SIn City was born of Miller’s love of vintage film noir and hard-boiled Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane novels (to name just a few). His compositions are masterpieces, manipulating positive and negative space. And whether it’s a bar full of lowlifes and cigarette smoke, an inspirational dancer or someone spilling blood to bare knuckles, the scent and sight of sex and danger are always nearby. Nearly ever angle and stark description is faithfully translated by co-director, Robert Rodriguez in the film. He looked to three of Miller’s intertwinerd graphic novels for the screenplay and storyboards. Finally someone had understood comics. Someone stopped the pattern of trying to improve perfection.

“The Hard Goodbye” features Marv (Mickey Rourke) the loveable, nearly indestructible vigilane with a hamburger face, framed for the murder of a woman he loved. In “The Big Fat Kill,” Dwight (Clive Owen) is a sucker for protecting the dames, but when the wrong person is killed in Old Town (which is run by the local pros) a truce is broken that could bring the pimps back in power. In “That Yellow Bastard,” Hartigan (Bruce Willis), a cop betrayed while saving a kidnapped 11-year old Nancy Callahan, lands in eight years of imprisonment. He must sacrifice his good name to save Nancy (Jessica Alba), no 19, from the same lech who has become a more hideous monster.

The entire cast excels, delivering pulp dialogue like it was back in style. Benicio Del Toro turns a riveting physical performance as the slimy Jackie Boy, especially in a car ride scene Quentin Tarantino guest directs. Rourke as Marv and Rosario Dawson as Gail also entertain, being tough as galvanized nails and having absolute confidence in their heavy-metal appearances. Featured in his first role in some time, Rourke is downright bad ass.

Naysayers wondered why have a film follow so closely to the base material in fear of redundancy but how often have comic readers complained of the great comic stories out there are waiting to be made, how many of our favorite stories lay by the wayside as someone from film with no connection to only ruin what seemed like basic math. I applaud Rodriguez and company to have known to follow Miller’s Sin City panel by panel because it’s proof of just how cinematic comics are and that they can be on the same level as film. It’s a crowning achievement for comic book fans, especially those who followed Miller’s career in the 90′s and the same can be said of Rodriguez who had the imagination to know how to use digital filmmaking to full realize an imaginary world. To those unaware of Miller and Sin City, this film is not for the tender-hearted. The film exposed newcomers to his expertise in storytelling, and ideally this is how people will keep Miller in their minds instead of his recent take on Will Eisner’s Spirit. It’s easy to surrender to a world of crime, especially when it’s as vivd and exceptional as Sin City.

Video: A+
1080p AVC-encoded transfer at 1.85:1 ratio. Let me tell you, this is one clean-looking film because it was shot in high definition. Free of artifacts and any noticeable grain. The color, which was selectively used is exceptional. The Yellow Bastard, the red blood on both Hartigan’s and Marv’s faces, just explode on the screen. Hair and skin complexion are crystal clear. Even little details like the shiny foil pack of matches from Kadie’s Club Pecos, beard stubble, the glimmer in people’s eyes, comes through in high def glory. The hyper de-saturated picture to reflect the black and white comic will take you back to the old days of memorable film noir. The hundred shades of grey gave depth to each scene, blacks darker as India ink, and they exaggerated lighting make for striking images frame after frame. This alone is worth ditching your DVD copy.

Audio: A+
Sin City sports an English 5.1 DTS-HD soundtrack which is full activity. Gunshots, car crashes and bullets make for a lively mix. The rear speakers are rarely in rest, with music and police sirens panning front to back, helicopters patrolling the city and the zapping and cracking of the electric chair crawl down your neck from behind. Miller’s poetic dialogue and exposition is distinctly heard through the center channel without any trouble. Dynamic range is excellent and there’s no need to monitor the volume level as everything sounds just right. Also included are 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks in Spanish and Portuguese as well as subtitles for the Hearing Impaired, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese

Extras: A
Disc One:
Commentary with Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller – Two creative renegades talking about the film they made together. One a comic legend who reflects on being a first-time director, the other a cult-favorite filmmaker; together a non-stop gab session with lots of additional insight into the Sin City film. With half an hour left in the commentary, Rodriguez begins to ask Miller about his creative process during the time period he created the Sin City graphic novels.

