days and as I'm getting more invested into the fantasy genre these days,this was a welcome opportunity to discover this much talked about tome:





Meanwhile,at the booth for Random House's various sci-fi/fantasy titles ,complimentary copies of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander were being given out. This tale of a post WWII woman who accidentally travels through time and meets the love of her life back in Scotland of 1743 has a good strong following along with a hardy number of follow-up books.

With this year being the twentieth anniversary of the novel's debut,it's good to see how much this story is still beloved by it's fans. I remember trying to read it a long time ago and not finishing the book,sad to say. Seems that fate has decided to give me a second chance on this one:





One publisher that many wouldn't expect to see at Comic Con,Harlequin was on hand to promote their new lines of fantasy,paranormal romance and even steampunk lit,some of which is available mainly in ebook format from Carina Press. Nice to watch a publisher spread their artistic wings and expand their fictional horizons for their readers there:





In addition to all of that,we handed out promotional postcards for The Hench Woman's Handbook and sincerely hope that the people who do decide to download my free(did I mention it was free?)ebook really enjoy it and please pass the good word along for us.

According to the news today,NYC Comic Con is pretty much sold out. That bodes well for the industry and for it's devoted followers as well. Sure,cons of all sorts are hectic,overcrowded and filled with tons of commerical promos but that's all part of the fun of being there. If you're attending NYC CC,take care not to overexert yourself and to enjoy as much as you can within the time allotted.

I'm only done one day and it was tiring yet totally worth it. Going once is plenty for me but please don't ask me to break into a song and dance any time soon:

Portraits of the Artist as a Work of Art Season 2 Contender

Usually on Thursdays,I have my TV round-up post that highlights my small screen viewing but since I'll be attending NYC Comic Con tomorrow,that post will have to skip a week. (I'll be back Friday,hopefully with a CC report)

However,that doesn't mean we can't chat a bit about tonight's second season premiere of Work of Art on Bravo. When this strange little competition show began last year,many felt it was doomed to fail and some of the pieces created for the challenges certainly lived up to that promise. Yet,it drew an audience and we now have on our hands a fresh new crop of contenders planning to compete and create for our entertainment(plus a $100,000 grand prize).

So,let's check out a handful of these emerging talents and see if they'll be worth talking about around the water cooler or in an online forum by the weekend:

THE SUCKLORD



Yes,that is the moniker that this fella chooses to go by(real name:Morgan Phillips). He has a company called Suckadelic and most of his work involves making imitation action figures with Star Wars themes.



Such a pop culture friendly guy can't help but be the type that you can't help but watch and I know the producers must have been thrilled to get him into this game. He's certainly not the reclusive type,that's for sure:





JAZZ-MINH

Not sure if the spelling of her name is deliberate or not,but I am certain that she is a painter who has had shows in several cities and according to the official bio, her art "focuses on the human psyche and is often infused with organic elements."



That description could mean a myriad of things but from what I've seen so far,Jazz-Minh paints both representational and abstract pieces,which may work in her favor here. More than one skill set gets called upon for the WOA challenges,so for her sake,let's hope Jazz-Minh can roll with the punches:





DUSTY

His dedication to art extends to teaching both elementary and college courses on the subject and Dusty's primary medium is installation pieces and sculptures. He tends heavily towards making larger items from smaller ones,such as an American flag built out of toy soldiers and firemen.



My big worry for him in this competition is time. With an eye for minute detail work,a person like Dusty might find himself in dire straits,trying to complete a project in hours that would truly take days to fully conceptualize. Then again,he may be able to edit himself,so we'll see.



KYMIA

There's not much information about what type of work she does in the official bio,which could mean trouble,folks. Kymia does have a number of awards and pieces showcased at top museums to her credit but she seems to be a Jill of all trades in this field.



As I mentioned earlier,this could be a plus for her in the contest. On the other hand, it can be a question of "Is she so inspired that just one style isn't enough?" or "Is she so unfocused in her vision that she simply can't decide where to set up shop?"

