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5 Characters Meme

Kalinara gave me the letter J, and here's the rules:

5 Characters Meme
1. Comment on this post.
2. I will give you a letter.
3. Think of 5 fictional characters and post their names and your comments on these characters in your LJ.

1. Joker
I'll go with the easiest one to think of, because for me J was out of left field. Joker, to me, is a fantastic villain when used sporatically. I think he's been used a little too much recently, but I do like the way Morrison has used him. Heath Ledger knocked the character out of the park with his performance.

I think I like Joker best when he is trapped behind the glass wall acting like Hannibal Lector from Silence of the Lambs. He knows why you're there. He's happy to see you. He's wondering what color you are inside, and if you like bats.

I don't like clowns. They freak me out a bit. To quote the older Barbara Gordon from Batman Beyond: "In Gotham, clowns are never funny."

2. Jonah Hex
To be honest, I know very little about Jonah Hex. I have a soft spot for Sergio Lione westerns. Jonah, on the surface at least, reminds me of Blondie (Clint Eastwood) if he wasn't so chipper. The only Hex comic I've actually bought was the recent one with Cooke drawing Hex's adventure in Canada. That was one great issue.

I probably am also pulled to Hex with the subconcious pull from his visual similarity to Two-Face. He's scarred on the face, marking him for all to see and know who he is and stay out of his way. He also has the connections to the whole wierd western theme, which I find fun to think about.

3. Jonny Quest
Jonny Quest was always one of those characters you either love or hate for me. As a kid I would catch bits of random episodes and become fascinated by what I saw. Moments later I wouldn't care a bit and change the channel hoping to find a show I really loved.

I remember they made an updated version of the cartoon, which was fairly well done. They added 3D effects and such, beacuse that was the hip thing to do back then. I don't remember the Indian kid - I think he was replaced with the girl. I remember the names, but it just sounds worse when you say it like that. I'm also probably wrong about that.

As much as I tend to bash on Jonny Quest in the last two paragraphs, I do have to give it credit. Without Jonny Quest there would be no Venture Bros. to really capture my interest. That show is unbelievable.

4. John Henry Irons
That movie was amazing, wasn't it? Shaq is such a great actor and needs more roles. Black Adam, anyone? Kidding, of course. I'm sure he's a great guy in person, but he's no Oscar winner.

Concerning the 'Real' Steel, the one in comics, The most I've honestly read has been in the Justice League comics and a handful of random Superman related issues. It's odd though, because most of the stuff I've read has him working more with Batman than Superman. That work, however, has always been important.

If Batman allows you to work with him, that has to say something about the character's worth and potential. Despite always appearing like a 2nd tier hero he has always displayed significant contribution to whatever end result that saves the day.

5. James Ford
With that I bet most people will scratch their collective heads and wonder "who?" I'll throw out another name. John Locke. Now you're getting a better idea, right?

I may be cheating by using two names for one entry, but those are two of the most interesting characters from Lost in my opinion. James Ford you know as Sawyer, and Locke is, well, Locke. Sawyer is absolutely devoted to self-preservation, changing sides to which ever appears to be best suited for his own interests. John Locke is obsessed with the notion that he is there for a much bigger role to play, a self designated messiah with the island as his throne.

Jack Sheppard is interesting, but is kind of bland to me. Jin is fun to watch as he stumbles about making friends, but I don't know whats going on with him (no spoilers).

Wait-that's four in one entry... Sorry, Kal!

Fringe Pillot Review

I watched the Fringe pilot. It dissapointed me greatly on all but two points, and only one really matters.

First, the Mad scientist was a fun and great character. The show will probably revolve around him being the central plot motivator, since he seems to be the psuedoscientific wikipedia. He's McGuyver, except he has a cow instead of a jeep and an enablingly gullable FBI agent instead of a swiss army knife.

Second, the special effects were very well done and mostly believable. Sure, its a testament to the budget and vision, but I don't care about that so much. I don't like the locations being mixed into the backgrounds like the signage is ambient. I care more about story and characters than special effects.

Overall I found the story too contrived to create any suspense, and I feel like they took a random episode of the X-Files and tossed in spiffy effects. The characters, mad scientist aside, felt like hollow typecasts. The FBI agent felt wholely shoved into the role of living Meatloaf rock ballad - doing anything for love, including that.

There was no need for her to strip down to underwear to go into an isolation take on LSD. You can do that with clothes on, it was fanservice since the lead is female and the target audience is not.

Oh, and the twist in the last 30 minutes? Obvious and irrelevant given that based on how all the characters were so poorly fleshed out you don't really care what happens to any of them.

In defense of the show, I have read and studied about a lot of 'Fringe' science areas so I may be a bit jaded when it comes to a show like this. I was a child of the X-Files movement, so much of the show felt rehashing old ideas. First seasons, and first episodes especially, are known for being a little off while they are trying to figure the characters out. Remember Star Trek TNG's first season? If the show lasts till a 3rd season, and I'm sure it will with it's timeslot, the show should be pretty good. That's when the old favorites become classics, afterall.

Sick

Today's been the downward slope of a cold taking root. Not sure how this week will pan out, but I still have a lot of work to do in a little amount of time.

So, being sick and all, this is all I'll post tonight.

New D&D game started tonight

Started a new game of d&d tonight, with a new DM. It's been so long since I've played a new first level character from the ground up - and to celebrate I'm playing a class I don't ever remember playing.

I'm a true neutral wizard.
My name is Uizord Evergrey. Figure it out...

And, I was nearly one-shotted in the first round of combat. By backup was a sorcerer, so you know how well that went. We were able to talk the town mayor into signing a contract that gave us his power to request any type of support we needed, so we grabbed all the town guards to help us out.

It's worked well so far, seeing as we have the rush into battle everytime something pops up in front of us that doesn't like us. We still desperately need a rogue...guards are not great trapfinders, except by accident.

Off next week

There is a distinct possibility I may become nearly finished with art duties on the comic by the end of next week. You see, I'm on call for work next week - I may as well spend it like a normal work week.

In fact, I plan to do just that.

It's getting close to the deadline, and this week was mostly bust. Last few days I've suffered from slight exhaustion (pushing myself too hard?). Yesterday and today especially I've felt sickish and got nothing done. Time to make up for lost time.

Fell asleep today on the couch...

Fell asleep today on the couch after getting home from work. Something about this week, and today especially, left me completely drained. I'm typing this with a sleeping pill in my system, so heads up for any incoherentness. Relax, it's an herbal pill, not medical.

I'm probably getting burnt out working on the comic. Personal deadline is the 20th of this month, because that's the best chance to get it out on the market. Local convention offers good audience.

Issue 1 status: Fully inked, scanned. All pages have color, but only 5 or 6 are actually finished.
15 days left...