Nice book covers, but what about what’s inside?

 We were out and about last night to grab some food, and I thought to peruse the shelves of Barnes and Noble while Kelley went across the street to grab her food. I had no mind to buy anything, I just like to look and see what’s new, taking in the smells of the paper, and the coffee brewing nearby. It’s just a nice, quiet way to pass the time. Nowadays, I find the quiet and solitude of book stores outmatches the reverence for silence that once was the hallmark of libraries. Who can forget those Shh… this is a library signs that were displayed throughout the school library?

One of my favorite things to do while in the book store is to simply gawk at book covers. There are typically two very polarized feelings I have when viewing book cover art; reverence and disgust. And as sad as it is, books truly are sometimes judged by the cover. Even book nerds like myself appreciate pretty things, and if a book has a rotten cover it can poison the mind of the book buyer into never even picking the book up to learn about what's inside.

On this particular excursion to Barnes and Noble, brief though it was, I found myself looking at the covers of the most recent sci-fi and fantasy arrivals. Two particular volumes caught my eye for their cover art.

Shadow Prowler by Alexey Pehov is the first volume in a trilogy of epic fantasy blah, blah, blah. Within seconds of reading the below synopsis I found myself remembering why I have such a hard time with epic fantasy: clichés.

(Edited 02/22/2010) And thanks to the diverse readership here at The Sound and Fury, keen eyed artist Kim Kincaid from The Twirling Dragon pointed out the absurd fact that I had left out the names of both of these cover artists. Here, thanks to Kim, I shall remedy that problem.

One thing I've noticed, though, in my search for the names of these artists is that many genre bloggers (including some of the ones I regularly read--not naming names) like to post cover art for new fantasy and sci-fi books, but rarely do these bloggers ever include the names of the artists (including me apparently). It takes a bit of Googling around to discover the names, but I think that it's a point worth mentioning and a habit worth trying to change. Thanks, Kim.

The artwork for Shadow Prowler was apparently rendered by artist Kekai Kotaki. I love this cover. In fact, I'd have to say that it may be the best fantasy cover I've seen in a long, long time. You can check out Kotaki's blog Cake Mix or see more of his art at his website here. I must say that the painting of an impending mountainside snow battle displayed prominently on Kekai's entry page for his website took my breath away. I am bookmarking this guy, and will be keeping track of his stuff.





After centuries of calm, the Nameless One is stirring. 

An army is gathering; thousands of giants, ogres, and other creatures are joining forces from all across the Desolate Lands, united, for the first time in history, under one, black banner. By the spring, or perhaps sooner, the Nameless One and his forces will be at the walls of the great city of Avendoom.  

Unless Shadow Harold, master thief, can find some way to stop them.

Epic fantasy at its best, Shadow Prowler is the first in a trilogy that follows Shadow Harold on his quest for a magic Horn that will restore peace to the Kingdom of Siala.  Harold will be accompanied on his quest by an Elfin princess, Miralissa, her elfin escort, and ten Wild Hearts, the most experienced and dangerous fighters in their world…and by the king’s court jester (who may be more than he seems…or less). 

Reminiscent of Moorcock's Elric series, Shadow Prowler is the first work to be published in English by the bestselling Russian fantasy author Alexey Pehov.  The book was translated by Andrew Bromfield, best known for his work on the highly successful Night Watch series.

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The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas, despite its smart sounding title and beautifully illustrated cover, looks to be more of the same I’m afraid. This is Deas first novel, and once again is a part of a trilogy. I’m afraid that I won’t be adding this to my list of books to read any time soon.

(Edited 2/22/2010) Once again, it took only a minute of searching to discover the name of the artist that illustrated this cover. Stephen Youll's website can be found here. I love the pop of color on the dragon's wings in an otherwise cold and colorless backdrop. And I think that the artist's ability to create scope despite the narrowly cropped focus on the dragon and rider is brilliant. One cannot help but assume that this world is vast and peopled by strange and interesting things. Well done all around.




The power of the Realms depends on its dragons. With their terrifying natures, they are ridden by the aristocracy and bred for hunting and war. But as dangerous political maneuverings threaten the complacency of the empire, a single dragon has gone missing. And even that one dragon-returned to its full intelligence and fury-could spell disaster for the Realms...



What to make of these? Just pretty covers, or something that you'd seriously consider reading?

Until next time, Kirk out.

Comic books take over Tinsel Town

My friend David and I were comic book fans back in the day, and still are to some degree I suppose. In as much as a responsible, well-adjusted adult can be without causing the concern of his peers and friends, and depleting his savings on fan boy toys, shirts, and other memorabilia. Neither of us has ever taken it that far, despite our zeal for some of these characters when we were kids. As the years have passed, though, I still manage to make it into the comic book store a few times a year to see the new titles, figure out if any of them might be worth reading, and have my eyes go wide at the prices of comics nowadays. Well, things go up as everything else does considering inflation, but I still buy that occasional book. My dad discovered, a few years ago, the Dark Horse adaptations of Conan and has bought every volume, lending them to me when he is done with them. I have enjoyed them way more than I ever did the original pulp tales by Howard. My apologies to the now cult figure, West Texas native, R.E. Howard.

But just as those years have flitted and flipped by like the loose pages of a calendar torn aloft in a strong wind, so have my tastes changed and adjusted to suit each of those passing years and the inevitable level of responsibility that comes with being an adult. Simply put: I don’t enjoy some of the stories that I did as a child as much as I used to. I am still a pretty big Star Wars fan, despite Lucas’ attempts at the ruination of the entire franchise. But the Incredible Hulk, Spiderman, Batman, Superman, The Punisher, and a host of others no longer spark in me the wonder and awe that they did when I was a child. And I wonder at that. Why have some myths, modern or ancient, stuck with me while others have simply faded? For some of these super heroes, it’s almost as if I never idolized them at all. They are like old photographs of familiar people, their faces fading and peeling in the heat of too much summer sun. Perhaps I’ve grown too old for heroes? Or perhaps the real world’s grayness has pushed too far in, making these heroes and villains, with their colorful worlds, and their black and white issues, appear too stark and contrasted for my adult eyes to understand and identify with.

Where am I going with this? Well, it’s no secret that I’m a pretty big movie fan, and as such, I read an increasing amount of movie news about comics and comic book heroes that have been brought to life, are being brought to life, or are being re-booted to breathe new life into their associated franchises once again. The thing is, I’m rarely able to find any interest within myself that even resembles the excitement I feel when thinking about other films such as The Hobbit, and I wonder at that too. I’m no bible scholar, but who of us hasn’t heard the famous phrase “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things”? Perhaps the reason can be found here. But again, I think the grayness of the world presses in and makes it difficult to sort out the individual hues that have combined to bring us to the question. Things are rarely so black and white. And maybe, through the thought process that has brought me to this point, I’ve found a an even greater issue that I have with the world at large. But I’ll save that melancholy bit of postulating for another day. A day when the sun is out and things seem a little more cheerful.
Below is a list of comic-related movies that are in development, production, or are being quietly talked about.

The First Avenger: Captain America has been talked to death on the internets lately. Who will have the starring role? The names of actors associated with the character vary wildly nearly every week, and though the hype has grown to be a bit annoying (fan boys never know when to stop it seems), I must say that the direction they are taking the character and the film sounds very interesting. Let’s just say that fans of things WWII (myself included) might be very interested in this origin story. And having Joe Johnston (who’s design aesthetic has helped to shape some of my favorite film and television properties including the first Star Wars trilogy, Battlestar Galactica,  and Indiana Jones—and he’s a fellow Texan) at the helm puts this adaptation on even more solid footing.

 The First Avenger: Captain America is due out in theaters on May 6th, 2011.

Thor is another comic that I never read, and know nothing about. Having said that, though, I am a big fan of things Viking and of Norse mythology, so I’ll see how this pans out. Once again, some of the snippets that are being released about this adaptation of the Marvel comic hero point to a grittier, more adult oriented version of the character that Hollywood seems so fond of right now. I’m not so sure about the guy they found to play the lead, Chris Hemsworth (you saw him briefly in J.J. Abrams Star Trek as Kirk’s father). Like the choice for the lead in the upcoming Conan reboot, remake, whatever, I think the guy chosen is too small and scrawny to pull it off. Believe me, I don’t want some numb skull WWF guy in either of these roles, but I think the actor needs some bulk to carry the role and be convincing. The choice of director on this project, however,  made my little ears perk up when I learned of it. You might not have loved Kenneth Branagh’s adaptations of Henry V and Frankenstein, but one thing is for sure; he knows how to do gritty realism. I think this sort of thing will be right up his alley.
Branagh’s Thor and Johnston’s The First Avenger: Captain America, along with the upcoming sequel Ironman 2 are being set up to be brought in line with an upcoming adaptation of The Avengers. 

Fan made Thor movie poster. 

In case you haven’t heard yet, director Sam Raimi’s vision for Spiderman 4 is history, and the studios are already planning a massive reboot of the franchise. Rumors of actors to portray the adolescent Peter Parker have run rampant since the announcement, but none of them are worth mentioning at this stage in the game. One interesting tidbit is that the Ultimate Spiderman universe is being seriously considered and courted as the direction to take this reboot of the franchise. The thing is, Sam Raimi’s version is still so fresh in my mind that I can hardly think of a “new” version. Isn’t it too soon? Nolan’s reboot of the Batman franchise, Batman Begins, seemed like the thing to do, but it had been nearly ten years since the last Batman film, Joel Schumacher’s atrocious Batman and Robin. It’s only been three years since Tobey Maguire put on the tights, and I think that is just too fresh. Your move.

Marc Webb, director of 500 Days of Summer (and countless music videos before that) will begin production later this year for a July 3rd, 2012 release date.

Other superhero/cartoon/manga possibly getting the red carpet treatment at a theater near you include:

The Green Hornet

The Justice League

Voltron 

The Last Airbender

The Flash

Conan

Red Sonja

Solomon Kane

Superman

Green Lantern (fan made poster)

Thundercats (fan made poster)

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

The Lone Ranger

The Crow (no, I’m not kidding)

Jonah Hex

Kick Ass

X-Men Origins: Magneto

Nick Fury

Ronin

Shazam!

Spawn 2

Venom

The Witchblade

Ghost in the Shell

Updated: 02/22/2010

 

Green Arrow

And that’s about it for right now, folks. Though, I imagine the list is growing even as I type. As comic book and superhero properties grow in popularity among audiences, the studios will continue to sell what we’re willing to buy.

So, what do you think about the list above? Do any of them move you to rush out and buy a movie ticket? Are there any that Hollywood should make that they haven’t? Have I missed any that are currently in production or pre-production?

Kirk out.