Hello and welcome to the second 12/22/2015 edition of The Comic Shop Blog....
As I said in my "Creed" review I am basking in the afterglow of the wonderful film that was "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." I want to go full-on good, bad, & ugly but I feel I need to see it at least one more time so I can look at it more critically. So instead today I'll just get out some brief thoughts in random order. Please be wary of spoilers that potentially lurk below.
- The great thing about this movie was that it was all too familiar, but at the same time it was different. While the original trilogy staples like Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, C3PO, R2D2, and others were all present and accounted for the crux of the story laid in the more than capable hands of the new cast of Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Finn (John Boyega), Oscar Issac (Poe Dameron), and Rey (Daisy Ridley).
- Daisy Ridley is wonderful as the scavenger with a mysterious background. She is charismatic and you immediately empathize with her struggle. Her hero worship of Han Solo is also a wonderful character trait that helped this humble blogger relate to her character.
- Adam Driver is delightful as the spoiled brat turned sith Kylo Ren. While it was a given that he was going to have some kind of connection with the original cast it was quite jarring to see some of the actions that he takes later on in the film.
- "That's not how the Force Works!" & BB-8's thumbs up were two of the more light hearted and funny parts of the movie.
- If I never see a giant-spherical-planet-destroyer-laser-thing ever again in my life that will be too soon. While the starkiller base concept was really cool it is just something they have done in too many of the "Star Wars" films.
- It's nice to see main characters of note that aren't connected to the Skywalker lineage. (At least that we know of)
- JJ Abrams said the script for Episode VIII is so good he wishes he was directing it (!)
- I loved the lightsaber duels in this one & the Original Trilogy a lot more than the highly choreographed acrobat shows from the Prequel Trilogy. The intimate setting and the close cut of the film made the duels seem very dangerous and very real.
- The first order stormtroopers are much better at the whole shooting their enemies thing
- Captain Phasma was kind of a waste.
There are a lot of great things about this film so even if you have not enjoyed "Star Wars" in the past there is something for everyone in this one so check it out.
Thanks for reading! See you next time at The Comic Shop!
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Let's play two...a double header of reviews part one: Creed
Hello and welcome to the 12/22/15 edition of The Comic Shop Blog!
The holidays are upon us and winter has not yet descended on us Hoosiers so we must count ourselves lucky that we have such wonderful weather.
I decided to provide a review for "Creed" for a couple of reasons. The first being that director Ryan Coogler is a top name being thrown around for Marvel's upcoming "Black Panther" movie, Michael B. Jordan is an actor I enjoy (and he was Johnny Storm if you want to get down to it), and also it's my blog so sue me. Lets hit it in the traditional TCSB Good, Bad, and Ugly review style. I warn you there may be potential spoilers so be warned.
The Good:
The thing that I enjoyed most about "Creed" was the thing that enjoyed most about "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" it was that it introduced new characters and new life into their prospective franchises without being cookie cutter retread filler. Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) is a new perspective for us in the Rocky universe, and it is really refreshing that they don't use the same archetypes as the original movies.
One of the major revelations in this movie is that Rocky is in the fight of his life with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and initially it was very jarring to your humble blogger/huge Rocky fan to see one of his heroes drop his gloves and accept defeat. That's right Rocky Balboa who through sheer heart and will of human spirit defeated Apollo Creed, partial blindness, B.A. Barackus, Ivan Drago, Communism itself, and old age chose not to seek treatment for his cancer. As I said it was quite jarring, but it was a wonderful way to make Adonis a relatable character as he reacted as a Rocky fan might with disgust at Balboa's lack of fight. It was a well thought out way to make the audience feel a connection with Adonis's plight.
There are a lot of little things that are great as every character has understandable motivations. Obviously Adonis is the main story, but his love interest Bianca (Tessa Thompson) also provides a tragic story as she is a musician that faces the eventuality of complete hearing loss.
The fight scenes in "Creed" are about the best that I've seen in anything related to the Rocky-verse. It features an over-the-shoulder look that makes the action quick cut and impactful. The pacing of the fights themselves are quicker and with less of the slow-mo dramatic effects of the previous Rocky movies.
Adonis is really the polar opposite Rocky character. While both had a rough up brining Adonis was adopted by Creed's widow and lived a good life eventually holding down a successful professional career with no real need to fight other than that it legitimized him as heir to the Creed surname. As I said earlier I found it very refreshing that they took things that had almost become cliche's from previous installments and turned them on their heads.
Bad/Ugly: There isn't a lot for this category here. I initially hated that Rocky wasn't trying to survive, but as I said it was turned into a story positive by the end. I think maybe the way they unveiled the Creed surname would be my main complaint as it was just the result of sour grapes from a rival boxing manager.
I know I had more to say about this film; however, I am currently basking in the afterglow of my first viewing of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens".
The review for the the big sequel will be in the very next post here on TCSB.
The holidays are upon us and winter has not yet descended on us Hoosiers so we must count ourselves lucky that we have such wonderful weather.
I decided to provide a review for "Creed" for a couple of reasons. The first being that director Ryan Coogler is a top name being thrown around for Marvel's upcoming "Black Panther" movie, Michael B. Jordan is an actor I enjoy (and he was Johnny Storm if you want to get down to it), and also it's my blog so sue me. Lets hit it in the traditional TCSB Good, Bad, and Ugly review style. I warn you there may be potential spoilers so be warned.
The Good:
The thing that I enjoyed most about "Creed" was the thing that enjoyed most about "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" it was that it introduced new characters and new life into their prospective franchises without being cookie cutter retread filler. Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) is a new perspective for us in the Rocky universe, and it is really refreshing that they don't use the same archetypes as the original movies.
One of the major revelations in this movie is that Rocky is in the fight of his life with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and initially it was very jarring to your humble blogger/huge Rocky fan to see one of his heroes drop his gloves and accept defeat. That's right Rocky Balboa who through sheer heart and will of human spirit defeated Apollo Creed, partial blindness, B.A. Barackus, Ivan Drago, Communism itself, and old age chose not to seek treatment for his cancer. As I said it was quite jarring, but it was a wonderful way to make Adonis a relatable character as he reacted as a Rocky fan might with disgust at Balboa's lack of fight. It was a well thought out way to make the audience feel a connection with Adonis's plight.
There are a lot of little things that are great as every character has understandable motivations. Obviously Adonis is the main story, but his love interest Bianca (Tessa Thompson) also provides a tragic story as she is a musician that faces the eventuality of complete hearing loss.
The fight scenes in "Creed" are about the best that I've seen in anything related to the Rocky-verse. It features an over-the-shoulder look that makes the action quick cut and impactful. The pacing of the fights themselves are quicker and with less of the slow-mo dramatic effects of the previous Rocky movies.
Adonis is really the polar opposite Rocky character. While both had a rough up brining Adonis was adopted by Creed's widow and lived a good life eventually holding down a successful professional career with no real need to fight other than that it legitimized him as heir to the Creed surname. As I said earlier I found it very refreshing that they took things that had almost become cliche's from previous installments and turned them on their heads.
Bad/Ugly: There isn't a lot for this category here. I initially hated that Rocky wasn't trying to survive, but as I said it was turned into a story positive by the end. I think maybe the way they unveiled the Creed surname would be my main complaint as it was just the result of sour grapes from a rival boxing manager.
I know I had more to say about this film; however, I am currently basking in the afterglow of my first viewing of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens".
The review for the the big sequel will be in the very next post here on TCSB.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
A long time ago on a much, much, better blog.....
Hello and welcome to a long postponed new blog entry!
First.... Star Wars fever has enveloped your humble blogger! Less than a month from the return of Chewie, Han, Luke, Leia, R2, 3PO, and all the rest! Disney has gone full out with pushing the Star Wars franchise with all kinds of products from grilling gear to bed sheets and everything in between.
While "Jaws" was the first summer blockbuster the "Star Wars" franchise was the prototype for all things merchandising. This has often times crossed over into the world of comics as the galaxy from far far away has been the subject of countless series' regarding all sorts of subject matter. Spanning the Star Wars mythos from pre-Empire days to the continuation of Luke's adventures. While YHB has not had the chance to fully read any of the new series yet they are beautiful to look at with outstanding art, and are by all accounts wonderful reads. So head on down to your local comic store and pick up an issue of Star Wars, Darth Vader, Lando, Leia, or Chewbacca's comic and be happy because you made a great decision with your life.
Second.... THAT CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR TRAILER!!!! There are no words. There are no words.
Third..... YHB and the humble blogger's wife are about 4 episodes in to the most recent Netflix offering "Jessica Jones", and it is pretty phenomenal. It's amazing how far from the Disney/Marvel norm these shows have been. I had never been a huge fan of Krysten Ritter; however, she is absolutely wonderful as the conflicted and haunted superpowered private eye. Her performance is very authentic and she brings a lot of emotion to the screen. There are other great things, but I don't want to spoil too much. The Purple Man may very well be the best Marvel villain to date, and I don't envision him getting a cult fanbase like Loki.
Fourth.... "The Dark Knight III: The Master Race" hit shelves last Wednesday and I have to say as skeptical as I was it was actually very good. Instead of focusing on the negative things that have become Miller folklore over the last few years this issue had girl power with a single mother Wonder Woman slaying a beast while carrying her son Jonathan, the super spawn Kara taking matters into her own hands while her father-of-steel was out of commission, and finally with that big reveal at the end. This is a big departure from what most probably expected when this project was first announced as Miller has a long and dark history of portraying his female characters as "whores". We will see where it goes from here, but the first issue delivered. Bonus points for the fact that it contained an Atom mini comic that will serve to further the plot of the series.
Fifth.... I had a lot of concerns about the second season of "The Flash" on CW with each new off season week adding more and more people to the cast. It has been a wonderful thing to see how this new season has continued to top what was produced in season one. I didn't like that Zoom wasn't going to be in the traditional yellow costume, but the new version has been an actually welcomed edition. I won't get too much more into it, but suffice to say the scarlet speedster continues to be an absolute winner on the small screen.
* A small note about "Arrow" * This season has been a drastic improvement over the aimless wreck that was season 3 so be sure to check that out as well.
Wrapping Up.... I was super happy to see that the National Film Board named "Mad Max: Fury Road" the best movie of the year, but I will say that "The Martian" has overtaken Max as my favorite. If you have a chance go check it out it is a wonderful way to spend two hours at the movie theater.
As always thank you for your support and I will see you next time at The Comic Shop!
First.... Star Wars fever has enveloped your humble blogger! Less than a month from the return of Chewie, Han, Luke, Leia, R2, 3PO, and all the rest! Disney has gone full out with pushing the Star Wars franchise with all kinds of products from grilling gear to bed sheets and everything in between.
While "Jaws" was the first summer blockbuster the "Star Wars" franchise was the prototype for all things merchandising. This has often times crossed over into the world of comics as the galaxy from far far away has been the subject of countless series' regarding all sorts of subject matter. Spanning the Star Wars mythos from pre-Empire days to the continuation of Luke's adventures. While YHB has not had the chance to fully read any of the new series yet they are beautiful to look at with outstanding art, and are by all accounts wonderful reads. So head on down to your local comic store and pick up an issue of Star Wars, Darth Vader, Lando, Leia, or Chewbacca's comic and be happy because you made a great decision with your life.
Second.... THAT CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR TRAILER!!!! There are no words. There are no words.
Third..... YHB and the humble blogger's wife are about 4 episodes in to the most recent Netflix offering "Jessica Jones", and it is pretty phenomenal. It's amazing how far from the Disney/Marvel norm these shows have been. I had never been a huge fan of Krysten Ritter; however, she is absolutely wonderful as the conflicted and haunted superpowered private eye. Her performance is very authentic and she brings a lot of emotion to the screen. There are other great things, but I don't want to spoil too much. The Purple Man may very well be the best Marvel villain to date, and I don't envision him getting a cult fanbase like Loki.
Fourth.... "The Dark Knight III: The Master Race" hit shelves last Wednesday and I have to say as skeptical as I was it was actually very good. Instead of focusing on the negative things that have become Miller folklore over the last few years this issue had girl power with a single mother Wonder Woman slaying a beast while carrying her son Jonathan, the super spawn Kara taking matters into her own hands while her father-of-steel was out of commission, and finally with that big reveal at the end. This is a big departure from what most probably expected when this project was first announced as Miller has a long and dark history of portraying his female characters as "whores". We will see where it goes from here, but the first issue delivered. Bonus points for the fact that it contained an Atom mini comic that will serve to further the plot of the series.
Fifth.... I had a lot of concerns about the second season of "The Flash" on CW with each new off season week adding more and more people to the cast. It has been a wonderful thing to see how this new season has continued to top what was produced in season one. I didn't like that Zoom wasn't going to be in the traditional yellow costume, but the new version has been an actually welcomed edition. I won't get too much more into it, but suffice to say the scarlet speedster continues to be an absolute winner on the small screen.
* A small note about "Arrow" * This season has been a drastic improvement over the aimless wreck that was season 3 so be sure to check that out as well.
Wrapping Up.... I was super happy to see that the National Film Board named "Mad Max: Fury Road" the best movie of the year, but I will say that "The Martian" has overtaken Max as my favorite. If you have a chance go check it out it is a wonderful way to spend two hours at the movie theater.
As always thank you for your support and I will see you next time at The Comic Shop!
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Catching up with news, Fantastic Four & Ant-man belated reviews, & more
Hello and welcome to The Comic Shop Blog!
It has been awhile, but I had the rare opportunity to sit down and get some thoughts out. So here we go!
First - Nothing has changed as of right now with me personally. I will be working 7 days a week for the foreseeable future, and budgeting to the point where buying comics weekly is not an option anymore. I had started to download select ones from the Pirates Bay; however, I no longer have time for that.
Second - The fall superhero tv shows are all back and running so make sure you are supporting your specific fandoms! I am making sure to watch "Flash" & "Arrow" as those are the two that enjoy most. I will be checking out "Jessica Jones" on Netflix in November, and waiting anxiously for the return of the best superhero show "Daredevil" in April or May.
Third - (Belated reviews in brief)
I have to start off by saying that Summer of '15 was disappointing for me superhero movie-wise. My favorite movies I saw overall were "Mad Max: Fury Road" & "Straight Outta Compton". "Black Mass" was quite good as well, and marked a return to some sanity for Johnny Depp's acting career.
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" was good, but I have to say that I expected more from the second go around, and maybe I set the bar too high. The glaring hole with most of these Marvel movies is that they rely on humor & not much else. After watching them several times it becomes like sitting next to your uncle on the couch as he elbows you until you half-laugh at the same joke he's told you a thousand times. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is my favorite Marvel movie because it actually has some subtext and gravitas to the events that transpire instead of spending much of the movie setting up elaborate sequences to make with the hardy har har. I am looking forward to "Civil War" as it seems to be the same type of movie from the outset as there will be serious repercussions from what happens. My review in the afterglow of watching AoU was probably more favorable; however, time and thinking about the movie have altered my opinion.
Fantastic Four - I'll start off by saying this I wanted to like this movie. I loved Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, and Josh Trank in other projects so I wanted this to be a great movie. I was sanctimonious about the bold casting choices because I wanted it to be a new era in superhero movies. Truth be told though if it were Jayden Smith and not MBJ I'd be on the side with the pitchforks and torches. Thankfully a bad superhero movie does not destroy a promising career (just ask Oscar winners George Clooney or Ben Affleck). Trank is probably done with anything big budget though as reports are that he wrapped filming without and ending and was difficult to work with in general.
There were things that I really liked about FF, but they were few and far between. I appreciated that the attempt was made to make this a horrifying experience for the inter-dimensional travelers in stark juxtaposition to other superhero movies where someone is automatically thrilled with a dramatic change in body chemistry. It was a film that attempted nobly to above all else not insult the audience's intelligence with the same trite good vs. evil story. This movie was more about the journey into heroism and the physical & mental pains to grow into something more than they were in the first act of the film.
All that said it was a bad movie with a rushed ending, and it was painfully apparent that the intention was to set up a sequel/universe with little regard to making a quality standalone film.
What happens now? I would hope to see a smart business decision between Fox & Disney in which Fox offers the valuable rights to FF, Doctor Doom, the Skrulls, & Galactus (villains that the MCU is in dire need of) for the rights from Marvel to create the X-Men tv show that Fox wants to put together. I think that would be a win-win scenario if there ever was one.
