Books on Film | Age of Ultron & Far From The Madding Crowd

     

The Age of Ultron is upon us! Avengers: Age of Ultron will be released this weekend. It's based on the 2013 limited crossover Age of Ultron. Of course, don't go expecting any of the X-Men (except Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver) or Fantastic Four to show up in the movie they way they do in the book. The MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and Marvel Comics are two different beasts due to rights issues. 

The artificial intelligence known as Ultron as fought for years to eradicate mankind- and now, it has all but succeeded. The few remaining heroes are battered, broken, almost beat and left considering desperate measures- some more desperate than others. but when Wolverine breaks ranks and pursues his own plan to defeat Ultron, will his drastic action cause more problems than it solves?

If you are interest in English period dramas instead of superheroes, then you may want to check out the adaptation of Thomas Hardy's classic novel Far From The Madding Crowd which will also be released this weekend.

When the beautiful and spirited Bathsheba Everdene inherits her own farm, she attracts three very different suitors: the seemingly commonplace man-of-the-soil Gabriel Oak, the dashing young soldier Francis Troy, and the respectable, middle-aged Farmer Boldwood. Her choice, and the tragedy it provokes, lie at the center of this novel.  

Books on Film | iZombie

The 2010-12 comic book iZombie by Chris Roberson and Michael Allred has was recently adapted into a television show by The CW. The comic follows Gwen, a grave-digging Oregonian zombie, as she solves mysteries. Joining her are her ghostly best friend, a weredog, and a several other creatures that go bump in the night. 

Every time Gwen, a zombie, eats someone's brains she also inherits some of their memories and the latest morsel she devoured gives her memories of a murder she and her friends need to solve.

Note: Vol 2, Vol 3, Vol 4

Books On Film | WonderCon 2014 Edition

WonderCon is a primarily a comic book and collectibles convention, but also includes games, books, and media. Attendees are able to attend moderated panels with industry professionals who come to discuss their upcoming projects as well as show sneak peaks. Several upcoming films promoted at WonderCon were adapted from books/comics and several were adapted into books/comics.

 

Movies

The cast and director of The Maze Runner, schedule to be released September 2014, were present as part of the 20th Century Fox panel. The film is an adaption of James Dashner's teen novel of the same name. To see more about this book, check out one of my previous posts on upcoming 2014 YA adaptations.

The writer/producer of X-Men: Days of Future Past, schedule to be released next month, was also part of the Fox panel and there to discuss the film adaption of the 1980's Days of Future Past storyline. In the comic, Kitty Pryde transfers her mind into that on her younger self in order try to prevent occurrences in the past that lead to mutants being interned in the future. The movie adaption is obviously making one huge departure by sending Wolverine in to the past and it's yet to be seen what other changes have been made.

 

The writer of science fiction thriller Edge of Tomorrow, starring Tom Cruise and scheduled to be released X,  was present discuss the his adaptation of Hiroshi Sakurazaka's 'light novel' All You Need Is Kill. The novel is set in a future earth at war with mysterious aliens called Mimics. A new military recruit with no experience ends up stuck in a time loop after being killed on his first day.

Animated Movies

There's a children's film festival and anime festival that goes on as part of WonderCon, however I did not attend either because there are too many activities and not enough time.

 

However, I did watch the Warner's Brother animated film, Son of Batman, which is schedule to be released on DVD/Blu-ray next month, which was screened in it's entirety. The film is an adaptation of the comic book Batman and Son. The comic is about Damian Wayne, son of Bruce Wayne and Tahlia al Ghul, who meets for the first time.

 

The voice actors and writer of How to Train Your Dragon 2 were also present for the XX panel to talk about the second film adaptation of the How To Train Your Dragon series. To learn more about these books please visit my previous post on the series.

Television Shows

Warner Brothers screened several episodes of their The CW shows, including this weeks episode of The 100. The 100 is an adaptation of a book of the same name by author Kass Morgan. The novel is about one hundred juvenile delinquents who are sent out by their space dwelling society to recolonize earth.

