NBC’s Constantine TV show is set to air on 24th October with Matt Ryan in the lead role so there’s plenty of time to familiarise yourself with Vertigo’s paranormal PI.
Grubby, British, sociopoliticaland astute, Constantine’s adventures will appeal to those who want smarts with their supernatural.
There are bigger, more epic story arcs than the standalones in this graphic novel collection but time in Constantine’s company is always well spent.
Billy Majestic’s arresting Graphic Novel, Humpty Dumpty is a Science Fiction/Horror yarn and definitely not recommended for children.
Vivid colours and smooth digital blending achieve a film-like look; entirely appropriate for a snappy origin tale which plays like a movie storyboard and makes no qualms about its B-Movie intentions.
Redneck grotesques, small-town cops and ethereal aliens provide familiarity whilst the titular Humpty is an atrocity to remind you of the heyday of direct-to-video prosthetic horrors. Humpty’s conception and birth stray into uncomfortable exploitation territory but once the monster madness is underway sequels seem both likely and gory good fun.
For more unique images follow the link to The Gallery.
In what I think is a wonderful show of support, The Dark Knight Rises star Christian Bale visited with victims of the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shootings yesterday, pictured above with patient Carey Rottman.
Bale spent two and a half hours with victims, medical staff and first responders, and then visited the memorial set up outside the theater (below). As he walked among the 12 crosses erected for each of the slain victims, many people didn’t realize who he was or chose to leave him alone.
Bale was there on his own (with wife Sibi Blazic) and not as a movie studio representative. “Mr. Bale is there as himself, not representing Warner Brothers,” a representative for the studio told the Denver Post. Bale had wanted to keep the visit private and media were not notified.
Janie Bowman-Hayes, assistant vice president of surgical services at Swedish Medical Center, said Bale thanked…
It is a long time since I won a netball trophy and I fear I have missed the selection process for the 2012 Olympics Egg And Spoon Relay. I am however suitably chuffed with the blog awards recently presented to me by the following Blogsprites.
I heard of this truly shocking incident just moments before heading out to the cinema to watch Batman, The Dark Knight Rises.
Films, television and music have been frequently blamed for inspiring singular acts of inexplicable and horrific violence but this is unlikely to provide solace for the victims’ friends and families.
I sincerely hope the media do not rush to sensationalize such a tragic crime by implicating the film itself, its themes and content or those involved in its making.
We could not allow Puppet Month to go by at The Arcade of Arts & Arcana without wishing a very Happy Birthday to Mr. Punch who is celebrating 350 years of terrifying minors with his anger-management issues.
Here are a few Punch facts to peruse if the pictures haven’t made you run screaming from this post ~
* Punch & Judy performers are known as “Professors” and are sometimes assisted by a “Bottler” who corrals the audience, collects money and provides musical accompaniment.
* Mr. Punch is a manifestation of the mythological Trickster archetype. His current anglicized form was adapted from the sixteenth century Neapolitan character Pulcinella from the Italian Commedia Dell’ Arte.
* Diarist Samuel Pepys recorded Punch’s début in London’s Covent Garden in 1662.
* Punch regularly beats the other characters with a wooden baton known as a “slapstick”, a name now used as a collective term for a genre of physical comedy.
* The Punch & Judy Show was originally intended for adults. Contentious characters such as The Devil and Punch’s mistress Pretty Polly were sidelined in the late Victorian era as the performances were adapted for children.
* The device which creates Punch’s familiar rasp is called a swazzle.
The Beverley Arts Trust are hosting their popular biennial Puppet Festival from Friday 13th to Sunday 15th of July this year! If you have never visited the market town or its colourful festival before I can heartily recommend both.
The event features a wide range of performances, exhibitions and workshops for all age groups with free and ticketed shows.
The Puppet Festival has a very comprehensive website featuring printable programmes and details of all shows, activities and prices. Just click the picture of The Three Billy Pigs to link to all the information you will need.
If you require any more persuading here are a few clips showcasing 2012’s performers and if you live close by please share this link and help to promote The Beverley Puppet Festival 🙂
I may see you there…
Noisy Oyster from Frome, Somerset, UK.
Stephen Mottram (Oxford, UK) Animata.
Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre.
Indigo Moon Theatre. Alice And The White Rabbit, Beverley (East Yorkshire, UK).
Audrey Niffenegger, best known as the author of The Time Traveler’s Wife, spins a macabre yet enchanting novel in pictures.
The Adventuress, an ethereal yet tenacious heroine, is created by an alchemist, has a love affair with Napoleon and gives birth to a cat in a quest of Fairy Tale subversions and surreal post-feminism.
The text may tell us of wedding revelry and honeymoons but the fragile images betray subjugation and abuse as The Adventuress is repeatedly betrayed by the promises of love and motherhood. This is a story in which transformation can lead to madness and happy-ever-afters may only be attained through cleansing fire or the release of death.
Niffenegger’s images combine the uncanny distortions of German Expressionist cinema with a sketchiness which invites universal interpretations.
I am very grateful to have received some awards for my website and blog, Lily Wight ~ The Arcade of Arts & Arcana.
It is inspiring to know that people out there are reading and enjoying my posts. Please continue to leave your comments, drop by the homepage for a chat, peruse the Gallery and share the links.
A huge thank you and virtual squeezes to the folk who presented me with the following awards (links to their sites are included) xxx
In search of something new to do in Brussels, I stumbled upon a sandwich-board sign for a marionette show at Theatre Royal de Toone. It pointed down an alley to a courtyard and a cafe/bar, so I wandered down to find out more. The bartender said that there would be a show at 8:30. “Hamlet,” he said.
A marionette show of Hamlet? How could I resist?
With an hour to kill, I headed back outside for a Kriek (Belgium’s famed cherry beer). The surroundings were strange, to say the least. There were a few tables on the broken brick path and a few more plastic white tables in the unmown grass. We seemed to be in a courtyard behind buildings that were never meant to be seen from the back. It was rundown, but also had a backyard feel to it. Most of the people sitting there seemed to know…
Summer 2012 is a total wash-out here in the United Kingdom so I will endeavour to make this month at The Arcade of Arts & Arcana as enchanting and enticing as possible!
July will be dedicated to strings and things; to the cute puppet friends who delighted us in childhood to the creepy, pant-wetting, spindle-limbed horrors that still haunt our adult nightmares… no? Just me then 😉
I also hope to squeeze in a few reviews and recommendations for some unusual Graphic Novels and present some Blog Awards whilst saying thanks for those I have recently received.
I have updated and launched a brand new album in the Gallery (you can click the header tab to visit, free entry as usual) or simply click the sample pictures below…
If you like rude and musical puppets (who doesn’t ?) I can recommend Avenue Q at Hull’s New Theatre (UK) from tomorrow night until Saturday 7th July 2012.
Updated 06/08/2014 – View TV Trailer!
