This week we open on a familiar face, but a new character. Turns out that there are more than 2 Rudys, and this new one is getting out of prison today. This is about to put the other Rudys are in a spot of bother.
Daily Archives: November 15, 2012
H+ Web Series: Google Hangout
Had you told me 20 years ago as I sat at a computer and played “Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego” that one day I would be able to talk to people face to face on that computer, I’d probably have laughed at you. The fact that I can video chat with one sister in Louisiana one minute and then video chat with my other sister in Israel moments later is just stunning. There are times I have to stop myself and think “holy shit, I can’t believe this is even possible”.
I get the same feeling when it comes to things like Google Hangout. I’m sure you’ve seen the commercial with the chick showing her friends she got engaged or (I think) the one with the baby walking for the first time. Basically it is a group video chat and while that sounds so simple, it’s amazing at the same time. I’ve had the opportunity to use Google Hangouts quite often with friends of mine and it’s somewhat awe-inspiring when I sit back and think how cool it is that people from New York and Washington (state) and California and Georgia are all able to see and talk to each other at the same time. Not to mention, Google has actually built a rather good program here.
I’ve used Skype and Tango quite a bit in the last few years and don’t get me wrong, they are great, but somehow Google takes what they have done and makes it that much better. I’ve found that the picture is clearer and the sound quality is light years better. Long story short, if you aren’t using Google Hangouts, you should be.
What does all this have to do with H+, The Digital Series?
Well, they decided to hold a Google Hangout themselves.
They aren’t the first to do this, as the cast and crew of The Guild have done quite a few as have various other people and groups. It makes sense for a show like H+ to jump on board given their topic and premise of their series.
If you aren’t familiar with H+ The Digital Series, you can read this review from a couple of months ago to brush up. Quite a bit has happened since I wrote that initial review and I’m happy to say, it’s all been good. I’m not going to give any details because I really do hope people will go and watch the series.
As for the Hangout, it was moderated by Fraser Cain of universetoday.com and was attended by writer/creator’s John Cabrera & Cosimo de Tommaso, producers Jason Taylor and Bryan Singer (yes that Bryan Singer), and director Stewart Hendler.
If you watch the hangout yourself (which I would recommend because it’s rather interesting) you’ll see that they don’t really talk about the plot lines of the show that much which I found to be nice because I’m a few “episodes” behind and didn’t really want to be spoiled. They talk quite a bit about how the show came to be, the steps they took in taking it from concept to a television pitch to then ultimately a web series.
The parts that I found to be most interesting was when they talked about filming the series in its entirety in 29 days. There are going to be 48 episodes and they are all about 6-8 minutes long which ends up being about 5 hours of finished product. To get the amount of material to end up with 5 hours of finished product in only 29 days is remarkable. I don’t know about anyone else, but it makes me appreciate the series all the more. Also, I would have never guessed that they filmed solely in Santiago, Chile. That means they made Santiago look like California, Oregon, The Republic of Congo, Ireland, England, Finland, Italy, and India. That’s impressive.
It was quite cool to see a director/producer of Bryan Singer’s caliber just sitting in a living room chatting on the computer. He talked quite a bit about finding Steward Hendler as director of the series and how the project had originally been planned for TV. Really it seems like this is John Cabrera’s baby. When he talks about the show you can just see how much he cares for it and hopes for its success. He touched on something I had wondered watching the show, which were the subtitles. Given that it does take place in so many different places, there is quite a bit of subtitling. However, not everything is subtitled. While talking in the Hangout, Cabrera says that they did it on purpose. Their hope was that people who might speak that language would come to the aid of those who didn’t and it would just be one more way for the viewers to come together. That’s exactly what has happened. There’s been numerous times I’ve scrolled through YouTube comments and seen where someone has provided a translation.
Perhaps the best thing to come out of the conversation was the news that while WB had not yet ordered season/Chapter 2, the script is being worked on. With 6.6 million views on YouTube so far and 104K subscribers, I’m clearly not the only one wanting Chapter 2 to happen. If nothing else, it is exciting to be a part of a new medium come into its own. Here’s hoping that H+ The Digital Series is just another part of a massive wave of internet based content in the near future.
In the meantime, catch up on H+over on YouTube, and why not follow Grizzly Bomb on Google+ as well? [Ed.Note: I approve this shameful plug]
New GTA 5 Trailer Hits the Internet!
Grand Theft Auto is on a very short list of franchises that can make headlines by releasing a trailer for a video game, though developer Rockstar Games has always made these short previews worth your time if you’re willing to dig deep. Aside from the showy explosions and crime-ridden tableaus the teasers are known for, Rockstar always makes sure to sprinkle some core details in their carefully selected clips, and fans are known to pick the bones clean of each new reveal. The new trailer for Grand Theft Auto V, which released just today, keeps to the same tradition and showcases some big moments and equally important subtleties.
