June Films / películas de junio

Half the year is already gone, and although this month I barely had enough free time, I did manage to watch 13 films. That’s right, a lucky number for sure. Let’s start with Prometheus (2012) directed by Ridley Scott, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this prequel to Alien (1979), one of my all-time favorite films (it’s on my personal top 100) but I found the story quite fascinating, the moments of suspense and revulsion provoked by the alien creatures simply took my breath away. Noomi Rapace is a very convincing character whose fortitude and courage reminds us of Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and Michael Fassbender does an amazing job as the space ship’s android. Another pleasant surprise was My Week with Marilyn (2011) directed by Simon Curtis, here Michelle Williams plays Marilyn Monroe, and she manages to convince us, the viewers, that she is in fact the most famous and adored American actress; as she stays a few weeks in England to work with Sir Lawrence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) in his newest production, she has an affair with Eddie Redmayne (famous for his role as a gay teenager in “Savage Grace”), a young man who seems to be able to make her happy; the tormented mind of the actress and the lonely life of a superstar are dramatic enough, but there is also a special introspectiveness about this film that makes it quite unique. I loved it. 


I never got around to I Am Number Four (2011) when it was originally released, I didn’t have much interest in it, but then I found out that Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (the writers behind the TV series “Smallville”) were involved in this so I gave it a chance. It has some pretty interesting moments, and a couple of scenes that capture the essence of teen marginalization. Alex Pettyfer is a high school student with superpowers, and his best friend is Callan McAuliffe (famous for his role as a gay boy in “Franswa Sharl”), a younger kid that is constantly bullied by his peers; there are some weak moments and plot holes, though. Breck Eisner’s The Crazies (2010) is one of those rare horror films that reconcile you with the genre and make you remember its endless possibilities: Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell are a married couple living an ordinary life in a small town. But then one day one of their neighbors loses his mind and threatens to kill people, in a matter of days, more and more men and women get crazy, and in their craziness they find every conceivable way to murder other people. Similar to the zombie subgenre, executive producer George A. Romero and Breck Eisner offer us a deeply disturbing story, in which mistrust and frenzy killings are the norm. Extraordinary. I recommend it to every horror fan out there.  

I’ve always had a strong fascination towards teenagers and high school life in general. So it’s no wonder that I usually pay a lot of attention to juvenile series or films that involve students. As I sat down to watch Watercolors (2008), I felt that some of the proposals of director David Oliveras were very audacious, he presents the homosexual romance between two underage boys (Tye Olson and Kyle Clare), one of them is a swimmer obsessed with winning a golden medal, the other is an artist, preoccupied only in painting his friend in the nude. Together, they complement each other; unfortunately, life will keep them apart. It has a very sad ending, and some really touching scenes. Another fantastic film about kids is Afterschool (2008) directed by Antonio Campos, some have qualified this is a combination between Gus Van Sant and Michael Haneke, and we can sure perceive some of that sensibility since the opening sequence, in which we find Ezra Miller watching a porno movie and masturbating, until his best friend Jeremy Allen White enters into his room and interrupts his solitary activity. The two kids are in a boarding school and share the same room, but whereas the friend is popular and outgoing, the protagonist is withdrawn and ostracized. The loneliness of Ezra’s character is so tangible that we can almost feel it. And when two girls die on school ground all hell breaks loose. A truly fascinating, honest and cruel look at the world of teenagers nowadays. 


Alexander Bracq’s Seeing Heaven (2010) is a peculiar movie about a gay hustler that is looking for his twin brother. He eventually ends up as an actor in the gay porn industry which is rather convenient for him as he has premonitory visions every time he has sex with another man. I consider Seeing Haven has one or two good things going on, but in general lines it’s a bit disappointing. Andrew Haigh’s Weekend (2011) synthetizes the beginning of a sexual and sentimental relationship between Tom Cullen and Chris New; this is a courageous story about two men that try to imagine a life together even though nothing is ever easy for them. This independent production talks about the ever elusive nature of love, about discrimination and about what it means to be gay in a small British city. House of Boys (2009) by Jean-Claude Schlim centers around the relationship between Layke Anderson and Benn Northover, the first one is a gay young man that decides to work as a dancer in a club of questionable reputation, there he meets another dancer, the only one in the entire building that claims to be straight, but eventually the two of them become lovers. This, however, is the 80s and that means AIDS, one of them is now doomed to die.


I had the good fortune of finding two very curious British productions. Aisling Walsh’s A Song for a Raggy Boy (2003) is a tale about a boarding school for underprivileged children, there Aidan Quinn arrives as the new teacher and he soon begins to change the miserable life of his students. He teaches them how to read, he makes them feel proud about themselves, but he can’t fight against the vices of one of the priests, who beats up the lads until they bleed, or the even more despicable depravity of another priest who anally rapes those boys he considers pretty. This is a film about suffering and despair, but it’s also a story about a man who does everything he can to help these defenseless children. Ken Loach’s Kes (1969) is like a documentary about life in the working British class, we understand poverty as we see David Bradley sleeping with his brother on the same bed, we admire the failures of the boy’s teachers, and the constant hostility in and outside school. Eventually, the protagonist, a young boy, finds solace by training a kestrel, but of course, this is not the kind of movie that has a happy ending.


Finally, I also saw Pixote: a lei do mais fraco (1981), a Brazilian production that tackles child delinquency, prostitution and drug addiction. As a young boy is sent to a correctional facility, he fears for his life as he observes how the older boys rape the youngest ones every night, the brutality of his peers is quite frightening, and eventually Pixote runs away only to find out that living on the streets is even more dangerous and dreadful. Torzók (2001) is a heartbreaking story about a Hungarian boarding school. Director Árpád Sopsits rebuilds the childish fantasies of a young boy and his yearning for freedom, literally trapped in a rigid institution, he discovers alongside his friends the wonders of sexuality, the cold of the winter and the never ending hunger. Finally, he decides to escape with his closest friends, but a terrible disgrace will fall upon them. A realistic and tragic tale that reminds us just how cruel adults can be to children.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________

Estamos a mitad de año, y aunque este mes apenas tuve un poco de tiempo libre, me las arreglé para ver 13 películas. Así es, el número de la suerte. Empecemos con "Prometheus" (2012) de Ridley Scott, no estaba seguro de lo que nos depararía esta precuela de Alien (1979), uno de mis films favoritos (está en mi top 100) pero esta historia es bastante fascinante, los momentos de suspenso y repulsión provocados por las criaturas alienígenas simplemente me dejaron sin aliento. Noomi Rapace es un personaje convincente con una fortaleza y un coraje que nos recuerdan a Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) y Michael Fassbender hace un asombroso papel como el androide de la nave. Otra placentera sorpresa fue "My Week with Marilyn" (2011), dirigida por Simon Curtis, aquí Michelle Williams interpreta a Marilyn Monroe, y nos convence, como espectadores, que ella es de hecho la más famosa y adorada actriz norteamericana; al quedarse unas semanas en Inglaterra para actuar en la nueva producción de Sir Lawrence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh), tiene un amorío con Eddie Redmayne (famoso por su papel de adolescente gay en “Savage Grace”), un joven que parece ser capaz de hacerla feliz; la atormentada mente de la actriz y la solitaria vida de una superestrella son drama suficiente, pero hay un nivel de introspección en este film que lo hace único. Me encantó.


