Pang: The Wandering Shaolin Monk makes comic history

Pang: The Wandering Shaolin Monk
Volume 1: “The Refuge of the Heart”
Ben Costa
Iron Crotch University Press (July 2010)

Review by Lyda Morehouse

If you’ve ever applauded your way through one of Jackie Chan’s “Drunken Master” films, but secretly wished that along with the subtitles there were pop-up bubbles with information about Chinese customs, history and/or language, Pang is a graphic novel for you.

This volume collects 188 pages of the on-going web comic Shi Long Pang, which you can find at shilongpang.com. The story takes place in 17th century China and follows the title character, Pang. Pang himself is drawn in a simple style, which reflects his “uncarved block” personality (with apologies for making a Taoist reference for a Shaolin monk). In this way, Pang stands out in a visual simplicity among the vividly colored, complex and sometimes cluttered panels. However, I think that contrast is not only perfect for this sort of character and story, but also highlights the intensity of the times in which Pang lives.

Costa tells a serious, epic story about the Three Feudatories War, while simultaneously following the personal and sometimes gently humorous tale of Pang – a rotund, sheltered monk, who finds himself thrust into the center of the conflict. Pang is very likable from the moment he enters the picture. Like a bumbling hero in a Golden Harvest film, he’s the moral center of any argument and (as a bonus!) surprisingly cool/capable in a fight.

Pang is one part sweet, one part serious, and a whole bundle of awesome. A great read. I devoured the whole thing the moment I sat down with it. In fact, now I plan to take the time to hunt through the archives at the web comic, so I can start to follow along in real-time with the continuing adventures.

Firefly, Wonder Woman and live sci-fi

The Star Trek franchise aside, Firefly is THE best ever science fiction series. Argue with me if you want, but not before you've seen it. You have another chance to do just that without the help of your local video store (Do you still have one?) or Netflix. Firefly is returning to the TV on the Science Channel beginning this Sunday, March 6th, at 8PM ET. The show will air on Sundays at 10PM ET thereafter and will follow an encore from the week before. And because it’s the Science Channel, renowned astrophysicist and co-founder of string field theory Dr. Michio Kaku will scrutinize the science of each episode.

In Firefly, Earth has colonized planets outside its solar system. The Alliance had asserted too much authority over the central worlds and rebels (or Browncoats) like Malcolm Reynolds fought back. They didn't win, but the outer worlds are still relatively safe, if rustic. The new frontier.

The crew of the Serenity roam the galaxy looking for any work they can find, staying out of the way of the alliance. The adventures and banter remind me of the Wild Wild West only these guys don't work as government intelligence agents. Mostly, they're smugglers. Mal's Serenity crew includes Wash, a talented pilot and his wife, Zoe (who fought with Mal in the war), innocent Kaylee, their engineer who can fix an engine with bubble gum and toothpicks and Jayne, an opportunistic, uneducated criminal, who doesn't mind risking his life so long as there's something in it for him.

The script is outstanding and the quazi-Southern, military, frontier dialect is infectious.

Here's some examples from Firefly WIki. (And you Browncoats best get over there and add some more!)

"Wash, we got some local color happening. A grand entrance would not go amiss."
"Shouldn't you be off bringing religiousity to the fuzzy wuzzies or some such?"
"Still a little whimsical in the brain pan." [to Shepherd Book about River]

Most women will fall for Nathan Fillian in his role as Malcolm Reynolds the same way they do for Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. Confident, strong, fallible and slightly oblivious. And those crooked smiles that say "oops, my bad".

The ship's complement also includes a preacher who mysteriously knows a lot about alliance tactics and how to fight, a doctor and his crazy, vulnerable (but sometimes deadly - as in a weapon) genius sister River (Summer Glau) and Inara (Morena Baccarin), the government-sanctioned and licensed "companion" who rents one of the ship's two shuttles.

Firefly is space opera at its best in the all new "out west". ;)

If I haven't convinced you to check it out yet, maybe something from the Science Channel press release below will. No, I'm not getting paid for this. ;) But I AM a Browncoat.


