Some nights you want something comforting. What’s better than a breakfast-inspired meal of warming dishes?

I’m particularly proud of myself because, while I was inspired by certain recipes, I went further “off book” than I usually do, and what I wound up with suited me better as a result. The only downside was that I dirtied four pans, which is a lot for a quick weeknight dinner.

Main dish: poached egg over sauteed spinach and walnuts. I started with this Cooking Light recipe, but honestly, it was too fussy. Just saute some mushrooms in olive oil with garlic and shallots and a sprinkle of thyme. Then briefly saute some spinach. (Really briefly, just 2 or 3 minutes.) Mix the two together with a sprinkle of toasted walnuts and shredded Gruyere. (Nice and nutty! Although I forgot to get any of that specific cheese, so I settled for a slice of baby Swiss.) Poach an egg — I hung this print from Sarah Becan, from her comic I think you’re Sauceome, in my kitchen, and the instructions really work! — and dump it on top.

For a side dish, I made cheesy grits, or if you want to be fancy, call it Gorgonzola polenta. Bring a cup of water and a cup of milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Add 1/2 cup of quick-cooking grits, bring back to boil, then reduce heat and cover. Leave it alone for 5 minutes, or until the grits have absorbed most/all of the liquid (depending on the consistency you prefer). Stir in crumbled blue cheese. If it sits a bit while you finish the other dish, that gives it more time to melt.

I’m tempted to, now that the leftovers will have set up overnight, slice it up, fry it, and serve it with some crumbled sausage for true breakfast. Both of these would also be good with more roasted vegetables, if you had or liked them.

The Avengers

Ready to watch Disney’s Avengers movie over and over again? (It quit being just Marvel’s when it took in over a billion dollars.) DVD dates have been announced. The Avengers will be available in Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, Blu-ray 3-D/ Blu-ray/ DVD/ digital copy deluxe edition, and (I’m assuming) single-disc DVD on September 25, just four months from now.

Supplements will include:
* Audio Commentary by Director Joss Whedon
* Disney’s Second Screen
* Assembling the Ultimate Team
* A Visual Journey
* Gag Reel
* Item 47 (Marvel One-Shot Short Film)
* 9 Deleted/Extended Scenes
* and Soundgarden’s Live to Rise Music Video.

If this package follows the pattern of the John Carter release, then the top-level 3-D edition will have a list price of $49.99 with the two-disc Blu-ray/DVD listed at $39.99.

I don’t have much to add to this press release, since I don’t drink Scotch, but I find this a clever idea for branding. “Thor” is the kind of name that makes sense for a manly product.

Highland Park Single Malt Scotch Whisky just released its newest whisky, Thor, the first coming in the Valhalla Collection, a range of four unique whiskies, taking inspiration from the legendary Nordic gods. This limited edition release comes out just in time for Father’s Day and is the perfect gift to celebrate Dad and his bold character, just as the Norse god possesses himself. This collectible whisky will also be a welcomed addition to any rare Scotch collection or a great gift for the comic book enthusiast.

Highland Park is distilled in Scotland’s Orkney Islands at the world’s northernmost distillery, resulting in a uniquely flavored Scotch, unlike any other single malt. With only 1,500 being released in the United States, this special liquid is bottled at a robust 52.1% ABV and housed in a unique wooden frame echoing the fearsome contours of a traditional Viking long ship.

The taste and look of Thor mimics the masculine traits of the Nordic god, known to carve valleys into mountains and strike fear into his opponents. It is sure to inspire any dad to find his inner warrior and conquer anything this summer whether he’s head of the house, master of the office, or captain of the grill!

The 16-year-old Scotch, limited to 23,000 bottles worldwide, has a suggested retail price of $199 and the following taste elements:

Nose: Concentrated and forceful, with an explosion of aromatic smoke, pungent fresh ginger, antique copper, stewed plums, and golden syrup. With water, earthy notes emerge, like a garden after a heavy rain shower.

Palate: Thor’s high strength grabs the palate and refuses to let go. Initially dry, with fiery gingerbread, then vanilla, blackberries, fresh mango, peach, and hints of cinnamon. As its big flavours swirl around the mouth, some softer, sweeter notes develop, giving Thor an unexpected layer of complexity and depth.

Finish: The finish thunders on, leaving behind lingering notes of sweet vanilla and an intense spiciness.

If you can’t find Thor at your favorite whisky retailer, the Highland Park website does mail order. I wonder who the other three will be? Odin, likely, for one. Loki? Baldr?

Such a comfortable feeling, putting in this Blu-ray and (after the various promos) seeing a beautiful view of a trip to the country. It’s the perfect introduction to the world of Studio Ghibli, with their stories of magical discovery in simple, natural life.

Shawn (David Henrie) is going to spend at week at the house where his mother grew up, one where he will discover an amazing secret: There are little people in the walls who live on discards they scrounge from the human “beans”. But first, there’s the drive through the detailed recreation of a Japanese city. As the car moves through the credit sequence, we go with it into a more wholesome, heartwarming world.

The Secret World of Arrietty

But then, I expected no less from a Studio Ghibli release. The animation is beautiful, creating a place to get lost in. Nature is always a partner of our existence, and scenes with the teenage Arrietty (Bridgit Mendler) scampering through the outdoors, fleeing the cat, are some of my favorites. I also adore the way she’s turned her room into a jungle, with flowers and leaves everywhere, and a later rain scene is equally impressive in its skillful drawing.

Arrietty and her parents (Amy Poehler and Will Arnett) are discovered by Shawn after she goes on her first borrowing trip with her father. The cleverness of their inventions, like the rock and string elevator and the way they reuse bits of castoffs, have always impressed me. (Many are taken from the original book by Mary Norton, The Borrowers.)

The conflict revolves around a fundamental question: how much can we trust those not like us? Arrietty would like to believe that Shawn wants to help them, but the adults are fearful of any notice from the big people, believing it will only bring them danger. Sadly, they turn out to be correct, as the housekeeper (Carol Burnett) is determined to prove herself right about the little people in the floor. Burnett does an amazing job, by the way, with a number of scenes punctuated only by sounds — chuckles, humming, muttering, and similar noises we make to ourselves.

I’ve previously linked to the movie trailer as well as a series of clips if you’d like to see samples of the movie.

Throughout the story, I felt relaxed, allowing myself to sink into this escape. Although there are scenes of both adventure and danger, those, too, were reassuring in their artistic achievement. It was just what I needed, to visually soak in these beautiful images and reminders of what’s important: family and friends. Between the scenes of little people life and the garden environment of the home, the movie is full of imagination in so many ways.

This story is perfect for animation, since the characters of various sizes can be drawn without worry about matching up special effects. It’s a gorgeous film with an involving story, although what happens isn’t the only point. How it happens — or rather, the way we see it unfold, in a fully realized drawn world — is the true source of enjoyment. This may very well be my new favorite Ghibli film.

Special Features

The two-disc Blu-ray combo pack comes with a DVD copy of the movie and these extras:

• The original Japanese storyboards — I was amazing to see this was the entire 94-minute film in storyboard form, with the soundtrack played on top.
• 14 minutes of Japanese trailers and TV spots, with English captions — These are very repetitive in imagery, using the same few shots from the movie, but fans will like seeing how the film was promoted in its home country. No menu listing is provided, only chapter stops to move through the 27 clips. Near the end are five or so insurance company tie-in ads.
• A music video for “Arrietty’s Song”, performed by singer/ songwriter/ harpist Cécile Corbel. There aren’t any movie clips included, just performance footage with some nature images inspired by the film. The clips were put in the other video, see below.

The only extras on the DVD edition are a music video for “Summertime”, performed by Bridgit Mendler, voice of Arrietty, with a certain amount of twang, and a two-minute making-of for that music video. I would rather not have seen Mendler in person, since she comes across as a typical Disney starlet-in-training. Her portrayal doesn’t match my view of the Arrietty character, although it is nice to hear that she wrote the song herself. These two features can also be seen on the Blu-ray.

The movie soundtrack is available in English, French, or Japanese, and/or with subtitles in English, French, or English for the hearing-impaired. (The studio provided a review copy.)

Through Wednesday, the Warner online store at WBShop.com will be holding a Blu-ray sale with over 200 Blu-rays priced under $10. If you buy 3 or more, shipping (contiguous 48 states only) is free.

Readers of this site may particularly be interested in the following comic-related titles:

• Batman Begins, $7.99
• The Dark Knight, $7.99
• Catwoman, $9.95
• Constantine, $9.95
• The Losers, $9.95
• Jonah Hex, $9.95
• Speed Racer, $7.99
• Superman Returns, $9.99
• 300, $9.69
• V for Vendetta, $9.95
• Watchmen, $7.99
• Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter & Under the Hood, $9.95
• Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic, $9.95
• Whiteout, $7.99

The three Spider-Man movies will be re-released on Blu-ray with new “collectible” slipcovers (“O-ring packaging” in industry lingo) on June 12. All three include an offer for a free movie ticket (up to $10 value) for The Amazing Spider-Man, out July 3, as well as an UltraViolet digital copy. Other than that, the bonus features are the same as previous Blu-ray releases, with the exception of the first film.

Spider-Man	Spider-Man 2	Spider-Man 3

As the press release has it,

The Spider-Man Blu-ray includes two never-before-seen bonus features … “Spider Sense Trivia Challenge” — Rise to the ultimate web-slinging challenge as you test your Spider-Man movie knowledge in this trivia game. Do you have the spider sense to achieve the highest score? “The Spider-Man Cutting Room” — Create and share your own video using clips and music from the movie!

Additionally, Spider-Man 2 “includes both previously released theatrical and extended versions of the film, with additional footage and fight sequences not seen in theaters.” This Marvel website post has the full list of special features.

The Small Press Expo, held in Bethesda, Maryland, on September 15 and 16 this year, has announced a final call for the 2012 Ignatz Awards.

Ignatz Award brick won by Dave Roman and John Green

These awards are the only “festival prize” in comics, which means that the winners are selected by the votes of those who attend SPX. The list of nominees on the ballot are previously chosen by a jury of five cartoonists.

Eligible works must have been released between July 1, 2011, and May 31, 2012. (These dates have been changed from prior years and from the information available on the website. Previously, the eligibility period ran July to June.)

To submit work, send six copies to
SPX Ignatz Awards
c/o Big Planet Comics
426 Maple Ave East
Vienna, VA 22180
Submissions should be received by June 7, 2012. (Less than a month away!) Digital works should submit URLs. The print comics will later be donated to the Small Press Expo Collection at the Library of Congress.

Disney has announced that John Carter will be coming to DVD and Blu-ray on June 5.

It will be interesting to see if, as many are predicting, the over-two-hour movie finds more of its audience on home video. It’s possible that this could become a perennial favorite, especially since science fiction fans who’ve seen it generally liked it. Here’s a release trailer:

The movie is pitched as “a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars)” in which Carter (Taylor Kitsch) joins in “an epic conflict” to help the civilization survive. The special effects, if nothing else, seem worth seeing, although I’m also curious about the performance of Lynn Collins (previously in X-Men Origins: Wolverine) as the princess Dejah Thoris.

There are a number of options, starting with the high-end four-disc 3-D version (list price $49.99) that includes Blu-ray 3-D, Blu-ray, DVD, and digital copy. (The only way to get a digital copy included, by the way.) The Blu-ray special features include:

• Disney Second Screen. I talked about this feature when I reviewed Tron: Legacy; it’s an app that runs along with the movie on your tablet or laptop that provides additional background information. They’re promising in this version to “explore John Carter’s journal” and “extend the mythology of the movie.”
• Deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Andrew Stanton.
• “360 Degrees of John Carter” — “Experience every aspect of the filmmaking process on one of the movie’s biggest production days.”
• Barsoom bloopers

Plus all the special features included on DVD:

• “100 Years in the Making” — “Follow the journey of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ story, from its origins as a pulp novel to its arrival onscreen.”
• Audio commentary

There’s also a two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack ($39.99 suggested price) and a single-disc DVD ($29.99).