Nunca le presté atención a "I Am Number Four" (2011)  cuando la estrenaron, pero luego me di cuenta que Alfred Gough y Miles Millar (los escritores de la serie de televisión “Smallville”) estaban involucrados en esto, así que me animé. Tiene algunos momentos interesantes, y un par de escenas que capturan la esencia de la marginalización adolescente. Alex Pettyfer es un alumno de secundaria con súper-poderes, y su mejor amigo es Callan McAuliffe (famoso por su rol de muchachito gay en “Franswa Sharl”), un chico menor que sufre constantes abusos; eso sí, hay algunos momentos flojos y huecos argumentales.  "The Crazies" (2010) de Breck Eisner es uno de esos raros films de terror que te reconcilian con el género y te hacer recordar su potencial ilimitado: Timothy Olyphant y Radha Mitchell están casados y viven una vida ordinaria en un pueblito. Pero un día, uno de sus vecinos enloquece y amenaza con matar gente, en cuestión de días, más y más hombres y mujeres pierden la cordura, y en su demencia encuentran todas las formas concebibles de asesinar a otras personas. Similar al subgénero zombi, el productor ejecutivo George A. Romero y Breck Eisner nos ofrecen una historia profundamente perturbadora, en la que la desconfianza y los asesinatos frenéticos son la norma. Extraordinaria, la recomiendo a todos los fans del cine de terror.

Siempre he tenido una fuerte fascinación por la adolescencia y la vida en la secundaria. Así que no es ninguna sorpresa que preste mucha atención a series juveniles o películas que involucran estudiantes. Cuando me senté a ver "Watercolors" (2008), sentí que algunas de las propuestas del director David Oliveras eran muy audaces, él presenta el romance homosexual entre dos chicos menores de edad (Tye Olson y Kyle Clare), uno de ellos es un nadador obsesionado con ganar una medalla de oro, el otro es un artista, preocupado por dibujar a su amigo al desnudo. Juntos, se complementan; desafortunadamente, la vida los apartará. Tiene un final muy triste, y algunas escenas realmente conmovedoras. Otro fantástico film sobre chiquillos es "Afterschool" (2008) de Antonio Campos, algunos notan la influencia combinada de Gus Van Sant y Michael Haneke, y podemos percibir esa sensibilidad desde la secuencia inicial, en la que encontramos a Ezra Miller mirando una película porno mientras se masturba, hasta que su amigo Jeremy Allen White entra a la habitación e interrumpe la solitaria actividad. Los dos chicos viven en un internado y comparten la misma habitación, pero mientras el amigo es popular y extrovertido, el protagonista es retraído y aislado. La soledad del personaje de Ezra es tan tangible que podemos casi palparla. Y cuando dos chicas mueren en el colegio, el infierno se desata. Una mirada verdaderamente fascinante, honesta y cruel sobre el mundo de los adolescentes de hoy.


"Seeing Heaven" (2010) de Alexander Bracq es una película peculiar sobre un prostituto gay que busca a su hermano gemelo. Eventualmente, recae en la industria porno gay, algo que le conviene porque él tiene visiones premonitorias cada vez que tiene sexo con otro hombre. Considero que "Seeing Heaven" tiene una o dos cosas buenas, pero en líneas generales decepciona. "Weekend" (2011) de Andrew Haigh sintetiza el comienzo de una relación sentimental y sexual entre Tom Cullen y Chris New; este es un valiente relato sobre dos hombres que intentan imaginar una vida juntos aunque todo está en su contra. Esta producción independiente habla sobre la naturaleza elusiva del amor, sobre la discriminación y sobre lo que significa ser gay en una pequeña ciudad británica. "House of Boys" (2009) de Jean-Claude Schlim gira en torno a la relación entre Layke Anderson y Benn Northover, el primero es un joven gay que decide trabajar de bailarín en un club de dudosa reputación, allí conoce a otro bailarín, el único en todo el edificio que afirma ser heterosexual, pero eventualmente los dos se convierten en amantes. Sin embargo, son los 80s, y eso significa SIDA, uno de ellos está condenado a morir.


Tuve la buena suerte de encontrar dos curiosas producciones británicas. "A Song for a Raggy Boy" (2003) de Aisling Walsh nos lleva a un internado poblado por niños de escasos recursos, allí, Aidan Quinn será el nuevo profesor y pronto cambiará las miserables vidas de sus estudiantes. Les enseña a leer, y hace que se enorgullezcan de ellos mismos, pero él no puede pelear contra los vicios de uno de los sacerdotes, que golpea a los muchachos hasta hacerlos sangrar, o la depravación aún mayor de otro cura, que viola a los chicos que él considera más lindos. Este es un film sobre el sufrimiento y la desesperanza, pero también sobre un hombre que hace todo lo que puede para ayudar a estos chavales indefensos. "Kes" (1969) de Ken Loach es como un documental sobre la clase obrera británica, entendemos la pobreza al ver a David Bradley durmiendo en la misma cama con su hermano, admiramos el fracaso de los profesores del muchachito, y la constante hostilidad dentro y fuera del colegio. Eventualmente, el protagonista, un niñito, encuentra solaz al entrenar a un azor, pero por supuesto, esta no es la clase de películas que tiene un final feliz.


Finalmente, también vi "Pixote: a lei do mais fraco" (1981), una producción de Brazil que lidia con la delincuencia infantil, la prostitución y la drogadicción. Cuando un niño es enviado a una correccional, teme por su vida al observar como los chicos más grandes violan a los más pequeños todas las noches, la brutalidad de sus compañeros es terrorífica, y eventualmente Pixote huye sólo para descubrir que la vida en las calles es incluso más peligrosa y terrible. "Torzók" (2001) es una entristecedora historia sobre un internado en Hungría. El director Árpád Sopsits reconstruye las fantasías infantiles y el ansia de libertad de un pequeño niño, literalmente atrapado en una rígida institución, él descubre con sus amigos los misterios de la sexualidad, el frío invernal y el hambre que nunca se detiene. Finalmente, deciden escapar, pero una terrible desgracia los aguarda. Una realista y trágica narración que nos recuerda la crueldad de los adultos con los niños.

May Comic Books / Cómics de mayo

Slightly later than usual, here I present you last month’s comics. I still haven’t finished to read all of them, but I’d rather make this post now. America’s Got Powers continues to be amazing, the first issue of Mind the Gap is very promising, plus the art is great. In the Free Comic Book Day front there’s plenty of good stuff: Graphic Elvis with art by the incomparable John Cassaday (I’ll buy anything with his name on it), The Hypernaturals was everything I love about the Legion of Super-Heroes; I truly enjoyed the Archaia graphic novel anthology, not only is it a very nice hardcover edition with lots of interesting stories, but also it’s completely free. But if I had to choose the best book of the month it would be Morning Glories # 18, a powerful and haunting story about the forbidden love of two young boys who meet again years later only to realize that passion can still prevail. As a writer, Nick Spencer surprises us with an unforgettable story about teenagers trapped in a school that keeps murdering its own students. And here are May comics as per solicitations:


AMERICAS GOT POWERS #2 (OF 6)
A generation of super-powered teens battle to be The Hero on the biggest TV event in history but Tommy Watt's dreams of fame and fortune might be over even if he survives The Trials. Someone is coming and he's going to destroy the show and everybody in it!


BOYS #66 (MR)
(W) Garth Ennis (A) Russell Braun (CA) Darick Robertson The last Boys story begins with some very shady goings on in Moscow, as an old friend runs into some unexpected trouble. Butcher announces a promotion that doesn't please everybody, Annie makes a decision that horrified Hughie- and in the aftermath of last issue's super-carnage, Vought-American begin the struggle for survival. Part one of the six-part The Bloody Doors Off.