Ant-Man - I am of really mixed opinions about this film. There were things that I absolutely loved & things that I rolled my eyes at. I think Marvel specifically made this movie to accomplish two side goals. The first was to establish that the hero is not always the same person (in this film Hank Pym was in fact the first Ant-Man, but the mantle passed on) they did this because many of their more high profile Avengers' contracts are about to be up. So Tony Stark may be IronMan today, but it doesn't always have to be that way or we could see Sam Wilson or Bucky Barnes may pick up the shield of Captain America. It was smart and sublte of them to introduce this concept to their audience, and it will make the heroic transitions down the road a lot more easy. The second underlying goal I think was to bring shrink the size of the action. We've seen city, dimensional and worldly destruction time and time again in these movies, but this one climaxes in Scott Lang's daughter's bedroom.
Overall, I really enjoyed the performances of Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, & Michael Douglas. I thought Douglas especially shone as the conflicted & regretful Pym. Rudd fulfilled the lead Marvel smartass with great efficiency.
I did not enjoy the villain-of-the-week-evil-businessman-who-is-evil that has become a crutch for Marvel movies. Corey Stoll was a mustache away from being a mustache twirling bad guy, and it was just 50 shades of terrible. These two-dimensional villains are bringing down the quality of the Marvel movies and I would hope it will be something that they can fix in the future. I may have complained about the Raimi Spider-villains, but at least they were interesting! This is just boredom and suck incarnate.
I liked it overall though so I'd definitely watch it again. 4/5
I think that is all for today so thank you for reading. I will be back when I have more to talk about or share, but I can't honestly say how long it will be.
It has been awhile, but I had the rare opportunity to sit down and get some thoughts out. So here we go!
First - Nothing has changed as of right now with me personally. I will be working 7 days a week for the foreseeable future, and budgeting to the point where buying comics weekly is not an option anymore. I had started to download select ones from the Pirates Bay; however, I no longer have time for that.
Second - The fall superhero tv shows are all back and running so make sure you are supporting your specific fandoms! I am making sure to watch "Flash" & "Arrow" as those are the two that enjoy most. I will be checking out "Jessica Jones" on Netflix in November, and waiting anxiously for the return of the best superhero show "Daredevil" in April or May.
Third - (Belated reviews in brief)
I have to start off by saying that Summer of '15 was disappointing for me superhero movie-wise. My favorite movies I saw overall were "Mad Max: Fury Road" & "Straight Outta Compton". "Black Mass" was quite good as well, and marked a return to some sanity for Johnny Depp's acting career.
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" was good, but I have to say that I expected more from the second go around, and maybe I set the bar too high. The glaring hole with most of these Marvel movies is that they rely on humor & not much else. After watching them several times it becomes like sitting next to your uncle on the couch as he elbows you until you half-laugh at the same joke he's told you a thousand times. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is my favorite Marvel movie because it actually has some subtext and gravitas to the events that transpire instead of spending much of the movie setting up elaborate sequences to make with the hardy har har. I am looking forward to "Civil War" as it seems to be the same type of movie from the outset as there will be serious repercussions from what happens. My review in the afterglow of watching AoU was probably more favorable; however, time and thinking about the movie have altered my opinion.
Fantastic Four - I'll start off by saying this I wanted to like this movie. I loved Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, and Josh Trank in other projects so I wanted this to be a great movie. I was sanctimonious about the bold casting choices because I wanted it to be a new era in superhero movies. Truth be told though if it were Jayden Smith and not MBJ I'd be on the side with the pitchforks and torches. Thankfully a bad superhero movie does not destroy a promising career (just ask Oscar winners George Clooney or Ben Affleck). Trank is probably done with anything big budget though as reports are that he wrapped filming without and ending and was difficult to work with in general.
There were things that I really liked about FF, but they were few and far between. I appreciated that the attempt was made to make this a horrifying experience for the inter-dimensional travelers in stark juxtaposition to other superhero movies where someone is automatically thrilled with a dramatic change in body chemistry. It was a film that attempted nobly to above all else not insult the audience's intelligence with the same trite good vs. evil story. This movie was more about the journey into heroism and the physical & mental pains to grow into something more than they were in the first act of the film.
All that said it was a bad movie with a rushed ending, and it was painfully apparent that the intention was to set up a sequel/universe with little regard to making a quality standalone film.
What happens now? I would hope to see a smart business decision between Fox & Disney in which Fox offers the valuable rights to FF, Doctor Doom, the Skrulls, & Galactus (villains that the MCU is in dire need of) for the rights from Marvel to create the X-Men tv show that Fox wants to put together. I think that would be a win-win scenario if there ever was one.
Ant-Man - I am of really mixed opinions about this film. There were things that I absolutely loved & things that I rolled my eyes at. I think Marvel specifically made this movie to accomplish two side goals. The first was to establish that the hero is not always the same person (in this film Hank Pym was in fact the first Ant-Man, but the mantle passed on) they did this because many of their more high profile Avengers' contracts are about to be up. So Tony Stark may be IronMan today, but it doesn't always have to be that way or we could see Sam Wilson or Bucky Barnes may pick up the shield of Captain America. It was smart and sublte of them to introduce this concept to their audience, and it will make the heroic transitions down the road a lot more easy. The second underlying goal I think was to bring shrink the size of the action. We've seen city, dimensional and worldly destruction time and time again in these movies, but this one climaxes in Scott Lang's daughter's bedroom.
Overall, I really enjoyed the performances of Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, & Michael Douglas. I thought Douglas especially shone as the conflicted & regretful Pym. Rudd fulfilled the lead Marvel smartass with great efficiency.
I did not enjoy the villain-of-the-week-evil-businessman-who-is-evil that has become a crutch for Marvel movies. Corey Stoll was a mustache away from being a mustache twirling bad guy, and it was just 50 shades of terrible. These two-dimensional villains are bringing down the quality of the Marvel movies and I would hope it will be something that they can fix in the future. I may have complained about the Raimi Spider-villains, but at least they were interesting! This is just boredom and suck incarnate.
I liked it overall though so I'd definitely watch it again. 4/5
I think that is all for today so thank you for reading. I will be back when I have more to talk about or share, but I can't honestly say how long it will be.
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Jurassic World review
Hello and welcome to an ultra brief edition of The Comic Shop!
Just wanted to take a minute to give my two cents on the hottest movie on the planet. Not sure what I could add to the discussion at this point, but I will do my best.
Once I heard the chords of the theme from the original "Jurassic Park" play and saw the gates open I was instantly transported back to a time when I was 10 years old. Movies have always had a kind of magic to me, and for pure nostalgia reasons I sat with goosebumps through a good majority of this one.
I thought it was extremely high brow that the park on the screen in a lot of ways was a commentary on the movie. It mocked the pervasive corporate nature of most things nowadays "the Indominus Rex brought to you by Verizon Wireless" while being an abject lesson on brand identity/inclusion (the park came complete with a jewelry galleria, Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, and many other identifiable corporate set pieces).
I make no bones about the fact that I am a Pratt fan, and he absolutely shines in this vehicle. While some complaints about his "Guardians" persona were that it was not all together different from his Andy Dwyer character his "JW" characterization was a world different than what we have seen before. His character is powerful, fun, and his motivations are easy to understand.
The other actors/characterizations in the movie are good enough if not a little two dimensional. We have the busy-business-woman-who-is-too-busy-with-business-to-do-non-business-things-woman played acceptably by Bryce Dallas Howard. There is the evil warmonger that wants innocent scientific discoveries put to use for his evil warmongering played by the kingpin of crime Vincent D'onofrio. We also have brave console nerds, generic army dudes, other generic army dudes, and kids we are supposed to like. So it goes without saying that all the recognizable tropes are present and accounted for, but the movie was so fun that I forgave that quickly.
While nothing can or will replicate the magic of Stan Winston's original dino creations the first "Jurassic" film broke new ground on computer generated images, and this one continues that tradition with dinos that look and feel authentic.
The plot is somewhat predictable, but the execution is outstanding. Seeing Pratt ride off into battle on a motorcycle flanked by his velociraptor pack made me as giddy as a schoolboy. "Jurassic World" hits on all the wonderfully absurd and creative notes with a gusto like no other.
In all I have to say although I was not expecting a lot from this movie going in the more I heard about it the more my interest grew. Then when I actually saw the finished product on the screen I was absolutely thrilled with what I was watching.
I give it a very solid TCSB rating of two thumbs up!
Just wanted to take a minute to give my two cents on the hottest movie on the planet. Not sure what I could add to the discussion at this point, but I will do my best.
Once I heard the chords of the theme from the original "Jurassic Park" play and saw the gates open I was instantly transported back to a time when I was 10 years old. Movies have always had a kind of magic to me, and for pure nostalgia reasons I sat with goosebumps through a good majority of this one.
I thought it was extremely high brow that the park on the screen in a lot of ways was a commentary on the movie. It mocked the pervasive corporate nature of most things nowadays "the Indominus Rex brought to you by Verizon Wireless" while being an abject lesson on brand identity/inclusion (the park came complete with a jewelry galleria, Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, and many other identifiable corporate set pieces).
I make no bones about the fact that I am a Pratt fan, and he absolutely shines in this vehicle. While some complaints about his "Guardians" persona were that it was not all together different from his Andy Dwyer character his "JW" characterization was a world different than what we have seen before. His character is powerful, fun, and his motivations are easy to understand.
The other actors/characterizations in the movie are good enough if not a little two dimensional. We have the busy-business-woman-who-is-too-busy-with-business-to-do-non-business-things-woman played acceptably by Bryce Dallas Howard. There is the evil warmonger that wants innocent scientific discoveries put to use for his evil warmongering played by the kingpin of crime Vincent D'onofrio. We also have brave console nerds, generic army dudes, other generic army dudes, and kids we are supposed to like. So it goes without saying that all the recognizable tropes are present and accounted for, but the movie was so fun that I forgave that quickly.
While nothing can or will replicate the magic of Stan Winston's original dino creations the first "Jurassic" film broke new ground on computer generated images, and this one continues that tradition with dinos that look and feel authentic.
The plot is somewhat predictable, but the execution is outstanding. Seeing Pratt ride off into battle on a motorcycle flanked by his velociraptor pack made me as giddy as a schoolboy. "Jurassic World" hits on all the wonderfully absurd and creative notes with a gusto like no other.
In all I have to say although I was not expecting a lot from this movie going in the more I heard about it the more my interest grew. Then when I actually saw the finished product on the screen I was absolutely thrilled with what I was watching.
I give it a very solid TCSB rating of two thumbs up!
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Mad Max: Fury Road review
Hello and welcome to a special 05/17/2015 edition of The Comic Shop Blog!
Before I get started on a really brief review I wanted to cover a few administrative topics really fast. This format is going to be going away as soon as I get squared away with podcast equipment that I can use competently. This was just a decision I made that will make what I do more inclusive and have opinions other than my own. I have several ideas for show topics and segments, but I won't move forward with the Shopcast until I return to work from my current FMLA. I think it will be a lot of fun as I have had a handful of fun people offer to come on to discuss different things. So please stay tuned for that.
I do have a couple of topics that I want to cover with this blog before I shut it down, so keep checking for those as I will post them when I have time.
Mad Max: Fury Road Review
There isn't much that I can say that hasn't been said at this point, but I will give it the best try I can. I will start by saying that Charlize Theron is the absolute stand out in this movie as Imperator Furiousa. Her portrayal of the powerful war rig driver is simultaneously stark, terrifying, sympathetic, moving, and powerful. There has been a lot of manimist backlash that Furisoa is in many ways more integral to the plot than the titular character, but I have to say that it kind of fits the wandering kung fu style anthology that the Mad Max story seems to be transforming into. Without Max Furiosa could not have achieved her goal of redemption and creating a new start for Immortan Joe's treasures. With a sequel tentatively titled "Mad Max: Furiousa" it seems like the character will find herself in another difficult situation that requires the help of the post apocalyptic maurader.
My second favorite performance in the movie comes by way of Nicholas Hoult's War Boy Nux. The journey that he goes through hits a lot of high points. He goes from a hyped up pawn on Joe's chess board to this beautifully tragic and sympathetic character. It is a wonderfully written and wonderfully acted character arch for Nux. I can't say much more about it, but it is something to see play out on the screen.
Tom Hardy is a very good replacement for that other guy in the role of Max Rockantasky. He is not given a lot of lines of dialogue, but he absolutely shines on screen. While he spends the first act in bondage he more than makes up for it in the later parts of the film (Although his most badass scene happens off camera.) With the promise of more action to come I was more than satisfied with what we got out of Max this go round.
This film is a combination of summer blockbuster and art house cinema. It has tons of creativity & potential, so much so that you forget that at it's base it's an extended two hour chase scene. The thing that is missing now with so many of these franchises is that they are lacking in movies that can stand on their own. This entry into the "Mad Max" franchise could more than stand on it's own as a solo entry into a new film franchise.
In all my reviews are almost always overwhelmingly positive, so consider the source but I would say that "Mad Max: Fury Road" is a must see on the big screen. I can't wait to see whatever comes out of the mind of George Miller next!
Thank you for reading and I will see you next time at The Comic Shop!
Before I get started on a really brief review I wanted to cover a few administrative topics really fast. This format is going to be going away as soon as I get squared away with podcast equipment that I can use competently. This was just a decision I made that will make what I do more inclusive and have opinions other than my own. I have several ideas for show topics and segments, but I won't move forward with the Shopcast until I return to work from my current FMLA. I think it will be a lot of fun as I have had a handful of fun people offer to come on to discuss different things. So please stay tuned for that.
I do have a couple of topics that I want to cover with this blog before I shut it down, so keep checking for those as I will post them when I have time.
Mad Max: Fury Road Review
There isn't much that I can say that hasn't been said at this point, but I will give it the best try I can. I will start by saying that Charlize Theron is the absolute stand out in this movie as Imperator Furiousa. Her portrayal of the powerful war rig driver is simultaneously stark, terrifying, sympathetic, moving, and powerful. There has been a lot of manimist backlash that Furisoa is in many ways more integral to the plot than the titular character, but I have to say that it kind of fits the wandering kung fu style anthology that the Mad Max story seems to be transforming into. Without Max Furiosa could not have achieved her goal of redemption and creating a new start for Immortan Joe's treasures. With a sequel tentatively titled "Mad Max: Furiousa" it seems like the character will find herself in another difficult situation that requires the help of the post apocalyptic maurader.
My second favorite performance in the movie comes by way of Nicholas Hoult's War Boy Nux. The journey that he goes through hits a lot of high points. He goes from a hyped up pawn on Joe's chess board to this beautifully tragic and sympathetic character. It is a wonderfully written and wonderfully acted character arch for Nux. I can't say much more about it, but it is something to see play out on the screen.
Tom Hardy is a very good replacement for that other guy in the role of Max Rockantasky. He is not given a lot of lines of dialogue, but he absolutely shines on screen. While he spends the first act in bondage he more than makes up for it in the later parts of the film (Although his most badass scene happens off camera.) With the promise of more action to come I was more than satisfied with what we got out of Max this go round.
This film is a combination of summer blockbuster and art house cinema. It has tons of creativity & potential, so much so that you forget that at it's base it's an extended two hour chase scene. The thing that is missing now with so many of these franchises is that they are lacking in movies that can stand on their own. This entry into the "Mad Max" franchise could more than stand on it's own as a solo entry into a new film franchise.
In all my reviews are almost always overwhelmingly positive, so consider the source but I would say that "Mad Max: Fury Road" is a must see on the big screen. I can't wait to see whatever comes out of the mind of George Miller next!
Thank you for reading and I will see you next time at The Comic Shop!
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Avengers Assembled: the good, bad, & ugly and other comic related tidbits
Hello and welcome to the 05/03/15 edition of The Comic Shop! A very happy early May the 4th to you all!
So all formalities out of the way "Avengers: Age of Ultron" lets get at it!
The Good:
Two things that really stood out to me as phenomenal when watching this movie and they were the absolute high points for me as a fan of storytelling & narrative.
The first is that screenwriter/director Joss Whedon used Hawkeye to establish a passenger for the audience to experience the movie through. While the team is comprised of many different people most of them have superhuman to near superhuman capabilities while Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye is "a guy with a bow & arrow." It was quite a clever gambit on Whedon's part to set up Hawkeye as a father with 2.5 kids and shacking up with Velma from the "Scooby Doo" movies. The end result is that he becomes the most Avenger that is most easy to relate to. He's nothing superhuman he's a guy doing his job like a police officer or a soldier. The archer has no higher aspirations than to do his duty and get back home safe to his family. Without this emotional human tether this movie could've faded even further into the "big, loud, stupid, unmemorable fight scene after unmemorable fight scene" of summer movie purgatory. This narrative raises the stakes in the final climax of the film, and makes the events that transpire all the more heart wrenching by putting our view into this world in danger.
