MONDOmagazine

Ambush Bug: Year None #7 of 6
Keith Giffen, Robert Loren Fleming (w), Keith Giffen, Baltazar, Franco (p), Al Milgrom (i), Guy Major (c). DC Comics.

Not sure what happened here, but Ambush Bug is back! Kind of. As with the previous issues in the series, this book pokes fun at the foibles of comics, their creators and the fans, with particular emphasis on delayed issues. Yes, this severely delayed issue spends a lot of time commenting on delayed issues. And I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the gag planned from the beginning. See, we’ve got guest pencils in the form of the Eisner winning duo of Baltazar and Franco as a framing device for Giffen’s pencils and story- so the question is, was this book delayed because Giffen lost interest and couldn’t finish, or did editorial look at what these books were saying – the critiquing of the bosses at DC and how they do things – and say, “no, you’ve got to change that. A lot.” There is at least something of a happy ending, as Ambush Bug walks into the blankness away from the DC universe he notes that he wasn’t killed off, and he’ll eventually get back in. Take your victories where you can, buddy. – Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 3 out of 5

For Blackest Night Reviews — including Blackest Night, Green Lantern, and Blackest Night Titans — scroll down to Crossover Corner.

Cowboy Ninja Viking #1
AJ Lieberman (w), Riley Rossmo(a). Image Comics.

I found this very disappointing, since I’ve been looking forward to this comic ever since I heard the concept and in the right hands this could be an amazing book. Unfortunately, I’m not convinced that these are the right hands. Lieberman’s script is cluttered and frustrating. We don’t get a good sense of our main character or the world in which the book is set and everyone speaks in innuendos. The art fares a little better — in fact I think that Rossmo has the potential to be great (he reminds me of Tony Moore), but as of now his art is still a little unclear at times. It’s too bad that this comic isn’t as good as its concept. If only Matt Fraction were writing this book. — Owen Craig

Owen’s rating: 2.5 out of 5 Read the rest of this entry »

Photo ©Sharilyn Johnson, 2009. http://www.third-beat.com

Paul F. Tompkins @ The Rivoli, October 25th, 2009

By Meagan Snyder

It wouldn’t be presumptuous to say that Paul F. Tompkins (Mr. Show, Best Week Ever, The Informant!) was wary of visiting Toronto prior to his two shows at The Rivoli on Sunday night. Back in September, Tompkins was irritated by customs officers and hecklers alike during a visit to Vancouver for the Global Comedy Fest. In Tompkins’ own words when guest-hosting Scott Aukerman’s Comedy Death Ray Radio at the beginning of October, “The audiences were a little different [from past years]. They were rude. [...] You’re led to believe that Canadian people by and large are polite. But you know who leads us to believe that? Canadian people. And what’s ruder than lying about being polite?” He admitted to Aukerman in a later episode that he wasn’t terribly enthused by the prospect of returning to the land of hockey, Tim Horton’s, and gay marriage (though I don’t think any of those specifically bothered him). Read the rest of this entry »

Red Dwarf: Return to Earth
Directed by Doug Naylor
BBC Video

By Miles Baker

As a movie…

Red Dwarf: Return to Earth will not thrill Red Dwarf fans.

As a DVD set…

Red Dwarf: Return to Earth will thrill Red Dwarf fans

As a newcomer to the series…

Start somewhere else.

I’m a causal fan of the Red Dwarf series. I’ve only watched a couple seasons but I can tell you that this isn’t the best the series has to offer. It’s not terrible by any means, and there are some extremely clever moments. The best parts of the show are when it enters the realm of the post-post-post modern, including jokes that involve the physical box art.

The story picks up a few years after the last series. Dave Lister, the last human in the universe, is stuck on the enormous mining ship, Red Dwarf, with his evolved cat, annoying hologram superior, and overly helpful and neurotic robot. In the tradition of the series, a low-budget romp ensues that mixes standard science fiction concepts with humour — a genre I love. Read the rest of this entry »

A detail from Angela Joosse and Shana MacDonald's work on Leona Drive.

Review and photos by Tina Chu

As a longtime resident of the suburbs, I always feel a sense of hesitation and guilt when revealing my address to those from the city, which is why the Leona Drive Project, with its focus on and situation in the suburbs, piqued my curiosity.

