Let's Read _The Ultimate Dinosaur_!

So, how was your weekend?  No, don't answer that!  How about a kind of Vintage Paleoart post?  I haven't done that in ages.

Over the summer, I read The Ultimate Dinosaur and talked about it on Twitter.

Published in 1992 by Bantam Books, edited by Byron Priess and Robert Silverberg, and featuring art and writing by an astonishing variety of people, Ultimate Dinosaur is a pretty wild ride.  It's right smack in the middle of the Dinosaur Renaissance and mere months ahead of the release of "Jurassic Park".  It's also remarkably "All-Yesterdays"-y in some parts.  Right away, it has a veritable roller coaster of an opening, with lovely decorations by William Stout:

You got a problem with Muppets, Dodson?

The book is divided into several chapters, each of which contains lots of paleoart, a factual (for 1992) essay about life in the Mesozoic, and a science fiction story.  The latter makes this one of the more unique dinosaur books of all.  Most of the stories involve dinosaurs or are at least... dinosaur-adjacent, like Dave Wolverton's "Siren Song at Midnight", illustrated below by William Parsons.  

It was Mer-May, when I read the book so of course this art caught my attention.  There are indeed Mermaids in the short story, as well as Euparkeria, which covers the prehistoric animal requirement.  The actual story is about the coming climate apocalypse and wars over the few remaining natural resources.  Fun!  And yet not the biggest bummer of a story in the whole book!

I mentioned that there are some moments in the book that I can only describe as "All Yesterdays"-y.  They mostly occur in the scifi stories, which almost lend themselves to "Hey, what if dinosaurs were a lot stranger than we ever suspected" speculation.  The weirdest such speculation, mentioned in two stories even, is one I would have never expected: Lactating Dinosaurs.

The above excerpt comes from Gregory Benford's "Shakers of the Earth", a story about our old friend Seismosaurus, then just recently described.  And in it, the big diplodocus can suckle her babies.  Which she also cares for at all.  (Side-rant: Anyone who grew up with "Jurassic Park" and still has a problem with feathered maniraptors can A. get off my lawn/blog, like what are you even doing here anyway, and B. ask themselves how us "Baby" and "Land Before Time" era 80's kids are coping with modern discoveries of sauropod reproductive strategies.)

And this excerpt comes to us from Barry Malzberg's bizarre "Major League Triceratops", where the titular dinosaur ends up being weirder than expected by specifically NOT lactating.  I don't think I've ever come across this theory before or since.

Anyway, it is still 1992, and so according to this excerpt from one of the nonfiction essays by Don Lessem, Therizinosaurs and Deinocheirus were almost certainly brutal killing machines:

And since it’s 1992, the question of bird ancestry is... exactly that.  Still even a question, I mean, like in this essay by Ralph Molnar.  Megalancosaurus, if you're wondering, has a beaky face and those pesky collarbones - and otherwise looks very like a weird(er) Chameleon.  But what really slays me is the "sometimes inane" comment:

Look at these 90’s raptors from Doug Henderson from the adjacent page!

They come ahead of one of the strangest stories in the entire book, Ray Bradbury's "Besides a Dinosaur, Whatta Ya Wanna Be When You Grow Up?".  It starts out very Dandelion Wine-esque and super nostalgic and cute:

Aww.  Ben will then go on to sharpen his teeth, eat extremely rare meat, scare the dog and the cat out of their minds, and mutter in his fevered sleep about primeval Antediluvian demon-reptiles waddling, rampaging, and nightmare-kiting in the deep.  His Grandpa intervenes by bringing the boy to a much more wholesome obsession like, I dunno, trains. Yeah, trains!

This story is copyright 1983, not 1953.

Which brings us to Harry Harrison's "Dawn of the Endless Night", here illustrated by the always awesome Wayne Barlowe.  It's haunting, and the biggest bummer in the whole book and no I am not forgetting the nonfiction chapters about the actual K-P Extinction.

So... speaking of things that were actually published in the early 80's but feel like they are from decades earlier, welcome to my West of Eden rant.  This short story is kind of, if you turn your head and squint, a prequel to the series, explaining why some small parts of the fantasy world are ruled by mammals and humans while dinosaurs and intelligent lizard-people rule everywhere else.  Teenage me had a very strong need to find the novels.  Seriously, intelligent lizard-people!  With a female-dominant culture!  And because they’re semi-aquatic they use sign language, which doesn't rely on sound, and biotechnology, which is a tech breakthrough that doesn't involve setting things on fire or putting wheels on them!  Goodness, there was real thought put into this!  Holy moly there’s an ENCYCLOPEDIA in the back!  A big thick fantasy novel with such insanely detailed world building that there's an encyclopedia in the back!  This is going to rule!

