Ian Casselberry is a freelance writer, currently based in Asheville, NC.
He is a columnist for Bloguin's The Outside Corner. Previously, he was a MLB lead writer for Bleacher Report, and has been a contributing writer for Yahoo! Sports' Big League Stew, SB Nation and MLive.com.
You can also find him on the Twitter and the Facebook, where he craves your attention.
Go figure that I'd go crazy over a new trailer for Man of Steel, the latest Superman movie.
With Christopher Nolan and David Goyer involved, this figured to be a good one. I know many people have questions about Zack Snyder as director, but Watchmen and Sucker Punch look incredible, regardless of what you think about their stories.
But it's probably the perfect mix. Nolan had the clout to get this movie made, based on the success of his Batman films. Yet Superman can't be bogged down in attempts at realism as the Dark Knight movies were, simply because we're talking about a man from another planet who can fly and lift cars in the air.
That's where Goyer and Snyder come in. Goyer gets the whole superhero thing, wholly immersed in the DC and Marvel characters as he's written several scripts for movies (Ghost Rider, Flash, Green Arrow, Magneto) that were never produced. And Snyder can create the spectacle on screen.
Based on this trailer, all of those talents came together nicely.
This looks like the Superman movie that fans — comic book, fantasy, science fiction, summer blockbuster, etc. — have always wanted to see.
There's big, superheroic action. Superman is actually an active character, one that engages his opponents in battle. But there's also human drama, following the modern interpretation that Clark Kent is an alienated soul, someone who knew he didn't quite fit in but didn't know why.
Perhaps most importantly, we get the two sides of Superman, based on his two different fathers. His birth father sends him to a world where he'll be a god-like figure, one that inspires people. His adopted father reminds him of the humanity instilled in his upbringing, regardless of where he came from.
And thanks to Michael Shannon, Superman finally faces a menacing villain on screen. General Zod can actually inflict violence on Superman, rather than try to outwit him and rely on Kryptonite to even the playing field.
Man, this looks good. I hope the movie is as good as the trailer.
Despite an obvious love for comic books and superhero movies, it's been quite a while since I've actually read an extended run of a comic-book series.
But with the Marvel and DC apps on the iPad, I've dipped a toe back into comic books. This past weekend, I finished off the 25-issue run of Marvel Comics' Guardians of the Galaxy.
It wasn't a marathon reading session. I've been chipping away at the series — once again spending more money on comics than I should — since Labor Day, shortly after Marvel announced it would be making a Guardians of the Galaxy movie.
I enjoyed the series at first, but it lost its way after eight or 10 issues. I knew the series was cancelled after 25 issues, so decided to see it through.
In doing so, I got back into two of the worst tendencies of my comic-book collecting days. (I think most collectors fall into these traps.) I stuck with a series even when it became clear that it wasn't very good and I wasn't enjoying it anymore. But I kept reading just to have, I don't know, a complete set.
(A complete set of what? Again, I don't know. I don't save the issues on my iPad, though they could be downloaded again if I wanted. But at least the comics don't fill boxes in my basement or garage anymore.)
The biggest problem with Guardians of the Galaxy is that it constantly shuffled the most interesting characters (such as the lead, Peter Quill, who Chris Pratt will be playing) to the background, focusing on far less compelling — and annoying — ones, probably in the interests of pushing the larger story arcs ahead.
I doubt the movie will make the same mistake. This is probably why I should save my disposable income for superhero movies, instead of comic books.
I’ll admit that I’ve drawn Batman masks on magazine pictures and other drawings in my lifetime. (As I’m sure I’ve written before—and probably will again—I wanted to be a comic book artist when I was a kid.)
But it never occurred to me to draw on money. Maybe because I didn’t think any U.S. presidents would make good superheroes. Obviously, that was before I knew that Abraham Lincoln was once a vampire hunter or Barack Obama would one day be elected.
I wonder if this artist, Aslan Malik, drew on actual currency? If so, this project cost him $185, if my math is correct.
Nothing wrong with that, of course. It's his choice as an artist. But if things ever get tight, this Justice League could end up in some cash registers.
I have quite a few Moleskine notebooks, enough to make you think I collect them.
But I've only filled a couple of notebooks, mostly with lists of books and articles I want to read, ideas for short stories or blog posts, places I want to go (i.e., restaurants where I want to eat) when visiting a particular city, and a few other stray thoughts.
However, Kenneth Rocafort — who's currently drawing Superman for DC Comics — is showing what should be done with these Moleskines. Or rather, what can be done.
I need to start putting better stuff in my Moleskines. Oh, and also impulsively buying them while waiting in line at Barnes and Noble.
For my first blog post in a very, very long time here, I figured I'd share a question that someone asked me on Twitter.
Those who follow me can probably quickly figure out that baseball and superhero movies are loves of mine, given how frequently I tweet about them. So to get these two questions made me feel like I actually accomplished something.
@iancass i have two questions: what's brian cashman waiting 4 in order 2 make moves? what do u think of a ghost rider/punisher/blade movie?
More from me later, which will probably include the obligatory "why I haven't been blogging here" post.
Yes, I know—and I'm sorry. For the post to come, that is. Not the lack of blogging here. I mean, I am sorry for that, but I don't think you were looking for an apology. Or were you?
• I'm really eager to read John Bacon's book on Rich Rodriguez's tenure as Michigan football coach. (Even though I realistically won't get really into it until after baseball season ends.) Not only do I expect it to confirm several beliefs I've long held, but it sounds like there's plenty of other inside stuff that is rankling a lot of people close to the program. [MVictors]
• The list of movies currently in theaters that I want to see is growing. (No, I haven't seen "Moneyball." Yes, I know I write about baseball.) That concerns me since the baseball playoffs are about to begin. Between that and sneaking in some Michigan football, I don't know how much "leisure" time will be available. I just hope "Drive" stays in theaters for a week or two.
Oh, this is an interview with the director, Nicolas Winding Refn. He shoots his movies in chronological order. [The A.V. Club]
• With DC Comics rebooting its entire comic book line (I've read a few of them on the iPad, out of curiosity, and intend to write about them soon), a trio of forensic psychologists would like to see comics creators be more responsible about depicting mental illness. They feel the Batman line, in particular, with several "criminally insane" villains in its rogues gallery (i.e., The Joker) perpetuate dangerously negative stereotypes. [New York Times]
• I already wasn't thrilled about my height. But apparently, I have some getting shorter to look forward to. And it might be happening sooner than I would like to admit. Actually, it may already be happening. To you, as well.
But if height loss indicates all the other stuff that's going wrong with you, you might be ready to die anyway. So get some smokes and a bottle of whiskey and just ride it out. [Wall Street Journal]
• As a comic book-loving kid, one of my absolute favorites was "The New Teen Titans" by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. At one point, my life's ambition was to draw like Perez.
If you'd have told me those two were coming out with a new Teen Titans story — 25 years after they first began working on it — I would've been excited to read it. And I was, for many, many years. Even within the last six years. But now, I'm not sure I can work up too much excitement for it.[The Beat]
Saturday, May 4, 2013 at 11:00AM 