I know that it's too soon to tell at this point and who knows,she may surprise us all. One good thing about this show is that it's hard to pick a clear winner right off the bat:



I'll see you all on Friday and please wish me luck as I go off to promote The Hench Woman's Handbook at Comic Con tomorrow. In the meanwhile,Work of Art's season two premiere should give us plenty to talk about until then:

What was truly scary about Scream 4 and the brutal price of fame on film

I finally got around to watching Scream 4 on DVD and have to say that it was better than I had expected.  Putting the franchise back in the hands of Wes Craven and friends was a truly wise move,especially since they were savvy enough to parody the "opening kill" cliche that the Scream series inadvertently created.

While I'm not waiting for a Scream 5,this was a crafty little commentary on the nature of slasher films today and the disturbing desire to use violence as a gory golden ticket to fame.

True,the earlier films touched on this subject but this fourth time out really hit the nail on the head with this concept until it bled out. To make my point a little clearer,I have to drop a huge spoiler about the killer and please forgive me but you have been warned,folks!

Now that we've gotten that out of the way,Sydney Prescott( played yet again by Neve Campbell,the eternal heroine of these films)finds herself wrapped up in another slaughter fest when she makes a stop in her hometown on the book tour for her memoir about surviving the wrath of knife wielding maniacs.

As is tradition in the Scream saga,the Ghostface Killer is a two person team and the one in charge is her teenage cousin Jill(Emma Roberts)who not only is insanely jealous of Sydney's celebrity status but wants her share of the sinister spotlight as well.

Her villain reveal rant about the way people get famous these days by becoming victims is truly chilling,especially if you consider some of the murder trials widely touted in the media recently and how quick everyone involved with them was and is anxious to sell their story:

I'm not suggesting that we blame the media or the movies for this psychotic motive and it's not entirely original but the cynicism on display here seems to be on a whole other level of scary. As strange as this may sound,there is a quaintness about the old school notion of turning killers into celebrated superstars instead of the other way around.

When John Waters made the horror comedy Serial Mom back in the nineties,he was well in sync with the changing times in pointing out how criminal trials were the next big venue for fame seekers and how easily acceptable that was becoming in society.

Of course,the big joke was how Beverly Sutphin, the main villainess of the piece felt the need to kill people for their lack of manners and decorum. There was a sinister sweet innocence about her desire to rid the world of gum chewers,video renters that weren't kind enough to rewind and people who refused to recycle:

A year after Serial Mom was released,Gus Van Sant's adaptation of the Joyce Maynard novel To Die For received much more critical acclaim due to the parallels to the film's plot that could be drawn to the infamous Pamela Smart case.

Again,we see the endearing charms of the leading lady who wouldn't let a little thing like an interfering husband stand in the way of her dream to become a celebrated newscaster. It also helped to be able to seduce the young and dimwitted into being her erstwhile allies.

Being sweet and smiley is a great tool for any bad guy or gal's kit to have but what really made this character almost sympathetic was the lethal amount of self delusion combined with a sad abundance of scratch the surface level knowledge required for her intended dream job that she had:

 Call me old fashioned but I think there's a world of difference between becoming famous for killing and killing to become famous. Neither one is a great life goal to have but it does make one wonder how accurate a mirror to the current mindset this really is. Then again,as a certain great lady once wrote,selfishness must be forgiven for there is no hope of a cure. Guess that applies to celebrity psychos as well,particularly on the big screen:

Need an excuse for a nifty new book? Just say Jane Austen Made Me Do It!

Blogger Laurel Ann Nattress has shared her love for the works of and inspired by Jane Austen for a long while now with her website Austenprose and is now blessed to spread that love through the printed word.

Jane Austen Made Me Do It is an anthology of short stories by many of the best known and newer authors in the Austen related field,gathered together here by Laurel's editing hand. This set of twenty two tales all have a Jane Austen theme to them but some can be categorized by the path they chose to take the reader on for their preferred tour of Austenville.



One type of story found here is what I would call "Getting Into Character",which involves either expanding upon the back story of certain fictional folk,both major and minor, or imaging what happens to the main cast once the original book is over.

