Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Top Ten Comic-Related Videos of 2009

2009 was a big year for comic-related films with the release of G.I. Joe, Watchmen, Wolverine Origins, Star Trek, Surrogates and others.  But, those flicks were hit or miss.  Fortunately for all the Fanboys and Fangirls out there, there was plenty of high quality comic-related entertainment on the web in 2009.  We sifted through hundreds of clips throughout the year, to build this list; we hope this will serve as a nice bookend to 2009. And as it goes with all "Top Ten" lists, they will always be some controversy, so please share your opinions in our the comment section.  While the Best Comic Video's of '09 might pale in scope to The Onion's "Top Ten Stories of Last 4.5 Billion Years", we hope you'll get a chuckle or two from these clips.  (Click here to see the full press release.)


Happy Holidays Everyone. Here's to a great 2010!


 
10. Ewoks Run Amok on the Today Show
In one swoop, this completely changed my opinion of the Ewoks.  Yes, all the dancing, unrealistic fighting, a horrendous cartoon, and out of place "cuteness" can now be now forgiven.  Now if we can only get George Lucas to hump Al Roker's leg, I would fully forgive him for Episodes 1-2. 




9. Batman Vanishes

I believe it was Bob Odenkirk from Mr. Show who I once heard discuss how there are some sketches, that take almost no effort to write.  Once you have the concept, it writes itself- taking nothing away from the creators of this video, this is one of those sketches.  I always thought Batman's vanishing defied physics, this explains a lot.



8. Batman Community
Christian Bale-Batman impressions are to the aughts what Ed Sullivan impressions were to the 60s or what Reagan impressions were to the 80s..  but nobody does it better than Danny Pudi. Here "Batman" explains why he won't celebrate Halloween.


7. The Shadow Hare
And the only person who doesn't do a Christian Bale-like Batman voice is the one dude who actually thinks that he's a crime fighter.  I'm sure Cincinnati's Shadow Hare doesn't instill fear in all that wish the city harm, but I hear he makes a mean sandwich.  Part 1 is below and the sequel to the broadcast can be viewed here.




6. Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film as "Fun, Watchable"

I think this quote sums it all up... "Earlier today Paramount released this statement to ease fans' concerns. 'We stand behind this film and firmly believe in a few years, it will seem just as dated and cornball as previous Star Trek films.'"




5. Saturday Morning Watchmen
You know there is someone at ABC who would have green-lighted this back in 1988.  And sadly, I would have watched it every Saturday.  And as a Bonus Video: College Humor's take on Dr. Manhattan's Pants.


4. Astonishing X-Men
Kudos to Marvel Comics and Neal Gaiman's Continuity Studios for re-imagining the old-school motion comics in the 1960s and creating an entirely new experience.  Ultimately readership in comics is on the decline and we need publishers to do whatever they can to find new audiences.  Years from now we may be hearing how motion comics were the way many people are introduced (or reintroduced) to comic books.


3. Star Wars: Retold (by someone that's never seen it)
Just funny!  A great concept that was very well edited and pulled together!



2. Green Lantern Fan Trailer
Probably the greatest fan trailer ever made.  Before Ryan Reynolds was announced as playing Hal Jordan, we were able to see Nathan Fillion "playing" the role.  With an army of writers, full cast and crew and $150MM to spend, the real Green Lantern film will be tough to match the excitement and drama of this two minute clip.

1. The Ballad of G.I. Joe
The concept of the video is "What do GI Joe and Cobra do after hours?" but the real question being asked is "How would a GI Joe movie look if it were true to its comic and cartoon roots?" The answer to that is "incredible". The uniqueness of costuming is one of the things that made the 80s franchise special, something that I think the movie clearly missed. But I won't knock the GI Joe movie here, there have been enough reviews dedicated to that. The Ballad of GI Joe pulls together a phenomenal cast (with A-listers like Julianne Moore and Billy Crudup), a great tune that is actually on my MP3 player, funny lyrics, and a genuine affection for the characters that shines through. Oh yeah, and there is a dueling, kick ass clarinet solo at the end. I never thought I'd utter the phrase "kick ass clarinet solo".




Honorable Mention: Scott McCloud at TED
Scott McCloud is one ambassador of comic books that we are lucky to have. Here is his speech at the prestigious TED conference back in '05 (but it was posted in '09). He talked about his upbringing, comic books and shared some life lessons we should all live by. To paraphrase those:
1. Learn from everyone
2. Follow no one
3. Watch for patterns
4. Work like hell


Monday, December 14, 2009

Welcome to the Sketch Maven blog where, from time to time, we'll be posting longer-form or slightly off-topic items related to original comic artwork, comic books the comic industry, and whatever else catches our fancy.

This won't be updated too frequently so if you're looking for more timely info on Sketch Maven and want to learn more about us, you can check out: