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youth.inAsia

MONDO is ecstatic to be covering Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week [FAT], one of Toronto’s most exciting fashion events. The [Pre-FAT] series features short and sweet interviews with some of this year’s participants. Stay tuned for coverage throughout the week, and click here for current and previous MONDO [FAT] articles.

By Helen Fylactou

Last year’s debut of youth.inAsia’s collection at [FAT] was theatrical, outlandish and experimental. It was a collection that boldly mixed pattered pencil skirts with short fur jackets. The complexity of the collection was impressive and the couture-based signature creations of youth.inAsia are unforgettable. Aidan Mayner and Josh Shier are the creators behind the label.

Collaborators since art school, Mayner and Shier’s geometric designs caught the eye of Sandra Robert, the editor-in-chief of IMAGOzine. Roberts loved youth.inAsia and helped propel them into editorials, television and fashion shows. The designs are beautifully sculpted with architectural shapes and help enhance the female form. Read the rest of this entry »

MONDO is ecstatic to be covering Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week [FAT], one of Toronto’s most exciting fashion events. The [Pre-FAT] series features short and sweet interviews with some of this year’s participants. Stay tuned for coverage throughout the week, and click here for current and previous MONDO [FAT] articles.

By Helen Fylactou

Christabel Couture is one of the most dramatic and intriguing artists in Toronto. Creating risky clothing lines, starring in hilarious videos and leading an extraordinary daily life, Christabel’s creations are one-of-kind and are, without a doubt, on the way to be a ‘household name’ in couture.

How to explain Christabel’s style? Take the alien aspect of The Fifth Element, add a hint of Alexander McQueen (with emphasis on the Queen), and maybe drop some acid. The light-hearted and multi-disciplined artist is one of the featured photography and video artists  at this year’s Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week. My interview with Christabel had me laughing out loud, and here’s how it went. Read the rest of this entry »

Adventure Comics #10
Sterling Gates, James Robinson, Eric Trautmann (w), Travis Moore, Eduardo Pansica, Pier Gallo (p), Julio Ferreira, Eber Ferreira, Pier Gallo (i), Pete Pantazis, Blond (c). DC Comics.

Let me be perfectly clear: I’ve read a lot of Superboy comics. Nearly all of them. So when something is said that doesn’t fit in with what’s happened before, and it’s something that I just can’t rationalize away, then I get all clutchy inside. So when a narration box has Superboy thinking “wow, so this is flying with a Legion flight ring, never did that before” then I’m sorry, my comic book guy hat comes on. Superboy issues 75-79 were all legion flight ring powered. See. I’m a nerd, I hope you’re happy. Really frenetic issue, but that’s all part of not really having any place in this majour story crossover. They built an epic moment between Superboy and General Zod that they managed to ruin with the phrase “touchdown”. You can never go home again… – Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 2.5 out of 5

Batgirl #9
Bryan Q. Miller (w), Lee Bargett (p), Jonathan Glapion, Richard Friend (i), Guy Major (c). DC Comics.

They… did it to me… again!! I have now bought two issues of Batgirl in a vain attempt to not miss anything between the Red Robin/Batgirl crossover that have nothing to do with the crossover. Am I crazy? Why even crossover at all if you’re only going to do it for the first issue, and do a poor job of that entry? I guess the conclusion I’m after will be in next month’s Red Robin. As for this particular Batgirl comic, I don’t know, the whole thing strikes as amateur. Like really obvious gags that I don’t think fit in a Bat-book. There’s a great meta moment when a guy with explosives strapped to his chest asks his hostages why they’re even still living in a city like Gotham. Oracle has started creating her own mini batcave for convenience sake, but we all know it’s really to make sure she’s nowhere near the batcave when Bruce Wayne returns. The mandate from above must have read “In regards to the Batcave: no girls allowed.” — Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 2 out of 5 Read the rest of this entry »

Sorry it’s so late folks

Isaac’s Book of the Month

Red Robin #10
Christopher Yost (w), Marcus To (p), Ray McCarthy (i), Guy Major (c). DC Comics.

Red Robin is a strong book because of contrast —between itself and Batgirl #8 (part one of the story) as well as a contrast between current Bat-crossovers with those of a decade ago and beyond.

While I greatly enjoy the current Batman crossovers for their challenging material (that of a more meta adventure), Red Robin has me nostalgic for the simpler times of costumed good guys teaming up over the period of a couple of books without any such assurances of victory from a benevolent writer.

Red Robin successfully leaps between many perspectives, giving readers a heads up to what the hero will eventually face. Trying to be completely objective here — I do think things are clearer for a new reader in this book than compared to a new reader checking out a “Return of Bruce Wayne” book. True, each book is written with an entirely different audience in mind. Or at least they better be. Read the rest of this entry »

Interview by Owen Craig

This Wednesday, April 14 the first issue of a new comic from IDW called Kill Shakespeare launches. The series is written by Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery with art by Andy Belanger. MONDOcomics has an interview with the writers.

