Ray Harryhausen passed away last week. This has been noted by people more qualified than I to discuss the master of stop-motion magic—Rick Baker, Adam Savage, Todd Masters, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, and more. The superhuman talent and perseverance evident in a Harryhausen effects sequence can easily be seen in countless visual effects artists since he first brought his creations to frame-by-frame life on the big screen. That makes sense. So how can I really say anything of worth when I say that I was also profoundly influenced by the artistry of Ray Harryhausen? With modesty, and a story about Clash of the Titans. Continue reading…
See All Categories
- Comics (120)
- First (7)
- Guest Star (45)
- Movies (34)
- Notes (2113)
- Romance (76)
- Science-Fiction (116)
- Screen (58)
- Videogames (71)
Recent Features
Ray Harryhausen and Me: A Life of High Adventure and Escapism
Things That Change You Forever
I have a ghost story of my own. At least, I have a ghost-cat story.
My final year as an undergraduate was spent in relative splendor. My friends and I lucked into tenancy in the house of a professor on sabbatical. Twelve foot ceilings! Built in bookshelves! Three cats! Real, grown-up furniture! Wait… let’s get back to the cats. The professorial family had three cats and a dog, though the dog was sent to a friend with a farm (later, they told us later that we clinched the lease when they told us that cat care was part of the deal and our response was, “Aw, we don’t get the dog?”).
So. Three housemates, three cats. One morning around the (solid oak!) table, we were chatting about the cats’ sleeping habits. Two of the cats routinely slept in my room, the third with one of the others. Feeling a little left out, the third roommate said, “That’s okay, because Ghost Cat slept on my bed last night.” Continue reading…
Secret Agent, Detective, Genius, Jerk: Modernizing Sherlock Holmes
A man with dark wavy hair wakes up in an iron-framed bed in the middle of a windowless room. He leaps out from under the white sheets and stares intently at a corner of the white ceiling. Suddenly, gracefully, he spins to defeat an invisible opponent in four swift motions, finally falling to his knees in front of an empty chair, hands outstretched.
There’s something about the way Benedict Cumberbatch plays the lead role in the BBC series Sherlock that seems like it could be Holmes’ fantasy version of how a brilliant detective behaves. Continue reading…
My New Weapon of Choice
In April, the Guttersnipes like to mix it up a little. This month, Comics Editor Carol Borden writes about romance.
“You hit him with a frying pan,” he said to her. “How come you didn’t grab a knife?”
“The frying pan was closer.” Her eyes slid away. “It’s not like I had time to pick a weapon. It’s not like the frying pan is my weapon of choice.” –Agnes And The Hitman (27)
Growing up in a town where Elvis was sighted post mortem, I despised and mocked The King. Now, I have held wakes in his honor. I used to only like punk. Then I used to say I liked everything but country. Now I don’t even bother arguing that I’m listening to “Americana,” not country. It is a truth universally acknowledged that something I once despised I will come to appreciate and, often, love. So when both Chris and alex recommended Jennifer Crusie, the author of many romance novels, and in particular her collaboration with Bob Mayer, Agnes And The Hitman, I knew I needed to read it. Continue reading…
Greil Marcus SVA Commencement Speech
At the School of Visual Art, Greil Marcus delivers a commencement speech discussing “high art” vs. “low art,” art, and influence. (Thanks, Andrew!)
Interview with Kim Gordon
“What the breach of generations shows is that there’s more than one way to be feminist.” Lizzie Goodman interviews musician and artist, Kim Gordon.
The Fashion of Frida Kahlo
Messy Nessy Chic has a gallery showcasing Frida Kahlo’s fashion and it’s relationship to her life and work. And you can see her dresses, corsets, headpieces, jewellery and other articles on display in Mexico City at the Museo Frida Kahlo until Nov. 22, 2013. (Thanks, K.A. Laity!)
Remembering Roger Ebert
The Gutter’s own Carol writes about Roger Ebert, art and adapting: “I’ll miss Roger Ebert. He was complicated and messy and smart and talented and human.”
RIP, Carmine Infantino
Comic artist Carmine Infantino has died. Infantino is most famous for his work on Barry Allen, The Flash, as co-creator of Batgirl and on the 1980s Star Wars comics, but he also worked as an editor, freelance artist and teacher. Comics Alliance, The AV Club and Robot Six have obituaries. Gary Groth interviewed Infantino in [...]