Naturally,there are a good number of Pride and Prejudice stories such as Amanda Grange's "Mr. Bennet Meets his Match"(which shows us the courtship of Lizzy Bennet's most seemingly mismatched parents)and "Letters to Lydia" by Maya Slater that sheds a little extra light on Charlotte Lucas' seemingly shy younger sister.

However,Emma also gets a bit of attention from Monica Fairview's "Nothing Less than Fairy-Land" and to my delight,Persuasion is granted an embarrassment of riches with several charming tales that enhance the source material most respectively. Two of my favorites include "Heard of You" by Margaret C. Sullivan that focuses on one of the happier marriages in the book,Admiral and Mrs. Croft and Jane Odiwe's "Waiting",a lovely look at the beginnings of Anne and Captain Wentworth's romance as they prepare to announce their renewed love to her family:





Another story style that some of the authors went with could be considered to be "Featuring Miss Austen",by having Our Dear Jane as the central character or in an influential cameo role. Syrie James has fun with the former in "Jane Austen's Nightmare",where our literary heroine meets some of her creations in dream land,only it's not as pleasant as she expects.

Adriana Trigiani brings Jane to the twenty first century in "Love and Best Wishes,Aunt Jane" while Diana Birchall keeps her in the past with "Jane Austen's Cat",where Jane amuses her nieces by relating Mansfield Park to them with an all feline cast.

One of the sweetest of this bunch is "Jane Austen and the Mistletoe Kiss" by Jo Beverly,that has a very Sense and Sensibility situated family that feels the need for romance(and a surprising one at that!) during the Yuletide season. Thanks to the timely appearance of Jane Austen,the power of love is given a much needed boost with some timely advice:





Last but miles away from least,we have "Modern Day Jane" stories that showcase the lingering spirit of Austen's work upon her readers out in our everyday reality. A couple of them have actual spirits,or ghosts if you will,on deck like Lauren Willig's "A Nightmare at Northanger" and "The Ghostwriter" by Elizabeth Ashton.

Others integrate Jane in very inventive ways,much like the 1960s school teacher in Janet Mullany's "Jane Austen,Yeah,Yeah,Yeah!" who gets a group of girls in detention hall more interested in S&S by comparing the men in it to their favorite band,The Beatles.

Another tale already has a teenager wanting to bring Jane Austen more into his high school life as a viable clique in "What Would Austen Do?" by the mother-daughter team of Jane Rubino and Caitlin Rubino-Bradway(they're planning to develop this story into a full fledged novel and based upon what I've read here,this sounds like a great book in the making).

Some of the stories aren't so easy to put in a box,which is to their benefit. A pair of fine examples of this are Laurie Viera Rigler's "Intolerable Stupidity" that has lawyers in love during a trial that puts the writers of Austen inspired books and movies at the mercy of Lady Catherine as the presiding judge and "The Love Letter" by JAMMDI contest winner Brenna Aubrey that has a medical student reconsider a lost love due to receiving a page torn out of a certain Austen novel mysteriously in the mail.

The desire to have an Austen inspired life is well displayed on every page in this book and it not only makes you want to reread the novels,it gives you the urge to gather up some friends to dish about them with as well:



Jane Austen Made Me Do It goes on sale tomorrow and is in paperback,so you have plenty of sensible,along with entertaining, reasons to pick it up. Chances are,you may be making more trips to the bookstore with this one as your pleasure in meeting some of these authors for the first time will encourage you to seek out their other work. That's the magic of Austen,her literary legacy has allowed so many to use her art as the gateway for telling their own story:

Can Michelle Williams capture the endless mystique of Marilyn Monroe?

One subject that Hollywood never gets tired of talking about is the power of past silver screen stars. The current flavor of the month is Marilyn Monroe,with two projects about her brewing up but only one is ready to hit the theaters.

My Week With Marilyn is based on two memoirs by Colin Clark,who was an assistant on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl(which co starred Laurence Olivier).

The film follows Colin's brief connection to Monroe and the possible growing attraction between them. Michelle Williams plays MM and I have to say that,based on the trailer,she does have a very strong resemblance to Marilyn and has the acting chops to do justice to this most misunderstood diva:





Playing Marilyn is more than the usual daunting task for any actress beyond attempting to recreate her unique persona and physical appearance. She's been portrayed in multiple ways to suit the needs of the intended audience(and the agenda of the production)-as a lost child at heart,the party to pillow talk political secrets or a too needy for her own good gal.