MONDO: For those of us who don’t already know could you tell us a little bit about the concept of Kill Shakespeare?

Anthony: Kill Shakespeare is an upcoming comic book series that comes out from IDW Publishing on April 14^th. It is an action-adventure series where we take all of Shakespeare’s greatest heroes and all of his… most menacing villains and put them all together in the same world, the same story. They’re all on a quest to track down the reclusive wizard by the name of William Shakespeare to either kill him or save him.

Conor: To kill or not to kill, that is the question.

MONDO: So where did this come from? Is Shakespeare something that has always been interesting for you guys or is this concept something you stumbled upon?

Conor: Both, actually. Anthony is a huge Shakespeare fan, I was a minor in theatre and did a lot of theatre in high school so I did a lot of Shakespeare and was exposed to it and always enjoyed it, but Anthony’s the one who, he goes to Stratford every year for, (to Anthony) what, fifteen, sixteen years now?

Anthony: Woah, I’m not that old!

Conor: I thought since high school.

Anthony: Yeah, I guess so. I guess I am that old. Read the rest of this entry »

(L-R) Billy Merasty, Tom McBeath, Ben Cardinal, and Jason Burnstick. Photo by David Cooper.

Where the Blood Mixes
Part of the CrossCurrents Festival
Written by Ken Loring
Directed by Glynis Leyshon
Featuring Ben Cardinal, Kim Harvey, Margo Kane, Billy Merasty, Tom McBeath and Jason Burnstick
Runs until April 18 @ Factory Theatre

By Kerry Freek

It’s tough to be critical of a play that’s part of a healing process.

Where the Blood Mixes, a touring show that’s currently playing at Factory, is centred on the social aftershocks in a First Nations community caused by a residential school. It’s a difficult topic — even after Harper’s official apology back in 2008, there is still much work to be done to right the wrongs that have affected many generations of an entire people.

But healing can start with expression, and Kevin Loring’s 50-minute piece is a step in the right direction. Read the rest of this entry »

Batman and Robin #11
Grant Morrison (w), Andy Clarke (p), Scott Hana (i), Alex Sinclair, Tony Avina (c). DC Comics.

I found this issue to be very unfocused, it has some great ideas of course, but they just aren’t fleshed out properly. The worst offender is Batman and his adventure exploring a part of the Batcave for clues about Bruce Wayne: not wanting to spoil any surprises for us readers we cut away before seeing just what cool thing Batman has found, then see Batman again after he’s gone through some costume tearing ordeal to get back to the surface. I would have liked to have seen that story! Instead most of the book follows Robin and Oberon Sexton team up for a forgettable fight scene that needed to be way better. — Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 2.5 out of 5

Buffy The Vampire Slayer #34
Brad Meltzer (w), Georges Jeanty (p), Andy Owens (i), Michelle Madsen (c), Dark Horse Comics

Meltzer is certainly doing better work on this comic than I’ve seen in quite some time, the only down side is that this title has lost so much momentum (and so much of my enthusiasm) that it would take nothing short of a miracle to make me care about this book again. Sure, the exposition in this issue and the storytelling employed were pretty neat but I just have a hard time giving it more than a shrug and a muttered “kind of cool”. Still, I had dropped this book for a while, so I guess the fact that I’m planning on riding it out to the end of the season speaks to the improvement at work here.  – Owen Craig

Owen’s rating: 3.5 out of 5 Read the rest of this entry »

Clash of the Titans
Directed by Louis Leterrier
Warner Bros., 2010

Before I move onto the film itself, I will answer the million dollar question: Does the 3D look good? Let me put it this way — this is not the film that you would show to naysayers in order to prove that 3D is more than a fad. Heck, even the trailer for Step Up 3D that played before Clash of the Titans had better effects than this. The 3D wasn’t bad per se, but it was really obvious that the film was converted in postproduction –- the cardboard cut-out effect. The CGI creatures did look better in 3D, probably because they were easier to convert. However, they only turned up in a handful of action set-pieces.

Well, enough nitpicking about 3D, let’s move onto the story. The citizens of the city of Argos have decided that they no longer want to respect the gods, so they destroy all temples and statues worshipping Zeus (Liam Neeson). Zeus is not too happy about this, and allows his brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes) to scare the citizens of Argos back into piety. Hades tells the citizens to sacrifice the princess Andromeda before the eclipse or the city will be destroyed by the Kraken (of course, sacrifice or not, Hades plans on destroying the city anyway). As a result, a band of warriors that includes Zeus’ demi-god son Perseus (Sam Worthington) goes on a quest to find a way to destroy the Kraken before it is too late.

Read the rest of this entry »

Adventure Comics #9
James Robinson, Sterling Gates, Eric Trautmann (w), Travis Moore, Eduardo Pansica, Pier Gallo (p), Julio Ferreira, Eber Ferreira, Pier Gallo (i), Pete Pantazis, Blond (c). DC Comics.

