When I get the opportunity to work with another pop culture website, I’m happy to help. Collider have come up with a weekly show called Comic Book Shopping that features a special guest celebrity buying their favourite comics. I’ll be featuring the videos on The Comic Vault and talking about what you can expect when you watch. For the latest episode, producer and writer Jon Schnepp meets up with Deadpool director Tim Miller and they discuss his latest projects.
The video begins with Schnepp and Miller meeting up at Comic Bug, Miller’s favourite comic store. Found in Culver City, Comic Bug looks like the kind of store that was made for geeks of all ages. Miller starts by talking about what got him into animation, as he runs Blur Studios. Miller explains he used to be an illustrator and his goal was to get to Marvel or DC. When he couldn’t get a job there, he ended up at Sony Pictures Imageworks. Dissatisfied, Miller borrowed $20,000 from his wife’s grandfather and set up Blur Studios.
What started as three people turned into a successful studio that’s worked on films like Avatar and Thor: Dark World. Along the way, the studio entered the video game market and designed cutscenes for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Miller himself designed the intro cutscene for DC Universe Online.
Next, Miller discusses his collaboration with The Goon creator, Eric Powell. Miller praises Powell’s work and talks about how they are working on The Goon movie. What I found refreshing is how Miller admits the creator of a comic can often get pushed aside. Instead, he brought Powell in and they worked together closely on the project. The film is being pitched as Army of Darkness meets Goodfellas. Can this movie just come out already?
If anyone is interested in learning about The Goon, Schnepp and Miller introduce the best comics to read. They include The Goon in China Town and The Goon in Rough Stuff.
The conversation then moves towards Deadpool and how Miller created the test footage that would become the film. Miller admits he didn’t think anything would happen, but when the footage was leaked he was shocked to hear Fox greenlit the film. Although Miller isn’t directing Deadpool 2, he wishes everyone the best of luck. As a Deadpool fan, Miller is happy to recommend must-read comics. He suggests any of Daniel Way’s stories while Schnepp recommends Deadpool: Dead Presidents.
The comic book shopping then gets underway, starting with a shameless plug for Schnepp’s Slayer: Repentless comic. Miller’s list is diverse, and it includes The Shaolin Cowboy Who’ll Stop The Reign #3, Extremity #5, Dark Knight Returns The Last Crusade, Asterios Polyp and many more. I found the range of indie comics interesting, as I’d not heard of most of the ones he chose. Miller also talks about a pull list, which is a list of favourite comics you can reserve in a store.
Miller’s comic book shopping adds up to $350.32. I found Comic Book Shopping to be an entertaining segment, as you’re able to learn about the industry and get some awesome comic recommendations. Check back soon for the next edition and do look at Collider’s website for a range of informative reviews.
The Comic Vault 