Commentary with Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino – Two amigos laughing and having a good time watching the film, and talking about directing. If you’re not a Tarantino fan, or at least of him as a film geek, then avoid the track. Personally, I got a kick out it and always do and someone shows up unexpectedly, Mr. Bruce “Hartigan” Willis.

5.1 Dolby Digital Audio Track of the Austin Premiere Audience Reaction – They love their films in Austin, Texas and is a good place for Rodriguez to have set up his headquarters. There’s a film-hungry worship there and if you want to recreate watching the film with a crowd, without the jerks, now you can.

Cine-Explore HD – A blu-ray exclusive, this special is one of the pure joys of the HD format by packing a variety of extras in one multimedia experience. Along with the first commentary, this is a great combination of being able to see Millers panel art and covers through multiple picture-in-picture windows alongside the the film. Other side-by-side comparisons include the behind-the screen green screen shots. I’ve listened to this commentary on its own before, and it’s well-worth revisiting again and again, but watching art with this particular commentary is a great study. I was hoping for this extensive of a comic exploration in the recent big comic book movie releases but this is the first time I’ve been completely satisfied with the results.

D-Box Motion Code Enabled – If you’re equipped with a D-box integrated motion system enjoy! Otherwise, move along. Learn more about that here: http://www.d-box.com/en/about-d-box/

Disc Two:
Extended, Unrated, Recut Version (142 minutes) – The main reason for this release is the extended cut with all of the deleted scenes added in, and separated into the separate graphic novels, in chronological order: That Yellow Bastard, The Customer is Always Right, The Hard Goodbye, and the Big Fat Kill with closing credits to each story. Yellow Bastard in particular is significantly longer with the return of Lucille (Carla Cugino) and another funny scene with Klump and Schlub.

Rodriguez Special Features SD (58:17) – Combining four old features that Rodriguez produced can still be viewed separately or in one sitting. 15-minute Flic School – Rodriguez shows the tools and methods he used in making the original short film which he used to court the actors he wanted. Artificial lighting, recreating Miller’s edge, and much more. All Green Screen Version - See the film in fast-forward and the magic of green screen. The Long Take - is a behind the scenes look at Tarantino’s contribution and his directing style. Sin City, Live in Concert – takes a Austin city limits break into one of the jazzy bars in town to see Bruce Willis perform with his band for the cast and crew. 10-Minute Cooking School – Enjoy another episode of RR cooking school as he teaches you how to make Sin City Tacos from scratch.

Kill ‘em Good: Interactive Comic Book HD (8:27) – Miller’s “The Hard Goodbye” animated comic book and interactive experience. This is a blu-ray exclusive where you speed through the first Sin City story and actually be an active participant in three parts. Manipulating your blu-ray remote proves to be fun while enjoying the animated art of Miller.

How it Went Down: Convincing Frank Miller SD (5:41) – Robert talks about getting the blessing from Frank to do the film and the courtship to get Sin City in motion and having Miller be so involved in the filmmaking process.

Special Guest Director: Quentin Tarantino SD (7:13) – Quentin talks and talks and talk about repaying his “debt” to Rodriguez by directing the conversation between Jackie Boy and Dwight from the “Big Fat Kill,” using digital cameras and his point of view of the project evolving from a 10-minute short to a complete film.

A Hard Top with a Decent Engine: The Cards of Sin City SD (7:34) – A short featurette on identifying and tracking useable cars for the shoot which was a challenge because there was so many models that were rare and vintage. Remarkably, only one car had to be brought in from outside of Austin, Texas.

Booze, Broads, and Guns SD (10:57) – Steve Joyner, Rodriguez’s production designer gets to flex his pecs in recreating Sin City by creating props from scratch since so much of the props used are pieces of the exaggerated world of Frank Miller.

Making The Monsters: Special Effects Make-Up SD (9:04) – Having Frank Miller on set, helped transform with practical effects, Mickey Rourke, Benicio Del Toro, Nick Stahl into Marv, Jackie Boy, and that Yellow Bastard.

Trenchcoats and Fishnets SD (7:38) – Nina Proctor, Rodriguez’s costume designer, talks about tracking down material from self-made storyboards and finishing off that last detail of recreating Sin City.

Trailers SD (4:01) – Sin City Teaser and Theatrical Trailers sadly in standard definition and in stereo.