The second is that there is a very clear distinction made early that this film is the anti- "Man of Steel". There is a very clear emphasis throughout the film that protecting the people near the scene of the action is what is of the utmost importance. In fact part of Banner/Hulk's story arch is that he feels extreme guilt for his battle with "Veronica" and how it endangered people, but we will get more into that later. I really felt that it makes those final climax scenes all that more important to realize that these are real lives that matter, and to see the struggle that these heroes face to ultimately do the noble thing when they have other clearly dangerous matters at hand. I don't say this to be flip about "MOS", but I think it also served as the antithesis of the original "Avengers" where we saw very little care or concern for the city & citizenry of New York in the final battle.
There are a lot of strong performances in this movie, but I have to say that Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch was the most riveting for me. Getting a little bit into spoiler territory, but when she returns to battle after having a minor mental breakdown she absolutely starts incinerating Ultron drones and it gave me as much joy as when Hulk smashed the giant snake transport in the original "Avengers". I wanted to jump out of my seat and scream "HELL YES!" It is wonderful to have such a powerful female Avenger who can absolutely hold her own and wreak her own brand of chaotic ass kicking.
James Spader's Ultron was a performance that weighed heavily upon me, because I openly questioned why he was making jokes for most of the movie. After thinking more about his relationship with Tony Stark it made sense to me that this AI would be a bit of a smartass.
Obviously the usual players like Chris Evans' Captain America, RDJ's Iron Man, Scarlet Johanson's Black Widow, Mark Ruffalo's Banner/Hulk, and others turned in their normal solid performances. It was really cool to see Don Cheadle suit up as War Machine and join the team in the final battle, and it was nice to see Sam Mackie back as Sam Wilson to tease the plotline for the next Captain America solo outing.
Visually this movie is very beautiful to look at in 3D, and all the vocals are very clear and concise. I thought Paul Bettany's Vision was especially a work of art as I couldn't tell if it was makeup or prosthetics when he finally made his onscreen debut. He is a very neat character visually, and I am very interested to watch him grow in the future of the Avengers film franchise.
One of the stronger points of Scarlet Witch's characterization was that they did a wonderful job explaining her powers, and then showing the different levels that the worked on. The different fever dreams that she caused the Avengers to have were especially poignant and powerful images.
There is a lot of good humor in this film and while it can be a bit too much at times it seems that Whedon strikes a decent balance between the comedy and drama so that either doesn't become too overpowering for the viewer. In a meta sense he actually uses Hawkeye as I discussed earlier to poke fun at the absurdity of the whole affair, which I found quite fun.
The Bad:
The film's biggest plothole is easily either it's disregard or ignorance of the events of the finale of "Iron Man 3". While that movie may be no one's favorite in the Marvel catalog it is disrepectful and damaging to blatantly ignore the fact that Tony Stark had already decided to quit being the man in the suit. When this movie picks up he's in suit stomping out Hydra bases with the rest of the team. There is NO explanation of how or why he decided to get back into the suit, and for me that is quite a plot hole to just leave hanging. Something that could be explained away in 2 lines of dialogue is instead a distraction from the main narrative of the movie.
I was not a fan of the Black Widow-Banner/Hulk romance. Not for any comic reason, but just that I felt that it was unnecessary and it took time from other things. It did nothing for the plot other than to possibly set up tension in the next movie, and set up one of the more comical bits of dialogue. Hopefully the Russo Brothers will not feel the need to pick up on this useless contrived romance.
Speaking of pointless. Thor's vision quest was literally a commercial for the "Infinity Wars" movies to come. I wish when he went in that cave of reflection they would've just shown the trailer for the upcoming two-parter as it would've achieved the same end.
The Ugly:
As far as we know this is the last time that Joss Whedon will handle this team of Avengers. The contracts for Evans & Downey Jr. are coming to the end, and they will likely be replaced on the team one way or another. It was fun with these two movies and I'm sure it will be great with the Russo's back at the helm, but it's always cause for concern when one creator sets something up and hands it off to someone else.
I think at this point the question also has to be asked "why are they continuing with solo films with established Avengers?" Sure newbies like Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Ms. Marvel, and others deserve a right and proper introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but are there really things that Thor, Cap, & IM don't need the Avengers to deal with? It sure would've helped to have the team's help when Tony was getting his ass handed to him in "IM3", or when Thor was trying to save an entire universe in "Thor: The Dark World". I'm not saying there is anything wrong with solo sequels as "The Winter Soldier" is probably my favorite Marvel movie, but I think the stories would be even better with the Avengers team on the case. In fact why call it "Captain America 3: Civil War" if it's going to feature Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, and others? Why not "Avengers: Civil War?" Just my opinion on the subject as it appears that these solo films are nothing more than a cash grab if they have no impact on the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In all: I have to give this movie about an 8.5/10. It's not perfect, but it is of good quality for the summer movie season. The bad stuff doesn't weigh it down too much and it actually accomplishes quite a bit.
Batman #40: Endgame Review
I don't know how to really do this without getting into spoilers, so SPOILERS people. When we last left our heroes Batman, the Bat-family, and most of his rogues gallery waded through the huddled, infected masses of Gotham to try to get some of Joker's spinal fluid to get a cure for the poison that he used. As it turns out the whole "final" battle was a bit anticlimactic in an effort to set up the real final battle between Batman and the Joker. This is because the only way to extract a cure was to tap into a final dionesium deposit in the caves under the city. As writer Scott Snyder confirmed both men knew entering the cave that they would not be leaving alive. The final battle was fantastic as the two wrestle with their issues while pummeling one another. After Joker is killed by falling rock, a dionesium sample is extracted and removed from the cave Batman finally decides to lay down for a nap next to his longtime "friend".
I thought this was a really great arch that lived up to the "Endgame" name. This is how I think most Batfans knew things would eventually have to play out as Batman would eventually have to end Joker to preserve life in Gotham. It was refreshing to have a creative team that didn't embrace the constant will-they-or-won't-they of the history of the characters. Snyder & Capullo once again blazed a brand new trail and did it their own way, and I enjoy them all the more for it.
That's all for today folks! I'm sure there is more that I wanted to cover, but I'm ready for an eight hour nap. Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading and your continued support!
See you next time at The Comic Shop!
So all formalities out of the way "Avengers: Age of Ultron" lets get at it!
The Good:
Two things that really stood out to me as phenomenal when watching this movie and they were the absolute high points for me as a fan of storytelling & narrative.
The first is that screenwriter/director Joss Whedon used Hawkeye to establish a passenger for the audience to experience the movie through. While the team is comprised of many different people most of them have superhuman to near superhuman capabilities while Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye is "a guy with a bow & arrow." It was quite a clever gambit on Whedon's part to set up Hawkeye as a father with 2.5 kids and shacking up with Velma from the "Scooby Doo" movies. The end result is that he becomes the most Avenger that is most easy to relate to. He's nothing superhuman he's a guy doing his job like a police officer or a soldier. The archer has no higher aspirations than to do his duty and get back home safe to his family. Without this emotional human tether this movie could've faded even further into the "big, loud, stupid, unmemorable fight scene after unmemorable fight scene" of summer movie purgatory. This narrative raises the stakes in the final climax of the film, and makes the events that transpire all the more heart wrenching by putting our view into this world in danger.
The second is that there is a very clear distinction made early that this film is the anti- "Man of Steel". There is a very clear emphasis throughout the film that protecting the people near the scene of the action is what is of the utmost importance. In fact part of Banner/Hulk's story arch is that he feels extreme guilt for his battle with "Veronica" and how it endangered people, but we will get more into that later. I really felt that it makes those final climax scenes all that more important to realize that these are real lives that matter, and to see the struggle that these heroes face to ultimately do the noble thing when they have other clearly dangerous matters at hand. I don't say this to be flip about "MOS", but I think it also served as the antithesis of the original "Avengers" where we saw very little care or concern for the city & citizenry of New York in the final battle.
There are a lot of strong performances in this movie, but I have to say that Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch was the most riveting for me. Getting a little bit into spoiler territory, but when she returns to battle after having a minor mental breakdown she absolutely starts incinerating Ultron drones and it gave me as much joy as when Hulk smashed the giant snake transport in the original "Avengers". I wanted to jump out of my seat and scream "HELL YES!" It is wonderful to have such a powerful female Avenger who can absolutely hold her own and wreak her own brand of chaotic ass kicking.
James Spader's Ultron was a performance that weighed heavily upon me, because I openly questioned why he was making jokes for most of the movie. After thinking more about his relationship with Tony Stark it made sense to me that this AI would be a bit of a smartass.
Obviously the usual players like Chris Evans' Captain America, RDJ's Iron Man, Scarlet Johanson's Black Widow, Mark Ruffalo's Banner/Hulk, and others turned in their normal solid performances. It was really cool to see Don Cheadle suit up as War Machine and join the team in the final battle, and it was nice to see Sam Mackie back as Sam Wilson to tease the plotline for the next Captain America solo outing.
Visually this movie is very beautiful to look at in 3D, and all the vocals are very clear and concise. I thought Paul Bettany's Vision was especially a work of art as I couldn't tell if it was makeup or prosthetics when he finally made his onscreen debut. He is a very neat character visually, and I am very interested to watch him grow in the future of the Avengers film franchise.
One of the stronger points of Scarlet Witch's characterization was that they did a wonderful job explaining her powers, and then showing the different levels that the worked on. The different fever dreams that she caused the Avengers to have were especially poignant and powerful images.
There is a lot of good humor in this film and while it can be a bit too much at times it seems that Whedon strikes a decent balance between the comedy and drama so that either doesn't become too overpowering for the viewer. In a meta sense he actually uses Hawkeye as I discussed earlier to poke fun at the absurdity of the whole affair, which I found quite fun.
The Bad:
The film's biggest plothole is easily either it's disregard or ignorance of the events of the finale of "Iron Man 3". While that movie may be no one's favorite in the Marvel catalog it is disrepectful and damaging to blatantly ignore the fact that Tony Stark had already decided to quit being the man in the suit. When this movie picks up he's in suit stomping out Hydra bases with the rest of the team. There is NO explanation of how or why he decided to get back into the suit, and for me that is quite a plot hole to just leave hanging. Something that could be explained away in 2 lines of dialogue is instead a distraction from the main narrative of the movie.
I was not a fan of the Black Widow-Banner/Hulk romance. Not for any comic reason, but just that I felt that it was unnecessary and it took time from other things. It did nothing for the plot other than to possibly set up tension in the next movie, and set up one of the more comical bits of dialogue. Hopefully the Russo Brothers will not feel the need to pick up on this useless contrived romance.
Speaking of pointless. Thor's vision quest was literally a commercial for the "Infinity Wars" movies to come. I wish when he went in that cave of reflection they would've just shown the trailer for the upcoming two-parter as it would've achieved the same end.
The Ugly:
As far as we know this is the last time that Joss Whedon will handle this team of Avengers. The contracts for Evans & Downey Jr. are coming to the end, and they will likely be replaced on the team one way or another. It was fun with these two movies and I'm sure it will be great with the Russo's back at the helm, but it's always cause for concern when one creator sets something up and hands it off to someone else.
I think at this point the question also has to be asked "why are they continuing with solo films with established Avengers?" Sure newbies like Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Ms. Marvel, and others deserve a right and proper introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but are there really things that Thor, Cap, & IM don't need the Avengers to deal with? It sure would've helped to have the team's help when Tony was getting his ass handed to him in "IM3", or when Thor was trying to save an entire universe in "Thor: The Dark World". I'm not saying there is anything wrong with solo sequels as "The Winter Soldier" is probably my favorite Marvel movie, but I think the stories would be even better with the Avengers team on the case. In fact why call it "Captain America 3: Civil War" if it's going to feature Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, and others? Why not "Avengers: Civil War?" Just my opinion on the subject as it appears that these solo films are nothing more than a cash grab if they have no impact on the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In all: I have to give this movie about an 8.5/10. It's not perfect, but it is of good quality for the summer movie season. The bad stuff doesn't weigh it down too much and it actually accomplishes quite a bit.
Batman #40: Endgame Review
I don't know how to really do this without getting into spoilers, so SPOILERS people. When we last left our heroes Batman, the Bat-family, and most of his rogues gallery waded through the huddled, infected masses of Gotham to try to get some of Joker's spinal fluid to get a cure for the poison that he used. As it turns out the whole "final" battle was a bit anticlimactic in an effort to set up the real final battle between Batman and the Joker. This is because the only way to extract a cure was to tap into a final dionesium deposit in the caves under the city. As writer Scott Snyder confirmed both men knew entering the cave that they would not be leaving alive. The final battle was fantastic as the two wrestle with their issues while pummeling one another. After Joker is killed by falling rock, a dionesium sample is extracted and removed from the cave Batman finally decides to lay down for a nap next to his longtime "friend".
I thought this was a really great arch that lived up to the "Endgame" name. This is how I think most Batfans knew things would eventually have to play out as Batman would eventually have to end Joker to preserve life in Gotham. It was refreshing to have a creative team that didn't embrace the constant will-they-or-won't-they of the history of the characters. Snyder & Capullo once again blazed a brand new trail and did it their own way, and I enjoy them all the more for it.
That's all for today folks! I'm sure there is more that I wanted to cover, but I'm ready for an eight hour nap. Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading and your continued support!
See you next time at The Comic Shop!
Monday, April 20, 2015
Getting Personal: Your guide to the Marvel/Fox kerfuffle
Hello and welcome to the actual 4/20 edition of The Comic Shop! I have a feeling Bluntman & Chronic might not be able to put a stop to Cock-knocker's shenanigans until some point tomorrow.
Anyhow....
Marvel has revealed some significant changes to it's upcoming line-up. Among the more noteworthy of these are the cancellation of the "Fantastic Four", the death and replacement of Deadpool, & the new title "Uncanny Inhumans" that is clearly taking the place of another long running "Uncanny". Even more controversial than this was the decision to retcon Wanda and Pietro Maximoff (Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver)'s parentage to remove Magneto.
Most of the vitriol about these changes is born out of the fact that they are the direct result of Marvel not wanting to have anything to do with properties that Fox currently owns the rights to.
As I have said before it is a shame that the two sides couldn't work something out because they have a license to print money at this point. Whether Disney/Marvel agrees with the direction that Fox is going with FF/X-men or not a good capitalist would pocket the money from the merchandising, and go on with their lives. Instead they chose to give the middle finger to people that spend money monthly to keep up with their favorite heroes.
At this point I feel like I have to say DISNEY HAS EVERY RIGHT TO PROTECT THEIR SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT. I may not agree with their course of action as a business, but I will not say it is not without merit. Making Wanda and Pietro Inhumans boosts the marketability and the identity of one of the lesser known Marvel properties instantly. I am a huge comic fan, but I honestly think Black Bolt is the only Inhuman I can name off hand. Add to that Johnny Storm joining the lineup of the Inhumans in the new "Uncanny Inhumans" title, and that is another character that people know and identify with. So no the entire F4 clan isn't going into a black hole never to be seen again as we probably thought when the cancellation was initially announced.
Fox refusing to allow Marvel to use the word mutant in their movies kind of started this whole thing in my opinion. As Marvel had to get creative to use characters THAT THEY OWN AND HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO USE IN AN AVENGERS MOVIE by referring to Quicksilver & Scarlett Witch as "the age or miracles" or some such B.S. It makes every bit of sense to make them Inhumans with the group being promoted Marvel wide from their own anticipated movie, the "Agents of SHIELD" are uncovering Inhuman technology, and as I said the appearance of the twins in "Avengers: AoU".
I am trying my best to see both sides of this, but at the end of the day the easiest way to reconcile it as a fan as that these two uses of the twins take place in different universes in a multiverse. In one universe the original parentage might remain with Magento being their father while in the other Magneto does not even exist. I believe Dan Slott even said on twitter that all movies are elseworld tales...let the comics be comics...let the movies be movies and just try to enjoy the overall experience. Or as one clever Redditor wrote "why would you want to watch a direct adaptation of shit you've already read".