The Wait Is Over!
“FIREFLY” Premieres Sunday, March 6 with Two Episodes Beginning @ 8pm ET

New episodes air every Sunday @ 10pm ET only on Science Channel

Renowned Astrophysicist Dr. Michio Kaku also reveals the “Science behind Firefly”

From the creator of the hit TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” sci-fi savant Joss Whedon delves into the final frontier with “Firefly,” which lands exclusively on the Science Channel on Sunday, March 6 @8pm ET with the airing of the original 2-hour pilot. Immediately following, episode one of the 15-part series will air at 10pm ET.

“Firefly” will dominate the airwaves every Sunday with an encore episode of the previous week airing 9pm ET to be followed by the network premiere of the next episode in the series airing at 10pm ET.

As a special treat for “Firefly” fans, star of Science Channel’s “Sci-Fi Science,” and the co-founder of string field theory, Dr. Michio Kaku, will be commentating on the science behind “Firefly” for each episode. From terraforming, to anti-matter, Kaku will be explaining why the science fiction featured in the show really isn't that far from science fact.

When “Firefly” first aired in 2002, Whedon’s sci-fi western quickly became a cult favorite. Set 500 years in the future, in the aftermath of a universal civil war, the story centers on the renegade crew of a small transport spaceship led by “Castle’s” Nathan Fillion, who directs the ragtag team through adventures into unknown parts of the galaxy, as they try to evade warring factions as well as authority agents out to get them.
Pilot- "Serenity" Premieres Sunday, March 6 @ 8pm ET
Set 500 years in the future, we are introduced to the of the spaceship Serenity led by the former soldier Sergeant Mal Reynolds. Part transport ship, part scavenger vessel, the second-in-command is the loyal Zoe who served beside Mal in the war and owes him her life; Wash the ship's easygoing pilot and Zoe's husband; and Kaylee the ship's young and effervescent engineer.

The crew picks up some precious cargo from the hull on an abandoned spaceship. Soon, they realize they are being pursued by the Alliance, the totalitarian army which was formed to hunt down outlaws against the unification of the planets. In order to avoid detection, the Serenity takes on a group of ‘tourists’ to appear to be a passenger transport ship. The passengers include: Inara, a prostitute; Book, a shepherd; Simon, a doctor who has with him a mysterious dark blue box

The story continues as the Serenity tries to outrun double-dealers and savages, ditch the precious cargo all the while trying to hide their newest passenger, River, who’s power the group has yet to realize.


Episode 1- "The Train Job" Premieres Sunday, March 6 @ 10pm ET
Mal and his crew are hired to pull off a train heist…but the cargo turns out to be badly needed medication intended for sufferers of a deadly disease. Meanwhile men are on the hunt for River and won’t stop till they find her.

*****
If comic book characters are your thing, there's a new Wonder Woman TV series in the works. The series is still filling in the cast. Meanwhile, Geekscape lassos in a review of the new Wonder Woman pilot by avid fan, Eric Diaz.

******
How about live science fiction? If you live in the North Bay (that's the San Francisco Bay), you're in luck. The Imaginists are performing plays based on the short stories of sci-fi author Eliot Fintushel.

March 10*, 11, 12 | 17*, 18, 19 | 24*, 25, 26
All Shows at 8 p.m.

*Pay-What-You-Wish Nights: March 10, 17 & 24
Tickets for these shows will only be available at the door.

(Poster art by comic book artist Brent Anderson.)

The Imaginists Theatre Collective
461 Sebastopol Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA. 95401
(707) 528-7554

Talk back with the actors and writer, Eliot Fintushel: Saturday, March 12, 19, 26 immediately following the performance.


Below are Eliot Fintushel's production notes.

WE FROM AFAR: PRODUCTION NOTES
(from, such as he is, the author)

Science Fiction is all about extrapolation. and, oh, honey, are we gonna extrapolate tonight. To the shivering penumbral dimensions I limned in these stories, Brent Lindsay, the god of the theatre of now, of passion, pulse, and power, has added infinitely more. Not to mention my fellow Imaginists, actors, techies--groupies all--who have set sail for these unimagined lands, and are gonna drag you along in steerage, whether you like it or not.