Now, over the years, I've since noticed that most reviews of West of Eden focus on the world-building and not, say, the fantasy racism.  Or fantasy sexism.  Or actual real-life racism and sexism.  It is, as the kids say, pretty cringey for it's time.  Anyway, how about a strange illustration by frequent Dougal Dixon collaborator Philip Hood!  I don't think context will help.

As I said, The Ultimate Dinosaur is so very unusual that I can definitely recommend grabbing a copy if you can.  It also makes me long for more books combining fact, fiction, and art.

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Art of the Day!

Fanart of the Universal Osprey!

Let's Read a Weird Preview of Barlowe's Expedition!

Current Science was one of the many, many magazines passed out in classrooms during the 80's and 90's, most of which were spin-offs of Weekly Reader.  This one specialized in science (of course), but would occasionally give some attention to speculative fiction.  There were issues with reader-submitted science fiction stories and an issue (which I have lamentably lost) that previewed the book Jurassic Park.  And there's this preview of Wayne D. Barlowe's Expedition.

This is, in fact, how I learned about Barlowe as an artist and where it finally clicked that fantastic creatures in film, books, games, and so on had to have been designed by an artist - a creature designer if you will.  Sadly, in hindsight, the article itself isn't very good.  The illustrations are, of course, unbeatable, but I'm not keen on how the residents of Darwin 4 are presented as a puzzle to be solved.  I do like that prompt for fanart at the end though...





Next week, I'm taking a mental health break and then...



...we finally start in on this feast.

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Draw of the Day!

Here's a Barlowey critter I drew a while ago.  I figure something has to be swimming in that river...

Time for Part Four of the Bookshelf Tour!

These next two shelves are... eclectic.  They've got nearly all my nonfiction after all.



Predatory Dinosaurs of the World: A Complete Illustrated Guide, Gregory S. Paul - Still the most-referenced dinosaur anatomy guide I have. My copy is practically loved to death.

The Dinosaur Heresies, Robert T. Bakker - The classic.  Still a must-read.  She isn't shelved yet but I've got Raptor Red around here too.

The Reader's Digest North American Wildlife, The Editors of Reader's Digest - This kind of has a cute story behind it.  It was my grandparents' field guide and Grammy gave it to me before she passed.  Yes, it's outdated like crazy, but it's still not a bad reference and by golly it's staying in the family.

Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle, Thor Hanson - Gorgeous book that simplifies a surprisingly complex subject.

Picture books by Michel Gange, Tiffany Turrill, and Bill Peet - All are very nice.

Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic - Not much to say here, I've loved these books since childhood.

Retro Hell: Life in the '70s and '80S, from Afros to Zotz, The Editors of Ben is Dead Magazine - I've seen a lot of "Oral history of the late 20'th Century" books but this is my favorite.

Future Evolution, Peter Ward and Alexis Rockman - Got this for the title expecting something akin to Dougal Dixon's books. It's very much not that, but it's worth a read for anyone interested in speculative biology. Speaking of...

The Snouters - Harald Stümpke and Leigh Chadwick - The classic tongue-in-cheek speculative biology.

All Yesterdays and Cryptozoologicon 1, Darren Naish, John Conway, and C.M. Kosemen - Spectacular speculative art of animals real and imagined.

Expedition - As I said before, Barlowe rules and his books are essential.  I've got his Guide to Extraterrestrials and Guide to Fantasy on another shelf.

A Field Guide to Mesozoic Birds and Other Winged Dinosaurs, Matthew P. Martyniuk - Beautiful guide and such a wonderful idea you wonder why it hasn't been done before.

The complete Field Guide to Little Known and Seldom Seen Birds of North America collection, Cathryn Sill and John Sill - I've been planning a long post about these books for a while. Maybe this year...?

The Noble Approach: Maurice Noble and the Zen of Animation Design, Tod Polson and Maurice Noble - Haven't had the chance to properly read this yet but it looks fabulous.  Looks like the focus is on design and layout, making this more valuable than just a collection of Noble's art, though that'd be enough.

Magic Color Flair: The World of Mary Blair, John Canemaker and Mary Blair - Outstanding, must-have collection of Mary Blair's art and design.



Picture books by Chris Van Allsburg, David Wiesner, and Maurice Sendak - All are outstanding.

Hark! A Vagrant Collection, Kate Beaton -  If you're unfamiliar with this comic, it is adorable and hilarious.

A Creative Companion, SARK - OK, so SARK is a little "woo-woo" as the TetZoo crew would say, but I haven't found another "get that imagination going" book that worked for me as well as this.  Your mileage may vary.

Legendary Northwoods Animals: A Farcical Field Guide, Galen Winter and John Boettcher - Terrific woodcut-style illustrations highlight this guide to mythical North American animals.

Cartoon Animation, Preston Blair - A must-have. I'd even go so far as to say this is the one animation/cartooning instruction book you really need.

Puddles and Wings and Grapevine Swings, Imogene Forte and Marjorie Frank - Dated but excellent arts and crafts instruction book with tips on (to borrow a phrase) raising a Wild Child.

Crafts and Hobbies: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creative Skills, the Editors of Reader's Digest - Another book I "inherited" from my grandmother. It's a good all-around reference guide.

Tetrapod Zoology 1, Darren Naish - A fine collection of some of the earlier articles on Naish's terrific website.

My Year of Flops, Nathan Rabin - Print collection of the very funny former Onion AV Club feature.

Inside Disney, Eve Zibart - An essential for the Disney theme park geek's library.  Insightful and fascinating.

Dragons, Leonardo's Notebooks, and Peterson's Birds - A small selection of economical art books I've collected over the years.

And, of course, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Omnibus, Douglas Adams.  Happy belated Towel Day!

And right next to that, the most beautifullest thing in this world, space for more books!

I'll be taking a little break from the Blog, but I'll be back in July.

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Sketch of the Day!


More original "Final Fantasy" weirdness

The Bookshelf Tour Part Three!

Art books, reference books, and picture books this time, as well as some books I already mentioned in previous posts.



Jan Brett's Christmas Treasury - I love Jan Brett's art and this is a very nice omnibus of her charming Christmas-themed picture books.

Enchanted Drawings: The History of Animation, Charles Solomon - Outstanding, must-own art book and condensed history of (mostly American) animated shorts and features, with a few stops along the way to briefly discuss animated commercials, music videos, and special effects.  Starts with "Gertie the Dinosaur", ends with "Jurassic Park", and has a wealth of animation art throughout.

Your Favorite Seuss -Basic, but good, collection of art from Dr. Suess' classic picture books.

After Man and The New Dinosaurs, Dougal Dixon -The first of many speculative biology books!  I've reviewed both books before and while they are dated, they are essential for the science-fiction illustrator's collection.

The Alien Life of Wayne Barlowe - Criminy, I need to show more love to Barlowe on this here blog.  We'll run into his better known books later, but this is a very nice overview of his art and career.  It makes me long for a book showcasing all his creature designs for films, though.

Gnomes, Wil Huygen and Rien Poortvliet - Essential, gorgeous book.  I love the world-building so much.

Faeries by Brian Froud and Alan Lee and Good Faeries, Bad Faeries by Brian Froud - Faeries is yet another must-have for your illustrator's library.  It's gorgeous and inspiring.  Good Faeries, Bad Faeries is a fine companion.

Arthur Rackham, James Hamilton - Haven't had a chance to properly read this one yet, but it's a very nice collection of Rackham's illustrations.

Mythopoeikon, Patrick Woodroffe - A former library book I discovered at my college's book sale and it blew me away.  Great psychedelic art.

Since the World Began: Walt Disney World - The First 25 Years, Jeff Kurtti - An essential part of any Disney theme park nerd's library.

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Birds: The Definitive Reference to Birds of the World,  Dr. Christopher M. (ed.) Perrins - Found this giant, beautifully illustrated book in Buck-A-Book and it's been in my library ever since.

The Encyclopedia of Animals: A Complete Visual Guide, Fred Cooke and Hugh Dingle - An illustrated animal encyclopedia is a must-have and this one's pretty good.



And here's a pile of picture books, any one of which I'd recommend heartily.  We're almost finished with the tour!

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Sketch of the Day

The first "Final Fantasy" continues to be strange.