These changes open up the door to a whole new plethora of opportunities for creative and unique storytelling. Comics are one of the most progressive and ever changing forms of media in existence. That's why my personal philosophy is to embrace the changes and find good things about them because they will either be something I look back fondly upon (Superior Spider-man), or they won't last that long anyway.
Just food for thought...I don't expect people to agree with me, but thanks for reading! Thanks for your continued support!
See you next time at The Comic Shop!
Anyhow....
Marvel has revealed some significant changes to it's upcoming line-up. Among the more noteworthy of these are the cancellation of the "Fantastic Four", the death and replacement of Deadpool, & the new title "Uncanny Inhumans" that is clearly taking the place of another long running "Uncanny". Even more controversial than this was the decision to retcon Wanda and Pietro Maximoff (Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver)'s parentage to remove Magneto.
Most of the vitriol about these changes is born out of the fact that they are the direct result of Marvel not wanting to have anything to do with properties that Fox currently owns the rights to.
As I have said before it is a shame that the two sides couldn't work something out because they have a license to print money at this point. Whether Disney/Marvel agrees with the direction that Fox is going with FF/X-men or not a good capitalist would pocket the money from the merchandising, and go on with their lives. Instead they chose to give the middle finger to people that spend money monthly to keep up with their favorite heroes.
At this point I feel like I have to say DISNEY HAS EVERY RIGHT TO PROTECT THEIR SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT. I may not agree with their course of action as a business, but I will not say it is not without merit. Making Wanda and Pietro Inhumans boosts the marketability and the identity of one of the lesser known Marvel properties instantly. I am a huge comic fan, but I honestly think Black Bolt is the only Inhuman I can name off hand. Add to that Johnny Storm joining the lineup of the Inhumans in the new "Uncanny Inhumans" title, and that is another character that people know and identify with. So no the entire F4 clan isn't going into a black hole never to be seen again as we probably thought when the cancellation was initially announced.
Fox refusing to allow Marvel to use the word mutant in their movies kind of started this whole thing in my opinion. As Marvel had to get creative to use characters THAT THEY OWN AND HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO USE IN AN AVENGERS MOVIE by referring to Quicksilver & Scarlett Witch as "the age or miracles" or some such B.S. It makes every bit of sense to make them Inhumans with the group being promoted Marvel wide from their own anticipated movie, the "Agents of SHIELD" are uncovering Inhuman technology, and as I said the appearance of the twins in "Avengers: AoU".
I am trying my best to see both sides of this, but at the end of the day the easiest way to reconcile it as a fan as that these two uses of the twins take place in different universes in a multiverse. In one universe the original parentage might remain with Magento being their father while in the other Magneto does not even exist. I believe Dan Slott even said on twitter that all movies are elseworld tales...let the comics be comics...let the movies be movies and just try to enjoy the overall experience. Or as one clever Redditor wrote "why would you want to watch a direct adaptation of shit you've already read".
These changes open up the door to a whole new plethora of opportunities for creative and unique storytelling. Comics are one of the most progressive and ever changing forms of media in existence. That's why my personal philosophy is to embrace the changes and find good things about them because they will either be something I look back fondly upon (Superior Spider-man), or they won't last that long anyway.
Just food for thought...I don't expect people to agree with me, but thanks for reading! Thanks for your continued support!
See you next time at The Comic Shop!
Sunday, April 19, 2015
So many things to go over......
Hello and welcome to the pre 4/20 edition of The Comic Shop! I know I've been away for a month and missed talking about quite a few things, but other obligations popped up as you understand. On to the comic talk ya?
Daredevil Review: I don't know what more I can add to the discussion that isn't already out on the web. I'm a long time fan of hornhead and his ongoing is one of my favorite comics to date. There have been so many epic stories told about Matt Murdock and his alter ego by luminaries like Frank Miller, Ed Brubaker, Brian Michael Bendis, Ann Nocenti, Kevin Smith, and so many more. Netflix & Marvel have teamed up to bring us the most action packed, entertaining, and compelling superhero television show to date.
One of the things that really appealed to me about the series was how it fit within the MCU while it also would've functioned fine if it was a standalone. We really only know that it takes place within the bigger MCU because of sparse mentions of "the incident" and other little nuggets.
"The incident" or the "battle of NY" as we might know it continues to have a lasting impact on the fictionalized NYC. So much so that much of the villainy are roaches that came out when the light was off take as much as they could. Much like post 9/11 people did profit off of incalculable destruction and chaos. In this story a lot of those people set the framework of the criminal underworld.
That's all I want to say about it, because as I said there isn't much I can add to the discussion. That said just watch it because it is great. The fight choreography is beautiful, the acting is very good to great, & the 13 episode format is the perfect form for superhero storytelling.
Movie Stuffs.......
I don't think I can do justice to the amount of new that has hit in the last month. Here in the last week we got a new peak at "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", "Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice", and "Fantastic Four". I will say I'm trying to hold judgement on "SW" and "BvS" simply because one is coming at Christmas and the other is in 2016. There is still a lot of time to change and adjust things between now and then. "FF" to me looks like a neat sci fi movie with a very loose grasp on the initial concepts of the superheroic group. I know that I would like to see all three, but I want to try to keep positive and not get too deep into things so suffice it to say I'm looking forward to all three.
Comic Stuffs....
Batman & Robin - This series kind of went out with a whimper IMHO. The superpowered Robin storyline petered out relatively quickly. I can't imagine that was the initial play, but we will see what happens when the new post-Convergence titles pick up.
Amazing Spider-man - While "Spiderverse" delivered in many ways and was very entertaining the follow up seems sort of phoned in to me. I still really enjoy what Slott has brought to the table, but I think it may have been to his benefit to sit out a few issues after penning the "Spiderverse" epic.
Daredevil - As Waid's run draws to a close it seems like he's building toward a grand exit with a new villain, and a new status quo for an old villain.
Flash - I'm in the minority that I have enjoyed the post Manapaul run with the scarlet speedster, but even I can admit that it can get a bit absurd with some of the speed force stuff. That said I thought the series left on a perfect note before a 2 month hiatus. The reintroduction of Professor Zoom made me pretty excited to pick things back up later this summer.
That's all I really have for today. I'm working on some topics to cover in the interim while I'm not buying comics, and I will definitely have post season discussions coming for both "Arrow" & "Flash" so be on the lookout for that. Take care and I will see you next time at The Comic Shop!
Daredevil Review: I don't know what more I can add to the discussion that isn't already out on the web. I'm a long time fan of hornhead and his ongoing is one of my favorite comics to date. There have been so many epic stories told about Matt Murdock and his alter ego by luminaries like Frank Miller, Ed Brubaker, Brian Michael Bendis, Ann Nocenti, Kevin Smith, and so many more. Netflix & Marvel have teamed up to bring us the most action packed, entertaining, and compelling superhero television show to date.
One of the things that really appealed to me about the series was how it fit within the MCU while it also would've functioned fine if it was a standalone. We really only know that it takes place within the bigger MCU because of sparse mentions of "the incident" and other little nuggets.
"The incident" or the "battle of NY" as we might know it continues to have a lasting impact on the fictionalized NYC. So much so that much of the villainy are roaches that came out when the light was off take as much as they could. Much like post 9/11 people did profit off of incalculable destruction and chaos. In this story a lot of those people set the framework of the criminal underworld.
That's all I want to say about it, because as I said there isn't much I can add to the discussion. That said just watch it because it is great. The fight choreography is beautiful, the acting is very good to great, & the 13 episode format is the perfect form for superhero storytelling.
Movie Stuffs.......
I don't think I can do justice to the amount of new that has hit in the last month. Here in the last week we got a new peak at "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", "Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice", and "Fantastic Four". I will say I'm trying to hold judgement on "SW" and "BvS" simply because one is coming at Christmas and the other is in 2016. There is still a lot of time to change and adjust things between now and then. "FF" to me looks like a neat sci fi movie with a very loose grasp on the initial concepts of the superheroic group. I know that I would like to see all three, but I want to try to keep positive and not get too deep into things so suffice it to say I'm looking forward to all three.
Comic Stuffs....
Batman & Robin - This series kind of went out with a whimper IMHO. The superpowered Robin storyline petered out relatively quickly. I can't imagine that was the initial play, but we will see what happens when the new post-Convergence titles pick up.
Amazing Spider-man - While "Spiderverse" delivered in many ways and was very entertaining the follow up seems sort of phoned in to me. I still really enjoy what Slott has brought to the table, but I think it may have been to his benefit to sit out a few issues after penning the "Spiderverse" epic.
Daredevil - As Waid's run draws to a close it seems like he's building toward a grand exit with a new villain, and a new status quo for an old villain.
Flash - I'm in the minority that I have enjoyed the post Manapaul run with the scarlet speedster, but even I can admit that it can get a bit absurd with some of the speed force stuff. That said I thought the series left on a perfect note before a 2 month hiatus. The reintroduction of Professor Zoom made me pretty excited to pick things back up later this summer.
That's all I really have for today. I'm working on some topics to cover in the interim while I'm not buying comics, and I will definitely have post season discussions coming for both "Arrow" & "Flash" so be on the lookout for that. Take care and I will see you next time at The Comic Shop!
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
#50....a landmark issue! Excelsior!
Hello and Welcome my dear friends to the 03/18/2015 edition of The Comic Shop!
I say this a lot, but thank you all for your continued support.
This blog came about because "Superman: The Movie" and weekly trips to the comic store inspired my young mind. Comics captured my imagination and gave it license to go places. It made me appreciate the art of storytelling and the skilled craftsmanship of the actual art. After many failed attempts at doing comic art I decided that the words on the page might be the only avenue into the medium that I loved. I have practiced many different writing styles and this blog serves the dual purpose of keeping my mind going and allowing me to vent in my own forum about comics and comic related issues.
From the continued publishing of TCS I have developed ideas for several different comics the first of which I introduced as "Vendetta". There are a couple of others that I'm still kicking around, but my goal as of now is to get "Vendetta" off the ground and go from there. This is the last I will speak of my project until I have something concrete, but it goes without saying that TCS would not exist without the continued support of all of you wonderful people.
IN THE NEWS
First........ DC's June solicitations have created a bit of a stir with regards to the post-Convergence status quo. A bunny-eared, mech-suit, gun-carrying Batman would be a good jumping off point for this discussion as the solicitation promises an "ALL-New Batman". In Snyder we trust, but what in the actual f*ck is this?! I hope upon hope that it will be good and very short term, but it looks like the folks at DC are really excited about this. Superman looks to be doubling down on denim with his new look, and as much as I'd like to complain about it the look kind of fits with the aw shucks farm boy that he is supposed to be. Wonder Woman's new look seems to be in direct response to a little girl that wrote DC to ask why WW always had to fight in her underwear, and good for DC for putting some pants on Diana. Flash looks to be more in line with the ultra-popular television show. I have to say I am most excited about everything "Green Arrow" coming up. They finally ditched the goggles again!!! They also have brought in novelist Ben Percy (who wrote the "Terminus" arc in "Detective Comics") and artist Patrick Zircher (Iron Man, Nightwing, Thunderbolts, and others) as the new creative team. In a reddit discussion Percy promised "no tv show characters and he would be following more of what Lemire did".
Not to be outdone Marvel's solicitations essentially confirmed the cancellation of over 30 ongoing titles (http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/03/18/33-marvel-comics-will-be-cancelled-for-secret-wars). I would hope this does not mean a slew of new #1 issues in the wake of their upcoming "Secret Wars" event, but given the trend by the big two right now it would not surprise me in the least. As a fan of the animated series I am very interested in the upcoming "X-men '92" title as it will pick up where the show left off. It'll be interesting to see if they can pull of Jim Lee quality art without the services of Jim Lee.
Second......... In the television world the upcoming "Arrow/Flash" spinoff show added "Prison Break" actor Dominic Purcell as Heat Wave thereby reuniting him once again with Wentworth Miller's Captain Cold. The show has been described by producers as a "love letter to team-up movies like Ocean's 11" so however that translates to television I'm interested to see.
Third........... Indiana Comic Con was an absolute blast for your humble blogger! Lots of credit to the people that organized the event as it was better than last year's show by leaps and bounds. Not having to wait in gigantic lines or pay ridiculous fees are always a check in the plus column. The longest line that I waited in was to meet Mike Grell, but it was worth it. Denny O'Neil and Mark Waid were both incredibly friendly and humble. I complimented Waid on "Daredevil" and he immediately said "well Chris Samnee is such an incredible artist". That is the definition of professional in my book and a fun little anecdote about the creative process.
REVIEW TIME:
Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters: With a couple of light weeks on the pull list and a little bit of extra money in my pocket meant that I could finally pick up a trade that I had been wanting to read. This is a fantastic run albeit only three issues long. The story chronicles Oliver's journey from Star City to Seattle, and along the way he sheds some of the more campy parts of his character. Gone are the boxing glove arrows from his quiver, and they are quickly replaced with something much more dangerous. One of my favorite parts of this book is the japanese archer Shado. I think she is an amazingly interesting and diverse character. I would love to see DC utilize Shado in an Elektra-type role in her own solo series. While her New 52 characterization is, in my opinion, the lone low spot in Lemiere's run it is something that could be easily tweaked with a dreaded retcon. All credit to Mike Grell for having the vision to make such a fantastic character and such an interesting comic run for GA.
All-New Hawkeye: One of the movements that I missed out on during the Marvel Now! reboot was Matt Fraction's highly praised run on "Hawkeye". It's something that I fully intend to go back and read as it made a ton of "best of" lists during it's run. That said when I read that Jeff Lemire was taking a swing at Marvel's archer I knew I had to give it a look. My first impression was that I was blown away by Ramon Perez's stunning art, which in and of itself was a selling point. The story is also quite compelling as Lemire balances two separate stories. One of which is about a young Clint Barton escaping a foster home with his older brother, and the other focuses on Clint and his archer apprentice Kate Bishop infiltrating a HYDRA base. I did not realize that Clint is now a deaf character, but it adds some difficulty to his banter with the young Bishop. "All-New Hawkeye" is a really fun book, and it is totally worthy of some money love.
Amazing Spider-man #16: On the heels of something as epic as Spidervere one can imagine that going back to regular Spidey stories was quite difficult for writer Dan Slott. This first entry in the post Spiderverse run came off as a bit of a disappointment to me. There is nothing wrong with the art or storytelling per se; however, I am not a fan of this constantly making Peter Parker weaker physically. The introduction of Silk saw PP openly acknowledge that he was weaker and then as part of the ramifications of Spiderverse he openly states that he is now weaker because he had some "life force sucked out of him". I like for my heroes to have vulnerability, but having to read along as PP struggles to go toe-to-toe with The Iguana is painful. Maybe this is an honest attempt to deconstruct the character to build him back up again, but it is troubling to say the least. On the whole I like Slott and I have faith he will do a good job, but it's hard to see the long game with this storyline.
Green Arrow #40: The final issue of Andrew Kreisberg's run with the emerald archer came to a conclusion. I re-read the entire run and I still did not enjoy it. The forced introduction of Felicity and Mia Dearden was atrocious. The dialogue was horrendous. John Diggle's in particular was degraded to "black guy movie dialogue" like "YEAH" "Let's go kick some A$$" and other idiotic drivel. The art was bad as some characters were not drawn the same from panel-to-panel, and sometimes even the visual storytelling seemed unintentionally non-linear. It's like they got it to the printer and realized they forgot some $hit and just said "f*ck it print it anyway". I try really hard not to be negative in this forum, but I was just so disappointed by this run of comics that I felt it was my duty to share my feelings on the subject.
That's all for today! Sorry that #50 wasn't more special, but I just wanted to keep things as normal as possible. Thank you for reading! See you next time at The Comic Shop!
I say this a lot, but thank you all for your continued support.
This blog came about because "Superman: The Movie" and weekly trips to the comic store inspired my young mind. Comics captured my imagination and gave it license to go places. It made me appreciate the art of storytelling and the skilled craftsmanship of the actual art. After many failed attempts at doing comic art I decided that the words on the page might be the only avenue into the medium that I loved. I have practiced many different writing styles and this blog serves the dual purpose of keeping my mind going and allowing me to vent in my own forum about comics and comic related issues.
From the continued publishing of TCS I have developed ideas for several different comics the first of which I introduced as "Vendetta". There are a couple of others that I'm still kicking around, but my goal as of now is to get "Vendetta" off the ground and go from there. This is the last I will speak of my project until I have something concrete, but it goes without saying that TCS would not exist without the continued support of all of you wonderful people.
