X-Men on the screen -- hits and misses... and what might actually work

5 Television shows, 6 films. You really can't beat superheros for their longitivity on screen. Yet outside of the geek world, most of the X-Men incarnations are far less well-known than the different takes on heroes like Spiderman and Batman.

Why is this? Let's see if we can find out...

The first attempt at telling the X-Men story on screen was a short-lived venture called "Pryde of the X-Men" that never got beyond a pilot. It was quickly shelved, and what's interesting to note is that three of the main characters (Kitty Pryde, Dazzler and Colossus) never showed up in the subsequent X-Men animated show, and another (Nightcrawler) only got limited appearances. An attempt on Marvel's part to clearly set apart this team from the last one?

Whatever the reasoning, it must have worked because "X-Men" became an extremely successful television show, running for 5 years and remaining the longest running X-Men show (and one of the longest running Marvel Animated shows) to date. It featured a classic line-up and was extremely faithful to the traditional story-arcs of the original comics. To this day many X-Men fans credit their interest in the team to this show.

The only other X-Men appearance in the 90's was the generally disliked "Generation X" made-for-tv movie which did so poorly that most fans don't even mention it except to ridicule.

In 2000, Marvel decided to take the X-Men out for a spin again, this time moving away from tradition and instead imagining the main team as teenagers who attend public high school. This allowed for a more character driven, kid-friendly show that better fit the expectations of Saturday-morning audiences. It also was a surprisingly good show. Though the dialog was weak at points, the characterization and plotting was quite strong. The main strength of the show was treating the characters as teens struggling both with normal teen issues as well as the pressures of their superpowers. This made for an extremely accessible show, not only for comic-fans but also for the average viewer. In fact, it was this show that got me into comic books in the first place, and I've gotten several friends hooked on the X-Men through this show as well.

The show lasted into a 4th season, and left a lasting legacy in the Marvel canon as an original show character (Wolverine teenage girl clone, X-23) went on to become a regular member of the comic team and even a main player for a time on X-Force.

Also in 2000 was the debut of the live action film "X-Men." This featured the most well-known characters in lead roles, but contained a completely new storyline and dramatically changed character ages and in some cases, entire personalities. It did well commercially, but reviews among fans were mixed. The sequel, "X-2" was loosely based on the comic story "God Loves, Man Kills" but again changed character relations and personalities. The third in the trilogy, "X-Men: The Last Stand" tried to retell the Dark Phoenix arc, but turned into what is generally seen as a muddle of cameos and poorly executed and confusing storylines.

In 2009, Fox decided to try again with the X-Men films (which had been good moneymakers despite poor reactions to the third), and featured the most popular X-Man character, Wolverine in an origins story.

"Wolverine" proved to be a fun romp, but once again strayed too far from comic cannon to satisfy fans -- instead antagonizing and alienating many of them.

However, while the big screen was failing, the small screen scored a success with "Wolverine and the X-Men" which featured a solid line-up of favorite and currently featured characters, and a solid storyline that, while new, paid respectful homage to cannon. It's premature cancellation after only one season was mourned by many fans (especially this one!).

2011. What's next for X-Men? We've got another film coming up. Which, if you've read any of my previous posts on the subject, you'll know is being viewed with trepidation by most fans. And no wonder, with the track record Fox has made itself on the films.

At the same time, Japan is due to release an anime show, featuring a line-up of traditionally popular characters. Since X-Men animation and Japan's anime tradition are both strong and well-respected, there's interest and hope for something good here.

So looking over this colorful and relatively extensive history... what trends can we notice here?

Canon works. It's canon for a reason, and the comics have had 40 years to figure out how these characters work.

It's a sad but true fact that the time constraints of a film simply cannot do justice to the varied cast and adventures of the X-Men. There are just too many characters, and anything less than a full-length season is just going to delegate most of them to cameo roles.

And financially, a full live-action season would still run far, far less than making a big budget film.

So why haven't we seen a live action X-Men show yet? Two reasons. First of all, up until recently, doing that kind of special effect-work on TV was simply not financially feasible. However science fiction shows are showing up more and more on prime-time television -- to say nothing of cable. So that objection is pretty much out the window.

Second reason? Back in the late 90's, the executives saw two options. To make a film, or a live action show. They chose to go film. Their reasoning was that they couldn't promote both at the same time. Which is a very valid reason. It's just sad because I feel quite strongly that, in the long run, a show would have proved a far more satisfying experience than a film.