The first thing to note from the trailer, as with the initial announcement teaser before it, is the variation in Los Santos’s environment. Aside from the sprawling cityscape (which looks pretty varied in itself), you’ll also have mountains, deserts, suburbs, and even, if certain rumors are to be believed, underwater depths to explore. All this geography is a part of a map ‘3.5 times bigger than Red Dead Redemption’, and according to IGN “you could fit the Red Dead, GTA IV and GTA: San Andreas maps into the GTA V map and have room to spare.”
That is no small feat; San Andreas itself boasted a map so large that not that many sandbox games have outdone it in the 7 years since its release. To dump two other open world games in there is nearly ludicrous. I also suspect that Rockstar is no longer satisfied with a huge-but-sparse landscape. If GTA IV is any indication, they want their worlds to feel more lived in than previous titles, which means much less sprinting across empty fields with narry a landmark to please the eye.
The next thing to take into account is the focus on characters. For the first time since its early days in top-down camera mayhem, Grand Theft Auto V will have you playing as more than one character. This implementation is more than just changing up the player skins however; Rockstar has made this element the focus of the game so far. Everything from narrative to gameplay to basic traversal are affected by transitioning between characters in GTA 5. New systems in place will allow you to jump between protagonists during some missions:
[box_light]“GTA V is going to pack solo missions, tag team missions and then big three-man escapades. When this happens, you’re going to either be given the choice of who to control (Don’t want to fly the helicopter? Be the guy shooting out the back of it or vice versa.) or be funneled [sic] to specific characters like Franklin sniping from across the map.”[/box_light]
However you’ll also be able to jump from one character to another whenever you want outside of missions, as well.
[box_light]“When you’re just feeling like roaming the streets of Los Santos, you can switch to whatever character you want – you’ll even take control of them as they’re out living their lives.”[/box_light]
Lastly, there are some gameplay features that are alluded to during all the action in the trailer. Planes will make a return as usable vehicles after their sorely missed absence in GTA IV, and all signs point to racing and the usual smorgasbord of criminal activity maintaining their place in the Grand Theft Auto universe. Gangs become an important focus this time around, as do heists, which look to be the driving focus of the story.
[box_light] “GTA V has a goal. You’re not just trying to make ends meet however you can. You and your crew are trying to pull off five to six heists to bankroll as much money as possible and get on with life. The missions you have in the game are all about setting up these heists, these Ocean’s Eleven/Heat moments. There’s a driving force for your actions[.]”[/box_light]
This is the most appealing feature of all that I’ve heard about Grand Theft Auto V. As much as I love the free-wheeling openness of the previous games, the goofy characters and the snarky parody of the American lifestyle that seems to be threaded throughout the franchise’s history, I’ve never felt much like I was experiencing a momentous narrative. For the first time it looks like a GTA game’s endpoint is more focused than “amass an unspendable fortune and then buy everything in sight”. With the way Rockstar treated storytelling in Red Dead Redemption and the continuing innovations Rockstar makes to their gameplay, this could be the best trip to the criminal underworld yet.
What do you think of the Grand Theft Auto V trailer? Sound off in the comments section below!
Comic Rack: Hellblazer CANCELLED, Marvel NOW! On the Radio, & Image Teases ‘Arrow’?
Welcome to Comic Rack! My pick of the top five comic news stories in no particular order…
Hellblazer is CANCELLED, but Constantine lives on in the New 52!
I knew this was only a matter of time once the New 52 came around. While I haven’t read Hellblazer regularly since Warren Ellis was last writing for it, I knew his character stood alone in his universe that was decidedly separate from the main old DCU. Once everything reset, and Constantine started showing up in Justice League Dark, I figured its days were numbered. I am pretty sad to see it go, since Hellblazer is by far my favorite horror comic of all time, and Constantine is probably the most badass and awesome character in the entire Vertigo lineup, and possibly in all of DC. Yes, even more badass than Batman. Suck it.
While the printing of Constantine as a new ongoing doesn’t surprise me, I’m probably still going to end up reading it, if only to get back into the John Constantine fray. He’s a character I truly adore, and despite being royally mistreated by one of the worst adaptations into film ever, I think he’s resilient enough to hold onto public interest. That’s not to say that Keanu Reeves Constantine* is a bad movie, it’s just a terrible adaptation of a nearly perfect story arc from Hellblazer. If you can divorce it from its source material, it’s actually pretty enjoyable. That being said, I hope this doesn’t mean the death knell for the possibility of any comic series actually getting high up in numbers before a reset is due, since everyone seems so afraid of high numbered issues now. Pretty soon we’ll get an ALL NEW WALKING DEAD #1, where Rick has an axe for a hand now, and T-Dog suddenly and miraculously has been in the comic all this time!
Find out more here.
*which is the title, everywhere you look on posters or DVD’s you’ll see the title is Keanu Reeves Constantine, which proves it’s not meant to be a true Hellblazer or Constantine movie. The movie should be literally titled “Keanu Reeves Constantine” which would be accurate, because it is definitely NOT John Constantine, or Hellblazer. Thus I still hold out hope for a Hellblazer movie. I know, I’m dumb. [ED. NOTE: I don’t agree with this statement, however I do agree that Adam is dumb.]