Links Of Interest Number... something, I lost count.

* - First and by far the most interesting one this time: remember The New Dinosaurs? Remember The Humongous Book of Dinosaurs? (Really, who could forget either of them?) Did you know that strange, alternate art of the creatures from New Dinosaurs made an appearance in an issue of the magazine that was edited together to make The Humongous Book? Marc from Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs has the details and, thankfully, lots of pictures.

* - Speaking of science fiction creatures, Topless Robot did a tribute to Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials.
* - There are a lot of takeoffs on "Pokemon" her in the vast sea of the Internet, but one of the most adorable is Becky Dreistadt's Capture Creatures. These characters eventually have to appear in a real game because I want Tumblehop in my team NOW!!!

* - Everything is Terrible has recently reminded us that, long before there was "Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark", there was the fever-dream-esque 70's "Superman" musical.

* - Awful Library Books just dug up an unsettling little tome for kids that I guess is supposed to teach children about appropriate behavior in class but...?

* - These trailers for the upcoming "How to Train Your Dragon" series make me wonder if the series is going to feel a little like the first season of "Pokemon", showcasing a new creature every episode.

* - /Film also shared an excerpt from the very interesting-looking upcoming book, Tales From Development Hell. Darren Aronofsky's take on the film that eventually became "Batman Begins" would have been... different.

* - Remember Life Before the Dinosaurs, the blog founded by an eight-year-old with a love of Paleozoic critters? Well, he's currently in the middle of a long trip report about his visit to the Field Museum. I'll admit a twinge of jealousy.

* - A while back, toy designer Jason Geyer shared some concept art for "Star Wars" merchandise that never made it past the drawing board. Well, now he's sharing more. Check out their interpretations of certain characters before anyone knew what they looked like (oh wow, JarJar's dreadlocks... Speaking of, all the while you are reading this feature, keep in mind that this fantastically ill-conceived JarJar Binks lollipop did make it past the drawing board.)

* - And finally, Andreas Deja shared a wonderful piece of animation history: a recruitment brochure for Disney Animation, circa the late 1970's. The coolest part of it is all the early concept art I've never seen before. (And yet another tragic case of What Could Have Been for "The Black Cauldron": Caw could have been in the movie. I'll be over here, sobbing quietly.)

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Sketch of the Day! As it happens, inspired by one of the above links:

Obscure Dougal Dixon Stuff!

I hate it when I can't think of anything to blog about. But then I love it when something incredibly mention-on-my-blog-worthy falls into my lap when I can't think of anything to write about. (I only wish it would happen more often before Noon instead of after Midnight.)

So sometime last week, the very good and bookmark-worthy real science and science fiction news site io9 ran an article about Dougal Dixon's saddest speculative creatures. (Yes, our old friend the Slobber is among them. Can't believe they didn't mention the Wyrms, but read on.) The article is a slideshow of images, so there are some good scans from Dixon's books. I believe most if not all of the art is by Diz Wallace.

They make up for not mentioning the Wyrms by having creatures from Man After Man take up nearly half of the list. (Yes, I did find Sivatherium's scan of the book, no I still don't want to revisit it. I will, however, share this intriguing page from The Alien Life of Wayne Barlowe, for those who dare to read Sivatherium's scans. It is... thought-provoking to say the least.) I'll warn you, the slideshow is bookended by the most disturbing of the images from the book. You'll see in an instant as to why this book freaked me the f*** out when I was a child.

Now, nostalgia for Dougal Dixon's books is definitely high in certain circles, but the books are so obscure that they rarely get any mention at all in websites with any popularity. So if there's anything I can't pass up, it's a discussion thread under any and all articles mentioning Dixon's speculative biology books. This one is pretty lively (other people remember the "Future Zoo" exhibit!) and the posters shared quite a few Dixon projects that I was not aware of.

In the introduction to The New Dinosaurs, Desmond Morris wrote that he hoped that Dixon's next work of speculative fiction would take place on an entirely different planet. An alien ecosystem "where a parallel evolutionary process has taken place, guided by the special environmental conditions that exist there. In Dixon’s safe hands, what a wonderful safari that could be." (So how disappointed do you think he was with Man After Man?) It turns out that Dougal Dixon actually did write a book about an alien world called Greenworld. It's a somewhat satirical look at what happens when humans colonize the unsuspecting titular planet. The illustrations have a definite whimsical feeling reminiscent of the classic Spec-Bio book, Snouters, and many of them can be viewed in this blog post. And this book is... only available in Japan. Wah.

