> Right now, we’ve got an in-store promotion for a Watchmen drawing contest. However, we had one extra Watchmen poster, pictured above, that you can win. All you have to do is guess what Watchmen will gross in its domestic box office for the film’s opening weekend starting March 6. Post your box office prediction with your name right here on the Star Clipper Blog, and also send me your guess, name, and contact info at Jon AT starclipper DOT com by March 6.
To help you out, I’ve included the opening weekend box office for a variety of comic book films according to the Internet Movie Database. So, how do you want to make your guess? Maybe, look at the movies closest to to Watchmen’s year of release, like Iron Man, Incredible Hulk and The Dark Knight. They all did exceptionally well. Yet, a number of factors have to do with opening weekend sales, like the month of release and number of screens the film shows on. In recent years, Winter release dates look to do really well, with huge successes like 300 and Ghost Rider. Alan Moore’s connection to the film might not do much to add to the financial draw, with From Hell, League of Extraordinary Gentleman, and V for Vendetta not even breaking the 30 million mark. However, Zack Snyder’s 300 had a huge opening, and his great zombie flick Dawn of the Dead made a respectable 26 million for a remake. Take a look:
300 – $70,885,301 – $70,885,301 (USA) (11 March 2007)
American Splendor – $159,705 (USA) (17 August 2003) (6 Screens)
Batman Begins – $48,745,440 (USA) (19 June 2005) (3,858 Screens)
The Dark Knight – $158,411,483 (USA) (20 July 2008) (4,366 Screens)
From Hell – $11,014,818 (USA) (21 October 2001) (2,305 Screens)
Ghost Rider – $52,022,908 (USA) (18 February 2007) (3,619 Screens)
Ghost World – $98,791 (USA) (22 July 2001) (5 Screens)
Hulk – $62,128,420 (USA) (22 June 2003) (3,660 Screens)
Incredible Hulk – $55,414,050 (USA) (15 June 2008) (3,505 Screens)
Iron Man – $102,118,668 (USA) (4 May 2008) (4,105 Screens)
The League of Extraordinary Gentleman – $23,075,892 (USA) (13 July 2003) (3,002 Screens)
Sin City – $29,120,273 (USA) (3 April 2005) (3,230 Screens)
Spider-Man – $114,844,116 (USA) (5 May 2002) (3,615 Screens)
Spider-Man 2 – $115,817,364 (USA) (4 July 2004) (4,152 Screens)
Spider-Man 3 – $151,116,516 (USA) (6 May 2007) (4,252 Screens)
V for Vendetta – $25,642,640 (USA) (19 March 2006) (3,365 Screens)
X-Men – $54,471,475 (USA) (16 July 2000) (3,025 Screens)
X2 – $85,558,731 (USA) (4 May 2003) (3,741 Screens)
X3 – The Last Stand – $122,861,157 (USA) (28 May 2006)
My guess for Watchmen’s opening weekend is $117,541,233, but I’ve got high expectations. What’s your guess?
>As we all know, the Watchmen movie is so close we can smell it. (After all, that Rorschach’s a stinky guy.) And to celebrate the release of what looks to be a phenomenal movie, we here at Star Clipper are offering you a chance to win some cool Watchmen swag with our WATCHMEN ART CONTEST. How does it work? Simple. Just create an image of your favorite Watchmen character or characters on a 8.5×11 piece of paper along with a submission form that any associate would be happy to provide you with, and the managers will judge 3 grand prize winners by Wednesday March 11th.
As an example, I’ve drawn my own portrait of Rorschach doing what he does best, mooching off of Nite Owl.
I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of artists we have out there. So come on, wow us.
>Well folks, we’re only a couple of weeks away from the premiere of the Watchmen feature film, and it feels like it’s been a wait that lasted forever. In the meantime, there have been quite a few goodies preceding the release. Shortly after the premiere of the Watchmen film, an animated feature of Tales of the Black Freighter will be released on DVD that will include a documentary style treatment of Hollis Mason’s (Nite Owl I) Under the Hood which appeared as a chapter break in the original comic series and graphic novel.
Also from the Watchmen Movie UK website is a 80’s style 8-bit Minutemen arcade game where players can fight bad guys as either Nite Owl I, or Silk Spectre I to eventually battle Moloch as the big boss.
If this wasn’t enough, there will be a 3-D Watchmen video game due out at the same time as the film release for your X-Boxes and Nintendo’s and whatnot. Surely Alan Moore is turning over in his recluse-state at the idea of something of his like the Watchmen becoming something of a merchandising juggernaut. I’m of the idea that although he has gone on record as saying that he plans to never watch it, he will, and will probably secretly like it and never say as much to maintain his crazy shut-in street cred.
The wait for the Watchmen movie has been excruciating for most fans, but thankfully that wait is almost over. The Blood has run down to the ticking clock of doom and soon we will all be able to watch the Watchmen. In the meantime, the Watchmenmovie.com website provides a lot of fun with interactive material, and of course the salivation inducing trailers. All in all, lets hope the wait has been worth it.