DOMINIQUE LAVEAU VOODOO CHILD #3 (MR)
(W) Selwyn Sefu Hinds (A) Denys Cowan, John Floyd (CA) Rafael Grampá
Dominique comes face to face with her mysterious pursuers from the Voodoo Court; a deadly enemy takes the first step toward becoming her ally; and she finally learns of the age-old supernatural civil war that's been rippling beneath the fabric of New Orleans... and her place in the middle of the madness. But it may all be too little too late when the Voodoo war god Ogun shows up to put her to the ultimate test.


FAIREST #3 (MR)
(W) Bill Willingham (A) Phil Jimenez, Andy Lanning (CA) Adam Hughes
We want this third issue to be really big, so let's have Briar Rose and Ali Baba captured by the Snow Queen! And let's throw in seven good fairy godmothers and one really, really bad one. Let's have dire curses and desperate fights and comic asides. Let's show the consequences of attempting a second uninvited kiss. Basically let's have everything in this but the kitchen sink. No, wait - let's throw the kitchen sink in too!


FCBD 2012 GRAPHIC ELVIS PREVIEW (Net)
(W) Stan Lee, Various (A) John Cassaday, Various (CA) Mukesh Singh This FCBD Preview of the Graphic Elvis collector's book features selected stories and excerpts from the deluxe hardcover edition! An illustrated homage to Elvis' lifelong appreciation of comic books, Graphic Elvis also commemorates the 35th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death in 2012. In the same way comic books inspired Elvis, this book allowed today's premiere comic book creators to find inspiration from Elvis' treasured archives at Graceland, creating a unique visual experience for his millions of fans. 371947


FCBD 2012 IMAGE 20 (Net)
(W/A) Various Image Comics presents this 20th anniversary anthology packed with all-new stories featuring a mix of Image's best loved characters from the past and present! 371923


FCBD 2012 MOUSE GUARD LABYRINTH & MORE HC (Net)
(W) Jeremy Bastian, Nate Cosby, Royden Lepp, Jim McCann, Ted Naifeh, David Petersen (A) Jeremy Bastian, Chris Eliopoulos, Cory Godbey, Janet Lee, Royden Lepp and David Petersen (C) David Petersen This Free Comic Book Day, Archaia offers readers the chance to experience history in the making with a FREE, gorgeous, 48-page, 6' x 9' full-color original anthology hardcover featuring all-new material! David Petersen returns with an all-new Mouse Guard tale that's guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings! Lose yourself once again in Jim Henson's amazing world of Labyrinth, featuring a fantastical story from Eisner Award-nominee Ted Naifeh (Courtney Crumrin) and Cory Godbey (Fraggle Rock). Get a new perspective on Jet Jones in Royden Lepp's critically acclaimed Rust, with a short story seen through the eyes of younger brother Oswald Taylor. Jeremy Bastian's acclaimed Cursed Pirate Girl hits the high seas in this whimsical, swashbuckling tale of wonderland journeys and unimaginable dangers. Nate Cosby (Pigs) and Chris Eliopoulos (Franklin Richards) present Cow Boy, a comedy/western that tells the tale of a young bounty hunter determined to send his entire outlaw family to jail. And Jim McCann and Janet Lee follow up their Eisner Award-winning Return of the Dapper Men with an all-new short story that leads into the upcoming sequel, Time of the Dapper Men. Witness the origin of a new, major character! And?the return of 41?! 371915


FCBD 2012 THE HYPERNATURALS (Net)
(W) Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning (A) TBD. This Free Comic Book Day... A universe trembles. It is the far future; the human race has finally colonized the galaxy, preserving an era of prosperity that's only possible because of The Hypernaturals. They're a celebrated, galaxy-wide superhero task force that keeps the peace. That is, until they all mysteriously vanish. Now, as the galaxy teeters on the brink of chaos, it's up to a group of retired and long forgotten Hypernaturals - and their novice recruits - to save the galaxy from complete destruction. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, the superstar writing duo behind Annihilation and The Legion, launch an all-new original series that takes cosmic super-heroes to a new frontier. Experience the special preview issue of The Hypernaturals this May and pick up the #1 issue this July!

FRANKENSTEIN ALIVE ALIVE #1
(W) Steve Niles (A/CA) Bernie Wrightson Few works by comic-book artists have earned the universal acclaim and reverence that Bernie Wrightson's illustrated version of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein was met with upon its original release in 1983. Nearly 30 years later, Wrightson returns to his passion project with a comic series that picks up at the end of the classic novel, hailed as one of the greatest horror stories of all time. Frequent Wrightson collaborator Steve Niles provides the script for this epic, decades in the making. While appearing to be in black and white, each page was scanned in color to mimic as closely as possible the experience of viewing the actual original art, showing off the exquisitely detailed brush work of one of the greatest living artists in comics today. Each issue will also include supplemental materials, including interviews, essays and a serialization of the original prose story by Shelley.


HIGHER EARTH #1 MAIN CVRS
(W) Sam Humphries (CA) Phil Noto & Various You Are Illegal On This Earth. Space is dead. Why conquer other planets when there's a perfectly good Earth in the universe next door® Heidi, a girl born in garbage. Rex, a soldier gone rogue. The only thing between them and their destiny is an empire of a hundred different Earths, across a hundred alternate timelines. One majestic planet dominates them all: Higher Earth. Created and written by Sam Humphries (Fanboys Vs. Zombies) Higher Earth is his sci-fi follow up to last year's indie hit Our Love Is Real, a fast-paced epic of infinite possibilities. And don't miss the first of four extremely rare retailer incentive variants by legendary artist Michael Golden, offered with a CGC 9.8 Near Mint grade!


JUDGE DREDD CRUSADE TP (C: 0-1-2)
The Thing meets Where Eagles Dare as two of the world's most popular comic book writers - Grant Morrison and Mark Millar - produce a high-octane thriller! The greatest future lawman of them all, Judge Dredd, joins an international cadre of judges to recover a scientist who claims he has a message from God! And in 'The Frankenstein Division,' Millar creates the ultimate judge - by stitching together pieces of the best!


MIND THE GAP #1 CVR B
(W) Jim McAnn (A/CA) Rodin Esquejo, Sonia Oback After Elle Peterssen is mysteriously attacked on a Manhattan subway platform, she is left in a coma, the only clues to her attacker trapped inside her mind. No one knows the identity of the person behind this brutal beating or where they will strike next. In this ALL-NEW ONGOING series, everyone is suspect, and no one is innocent. USAToday calls it an 'anxiously anticipated modern thriller…Whodunit® McCann's done it again.' Eisner-winning writer JIM McCANN joins RODIN ESQUEJO (MORNING GLORIES) and SONIA OBACK (S.H.I.E.L.D., The Defenders) unite for a psychological thriller that will leave you guessing at every turn!


MORNING GLORIES #18 (MR)
story NICK SPENCER art JOE EISMA cover RODIN ESQUEJO  'P.E. - The Conclusion'


NEW DEADWARDIANS #3 (OF 8) (MR)
(W) Dan Abnett (A/CA) I. N. J. Culbard
Investigating the chilling 'Murder That Should Not Be,' Inspector Suttle is obliged to visit the East End of London's notorious and dangerous Zone-B. It's the last refuge of the living, where the poor, the free-thinking, the artistic, the liberal and the undoubtedly mortal live surrounded by the fenced-off restless horror. What secrets will Suttle learn there about the case and himself?


