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eddycurrents · 5 years

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For the week of 7 October 2019

Quick Bits:

Batman & The Outsiders #6 concludes “Lesser Gods” from Bryan Hill, Dexter Soy, Veronica Gandini, and Clayton Cowles. We get another “Batman’s doing something naughty” hint as Ishmael and co attempt to turn Cass and Duke to Ra’s al Ghul’s cause. This is less a hard end than a twist to lead into what might be coming next.

| Published by DC Comics

Black Hammer / Justice League: Hammer of Justice #4 gives us an explanation for what the Stranger did to zap the heroes across their respective realities, even as the more hot-headed Justice League members continue to cause problems on DC’s Earth. I’m still loving the eerie darkness that Michael Walsh is bringing to the art. It keeps it more consistent with the feel established by Dean Ormston and Dave Stewart, making it feel more like a Black Hammer story.

| Published by Dark Horse & DC Comics

Blade Runner 2019 #4 concludes the first arc. Michael Green, Mike Johnson, Andres Guinaldo, Marco Lesko, and Jim Campbell have done a great job capturing the overall feel of the Blade Runner franchise and it pays off here with one hell of a harrowing end, with a nice twist for what’s to come.

| Published by Titan

Buffy + Angel: Hellmouth #1 begins the event in earnest, even though you really do need to read the prelude issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to get the real first part of this story, from Jordie Bellaire, Jeremy Lambert, Eleonora Carlini, Cris Peter, and Ed Dukeshire. It’s good. As Spike and Dru’s first step in opening the Hellmouth causes havoc through Sunnydale, Buffy and Angel team up to try to stop what’s coming next.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Catwoman #16 has some truly stunning, beautiful artwork from Joëlle Jones and Laura Allred. It might also have a huge change on Selina’s status. Though, how exactly it fits in with “City of Bane” or anything else is anyone’s guess. Still, very nice artwork.

| Published by DC Comics

Coffin Bound #3 is even darker and more disturbing than what we’ve seen in the first two issues, going deep into some of Izzy and Cassandra’s past, while Cassandra’s sister learns how to be a peeler. Dan Watters, Dani, Brad Simpson, and Aditya Bidikar are doing something very different with this series.

| Published by Image

Collapser #4 feels like both a test and a turning point for Liam, one that almost seems like he failed. Liam’s new manager turns out to be a “Star Person”, and it feels like she’s leading him into temptation, as we seemingly can’t trust what we see. Mikey Way, Shaun Simon, Ilias Kyriazis, Cris Peter, and Simon Bowland are continuing to delivering one of the best, strangest trips out there.

| Published by DC Comics / Young Animal

Contagion #2 keeps this largely street-level, only reaching out to the Avengers as more or less support for the moment, as Iron Fist tries to deal with further eruptions of the contagion. Ed Brisson, Stephen Segovia, Veronica Gandini, and Cory Petit certainly make this feel grim as everything continues to go wrong.

| Published by Marvel

Detective Comics #1013 reveals more of what Mister Freeze has been up to, pushing some rather disturbing experiments as he continues to try to find a cure for his wife. Including a rather troubling cliffhanger that looks like it might upend a lot of what we think we know about Freeze’s situation. Very entertaining story here from Peter J. Tomasi, Doug Mahnke, Keith Champagne, Christian Alamy, David Baron, and Rob Leigh.

| Published by DC Comics

Doctor Doom #1 is an offbeat debut from Christopher Cantwell, Salvador Larroca, Guru e-FX, and Cory Petit. While it shows us some of the day to day runnings Doom does for Latveria, it sets up a mystery as his countries missiles and more launch an attack on a moon project designed to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Nice bits of humour in this one.

| Published by Marvel

Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror - Season Two #1 is a welcome return of this series, with a fun lead story playing through many of Poe’s luminary tales in “The Tell-Tale Black Cask of Usher” from Dean Motter, Alex Ogle, and Julie Barclay. Really great seeing new work from Motter. This issue is rounded out by the usual poetry, prose pieces, and the return of Hunt Emerson’s Black Cat.

| Published by Ahoy

Event Leviathan #5 works further at the identity of Leviathan, throwing a few more suspects on the fire, along with the possible death of an important character. Also, you’re probably never going to guess who this issue points at being Leviathan. Gorgeous artwork from Alex Maleev as always.

| Published by DC Comics

The Flash #80 continues to dismantle the new forces and characters built up recently as Zoom and the Black Flash separately try to eliminate the force users. Great art here from Scott Kolins and Luis Guerrero. Kolins is the perfect choice to usher in this next stage in Zolomon’s story.

| Published by DC Comics

Gotham City Monsters #2 is even better than the first issue, working through Melmoth’s resurrection and gathering the team with invested purpose to bring about his end. There’s also added depth in that Melmoth may very well be right about part of his plan, just not necessarily in his execution. It could add some modicum of moral quandary depending on which way this goes. Steve Orlando, Amancay Nahuelpan, Trish Mulvihill, and Tom Napolitano are doing some very nice work here.

| Published by DC Comics

Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy #2 continues the confrontation with Woodrue, building on elements from Justice League Dark, even as something is very, very wrong with Poison Ivy. There’s a more refined, controlled humour here than what we see in the Harley Quinn series itself and it seems to fit the more serious tone of the subject matter. I’m really liking the art from Adriano Melo, Mark Morales, and Hi-Fi.

| Published by DC Comics

Hawkman #17 brings Carter’s battle with the Shadow Thief to a close, but he takes a turn for the worse as the title runs deeper into the “Year of the Villain” event and the fallout from The Batman Who Laugh’s infected. It’s interesting how Robert Venditti, Pat Olliffe, Tom Palmer, Jeremiah Skipper, and Richard Starkings & Comicraft deal with these multiple spinning plates. Especially that very nice cliffhanger.

| Published by DC Comics

Ice Cream Man #15 is one of the stranger issues, which is really saying a bit considering that the series itself is regularly very strange. It’s dark, with a protagonist who seems to be suffering a psychotic break. W. Maxwell Prince, Martín Morazzo, Chris O’Halloran, and Good Old Neon continue to work magic with this horror series.

| Published by Image

Invaders #10 continues “Dead in the Water” from Chip Zdarsky, Carlos Magno, Butch Guice, Alex Guimarães, and Travis Lanham. Some interesting complications here as Roxxon is further added to the mix and Roman starts making more problems for Atlantis. A really nice set up for something new from Steve and Namor too.

| Published by Marvel

Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity #1, like Harleen #1 before it, surprised me. There’s a current saturation of Joker and Harley Quinn stories at the moment, spurred on by the movies, and it kind of tempers expectations. Thankfully, though, the start to this story from Kami Garcia, Mico Suayan, Mike Mayhew, and Richard Starkings is really rather good. It sets Harley as a criminal profiler, trying to figure out Joker’s murders, really getting inside this new take on her character and developing a more grounded crime thriller. The art from Mico Suayan is gorgeous, presented in greyscale, in contrast to the full-colour, photo reference of Mike Mayhew for flashbacks. I thought it was an interesting choice to present it that way, bucking convention for the flashbacks taking on a faded appearance. It gives the overall story a grittier feel for the present.

| Published by DC Comics - Black Label

Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Allegiance #1 is kind of a slow start to this intermediary step between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker from Ethan Sacks, Luke Ross, Lee Loughridge, and Clayton Cowles. There’s an interesting bit of showing just how evil the First Order really is, but a lot of what we get here is a regathering of the team. Gorgeous artwork from Ross and Loughridge.

| Published by Marvel

Justice League Odyssey #14 sees Dan Abnett, Chriscross, Cliff Richards, Le Beau Underwood, Danny Miki, Scott Hanna, Rain Beredo, Pete Pantazis, and AndWorld Design keep building this new team to confront Darkseid and his “new gods”. I really quite like the inversion of what we saw at the beginning, as Jessica Cruz is now working with villains attempting to do something heroic. We also get a reveal of Okkult, who is probably who everyone thought he was in the first place.

| Published by DC Comics

Livewire #11 gets at a point that was seemingly dropped in the wake of Harbinger Wars 2 in what the US government and their arms-length black ops group did in the Massacre, of how problematic rounding up and murdering a group of people are via American laws. I love that Vita Ayala, Tana Ford, Kelly Fitzpatrick, and Saida Temofonte pick it up here and incorporate it into another angle for this political warfare.