 

Falling Skies, TNT's science fiction television show produced by Steven Spielberg has been adapted into a comic of the same name by Dark Horse Comics. The series is about the survivors of an alien invaded earth and the comics take place between the seasons of the show.

Books & Comics

Since WonderCon is a comic convention there were, of course, many, many comic panels, including a special Batman 75th Anniversary panel in a new Batman Beyond short was shown. Batman Beyond is a bit unique in the Batman-verse. It started as an animated series and was later adapted into a comic unlike the original Batman comics and it's spin-offs. 

 

There were also panels for aspiring novel, comic book, and television writers on the writing process, publishing, and more. Sadly, I missed the 'What's Hot in Young Adult Fiction' panel which featured several young adult authors discussing trends in YA fiction. However, I was able to catch a panel with paranormal romance novelist and Marvel comic author Marjorie Liu who discussed her career change from lawyer to writer, explained the difference between comic and novel writing, and gave tips for aspiring writers.

 

Liu is known largely for her Dirk & Steele and Hunter Kiss series as well as her run on Astonishing X-Men, X-23, and Black Widow comics.

Covers courtesy of LibraryThing.

Books On Film | Garfield

Children love Garfield, the titular character from Jim Davis' comic strip. Garfield is a cat who loves to eat and who has humorous one-sided conversation with his owner Jon and Jon's dog Odie. Davis started the comic strip, which holds a Guiness World Record for being the most widely syndicated comic, in 1978 and it still continues today.

As a child, I spent time watching the animated series 'Garfield and Friends.' These days children watch the CGI animated 'The Garfield Show' and it's spin-off graphic novels in addition to collections of the original comic strips.

Besides inspiring several television shows, Garfield was also adapted into two live-action movies (Garfield The Movie & Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties) with comedian Bill Murray voicing Garfield. 

If you know a child who liked the movie try introducing them to the comics.

Wherein Porfessor O Explains The Impossible!

Greetings fanatics of the graphic novel!

In this installment, Professor O is going to try to disentangle and explain one of the biggest mysteries the universe has to offer. It is something that has bothered scientists, scholars, philosophers, and every nerd who has tried to decipher the undecipherable, figure out the unfigureoutable, and generally make sense of what is complete nonsense. The mystery is not string theory (too easy to explain!), not the theory of relativity (please, Professor O could explain that in his sleep), not even the mysteries of time travel.

The Professor will try to explain (gasp) Marvel's "X-Men: The X-Ecutioner's Song"

Here goes:

Stryfe with Cable's face, attempts to assassinate Professor X (one of Professor O's best friends) by shooting him with some techno worm-thing, that overrun's the unlucky professor with a virus that turns him into some sort of robot/android/machine thing. Beast and Moira MacTaggert work tirelessly to cure him.

Cyclops and Jean Grey are kidnaped by Caliban. Colossus and Iceman help, but are attacked by more of Apocalyse's Horsemen of The Apocalypse. All bad. At first all think it is Apocalyse behind this mess, but it looks as though it is Mr. Sinister doing the duties.

Expliaining the innerworking of my time machine is simpler!

Lookit that, its Strable or Cryfe...whatever!

 X-Force sets out to find the would be attacker, as Mr. Sinister shows up and tells the remaining X-Men that Stryfe is behind all the hullabaloo. Cable time travels and shows up from the future and heads to Canadian intelligence for answers, where he runs into Wolverine and Bishop. Cable convinces Wolvie and Bishop he is innocent, explains that Stryfe is behind it all, and also that he and Stryfe share a face. Ugh, Marvel... 

Apocalypse figures out that Stryfe or Cable is the son of Cyclops. He picks a fight with Stryfe and is nearly killed, escaping death by teleportation.

This fight makes no sense.

Stryfe, with obvious parental issues, tortures Cyclops and Jean Grey.

Beast is able to extract the techno worm-thing, only to find Xavier's health is still deteriorating. Apocalypse shows up and convinces them to let him cure Xavier. Sure, why not?

