Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts LA Premiere Screening and Q&A
November 15th at 9:30pm
Doors at 9:15
$10
Be there for the LA premiere of Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts, a feature length documentary that examines the life, work and ideas of comic book writer and cyberpunk philosopher, Warren Ellis. The film features extensive interviews with Warren himself, as well as friends and collaborators like Joss Whedon, Helen Mirren, Wil Wheaton, Patton Oswalt and many more.
Catch the film hot off its premiere at the Napa Valley Film Festival and stick around afterwards for a Q&A with the film’s director, Patrick Meaney and a TBA special guest!
All Star Superman – Probably the first truly 21st century comic. This is a comic for people who read Superman and like him, for people who read Superman and don’t like him and for people who have never read Superman. This is upper-escahlon superhero comics here, belonging with the all-time (or all-star) greats like Watchmen or Lee & Ditko’s Spider-Man.
Black Summer – This violent story kicks off moments after a bloody presidential assassination and only gets more exciting and more violent from there. A fresh new look at one of writer Warren Ellis’s favorite themes: “How much of a monster to you have to be to stop monsters?” and adds a liberal dose of “Who decides who’s a monster and who’s a hero anyway?” Juan Jose Ryps’s ultra-detailed art makes every issue feel twice as long as they actually are. And that’s a good thing. Great story. Great art. Self-contained. What more could you ask for?
The Remnant – My new mini-series from BOOM! Studios. Comes out this Christmas Eve, just making it onto the 2008 list. Sure, I wrote it, but it’s also one of my favorite comics this year and it is my list, after all.
Scalped – My favorite ongoing book on stands. A stunning long-form work, but at the same time every single issue packs a satisfying emotional wallop of the type most full-length mini-series merely wish they could pull off. Crime writing at it’s best. Human drama at it’s most horrifying. You won’t be able to look away.
Skim – An amazing graphic novel. Perfectly captures the awkwardnesses of being in high school, being a strange kid, and feeling the emotion of love for the first time. Perfectly illustrates how transient everything is at that age, but at the same time how life-or-death important it all seems. Don’t miss this one!
The 5 Graphic Novelists You Should Know Before Hollywood Destroys Their Work
Now that movie studios have seen success in The Dark Knight, 300, Sin City and most recently, Alan Moore’s Watchmen, they will almost certainly be clamoring at the door for even more graphic novels to adapt into feature films.
Just like X-Men was followed by utter sh!tstorms like Elektra and Daredevil–even Tim Burton’s brilliant take on the Batman franchise begot Joel Schumacher’s double-trouble nipple-fest, Batman Forever and Batman and Robin–studios will see the revenues collected in the last few years by graphic novel-inspired flicks and rush them to production to collect on the trend.
The first books to go down in flames will be those with established followings and awards under their belts, because they’re the best bet at turning a profit. So before Fox Searchlight goes stamping their name on some self-indulgent reels of celluloid at the expense of timeless art, there are a few names in the comic biz you should know, before everything they’ve touched their pen to becomes a merchandising exercise.
THE LIST AFTER THE JUMP– Continue reading »