The deadliest woman in the world, a.k.a. The Bride, continues a revenge quest against her former associates, moving ever closer to Bill, the mentor who could not let her go.

And after the longest first act in the history of Western cinema, Quentin Tarantino’s magnum “grind house” opus Kill Bill finally settles into some storytelling with resonance. Where Vol. 1 was the quintessence of a fairgrounds roller-coaster, all speed and frenzy and showy quotation, Vol. 2 plunges into the world Tarantino has created, as only he can, and soaks us in archetypal narrative twists and the radiance of Uma Thurman at the peak of her beauty and talent. If the first half was light as rice paper, the second delivers the weight of a pulp novel, revealing The Bride’s relationship with Bill, the training that turned her into a superhero capable of overcoming any obstacle, and Tarantino’s own ruminations on single motherhood and the true meaning of Superman — not Nietzsche’s Übermensche, of course, but the Jerry Siegel-Joe Shuster comic book creation.

I was not particularly blown away by Vol. 1 back in October for a variety of reasons (more…)

The Big Question with comic artist & writer Stuart Sayger
by Troy Brownfield

There are times when I feel like Stuart Sayger’s official biographer. I’ve talked with the man for a number of sources, including The Indianapolis Star, Pulse News and more. The whys of that are easy enough: Stuart is a swell guy and a tremendously talented artist and writer. His self-published book, Shiver in the Dark, drew critical praise from Wizard as 2003 drew to a close. The new issue is offered in the May issue of Previews.

For his part, Indianapolis-based Stuart has built up this surfeit of press goodwill by not only being a good storyteller, but by being a convention-hardened road warrior. The man is constantly on the move, with approximately 20 shows down for his 2004 calendar alone. In touring-band fashion, Stuart earns new fans in every town; they go away impressed by both his stunning art and his genuine friendliness.

As Stuart’s a pal, we thought we’d dispense with some of the formalities and get right into some of Stuart’s own likes, opinions, and the possible deification of his favorite musician, Marc Bolan of T. Rex.

So here’s Stuart, in all of his rock star-esque glory…

THE BIG Q&A

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