IN THE NEWS
First........ DC's June solicitations have created a bit of a stir with regards to the post-Convergence status quo. A bunny-eared, mech-suit, gun-carrying Batman would be a good jumping off point for this discussion as the solicitation promises an "ALL-New Batman". In Snyder we trust, but what in the actual f*ck is this?! I hope upon hope that it will be good and very short term, but it looks like the folks at DC are really excited about this. Superman looks to be doubling down on denim with his new look, and as much as I'd like to complain about it the look kind of fits with the aw shucks farm boy that he is supposed to be. Wonder Woman's new look seems to be in direct response to a little girl that wrote DC to ask why WW always had to fight in her underwear, and good for DC for putting some pants on Diana. Flash looks to be more in line with the ultra-popular television show. I have to say I am most excited about everything "Green Arrow" coming up. They finally ditched the goggles again!!! They also have brought in novelist Ben Percy (who wrote the "Terminus" arc in "Detective Comics") and artist Patrick Zircher (Iron Man, Nightwing, Thunderbolts, and others) as the new creative team. In a reddit discussion Percy promised "no tv show characters and he would be following more of what Lemire did".
Not to be outdone Marvel's solicitations essentially confirmed the cancellation of over 30 ongoing titles (http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/03/18/33-marvel-comics-will-be-cancelled-for-secret-wars). I would hope this does not mean a slew of new #1 issues in the wake of their upcoming "Secret Wars" event, but given the trend by the big two right now it would not surprise me in the least. As a fan of the animated series I am very interested in the upcoming "X-men '92" title as it will pick up where the show left off. It'll be interesting to see if they can pull of Jim Lee quality art without the services of Jim Lee.
Second......... In the television world the upcoming "Arrow/Flash" spinoff show added "Prison Break" actor Dominic Purcell as Heat Wave thereby reuniting him once again with Wentworth Miller's Captain Cold. The show has been described by producers as a "love letter to team-up movies like Ocean's 11" so however that translates to television I'm interested to see.
Third........... Indiana Comic Con was an absolute blast for your humble blogger! Lots of credit to the people that organized the event as it was better than last year's show by leaps and bounds. Not having to wait in gigantic lines or pay ridiculous fees are always a check in the plus column. The longest line that I waited in was to meet Mike Grell, but it was worth it. Denny O'Neil and Mark Waid were both incredibly friendly and humble. I complimented Waid on "Daredevil" and he immediately said "well Chris Samnee is such an incredible artist". That is the definition of professional in my book and a fun little anecdote about the creative process.
REVIEW TIME:
Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters: With a couple of light weeks on the pull list and a little bit of extra money in my pocket meant that I could finally pick up a trade that I had been wanting to read. This is a fantastic run albeit only three issues long. The story chronicles Oliver's journey from Star City to Seattle, and along the way he sheds some of the more campy parts of his character. Gone are the boxing glove arrows from his quiver, and they are quickly replaced with something much more dangerous. One of my favorite parts of this book is the japanese archer Shado. I think she is an amazingly interesting and diverse character. I would love to see DC utilize Shado in an Elektra-type role in her own solo series. While her New 52 characterization is, in my opinion, the lone low spot in Lemiere's run it is something that could be easily tweaked with a dreaded retcon. All credit to Mike Grell for having the vision to make such a fantastic character and such an interesting comic run for GA.
All-New Hawkeye: One of the movements that I missed out on during the Marvel Now! reboot was Matt Fraction's highly praised run on "Hawkeye". It's something that I fully intend to go back and read as it made a ton of "best of" lists during it's run. That said when I read that Jeff Lemire was taking a swing at Marvel's archer I knew I had to give it a look. My first impression was that I was blown away by Ramon Perez's stunning art, which in and of itself was a selling point. The story is also quite compelling as Lemire balances two separate stories. One of which is about a young Clint Barton escaping a foster home with his older brother, and the other focuses on Clint and his archer apprentice Kate Bishop infiltrating a HYDRA base. I did not realize that Clint is now a deaf character, but it adds some difficulty to his banter with the young Bishop. "All-New Hawkeye" is a really fun book, and it is totally worthy of some money love.
Amazing Spider-man #16: On the heels of something as epic as Spidervere one can imagine that going back to regular Spidey stories was quite difficult for writer Dan Slott. This first entry in the post Spiderverse run came off as a bit of a disappointment to me. There is nothing wrong with the art or storytelling per se; however, I am not a fan of this constantly making Peter Parker weaker physically. The introduction of Silk saw PP openly acknowledge that he was weaker and then as part of the ramifications of Spiderverse he openly states that he is now weaker because he had some "life force sucked out of him". I like for my heroes to have vulnerability, but having to read along as PP struggles to go toe-to-toe with The Iguana is painful. Maybe this is an honest attempt to deconstruct the character to build him back up again, but it is troubling to say the least. On the whole I like Slott and I have faith he will do a good job, but it's hard to see the long game with this storyline.
Green Arrow #40: The final issue of Andrew Kreisberg's run with the emerald archer came to a conclusion. I re-read the entire run and I still did not enjoy it. The forced introduction of Felicity and Mia Dearden was atrocious. The dialogue was horrendous. John Diggle's in particular was degraded to "black guy movie dialogue" like "YEAH" "Let's go kick some A$$" and other idiotic drivel. The art was bad as some characters were not drawn the same from panel-to-panel, and sometimes even the visual storytelling seemed unintentionally non-linear. It's like they got it to the printer and realized they forgot some $hit and just said "f*ck it print it anyway". I try really hard not to be negative in this forum, but I was just so disappointed by this run of comics that I felt it was my duty to share my feelings on the subject.
That's all for today! Sorry that #50 wasn't more special, but I just wanted to keep things as normal as possible. Thank you for reading! See you next time at The Comic Shop!
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Award shows, Cons, & other observations submitted for your approval....#49
Hello and welcome to the 03/05/15 edition of The Comic Shop!
We may have some new readers in our midst as I took to my personal Facebook to share that I was nearing post #50. I never started this to be about me and I try my best to keep it that way. I thank you all for your continued support and loyalty because I know I wouldn't be spending time doing this if I didn't have the readership that I do. As comedian/actor/sports radio host Jay Mohr tells his radio audience "It ain't me it's we" and I always try to keep that in mind. Anyway lets get on to the comics & stuff!
First...... I can't say I get too upset about the yearly Oscar snubs for superhero movies by the Academy. I mean it's not like a two time winner is playing Batman. It's not like past nominees like Viola Davis, John Malkovich, Josh Brolin, Jennifer Lawrence, J.K. Simmons, Halle Berry, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Felicity Jones, Marion Cotillard, Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, Jamie Fox, Willem Dafoe, and many many others have appeared in superhero movies. It's not like a movie called "Birdman" about an actor struggling to define himself outside of his iconic role won best picture or anything.
As you can tell we are wading pretty deep in to the sarcasm, but you get the point dear reader. Unfortunately, Heath Ledger getting a posthumous best supporting win for his role as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" may be the high watermark for our beloved genre. Personally, I don't need that validation to enjoy what I enjoy but I'd like to think it was more than just a job for these actors.
When making "The Terminator" Arnold Schwarzennegger referred to the film as "Oh, some shit movie I'm doing, will take a couple of weeks". That film has become one of the cornerstones of his career as he continues to milk that pony for a fifth and sixth sequel.
Simply put I just hope that these professionals remember that our dollars matter even if they are not awarded for their effort.
We could as why these snubs are now a yearly occurrence and one of the most common retorts is that they are not original stories. To which I say "Yes, because AVATAR was so freaking original".
Second.... I'm so very excited that the 2nd annual Indiana Comic Con will be upon us in a little over a week. I haven't traveled to any Cons in the past so this is my 2nd time attending a convention. I absolutely love the atmosphere as I am around like minded people, and surrounded by things that I enjoy. I like to see all the unique and interesting cosplayers. I have no illusions that cosplayers keep the lights on and make these conventions as big as they are.
As a comic collector and aspiring writer I am really looking forward to meeting Mark Waid & Denny O'Neil. I've written about Mr. O'Neil and his run with "Green Lantern/Green Arrow" in the past so I won't go too much more into that. Waid has done almost everything in comics including writing 2 grail Superman books in "Superman: Birthright" & "Kingdom Come", and he has authored my one of my favorite currently running comics in "Daredevil". Hopefully I can get them to sign some comics for me, and maybe I can come up with a couple of questions for them as well. Time will tell.
There is plenty more to see as there are game rooms, panels, celebrity signings & photo ops, cosplay, back issues to go through, and many more things. This is not a paid endorsement it's just something that I am really excited about, because it is real and authentic in that Indiana fans made it happen. Check out the website for more info ( http://indianacomiccon.com/indianapolis.html ).
Third..... A lot of rumors on the movie front this week, but nothing is really confirmed as of yet. Most intriguing was the rumor about Drew Goddard being attached to helm "Spectacular Spider-man", but that has been denied for now. The Russo's signing a first look deal with Sony doesn't necessarily mean anything yet as I believe they are still attached to "Captain America: Civil War". Could be interesting though given their history with Donald Glover (a fan favorite to play Miles Morales: Ultimate Spidey), but time will tell.
Fourth.... Obviously, the humble blogger was saddened to hear about the passing of Leonard Nimoy. As an avid Trekkie/Trekker growing up I loved the green-blooded-bastard as much as the rest of the cast. I absolute loved the sci-fi goofiness of the underrated "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" which he directed and I also just learned he directed "Three Men & a Baby" which is surprising. He also advocated (successfully) for equal pay for his costars Walter Koeing and Nichelle Nichols for their work on "Star Trek", was a devout Jew (who spoke Yiddish), a pilot, and he overcame his own personal battle with alcoholism.
Just an amazing man of many talents and by most accounts he was as nice in person as he came across on the screen. My condolences go out to those that loved him. LLAP Mr. Nimoy.
Wrapping Up..... I haven't got to the actual comic shop yet this week, so those reviews will be posted in #50. We will be taking a look at new issues of "Grayson" & "Green Arrow".
Thanks for reading! Best wishes to you all for warmer weather and don't forget to set your clocks back on Sunday! See you next time at The Comic Shop!
We may have some new readers in our midst as I took to my personal Facebook to share that I was nearing post #50. I never started this to be about me and I try my best to keep it that way. I thank you all for your continued support and loyalty because I know I wouldn't be spending time doing this if I didn't have the readership that I do. As comedian/actor/sports radio host Jay Mohr tells his radio audience "It ain't me it's we" and I always try to keep that in mind. Anyway lets get on to the comics & stuff!
First...... I can't say I get too upset about the yearly Oscar snubs for superhero movies by the Academy. I mean it's not like a two time winner is playing Batman. It's not like past nominees like Viola Davis, John Malkovich, Josh Brolin, Jennifer Lawrence, J.K. Simmons, Halle Berry, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Felicity Jones, Marion Cotillard, Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, Jamie Fox, Willem Dafoe, and many many others have appeared in superhero movies. It's not like a movie called "Birdman" about an actor struggling to define himself outside of his iconic role won best picture or anything.
As you can tell we are wading pretty deep in to the sarcasm, but you get the point dear reader. Unfortunately, Heath Ledger getting a posthumous best supporting win for his role as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" may be the high watermark for our beloved genre. Personally, I don't need that validation to enjoy what I enjoy but I'd like to think it was more than just a job for these actors.
When making "The Terminator" Arnold Schwarzennegger referred to the film as "Oh, some shit movie I'm doing, will take a couple of weeks". That film has become one of the cornerstones of his career as he continues to milk that pony for a fifth and sixth sequel.
Simply put I just hope that these professionals remember that our dollars matter even if they are not awarded for their effort.
We could as why these snubs are now a yearly occurrence and one of the most common retorts is that they are not original stories. To which I say "Yes, because AVATAR was so freaking original".
Second.... I'm so very excited that the 2nd annual Indiana Comic Con will be upon us in a little over a week. I haven't traveled to any Cons in the past so this is my 2nd time attending a convention. I absolutely love the atmosphere as I am around like minded people, and surrounded by things that I enjoy. I like to see all the unique and interesting cosplayers. I have no illusions that cosplayers keep the lights on and make these conventions as big as they are.
As a comic collector and aspiring writer I am really looking forward to meeting Mark Waid & Denny O'Neil. I've written about Mr. O'Neil and his run with "Green Lantern/Green Arrow" in the past so I won't go too much more into that. Waid has done almost everything in comics including writing 2 grail Superman books in "Superman: Birthright" & "Kingdom Come", and he has authored my one of my favorite currently running comics in "Daredevil". Hopefully I can get them to sign some comics for me, and maybe I can come up with a couple of questions for them as well. Time will tell.
There is plenty more to see as there are game rooms, panels, celebrity signings & photo ops, cosplay, back issues to go through, and many more things. This is not a paid endorsement it's just something that I am really excited about, because it is real and authentic in that Indiana fans made it happen. Check out the website for more info ( http://indianacomiccon.com/indianapolis.html ).
Third..... A lot of rumors on the movie front this week, but nothing is really confirmed as of yet. Most intriguing was the rumor about Drew Goddard being attached to helm "Spectacular Spider-man", but that has been denied for now. The Russo's signing a first look deal with Sony doesn't necessarily mean anything yet as I believe they are still attached to "Captain America: Civil War". Could be interesting though given their history with Donald Glover (a fan favorite to play Miles Morales: Ultimate Spidey), but time will tell.
Fourth.... Obviously, the humble blogger was saddened to hear about the passing of Leonard Nimoy. As an avid Trekkie/Trekker growing up I loved the green-blooded-bastard as much as the rest of the cast. I absolute loved the sci-fi goofiness of the underrated "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" which he directed and I also just learned he directed "Three Men & a Baby" which is surprising. He also advocated (successfully) for equal pay for his costars Walter Koeing and Nichelle Nichols for their work on "Star Trek", was a devout Jew (who spoke Yiddish), a pilot, and he overcame his own personal battle with alcoholism.
Just an amazing man of many talents and by most accounts he was as nice in person as he came across on the screen. My condolences go out to those that loved him. LLAP Mr. Nimoy.
Wrapping Up..... I haven't got to the actual comic shop yet this week, so those reviews will be posted in #50. We will be taking a look at new issues of "Grayson" & "Green Arrow".
Thanks for reading! Best wishes to you all for warmer weather and don't forget to set your clocks back on Sunday! See you next time at The Comic Shop!
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Spider-Gwen and Silk reviews....some other stuff too
Hello and welcome to yet another edition of The Comic Shop blog! It's February 26th, snowy, and cold here in the heartland of America I hope wherever you are you are warm and safe reading this. Lets get on to the comic stuff ya?!
First.... Lot more on my pull list these last few weeks than usual. While two weeks ago I only picked up the latest issue of "Batman & Robin" & "Silk" #1 this week I picked up "Flash", "Daredevil", "Amazing Spider-man", "Spider-Gwen" and the penultimate chapter of the "Batman" endgame saga. I'm going to wait to share my thoughts on "Endgame" when we see what the ultimate payoff is to that storyline, but I'm happy to share my thoughts on the others.
Batman & Robin - This book is winding down and it's sad because on the whole it's been a good run. I will say the more fantastical storylines with Batman are not really my cup of tea, but overall it's been good. This week the Justice League was introduced to an unimpressed Super-Robin and they all set off on a mission immediately.
Flash - I had some serious concerns when Francis Manapaul & Brian Buccatello quit writing "The Flash" and moved on to "Detective Comics". The new run has not been without it's hiccups but this current storyline is the fun, sci-fi, extraordinary type of storytelling that us Flash fans have come to expect. In this current storyline Barry is stuck in the very savage land-ish (think X-men) speed force while a future/murderous Barry has usurped his place in the present. I don't want to spoil too much, but I will say this book packs a lot of punch for $2.99 a pop.
Daredevil - Waid has crafted one of my favorite runs with hornhead ever and I'm sad that it is also coming to the end. This issue kicked off his final storyline with DD, and continues to capture the fun, charm, and humorous storytelling that has been present throughout Waid's time with the character.
