Joss Whedon seems to be a popular subject these days. I recently reviewed an academic work on his art (Reading Joss Whedon), but I don’t think there’s a need to go through his history again here to explain his appeal. Suffice it to say, this is a creator that has always interacted with his fans and appreciated them. From days in internet forums when Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a cadre of loyal fans to last years Firefly anniversary panel at San Diego Comic-Con where he broke down publicly in tears, nerds love Joss Whedon because he seems like he feels the same way about us. Well, and he creates some awesome stuff too. This new biography, Joss Whedon: The Biography from first time author Amy Pascale, covers everything you could possibly expect from the life of the nerd king. The book comes in over 400 pages and actually covers more years than his life, but that’s explained easily enough.

The biography begins after a heartfelt foreword from Whedon’s friend and collaborator Nathan Fillion, and then begins to explain how Joss became Joss. Apparently his parents both were involved in art in various ways, and his mother involved specifically in feminist activism. It’s easy to see the point the biography is making: this is where he gets it from. There’s a common motif of “strong female characters” throughout the book, which has been something Joss has explicitly talked about many times. There’s a bit here Joss’ childhood, but where it gets legitimately interesting is when he begins to work in Hollywood and experiences his first failures and triumphs. Utilizing interviews with producers, actors, friends, and Joss himself, the biography tells the story of Whedon’s unlikely rise to one of the most successful directors in the industry. From his work on the Toy Story script to Alien: Resurrection, each failure and success is demonstrated to build to the next one. A bit slow at first, but then the reader gets quickly drawn into this unlikely story.

I found this book a very engaging read; although it’s a bit slow to get going, the pace gets quick and the material is jam-packed with all sorts of behind the scenes trivia. Recently a letter from Tom Hiddleston to Joss shown in the biography has gone a bit viral online, but for me it was more interesting to read about how the death of Joss’ mother influenced on his views on art. I would guess that people unfamiliar with specific works of his, like his work on Astonishing X-Men, may find those parts dull or unimportant. But I think the book achieves in its goal, to show how each piece of Whedon’s life led inexorably towards him succeeding beyond anyone’s wildest dreams with the extreme box office of The Avengers, the second (or third, I haven’t yet seen Guardians of the Galaxy as of writing this review) best Marvel movie. If you want to know what Joss really thought about his Wonder Woman script but know that Warner Bros will never let you read the actual script, that’s the sort of balance fan perspective that’s ideal for a reader. I think it’s interesting that a biography was written about an artist with plenty still left to do, but it did mean that many people could be interviewed about it.

Perhaps that means an update will needed after Avengers: Age of Ultron or whatever comes after that. Here, Amy Pascale has written an interesting, well-written take on the life and art of Joss Whedon; any true fan should take a look.

Joss Whedon: The Biography is currently available for sale. This review was based on a promotional copy provided to CliqueClack by the Chicago Review Press for the purposes of review.

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All week at Comic-Con, I’ve been trying to provide a post each evening covering the highlights of the day (Day One and Day Two). I’d known all along however, that I would probably fail at trying to complete one Saturday night. I was right.

That being said, now that it is Sunday evening and the con has come to a close, I can take the time to fill you in on the goings on of the last two days. Sunday is always the worst day at Comic-Con, primarily because it marks the end of the experience. It is a little tough knowing that next year’s convention doesn’t start for 360 days.

But enough of me whining; let’s get to the awesomeness of the last couple of days:

• Saturday morning was always going to be one of the best moments of the con, and reality lived up to the hype. Keith and I lucked into – I say “luck” due to the wonkiness of the NerdHQ ticketing process, and the fact that only 250 seats were available – tickets to the Joss Whedon event (part of NerdHQ’s very cool “Conversations for a Cause” series).
• The awesomeness of the Q&A was set right from the beginning. Zach Levi – the leader of all things NerdHQ – came out on stage to “host” the panel … but revealed to the audience via pantomime that he either had no voice left or needed to protect what little he had left for his Broadway gig. No worries; he asked a pal of his to step in, and out walks Nathan Fillion.
• I’d imagine that an hour with Joss would be great enough in and of itself. As you would expect, he is a genuinely funny, insightful and all around swell guy. But throw Fillion on stage with him, and you have struck gold. You can check out the video here.
• Quick Draw! and Cartoon Voices are two Comic-Con staples that most attendees – specifically those only coming for film and TV related content – would probably miss. Both are hilarious, and have truly become can’t-miss panels for me (The table read of Snow White during Cartoon Voices was worth the price of admission alone).
• Next I attended a series of TV panels: Person of Interest, Grimm and Revolution. All were great; I loved the camaraderie the Grimm cast showed, the smart “marketing” by the POI folks to play up the Prism controversy (and the announcement that Amy Acker was joining the cast full-time) and the fact that the folks from Revolution weren’t afraid to actually share some of the details of the upcoming season (Check out my live-tweeting of that and other panels at @CliqueClackTV).
• Saturday night ended with the NBC Party, which is always a good time. This I spent more time catching up with colleagues that write for other outlets than mingling with the talent; it is always good to catch up with friends you only see once or twice year. (We were going to go to the Serenity screening at NerdHQ, but it wound up being much less Fillion&Tudyk-y than we’d hoped)
• Sunday was a nice, quiet affair. Keith got a killer scoop in the Supernatural press room, while Michael and I screened the next episode of Under the Dome with the cast.

So ended another Comic-Con. It was a good trip, marked by doing more of what I would find fun rather than attending events specifically for the site. Each year, I refine that process a little, and will probably try a completely different approach next time around (Just like this year). I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how much fun I had palling around all week with my buddies Michael Noble and Keith McDuffee, as well as seeing a bunch of old friends like Kelly, CJ, Carissa, Alix, Jason and Amrie. Our Comic-Con experience is about so much more than what happens at the Convention Center.

This list is far from complete; if I were to yap on and on about everything I liked, this list could last until the pumpkin pie is served on Thursday. So this is just a survey; some of the many, many things that I count myself fortunate to watch or listen to:

Shawn Ryan – His latest show Last Resort might not have been a good – or successful – as I’d hoped, but Ryan continues to be one of my favorite showrunners in television today. While I wasn’t nearly the fan of The Shield that others are, I love The Unit and The Chicago Code immeasurably, and think that his season of work on Lie to Me was incredible. I’m not sure what he’s got up his sleeve once Last Resort ends, but I know I’ll be watching from day one.

Star Wars and Disney – There is a great deal of trepidation in the fanbase as Disney announced their purchase of Lucasfilm and their intentions to produce Episodes 7, 8 and 9. I understand why, considering just how disappointing and uneven the prequel films were. But I’ve got faith. While some of the people I’d been hoping to be involved with the project have indicated they won’t be a part of it (damn yous Brad Bird!), I’ve still got faith. Plus, as a big amusement park guy, I know there’s no way after watching the insane success that Universal Studios had with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (and it’s planned sister zone in California and as-yet-announced-but-not-secret Orlando expansion), that I’m going to be able to walk through the Millennium Falcon sooner rather than later.

Joss Whedon – I’m just going to leave this name here, and expect you to understand why. If you’re having trouble, I suggest looking up the following projects: Avengers, Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog, Dollhouse, Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly/Serenity. Plus, he also gave us Amy Acker, so: bonus points.

Suits – It is simply the best show you’re (probably) not watching. I’m not going to sit here and tell you how much you’ll like it. I’m just going to look down my nose like the Dowager Countess until you give it a chance.

Resurgence of Genre films – Avengers, Hunger Games, Looper … these are my kinda films. I absolutely bask in the fact that we’re getting some really great geek stuff in the theatres these days.

Game of Thrones – Yeah, I still to this day remember an instant message conversation with Carla before GoT premiered where I said that I wasn’t sure if I would get into the show or not. I hadn’t read the books, and had seen similar shows like Pillars of the Earth fail. I couldn’t have been any more wrong (I highlighted that part out as a pull quote because it has been inferred that I never admit to being wrong … it just doesn’t happen often); I am addicted to everything Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire. Since the show premiered I’ve read the full set of books twice, I participate in online discussions about theories regarding future books and love the weekly column Bob Degon and I produce when the show is on the air.