Sneak Peeks – Trailers for Miramax Films, Lost, On Blu-Ray Disc, The Proposal, and Confessions of a Shopaholic

I also want to note my love for all of the menus and loading screens which are nifty clips and animated clips of Miller’s Sin City art. Very nice touches. If I have a big gripe it’s that most of the featurettes and specials were left in standard definition. It’s a safe assumption the people who are going to flock to the blu-ray probably have the Extended and Recut DVD as well. So give us every reason to upgrade from the deluxe DVD release. Outside of that, everything you could ask for in supplements is here to enjoy.

Overall Shock Value: A+
Forgive me, Father for I have sinned, I enjoyed double-dipping. Please forgive me when play this disc and sin over and over again. A handful of years later and Sin City holds up extremely well and in high definition, it hasn’t looked better since, well, its opening weekend. This blu-ray release has everything the 2-disc DVD of the same name that came out some years ago, unfortunately without the copy of the Hard Goodbye pocket-sized graphic novel. But with a show-stopping HD transfer and the Cine-Explore experience, there’s no blaming anyone who would want to upgrade to this blu-ray. Extremely recommended!

Ernie Estrella

Plus: Candorville takes a veiled jab at the Washington Post.

Boldly going where no other hot geek has gone before, Rosario Dawson confessed her love of all things Star Trek to Conan O’Brien this week. And here all this time you thought Star Wars was cooler.

Written by David Atchinson and Rosario Dawson, art and cover by Tony Shasteen.

On the case and out of her element, new recruit Sophia Ortiz scours Manhattan’s arcane underworld for clues, hoping to end a strange and horrific murder epidemic. Things take a bad turn when a routine mystic disturbance turns out to be something far more sinister. Are the two cases connected? Will Sophia live long enough to find out? Plus: an excerpt from the O.C.T. Officer Training Manual!

Check out Part 1 of PopCultureShock’s interview with Rosario, covering the behind-the-scenes making of Occult Crimes Taskforce here.

2006 will be halfway over by the time you read this, so let’s take this month to look back on what we got in the realm of black comics so far and what we should expect down the road. Overall, I’d have to say it’s been a good though not great year so far. Some work has really jumped out at me and gotten me excited, but not a lot. I’ve made a few wonderful discoveries, talent-wise, and been disappointed by quite a few others as well. Still, I remain hopeful that more gems will be uncovered. (Keep in mind that there are a few titles I haven’t gotten to yet, like Lance Tooks‘ The Devil and Miles Davis or the new issue of Brodie’s Law).

Stagger Lee is without a doubt the year’s best black comic to date. The true-crime aspect of the story is the main focus – creating a narrative based on what little is known about the life of the real Stagger Lee, and that alone is fascinating. The creators, however, also sprinkle in short pieces, mostly humorous, about the history of Stagger Lee in song, a history which is just as interesting. Beautiful artwork and strong dialogue and storytelling, this is dynamite stuff. Congratulations to Derek McCulloch and Shepherd Hendrix for putting this out.

By contrast, Public Enemy is perhaps the biggest disappointment so far. I explain why in my blog. It’s not even as if I expected it to be that great a book, but given the rap group’s long history of eloquence on the microphone, speaking out about the issues that matter most to the black community, to see them reduced to being just another misunderstood superhero team is not what I had hoped for. The book could get better, but I honestly don’t hold out much hope for that. (Click here for preview pages from PE #0)

David Bircham and Daley Osiyemi‘s Brodie’s Law left a huge impression on me after picking it up at the New York Comic-Con. The British duo hooked up with Markosia Publishing this year, only the company has gone through some serious financial restructuring since. Let’s hope that the changes have been to D&D’s benefit and that their awesome crime book will take off, because these guys are ready for the big time.

Eric Jerome Dickey has done an outstanding job with the Storm mini-series; better than I could have anticipated, and David Yardin’s art is a revelation. I cannot wait to see how the collected hardcover edition does in the bookstore market this fall. Marvel absolutely must not forget the black bookstores; they will provide the biggest litmus test in how well the black audience – particularly the black female audience – takes to this book. This is something I plan to examine in closer depth in my blog when the hardcover is released.

Reggie Hudlin has so far handled the wedding storyline in Black Panther ably, for the most part. I have been most impressed with his willingness to let BP and Storm, these two near-iconic heroes let their hair down, figuratively speaking, and behave like old lovers reunited instead of paragons. I think it’s important to make that distinction.