| Published by Valiant

Loki #4 concludes “The God Who Fell to Earth” and Loki’s conflict with Nightmare in fairly inventive fashion. Daniel Kibblesmith has been delivering some fairly interesting ideas here while planting more seeds for different permutations.

| Published by Marvel

Oliver #4 was well worth the wait. Gary Whitta, Darick Robertson, Diego Rodriguez, and Simon Bowland pack this confrontation full of action, with some absolutely beautiful artwork from Robertson and Rodriguez. Some very harrowing character moments as the story takes its next turn.

| Published by Image

Outer Darkness #11 is insanely good as John Layman, Afu Chan, and Pat Brosseau give us the first part of the two-part “season finale” to the series. The crew take shore leave as Rigg goes about interviewing what we think are replacement crew and a meeting with his superior, and then...well, you’re really going to have to read this issue. Great stuff.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Pretty Deadly: The Rat #2 is magnificent, delving into more of the existing mythology from the previous volumes, while still continuing on the new narrative for this era that started last issue. The repeated incorporation of visual motifs inspired by the film industry is a very nice touch. Kelly Sue DeConnick, Emma Rios, Jordie Bellaire, and Clayton Cowles are giving us a very compelling mystery here.

| Published by Image

Ronin Island #7 pushes the bandits and the Shogun into confrontation and...none of it goes exactly to Kenichi’s plan. Greg Pak, Giannis Milonogiannis, Irma Kniivila, and Simon Bowland continue to unfold this story in interesting ways, while Hana and Kenichi’s childhood lessons come back to both haunt and empower them.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated #1 is an interesting debut from Patrick Kindlon, Stefano Simeone, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. Set within a rather expansive big box store, it presents an extreme look at consumer culture and the lengths that this store’s loss prevention staff goes to in order to get their man. It’s rather cutthroat, literally.

| Published by AfterShock

Sonata #5 unveils a bit more about the planet and the Lumani, revealing an interesting depth to their technology that’s seemingly been abandoned and their method of reproduction. Mixing that in with the action of trying to save members of the two colonizers in conflict keeps the pace moving along. Gorgeous artwork from Brian Haberlin and Geirrod Van Dyke.

| Published by Image / Shadowline

Spawn #301 continues the story and structure of #300, with Todd McFarlane, Greg Capullo, Jason Shawn Alexander, Clayton Crain, Jerome Opeña, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia, Peter Steigerwald, Matt Hollingsworth, John Rauch, Greg Menzie, Jay Fotos, and Tom Orzechowski breaking it down into numerous chapters, dealing with the various different elements. Some interesting new characters revealed again, even though we only get a bit about them.

| Published by Image

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order - Dark Temple #3 reveals a few more secrets in the past, even as the Inquisitor searches for them in the present. Gorgeous artwork from Paolo Villanelli and Arif Prianto. It definitely feels like something weird is going on here.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader’s Castle #2 is another great entry into this series, with a central story illustrated this time by Kelley Jones and Michelle Madsen. It’s a wonderful monster story with one of Tarkin’s experiments, showing us what really makes up a monster.

| Published by IDW

Supergirl #35 sees Marc Andreyko, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, FCO Plascencia, and Tom Napolitano juggling about as many plates as they are over in Hawkman. There’s “Year of the Villain” stuff and a rather deep tie-in to Event Leviathan as Leviathan makes a pitch for Kara to join him.

| Published by DC Comics

Superman #16 reunites Jon and Damian one last time before Jon heads off to join the Legion in the future, from Brian Michael Bendis, David Lafuente, Paul Mounts, and Dave Sharpe. It’s a fun, heartfelt send-off with some very funny moments, including a renaming of Leviathan that will hopefully stick.

| Published by DC Comics

These Savage Shores #5 brings an end to one of the most beautifully told stories in comics in the past few years. Ram V, Sumit Kumar, Vittorio Astone, and Aditya Bidikar have done an incredible thing with this story, giving new depth and nuance to tragic romance and the vampire story. This conclusion is heartrending as we see how far Bishan will go for love, in an epic confrontation between vampire and raakshas. Everyone owes it to themselves to read this series. Simply phenomenal.

| Published by Vault

Thumbs #5 is the conclusion to what has been a wonderful series from Sean Lewis and Hayden Sherman. There are some really interesting ideas, subverting the ideologies of both factions, showing realizations that maybe there might just be a better way.

| Published by Image

Triage #2 delves deeper into the three multiversal versions of Evie, contemplating how they came about while trying to figure out a way to stop whoever it is that’s hunting them. There’s some sweet and funny character moments with the main “normal” universe’s Evie and Tab. Phillip Sevy is doing a great job of juggling both the ordinary and extraordinary in this story.

| Published by Dark Horse

Vampirella/Red Sonja #2 is more fun from Jordie Bellaire, Drew Moss, Rebecca Nalty, and Becca Carey. The issues between Vampirella and Sonja become greater, even as they get a spell to understand one another. There’s a really nice mix of humour and action here.

| Published by Dynamite

Web of Black Widow #2 is another great issue. What Jody Houser, Stephen Mooney, Tríona Farrell, and Cory Petit are doing here feels perfect for Black Widow, giving us an action-packed story full of intrigue, even as it keeps us off-balance as to what exactly is going on.

| Published by Marvel

Wonder Twins #8 throws in a prison break and a high school reunion into the reasons why you should be reading this series. Mark Russell, Mike Norton, Cris Peter, and Dave Sharpe deliver another humorous chapter to this series, with some rather interesting heartbreak.

| Published by DC Comics / Wonder Comics

Other Highlights: Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales #3, Age of Conan: Valeria #3, Amazing Spider-Man #31, Animosity #24, Batman Universe #4, The Batman’s Grave #1, Battlepug #2, East of West #43, Future Fight Firsts: White Fox #1, Ghosted in LA #4, GI Joe: A Real American Hero #267, Go Go Power Rangers #24, Gwenpool Strikes Back #3, House of Whispers #14, Immortal Hulk: Director’s Cut #5, Joker: Year of the Villain #1, Jughead: The Hunger vs. Vampironica #5, Magnificent Ms. Marvel #8, Marvel Action: Spider-Man #9, Miles Morales: Spider-Man #11, Oblivion Song #20, Postal: Deliverance #4, Power Rangers: The Psycho Path, Powers of X #6, Reaver #4, Redneck #24, RWBY (print) #1, RWBY (digital) #4, Secrets of Sinister House #1, Star Wars: Target Vader #4, Thought Bubble Anthology 2019, TMNT: Urban Legends #17, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #49, Unearth #4, Usagi Yojimbo #5, Wonder Woman #80

Recommended Collections: A Walk Through Hell - Volume 2, Baltimore Omnibus - Volume 1, Battlestar Galactica Classic: Counterstrike, Battlestar Galactica: Twilight Command, Black Hammer ‘45 - Volume 1, Blossoms 666, Hack/Slash vs. Chaos, The Silencer - Volume 3: Up in Smoke, War of the Realms: Punisher, Wizard Beach

d. emerson eddy is ready for some shashlik.

#This Week in Comics

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exococina · 6 years

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Mis almuerzos con gente alucinante I: Juan Carlos Olaria: El platillo de alioli perseguido por un hombre.

Sostiene la voz en off en los alucinógenos títulos de crédito de El hombre perseguido por un OVNI (Juan Carlos Olaria, 1976) que «el hombre vive apegado a la tierra y en raras ocasiones alza su vista a los cielos». El director tomó prestada la cita de Giordano Bruno, y no seré yo quien le devuelva a las brasas, pero opino que el astrónomo hereje no tuvo en cuenta a los catalanes. El catalán amb els peus plantats a terra camina mirant al cel: los castellers, la sardana, Montserrat, el porró i la calçotada, todo ello íntegramente elevado, bailado, enaltecido, empinado o engullido en pleno ejercicio de alzar la mirada al espacio y más allá. Y no quiero sacudirme la caspa de la barretina enarbolando los símbolos de la catalanidad más ortodoxa. Es que el símil va al pelo para introducir a un cineasta que, por heterodoxo, le ha tocado lidiar con la etiqueta de “el Ed Wood catalán”. Puede que igual que el director de Plan 9 from Outer Space, Olaria se interesara por el cine cuando le regalaron una cámara de 8mm a los doce años. Como su homólogo americano, escribió, produjo, dirigió y co-protagonizó su primera película. También se asemejan en los trucajes pedestres, el presupuesto escaso y en aquello de incluir en sus montajes los metrajes sobrantes de otras películas (en el caso de Olaria, las filmaciones de la NASA que fue a pedir al consulado estadounidense de Barcelona). Y puede también que, como al director de Glen or Glenda, les una el gusto por vestir alguna prenda femenina (cuando, al despedirnos, le elogie sus zapatillas negras con tachuelas plateadas, Olaria me confesará que son un modelo de señora que compró de oferta). Por mucho que tengan en común ambos directores, el sambenito que le compara con “el peor director de la historia del cine” es injusto: de no haber sido rechazado en la Escuela Oficial de Cinematografía de Madrid, quien sabe si sería conocido como “el Ray Harryhausen español” o estaría al nivel de todo un Gil Parrondo.

