Marvel Studios' The Infinity Saga - Black Panther: The Art of the Movie - Book Review

 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been something of a mixed bag for everyone who's watched it, and I doubt that there has been a single person who's enjoyed every project equally, or even at all. For myself, I often found the films that tried something new to be the more interesting ones. A regular man who puts on a suit of armour and fights robots in a setting I recognise might be unusual and entertaining, but it wasn't anything that wowed me. Instead, it was the times when we were able to see the fantastical that really sold the amazing creativity of comics, like the alien worlds Guardians of the Galaxy, the magic of Doctor Strange, and in one of the most exciting things the MCU has done, the afrofuturism of Black Panther.

Originally debuting in Captain America: Civil War, the character of Black Panther was an immediate stand out, and fans were quickly demanding a solo movie for him. Thankfully, audiences didn't have to wait too long, and a film followed two years later. Marvel Studios' The Infinity Saga - Black Panther: The Art of the Movie charts the creation of the film from an art and design perspective, giving readers and insight into costume designs, sets and locations, and props, all of which had to be constructed from scratch to bring the world of Wakanda to life.

Despite being set on Earth, Black Panther had to create much of its style from scratch, unable to just rely on standard filming locations and costumes bought from stores. The nation of Wakanda is in some ways like the alien worlds that inhabit the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, where every detail needs to be considered and crafted. However, the design team weren't just creating things out of whole cloth, as they were able to draw upon the rich histories of the people and cultures that make up the continent of Africa, combined with science fiction elements, to craft something unique.

The world of Black Panther is perhaps one of the most mainstream examples of afrofuturism, an art movement that combines cultural and artistic expressions from across the history of the African diaspora, including religion, and philosophy, to create a vision of a liberated identity. This is something that is very central to Black Panther, with Wakanda being a nation that was never conquered by the white colonialist oppression of nations such as England and France. This has been a part of Wakandan history since its creation in the comics, but the details vary from creative team to creative team. This means that whilst the general theme of Wakanda's visual aesthetic has been established the film was open to explore in in a variety of directions.

Across the various chapters in Marvel Studios' The Infinity Saga - Black Panther: The Art of the Movie you can see where different inspirations have helped to shape the designs. There's a section of the book that explores the various tribes of Wakanda, complete with both colour and gorgeous black and whit epencil sketeches, that showcase not just the unique looks of these groups, but also explains the real world inspirations, such as the Tuareg people of Sahara the inspired the Merchant Tribe, or the Etheopian Karo people who's look helped to shape the Jabari Tribe. Moreso than any other book in the Infinity Saga series this is one volume is one that not only makes you appreciate the work that went into the film, but inspires you to go further afield, to look more into these real cultures and their history.

Marvel Studios' The Infinity Saga - Black Panther: The Art of the Movie does what the other volumes does, it goes into the design elements, it shows how these evolved from initial concepts to what we ended up with, it has storyboards, CGI models, and huge double page spreads. As with the other entries in the series the quality of the book itself is excellent, with gorgeous, thick glossy paper, attention given to the binding and image layout to reduce image loss on cross page images, and the textured finish on the hardcover itself is wonderful.

If you're endeavouring to collect the entire series I imagine this entry is already going to be on your list of books to buy, but if you're only wanting to pick up one or two of them and aren't sure which you should go for this is definitely one that should be a contender for top place. Black Panther was a huge cultural milestone, and whilst this book leaves you completely satisfied it does also feel like discovering the tip of the iceberg as it gives readers an insight into a whole world of art and culture that they might not have been aware of; one that you'll find yourself wanting more of.

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Return to Skull Island - Graphic Novel Blog Tour

 

Skull Island, an animated entry in the Monsterverse franchise, may not have been a show that got much attention, having only aired for eight episodes on Netflix, despite it being well received. Set during the 1990's, it follows the adventures of a group of explorers that travel to the mysterious Skull Island in an attempt to rescue a young girl believed lost there. Of course, as with any good monster adventure story, disaster strikes, and the group end up stranded on Skull Island, and must come up with a plan to escape.

