Underpants on the Outside

Movie: Wonder Woman

2012-01-23T11:09:00.003-05:00

Just a quick post today. The wife and I watched the "Wonder Woman" animated feature on television last night. (Teletoon has been playing the DC animated movies on Sunday evenings as of late), and I wanted to drop a quick review.

It was good.

We both liked the movie, and I found that they did a good job of making Wonder Woman a character that was both approachable and tough, interesting and well-rounded. They then took this character and placed her in a plot that had good action, a few cool fights, and some humour to balance things out.

Wonder Woman is a character that is difficult to get right, (many have tried and failed) so I was interested in seeing how this movie would work. They stuck to canon as much as they could (though they did cut out Hippolyta's time with the Justice Society), and told a pretty good origin story for Diana. They also used Steve Trevor (WW's boyfriend from the golden age of comics) which was interesting, since no one knows about Steve Trevor, at least not in a Lois Lane/Mary Jane Watson kind of way.

Lastly, there was an odd amount of sexual humour and cheesecake in the movie. The wife and I both laughed at it, so it was actually funny, but I suppose the fact that it was there at all was strange and amusing.

In the end, the flick was fun action with a good grasp of the character. Watch it.

Marvel and Politics

2012-01-19T12:23:00.005-05:00

Maybe you've heard about the SOPA and PIPA acts going through the US congress and senate. It is sort of a big deal, and it has the potential to really mess up the internet as we now know it. If you don't know anything about it, you should probably take a looks see. This document is a pretty good start.

There was a pretty big blackout of Wikipedia yesterday to highlight the issue. 24 hours without Wikipedia, and it did some good.

Internet writer and angry person Maddox was not thrilled with the effort. He wants people to do more, to really drive home the point.

This is a good thing. People should do more.

He lists a bunch of companies that publicly supported these terrible acts, and he suggests making them pay by refusing to support them. One name that popped for me, was of course Marvel.

I get why Marvel would be for laws that protect their copyright, but the problem I have is that they support this act; one that is flawed and vague and brutally open to kicking the little guy around.

It's kind of gross.

It also could be a poor business decision. Most fans don't really know that Marvel (amgonst other publishers) are pushing for these acts to pass into law, but they should. The fans should also know that they have the real power here. Marvel Publishing is a great target for a boycott, each issue selling, what, 100,000 issues at the best of times. A few thousand people can make a real dent in that revenue, if they were so inclined.

I do believe I am going to cancel my (not insignificant) pull list of Marvel comics today. I like me my open and crazy and free internet, and, at the very least, I can stop giving my money to some people who are inclined to fuck with that.

AVX: Stegman Variant - Cap Punches Cyke

2012-01-17T16:01:00.004-05:00

Captain America is, inexplicably, one of my favorite characters. Cyclops is easily one of my least favorites. Captain America punching Cyclops on a cover makes me giggle like a little school girl. I feel like that bratty kid at the end of "The Karate Kid", and yelling "Do it, Cap! Yeeeeaaaah!"

The Marvel spiel:

Marvel Unveils AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #1 STEGMAN VARIANT!

This April, the biggest names in the industry pit the largest super hero franchises against one another for the biggest war in comics history in Avengers Vs. X-Men! To celebrate this blockbuster event, Marvel has your first look at the Avengers Vs. X-Men #1 Stegman Variant by red-hot artist Ryan Stegman! The Phoenix Force is headed towards Earth and Captain America is determined to prevent the destruction of the whole world by stopping it. But when word gets to the X-Men that the Phoenix is returning, Cyclops will do anything he can to save it…including going up against Earth’s Mightiest! But who is right? Will mutantkind be saved or will the world be annihilated? Don’t miss out on all the action in Avengers Vs. X-Men #1 in comic shops worldwide and on the Marvel Comics app this April!

Which team will reign supreme? Join the conversation on Twitter with #AvX!

For more on Avengers Vs. X-Men, please visit http://avx.marvel.com

AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #1 (JAN120625)
AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #1 STEGMAN VARIANT (JAN120626)
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, JASON AARON, MATT FRACTION, JONATHAN HICKMAN, ED BRUBAKER
Art by JOHN ROMITA JR.
Cover by JIM CHEUNG
Variant Cover by RYAN STEGMAN
FOC – 2/27/12, ON SALE – 4/3/12

Movie: The Woman In Black

2012-01-17T10:26:00.005-05:00

I don't often get excited for horror movies, and especially not lately, but I caught the trailer for "The Woman in Black" on television the other day, and it looked pretty damned awesome.

This is the trailer:

I'm not a fan of the "torture porn" horror that has dominated the last decade or so. I like tha Saw movies, but stuff like Hostel just leaves me cold. This flick looks full on creepy with a few bits of action and jumps.

Then, I saw this faux-vintage poster:
It only serves to make me more excited for this film. Dan Radcliffe seems like a good call for this part, and turn of the 20th century settings just add to the awesomeness. I am looking forward to this one, which is coming out on February the 3rd.

Back, Plus TMNT

2012-01-12T11:21:00.005-05:00

I miss writing about comic books. 5 months was too long to be away.

So I'm back.

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Five issues in, IDW's run with the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" is, in my opinion, a hit.

Co-creater Kevin Eastman is on board, lend the book some of the cred it needs, as an 80's-90's property trying to make it in the comic shops. But more importantly, the book is good. Plain as that. The art by Dan Duncan is good. It's a bit sketchy, and bit on the dark side, but for a property that has its roots in the indy comic scene, it is totally appropriate.

Kevin Eastman is guiding Tom Waltz in creating a new origin for the Turtles, and they are blending a nice mix of tradition with modern sensibilities. The essentials are all there, of course; four turtles and a rat, mutagenic ooze, evil scientists, an ancient clan of ninja and a street kid with a hockey mask looking to get his licks in on the criminals in his neighborhood. Yet, the changes they've made help work the story into comfortable areas. For example, Raphael is separated from the turtles shortly after getting hit with the ooze, and mutates alone and on his own. They find him soon enough, but this little twist in the history help set up Raph as the outsider of the four. It works, and that's why I like the changes they've introduced.

Five issues in, and I'm digging just about everything about this book. It's worth a read.

4 Years

2011-08-09T09:31:00.003-05:00

Hello friends,

After more than four years of blogging, I am putting "Underpants on the Outside" on indefinite hiatus.

It's been a blast. Really. This site has been through a lot, and I loved writing here. It's a little weird to see it stop, I must say. A little weird, and a little sad.

But!

But fret not. The reason I'm putting things around here on hold is because I'm moving over to a new, snazzy, website: "9to5".

I'm part of the founding crew, so you can be sure to see more of my comic book and movie posts, as always, along with a whole mess of other great stuff. Comic strips, pop culture, videos and podcasts. Bookmark it. Make it your home page. Visit every hour!

I'll see you there!

First Look at Cavill as Supermann

2011-08-04T10:20:00.004-05:00

Courtosy of CBR, here's the first shot of Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel.

Not too shabby.

Judge Dredd

2011-07-26T11:39:00.002-05:00

FirstShowing.net has a bunch of photos up from the upcoming "Judge Dredd" movie, starring Karl Urban.

"I Yam Duh Luh!" indeed.

It's slated for release later this year.

I'm okay with more post-apocalyptic fare at the cinema, and Urban hasn't been bad in anything I've seen, so, I'm for it.

Old is New

2011-07-20T09:09:00.005-05:00

Avengers #221:

New Avengers #28
So close. If only Iron Fist was on that old cover. It's all about the call backs, people.

TinTin: The Secret of the Unicorn

2011-07-11T17:35:00.005-05:00

Comics Alliance has a nice little article up about the upcoming movie, as well as a flashy new trailer.

Looks fun.

Shortpacked Delivers again

2011-07-06T08:50:00.002-05:00

On the topic of overworked designs in costumes:

Whenever Shortpacked touches on Batman, it's always gold

Game of Thrones Comic

2011-06-30T10:44:00.004-05:00

The Wonderful folks at Comics Alliance have posted some promo art for the freshly announced Game of Thrones comic from Dynamite Comics.

Sexy Alex Ross covers. Winter is coming.

DC Reboot: Batman and Kevin Smith

2011-06-15T10:02:00.004-05:00

My least favourite Batman comic and my least favourite Kevin Smith work will remain in continuity in the DC Universe following the DC reboot.

Why? I cannot explain. It makes me sad, actually.

Thanks to Keith for bringing me this heartbreaking news.

Movie: X-Men: First Class

2011-06-15T09:33:00.007-05:00

Risa and I went to see "X-Men: First Class" last night. Cheapie Tuesday movies, for the win.

The quick review; it was very good. As good as X2 in my opinion, and Risa liked it even better than that.

Spoilers may follow from this point on, so be warned, all ye who enter.

First off, director Matthew Vaughn has yet to direct a movie I don't like. His first three flicks were "Layer Cake" (which essentially got Daniel Craig the role as James Bond), "Stardust" and "Kick Ass". Are you asking how to make action movies that have strong characters and compelling drama? Talk to Matt Vaughn (I'm looking at you Michael Bay and Gavin Hood). The movie looks great, and is set in 1962 without it constantly beating you over the head with "Hey, it's 1962, folks! Look at those wacky 60's!" (The one part where that does happen is when Charles tells a woman her eyes are "groovy" while trying to pick her up in a bar, but it works.) The action scenes are bombastic, and are (thankfully) not riddled with "shakey-cam" so the viewer can actually appreciate what's going on.

The casting was pretty great for this movie. I was pleasantly surprised at this because I was not all that enthused as the casting was announced during pre-production. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender did great work as Charles Xavier and Magneto, and I both believed their friendship and their routes to different paths. Nicholas Hoult was Hank McCoy, and he looked picture perfect as a young and non-furry Beast, and really, I have no complaints about the rest of the team. They looked the part, and played it well enough for me. I did find it odd that they added Havok to the team, as he is supposed to be Cyclops' younger brother, and making him a teen in 1962 would but him well in his 60's now, but that's neither here nor there, and is mostly the fanboy in me being nitpicky. Mystique was also well played, and handled the development of being a self-loathing mutant with much more delicacy than the way it had previously been done with Rogue in the first trilogy.

Moving on.

The villains are headed up by Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw, who does play a menacing and evil character quite well. The rest of the Hellfire Club have the look, but don't add much more than their powers to the movie. Even January Jones, who I found took a choice role in Emma Frost and made her bland and a one-note character, losing her clever and catty dialogue and leaving behind only a hot body in revealing clothing. That's really a shame, but it doesn't take too much away from the overall experience. Azazel and Riptide also both looks cool, and get in on the action scenes, but don't really drive the movie forward. One thing Azazel does do, however, is show how bad-ass a demonic-looking teleporter assaulting a government institution could be. Oh wait...

If you don't know where Azazel comes from, his moronic origins were quite nicely explained over at Robot 6 last week. He's better in the movie than in the comics, it should be stated.

Look for a few great cameos/easter eggs during the film. They deliver. Also, the closing credits Saul Bass-esque design was wonderful. But there is nothing after the credits, so you don't have to sit there until the end. And lastly, this film was decidedly missing a Stan Lee cameo. *tsk*

To summarize, the movie is well written, well directed, and well acted. It was worth seeing, and is one of the better super hero movies made thus far. It exceeded my expectations, and I say, go see it.

Skottie Young's Daily Warm-Ups

2011-06-13T11:28:00.002-05:00

Skottie Young is one of my favorite artists. I bought a whole run of Cable and Deadpool just because he was doing the covers. Over on his blog, he regularly posts a selection of his daily warm up sketches, and they're pretty damned cool.

Here are a couple of my favourites:

So cool.

Movie: Conan The Barbarian Trailer

2011-06-13T10:21:00.004-05:00

Grabbed this from Superhero Hype. I wasn't super sure about this, but seeing "A Game of Thrones" on HBO has helped win me over to Jason Momoa's side, and I think he can play a great barbarian warrior.

The Conan movie is slated for an August 19th release.

Kids are Weird

2011-06-08T11:48:00.002-05:00

I was in a restaurant a few weeks ago with my honey. It was past 10pm.

Two kids walked into the place. They were about 10 years old. They walked in the door, through the isle to the back of the place, and then back to the front door, leaving the place. The staff and clients were all left in awe, and it was obvious that no one knew what had just happened.

The kids were in costume, for no discernible reason.

One was dressed as Superman wearing a bunny mask and ears.

The other was dressed as Darth Vader Spider-man. Spider-suit, but with a full Vader helmet and chest piece. The chest-plate was making the heavy breathing sound effect.

These were the coolest kids ever.

What Is Best in Life? X-Men Arcade Game

2011-06-06T14:00:00.005-05:00

Comics Alliance delivers this news to me today:

The 1992 X-Men Arcade game will be available for android devices.

"The arcade game's been available on gaming consoles for the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade since the end of 2010, but the mobile version should be handy for those who game on the move. Android and iOS features include drop-in multiplayer via Wi-Fi for up to four mutants (all six of the original characters: Cyclops, Colossus, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler and Dazzler), plus custom button placement on your device of choice's touch screen. Lefty's rejoice!"

Just as I'm about to begin shopping for a new phone, too.

Top Cow: First Look - Part 1

2011-06-06T08:51:00.006-05:00

I picked up "Top Cow: First Look" last week, based on it's cover alone. The art didn't do much for me, but a 4.99 price tag was enough to entice me to give it a whirl. Actually, the rest of the cover design does leave something to be desired. It looks pretty lazily done, especially considering the goal of this book would be to entice new readers and sell them on what a great job Top Cow is doing.

The quick review: Top Cow is sort of doing okay, but not always.

I'll talk about the first three issues in the collection today, and save the next three for later.

First up is "Genius". Described by Top Cow:

"The Pilot Season 2008 winning team of Marc Bernardin & Adam Freeman (The Authority) and Afua Richardson (Cyblade) returns with Genius-a story of a young African-American military genius taking over LA's gangs."

It sounds liek a silly concept, but it was a fun read with bits of cleverness peppered throughout (even if some of those clever bits illustrated how to be a better domestic terrorist). The concept is basically a young woman, raised in South Central Los Angeles, has risen to take over and unify the gangs in her city, and declares war on the oppressors of her people, the LAPD.

Bernardin and Freeman obviously take a lot of their influences from "Boyz n the Hood" and N.W.A., and the dialogue feels like it's trying to be authentic, without it actually being authentic. The plotting is solid, however, and the Origin tale of a modern day Sun Tzu is compelling.

Richardson's art is pop-y and looks good on the page, but sometimes he makes strange decisions and the storytelling breaks down. Odd halos around characters, silhouettes, and confusing camera angles made me, at times, have to go back and reread the page to try and figure out what was going on.

"Genius" was a fun, but sometimes sloppy, read.

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Next up is "Sunset", tagged by the publisher as:
"Sunset by Christos Gage (Avengers Academy) and Jorge Lucas (The Darkness) tells the tale of an old Vegas enforcer on a quest for revenge in his twilight years."

I know Christos Gage from his work on IDW's GI Joe books, and I quite like the slow burn drama he's able to build. This one starts off very similarly to Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino", but there's a good twist at the end that stops it from being a heartwarming tale of the redemption of a cranky old man.

I hadn't really run across Jorge Lucas prior to this, but his art is serviceable, with similarities to Alex Maleev. I think he uses a bit too much digital processing, and it could benefit from a little more economy of the lines.

The set up was good, and I'm interested to see where Gage is taking the character, so this one was a pretty good preview. The benign beginning of the story is contrasted by the shock of the "ol' uber-violence" that jumps in at the end.

Comic Book Resources has an archived preview of the book here, if you wanna check it out.

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Lastly, for today, is Mysterious Ways, which Top Cow describes thusly:

"Jason Rubin (The Iron Saint) and Tyler Kirkham (Green Lantern Corps) unveil the supernatural murder-mystery Mysterious Ways."

It's hard sometimes, I find, to review comics. This is usually true when I find a comic that I really do not like, and such is the case with "Mysterious Ways".

Right off the bat, Kirkham's art rubs me the wrong way, as it gave me a 1992 "Extreme Studios"/ Rob Liefeld vibe. Too many lines, too sketchy, and... an interesting take on the study of anatomy.

Once the art leaves me cold, it's very hard for a writer to bring me back into the fold, and in this case, Jason Rubin was not up to the task. The story, about an ex-con/former cop turned alcoholic who is possibly framed for a grisly murder is seemed in "Spawn"-like melodrama and lacks any real emotional content. The min character spends nearly the entire book drunk and that prevents the reader from ever getting a chance to relate to or engage him, and the mystery just sort of falls flat because there's no one to care about.

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That's it for now. I'll review the other 3 issues in the book sometime later.

DC Do-over?

2011-06-01T08:56:00.004-05:00

It is being reported that DC Comics is... starting over.

All of it.

Everything you've read since Crisis in '86. That's done. Story over.DC comics will publish 52 #1 issues in September, rebooting their entire universe. I guess Superman can be an American again, now.

I dunno what to make of this. I am a huge fan of continuity, but at the same time, this isn't selective changing of the past, this is a fresh start for the entire line, and I think that can be a little bit interesting.

I'm sure I'll have more on this as my brain adjusts.

Movies: Thor

2011-05-31T08:48:00.006-05:00

I finally went to see "Thor" this weekend, kicking off another big summer of comic book movies (next up is X-Men: First Class, with Green Lantern and Captain America to follow).

The quick review; Thor was fun. Be warned, for from here on in, spoilers will follow.

The movie was directed by Kenneth Branagh, the actor who does have some directorial experience, but mostly for Shakespearean adaptations (As you Like It, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing) and not for huge summer blockbusters.

(Two things here; the Branagh version of "Much Ado About Nothing" is one of my all time favorite movies, and if you are at all amused by sarcasm and whip-crack verbal exchanges, I highly recommend it. Secondly, on the topic of blockbusters, the Blockbuster video store in my neighborhood is going out of business. I worked there for 4 years when I was in college, and both of my sisters worked there after me, two years a pop. Internet/Netflix, this is on your shoulders, and while I do not mourn the late fees and the dusty shelves, there is something valuable in having a wisened clerk tell you that your choice is in fact an awful movie.)

Back to Branagh, he did a good job mixing the glories of Asgard with the humble American New Mexico, while at the same time, borrowing from "Iron Man" actor-turned-director Jon Favreau, and making the movie a light hearted action romp. Thematically, it is very close to the 2008 "Iron Man", in that a bad boy learns a valuable lesson about responsibility and mans up in time to save the day. (Also, SHIELD shows up to meddle a little bit.)

I'm amazed that the writing made as much sense as it did, considering this is the writing crew:

Writing credits

Ashley Miller (screenplay) (as Ashley Edward Miller) &
Zack Stentz (screenplay) and
Don Payne (screenplay)

J. Michael Straczynski (story) and
Mark Protosevich (story)

Stan Lee (comic book) &
Larry Lieber (comic book) &
Jack Kirby (comic book)

That is a lot of cooks for one broth, but they did okay. The movie also borrowed a bit from the great Walt Simonson run in the 80's, (like the Casket of Ancient Winters, amongst other things), so he should get a nod, too.

On to the casting. Chris Hemsworth as Thor was a far better pick than a)I expected, and b)the actor that played Thor in his first appearance in film. He does a good job of being both fierce and war-happy, and then softening up both to turn into a well rounded hero. He does a good job. Nathalie Portman plays Jane Foster, no longer a nurse, but now an astro-physicist. She's very good at playing a cute love interest, but it's not her finest role, and she plays it a little bit softer than she could have.

The star of the movie, for me at least, was Tom Hiddleston as Loki, who does an excellent job of playing the god of thunder's less-loved brother. He's very expressive on screen, often wearing an expression of pained resignation mixed in with just enough insincerity that makes you almost feel for him while at the same time knowing that you shouldn't and he's just faking you out. It's very subtle and it works wonderfully. Loki is the choice role of this film, and my favorite part of the script is that while Loki possesses the powers of an Asgardian and the skill of a wizard, he is at his most destructive when he is simply lying to people. The script is written so even the viewer is not certain when he's telling the truth or not, and that makes his inevitable betrayals even more devious, as the view now has to hate him for fooling him as well. It is really quite fun to watch.

The rest of Asgard is filled with great characters, and seeing Heimdall, Sif, the Warriors Three and Odin is really a treat for the fans of the comic, and shows you how a comic movie can be full of character without having them get in the way (I'm looking at you, Spider-Man 3).

All in all, "Thor" was good times, lived up to the trailer, and was worth seeing in the theaters.

Quick Links: May 17th

2011-05-17T08:34:00.004-05:00

"Beast Wars" was often hit or miss for me. But when it was good, it was great.
Shout is offering the complete series for 50$. That's some good value for robots fighting. Ah Dinobot, you were so brave.
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Comics Alliance has the new Tin Tin live action movie posters.

I am oddly enthused to see this movie.
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Spinoff Online (and many other places) are reporting that the Wonder Woman pilot wasn't picked up. They submit that TV might be giving up on geeks (as Smallville also just wrapped up for good). I would prefer to think that Wonder Woman just wasn't that good a pilot, especially since the superhero movies have set the bar so high in terms of production value.
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"Thor" seems to be doing well. I should get out to go see it, I guess.

Free Comic Book Day 2011: Spider-Man

2011-05-12T09:01:00.000-05:00

I dropped all the Spider-Man books from my pull list following the "One More Day" storyline. That's a long, and completely separate story.

This year was the first year I have ever been able to participate in Free Comic Book Day. I always managed to be busy or out of town prior, so I was pretty excited. It was fun, and the atmosphere in the shops was really good. I see why it warrants all the hoopla.

I picked up a couple of free comics, and the first that I read was "Amazing Spider-Man" by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos. I figured that it would be a good test to see if Spider-Man was going to be a book I could look into picking up again or not.

Other reviewers seemed to like this book well enough, and I've never had any major issues with either Dan Slott (who I liked from his "Avengers: Initiative" work) and Humberto Ramos (who's "Crimson" is still something I like to re-read from time to time) both usually do good work, so I had a sense of enthusiasm getting into this issue. Maybe even hoping that things had turned around for the Spider-Man book, and I could hop back into it. I have just finished reading an Essential Spider-Man book, and it served to whet my appetite for more web-slinging action.

But this book? Meh.

Okay, I'll say, it's not terrible. It looks okay, and it's paced okay.

However, that's it. It's full of just being "okay", and it should have been, in my opinion, great enough to serve as a flagship for the entire Marvel line of comics.

Spoilers follow, be warned. Not in any great detail, but you know, this is the internet. I'm just doing my part.

Spider-Man fights the Mandrill, and he fights Spider-Woman because the Mandrill has possessed her.

The Mandrill fought them both not too long ago in "New Avengers". This seems like a cheap rehash of another book I already own. Also, "The Mandrill"? Really, Marvel? Not Doc Ock, or a Goblin, or any other of the web-spinner's iconic foes for this book, the one you're giving away to try and win new readers, but instead, the terminally silly Mandrill? For shame.

Spider-Man has lost his spider-sense.

Not really sure why. It's never really explained, at least not to my satisfaction. Spider-Man's powers going on the fritz is sort of a standard Spidey plot. I think that it's a bit lazy on the part of Dan Slott to trot out this old, "tried and true" trope for Spider-Man. It doesn't feel fresh, it doesn't feel innovative. I'm just going to assume he got hit by a pumpkin bomb full of strange gas, and that's what caused it. Sounds about right.

The Master of Kung-Fu, Shang Chi, teaches Spider-Man kung fu in order to help him compensate for the loss of his spider sense.

This little plot point, I like. It was sort of jammed into the story, but really, you'd think a guy like Peter Parker who is constantly getting his butt whupped would take a class at the Y or something. I mean, he pals around with Captain America and with Iron Fist all the time. This was a cool little idea that I liked a lot.

They call his new style "spider fu".

Yeah. They call it that.

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Was this book arduous to read? No, in general it was okay, but I think that as a Free Comic Book Day offering, it was a failure, as this book did nothing to make me want to shell out four bucks a pop for more.

Superman: Global Citizen - (The World has Gone Mad)

2011-04-29T10:43:00.013-05:00

Superman is no longer an American.

The internet is now ablaze.

Look at some of these comments from the Comics Alliance article:

robo: One more reason why I will never buy another DC comic again. Marvel is almost as bad. News flash: Liberalism is bad for business you morons.

Eggman: The great thing about America as of the posting, is that I can decide where to spend my money, and it won't be with DC anymore. This PC crap is enough to make me vomit.
Charlie X: Yet another perversion of an American institution by a group of Liberal Socialist "New World Order" turncoats who I think might find a more illuminated point of view if they moved away from this country and its freedoms. They continue to try and rot America from the inside and attack everything patriotic. Enough Already!

Wow. There are hundreds more posts like this, just on Comics Alliance alone.

Bleeding cool has collected a bunch of comments from pros in the business. These are a few of my favs:

Ethan Van Sciver: I just recommend a letter writing campaign, now that DC Comics has letters columns again, demanding to see Superman carrying an American flag into space again. Let the editors know it matters to you that Superman remains an American icon. They’ll listen.

Stephen Wacker Got some angry letters today from people mad at Marvel about what we did to Superman.

Dan Lawlis: Is there any doubt the comic book industry is dominated by Godless anti-American leftwing extremists? No. And this is exactly why I don’t miss working in the comic book field.

Ethan Van Sciver continues to be one of the least likable people I've ever met in the comics field, and basically alienates me further as a non-American comic book reader. Steve Wacker's comment, however, was comedy gold.

Comments on the internet are crazy and they are everywhere.

On the LA Times Article:

More leftist garbage from an America-hating clown who happens to be a comic book "author"...nothing like comic books to teach kids how to hate America like punks such as him already do. Posted by: Verballistic

USA Today:

Oyster P: So now the liberal pukes have their hand in one of the best comics out there. That's one way to brainwash the minds of our youth to their American hating ways.

Steelbird: If this happens, I will be renouncing Action-Comics. Not one penny of my money will go to ANY of their products. Leftist pigs!!!!!!

Wow.

(I'm going to say wow a lot, in this piece, I think. People on the internet are amazing me today.)

The Washington Examiner's Christian Tappe has these...opinionated words to share in his op-ed article:

"Superman will be renouncing his U.S. Citizenship. Because apparently comic books still exist and people still read them I guess.

Regardless of circulation and readership, the Man of Steel, will no longer be America’s own, but rather a citizen of the world.

As the scintillating and super realistic dialogue of the comic says, “The world’s to small, too connected—which is why I intend to speak before the United Nations tomorrow and inform them that I’m renouncing my U.S. citizenship.” Some guy who I don’t know then answers incredulously and profoundly, “What?” And then Superman responds: “I’m tired of having my actions construed as instruments of U.S. policy.”

This drastic decision was brought about because for some reason Superman was in Iran helping out non-violent protestors or something like that.

On the one hand, whatever. It’s a comic. And, um, Superman is an illegal alien anyway, literally. And, again, it’s a comic.

On the other hand, Superman is—or at least was—an American icon, standing up for truth, justice, and the American Way. And while America succumbs to a multiculturalism where morals and tradition are generally rendered moot, Superman stood for a code, and honor, and goodness. He represented everything great about America: strength, conviction, and unwavering principles."

Again, wow.

Here's the thing that gets me the most. The people who hate this story, the one who hate it the most, these are the same people that hate the current government in the U.S. They're the ones who call their own president a Commie and a traitor and say that America is going to hell in a hand basket. They spew such anti-American sentiment themselves...and when a fictional comic book character says, "Yeah, I'm not gonna represent the U.S." they lose their minds.

Even better is the fact that there are people who demand that the president of the U.S. show them his birth certificate while at the same time hate the fact that the last son of Krypton is no longer identifying as American.

Fox News, somehow, manages to be pretty relaxed in their reporting of the story. That's a little surprising, but it's okay. They have their comments section to balance it out.

patriotshammer : LOOK, up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, No it's a Can O' SPAM.... What has happened to our heroes of our childhood??? Hollywood has neutered all of these Heroes, fortunately we still have Heroes in Our Servicemen and Women... I Love My Country, but loathe my Gov't, for what it has done to denigrate this Nation to the world!!! VOTE CONSERVATIVE IN 2012!!!

savage_eagle : Good bye superman............take all the pretenders in Californica with you please !

dlkyk : Superman, whose next??? Sad that some progressive writer needs to beat up any country.

This one is my favorite comment from the Fox site:

john_q_militia : Superman = GAY.

-

Now, I know that this is not all Americans that think this way (or don't think at all). I know that. But there are so many of you that are on the internet writing about how mad you are that you disagree with Superman that I just had to write about it. Because it's ridiculous. To those people that are writing these comments and feeling this indignation, you sound like petulant children. Stop it. Stop it an go to your room until you're ready to come out and behave yourselves. You are embarrassing yourselves, and your ancestors would be ashamed of you. Stop acting out like spoiled, rotten little kids, stop being bullies and brats, and just chill the fuck out.

You're making your whole damned country look bad, and when you do that, it upsets me, because it inevitably spills over into mine.

Quick Links - April 27th

2011-04-27T11:47:00.002-05:00

The Cool Kids have a post about why Forge is the worst of the X-Men today. They're right, Forge was a terrible X-Man. Really, fuck that guy, he's always so whiny and he has led a life of failure.

Apparently, there is a Royal wedding motion comic app. Yeah, I knows. I knows.

Green Lantern is adding 9 Million dollars to it's special effects budget. A little late in the game to be messing with the SFX, I think. How bad did it look?

The first image from the Avengers movie set is out, over at Comics Alliance. I am giddy with anticipation.

Essential Spider-Man, volume 4

2011-04-27T10:29:00.005-05:00

I picked this up last year at the Montreal Comicon on the cheap, and it sat on my bookcase for a few months. I finished reading it a few weeks ago, and wanted to do a quick write-up, but haven't managed to until now.

Essential Spider-Man, volume 4 contains issues of Amazing Spider-Man 69-89, and the 4th and 5th annuals, which were published from 1969 to 1971. Stan Lee is the writer for these books, and the art is by some of the great Marvel crew of that era; John Romita Sr., Sal Buscema, and Gil Kane.

When reading these issues, I felt that this was the "Classic" Spider-Man. By that I mean that there was such an iconic presentation of the character in these 22 issues that the character would forever be measured up against these books. Peter Parker goes through all the stereotypical Peter Parker problems and somehow manages to persevere. It's almost funny how these issues laid out Pete's life so that if ever he tried to break from this routine, his fans would never hear of it. The archtype for his "Parker luck" is just hammered home by Lee in nearly every issue, and becomes as important to the character as his web-spinning or his spider sense.

Some of the trials and tribulations that Peter goes through include:

Aunt May gets sick. Peter has to fight a bad guy, and can't be there to look after her. Anna Watson disapproves.

Aunt May Gets sick. Peter worries about money to help support her.
Peter gets fired by J. Jonah Jameson.
Peter gets rehired when Jonah wants some great photos Peter took.
Peter forgets to photograph a fight he has as Spider-Man, even though he needs money.
Peter misses a date with his girlfriend because of his hero duties.
His girlfriend is mad at him, but forgives him.
Flash Thompson hits on Peter's girlfriend.
Harry Osborn is disappointed that his roommate Peter is never around.
Peter thinks he should quit being Spidey because of the affect it has on the rest of his life.

It seems almost silly, until you think that it is these books that helped make this the stereotype for Spider-Man. I guess that makes it okay, but I'm hard pressed to understand why so many fans want this Spidey back. It's fun to read for a bit, but after a few issues, the melodrama gets tough to slog through.

Volume four has some good fights, too, so it's not all drama all the time. Mysterio, Kingpin, The Lizard, Electro, The Shocker and Doctor Octopus all show up to get their licks in, and Spidey also tangles with heroes in The Human Torch, Black Widow and Quicksilver. Some lesser known baddies also show up, like The Chameleon, the Prowler, the Kangaroo, Silvermane and Man Mountain Marko, so there's a good tilt almost every issue, and that helps to keep things moving.

My favorite part of this book is how serial the storytelling is. Everything keeps flowing forwards, and it is pretty easy to feel out the whole of Spider-Man's world, more so than in any modern incarnation of the character. The writing follows a pretty simple formula, and the sub-plots that are introduced play themselves out nicely and are tied off once they have run their course. Stan Lee keeps throwing stuff at the read, and keeps pushing the story forward, it doesn't really matter that very little of actual consequence happens (the Spider-Man in issue #69 is not very different than the Spider-Man of issue #89).

All in all, I enjoyed these books. I liked Gwen Stacy, and I liked the non-stop parade of rogues that menaced New York. I don't need this era to be recreated though, as it's already been done, but hey, at least Spidey doesn't do much singing.

Challenger Deep

2011-04-18T11:23:00.003-05:00

I picked up Boom Studios' "Challenger Deep" a couple of weeks ago. Written by Andrew Cosby and Andy Schmidt, with art by Chee, I picked it up for two reasons:

The cover was simply beautiful.
I wanted to blog about something that wasn't super hero related.

I read a lot of mainstream comics, so I end up writing about them a lot too. I try to mix it up, but sometimes that takes a little forethought when I'm in ye olde comick shoppe.

Boom has a few preview pages of the book here. The art is at times very pretty and at others, very sketchy.

I liked the story of the book, which is that a nuclear submarine has sunk into one of the deepest areas of the ocean, one of the most inhospitable places on Earth, and if a rescue team is not sent down, not only will the crew die, but the world will end in a nuclear chain reaction.

I like the plot. It's dire. It lends itself to anxious moments and it has potential.

However, I found that the execution was less than perfect.

There are times where this book really has the opportunity to show that this is the most dangerous and isolated place on the planet, and that the world is at stake, but the writers get a little too caught up in dialogue, and tense scenes end up turning into "Tarantino-light" pages. The artist also fails to help out the mood, often zooming in when he should be zooming out to use negative space to highlight the feelings of isolation the characters (and thus the reader) should be feeling.

I feel like this was a project designed to be optioned to film, rather than a fully developed offering for comic fans. Interesting, and not terrible to read, but never really living up to the potential it could have achieved.

Scott Pilgrim Art

2011-04-07T11:45:00.001-05:00

Bryan Lee O'Malley posted some new cover art for the Scott Pilgrim books and their publication in Japan.

Hyper-Active 5 Year Olds

2011-03-24T14:44:00.006-05:00

I originally wrote this piece nine years ago when I was writing for a webzine called Tangmonkey. You can find the original article here. I cleaned it up and edited it a little bit, but it is essentially the same story.

This one has a little more to do with me and why I love comic books more than comics themselves. It's also a little sappy. Be forewarned.

-

I still have the first comic I ever read.

It is the Justice League of

America

issue #102.

I was five years old when I read it for the first time. I was visiting my grandparents in Sherbrooke, Quebec (a smaller town, about two hours east of Montreal). I was tearing their relative peace to shreds, the way five year olds are apt to do. I was running around, banging pots and hollering, when my grandfather, a little desperate to calm his sugar-high grandson down, went into the storage closet and pulled out a box of comic books that my uncles had left behind when they moved out, decades earlier.

That is when I saw it.

The cover had Superman on the cover. Batman too. I instantly became the model grandchild, sitting quietly reading for the rest of the weekend. I was transfixed by this comic. I didn’t really understand it, yet this didn’t matter to me. There were words, and I read them, and there were pictures, and I loved them. There were heroes, and they wore brightly coloured costumes, and there was action enough to go around for everyone.

Over the years, my trips to the Sherbrooke continued. My Father would drop my sisters and I off with his family often enough, and every time I went, be it Christmas, summer vacation, or March break, I knew that I would have those comics waiting there for me. I’d sit out on the patio or in the guest bedroom and read them and reread them. There were about a hundred comics in total, and a great many of them had been scotch taped to hold the covers on. My uncle Bruce apparently had a penchant for drawing beards on the Archies and the Justice League, but my issue, the beloved Justice League 102, was spared this fate. It was worn, but it was whole and unsullied.

As I got older and grew into my teens, I metamorphosed into what most teens do, a wise-assed brat. I really didn’t see the need to have to go visit my grandparents for the weekend when there was a chance I could “hang out” with my friends. I would sulk in the car for the two hour drive over Mount Orford, antagonizing my sisters who were trapped in the back seat with me as much as possible to ensure that the entire car was as miserable as I was for this trip. I would get there and be as anti-social as I could possibly be, hiding in the back room with the comics, trying to avoid human contact and express my opposition to this oh-so-unfair punishment I was being put through using a social strike.

Me and my sister Katie. You can see the issue in my hands.

These trips, my grandfather would come in back to ask me to come to the Depanneur with him so he could get his lottery tickets. My Grandfather had led a hard life, one where many of his hardships were self inflicted. He had turned it all around with age, though, and became one of the most genial and gentle people I have ever known. He didn’t smoke or drink anymore, so his one vice was a few bucks a week on scratch tickets, hoping to win. He would promise me a new comic, if I came along with him, and for that thirty-minute ride, we would chat. He was a big baseball fan, avidly following the Montreal Expos beck when they still wore their baby blue road uniforms. Even in my most angsty teen-aged years, he was a man that was impossible to be catty with, and his ability to be social is something I covet to this day. When we would get to the store, I’d study which comic I wanted the most while he grated off a few tickets with a penny.I would choose the one (looking back at these comics, I’ll accept that as a child I had dubious taste), and we’d be back in the car. It was good.

Well, My grandpa died a few years later. He had a heart attack and didn’t make it. I life lived hard is rarely one lived long, so they say. My Grandmother gave me the box of comics to take home with me as she cleaned up and cleaned out their apartment. When I moved out, and took them with me.

I don’t really get to talk to that side of the family anymore, but I still have that box of beat up and battered comics, and reading them every now and again makes me feel like a hyper-active five year old calming down quietly in that guest bedroom, distracted and happy.

Savage Dragon Archives, vol 1

2011-03-22T09:43:00.010-05:00

I just finished reading my copy of the Savage Dragon Archives volume 1, by Erik Larsen. Larsen was one of Image Comics' founding fathers, leaving Marvel along with Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld to start their own studio and basically get rich and famous. They were star artists determined to make it on their own, and generally, they did.

What they did not do, however, was bring any writers along with them.

Now, in their defense, at that time, they didn't really need to. The comics they made sold well. Very well, and the product they were producing was exactly what the market was demanding at the time. Splashy art, sex and violence, strong dynamic page layouts. Eye candy, all the way.

But I read this book last week, so I can only review it with my 2011 mindset. I mean, they're selling the book for people to read today, so it's not like they expect people to buy it and time-travel back to the 90's to understand where it's coming from.

The archives format is basically the same as Marvel's "Essential" or DC's "Showcase" collections. Lots of comics, printed in black and white on newsprint and sold at a lower price point. I like this format a lot, as it is a good, cheap way to get caught up on a series, getting lots of books for a good price. This book collected the mini-series (1-3) and the first 21 issues of the ongoing series. Good stuff there.

Oddly, the book is not broken up into issues. There are no reprints of the covers, and all the text is removed from the intro pages, so you can never really tell when one issue ends and another begins. This is a unique and confusing decision by the publisher, an in my opinion it detract from the reading experience.

The art in the book is very strong, even in black and white. Larsen had worked at Marvel on both "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man", and you can tell that he's got the chops when reading this book. Larsen also excels at creative character design, as you can see with this drawing of "Openface". Larsen has a great ability to make his characters look unique in comparison to each other, and they stand out as decidedly "Erik Larsen-esque". The issues do lose something in black and white (most notably characters like She-Dragon, who is supposed to differentiate herself solely by being green), but overall Larsen's art is strong enough to withstand the loss of hue.

The main failing of this book is the fact that it is so loosely plotted that it lacks depth. In his FAQ, Larsen states:

"My target audience is older Marvel readers who are about ready to throw in the towel on comics altogether. It's the missing link between Marvel and Vertigo. More mature than Marvel--less pretentious than Vertigo. The kind of comics I want to read. This book is REALLY self-indulgent."

I have no problem with a book being self indulgent. That's fine. However the book is not really "more mature than Marvel" so much as it has more mature content than Marvel. Sexual content and graphic violence is all fine and good, but it does not make the book a more mature work, so much as it makes it less appropriate for young readers.

I want to be clear, here. I like the Savage Dragon, and the few times I've traded emails with Mr. Larsen, he's been engaging and forthright.

But The Savage Dragon Archives can barely go two pages before Dragon get's into a huge brawl. Month to month, it didn't seem to bother me, as a good slobber-knocker was a fun read in an issue. When reading them all collected into a single book, however, really highlights the lack of story, and 24 issues in a row with such mimimal plot or character development is a little off-putting. It's a little bit like reading a blow-by-blow recap of Wrestlemania, and that's not as fun as it could be. It just left me feeling a little empty after plowing through hundreds of pages of comic and not really having any deeper understand of who any of the characters are, except that they are all pretty tough in a fight.

Dragon does team up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, though, and that's gotta be worth something.

Design: Fonografiks

2011-03-21T08:33:00.004-05:00

Fonografiks has been reworking the design of trade paperbacks and giving them a decidedly retro feel. Worn out, decades old, and really cool looking. Check out their DeviantArt gallery for all of them, but these are my favorites:

There's a whole slew of them at the gallery, so check it out.

Quick Links - March 9th (Spidey Edition)

2011-03-09T16:52:00.004-05:00

A copy of "Amazing Fantasy" #15, the first appearance of Spider-Man, sold for 1.1 Million dollars. The book was printed in 1962, fairly recent for an issue that is now valued in seven figures.
Comics Alliance is reporting that Julie Taymor is leaving "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark". It is also getting it's music and story re-written. I expect at the end of it all, The play will just be "Cats". I wonder what Greg Horn will paint?
Slashfilm has a few set shots from the next Spider-Man movie.
SuperHeroHype has the first shot of the full costume:

Batman: The Widening Gyre

2011-03-08T10:52:00.006-05:00

(This review will contain spoilers. Be warned.)

I like Kevin Smith. I think he's funny. (Not as funny as Scott Mosier, but that's neither here nor there.) I listen to his podcasts weekly, and watch his movies.

Kevin also writes comics. My favorite comic work of his was his run on "Green Arrow". It was a great read, and if you haven't checked it out yet, I would recommend it, as I find it has held up well over the last ten years.

I heard that Smith had done a Batman book. I had heard that it was critically panned, and Kevin mentioned it himself in a podcast, defending his work against the critics. And there were critics. John Barringer from A Comic Book Blog said:

"Kevin Smith, at least for me, has pushed Batman’s character past his envelope."

Chris Simms at Comics Alliance was less charitable:

"Kevin Smith's Batman stories are the worst Batman comics I've ever read, and while I haven't actually read them all, I've read enough that I'm pretty comfortable in declaring them the worst Batman comics ever."

Now, I like to think I march to the beat of my own drum, and I can get behind some projects that maybe are not the most popular. That, and since I generally enjoy the work that Smith has done, in and out of comics, meant that I would happily give "The Widening Gyre" a shot, and I ordered the hard cover and read the book.

I came to my conclusions about this book almost immediately, and I put off writing this review for almost a month now, hoping to temper them with time.

That didn't really happen.

"The Widening Gyre" is the worst Batman comic I've read.

I should have heeded the advice of the critics. It is achingly bad. As I read the book, I would audibly sigh or mutter in disapproval. It was a disappointment on every level save one, the fine cover art by Bill Sienkiewicz, and even that seems as wasted as lipstick on a pig. It also serves to remind you how poor the art inside the book is, as Walt Flanagan is often disappointing in his pencils.

The book disappointed me on nearly every level. The writing was juvenile and wildly inconsistent. The plot devices are seeped in frat-boy humour and show a lack of research, both in the outside world and within the DC Universe. (Poison Ivy tries to stop Batman by, essentially, getting him really high on marijuana. Worse yet, it nearly works.) It is overly rife with sexual innuendo that really seems to be played for laughs rather than to add to the story in any progressive way.

The entire book reads as if it were created by Jay and Silent Bob, legendary pot heads, and not professional writer Kevin Smith. There is nothing in this story of any substance, just an endless parade of sex jokes, drug jokes, and one instance where Batman admits to urinating involuntarily in his costume. (Kevin Smith took a hard stance defending that last point in his podcast, but it is really hard to take his defense seriously given the content of the rest of the book, i.e. Aquaman's dolphins eavesdropping on Batman getting laid in the ocean.)

On top of the poor art and ill-advised use of humour, there are several inconsistencies in the characterization of Batman himself. In one scene, Batman is paranoid that his new girlfriend may be a robot, so he assaults her and rips some of her hair out for testing. Yet he'll invite a stranger into the Batcave without so much as plugging the guy's name into google. The whole series is riddled with gaping plot holes like this. It's all over the place, and feels a little like Smith just doesn't care. He got it done, it made him laugh and he shipped it off. The editors, Janelle Siegel, Mike Marts and Dan DiDio should have their wrists slapped.

If I can make one recommendation to you about comic books, it would be to avoid "The Widening Gyre". If you like Kevin Smith and you want to read one of his comics, go pick up "Green Arrow: Quiver" instead.

Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull

2011-03-04T12:14:00.003-05:00

Comics Alliance has a great first look at Hugo Weaving all dolled up for then upcoming "Captain America" movie, via Entertainment Weekly. I think it looks pretty darn good.

Read the full article here.

Quick Links - February 10th

2011-02-10T09:43:00.003-05:00

This has been making the rounds for a bit, as Olly Moss tries to bake you see things.

A few more images are out for "X-Men: First Class". I have always dug the Xavier Institute logo.

The Joes and Cobra are both gearing up to fight zombies. I read "Infestation #1" last week, mostly on a lark, and I am gearing up to call this the worst cross-over of the year. Yes, I am aware it's February. IDW really jumps on the zombie-bandwagon 4 years too late, and while zombie vs Ghostbusters is mildly interesting, It goes downhill from there. Vs Joes? Eh, okay. Vs Star Trek? Just beam them into space. Vs Transformers?!? Really IDW? Really?

Moving on...
The Cool Kids Table has a look at April's coolest comic covers. Art Adams? Travis Charest? Darick Robertson draws Conan? Eric Powell and Mike Mignola? April is a good month for comic covers.

Todd Klein talks about typography and lettering in regards to iconic Comic logos over at CBR.
Neil Gaiman celebrates 10 years of his blog. Yay for creators and their interaction with fans.

Thank you Superdickery for this gem:

That's very...Wow, Superman. You get rid of that cross.

Lastly, Peter David threw up a few hours ago.

Turn Off The Dark

2011-02-09T10:46:00.003-05:00

The first reviews are in for Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.

They are just brutal.

Some choice cuts from the BBC News Article:

In the New York Times, Brantley admitted he was breaking a traditional embargo but said he had decided to see the show around the time it was supposed to have opened prior to the most recent postponement. "From what I saw on Saturday night, Spider-Man is so grievously broken in every respect that it is beyond repair," he wrote.
The Washington Post's Peter Marks, who called it "a shrill, insipid mess" with a "convoluted" story. The score, he continued, was "devoid of personality" in a show whose "optimal audience might be non-English-speaking".
The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney called it "an ungainly mess of a show that smacks of out-of-control auteurial arrogance".

Ouch. The only way these critics could feel worse about the show is if they had to play Spidey himself, leaving the theater with broken wrists, backs, ribs and skulls.

No mention of how much they liked "Swiss Miss". None. Can you imagine how bad a show has to be to see that character on stage, dolled up like a Japanese horror film mixed with every villain the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ever fought, and still have bigger fish to fry in your critique? Wow.

They've already pre-sold out a large number of shows, but I have to assume that this is only because everyone likes to think they like a train-wreck. I can't imagine anyone who's heard any news about the show getting a ticket expecting to be awed by how amazingly fun, inspired and entertaining it will be. I really think that most people want to go because they want to be there when something horrible happens. They want to have their own little outrage that they paid money for something truly awful. The fact that the production hasn't started to market directly to this audiance is sad, but I suppose it's too much to expect an ad reading "Come See Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark! You'll hate the show, but love telling your friends how bad it was!"

Tickets range from 275$ in the orchestra to 95$ on the balcony. That is a lot of money for the privilege to complain.

Of course, the producers of the show have a different take. From Movieline, here are their comments:

Following on the heels of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark spokesman Rick Miramontez saying the onslaught of negative reviews was "Uncool," producer Michael Cohl has taken things one step further. “Any of the people who review the show and say it has no redeeming value are just not legitimate reviewers, period.”

Don't like the show, Mr. Critic? Then you are not only uncool, but we no longer consider you a critic. So there!

The show is slated to open in March.

Thor and Captain America Trailers

2011-02-06T23:41:00.003-05:00

Ah the Superbowl. The best commercials that you can't see in Canada because you only get the CTV feed.

But, as they say, the internet heals all wounds.

So check out the trailer for Captain America:

And in case you haven't seen it yet, here's the Thor trailer:

Terra - DC Comics

2011-02-02T10:08:00.005-05:00

It has been a little while since I've posted about, you know, comics. Sorry about that.

I realize I have a tendency to to post about the comics I have on my pull list, and this usually means that there are a good amount of reviews of Avengers, G.I.Joe and X-Men, and I wanted to expand my scope a little bit.

So I picked up the trade paperback collecting 2007's "Terra" from DC Comics, created by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Amanda Conner.

I wanted to like this book. It was a fresh new character with a decidedly female influence in Conner that did add a different element and made it feel, I guess, a little more authentic. As well, the book was a good light adventure comic, with appearances by Supergirl, Power Girl, and Geo Force.

But that's also where the book fails completely.

I can see this book being discussed as a good story that could act as a gateway to new readers or female readers, (or even new female readers) into the DCU. A new character with a clean slate that has no idea about the world she has arrived in, trying to do the right thing and save the day, well, that's a good place to start any series. You would, as a new reader, then be able to be introduced to this world as it is introduced to the protagonist, and you would learn things on the way, and, ideally for DC, you would like this world and want to explore more of it.

Then why would the creative team on this book insist on having this character tied to plot points from books over 25 years old? I read Wolfman and Perez's "New Teen Titans". I quite liked "The Judas Contract" and I think the book holds up pretty well in the decades since it's publication.

But, even as a comic book fanboy, I had a hard time pulling to the surface all of the Tara Markov/Terra I and Terra II history that was needed for this new series to make sense. I cannot imagine giving this book to someone who was not literate in 30 years of DC comics and expecting them to understand why Geo Force appearing is important, and why everyone is a little freaked out that a new Terra appeared out of nowhere.

It confused me. I was hoping to read a book, set in the DCU, about a super hero that I could use as a good "lender" to people, a book I could say "Here, take a look at this, it's a good place to start." And this book was not that.

It wasn't a bad book. I really liked the art. I thought it was fun and bright. I liked the action, which reminded me a little bit of Marvel's "Arana" in the way that it was a new comic about a girl with superpowers, but not about the fact that she was a girl, per se. I do not however, understand who the intended audience for this book would have been, as I do not know too many folk looking for girl comics rooted in Teen Titans history but that are also totally new to the DC Universe. So while I liked the book, I'm disappointed I don't think I can pass this one over to my fiance to read without having to suggest she slug her way through four or five years of old comics from the 80's.

Quick Links - February 1st

2011-02-01T11:47:00.003-05:00

CBR has a good piece on Bane, so you can get to know the character before he appears in the next Chris Nolan Bat-film.

Chris Ward rails on Gareb Shamus, talks appropriately about Wizard. Here's a nice excerpt about the Shamus brothers:

"...they spent so much time in their youth launching the magazine, that they didn’t get to develop the correct range of inter-personal skills and emotions necessary to make people not hate you."

Comics Alliance talks about who was cast as Superman for the next movie. I don't watch "The Tudors", so I have no opinion yet.

And finally, Panels on Pages has a contest to win copies of "Superman: a XXX Porn Parody". The cover art seems to say the porn version follows pretty closely to the old Richard Donner films.

Wizard and Toyfare are Gone

2011-01-24T16:21:00.002-05:00

Comics Alliance has breaking news that both Wizard and Toyfare magazines have been cancelled, effective immediately.

The Wizard website has little mention of the news, but their link to subscriptions information is returning a "page not found" error.

Sure it appealed to the most uninformed of fans, but I'm a little sad to see it go. My first taste of online comics discussions happened on the long gone Wizard World forums, and I remember chatting with people there and making a lot of friends that I lost touch with as soon as they forums were dumped without ceremony or warning in 2002.

So, Wizard magazine, it was nice knowing ya.

Quick Links - January 20th

2011-01-20T10:40:00.003-05:00

X-Men: First Class has some new stills and the first poster out. See them here.

Dog Fort comics are the best comics. I seriously love Dog Fort. It fills me with glee.

Everyone is talking about Anne Hathaway in the new Batman movie.

Marvel unveiled the new international Thor poster.

No, seriously. Dog Fort.

Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Casting

2011-01-19T15:08:00.003-05:00

Casting news just came out for the third Chris Nolan Batman movie, as it was announced that Anne Hathaway will play Catwoman in the next movie.

Here's the official report, from Deadline.com:

"BURBANK, CA, January 19, 2011 – Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that Anne Hathaway has been cast as Selina Kyle in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises.” She will be starring alongside Christian Bale, who returns in the title role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Christopher Nolan stated, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story.” In addition, Tom Hardy has been set to play Bane. Nolan said, “I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman’s most formidable enemies.” Nolan will direct the film from a screenplay he wrote with Jonathan Nolan, from a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. Nolan will also produce the film with his longtime producing partner, Emma Thomas, and Charles Roven. “The Dark Knight Rises” is slated for release on July 20, 2012. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company."

Tom Hardy as Bane is awesome news. Bane is generally a cool character, unless Joel Schumacher get's his teeth into him, and Tom Hardy is a great choice.

Anne Hathaway, though. I dunno. I mean, I'll give Nolan the benefit of the doubt after the magic he pulled with Heath Ledger, but Hathaway wouldn't have been my first choice.

Costumes: Cap and Spidey

2011-01-14T14:40:00.005-05:00

Entertainment Weekly delivers today.

Wanna see what Chris Evans looks like in the Captain America costume?

Here ya go:

That helmet is pretty rough looking. I'm so-so on it. I do like the red straps as stripes along the midsection though, that's inspired.

Andrew Garfield in his Spider-Man togs? Gotcha:

Some small changes to Spidey. It looks like he's lost the belt of red around his waist, and the gloves come to a point on the forearms.

Is Cillian Murphy the new "That Guy" of Geekdom?

2011-01-13T10:34:00.009-05:00

Tron.
Inception.
Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.
28 Days Later.

What's the connecting factor there?

Cillian Murphy was in all these movies.

Two of the biggest sci-fi movies of the last 5 years (aside from Avatar, of course, which was huge), the best Superhero movies, and the definitive zombie movie of our generation, Cillian Murphy has really made a case to be the new "it" guy for sci-fi awesomeness.

Plus, as my friend Keith puts it, "And he's dreamy."

Seriously, does he just have the best agent in the biz? He's landed some pretty choice roles in the geek film world.

Or maybe he's just a nerd himself. I read once that Christian Slater was a huge Star Trek fan, that he crossed studio lots to get a small cameo in "Star Trek VI", so I suppose it's possible. It's not like his parts in The Dark Knight and Tron were huge, but he was in them none the less.

Looking at his IMDB profile, he's got a few more sci-fi themed flicks on their way to the silver screen. A world where no one ages, A world decimated by disease, and a playwright whose work comes to life.

Sure, he's not Tron or Batman, but Cillian Murphy really is getting his geek on.

Quick Links - January 10th

2011-01-10T12:49:00.005-05:00

An insanely detailed listing of all the Batmobiles. All of them.

A group of renegade cops in Milwaukee have decided that they're the Punishers, and are now vigilaties of the scariest variety.

Robot 6 presents their "Top 50 Covers" of 2010.

IDW comics is running a company crossover event called "Infestation". This event sounds so ridiculous, you won't even believe me. It is a crossover between "G.I.Joe", "Transformers" (been done before, sure), "Star Trek" (what?) and "Ghostbusters" (what what?). It is also about a trans-dimensional zombie plague. Yup. Zombies.

A New Look

2011-01-02T02:45:00.004-05:00

To celebrate the new year, and to kick off the 5th year of this blog, I've decided to redesign the whole look of the blog.

I think it's a sleeker look, a bit sexier, and after 4 years, it was time for a bit of a refresh around these parts, don't you think?

How the site looked in 2007

Thank you to everyone who kicks around reading these posts. May the New Year bring you joy and serenity.

On to 2011!

One Reason of Many

2010-12-25T14:40:00.003-05:00

One of the many reason's I love my gal.

She's been under the weather this week. This is a photo of her nightstand:

Stuff to make her feel better.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Death and Cancer?

2010-12-22T10:40:00.003-05:00

Looking at the New York Times today, I stumbled across this article on Archie Comics.

I was like, "Sweet, comics news. Archie is always good for a smile."

This is an except:

"In issue No. 6 of “Life With Archie,” which will go on sale Dec. 29, Archie Andrews, the famous redhead from Riverdale, will deal with a death in the extended family. Geraldine Grundy, one of the gang’s high school teachers, will lose her battle with cancer."

Yeah.

They killed Miss Grundy. With Cancer.

Yay fun Archie.

If you want to read about the sad and painful death of a beloved high school teacher, "Life with Archie #6" is on sale now.

Casting rumours: Buffy The Vampire Slayer

2010-12-21T10:54:00.004-05:00

Access Hollywood has published an article where Glee's Heather Morris says she's being considered for the role of Buffy Summers.

Here's an excerpt:

“They’re considering me! I found out and I almost peed my pants ‘cause I was so excited!”

“If they make [‘Buffy’] when [‘Glee’] is on hiatus, I don’t even care what I do,” Heather laughed. “I can just run through the shot and do nothing – even if I’m not Buffy!”

I'm not a huge fan of Glee, but from the few episodes I've seen, Morris is easily my favorite part of it. She's odd, and her comic timing is really sharp. He character is dim, so I'll be interested to see if she can get Buffy's Spider-Man-esque witty banter down, but I'd be okay with her as the Slayer.

Honestly, I'm more concerned about the casting of the rest of the Scooby gang than anything else.

Bacon in the Helfire Club

2010-12-20T12:23:00.003-05:00

Quoted from the Philadelphia Style :

In X-Men: First Class, slated to open in early June, Bacon plays mutant villain Sebastian Shaw. Although it’s his first major action role (the only thing that comes close, he says, is 2000’s Hollow Man), it’s not a particularly demanding part physically. “I’ll let the younger actors do that,” he laughs. “I’m more one of those sit-in-my-chair-and-destroy-the-world type of guys.”

Kevin Bacon is Sebastian Shaw.

That is...weird.

I really don't have more to say than that. It just seems so very odd.

Marvel: Fear

2010-12-14T10:06:00.004-05:00

Marvel has been releasing teasers about their next event. A couple of images, and a short video clip. Other than that, no other details are out yet.

Cyclops in Magneto's uniform is pretty awesome, though.

I guess event comics have been paying off for Marvel. I think it makes them a little harder to follow, because every story is so massive, it can be a little daunting to dive into.

Hellboy and Pets

2010-12-13T14:58:00.003-05:00

Found this online.

I debated about posting it. I thought it was funny, but worth sharing?

But I looked at it a few more times. And I laughed. Every time.

I'm not sure what it means or where it's from, but Mike Mignola won so hard with this piece.

Movies: Jonah Hex

2010-12-13T11:03:00.004-05:00

Rented Jonah Hex with Marisa this weekend.

I kind of wanted to see it, as the Jonah Hex comics from the 80's (drawn by Keith Giffen) were oddly memorable to me as a 10 year old. They were strange, sci-fi, and violent. Different that some of the other stuff I had read. I know now that this was a bizarre plot where DC Comics took a grizzled western hero and dropped him into a post-apocalyptic future to have zany adventures, but back then? It was a non-stop "what the hell?" ride.

In any case, it has been a pretty weak month at the video store for new releases, and that sort of left us with not much we could agree on, so a flashy western-comic adaptation won out.

I'll say a few things to get started: I like westerns. John Malkovich is usually pretty awesome, and he plays the bad guy in this movie. Megan Fox is a scourge on movie-making and I would rather not see her in films again.

All that being said, Jonah Hex was not a terrible movie. A little awkward at times, but Josh Brolin was decent as the lead. The script needed a few more rewrites in order to even it out a little, but the action scenes were fun enough.

A quick scan of his wiki article confirms that the movie makers decided to give him some odd supernatural powers that he never had in the comics, namely the ability to talk to the dead. Strange decision, but it works well enough, or at least better than the idea to include a science-fiction doomsday weapon that the bad guys try to steal. This is where Jonah Hex, the movie, gets dangerously close to "Wild Wild West".

At least there was no giant spider-robot.

I don't know if I can recommend this movie. I liked parts of it, but it had no flow and I think that it was mostly my fanboy side that helped to overlook the flaws this movie has. Josh Brolin did what he could, but the movie itself was working against him.

Wikipedia says that the public was less forgiving:.

Jonah Hex severely underperformed, opening at #7 during its debut weekend with only $5,379,365 in 2,825 theaters, averaging $1,904 per theater. In its second weekend the film only managed to gross $1,627,442, falling to #10. The film ended its theatrical run on August 12, 2010, grossing only $10,547,117 in total on a $47 million budget, making it a box office bomb. Due to the film's poor domestic take, it was not widely released internationally, grossing less than $500,000 outside the United States.

Guess there won't be a sequel.

Thor: Poster

2010-12-10T10:38:00.005-05:00

Marvel.com has released the first look at the new Thor movie poster.

Here it is:

Not too shabby.

I like Thor, but I've always preferred his adventures in Asgard over his time on Earth. I hope it's more "Iron Man" and less "X-Men Origins: Wolverine".

Casting: Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy

2010-12-08T10:51:00.006-05:00

When they cast Emma Stone (from Superbad and Easy A) in the new Spider-Man movie, I thought, like the rest of the internauts, "Ah, she'll be a fun Mary-Jane."

Then it was announced that she will play Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker's first serious girlfriend.

Whaaa?!?

Emma Stone stated she is a natural blonde, and now, after some work from her stylist, I think she at least looks the part.

FreakAngels

2010-12-06T12:49:00.002-05:00

Talking about Warren Ellis's "Red" made me think about how much I like his work. He's done all sorts of stuff for Marvel, DC and a lot of independent stuff. I could spend all day breaking it down for you, but I wanted to tell you to go check out "FreakAngels". With artist Paul Duffield, Ellis has been putting out a free web comic now for years.

It's awesome, it's easy to access, and it's free. Go. Read it from the beginning.

Movies: Red

2010-12-06T11:52:00.008-05:00

I saw "Red" a few weeks ago.

Heh, that's a great opening line.

But yeah, I went to see it in theaters with Risa. We were in the mood for some light action fare, and it was pretty sparse pickings once we looked at what was playing. The trailers made it look fun enough, so we figured it was worth a shot.

I'm sort of here and there about Bruce Willis. "Die Hard" usually makes up for most failings of his. But it was also a long time ago now. "Surrogates" was pretty weak, his bit roles in "Planet Terror" was nothing special. He's usually pretty busy, but the last thing I remember liking him in was "Sin City", and that was 2005.

But he was not really the scene-stealer of the movie.

That title went to Dame Helen Mirren, who kicked butt all movie long. After playing Queen Elizabeth in "The Queen" a few years ago, she showed that she could also stand her own as a Hollywood action star. Seriously, I could watch her reprise this role all the time. I want to see her versus the Predators now.

The rest of the cast is hit or miss. John Malkovich was quirky and fun, but Morgan Freeman felt like he just mailed it in. Brian Cox was a fun surprise (he's not in any trailers), and Karl Urban was a good foil for the "Red" crew. Mary-Louise Parker was all over the place, but I think that might be because she had Willis to play off of in most of her scenes, and they had no chemistry at all.

The action scenes were fun, the plot was okay, and the laughs were genuine. Red was a good watch, but not a flawless movie. It's based on the comic by Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer, which I haven't read yet, but I'm sure I'll pick it up at some point.

Judge Dredd

2010-11-22T12:50:00.002-05:00

First look at Karl Urban (Red, Lord of the Rings) as JD.

Cue "I-Yam-deh-Law!" quotes...now!

Green Lantern

2010-11-17T10:10:00.003-05:00

The trailer is out, finally.

I think it looks pretty cool. Is it Batman cool? I dunno, but the suit looks better in motion than early photos suggested, and Ryan Reynolds can carry a movie. I also spotted Kilowog, witch is pretty sweet. Was the bad guy in that trailer Sinestro? I couldn't tell just on looks alone.

Expozine 2010

2010-11-15T10:28:00.003-05:00

Risa and I went to Montreal's Expozine yesterday.

Expozine is an independent press and 'zine fair. They usually have a lot of cool magazines, comics, art prints and books for sale.

We went last year and had fun, but this year it was just the two of us, as the rest of our gang couldn't make it at the same time as us.

Positives:

It was less crowded
It smelled less of damp wool and beard oil (it was raining last year, and the place was packed)
There were more comics

Negatives:

The booths are still overly crowded
There were less prints for sale
It oddly felt more corporate
Too many people there were there just to be seen

We were there for about an hour, bought a few prints, Risa got a book, and we left.

Joey and Emily from "A Softer World" were there, and I inadvertently brought up some painful memories about Joey's ex-girlfriend before I bought a print (of this strip) and moved on.

Captain America: Movie

2010-11-02T11:14:00.003-05:00

CBR has some great hi-res pics from the set of the Captain America movie. Go check them out.

Kick-Ass 2 #1

2010-11-01T09:19:00.002-05:00

Story by: Mark Millar
Art by: John Romita Jr., Tom Palmer
Colors by: Dean White
Letters by: Chris Eliopoulos
Cover by: John Romita Jr.

Kick-Ass 2 picks right up where Kick-Ass left off.

Sort of.

It takes elements from the previous comic volume (he did not get the girl, she wants nothing to do with him) and parts of the movie (Hit Girl lives with Marcus now, and not her mother, as was stated in the comics) and just runs with it.

This issue reads a little bit like an epilogue to the previous series, with a few new things tossed in, most notable the introduction of a new hero team.

I expect many in this hero team to be dead by the end of this series.

for my tastes, I like Kick-Ass when it's running on all cylinders. It needs to throttle up and really take things to another level, and so far, this new issue is really just more of the same as what came before. I'm not saying it needs a Gatling-gun rocket-pack, but it needs a little more "oumph", a little more ass kicking.

JRjr is great, as always. The special feature pages showing his breakdowns, the inking process and then the colours was pretty neat, especially in a single issue (as I'd normally find stuff like that in a trade paperback), so props to that.

In any case, more Kick-Ass means a greater likelihood of a sequel movie, and I'd be down with that.

Avengers #6

2010-11-01T08:53:00.004-05:00

I just finished reading Avengers #6 last night. It's been a busy week with all the Halloween festivities going on and what not. But I sat down to read this book and now, writing about it, I'm not sure hoe I feel about it.

I'll say this, it is most definitely the 6th and final book in a story arc. This story really felt as if it was written for the trade, wrapping up the story with Kang the Conqueror breaking the timestream and the Avengers winning the day and saving all life as we know it. I just don't think I like the way they did it.

They did it by begging.

Hardly a great conclusion to the first story in "The Heroic Age", is it?

Iron Man and the Avengers begged Ultron to lose a fight and save the universe.

Yup.

I feel bad, because the thing Bendis does best, dialogue and banter, is great in this title. JRjr is always amazing on the pencils. The books reads very well and looks very nice, but still, 6 issues in, and 24$ in the hole, I feel like it might not have been a bad idea to have the Avengers kick off the heroic age of heroes with a better victory than begging Ultron for understanding and trust.

I don't know what to do with this book. the new 3.99$ price point is a lot higher than I really feel comfortable with, and the book just took me for 6 issues to a place where I just feel *bleh*. I mean, it's not like I finished the epic tale of time and war saying "They begged the murder robot to take a dive? That is sooooo cool!" I think this one is going to get dropped from my pull list when next I get to the comic shop.

Dream Cast: Power Man and Iron Fist

2010-10-21T10:49:00.007-05:00

I used to love reading in magazines where they would dream up an ideal cast for a movie and fill the roles with current Hollywood actors. I would get all angry if they got one wrong, or get inspired if they nailed one just right. Wizard once cast JLA where they had David Boreanaz as Batman and Bruce Campbell as Superman, and I'm still sad to this day that it never happened.In that spirit, I cast for you "Power Man and Iron Fist: The Movie".

Michael Jai White is Luke Cage

If you haven't seen "Black Dynamite", well, first, go rent it, and then you'll understand how he can handle the campy dialogue a Heroes for Hire script will have in store for him. He was in "The Dark Knight" and he also played Spawn, but really, Power Man is where he belongs.

Tahmoh Penikett as Iron Fist

Penikett was on "Battlestar Galactica" and Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse". I think that he sort of looks like Danny Rand to me. He's got a sort of quiet confidence, an ability to cling to his convictions with a hint of naivete that I think is very much in line with Iron Fist.

Ziyi Zhang as Colleen Wing

After "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", Ziyi can kick some butt on screen. Colleen Wing is a cool character, too, and offers Ziyi a chance to play hero again on the silver screen.

Alicia Keys as Misty Knight

Alicia Keys was the best thing in "Smokin' Aces". A close second were her booty-shorts. But Keys did show she had a good mix of being a hard-case and human being in that flick, and I think she's be a good Misty. Hard-boiled, but still in love with Danny.

Donnie Yen as Davos, the Steel Phoenix

Man, I love Donnie Yen. He is not in enough movies. He showed up in "Iron Monkey", which is awesome, and then popped up again in "Blade II", where he was severely under used. Davos is a bad dude, but he's also feeling like he is just in his quest for revence against Danny, so there needs to be a bit of sympathy in him. I think Donnie Yen is very emotionally expressive while being stoic. I think he'd be a great foe for the HFH crew.

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That's what I've got. This was fun, and I'll try to do it again sometime.

Legion Leader

2010-10-20T13:22:00.002-05:00

Robot 6 told me today that DC Comics was letting the Internet decide who the new leader of the Legion of Super-Heroes would be.

DC has done this before a few times, usually by write in vote, but I think it's a fun little bit of intereaction with the fans. I am a little sad that there is no "other" option, to give guys like "Superboy", "Karate Kid", "Bouncing Boy" or "Rory Fitzpatrick" a shot. It's a shame, too, as the internet is a strange and wonderful place, so who knows what crazy options they could have come up with.

For the record, I voted for Chameleon Boy.

Was the Hulk Gay? - Follow Up

2010-10-18T15:22:00.004-05:00

I get a lot of hits on this blog through this post: "Was The Hulk Gay?", which is this weird little story about why Bruce Banner's name was changed to David Banner for the TV show.

(I am referring to the Bill Bixby David Banner, and not the David Banner rap artist who I first discovered in Def Jam's "Fight for NY II" on the XBox. If I was a rapper, I know I'd want to be named after Bill Bixby.)

(Also, David Banner's end-fight taunt from "Fight for NY" is easily the most awesome and most confusing taunt of that game.)

(I have to share it: "I'm from the M I crooked letter, cooked letter I crooked letter, crooked letter I humpback, humpback I make em all die!" That is solid gold, my friends. I love that game.)

Back to the point at hand, I would like to hope that people finding the old post in question are having a similar discussion with their idiot friends. I would really like to think that, because the alternatives are that people a typing "Hulk" and "Gay" together into Google and are not happy to see the irreverant little anecdote from the 70's.

Even if that is the case, I hope they at least read the post before diving back into the gutters of the internet.

New Avengers#5

2010-10-15T10:32:00.002-05:00

COVER BY: Stuart Immonen
WRITER: Brian Michael Bendis
PENCILS: Stuart Immonen
INKS: Wade Von Grawbadger
COLORED BY: Laura Jean Martin
LETTERED BY: Neurotic Cartoonist, INC

I just read this issue last night. After taking my girl out for dinner and some shopping, we stopped by the comic shop on the way home so I could pick up my pull list.

My list is a lot smaller these days than it used to be. Two Avengers titles, 3 GI Joes, and a few trades that I have pulled as they are released.

While I did trim the fat a little bit lately, I have kept the books that I really do like, so when it's time to pick up my books, it's usually with a little excitement.

I really like this team of Avengers. I thing the group dynamic is great, and I like the way Brian Bendis has them banter. Specifically in this issue, the dialogue between Damion and Doc Strange is classic.

It's also nice to see Doctor Voodoo step up to bat, finally, after many issues of his insecurity. Wolverine also gets the chance to be the hero for once. I mean, sure, he's always getting the chance to be the "main man" (sorry Lobo), but very rarely in the Avngers pages is he more useful than a blender in the fights they get into.

I'm liking where this title has taken me so far, and I'm looking forward to the next issue.

A Bunch of Tron Stuff.

2010-10-13T09:22:00.005-05:00

Spinoff Online has a bit of news regarding my favorite robot DJs and lightcycles, including a pic of Daft Punk all Tron-ed out.

Check it out:

CBR also has a preview up of the new Tron adaptation of the original movie here. Looking pretty good.

Sins Past

2010-09-16T08:39:00.003-05:00

Okay, so Amazing Spider-Man issues 509-514 came out a while ago (*ahem* six years), but I just picked it up in trade format on sale last week, and finished it last night.

There is a very good review of the story here, and I agree with most of what the author says, except for the need to have this properly retconned out of the plot.

I think that it was a poor follow-up to the more interesting run dealing with Spider-Man's link to the spiritual world and while Mike Deodato's art was pretty to look at, that no fan really wanted him to draw a panel of Gwen Stacy in the throes of passion with Norman Osborn. Seriously, it was kind of gross.

I don't really get what the goal of this story was, from J. Michael Straczynski's point of view. I thought that it killed a lot of momentum that his book had going following the conclusion of the Ezekiel story. And killed it in such a weird way, by making Gwen the girl in high school who gave it up to one of her closest friends' father.

If they never have another plot line centered around Gwen Stacy again, I'd be happy.

Hot Rods

2010-09-14T09:52:00.002-05:00

Yes, this did come up in conversation today.

Such is my life.

Montreal Comicon

2010-09-13T08:10:00.003-05:00

Marisa and I went to the Montreal Comicon yesterday. It was at Place Bonaventure, and was only 15$, so we decided to check it out.

We were both a little sad about missing FanExpo, but then we started to hear about the mass over-crowding and long, long lines that Toronto suffered through, so we decided it wasn't such a bad thing that we missed out. Montreal has a smaller con, so we decided just to check it out for a few hours.

It was very low key, as far as cons go. It was also very dealer heavy. Lots of vendors tables. It was also a little crowded, but mostly because of the layout of the tables. They aisles were not wide enough to accommodate people stopped at a table and people trying to walk by. There was alittle too much pushing and shoving for my tastes, especially when I was being shoved by a woman who was using her baby and carriage as a ram to make her way through the crowd.

On the upsides, the con was following the Toronto con for a lot of vendors, and sales were plentiful. I got some nice, hard cover trades for 5-10$. Yay for good sales. I got a nice DC Archives edition of The Teen Titans for 10 bucks.

I also met Larry Hama, and commissioned a sketch from him of Destro, which is pretty damned awesome. Saw Darrick Robertson for a bit, too, and caught glimpses of Brent Spiner, Billy Dee Williams, and Elvira.

All in all, it was a positive experience. I felt like I got good value for the price of admission, and there were no lines anywhere to meet the guests.

Makes Me Sad

2010-09-03T11:26:00.003-05:00

I was looking around Box Office Mojo this morning, and this made me sad.

Scott Pilgrim:
Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic:
$27,040,800
+
Foreign:
$6,173,367
= Worldwide:
$33,214,167

Marmaduke:
Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic:
$33,579,130
+
Foreign:
$36,000,000
= Worldwide:
$69,579,130

Deadpool

2010-09-01T11:13:00.002-05:00

I stopped by my comic shop last week, and I decided it was time for a trimming of my pull list. Deadpool got the chop. So did Deadpool Team Up. And Deadpool Corps.

Honestly, I started rereading Deadpool just towards the end of the Deadpool/Cable run, and I sort of got hung up on it. It was quirky and light. I don't really remember how all of a sudden I had three books on my list. At the price current comics go for, I think that 12$ a month (144$ a year?) for Deadpool was too much. None of the comics were particularly spectacular, and worse, I found myself buying an uber-violent Rob Liefeld comic. It was high time I woke up from that scheme.

Dropping three books from the pull list does leave a bit of a hole in my visits to the shop, however. I don't really think there's that much out there that I'm missing out on, but I'll have to keep a sharp eye out for something new.

Just sort of all over the place on this one

2010-08-31T09:56:00.003-05:00

Good morning everyone. I am sleep deprived and a little bored today. I've just been channel surfing the web between bits of working while waiting for that coffee to kick in.

So I thought I would share a few things that I stumbled across today.

Tom Spurgeon wrote a piece over at The Comics Reporter called "25 Emblematic Comics Of The '70s", and his comments on the late 70's X-Men were awesome:

"X-Men #94-128, Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum And John Byrne, Issues Of A Marvel Comic Book Series
This was the first hit in comics fandom (its sales success until the mid-1980s is debatable) after the nadir of 1970s newsstand sales troubles and its concurrent adherence to old ways of publishing nearly brought to an end the mainstream comic book as we know it. Just being the first hit of modern superhero comics fandom might be enough to recommend it, as would being the most successful re-launch of an old concept with new characters. X-Men crystallized a lot of what was entertaining about 1970s superhero comics into portable formula: the plunge into outright soap opera, the slow-burning subplots where it didn't matter if they were resolved or not, the mysterious characters whose backstory was doled out Lost-style in inconceivably tiny, logic-defying increments, the way that the superhero's mission was recast for all time as one of noble struggle as opposed to good winning the day over evil. It also introduced us to the soon-to-upstage-everyone Wolverine, as inexplicable a character to comics as the Fonz was to television sitcoms. Danny DeVito's star-turn on Taxi a possible exception, never have more young people enjoyed someone with that much back hair."

Good stuff there, though just about anything talking about Claremont and Byrne's X-Men will win me over.

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The only web comic I check in with daily is Questionable Content, by Jeph Jacques. Right now, it's in the middle of some dramatic tension, but it has a tendency to swerve into the absurd as well. Also, it creepily has a was of mirroring my life, day for day. In order to fully get it, you have to start from the beginning, but the art steadily improves as Jeph finds his groove. It's good stuff.

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Dark Horse is reprinting a few of the old, Gold Key "Mighty Samson" comics from the 60's. My uncles read this comic, and my grandfather kept them for years until I was a kid, so even though I'm younger, I read these things growing up. They are seriously weird, and I'm kindo of excited that they're being re-issued. They have a preview here.

Runaways Vol.11

2010-08-30T10:37:00.006-05:00

Cover: David Lafuente
Writer: C.B. Cebulski, Kathryn Immonen
Pencils: Sara Pichelli, Patrick Spaziante

I have been a longstanding reader of the Runaways. The Marvel digest format reprinting the books makes it wonderfully affordable, and really is the key factor that keeps me coming back for more, even after a lot of changes to the creative team over the years, from Brian K. Vaughn to Joss Whedon.

The Runaways sort of appeals to me in a way that the New Mutants used to do, as kids in the Marvel Universe, they can act as a tour guide for the MU for newer readers because they also have to be introduced to many facets of the world in which they live.

I'm not all the way through this volume yet, though I am liking it enough to feel comfortable to write about it. The last few books had the kids running all over the place, and through time, and to have them back in the now and without all the crazy Marvel crossovers getting in the way, it feels a lot more like the book I got hooked on and liked so much. the writers do a good job of having the team start to feel a little more like they are Runaways again, while at the same time they keep pumping out the heart-wrenching teen-melodrama that contrasts itself so well against the action and explosions.

Also, I have to show support for anything published in the Marvel Digest format. I wish that Marvel would pump out a few more titles to be collected in this manner. I know that at the very least, my overloaded and sagging bookshelves would appreciate it as much as my wallet does.

11 volumes is a lot, upon reflection. Runaways isn't my favorite comic book. I mean, I do like it, but I don't get really anxious or excited to get the next one. I guess that shows how much I really do like the digest format, as I keep it on my pull list no matter what.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

2010-08-23T09:20:00.003-05:00

You know, I waited a very long time to see this movie.

I was very nervous about it as the development went forward. People were cast and promotional photos were revealed. When I heard it was going to star Michael Cera, I let out a veritable "Hunh. Really?" but I was not really put off the project.

When the trailer came out, I was pretty excited, too. I watched it a few times over, just hungry for more.

Well, I saw it last week, and I was not disappointed. It was what I had hoped it to be, and a little more. Michael Cera was a little bit different than how Scott Pilgrim is to me when I read the books, but he was okay. The rest of the casting was pretty awesome, though. Keiran Culkin as Wallace Wells was especially inspired (though it didn't hurt that he was given some of the best lines of dialogue), and the way that Kim Pine (pictured) and Young Neil looked on screen was spot on.

It's a little sad that the movie isn't doing amazing in the box office, but I also understand that the movie itself is probably terrifying and confusing to most people over the age of 45. I don't mean it to be disparaging, but if you've never really understood how video games appeal to you, then this movie is going to weird you out. It's hard to express this properly, but if you weren't raised on Nintendo, much of the appeal of this movie (and plot, I think) will just be lost on you.

(As an aside, I was watching a movie the other day, something from the 70's or 80's, and I was thinking "This is stupid. This would never happen now because of the mighty power of cellphones.")

Anyway. Scott Pilgrim vs The World delivers. Go see it. It's pretty awesome.

Penny Arcade: The Halls Below

2010-08-23T09:06:00.003-05:00

I just finished off the sixth volume of the Penny-Arcade collected editions, The Halls Below. This one collects the 2005 strips.

2005 was not the strongest year in PA to begin with. Switching publishers from Dark Horse to Del Rey was also a mistake, as the book itself just felt... cheaper as I was reading it. There was less insight to the strips, and there were these weird splash pages that really just seemed like filler. Add to the mix that the trade dress is different (so now they don't look like a nice, neat series all lined up on my bookcase), and I should probably have just given this book a pass.

It's a shame, too. Penny-Arcade is one of those comics that you really want to like, and want to like it all the time. Some times it delivers and delivers hard, but other times it is just uninspired and sort of blah. This volume, as I mentioned previously, does have the fantastic Skeletor strip, but in this case, visiting it on the web is more gratifying than holding it in your hands.

Gabe's art is very good throughout the book, though. That's worth noting. If nothing else, the strips are pretty to look at. I just think, that as a whole, I've enjoyed this edition the least so far, and I can't really recommend it. It's not like I get comps anymore, so I always feel bad when I go out and buy a book only to be disappointed as I finish it up. Ah well.

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

2010-08-19T22:51:00.004-05:00

Saw it tonight, and I'll give you a more detailed review later.

I just wanted to say Scott had the most awesome collection of ringer tees.

Some of his t-shirts included:

SP Heart Smashing Pumpkins tee

Zero Smashing Pumpkins tee

Old CBC logo tee

Plumtree tee

Rockband "Bass" logo tee

SARS tee

Fantastic Four 4 1/2 tee (a la Franklin Richards)

I know I'm missing some. Can you help out?

Pilgrim Fist Arcade

2010-08-16T11:05:00.004-05:00

I got around to reading the final Scott Pilgrim book. I haven't been to see the movie yet, but I will, probably sometime this week.

I really enjoyed the Scott Pilgrim Series, and I'm glad it ended and really told the complete story of Scott and Ramona Flowers. I just wish that there was some way to recover that feeling I had gotten while reading the first book, of just delighted surprise/ WTF?. The rest of the series was great, but it was a little like watching "Fight Club" for the second time, in that you just didn't have that dawning moment of something amazing happening.

The last book was a little padded out for me, as it was my opinion that Bryan Lee O'Malley used many more splash pages than he had previously. The first book, at least in my memory, was much denser materiel to read through than the last one.

In any case, Scott Pilgrim is now officially "a great series" and I look forward to seeing what O'Malley gets up to next. I always liked "Lost At Sea", so I think that he's not Just a one trick pony.

-

I recently had my copies for the first 3 HC Iron Fist books returned to me, and I have been slowly rereading them. Usually just before bed, and maybe an issue at a time. But hot damn, do I love those books. It's a great kung fu action movie in comic form, and that in and of itself is very rare. I've had the 5th book on the shelf waiting for me, but I was putting it off until I could go over the first few books again.

-

I have also been reading "Penny Arcade vol. 6" this week. I love Penny Arcade, but this book has been losing steam. Maybe 2005 was just a weak year for the guys. I think I bought this one just to own the Skeletor/Wikipedia strip.

I think that Tycho's commentary has also been weaker in this edition compared to the first five. That's a little sad to me. He's not been catty enough. Not wise and insightful enough.

Even the cover isn't as great as the other volumes. I'm bummed, because I want to love this book, but I can't.

The Goon: Animated

2010-07-20T09:08:00.002-05:00

This just about made my day:

Get A Sneak Peek At The Goon Animated Movie

"The much-anticipated film, produced by David Fincher and Blur Studios and written by The Goon creator Eric Powell, stars Paul Giamatti as Franky and Clancy Brown as The Goon. No release date has been announced."

Amazing.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

I'm a big fan of the comic, and I didn't really know that this was in the pipeline, so I'm super-stoked to find out about this.

The move

2010-06-14T15:05:00.001-05:00

I'm getting ready to move for the first time in 10 years.

This is awesome, and the new place is very sweet, and so is my lovely and talented girlfriend.

However, I have to move my comics.

They have been stowed away in long boxes in closets for a long time. In getting ready to move, I have taken them all out of the long boxes and stacked them up in the middle of the spare room. The pile big. It is heavy. It probably weighs more than a ton. In fact, I'm pretty certain that it does. I own more than a ton of comics.

I'm pretty awed by it, so I can only imagine the dismay my girlfriend has whenever she sees it, as she lives in a very spartan apartment, and I have...stuff.

The move is in two weeks. I've almost got my comics ready. Now to get on to the rest.

Scott Pilgrim Teaser Trailer

2010-04-27T10:08:00.003-05:00

Yeah, I'm pretty stoked for this one to come out. Really one of my favorite comics of the past decade, and the movie has me pretty excited.

I was working a roller derby bout a few weeks ago, and one of the skaters for Killamazoo was named "Ramona D Flowers #7EXB". She told me I was the first person to get it.

Kick-Ass

2010-04-27T09:54:00.003-05:00

Finally got around to seeing Kick-Ass.

I was hoping to write a big long description of it, but there's really not much to say. It was fun, action-oriented, hyper-violent, and the departures the film made from the comic book were for the best. I think it can be recommended to anyone who knows what they're getting into.

I did think the marketing may have led people to believe it was another "Spider-Man"-esque movie, so I'm sure there were some very shocked parents in the crowd. This movie is bloody and murder-filled. Imagine "300" but with guns and spandex and you start to get the idea.

Chloe Grace Moretz pretty much steals the show for this one as the foul-mouthed Hit-Girl, but everyone's talking about that. I guess that's what'll happen when you make a 10-year old commit a graphic multiple homicide while maintaining a filthy running commentary. Mark Strong was also pretty good as the big bad gang-boss, but that's also pretty much par for the course for him.

The soundtrack was pretty good too, well chosen to accent what's on the screen. Nothing fabulous, but enough to keep you amped up for the next fight.

No, this movie really is what it is, a very glossy shoot-em-up where kids rack up the boy count, so I feel I got what I paid for.

G.I.Joe: Cobra II

2010-03-02T12:02:00.006-05:00

I really like reading G.I. Joe comic books. I liked the old Marvel ones, I liked the Image/Devil's Due ones from a while back, and I like the IDW ones that are coming out now.

But I really like G.I. Joe: Cobra.

The first set of six issues showed Chuckles going deep undercover to infiltrate Cobra, and gets as close as the Crimson Twins, Tomax and Xamot. In this new series (issue #2 just came out last week), Chuckles is still on the loose, and the Joes think he's gone off the grid, as his obsession deepens.

Chuckles is a great character to follow. He's part Jason Bourne and part Bruce Wayne at the start of Batman Begins. Very rough and tumble. Flawed and dedicated and interesting to read and easy to root for. He's not Duke or Snake-Eyes or Shipwreck, and his cartoon background was completely forgettable, so the writers do have a good amount of freedom to really make the character their own, and they've made him pretty damned cool.

I really don't want to give away too much, because it's a very well written comic, and full props are due to Christos Gage and Mike Costa who are crafting a suspenseful spy thriller. They play it very smart, and use the fact that most of the readers are Joe fans very slickly in order to improve the work without making it feel like fan service.

Also, a few months ago there was a G.I.Joe Cobra special one-shot comic featuring the Twins that was amongst the best comics of 2009 and I highly recommend tracking down a copy if you're a Joe fan.

The other Joe books are fun and nostalgic and give you what they promise to deliver, but Cobra is a great comic.

Hulk Vs.

2010-03-01T09:22:00.004-05:00

I had picked up a copy of the Hulk Vs. DVDs a few weeks ago, but did not watch them right away because I had figured that Marisa would want to watch them with me, at least the Wolverine one. We went out Saturday night and were up late, so yesterday, a lazy Sunday morning, was a good time to slap on some cartoons to watch while having breakfast and before the big gold medal hockey game.

The other Marvel cartoon movies have been okay, but not great. The Ultimate Avengers, Iron Man, and Doctor Strange ones were good, but nothing spectacular, so I went into this one with low expectations, and realizing that anything with the Hulk will have a lot of time on screen of the green guy smashing stuff.

Hulk vs. Wolverine was the first one we watched. First of all, I should note that this DVD had so many trailers on it, that it was getting a little ridiculous. They just kept going and going. They had trailers for movies that had been out for years on it. Marisa got fed up after about the 5th one, and insisted we skip ahead.

The movie probably should have been called Wolverine vs Hulk, as it had to do more with Logan than his foe here. Aside from the headliners, Sabretooth, Omega Red, Lady Deathstrike, the professor from Weapon X and Deadpool were all involved. Wolverine slashes everyone and everything, and kills several guards in the villains compound. (Yeah, there's no doubt that he kills them, claws, blood and screams made that pretty clear.) The plot was very elemental, but the one aspect that elevated this from just a beat 'em up was the dialogue they gave Deadpool. He was funny. Marisa laughed out loud more than once, and I thought he was great. The ending of the movie was a bit of a cop out, not really giving you a clear winner between Hulk and Wolvie, but all in all, it was at least a fun ride.

Hulk vs. Thor was probably a better constructed movie, and flowed a little better in terms of telling the story, but it didn't have the same flair. Set in Asgard, it was also not very Hulk-centric, with The Warriors Three, Balder, Loki and the Enchantress all involved. While this one was a nice story, it didn't have the same pop that the Wolverine one did. It did, however, quite clearly show who won in the fight between the two title characters.

These flicks were worth watching, exactly as we did; hung over on a Sunday morning while having breakfast. It was almost as much fun as the last Hulk movie, not great cinema by any means, but they were a fun violent romp.

Whiteout

2010-02-26T10:38:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago, Marisa and I rented "Whiteout" starring Kate Beckinsale, albeit with low expectations following the poor reviews it had received.

We both quite enjoyed the original comic book by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber, and I sort of feel dutiful in regards to watching movies based on comic books, so it wasn't a big debate at the video store. We both kind of wanted a fun, popcorn movie.

The comic is a very good comic, and one that is routinely referred to as a "girlfriend book", in that it's one that a fanboy can give to his girlfriend and odds are they'll like it. It has a good story, a decent murder mystery, and two very strong, unique, and not over-sexualized female leads that you can get behind and root for, a US Marshal and a British Intelligence agent. They're tough and smart and are just generally cool characters to read about.

You can read the first issue of the mini-series at Steve Lieber's website.

Okay, so now, you've got this movie. You've got two female leads and one of them is a British Intelligence agent. Kate Beckinsale is signed on. You're thinking "Nice! Who's gonna play the US Marshal?" Yeah, that's where things go wrong. Beckinsale is cast as the American police officer. Seriously. Who get's to play the strong, female British operative? Gabriel Macht (of The Spirit... uh, fame?) of course!

Yeah, the studio decided that a story with two female leads wouldn't work, so not only did they make one of them male, they cast an actress from London and made her the American cop. Macht is...there? He doesn't add tension to the story. He doesn't really add a sexual element. He was more memorable as being awful in The Spirit, compared to the job he did on this film.

The movie chopped up the source material, and didn't evoke the same feeling of tension, isolation, or mystery. The characters were mostly bland, (Tom Skerritt as the Doctor was the exception, but even then, he was mostly just playing Doctor Tom Skerritt) and they sort of spoiled the whole idea of "Whiteout" as girlfriend-friendly by "sexing-up" the only female character left in the story.

I'm a sucker for all things Antarctic, it should be noted. From Scott and Shackleton to the March of the Penguins, if it's about the South Pole, you're already got some leeway with me. I was anxious to see the effect they would use for a whiteout (a blinding, lethal snow storm), and even that was just sort of meh, okay, whatever.

I should have known, if I had done my homework. The director, Domenic Sena, has done such gems as "Swordwish"and "Gone in 60 Seconds". Basically movies that had really good trailers, but you'd never really want to watch.

The movie wasn't awful, as many of the reviews put it. One could sit though it easily enough, sort of on par with an episode of CSI Miami. You know, not great, but it's on, so one might as well watch. My main issue is that the original source materiel was so good, that the movie was just an immense letdown.

In any case, The movie gets a "if it's on the movie channel on a Sunday afternoon while you're folding your laundry, I guess so" rating from me. Otherwise, just read the book.

The Move

2010-02-09T15:11:00.003-05:00

Not really a review of anything comic related, but rather a more personal post.

I'm planning on moving in with my girlfriend when our leases expire this July.

This is actually an awesome piece of news, and I'm looking forward to it greatly.

The issue I'm having now is that I have a massive comic book collection, and I am worried about the options I will have in the storage of my books. I currently have close to 2 full bookshelves for my trade paperbacks, and 3 closets full of long boxes, giving me about 60,000 comics. Right now, I have a 3 bedroom apartment all to myself, with lots of room to keep my books as messy as I please, but the girlfriend is a meticulous housekeeper, and I will have to shape up in time for the move. (To be fair, I'm okay with this, and have been purging my clutter regularly over the last few months.)

But I don't know what to do about the comics. I'm not getting rid of them, but I can't keep them they way I am now. I am going to have to research my storage solution options.

The Watchmen Movie

2009-12-10T16:11:00.005-05:00

Did I never post a real review of The Watchmen?

I really should get around to doing that.

I'll have to re-watch it though. Sometime after the holidays, I suppose.

The preview of the review: It was good.

The Spirit

2009-12-10T15:35:00.004-05:00

I watched Frank Miller's "The Spirit" a couple of weeks ago on DVD. I had heard terrible, horrible things about it, and that led me to avoid it in theatres, but I scored a cheap copy at Blockbuster, so I figured, why not.

It was pretty bad.

The longer I thought about it, in the days since seeing it, the more I disliked it.

Frank Miller wrote Sin City. He wrote the Dark Knight Returns. He wrote some of the greatest Daredevil comics ever.

But he also wrote Robocop 2. Worse, he wrote Robocop 3. The Spirit's script is far closer to his Robocop stuff than his great comics. The Spirit is a comically dumb movie, with no drama, over the top fight scenes, and things played for yuks at every possible turn. Mix that in with his directorial vision to make this movie and noir as possible visually, and you end up with a film that is disconcerting to watch and not involving in the slightest.

Now, if this was just any old movie Miller had thrown together, I could sort of get behind it. I could see it as campy fun, a lovable loser of a movie. But The Spirit is Will Eisner's signature creation, and Frank Miller should feel shame for what he did to the franchise. Actual shame. Frank Miller should blush and get evasive if people ask him about this movie, and get all dodgy and try to direct the conversation to Batman or Marv. Frank Miller should feel awkward if he even sees a guy in a blue suit with a red tie.

Is anyone reading this friendly with Frank Miller? Can you tell me if he has any, like, conversations with people? Because the dialogue was terrible in this movie. I mean, seriously, Does he not go outside ever, even just to the grocery store or bus station, just to listen to people and learn how they talk to one another.

The Spirit is a movie that is just to east to rant about and critique all over. But I'm comforted that I am not alone. Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic pooped all over it too, and it takned in the box office too:

Budget	$53,000,000
Gross revenue	$39,031,337

Being a comic geek is one thing, but I'm also "the" comic geek in my social circles, so when a movie based on a comic comes out, it is often that I will get asked about it by friends and coworkers. This movie made me feel dirty, and like I should have to make excuses for liking comics as a genre.

Autumn Came and Left

2009-12-09T12:27:00.007-05:00

Things got outta hand there for a while, and I haven't had the inclination to write about comics.

Not that I've stopped reading about them.

I went to Expozine here in Montreal about a month ago, to check out the indy comics and fanzine scene. The show, which was free, was a great success, both for organizers and for me. I got some very cool artwork that I must get around to framing and putting up soon. I also got a copy of P-Brane which I need to get around to, as it looks pretty cool.

The con itself was crowded, had lots of vendors tables, and was really rich in art prints for sale. Everyone I went with left with some artwork. I also ran into old friends there. Seems like it was the place to be.

Though it must be said that a room that has hundreds of hippies and hipsters squeezed into it like that venue did needs better ventilation, because it smelled like armpits and wet beards in there. Bleargh. It was pretty thick in there.

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In other comics news, I've been reading a lot of mainstream stuff lately. Astonishing X-Men continues to be good, late, and a little confusing. X-Men Forever is nostalgia goodness, if not sloppily drawn. The Deadpool stuff is a guilty pleasure, and Deadpool Team-Up has been fun. Bendis' Avengers has been rolling along, but I'm starting to feel that the title has been watered down by events happening all the time in other titles that I don't read. Conan has been okay, but hasn't been special for a while. I dropped Red Hulk because I don't enjoy being jerked around like that, and the novelty has worn off for me.

That's all for now. I'll try and be better as the winter cold will keep me inside and near my computer more often now.

New Avengers #54

2009-07-13T15:20:00.003-05:00

I read New Avengers #54 this past weekend, which is the culmination of a few plot lines, all in one issue. It was fun to see things start to get wrapped up as other stories are being spun out. Leaving things dangling is a real pet peeve of mine, so it's fun to see the writer (Brian Michael Bendis) actually wrap up a few things here.

The search for the next Sorcerer Supreme is concluded, and Jericho Drumm, aka Brother Voodoo (and his ghostly brother) has been chosen and accepted.

The deal between The Hood and the Dread Dormammu has also been played out, as the New Avengers alongside Brother Voodoo and Damien Hellstrom fought off The Hood, then Dormammu in the middle of New Orleans.

The fight was pretty cool, but I really am missing both Lenil Yu and Jimmy Chung on this book, as the art has gotten darker and more static since their departure.

So now the story of Brother Voodoo, sorcerer supreme begins. The war of words in the media between Ronin and Norman Osborn continues, and the fight between the New and Dark Avengers builds up a little more.

The team continues to lack a certain chemistry for me, though. It's not about the moments of levity or down time, but rather in the way they fight. I think they need to get a little more organized, and start using tactics a little more interesting than "dog pile the bad guy!" They need their own "Fastball Special", as it were. I mean, guys like Spider-Man and Luke Cage might not have tons of team work behind them, but Wolverine and Ms. Marvel should. Same for Ronin and Mockingbird.

Despite that small gripe, this series continues to be a must read for me, and is what I consider the flagship title for the Marvel Universe.

Draw! Magazine

2009-07-08T12:18:00.002-05:00

Draw! Magazine has a new blog here on Blogger.

I've always liked Draw!, and I hope that the content on this blog is just as good as the mag. The last issue had features on Bryan Lee O'Malley and Guy Davis, of Scott Pilgrim and BPRD fame, respectively. Cool sketches, behind the scenes stuff that's really fun to read and reread.

Just can't get going

2009-07-07T11:35:00.002-05:00

It's been rough trying to keep going 'round these parts. Sorry for the delays.

Just a quick review today.

Tank Girl: One has been a very interesting read, starting right at the beginning of her creation. Hewlett was a very gifted artist almost right off the bat here, and it's easy to see that the strength of the character comes from his amazing line work. It's inspiring, and it made me want to draw (and ape his style for a few sketches).

The writing is less than stellar, very indie, and adolescent.

The book itself does do a few things that make me all weak in the knees. Mat-finish on the cover is my favorite thing ever for a graphic novel. It feels better to hold than a glossy cover. The art is remastered and very crisp, and the print quality is top notch.

The storytelling is short, sporadic, and crude. The art is sharp, crisp, and stylish. The features in the book are decent, with a good amount of coverage on the back story behind Tank Girl. You can see why she caught on in this volume; she's cool, tough, dressed funky, hot as hell.

Thanks go out to Hewlett for inspiring a generation of girls to dress like his heroine. I know I'm in his debt.

Quick hits

2009-06-04T12:36:00.003-05:00

I read "New Mutants #2" and "Wolverine: Revolver" last night.

NM#2 was a bit of a let down, not enough action, too much decompressed storytelling. This was not the new mutants book I loved as a youth. Time to pick up the pace.

Victor Girschler, who is a good pulp fiction writer, penned this Wolverine one-shot. It was cool, I guess, but sort of generic. Probably would have fit better in the old "X-Men Unlimited" book. It was sort of the opposite of New Mutants this week, all flash, no meat.

Kick-Ass #6

2009-05-13T09:44:00.003-05:00

I just read "Kick-Ass" #6 last night.

I like Kick-Ass. I like Mark Millar and I have always like John Romita jr. I'm just not sure how much I liked this particular issue.

JRjr draws mobsters like no one else. Eversince his work on "Punnisher: War Zone", I have thought that gritty, street level heroes were his forte. He's okay on X-Men and Spidey, but Romita does suits and blood like no one else in the business.

I thought the inking by Tom Palmer was a little overly loose on this issue. I think Romita needs tighter inks in order to prevent the art from looking sloppy.

I like this series, but I'm seeing more and more decompression in the writing and the art, and I think that they could pack a little more into each book to help pick up the pace. the first couple of issues kept the tempo high, but it's been slacking up lately. Millar has written high-action, yet dense comics before (see the first six issues of The Ultimates), so I don't know what he's trying to do here. I would guess that he's having a tough time filling 22 pages of script, and it feels like he's cheating here, and pulling 17 pages and drawing them out.

In any case, I like the origin of Big Daddy, but I think it could have been better. I think that they could have gone further back in time to see an even younger Hit Girl, and really take the time to flush out their story and characters.

I like the comic, I like the creators and I like the characters, I just think that this latest issue is the weakest one thus far, and it was especially disappointing considering how late the book was. I hope that Millar is able to pick up the pace a little next issue, and that the inks get a little tighter to make the book feel more crisp and sharp.

I also find it very amusing that the movie has already started casting, considering the origin and nature of the characters is only now being looked at in the comic. Millar must be a hell of a salesman.

New Mutants #1

2009-05-08T10:16:00.002-05:00

My favorite comic growing up was X-Men. A close second to that was The New Mutants. To this day, my favorite comic character is Cannonball, and just his presence on a comic cover makes me want to pick it up.

As such, the relaunch of New Mutants, starring all my old favorite characters, was pretty much a lock on my pull list.

I read the first issue yesterday over my lunch hour, and I will say, straight away, that I enjoyed it. This book looks to take the place that Jim Shooter's departure on Legion of Super-Heroes left in my pull list, and has a similar feel to it.

Illyana, 'Berto, Xian, Amara and Sam all make the team, and set up the book against an old X-Foe in Legion, and I'm excited to see where it goes from here. I also like the present, but not overly heavy-handed placement of this book firmly grounded in the current continuity of the X-Books.

The art was nice, but not great. I'm hoping they can get Bret Blevins, even if only for an alternate cover. The story was okay, too, if not fantastic. But the nostalgia was fantastic.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

2009-05-07T10:11:00.005-05:00

I went to see it last night.

I wish I had something awesome and insightful to offer that wasn't completely covered by the rest of the blogosphere already. The first 5 minutes of the movie really are the best five minutes of the movie, and the rest of the film really just lets you down from the high expectations it set.

The rest of the movie was a convoluted mess. It at times adhered to the continuity of the X-Trilogy, and other times it just chucked it out the window. It had a cool cast, but it watered everyone down so much, that no one got enough screen time to really be cool. This movie needed 4 characters to work: Wolverine, Stryker, Sabretooth and Silverfox. That's it. If this movie was recut, and done to really flush out the characters, then the drama of the action would have been fantastic.

Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson was cool, but "Deadpool" was 9 kinds of lame. Have him in one or two scenes, let him mouth off a little, and then leave the rest alone. He ended up being to this movie what Angel was to X3, just in the way of the real story.

Same goes for Gambit and Blob, who were both there for no good story telling reason. They just ate up screen time that should have been reserved for exposition.

Wolverine says, in the movie, he was the best there is at what he does, but at no point in the film before he says that is there any reason to believe it. He mostly has just moped around and got in his team's way. It would have been nice to see him actually do something that would make Stryker's gamble with the adamantium make sense.

All in all, it had a few bright spots, but I think Wolverine was an exercise in wasted potential, choosing to try and fill the movie with as much "cool stuff" as possible rather than trying to tell a simple story of love lost and revenge.

As far as hero movies go, this one ranks around Blade III, Spider-Man III, and Elektra.

FanFictabulous

2009-04-28T11:01:00.001-05:00

Seriously.

That 70's Show/Galactus FanFic.

My life no longer has meaning.

Who watches what?

2009-04-01T09:34:00.003-05:00

I totally missed the Watchmen wave, but I did go see it opening night. Everyone else has said everything there is to be said about it, but I will still add that it amused me to no end that it was rated 13+ here in Quebec.

Keith went to see it at Cavendish Mall (read: Old Jewish people-mall) and said by the time you saw Doc Manhattan in all his...splendor, half the audience had walked out. Glorious.

Mished-Mash

2009-03-23T10:32:00.002-05:00

Just a couple of quick hits this time around.

IDW has relaunched a ton of G.I.Joe books this year, and the first issues were all pretty good. I 've always been a Joe fan, and I quite liked the Devil's Due stuff from 7-8 years ago, but it got a little tangled up there at the end. It was really time for a fresh start.

The three books are all different, and so far the "Cobra" book, staring Chuckles has been the best of the bunch, but they're all good reading and worth checking out.

I also picked up the Oni Press' "True Tales of Roller Derby: Doppelganger at the Hangar", which was wacky fun, but as an announcer for the 'Derby, I'm a little biased to all things involving Roller Skates. Plenty of derby goodness in this book, as it even takes up much of the ad space in the book. Good times.