Ok, here’s the deal. This play is kinda amazing and I am waiting patiently for the day when I can go see it. Hopefully with Alfred Molina in it. I know what your thinking, what is RED about?

It is the late 1950s and Mark Rothko, the famous Abstract Expressionist painter, is at a crossroads in his career. Intellectual, controlling and often bombastic, Rothko is at work on a surprising (and very well-paid) commission: a series of murals to hang at the Four Seasons restaurant in Midtown Manhattan’s Seagram’s Building. The play takes place in Rothko’s studio, where he works with the help of a smart, young assistant. The action follows the artist’s struggle for integrity and understanding in the face of fame, self-questioning and impending irrelevance. Will his paintings survive in a place that represents everything—greed, commercialism, bourgeois comfort—he detests?

Here’s what the people have to say that have seen it:

” So intense. An electrifying play! Molina turns in a robust portrait of the artist as a man of fierce intelligence and ferocious drive. Redmayne is admirably cool and subtle.” — Marilyn Stasio

“Finally a truly intelligent play on Broadway! Red is a compelling example of how a thinking theater can simultaneously entertain and educate. Molina and Redmayne are superb.” — John Simon

“A fresh, exciting portrait of a brilliant mind. The dauntless Mr. Molina gives his strongest Broadway performance to date. Possessiveness and perplexity glitter in his eyes like a fever. Mr. Redmayne’s Ken has a spine and a mind of his own, and you can feel both growing stronger throughout the play. Mr. Grandage is a canny craftsman of the theater, and he makes sure that the play’s intellectual arguments are sensually grounded.” — Ben Brantley

More to come about this new play as more details emerge.

–Admiral Eo

We have all been to a theme park and have seen a show. Here is my list of the shows NOT to miss.

1) FANTASMIC! A journey beyond your wildest imagination. My father took my brother and I to Disneyland when we were young specifically to show us the glory of Fantasmic. Do not underestimate how much I mean this when I say that this is the best theme park show ever. The. Best. Ever.

2) Water World. Ok, I know what your thinking, but this is a better show that it was a movie. It’s campy and very fun. The stunts are incredible (when everything works right and the actors care enough) and the set design is unbelievable. If you ever find yourself in Universal Studios Hollywood, don’t miss out on this awesome 30 minute stunt show.

3) Last but certainly not least we have World of Color! A new show at Disneyland that is mind blowing! Words cannot describe the beauty that is World of Color. It is the best water show I have ever seen. Their are no actors and is all done with projections and fountains but it will still make you cry and smile with joy. Go now.  Run, don’t walk.

Funny that all three of these shows take place on the water. What do you guys think? Did I leave any amazing shows out? Are these the best?

–Admiral Eo

It’s only right that I take the day to talk to you about the Tony Awards which happens to be tomorrow!!!

Ok, so you probably have no idea what they are or you probably just couldn’t care less. I will try to sway you into taking a peak tomorrow night, as I think you might actually enjoy yourself.

First of all, the host. NIEL PATRICK HARRIS. That should be enough for you to want to watch it right? Doogie Howser singing and dancing should make your heart tingle. He also hosted last year and did a bang up job.

Then there are the performances, which are always impressive. Here are the nominations for best new musical. All in their own way are truly incredible.

1) American Idiot tells the exhilarating story of a new generation of young Americans as they struggle to find meaning in a post-9/11 world, borne along by Green Day’s electrifying score. With an 8 member onstage band and a cast of 19 led by Tony Award-winner John Gallagher, Jr., this high-octane musical includes every song from the acclaimed album American Idiot, as well as several songs from the band’s Grammy Award-winning new release, 21st Century Breakdown.

2) Fela! explores Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s controversial life as an artist, political activist and revolutionary musician as well as his pioneering blend of jazz, funk and traditional African rhythms that launched the Afrobeat community.

3) Set in the turbulent south in the 1950s, Memphis is the story of Huey Calhoun, a white radio DJ whose love of good music transcends race lines and airwaves. Thanks in part to his passionate persistence, “race” music reaches the center of the radio dial, quickly exploding throughout mainstream America. But when Huey falls for a beautiful black singer he has set on the path to stardom, whether the world is really ready for this music, and their love, is put to the test.

4) On December 4, 1956, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins gathered at Sun Records in Memphis for what would be one of the greatest jam sessions ever. Million Dollar Quartet brings that legendary night to life, featuring a score of rock hits that includes “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Fever,” “That’s All Right,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Walk the Line,” “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Who Do You Love?,” “Matchbox,” “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Hound Dog.” The musical captures the singular moment when four major talents came together to become a red-hot rock ‘n’ roll band.

So don’t miss out on a great night of entertainment. I promise you will enjoy yourselves.

–Admiral Eo

This week I thought I would go over some classics, the movies that changed cinema forever. Yes, their are musicals that have changed cinema. These are the films that inspired a generation and have stood the test of time. Please know that this is my list and is very opinionated. These are the films I personally thought belonged at the top.

Let’s begin…

3) “West Side Story” — Never has dance/fighting been so cool. This film was and is one of the best adaptations of Romeo and juliet to be told ever.

2) “Singing in the Rain” - If you’re not a fan of Gene Kelly, I don’t know how you could or will ever truly appreciate the art of dance. HE IS THE MAN. If you ever want to study dance, look him up, he’ll change your world.

Gene Kelly + Roller Skates = INCREDIBLE

This is also very neat…

and 1) “The Wizard of Oz” - Perhaps THE film that changed cinema. It has been called the #1 fantasy film of all time and it’s easy to see why. It has everything you want in a movie and more!

I would love to know what you guys consider to be the greats. Any others you believe to be up here in the three? Do you agree with my picks?

–Admiral Eo

Greetings readers! If you have been checking out our site this week, you might have noticed that we have begun running our blogs in a slightly different manner. I know that change can be scary, so I just wanted to give you a run down of what you can be expecting from us here at Semantink every week:

Every Monday you will get to read the newest strip in our web-comic, THE UNDERGROUNDS. You can also find an archive of all posted UNDERGROUNDS strips at the-undergrounds.com.

Tuesdays still give you Sgt. Angle and his weekly Cinegasms column, dealing with all things movie.

On Wednesdays Akatzen regails you with his weekly Book Report delving into the world of books that don’t have pretty pictures.

Mr. Wolff still owns Thursday with his Hump Day Rant.

Friday sees new Semantink blogger Dr. Cellus delve into all things paranormal on his blog Cognitive Alchemy.

Saturday gives you Admiral Eo’s Soft Shoe Diaries, wherein the good Admiral looks into the world of theater.

Sunday, you will be stuck with me as I talk comics in my weekly Comicopea column.

Not a bad line up right? Well our new blog schedule is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of news here at Semantink. Over the next few months, our site will be getting a bit of a face lift courtesy of the fine gentlemen at SanBox Inc. All of the content that you love will still be here, but the whole place will be prettier and easier to navigate.

For our MYTHOI lovers, I have some great news, our latest issue of the MYTHOI Birth series, TAROS will be out this week. Here is the cover art to the upcoming issue to whet your appetite:

April is going to see the last issue of MYTHOI Births, TOUCH, hit the internet. As always, MYTHOI will be brought to by the electrifying team of James Ninness and Jed Soriano.

The MYTHOI Birth series coming to a close means two things, 1) MYTHOI proper will pick up again in June with issue #2, and 2)the MYTHOI Birth graphic novel will be available around the same time. All of our MYTHOI issues are available for digital download, but this graphic novel will be the only place you can find the whole Birth series collected in in one place. The GN will be chock full of original content as well, so make sure you pick up a copy when it comes out!

This fall we will be launching two new series, THE HEAVEN’S and SIM-I. THE HEAVEN’S will be written by James Ninness and illustrated by spectacular newcomer Turbo Qualls! THE HEAVEN’S is a steampunk power struggle set on the alien desert world of Terra. Joe Pezzula will be writing SIMI-I, the madcap tale of a super intelligent monkey trying to evade vaporization. I will have more information and pretty picture-tude on these soon.

Next month is also the start of convention season for us here at Semantink. We will be at WonderCon and Wizard World Anaheim in April, The Phoenix Comicon in May, the world famous San Diego Comic Con in July, and the Alternative Press Expo and Long Beach Comic con in October.

So, to make a long story short (too late), 2010 is an exciting year for us here at Semantink, and I just want to say thank you for being a part of it. Keep an eye out here for more details on our upcoming projects, and if you have any questions you can always drop me a line.

Benjamin Glibert

Hello all!  I was fortunate enough to join the Semantink boys on another convention outing yesterday back to Long Beach, for the Long beach Comic Expo!  The Long Beach Comic Con kicked off its first year just a few months ago, and a second year is coming in October, but the good people behind the LBC’s comic craze decided to give us a one day sort of midpoint break in patience.  While yesterday’s event was only a miniscule sampling of the glory that is the Long Beach Comic Con proper, it hailed a haughty list of talent:

• Amanda Dawn Wolf
• Bernie Wrightson
• Beth Sotelo
• Brian Haberlin
• Cat Staggs
• Christian Beranek
• Christian Meesey
• Chris Moreno
• Dan Brereton
• Dan Wickline
• Dan Taylor
• David Wohl
• Drew Johnson
• Dustin Nguyen
• Eddie Nuñez
• Eric Basaldua
• Eric Canete
• Frank Mastromauro
• Gus Vazquez
• J.T. Krul
• Jim Daly
• JJ Kirby
• Joe Benitez
• Joe Rubinstein
• Jordan Raskin
• Josh Dysart
• Lauren Perry
• Joshua Hale Fialkov
• Livio Ramondelli
• Lou Ferrigno
• Mark Dos Santos
• Mark Roslan
• Michael Lopez
• Naomi Baker
• Norm Rapmund
• Peter Steigerwald
• Philip Tan
• Ray-Anthony Height
• Richard Starkings
• Rick Basaldua
• Rob Levin
• Scott Lobdell
• Stan Sakai
• Steve Niles
• Tim Bradstreet
• Tim Vigil
• Todd Nauck
• Tone Rodriguez
• Tony DeZuniga
• Tony Fleecs
• Trent Kaniuga
• Trevor Goring
• Vince Hernandez
• Whilce Portacio

Sgt. Angle and Benjamin Glibert give R2 the “what’s-what.”

Ben, Sgt. Angle, Ash, Admiral Eo and I made our way up to Long Beach in the wee hours of Saturday morning and pushed through minimal traffic-resistance, arriving at the Convention Center just after doors opened at 10am.  We were greeted by a few cars resembling entertainment icons and pushed past a group of Clone Wars veterans into the expo.  Now this event was not in the main hall, as the convention was, but in a smaller room to the side of the main entrance — but it worked.  There was enough space to get around and sample each of the vendors/artists/writers/publisher’s tables without feeling to cramped.

Admiral Eo and James Ninness don’t mind Huey Lewis, but hate the News.

Once we had our wristbands, we leisurely strolled through the hubbub and ran into Mike Mignola and Steve Niles (both incredibly personable) — not a bad start.  After a very lovely discussion with Tone Rodriguez (who told me that he was in DEXTER, something I did not know), we spent the rest of the afternoon shopping.  One of the booths was selling everything at 40% off, so between the five of us, a few hundred dollars was spent and everybody went home with goodies galore.

Admiral Eo, James Ninness and Ash think Anakin acts like a girl.

Cosplay was ensuing, with quite a good many fantastic costumes, and a few not so good ones…  But it was great to see fans out in force, enjoying each others geekery.  While I wish that there was more, I understand that this was a $10.00, one day event and I’m not complaining, I just wish there was more to see or do.  There were no panels (understandable), no contests (again, understandable) and no incentive to stay after doing a couple laps around the showroom floor.  It was, as one would think it to be, simple.  We went, talked to some amazing people, met some courageous fans, and bought some fantastically priced merch — a fine time.

ZBladeXX scares Sgt. Angle

I look forward to the Con-proper in October (assuming I’m invited again) and have to hand it to the Long Beach organizers, MAD Event Management and the Long Beach Comic Convention, they made a lot of people very happy on an otherwise plain February afternoon — so a very special thanks to them!

Talk to you guys soon!

James Ninness

PS:  The response to MYTHOI has been overwhelming — thank you all!  I hope you continue to enjoy it!