I could be wrong. They could have hired a horrid writer, cast terrible actors, decided on a corny plot...

Or it could have been wonderful. They could have decided to follow the comics, telling the story of the move from New York to San Francisco... or even better, they could adapt Joss Whedon's run on "Astonishing X-Men" which still remains (IMHO) one of the finest bits of X-Men story ever.

Want more of my opinions on all things X-Men? Check out my Geek Portal!
You can also see my fan art here!

Smile-ful Things

There are several small things that have been making me smile lately. I thought I'd share them with you.

First off is a cryptic message that appeared on our refrigerator...
I didn't write it. My sister didn't write it. So who did???? WHO did? ;)

(Actually we're fairly certain someone wrote it at my birthday party, but it's a cool mystery nonetheless)

Speaking of birthdays, this little cake box is an adorable present I received this year. I still have to figure out something special to keep in it.

Dice. Dice are addicting. Give a handful of dice to anyone and they cannot stop playing with them. Especially if they are my super awesome red dice (pictured below). Little story behind these. I was at my friends Jason and Alicia's house and Jason has this HUGE bowl of all the dice people have left at his place over the years. I was digging through it and I came across some of these red dice. I fell in love with them at once. I didn't have my own dice yet but I knew if I ever got any, I wanted them to look like these. Well the next time I came over, Jason had gone through all his dice and found the complete set and gave them to me. So now I have my dream dice. :)

Alas, the next picture is blurry... but here is my beloved Wacom Bamboo drawing tablet. This is what I do all of my digital coloring on. I LOVE it. It is my... well not my best technological friend (that's my laptop) but pretty close.

This is a beautiful handmade card my friend JoJo sent me for my birthday. Isn't it gorgeous? I am in awe...

'Hello mates! Here is my latest art acquisition... an artist's mannequin. And before you ask, no I have NOT named it. My sister calls hers "Alfred." I don't know if I want to name mine, because it'll be a stand in for all sorts of people and I'm afraid the drama of sketching... oh, say, Rogue, will be lost if the model is named "George." You know?

Okay, final laugh? Remember how I told you earlier this week that I'd ordered... well a lot of X-Men books from the library? *sigh* Over half of them have now come in. I've returned the ones I've already read, but here is what one corner of my room currently looks like.
(The truth? It makes me very happy.)

Doctor Who Comic Relief Sketch

Have you seen the new Doctor Who Comic Relief sketch they've released to hold us over until Season 6 begins airing on April 23rd?

Like "Time Crash" this two part short takes place entirely in the Tardis. It starts the Doctor, Amy and Rory in a stand alone story that definitely qualifies as "wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey"

Part 1 (Space)


Part 2 (Time)


Who can't wait for Season 6?

Blue Tailcoat - Part 4 (Complete!)

Aren't the sleeves cool? I really love how they turned out!

Putting the collar in... believe it or not, collars have always scared me to death. Turns out they're absurdly simple and nothing to be afraid of.
Almost done...
Marking the buttonholes. Buttonholes are another thing I used to be afraid of. These, however, I did in about 15 minutes. Hurrah for machines with buttonhole functions!
Shipped it off to my client, and he presented me with some pictures of the finished product!

I think it turned out fantastic! It was so fun to work on a project like this and get to do fun little details like the sleeve buttons and the piping.

I also love that it fit perfectly. Patterns can be notorious for not fitting properly, but from the pictures it looks wonderful!
Want to commission your own costume? Simply send me an e-mail at elenatintil [at] gmail[dot] com and describe your vision and I'll give you a price quote on the project.

Scottish encounters and celebrating Irish-ness

Sometimes life is just plain interesting.

For instance, now that we've made the switch from Daylight Savings Time, if I wake up at 8:10 I will be just in time to see the sunrise over the forest outside my bedroom window.

Yesterday I was so inspired, that I actually wrote a bit on my latest book before breakfast. For the record, I never write before breakfast. Well except for maybe a blog post. But never novel writing. Anyhow this book is interesting because I'm writing it in tiny spurts -- never more than a page and a half at a time. Yesterday I hit page 14. So, we'll see where it goes...

Yesterday was also the deadline for the blue tailcoat project. So I spent most of the day frantically sewing, and ended up dragging the project along to a doctor's appointment. That was sort of... interesting. The cool part was that the receptionist saw my project and came over to look at it. Turns out she does costumes for a living history group and gave me the information on it. I looked up the website and nearly freaked out... it's a Scottish living history group.

