Masked Men

It's always nice to see some comic book representation around the holidays. Halloween in particular is an easy way to cram some superheroics into your festivities.More so, apparently, this year as I turned the corner at Wal-Mart and was accosted by a gaggle of Marvel Comics themed kid's costumes: Captain America, two different versions of the Spider-Man costume, the Hulk and Iron Man.

This might not seem like a huge discovery but it wasn't too long ago when comic book movies were few and far between and therefore so were super hero Halloween costumes. Not exactly world altering but when you haven't posted anything to the blog in a while then all of a sudden it seems very relevant.

In the interest of equal representation, there were some Batman and Superman costumes available as well but that doesn't let DC off the hook. They are woefully behind in both the movie business and the Halloween costume business. Get to work people! I want to see hordes of tiny trick-or-treating Aquamen, Booster Golds and Hawkgirls by Halloween 2010.

Can Do

Not too long ago we counted down the top beers with a TV or Movie tie-in. Today we can be a little more inclusive for those of you that "forgot" your IDs.

We can start by heading across the Neutral Zone:

At first glance this might look like the previous real deal Romulan Ale that we've seen before. Once we disengage the cloaking device we can see that it's actually a non-alcoholic energy drink.
Nothing embiggens a perfectly cromulent novelty beverage collection like several representatives from Springfield. On the left is the Buzz Cola can from the 7-Eleven/Kwik-E-Mart conversion. In the center is a small can of what appears to be a marshmallow flavored soda from the UK. And on the right, boasting "90% Safe," is Krusty Kola which I think also originates in the UK.
No one taught us about merchandising like the 1989 Batman movie. Anything that had enough mass to hold a Bat Symbol was branded and that included this Swedish Batman Soda.
From the same makers of the Romulan Ale comes another Sci-Fi beverage. Much like hot dogs and bologna, the origins of Slurm are best forgotten for maximum enjoyment of this Futurama energy drink.
Spider-Man 3 gave us dance sequences, plot contrivances and tiny cans of soda. I'm pretty sure there was at least one more flavor in addition to Green Apple and Blue Raspberry but I can't imagine that's it's anywhere near as cool as these two.

So there you have it. Your life is now enriched with the knowledge of these novelty cans. Now I'll go back to telling myself that posting wacky blog entries is just as productive as actually finishing the editing for the movie.

Comic Book Literacy Trailer

And now, without any further ado, here is the trailer for Comic Book Literacy:

If you'd like to link or embed then you can also find it on YouTube.

Air Force

The superhero food scene has been a lonely one lately. This past summer I was naively hoping for some "Watchmen Waffles" but it just wasn't in the cards. I've mentioned in the past that fruit snacks typically hold the top spot when it comes the frequency of its superhero tie-ins, but coming in at a close second are Airheads.

I've never eaten Airheads and I've never watched "Batman: The Brave and the Bold," so obviously I'm the perfect person to opine on the various virtues of Batman Airheads. We'll start with the positives: Much like the format of the TV show, the candy incorporates various lesser known characters from DC Comics.

On the negative side: Like many reasonable adults who feel the need to write about superhero candy, I maintain high standards and semi-reasonable expectations when it comes to the bottom line. If they promote six different characters and sell a six pack of candy then the optimist in me hopes to get all six with the first purchase. Alas, the candy gods were not smiling that fateful day at 7-Eleven.

Blue Beetle, Green Arrow, Batman and Red Tornado (with duplicates of Blue & Red), not a bad collection of characters but the absence of Aquaman and Plastic Man leaves a hole in my soul that no amount of high fructose corn syrup could ever fill.

In an attempt to make nice for my incomplete set, the Airheads website has been completely Batman-ized and I spent the better part of the day coloring pictures of Plastic Man...

...and Bizarro Plastic Man...

That calmed me down. And since you were dying to know, according to the site's superhero quiz, I'm Batman. I'm the %$!@*# Batman!

So if you've been wondering why the documentary isn't finished yet I think it is clear now that I have some serious time management issues.

You too can experience the thrill of incorrectly coloring Plastic Man:

http://www.airheads.com/

Comic Book Literacy in Early Childhood Classrooms

A few moths ago we posted information about a presentation by CBL Producer and public school teacher Khindra Kent titled "Comic Book Literacy in the Early Childhood Classroom" at the "Comics in the Classroom" panel at Wizard World University during Wizard World Texas.

Now you can see it for yourself:

Dr. Sivana's Robot Duplicate

There'll be no major revelations or insights today. I simply saw a robot that reminded me of Captain Marvel's Lex Luthor-wannabe arch rival: Dr. Sivana. You be the judge:

The major difference is that our new friend here sports a monocle instead of Sivana's typical coke bottles. Other than that minor quibble I think the resemblance is dead on.

I'm having a hard time making out what he's saying although I'm sure it's marginally threatening.

So far I've got, "I [something] money [something]...and you're wasting mine. Splurge or move along."

Any help here?

UPDATE: After listening a few thousand more times I think he says, "Time is money and your wasting mine. Splurge or move along."

Edit Edit Edit

By way of an update, I am waste deep in the editing process. Here's a look at my primary view during "editing time" (a.k.a. "any free second I might have").

Editing is one of the most time consuming parts of the filmmaking process and usually leads to boring blog entries. So I'll keep this brief. This blog entry is just a quick reminder that the project is alive and well and is moving forward. In a month or so I hope to upload some promo videos.

The goal is to have a cut of the film ready for a few film festival deadlines in November.

FYI: That's Gail Simone in the center window and Joe Quesada in the right window.