El hombre perseguido por un OVNI transpira una profunda sensibilidad artística que se manifiesta ya en los créditos, en sus solarizados y virajes de color, así como en los trucajes y ambientes que consiguen capturar el Zeitgeist de aquella Barcelona. Sirva de ejemplo el platillo sobrevolando un bloque de viviendas de Oriol Bohigas, esos que rompieron con la arquitectura monumentalista de posguerra. También en la sabrosa escena del Simca 1000 que los mutantes roban al protagonista (el actor Richard Kolin, nombre artístico de José Coscolín Martínez) flotando en el hiperespacio. Este coche se lanzó con fuerza al mercado español bajo el eslogan “cinco plazas con nervio”, que la picaresca popular enseguida transformó en “El filete del pobre, porque es para cinco, y con nervio”. Olaria lleva más de cinco décadas en la brecha más orillada de un cine insobornable y periférico en todos los sentidos, cuyas tramas son una excusa para recrearse en los trucajes artesanales.

Es un viernes de febrero y el cineasta ha elegido los manteles del Café Padilla, en el 387 de la calle del mismo nombre. Pese al apelativo “café”, el Padilla es una de esas casas de comidas, de menú a 9'90 €, que por fortuna resisten en barrios por romanizar como el Baix Guinardó. En la entrada, un letrero escrito a tiza asegura “Hacemos la mejor tortilla del mundo. Supérala si tienes huevos”.

–Crema de mariscos, por favor, y cordero a la brasa. A mí me gusta bastante hecha. O sea, medio cruda no me va. ¡Y vino tinto! Y un poco de pan.

Yo pido calçots de primero y secundo a Olaria con el cordero y el vino, maridaje bíblico que anticipa cierto regusto a herejía en estos altares del ateo que son todos los bares de bien. Le expongo mis intenciones: componer un retrato suyo a través del placer de comer, beber y hablar de la vida extraterrestre en la cultura popular mientras relajamos los esfínteres del espíritu. Siempre ha habido una amistosa relación entre el diálogo más o menos filosófico y la buena mesa.

–La verdad es que he copiado la idea de este libro.

Saco del bolsillo un ejemplar reeditado por Diario Público de Mis almuerzos con gente inquietante, una colección de entrevistas en restaurantes a personajes de la vida pública, casi todos políticos, editado en 1984.

–Vázquez Montalbán... ¡Me encantaban sus artículos en los periódicos! Coincidía con él en todo. Era muy equilibrado, muy prudente y progre. Veo que entrevista a Carmen Romero, al Duque de Alba, a Fraga... me huelo que esto debe de ser entretenido, mejor que su ficción. Y el título, lo de la gente inquietante, es muy agudo: en vez de llamarles “gente importante” va el tío y les dice “inquietantes”. Porque ya veo que todos son bastante franquistas.

––Es que él respondió a su vez a la idea de otro libro: Mis almuerzos con Gente Importante. Ese lo escribió José Mª Peman, que era muy facha.

–¡Hombre, si era franquista! Además, cuando yo era joven, este tenía la puerta abierta de Televisión Española. Obras de Peman, entrevistas a Peman, todo era Peman.

Decía Peman que «el almuerzo produce la benevolencia» y Olaria es de por sí un hombre bueno, extremadamente afable. Parlanchín y muy cuidadoso en la expresión, tanto en el lenguaje oral como en el no verbal. Unta de misterio cada palabra entornando sus ojillos tras unas gafas futuristas, como talladas a láser. Con frecuencia, alza la vista a los cielos y mueve las manos a lo Bela Lugosi, como intentando atraer o dirigir sus ideas mediante telequinesis. Nos sirven los primeros platos.

–¡Has pedido calçots! Están riquísimos, pero pide guantes de plástico, que se te va a quedar todo negro.

En efecto, me doy cuenta de la incompatibilidad de comer calçots y tomar notas en mi libreta al mismo tiempo. No importa. No traigo preguntas preparadas, tengo buena memoria y mi intención es literaturizar este almuerzo-entrevista sin menoscabo de la veracidad.

–¿Cocinas?

–Intenté cocinar hace ya un tiempo, pero soy un desastre. Ocurre que cuando cocino me entra el hambre. Me pongo nervioso, quiero acabar pronto, empiezo a probar... y para mí es un tormento. Envidio a la gente que tiene paciencia cocinando y se aguantan las ganas de comer. Yo ya me lo comería, ya lo veo acabado. O sea, padezco mucho cocinando. Me pone negro. Ahora tienes que poner sal, ahora el cubito de Avecrem... es todo un trabajo. Así que decidí dejar de cocinar e ir siempre de restaurantes. Me gusta comer lo bueno que cocinan los demás.

–Pues es curioso, porque con los platillos y los trucajes artesanales eres muy paciente.

–Sí, es curioso, porque a mi la cosa manual me va mucho. Pero es que eso no repercute en una sensación como es la del hambre.

Llegan los segundos: dos generosas raciones de cordero a la brasa con su bien de patatas cortadas a mano y alioli. Le comento que me parece que se come muy bien en el Padilla, teniendo en cuenta el precio del menú, que incluye una botella de vino aceptable y café o postre.

–No se come mal, no –contesta.

Me alegra comprobar que, como yo, Olaria es de buen apetito y mejor beber.

–¿Dónde rodaste los exteriores de El hombre perseguido por un OVNI?

–En el Parque del Garraf.

–¿Recuerdas lo que comíais durante el rodaje? ¿Dónde ibais a restauraros?

–Eso es algo que debo agradecer a los Ibáñez, dos hermanos que tenían mucho que ver con el Festival de Sitges. Ayudaban en el festival a su director de aquél entonces, Antonio Ráfales ––que por cierto era franquista– a ir por diferentes países buscando películas de terror para incluirlas en el festival. Ramon Ibáñez, uno de los hermanos, era cocinero además de muy aficionado al cine. Acabábamos un rodaje y Ramon nos decía. «Veníos a Sitges. Al meu restaurant, que menjarem allà!». Se lucía y nos hacía unos platillos fabulosos, tú.

El menú de la Semana Internacional de Cine Fantástico y de Terror de 1976, además de los foráneos pasteles de sangre en competición, incluyó un Mercado del Filme en el Hotel Calípolis, dirigido a profesionales, donde pudieron verse diferentes películas españolas en busca de algún incauto distribuidor extranjero. Fue el caso de El hombre perseguido por un OVNI, junto a otros títulos como Vudú Sangriento (Manuel Caño, 1974), Kilma Reina de las amazonas (Miguel Iglesias, 1975), La maldición de la bestia (Manuel Iglesias, 1975) o La noche de las gaviotas (Amando de Osorio, 1975). El único producto ibérico que consiguió colarse entre las pantallas oficiales del festival fue El jovencito Drácula, de Carlos Benpar. Sin embargo, para su exhibición comercial, se exigió el corte de una sicalíptica secuencia en la que Verónica Miriel y Susana Estrada jugaban a darse mutuamente chocolate con churros con los ojos vendados. Cabe también señalar que la empresa Santiveri, quizá para compensar tanto sang i fetge, repartió ese año productos dietéticos entre la crítica vegetariana.

Cartel del Festival de Sitges de 1976.

–Platillos...

–Sí. Platillos de comer y platillos volantes.

–Hay quien dice que los platillos volantes son solo una de las formas que podrían elegir las entidades que vienen de fuera o de otras dimensiones para manifestarse. Me parece curioso eso de que se presenten así, como mendigando comida desde el cielo... ¿Quizá es que quieren comernos?

