Hello good people and comic fans!
Welcome to the 02/21/14 edition of The Comic Shop....
First.....
If you haven't watched it yet be sure to take a peek at the first trailer from "Guardians of the Galaxy". I think this looks like it will be a blast to watch. Chris Pratt's Star-Lord seems to be very Han Solo/Indiana Jones-esque and I really am looking forward to seeing him play the role for a full two hour movie. The whole trailer gives this humble blogger the impression that this movie will be very much like a serial (in the vain of a "Star Wars" or "Indiana Jones"). Marvel is just amazing in the way that they have embraced the fun of these characters. I think if you compare what is being done by Marvel to DC/WB, Sony, and Fox it's not even a competition at this point. They have really embraced what make their characters timeless and endearing. In the world that they have created we could have X-men in actual costumes! (if they had the rights).
Second....
In response to the release of the "Guardians" trailer Fox released more images for "X-men: Days of Future Past". This is a project that I was initially excited about, but the more that I have seen released the less I am excited about it. It could surprise, but I think going with Bryan Singer was a bad move. Especially so when Matthew Vaughn did such a job restarting the series with "X-men: First Class". In all truthfulness I don't think film is the best medium for the X-men, but I'll talk more about that later.
Third....
Fox came forward with another news item this week with the casting of the first family of superheroes in the "Fantastic Four" reboot. Headlined with Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm, Kate Mara as Sue Storm, Miles Teller as Reed Richards, and Jaime Bell as Ben Grimm the casting has drawn the ire of fanboy nation. I absolutely loved Jordan in "Chronicle" and Kate Mara has been good in a plethora of projects. I can't say too much about the other two, but it is quite obvious that Fox is attempting to skew younger with this project. It seems as if Fox is trying to pander to the "Twilight" crowd with this and the some of the new X-men character designs. Time will tell, but this project could surprise.
Fourth....
Lot of TV news going on right now. The bigger news has revolved around "Gotham" at this point with Donal Logue (Sons of Anarchy, Grounded for Life), Jada Pinkett Smith (One of the shitty Matrix movies, 2nd most talented person in the Smith household), and Ben McKenzie (The OC, Southland) signing on for significant roles in the proposed television series. "Gotham" seems promising and could be a real win for Fox television.
I think television is the medium that will lend itself to better storytelling with comic characters in all honesty. Imagine how great a weekly live-action X-men television show based out of the Xavier school could be. We are living in the golden age of television with more money, more stars, better writers, and many other factors of success playing to the small screen. "Arrow", "Walking Dead", "Smallville", and many others have proven that long-form comic stories can be better told on the small screen. With "Flash", "Constantine", "Gotham", the Marvel Netflix shows, and many others headed to television it is safe to say that it could be the new trend in comics branching out to other media.
Fifth.....
John Wesley Shipp (The Flash) has been cast in television's new version of "The Flash" and it makes me very happy. The 90's show was by all accounts not very good, but it was one of those things that I enjoyed as a kid. It will be interesting to see what role Shipp takes on, but it will be cool to see him pass the torch to the next generation of scarlet speedster.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++SPOILER++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This week in "The Superior Spider-man Turns".......
I think that this year has been Otto's swan song. I think Otto will defeat the Green Goblin, and in doing so will have gotten his one big victory in life. Otto will be able to go into that quiet night knowing that he defeated an unstoppable enemy and insurmountable odds. Now that's not to say we will never see Doc Ock again, because in all truthfulness we've seen a surrogate Ock before (as recently as 2001ish during Strasynski's run on "Amazing Spider-man"). It may just be a long time before we see the Otto Octavious version of the character again. I think it will be a fitting send off to a fantastic character if it plays out the way that I hope it does.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++No More Spoilers++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I think that's all for tonight. Thank you all for reading!
See you next time at The Comic Shop!!
Friday, February 21, 2014
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
What can comics learn from Netflix? and a Conspiracy Theory (for your eyes only)
Welcome back! Your humble blogger had to take a week off to get some personal affairs attended to, but I'm back and ready to unload with two new posts this week.
