The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict

In recent years, there has been something of a YA fiction explosion.  There's a lot of literature out there now for "young adults", mostly featuring some sort of romantic triangle and a supernatural hook.  Trenton Lee Stewart's The Mysterious Benedict Society series has none of those things.  It is simply intelligent, fun, and rewarding fiction written for tweens (and their lucky parents).

The first book in the series, The Mysterious Benedict Society, is officially on my list of favorite books.  After three books and a companion compendium of puzzles, I thought the series was over.  To my delight, a recent trip to Barnes & Noble found a new volume, a prequel that begins the chronicle of Nicholas Benedict, the elder statesman of the earlier books.

This book, The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict, tells the tale of the epically precocious narcoleptic nine-year-old who will grow up to be the benefactor of the Benedict Society.  It is a book full of clues and puzzles, like the previous trilogy, but one with a special focus character in the magnificent young Nicholas.  He gives the book a beating heart to go along with the driving narrative.

To be fair, I and my parents all called the mystery's revelation early on, but this is a book targeted to kids in 5th or 6th grade, especially those identified as "gifted", as the series deals with the joys and sorrows of being brighter or more capable than your peers.  Nicholas not only struggles to solve a grand mystery, he battles fierce bullies and condescending adults.

I highly recommend the book, especially for family reading.  Take it on your next family road trip and get hooked on Stewart's unique voice.

Dark Shadows

I've never seen the TV soap on which it was based, but the film version of Dark Shadows shows its soap opera upbringing clearly.  It is bursting with story lines and characters, relationships and rivalries.  And this is perhaps the problem of the movie: it tries to be too many things at once.  It's a comedy, a gothic horror tale, a psychological family drama, a romance, a satire.  Nothing has time to take hold, and the jokes don't necessarily fly when the whole film seems like an elaborate joke, starting with Johnny Depp's now-predictable "quirky acting" thing.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the one who attempts to hold the whole mess together (I use "mess" more descriptively than pejoratively), since Depp is off in Burtonville and his nemesis is played by a very misdirected Eva Green, who seems washed up from a Death Becomes Her porn spoof.  The rest of the actors dutifully walk through their truncated parts, bringing the movie to an FX climax that seems as empty as Green's evil witch.

But then again, my mother, a fan of the TV show, liked it.  So there's something to be said for generational differences and familiarity with the source material.  A horror soap centered on a fishing business is an interesting idea (and obvious Tim Burton bait).  But I'm just not hooked on this one.

The Avengers

With the biggest opening of all time, it's a safe bet that The Avengers has already passed over your cultural palette.  I myself have seen it twice, once in 2D and once in 3.  Plus, with all the merchandising, advertising, and reviews out there, you may feel like you've seen it six times.  And you likely have your own opinion of the film by now.  So, the only question I have to answer is "what is mine?"

It's not such an easy thing to figure out.

Going into the opening night showing, I was mostly occupied with one question:  was this, as I had heard, the Best Comic Book Movie Ever Made?  High expectations, to be sure, and ones that had been running for years, since Marvel announced the project and through all the lead-up films like Iron Man 1& 2, Thor, and Captain America.  It was with fanboy glee that I entered that theatre with a large coterie of equally-excited friends.  But upon exiting, I was the only one not answering my original question with a booming YES!  My feelings were much more qualified.  And after seeing the film in 3D, I still was left with complex opinions regarding the film.

One thing to get straight right away is that Marvel Comics publishes comic books set in two universes (not accounting for all-ages books and limited series): the mainstream "Marvel U" (or 616) and the "Ultimate Universe" (or Earth 1610).  Marvel's movies have borrowed from each universe, perhaps favoring the less complex continuity of 1610.  So it is with The Avengers.  In the 616, the team originally formed to fight Loki, Thor's mischievous brother.  In the Ultimate 'verse, they formed to fight the alien Chitauri.  The film takes both options and gives us a fight against Loki and the Chitauri.

Frankly, I find the reliance on Ultimate continuity annoying but understandable.  The entire Ultimate line of books was launched with an eye to presenting more reader-friendly adventures, not mired in 50 years or more of stories.  It only makes sense to turn to these books, then, when attempting to present the characters to a brand new audience: movie-goers.  As a 616 purist, however, the move rankles me.  And that's just my biased opinion.

Putting that aside, the film was certainly very enjoyable.  The crowd cheered and laughed almost nonstop throughout the movie, though I noticed some jokes that seemed to fall flat in both showings I attended.  Maybe that's just a matter of joke overload or the uneasy nature of mixing drama and comedy.  Certainly, writer/director Joss Whedon is an experienced master at that game, as evidenced in works such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.  Having written an acclaimed run on the Astonishing X-Men comic, he's a natural choice to serve as the ultimate outsider's insider, or fanboy manboy, or fan/creator...you get the idea.  He knows both the worlds of comics and film all too well, and it's evidenced in The Avengers.

