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One of the expressions of art that goes unnoticed, or better said unappreciated, is the art of comic book drawing. It requires talent, commitment, intuition, an eye for detail, love for the characters you're drawing and the capacity to translate stories into images. It’s not an easy job and even those who are good at drawing more often than not find that drawing comic book characters is too arduous and also too tedious. There are of course, those who don’t care about those little things because they are truly gifted artists. Among those we have Eduardo Barreto, John Byrne, Frank Miller, Todd Mac Farlane, George Pérez, Dave Gibbons and many others; but perhaps there is one that stands out especially for his capacity to draw superheroes in action and that one is Jim Lee. Here is a sample of his work to show his great talent. Just look at his rendition of Wonder Woman: no longer does she look like a chick in a swimsuit, instead she seems what she’s meant to be, an Amazon warrior

Todo el mundo todavía habla de Vargas LLosa y su premio Nobel. Personalmente de su  obra me gustan Pantaleón y las Visitadoras , La Fiesta del Chivo y Los Jefes que es una narración corta. Leyendo a Vargas Llosa no encuentro nada extraordinario  en su prosa. Lo que encuentro interesante son los temas que aborda y la monumentalidad de su obra pues la mayor parte de la misma está compuesta de novelas  lo mismo  extensas que profundas. Si acaso alguien desconociese quién es él ni el valor de sus escritos bastaría con leer las tres obras que aquí menciono sin importar  el orden.  En particular Pantaleóny las Visitadoras es el trabajo que lo define, sobre todo porque son sus personajes quienes narran la obra y Vargas Llosa con gran estilo hace cada voz diferente a las demás volviéndolas así tan auténticas que su lectura no aburre. Gabriel García Marquéz,  Jorge Luis  Borges y él son los más grandes pináculos de la literatura latinoamericana de nuestro tiempo  y por ello mismo tienen sus n

There are movies I would recommend and there are those I never would. I just don’t see the point in bringing more suffering and misery into this world. I have nothing against horror movies as long as they remain in the realm of the impossibility; nevertheless, there are ways to torture human beings that we know are possible and because of that shouldn’t be used as the plot of any film. The Human Centipede is an example. In this story a mad German doctor captures three people (a Japanese tourist and two US girls) and joins them surgically to form a longer digestive system. The reason why? Just to prove he can. I’ll spare you the details of the operation and result, but if you see the movie anyway, you will find that beyond its disgusting premise there’s nothing new in terms of plot or even acting and perhaps only some similarities with The Fly, Saw and Hostel . (Nov. 17, 2010)

Which of all the Batman movies is the best?  It’s really a difficult question. The problem with Batman is that he is a difficult character to translate into the big screen. Though he’s one of the good guys, Batman is dark and obsessed with justice, but also a superb athlete and detective. It’s hard to believe that someone with no powers and only wearing a suit can defeat opponents that are more physically imposing or bigger in numbers, even with all his gadgets and training. In this aspect, Spiderman or Superman are easier.  Tim Burton did a good job creating the shadowy world and twisted villains that Batman has to deal with (his Joker is still the best ever). Nolan made Batman more believable, though still there is something missing in his depiction of the Dark Knight (a true Batmobile, perhaps?). In my opinion, the best Batman film is one you can’t see in a regular cinema theater. It’s called Batman: Dead End and was directed and produced by Sandy Collora, an independent film

Robert De Niro as the Frankestein creature The Modern Prometheus is the alternative title of the novel by Mary Shelley that we know as Frankestein . This work tells us about the tragic story of Dr. Frankestein, a man obssessed with finding a way to create life on his own, and he does it by animating a creature made up by the parts of different corpses.The creature, despised by his creator the very moment it comes to life, eventually learns to hate as it is hated and takes revenge on his own creator not by killing “his father” but those he loves the most instead. As you can see the creature is not the mindless monster that Boris Karloff impersonated: it can think, it can speak, it can feel resentment. Revered by most as one of the greatest classics in horror literature, there are those who think this novel is actually one of the first Sci-fi tales ever written. Now, how is that possible? 

I just saw that Machete movie. It’s really silly with lots of gratuitous violence and unnecessary bloodshed, though there are things that somehow redeem it such as how it brings about the problem of illegal immigration and the complex conflict of interests that surrounds it. There are also priceless moments: Robert De Niro putting on the rags of a wetback, Lindsay Lohan disguised as a nun and Steven Seagal dying a somewhat dignified death. Not a movie to see with your family but definitely something to watch if you're a fan of Robert Rodríguez.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World is yet one more of those lighthearted movies that is strictly aimed at teens. Originally based on the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels of Canadian fame, its premise is really simple: one of the members of a rock band falls in love with a girl, but before being with her he has to defeat her seven villainous ex-boyfriends (actually one of them is a girl). Each one is more powerful than the one before, but fortunately for Scott Pilgrim he has super strength, a gay mentor, a “fake” girlfriend and the other members of the band to lend moral support. If you can get your hands on the DVD, check the features and especially the alternative ending, better in my opinion than the director’s choice.  (NOV. 13/10)