Amazing Spider-man - This last issue of ASM was the epilogue to the massive "Spider Verse" event. On the whole it was a great event and this was still an entertaining issue. It highlights a problem (albeit a good one) that they have introduced a LOT of spider characters that are infinitely more interesting than Mr. Parker has been for the last few years. This could be a reason why Disney/Marvel is being rumored to discuss a non-PP for their MCU Spider-man. Other than Alpha, which was crap on crap, Superior Spidey, Miles, Silk, Spider-Gwen, and so many more on the great web have been more intriguing than our old buddy Peter. Maybe it is because Author Dan Slott's first tour of duty cancelled out the most interesting character development of PP since his black costume (his unmasking, the subsequent shooting of Aunt May by Crossbones, switching back to the black to become more angry and vengeful, etc.) I still love my ASM, but as you will see I like some of the new character inventions as well.
Silk - I rolled my eyes at this character when she made her debut. "Oh great another character debut in a Spider-man comic that is like Spidey but much more powerful". I'll have to say though the first issue was a fun read as this is a character that is really fleshed out from her introduction. She is in search of her parents that have gone missing since she confined herself to a bunker to avoid the Inheritors, she has a photographic memory so her flashbacks are a part of her narrative, and she works for Fact News (lol) and it's new star J. Jonah Jameson. She has a complicated lust-filled relationship with PP, and is a young woman searching for her place in the world. It was a really great first issue. I'm not sure if I'll keep with it just because of budget concerns, but I would definitely recommend it.
Spider-Gwen - Girl power in full effect with the new big tent pole releases from Marvel. Set in an alternate universe where a radioactive Spider bit Gwen instead of Peter and she subsequently couldn't save Peter from his untimely demise. This is a really cool alt universe tale if there ever was one. In the first issue alone we learn that Capt. Stacy is also alive and well, Gwen is the former drummer of a newly broken-through all girl band called the Mary Janes, & that the media blames Spider-Gwen (that universe's Spider-woman) for PP's death. Also Frank Castle may or may not be a dirty cop, which is different. In all it's not a lot of new groundbreaking ideas, but the execution is there for sure. I love the costume design and I think the creative team has the right voice for the girl superhero. Kudos all around!
Second.... Just broken this evening by Deadline the CW is in the process of developing a third superhero show that will feature Brandon Routh (Ray Palmer/Atom), Wentworth Miller (Captain Cold), Victor Garber (Dr. Martin Stein aka the brains of Firestorm), and Caity Lotz (Canary?). After the amazing way that "The Flash" crew pulled off Firestorm I am really happy that it is now possible that we will see him in a starring role. Not really sure what all of these characters will have to do with one another, but it could be possible that it will be a Brave & and the Bold style series. Meaning with "Arrow" and "Flash" so much has been established that this series could be used to fill in the blanks and move forward other characters that have been introduced in the cornerstone series'. Think more along the lines of an anthology.
Third... If you didn't see the gritty Power/Rangers short film on YouTube you are going to have to look somewhere else. Saban has gotten the acclaimed short film pulled for copyright concerns even though it was a non for profit movie. Saban was worried that the dark take would ruin their valuable property. I was a huge fan of the show as a kid, and I really enjoyed the short as it was the antithesis of the original show. That said I can see Saban's concern with a long rumored reboot movie coming up. UPDATE 02/28/15: Both versions of the Power/Rangers short (NSFW & SFW) have returned to YouTube.
Fourth... I loved the new Aquaman look and I have no doubt that it will not be as dark as the initial image. Snyder is 100% style over substance so the sepia toned teaser images were to be expected. If you look long enough on the internet you can find pictures where the color saturation is up to the normal levels to see what it will look like in color.
There were a lot of concern about WW's garb when it first came out as well, but even Supes looks brighter this go round so maybe Snyder gets that is what people want to see.
At this point I'm just really excited to see a Miller-ish Batfleck.
Fifth... Regarding this weeks "Arrow" a lot of vitriol online for the fact that (Spoiler) asked (Spoiler) to be the next (Spoiler). In large part because it was eerily reminiscent of the "Son of the Demon" storyline. To those people I say kick rocks. If they wanted to adapt the storyline for Batman they would've done it by now first of all, and secondly the producers of "Arrow" have made no bones about the fact that the show from it's initial inception was inspired by "The Dark Knight Trilogy". (Spoiler) is not a Batman only villain so it's time to get over the fact that he is on this season of "Arrow".
The Shippers (Olicity fans?) were also up and arms as in this episode Felicity found herself with someone who was decidedly NOT Oliver Queen. While I appreciate how passionate this minority of fans are I applaud the producers for not allowing them to hijack the creative process of the show. Whether they end up together by series end or not I think it's easy to see from any logical standpoint at this point that dark & brooding Ollie is not a good match for comic relief Felicity at this point in time.
Sixth... CBS's "Supergirl" is casting a Superman which gives me the opportunity to ask "What is Henry Cavill doing right now?" One would think that it would be pretty easy for him to film a couple of cameos. In doing so WB/DC could throw a bone to the best part of their multimedia right now barring Batman video games & movies. I speak, of course, of their television universe which to this point has been wildly popular. But what the hell do I know I'm just a life long comic fan that can't get enough of this crap.
Seventh... As I spoke about earlier on my FB page I am currently working out ideas for my very own Graphic Novel series to be tentatively titled "Vendetta". As I can't draw I may run some sort of contest find a fellow collaborator to get this idea off of the ground. What I have so far is that I want to go for a hard boiled/intrigue/globe trotting story. It will feature a former Navy SEAL/some such special ops traveling the world to find his brother who was lost on a classified mission. When he can't get answers from his own government he takes matters into his own hands using his years of training to elude his own government & get into adventures in exotic locales and help people along the way.
As much as I love superhero comics I love the noir storytelling of "Sin City" and others just as much. I wanted to stay away from as many tropes as I could (defending a city, definitely dead family members, etc.)
Like I said I'm still working out some details, putting together a rough idea of the chain of events, developing character names, situations etc. When that is all done I will post a few pages in a screenplay format that I will then accept submissions on for different artists. Then I will have a face-to-face to work out the creative process and we will go from there if it is a good fit.
I'd like to launch a KickStarter page for this project before 2016, but I don't want to rush anything. I'm not hoping to make a career out of this or even a lot of money, but writing a comic has been a dream of mine that I'd like to see come true. So stay tuned as more details on "Vendetta" will be forthcoming.
I think that's all for today. Thank you for reading! I'll see you next time at The Comic Shop!
First.... Lot more on my pull list these last few weeks than usual. While two weeks ago I only picked up the latest issue of "Batman & Robin" & "Silk" #1 this week I picked up "Flash", "Daredevil", "Amazing Spider-man", "Spider-Gwen" and the penultimate chapter of the "Batman" endgame saga. I'm going to wait to share my thoughts on "Endgame" when we see what the ultimate payoff is to that storyline, but I'm happy to share my thoughts on the others.
Batman & Robin - This book is winding down and it's sad because on the whole it's been a good run. I will say the more fantastical storylines with Batman are not really my cup of tea, but overall it's been good. This week the Justice League was introduced to an unimpressed Super-Robin and they all set off on a mission immediately.
Flash - I had some serious concerns when Francis Manapaul & Brian Buccatello quit writing "The Flash" and moved on to "Detective Comics". The new run has not been without it's hiccups but this current storyline is the fun, sci-fi, extraordinary type of storytelling that us Flash fans have come to expect. In this current storyline Barry is stuck in the very savage land-ish (think X-men) speed force while a future/murderous Barry has usurped his place in the present. I don't want to spoil too much, but I will say this book packs a lot of punch for $2.99 a pop.
Daredevil - Waid has crafted one of my favorite runs with hornhead ever and I'm sad that it is also coming to the end. This issue kicked off his final storyline with DD, and continues to capture the fun, charm, and humorous storytelling that has been present throughout Waid's time with the character.
Amazing Spider-man - This last issue of ASM was the epilogue to the massive "Spider Verse" event. On the whole it was a great event and this was still an entertaining issue. It highlights a problem (albeit a good one) that they have introduced a LOT of spider characters that are infinitely more interesting than Mr. Parker has been for the last few years. This could be a reason why Disney/Marvel is being rumored to discuss a non-PP for their MCU Spider-man. Other than Alpha, which was crap on crap, Superior Spidey, Miles, Silk, Spider-Gwen, and so many more on the great web have been more intriguing than our old buddy Peter. Maybe it is because Author Dan Slott's first tour of duty cancelled out the most interesting character development of PP since his black costume (his unmasking, the subsequent shooting of Aunt May by Crossbones, switching back to the black to become more angry and vengeful, etc.) I still love my ASM, but as you will see I like some of the new character inventions as well.
Silk - I rolled my eyes at this character when she made her debut. "Oh great another character debut in a Spider-man comic that is like Spidey but much more powerful". I'll have to say though the first issue was a fun read as this is a character that is really fleshed out from her introduction. She is in search of her parents that have gone missing since she confined herself to a bunker to avoid the Inheritors, she has a photographic memory so her flashbacks are a part of her narrative, and she works for Fact News (lol) and it's new star J. Jonah Jameson. She has a complicated lust-filled relationship with PP, and is a young woman searching for her place in the world. It was a really great first issue. I'm not sure if I'll keep with it just because of budget concerns, but I would definitely recommend it.
Spider-Gwen - Girl power in full effect with the new big tent pole releases from Marvel. Set in an alternate universe where a radioactive Spider bit Gwen instead of Peter and she subsequently couldn't save Peter from his untimely demise. This is a really cool alt universe tale if there ever was one. In the first issue alone we learn that Capt. Stacy is also alive and well, Gwen is the former drummer of a newly broken-through all girl band called the Mary Janes, & that the media blames Spider-Gwen (that universe's Spider-woman) for PP's death. Also Frank Castle may or may not be a dirty cop, which is different. In all it's not a lot of new groundbreaking ideas, but the execution is there for sure. I love the costume design and I think the creative team has the right voice for the girl superhero. Kudos all around!
Second.... Just broken this evening by Deadline the CW is in the process of developing a third superhero show that will feature Brandon Routh (Ray Palmer/Atom), Wentworth Miller (Captain Cold), Victor Garber (Dr. Martin Stein aka the brains of Firestorm), and Caity Lotz (Canary?). After the amazing way that "The Flash" crew pulled off Firestorm I am really happy that it is now possible that we will see him in a starring role. Not really sure what all of these characters will have to do with one another, but it could be possible that it will be a Brave & and the Bold style series. Meaning with "Arrow" and "Flash" so much has been established that this series could be used to fill in the blanks and move forward other characters that have been introduced in the cornerstone series'. Think more along the lines of an anthology.
Third... If you didn't see the gritty Power/Rangers short film on YouTube you are going to have to look somewhere else. Saban has gotten the acclaimed short film pulled for copyright concerns even though it was a non for profit movie. Saban was worried that the dark take would ruin their valuable property. I was a huge fan of the show as a kid, and I really enjoyed the short as it was the antithesis of the original show. That said I can see Saban's concern with a long rumored reboot movie coming up. UPDATE 02/28/15: Both versions of the Power/Rangers short (NSFW & SFW) have returned to YouTube.
Fourth... I loved the new Aquaman look and I have no doubt that it will not be as dark as the initial image. Snyder is 100% style over substance so the sepia toned teaser images were to be expected. If you look long enough on the internet you can find pictures where the color saturation is up to the normal levels to see what it will look like in color.
There were a lot of concern about WW's garb when it first came out as well, but even Supes looks brighter this go round so maybe Snyder gets that is what people want to see.
At this point I'm just really excited to see a Miller-ish Batfleck.
Fifth... Regarding this weeks "Arrow" a lot of vitriol online for the fact that (Spoiler) asked (Spoiler) to be the next (Spoiler). In large part because it was eerily reminiscent of the "Son of the Demon" storyline. To those people I say kick rocks. If they wanted to adapt the storyline for Batman they would've done it by now first of all, and secondly the producers of "Arrow" have made no bones about the fact that the show from it's initial inception was inspired by "The Dark Knight Trilogy". (Spoiler) is not a Batman only villain so it's time to get over the fact that he is on this season of "Arrow".
The Shippers (Olicity fans?) were also up and arms as in this episode Felicity found herself with someone who was decidedly NOT Oliver Queen. While I appreciate how passionate this minority of fans are I applaud the producers for not allowing them to hijack the creative process of the show. Whether they end up together by series end or not I think it's easy to see from any logical standpoint at this point that dark & brooding Ollie is not a good match for comic relief Felicity at this point in time.
Sixth... CBS's "Supergirl" is casting a Superman which gives me the opportunity to ask "What is Henry Cavill doing right now?" One would think that it would be pretty easy for him to film a couple of cameos. In doing so WB/DC could throw a bone to the best part of their multimedia right now barring Batman video games & movies. I speak, of course, of their television universe which to this point has been wildly popular. But what the hell do I know I'm just a life long comic fan that can't get enough of this crap.
Seventh... As I spoke about earlier on my FB page I am currently working out ideas for my very own Graphic Novel series to be tentatively titled "Vendetta". As I can't draw I may run some sort of contest find a fellow collaborator to get this idea off of the ground. What I have so far is that I want to go for a hard boiled/intrigue/globe trotting story. It will feature a former Navy SEAL/some such special ops traveling the world to find his brother who was lost on a classified mission. When he can't get answers from his own government he takes matters into his own hands using his years of training to elude his own government & get into adventures in exotic locales and help people along the way.
As much as I love superhero comics I love the noir storytelling of "Sin City" and others just as much. I wanted to stay away from as many tropes as I could (defending a city, definitely dead family members, etc.)
Like I said I'm still working out some details, putting together a rough idea of the chain of events, developing character names, situations etc. When that is all done I will post a few pages in a screenplay format that I will then accept submissions on for different artists. Then I will have a face-to-face to work out the creative process and we will go from there if it is a good fit.
I'd like to launch a KickStarter page for this project before 2016, but I don't want to rush anything. I'm not hoping to make a career out of this or even a lot of money, but writing a comic has been a dream of mine that I'd like to see come true. So stay tuned as more details on "Vendetta" will be forthcoming.
I think that's all for today. Thank you for reading! I'll see you next time at The Comic Shop!
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
A confession from your humble blogger and other things to make you go "meh"....
Hello and welcome to the 02/18/15 edition of The Comic Shop!
Just a few entries to go until #50! Not sure what I'm going to do for it, but it is a significant milestone for me that I have kept with this for as long as I have so I feel like celebrating. On to today's entry....
Confession....... I stopped watching "Gotham" at the midseason break. It's all a matter of opinion for sure, but the show just doesn't meet criteria for something that I want to make time for. These superhero tangent shows in general don't give me the warm & tingle in my nether regions. Agents of SHIELD took a good long while to for me to warm up to, but I think I've pinpointed why I prefer the full out superhero content of shows like "Arrow", "Flash", or even "Daredevil".
It all goes back to a Frank Miller quote about how he approached writing superheroes, "I don't need to see sweat patches under Superman's arms. I want to see him fly." I apply this philosophy in my approach to determining if anything is worth my time. What makes superheroes interesting is not their origin or their villains origins, but that they have extraordinary skills and abilities and they continue to choose them to do good for mankind. I don't need to see Cobblepot rise through the ranks to appreciate why he is a pragmatic sociopath. As I've said a million times I would've much rather seen a "Zero Year"/"Year One" hybrid adaptation in the "Arrow" style. I think it would've been a feather in the cap of WB/DC TV and further helped them to cash in on the Dark Knight. They didn't choose that course of action and I'm fine with that, but I will not be speaking anymore about this show until I invariably binge-watch it when it comes to Netflix. Then under article II of The Comicstitution I reserve the right to completely flip-flop my opinion.
As I posted on FB (https://www.facebook.com/thecomicshopblog/)....Wednesday night's episode of "The Flash" entitled "Fallout" was easily the best episode of the series so far. There was so much accomplished in the name of moving the plot forward, and teasing some future potential events. Just an absolute packed-to-the-gills hour of television. I would still be a fan of all of these hour-long dramas going to the "Breaking Bad" - "Sons of Anarchy" route of having only 13 episodes per season. There is still a LOT of filler to make up 22-23 episodes, but it's a relatively small complaint as I am really enjoying the ride with the CW shows so far.
Movie news......Gina Carano, and Morena Baccarin have been added to the cast of the upcoming Fox film "Deadpool". That will make for two very appealing additions for the fellas in the audience. I'm sure there will be more casting announced soon.
Young Actor Kodi Smit-McPhee will don the blue paint and teleport through walls as Nightcrawler in "X-men: Apocalypse". It is truly unfortunate that Alan Cumming and Director Bryan Singer had a falling out of some kind as Cumming was one of the true standouts of the first run of X-Films. Time will tell if this young man has the same charisma in the role.