At times,Marilyn's cinematic identity has been as manipulated as much as her real life one was and with no more concern for her than a kid would have for a piece of Silly Putty.

Fictionalized versions of her are always pretty popular,such as the 1974 made-for-TV flick The Sex Symbol. Based on blacklisted writer Alvah Bessie's novel,this take on Marilyn(called "Kelly Williams")had Connie Stevens doing her breathy best to pull off this middling melodrama off:





Given the fact that Marilyn was married to Arthur Miller one of the most cerebral celebrated playwrights in the world,it's no surprise that others in the field have tried to present her on stage and eventually screen.

Miller did so himself in After The Fall,which was turned into a filmed theatrical production for television but clearly he wasn't completely objective about that whole experience. In 1985,film director Nicholas Roeg adapted Insignificance,a play that wondered if Marilyn had ever met Albert Einstein and what those two would have to talk about.

The concept,written by Terry Johnson,was based on the discovery of an autographed photo of Einstein found in MM's personal items upon her death. Teresa Russell was cast as The Actress(everyone had symbolic titles instead of names here)and considering the random structure of the film,did what she could with it:





To be fair,some biopics of Marilyn do try to be creative with telling her story as a way of making her emotional struggles seem more sympathetic. HBO even gave it a shot back in 1996 with Norma Jean & Marilyn,which has two actresses playing the lead.

Ashley Judd was the Norma Jean side of her who was driven by a miserable childhood and loneliness to be a success while Mira Sorvino took on the Marilyn image after undergoing the typical Hollywood makeover of the time period.

The movie got a lot of mixed reactions but I give it credit for showcasing Marilyn as a woman divided within herself for personal and professional reasons,wanting to be whole. That was probably closer to the truth than any other depiction of her:



Regardless of how well My Week With Marilyn will be received(or the upcoming second adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' Blonde),the realness of Marilyn Monroe will most likely be an intangible element for anyone to preserve in any form of art. She lives on in her films and her truest legacy is as a muse for those looking to become a major media sensation.

Hopefully,such followers in her footsteps are savvy enough to avoid the pitfalls that Marilyn couldn't and know when it's time to leave the spotlight while still breathing:

Top Chef JD takes another double dip of elimination,TAR teams need to double back and the Vampire Diaries romances need to take a number

The Quickfire Challenge on Top Chef: Just Desserts took a breakfast break this week by having the contenders whip up the perfect doughnut to go with the variety of coffees set up for them.

Mark Israel of The Doughnut Plant was the special guest judge for this round that offered up ten grand as the prize but not immunity(it's off the table from here on in).



This was a sweet victory for Carlos,who has been treading water for the most part and bummed out on not yet getting a win.

Fortunately,his orange and lemon bomboloni with passion fruit ice cream(I don't picture ice cream with doughnuts,normally,but hey,when in Rome...)wowed Mark and Judge Gail,plus Judge Johnny who popped in for the tasting as well.



On a sour note,one of the chefs was eliminated based on this QF and that sad honor went to Megan. The honey cardamon glaze on her cake doughnut hardened up so fast that the doughnut was stuck to the plate.



For the regular Elimination Challenge,the remaining six chefs divided into two teams to make a chocolate presentation. Each team had to make a chocolate showpiece and every one in the group had to create their ultimate chocolate dessert.

The usual set of judges were joined by Wylie Dusfrene and each team got to taste the other's dishes. Their opinions of each other's food was strongly encouraged by the Judges' panel.



Orlando headed up one team with Carlos and Sally,spending most of his time working on the showpiece. He was worried that by letting the two of them prepare his dessert that he would be setting himself up for a downfall.

Personally, I thought it was more worrisome when he kept debating Judge Johnny during the QF over whether or not cardamon was promised in his doughnut. Dude,is this the right time to fight with a judge,with more than one elimination spot open? You need to know when to pick your battles,that's all I'm saying.