I admit I haven’t been following Firestorm all that closely since One Year Later began, but from what I have seen of it, Stuart Moore and Jamal Igle continue to impress. Jason has indeed become much more confident in the use of his powers, and while I do think there is some merit to the belief I’ve seen expressed that Jason has inherited too many of his predecessor’s trappings (the puffy-sleeved costume, Professor Stein, Lorraine, college, etc.), he still seems to me like he’s his own man.

Other highlights: Doug Braithwaite has been the unsung hero of Alex Ross’ Justice maxi-series, which continues to pull strong numbers and has gone back to press on more than one issue, which should give you some idea of the demand for this fully-painted Justice League tale… One screenwriter, John Ridley, has put together a superb period superhero mini-series in The American Way (with Georges Jeanty), while another screenwriter, Kevin Grevioux, has gotten his line of books at Alias off to a flying start… Luke Cage and Jessica Jones had their baby and tied the knot… Fred Perry celebrated fifteen years of the manga action comedy Gold Digger… The two major black comics conventions, in Chicago and Philadelphia, both had good years; you can read about them by going through the archives of my blog… And the American release of Jean-Pierre Stassen’s Deogratias, A Tale of Rwanda brought this moving and poignant story the wider audience it deserves.

New talent? There’s been quite a bit to go around. Earlier this year you got to meet Mark Page of the all-ages fantasy comic Kana’s Island. I’ve mentioned cartoonist Masheka Wood here before; look for a huge interview with him and his fiancée and fellow cartoonist Mikhaela Reid in my Comic World News column this month. The team of Robert Garrett and Patrick David has gotten off to a nice start with their futuristic martial arts epic Galtow. And while neither of them are new exactly, both Steven Walters and Robert Roach have been getting noticed with their respective books, Suburban Folklore and The Roach. Plus, with the launch of the black online comics web site Paradigm, one can check out even more new talent.

Things to look forward to: the Black Panther/Storm wedding finally happens this month in Black Panther… Dwayne McDuffie‘s new mini-series Beyond debuts this month, as does the latest volume of the Bluesman graphic novel… A new Blade series is on the horizon, with industry legend Howard Chaykin illustrating… A graphic novel biography of Malcolm X is due this fall… Mat Johnson has a new Vertigo mini-series forthcoming… The big Captain Africa/Purge crossover, Crimson Seed, is coming (and if you picked up the ashcan preview at ECBACC, you have a pretty good idea of how beautiful this will be when it’s completed)… Big changes have already begun for Steel in DC’s weekly mega-series 52, and they’re only gonna increase… The Boondocks comic strip will come back from hiatus this fall (no official release date on Season 2 of the animated series yet)…

…and sometime soon, we hope, we PRAY, Kyle Baker will finish Nat Turner!

Comic-Con International is this month, and once again, I’ll follow the proceedings in San Diego as it pertains to the black comics and creators in the Glyphs blog. Also, as I said, look for my interview with Masheka Wood and Mikhaela Reid in my Comic World News column this month. These two do excellent political cartoon work and they’re just beginning to take off, and they both have a lot to say about the way of the world right now, so don’t miss that. Also, look for an interview with Candorville creator Darrin Bell in Glyphs this month.

July 2006

Perhapanauts TPB (Dark Horse)

Robin: To Kill a Bird TP (DC). With some art by Damion Scott. Look for him in a new series from DC this fall.

Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre #3 (of 3) (DC). Final issue.

52 Week 12 (DC). Inked by Rob Stull.

Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #2 (DC). Art by Ken Lashley.

Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #27 (DC). Pencils by Jamal Igle. That’s an awesome Brian Stelfreeze cover, isn’t it?

The American Way #6 (of 8) (DC/Wildstorm). Story and pencils by Ridley & Jeanty.

Occult Crimes Taskforce #1 (of 4) (Image). Hmmm… what to say about Rosario Dawson? Not much, really. She was alright in Sin City, I guess, though I hated the movie. Interested to see what she’ll be like in Clerks 2, even if she is in what looks like a rather unglamorous role.

I know; I’ll talk about her role in Rent. Yes, sports fans, that’s right – I’m a fan of the long-running Broadway musical. I remember when they were still offering reduced-price tickets that you had to wait on line all day for. That’s how I got to see it. I went with my friend Travis and friends when the original cast was still performing and we got seats in the third or fourth row, so we could see it all. As you probably know by now, Rent is a modern-day version of La Boheme, set in Manhattan’s East Village during the late 1980s, give or take. It’s about a year in the lives of hipster artisans being threatened with eviction from their squat by one of their own who sold out and now wants to develop a high-tech studio space with the help of his rich girlfriend. It’s also about love and loss in the time of AIDS, and how living can be braver than dying.