Stryfe recaptures Cyclops and Jean Grey. Cable, Havok, Polaris, and Cannonball track Stryfe to a building with a forcefield which only lets in folks with Summer's blood. Cyclops and Jean Grey are able to escape and also fight Stryfe. Cable knows only he can take out Stryfe, but it means taking himself out too. Why not? A portal opens, Cable and Stryfe enter, where we are to assume they meet their respective makers.

Cyclops has lost his son (Cable) again.Yawn.

There you have it! An explanation on the mathematics behind love would have been much more believable, not to mention simpler. Good luck to all who decide to read this thing, the vast size of the story could only be matched by its incomprehensibility.

Until next time, fellow travelers! Keep reading those comics!!!

 Professor O

The Professor And The Convention...

Greetings and Salutations fellow scholars of the graphic novel!


About two weeks ago, Professor O was very lucky to be in this particular area of the space time continuum (I sometimes travel through wormholes, black holes, time folds, and even find myself hanging out with Schrödinger's Cat every once and a while), when I came upon the most marvelous of events: The Stockton Comic Convention.

Professor O very was impressed with the classic comic book convention feel, rootsy independence, and with a Hollywood presence that was (thankfully) missing. The bigger comic conventions held in bigger venues, all now bow down to the machinations of Hollywood's P.R. spectacle. Comic book conventions are now a conglomerate of movie studios pushing their upcoming movies with self indulgent promotions. This is fine, until one visits a small convention, like seeing an indie band in a small venue, the experience is much more personal.

A good time had by all!


A little of what the Professor saw...

R2D2 making his way through the crowd.

Cobra Commander pointing to the concession stand.

A 15ft Alien cosplayer, who hit everyone with his tail.

A great turnout!

Until next time, keep reading comics!

Professor O

Books On Film | Iron Man 3

Are you ready for the new superhero movie?

Marvel's Iron Man 3 came out this past Friday. If you are an Iron Man movie fan, who wants to become an Iron Man comic fan than this is the post for you. With 50 years of Iron Man comics it's confusing for new a new reader to know where to start. Lucky for us comic book fans know their business.

A good place for movie fans to start their journey is The Invincible Iron Man: Extremis. The comic is a great reboot of his origin story and has an Iron Man that will be recognizable to movie fans. If you are interested in Golden Age Iron Man, then track down the Iron Man Omnibus for some of the original Iron Man stories.

The villain of Iron Man 3 is The Mandarin. If you are interested in Golden Age Mandarin, then pick up a copy of Essential Iron Man, Vol. 1. However, the best place to read up on the modern Mandarin is in the comic conveniently called Iron Man: Enter The Mandarin.

If you haven't seen any of the Iron Man movies yet you can have a mini movie marathon by picking them up at the library before you head out too see the latest one.  

See the Iron Man 3 movie trailer below:

Books On Film | 2013 Adaptations

Let's ring in the new year with a list of 13 books that have adaptations scheduled to be released in 2013.

[January] 

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, starring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arteton, is a twist on the classic fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. The movie will feature Hansel and Gretel as adult witch bounty hunters.

Watch movie trailer on youtube

 

[February]

Beautiful Creatures will star Emma Ronsom, Emma Thompson, Jeremy Irons, and Viola Davis. The YA book of the same title explores the love between two teens in South Carolina with a psychic connection and a secret.  

Watch movie trailer on youtube

 









Warm Bodies, starring Nicholaus Holt and Teresa Palmer, is based on a post-apocalyptic YA tale of the same title (link+) about a zombie named R who falls in love with a human.
 

Watch movie trailer on youtube

[March]
There's already one classic adaptation of this book. The newest, called Oz: The Great and Powerful (James Franco and Michelle Williams), will be a prequel inspired by the book. It will follow the man who becomes The Wonderful Wizard of Oz on his first journey into the land that L. Frank Baum created. 

Watch the movie trailer on youtube

[May] 
The fourth movie adaptation of The Great Gatsby will star Leonardo Dicaprio. The book follows Jay Gatsby on his journey through 1920s America and the perils of love. For a full review of The Great Gatsby as well as a view of the movie trailer, visit this Book Bucketlist post.