First...as a discussion point last week was absolutely absurd with the amount of comics that came out. "Batman", "Batgirl", "Superior Spider-man", "Nightwing", "All-New X-men", the finale of the initial "Sons of Anarchy" arch, and many, many more. It's great for comics, great for a comic store, but not so good for the old pocketbook. I digress though....
Onto the main topic.....
While slamming through the new season of "House of Cards" on Netflix it occurs to me that comic companies, the big two specifically, could learn something from the way that Netflix presents "House of Cards" and it's other original program. If you are not familiar with the show, basically it is a political thriller. The unique thing about it is that the entire new season is released at one time. The showrunners made the choice to have each new episode end abruptly and poignantly. They do not build to false climaxes to entice viewers to return the following week because they don't have to. It is a more natural form of long form storytelling. It also makes the payoff at the end of the season more meaningful because we do not have 22/12/13 mini-cliffhangers each week.
So how would this translate to comics? We have seen one-time trade releases in the past. "Superman Earth-One" parts I and II were one day releases as well as "Batman Earth-One". These were self contained stories with a structured beginning-middle-end with no false climaxes getting in the way of telling the complete story. Marvel is about to release "X-men: No More Humans" which spins out of the "Battle of the Atom" epic. Once again this is a one-shot deal.
Too often in our modern climate publishers rely on cheap tricks, marketing, and other chicanery to move books rather than relying on good old storytelling. I would argue that while the business still will and should lean heavily upon monthly releases it would be in the best interest of publishers to release books like "Damien: Son of Batman" as a one-shot deal instead of spreading it out over several months. In the monthly books that in between events the publishers publish one or two self contained stories a month. One comic with a beginning-middle-end not tied to another comic, and not reliant on a false climax to get the reader to buy the next issue.
Just suggestions, but something has to change. With Scott Snyder's "Batman" being the ONLY title to surpass 100K in January with no other title cracking 90k that is a concern...
Now look over your shoulder because it's CONSPIRACY THEORY time...close the blinds...put the dogs outside...and don't breathe a word......
For the purposes of this discussion please open a new tab, go to YouTube, and watch the first trailer for "Captain America: The Winter Soldier". Pay specific attention to the dialogue of Robert Redford's character. He says something to the effect of "Sometimes to create a new world you have to build on top of the old one". That sounds awful Reich-like does it not???
The cosmic cube (tesseract) in the comics has the ability to not only transport a person, but also has the ability to transport a consciousness. Could our favorite crimson cranium be occupying space in Robert Redford's noggin'? Most of us know who the "Winter Soldier" is, but I won't spoil it for my readers that don't. We know that something is afoul at SHIELD from the first two trailers, and my money would not be on Mutha Fukkkin Sammy Jackson's Nick Fury being behind it.
For now it's just a theory nothing more, but it could be much, much more.......stay tuned.....
The "Guardians of the Galaxy" trailer has not dropped as of yet, but I will post it over on our Facebook Community page when it does.
I have not caved in to go see the new movie referred to as "Robocop" yet, because of my pledge to see #noremakesin2014...
Thanks for reading! See you next time at The Comic Shop.
First...as a discussion point last week was absolutely absurd with the amount of comics that came out. "Batman", "Batgirl", "Superior Spider-man", "Nightwing", "All-New X-men", the finale of the initial "Sons of Anarchy" arch, and many, many more. It's great for comics, great for a comic store, but not so good for the old pocketbook. I digress though....
Onto the main topic.....
While slamming through the new season of "House of Cards" on Netflix it occurs to me that comic companies, the big two specifically, could learn something from the way that Netflix presents "House of Cards" and it's other original program. If you are not familiar with the show, basically it is a political thriller. The unique thing about it is that the entire new season is released at one time. The showrunners made the choice to have each new episode end abruptly and poignantly. They do not build to false climaxes to entice viewers to return the following week because they don't have to. It is a more natural form of long form storytelling. It also makes the payoff at the end of the season more meaningful because we do not have 22/12/13 mini-cliffhangers each week.