Some of the things I loved about the film were the way every character got equal story (and screen) time, superpowers or no; the way the fighting was both over-the-top and grounded, with things like Hawkeye running out of arrows and Cap being injured; the game of spot-the-Whedonite, as bit actors from various Joss-driven projects appeared; and especially the final third of the film, in which the characters act as a team to defeat their foes.  This kind of vibrant, active teamwork is almost never seen in film or comics, replaced instead with a series of one-on-one brawls.  For me, that thrilling fight sequence of true teamwork is the movie's real achievement.

So what did I think of The Avengers?  I liked it.  A lot.  But not A LOT.  But it was a great ride and a thrill to see Marvel take on a team superhero film so successfully.  Was it the best comic book movie ever made?  Well...possibly, if you limit it to superhero comics (otherwise Scott Pilgrim vs. the World wins) and count The Dark Knight as more of a regular film than a comic book movie, which I would agree with....  See, qualified enthusiasm.  But, if you haven't already, go see it and make your own opinion.  I won't argue.

That Is All by John Hodgman

There is not enough I can say to encourage you to read John Hodgman's latest (and last) "book of Complete World Knowledge", That Is All.  Granted, first you have to read his excellent first volume, The Areas of My Expertise and the substandard second book, More Information Than You Require, but that is hardly a chore.  Each book is delightful in its own way, maintaining a unique identity while continuing in almanac style (even the pagination is continuous) to chronicle Complete World Knowledge as only John Hodgman knows how: by making it all up.  Yep, these are three books of fake facts and trivia.  And your problem with that is what?

This excellent third volume focuses mainly on the end of the world, as predicted by the Mayans.  Like More Information, the book also functions as a page-a-day calendar, with each page containing an entry explaining what will happen on that date in 2012 as we work toward the end of it all on December 21.  These daily entries are known as Today in Ragnarok (his term, from Norse mythology, for the end of the earth), and they are like reading a second book parallel to the main volume – a very entrancing book.

As Today in Ragnarok counts down to the end, the main text is largely concerned with the whys and hows of living through the earth's last year, especially if you are, as the author claims to be, a Deranged Millionaire.  And among the survival advice are subjects such as "Least Haunted Places" and "How You Got That Terrible Scar".  Also continuing from the previous volumes is Were You Aware Of It?, a series of trivia segments written in fine bombastic style.  Another tradition in the series is lists, especially lists of names.  Areas listed 300 Hobo Names; More listed 500 Moleman Names; and All lists the 700 Ancient and Unspeakable Ones who will come to plague the earth in its final days.  And it is all hilarious.

Among all of that, though, what really comes through is Hodgman's ability to craft a story.  Hidden among his fake trivia, he has slowly been growing as a writer.  That Is All finds him at the peak of those powers, slipping in compelling and touching narratives (all fake) that capture the imagination.  By the last chapter, "How I Became a Former Professional Literary Agent", he is in full story mode, telling a tale so interesting and affecting that it took me in and had me researching the fake characters on Wikipedia, fully believing them to be real.  And you realize that all of this fake fact nonsense has been driving a metaphor, a narrative of life on earth, that comes to beautiful completion in the final pages of the text, including Today in Ragnarok.  And it's lovely...and touching.  And you can barely imagine what your life was like before you met John Hodgman, Deranged Millionaire.  And you don't want to.

AvX #1 digital (including AvX Infinite #1)

Marvel comics' newest event is the 12-part, 6-month battle royale, Avengers vs. X-Men.  Due to monetary restraints, I missed out on the comic's first issue but recently bought it from the Marvel Comics App on my phone/laptop.  What follows, then, is as much a discussion of the digital comics experience as the issue.

I first read AvX #0 on my laptop, and the reading experience was awkward and non-intuitive.  I kept "turning the page" when I wanted to move to the next panel, and zooming in to read the words and out to see the splash page art was annoying.  All the things your eyes do automatically on a printed page were made cumbersome and difficult on the computer.

The issue itself was fine, a two-part comic featuring Scarlet Witch's return to the Avengers in the first half and Hope Summers's confrontation with Cyclops regarding the Phoenix in the second.  Both featured throw-away fights (with M.O.D.O.K. and The Serpent Society, respectively) that did nothing to support the character-focused core of the stories.  It was a #0 comic, however, and they are all about set-up that doesn't steal action from the main series.  In that respect, it succeeded.  It left me wanting to see where the multitude of possible conflicts might go.