–Muy buena la comparación. Muy buena.

–Tú, de hecho, las maquetas las haces a partir de moldes sacados de platos, ¿verdad?

–Sí, aunque para la última película (Se refiere a El hijo del hombre perseguido por un OVNI, la secuela de su primer largometraje que lleva unos años rodando y de la que ya tiene muchas secuencias montadas) ya me había olvidado de cómo había hecho exactamente los OVNIS. Sabía que eran platos pero no recordaba exactamente cómo los había hecho. Pues bien, me encontré con que ahora hay muchos tipos de platos y no todos te dan la forma, la corbatura que tú quieres. Ya no todos pasan por platillos volantes. Después de mucho buscar, los encontré en “los chinos”.

–¿Y en esta nueva película, se come?

–Hay una escena en la que Toni Junyent (el actor protagonista) está dentro del platillo volante, y los alienígenas le dicen «Terrestre, es nuestro huésped. Pídanos lo que quiera, ¿tiene apetito?» A lo que Toni responde «No puedo ocultarlo, espero que no me alimenten con pastillas» y ellos le dicen «Seguro que no» y le invitan a comer. Y en una mesa le sirven paella, bogavante y champán que han preparado ellos, aprendiendo recetas de la Tierra, para satisfacer al invitado. Yo creo que me podrán decir de todo pero, la película, curiosa será.

Olaria nació un día de 1942 en Zaragoza, pero, como podría decir Javier Pérez Andújar en un pregón, esto no importa porque cuando lo hizo era muy pequeño. De padres catalanes, volvieron a Barcelona al poco de nacer y se crió en el barrio del Guinardó. Explica Juan Marsé en Últimas tardes con Teresa que «En los grises años de la posguerra, cuando el estómago vacío y el piojo verde exigían cada día algún sueño que hiciera más soportable la realidad, el Monte Carmelo fue predilecto y fabuloso campo de aventuras de los desarrapados niños de Casa Baró, del Guinardó y de La Salud». Las precoces aventuras fílmicas que Olaria rodaba de niño, con la ayuda de sus amigos, tenían lugar en el Monte Carmelo o la Muntanya Pelada, como se le conoce popularmente por su escasa vegetación. Le pregunto por esa Barcelona gris que buscaba el color en los kioscos, de ¡OVNI! de Curtis Garland y demás bolsilibros de Bruguera. El protagonista de El hombre perseguido por un OVNI es un escritor, en horas bajas, de este tipo de novelas. Las ilustraciones en las portadas de estas publicaciones tenían también mucho en común con el cartel de la película.

¡Ovni! (1976) de Curtis Garland, uno de sus pseudónimos más conocidos de Juan Gallardo Muñoz (Barcelona, 1929-2013).

–¿Cómo recuerdas esos años? ¿Cómo saciabas las hambres, ya fueran de entretenimiento o de ganas de comer?

–Lo que más me inspiraban eran las películas. Cuando vivía mi madre, comíamos siempre en casa. Fue a raíz de su muerte que voy a restaurantes. Recuerdo comidas sencillas y apetitosas. Verdurica con patatas, sopitas... –Nos interrumpen para cantarnos los postres: melón, pudding, flan, macedonia o yogur. Olaria elige la macedonia y yo el flan– ...huevos fritos, costillas con alioli, conejo con alioli. El alioli siempre con mortero, eso nunca lo encontrarás en un restaurante. El alioli hecho a mano es fantástico, no hay color, es una cosa deliciosa.

«¿Van a tomar café?» La camarera no da tregua. Yo pido café solo, Olaria «un cortadito».

–En la posguerra, yo había llegado a comer borrajas, sopa de borrajas. Cuando crecí un poco, ya empezó a reponerse la cosa, pero se pasó hambre. Con el dichoso Plan de Desarrollo de López Rodó empezó a mejorar un poco la cosa, pero antes... todo fueron estrecheces. Mi padre era proletario, comunista, pero en ese momento tuvimos que comportarnos como burgueses. Él tenía buena carrera, era ingeniero, así que no sufrimos la miseria que les tocó a otros. Mi padre fue teniente del ejército republicano, pero curiosamente no le vinieron a buscar, ni necesitó exiliarse. Cuando entraron las tropas en Barcelona, vio entrar a los tanques vestido de uniforme desde su piso de la Gran Vía, con una rabia inmensa. Después, por lo que yo noté, aceptó la derrota. Creyó merecerla por haber perdido, lo cual no quiere decir que renunciara a sus ideas. Muchos años después, ya jubilado, seguía leyendo El Capital de Carlos Marx desde su despacho. Y mira que el El Capital es un rollo de mil pares de huevos, muy complicado de leer. Les debía pasar lo mismo a tantos otros.

Juan O. Olaria, que así se llamaba su señor padre, aparece doblemente acreditado en El hombre perseguido por un OVNI: de un lado ejerció de productor asociado, costeando la película. Del otro, dio vida al flemático Comisario Duran, un tipo de investigador a lo Poirot difícil de asociar al vernáculo y franquista Cuerpo General de Policía.

Apuramos la botella de vino, que nos empieza a chispar.

–Si ahora mismo aterrizara una nave espacial, tripulada por ovninautas hambrientos tras el viaje, sobre la Montaña Pelada o el Parc de les Aigües, ¿adónde les llevarías a comer?

–Hmm... al Botafumeiro o al Rosalert. Eso si les gusta el marisco, claro. En caso que no, a Can Culleretes, que me dejó asombrado. Tienen mucha variedad de platos y, personalmente, me parece mejor que el 4Gats o el 7 Portes, ya ves. En cambio, te dan una dorada muy buena por los restaurantes de la Barceloneta.

Desde luego, Olaria es todo un bon vivant capaz de destinar el mismo presupuesto en una comida que a producir una película. Pero, como si a unos seres que han recorrido una distancia sideral les fueran a importar unas paradas en metro, le replico que esos restaurantes están muy lejos. La primera opción está en Gràcia, la segunda en el Eixample Dret y la tercera en el Gòtic. Le hablo de Can Ginés, una propicia marisquería de su barrio a precios populares.

–¡Bueno, leñe, pues a Can Ginés! Pero pasa una cosa, a lo mejor los extraterrestres bajan y lo que dicen es «¡Quiero un brazo de gitano!» y tú se lo vas a comprar a la mejor pastelería y te dicen «no, no, de ese no...». Y claro, no se los vas a reprochar, a lo mejor en su planeta cuando ven a un gitano... ¡se lo comen!

–O imagínate que tienen forma de cefalópodos, como en La guerra de los mundos de Orson Welles y les das un pulpo a la gallega. Te lo tiran por la cabeza.

–Pues claro, hay que ir con cuidado.

–Alomejor ya lo conocen todo y vienen aquí de turismo gastronómico. Si nos llevan millones de años de ventaja evolutiva, tendrán acceso a TripAdvisor.

–Quizá sí, a lo mejor vienen expresamente a conocer a Ferran Adrià. Aunque no sé si deben tener las mismas antenas parabólicas. A mí lo que me deprime es pensar que todo el Universo sea un desierto, que no haya vida y todo sea polvo y gases. Qué asquerosidad. Ya nos podemos conformar con encontrar unas bacterias. O dinosaurios y aun gracias. Oye, te invito a un chupito, los chupitos los pago yo.

–Camarera, dos chupitos de orujo blanco bien frío, por favor.

Tras casi cuatro horas de agradable sobremesa, nos despediremos al caer la tarde sobre el cruce de las calles Sardenya y Camèlies, entre abrazos y promesas de ir pronto a comer una caldereta de llamàntol a Can Ginés. Como regalo de despedida, Olaria me entregará un DVD con su cortometraje de 1995 Encuentro inesperado. A llegar a casa y reproducirlo, veré lo siguiente: una niña (Ángela Ulloa) se encuentra, in fraganti en la cocina, con un luminoso y pequeño objeto volador que al ser descubierto emprende la huida. Intenta atraparlo sin éxito y al volver a la nevera descubre, entre el tarro de anchoas y un sobre de beicon, un diminuto mensaje: SENTIGK MOLESTAGK, NESEZCITAGK BIANDAS. Lo cual, entre los efluvios de orujo y el poco marciano que yo sé, tardaré en descifrar: Sentimos molestar, necesitábamos viandas.

