Kelson Reviews Stuff - Page 43

We saw Cirque du Soleil’s resident Los Angeles show last weekend. Cirque is always impressive, and Iris has the usual collection of trapeze artists, contortionists, tumblers, ribbon flyers, and elaborate costumes you’d expect from one of their shows. This one stands out for several reasons:

• I like the history of movies, so all the thematic references to early cinema and classic movies were fun. The Dolby Theater is a great match for this look.
• They did a great job of mixing live performances with live and time-delayed video, giving it a very different look from most shows. (And as the program pointed out, the video effects react to the performers, not the other way around.)
• This is the first Cirque show I’ve seen in a long time where I enjoyed the clown performances as much as the acrobatics.

Some highlights:

• The filmstrip act, where the performers walk through a series of identical rooms, each performing an action for a camera that plays back on a short delay, and each interacting with the previous performer’s recorded action.
• The soundstage number at the opening of act two. I think the entire cast was onstage, all doing something different, all at the same time. An incredible illusion of chaos.
• A film noir-style fistfight turned into a tumbling trampoline act.

The only disappointment was that act two felt a bit short, probably because the individual numbers were so long.

Great local coffee shop. Good coffee, friendly staff, nice, relaxed atmosphere. Plus they make a mean panini for lunch.

And if you find yourself in the mood for an ice blended drink and get the Triple Chocolate Delight, be sure to get it with whipped cream. Normally I don’t like whipped cream on my drinks, but with this one, it’s chocolate whipped cream, and it makes a huge difference. Without it, it’s technically only a double chocolate delight.

Incredible views of the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island. Also easy to get to and park. I haven’t tried any of the hiking trails in the area yet, but I keep meaning to.

The best comic store I’ve been to in Orange County. The staff is friendly and helpful, and the selection is incredible. Some stores focus on Marvel and DC and just a smattering of other material. These guys carry everything down to the obscure indie books that you’ve never heard of. I can think of several occasions on which I found out about some obscure book from a publisher I didn’t even recognize, figured I’d have to hunt around for it, then came here first…and found it immediately.

They have a wide selection of graphic novels, manga, T-shirts, trading cards, and as the name suggests, collectible toys (mainly action figures relating to comic books, anime, and sci-fi TV and movies).

They also have the biggest collection of back issues I’ve seen outside a convention in the last decade or so, mostly from the mid-1980s onward.

Starborn is one of three series BOOM! Studios launched in 2010 with ideas by the master of Marvel storytelling, Stan Lee himself. This one comes with an intriguing premise: Benjamin Warner is an unpublished writer, who has been building a science-fiction world ever since he was a child. He finally sent off his first novel to a publisher…and suddenly discovers that what he thought was science-fiction — not to mention all in his head — is in fact very real. And because of what he knows, it wants him dead.

The first issue is mostly exposition, but there’s enough action at the beginning (in the sci-fi setting) and at the end (in reality) to keep things moving. Some elements seem a bit too familiar for someone who’s read a lot of science fiction, but there’s enough going on…and enough left unexplained…to be intriguing. The art style doesn’t really grab me, but I do like the contrast presented between the sci-fi elements and the ordinary world. It may grow on me.

Verdict: Definitely worth a look! I’d like to know more about the world, and the lead character’s role in it, as well as where the story might go.

CBR has a preview of the book.

Starborn #1
Concept by Stan Lee
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Khary Randolph

Update: The series ran for 12 issues. I don’t remember how far I got or why I stopped reading it.