Dawson’s character, Mimi, is at the heart of the story’s love triangle. A nightclub dancer, she meets Roger, a musician living in the same building as her, and though she’s attracted to him, she’s ashamed to tell him that she has AIDS. (Of course, Roger is in the same situation himself.) To complicate things, she has a history with Roger’s ex-roommate Benny, the guy who’s now trying to build his super-studio.

Rent the film was fairly different from Rent the musical, even though most of the original Broadway cast reprised their roles. The timeline is different, for one thing. Act One takes place in a single night, Christmas Eve, in the musical; in the film it’s stretched out a few days. Some songs are taken out, including the bittersweet “Without You,” a Mimi-and-Roger song (that actually appears as a deleted scene on the DVD). Bits of dialogue and/or monologue that are sung in the musical are either spoken in the film or removed altogether. Some changes I could deal with, but others I didn’t care for. They’re the kind of things a fan of the musical would notice but not someone who’s never seen it. I thought Benny was shortchanged significantly in the film. He’s not as critical a presence as he is in the musical, and Taye Diggs, who’s a strong singer, didn’t come across as such here. Overall, I didn’t hate the film version, but all the changes stuck out in my mind and I couldn’t get past most of them.

Dawson, as I said, was very good. The role of Mimi is meant for a soprano, but Dawson sings at least a half-octave lower (at least to this untrained ear). Some songs, like “Out Tonight,” are definitely in a lower key than on the original Broadway cast album. Even though I didn’t feel much chemistry between her and Adam Pascal (one of the original cast members), who played Roger, she made the best of her end. Maybe seeing her in Sin City made me think she couldn’t pull off the role of an ingenue (Mimi’s supposed to be 19), but I was able to suspend my disbelief once I got used to seeing her as Mimi. I guess I’d recommend seeing Rent the film, but don’t see it after you’ve seen the musical, which is way better.

Dawson is co-creator of this supernatural crime mini-series and is the model for the protagonist. Is it any good? We’ll see.

Bomb Queen: Woman of Mass Destruction TP (Image). Story and art by Jimmie Robinson. Look for a special crossover one-shot with Jim Valentino’s Blacklight character next month.

Ant #7 (Image)

Emissary #3 (Image). The first issue wasn’t bad. I detect a slight Bendis-like influence in the writing (back when he was still relevant); by focusing on the large cast of characters and heightening the mystery of who the Emissary is, the story feels like it’s taking its time, which is okay for now. Emphasis on FOR NOW.

Do I want the identity and origin of the Emissary to be kept secret, based on what I’ve seen so far? I’m not sure yet. The writing is sharp enough that I believe the series could be sustained this way, but I also can’t help but want to know what his deal is, especially if this title plans to explore the ramifications of a super-powerful humanoid who happens to resemble a black man. So I really hope we don’t get too much decompression here. You wanna keep who the Emissary is a mystery; fine. Then at least give us a story that moves in all directions and keeps us thinking. So far, the creators – Jason Rand, Juan Ferreyra, and Clayton Brown – have done that. (A word about the art – generally good, but if you look carefully at the Emissary on the cover, you’ll see that not only does he have man-boobs but he’d have to have a neck like Plastic Man…)

Spawn #160 (Image)

Beyond #1 (of 6) (Marvel). The good news: Dwayne McDuffie is writing a new mini-series for Marvel! The worrisome news: it looks like a Secret Wars rehash starring Spider-Man, Giant-Man, Wasp, Venom, and a bunch of D-listers. Huh? I wish I could be more excited about this, but I’m not. Still, I’ll give the first issue a look, simply because it is McDuffie. His Fantastic Four one-shot last winter was well done, and him writing comics again is a Good Thing.

Black Panther #18, Marvel’s Greatest Comics: Fantastic Four #52, Storm #6 (of 6), Black Panther by Jack Kirby V2 TP (Marvel). The wedding is here at last. It’s a Civil War tie-in. I doubt anything can top last month’s Civil War-related bombshell, but stranger things have happened. (For the record: I’m both repulsed and intrigued by it; I think it’s the worst thing The Character in Question could have possibly done to himself, yet Joe Quesada claims they’re not only gonna run with it for awhile but they will not resort to a deus ex machina restoration. He’s got brass ones, give him that much.) BP written by Reggie Hudlin, Storm written by Eric Jerome Dickey.