Curated by Janine Marchessault, the Canada Research Chair in Art, Digital Media and Globalization at York University, and Michael Prokopow, current faculty member at OCAD, the project re-purposes a series of vacant bungalows facing demolition in Willowdale to create a site-specific exhibition that characterizes its own fate — the shift from old suburbia to the new. Read the rest of this entry »

Presented in association with Nightswimming Theatre
Part of Buddies in Bad Times’ Hysteria 2009
Festival runs until October 31 @ Buddies in Bad Times

By Daina Valiulis

As she sits on a bare stage reading from the script, Vancouver theatre artist Carmen Aguirre begins Blue Box by talking about her weepy three weeks of mourning after her divorce. Finally, her grandmother’s spirit appears to her and tells her to knock it off. She shows her a vision of the young man she will soon meet and lust after (“Visionman,” who later comes to be). From this point on, Aguirre attempts to weave the Visionman storyline together with her past as a Chilean freedom fighter, sometimes segueing nicely, at others breeding confusion. Read the rest of this entry »

Fashion Week: Interview with Jason Meyers

Interview and photos by Helen Fylactou

Jason Meyers may not have been the winner of Project Runway Canada, but being on the show definitely helped establish him as a fierce competitor in the world of fashion. Meyers recently unveiled his Spring 2010 collection at Toronto’s LG Fashion Week, exciting his fans and surprising the skeptics with street-savvy-meets-old-Hollywood designs. Although the collection was not flawless, the evolution in the types of designs and craftsmanship of Meyers was remarkable. This season, Meyers’ eclectic style incorporates his signature fishtail hems, busy fabrics, and explosion of ruffles. Refusing to stop until he has made his designs a household name, Meyers continues to educate and grow his collection.

MONDO: In comparison to last year, how did you prepare differently (if at all) for this year’s Fashion Week?

Jason Meyers: This year I really focused on quality of fabric, workmanship, and price point. I wanted this collection to be very marketable to get to the market place with customer satisfaction. Read the rest of this entry »

Tall, blonde, ladies. Check.

Presented in association with FADO Performance Art Centre
Part of Buddies in Bad Times’ Hysteria 2009
Festival runs until October 31 @ Buddies in Bad Times

By Daina Valiulis

Tall Blonde Ladies, composed of Anna Berndtson and Irina Runge from Sweden and Germany, is a collaborative performance project that “inverts female stereotypes through the composition of absurd and unexpected performance gestures, incorporating a range of accoutrement from high-end fashion to sports gear”, according to the show’s press release. “Their works present diametrically opposed concepts; beauty and grace are juxtaposed and diminished through brute action and athleticism, tacitly disrupting and challenging gender-based categorizations.”

Well, that’s a fancy explanation for two tall blonde ladies wearing corsets and cleats, sitting or marching in right angles in the middle of the room. They don’t interact, they don’t change the rhythm and they do this for an hour. Frankly, to tack on this much meaning to something so ridiculous is lazy and obnoxious. Read the rest of this entry »

Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical
Directed by Penelope Corrin
Starring Jamie Robinson

Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Directed by Penelope Corrin
Starring Seth Drabinsky

Double bill runs until November 8 @ The Theatre Centre

By Daina Valiulis

Yep, it’s that Debbie Does Dallas. One of the highest grossing porn flicks from 1978 about a gaggle of high school cheerleaders who accidentally sell sex to realize their dream of going to Dallas in support of Debbie Benton (Jamie Robinson), cheer captain, who has made it as a Dallas Cowgirl. The plots of porn titles are flimsy at best and yet for some reason, this one is considered to have one of the most fully-realized plots. Fortunately with porn, once it has done its job, you can turn it off. Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical, despite what you might think, doesn’t push the envelope very far in any direction, making it a confused muddle that happens to feature some good singers. Read the rest of this entry »

Staceyann Chin: girl's got pipes.

Live: Staceyann Chin

and

Gaggle
Created and performed by The Humberlights
Directed by Karin Randoja

Both part of Buddies in Bad Times’ Hysteria 2009
Festival runs until October 31 @ Buddies in Bad Times

By Kerry Freek

First up on Friday night of Buddies’ Hysteria Festival was Staceyann Chin. In pre-show research mode, I had my doubts: poetry slams run deep in her bio. However, this poet (and author and performer and activist) is well-deserving of a second look. About halfway through her show, I learned an important lesson: you can’t always judge a girl by her web presence (nor by her involvement in poetry slams).