The book picks up where the show ends, with several characters still stranded on Skull Island as Kong fights a giant squid monster, and the girl they went to save, Annie, back in civilisation, waking up in a hospital. Starting in medias res is something of a bold choice for a book that could be many people's first introduction to this series (which it was for me), but considering how the show ended, it's actually the perfect choice as it immediately grabs readers and draws them in no matter how much they do or don't know.

The main story of Return to Skull Island follows two distinct narrative threads. The first of these follows Charlie, the young protagonist who's stuck on Skull Island. Having stolen a sacred relic from the island inhabitants in order to lure Kong into a fight with the monster that guards the ocean around the island, Charlie begins this new chapter of the story literally at the mercy of the people who live on Skull Island, starting the book hanging upside down in a tree. Brought to the leader, a young woman named Kaia, Charlie must undergo the judgment of the island. Luckily, his father and other survivors of their ship are on the island to help him. Unfortunately, something powerful has awoken on Skull Island, something that the wounded Kong may not be able to survive.

The second part of the narrative follows Annie, who's been brought home to her mother in the US; along with her giant dog. Annie, having spent most of her life surviving on a remote island filled with monsters and giant animals, struggles to return to the normal world, being almost immediately expelled. She even struggles to build a relationship with her mother. Knowing that she doesn't fit in, and that Charlie and the others are still stuck on Skull Island, Annie formulates a plan to get back to the island. Of course, these two narratives eventually come together as the two groups must contend with multiple new threats on the titular Skull Island.

Having gone back and watched the series now, I was pleasantly surprised by how well the book and the show mesh together. Despite the change in medium this book really does feel like it's a second season of the series, rather than something like a simple tie-in or follow-up, and thanks to the cliff hanger nature of the series it makes Return to Skull Island feel like mandatory reading.

Simon Furman captures the tone of the series well, and manages to make the characters feel the same. Everyone has the same voice still, still acts in the same ways, and have the same motivations despite the change in circumstances, and if you have a favourite character from the series I think that you'll find them well represented.

The book also introduces a number of new characters that fit into the world created by the show well. But is it the characters that people come to these stories for? Sure, you need good characters and a decent plot to keep a Kaiju story from being vapid nonsense, but it's the monsters that are the headliners that people want to see; and Return to Skull Island introduces a cool new antagonist for Kong to go up against. Return to Skull Islands's new headline monster is Yuggoth, a creature made from mould and fungus, it makes a startling change from other Kaiju who tend to be animals or creatures of some recognisable kind. 

Yuggoth is a mass of mushrooms, spores, and sludge that feels more akin to creatures like Biollante or Hedorah, monsters that present a different kind of challenge for Kong and our human characters, as simply blowing it to pieces or tearing limbs off won't kill it the way it would other creatures. Yuggoth challenges Kong in a fun way, and forces the heroes to rely on more than just pure brute strength to win the day. I also really like the monster's design, and would love to have seen something like this on the big screen.

The art team on Return to Skull Island, Christopher Jones and Charlie Kirchoff, do a wonderful job at recapturing the feel of the show, with bold, bright art and designs that will appeal to readers of all ages. As with the series itself, the book feels like it's designed for a wider audience, and it's art style is a big part of it. Characters and monsters are fairly simple, without being plain. The art manages to convey a lot of detail and depth whilst using few lines and colouring. Everything is neat, and clean, and it means that you're not getting lost in unnecessary details or noise, and get to appreciate the art on the page even more.

Return to Skull Island feels like a fantastic continuation to the series, one that's set to keep on going with the upcoming Escape from Skull Island. If you watched the series and wanted more this book will give you that. If you're a fan of King Kong and the Monsterverse but missed the series when it was first released this book is a fun introduction to it, and will get you to go back and check out what you missed.

Return to Skull Island is out now from Titan Comics.

