Harry Potter 2008 Update

•August 7, 2008 • 2 Comments

It’s official.  The latest trailer for the next HARRY POTTER film, HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE is here!!



Director:David Yates
Writers: J.K. Rowling (novel)
Steve Kloves (screenplay)
Release Date: November 21, 2008 (USA)

As a refresher and for those of you who have lost track and/or are not HP readers, here is the synopsis of the second to last story in the series:

As Harry Potter begins his 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he discovers an old book marked mysteriously “This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince” and begins to learn more about Lord Voldemort’s dark past.

Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and Wizarding worlds, and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort’s defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn — whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. While Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, she hadn’t counted on Romilda Vane’s chocolates! And then there’s Hermione, simmering with jealousy but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.

Harry Potter’s sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is colored by two truths: Lord Voldemort is wreaking havoc on much of Britain and teenage hormones are fully raging. In this penultimate story in the saga of the Boy Who Lived, Harry finds a mysterious potions book bearing the inscription, “Property of the Half-Blood Prince.” As he begins to explore its custom-made instructions and spells, he excels at potions but also begins to learn about the ambiguity of most magic. Harry also embarks on private lessons with Professor Dumbledore, who takes him on a journey through memory lane to unravel the mystery of Voldemort’s past, and later, his immortality.

Here are two early stills released from the film:

On a somewhat related note, there is reportedly a HARRY POTTER musical coming to London’s West End theatres later this year (2008)…and Warner Bros. is currently creating a HARRY POTTER theme park experience at the Universal Studios Orlando Islands of Adventure park in late 2009.

Stay tuned for more updates!

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Comic-Con Update #2: Tori, Art and More…

•August 6, 2008 • 4 Comments

I know, I know.  It is almost 2 weeks after Comic-Con and I am just getting around to posting this.  Let’s just say that it was sensory overload and I needed recovery time to truly digest it all.

I am still processing it all, but wanted to post a quick *hot* list focused on some of the coolest art and graphic novel news (the other 2 reasons beyond entertainment that make Comic-Con my “must attend” event of the year.

Tori Amos and COMIC BOOK TATTOO

Seeing Tori Amos at Comic-Con.  First of all, that was huge for me.

As a fan of Tori’s music for the past 10 or 15 years, this is an amazing convergence of my favorite things.

I had the chance to meet Rantz Hoseley (executive editor) who had the idea to create a collection of artwork in a book inspired by Tori’s songs.

Image Comics has published COMIC BOOK TATTOO as a result of the collaboration and it is BEAUTIFUL!

Like me, Amos is a big fan of Neil Gaiman’s SANDMAN saga (she even wrote the introduction to his Death The High Cost of Living).

For COMIC BOOK TATTOO, the contributors took a song by Tori and created a story “inspired by” it.  There are nearly 50 individual stories in the book – all featuring different artists with stories inspired by a Tori song..

COMIC BOOK TATTOO is a fantastic experiment…but not surprising as Tori’s music and her avante garde lyrical stylings are truly a shining beacon for creative minds!

Some other artists that I am watching right now:

Eric Powell’s THE GOON

The big news for Eric Powell’s awesome comic series THE GOON is that – drumroll please – there is a movie in the works!!

I had a chance to sit down with some of the folks from Dark Horse Comics and learned more about where the series is going.  A dark comedy set in an alternate universe where street thugs and monsters coexist and battle, THE GOON is one of the most original comics out there.  The comics have paranormal and humorous elements, featuring ghosts, zombies, mad scientists and “skunk apes.”

Apparently, FIGHT CLUB director David Fincher is set to turn his eye to to the cult comic with animation house Blur Studios for the project, which follows the adventures of a muscle-bound brawler who claims he is an enforcer for the mob.

TARA MCPHERSON

Another artist that I am watching is Tara McPherson.

McPherson is an American painter, poster artist, freelance illustrator, comic book artist, and teacher based out of New York City.Her art has most recently been featured in JUNO, VERONICA MARS and even Guitar Hero…and she has done some fantastic collaboration for painted vinyl figures for KidRobot.

A recurring motif in her work is a person with a stylized heart-shaped hole through his chest in the place of an actual heart.  I purchased and had Tara sign this print at the show this year:

Tara McPherson is now reportedly working on a new painted graphic novel for Vertigo Comics.