Orlando was right in trusting Carlos and Sally to finish up his dessert. The puff pastry chocolate mousse with mango coulis and cocoa nib sorbet was enjoyed by both the judges and the competitors alike,without too much criticism.

Also, I liked the theme of Orlando's showpiece which was the evolution of chocolate-nicely done,sir!



With Carlo's peanut butter,banana and chocolate mousse and Sally's caramel mousse in a chocolate sphere rounding things out,their team was declared the winners of this challenge. Orlando was extra happy about that,since he and Chris(who headed up the other team)have been rivals for some time now.



Speaking of Chris,I wasn't impressed with his showpiece at all. The size and shape of it wasn't anything that most folks watching Food Network Challenge haven't seen a hundred times over.

He claimed that it was "modern" but it takes more than some wavy pieces of chocolate and some white chocolate flowers to pull that off. I know that season two of Work of Art starts next week but this felt like a special sneak preview of similar pretentiousness here.

Katzie and Matthew were also on his team but it might as well been just Chris and Matthew alone,since the two of them shut her out completely. Nothing wrong with teaming up with a close friend on a challenge but there's a reason for being on a team,gents-it's called "working well with others!" Not just picking your favorites to work with because that option is not always available to you in real life,believe it or not!(okay,mini rant over).



Not surprisingly,their team was up for elimination. Chris also made a chocolate brioche that fell flat in terms of taste and Matthew's chocolate tart with sorbet and compressed cherries wasn't much better. Guess you fellas aren't a good influence on each other when it comes to cooking either,heh?



The one that went home was Katzie,for her boca negra cake that was too huge to fully eat. The jasmine added to the passion fruit curd was hard to discern and the texture of the mousse was very mushy to boot. *sigh* I was really getting to like Katzie and with a little more encouragement,she might have stayed in the game a bit longer.

Next week,the chefs have to deal with the old "one hand tied behind my back" routine. Some things are classic for a reason,folks!



The second leg of this season's The Amazing Race was extra tricky,with one team having to complete a Speed Bump and all of them up for a double elimination. That should have made everyone rev up their alertness levels but nearly every team fell prey to one small stumbling block.

At the end of the Road Block challenge,each team had to hand over the money earned during their task to a group of kids at a nearby orphanage. However,a sign on the table ,where the children were waiting to hand them the next clue,informed them that all of the money they had on them was to be donated.

When each team that did not heed the sign got to the Pit Stop,they had to go back and give their remaining cash to the orphans before being checked in. Only three out of the eleven teams paid any attention to the sign in the first place,which goes to show you that this competition is more than a game of physical skill. Brains and brawn,people,that's the name of the game!:





Things are complicated enough on The Vampire Diaries without the emotional roller-coaster that most of the lovelorn characters have to ride here. Let's look at Caroline and Tyler for instance;he's a werewolf,she's a vampire. That should be enough to make the situation hectic,right?

Nope,apparently since Tyler's mom reacted to her son having sleepover dates by shooting Caroline with a tranquilizer dart and handing her over to her dad(played by former Heroes regular Jack Coleman) which lead to Tyler revealing to Mom that her little boy is a big bad monster,too.

That's not even mentioning how down in the mouth poor Matt is after seeing yet another one of his girlfriends leave him for a supernatural boyfriend. Somebody needs to set him up with a stable and stay put lady, stat! Plus,Jeremy is seeing the true ghosts of his former girlfriends,which means Bonnie should get home faster than she planned.



Meanwhile in Elenaland,our heroine is still bound and determined to save Stefan from his sidekick duties to Klaus,who is not understanding why he can't turn others into hybrids like him(hint: the glitch is a certain doppelganger gal who's not dead).

To complicate things even further,Klaus has revived his sister Rebecca,who had a fling with Stefan back in the Prohibition era and has lost a magical amulet that is needed to figure out Klaus' little problem. That charm is hanging around Elena's neck,naturally and she has to rely on Damon for protection with him a)holding back his feelings for her and b)still bummed out over Stefan killing his mentally compelled rebound girl.