The Voice — Or, more specifically that the next cycle starting next year will be missing Christina Aguilera. I won’t particularly miss Cee-Lo’s inability to make a comment to a female contestant that doesn’t start with how beautiful she is, but I won’t miss anything about Christina.

Delta Rae – The first night of San Diego Comic Con this year, as I sat down with Keith McDuffee, Michael Noble and Tara Shrodes, somehow the topic of my favorite band came up. Keith and Mike were so kind to point out to me that they where incredibly aware of just how much I liked the band. Apparently, I mention them on Facebook and the Twitter quite often. Like, way often. But I don’t care. I’m no music critic, so I can’t break down their work like I can a TV show or flick, but I do know I like the band. So, instead of telling you, I’ll just leave you with their latest video:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPOM0IUsd_0

Grey’s Anatomy – I get a great deal of flack for being a fan of this show, but I don’t really care. While I admit that there are shows on the air that I think are better, there’s no show I look more forward to each week than Grey’s. Make fun of me all you want, but I’m hooked. The far-reaching repercussions of last season’s plane crash have created several great character arcs … even if it did mark the departure of two of my favorite characters on the show, Mark and Lexi.

Nashville’s Clare Bowen’s voice – Nashville is a pretty good show. I — like all Friday Night Lights fans – am a big, big fan of Connie Britton. I also remember “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World.” But the biggest surprise of the show has been Clare Bowen’s performance, and her amazing voice. Her vocals on each of the tracks – but especially “Fade into You” – are just haunting. Bowen, who nails her southern accent despite originally hailing from Australia – is easily my favorite thing about the new television season. It helps that her part of the Nashville story is much more interesting than either Britton or Hayden Panettiere’s thus far, but it all comes down to her voice. I just can’t get enough. (Oh, and the second best vocal performance on the show thus far? Lennon and Maisy Shelly – Britton’s daughters on the show – singing “Telescope”)

My CliqueClack family – I wanted to end with Bowen’s voice (because, damn), but the guilt finishing with anything but Team CliqueClack would eat at me all through Turkey-Day (Except when the Washington Redskins take on the dastardly Dallas Cowboys … nothing gets through after kickoff). I have the great fortune to work with an incredibly talented group of writers … and Michael. We’re a fairly diverse group as far as individual backgrounds, shows & movies we’re fans of … heck, we’re even spread out across this great nation of ours. In the end though, I’m pretty lucky to have these guys as friends.

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First of all, don’t get all on me because I didn’t behave like a good little Whedon-ite and line up for the first showing of The Cabin in the Woods at the local theater, when it was released in April — or, better yet, flew to SxSW in March to see it early. A trip to a theater for me these days is such a sad rarity, but we won’t get into that right now. The point is, I finally caught Joss and Drew’s horror film collaboration last weekend. While it was one hell of a great trip, my only complaint would be the very final scene — I was looking for a little more.

What struck me throughout the film was watching Dollhouse‘s Fran Kranz as burnout — and destroyer of all life on Earth — Marty, once again reciting lines put to paper by Joss Whedon. But what was different this time was that this character was more of what I wanted out of Dollhouse‘s Topher.

In one way, this is a good thing. I’ve learned that it wasn’t at all the performance Fran Kranz gave to his Dollhouse character that made him less likable and funny, but was instead the material given to him. It’s likely that a show like Dollhouse wasn’t ever meant to have a Xander-like pot-head character amidst what was meant to be a more serious show than Buffy. Perhaps that’s where Dollhouse ultimately lost its way. Joss has an incredibly strong and rather unique sense of humor that I love, and that shows through in most things he produces. However, when you’re not given enough opportunities to allow for that kind of humor — like with Dollhouse — an overly-comical character like Cabin‘s Marty just wouldn’t quite fit.

Kranz is involved in another Joss production, Much Ado About Nothing, along with a whole bunch of other actors Whedon’s worked with before. It’s good to see Joss regularly recognizes and reuses great talent, so I’m hoping he’ll have a place for Kranz in any future television series he might have planned. Like, maybe as Agent Leo Fitz in a S.H.I.E.L.D. series? Could that sort of humor work in a show about The Avengers? Definitely.

Fran Kranz + Joss Whedon = A good thing. Though let’s stick with the material that makes that formula shine.

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