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Back to the Future: The Ultimate Visual History (Revised and Expanded Edition) - Book Review

 

Back to the Future is a film series that secured its place within the hearts of a generation almost immediately upon it's release in 1985. A pair of sequels quickly followed, with the second and third film being made back to back, and the resulting trilogy became one of the most beloved film series ever created. It's hard to describe just how much of an impact they had upon wider culture, from people only knowing the Delorean as a time machine, to thousands of posts and memes in 2015 as we reached the point of the future time of the second film, and even Donald Trump being compared to the future sleazy criminal version of Biff Tannen (a comparison that's actually hugely unfair to Biff). Back to the Future is an icon, and one that not only deserves a book like Back to the Future: The Ultimate Visual History, but demands it.

This newly revised and expanded version of the book is a bit of a monster to hold with its thick, embossed hardcover, and more than 200 pages. As someone with chronic illness there were times when I found even picking up the book to read a challenge that resulted in some pain; and if a book is that big that just holding it hurts I know I'm getting some value for money.

The book is split into four distinct parts, the first and largest covers the original film, the second the sequel, and the third the final film, with the last section going into the ongoing legacy of the series and where it has continued on in popular culture. 

The first film definitely gets the most attention here, and this is largely because it's the film that needed the most work, which we can see here as the book covers various drafts of the script, story changes, and even the recasting of one of the film's two lead actors. It's interesting to see what we could have had with the details on these early drafts, with Marty as a streetwise video pirate, the time machine being a fridge, a nuclear bomb needed to send Marty home, and a military action scene in the final act. Whilst the bare bones of the film we know and love is there much of that charm is missing from these early versions; which is something that we get to see slowly added as the pre-production of the film is given in wonderful detail.

Once the story we know is figured out the book goes into the design elements of the film, showing us designs for the Delorean, some of which look more like spaceships, versions of the flux capacitor that vary wildly from what we got, and storyboard breakdowns of some of the films more intense moments. These chapters go into some fantastic details about the challenges of creating the film from scratch, of finding the right look and feel for the sets, costumes, and props, to picking the perfect actors for the role, and the pitfalls that come from having to translate the script to the screen.

Whilst the section on the second movie isn't as long as the first it's by no means lacking in any way. Readers are treated to the various story drafts, designs for the future locations and clothing, behind the scenes looks at how the sequel returned to the first movie, and find out how the films effects were brought to life with models, wirework, and a prosthetic trickery.

The part of the book that covers the third film is a delightful section, partly because as a little girl I always liked the third one the best. With the third film taking such a big leap away from the visual eras of the first two films almost everything had to be designed new from the ground up, and we get to see here how the town of Hill Valley was designed and constructed in the desert, how costumes were developed, Doc Browns old west inventions, and one of my favourite pieces in the trilogy, the time train.

Following on from taking a look at the films the book goes into the legacy of the series. We get to see how the Back to the Future ride was developed and created for Universal Studios, from the development of the concept, to the creation of animatronic dinosaurs and miniature sets. We also get some insight into the short lived animated series that continues the adventures of Marty, the Doc, and his family following the events of the third film. The book covers merchandise and toys that have been released over the years, video games, references in other media, and comics. One of the largest parts of this section goes into the creation of the musical version of the film, something that has spanned the globe and wowed audiences across thousands of performances.

Whilst a book packed with behind the scenes stories, interviews, production secrets, and more extra information than any fan of the franchise could ask for, the book doesn't just stop there, as it comes with more surprises. Scattered throughout the book are pieces of merchandise, prop replica's, and easter eggs than I was ready for. These include things like a lenticular photo of Marty and his siblings that creates the effect of Marty's brother and sister vanishing from time, a copy of the letter Marty leave Doc Brown warning him about getting shot, a reversible 2015 newspaper with both versions of events, a Biff dollar, the photo of Doc and Marty in 1885, and so much more. My personal favourite is the fold out poster for Jaws 19, which I am incredibly tempted to get framed alongside some of the other pieces to make a collage display.

When I first saw the details for Back to the Future: The Ultimate Visual History I was a bit taken aback by the price, as this isn't a cheap book. However, after spending some time with it I can't help but feel that it's a very reasonable price, as the book is amazing value for money. As a fan of the films it throws more insight and information at me than I could have asked for, giving me an even deeper appreciation and love for the series. The addition of the extra pieces, like the posters, photos, and prop replicas not only makes it great value for money, but made the book so much fun to explore, as each turn of the page leading to another secret item brought a huge smile and the excitement of discovery.