Got enough crazy on your plate? Katherine is not out of the picture,as she makes somewhat helpful phone calls to Damon and keeps secret tabs on Stefan. I think a flow chart might be necessary at this point to keep track of all the love/lust ins and outs of the show:



RANDOM NOTES:

THE WALKING DEAD: Season Two is just days away and to say that the stakes are higher is seriously an underestimation. I am so looking forward to this:

Scaring up a few Halloween horrors with Stephen King

This past Monday,Turner Classic Movies aired a new documentary about the horror genre which had Stephen King at the helm.

The "A Night at the Movies" series on TCM tends to focus on one particular genre at a time and getting a guy like King to do this is quite the cinematic coup. He brings more to the table that the usual writer's observations,due to having appeared in several films himself(with a decent sense of humor about his acting skills). King is also one of the few writers who is great to listen to as well,quite the bonus there:





He spoke about the movies that influenced him as a kid,such as the original 1956 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers,Tod Browning's cult shocker Freaks and Val Lewton's Cat People.

King also fondly recalls the Saturday afternoon matinee showing he went to as a boy to see Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers,which had an unexpected scare attached to it. During a rather climatic scene,the movie was stopped and the manager addressed the audience,telling them that the Russians had launched the first space shuttle.

That touch of reality played off of the sci-fi fears running amuck on screens and made a strong impression on King,along with the Ray Harryhausen special effects:





King also discussed his preferences for movie monsters and admitted he's not much of a werewolf fan but does appreciates a good zombie fest.

His attitude about vampires is mixed,joking at one point that Twilight is basically "I Was a Teenage Vampire" and not finding Bela Lugosi particularly frightening. However,he does like the more gruesome creature depictions of vamps,a la Nosferatu and his idea of a terrifying Dracula is one in the Christopher Lee mold:





Other topics mentioned included the appeal of haunted house movies,how the slasher genre has morphed into the current torture porn trend( of which he is not a fan of) and his candid feelings towards many of the film adaptations of his work.

King's take on the power of horror is great to hear,even for those who prefer to cover their eyes during the really scary parts of the movie. He also makes excellent suggestions about little known fear flicks to look out for,like the George C. Scott ghost story The Changeling from 1980. I saw that one once and it's a true blue chiller there,folks:



TCM will be replaying the Stephen King special throughout the month of October and every Monday this month will be devoted to many of the horror classics mentioned on the program. It's a great excuse to catch up on cult chillers like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,I Walked with a Zombie and The Haunting or discover some new favorites.

I for one would like to see if The Tingler is as stimulating without any William Castle wiring in my chair:

Another less than purr-fect Catwoman costume

I didn't intend to discuss any of DC Comics characters twice in a row this week,but it's hard to ignore the photos of the next incarnation of Catwoman for the upcoming Batman film The Dark Knight Rises.

As more and more glimpses of Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle in her alter ego get-up appear in the media,concerns are rising as well. Yes,the outfit does have a feline feel to it but let's face the facts,folks;this look is pretty boring.




The judges on Project Runway would be openly yawning if she was doing her turn on the catwalk for them in this dreary number.

My suspicions are that this rather conservative appearance for Catwoman is due to the godawful trampy ensemble that they convinced Halle Berry to wear for her ill advised solo turn in the 2004 film that won her several Razzie awards.

While the wardrobe department's intentions are good,this basic black number with the cat ears and eye mask isn't that much better. In fact,it slightly resembles an early version of Berry's Catwoman costume that her character donned in her first outing against a pack of jewel thieves:





On the positive side,keeping Hathaway's hair uncovered does evoke a touch of Julie Newmar,who many fans of the Adam West Batman TV series agree was one of better versions(Eartha Kitt did have the best Catwoman voice,however).

While that outfit covered her up as much as the one for Hathaway does,it certainly looked a lot slinkier and sexier. Then again,that show wasn't the finest example of being fashion forward,retro or otherwise:





The Golden Age comic book rendition of Catwoman had her wearing a cowl that showcased her hair,plus a cape and a dress with a nice thigh high slit.