> Wow, this might be the most frightening product I’ve ever blogged about. According to watchmencomicmovie.com, neon blue colored Dr. Manhattan condoms have been circulating around Columbus, Ohio during Valentines weekend to promote the Watchmen movie. We just got in a box of Watchmen movie promotional buttons, shirts, and stickers, but unfortunately didn’t get in any of these doozies. We’re having a Watchmen movie contest at the store to win that merchandise, and who knows maybe we’ll be getting in the Dr. Manhattan condoms to sweeten the deal. Right now though, there there is some lucky man-about-town in Columbus, Ohio who wants to look just like a giant blue disconnected demi-god, and thankfully the good folks at Warner Bros. marketing department have him covered, literally!
> Big rumors have been flying lately that the Wachowski brothers are discussing taking over the Superman franchise. According to Ain’t it Cool News, Andy and Larry Wachowski are considering filming a Superman trilogy in the wake of ‘Superman Returns’ director Bryan Singer passing on a sequel. The Wachowskis are big comic fans and are responsible for The Matrix Trilogy, adapting Alan Moore’s ‘V for Vendetta,’ and creating the overlooked and visually stunning ‘Speed Racer.’ Its also been rumored that Warner Bros. wants to make the Superman series considerably more dark after the massive success of the menacing ‘Dark Knight.’ The Wachowskis seem like a good fit in that ‘dark’ department, and their trademark ‘bullet-time’ cinematography would work great to capture Superman’s miraculous abilities on film. In the same article, it is mentioned that Bryan Singer passed on Superman to make a remake of Sci-Fi classic Logan’s Run. Whether any of these rumors are true has yet to be confirmed with Warner Bros. officials, but if true, you heard it on the Star Clipper Blog first.
>Normally, it would be impossible to get me to see a movie starring Dakota Fanning, but since Neil Gaiman’s Coraline is a stop motion animated movie, all I had to deal with was her voice. Also I’m not usually keen on what would be considered a kids movie, but I think Coraline transcends being a movie for kids into being something people of all ages can truly enjoy much like director Henry Selicks first successful feature, the Nightmare Before Christmas.
Coraline is the story of a girl who’s family moves to Oregon from Michigan with her less than exciting parents to an unusual old house that has been converted into an apartment building with some rather eccentric tenants. She meets a local boy named Wybie Lovat, with whom she develops a reluctant friendship. Wybie gives Coraline a doll made by his grandmother which looks just like Coraline, which is strange considering that nobody had met her until that day. Coraline goes to sleep that night with the creepy doppelganger doll beside her bed, only to be awakened by the scampering of mice which lead her to a small door, which earlier was thought to be bricked off and now appears as a tunnel. Coraline ventures through this tunnel to find herself in the same house with the same parents, except everything in this other house seems too good to be true. Also, for some reason, everyone in this other world has buttons for eyes. Coraline returns to this other world every time she sleeps, and finds it to be wonderful, but a little more sinister with every visit.
Although Coraline is considered a kid’s movie, there are elements to the story that one would think would frighten small children, but then again, like one of the messages of the story, kids deserve a little more credit than adults are willing to give. I had the good fortune to see Coraline in 3-D which truly put the viewer in the movie. Sadly, by the time this is posted, Coraline probably won’t be available to view in 3-D, since the Jonas Brothers in Concert will take up all 3-D theaters (barf!) Nonetheless, I would encourage people to see it even in just standard form since it’s just a great film.
Coraline is faithfully adapted from the book by Neil Gaiman, best known for what is considered the greatest comic series of all time, the Sandman, as well as several well renowned novels like Stardust, Neverwhere, American Gods, Anansi Boys and co-author of Good Omens along with Terry Pratchett. He has also penned stories for children such as the Wolves at the Door, The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, and of course Coraline. Other comic works by Gaiman include Marvels 1602, the Eternals mini series, DC’s Black Orchid, and the hard to find Miracle Man. Currently, Gaiman is attached to the current Batman story; Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader. But honestly, if you read comics and don’t know who Neil Gaiman is, shame on you.
> I have been waiting to write about the latest installment of Scott Pilgrim, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe” for a while, but have been putting it off. As a big fan, Its been hard for me to sort out what I think about the book. In four previous volumes, I had read about Scott battling the evil ex-boyfriends of love interest Ramona Flowers. In each book, creator Bryan Lee O’Malley hit the perfect marriage of video game logic and slice-of-life storytelling, simultaneously provided a fun read and vividly capturing 20-something life. With my first read through, something felt different with volume 5. After a lot of head scratching, it dawned on me: “Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe” replaces fun for maturity!
Volume Four of the series, “Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together” created a lot of buzz with its storyline capturing Scott growing up. From Scott’s employment status to owning up to his past mistakes, his really matured as a character and that volume was filled with spirit of how awesome that growth is. In volume five, however, Pilgrim learns that being a grown up isn’t all leveling up and victory dances. His life begins to show that not everything is as easily fixed as punching the right guy in the face. Even more, making all the right moves may still not be enough to make things turn out. With his maturity, he comes face to face with the fact that he can’t control everything, and that is a tough pill for anyone to swallow.