Back to the Future: The Ultimate Visual History (Revised and Expanded Edition) is the perfect piece for any fan of the franchise, and if you failed to pick the book up on previous releases you're not going to want to miss out on this celebration of 40 years of an icon of cinema.

Back to the Future: The Ultimate Visual History (Revised and Expanded Edition) is available now from Titan Books.

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V/H/S/Halloween - Blu-ray Review

 

Horror franchises are often well known for having too many sequels, of stumbling across a formula that works and milking it for all its worth; even if the results may not be the best (once you send your slasher villain into space things may have gone off the rails a little). The V/H/S/ series is entering into it's eighth instalment, and whilst it's certainly not as bad as other long running franchises get by this point I can't help but feel that perhaps the cracks are finally starting to show.

As with previous films in the series V/H/S/Halloween has several short found footage films, with another that's broken up between them acting as an addition film. In the original few films this framing narrative was often part of those other stories in some way, such as in the first film a gang breaks into a house and finds a strange collection of tapes that contain the short films, or in the second film having a private investigator going through strange tapes looking for answers. These stories made the collection of shorts feel like one larger narrative; but with V/H/S/Halloween the framing narrative is as stand alone as the other films, and there's no real reason for it to be split up into pieces and scattered across the runtime. The choice to continue with a framing narrative that wasn't actually filling that role only resulted in me questioning if the series was trying to hold onto a structure that wasn't really working for it anymore, and that perhaps it would be better to try something different in future versions.

This framing narrative, 'Diet Phantasma' features the efforts of the Octagon Company to infuse supernatural energies into a soft drink in the 1980's. Over the course of these segments we watch as they test various versions of the drink on a series of taste tester volunteers, with awful results as people lose their skin, get attacked by tentacles inside the cans, and explode. It leans into the 80's aesthetic, and some of the practical effects feel right out of the era, but I can't help but feel some of this charm is lost by the constant cutting away to other segments. Luckily, one of the special features on the Blu-ray is the ability to watch it uninterrupted.

The first short story is 'Coochie Coochie Coo', which follows a pair of older teens out to make the most of their final Halloween before going off the college and entering the world of adult life. Dressed as babies, and being far too old for trick or treat, the two of them manage to act like complete jerks as they go from house to house stealing bowls of candy, insulting people, and even grabbing candy out of the hands of children. Their antics put them in the crosshairs of The Mommy, a local legend about a creepy woman. The two of them soon find themselves trapped inside Mommy's house, where they discover her other victims, and the fate that awaits them if they fail to find a way out. This segment starts out pretty strongly, but loses a little bit of quality as it trades creepy tension for gross-out horror. It's got some decent ideas, but ultimately feels like it goes on a little too long, and maybe makes a few missteps.

'Ut Supra Sic Infra' was the story I was most looking forward to seeing thanks to it being directed by Paco Plaza, who created the [Rec] franchise (which I really enjoy). 'Ut Supra Sic Infra' almost feels out of place compared to the other stories on offer here. Where the others have a visual quality that screams found footage (near total darkness, excessive film grain, and shaky cameras), Plaza bucks the trend by having a decent amount of his story take place both in the day, and on very high quality cameras. 

The story follows police investigators who are trying to discover what happened inside an old building on Halloween night that led to all but one of a group of friends dead with their eyes missing. The police take him back to the scene of the crime to reconstruct what happens, and the terrors of that night begin to repeat itself. 'Ut Supra Sic Infra' jumps between traditional found footage from the night in question to the brightly light, slick looking police footage, and creates a short that has a very different feel to it, and one that ends up being the best of the bunch on offer.

'Fun Size' is easily the most bizarre story on offer here (yes, more bizarre than haunted soda), and follows four friends as they go trick or treating on Halloween night. The four adults, way too old to be doing it, stumble across a bowl outside a house filled with strange candy and the note 'one per person'. When one of the group takes a second piece he's dragged into the bowl. The bowl then flies around, swallowing up the others, who then all wake up inside a strange factory. They're chased around the building by a candy man (not that one), who tries to cut them into pieces and turn them into more of the candy that was on offer in the bowl. 