Not much else I want to touch on at this time.....hope you all remain safe as we continue to have sub zero temps and annoying snowfall here in the midwest and all around the country. Happy Reading and see you next time at The Comic Shop!!
Just a few entries to go until #50! Not sure what I'm going to do for it, but it is a significant milestone for me that I have kept with this for as long as I have so I feel like celebrating. On to today's entry....
Confession....... I stopped watching "Gotham" at the midseason break. It's all a matter of opinion for sure, but the show just doesn't meet criteria for something that I want to make time for. These superhero tangent shows in general don't give me the warm & tingle in my nether regions. Agents of SHIELD took a good long while to for me to warm up to, but I think I've pinpointed why I prefer the full out superhero content of shows like "Arrow", "Flash", or even "Daredevil".
It all goes back to a Frank Miller quote about how he approached writing superheroes, "I don't need to see sweat patches under Superman's arms. I want to see him fly." I apply this philosophy in my approach to determining if anything is worth my time. What makes superheroes interesting is not their origin or their villains origins, but that they have extraordinary skills and abilities and they continue to choose them to do good for mankind. I don't need to see Cobblepot rise through the ranks to appreciate why he is a pragmatic sociopath. As I've said a million times I would've much rather seen a "Zero Year"/"Year One" hybrid adaptation in the "Arrow" style. I think it would've been a feather in the cap of WB/DC TV and further helped them to cash in on the Dark Knight. They didn't choose that course of action and I'm fine with that, but I will not be speaking anymore about this show until I invariably binge-watch it when it comes to Netflix. Then under article II of The Comicstitution I reserve the right to completely flip-flop my opinion.
As I posted on FB (https://www.facebook.com/thecomicshopblog/)....Wednesday night's episode of "The Flash" entitled "Fallout" was easily the best episode of the series so far. There was so much accomplished in the name of moving the plot forward, and teasing some future potential events. Just an absolute packed-to-the-gills hour of television. I would still be a fan of all of these hour-long dramas going to the "Breaking Bad" - "Sons of Anarchy" route of having only 13 episodes per season. There is still a LOT of filler to make up 22-23 episodes, but it's a relatively small complaint as I am really enjoying the ride with the CW shows so far.
Movie news......Gina Carano, and Morena Baccarin have been added to the cast of the upcoming Fox film "Deadpool". That will make for two very appealing additions for the fellas in the audience. I'm sure there will be more casting announced soon.
Young Actor Kodi Smit-McPhee will don the blue paint and teleport through walls as Nightcrawler in "X-men: Apocalypse". It is truly unfortunate that Alan Cumming and Director Bryan Singer had a falling out of some kind as Cumming was one of the true standouts of the first run of X-Films. Time will tell if this young man has the same charisma in the role.
Not much else I want to touch on at this time.....hope you all remain safe as we continue to have sub zero temps and annoying snowfall here in the midwest and all around the country. Happy Reading and see you next time at The Comic Shop!!
Thursday, February 12, 2015
"No matter how far back you pull a bow string it can only move....forward"
Hello and Welcome to a brand new edition of The Comic Shop!
I have to get a tiny bit of business out of the way first here before we get to the topics as they come to me. My "WB/DC WTF?" post is now pretty much irrelevant with the decision by the brass to include Black Adam in the main cinematic plans.
My reservations still remain about leaving the superb Stephen Amell & Grant Gustin out of their movie plans. My main bone of contention is with their choice in Flash, Ezra Miller. I really don't know anything about him, but I do judge a book by the cover now and again. In all fairness I wasn't the biggest Gustin fan until I saw his fun portrayal of the Scarlet Speedster on the tv series. We will see what happens, but I'm still waiting to be impressed.
First....I was fortunate enough to be able to meet Neal freaking Adams on Wednesday night at a LCS. He was a barrel of laughs and it was a real honor to meet a man that has meant so much to the comics industry. His team with Denny O'neil on Green Lantern/Green Arrow and later on Batman helped to reinvigorate the comic industry after it got lost in the camp of the 60's. If you want to meet the other half of this dynamic duo Denny O'neil will be at the Indiana Comic Con in March.
Second...You might have heard by now but Sony & Marvel have come to an agreement regarding the use of Spider-man in future MCU movies. Andrew Garfield will have to like lasagna and hate Mondays on his own time because he will no longer be donning the red & blue spandex. I'm sad to see him go, but I think for the purposes of the films and to cultivate the future of the MCU they need to skew younger with whoever they cast as Peter Parker. I'd be okay with Sony running an Ultimate line with Donald Glover as Miles if I'm just spitballing as well. It will be interesting to see what this opens the door for. Agent (Flash Thompson) Venom jet setting the galaxy with the Guardians? Norman Osborn donning the Iron Patriot armor? The possibility is there for several efficient uses of a shared universe.
Third....I mentioned it on my FB page, but I think it's really cool how involved Ryan Reynolds is in the production of the forthcoming "Deadpool" movie. I'm not the biggest fan of the merc with the mouth, but I thought that Reynold's performance in the abysmal "X-men Origins: Wolverine" was one of the few high points. The released test footage did a bit to whet the old blogger's appetite also.
Fourth...Rumors abound on upcoming movie projects. One that seems to carry some water is that Angelina Jolie is being wooed to put her talents to use behind the camera for the upcoming "Captain Marvel" project. It is said that Marvel is set on having a female director for the film, so make of that what you will dear reader.
Fifth....Big changes coming at the Big Two in the coming months as Marvel sets their sights on a new iteration of the "Secret Wars" franchise & DC has their next crisis disguised as the continuity altering "Convergence" event. I'm hoping to not be retconned out of too many of my hard earned dollars, so I'm staying on the fence as much as possible with both of these events.
Discussion Point......However you may feel about the Marvel/Sony agreement to bring Spidey into the Avengers fold I have to say that I hope X-Men/FF stay with Fox. Not that everything that they have done with these two franchises has been particularly great mind you, but I think it gives more opportunity for other properties to shine. We are very fortunate to live in a world where we get two to three of these big summer superhero movies every year. I don't know if we would ever get movies like "Guardians", "Ant-Man", or "Captain Marvel" with X-men and FF under the Disney banner. Even more I doubt "Iron Man" would've been their first foray into filmmaking.
Fox has their own continuity and they more than proved they can make good movies with "X-men: First Class" & "X-men: Days of Future Past". Of course we'd like to see faithful adaptations of "Old Man Logan" or any other number of Marvel comic adaptations, but if we look back honestly none of these films have been particularly faithful. Those properties going back to Marvel would mean starting over at square one, and Joe Pesci help me if I have to see another damn origin story!!
Maybe our best hope is one day both studios will reconcile their differences and make a kickass "Secret Wars" movie. Only time will tell.
Everybody loves Spidey..... "Spiderverse" came to a satisfying conclusion this week. I have to say I had my doubts about this event and even mulled sitting it out; however, it really was an engaging story with a satisfying conclusion. I won't ruin anything, but I think an investment will be made in my future in the entire collection of this web-head event.
From the Quiver of Arrow...."Canaries" may have been one of the best "Arrow" episodes I have seen yet. I was not impressed by this season at the beginning, but I feel that there has been a lot of weight added to the weekly happenings. John Barrowman's Malcom Merlyn, Paul Blackthorne's Quentin Lance, Katie Cassidy's Dinah Laurel Lance, and Colton Haynes' Roy Harper all were burdened with a heavy share of emotional baggage. Capt. Lance falling back to his chair without a real word said with his daughter had the humble blogger by the heart strings. Oliver (Stephen Amell) continues to define what it means for him to be a hero, and he still struggles to understand his relationship with those closest to him. Like I said pre-mid season break I was falling out of love with the show, but I'm back in a big way now.
In a Flash....The show is still a blast to watch; however, I would caution the producers to take their time and get Gorilla Grodd right. I was not blown away by his first appearance, and I hope that it was a tease to a full reveal as the big bad in season two. I have absolute faith in the crew being able to pull it off, but Flash has a cadre of villains that they can fill in episodes with until they can feature Grodd proper.
That's all for today! The countdown continues to the 50th edition of The Comic Shop! Thank you for joining in! Thank you for reading and thank you for your continued support! This is strictly because I enjoy it, and I apologize if my english/grammar is not always AP style. See you next time at The Comic Shop!
I have to get a tiny bit of business out of the way first here before we get to the topics as they come to me. My "WB/DC WTF?" post is now pretty much irrelevant with the decision by the brass to include Black Adam in the main cinematic plans.
My reservations still remain about leaving the superb Stephen Amell & Grant Gustin out of their movie plans. My main bone of contention is with their choice in Flash, Ezra Miller. I really don't know anything about him, but I do judge a book by the cover now and again. In all fairness I wasn't the biggest Gustin fan until I saw his fun portrayal of the Scarlet Speedster on the tv series. We will see what happens, but I'm still waiting to be impressed.
First....I was fortunate enough to be able to meet Neal freaking Adams on Wednesday night at a LCS. He was a barrel of laughs and it was a real honor to meet a man that has meant so much to the comics industry. His team with Denny O'neil on Green Lantern/Green Arrow and later on Batman helped to reinvigorate the comic industry after it got lost in the camp of the 60's. If you want to meet the other half of this dynamic duo Denny O'neil will be at the Indiana Comic Con in March.
Second...You might have heard by now but Sony & Marvel have come to an agreement regarding the use of Spider-man in future MCU movies. Andrew Garfield will have to like lasagna and hate Mondays on his own time because he will no longer be donning the red & blue spandex. I'm sad to see him go, but I think for the purposes of the films and to cultivate the future of the MCU they need to skew younger with whoever they cast as Peter Parker. I'd be okay with Sony running an Ultimate line with Donald Glover as Miles if I'm just spitballing as well. It will be interesting to see what this opens the door for. Agent (Flash Thompson) Venom jet setting the galaxy with the Guardians? Norman Osborn donning the Iron Patriot armor? The possibility is there for several efficient uses of a shared universe.
Third....I mentioned it on my FB page, but I think it's really cool how involved Ryan Reynolds is in the production of the forthcoming "Deadpool" movie. I'm not the biggest fan of the merc with the mouth, but I thought that Reynold's performance in the abysmal "X-men Origins: Wolverine" was one of the few high points. The released test footage did a bit to whet the old blogger's appetite also.
Fourth...Rumors abound on upcoming movie projects. One that seems to carry some water is that Angelina Jolie is being wooed to put her talents to use behind the camera for the upcoming "Captain Marvel" project. It is said that Marvel is set on having a female director for the film, so make of that what you will dear reader.
Fifth....Big changes coming at the Big Two in the coming months as Marvel sets their sights on a new iteration of the "Secret Wars" franchise & DC has their next crisis disguised as the continuity altering "Convergence" event. I'm hoping to not be retconned out of too many of my hard earned dollars, so I'm staying on the fence as much as possible with both of these events.
Discussion Point......However you may feel about the Marvel/Sony agreement to bring Spidey into the Avengers fold I have to say that I hope X-Men/FF stay with Fox. Not that everything that they have done with these two franchises has been particularly great mind you, but I think it gives more opportunity for other properties to shine. We are very fortunate to live in a world where we get two to three of these big summer superhero movies every year. I don't know if we would ever get movies like "Guardians", "Ant-Man", or "Captain Marvel" with X-men and FF under the Disney banner. Even more I doubt "Iron Man" would've been their first foray into filmmaking.
Fox has their own continuity and they more than proved they can make good movies with "X-men: First Class" & "X-men: Days of Future Past". Of course we'd like to see faithful adaptations of "Old Man Logan" or any other number of Marvel comic adaptations, but if we look back honestly none of these films have been particularly faithful. Those properties going back to Marvel would mean starting over at square one, and Joe Pesci help me if I have to see another damn origin story!!
Maybe our best hope is one day both studios will reconcile their differences and make a kickass "Secret Wars" movie. Only time will tell.
Everybody loves Spidey..... "Spiderverse" came to a satisfying conclusion this week. I have to say I had my doubts about this event and even mulled sitting it out; however, it really was an engaging story with a satisfying conclusion. I won't ruin anything, but I think an investment will be made in my future in the entire collection of this web-head event.
From the Quiver of Arrow...."Canaries" may have been one of the best "Arrow" episodes I have seen yet. I was not impressed by this season at the beginning, but I feel that there has been a lot of weight added to the weekly happenings. John Barrowman's Malcom Merlyn, Paul Blackthorne's Quentin Lance, Katie Cassidy's Dinah Laurel Lance, and Colton Haynes' Roy Harper all were burdened with a heavy share of emotional baggage. Capt. Lance falling back to his chair without a real word said with his daughter had the humble blogger by the heart strings. Oliver (Stephen Amell) continues to define what it means for him to be a hero, and he still struggles to understand his relationship with those closest to him. Like I said pre-mid season break I was falling out of love with the show, but I'm back in a big way now.
In a Flash....The show is still a blast to watch; however, I would caution the producers to take their time and get Gorilla Grodd right. I was not blown away by his first appearance, and I hope that it was a tease to a full reveal as the big bad in season two. I have absolute faith in the crew being able to pull it off, but Flash has a cadre of villains that they can fill in episodes with until they can feature Grodd proper.
That's all for today! The countdown continues to the 50th edition of The Comic Shop! Thank you for joining in! Thank you for reading and thank you for your continued support! This is strictly because I enjoy it, and I apologize if my english/grammar is not always AP style. See you next time at The Comic Shop!
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
To buy or not to buy that is the question...
Hello and welcome to The Comic Shop 02/04/15 edition!
I won't be hitting on the news items today as I have tried to keep up with them on my Facebook page for this site. I will say I thought the "Daredevil" trailer set my expectations even higher for the finished product in April. While I would've loved to see the proposed noir take on film I think this will be a suitable substitute. This is the perfect character for Marvel/Disney to try their hand at dark & gritty with and that seems to be the route that they are taking. Here's hoping Frank Castle shows up at some point in Hell's Kitchen.
I took a gander at my pull list for this week and the two titles stared back at me menacingly. "Grayson" and "Green Arrow" have been so hit or miss for me as a fan. If you take Batman out of consideration these are two of my all-time favorite Dark Knight substitutes. Oliver from his inception was a lighter take on the dark crusader with his Arrow-car and Arrow-cave, while Dick Grayson was what Batman could've been if he had a mentor to steer him down the right trail. There have been some amazing things done with both characters. I would put the O'neil/Adams & Lemeire/Sorrento runs with the Emerald Archer up against almost any other creative combo out there. Meanwhile there have been some fantastic "Nightwing" stories, whether with the "Teen Titans", "The Outsiders", in his own title (one year later among others), or even in his time as Batman.
Both of these characters have had their titles cancelled and rebooted several times. Hell, Ollie was relegated to back-up story status for some time. So what is a fan to do? Do we continue to support the characters to make sure that they have a title? Or do we vote with our dollars to get a change in the character from the publisher all the while risking cancellation?
Despite my humble funds I have continued to support these two even if I'm not exactly thrilled with their current creative direction (albeit I am warming up the "Grayson"). I am not sure; however, if I want to continue handing over money like a fool and getting kicked in the crotch for my effort. The art in "Green Arrow" is inconsistent, the storytelling has been extremely forced, and it's not at all in the same vain as the previous creative direction. Like I said with "Grayson" I am warming up to it, but the nonlinear storytelling can get a bit frustrating kind of like reading a Grant Morrison run.
In the end I'm probably the idiot for continuing to support something that treats me so bad, but I'm still holding out hope things will get better.
That's all for tonight see you next time at The Comic Shop!
I won't be hitting on the news items today as I have tried to keep up with them on my Facebook page for this site. I will say I thought the "Daredevil" trailer set my expectations even higher for the finished product in April. While I would've loved to see the proposed noir take on film I think this will be a suitable substitute. This is the perfect character for Marvel/Disney to try their hand at dark & gritty with and that seems to be the route that they are taking. Here's hoping Frank Castle shows up at some point in Hell's Kitchen.
I took a gander at my pull list for this week and the two titles stared back at me menacingly. "Grayson" and "Green Arrow" have been so hit or miss for me as a fan. If you take Batman out of consideration these are two of my all-time favorite Dark Knight substitutes. Oliver from his inception was a lighter take on the dark crusader with his Arrow-car and Arrow-cave, while Dick Grayson was what Batman could've been if he had a mentor to steer him down the right trail. There have been some amazing things done with both characters. I would put the O'neil/Adams & Lemeire/Sorrento runs with the Emerald Archer up against almost any other creative combo out there. Meanwhile there have been some fantastic "Nightwing" stories, whether with the "Teen Titans", "The Outsiders", in his own title (one year later among others), or even in his time as Batman.