Civil War: X-Men #1 (of 4) (Marvel). Please don’t explain Bishop’s convoluted time-travel origin to me; I don’t care about any of it. All I need to know about the character I learned during the short-lived but exquisite series District X, written by David Hine, who’s also writing this mini-series. Here, Bishop will apparently be at odds with Cyclops over the Registration Act. Who will join his side? How will the X-Men deal with the situation? Do I even care? Eh… I guess I’ll take a look at this, since Hine is writing Bishop again.

Nextwave #7 (of 12) (Marvel)

New Avengers #22 (Marvel). A Luke Cage solo story set during the events of Civil War. Look for a second Essential Luke Cage volume next month.

The Vindicators #0 and Alius Rex Book 1 (Alias). A pair from writer Kevin Grevioux for older audiences.

The Blackbeard Legacy #3 (Alias). Flipped through issue one and the art was an absolute turn-off. I didn’t expect the protagonist to look 100% like Traci Bingham, but they look nothing alike. The hyper-stylized and ugly-looking cartoon art doesn’t help.

Public Enemy #1 (American Mule). I listen to hip hop radio at work. It’s not by choice; hip hop is the preferred music in my office by an overwhelmingly wide margin (with Spanish-language music being second), so I’m hopelessly outvoted. (One time I put on the local classic rock station here in New York and I was met with befuddled expressions by co-workers who couldn’t grok Pink Floyd or David Bowie.) I certainly have nothing against hip hop as a genre – the problem is with hip hop radio.

New York has two competing hip hop stations, Power 105 and the infamous, often controversial Hot 97. Each one claims to be tops and each one claims to be the most representative of their chosen musical genre, but the way they define that genre is remarkably narrow. Both stations essentially play the exact same music – a small selection of whatever their corporate masters determine to be hip at the moment, played again and again and again ad nauseum. A given single on either station can and often is played every other hour. Yes, that’s right – every other HOUR. At least.

What’s worse, however, is the fact that both stations claim to represent hip hop and R&B, yet almost never play songs by its greatest practitioners. As of this writing, Prince, Janet Jackson, LL Cool J, Reverend Run and DMC, and oh yeah, Public Enemy, all have new albums out now and I have yet to hear any of them played on either station. These aren’t exactly obscure artists here; these are legendary singers and rappers, the ones who helped shape hip hop and R&B over the past quarter century. How can any radio station that claims to number one in this genre ignore new music (or even old music) by these people? How can any hip hop radio station have so narrow a focus? And how can its listeners willingly accept this format?

I recently read a book called Yes Yes Y’all: The Experience Music Project Oral History of Hip-Hop’s First Decade. It’s a fascinating look back at the genesis of the genre as told by its pioneers: Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Grandmaster Flash, Russell Simmons, Rick Rubin, and many, many more. The differences between then and now far outweigh the similarities, and while I’m certainly not so naive as to think that this era could be recaptured again in the future, I certainly believe that the musicians and producers and disc jockeys and program directors and record executives could learn a great deal from it. Essential reading for anyone who cares about hip hop…

…unlike issue zero of Public Enemy, which kinda sucked.

Gold Digger #76, Gold Digger: Throne of Shadows #3 (of 4), Gold Digger: Tangent #2, Gold Digger Color Remix 4-pack, Peebomanga Pocket Manga V1 GN (Antarctic). Story and art by Fred Perry.

The Damaged #1 (A-10 Comics). MD Bright of Quantum & Woody and Icon fame (among other fine comics) illustrates this new series which sounds like another Rising Stars riff based on the solicitation.

Killer 7 #1 (Devil’s Due). A re-release, so you won’t remember that it’s behind schedule.

Bluesman V3, V1, V2 (NBM). I’ve written about this series of graphic novels here before – I know because I went through my archives and checked. So you don’t need me to give you another hard sell on it. If you’ve read it already, you know it’s primo material; if you haven’t, well now’s your chance to catch up so you can read the brand new third volume in the series, which is my Buzz Book of the Month. While you’re at it, go take a look at the Bluesman web site.