'Fun Size' is very silly, and leans into the silliness with some wild effects and cheesy creature design. It's not clear if the dialogue is a part of this, as there are some very clunky moments and delivery that could perhaps be part of the film trying to come across as bad. An example of this is how one character insists on calling another 'fiancé' repeatedly at times where it feels clunky and out of place, just so that audiences as absolutely clear they're engaged for one gag at the end to make sense. It does feel like perhaps 'Fun Size' is treating the audience like they're not smart enough to remember this engagement, and seems to want to hold your hand like a child. Whilst there are some creatively silly moments in this segment I couldn't help but feel that it didn't try anything too new or interesting to actually wow me at any point.

'Kidprint' takes viewers to 1990's smalltown America, where a local community is being plagued with a rash of missing children and teens in the lead-up to Halloween. The film follows the owner of the local video and tech store who's created a service where kids can come in and be given a short interview in front of a height chart so that if they go missing it can be given to police to try and help find them. Taking place on Halloween night, the local community seems to still be allowing kids out to take part in some festivities, despite around a dozen kids being brutally murdered. It's during this event that the video shop owner learns of a new victim, one that he recently filmed. Heading back to the store at night to collect her tape to give to police, he stumbles across videos in the back room of several children being brutalised, leading him to discover that one of his workers in the mysterious killer. Unfortunately, this is only the start of the terrors he's in for. 

'Kidprint' is the segment where I found my interest in the film beginning to wane the most. The plot isn't bad by any means, but 'Kidprint' felt the most slow, and overly long part of the film, and I came away thinking that it could have been improved with some tighter pacing and editing. To be fair, it's not the only segment of the film that had this issue, but it's the one where it's the most glaring an issue, and led me to check the time more than once to see how close I was to the end of the film.

'Home Haunt' is the final segment, and follows a father and his teenage son as they build a haunted house for Halloween. Footage shows us that the two of them used to do it each year, but as the son has grown older he's become less interested in the annual event, and so this year the dad goes out of his way to make it the biggest and best haunted house yet. The two of them visit an old store looking for supplies and decorations for the haunted house, and the father comes across a strange old Halloween record that he decides to take to use for their event. That Halloween night local residents enter the haunted house, but when the record is played supernatural forces trap the people inside and bring the decorations to life. Now people will have to try to survive ghosts, zombies, executioners, and a twisted witch if they're to get out alive. 'Home Haunt' is perhaps the most enjoyable piece in the whole film as I can't help but feel that it sums up what I imagine when I think of the V/H/S/ franchise. It has a fun, simple idea at its core, it's got some great visual moments, decent effects work, is acted well, and is both funny and horrifying in places.

Overall, V/H/S/Halloween has been my least favourite of the series so far. The framing narrative structure felt completely misused, most of the segments felt overly long and even at times boring thanks to some pacing issues, and the quality varied more wildly than I can really remember from other entries in the series. The film clocks in at just shy of two hours long yet feels much longer than that. I watched it alongside people who had seen the other films in the series and enjoyed them, and all of us came away feeling like this was the weakest entry yet. Whilst there are still some great moments here, and the franchise is far from being ran dry I think that perhaps for V/H/S/ to continue on some changes will be needed to prevent a decline in quality.

Alongside the film the Blu-ray also comes with an audio commentary track that features the various filmmakers, some short behind the scenes films for 'Coochie Coochie Coo' and 'Diet Phantasma', a deleted scene for 'Kidprint', and an uninterrupted cut, image gallery, and commercial for the 'Diet Phantasma' segment. Outside of the commentary track the extras do feel a little light, and are definitely skewed towards the Phantasma segment over the others, and some viewers might come away a little disappointed that other segments feel underserved. 

Overall, V/H/S/Halloween continues much in the same vein as other entries in the series, but thanks largely to some pacing issues left me feeling like it was the least rewarding one yet. However, as each of these shorts cater to different tastes I'm sure that there'll be viewers who absolutely love this entry in the series.

V/H/S/Halloween is available on Blu-ray and DVD now.

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