Speaking of Japan, apparently Dougal Dixon's creatures have a very intense cult following there. I do remember hearing something about a theme park(?!?) based off "The Future is Wild" over there. Check out this brief Anime musical number featuring the animals from from After Man. I have no idea whatsoever what this is about. There are many times when I wish I had any chance of successfully learning another language as quickly as possible and you'll see why this is one of them:



There was also a whole After Man documentary series that ran only in Japan. This is the first I've ever heard of it so I know literally nothing about it. YouTube user Manafterman has kindly uploaded the whole thing in parts.

I'm going to embed this highlight reel which shows off what we all came to see: the creatures (including an oddly hypnotic scene of Parashrews doing their wonderfully unlikely namesake thing). Note the combination of eerie puppets and funky, Harryhausen-esque stop motion.

There is also a very weird sequence near the end where Dixon shows us his take on the good old Dinosauroid concept (for those who are new to speculative biology, this is a very old concept that refuses to die and maybe deserves a post in the future, although Tetrapod Zoology has already done an excellent job covering it.) It's especially odd as there is no mention of any creatures of humanlike intelligence in After Man -- except in the very, very end, where Dixon speculates that if humanlike intelligence were to ever be seen on Earth again, it would be in either the insectivores, the corvids, or the parrots. Seems he liked the parrot option best. Now, I'm glad Dixon's Dinosauroid isn't too anthropomorphic (glares at Dale Russell). And I'm happy that he looks very very different from other Dinosauroids out there. But boy howdy this creature design is going to haunt our post-Thanksgiving dreams. Also, leg/arm:



Speaking of offbeat and only vaguely anthropomorphic speculative creatures of humanlike intelligence (whew), another wonderful Dixon gem was shared by poster Hypnosifl. It seems that long before Man After Man, Dougal Dixon did a feature on what humans might possibly look like in the future for the November 1982 issue of Omni. It was less nightmare fuel-y and more...

I am going to use the very scientific term Balls-Out Insane to describe them. Hypnosifl was happy to share scans of the article with us and...

😱

Wow.

WOW.

Here's the text portion: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three. And here are the full page illustrations: Future Human, More Future Humans (NSFW warning: there's one part on the floating brain guys that hasn't atrophied... ), and Future Birds (including a Future!Wyrm). On that last note, I enjoy the idea that birds will get another fun experience of being post-apocalyptic survivors. This find was so crazy that io9 did a follow-up post about it.

I think we may need a few of these after that one.


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I have another craft fair this weekend! That means I might not be able to update until Tuesday, but I think I may have found something interesting from another offbeat natural history author I've previously reviewed...

Don Bluth Month: "And you can't take the sky from me..." Thoughts on "Titan A.E."

First, Nerd Joy from the closing credits. These all prompted me to shout, "YES! I EFFING KNEW IT!!!"







So, hypothetically, a movie involving Joss Whedon, Ben Edlund, Wayne Barlowe, the Blue Sky crew, and Don Bluth should make me go



And "Titan" was perfectly okay, and even great at times. But there's something off about it and I can't really say what it is.

2000 was a weird year if you were a science fiction fan. "Titan A.E." could not have been released to theaters at a worse time. Let's just say that people were... a *little* disillusioned with big damn galaxy-spanning space operas with gorgeous CGI and crazy alien designs after a certain hotly anticipated movie came out the summer before. "Titan" ultimately flopped and is, to date, Don Bluth's last theatrical film.

And that's very sad, because one of the awesome things about this film, upon rewatch, is the fact that you get to see what Bluth could do with a big sandbox of state-of-the-art animation and a hefty budget. The movie is one of the best-looking sci-fi films of the past decade. Look at the gorgeous and tense chase through the ice rings.

There are also some wonderful little subversive moments with a distinctly Whedonesque feel to them (the cook character who looks like he's going to stick around as a JarJar-esque annoyance -- then gets blasted to smithereens, that wonderful "An intelligent guard?!" scene.) There are times when the movie feels like a test run for ideas that Joss would eventually get to play with further in "Firefly". And there are a few really neat characters. In the commentary, Bluth wishes that Gune could have had his own movie and I, too, almost wish that this had been his story. He's a great, whimsical, and very Bluthy little character with a very funny anxious John Leguizamo voice. He gives the movie some much-needed levity.