RICH JOHNSTONS THE AVENGEFULS #1
A fundamentalist Islamic terrorist, the world's leading for-profit deity and a reality TV star thawed out from the 1940s. Can The Hoff assemble this rag tag group together into a team ready to face Earth's greatest threats? Well, he better, because that's why we're making this comic! A hilarious parody of what's sure to be one of the biggest movies of 2012. No, not Step Up 4… Written by Bleeding Cool's Rich Johnston (Watchmensch, Chase Variant).


SAUCER COUNTRY #3 (MR)
(W) Paul Cornell (A/CA) Ryan Kelly
Hypno-regression therapy, cutting edge aviation technology, and an abduction by rabbits! Things are getting really strange on the campaign trail in New Mexico, and Governor Alvarado is beginning to wonder: Has everyone in this state been 'abducted by aliens'® The book we like to call 'The West Wing meets The X-Files' ramps up as we meet the enemy and get a look into their big, black eyes…


SAGA #3 (MR)
(W) Brian K. Vaughan (A/CA) Fiona Staples
BKV's and FIONA STAPLES' controversial epic continues!  Stranded on a mystical alien world, new parents Marko and Alana encounter their greatest fear. 


SECRET SERVICE #2 (OF 7) (MR)
(W) Mark Millar (A/CA) Dave Gibbons
The world's greatest secret agent is on the most exciting case of his career. But will the end of the world as we know it take a back seat to training his street-punk nephew to be the next James Bond® The young man's preparation now begins in earnest, saving him from a life of desperation. Meanwhile, what's the secret link between a series of kidnapped science fiction stars and the murder of an entire town in Middle America?


SUPERCROOKS #3 (OF 4) (MR)
(W) Mark Millar (A/CA) Leinil Francis Yu
Johnny Bolt has gathered a group of super-villain friends from his past to pull off the biggest robbery in history. The real surprise--the victim's identity! But things go horribly wrong and it's too late to turn back. The greatest super-villain of all time might have amassed a billion dollar fortune, but he's not going to be easy to steal from. A massive secret in the American superhero community might just work in their favor…


STAR TREK TNG DOCTOR WHO ASSIMILATION #1
(W) David Tipton & Various (A) J. K. Woodward (CA) J. K. Woodward, David Messina They said it would never happen! Nearly five decades and 1500 episodes in the making! The two greatest science-fiction properties of all time cross over for the first time in history, in STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION/DOCTOR WHO: ASSIMILATION2! When the Federation's most terrifying enemy strikes an unholy alliance with one of the Doctor's most hated antagonists, the result is devastation on a cosmic scale! Spanning the ends of space and time itself, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise find themselves joining forces with the Doctor and his companions, with the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance! Written by Scott and David Tipton, the authors of the critically acclaimed Star Trek: Infestaion, and featuring the beautiful painted artwork of J.K. Woodward (Fallen Angel), this is the adventure that both Trekkers and Whovians have waited for all their lives! Geronimo® Make it so!


UNWRITTEN #37 (MR)
(W) Mike Carey (A) Peter Gross (CA) Yuko Shimizu
A year after The War of Words and nearly unbearable tragedy and loss, Tom Taylor's life is finally coming together. But the real world and fictional world are both in turmoil, and the damage seems to be spreading. Before he can hope to heal it, Tom will need to find 'The Wound,' part 1 of 4. It's the start of a brand-new storyline in a psychologically postapocalyptic world disconnected from the power of Leviathan and the manipulation of the Cabal. Fiction is up for grabs and Tom Taylor stands at the center of that battle!


WALKING DEAD #97 (MR)
(W) Robert Kirkman (A/CA) Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn
TWO ISSUES IN ONE MONTH! The start of a new storyline, leading up to our monumental issue 100!  After nearly 100 issues, Rick and the other survivors finally have 'SOMETHING TO FEAR.'


WALKING DEAD #98 (MR)
(W) Robert Kirkman (A/CA) Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn
TWO ISSUES IN ONE MONTH! 'SOMETHING TO FEAR' continues!
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

Ligeramente más tarde de lo habitual, aquí les presento los cómics del mes pasado. Todavía no termino de leer todo, pero empecemos de una vez. America’s Got Powers continúa asombrándome, el primer número de Mind the Gap es muy prometedor y tiene un artista de primera. En cuanto a los cómics del Free Comic Book Day hay muchas cosas buenas: Graphic Elvis con arte del incomparable John Cassaday (compro todos los cómics que él dibuja), The Hypernaturals fue todo lo que me gusta de la Legión de Súper-Héroes; realmente disfruté la novela gráfica de Archaia, además de ser una cuidada edición en tapa dura con muchas historias interesantes, también es completamente gratuita. Pero si tuviera que elegir el mejor título del mes sería Morning Glories # 18, una poderosa y evocadora historia sobre el amor prohibido entre dos chiquillos que se reencuentran años después y descubren que la pasión aún puede prevalecer. Como escritor, Nick Spencer nos sorprende con un inolvidable relato sobre adolescentes atrapados en un colegio que asesina a sus propios estudiantes. Y sin más preámbulos, aquí están los cómics de mayo:


AMERICAS GOT POWERS #2 (OF 6)
Una generación de adolescentes con súper-poderes lucha para ser ‘el Héroe’ del más grande evento de la televisión en la historia. Pero los sueños de fama y fortuna de Tommy Watts quizá desfallezcan si es que sobrevive a los juicios. Y alguien destruirá el show y a todos los que participan.

Morning Glories # 18

BOYS #66 (MR)
Algo sucede en Moscú; un viejo amigo está en problemas. Y llega un anuncio que complacerá a pocos.


DOMINIQUE LAVEAU VOODOO CHILD #3 (MR)
Dominique se enfrente a sus misteriosos perseguidores de la Corte Vudú; un enemigo mortal toma el primer paso hacia una alianza. Y ella finalmente descubre la guerra civil sobrenatural en Nueva Orleans.


FAIREST #3 (MR)
RED ROSE y ALI BABA son capturados por la Reina de las Nieves. Además, allí están las siete hadas madrinas buenas, y una mala.


FCBD 2012 GRAPHIC ELVIS PREVIEW (Net)
Incluye trabajos de Stan Lee y John Cassaday.


FCBD 2012 IMAGE 20 (Net)
Antología en homenaje a los 20 años de Image.


FCBD 2012 MOUSE GUARD LABYRINTH & MORE HC (Net)
Escrito por Jeremy Bastian, Nate Cosby, Royden Lepp, Jim McCann, Ted Naifeh, David Petersen y dibujado por Jeremy Bastian, Chris Eliopoulos, Cory Godbey, Janet Lee, Royden Lepp & David Petersen.


FCBD 2012 THE HYPERNATURALS (Net) 
Estamos en un futuro lejano. La raza humana ha colonizado la galaxia, preservando una era de prosperidad posible sólo gracias a los Híper-Naturales, quienes guardan la paz por toda la galaxia. Hasta que todos se desvanecen misteriosamente, y la galaxia está ahora al borde del caos.


FRANKENSTEIN ALIVE ALIVE #1
Adaptación del clásico de terror de Mary W. Shelley.


HIGHER EARTH #1 MAIN CVRS
Eres un ilegal en esta Tierra. El espacio está muerto. ¿Para qué conquistar otros planetas si hay una Tierra perfectamente buena en el universo de al lado? Una chica que nació en la basura, un soldado fugitivo. Lo único que hay entre ellos y su destino es un universo de cientos de Tierras diferentes.


JUDGE DREDD CRUSADE
El más grande juez de todos, Dredd, se une a un grupo internacional de jueces para rescatar a un científico que clama tener un mensaje divino. Mientras, la División FRANKENSTEIN crea al juez definitivo.