#olaria #ovni #padilla #cordero #alioli

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johnnymundano · 6 years

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Eyeball (1975) AKA Gatti Rossi in un Labirinto di Vetro (Red Cats in a Glass Maze)

Directed by Umberto Lenzi

Written by Felix Tusell and Umberto Lenzi

Music by Bruno Nicolai

Country: Italy

Language: Italian

Running Time:

CAST

Martine Brochard as Paulette Stone

John Richardson as Mark Burton

Ines Pellegrini as Naiba Levin

Mirta Miller as Lisa Sanders

Daniele Vargas as Robby Alvarado

Andrés Mejuto as Inspector Tudela

George Rigaud as Bronson

Silvia Solar as Gail Alvarado

Raf Baldassarre as Martinez

José María Blanco as Inspector Lara

Marta May as Alma Burton

John Bartha as Mr. Hamilton

Olga Pehar as Mrs. Randall

Verónica Miriel as Jenny Hamilton

Richard Kolin as Mr. Randall

Rina Mascetti as Hospital Nurse

Fulvio Mingozzi as Policeman

Francesco Narducci as Receptionist at Hotel Presidente

Carolyn De Fonseca as Gail Alvarado

Laura Trotter as Murder Victim at Castle

(Rather than screengrab I elected to use the lobby card reproductions from the recent UK blu-ray release. They are kind of fun, I think.)

Eyeball is a hilariously trashy giallo. Giallo being defined on this day by me as Italian genre movies characterised by stylish sadism, sexual fetishism, ridiculous plot contortions and usually sporting an unwarrantedly fine soundtrack. (Other definitions are available by other people on other days.) Whether the hilarity and the trashiness of Eyeball are intentional is unlikely, but it’s their presence which provides the movie’s salvation, salvaging Eyeball from an unpleasant and, worse, unentertaining, mix of tedium and obnoxiousness.

A tour bus to Italy containing a disparate group of people from the same American town (where apparently everyone speaks fluent Italian like a native) become the target for a series of savage stabbings perpetrated by a maniac (mostly) clad in a red pac-a-mac. Oh, and during the prolonged session of frenzied stabbing the crimson plastic clad killer also likes to take out an eye...ball. Hence the title. Italy is a lively country but even there murder is frowned upon, and Andrés Mejuto is entertainingly brusque as Inspector Tudela, a man seemingly whittled from burnished leather who is racing against the clock to solve the crime before he retires to catch “trouts”, or succumbs to skin cancer.

For all its sleaze and gore Eyeball is at heart a mystery; usually part of the fun of a mystery would be trying to identify the murderer and their motive. In a normal movie written by a normal person this would depend on picking up on clues in the script and subtle hints in the performances. Eyeball is a giallo, though, and so considers adhering to logic and realism as party pooping in the extreme. During Eyeball you can still have a lot of fun conjecturing about the killer and their motive, but you might as well just take a wild guess, because like the victim’s eyes the solution is out there. Much to Inspector Tudela’s leathery dismay Eyeball may be light on “trouts” but it’s very heavy on the red herrings.

After all, what possible reason could there be for a killer to target a bus full of American tourists, besides extreme xenophobia? There are suspects galore from the tour guide who likes laughing at his own practical jokes like a rapist in a prison movie as the camera zooms in on his face, to Mark Burton (John Richardson), our typically blandly handsome protagonist, who likes to explain his job in promotion to young women via the illustrative example of those free toys in cereal. Or is it John’s mistress, Paulette Stone (Martine Brochard), who has crossed her legs to him since discovering his wife is ill? Or is it John’s wife, Alma Burton (Marta May) who is not where she should be and is apparently a bit mental? Or is it even one of the apparently few people on earth who haven’t a working knowledge of John’s genitals? The domineering lesbian photographer? Her unhappy partner? The priest with the picture of himself and some kids (uh-oh, spaghetti-o!) hidden in his Bible? What about that guy who runs to the top of the steps who looks like an explosion in a Disco Factory? (Unhappily he’s only onscreen for a few seconds; he’s great, but (SPOILER) it isn’t him). Practically everyone on the bus likes standing over sleeping people with a straight razor or touching young women inappropriately when their wife is out of sight. To be fair it was the ‘70s, so both those things were probably considered a bit of “cheeky fun”. The quirkiness of the characters and the impressively nuts plot are Eyeball’s greatest strengths, keeping things interesting even when it seems the director has dozed off.

Every now and again though, Lenzi does rouse himself and remember he’s making a giallo. Giallo is a very stylish genre but, unfortunately, Eyeball isn’t very stylish; but it is, just, stylish enough. There are a smattering of stylistically impressive shots in Eyeball, but for the most part it is lumpenly dogged stuff, sporadically enlivened by the inspired visual of the bright red maniac. Even the lovely score by Bruno Nicolai is just kind of jammed on scenes without much deliberation. This slapdash quality is not uncommon amongst giallo movies, we aren’t talking about movies which were laboured and sweated over so much as written, shot and released as if in a race against time. Given their cheapskate origins the resultant shoddiness probably has to be reluctantly acknowledged as part of their charm. Giallo are usually a bit of a mess, for the most part, but ultimately outlandish enough to be fun and Eyeball doesn’t buck this trend.

#Eyeball #Movies #Horror #Giallo #Slasher #Umberto Lenzi #1975 #1970s #Martine Brochard #Marta May #John Richardson #Italy #Gatti Rossi in un Labirinto di Vetro #Red Cats in a Glass Maze

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rabbittstewcomics · 3 years

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Episode 304

DC September Solicits

Comic Reviews:

Static Season One 1 by Vita Ayala, ChrisCross, Niklas Draper-Ivey

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow 1 by Tom King, Bilquis Evely, Mat Lopes

Superman: Red and Blue 4 by Mark Waid, Joshua Williamson, Robert Venditti, Rich Douek, Michael Conrad, Francis Manapul, Chris Sprouse, Joe Quinones, Cully Hamner, Alitha Martinez, Audrey Mok, Alex Sinclair, Jordie Bellaire, Emilio Lopez

Demon Days: Mariko by Peach Momoko, Zach Davisson

Heroes Reborn 7 by Jason Aaron, Ed McGuinness, Aaron Kuder, Mark Morales, Matt Wilson

Heroes Reborn: Weapon X and Final Flight by Ed Brisson, Roland Boschi, Chris O'Halloran

Planet-Size X-Men by Gerry Duggan, Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia

Captain America Annual by Gerry Duggan, Marco Castiello, Ruth Redmond

Venom 200 by Donny Cates, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Ryan Stegman, Ron Lim, Kev Walker, Mark Bagley, Chris Giarrusso, Guiu Vilanova, Jay Leisten, Scott Hanna, John Dell, Victor Nava, JP Mayer, Alex Sinclair, Chris Sotomayor, Matt Milla, Richard Isanove, Jim Campbell, Chris O'Halloran, Frank Martin

Compass 1 by Robert Mackenzie, Dave Walker, Justin Greenwood, Daniel Miwa

Jim Lives OGN (and Paul is Dead) by Paolo Baron, Ernesto Carbonetti

Jupiter's Legacy: Requiem 1 by Mark Millar, Tommy Lee Edwards

Norse Mythology II 1 by Neil Gaiman, P. Craig Russell, Matt Horak, Lovern Kindzierski

Space Pirate Captain Harlock 1 by Leiji Matsumoto, Jerome Alquie

Seven Swords 1 by Riccardo Latina, Evan Daugherty, Valentina Bianconi

Save Yourself 1 by Bones Leopard, Kelly Matthews, Nichole Matthews

Adora and the Distance GN by Marc Bernardin, Ariela Kristantina, Bryan Valenza, Bernardo Brice

Dragon Racer GN by Jody Weiser

99 Cent Theater:

Jungle Darlings 1 by Derek Chua

In Nomine Patris 1 by R.N. Jonas, Frank Amorim

Additional Reviews: Loki ep2, Luca, Miraculous Ladybug, Barbalien Red Planet, Vigil, Renegade Rule, Owl House s2, Father

News: Skybound X collection, Ty Templeton leaves Batman: The Adventures Continue, new Ms. Marvel book in the fall, new creative team for Amazing Spider-Man, Dark Days back on in September, Marvel theme park loophole, Silk to Amazon

Trailers: Picard s2

Comics Countdown:

Ultramega 4 by James Harren, Dave Stewart

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow 1 by Tom King, Bilquis Evely, Mat Lopes

Radiant Black 5 by Kyle Higgins, Eduardo Ferigato, Marcelo Costa, Natalia Marques

Usagi Yojimbo 20 by Stan Sakai

Many Deaths of Laila Starr 3 by Ram V, FIlipe Andrade

Seven Secrets 9 by Tom Taylor, Daniel Di Nicuolo

Stillwater 8 by Chip Zdarsky, Ramon Perez, Mike Spicer

Time Before Time 2 by Rory McConville, Declan Shalvey, Joe Palmer, Chris O'Halloran

Flash 771 by Jeremy Adams, Bryan Hitch, Scott Kolins, Kevin Maguire, Fernando Pasarin

Check out this episode!

