What's Up Wednesday - April 30, 2008

Not much to update with this week, but I will keep this up until I close this shop down for good. What did I like this week? Good question!

The Comic: I listened to an episode of the Comic Geek Speak podcast yesterday, and they did an interview with Raina Telgemeier, who writes a number of comics, including the extraordinarily popular Babysitter's Club series of graphic novels. And no, I've never read them, but I have seen them in the shop and have always admired her art. During the interview she mentioned her webcomic, called "SMILE (A Dental Drama)", which is the true story about how she lost her two front teeth in the sixth grade. It's a really good read: she's got a great cartoony style that's really good for action and for emotional moments, and the story of her dental escapades combines with the other adventures in her life in such a way that I get really invested in the main character, namely her. It's cute but not fluffy, and if you can handle very mild dental horror stories, I really really really think you should check it out. I was surprised at how much I liked it.

The Movie: What an odd movie, Monsieur Verdoux. The story of a former bank clerk who takes up marrying rich women and murdering them in order to provide a comfortable living for his crippled wife and young son. Based on an idea by Orson Welles and written, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin, it's definitely not the feel-good fare of The Kid or City Lights. Panned when it was first released - and I can understand why, but not quite agree with, the reasons - Monsieur Verdoux is perhaps Chaplin's best performance, and with this movie he finally took a firm command of the techniques of the talking picture. It's got comedic moments, but this is a decidedly black comedy, and Chaplin is surprisingly good when the charming persona starts to fade away and the hard killer starts to emerge.

The Real-Life: I'm getting excited for the Sasquatch music festival at the end of the month. My tickets came in the mail the other day, so now I'm just making up a budget for the weekend that includes gas, food, merchandise, and whatnot. From the lineup it should be a VERY good time; will keep everyone posted when I can.