MIND THE GAP #1 CVR B
Cuando Elle es misteriosamente atacada en una plataforma del metro de Manhattan, queda en estado de coma, las únicas pistas sobre su atacante están en su mente. Todos son sospechosos, nadie es inocente.


MORNING GLORIES #18 (MR)
Educación física. Conclusión.


NEW DEADWARDIANS #3 (OF 8) (MR)
Al investigar el asesinato que no debió ocurrir, el inspector es obligado a visitar la peligrosa zona pobre de Londres, el último refugio de los vivos, donde los pobres, los libre-pensadores, los artistas, los liberales viven rodeados del terror que no termina. ¿Qué secretos descubrirá el inspector?


RICH JOHNSTONS THE AVENGEFULS #1
Un terrorista islámico fundamentalista, el dios mejor pagado del mundo y la estrella de un programa de televisión congelado desde los años 40. ¿Podrá este patético grupo enfrentar a la más grande amenaza de la Tierra?


SAUCER COUNTRY #3 (MR)
Terapia hipnótica de regresión, tecnología de aviación de primera, y una abducción hecha por conejos. Las cosas se vuelven aún más extrañas a lo largo de la campaña, y la gobernadora Alvarado se pregunta si es que acaso todos han sido abducidos en Nuevo México.


SAGA #3 (MR)
Varados en un mundo extraño y místico, Marko y Alana, padres primerizos, encuentran aquello a lo que más temen.


STAR TREK TNG DOCTOR WHO ASSIMILATION #1
Luego de cinco décadas, las dos más grandes series de ciencia ficción se reúnen. Cuando el más temible enemigo de la Federación forma una alianza con uno de los más odiados antagonistas del Doctor, el resultado es la devastación a escala cósmica. El capitán PICARD y el Doctor unirán fuerzas.


SECRET SERVICE #2 (OF 7) (MR)
El más grande agente secreto del mundo tiene un caso emocionante. Pero el fin del mundo tal como lo conocemos no le impedirá entrenar a su sobrino, un punk callejero, para ser el próximo James Bond.


SUPERCROOKS #3 (OF 4) (MR)
Johnny reúne a un grupo de villanescos amigos de su pasado para lograr el mayor asalto de la historia. El más grande súper-villano del mundo ha amasado una fortuna de billones, pero no será fácil robársela.


UNWRITTEN #37 (MR)
Un año después de la Guerra de las palabras, la vida de Tom por fin se tranquiliza. Pero el mundo real y el mundo ficticio están en caos. Y el daño se extiende, Tom deberá encontrar la herida antes de poder curarla. ¿Qué pasará en un mundo sin un Leviatán o la manipulación de la Cábala?


WALKING DEAD #97 (MR)
Finalmente Rick y los otros tienen algo que temer.


WALKING DEAD #98 (MR)
“Algo que temer” continúa.

New Mutants # 1, 2 & 3 - Chris Claremont & Bob McLeod

Psychoanalyst Erik Erikson said once that adolescence was the age of fidelity. During childhood, our development depends on what is done to us (parental and familial influence are essential here); nevertheless, between the ages of 13 to 19, development depends primarily upon what a person does.  An adolescent must struggle to discover and find his or her own identity, while negotiating and struggling with social interactions and “fitting in”. Adolescents begin to develop a strong affiliation and devotion to ideals, causes, and friends.

But this is also an age of confusion and sometimes even suffering. It’s not always the golden years that we might hope for. For this group of teenagers, these New Mutants, the search of identity is even more problematic. They are not only dealing with hormonal changes and sexuality, but also with the discovery of the unique and strange abilities that set them apart from normal humans.

Fidelity here is clearly to the team, the parents are never as relevant as the immediate group of coetaneous. So it’s only fitting that all parental figures have been removed from the equation, save for Charles Xavier, who is almost like the primordial father that Freud used to describe. He’s not only there to guide the kids through life, but he’s also there to teach them how to control their powers. In order to guide them, he must first inscribe them into the symbolic order, into society, and that, according to Lacan, is the necessary castration that prevents men and women from entering into the realms of psychosis or neurosis. Without a clear castration process, mental health could never be guaranteed. And Professor X is well aware of that.

Charles Xavier & New Mutants

Xavier is only tough on the outside. On the inside, he’s a caring and nurturing man, but he can’t do all the work by himself. He can’t be a father and a mother at the same time; this is why the presence of an old flame, in this case Moira MacTaggert, becomes mandatory. Together, they are the putative father and mother that these children so desperately need. They’re not orphans, but they might just as well be.

Understandably, the protagonists have feelings of inadequacy. They’re still very young and very inexperienced. And they mess things up, all the time. Mistakes are sometimes simply an expression of their own clumsiness but other times it’s the result of the lack of control over their powers. For instance, Danielle accidentally lashes out to Xi’an, and creates a psychic projection that is there for everyone to see, and that reveals one of Xi’an’s innermost secrets: a brutal rape that she had spent years trying to forget. We also have a cultural clash of sorts, when Roberto -faithful to the Hispanic stereotype- acts like the attractive macho he’s supposed to be and ends up generating false hopes in Rahne, a Scottish girl with a Catholic and very conservative upbringing. These teens are strange, or rather, strangers. They are estranged from their own bodies which are undergoing all sorts of changes, and they are also strangers amongst themselves.

Danielle Moonstar

The New Mutants will come to face threats that were familiar to the X-Men. For instance, Henry Peter Gyrich unleashes the sentinels -gigantic robots designed to neutralize mutants- upon them; another menace will be the Brood, an extraterrestrial race that shares a few similitudes with Ridley Scott’s Aliens. Indeed, the insect-like Brood plant their eggs in other living organisms until an alien creature hatches from within the body (very much like in the movies starred by Sigourney Weaver). I had said before that as teenagers, these kids are estranged from their bodies, but with the Brood this estrangement becomes absolute. The saga of the Brood is resolved in Uncanny X-Men # 167, with art by the famous Paul Smith. Paul’s style is very recognizable due to his economy of lines and a certain stylization that was quite uncommon in most artists at the time. Paul draws some great pages, like the one that shows Empress Lilandra in full gear threatening the Fantastic Four for saving the life of Galactus.

Claremont knows how to write about teenagers, and his usual collaborator, Bob McLeod, did a great job not only with the action sequences but also with the quiet moments. One of the things I liked the most about the New Mutants is that they were, in no way, the X-Men’s successors; instead of heroes they are students, so everyday life is more important here than in other titles. Bob’s wonderful pencils are inked by Mike Gustovich in issues # 1, 2 & 3, Gustovich is a capable inker but he is not the right fit for Bob’s delicate lines, even so, Glynis Wein colors prove to be quite good, despite the limitations of the color palette in the early 80s. 
______________________________________________________________________________________

At the mall / en el centro comercial

El psicoanalista Erik Erikson dijo alguna vez que la adolescencia era la edad de la fidelidad. Durante la infancia, nuestro desarrollo depende de lo que nos hacen (la influencia de los padres y la familia es esencial); no obstante, entre la edad de 13 y 19 años, el desarrollo depende primariamente de lo que una persona hace. Un adolescente debe esforzarse para descubrir su propia identidad, mientras negocia y se enfrenta con las interacciones sociales y el deseo de 'encajar'. Los adolescentes empiezan a desarrollar una fuerte afiliación y devoción hacia los ideales, las causas y los amigos.

Pero esta también es una edad de confusión y a veces incluso sufrimiento. No siempre se trata de la edad dorada que hubiésemos deseado. Para este grupo de adolescentes, estos Nuevos Mutantes, la búsqueda de la identidad es incluso más problemática. No sólo deben lidiar con los cambios hormonales y la sexualidad, sino también con el descubrimiento de las extrañas y singulares habilidades que los separan de los humanos normales.

