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Dissecting I, Frankenstein. It’s a Scary Misstep.

Mary Shelley must have turned over in her grave by now. Even though I, Frankenstein, a graphic novel by Kevin Grevioux, is loosely based on her seminal work, the tale feels more like that of the Wandering Jew waiting for an apocalypse to happen.

I, Frankenstein

Mary Shelley must have turned over in her grave by now. Even though I, Frankenstein, a graphic novel by Kevin Grevioux, is loosely based on her seminal work, the tale feels more like that of the Wandering Jew waiting for an apocalypse to happen. The end of days is coming sooner than later for the studios involved because this movie is seeing low box office returns. As for why, perhaps it’s because of the constant delays it faced getting to cinemas.

This movie may have fared better if it was released on the date it was originally scheduled for, Feb 22, 2013. When studios are still betting on 3D and IMAX for added pocket-money, that’s a sign that they do not care as much for what the fans want. Their desire for dollars will spell doom for the studio system way of making films. 3D conversion should get ditched and IMAX only offered for those movies—namely the documentaries—that deserve it.

In a movie that is about the ultimate fate of humanity, perhaps the real destiny to achieve is to choose wisely in what films are worth turning into box office dollars. I, Frankenstein is too niche. Sexy vampires are far more attractive than beefcake warriors when it comes to on-screen interest. And to hope that fans of the Underworld quadrilogy will flock to this film was more of a gamble than anything else. Tastes change faster than the wind.

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[Editorial] First It Was Star Wars, and Now It’s Doctor Who Changing Ships …

Two grand comic book licenses are making a transition from one publishing company to another. On one side of the spectrum, most fans are lukewarm at the news of Star Wars moving from Dark Horse to Marvel Comics. On another front, most readers may well wonder about Doctor Who’s transition from IDW to Titan Comics.

In the business perspective, the publishers are cordially appreciative of the time they had to grow the licensed property into new territory. But as for what will happen next, with a different publisher, what will become of both relicensed products is anybody’s guess. Perhaps readers should consider the following:

In a galaxy far, far, away, in a saga that Marvel Comics ran from ’77 to ’86, long-time fans will recall that the comic book had a few bright moments, namely issue #52, “To Take the Tarkin.” If Marvel Comics can recreate some of that magic, then the transition is in capable hands. Sadly, with the fact that thirty years have passed and that tastes have changed, not everyone is enthused. There are three generations of fans to satisfy. Dark Horse Comics had a great start with Dark Empire (1991). Tales of the Jedi was even better when it segued to look at the history of the original Sith Lords. For later titles, fans had to invest a fair bit of money in order to keep up with all the multiple titles.

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Karen Gillan to appear at ECCC 2014!

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

936full-karen-gillan

Emerald City Comicon announced today that Karen Gillan will be at this year’s show on Sunday. That’s great for a busy actress whose next big role will be Nebula in Marvel Entertainment’s Guardians of the Galaxy, due in theatres August. But for the rest of the world, she is best known for playing Amy Pond in Doctor Who.

As for what she will be available for during the convention — panels, photo ops or autographs — no official word is given. The best advice is to check out the ECCC 2014 webpage when schedules get posted. That’s usually a week before the event. But as for tickets, the best plan is to have pick up tickets sooner than later since they have been selling out through online sales fast.

Is Movie “Magic” Possible with a Trading Card Game?

Magic the Gathering is a trading card game that studio 20th Century Fox is daring to gamble their fortunes on, just for a movie.

Magic the Gathering

Magic the Gathering is a trading card game that studio 20th Century Fox is daring to gamble their fortunes on, just for a movie.

The news broke on The Hollywood Reporter and some reactions from the fandom may well be mixed. I played the game when it first came out, and I enjoyed it for what it was before it became expensive to maintain. I imagined a world that was filled with mages who can control the elements, summon monsters and go Fantasia against another opponent.

There were some good concepts that were created to make this imaginative version of poker more than profitable for Wizards of the Coast and pocketable for the masses who can enjoy a game anywhere. The same crowd is what the studio is hoping to draw into the theater. If the film becomes a mega-success, the additional products that can be sold under this license can even make Warner Bros. green with envy or red with rage.

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Discovering the Lost Ark with the Covenant of Primus

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Covenant of Primus Book

The Covenant of Primus is one of those holy grails that fans of the Transformers series are waiting for. It delves into the biblical origins of how the Cybertronian race came into being and what the wars first fought were like.

As for where this book release fits in the many universes, namely from the original Generation 1 series to Michael Bay’s interpretation, this book is problematical. The movie talks about only seven primes. Who “The Fallen” is gets addressed only briefly, and as for how this modified history fits into to the Hasbro defined universe could benefit from a couple more pages of exposition.

At least this book belongs to the mythos established that began in the video game Transformers: War for Cybertron and ended in the televised CGI spectacular. Even the origins of the Predacons get revealed.

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Keeping Eyes on Track for a Video Game Future

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Tobii's PCEye in action. — Tobii’s PCEye in action.

In an age where motion-tracking is becoming all the rage, only Microsoft knew how to make the idea work right. They made it nearly hands-free. With the Kinect. players can run on the spot in order to move faster than a speeding bullet or leap tall buildings in a single bound within a virtual world. With Tobii introducing a prototype of an eye-tracking sensor at CES this week with the EyeX, people can start sniping bullets out of thin air or melting weapons with laser beam eyes.

This technology to track eye movement may well be the next evolution to bring virtual reality home to the video-gamer. No date has been announced yet, but when this device is ready, it should be cheaper than the company’s main product, the PCEye that starts at $2k (on Amazon).

Danish gaming manufacturer SteelSeries is helping to make an affordable version that can detect what a person’s eyes is really ogling at on a video screen — female avatars may want to start covering up. Or with games like Duke Nuke’em or Grand Theft Auto, they just may become a little more difficult with all those distractions slowing the player down.

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