KA-BLOG!

Two Things...

First off, Watchmen the movie. I liked it. Very faithful to the source material. I don't get why some fans of the book rant about things omitted or things changed. A motion picture is a different entity, so get over it already.

Anyway, random thoughts about it (might have some spoilers, but I'll try to avoid them when I can)...

- It was strange to find myself being sympathetic to the Comedian. When I read the book he was a very hateful character, but seeing him in flesh-and-blood kind of made me understand why he did the things he did.

- I didn't realize that the novel was very violent. Seeing it on the comic page, you get to be a bit detached. But seeing it portrayed by real people was another thing entirely.

- I felt that the action scenes looked out of place. When you watch the movie's more "realistic" and dramatic moments, it's very serious. But when the action commences, it's very stylized and (dare I say it) Matrix-y in a way. Don't get me wrong, the action choreography is good and I liked it, but they sorta stuck out like a sore thumb compared with the other scenes.

- The changed ending. I have no gripe about it. It was a very reasonable alternative to the one in the book, and it provided a plausible explanation for Dr. Manhattan's self-imposed exile.

All in all, a good viewing experience. But I shudder to think about the news going around that Hollywood execs are now going to go the "darker" route when it comes to comic book-based movies. C'mon, can't we have both?

Okay, second thing... Remember the Phantom pin-up I posted before? Well, thanks to that, I'm now pencilling a comic book for Moonstone Books! Whoda thunk???!? Editor-in-Chief Joe Gentile asked me at first to do a Kolchak sample for him, which he liked. But then another, more immediate assignment opened up, a bi-monthly book featuring the Domino Lady. He asked me to do a pin-up sample for that, and after an initial stumble on my part, I landed the gig! Thanks very much to you guys at Moonstone! It's written by  New York Times bestselling author Nancy Holder, with inks by veteran inker Keith Williams. I'm very honored to be part of this team. I'm doing the second issue, but the first issue of Domino Lady should be hitting store shelves in June, 2009. For a listing of Moonstone Books coming out in June, click here.

Oh and you can head over to my CapsuleZone website to check out the Kolchak and Domino Lady samples I made. :)