La fidelidad aquí es claramente hacia el equipo, los padres nunca son tan relevantes como el grupo inmediato de coetáneos. Así que tiene sentido que todas las figuras paternas hayan sido sustraídas de la ecuación, excepto por  Charles Xavier, que es casi como el padre primordial que describía Freud. Él no sólo está allí para guiar a estos chiquillos a través de la vida, también está allí para enseñarles cómo controlar sus poderes. Para guiarlos, primero deberá inscribirlos en el orden simbólico, en la sociedad, y ello, de acuerdo con Lacan, es la castración necesaria que impide que hombres y mujeres entren al reino de la psicosis o de la neurosis. Sin un proceso claro de castración, la salud mental no puede ser garantizada. Y el Profesor X lo sabe.

Sam Guthrie 

Xavier sólo es rudo por fuera. Por dentro, es un hombre preocupado, cariñoso, pero él no puede hacer todo el trabajo por sí mismo. No puede ser padre y madre al mismo tiempo; es por ello que la presencia de uno de sus antiguos amores, en este caso Moira MacTaggert, se hace obligatoria. Juntos, ellos son el padre y la madre putativos que estos niños necesitan tan desesperadamente. Ellos no son huérfanos, pero bien podrían serlo.

Comprensiblemente, los protagonistas sienten que no encajan. Todavía son muy jóvenes y muy inexperimentados. Y meten la pata, todo el tiempo. Los errores son a veces simplemente una expresión de su propia torpeza pero otras veces son el resultado de la falta de control sobre sus poderes. Por ejemplo, Danielle accidentalmente usa sus poderes en Xi’an, y crea una proyección psíquica que todos pueden ver, y así se revela uno de los más íntimos secretos de Xi’an: una brutal violación que ella había intentado olvidar por años. También tenemos una suerte de choque cultural cuando Roberto -fiel al estereotipo del latinoamericano- actúa como el macho atractivo que se supone que debe ser y termina generando falsas esperanzas en Rahne, una chica escocesa criada de manera muy religiosa y conservadora. Estos jovencitos son extraños, o más bien, alienados. Están alineados de sus propios cuerpos que atraviesan todo tipo de cambios, y también son extraños entre ellos mismos.

Fantastic Four: art by Paul Smith / Cuatro Fantásticos: arte de Paul Smith

Los Nuevos Mutantes enfrentarán a amenazas que eran familiares para los X-Men. Por ejemplo, Henry Peter Gyrich suelta sobre ellos a los centinelas -robots gigantescos diseñados para neutralizar mutantes; otra amenaza será el Enjambre, una raza extraterrestre que comparte algunas similitudes con “Alien” de Ridley Scott. De hecho, con apariencia de insectos, el Enjambre planta sus huevos en otros organismos vivos hasta que una criatura alienígena nace desde dentro del cuerpo (al igual que sucede en las películas protagonizadas por Sigourney Weaver). Había dicho antes que como adolescentes, estos muchachos están alienados de sus propios cuerpos, pero con el Enjambre esta alienación es total. La saga del Enjambre se resuelve en Uncanny X-Men # 167, con arte del famoso Paul Smith. El estilo de Paul es fácilmente reconocible debido a su economía de líneas y a una cierta estilización que no era muy frecuente en los artistas de la época. Paul dibuja algunas páginas grandiosas, como la que nos muestra a la emperatriz Lilandra con su armadura oficial amenazando a los Cuatro Fantásticos por haber salvado la vida de Galactus.

Claremont sabe cómo escribir sobre adolescentes, y su colaborador habitual, Bob McLeod, hizo un gran trabajo no sólo con las secuencias de acción sino también con los momentos calmos. Una de las cosas que más me gustaba de los Nuevos Mutantes es que ellos no eran, en ningún sentido, los sucesores de los X-Men; en vez de héroes, son estudiantes, así que la vida cotidiana es más importante aquí que en otros títulos. Los maravillosos lápices de Bob son entintados por Mike Gustovich en los ejemplares # 1, 2 y 3, Gustovich es un entintador capaz pero no es la opción más apropiada para las delicadas líneas de Bob, aún así, los colores de Glynis Wein son bastante buenos, a pesar de las limitaciones de la paleta de color de principios de los 80.

New Mutants - Chris Claremont & Bob McLeod

In 1963 a bald man in a wheelchair gathered a group of gifted youngsters to defend his dream of a peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants. And thus, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the X-Men, the “strangest teens of all” as was the slogan of the book back then.

Much has been said about the success of the X-Men. For some critics, it was Lee’s interesting approach towards diversity and discrimination that cemented Marvel’s reputation as an imprint that could tackle on contemporary social conflicts without straying too much from the adventure and outlandish enemies that the heroes had to fight in each issue.

For me, nonetheless, part of the success derives directly from the fact that -just like Spider-Man- they we are all teenagers (Professor Xavier notwithstanding). The same year of the X-Men’s debut, DC Comics had also published a comic book in which a group of outcasts followed the Leader, a man bounded to a wheelchair. Marginalization and discrimination were very present elements in this new title, however, the protagonists were all grownup men and women. There were no teenagers in this Doom Patrol that, eventually, was doomed to fade into oblivion due to low sales. 

Originally, the X-Men were only five youngsters with special abilities: Angel (flying), Cyclops (optic blasts), Beast (dexterity and agility), Ice Man (control over ice) and Jean Gray AKA Marvel Girl (telekinesis and telepathy). After a while, they were replaced by another group of mutants and the X-Men became even more popular than before. The new team had a large cast of international members that even non-readers know today (thanks, in part, to the X-Men movies): Wolverine (Canadian), Storm (African), Nightcrawler (German), Colossus (Russian), Banshee (Irish), etc.

Rahne Sinclair (Wolfsbane)

Although having a group of adults as X-Men impaired the dynamics of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. So in the early 80s, writer Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod decided to reactivate the school, and for that they needed a new batch of younger and eager pupils. And so in 1982, as part of the Marvel Graphic Novels initiative, the New Mutants were born.

With ages ranging from 13 to 16, a new group of kids would now populate the empty halls of Xavier’s venerable mansion in Westchester. Just like the second incarnation of the X-Men, this group of new mutants came from very distinct backgrounds: Xi’an Coy Mahn (codename Karma), was a Vietnamese girl trying to adapt to her new life in America after the horrors of the Vietnam war; Samuel Guthrie (codename Cannonball), the oldest one of the bunch was a 16-year old Southern boy working in the mines to provide for his underprivileged family; Rahne Sinclair (codename Wolfsbane), was a girl from Scotland who gets help thanks to Xavier’s old lover, Moira MacTaggert; Danielle Moonstar (codename Psyche) was of Cheyenne origins, and held a grudge against the ‘white man’; Roberto Da Costa (codename Sunspot) was the reckless son of a wealthy Brazilian businessman.

Roberto 'Bobby' Da Costa (Sunspot)

In this Marvel Graphic Novel, Claremont manages to give us a clear view of the characters in only a handful of pages. We can perceive the traumatic past of Xi’an. We understand poverty and Sam’s need to make money, but most of all we see the awfulness of working in the mines and the shattered illusions of a young man that had a brilliant future ahead of him until his father died. We witness the dangers of superstition as a group of Scottish men chase down Rahne, accusing her of being a daughter of Satan. We feel sympathy towards Danielle’s frustration as she is incapable of saving the life of her grandfather, the worst is that nobody will pay attention to the death of a Native-American; in her case, she’s discriminated not only for being a mutant but also because of her ethnicity. Roberto Da Costa is a popular kid and has a pretty girlfriend, he’s a star in the soccer field, but one afternoon his powers start manifesting and now he is seen as a monster, his life, and everything he knew, is gone.

30 years after the release of New Mutants, Claremont’s narrative remains as alluring as always, and Bob McLeod’s art continues to surprise me. Looking at Bob’s pages I feel nostalgic, which is weird because I did not grow up reading New Mutants. In fact, I had access to my first Claremont and McLeod story in 1996 or 1997. But ever since then I always admired the classic tone of Bob’s lines, the precision of his inks and above all the harmonic interaction of characters in and outside of costume, in real life scenarios or in completely extravagant locations. Bob, like so many artists from the past, could draw absolutely anything. And he was so good at it. To this day, the black and yellow costume of the New Mutants remains as my favorite. Once I even dreamt about myself and a group of close friends wearing those classic outfits. Of course, I was still a teen back then… and it would ridiculous for an adult man to have such dreams now, wouldn’t it? But after reading the introductory issue of New Mutants I feel like there is no need for me to close my eyes and imagine all of that because I can see it and read it right now. And boy, it sure takes me back in such a wonderful way.
________________________________________________________________________________________

En 1963 un hombre calvo en una silla de ruedas reunió a un grupo de jóvenes dotados (de poderes, no sean malpensados) para defender su sueño de una coexistencia pacífica entre humanos y mutantes. Y así, Stan Lee y Jack Kirby crearon a los X-Men, los "más extraños adolescentes de todos" como decía el slogan de la revista en ese entonces.

Samuel 'Sam' Guthrie (Cannonball)

Se ha dicho mucho sobre el éxito de los X-Men. Para algunos críticos, fue el interesante enfoque de Stan Lee en temas como la diversidad y la discriminación lo que fortaleció la reputación de Marvel como una editorial que podía abordar conflictos sociales contemporáneos sin alejarse demasiado de la aventura y los enemigos estrambóticos que los héroes enfrentaban en cada ejemplar.

Para mí, no obstante, parte del éxito deriva directamente del hecho de que -al igual que Spider-Man- todos ellos son adolescentes (excluyendo al profesor Xavier). El mismo año del debut de los X-Men, DC Comics también publicó un cómic en el que un grupo de marginados seguían al Líder, un hombre en una silla de ruedas. La marginalización y la discriminación eran elementos presentes en este nuevo título, sin embargo, todos los protagonistas eran adultos. No había adolescentes en esta "Patrulla Condenada" que, eventualmente, sufrió la condena de ser cancelada por bajas ventas.

Originalmente, los X-Men eran sólo cinco jóvenes con habilidades especiales: Angel (vuelo), Cyclops (rayos ópticos), Beast (destreza y agilidad), Ice Man (control sobre el hielo) y Jean Gray AKA Marvel Girl (telequinesis y telepatía). Luego de un tiempo, fueron reemplazados por otro grupo de mutantes y los X-Men se volvieron más populares que antes. El nuevo equipo tenía integrantes de diversos países que son muy conocidos hoy en día (gracias, en parte, a las películas): Wolverine (canadiense), Storm (africana), Nightcrawler (alemán), Colossus (ruso), Banshee (irlandés), etc.

Aunque al tener un grupo de adultos como X-Men la dinámica de la Escuela para Jóvenes Talentos de Xavier se restringió. Así es que a inicios de los 80, el escritor Chris Claremont y el artista Bob McLeod decidieron reactivar el colegio, y para ello necesitaban una nueva oleada de jóvenes y deseosos pupilos. Y así en 1982, como parte de la iniciativa de Novelas Gráficas de Marvel, nacieron los Nuevos Mutantes.

The New Mutants / los Nuevos Mutantes

Con edades que iban de los 13 a los 16 años, un nuevo grupo de chiquillos poblarían los salones vacíos de la venerable mansión de Xavier en Westchester. Al igual que la segunda alineación de los X-Men, este grupo de nuevos mutantes era bastante internacional: Xi’an Coy Mahn (nombre código Karma), era una chica vietnamita intentando adaptarse a su nueva vida en Estados Unidos luego de los horrores de la guerra de Vietnam; Samuel Guthrie (nombre código Cannonball), era el mayor del equipo, un muchacho sureño de 16 años que trabajaba en las minas para mantener a su familia de escasos recursos; Rahne Sinclair (nombre código Wolfsbane), era una chica escocesa que consiguió ayuda gracias al antiguo amor de Xavier, Moira MacTaggert; Danielle Moonstar (nombre código Psyche), ere de origen Cheyenne , y odiaba al 'hombre blanco'; Roberto Da Costa (nombre código Sunspot), era el impulsivo hijo de un acaudalado hombre de negocios de Brasil.

En esta novela gráfica, Claremont se las arregla para darnos una imagen clara de los personajes en tan sólo un puñado de páginas. Podemos percibir el pasado traumático de Xi’an. Entendemos la pobreza y la necesidad de Sam de ganar dinero y, sobre todo, vemos lo terrible que es trabajar en las minas y las ilusiones destrozadas de un joven que tenía un futuro brillante hasta que su padre murió. Somos testigos de los peligros de la superstición cuando un grupo de escoceses cazan a Rahne, acusándola de ser una hija de Satán. Sentimos compasión por la frustración de Danielle, que es incapaz de salvarle la vida a su abuelo, lo peor es que nadie le prestará atención a la muerte de un indio nativo; en su caso, ella es discriminada no sólo por ser mutante sino también por su etnicidad. Roberto Da Costa es un chico popular, tiene una linda enamorada y es una estrella del fútbol escolar, pero una tarde sus poderes empiezan a manifestarse y ahora él es visto como un monstruo; su vida no volverá a ser la misma de antes.

30 años después de la publicación de "The New Mutants", la narrativa de Claremont es tan intensa como solía ser, y el arte de Bob McLeod continúa sorprendiendo. Al mirar las páginas de Bob siento nostalgia, y eso es extraño porque yo no crecí leyendo a los Nuevos Mutantes. De hecho, tuve acceso a mi primera historia de Claremont y McLeod en 1996 o 1997. Pero desde entonces siempre admiré el tono clásico de las líneas de Bob, la precisión de sus tintas y sobre todo la interacción armónica de los personajes con o sin uniformes, en escenarios de la vida real o en locaciones completamente extravagantes. Bob, como tantos artistas del pasado, podía dibujar absolutamente todo. Y lo hacía muy bien. Hasta el día de hoy, estos trajes amarillos y negros de los Nuevos Mutantes siguen siendo mis favoritos. Una vez incluso soñé conmigo mismo y un grupo de amigos usando estos trajes clásicos. Desde luego, todavía era un chiquillo en ese entonces... y sería ridículo que un adulto tenga semejantes sueños ahora, ¿no es así? Pero luego de leer la primera aparición de los Nuevos Mutantes siento que no tengo necesidad de cerrar los ojos e imaginar cosas, porque puedo ver y leer todo esto en el presente. Y vaya que me hace recordar el pasado de una manera maravillosa.

Heterónimos - Elisabeth Osés (Dédalo)

WHEN 2000AD

WAS    THE FUTURE

BY       GARTH ENNIS

(BLEEDINGCOOL.COM)

Michele del Campo

This seems like as good a time as any to acknowledge a rather large debt. A creative one, to be precise. To what you might call a kind of great-great-grandfather once removed, whose bastard descendants include Preacher, Hitman, The Boys, Wormwood, The Pro, Kev, Barracuda, Dicks and more; whose barebones characterization, dark humour and intense action were and always will be a massive influence on my own work; whose writers, artists and editors created the greatest comic ever.