So how would this translate to comics? We have seen one-time trade releases in the past. "Superman Earth-One" parts I and II were one day releases as well as "Batman Earth-One". These were self contained stories with a structured beginning-middle-end with no false climaxes getting in the way of telling the complete story. Marvel is about to release "X-men: No More Humans" which spins out of the "Battle of the Atom" epic. Once again this is a one-shot deal.
Too often in our modern climate publishers rely on cheap tricks, marketing, and other chicanery to move books rather than relying on good old storytelling. I would argue that while the business still will and should lean heavily upon monthly releases it would be in the best interest of publishers to release books like "Damien: Son of Batman" as a one-shot deal instead of spreading it out over several months. In the monthly books that in between events the publishers publish one or two self contained stories a month. One comic with a beginning-middle-end not tied to another comic, and not reliant on a false climax to get the reader to buy the next issue.
Just suggestions, but something has to change. With Scott Snyder's "Batman" being the ONLY title to surpass 100K in January with no other title cracking 90k that is a concern...
Now look over your shoulder because it's CONSPIRACY THEORY time...close the blinds...put the dogs outside...and don't breathe a word......
For the purposes of this discussion please open a new tab, go to YouTube, and watch the first trailer for "Captain America: The Winter Soldier". Pay specific attention to the dialogue of Robert Redford's character. He says something to the effect of "Sometimes to create a new world you have to build on top of the old one". That sounds awful Reich-like does it not???
The cosmic cube (tesseract) in the comics has the ability to not only transport a person, but also has the ability to transport a consciousness. Could our favorite crimson cranium be occupying space in Robert Redford's noggin'? Most of us know who the "Winter Soldier" is, but I won't spoil it for my readers that don't. We know that something is afoul at SHIELD from the first two trailers, and my money would not be on Mutha Fukkkin Sammy Jackson's Nick Fury being behind it.
For now it's just a theory nothing more, but it could be much, much more.......stay tuned.....
The "Guardians of the Galaxy" trailer has not dropped as of yet, but I will post it over on our Facebook Community page when it does.
I have not caved in to go see the new movie referred to as "Robocop" yet, because of my pledge to see #noremakesin2014...
Thanks for reading! See you next time at The Comic Shop.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
A column, some news, and a sort of review....
About a month ago "Batgirl" writer Gail Simone took to her twitter account, as she often does, to pose a question to her followers. Simone asked in very general terms for her followers to name the last breakout comic book character that was not based on ultra-violent behavior. Her definition of breakthrough was; a top selling book, cultural influence, appearance in films, and other criteria. The masses struggled to say the least. Her reasoning is that the rise of Deadpool, Harley Quinn, and other characters is because of a fundamental change in the people that read comics.
A quick look at books that came out this week alone gives credence to the rise of the anti-hero. Consider the fact that this week "Forever Evil", which is about a group of villains banding together with the expressed purpose of killing the Justice League's evil doppelgangers. This week also saw the launch of "Loki: Agent of Asgard" as a new Marvel Now! title. Loki has gained quite a bit of notoriety from his film outings in "Thor", "The Avengers", and "Thor: The Dark World". Marvel has taken this as a sign that Loki, a trickster god and all around bad guy, should be the protagonist in his own ongoing series. Furthermore, "The Joker's Daughter" made another one-shot appearance at DC, and "Magneto" has his own limited-run series upcoming for Marvel.
As I have written about here several times this past year we watched as eternal villain Doctor Octopus tried his hand at being a "Superior Spider-man" and I have enjoyed every minute of that ride. Hell, even the "All-New X-men" decided to join evil Scott Summers' Xavier School.
What does this say about us? Is the day of a bright and shining superhero passe? Do we crave a finality and resolution to our superhero stories? Have we deemed the use of lethal force necessary?
If the characters that we once identified as villains are now the sort-of good guys who are the new villains?
I have to wonder aloud if this "new" Justice League that has been teased will be the norm going forward. With Black Adam and Luthor as a surrogate Superman, Deathstroke as a lethal justice Batman, and on down the line. I highly doubt it but I suppose it is entirely plausible.