Have fun in San Diego!

Dawson toured not only her work as an actor in Clerks II, Sin City, an actor/producer in Decent but now as comic creator with her new Image comic, Occult Crimes Taskforce (O.C.T.), which she is co-creator and co-writes with David Atchison. The rumor was she knew her comics, so I tested Rosario, not just to see if she read comics but to what level? Her answers will impress and are indicative that she is in fact, a comic geek. Trust me, she’s earned it. She attributes that to growing up around comics. Her uncle, Gus Vasquez is an artist who has drawn every superhero from Green Lantern to Spider-Man and is a guiding supporter on this book.

PCS talks to Rosario Dawson at San Diego Comic-Con

• Download higher-res version

Her most creative role may not be seen on Broadway or on the big screen, but perhaps working on and in the pages of sequential art. Her likeness is used for the protagonist, Sophia Ortiz, a hard-working police officer following in the footsteps of her father. Ortiz’s career takes a whirl when she is recruited for an underground operation investigating the world of dark magic and the demonic. Millennium meets the mystical arts in a harsh realm fully imagined by the talented Tony Shasteen who draws Dawson as one bad mamma-jamma!

In real life, however, Rosario is as genuine as her character, Becky in the movie Clerks II: charming, intelligent, thoughtful and seductively sassy. “Down-to-earth” doesn’t do her justice. “One of the guys,” pshhh, you don’t even know. And if you didn’t have a crush on her before, fanboys, keep reading. In Part One of my interview we talk about O.C.T. and her passion for comics and in Part Two, we talk about her career in film.

Ernie Estrella: Is it true that you’re a comic geek?

Rosario Dawson: I would love to say that I’m a comic geek; it would be great company to be in. I grew up around a lot of comic geeks. I’ve been called one more lately. Kevin Smith called me one so that works.

EE: Give me three comic book titles that aren’t in the mainstream that you’d like to see more popular.

RD: Johnny the Homicidal Maniac is amazing but I don’t know if that’s popular or not–but I love that a lot! I talked to Jonathan Rhys Meyers when I worked with him (on Alexander) and told him, “You’d be so good as Johnny!” I think it’s really good humor. I just read this really crazy book, which I would like to be better but it’s not, Trucker Fags in Denial. I like Lenore and all that kind of stuff. Neil Gaiman’s really popular and Lucifer is really amazing. I’m trying to think of what’s not popular. Bite Club, I like Bite Club. I’m not sure if they’re popular or not but it’s what I buy so they’re popular with me. [Laughs]

EE: Do you think elements of those darker comics you’re into get siphoned into O.C.T.?

RD: Probably. I think it just says something weird about myself. They’re definitely tonally what I like. O.C.T. is not a PG-13 kind of thing. It’s not for kids particularly, though they can get into it. But I do like adult-themed comics. I do like intelligent kind of stuff. With O.C.T. we’re dealing with magic and creatures and people keep trying to think about it like Ghostbusters or Men in Black and that’s not where we’re going with it at all. I’m trying to do something much stronger. I think of more grungy, I think of skateboarders in New York looking at the world in a different way. The curiosity, imagination and inspiration that come with that–That’s what I get behind. It’s not something everybody gets because most of those kids are scruffy and people don’t get how amazing and intelligent they are and how playing with the Earth in that way is a really beautiful thing. It’s something a lot of people who push papers around could probably benefit from. O.C.T. is people being able to discover magic, not in the Disneyland, Mickey Mouse sort of way but magic in the sense of power, like Green Lantern, knowing your will, your strength and being able to manipulate that respectfully.

EE: What’s it like to actually be inside a comic book, visually seeing you in the pages?

RD: Yeah, it’s a little odd I’d have to say but fun also. We did this picture [pointing to a poster of the cover to issue #1 behind her] in David Atchison’s and my Uncle Gus’ apartment and Tony Shasteen, the illustrator took photographs where I’m holding a broomstick. And then all of a sudden it looks all badass like that, which is pretty cool. It’s nice because I get to do a lot of stuff unlike with film where it’s 16-hour days where I don’t have as much creative input as I do in the comic. I felt like the work I was doing visually for it was not just fodder for nothing. I’m doing it in a way of true storytelling. We’re going over the panels, the story, what kind of expressions I need to do, where is Sophia coming from emotionally and really adding that to this, which is a really cool thing to bring into comics. When you’re looking at an Alex Ross painting real people, you can see they’re real people because they have real emotions but a lot of times it’s so fantastical when you’re dealing with magic or whatever in a lot of comics to see they’re people with expressions that don’t really feel authentic, they don’t feel like they’re in the moment. That’s the fun part when I see me in there, it looks like storyboards of a movie but it’s cool because I know we specifically did that on purpose. We really tried to get emotion in there purposely and as an actor I feel really excited that I can do that. I hope it’s really coming across the way I want as an actor. I’m trying to contribute what I can because I’m not the illustrator I help with the editing and the dialogue as well but I’m not the writer. This what I can contribute so I hope that comes across.