It cost 7p Earth money, it was printed on recycled bog roll, and it made Friday afternoons that little bit better: it was 2000AD, and in those first ten years- before they got desperate and started employing people like me- it was like lightning in a bottle. A glance at the roster of talent involved is enough to take the breath away, and it should be remembered that a whole generation of readers was able to pick up almost any given issue and see a dozen of these guys at their very best.

So thank you: Pat Mills, John Wagner, Gerry Finley-Day, Alan Grant, Alan Moore, Tom Tully, Alan Hebden, Steve MacManus, Kelvin Gosnell, Nick Landau, Robin Smith, Simon Geller, Richard Burton, Doug Church, Tom Frame, Carlos Ezquerra, Ramon Sola, Jesus Blasco, Massimo Belardinelli, Dave Gibbons, Mike McMahon, Kevin O’Neill, Ian Gibson, John Cooper, Brian Bolland, Brett Ewins, Brendan McCarthy, Garry Leach, Ron Smith, Colin Wilson, Steve Dillon, Kim Raymond, Cam Kennedy, John Higgins, Barry Kitson, Mike Dorey, Carlos Pino, Jim Watson, Alan Davis, Jesus Redondo, Jose Ortiz, Ian Kennedy, Eric Bradbury, Mike White, Bryan Talbot, Ron Turner, Jim Baikie, Angie Mills, Glenn Fabry, David Pugh, Mike Collins and many more.

Michele del Campo

Thank you for two Tyrannosaurs fighting to the death on the rim of a volcano; Bofors gunners shooting it out with UFOs; Old One Eye’s last and greatest kill; the only Bear on the CIA death list; “Quack-quack, Volg!”; the truly unstoppable Artie Gruber; Dan Dare at the battle of Jupiter; Conclusion: MACH One terminated. Now closing down transmission; the Space Fort’s final battle with the Starslayer Empire; I came into the apartment blasting. I’ve been at this game for forty years and there’s one thing I’ve learned- never give a robot an even break; “Goodbye, Ro-Jaws and Hammerstein. Little Mo and I will always remember you”; Blackhawk and his comrades at the Event Horizon; “When you get old, you start gettin’ strange notions, like maybe people aren’t so bad. Maybe if we treat ‘em with kindness, the good in them will come out. I guess that’s when it’s time to quit”; I was there the day the heavens turned to hell; an ammo belt of silver Spandau bullets; the madness that was Meltdown Man; “Boys, you’re making a big mistake. I’m the one you should be afraid of. And here’s why”; “Perhaps we could all do with a little more of what Dredd’s got”.

Thank you, also, for the night the G.I.s died; the Dark Judges on the loose in Billy Carter Block; “Is that what people are? Are we robots too?”; “Vape, baby, vape!”; And there was great celebration which went on all night… and the night went on forever; “An’ the name’s Thompson–Harry Thompson!”; Carefully–oh, so carefully–creeps the Starborn Thing; “And some of them… some of them are stars”; Johnny and Wulf fighting dead men in an alien churchyard; “There’s a moral here somewhere, Grobbendonk”; “Grim”; Red Planet Blues; “Welcome to the wound-feast!”; “But the third word is probably oranges”; “I know many things, Old Red-Eyes”; For you are a Judge. And it is your duty; “Wake up, guys…we’re home,”; “Fancy that for dinner, George?”; The city screaming Chopper’s name; “Been nice knowin’ ya, good buddies. Guess this is it. Truck tucker, y’hear?”; Halo Jones eating breakfast in the ruins; And let the Third Law be that anyone says different’s a dead man; “Because I hate you.”

And, of course: “This Cursed Earth will not break me! I am The Law! I am Dredd–JUDGE DREDD!”

my drawing / mi dibujo

Finally, there’s the best bit of all, to me the greatest moment in comics history: part 22 of The Apocalypse War. Having fought a losing battle against the invaders, seen half of Mega-City One destroyed, massacred collaborators and euthanised the critically wounded, Dredd has led an elite team of Judges into an East-Meg missile silo. Following one of the best action sequences I’ve ever read in a comic, the Judges find themselves unable to gain access to the operations room, until Dredd simply bangs on the door with his pistol and shoots the curious halfwit who opens it point-blank. Our boys storm the ops room and seal the door. Anderson, the telepath (and only volunteer in the Apocalypse Squad- no peacenik cosmic wandering in those days) pulls the launch codes out of the silo commander’s mind. The nukes are targeted on East-Meg One. “Please, Dredd”, begs the commander, “There are half a billion people in my city–half a billion human beings! You can’t just wipe them out with the push of a button!” And Dredd doesn’t hesitate, not even for a second.

“Can’t I?”

He can and he does. I still think about that today; what it meant about the character, and about the comic I was reading (aged 12). Even now I don’t know if Dredd was right or if he was wrong. It was the only way to win, to avoid the further slaughter and enslavement of his own people–but it was genocide. It was moral courage on an almost unimaginable level–but it was appalling. In the end, it was a dilemma not unlike those faced by a number of good and bad men in our own history, and if I had to sum it up in one line, I’d say this: what are you prepared to do when there isn’t any easy way out?

And that, I think, is why I’ve never been able to care about Batman, or Wolverine, or Iron Man… or any of them, really. Not because of what characters like that would or wouldn’t do, but because their publishers would never have the courage to have them written into such a situation.

A belated–but sincere–Happy Thirty-Second Birthday to the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic.

–Garth Ennis
 New York City, June 2009
________________________________________________________________________________________

Nana de la Fuente

“La buena vida” se estrenó este lunes. Y recién ahora descubro lo que significa escribir guiones para un programa que se transmite de lunes a viernes. Si no fuera por el invalorable apoyo de Mariana Silva y Natalia Parodi, escribir cinco guiones a la semana sería prácticamente imposible. 

Aun así, he estado un poco más ocupado de lo normal. Y eso ha hecho que me pierda muchas muestras de arte. De todos modos, el día miércoles asistí a la inauguración de “Madera In-Finita” de Nana de la Fuente en la Galería Yvonne Sanguineti. Con una interesante selección de esculturas, la artista nos sorprende nuevamente. 

Y el día de ayer aproveché para darme una vueltita por Dédalo, se inauguraba “Heterónimos” de Elisabeth Osés, a quien saludé oportunamente; la muestra se compone de diversas piezas en cerámica con provocadores e ingeniosos títulos (algunos inspirados en la obra literaria de Fernando Pessoa, Arthur Rimbaud o Alejandra Pizarnik), cada pieza tiene una personalidad muy marcada y original, realmente quedé encantado. Saludé a Eduardo Lores y a María Elena Fernández, y les conté que estaba escribiendo guiones para Plus TV.

Después de un rato, me encontré con Rhony Alhalel e Ilse Rehder, que venían de otra muestra. Interesado y curioso, caminé una cuadra hasta la Galería Wu Ediciones, donde se inauguraba la muestra que ellos ya habían visitado: “Dentro y más allá de la fotografía” una colectiva de fotógrafos latinoamericanos con imágenes muy sugerentes. Habría que destacar los trabajos de Trinidad Carrillo, que en más de una ocasión juega con el desnudo infantil pero sin intención de escandalizar. En Wu me quedé conversando muy entretenidamente con Hugo Alegría, quien va a presentar una muestra en el Centro Colich en setiembre.