And I think that might be what strikes me as off about "Titan": get rid of Gune and there is almost no humor in the movie. Bluth's movies have always been a little dark, certainly more so than Disney's, but it's always undercut with something funny or sweet. This is a movie that starts off with the end of the world (which is very dark even by Bluth standards) and never lightens up after that. Bluth appears to have been unfettered for the most part, so where is his trademark weirdness? (Well, OK, there is some weirdness. But it's the kind of weirdness that was clearly the executives' fault, and we'll get to it at the end.)

Also, before I started this project, I used to think that music wasn't as big a deal to Don Bluth films as they were to Disney films. But let's try an experiment here: Hum the score from "N.I.M.H." Now sing something from "American Tail". Now hum the opening credits music from "Land Before Time". Sing something from "All Dogs", "Rock-A-Doodle" (I can and I didn't even rewatch it!), "Thumbelina", "Penguin", "Troll", "Anastasia". OK.

Now name a song from "Titan A.E." Yeah. What we get is a weird mix of modern (for 2000) hard rock with bludgeon-obvious lyrics. So in other words, you get those aforementioned amazing animated sequences set to the lilting tunes of... Lit. (Next challenge: remind me what Lit's one popular single was.)

Basically, what we're left with here is a movie that has an amazing combination of CGI and hand-rendered animation -- that also casts Janeane Garofolo as a Knees Akimbo kangaroo/velociraptor weapons expert. In the previous sentence, the executive-mandated weirdness is in italics.

So that brings us to the end of Don Bluth month... or does it?

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Art of the Day?

Man, how can I tease the painting any further? I won't.  Have these instead:

"I wanna live like the blue catpeople!" - Thoughts on "Avatar"

Alright, just got back from the Gandalf Google-plex. Bad immediate thoughts first:
1) The 3D can get very overwhelming. In particular, I'm thinking of the scenes where there were leaves or bubbles or dust particles floating around, where the camera was looking at a transparent surface with smudges or marks on it, and where there were two characters fighting or chasing each other and the camera follows them around. They messed with my visual cortex badly. It couldn't keep track of what to focus on during these scenes. ("That's just the illusion of a window. But it looks like a real scratched-up window and I have to adjust my focus to look at the thing behind that window... but neither the window or the thing behind it is real and - woah... woaaah... woaaaaahhh.")
2) With that in mind, walking out of the theater was very like coming down from a weird high. I was a little disoriented and had a bit of a headache. So the 3D technology still needs some work. It could also be partially because, so help me, Pandora still looks like everything on DeviantArt ever. (On that note, it took a remarkably short time for the "Avatar" fandom to grow a scary-obsessed branch, didn't it?)
3) And while this isn't the most unusual thing to b*tch about in a review of "Avatar", it does bear repeating: I've seen this story before. You've seen this story before. Heck, if you like animation and fantastic fiction, you've seen many, many different versions of this story multiple times. So yeah, the story is pretty boring and the initial "Ferngully: Dances With Thundercats" assessment from the early trailers was pretty spot-on.
As for the good things:
1) The overall impact of the movie, my knee-jerk reaction coming out of the theater was, and I quote, "Holy sh*t!!!" "Avatar" is awesome. Really, really awesome.
Aside from the nagging things I already mentioned, the 3D is crap-your-pants amazing. It sounds like a broken record by now but you really have no idea how amazing this movie looks until you see it in the theater.
With that said, I'm not sure what I'd have thought of "Avatar", or if I'd enjoyed it as much, if I'd seen it in a conventional theater or in an IMAX 3D theater. The IMAX 3D, as you know, was very uncomfortable for me after a little while, and based on subsequent comments I've read/heard online, I would have greatly disliked the IMAX version.
2) If there is an Art of Avatar book out there, I want it. Because I want to pore over those crazy awesome Wayne Barlowe and Neville (happy "Cloverfield" day!) Page creature designs. Tapejarid-wyverns! Hammerhead Lairons! Hoverchameleons! This may be as close as we ever get to an honest-to-goodness Expedition movie. (Yeah, I know, but "Alien Planet" sucked.)
(Turns out that such a book exists, but does not include much in terms of concept art. Still, might be worth a thumb-through.)
3) It's James Cameron! I like him! Hell, I've got "Terminator 2" in the background as I write this!
4) I cannot. Effing. WAIT. To see what WETA does with this technology next. As you may have heard, Cameron was inventing new technology as he was making this movie. Future animated and live-action/animation films will benefit greatly from what he learned. You realize what this means? It means "The Hobbit" is going to be unreal.
In short, you should go see "Avatar". This movie is an experience. I went with three other friends and not one of us had a bad time watching it. We went on a weekday and joined a very diverse crowd - there was every imaginable "target audience" present - and the whole theater was enthralled (and very quiet, which is darned refreshing). You don't want to wait until this hits DVD and I don't care how good your theater system is at home. "Avatar" is on a different level, and it demands to be seen in a theater.
That said, be prepared for a pretty lackluster story (with a puzzling subtext, but more about that in another review.) After a few days, I realized that the things that really stayed with me about the movie were the amazing setting and creatures and trippy visuals. But this isn't "Disney's Dinosaur"; "Avatar" does not qualify as an epic fail by any stretch of the imagination. It is, in case I haven't stated it before, really awesome.
The right attitude here is to go in expecting the best "scenery porn" ever.
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Sketch of the day!