Travis Moore is fantastic — I don’t know that I’ve ever seen his stuff before, but it’s great, very reminiscent of Francis Manapul’s work on the last Legion of Superheroes comic. All of the stories contained here have a great advantage over the previous conglomerate that was Adventure Comics #8 — these stories aren’t a “Prelude” to the coming attraction. The idea of a prelude has become drawn out and increasingly pointless, exhibit ‘A’ being the previous issue. This comic just drops us directly into the action. There’s even an editor’s note that I should read Superman #698 before reading this book — nope! Just jumping right in, thanks. This was a fun book, with some cool moments from some of my favourite characters. I’ve even got to tip my hat to Supergirl for not letting Superboy get bashed embarrassingly in the back of the head by a Brainiac robot. Would have been even better if he was just paying attention to his surroundings, but I’ll take what I can get. — Isaac Mills

Isaac’s rating: 3.5 out of 5

The Amazing Spider-Man # 627
Roger Stern (w), Lee Weeks (a), Dean White (c). Marvel Comics

I had a real debate with myself about this issue. On the one hand, Stern brings an old-fashioned sensibility to this issue that is really incongruous with Amazing Spider-Man these days; on the other hand, Stern writes a really fun issue and I don’t care. Spider-Man taking a page to stop a random mugging on his way to solve the big mystery is really endearing, especially when he thinks “Okay, back to work. Think, Parker…” as he swings away. It’s so awesome and heroic. I love Parker’s references to all the different times he’s met or fought the Juggernaut, and the recent events in his life. It’s nice to pretend that Parker’s life makes any kind of cohesive sense.  Plus Lee Weeks is a great artist and I love to see his work. — Miles Baker

Miles’ rating: 3.5 out of 5 Read the rest of this entry »

By Sean Kelly

The end of an era is coming as At the Movies, the review show originally known as Siskel and Ebert, will be going off the air at the end of the current season in August. I have never been a regular watcher of the show, and the program has certainly had its bumps in the last few years, but you have to give them full credit; in its 24 years on the air, the show, and the phrase “two thumbs up,” have become engraved in pop culture.

One of the reasons given for the cancellation is that the format of two critics giving their opinions on a film is considered outdated. The last decade or so saw the rise of aggregate sites such as Rotten Tomatoes. These sites pool together reviews from many sources and give a rating based on how many of the reviews were positive. Sites like these have made it easier for people to find a knowledgeable opinion about movies and there’s seen to be no more room for a television show about two guys and their thumbs.

The news of the show’s cancellation comes at a time when I felt the show was getting back on its feet. The show has had a tough few years and I have to argue that the beginning of the end for the show began when Roger Ebert was forced to leave the show in 2006 due to his battle with thyroid cancer, which has since left him unable to speak. Co-host Richard Roeper, who became the permanent replacement for the late Gene Siskel in 2000, continued on with a series of guest hosts, most frequently A.O. Scott of the New York Times and Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune. Read the rest of this entry »

Ninja Assassin
Directed by James McTeigue
Warner Bros Pictures, 2009

By Miles Baker

It’s pretty rare for us do a second review of a film, but Warner sent me a review copy of Ninja Assassin and it’s only fair to them that I review it. And, as with most things, my take on it is different than Caesar’s. And since he and I have been having some enjoyable, passionate debates on some MONDOcomics reviews I thought I’d set this up as a response to his review.

While Caesar went “thumbs down” on this movie, I’m going thumbs up. Not way up, just up. It achieves everything it wants to. Namely, dudes get chopped up lots and it’s pretty cool. There are big plot holes, no character achieves two dimensions, and there is better action out there — yet, it’s not the worst way to kill 100 minutes. I found it enjoyable — it’s like Enter the Dragon but worse and made now.

The plot, such as it is, centres on Raizo, a renegade ninja trying to bring down the clan that trained him. The film actually spends a fair amount of time setting up Raizo’s training and defection, which is my largest complaint about the movie. Those things, I don’t care about — I just want to see ninjas fight. Neither the acting nor the script are strong enough to carry these sequences. However, once they establish the backstory, Ninja Assassin becomes the action-fest that you were hoping for. The last hour of the film is action scene after action scene — perfect. Read the rest of this entry »

Karin Randoja. Photo by Jeremy Mimnagh.

Breakfast
Written by Anna Chatterton and Evalyn Parry
Directed by Brendan Healy
Featuring Karin Randoja, Evalyn Parry and Anna Chatterton
Runs until April 4 @ Buddies in Bad Times

By Kerry Freek

Marnie’s goldfish is dead, her fridge is bare, and she’s a timid woman who stays at home on Saturdays. In her muu-muu style nightie, she is an unlikely hero, but by the time her self-help cassette convinces her to put on a pair of high heels, we know something is about to change.

Marnie (played by Karin Randoja) is bumbling through her weekend routine: pudding, coffee, self-help cassette. Licking her spoon, Marnie presses the play button and is surprised to find that it’s speaking to her, and not in that eye-rolling affirmative self-help way. Read the rest of this entry »