Brandon RAGNAR Johnson

Those of you who know me, know that I am a HUGE fan of Lowbrow art.

I adore artists like Tim Biskup and SHAG and discovered RAGNAR just a short while ago…

While RAGNAR is definitely more on the illustrator side versus the lowbrow art side, his work is oozes with vintage pin-up dames, dripping with noir…and his color-selection sets a distinct mood and tone for each piece.

Brandon Ragnar Johnson has been a development artist for Disney, Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers and Nickelodeon as well as others. His work can be seen in his books Chromaphile, Got Your Nose, Izzy’s Very Important Job and Kings Of The Road.
Here is an image from his upcoming Big City project which feature more mechanical illustrations (robots, spaceships, etc.).  Looks cool….

I was a particular fan of this piece, THE QUITTING:

Just in case you can’t read the bottom, it says “Sometimes the most difficult thing to do is to do nothing at all.”  🙂

FINAL NOTES FOR TODAY

Since I am a huge fan of Lowbrow art, other notables from the ‘Con were  Tim Biskup and Gary Baseman.  More on them in future posts.

I will also hopefully have time to write about another Dark Horse property by musician/artist/creator Gerard Way of the popular group MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, UMBRELLA ACADEMY, soon as it was another great comic property that I discovered at the show.

As Dark Horse describes, THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY is about seven extraordinary, maladjusted indivudals and their plight to protect the planet.  When the former team members become aware of a new world-ending threat, they must put their personal and inter-personal problems aside and unite the super group once more to do what they were born to do – SAVE THE WORLD!

Cool.

~ Calliope

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Breaking Dawn Marathon

•August 3, 2008 • 1 Comment

BREAKING DAWN, the fourth book in the TWILIGHT SAGA, went on sale this morning – August 2, 2008 – at 12:01 AM.

By 12:06 AM, I had the book in my bag and was racing home to buckle down for a BREAKING DAWN marathon.

Having read the first three books in five days, I could not wait to rip open the pages of this apparently “final” book in the saga – at least from the point of view of its heroine, Bella.

Early into the book, I realized that this would be the most controversial book in the series.  BREAKING DAWN dares to take this beloved love story into a realm that was much more Grimm’s Fairy Tale than Romeo and Juliet….but I *loved* it!

I have already reviewed plenty of complaints from Twilighters critiquing the bizarre plot lines of BREAKING DAWN as ‘ridiculous.’

I’d venture to guess that those writing that critique simply skimmed through this final book to see if the leaked rumors were true and didn’t take the time to really see the author’s intent in weaving her tale.

The plot lines in BREAKING DAWN are much more gripping and raw than the other three books in the series and the story is certainly flawed, reaching for answers that are too studied at times.  Nevertheless, with mythology much deeper and braver than the other books, the content of BREAKING DAWN is decidedly more adult in nature and our beloved characters are given a “no holds barred” final stage for sharing their story.

Is it all a bit seedy and melodramatic?  Well, yes of course.  It has all of the elements of a classic fairy tale, complete with dark secrets, strange occurrences, miracles and, of course, the Happily Ever After we were all thirsting for.

I do believe that the first book, TWILIGHT, captured Stephenie Meyer’s true talent.  These subsequent books pale in comparison to her original story….but there was more story be told and I am grateful to her for telling it.

This isn’t my favorite book in the series, but I was not disappointed in how the story evolved.  The longest book in the SAGA, it could have been more aptly edited – but then again, it was important to hear Meyer’s vision of how Bella’s evolution should occur…

I won’t let myself believe that it is over, but if it is – I can say that this final segment of the TWILIGHT SAGA was a complex, flawed, but ultimately magical final bow.

More from the author, Stephenie Meyer, can be found on the Barnes and Noble BREAKING DAWN page.

As a sidebar, I was also thrilled to see that she dedicated this book (in part) to one of my favorite bands, MUSE.

Click here for one of my favorite MUSE songs, STARLIGHT

Click here for one of my favorite MUSE songs, STARLIGHT

Which also support my thought that I love this series so much because Stephenie Meyer is certainly a kindred spirit…around my age and with similar interests and inspirations.

While I don’t know that this kind of story or writing style is as compelling for others who are not in this mindset, I am compelled to write that this has been a fantastic experience for me and that Stephenie Meyer is truly a Muse for dreamer souls like mine…

~Calliope

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