razkazz
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Post by razkazz on Mar 29, 2013 9:19:30 GMT -5
For as long as they've been around, motion comics have generally been looked down upon as a cheap half-assed way of doing animated movies. I remember buying a Captain America VHS tape in the mid 90's that turned out to be the first motion comic I'd ever seen and I thought it was such a ripoff that the characters were barely moving and essentially just zooming in and out. My opinion of motion comics was pretty much set in stone--until I checked out the recent Marvel Knights stuff on Netflix.
I'd wanted to read Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men for a while, I just don't buy comics that often anymore other than the odd trade, so this was a great alternative way to see how it was. The technology has come a long way, yes the movement can still look odd and jerky but it's so much better than it used to be and after a few minutes you really get immersed in it and don't notice the quirks. It's also a definitively different experience than a fully animated adaptation because nothing is cut or altered, you're literally getting every panel of art and every word of dialogue, just ingesting it in a different way.
I really feel like I got the full comic experience and having watched it can basically say I've read it. The first story arc, "Gifted", is the only one on Netflix but it was amazingly good and pretty much established that they're wasting their time letting anyone other than Joss Whedon make X-Men movies. I just found out that they have that along with the next 3 story arcs on one blu-ray and I really wanna get it.
I know there are a lot of people who will never be won over by motion comics, but I'm really looking forward to future releases. Here's a trailer (released this past summer) of what's on the horizon:
The Paul Jenkins/Jae Lee "Inhumans" DVD is coming out April 23rd.
What do you guys think of these motion comics? And if you're a fan, which stories would you like to see converted in the future?
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GhostRider5289
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Post by GhostRider5289 on Mar 29, 2013 14:21:23 GMT -5
I saw the first Astonishing X-Men mc. Not bad but the voices could have been a little better imo. I'll probably watch the Inhumans mc.
I think it'd be cool to see Ghost Rider: Vicious Cycle adapted into one of these. The art looks like it wouldn't be to hard to animated in the style they use.
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okcomputer
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Post by okcomputer on Mar 29, 2013 17:46:51 GMT -5
I saw a little bit of the Watchmen motion comic, and hated it. I'm pretty much a comics traditionalist. I prefer actually reading comics in books and turning the pages and being able to really look at the artwork and page layouts. When comic art is at its best all the effects you need are right there on the page, so taking the work of someone like John Cassaday or Dave Gibbons and chopping it up and adding voice actors just seems kinda like drawing a hat on the Mona Lisa.
But at the same time, if someone sees a motion comic and likes it enough to go to a comic shop and check out the real thing then that's great.
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razkazz
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Post by razkazz on Mar 29, 2013 19:23:57 GMT -5
^Just watched a bit of the Watchmen one on youtube and it reminds me more of old motion comics with minimal movement and word balloons still included, the Marvel Knights techniques are really legitimising motion comics I think; the techniques used are much more advanced, in some mouths move with the dialogue and everything, more cinematic presentation, and they dabble in CG stuff to augment some scenes which can be really neat. I agree, most comics don't need to be "brought to life", but I can't deny that I enjoy seeing it done with this level of proficiency. Like I said, just a different way to experience it. And yeah, especially due to their inclusion on netflix, it can be a great way to discover comics you wouldn't have otherwise. I've never read anything with Spider-Woman in it before, and likely wouldn't have, but Bendis' take was pretty gritty and awesome. And Iron Man: Extremis seemed like a natural fit due to Warren Ellis' obsession with technology.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2013 12:37:36 GMT -5
Tried doing the Thor and Loke:Blood Brothers one, and just wasn't my style
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razkazz
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Post by razkazz on Mar 31, 2013 13:59:11 GMT -5
I watched the first part of that one and it didn't hold my attention very well. I wanna try to finish it cuz I liked the premise and artwork but I dunno, just kinda slow.
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razkazz
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Post by razkazz on Apr 4, 2013 21:16:29 GMT -5
Netflix just added the other 3 story arcs of Whedon's Astonishing X-Men. I wasn't sure if they were going to, awesome.
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Post by electric red on Apr 11, 2013 8:01:42 GMT -5
Never watched one
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razkazz
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Post by razkazz on Jul 2, 2013 12:49:52 GMT -5
I just finished watching the last of the Astonishing X-Men arcs, Dangerous, Torn, & Unstoppable. Hands down the best X-Men story I've ever read--watched-- err...been privy to. Mindblowing plots in each arc coated with hilarious dialogue that makes the characters feel more real and down to earth than ever while they're being pushed to their limits and explored more deeply than I've ever seen. And the way the weight each of these arcs' impact is still felt as it builds to the epic conclusion is just awesome and masterfully crafted.
I love the work Marvel Knights is doing, they've overome the distracting awkwardness that was once synonymous with motion comics and really made it a viable medium; essentially the audio book equivalent to the comic book.
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razkazz
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Post by razkazz on Jul 2, 2013 22:46:33 GMT -5
Wolverine: Origin is coming to dvd on the 9th. I know it got crazy hype at the time of its release but was it really that good?
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razkazz
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Post by razkazz on Jul 3, 2013 0:30:01 GMT -5
Watched the rest of Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers. The way they accomplished full CG movement without compromising the art style was amazing but it wasn't the most engaging storywise. The plot unfolded slowly and the, as Tony Stark would say, "Shakespeare in the park" dialogue didn't help. It was pretty neat overall, great to look at, and it picked up toward the end, but it had such an abrupt comic book ending--the kind that leaves you stunned and smiling as you close the last issue--but it's much less satisfying in animated form. An epilogue would've gone along way toward making it feel like all of that buildup wasn't for nothing. Enjoyable, and probably the most fully animated of the ones I've seen, but nowhere near as great as Astonishing X-Men, Extremis, or Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D..
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razkazz
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Post by razkazz on Apr 29, 2014 9:42:42 GMT -5
The latest release isn't the Barry Windsor-Smith "Weapon-X" like I expected when they announced "Weapon-X". It's a newer story called "Tomorrow Dies Today", but it still looks cool and it comes out 5/13. I saw that FYE lowered their new price on these from $15 to $12, so I'm hoping to catch up on the last few soon. Especially the Inhumans one, I've never read any comics with them but they seem way different than the usual Marvel stuff, and Jae Lee's art is awesome.
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