#comics #podcast #podernfamily #rabbittstew

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zendzen00 · 4 years

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Memes in Digital Culture

In today’s post we will see four chapters of Limor Shifman’s “Memes in Digital Culture” published in 2014.

A Telegraphic Biography of a Conceptual Troublemaker

The term ‘meme’ was introduced by Richard Dawkins, a biologist, in his book titled “The Selfish Gene” in 1976.

He defined memes as small cultural units of transmission that spread from person to person by copying or imitation. According to Dawkins, memes are defined as replicators that undergo variation, competition, selection and retention.

In any moment, memes are competing for attention of the hosts, but only memes that are suited to their sociocultural environment spread rapidly. Moreover, Dawkins also noticed that memes tend to be replicated together by sustaining and strengthening each other; he calls these groups “coadapted meme complexes”.

The word ‘meme’ derives from the Greek mimema, signifying ‘something which is imitated’, which Dawkins then shortened to rhyme with ‘gene’. A similar term appeared in 1870, when the Austrian sociologist Ewald Hering coined the term ‘die Mneme’ from the Greek term mneme which means memory. There were two controversies surrounding memes which are very relevant: biological analogies and ‘who’s the boss’.

The “biological analogies” dispute relates to the tendency to liken memes to both viruses and genes. The meme-as-virus analogy sees a similarity between memes and disease agents. By taking epidemiology as a model, it considers memes as the cultural equivalents of flu bacilli, which is transmitted through the communicational equivalents of sneezes.

The second controversy, ‘who’s the boss’, relates to the issue of human agency in the process of meme diffusion. In her book “The Meme Machine”, Susan Blackmore claims that people are devices operated by the many memes they host and spread. In addition, she says that the dissemination of memes is based on intentional agents with decision-making powers.

According to Michele Knobel and Koline Lankshear, Internet users employ the word ‘meme’ to describe the rapid uptake and spread of a “particular idea presented as a written text, image, language ‘move’ or some other unit of cultural ‘stuff’”. Another difference is the object of analysis: while memes are trivial and mundane artifacts, they reflect deep social and cultural structures whereas Internet memes can be treated as (post) modern folklore, in which shared norms and values are constructed through cultural artifacts.

When Memes Go Digital

According to Dawkins, memes that spread successfully incorporate three basic properties:

longevity,

fecundity and

copy fidelity.

What Internet grasped in that the meme is the best concept to encapsulate some of the most fundamental aspects of the Internet.

The three main attributes ascribed to memes are. (1) a gradual propagation from individuals to society, (2) reproduction via copying and imitation, and (3) diffusion through competition and selection.

First, memes can be understood as pieces of cultural information that pass from person to person. The basic activity of spreading memes has become desired and highly valued and it has been identified as sharing. Nowadays sharing content or memes is a fundamental part of what participants experience as the digital sphere.

A second attributes of memes is that they reproduce by various means of repackaging or imitation. In oral communication, people are aware of memes through their sense, process them in their minds and ‘repackage’ them in order to pass them to others; this process brings memes to change both their form and their content but in the digital era, there is no need to repackage memes because they can spread content by copying, forwarding ecc. There are two main repackaging mechanisms of memes: mimicry and remix. Mimicry involves the practice of ‘redoing’ while instead remixing involves technology-based manipulation (so photoshopping and image or adding a soundtrack).

A third attribute of memes is their diffusion through competition and selection. As a matter of fact, the digital era made it possible to have researchers in order to trace the spread of memes.

In the last few years, there is a new phenomenon called hyper-memetic logic, where ‘hyper’ refers not only to the fact that memes spread more widely than before but also to their evolution as a new vernacular that permeates many spheres of digital and non-digital expression. The hyper-memetic nature of contemporary culture can be clarified by a comparison between ‘old’ and ‘new’ memes. But traditional and Internet-based memes differ in several ways.

The first distinction relates to individuals’ awareness of the overall meme-scape, where memes are present both in the public and private sphere as huge sized groups of texts and images. and the third one is the cultural and aesthetic logics of participation which focuses on the notion that memes are not confined to particular spheres.

Defining Internet Memes

Shifman suggests a different kind of approach in defining memes. This suggestion is based on two principles:

(a) looking at diffused units as incorporating several memetic dimensions and

(b) understanding memes not as single entities that propagate well, but as groups of content units with common characteristics.

By connecting the Dawkins’ original idea – that memes are units of cultural items – she decides to isolate three dimensions of cultural items that people could imitate: content, form and stance.

The first dimension relates to the content of a specific text, referencing to both the ideas and the ideologies conveyed by it.

The second dimension relates to form, referring to the physical incarnation of the message.

The third dimension relates to stance, which relates to the information memes convey about their own communication. As a matter of fact, she breaks this third dimension into three sub-dimensions:

(1) participation structures – which delineate who is entitled to participate and how;

(2) keying – the tone and style of communication;

and (3) communicative functions – used according to the typology.

Roman Jakobson identified six fundamental functions of human communications: (a) referential communication, which is oriented towards the context; (b) emotive, oriented towards the addressee and his/her emotions; (c) conative, oriented towards the addressee and available paths of actions; (d) phatic, which serves to establish prolong or discontinue communication; (e) metalingual, which is used to establish mutual agreement in the code; and (f) poetic, focusing on the aesthetic or artist beauty of the construction of the message.

With this 3D breakdown, Shifman defines an Internet meme as: (1) a group of digital items sharing common characteristics of content, form and/or stance; (2) were created with awareness of each other, and (3) were circulated, imitated and/or transformed via the Internet by many users.

Unpacking Viral and Memetic Success

Jonah Berger and Katherine Milkman have conducted the most comprehensive study to date about the features that enhance sharing tendencies on the internet. They highlighted six factors that enhance content’s virality which Shifman calls the “Six Ps”: positivity, provocation of high-arousal emotions, participation, packaging, prestige, and positioning.

1 Positivity (and Humor)

Berger and Milkman understood that people are more likely to share positive stories rather than negative ones. In addition, people prefer sharing items that are perceived as surprising, interesting or useful. People prefer spreading content that makes others feel good and at the same time reflects on themselves as entertaining. This tendency towards positivity is in line with the growing body of evidence about the centrality of humorous content in viral processes; humorous content may be particularly sharable as it tends to be surprising, reason for which it is the key for virality.

2 Provoking ‘High-Arousal’ Emotions

Berger and Milkman found out that people share content that arouses them emotionally – both positively and negatively. Positive high-arousal is embedded in what the authors tag as ‘Awa’ stories – combining positive valence and high levels of emotional arousal. Unfortunately, there were also less cheerful stories that became viral which evoked negative high-arousal feelings of anger and anxiety. Such feelings activate people to do something as for example, share content.

3 Packaging

Berger and Milkman found out that clear and simple news stories spread better than complex ones. This principle may work for other genres and formats as well: simple videos or jokes could prove as more ‘sharable’ since people understand them quickly and assume that others will decode them easily too.

4 Prestige

‘Prestige’ relates to users’ knowledge about the content’s source. It was found that the more famous the author is, the more likely people are to spread to the piece. A similar tendency to rely on famous people – in somewhat different configuration – is apparent in the diffusion of viral videos. This approach generated public support of celebs such as Rihanna and Oprah.

5 Positioning

According to Berger and Milkman, positioning is very important for virality. This manifests in the location of a certain article in digital space and time. Positioning may assume a broader meaning in the context of viral diffusion, which relates to the location of a message within social networks. In viral marketing, the centrality of this feature is embedded in the emphasis on ‘seeding strategies’. Studies proved that approaching the ‘right’ user is crucial in the viral process. There are two types of preferred users:

hubs – people with a high number of connections to others; and

bridges – people who connect between otherwise unconnected parts of the network.

6 Participation

With participation it is meant that viral dissemination may be enhanced if people are encouraged not only to share a certain item, but also to carry out other activities related to it.

To explain memetic success, Shifman separates meme features into those that are characteristic of memetic videos and those that are characteristic of memetic photos. Memetic videos tend to include ordinary people, flawed masculinity, humor, and repetitiveness (actors repeating something over and over) while memetic photos tend to include a juxtaposition between the actor and surrounding elements (often times with a deepened ridicule of the original) or people in frozen-motion poses.

Never thought memes had such a history behind their back. What do you think?

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biggoonie · 7 years

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ANNIHILATION: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION VOL. 2 TPB

Written by SIMON FURMAN, KEITH GIFFEN, CHRISTOS GAGE & STUART MOORE Penciled by JORGE LUCAS, ANDREA DI VITO, GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI, MIKE McKONE & SCOTT KOLINS COVER BY GABRIELE DELL’OTTO ON SALE APRIL 2018 The cosmic epic concludes, and the Marvel Universe will never be the same! Exiled and on the run, Ronan the Accuser faces the deadliest women in the galaxy — including Gamora! As war rages across the universe, Richard Rider, the new Nova Prime, must marshal a united front against Annihilus and his lethal Annihilation Wave! Drax the Destroyer, Peter “Star-Lord” Quill, Moondragon and Phyla-Vell join the fight to guard the galaxy — but what chilling plan does Annihilus have for Galactus? Whose side is Thanos on, and what will happen when he faces down Drax? Can Ronan save the Kree Empire from Annihilus’ forces? And how can Nova’s ragtag team possibly defeat the Annihilation Wave, stop the war and save the galaxy? Collecting ANNIHILATION: RONAN #1-4, ANNIHILATION #1-6, ANNIHILATION: HERALDS OF GALACTUS #1-2 and ANNIHILATION: THE NOVA CORPS FILES. 408 PGS./Rated T+ …$34.99 • ISBN: 978-1-302-91287-1

#Annihilation

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thetoychronicle-blog · 8 years

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WILD Konk Black Porcelain By Richard Orlinski x K.Olin tribu

Richard Orlinski x K.Olin tribu are back! The white porcelain ” Wild Konk” shook the porcelain art scene back in 2015 and now it’s available in BLACK porcelain. Like they say “once you go black you’ll never go back” This polygon style Gorilla “Wild Kong’ is the beautiful work from Richard Orlinski and trusting the porcelain masters K.Olin tribu…

WILD Konk Black Porcelain By Richard Orlinski x K.Olin tribu was originally published on The Toy Chronicle

#black porcelain #K.OLin tribu #KOlin tribu #Richard Orlinski #WILD Konk

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mycomicbookplace · 6 years

Link

About Annihilation: The Complete Collection Vol. 1:

Collects Drax The Destroyer #1-4, Annihilation Prologue, Annihilation: Nova #1-4, Annihilation: Silver Surfer #1-4 And Annihilation: Super-Skrull #1-4.

The explosive outer-space epic that revitalized Marvel’s cosmos! Drax the Destroyer gets a new look, a fresh purpose – and a surprising friend. But when Annihilus, lord of the Negative Zone, unleashes his monstrous Annihilation Wave on our universe, the galaxy’s greatest heroes – and some you might call villains – must brace for war! Annihilus’ opening salvo devastates the Nova Corps, and Richard Rider’s life is changed forever! Can he carry the Corps’ powerful Worldmind alone without going mad? Silver Surfer unites with his fellow heralds to protect Galactus, but what dark bargain must he strike? And a personal mission takes Super-Skrull to the Negative Zone -where he faces betrayal! Plus: Quasar takes on Annihilus, and only one will survive!

Written by: Keith Giffen, Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning Illustrated by: Scott Kolins, Mitch Breitweiser, Ariel Olivetti, Kev Walker, Gabriele Dell'Otto Targeted Age Group: Young Adult

Buy the ebook

Buy the Paperback Book

#IFTTT #WordPress

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eddycurrents · 5 years

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For the week of 8 April 2019

Quick Bits:

Asgardians of the Galaxy #8 throws the team into the chaos of The War of the Realms on Earth as they join the rest of Earth’s forces trying to fight back against Malekith’s army. It’s interesting as their own earthbound connections pull them apart.

| Published by Marvel

Avengers: No Road Home #9 seems to be taking a different turn as this penultimate chapter goes off in an entirely new direction with Nyx. The snuffing of the light might be something we don’t expect, making for a very interesting conclusion to this issue. Also, again Mark Waid, Jim Zub, and Al Ewing give us some amazing character introspection.

| Published by Marvel

Batman #68 continues “Knightmares” with Tom King, Amanda Conner, Dan Panosian, John Timms, Mikel Janín, Paul Mounts, Jordie Bellaire, and Clayton Cowles giving us a look at Selina and Bruce’s respective bachelorette and bachelor parties (at least as interpreted through whatever Bruce is currently going through). It has some moments of humour, especially as Selina and Lois continue to bond, but we’re still no closer to finding out what’s really going on and being a “simulation” (or at least seeming to be) kind of robs the story of any character development.

| Published by DC Comics

Bettie Page #3 sees Bettie and Queen Elizabeth II attempt to unravel the plot of the flying saucers. Great art from Julius Ohta and Sheelagh D as the intrigue is ratcheted up.

| Published by Dynamite

Captain Marvel #4 gives us a rematch between Carol and Rogue and it’s bloody brilliant. Wonderful action and twists as we head towards a finale from Kelly Thompson, Carmen Carnero, Tamra Bonvillain, and Clayton Cowles.

| Published by Marvel

Detective Comics #1001 brings Arkham Knight (he’s probably not Jason Todd this time around) to the DCU amid mysterious deaths of entire bat colonies and an explosion causing a miniature sun to appear in the sky. Incredible artwork from Brad Walker, Andrew Hennessy, and Nathan Fairbairn.

| Published by DC Comics

The Empty Man #6 unleashes the chaos of the virus fully on the world as society begins to tear itself apart. There’s some interesting bits as the old face of the virus is fed to its new form and the body horror art of Jesús Hervás and Niko Guardia is just amazing.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Fairlady #1 is an impressive debut from Brian Schirmer, Claudia Balboni, Marissa Louise, and David Bowman. It’s a kind of detective tale set across the backdrop of a fantasy world that just went through a devastating war and this opening case delves into some of the aftereffects on people as we’re introduced to our lead of Jenner Faulds.

| Published by Image

Faithless #1 is...something. I’m not really sure what. This first issue from Brian Azzarello, Maria Llovet, and AndWorld Design introduces us to Faith and her very odd encounter with Poppy, who may or may not be a pile of maggots. It’s more strange than sexy.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

The Flash #68 continues the Trickster’s reign of “happy” terror across Central City, giving a bit more insight into what he’s doing, and delivering a nasty blow to the Flash. Scott Kolins and Luis Guerrero again make this look stunning.

| Published by DC Comics

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #5 is a gut punch rollercoaster from Tom Taylor, Yildiray Cinar, Nolan Woodard, and Travis Lanham. Taylor is doing his damnedest with this series to knock Chip Zdarsky off his roost for funniest and most heartfelt run.

| Published by Marvel

Hawkman #11 unleashes an army of Hawkmen on the Deathbringers as it feels like Robert Venditti, Bryan Hitch, Andrew Currie, Jeremiah Skipper, and Richard Starkings & Comicraft are bringing “Cataclysm” in for a landing. Just some all out chaos this issue with some brilliant fight sequences and surprising revelations.

| Published by DC Comics

Infinite Dark #5 returns from its trade break with new terror, and new problems, as Deva awakens to find herself in the chaos after she saved the station in the first arc. Ryan Cady, Andrea Mutti, K. Michael Russell, and Troy Peteri are building some great horror here, with some existential terror and interesting science.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Justice League Odyssey #8 lays bare all of Darkseid’s plans for the Ghost Sector in the wake of the breaking of the Source Wall and it feels suitably epic. It feels like Dan Abnett is building something big here, with gorgeous artwork from Daniel Sampere, Juan Albarran, and Ivan Plascencia.