Of course, I'm also terribly amused that I find out about the Scottish group the day before St. Patrick's day. But there isn't a "Scottish Day" in American tradition, so I guess this was the closest God could get...

And maybe the Scotland fixation explains why I didn't get the date significance when my friend Alicia announced she was working on a drawing of the Irish Mutant, Banshee. I feel very annoyed with myself for missing that one.

Speaking of mutants... I recently decided to do some X-Men research and ordered... um... a lot of comics from the library. By a lot I mean somewhere close to... *whispers* 100. And about a quarter of them came in yesterday. There had only been 14 listen on the website when I had checked before heading in to town, but when I arrived the number had almost doubled. That was slightly embarrassing. But, oh well, I have plenty of reading material now.

I'll conclude this post with an Irish blessing, and now I'm off to find something green to wear...

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

The Hunger Games

You know, it's funny. I'm both skeptical of popular media, and I also want to check it out to stay afresh of the times. It's an interesting battle.

I had little interest in "The Hunger Games" until a friend of mine declared they were the best books ever and I absolutely had to read them. I've learned to trust recommendations by my friends (mostly because I never stop searching for something new to read) so I immediately placed a hold for them at my library. Of course, I was #300 or something on the reserve list, so I ended up having to wait about three months for the books to come in!

Then, when I finally got them, I spent about three days warily looking at the covers and wondering whether I really wanted to read a story about a dystopian future where people apparently fought to the death for food.

I mean, really?

At last I had absolutely nothing left to read and I was going to end up with overdue fines... so I picked up the first book and started reading.

"The Hunger Games" (and its sequels, "Catching Fire" and "Mockingjay") take place some centuries in the future. America as we know it has fallen, to be replaced by twelve districts. A thirteenth that was obliterated as a warning when it tried to lead a rebellion against the Capitol. As a final safeguard against future rebellion, the Capitol instituted Hunger Games to remind the populace of their absolute control over the districts.

Every year, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 is selected from each of the districts. They are then dropped into a huge arena and forced to battle each other to the death until only one remains.

The worst part? The entire thing is broadcasted on television and the people are forced to watch their children die.

Katniss Everdeen finds herself thrust into the midst of this horror when she steps up to take her sister's place, after the 12-year-old's name was drawn. Katniss is a resident of district twelve, the mining district, and has spent most of her life hunting in the forbidden woods to feed her family. This gives her a bit of an edge, but will it be enough? And what will happen to the other contestant chosen from their district, a boy whom Katniss owes a debt of gratitude to? Will she be forced to kill him? Or will she die first? Is there any way out? Will they be forced to submit to the Capitol forever?

This is not a book for everyone. It is at times hard to read, and can be dark and violent. However it is also a book of hope, of light, and of understanding the human condition and the power of love. It is one of the most brilliant young adult books I've ever read and I strongly recommend it to anyone who feels brave enough to try.

Word of warning. Do NOT begin book 1 without having the next two volumes close at hand. Both of the first two books have cliffhanger endings and you will go absolutely insane if you do not have the next one to start immediately.

Blue Tailcoat - Part 3

Well I meant to get this up yesterday, but between internet issues and general business it didn't happen. So I'm actually further along than the photos show. Oh well!

First off is a look at the lining with the sleeve attached...

Transferring dart marks is always a pain. Since this pattern is made with stiff paper, I cheated and cut out the dart mark so I could use it like a stencil. Still proud of that one...

Here I had to reshape the lapels. The pattern called for the curved shape you see on the right, but my client wanted something straighter and more military, as you see on the left.
Adding the interfacing to the blue wool.

A look at the back.

A closer look at the join between the waist and the tails. These tails were pretty frustrating to put in because the pattern is poorly written at this point. However I was adding a split anyhow (not included in the original pattern) so I finally just scrapped the directions for this part and followed my intuition. I think it turned out pretty nice.

In the next three pictures I've put the body of the assembled wool over the lining. You can get an idea of the shape of the final coat, minus the full sleeves.

(Bear in mind, the dress form is being used as a hanging device only. It's a female dress form, so the actual coat will hang much straighter when worn by its intended user)

Sleeve time! Sleeves are hard to iron properly, so I used a hand towel to construct a poor man's sleeve board. It worked like a charm!

I then assembled the cuffs, including the pipping on the top. Below you can see the sleeve and cuff laid out as they will be in the final garment.

There will also be three buttons across the top of the sleeve... but I haven't gotten them sewn on yet, so look to see the rest of the coolness in post #4, coming later this week!