I like this dragon! I may have to bring him to finish later.
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BIG DAMN NEWS!!!
It's funny I mentioned DeviantArt above, isn't it? You may notice a new link under "My Other Websites" at the right. Yes, I have joined the DVA party. I figured, even though Flickr is ridiculously easier to use and looks much nicer, and even though DeviantArt has a case of Sturgeon's Law like nothing else in this world and is far harder to navigate, it behooves me (whatever that means) to join the most popular art-sharing site and make more contacts. Plus, I am on good authority that their print service is very good. It was certainly easy to set my store up. And to that end, you know you want a Liopleurodon coffee mug. I will make a little less than a dollar if you buy one!
For now, I've got three pieces on DVA (not counting my ID). I may roll out three more every... as-yet undetermined length of time. I'll see how these first three go over.

A Crazy Theory involving "G-Force" and Barlowe's Expedition

NOTE: The following is inspired and elaborated from a brief conversation I had under the Onion AV Club interview with Grant Morrison. (And incidentally, the Clubbers did a wonderful series of interviews with writers and illustrators leading up to Comic-Con International. Check 'em out. The Seth on Classic Illustrators feature is already becoming a bit notorious.)
There is a rumor I have heard among my fellow Wayne D. Barlowe fans. It holds that his dense, strange, beautiful, and wildly imaginative illustrated science-fiction novel Expedition was optioned as a film long, long ago. If you're familiar with the book, you know that this would be sort of like basing a film on a Peterson Field Guide.
(Which is, incidentally, a hilarious idea and I will offer myself as a creature design/concept artist Pro Bono to any filmmaker friends who feel themselves up to the challenge.)
The rumor goes on to say that, after years in development limbo and lots and lots of executive meddling (our favorite thing), Expedition finally arrived in theaters in the form of, err, this:



Now, on the one hand, I have never really seen any solid evidence to support this Expedition --> "Evolution" theory. The only real clues are a vague reference to the original script being a very dark, serious sci-fi film at IMDB.com, and some of the background creatures in the film (visible in the trailer at around the twenty and thirty second marks) who have a distinctly Barlowe-esque look.
But on the other, much larger hand (did I ever tell you I am actually a character in a Michel Gondry dream sequence?), I am cynical enough to believe that absolutely anything is possible in the magical world of adaptation decay. I am sure that we all know that illustrated books (especially picture books and comic books) are hit especially hard by adaptation decay. Three words: "L.X.G." (shudders...)
So how does this relate to "Not Another CGI Rodent Movie" "G-Force"? Well, a fellow at the aforementioned Onion AV Club by the handle of Penguin had a theory that, in light of the Expedition --> "Evolution" rumor, might just be possible. Here it is:
"G-Force" = Years in Development Limbo (Executive Meddling + Adaptation Decay) + We3

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Time for happier news: Do you like fantastic fiction? Are you a writer? Do you enjoy nice things? There are two big damn conventions you can attend this coming weekend! If you are in Montreal, you should attend WorldCon (coffee with Neil Gaiman!!!), and if you are in Chicago, you should go to Wizard World (the woman [!!??] who played Greedo will be there!) If you are crazy and live equidistant to Chicago and Montreal, why not try to hit up both?
Also, this...