I know that I've asked more questions than usual in this column, but it's more or less a new phenomenon. I would hope when the anti-hero stories become less compelling that things would get back to the norm, but I can't say I don't enjoy some of this storytelling.
If we think about it enough it's pretty easy to see the anti-hero influence in other media. On television for instance we have all of the following: Meth Kingpin Walter White (Breaking Bad), Serial Killer Dexter Morgan (Dexter), all of the gang members (Boardwalk Empire), Sociopathic Status Seeker Frank Underwood (House of Cards), Hannibal (Hannibal), Sgt. Brody (Homeland), and many, many more.
NEWS.....
First....
Big news from DC in that Geoff Johns ("Forever Evil", "Blackest Night", "Aquaman", "Green Lantern", "Flash", "Superman: Secret Origins") will join John Romita Jr. as the new creative team for the publisher's "Superman" title. As readers we have been stuck in Lobdell-hell for far too long, and thankfully his run with the Man of Steel has come to an end. Look for that coming up this spring.
Second....
Ripped from the headlines at Bleeding Cool Evangeline Lilly (Lost) has been cast as the female lead in the "Ant-man" movie. I would have much more to write about this, but I think I'd rather google pictures of Evangeline Lilly........
oh, um anyway Third.....
Allegedly, according to Bleeding Cool, Fox would be open to having a female version of Dr. Doom. Which of course explains why Fox should not make movies. All joking aside I would be open to it as long as we are talking an A list actor, but I think it would be better off having a male actor in the role.
Fourth....
The Super Bowl has come and gone, and was a tremendous waste of time for everyone involved but the Seahawks & their fans. What is newsworthy comics-wise is that we got a glimpse at new trailers for "Trans4mers: Age of Extinction", "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", and "The Amazing Spider-man 2". If you haven't seen them yet check em out over on youtube, and I will try to share the links on my Facebook Page for this site. Just gonna give a quick reaction to all the trailers:
"Trans4mers: Age of Extinction" - While I'm not in love with them making another Baysplosion Transformers movie it was pretty freaking cool to see the Dinobots even though Optimus was riding one for some reason.
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" - I loved the graphic novel, and while it looks like this isn't an entirely faithful adaptation it looks like it captures a lot of the espionage and intrigue of the graphic novel of the same name.
"The Amazing Spider-man 2" - This movie's action sequences look absolutely spectacular. I like the villains that they' chose to have in the movie, and the trailer was just a thrill ride. My only gripe is the "dumb Aunt May" routine they seem to be doing it's not funny, and it's wholly unnecessary.
Review-ish...............
As you know from my reviews I'm a big fan of the Marvel books "Superior Spider-man" and "Daredevil". Today I decided to see what was up with the "Trial of Jean Grey" series, and I was blown away by another title in the "All-new X-men" tie in portion of that book. For this "sort of" review I want to group all three together.
The color palette chosen by the inkers on these three books are very similar. Bright and vibrant like what we may have seen in an earlier time in comics. The art is a fun non-realistic style which adds to my personal enjoyment. Finally and most importantly they have writers that really understand the heart of the characters they are crafting. I just had to give a little praise to the Marvel group, because I do not do a great job of doing that on a weekly basis.
That's all for today...Happy Reading....and I'll see you next time at The Comic Shop!
A quick look at books that came out this week alone gives credence to the rise of the anti-hero. Consider the fact that this week "Forever Evil", which is about a group of villains banding together with the expressed purpose of killing the Justice League's evil doppelgangers. This week also saw the launch of "Loki: Agent of Asgard" as a new Marvel Now! title. Loki has gained quite a bit of notoriety from his film outings in "Thor", "The Avengers", and "Thor: The Dark World". Marvel has taken this as a sign that Loki, a trickster god and all around bad guy, should be the protagonist in his own ongoing series. Furthermore, "The Joker's Daughter" made another one-shot appearance at DC, and "Magneto" has his own limited-run series upcoming for Marvel.
As I have written about here several times this past year we watched as eternal villain Doctor Octopus tried his hand at being a "Superior Spider-man" and I have enjoyed every minute of that ride. Hell, even the "All-New X-men" decided to join evil Scott Summers' Xavier School.
What does this say about us? Is the day of a bright and shining superhero passe? Do we crave a finality and resolution to our superhero stories? Have we deemed the use of lethal force necessary?
If the characters that we once identified as villains are now the sort-of good guys who are the new villains?
I have to wonder aloud if this "new" Justice League that has been teased will be the norm going forward. With Black Adam and Luthor as a surrogate Superman, Deathstroke as a lethal justice Batman, and on down the line. I highly doubt it but I suppose it is entirely plausible.
I know that I've asked more questions than usual in this column, but it's more or less a new phenomenon. I would hope when the anti-hero stories become less compelling that things would get back to the norm, but I can't say I don't enjoy some of this storytelling.
If we think about it enough it's pretty easy to see the anti-hero influence in other media. On television for instance we have all of the following: Meth Kingpin Walter White (Breaking Bad), Serial Killer Dexter Morgan (Dexter), all of the gang members (Boardwalk Empire), Sociopathic Status Seeker Frank Underwood (House of Cards), Hannibal (Hannibal), Sgt. Brody (Homeland), and many, many more.
NEWS.....
First....
Big news from DC in that Geoff Johns ("Forever Evil", "Blackest Night", "Aquaman", "Green Lantern", "Flash", "Superman: Secret Origins") will join John Romita Jr. as the new creative team for the publisher's "Superman" title. As readers we have been stuck in Lobdell-hell for far too long, and thankfully his run with the Man of Steel has come to an end. Look for that coming up this spring.
Second....
Ripped from the headlines at Bleeding Cool Evangeline Lilly (Lost) has been cast as the female lead in the "Ant-man" movie. I would have much more to write about this, but I think I'd rather google pictures of Evangeline Lilly........
oh, um anyway Third.....
Allegedly, according to Bleeding Cool, Fox would be open to having a female version of Dr. Doom. Which of course explains why Fox should not make movies. All joking aside I would be open to it as long as we are talking an A list actor, but I think it would be better off having a male actor in the role.
Fourth....
The Super Bowl has come and gone, and was a tremendous waste of time for everyone involved but the Seahawks & their fans. What is newsworthy comics-wise is that we got a glimpse at new trailers for "Trans4mers: Age of Extinction", "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", and "The Amazing Spider-man 2". If you haven't seen them yet check em out over on youtube, and I will try to share the links on my Facebook Page for this site. Just gonna give a quick reaction to all the trailers:
"Trans4mers: Age of Extinction" - While I'm not in love with them making another Baysplosion Transformers movie it was pretty freaking cool to see the Dinobots even though Optimus was riding one for some reason.
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" - I loved the graphic novel, and while it looks like this isn't an entirely faithful adaptation it looks like it captures a lot of the espionage and intrigue of the graphic novel of the same name.
"The Amazing Spider-man 2" - This movie's action sequences look absolutely spectacular. I like the villains that they' chose to have in the movie, and the trailer was just a thrill ride. My only gripe is the "dumb Aunt May" routine they seem to be doing it's not funny, and it's wholly unnecessary.
Review-ish...............
As you know from my reviews I'm a big fan of the Marvel books "Superior Spider-man" and "Daredevil". Today I decided to see what was up with the "Trial of Jean Grey" series, and I was blown away by another title in the "All-new X-men" tie in portion of that book. For this "sort of" review I want to group all three together.
The color palette chosen by the inkers on these three books are very similar. Bright and vibrant like what we may have seen in an earlier time in comics. The art is a fun non-realistic style which adds to my personal enjoyment. Finally and most importantly they have writers that really understand the heart of the characters they are crafting. I just had to give a little praise to the Marvel group, because I do not do a great job of doing that on a weekly basis.
That's all for today...Happy Reading....and I'll see you next time at The Comic Shop!
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