Watch the movie trailer on youtube











The newest Iron Man film, Iron Man 3, will feature The Mandarin as it's villain and some sort of homage to the Iron Patriot. The Mandarin originally appeared in a 1964 issue of Iron Man. Iron Patriot appeared in the Dark Avengers [link+] comic. He was Norman Osborne of Spiderman fame (the Green Goblin) in a new suit and up to no good. The version of Iron Patriot which will appear in Iron Man 3 seems to played by Rhodes (War Machine), so who knows how closely they will stick to the story.

Watch the movie trailer on youtube

 
[June]
The new Superman reboot film starring Henry Cavill, Man of Steel, is titled after the six-series comic collection from 1986 which rebooted the Superman origin story. 
 

Watch the movie trailer on youtube
 












World War Z will star Brad Pitt. The book is written as a collection of first person stories released by the UN Postwar Commission ten years after the Zombie Wars. It's is a sequel to The Zombie Survival Guide

Watch the movie trailer on youtube

[August]
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is the first book in The Mortal Instruments series. It follows the adventures of a teenage girl who becomes involved in the world of demon-hunters. More involved then she even realizes.

Watch the movie trailer on youtube











 
Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters is the second book in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & The Olympians series. Teenage demi-god Percy and friends have to save their satyr friend from the clutches of the Cyclops Polyphemus.

Be on the lookout for the movie trailer! If you want to read the whole series, start at the beginning with The Lightning Thief.












[November] 
Ender's Game will star Harrison Ford, Abigail Breslin, and Asa Butterfield. The movie is based on a science fiction novel set in the future where children are recruited by the government to train to fight an alien enemy.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is the sequel to The Hunger Games. The book is set in a post-nuclear America in which the country is divided into 12 districts. The districts send two tributes each year to fight in the annual Hunger Games.

The second book follows Katniss and Peeta as they return home as winners of  the 74th Hunger Games. 
 

  

[December]

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is the second of three Hobbit movies to be released. The book follows hobbit Bilbo Baggins on his journey out of The Shire, where he has a much bigger adventure than he bargained for. The Hobbit is a prequel to The Lord of the Rings series. To read more about The Lord of The Rings universe visit this Book Bucklist post.












Movie Information: IMDB
Release Date Source: Movie Insider 
Covers courtesy of LibraryThing
For more information about borrowing through Link+, please visit this page.

The Wanderlust Librarian | San Diego Comic-Con

Shameless picture of me and Nathan Fillion! 
(He's on Castle!)

I know what you're thinking, "Am I at the right blog? Doesn't this girl write about travel?" Don't worry, you're at the right place and I'll be taking you into the annual magic that is San Diego Comic Con (affectionately known as SDCC). This year marked the third time I made my way to San Diego. The convention runs every July for four days: Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the San Diego Convention Center.

There are a "few" people walking around. 

Staggering fact:

Attendance for SDCC 2012 was over 126,000! (Manteca's total population was 68,410 as of January 1, 2011). It sells out every year by February or March when tickets are released.

Disturbing fact:

I don't read many comic books. In fact, I rarely read them.

Why would I attend SDCC, you ask? For the simple fact that it has more than comic books! It's everything from science fiction / fantasy / video gaming and animation . I love movies and television. When studios want to advertise new or returning shows and new movies, they go all out. Stars from the movies and shows frequently show up to the panels. The most popular panels are held in Hall H (capacity 6,500) and Ballroom 20 (capacity 4,900) and are packed with fans clamoring to hear about their favorite shows. 

Doctor Who Cast: (Left to Right) Matt Smith,
Arthur Darvill, Karen Gillan

Popular panels from this year's SDCC:

• Firefly 10th Anniversary panel 
• Game of Thrones
• True Blood
• Doctor Who
• Dexter
• Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn 2
• Big Bang Theory
• Walking Dead
• Iron Man 3
• Frankenweenie

The fun doesn't end once you leave the Convention Center. The area called The Gaslamp Quarter comes alive after sundown with the hoards of attendees and celebrities walking the streets to grab a bite to eat, catch an off site show or making their way to a multitude of restaurants or parties. Companies rent out restaurants and transform them into Adventure Time, or shows from The Hub! Nerdy pursuits from the world of the Interwebs show their presence outside of the SDCC. Geek & Sundry, Nerd HQ and CNET stake their headquarter claims in the Gaslamp during the Con.