EE: You’re credited as a writer as well–

RD: Yeah.

EE: Are you doing the actual dialogue, the plot or a little bit of both?

RD: A little bit of both. David and I get on the phone and we go over everything: where we’re going with the story, the characters we’re creating, how we’re pacing it. A lot of the times with the creation kind of conversation he goes and he writes. David does a lot of research and brings what he has. I’ll do some of the editing and boiling it down to get the dialogue really working. He’s definitely the truer geek than I am and puts in a lot of information, and that’s awesome–I feel like I’m reading a Quentin Tarantino script, he has great dialogue–but he brings tons and tons of stuff inside that’s just what the characters are thinking. I’m like, “You’re not necessarily going to get that necessarily, unless Tony can read your mind. I don’t know if they [the readers] are going to get that. So you need to make that snappier and not have thought bubbles all over the place. How do you make that work with just dialogue?” And I have that from experience from doing filmmaking for so long. There’s a lot of exposition in some comics, and they feel they need to do that but I know that from acting and talking to people that if there’s logic to it, you’ll follow, and you don’t need to say as much as you think you do. That’s what I am contributing writing-wise.

EE: For women who don’t read comics, what would you say they’re missing out on?

RD: Oh my god, so much. I talk to my brother and we deliberate over all of the lessons we learn from reading comics. It’s so incredible. The reason why Hollywood’s even jumping on the bandwagon for comics is because they’re real stories. People aren’t telling real stories anymore. Stories are how we learn anything. Stories are our bread; it’s what we had since the beginning. From poetry and oral history and music, it’s all stories and not just entertainment. I think people, especially chicks, think that with looking at comics, ‘Aw, it’s just a pictures thing, it’s a guy thing with muscle-bound guys and the girls are so outrageously perfect.’ That idealistic thing is not really what they’re interested in. And I go, “No. Have you ever thought about this or ever felt that?” You should pick up an Alan Moore book. You should pick up Lucifer because I know how religious your feeling with all of these different thoughts and it’s a different perspective. Look at X-Men. Have you ever felt different? And who would you be? Would you want to be Magneto and feel that everyone’s a peon around you or would you want to be Xavier and try to fit in? And I love that with O.C.T. for a lot of women trying to figure out who they are through experience and looking at their history–that’s what the Sofia character really has and will hopefully be a good draw for women to get into comics. That’s what I’m hoping for.

I work with a girls club group in New York City in the lower East Side and I want to do a block party in New York and bring in artists to come down to teach the girls how to do comics and get them interested on how they can express themselves. Visually they can be artists, they can be writers but also how many people they can reach through comics.

EE: Instead of David Chapelle’s Block Party, it will be Rosario’s Block Party.

RD: [Laughs] Comics are a way to bring up great political humor. There are different types of comics out there. It’s not just all T and A. If you look at Maus or Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi, that’s a great book for girls to get into and really see how you can really bring up really intense–especially female issues–in the world and do it in a way that’s never been experienced before. It’s like documentary films vs. just kid films vs. entertainment films vs. dramatic films vs. whatever, romantic comedies. There are all different types and comics has that as well. Maybe that’s what stops women from getting into it; they think it’s only one thing and that it’s a guy thing.

I just did Clerks II and it’s really tracking well with men, they get it really easily but with women, they don’t really see it, but I’m like, “Are you fucking kidding me? As a chick, I love this movie.” If a guy were to bring me to it on a date I’d be his. I don’t know if that’s just my particular sense of humor or sense of whatever, but I think it’s because I was exposed to it really early because my uncle is a comic book artist so I have the benefit of not being prejudice against it and that’s what I hope to break–that prejudice.

Stay tuned for part two of our Rosario Dawson interview (with video)!