Next, I read AvX Infinite #1.  Now, this issue is included with the digital download of AvX #1, but I recommend reading it first, as it works as something of a 0 issue as well, setting up the inciting incident of the story, namely Nova's return to Earth under dire circumstances.

This time around, I was away from my computer, and so I read the issue on my phone.  I had a lot of concerns.  My first digital experience had been so awkward, I wondered about doing it on a much-much-smaller screen.  However, the app was obviously made for use with smart phones, as the navigation was natural, the progression seamless, and the experience extremely positive.

Not only was reading on my phone easier and pleasanter, but the whole point of the "Infinite" designation is to present comics made expressly for digital use.  The creators may have been working on their first effort here, but they managed to make excellent use of the medium.  I found the experience very akin to what you imagine in your head when reading a comic.  The digital atmosphere allows for fades and progressions that are impossible anywhere but when "reading between the panels", as it were.  The result was somewhat magical and definitely enhanced my reading of the material.  There were no issues with screen size, and all text was plainly legible.  It was also an explosive way to kickstart the event and laid out the major players, the main threat, and the scope of the whole enterprise very well.

After the Nova story, I was itching to get into the series proper.  Still on my phone, I opened up the digital version of Avengers vs. X-Men #1.  To my delight, the formatting and navigation I had enjoyed on the Infinite issue were also at work here, proving that the app is only good for iOS devices.  I was shepherded panel by panel through the book, not being distracted by my wandering eyes catching a glimpse of the next page.  The movement from one panel to the next was smooth and organic.  I found it very user-friendly and not only compatible but enhancing of the way comics are read.  It was a little hard to appreciate the large splash pages, but by expanding the image, I could scrutinize the art with more detail than I usually do in print form.

The issue stops short of any fighting, ending basically with the gauntlet being thrown.  That is not to say it is a bad comic.  I'm not one for fisticuff comics, myself, and prefer character-driven stories.  That's what this is, smartly setting forth the crucial information and combatants (though the X-Men cast is under-represented) and putting forward a compelling philosophical difference to a climactic future event.  (Sorry that sounds strange, but I'm trying to avoid spoilers of any kind.)  I am not an Avengers fan, and so I was a bit surprised by the numbers the group, now plural, has grown to.  It should be a fitting army to test the strength of the X-Men (who have themselves been trained lately as an army by Cyclops).  In other words, this is a fight I want to see.  But more than that, there are so many variables in play that the character and plot elements of this event promise to be rich and surprising.  I didn't expect to like either my foray into the digital reading world or this comic, but I ended up loving both.  I encourage you to give them a try.

I Told You I Was Freaky

I Told You I Was Freaky, the Flight of the Conchords' second album (yes, it came out several years ago) is a stumble of a follow-up to their wonderful self-titled debut full-length disc.  Gleaning songs from the second season of their HBO show, the album faces one insurmountable problem: the Conchords used up all their good songs on the first season.  Faced with writing new songs for a second go-round, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement have produced an uneven group of tunes that manages to be funny, but little else.

The disc is heavy on sexual themes, with standout tracks "Sugalumps" and "Too Many Dicks on the Dancefloor" as well as other, less catchy songs, like the title track, which boasts one good hook.  This seems to be the nature of most of the songs.  There is one catchy musical thought placed between rambling (but amusing) verses.  The selection of songs is somewhat bewildering, as well, as season two did have some great songs not found here ("Rejected", "Epileptic Dogs").

All in all, this album is for completists only, even though it doesn't offer a complete experience in itself.  Its real strength is reminding you of moments from the TV show, which is a far superior organism.

Mirror, Mirror

The first of two tonally opposed Snow White movies is now in theaters: Mirror, Mirror, directed by Tarsem (The Cell, The Fall, Immortals).  The extravagant, over-the-top design we've come to expect from Tarsem is evident, but everything else about this film is amateurish.

Cast as a live-action cartoon, the movie was apparently enjoyed by many in the audience, children and adults alike, but to a more discerning palette, it was barely tolerable.  Everything is cute, including the evil queen and the ominous Beast of the Dark Woods.  Everything is beautiful, including the same.  But everything is also dashed together like an elementary school play.  To be fair, after this thought crossed my mind, my mother used the same analogy as a compliment to the film, so this one depends on the individual viewer.

To this viewer, however, it was a waste of time, money, and ream after ream of fabric.  Julia Roberts, as the evil queen, is never quite anything: sometimes she has a British accent, sometimes she's calculatingly evil, sometimes she's funny, but never with consistency.  The rest of the acting is not quite as bad, but gives the impression that the director used every first take and moved on.  The story is lazy, the directing is lax...this just isn't a good movie, and there's only so many ways I can say it.

Judging from this one, Snow White and the Huntsman will be the fairest of them all.