| Published by DC Comics

The Life & Death of Toyo Harada #2 might well be even better than the first issue as we get more development from Harada’s past and a deeper look into Angela, her plans of betrayal, and how much of a monster she really is. Great work from Joshua Dysart, CAFU, Butch Guice, Andrew Dalhouse, Dan Brown, and Dave Sharpe.

| Published by Valiant

Livewire #5 starts off a new arc as Kano takes over the art duties, joining Vita Ayala and Saida Temofonte. This first part introduces a new player to the game in the form of the Psiot Safety & Education Program, which looks like a government-sanctioned shackling program.

| Published by Valiant

Low #21 reveals what happened to Stel and Zem, caught by the Neo Sapiens, and essentially kept as lab rats. Gorgeous artwork from Greg Tocchini and Dave McCaig.

| Published by Image / Giant Generator

Murder Falcon #7 cues up for the end as Jake battles Magnum Khaos as an existential threat, and the remaining members of Brooticus attempt to defend reality alongside the Tokyo Musical Defense Force. Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer, and Rus Wooton are really giving this their all and it shines through in a highly captivating, entertaining story.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Oblivion Song #14 continues to explore the new status quo of Nathan’s life after prison and the Oblivion colony having a team of gatherers attacked by the Faceless Men. Robert Kirkman, Lorenzo De Felici, Annalisa Leoni, and Rus Wooton never waste a moment in this series. Some very great moments in the art as De Felici and Leoni nicely convey how Nathan’s feeling alone, even amongst a crowd.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Orphan Age #1 has a premise similar to Jeremiah and the “Miri” episode of Star Trek, wherein all of the adults have died for some reason and the children have inherited the Earth. It’s not a bad start from Ted Anderson, Nuno Plati, João Lemos, and Marshall Dillon, introducing us to our three leads as they come together in a town besieged by the “New Church”.

| Published by AfterShock

Outer Darkness #6 concludes the first arc from John Layman, Afu Chan, and Pat Brosseau as the planetbound crew hunt the demons stalking them. Also a cat scaring the crap out of them.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Rat Queens Special: Swamp Romp #1 gives us a taste of the new creative team of Ryan Ferrier, Priscilla Petraites, and Marco Lesko as the Queens take on a quest from a creepy dude with a severed unicorn’s head to hunt and kill the Slog Chimp. It’s a funny adventure, with things not being as they seem, and the revelation that unicorns are assholes. Definitely a good start for this new team.

| Published by Image / Shadowline

Ronin Island #2 throws the islanders at the demons, while demonstrating further class division as Sato and his soldiers basically subjugate all of the farmers, imprisoning their leaders. Highly entertaining story here from Greg Pak, Giannis Milonogiannis, Irma Kniivila, and Simon Bowland, while still leaving us wondering what’s really been happening on the main Japanese islands.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Savage Sword of Conan #4 sets up for the finale of Gerry Duggan, Ron Garney, Richard Isanove, and Travis Lanham’s tale, “The Cult of Koga Thun”, as Conan, Menes, and Suty inch closer to the treasure. Nice bits of humour and a sad note as Suty’s wounds turn sour.

| Published by Marvel

She Could Fly: The Lost Pilot #1 begins to follow-up to one of the best, most unique series last year, from Christopher Cantwell, Martín Morazzo, Miroslav Mrva, and Clem Robins. It picks up shortly after when the first series left off, but there’s a text piece giving a recap that should help new readers coming in. This continues on the various forces trying to learn about the device that allowed the pilot to fly, but the real draw again is Luna’s struggles with her mental illness and the oddities around her. Beautiful, inventive artwork abounds from Morazzo and Mrva.

| Published by Dark Horse / Berger Books

Star Wars: Age of Rebellion - Grand Moff Tarkin #1 is the first of two in this series of one-shots focusing on the prominent characters of the Rebellion-era. Greg Pak, Marc Laming, Jordan Boyd, Neeraj Menon, and Travis Lanham tell a tale displaying just how disturbing Tarkin’s cold calculus can be.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars: Age of Rebellion - Princess Leia #1 is the second of these one-shots this week, with a story bridging Han Solo’s capture in Cloud City and his rescue, from Greg Pak, Chris Sprouse, Will Sliney, Karl Story, Marc Deering, Tamra Bonvillain, and Travis Lanham. It’s interesting in that this is really the first of these stories to serve up plot points relevant to the larger Star Wars story instead of just being a character piece. It still works well as the latter, though, giving us an insight into Leia’s capabilities pretending to be a bounty hunter.

| Published by Marvel

Supergirl #29 answers a lot of questions about the Circle and their actions to “protect” the universe. Kara’s quest has gone in some interesting directions but it feels like Marc Andreyko, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, FCO Plascencia, and Tom Napolitano are guiding us to at least some kind of conclusion. Plus, hints of more to come from Rogol Zaar.

| Published by DC Comics

Superman #10, I think, almost brings this series in line with the current time period in Action Comics as Jon finishes his tale of escaping Earth-3 and the crazy battle that Jor-El seems to have embroiled himself in.

| Published by DC Comics

Symbiote Spider-Man #1 begins a limited series set after Secret Wars while Peter was still wearing the pre-Venom symbiote suit, not knowing it was a living entity, from Peter David, Greg Land, Jay Leisten, Frank D’Armata, and Joe Sabino, with a flashback section with line art from Iban Coello. It’s interesting to look back at this time, especially with what’s going on with Black Cat as well in the current comics.

| Published by Marvel

Titans #36 concludes “Into the Bleed” by Dan Abnett, Bruno Redondo, Marcelo Maiolo, and Dave Sharpe, and with it the series. There a very nice last hurrah between the team and Mother Blood as the multiverse hangs in the balance.

| Published by DC Comics

Vampirella vs. Reanimator #4 concludes what has been an excellent series from Cullen Bunn, Blacky Shepherd, and Taylor Esposito. The art continues to be a highlight, with an excellent use of black and white with spot colours.

| Published by Dynamite

The War of the Realms: Journey into Mystery #1 kicks off the first tie-in mini-series to the event with the weirdest gathering of the team for the weirdest road trip as this motley crew of heroes come together to protect Thor’s baby sister. It’s an interesting set-up from The McElroys, with some excellent artwork from André Lima Araújo and Chris O’Halloran that is worth the price of admission alone.

| Published by Marvel

Web of Venom: Cult of Carnage #1 is a one shot from Frank Tieri, Danilo S. Beyruth, Andres Mossa, and Clayton Cowles building upon the ongoing Carnage thread as he’s become a harbinger for Knull. There’s some very nice expansion on existing history and it’s great to see Misty Knight and John Jameson being used again.

| Published by Marvel

Wonder Twins #3 is another entertaining issue from Mark Russell, Stephen Byrne, and Dave Sharpe. I’m really quite liking how this series is structured, with a satisfying feature story that is concluded with each issue, while still building a broader narrative across each issue.

| Published by DC Comics / Wonder Comics

Wonder Woman #68 brings “Giants War” to an end with some interesting developments leading to more questions. There’s some nice interpersonal character building between Wonder Woman and Giganta from G. Willow Wilson that looks like it’s going to possibly explode in the future.

| Published by DC Comics

Other Highlights: Age of Conan: Bêlit #2, Amazing Spider-Man #19, By Night #10, Catwoman #10, Clyde, Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor #6, DuckTales #20, Ghostbusters 35th Anniversary Special: The Real Ghostbusters, Go Go Power Rangers #19, Gunning for Hits #4, Hit-Girl Season Two #3, House of Whispers #8, Invaders #4, James Bond: Origin #8, KISS: The End #1, The Long Con #8, Marvel Tales: Thanos #1, Noble #17, Prodigy #5, Spider-Man/Deadpool #49, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #43, The Unstoppable Wasp #6, Winter Soldier #5

Recommended Collections: Absolute Scarlet, Catwoman - Volume 1: Copycats, Hot Lunch Special - Volume 1, Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth, Kick-Ass: The New Girl - Book Two, Mech Cadet Yu - Volume 3, Patience! Conviction! Revenge! - Volume 1, Rose - Volume 3, Runaways - Volume 3: That Was Yesterday, Star Wars - Volume 10: Escape, Strangers in Paradise XXV Omnibus, Unnatural - Volume 2

d. emerson eddy might be a sleepytime gorilla.

#This Week in Comics

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