Here at the Imaginists Theatre Collective, everything proceeds by opposites. If Lindsay cocks his head and squints and says, "That's REALLY awful," we know that he means it's a keeper. That's how we keep things hopping, and how we keep our audiences from yawning, clearing their throats, and riffling their damn programs.

Inspirations: "Kukla Boogie" was the result of (1) my learning of actual plans by a major soft drink company to use laser technology to advertise on the lunar surface, and (2) my disgust with anti-Darwinism and other sectarian mishugoss. "Afar" came, of course, out of the years of despair accompanying and following my divorce. (Thanks--I'm better now.) "Santacide" was a response to the annual flood of packaged religiosity--I used to use this story, in 6-point typeface on a folded half-sheet of 20# pink paper, as my Christmas card. "No, Really" is an actual standup routine from the future; I was actually there, via a top-secret time machine that I found during a fly-over of the Bermuda Triangle, and I recorded it word for word, before a squad of Butlers burst in and hosed us.

I was very nearly extrapolated myself.

*****

Introducing Lyda Morehouse and SFOO's first graphic novel review

Lyda Morehouse has been an avid comic book reader since the early 1970s, having spent many happy days in her cousin’s basement reading her uncle’s collection that included many first issues of Marvel titles like Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, X-Men and hundreds more. Neil Gaiman’s “Season in Mist” partly inspired her to write her first novel in the AngeLINK tetrology, Archangel Protocol, which was published by Roc in 2001 and won the Shamus award for an original paperback featuring a private detective. Currently, she writes bestselling paranormal romances and YA novels as Tate Hallaway, while also attempting to revive her science fiction career with a prequel to the angel books called Resurrection Code, due out from Mad Norwegian Press in March 2011. She lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with her partner of twenty-five years, their son, four cats, two gerbils and a multitude of fish.

And she's a fellow Broad Universe member! Broads rock! Lyda came to my aid when I asked for help with reviews and I'm so glad she can give graphic novels and comics some sun. Welcome aboard, Lyda!






HAVEN
Leonardo Ramirez / Davy Fisher
Markosia Enterprises (July 2010)

Collects:
HAVEN (Book 1): “What We Leave Behind”
HAVEN (Book 2): “What We Hold Dear”
HAVEN (Book 3): “What We All Want”
HAVEN (Book 4): “What We All Need”





There’s something about Dante’s Inferno. In February this year, Electronic Arts came up with a high-octane adventure videogame based on Dante Alighieri’s descent into the seven circles of hell for Playstation 3/Xbox, and now that very same poem inspired a demon butt-kicking graphic novel by Leonardo Ramirez and artist Davy Fisher called Haven.

In Haven, we are introduced to Haven Irena Dante a high school senior and the current heir to the Dante Alighieri bloodline. She’s heard the story of how a relative of hers descended into hell, but what she doesn’t know is that his journey sparked an eternal blood feud between hell’s demons and the Alighieris.

The story begins at her mother’s funeral. Haven’s mother, who I’m not sure is ever named, is a stand-in for the famous Beatrice (Dante’s Muse and guide for the third section of the Divine Comedy, of which Inferno is the first part.) Haven’s mother’s death begins the original poem’s “deep woods” in which Haven quickly finds herself lost and in need of a “right path.”

However, instead of being drawn to Hell by being metaphorically assailed by wild beasts, Haven is literally sexually molested. After that all hell breaks loose… literally. The first issue ends with Haven waking up on the street, two years later, with glowing angelic script tattoos on both arms, a magic staff given to her during a brief sojourn in purgatory and, it is soon revealed, hereditary superpowers. The last three issues follow Haven’s battle to uncover the demons’ plot to infiltrate her father’s company and, like any good superhero, save the world.

Normally, when I read graphic novels or comic books, I only require the artist not to distract me from the story. I’m the sort of reader who will often forgive moderate art when the storytelling is strong. However, particularly in the case of the first issue, I got the impression that under the command of a different artist, I would have found Haven’s origin story gratuitously grim. Rape! Murder! Argh, all in the first ten pages! But, Davy Fisher’s artwork elevates this graphic novel nearer to the place I think author Leonardo Ramirez intended it to be. There were moments that positively reminded me of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. In fact, a good blurb for this graphic novel could be: Sandman meets Zap! Pow! action.