The tone of Volume Five matches these sobering realities. Many of the action sequences happen in the background, with O’Malley focusing on the interplay between Scott’s friends instead. In fact, there seems to be an air of pointlessness that surrounds the fist-a-cuffs. When Scottaholic Knives Chau comes to blows with romantic lead Ramona Flowers, it is the words they exchange that are the focus of the scene rather than the kicks and punches they trade. The thrill of these scenes is gone, taking a back seat to O’Malley’s insightful non-violent character interactions.
In the end, these choices make “Scott Pilgrim vs the Universe” the most heartbreaking volume of the series! Scott has reached adulthood and it sucks. Luckily for us, O’Malley uses this situation to craft a killer story. While past volumes have display a good understanding of characters, they also hit you with a freight train of charm that made them impossible to not like. In volume five, however, O’Malley let the charm take a backseat to the characters. Make no mistake, this new formula doesn’t toss out all the fun and video game-like moments. Instead, it just places them second to letting the relationships of Scott, Ramona, and all their friends decide what unfolds. While the results of these interactions can hit like a ton of bricks, they also make this volume the most powerful yet!
> The announcement of the “Jersey Gods” ongoing series came as a pleasant surprise to me. The two one-page comics of “Jersey Gods” that appeared in “Popgun Vol. 2,” were my favorite part of that tome-sized anthology. The clever writing and energetic art packed into those short comics made me wish for an actual comic from the creative team of Glen Brunswick and Dan McDaid. Earlier this month, the inaugural issue of the “Jersey Gods” ongoing hit the stands and it did not live up to my expectations.
The series revolves around the War God Barock and his romance with normal Earth-girl, Zoe. Barock, from the God Planet Neboron, moves to New Jersey to be with his paramour only to bring the world of the Gods crashing into the world of men. This premise had the pop of a Mike Allred comic being smashed up with a Kirby epic. While much of what this premise had to offer was present in “Jersey Gods” #1, I did not expect how much the series would draw on the troupes of the romantic comedy. From Zoe as lonely-heart to Barock as the man completely unprepared for a commitment, the series heavily grounds itself in the language of that genre. This heavy use of stock romantic comedy elements really grounds “Jersey Gods” in that genre and the one of superheroes equally.
It is this tone that threw me off and left me unsure about the series. One would think, with having read the previews and knowing the premise that I would have an exact idea of how the book was going to feel. Beyond this initial jolt, “Jersey Gods” plays out fairly well. Brunswick does a good job of synthesizing the two styles of the comic together. Artist McDaid uses brush heavy, cartoony style that seems prepared to tackle both elements of the comic. There are moments where Brunwick or McDaid deliver work that is a little too functionary but overall the book shows enough potential to keep me interested upcoming issues.
If you want to check out the book yourself, Comic Book Resources has an eleven-page preview.
> Shareholders at General Motors are banking a lot on the new Transformers film “Revenge of the Fallen.” The failing U.S. automaker is hoping that Transformer characters like Bumblebee, who transforms from a Chevrolet Camero into an Autobot, will help attract the 18 to 34 moviegoing demographic to their showrooms. Though the company is already receiving a 13.4 billion dollar federal bailout, GM’s director of branded entertainment Steve Tihanyi explained to the Detroit Free Press that Transformers is “two hours of a strong brand message” that will amount to “incremental exposure.”
Critics argue that Transformers might be able to attract a younger audience to GM, but can’t compensate for the high and unaffordable price tag for their cars. Regardless, after the 2007 Transformers film, GM saw customer opinion rise 72 percent for their Chevorlet brand. The Transformers have always been a vehicle for product placement, so it will be interesting with the current shaky economy how these big-screen “robots in disguise” will have an effect on GM sales.
>Jason Aaron’s Wolverine: Manifest Destiny is an example of a solo Logan story at it’s finest, blending elements of a Bruce Lee movie, David Caradine’s Kung Fu and good old fashioned Wolvie snikting. 50 years ago, Wolverine had a brutal encounter with San Francisco’s Chinatown Triad underworld, and now that the X-Men are based in Frisco, the past has come back to bite Logan. Of particular note of this series was issue #3’s homage to the Enter the Dragon movie cover.
Logan finds a fight that he can’t win so he turns to an aged master of the fighting arts to finer home his martial arts skills. And as we all know, Wolverine is supposedly the best scrapper in all the Marvel U, but too often is portrayed as relying on hack and slash berserker fighting, but at his best is a master of the martial arts as well as being a master barroom brawler. This particular story may not go down in history as the best Wolverine story ever, but it is a very intriguing insight into the Wolverine mythos of a man who has bestial tendencies working to tame that beast with eastern philosophy.
Ultimately, Wolverine is a simple man, but delves into zen philosophy.
One of my favorite bookstores in St. Louis. Star Clipper offers not only the best selection of comic books and graphic novels in the city, but also a cornucopia of art, design and pop-culture related books and magazines. 
