BATMAN...AND BEYOND!

Yeah, I know I’m a little late gettin’ around to it, but I figure I’ll throw in my two and a half cents about “The Dark Knight Rises”.  First, I have to say that I went into the theater with the sense that I would not be disappointed with this final installment of the Nolan trilogy.  I just had a feeling that things from TDK that left me so depressed (for lack of a better word) would somehow be righted.  I was not wrong…for the most part.  I think that there were a lot of things that were right on the money here.  Though I might have gone another way in some aspects, I believe that there were a lot of visions in TDKR that we saw in “Batman Begins”.  I’m not sure if those bits were because of more writing contributions by David Goyer or if it was just a conscious decision from the whole creative team to give the movie that feeling.  Aside from the obvious connection to BB (I won’t spoil it for the two people who haven’t seen the flick) there was the same kind of energy that was not (in my opinion) present in TDK.  It’s kinda hard to talk about my favorite points of the movie without giving away plot.  The same goes for the parts that I wasn’t so jazzed about, but I can say that I think the movie was worth the admission price and I’ll be glad to add “The Dark Knight Rises” to my Bat-collection. 

That being said…I’m ready for the next vision of The Batman to fill us with delight.  I am almost positive that Nolan will still have his hands in the production or executive production of the next concept, but I hope that the next creative team gives us the Batman that gives as good as he gets.  I’m talking about the guy that can go head to head with a “Super” human and come away with his head up.  That’s the guy I wanna see next.  After all, next summer we get to “believe a man can fly” again.  We should be getting ready for a Batman that can help save a planet from other worldly foes.  That only seems fair.  If I wanna see a realistic super hero, I’ll watch a Norris movie ;-))

As far as “Man of Steel” goes, I like what I’ve seen so far.  I think that the Jor El and Jonathan Kent teasers were brilliant.  Was it me, or did anyone else get the same visual vibe from those trailers as from the first “Batman Begins” teaser?  Weird…yet hopeful!  Let’s all hope that we will see stuff that we have never seen but have always been waiting for.  Horns Up!

BARLOW OUT!!!

THE GIFT

You know, it’s pretty cool being a comic nerd/metal head sometimes.  What’s best may be the fact that there are so many folks around the world that are just like me…less the red hair and pasty skin…maybe. It never ceases to amaze me that I have met the likes of me in just about every corner of the world, completely obliterating the preconceived barriers that our various cultures have put in place.  We are a culture unto our own…Never give up! Never surrender! 

 

Where was I?  Oh yes…culture!  Culture-aka- music, art, yak shaving, etc…etc…etc.  The thing is we all have a common bond.  Like the bond between metal and comic art.  A couple of notable comic artists that have lent their brush to both comic book covers and music are Frank Frazetta (RIP) and Simon Bisley.  Mr. Frazetta is probably best known, in the music world, for his contributions to Molly Hatchet cover art.  Yeah, I know M.H. ain’t METAL, but you wouldn’t know it from the bad-ass “Death Dealer” painting on the cover.  Sweeeeeeet!   Mr. Bisley, as another example, has supplied visual aids to several Danzig records.  I know, not exactly METAL either, but Freddie Vidales likes him and that’s METAL enough for me!  Besides, Biz is the undisputed master of painting “Lobo”…and nobody is more METAL than “Lobo”!

Love of these artists’ work is certainly not limited to my two dimensional understanding of light and shadow.  There are many fans of these artistic titans that have studied their beloved style and used that inspiration to fuel their own dark visions.  A couple of years ago, when I was touring in Poland, I was able to meet one of those kindred to this particular style.  Kamil Pietruczynik has been a friend of mine and Iced Earth for many years, though I had not had the pleasure of meeting the evil genius to that point.  First, Kamil is an extremely talented and humble artist.  Secondly, he is a huge METAL fan.  He has provided many killer pieces of work to Iced Earth that features his undeniably cool skills. 

 

Last month, Kamil let me know that he was sending me something that he had been working on for my birthday.  I finally received it in the mail today…thanks U.S. Customs!  I was completely blown away.  I had no idea that it was going to be a 3x4 foot oil painting of “The Batman”!  It is the fockin’ coolest thing…ever!  Please enjoy these images while I e-shop for a kick-ass bat-frame!

PS-Check out Kamil’s website at http://www.kamilpietruczynik.art.pl/ and enjoy some more of his stuff!