DC Is Looking to Scale Back Variant Covers. Fans Say Thanks. World Moves On.
Being a comics fan, I love me a good cover. However one thing I’ve never really been is a comics collector. I’m not that guy who will spend time trying to hunt down a single issue to complete a set, or find one particularly rare issue to add to a themed collection, nor have I ever collected for profit. While I personally may have never had any attraction to variant covers, I can understand the allure of them. Frankly, I always thought they were a bit of a waste, especially since I know the whole litany of trouble local comic shops have to go through in order to get some of those covers. I collect my comics because I want to read the stories, and I just end up storing them, not necessarily “collecting” them. Sure, I may have 2 long boxes and need about 4 more, but If it was up to me, I’d rather archive all of my singles into trade form. Even that gets to be a hassle, and I’d rather purchase all of my trades digitally. I know that sounds like sacrilege to some people, but I’m the kind of guy who’d like to reduce my need for shelf space.
An interesting side note, that along with “pulling back” on variant covers, DC is also going to be releasing 52 variants for Justice League Of America #1. Which aside from being insane, really seems to go against their entire point of “pulling back”. Whatever DC, shine on you crazy diamond.
Find out more here.
Marvel NOW! Is Advertising On the Radio. Also Teletype Machines, Telegraph, and Carrier Pigeons!
In a strange example of Marvel really trying hard to get the word out there for Marvel NOW!, they’re resorting to buying air time on radio in order to advertise for comics. First and foremost, who the hell even listens to the radio anymore? Almost everybody I know listens to podcasts, custom streaming radio stations, or their own mobile phones, which almost assuredly have music on them. The thought of advertising on radio seems so archaic, backwards, and desperate to me. It makes Marvel look desperate to try to one up DC’s success with the New 52. I imagine some upper exec asking about how they can advertise where nobody else is right now, and some timid advertising client quietly speaks up about radio. The Upper Exec’s eyes widen and he’s all KID YOU’RE A GENIUS!
That’s the only explanation I can think of right now, but I suppose it’ll be interesting to hear an audio ad for a comic book. Will they have voice actors play Marvel characters? Will Stan Lee be doing them? I guess it could be kind of cool if Stan Lee did them and interrupted whatever tripe Lady Gaga or Rihanna are ravaging the airwaves with, to talk for a few minutes about how much he loves the Avengers and Spider-Man and call you his own personal Spider-Friend. You could close your eyes and pretend you’re in the ’50s or something, back when radio was a viable medium to advertise in. It’d work perfectly right until some terrible throbbing club song came on and brought you back to horrible reality.
Find out more here.
Image Has a Teaser for an ‘Arrow’ of Their Own, Kind Of
Guys shooting arrows seems to be pretty popular right now. What with Jeff Lemire taking over Green Arrow, that whole Arrow show on The CW, and Hawkeye finding newfound popularity due to The Avengers, archery is IN. Not that I’m suggesting Image is following a trend or anything, because I’m sure the comic this ad is teasing was long planned, and by the nature of it’s title I doubt that arrows being shot at bad guys is the sole focus. The book is called Five Weapons, and from this teaser I think we’re meant to infer that it’s some sort of team book, and the bow and arrow toting “Darryl The Arrow” is one of 5 members who presumably each have their own weapon. That’s my guess anyway. Whether the rest will end up with a hammer, metal suit of armor, or a giant shield is yet to be seen. As it is, I’m intrigued.
Find out more here.
DC Digital Sales Up Close to 200% From Last Year!
I’m going to try to stay impartial, but it’s hard to not note the dichotomy between The Big Two when one is improving their forward thinking, dynamic digital sales plan that’s embracing technology and the future of the medium, and the other decides that they should advertise on f*%#ing radio. Regardless of that inanity, this doesn’t surprise me one bit. When it comes down to it, for a lot of people buying your singles digitally is far easier, convenient, and cheaper. Especially since most digital comics are now out day and date, and eventually decrease in price as time goes on, unlike a book on a shelf that always remains cover price unless the store holding it changes the price.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the spike in digital sales increased when DC released large groups of classic trades for download on Android platforms last year, and has continued to do so. I’ve personally bought trades digitally for $10 that I would have never gambled on at a physical store, simply because of the ease and convenience. Not to mention that if the trade I bought sucked, it’s not taking up precious space on my shelf. I see the future of comics as maintaining this direction, and while I WILL mourn the slow and painful death of the traditional brick and mortal Local Comic Shop, it’s something that’s inevitable. They’ll either have to adapt by allowing some sort of digital pass/keycode sale, or provide services that you can get from simply buying a digital file online. Either way, innovation is going to happen, and we’ll see how it ends up, for better or worse.
Find out more here.
That’s all for this week’s edition! We’ll see you next time at the Comic Rack!
Grizzly Bomb 