Interview with Michael Caine
The Daily Mail has a nice interview with Michael Caine and photographer David Bailey.
Flappers!
The Flapper Girl has amazing resources on Twenties and Thirties art, design, illustration, millinery, and, especially, Flappers. Meanwhile, The Library of Congress has a sweet selection of articles on “The Rise of the Flapper!“
Michael Caine: The Birth of the Cool
At Permission To Kill, David Bailey’s iconic photograph of Michael Caine and eight artistic interpretations.
The Glorious Struggle!
North Korean haircuts acceptable to the Communist party, photographs of Madame Mao’s Cultural Revolution operas and ballet and songs dispelling Fascist threats and Communist lies. (via @WFMU and @HollyHunt913)
Gary Groth Interviews Maurice Sendak
The Comics Journal has published a goodly excerpt of Gary Groth’s interview with illustrator and writer Maurice Sendak. “And one of the passions I have about children is, we don’t know what they see, we don’t know what they really hear. And occasionally they are polite enough to let us in.” Make sure to click [...]
Is that a gun in your sweatpants?
Art, morality and The Superbowl
I told my 3 year old that I’d find a bed for his google-eyed dinosaur. “I promise, sweetheart.” Then, after 45 minutes of ducking in and out of his room with him crying and the senile cat howling in the background while I tried to write an article, I threw the dinosaur across the living [...]
The 2012 Kitschies Shortlist
Our friends at Pornokitsch have announced the shortlist for the 2012 Kitschies, and The Guardian reports on it! The Kitschies recognize “the year’s most progressive, intelligent and entertaining works that contain elements of the speculative or fantastic.”
Robocop Statue Update
The Detroit Free Press has news about Robocop’s return to Detroit–in statue form.
Gorgeous Film Posters from India!
A gallery of amazing film posters by Kannada artist, Ramachandraiah. And another! (thanks, @lowdudgeon and @TeleportCity!)
The Gallifreycrumb Tinies
Doctor Who in the style of Edward Gorey. (Boo, Adric! Yay, Wirrn!)
365 Supers
1 original superhero per day. (Thanks, Clarice!)
A Talk on 3D Comics
Jason Little talks about 3D comics from Wheatstone to Duchamp to now at Dare2Draw. (via Becky Cloonan)
Nice Things Said About Gutter-A-Go-Go!
Sharnacious, EJPCreations and ADignorantium have some nice things to say about The Gutter and our indiegogo campaign, Gutter-A-Go-Go!
Indiana Jones and the Mystery of Ravenwood’s Journal
Wired digs deeper into the mysterious journal sent to Henry Walton Jones, Jr., aka, Indiana Jones, at the University of Chicago.
Black Kirby
Artvoice profiles, Black Kirby, John Jennings and Stacey Robinson’s art team that “imitates and parodies Jack Kirby’s in style and substance, adding an African-American—and notably contemporary—dimension.”
keep looking »Of Note Elsewhere
At Sequart, Julian Darius makes the case that Star Trek: Into Darkness damages the Star Trek franchise and that “Starfleet must be destroyed.” (via Mike White)
“It’s easier to tell the same stories everyone else does. There’s no particular shame in it.
It’s just that it’s lazy, which is just about the worst possible thing a spec fic writer can be.
Oh, and it’s not true.”
Kameron Hurley writes about lazy writing, cannibal llamas, female soldiers, and women here. (Thanks, James!)
Patton Oswalt’s multi-franchise super-movie described in his Star Wars filibuster from Parks and Recreation, animated.
Corrigan Vaughan writes an open letter to “Fans of Geek Things“: “I appreciate that you think I have a nice rack and that some of you even find my friends and I to be pretty. That’s very kind. I’m not, however, super in love with the fact that having a rack at all seems to preclude me from being considered a ‘real’ fan.”
The Book!
Obsessive?
Weekly Notifications
Search the Gutter
What We’re Talking About
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
action
adaptation
animation
art
Canada
capitalism
China
comedy
comics
fandom
fantasy
feminism
film history
games
geekery
gender
history
horror
interviews
Japan
martial arts
monsters
movies
music
RIP
romance
science fiction
space
superheroes
the ladies
trailers
tv
UK
USA
video
writing