That look has been revived for the light hearted animated series Batman:The Brave and the Bold. It does have flair,you got to give it that but it's not very practical in terms of throwing down with the caped crusader there,if you ask me:





What it all comes down to is that while this Catwoman outfit isn't as hideous as the infamous Halle Berry one,it's nowhere near the cinematic standards set by Michelle Pfeffier's now iconic costume.

Like many superheroes/villains,Catwoman has gone thru a number of adjustments to her attire and still managed to remain a formidable force to be reckoned with.

I would suggest to the TDKR costume designers that they might want to tweak this cat suit a little bit more. Surely,they could get in touch with a top notch consultant in the field,particularly one that knows how to make it work within a limited time frame and has no quibbles about adding his input for a superhero related project:

The DC 52 and the Starfire Situation

Within the past few weeks,DC Comics has relaunched many of their superhero titles with newer takes on the original back stories as well as untangling the numerous knots of old continuity from previous runs.

Called "The DC 52",this revision of even such classic characters as Batman,Superman and Wonder Woman was considered a major risk,with many retailers fearing that they would be stuck with a load of unsellable comics on their hands. However,the sales for this new line have been booming,giving everyone a strong surge of hope for the continuation of print comics.

Credit for the positive reaction by the fans has been partly given to the writers and the artists,who are key to keeping interest in these books alive:





Not all of the changes have been welcomed,however,particularly for two female characters. The new first issue of Catwoman doesn't show her face for the first two pages but there are plenty of close-ups of her butt and cleavage(and the last panel of the book shows a rooftop tryst between her and Batman that leaves nothing to the imagination).

Many will argue that Catwoman is the type of anti-heroine who is known for using sex as a weapon and that this is par for the course with her. Granted,Catwoman does keep her beauty and sexual nature as key components in her arsenal but it's only done to her advantage,not to any man's,including the Dark Knight himself. If the folks behind this new rendition don't realize that,I think they need to refresh their memory before Ms. Kyle tells them to hit the road:





What is ruffling up even more feathers is the revamp to Starfire,the space alien warrior princess from the Teen Titans series.

In this relaunch,she is now a member of Red Hood and The Outlaws,who has both a short term memory and amnesia(a condition that not even a daytime soap opera would touch with a ten foot pole these days),plus a tendency to have random meaningless sex.

I can appreciate wanting to give a sweet natured character,as Starfire is known to be,a darker edge or a more mature arch to her persona but what is the point of giving her a mind wipe and then presenting her as a fembot? Not to mention the two guys on her team who seem to be way too happy about that.



Before anyone accuses me of being a prude,let me make it clear that I remember Starfire quite well from her original comic book incarnation back in the Wolfman/Perez days and yes,she did have an intimate relationship with Robin(you even see them in bed together)but it was not exploitative in the least.

Starfire's sexuality is of a pure hearted sort,the kind that is based on love rather than desire, She's the kind of pretty girl who doesn't know that she is pretty and is more concerned about being loyal and helpful to her friends than strutting her stuff,unlike the ridiculous poses she makes in this new book.



The real shame of this is that a whole new generation of girls have gotten to know
Starfire from the Teen Titans animated series that ran from '03 to '06 and a good number of them would love to read her new adventures.

What a disappointment it is for these young ladies to be given a shallow sexist interpretation of the sweet yet resilient heroine they've come to know and love:





The big response from DC about both of these matters is basically "check the ratings,folks!" Red Hood and Catwoman are rated "T" for Teen,which is supposed to indicate mature themes but the themes are not the real problem,it's how Catwoman and especially Starfire's sexual natures are being portrayed.

What is good is that these debatable depictions are being talked about online and it's not just the women who are in an uproar. Male fans are also concerned about this and putting in their two cents as well.

Perhaps these concerns will be resolved in the upcoming issues of both titles yet that old chestnut about first impressions still holds true. I do think that DC ought to take the outrage over Catwoman and Starfire a bit more seriously,since the success
of the entire DC 52 depends strongly on the fans.

Also,it would be nice to see the superhero world evolve beyond the whole women in refrigerators/defrosted males trope. Now,that would be a real victory for all of comic book kind to celebrate: