Well 2013 is in it's final hours as we speak. Soon the ball will drop and everyone will get the chance to start 2014 off with a clean slate.
First Topic......
One big thing that I'll be pushing this year through the use of this blog, my twitter (@johnnyboy1116), and my facebook (johnny d. leffler) is that I hope others will take the pledge with me and refuse to see remakes in 2014.
This particular brand of Hollywood trash has gone on too long. Now we have a Robocop remake at our doorstep, Ed Helms is signed on to reboot Naked Gun for some ungodly reason, and Ghostbusters is allegedly on the verge of being completely rebooted. I know that comic movies are not necessarily immune to this, but I think that it is a much broader problem.
The truth is that hollywood is not "out of ideas" as some might speculate, but rather they see that a movie like Total Recall does moderately well at the box office so they churn out a bunch of other unnecessary rehashing. Obviously there are a lot more important things in life but I encourage you to tell your friends and family to take the pledge #noremakesin2014. Hit Hollywood at the box office and tell them that we want new and original film for our entertainment.
Next Topic....
I don't often discuss non-superhero comics on this blog, because quite frankly I don't read many. I do have to give kudos to Boom Studios; however, for their "Sons of Anarchy" limited run. Set during events of season five we see Tig act as a surrogate father to a fallen club member's daughter. Don't worry though the gang is all here, as it were, and we see what Jax, Clay, and the others are up to. With it's gritty artwork, and punchy dialogue "Sons of Anarchy" fits nicely into the mythology that Kurt Sutter has created with the TV series. Definitely pick up your copy before this limited run is done.
Next Topic.....
While "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." gives me pause about any Marvel television show going forward. The success of "House of Cards", "Orange is the New Black", and "Derek" on Netflix give me hope that the new batch of MarvFlix shows could be of superior quality. First on the block is one of my favorite characters in "Daredevil" to be produced & godfathered by Drew Goddard (Cabin in the Woods, Cloverfield, Lost, Alias) and I for one am excited to see a faithful live-action adaptation of the Man without Fear. Later shows will focus on Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones and others. One character left out that I think could really benefit from a 12-episode or more Netflix show though is Punisher. While feature films did not do him 100% justice I think a limited run of Punisher would be a fantastic addition to the Marvel Television Universe, and on Netflix anything goes.
Final Topic....
2013 is in the books for "The Comic Shop", so what would you like to see going forward? Would you like to see more features about current comic books? More posts about current events? This was never meant to be a one-way street of communication, and I encourage any input because I want this blog to be as fun for you to read as it is for me to write. Please feel free to post your opinions and comments on the page. All opinions are welcomed.
Have a Happy and Safe New Year!!!
Monday, December 30, 2013
Friday, December 13, 2013
Big Two Comics: The Year in Review (the 1st annual Leffler awards).
Before we get to the awards portion I just wanted to comment on a couple of news items from here in the last few days.
The web-heads over at Sony officially announced a 5-man writing team to join Marc Webb in fleshing out the Spider-man universe; Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci (the duo that brought you Transformers, Transformers ROTF, Star Trek, Star Trek: Into Darkness), Jeff Pinkner (Fringe), Ed Solomon (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Bill & Ted's Bogus Adventure, Super Mario Brothers, Men in Black), and Drew Goddard (Buffy, Angel, Alias, Lost). These six will writing movies to focus on Venom, and the Sinister Six. Ideally to tie in with ASM 3 & 4 one would imagine.
Sony has really thrown down the gauntlet with universe building in trying to catch up with Disney/Marvel's juggernaut. It will certainly be interesting to see the first movies to focus on the antagonist from a comic series (if we do not count Catwoman and honestly who would?). Here's hoping for a better go round with Venom this time, and a compelling story with the Sinister Six that sets up Spidey as the underdog that he is.
Speaking of the mouse group word has come out that Don Cheadle's War Machine/Iron Patriot/James Rhodes will play an important role in the upcoming sequel to the mega-blockbuster Avengers. While some were disappointed that Cheadle took over for Terrence Howard in between shellhead's first and second movie I was happy to have an actor of Cheadle's ilk join the franchise. I more had a problem with him donning the Iron Patriot armor in Iron Man 3. Not because I'd hoped that Norman Osborne would get to do it eventually, because I think cooperation between Sony & Disney is a pipe dream at best. Iron Patriot, in comic form, represented the highest form of corruption of the ideal of the original Avengers. It was Norman Osborne's middle finger to the Stark & Rogers legacy. Without spoiling anything I could see Rhodey stepping into the Iron Man armor for future solo adventures so this could be a way of presenting him as a main event player.
The following awards took place in the party room of a TGI Fridays. All award winners received 50 Schrute-bucks, which are not redeemable for cash value.
Animated Film of the Year: And the winner is: The Flashpoint Paradox. This was a fantastic sub-two-hour movie produced by the DC animated group. It captured the essence of the source material without having to cut a lot of important things out.
Comic Book Film of the Year: And the winner is: The Wolverine. I know, I know this was a year that had Man of Steel, Thor 2, Kick Ass 2, and Iron Man 3, but these are my awards so shutupyouface. The Wolverine was a fantastic solo film for one James Howlett. We got to see his time in Japan, establish Mariko & Yuriko (who were essential in the comics), watch him fight silver samurai, ninjas, and the viper (an admittedly weak point of the movie). I can not say enough good things about this movie. As much as a derided the fact that nearly every single superhero movie has a scene featuring a fight on a train. The quick-cut fight on a bullet train in this feature is truly something to behold.
Promotional Event of the Year: And the winner is Villains Month. 3D covers, features on 16 different Batman villains, Black Adam & Deathsroke solo issues, there is no way this wasn't winning. Honorable mention to Age of Ultron and Death of the Family, which I did quite enjoy.
Writer of the Year: And the winner is...Mark Waid. With all due respect and love for Scott Snyder (Batman, Superman Unchained), Dan Slott (Superior Spider-man), and Jeff Lemeire (Green Arrow, Animal Man, Sweet Tooth). This was Waid's year wholly on the strength of this Daredevil title. History shows us that hornhead has been a hot bed of creative writer activity with a virtual all-star cast (Frank Miller, Ed Brubaker, Kevin Smith, Brian Michael Bendis, and others) over his history. Waid has introduced a compelling yarn that will withstand the test of time. While he said from the outset that he wanted life to be a little bit better for his title character he has certainly pulled no punches over the course of his time on the title. The introduction of a new villain in Ikara, and the recast of Bullseye were just the tip of the iceberg with respect to Waid's contribution to the title. With his time with this version of Daredevil coming to an end it is a bittersweet feeling to know that these issues are numbered.
Artist of the Year: And the winner is......Greg Capullo. Jim Lee once again had some fine contributions, and there are a lot of good artists out there. Capullo; however, represents one half of a slam dunk for the creative team for DC's top drawing title in Batman. His caped crusader is detailed in Capullo's nuanced style, and each page is just a joy to look at.
At this point in the show we pause to remember those we lost this year: (Cue Sarah McGlaughlin music)
Peter Parker, Damien Wayne, The Guardians of the Universe, Talia al Ghul, Alistair Smythe, Apex, Rogue, Nara, Sharon Carter...
And that brings us to our final award of the night...take it away John!
Character of the Year: And the winner is...........The Superior Spider-man. There were a lot of worthwhile contenders for this category for sure. Of course this award is all based on personal preference. To explain why SpiDoc is award worthy one has to understand how far this character has come. When Amazing Spider-man #700 went on store shelves the immediate response was vocal and negative. It was seen as a stunt & not a permanent change for Spidey. I have written about it previously, and I will continue to tell everyone that will listen. I LOVE THIS BOOK! It's a new spin on Spidey, and it's refreshing & entertaining. It may be fleeting and all indications are that it is, but I for one will enjoy however many issues SpiDoc has left in print.
Thank you for reading! This will not be my final blog post of the year, but I thought the awards would be fun to do. Hope you enjoyed & a very happy holiday to you all.
The web-heads over at Sony officially announced a 5-man writing team to join Marc Webb in fleshing out the Spider-man universe; Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci (the duo that brought you Transformers, Transformers ROTF, Star Trek, Star Trek: Into Darkness), Jeff Pinkner (Fringe), Ed Solomon (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Bill & Ted's Bogus Adventure, Super Mario Brothers, Men in Black), and Drew Goddard (Buffy, Angel, Alias, Lost). These six will writing movies to focus on Venom, and the Sinister Six. Ideally to tie in with ASM 3 & 4 one would imagine.
Sony has really thrown down the gauntlet with universe building in trying to catch up with Disney/Marvel's juggernaut. It will certainly be interesting to see the first movies to focus on the antagonist from a comic series (if we do not count Catwoman and honestly who would?). Here's hoping for a better go round with Venom this time, and a compelling story with the Sinister Six that sets up Spidey as the underdog that he is.
Speaking of the mouse group word has come out that Don Cheadle's War Machine/Iron Patriot/James Rhodes will play an important role in the upcoming sequel to the mega-blockbuster Avengers. While some were disappointed that Cheadle took over for Terrence Howard in between shellhead's first and second movie I was happy to have an actor of Cheadle's ilk join the franchise. I more had a problem with him donning the Iron Patriot armor in Iron Man 3. Not because I'd hoped that Norman Osborne would get to do it eventually, because I think cooperation between Sony & Disney is a pipe dream at best. Iron Patriot, in comic form, represented the highest form of corruption of the ideal of the original Avengers. It was Norman Osborne's middle finger to the Stark & Rogers legacy. Without spoiling anything I could see Rhodey stepping into the Iron Man armor for future solo adventures so this could be a way of presenting him as a main event player.
The following awards took place in the party room of a TGI Fridays. All award winners received 50 Schrute-bucks, which are not redeemable for cash value.
Animated Film of the Year: And the winner is: The Flashpoint Paradox. This was a fantastic sub-two-hour movie produced by the DC animated group. It captured the essence of the source material without having to cut a lot of important things out.
Comic Book Film of the Year: And the winner is: The Wolverine. I know, I know this was a year that had Man of Steel, Thor 2, Kick Ass 2, and Iron Man 3, but these are my awards so shutupyouface. The Wolverine was a fantastic solo film for one James Howlett. We got to see his time in Japan, establish Mariko & Yuriko (who were essential in the comics), watch him fight silver samurai, ninjas, and the viper (an admittedly weak point of the movie). I can not say enough good things about this movie. As much as a derided the fact that nearly every single superhero movie has a scene featuring a fight on a train. The quick-cut fight on a bullet train in this feature is truly something to behold.
Promotional Event of the Year: And the winner is Villains Month. 3D covers, features on 16 different Batman villains, Black Adam & Deathsroke solo issues, there is no way this wasn't winning. Honorable mention to Age of Ultron and Death of the Family, which I did quite enjoy.
Writer of the Year: And the winner is...Mark Waid. With all due respect and love for Scott Snyder (Batman, Superman Unchained), Dan Slott (Superior Spider-man), and Jeff Lemeire (Green Arrow, Animal Man, Sweet Tooth). This was Waid's year wholly on the strength of this Daredevil title. History shows us that hornhead has been a hot bed of creative writer activity with a virtual all-star cast (Frank Miller, Ed Brubaker, Kevin Smith, Brian Michael Bendis, and others) over his history. Waid has introduced a compelling yarn that will withstand the test of time. While he said from the outset that he wanted life to be a little bit better for his title character he has certainly pulled no punches over the course of his time on the title. The introduction of a new villain in Ikara, and the recast of Bullseye were just the tip of the iceberg with respect to Waid's contribution to the title. With his time with this version of Daredevil coming to an end it is a bittersweet feeling to know that these issues are numbered.
Artist of the Year: And the winner is......Greg Capullo. Jim Lee once again had some fine contributions, and there are a lot of good artists out there. Capullo; however, represents one half of a slam dunk for the creative team for DC's top drawing title in Batman. His caped crusader is detailed in Capullo's nuanced style, and each page is just a joy to look at.
At this point in the show we pause to remember those we lost this year: (Cue Sarah McGlaughlin music)
Peter Parker, Damien Wayne, The Guardians of the Universe, Talia al Ghul, Alistair Smythe, Apex, Rogue, Nara, Sharon Carter...
And that brings us to our final award of the night...take it away John!
Character of the Year: And the winner is...........The Superior Spider-man. There were a lot of worthwhile contenders for this category for sure. Of course this award is all based on personal preference. To explain why SpiDoc is award worthy one has to understand how far this character has come. When Amazing Spider-man #700 went on store shelves the immediate response was vocal and negative. It was seen as a stunt & not a permanent change for Spidey. I have written about it previously, and I will continue to tell everyone that will listen. I LOVE THIS BOOK! It's a new spin on Spidey, and it's refreshing & entertaining. It may be fleeting and all indications are that it is, but I for one will enjoy however many issues SpiDoc has left in print.
Thank you for reading! This will not be my final blog post of the year, but I thought the awards would be fun to do. Hope you enjoyed & a very happy holiday to you all.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Movie News!!
The golden age of Superhero Films looks to be going along strong. This week we got three to possibly five news issues on upcoming projects. So lets get started....
Today was the debut of the trailer for Sony's Amazing Spider-man 2:
http://youtu.be/nbp3Ra3Yp74
Lot of noteworthy stuff packed into the 2-minute trailer. We catch a longer glimpse of Electro, get a good look at Beast Wars Rhino, and the first footage of Dane Dehaan in the dual role of Harry Osborn & the Green Goblin. If you look closely enough in some of the scenes you will notice the easter eggs for Doc Ock & the Vulture as well. Lot of interesting choices made by Marc Webb & Sony for this Spidey reboot. I think Raimi & Webb's series' have their positives and negatives, but I'm intrigued by the possibility of the Sinister Six appearing in a future Spidey film to be named. Should be interesting going forward.
Today Bryan Singer also took to Twitter to announce X-men: Apocalypse for Summer of 2016. This will be a follow-up to X-men: Days of Future Past, which hits theaters Summer 2014. This series in all honesty has me quite concerned. I had hoped that Singer would use DOFP to right the ship so to speak for the X-films, but it appears that it will be more of the same. This blogger would prefer the X-men movies to be closer in tone to the comics of the same name. With a return of the Cyclops, and Jean Grey characters, a bigger role to play for Kitty Pryde, and a smaller role & smaller statured actor for Wolverine. Even as a Wolverine fan I have to admit to a little burn out when he has his own solo films as well as being the main X-man in each movie. A return of Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler would also please me greatly.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/12/05/bryan-singer-hints-x-men-apocalypse-is-coming-in-2016
Elsewhere in the X-universe Rob Liefield continues to work through the pre-production process for an X-Force movie. I'll be interested to see if this project comes to fruition and with Apocalypse appearing in an X-men film it is a pretty safe assumption that we will see Cable on film sooner than later. It would be intriguing to see if Ryan Reynold's Deadpool character makes his film return in conjunction with X-Force as well.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/12/04/rob-liefeld-praises-screenplay-for-x-force-movie
Last but not least DC/WB announced that Gal Gadot (recently of the "Fast & Furious" franchise) will wield the lasso of truth in the upcoming Batman vs. Superman flick. They also teased that Flash may make his big screen debut. A lot has been said about Gadot's slender frame, but with her exotic look, the best trainers in the world, and the ability to train as often/as much as possible will get her into a shape that will please even the most cynical critics.
http://comicbook.com/blog/2013/12/04/flash-reportedly-a-lock-for-batman-vs-superman/
The new Batman, Ben Affleck, also gave a fantastic interview to Playboy (yes they do have articles) in which he does not shy away from the criticism that has come from his casting as The Dark Knight. He also shies away from no responsibility for his part in the failure of the Daredevil film.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/ben-affleck-says-his-batman-wont-compete-with-christopher-nolanss-version-doomsday-rumored-to-be-a-villain-20131203
All in all a lot of fantastic news coming out right now. With Del Toro's long rumored Justice League Dark still in development, and several other projects in the pipes it looks as if the Golden Age of Comic Book Film will continue as long as we support it.
Today was the debut of the trailer for Sony's Amazing Spider-man 2:
http://youtu.be/nbp3Ra3Yp74
Lot of noteworthy stuff packed into the 2-minute trailer. We catch a longer glimpse of Electro, get a good look at Beast Wars Rhino, and the first footage of Dane Dehaan in the dual role of Harry Osborn & the Green Goblin. If you look closely enough in some of the scenes you will notice the easter eggs for Doc Ock & the Vulture as well. Lot of interesting choices made by Marc Webb & Sony for this Spidey reboot. I think Raimi & Webb's series' have their positives and negatives, but I'm intrigued by the possibility of the Sinister Six appearing in a future Spidey film to be named. Should be interesting going forward.
Today Bryan Singer also took to Twitter to announce X-men: Apocalypse for Summer of 2016. This will be a follow-up to X-men: Days of Future Past, which hits theaters Summer 2014. This series in all honesty has me quite concerned. I had hoped that Singer would use DOFP to right the ship so to speak for the X-films, but it appears that it will be more of the same. This blogger would prefer the X-men movies to be closer in tone to the comics of the same name. With a return of the Cyclops, and Jean Grey characters, a bigger role to play for Kitty Pryde, and a smaller role & smaller statured actor for Wolverine. Even as a Wolverine fan I have to admit to a little burn out when he has his own solo films as well as being the main X-man in each movie. A return of Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler would also please me greatly.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/12/05/bryan-singer-hints-x-men-apocalypse-is-coming-in-2016
Elsewhere in the X-universe Rob Liefield continues to work through the pre-production process for an X-Force movie. I'll be interested to see if this project comes to fruition and with Apocalypse appearing in an X-men film it is a pretty safe assumption that we will see Cable on film sooner than later. It would be intriguing to see if Ryan Reynold's Deadpool character makes his film return in conjunction with X-Force as well.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/12/04/rob-liefeld-praises-screenplay-for-x-force-movie
Last but not least DC/WB announced that Gal Gadot (recently of the "Fast & Furious" franchise) will wield the lasso of truth in the upcoming Batman vs. Superman flick. They also teased that Flash may make his big screen debut. A lot has been said about Gadot's slender frame, but with her exotic look, the best trainers in the world, and the ability to train as often/as much as possible will get her into a shape that will please even the most cynical critics.
http://comicbook.com/blog/2013/12/04/flash-reportedly-a-lock-for-batman-vs-superman/
The new Batman, Ben Affleck, also gave a fantastic interview to Playboy (yes they do have articles) in which he does not shy away from the criticism that has come from his casting as The Dark Knight. He also shies away from no responsibility for his part in the failure of the Daredevil film.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/ben-affleck-says-his-batman-wont-compete-with-christopher-nolanss-version-doomsday-rumored-to-be-a-villain-20131203
All in all a lot of fantastic news coming out right now. With Del Toro's long rumored Justice League Dark still in development, and several other projects in the pipes it looks as if the Golden Age of Comic Book Film will continue as long as we support it.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
A little bit of a fantasy add-on to my last post..
It's easy to criticize and complain. Especially as fans we have a habit of sitting and watching something only to turn and complain about (insert: plot holes, inconsistencies, tone, music, finale, etc.)
What's hard is to look at what has been presented and ask the question "how could that be better?"
With this in mind I humbly present to you my fantasy version of the end of Man of Steel. (Keep in mind that I am literally only changing the way things played out in the train station in the climax of the film everything has played out exactly the same to that point because I believe that it is important to have that human cost of battling through Metropolis to teach the young hero he has to find a better way.)
The two crash through the train station ceiling and land with a thud. (By the way this train station is impossibly far for Lois Lane to get to from her position in the wreckage of Metropolis as she observes the two crashing to earth from the atmosphere so she is not there and not involved in the end of this scene). They wrestle around for position with Clark keeping himself between Zod and the innocent people in the station. Zod takes notice of this and chooses to try to liquefy the humans with his heat vision. Seeing this Clark exclaims "STOP" and as he does he releases his arctic breath for the first time in his life. This shocks Clark, and Zod stares, unable to comprehend why his arm is frozen from the elbow down. Before Zod has time to act Clark grabs his frozen arm by the wrist and pushes through at the elbow dismembering Zod. After this Zod realizes that Clark means business. In his panic and bewilderment he realizes that he is now at a tactical disadvantage and retreats. Clark, satisfied with ending the battle, decides not to follow.
Fast Forward through the events of the MOS 2: Batman kicks ass........probably we meet Wonder Woman.
We open the eventual JL movie with a shot of the planet Mars. Zoom in to see Zod emaciated, and pale. He is tinkering with a Merle Dixon appendage-weapon to attach to his injured arm. He is still fuming, waiting for his revenge. We hear a thud and see the surface of the planet tremor. There are several subsequent thuds each one louder than the previous and getting closer to Zod. We see a sheer terror in Zod's face as a large figure casts a shadow over 10 ft tall. We see two large hands grab the sides of Zod's skull. The camera pans away and we see the large shadow grasping a smaller one and hear a loud crack, a loud squish, and a muffled laugh. We pan back behind the large object in a green jumpsuit covered by broken shackles, and we watch as he leaps off into space.
Reveal: Justice League: Doomsday
What's hard is to look at what has been presented and ask the question "how could that be better?"
With this in mind I humbly present to you my fantasy version of the end of Man of Steel. (Keep in mind that I am literally only changing the way things played out in the train station in the climax of the film everything has played out exactly the same to that point because I believe that it is important to have that human cost of battling through Metropolis to teach the young hero he has to find a better way.)
The two crash through the train station ceiling and land with a thud. (By the way this train station is impossibly far for Lois Lane to get to from her position in the wreckage of Metropolis as she observes the two crashing to earth from the atmosphere so she is not there and not involved in the end of this scene). They wrestle around for position with Clark keeping himself between Zod and the innocent people in the station. Zod takes notice of this and chooses to try to liquefy the humans with his heat vision. Seeing this Clark exclaims "STOP" and as he does he releases his arctic breath for the first time in his life. This shocks Clark, and Zod stares, unable to comprehend why his arm is frozen from the elbow down. Before Zod has time to act Clark grabs his frozen arm by the wrist and pushes through at the elbow dismembering Zod. After this Zod realizes that Clark means business. In his panic and bewilderment he realizes that he is now at a tactical disadvantage and retreats. Clark, satisfied with ending the battle, decides not to follow.
Fast Forward through the events of the MOS 2: Batman kicks ass........probably we meet Wonder Woman.
We open the eventual JL movie with a shot of the planet Mars. Zoom in to see Zod emaciated, and pale. He is tinkering with a Merle Dixon appendage-weapon to attach to his injured arm. He is still fuming, waiting for his revenge. We hear a thud and see the surface of the planet tremor. There are several subsequent thuds each one louder than the previous and getting closer to Zod. We see a sheer terror in Zod's face as a large figure casts a shadow over 10 ft tall. We see two large hands grab the sides of Zod's skull. The camera pans away and we see the large shadow grasping a smaller one and hear a loud crack, a loud squish, and a muffled laugh. We pan back behind the large object in a green jumpsuit covered by broken shackles, and we watch as he leaps off into space.
Reveal: Justice League: Doomsday
Decidedly Divisive: The Superior Spider-man, Man of Steel, & other issues
Greetings and salutations,
I want to start off today by speaking about Paul Walker. While I won't grieve for him because I think there are a lot more tragic losses in our world on a daily basis I do think that it is in explicitly poor taste that Universal is moving ahead with Fast & Furious 7. They waited a whole day to comment on the future of a profitable franchise. "He's our brother, he's our friend, but we're going to go ahead and make millions off of a movie that he was involved in" and then credits roll and a picture of the guy with his DOB-DOD flashes. Just my opinion and if you feel differently that's all well and good.
UPDATE: Universal has indefinitely postponed production of Fast & Furious 7.
Anyway on to the topics I've chosen for today. There will always be divisive issues in any walk of life. If you live life in the comment section long enough you will wonder how compromise ever occurs in our society. I always find the discussion much more riveting than the the topics themselves, so today I've picked two things from recent memory in the comic realm that people either really loved, or that people really hate. This is just my two cents on both subjects. (Beware Spoilers may loom)
Superior Spider-man
A little over a year ago Dan Slott made the controversial decision to "kill off" Peter Parker. Slott decided to have a dying Otto Octavius swap bodies with the able-bodied Parker. While at the outset this sounded like a ploy and a poor idea I have to say that as a comic fan I have been pleased with the results. Initially I was upset that Otto's "heroes journey" was wrapped up within the events of Amazing Spider-man #700 and not carried over into the pages of Superior Spider-man, but after seeing this last year of story lines unfold I have to admit that I have been more than happy with how this has played out.
Consider that in 4 movies and over 50 years of comics Peter Parker has largely remained unaltered. He has always been a character of great unbalance often sacrificing his life as Peter Parker for his life as Spider-man (like a hero should). With this reinvention Slott has presented a Spider-man for the new era a balanced Spider-man that attempts to be a hero without sacrifice. Otto-Parker has used his intellect for the betterment of both sides of his personality. As Parker he has received a Doctorate, built his own technology company, and began dating a little person. As Spider-man he is a hero for the modern era. He is the Patriot Act Spider-man with his spider-bots generating constant surveillance of NYC, his own private army ready at his beckon call, and his own brand of brutal (sometimes capital) punishment.
Different is not always better, but I think if one judges this era of Spider-man as a temporary change it has at least been an entertaining one. One could say that Slott's Otto-Parker is as much a commentary on contemporary society as it is a superhero story.
Man of Steel
I have always had a place in my heart for Superman. Batman is far and away my favorite character to come out of comics. I have always enjoyed the idealism that Superman represents. To me he represents a long passed "pie on the window sill"Americana. An immigrant that came to this planet and showed us that it is possible to be our ideal selves. Times have changed in 75 years though and I can't say with any amount of confidence that an immigrant, even an exceptional one, would be welcomed with open arms by the masses.
That said, with no Bats on the schedule for summer of 2013 this was the movie that I was honestly most looking forward to. I've admitted to in the past being a bigger DC fan than Marvel and that still is true to this day.
I enjoyed the movie, but even though I found it entertaining I found it quite troubling as well.
My first problem and the biggest one that I have with the film is with the end. Initially I did not like that Superman killed Zod. Then I looked through my comics and scanned the history to see that he had killed previously (Doomsday, Zod & co. in the (inferior) Lester version of Superman II, & others).
While I still hold fast that certain characters are not killers I feel that the way that he did it was the biggest problem. Considering that during the course of the film Clark has to learn to ball his fist (because he never fought before) it makes zero sense for him to brutally and violently snap Zod's neck in the film's finale. It was not a passive act like Bale's Batman allowing Ra's Al Ghul to fall in the wreckage of the elevated train, or diving at Two-Face to protect an innocent life but rather the grizzly act of a trained killer.
Writer Max Landis, in a YouTube version of his pitch to DC for a new version of "The Death of Superman" laid out the best possible way to have Superman kill an unstoppable enemy combatant. In his version of events a raging Doomsday has laid waste to Metropolis and most of the top members of the Justice League. Superman, during the final climactic blows, remembers his father encouraging him to mercy kill a wounded cow by merely pushing on his skull. Superman uses this memory to aid him in ending the Doomsday spree, by pushing down on Doomsday's skull effectively killing him.
I'm not saying that Landis's idea would've been a better scenario, but it is better in the sense that it is organic to the farm-boy Superman narrative.
With a Batman-Superman movie on the horizon it is quite likely that the violent, destructive end of this movie was used to set up the narrative of having the very human Batman teach Clark about the preservation of the lives of the innocent and the damned as well.
..............................
That's all I have for today. Like I said I don't expect people to agree with what I have to say, but I'm always happy to contribute to the ongoing discussion.
I want to start off today by speaking about Paul Walker. While I won't grieve for him because I think there are a lot more tragic losses in our world on a daily basis I do think that it is in explicitly poor taste that Universal is moving ahead with Fast & Furious 7. They waited a whole day to comment on the future of a profitable franchise. "He's our brother, he's our friend, but we're going to go ahead and make millions off of a movie that he was involved in" and then credits roll and a picture of the guy with his DOB-DOD flashes. Just my opinion and if you feel differently that's all well and good.
UPDATE: Universal has indefinitely postponed production of Fast & Furious 7.
Anyway on to the topics I've chosen for today. There will always be divisive issues in any walk of life. If you live life in the comment section long enough you will wonder how compromise ever occurs in our society. I always find the discussion much more riveting than the the topics themselves, so today I've picked two things from recent memory in the comic realm that people either really loved, or that people really hate. This is just my two cents on both subjects. (Beware Spoilers may loom)
Superior Spider-man
A little over a year ago Dan Slott made the controversial decision to "kill off" Peter Parker. Slott decided to have a dying Otto Octavius swap bodies with the able-bodied Parker. While at the outset this sounded like a ploy and a poor idea I have to say that as a comic fan I have been pleased with the results. Initially I was upset that Otto's "heroes journey" was wrapped up within the events of Amazing Spider-man #700 and not carried over into the pages of Superior Spider-man, but after seeing this last year of story lines unfold I have to admit that I have been more than happy with how this has played out.
Consider that in 4 movies and over 50 years of comics Peter Parker has largely remained unaltered. He has always been a character of great unbalance often sacrificing his life as Peter Parker for his life as Spider-man (like a hero should). With this reinvention Slott has presented a Spider-man for the new era a balanced Spider-man that attempts to be a hero without sacrifice. Otto-Parker has used his intellect for the betterment of both sides of his personality. As Parker he has received a Doctorate, built his own technology company, and began dating a little person. As Spider-man he is a hero for the modern era. He is the Patriot Act Spider-man with his spider-bots generating constant surveillance of NYC, his own private army ready at his beckon call, and his own brand of brutal (sometimes capital) punishment.
Different is not always better, but I think if one judges this era of Spider-man as a temporary change it has at least been an entertaining one. One could say that Slott's Otto-Parker is as much a commentary on contemporary society as it is a superhero story.
Man of Steel
I have always had a place in my heart for Superman. Batman is far and away my favorite character to come out of comics. I have always enjoyed the idealism that Superman represents. To me he represents a long passed "pie on the window sill"Americana. An immigrant that came to this planet and showed us that it is possible to be our ideal selves. Times have changed in 75 years though and I can't say with any amount of confidence that an immigrant, even an exceptional one, would be welcomed with open arms by the masses.
That said, with no Bats on the schedule for summer of 2013 this was the movie that I was honestly most looking forward to. I've admitted to in the past being a bigger DC fan than Marvel and that still is true to this day.
I enjoyed the movie, but even though I found it entertaining I found it quite troubling as well.
My first problem and the biggest one that I have with the film is with the end. Initially I did not like that Superman killed Zod. Then I looked through my comics and scanned the history to see that he had killed previously (Doomsday, Zod & co. in the (inferior) Lester version of Superman II, & others).
While I still hold fast that certain characters are not killers I feel that the way that he did it was the biggest problem. Considering that during the course of the film Clark has to learn to ball his fist (because he never fought before) it makes zero sense for him to brutally and violently snap Zod's neck in the film's finale. It was not a passive act like Bale's Batman allowing Ra's Al Ghul to fall in the wreckage of the elevated train, or diving at Two-Face to protect an innocent life but rather the grizzly act of a trained killer.
Writer Max Landis, in a YouTube version of his pitch to DC for a new version of "The Death of Superman" laid out the best possible way to have Superman kill an unstoppable enemy combatant. In his version of events a raging Doomsday has laid waste to Metropolis and most of the top members of the Justice League. Superman, during the final climactic blows, remembers his father encouraging him to mercy kill a wounded cow by merely pushing on his skull. Superman uses this memory to aid him in ending the Doomsday spree, by pushing down on Doomsday's skull effectively killing him.
I'm not saying that Landis's idea would've been a better scenario, but it is better in the sense that it is organic to the farm-boy Superman narrative.
With a Batman-Superman movie on the horizon it is quite likely that the violent, destructive end of this movie was used to set up the narrative of having the very human Batman teach Clark about the preservation of the lives of the innocent and the damned as well.
..............................
That's all I have for today. Like I said I don't expect people to agree with what I have to say, but I'm always happy to contribute to the ongoing discussion.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Dear Frank..
Dear Frank,
If it's okay I'll call you Frank. You don't seem like the kind of cat that would go for Mr. Miller. Anyway, I have to confess something to you.
I hated you. I read "All-star Batman & Robin" and I saw "The Spirit" and I hated you. I allowed two outliers of garbage to taint my overall view of you and your work. The unabashed Bat-fan that I am cringed along every time you had Batman verbally abuse Dick Grayson, laugh manically, or scream "I'm the Goddamned Batman" from the rooftops. I couldn't stand that I ever purchased one of your works.
Then at the urging of a friend I went out and purchased the deluxe edition of "The Dark Knight Returns" on Blu-ray. While I watched the movie unfold I remembered how much I enjoyed reading the book after I had bought it the first time.
This lead to me purchasing my second copy. After rereading it I was so taken aback by the nuance, and the grand themes. I couldn't believe that I turned my back on a graphic novel that read like a popular fiction book. While you not only told a grand story about the Dark Knight you also developed interesting and unique backstories and action beats for the everyday people of Gotham City. Truly this is a work of art that will stand the test of time much like Alan Moore's masterpiece "Watchmen".
Your main narrative about the Dark Knight is also quite compelling. When compared to another fictional character like Dexter Morgan it is easy to see how a young man like Bruce Wayne could've become something different. Both were young men baptized in blood and born again from it. You get that the truth, the real truth about Bruce is that he is, at his base level, a psychopath. For the benefit of morality he chooses not to kill, but he does maim those that do wrong. You do not shy away from this, and in doing so you make the active choice not to insult the intelligence of your reader. You make him a very human character by balancing him out with the right amounts of morality, ego, narcissism, savagery, and cunning.
Anyway Frank, thank you. Not just for a timeless work like TDKR, but for your work on countless other fantastic pieces. Daredevil, Wolverine, Sin City, 300, and many others would not be possible without a talented individual like yourself.
You're one of the best in comics even if you are still responsible for "I'm the Goddamned Batman".
-John
If it's okay I'll call you Frank. You don't seem like the kind of cat that would go for Mr. Miller. Anyway, I have to confess something to you.
I hated you. I read "All-star Batman & Robin" and I saw "The Spirit" and I hated you. I allowed two outliers of garbage to taint my overall view of you and your work. The unabashed Bat-fan that I am cringed along every time you had Batman verbally abuse Dick Grayson, laugh manically, or scream "I'm the Goddamned Batman" from the rooftops. I couldn't stand that I ever purchased one of your works.
Then at the urging of a friend I went out and purchased the deluxe edition of "The Dark Knight Returns" on Blu-ray. While I watched the movie unfold I remembered how much I enjoyed reading the book after I had bought it the first time.
This lead to me purchasing my second copy. After rereading it I was so taken aback by the nuance, and the grand themes. I couldn't believe that I turned my back on a graphic novel that read like a popular fiction book. While you not only told a grand story about the Dark Knight you also developed interesting and unique backstories and action beats for the everyday people of Gotham City. Truly this is a work of art that will stand the test of time much like Alan Moore's masterpiece "Watchmen".
Your main narrative about the Dark Knight is also quite compelling. When compared to another fictional character like Dexter Morgan it is easy to see how a young man like Bruce Wayne could've become something different. Both were young men baptized in blood and born again from it. You get that the truth, the real truth about Bruce is that he is, at his base level, a psychopath. For the benefit of morality he chooses not to kill, but he does maim those that do wrong. You do not shy away from this, and in doing so you make the active choice not to insult the intelligence of your reader. You make him a very human character by balancing him out with the right amounts of morality, ego, narcissism, savagery, and cunning.
Anyway Frank, thank you. Not just for a timeless work like TDKR, but for your work on countless other fantastic pieces. Daredevil, Wolverine, Sin City, 300, and many others would not be possible without a talented individual like yourself.
You're one of the best in comics even if you are still responsible for "I'm the Goddamned Batman".
-John
Friday, May 17, 2013
JJ's Star Trek
I want to preface everything that I say here by first saying that I do enjoy the entertainment value of the JJ-verse Star Trek. I like explosions, gorgeous women, and cowboy & indian gunfights as much as the next person. "Into Darkness" features all this and a conspiracy subplot to give the feel of a well rounded movie. I enjoyed it as an entertaining popcorn film.
I read a quote from Director JJ Abrams in which he described previous iterations of Star Trek as being plagued with "too much philosophy"and that he wasn't really a Star Trek fan. While I once thought that future Skeletor actor Ann Coulter's comments that there were "too many minorities in Star Trek" were off base I couldn't help but be more offended by the fact that a man that accepts the paycheck and the accolades for his work on the films would make such ignorant remarks. Only after I watched "Into Darkness" did I truly understand how he really feels about the project and the Trekkie/Trekker fan base.
I warn you now that I will be heading into spoiler territory to make my point about this film..If you do not want certain "reveals" SPOILED for you do not under any circumstances read any further......
YOU HAVE BEENWARNED*******************************************************************************************************************************
While I found the film to be entertaining I felt that it was too much sizzle and not enough steak. It seems like JJ's go to in this case is to use nostalgia and familiarity with certain characters and concepts to keep people from finding fault with the film. Old Spock, Klingons, Tribbles, and the unfortunately named John Harrison (but we will get to him in a bit) all get added to give the movie an old fashioned feel. JJ's take on Star Trek comes off more to this viewer as Big Budget Fan Fiction rather than a significant contribution to the mythos of the vast and expansive Star Trek universe.
In the interest of full disclosure I am not the biggest Star Trek fan around. I watched reruns of the show and the movies with my Dad in my youth; however, I lost interest in it until JJ's first aptly named "Star Trek" movie came out.
That said "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" is one of my favorite movies (not just Star Trek movies) of all time. It may be an unfair and unrealistic comparison but given the choices that JJ made in the making of "Into Darkness" I find it completely appropriate to compare these films to one another.
"Wrath of Khan" isn't just a movie about a Eugenic-produced ubermench wreaking havoc on Admiral Kirk and the rookie crew of the flagship of Starfleet. It's not just about the life produced by the Genesis project, and it's not just a movie about a bunch of ships shooting one another in space. At it's heart "Wrath of Khan" is about our formerly cocksure Captain facing down his own mortality. It's about friendship. Its about loss and it is most definitely about vengeance. We see the Kobiashi Maru in it's virtual reality form, and then we see it play out tragically when Spock pays the ultimate sacrifice. We learn that "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few". Most of all we learned to cringe when we see the only surviving species of Seti Alpha Five produce it's offspring to coil around Checkov's brainstem.
"Into Darkness" attempts to take all the great parts of "Wrath of Khan" and use them to placate the fans of the series. We learn about midway through the movie that John Harrison is actually Khan Nooien Singh. While there is no previous beef with Kirk he does have quite the issue with Starfleet command and he very quickly visits his vengeance upon them. Add a little intrigue, a little conspiracy, some back stabbing and we quickly get to the climax of the film which sees Kirk make the ultimate sacrifice in an homage to the movie that was so shamelessly picked clean for the purposes of this film.
My issue with what JJ is trying to do is that instead of braving out into new uncharted territory with this alternate timeline he instead chose to tell a generic intrigue story and garnish it with a few tidbits from Star Trek lore. Instead of introducing new concepts or radically different outcomes he decided to try to reinvent the wheel. The wheel that worked perfectly fine the first go round by the way. He could have told the same story with a completely different antagonist instead of attempting to put his own stamp on the Khan character.
I realize that it sounds that I'm dogging the film, but I really was entertained by it. I actually will likely see it again; however, I just wanted to state my issues with this project. I think it will be interesting to see what happens when JJ sets sail over to Disney to take over the Star Wars empire, and someone else steps into the director's chair for the likely third movie in the new Star Trek series.
I read a quote from Director JJ Abrams in which he described previous iterations of Star Trek as being plagued with "too much philosophy"and that he wasn't really a Star Trek fan. While I once thought that future Skeletor actor Ann Coulter's comments that there were "too many minorities in Star Trek" were off base I couldn't help but be more offended by the fact that a man that accepts the paycheck and the accolades for his work on the films would make such ignorant remarks. Only after I watched "Into Darkness" did I truly understand how he really feels about the project and the Trekkie/Trekker fan base.
I warn you now that I will be heading into spoiler territory to make my point about this film..If you do not want certain "reveals" SPOILED for you do not under any circumstances read any further......
YOU HAVE BEENWARNED*******************************************************************************************************************************
While I found the film to be entertaining I felt that it was too much sizzle and not enough steak. It seems like JJ's go to in this case is to use nostalgia and familiarity with certain characters and concepts to keep people from finding fault with the film. Old Spock, Klingons, Tribbles, and the unfortunately named John Harrison (but we will get to him in a bit) all get added to give the movie an old fashioned feel. JJ's take on Star Trek comes off more to this viewer as Big Budget Fan Fiction rather than a significant contribution to the mythos of the vast and expansive Star Trek universe.
In the interest of full disclosure I am not the biggest Star Trek fan around. I watched reruns of the show and the movies with my Dad in my youth; however, I lost interest in it until JJ's first aptly named "Star Trek" movie came out.
That said "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" is one of my favorite movies (not just Star Trek movies) of all time. It may be an unfair and unrealistic comparison but given the choices that JJ made in the making of "Into Darkness" I find it completely appropriate to compare these films to one another.
"Wrath of Khan" isn't just a movie about a Eugenic-produced ubermench wreaking havoc on Admiral Kirk and the rookie crew of the flagship of Starfleet. It's not just about the life produced by the Genesis project, and it's not just a movie about a bunch of ships shooting one another in space. At it's heart "Wrath of Khan" is about our formerly cocksure Captain facing down his own mortality. It's about friendship. Its about loss and it is most definitely about vengeance. We see the Kobiashi Maru in it's virtual reality form, and then we see it play out tragically when Spock pays the ultimate sacrifice. We learn that "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few". Most of all we learned to cringe when we see the only surviving species of Seti Alpha Five produce it's offspring to coil around Checkov's brainstem.
"Into Darkness" attempts to take all the great parts of "Wrath of Khan" and use them to placate the fans of the series. We learn about midway through the movie that John Harrison is actually Khan Nooien Singh. While there is no previous beef with Kirk he does have quite the issue with Starfleet command and he very quickly visits his vengeance upon them. Add a little intrigue, a little conspiracy, some back stabbing and we quickly get to the climax of the film which sees Kirk make the ultimate sacrifice in an homage to the movie that was so shamelessly picked clean for the purposes of this film.
My issue with what JJ is trying to do is that instead of braving out into new uncharted territory with this alternate timeline he instead chose to tell a generic intrigue story and garnish it with a few tidbits from Star Trek lore. Instead of introducing new concepts or radically different outcomes he decided to try to reinvent the wheel. The wheel that worked perfectly fine the first go round by the way. He could have told the same story with a completely different antagonist instead of attempting to put his own stamp on the Khan character.
I realize that it sounds that I'm dogging the film, but I really was entertained by it. I actually will likely see it again; however, I just wanted to state my issues with this project. I think it will be interesting to see what happens when JJ sets sail over to Disney to take over the Star Wars empire, and someone else steps into the director's chair for the likely third movie in the new Star Trek series.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Talk Nerdy to Me
Comics for 01/09/2013
I picked up four titles this week; Action Comics #16, Punisher: War Zone #3, Superior Spider-man #1, and Detective Comics #16 (Death of the Family tie-in). As usual I will give a brief synopsis and my thoughts on the title.
Action Comics #16: Much like Nicholas Cage, Grant Morrison continues to defy the odds and find work in comics. On a lark I purchased this title to see what has been going on with Superman, and after reading I continue to wonder what is going on with Superman. In the interest of full disclosure I submit that I'm not the biggest supporter of Morrison's work. I feel that his work is not the type that one can pick up and read without being fully aware of what has happened in the past few issues. I have become a big fan of All-Star Superman; however, so I think maybe it's best I wait and read his Action run as a whole. The Verdict: Pass on this title and wait for the trade
Punisher: War Zone #3 (of 5): When this title started I was honestly excited to see where it would go. The back story crossed over from the main Punisher title. Essentially the Avengers felt that Frank Castle had crossed some sort of line, and have set out to bring him down. This title got off to a hot start, but now it feels as if it is a vehicle for a weekly chat session between Castle and a member of the Avengers. This week saw Thor and Castle share a six-pack and take down a small army.
The Verdict: Pass on this title and go pick up Garth Ennis' stellar Punisher: Max run in trade form.
Superior Spider-man #1: Creator Dan Slott sure generated a lion's share of publicity with the events at the conclusion of the Amazing Spider-man #700. This issue picks up after that with the adventures of the "new" Peter Parker. While Otto grows accustomed to the his new life and his new body he finds himself limited by an unseen (to him) force. The big two (DC and Marvel) have generated a great deal of criticism within the industry and from comic fans alike for their propensity to use stunts to sell. Unfortunately, this stunt will be over too quickly to be remembered.
The Verdict: Pick it up if you want a halfway decent Spidey story, or if you enjoy a good marketing ploy.
Batman: Detective Comics #16 (Death of the Family tie-in): Although I faux scathe at marketing ploys by the big two I have been a sucker for this particular one. Death of the Family is everything that I have always loved about comics. Joker, out of sheer insanity and unpredictability, is one step ahead of Batman on his trail of terror. This issue takes a deviation from the main prose regarding the clown prince of crime and lays the groundwork for Gotham going forward. Readers are introduced to a series of increasingly dangerous Joker Cults that will surely populate the Gotham landscape going forward. This issue also furthers the introduction of Ignatius Oglivy as the new "Emperor Penguin" and the new face of organized crime in Gotham.
The Verdict: 50/50 - this isn't really a "can't miss" title, but there is some nice story work with not too much of the Joker or the Bat.
Comics for 01/16/2013
This week was a difficult one for me. While I usually read and rank my titles from worst to first I had a hard time finding a weak spot. A first world problem if there ever was one! This week's titles were Daredevil #22, Batgirl #16 (Death of the Family tie in), Batman & Robin #16 (Death of the Family tie in), and Batman #16 (Death of the Family tie in).
Daredevil #22: This was my favorite title of this week, and that is saying something when considering the competition. Mark Waid continues to draw from his past work and center this title around uniquely human elements. In Waid's stellar work Kingdom Come Batman tells Superman that he was lost from the day that he "made the Super more important than the Man". Waid seems to have continued to heed these words. In this issue Hornhead and the "new" Spidey thwart a rampage by Stilt Man. After the battle Waid juxtaposes the light prose with a very real and heartbreaking confession from Foggy to his best friend Matt Murdock. Dear reader I cannot stress enough how much I love this comic, and I cannot suggest strongly enough that you pick it up at least once.
The Verdict: Pick it up. This is the best thing going in comics today.
Batgirl #16 (Death of the Family tie-in): DC made a monumental mistake when they fired Gail Simone via e-mail. Luckily, enough backlash and fan support got her hired back in a New York minute. I have never in my life picked up a Batgirl title, but I now plan on reading the entirety of Simone's run. In this issue Babs is set to tie the knot with the man who famously put her in a wheelchair "for the fun of it". While she and the Joker exchange banter she decides that regardless of the outcome she is now willing to "cross that line" and put a definite end to the Clown Prince. While nothing is resolved in this issue all roads lead to Batman #17 in February.
The Verdict: Another fantastic title from a fantastic author..can't miss
Batman & Robin #16 (Death of the Family tie-in): Confession time. I love Damien Wayne. I hated him at first like some of you probably did. He was a spoiled, he was disrespectful, he treated Dick Grayson like crap, and to top it all off he was a cold-blooded killer. Fast forward to Peter Tomasi's run with the Boy Wonder (and some of the work Grant Morrison has done in Batman Inc.) and we have a decidedly different Damien. The character has the type of empathy that I love in superhero stories. While he's no boy hostage like the previous incarnations of the character the thing that is so interesting about Damien is that above all he wants his Father's approval. That is story that is more than common to the reader as we've all been in a situation, in which we seek the approval of another.
The Verdict: Pick it up as it's another stop on the road to the big finale in Batman #17
Batman #16 (Death of the Family tie-in): I hope Scott Snyder continues to write Batman for as long as humanly possible. There were questions whether Snyder could successfully follow-up his wildly popular "Court of Owls" storyline. He has answered those questions with a definitive yes. Snyder has taken a popular villain like The Joker, and made him decisively more dangerous. This version of the Joker embraces the chaos, but he has an end game in mind. I don't want to spoil too much from this title, but suffice to say if I could only buy two comics a month it would be Snyder's Batman and Waid's Daredevil.
The Verdict: Pick it up
We've come to the end. Looks like next week I'll be picking up Red Hood and the Outlaws #16 and Nightwing #16, which are both continuing the Death of the Family storyline. I'll stay current from here on out so I don't have to be so verbose in future posts. Thanks again dear reader! See you in the funny pages!
I picked up four titles this week; Action Comics #16, Punisher: War Zone #3, Superior Spider-man #1, and Detective Comics #16 (Death of the Family tie-in). As usual I will give a brief synopsis and my thoughts on the title.
Action Comics #16: Much like Nicholas Cage, Grant Morrison continues to defy the odds and find work in comics. On a lark I purchased this title to see what has been going on with Superman, and after reading I continue to wonder what is going on with Superman. In the interest of full disclosure I submit that I'm not the biggest supporter of Morrison's work. I feel that his work is not the type that one can pick up and read without being fully aware of what has happened in the past few issues. I have become a big fan of All-Star Superman; however, so I think maybe it's best I wait and read his Action run as a whole. The Verdict: Pass on this title and wait for the trade
Punisher: War Zone #3 (of 5): When this title started I was honestly excited to see where it would go. The back story crossed over from the main Punisher title. Essentially the Avengers felt that Frank Castle had crossed some sort of line, and have set out to bring him down. This title got off to a hot start, but now it feels as if it is a vehicle for a weekly chat session between Castle and a member of the Avengers. This week saw Thor and Castle share a six-pack and take down a small army.
The Verdict: Pass on this title and go pick up Garth Ennis' stellar Punisher: Max run in trade form.
Superior Spider-man #1: Creator Dan Slott sure generated a lion's share of publicity with the events at the conclusion of the Amazing Spider-man #700. This issue picks up after that with the adventures of the "new" Peter Parker. While Otto grows accustomed to the his new life and his new body he finds himself limited by an unseen (to him) force. The big two (DC and Marvel) have generated a great deal of criticism within the industry and from comic fans alike for their propensity to use stunts to sell. Unfortunately, this stunt will be over too quickly to be remembered.
The Verdict: Pick it up if you want a halfway decent Spidey story, or if you enjoy a good marketing ploy.
Batman: Detective Comics #16 (Death of the Family tie-in): Although I faux scathe at marketing ploys by the big two I have been a sucker for this particular one. Death of the Family is everything that I have always loved about comics. Joker, out of sheer insanity and unpredictability, is one step ahead of Batman on his trail of terror. This issue takes a deviation from the main prose regarding the clown prince of crime and lays the groundwork for Gotham going forward. Readers are introduced to a series of increasingly dangerous Joker Cults that will surely populate the Gotham landscape going forward. This issue also furthers the introduction of Ignatius Oglivy as the new "Emperor Penguin" and the new face of organized crime in Gotham.
The Verdict: 50/50 - this isn't really a "can't miss" title, but there is some nice story work with not too much of the Joker or the Bat.
Comics for 01/16/2013
This week was a difficult one for me. While I usually read and rank my titles from worst to first I had a hard time finding a weak spot. A first world problem if there ever was one! This week's titles were Daredevil #22, Batgirl #16 (Death of the Family tie in), Batman & Robin #16 (Death of the Family tie in), and Batman #16 (Death of the Family tie in).
Daredevil #22: This was my favorite title of this week, and that is saying something when considering the competition. Mark Waid continues to draw from his past work and center this title around uniquely human elements. In Waid's stellar work Kingdom Come Batman tells Superman that he was lost from the day that he "made the Super more important than the Man". Waid seems to have continued to heed these words. In this issue Hornhead and the "new" Spidey thwart a rampage by Stilt Man. After the battle Waid juxtaposes the light prose with a very real and heartbreaking confession from Foggy to his best friend Matt Murdock. Dear reader I cannot stress enough how much I love this comic, and I cannot suggest strongly enough that you pick it up at least once.
The Verdict: Pick it up. This is the best thing going in comics today.
Batgirl #16 (Death of the Family tie-in): DC made a monumental mistake when they fired Gail Simone via e-mail. Luckily, enough backlash and fan support got her hired back in a New York minute. I have never in my life picked up a Batgirl title, but I now plan on reading the entirety of Simone's run. In this issue Babs is set to tie the knot with the man who famously put her in a wheelchair "for the fun of it". While she and the Joker exchange banter she decides that regardless of the outcome she is now willing to "cross that line" and put a definite end to the Clown Prince. While nothing is resolved in this issue all roads lead to Batman #17 in February.
The Verdict: Another fantastic title from a fantastic author..can't miss
Batman & Robin #16 (Death of the Family tie-in): Confession time. I love Damien Wayne. I hated him at first like some of you probably did. He was a spoiled, he was disrespectful, he treated Dick Grayson like crap, and to top it all off he was a cold-blooded killer. Fast forward to Peter Tomasi's run with the Boy Wonder (and some of the work Grant Morrison has done in Batman Inc.) and we have a decidedly different Damien. The character has the type of empathy that I love in superhero stories. While he's no boy hostage like the previous incarnations of the character the thing that is so interesting about Damien is that above all he wants his Father's approval. That is story that is more than common to the reader as we've all been in a situation, in which we seek the approval of another.
The Verdict: Pick it up as it's another stop on the road to the big finale in Batman #17
Batman #16 (Death of the Family tie-in): I hope Scott Snyder continues to write Batman for as long as humanly possible. There were questions whether Snyder could successfully follow-up his wildly popular "Court of Owls" storyline. He has answered those questions with a definitive yes. Snyder has taken a popular villain like The Joker, and made him decisively more dangerous. This version of the Joker embraces the chaos, but he has an end game in mind. I don't want to spoil too much from this title, but suffice to say if I could only buy two comics a month it would be Snyder's Batman and Waid's Daredevil.
The Verdict: Pick it up
We've come to the end. Looks like next week I'll be picking up Red Hood and the Outlaws #16 and Nightwing #16, which are both continuing the Death of the Family storyline. I'll stay current from here on out so I don't have to be so verbose in future posts. Thanks again dear reader! See you in the funny pages!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
New Comics for 01/02/13 and thoughts on the Peter Parker controversy
I have to get out of the way early that I am not the biggest Marvel fan in the world. I enjoy movies like Captain America, Thor, and the Avengers but I'm not one to sit down and read weekly issues of these iconic characters.
You, dear reader, will not often hear me wax poetic about the adventures of one of the many incarnations of the X-men. I'm more likely to romanticize the monthly tales of any one member of the Batfamily, talk about how much dissonance I have with the New 52 version of Supes, or how much respect I have for Geoff Johns for taking an eternal doormat like Aquaman and making him compelling and interesting.
I appreciate the internal logic of the Marvel way. Create everyday people and through some extraordinary circumstance they are imbued with a power like nothing before. These characters have ethos, pathos, and are much easier to relate to than an alien with the powers of a demigod.
I do read some Marvel as you will see from what I purchased this week, but the majority of what I purchase is DC.
01/02/2012 - The Pull List
Daredevil: End of Days, Batman: The Dark Knight, and Teen Titans (Death of the Family tie in)
Daredevil: End of Days - Other than Mark Waid's fantastic run with the main DD title this is my favorite thing going at Marvel right now. Set in the not to distant future we follow Ben Urich as he investigates the death of Daredevil. This issue focused on the suicide of DD's long-time arch nemesis Bullseye. The gritty artwork and the 1950's detective style narrative from Urich make for some intriguing and engaging storytelling. The introduction of an old character in a new setting in the last few pages only adds to the overarching mystery of the title. I feel that DD: End of Days is this week's must read.
Batman: The Dark Knight - One of four main titles for the caped crusader in the New 52 relaunch (Batman, Batman & Robin, Detective Comics, Dark Knight) Dark Knight has been consistently underwhelming. I'm not sure if is bad storytelling or the fact that overwhelming sheer number of Batman-centric titles has a numbing effect on this reader. This issue ties up the ongoing Scarecrow story arch, and the entire affair completely feels unnecessary. I question DC's logic because I'm a big proponent of less is more. With a new Batman title hitting shelves four weeks out the month one is left to wonder if it is because there are THAT many Batman stories to tell or if the publisher is THAT greedy for my dollars. Nonetheless, I have a hard time passing up on any Batman story so I guess in the end I'm the sucker. The Verdict: This one can be missed
Teen Titans (Death of the Family) - The most recent tie-in to the ongoing story of The Joker's return to torment the various members of the Batman Family. Teen titans is one of the more bland and unoriginal titles I've seen in the New 52. Couple the uninspired storytelling with the retcon of Tim Drake's character, in which they deny that he was ever Robin, and you have yourself one train wreck of a title. Even the special appearance of Batgirl couldn't save this issue from running off the tracks. It brings to light the larger issue with the return of the Joker in that he is being overexposed for the sake of making money. This version of the Joker seems to be neither master strategist nor drooling psychopath. What sense does it make for him to take on this multiple front war against the Batfamily by himself? One man versus Batman, Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin, Red Hood & the Outlaws, and the Teen Titans? Sun Tzu he is not, in willingly taking on that battle strategy. I am interested in seeing where this is going so I will continue to read, but lets hope that the rest of the Death of the Family tie ins are like Snyder's Batman or Simone's Batgirl. I have a lot of faith in and respect for Scott Snyder, his "Court of Owls" and "The Black Mirror" Batman stories were fantastic, but I have begun to question the necessity of some of these other tie ins. The Verdict: Only buy if you are collecting the whole Death of the Family run
About Spidey - *Spoilers Ahead*
As you may or may not know Peter Parker is no longer Peter Parker. In his last ditch diabolical act a dying Doc Ock pulled a permanent Freaky Friday with the longtime wall crawler in Amazing Spider-man #700. Despite Parker's best efforts he couldn't get himself back into his body; however, in doing so he helped Otto to see all the pain and suffering he had gone through. Otto subsequently decides to dedicate his life to doing good, and protecting the Parker clan....and there in lies the rub with this comic reader.
Otto Octavius, one of Parker's greatest enemies, and a general bad guy hell bent on world domination loses all of his evil inclinations at the drop of a hat. Instead of using the pages of Superior Spider-man to spin a compelling yarn of the conversion of Otto from evil to good. They choose to throw away these storylines in a brief few pages in the final Amazing Spider-man issue.
I am very interested to see where this is going, but I do have a bit of trepidation about some of the ramifications of the switch to Spidoc. The most concerning is that Otto was married to Aunt May for a time, and now he inhabits the body of her nephew. Oedipal complex much?
Dan Slott is currently getting a lot of heat for "killing off" Spidey, but as we should have learned by now no one stays dead in comics anymore. If anything it's a state of dormancy. If Barry Allen, Bucky, and Jason Todd are once again among the living in the pages of current comics then it's not out of the realm of possibilities that Peter Parker will be Peter Parker once again sooner or later.
Despite all the controversy and the anger ASM #700 is a good read if not only for being able to see Peter Parker's journey finally end. The scenes in which he meets Captain Stacy, Gwen, Uncle Ben, and his parents in the afterlife are especially touching, and make the overall issue worthy of a read.
You, dear reader, will not often hear me wax poetic about the adventures of one of the many incarnations of the X-men. I'm more likely to romanticize the monthly tales of any one member of the Batfamily, talk about how much dissonance I have with the New 52 version of Supes, or how much respect I have for Geoff Johns for taking an eternal doormat like Aquaman and making him compelling and interesting.
I appreciate the internal logic of the Marvel way. Create everyday people and through some extraordinary circumstance they are imbued with a power like nothing before. These characters have ethos, pathos, and are much easier to relate to than an alien with the powers of a demigod.
I do read some Marvel as you will see from what I purchased this week, but the majority of what I purchase is DC.
01/02/2012 - The Pull List
Daredevil: End of Days, Batman: The Dark Knight, and Teen Titans (Death of the Family tie in)
Daredevil: End of Days - Other than Mark Waid's fantastic run with the main DD title this is my favorite thing going at Marvel right now. Set in the not to distant future we follow Ben Urich as he investigates the death of Daredevil. This issue focused on the suicide of DD's long-time arch nemesis Bullseye. The gritty artwork and the 1950's detective style narrative from Urich make for some intriguing and engaging storytelling. The introduction of an old character in a new setting in the last few pages only adds to the overarching mystery of the title. I feel that DD: End of Days is this week's must read.
Batman: The Dark Knight - One of four main titles for the caped crusader in the New 52 relaunch (Batman, Batman & Robin, Detective Comics, Dark Knight) Dark Knight has been consistently underwhelming. I'm not sure if is bad storytelling or the fact that overwhelming sheer number of Batman-centric titles has a numbing effect on this reader. This issue ties up the ongoing Scarecrow story arch, and the entire affair completely feels unnecessary. I question DC's logic because I'm a big proponent of less is more. With a new Batman title hitting shelves four weeks out the month one is left to wonder if it is because there are THAT many Batman stories to tell or if the publisher is THAT greedy for my dollars. Nonetheless, I have a hard time passing up on any Batman story so I guess in the end I'm the sucker. The Verdict: This one can be missed
Teen Titans (Death of the Family) - The most recent tie-in to the ongoing story of The Joker's return to torment the various members of the Batman Family. Teen titans is one of the more bland and unoriginal titles I've seen in the New 52. Couple the uninspired storytelling with the retcon of Tim Drake's character, in which they deny that he was ever Robin, and you have yourself one train wreck of a title. Even the special appearance of Batgirl couldn't save this issue from running off the tracks. It brings to light the larger issue with the return of the Joker in that he is being overexposed for the sake of making money. This version of the Joker seems to be neither master strategist nor drooling psychopath. What sense does it make for him to take on this multiple front war against the Batfamily by himself? One man versus Batman, Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin, Red Hood & the Outlaws, and the Teen Titans? Sun Tzu he is not, in willingly taking on that battle strategy. I am interested in seeing where this is going so I will continue to read, but lets hope that the rest of the Death of the Family tie ins are like Snyder's Batman or Simone's Batgirl. I have a lot of faith in and respect for Scott Snyder, his "Court of Owls" and "The Black Mirror" Batman stories were fantastic, but I have begun to question the necessity of some of these other tie ins. The Verdict: Only buy if you are collecting the whole Death of the Family run
About Spidey - *Spoilers Ahead*
As you may or may not know Peter Parker is no longer Peter Parker. In his last ditch diabolical act a dying Doc Ock pulled a permanent Freaky Friday with the longtime wall crawler in Amazing Spider-man #700. Despite Parker's best efforts he couldn't get himself back into his body; however, in doing so he helped Otto to see all the pain and suffering he had gone through. Otto subsequently decides to dedicate his life to doing good, and protecting the Parker clan....and there in lies the rub with this comic reader.
Otto Octavius, one of Parker's greatest enemies, and a general bad guy hell bent on world domination loses all of his evil inclinations at the drop of a hat. Instead of using the pages of Superior Spider-man to spin a compelling yarn of the conversion of Otto from evil to good. They choose to throw away these storylines in a brief few pages in the final Amazing Spider-man issue.
I am very interested to see where this is going, but I do have a bit of trepidation about some of the ramifications of the switch to Spidoc. The most concerning is that Otto was married to Aunt May for a time, and now he inhabits the body of her nephew. Oedipal complex much?
Dan Slott is currently getting a lot of heat for "killing off" Spidey, but as we should have learned by now no one stays dead in comics anymore. If anything it's a state of dormancy. If Barry Allen, Bucky, and Jason Todd are once again among the living in the pages of current comics then it's not out of the realm of possibilities that Peter Parker will be Peter Parker once again sooner or later.
Despite all the controversy and the anger ASM #700 is a good read if not only for being able to see Peter Parker's journey finally end. The scenes in which he meets Captain Stacy, Gwen, Uncle Ben, and his parents in the afterlife are especially touching, and make the overall issue worthy of a read.
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