First, Chin warmed up the audience with a couple of racially and sexuality-driven (yet good-humoured) jokes, doing her best to make the PC contingent squirm in their seats. Then, easing us into her content, she read a few funny stories from her memoir, The Other Side of Paradise, including frightfully embarrassing, juicy stuff from the pages of cologne-scented letters sent to her by a hormonal boy named Randall in her early teen years, and the story of discovering her “cocoabread” and subsequently ending up inside of an outhouse toilet. Read the rest of this entry »

Review and photos by Helen Fylactou

Mopeds. Half naked men. Greased-up bodies. Eastern European music. All the trappings of a great evening, and all making for a great fashion show. The LOVAS Wesley Badanjak show took the audience on an imaginary stroll through the seaside of Croatia. Named after his father’s hometown, Badanjak’s spring 2010 collection is inspired by the Adriatic coast and folk costumes. A protégé of David Dixon, Badanjak modelled his collection on well-tailored, body-conscious designs. Incorporating themes from his heritage, Badanjak’s colours, embroidery and patterns complemented his cohesive style of design.

The lights came on, and so did the European dance music. Badanjak opened the show with a flirty strapless dress, a mid-thigh, turquoise and orange tartan number with bright red piping—a perfect fit. The garment’s innocence and simplicity was juxtaposed with a hot pink, asymmetrical neckline dress. Although the tailoring was flawless, the silk-jersey dress left very little to the imagination. In contrast to most of the designs, this dress was less about springtime on the seaside of Croatia, and more about picking up at the bar.

This year’s designers tricked the audience by skilfully using design techniques to give texture to the soft fabrics of spring. Badanjak’s country-club outfit had a cap-sleeved white linen top with needle-punched design, giving the illusion of texture and paired with a beige short skirt, while the embroidery at the bottom of the shirt mimicked a crocheted top. Layered and draping material also gave texture, shape, and body to Badanjak’s chiffon turquoise, brown, and white dress. The three-tier layers and scarf collar was effortlessly elegant. Read the rest of this entry »

The Alpha Review

By Andrew Uys

I’ve heard that trade paperbacks — a run of comic issues collected into a graphic novel — are all the rage today. But which ones are worth your time? This column aims to put the spotlight on the spectacular trades — at least according to this writer. And just for fun, we will start with the letter “A,” and each subsequent review will follow with the next letter of the alphabet. While you might object to my taste or my opinion, I hope that this column will help save you time and money when you are next buying a trade paperback, as well as effort in alphabetizing.

U is for The Ultimates Vol. 1 & 2
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Bryan Hitch
Marvel Comics, 2002

The Ultimates is the Avengers Redux.  When Marvel launched Ultimate Spider-Man ten years ago, they were seeking to modernize the hero, hoping to make it possible for new, younger readers to connect with the character.  And so, the Ultimate Universe was born.   Marvel quickly followed up their Spider-Man title with the Ultimate X-Men and the Ultimate Fantastic Four — each group redesigned to be more in tune with the 21st century, and not burdened with decades of continuity.  The Ultimates is no different.  Except, it’s mad brilliant.  It’s a team of super-powered heroes brought together by SHIELD to protect America’s interest in the burgeoning age of super-humans.  Ask yourself what would the American government, circa 2002, have done if it could deploy Captain America, Iron Man and Thor?  The answer is The Ultimates. Read the rest of this entry »

Amazing Spider-Man #609
Marc Guggenheim (w), Marco Checchetto, Luke Ross, Rick Magyar (a), Fabio D’Auria (c). Marvel Comics.

This Checchetto character is really winning me over with some excellent Spider artwork — a lot of really dynamic shots with a sort of creepiness to it. Really reminds me of Ditko stuff. The inclusion of the web armpit costuming doesn’t hurt either. There’s a really good twist on the “bad guy wants revenge on our hero” theme in that any ironic item Raptor sends to Peter Parker to inspire fear in him… just doesn’t work. Pete’s given a scorched little Care Bear thing and of course it has NO significance to him — the whole fiasco is caused by a case of mistaken identity. I can’t wait to see what happens next. – Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 4 out of 5

Batman: Streets of Gotham #5
Chris Yost (w), Dustin Nguyen (p), Derek Fridolfs (i), John Kalisz (c). DC Comics.

It doesn’t really feel like a whole lot happens in this issue — the first story is a running battle between Huntress and Man-Bat, for some reason that will hopefully be explained later, before they both land in front of a priest that has — just that second — gone crazy and is going to kill them. It’s amazing just how much inner monologue is getting out without actually saying anything — Huntress just keeps going back and forth on the will-she, won’t-she use lethal force bit. I guess it actually succeeds in capturing the sheer amount of language that would go through someone’s head in that time frame, but it doesn’t seem necessary. The Manhunter back up was really cool, but it was clearly dealing with character fallout from the previous Manhunter series of which I haven’t read, so for long time fans I bet this was incredible. – Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 3 out of 5 Read the rest of this entry »