Picture of me and Joss Whedon
He wanted to remain in his hood and hat. I was okay with that! 

If Comic Con had a king, it would most definitely be Stan Lee. It's amazing just how much his work has influenced entertainment! The list of books and dvds the library carries bearing his brand are staggering! If Comic Con had a prince, his name would be Joss Whedon. Never heard of him? Maybe you've heard of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or a little movie called ...The Avengers? Yeah...both of them Joss. If you think this man is small potatoes, check out the list of items that bear HIS name!

Traveling is pushing yourself to learning and experiencing new things. Don't be discouraged from visiting a new place because you think that you may not like it. In the case of Comic-Con... I'm thrilled that I went to check it out because it's now one of my favorite things!

Remember, readers: Adventure, Daleks and Avengers are out there!

Professor O | Superman and Batman: Comic's Peanut Butter and Jelly

Raise your hand if you like Peanut Butter and Jelly!

Raise your hand if you like Superman and Batman! 

Now, you add some bread and you got yourself one of the Professor's favorite food, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Put the two heroes together and have them work as a team, that is World's Finest Comics. 

A late, but exciting hello, fellow adventurers!

It is time to dive back into the comic book collection at the Stockton/San Joaquin Public Library. In this installment, we will take a close look, not at the snack, but at the two aforementioned heroes. They will not be pitted against each other, but teaming up to fight battles too heavy for the other guys, and too big for one of them alone. The ever dutiful and just, Superman, paired with the rough justice and smarts of Batman will have to take on enemies of galactic proportions. It is only fitting, wouldn't you agree? The title in mind today is Superman/Batman: Absolute Power by Jeph Loeb, with Carlos Pacheco on art. Wherein The Dark Knight Detective and The Man Of Steel are evil dictators that rule through pain and terror. What? But, how did this happen? Who could be behind this? The Professor asks that you, fellow traveler, see for yourself, and go borrow the book to answer all piqued questions.

 

Jeph Loeb brings in one of the Professor's favorites, and sometime collaborator, Darkseid. He does some big damage. Add a little time travel, interesting plot twists, and you've got an epic worthy of the heavy hitters. Recall the Professor mentioning, "galactic proportions"?  What else could be a match for the Titans of comics? Jeph Loeb knows how to focus on the best of their skills and balances well the character's personalities. Ultimately, Batman does not trust Superman. Discuss. 

A good and worthy look into the Superman/Batman's BFF-ness, for lack of a better term. There are other Superman/Batman titles throughout the entire library system, feel free to borrow. Batman kicks butt and outsmarts everyone, Superman takes care of the muscle and lights stuff on fire. Eye beams rule. 

Until the next time, warrior...

Books on Film | From Paper to Film

How many of your favorite movies are actually based on books?

Film and television adaptations of teen novels are all the rage now. The Hunger Games series and The Twilight series have made it to the big screen, while titles like The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle series have been adapted into television shows. 

It's not just a teen lit phenomenon either, both adult and children's books are regularly adapted into film.  Fantastic adventure films, like Jurassic Park, and fun family films, like Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs, are based on books.

It's also not a new phenomenon. Books have been adapted into movies for almost as long as film-making has been around. Sherlock Holmes was one of the earliest series to be to be adapted into film.

And not only are books adapted into film, but vice versa! This film to book transformation is very popular in science fiction. Movies like Star Wars and television shows like Star Trek have inspired many authors to pick up their pen.

Books on Film will explore old, new, and upcoming film and television adaptations from novels, written plays, and comic books; as well as draw attention to novels inspired by some of your favorite movies and shows.

Do you have a favorite book adaptation? If so, share by adding a comment below. 

[Book covers courtesy of LibraryThing]