The only thing that marred this collection was a few moments of clunky storytelling. When the storyline gets really pumping, the scenes also get a bit jumpy too. I was also left with some minor questions about the “whys” of Haven’s superpowers that, while not deal breakers, could use more explanation.

I can only hope that there will be another installment of this series to answer some of my questions. Despite the few hiccups I illustrated above, I found this graphic novel ultimately satisfying. Fisher’s artwork is worth the cover price alone and the premise rocks enough to forgive the minor flaws.

***

If you agree, you can order it here.

SFOO makes top 45 SF blog list!

Thanks fans, writers and sf geeks alike. Science Fiction and Other ODDysseys has been awarded the 2010 Top 45 Sci-Fi Book Blogs award from Awarding the Web. See the whole list.

Let the voting begin! Atom.com and Lucasfilm announced the finalists for their ninth annual “Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge”. You can view the finalist fan-made films at starwars.atom.com and vote for your favorite. Voting ends on August 2nd. Some of these are on the long side, so schedule a good time to watch and pop some popcorn and settle in, enjoy and vote.

Comic-con was in the news this year for the protests and counter-protests, and again because of a violent episode on Saturday. Someone got stabbed by a ballpoint pen during a screening.

The protest footage at Comics Alliance is hysterical. One would hope that the protestors from Westboro Baptist Church could find real evil to wage war on instead of facing off over comic book heroes. They do know it's fiction, right?

Finally, how about some great mysteries for you to chew on? I know this is a sf blog, but I'm very tempted to run another flash fiction contest around these two events. I think our incredible imaginations can conjure some great fiction using these as jumping off points. Of course, I may just decide to do a story of my own instead. I love a mystery -- especially a science-fictionalized one. ;)

First up is the Money Pit. The biggest treasure hunt of all time. Treasure hunters know where the treasure is, but do to the magnificently engineered booby traps, none have been able to reach it. They're starting again after their permit was granted on July 15th. The Money Pit, located on Oak Island in Nova Scotia, is conjectured to be a treasure hidden by pirates, the Knights Templar or Francis Bacon. It's all just guesswork at this point. A few artifacts from the higher levels of this incredibly deep pit have been recovered. Men have died trying to reach the bottom. Read all about it at www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk.

In England, a second circular grouping like Stonehenge but made of wood has been discovered near the first. This CNN story has pictures of the second site.

Great grist for the mill. Hey, why not link the two...





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Comic-Con sneak previews

I received an offer today to try out an iPad app. Too bad it wasn't sci-fi related and they didn't offer me an iPad, too. Now that would have gotten my attention.

Have you heard of motion comics? As comic book fans are packing their bags for Comic-Con in San Diego, M2 is set to launch DeadTown, its 3D motion comic to showcase this new medium. DeadTown combines the Sam Spade detective stories of the 40s with Dawn of the Dead. They have that black and white film noir feel with the red/blue 3D colors added.

“Motion Comics are a new, legitimate storytelling medium that has yet to be realized as it’s own entertainment form,” said M2 Partner, Eben Matthews. “The sweet spot of the medium is still being defined and, with DeadTown, we believe we define it.”

Learn more about M2 and their other projects at www.m2action.com. If you're so inclined, they're still looking for investors through Kickstarter.

Now grab your 3D glasses. I know you have them. Look in the Shrek 3D DVD case. I won't tell. Here's the DeadTown teaser.

DeadTown Motion Comic Teaser in 3D! from M2 on Vimeo.

And the Browncoats are coming! Check out this first full trailer for Browncoats: Redemption, a fan-made feature film that takes up where Serenity left off. Later this week, I'll be interviewing its star, Heather Fagan and Writer/Director/Producer Michael Dougherty. They'll be chatting with me from Comic-Con. I'll also post more trailers. The direct-to-DVD movie releases Friday, Sept. 3, 2010. Proceeds go to charities selected or created by the cast and crew of Firefly and Serenity. If you're not a Browncoat yet, you just haven't seen Firefly (TV series) or Serenity yet. They're both produced by Joss Wheaton and they're awesome! Best darn sf in the 'verse!






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