Both of these characters have had their titles cancelled and rebooted several times. Hell, Ollie was relegated to back-up story status for some time. So what is a fan to do? Do we continue to support the characters to make sure that they have a title? Or do we vote with our dollars to get a change in the character from the publisher all the while risking cancellation?
Despite my humble funds I have continued to support these two even if I'm not exactly thrilled with their current creative direction (albeit I am warming up the "Grayson"). I am not sure; however, if I want to continue handing over money like a fool and getting kicked in the crotch for my effort. The art in "Green Arrow" is inconsistent, the storytelling has been extremely forced, and it's not at all in the same vain as the previous creative direction. Like I said with "Grayson" I am warming up to it, but the nonlinear storytelling can get a bit frustrating kind of like reading a Grant Morrison run.
In the end I'm probably the idiot for continuing to support something that treats me so bad, but I'm still holding out hope things will get better.
That's all for tonight see you next time at The Comic Shop!
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
A metric ton of news and some quasi reviews....
Hello and welcome to the 01/28/15 edition of The Comic Shop!
Lots of big news in nerd culture this week!
First.....The trailer for Josh Trank's "Fantastic Four" made it's debut. I have to say it doesn't look all bad, but I think your humble blogger will wait for word-of-mouth and professionally written reviews before I plunk down my small fortune to see it.
Second....Just announced tonight "True Blood" actor Mehcad Brooks will snap pictures as Superman's no. 1 pal Jimmy Olsen on CBSs "Supergirl". I don't know enough about the young man to make a determination, but from the results of "Arrow" & "The Flash" this group knows what they are doing in putting these projects together. In all honesty I'm not the biggest Supergirl fan, but I am looking forward to this series.
Third....Paul Feig confirmed the new Ghostbusters this past week by announcing Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones as the new titular Busters. I don't anticipate even seeing this in all honesty, but I'm sure it will be good by today's comedic standards. Feig's "Bridesmaids" was a runaway hit, and I found it quite enjoyable. I still find this less offensive to my nerd brain than the Ghostbusters 3 ideas that Akroyd was peddling. I'm glad this is the alternative I guess.
Fourth...As a huge Indiana Jones fan I would love to see Chris Pratt put on the fedora, and swing a whip into the next Indy adventure. He's quickly become a legit action star while maintaining his family friendly loveable doofus Andy Dwyer persona from "Parks and Rec". I'm less thrilled by the prospect of this being called a reboot, because in all honesty I feel that is wholly unnecessary. With the Jones movies being based on early cinema serials there is no need (in my mind) to explain continuity changes and the like.
Fifth.....Actor Tyreese Gibson (F&F movies, Transformers series) is petitioning WB hard to play a Green Lantern in a future film. In all fairness to Mr. Gibson I hope WB simply says "pass". This is an actor with limited range and it's not difficult to see that he essentially plays "loud smartass guy" in every movie.
Sixth....I'm as huge a Batman fan as anyone. That said I hope they do not use up an Affleck appearance in "Suicide Squad". Not that it wouldn't be cool to see Batman in the movie, but WB needs to get away from the stigma that they can't do anything successful without Batman involved. "SS" would be a great opportunity for a standalone project to prove that WB can be viable with it's plans for an ongoing shared universe.
Onto the reviews........Spoilers below
Robin returned to duty in "Batman & Robin" in last week's release. While the book itself is of good quality I have some issue with the death and return of Damian Wayne. Not to mentioned we now have a superpowered Robin that completely invalidates Batman. It's one issue in so I will have to see where it goes, but I am not happy with this current creative direction. As a fan of the Snyder style Batman stories it was hard for me to see the fantastical journey of the Dark Knight making an incursion into Apokolips in the HellBat suit to save his son.
The penultimate chapter of Spiderverse took place in "Amazing Spider-man" and I am still quite enjoying the story. I think if had more money to invest in comics I would buy the tie-ins, but I'm happy with the main narrative from Dan Slott in ASM. Lots of crazy ridiculous things happen, but they all seem to make sense in the web that Slott has woven. Bonus points for the fact that my fave SpOCK is a major player in the ongoing saga.
"Grayson" has taken some getting used to for me; however, I have found the last few issues to be rather enjoyable. It is a bit of odd storytelling, but it is quite good. I would still like to see Dick return to his superhero persona, but I think this might be a good way to make him mean more to a wider audience.
I think that's all I wanted to hit on for today....so happy reading and I will see you next time at The Comic Shop!
Lots of big news in nerd culture this week!
First.....The trailer for Josh Trank's "Fantastic Four" made it's debut. I have to say it doesn't look all bad, but I think your humble blogger will wait for word-of-mouth and professionally written reviews before I plunk down my small fortune to see it.
Second....Just announced tonight "True Blood" actor Mehcad Brooks will snap pictures as Superman's no. 1 pal Jimmy Olsen on CBSs "Supergirl". I don't know enough about the young man to make a determination, but from the results of "Arrow" & "The Flash" this group knows what they are doing in putting these projects together. In all honesty I'm not the biggest Supergirl fan, but I am looking forward to this series.
Third....Paul Feig confirmed the new Ghostbusters this past week by announcing Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones as the new titular Busters. I don't anticipate even seeing this in all honesty, but I'm sure it will be good by today's comedic standards. Feig's "Bridesmaids" was a runaway hit, and I found it quite enjoyable. I still find this less offensive to my nerd brain than the Ghostbusters 3 ideas that Akroyd was peddling. I'm glad this is the alternative I guess.
Fourth...As a huge Indiana Jones fan I would love to see Chris Pratt put on the fedora, and swing a whip into the next Indy adventure. He's quickly become a legit action star while maintaining his family friendly loveable doofus Andy Dwyer persona from "Parks and Rec". I'm less thrilled by the prospect of this being called a reboot, because in all honesty I feel that is wholly unnecessary. With the Jones movies being based on early cinema serials there is no need (in my mind) to explain continuity changes and the like.
Fifth.....Actor Tyreese Gibson (F&F movies, Transformers series) is petitioning WB hard to play a Green Lantern in a future film. In all fairness to Mr. Gibson I hope WB simply says "pass". This is an actor with limited range and it's not difficult to see that he essentially plays "loud smartass guy" in every movie.
Sixth....I'm as huge a Batman fan as anyone. That said I hope they do not use up an Affleck appearance in "Suicide Squad". Not that it wouldn't be cool to see Batman in the movie, but WB needs to get away from the stigma that they can't do anything successful without Batman involved. "SS" would be a great opportunity for a standalone project to prove that WB can be viable with it's plans for an ongoing shared universe.
Onto the reviews........Spoilers below
Robin returned to duty in "Batman & Robin" in last week's release. While the book itself is of good quality I have some issue with the death and return of Damian Wayne. Not to mentioned we now have a superpowered Robin that completely invalidates Batman. It's one issue in so I will have to see where it goes, but I am not happy with this current creative direction. As a fan of the Snyder style Batman stories it was hard for me to see the fantastical journey of the Dark Knight making an incursion into Apokolips in the HellBat suit to save his son.
The penultimate chapter of Spiderverse took place in "Amazing Spider-man" and I am still quite enjoying the story. I think if had more money to invest in comics I would buy the tie-ins, but I'm happy with the main narrative from Dan Slott in ASM. Lots of crazy ridiculous things happen, but they all seem to make sense in the web that Slott has woven. Bonus points for the fact that my fave SpOCK is a major player in the ongoing saga.
"Grayson" has taken some getting used to for me; however, I have found the last few issues to be rather enjoyable. It is a bit of odd storytelling, but it is quite good. I would still like to see Dick return to his superhero persona, but I think this might be a good way to make him mean more to a wider audience.
I think that's all I wanted to hit on for today....so happy reading and I will see you next time at The Comic Shop!
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Let's pretend I posted this 12 days ago....The Second Annual Shoppie Awards!!!
Hello and Welcome to the abandoned Ames store in Mars Hill, Indiana! We spared no expense in our change of venue from the party room at the local TGI Friday's. Lets get on to the most prestigious awards in comics!!!! (Beware there will be comic and movie spoilers..on with the shitshow)
Most Surprising Face Turn of 2014: Our first award of the night goes to a man that has a hairstyle not unlike my own. In 2014 he stomped out crime in a Norman Osborne-ian fashion. The winner of most surprising face turn right from the pages of Geoff Johns' "Forever Evil" event....drumroll....LEX LUTHOR
Most Surprising Heel Turn of 2014: Not a lot of really strong contenders in this category, but Jason Aaron anted up by revealing that Nick Fury had been straight up murdering living planets, gods, and the Watcher himself in the "Original Sin" event. Honrable Mention goes to the Superior IronMan, but it is only a few issues in.
Best Crossover Event of 2014: A lot of potential in this category, but with the humble bloggers humble funds I did not get to read them all. Therefore my favorite and most recommended would be the aforementioned "Forever Evil" event. The "Trinity War" preamble was also relatively good.
Shooting Star Award (for star making performance in a feature film): Strong contenders in this category. Evan Peters was surprisingly awesome as Quicksilver in "X-men: DOFP", Anthony Mackie stole the show as Falcon in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", and Chris Pratt showed he had leading man potential as Star Lord in the smash hit "Guardians of the Galaxy". After careful thought and consideration the committee has deemed that Chris Pratt will take home the hardware this year. Not only did he steal the show in "GOTG", but was the lead voice in the surprisingly awesome (and nominated for Best Picture) "Lego Movie".
The Peanut in the Turd Award (good performance in a bad movie): Andrew Garfield's portrayal of Spider-man in the underwhelming "ASM 2" was one of the few bright spots. It wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen, but I think if they would've pulled more focus to Spider-man in this Spider-man sequel it would've been a better received sequel.
The Whoopsie Award: 2015 is the 75th anniversary of the introduction of "The Flash". DC did not realize that this milestone was happening after Superman and Batman in previous years. That is an unacceptable offense for a publisher that has made money off of the scarlet speedsters' television debut and comics. A last minute push of variant covers was too little a mea culpa and does little to relieve the sting of the insult.
The "I've Made a Huge Mistake Award": Just an excuse to give Will Arnett an award here. I really enjoyed his work as Batman in "The Lego Movie", and apparently audiences did as well as work is currently underway on a Lego Batman solo movie. Arnett also wasn't too terrible in the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" reboot, and he provided some of his droll humor to the movie.
Best Male Performance in a ComicMovie: Going with the safe pick here. Our first double winner of the night.....Chris Pratt! From his role on "Parks and Recreation" Pratt had to drop considerable weight to get himself into heroic shape and he made the necessary sacrifices to do so. He brought a lot of wit and humor to the role, and helped to make something that people weren't sure about into a smash hit.
Best Female Performance in a ComicMovie: Lots of women participated in Comic Movies in 2014, but I felt only one had a consistently strong performance....Scarlett Johansson!! Her role as Natasha Romanoff is portrayed as a strong female lead. One of the refreshing things about "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is that it had little to no romantic subplot. Widow was Cap's teammate and nothing more, and that is not what your humble blogger expected when the casting was announced for the Cap sequel.
Best Comic Run in 2014: This is out of left field and some people may not particularly care for it, but all of this is a matter of opinion. The award for best comic run of 2014 goes to Jeff Lemire & Andrea Sorrentino's run on "Green Arrow". It is my feeling that the work of these creators is on par with a duo like Scott Snyder/Greg Capullo "Batman", Mark Waid/Chris Samnee "Daredevil", or Dan Slott/Humberto Ramos, etc. "Spider-man". This comic was a little more under the radar, but in their limited run they accomplished a lot with Ollie. Some of the better stories included "The Outsiders War", "The Longbow Hunters", and Ollie's run-ins with Komodo. While it wasn't a direct companion piece to television's "Arrow" it would be a good pick up for any fan of the emerald archer. I will say that any of the previously mentioned titles would also be a good choice for this award, or even anything with Geoff Johns on it would be good.
Hero of the Boob Tube Award (best in TV): Superhero television is a growing goliath with a lot of new projects coming out in the next year or so. In 2014 the best of the boob tube ; however, was the CW television's "Arrow". The 2nd season really brought the lighting and the thunder to the small screen, and made up for some areas that needed improvement from the first season.
Best Movie: Our final award goes to the best Comic Book Movie of 2014. In my opinion the best comic book movie of the year was "Captain America: The Winter Soldier". While "GOTG" and "X-men: DOFP" were excellent movies in their own right I feel that the Cap sequel accomplished a lot more of the big picture stuff. It was basically a reboot of the Marvel Universe that ensured that we wouldn't be given the same set-up for all of these upcoming "Avengers" sequels. Like I mentioned before there was also a breakout performance, and the refreshing lack of romantic interest in the movie. This movie answered questions that we did not know were even going to be asked. I did not know what to expect going in, and while it wasn't a direct adaptation of the source material it was an excellent alternative.
Thank you all for reading and for your continued support of "The Comic Shop Blog"......
Most Surprising Face Turn of 2014: Our first award of the night goes to a man that has a hairstyle not unlike my own. In 2014 he stomped out crime in a Norman Osborne-ian fashion. The winner of most surprising face turn right from the pages of Geoff Johns' "Forever Evil" event....drumroll....LEX LUTHOR
Most Surprising Heel Turn of 2014: Not a lot of really strong contenders in this category, but Jason Aaron anted up by revealing that Nick Fury had been straight up murdering living planets, gods, and the Watcher himself in the "Original Sin" event. Honrable Mention goes to the Superior IronMan, but it is only a few issues in.
Best Crossover Event of 2014: A lot of potential in this category, but with the humble bloggers humble funds I did not get to read them all. Therefore my favorite and most recommended would be the aforementioned "Forever Evil" event. The "Trinity War" preamble was also relatively good.
Shooting Star Award (for star making performance in a feature film): Strong contenders in this category. Evan Peters was surprisingly awesome as Quicksilver in "X-men: DOFP", Anthony Mackie stole the show as Falcon in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", and Chris Pratt showed he had leading man potential as Star Lord in the smash hit "Guardians of the Galaxy". After careful thought and consideration the committee has deemed that Chris Pratt will take home the hardware this year. Not only did he steal the show in "GOTG", but was the lead voice in the surprisingly awesome (and nominated for Best Picture) "Lego Movie".
The Peanut in the Turd Award (good performance in a bad movie): Andrew Garfield's portrayal of Spider-man in the underwhelming "ASM 2" was one of the few bright spots. It wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen, but I think if they would've pulled more focus to Spider-man in this Spider-man sequel it would've been a better received sequel.
The Whoopsie Award: 2015 is the 75th anniversary of the introduction of "The Flash". DC did not realize that this milestone was happening after Superman and Batman in previous years. That is an unacceptable offense for a publisher that has made money off of the scarlet speedsters' television debut and comics. A last minute push of variant covers was too little a mea culpa and does little to relieve the sting of the insult.
The "I've Made a Huge Mistake Award": Just an excuse to give Will Arnett an award here. I really enjoyed his work as Batman in "The Lego Movie", and apparently audiences did as well as work is currently underway on a Lego Batman solo movie. Arnett also wasn't too terrible in the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" reboot, and he provided some of his droll humor to the movie.
Best Male Performance in a ComicMovie: Going with the safe pick here. Our first double winner of the night.....Chris Pratt! From his role on "Parks and Recreation" Pratt had to drop considerable weight to get himself into heroic shape and he made the necessary sacrifices to do so. He brought a lot of wit and humor to the role, and helped to make something that people weren't sure about into a smash hit.
Best Female Performance in a ComicMovie: Lots of women participated in Comic Movies in 2014, but I felt only one had a consistently strong performance....Scarlett Johansson!! Her role as Natasha Romanoff is portrayed as a strong female lead. One of the refreshing things about "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is that it had little to no romantic subplot. Widow was Cap's teammate and nothing more, and that is not what your humble blogger expected when the casting was announced for the Cap sequel.
Best Comic Run in 2014: This is out of left field and some people may not particularly care for it, but all of this is a matter of opinion. The award for best comic run of 2014 goes to Jeff Lemire & Andrea Sorrentino's run on "Green Arrow". It is my feeling that the work of these creators is on par with a duo like Scott Snyder/Greg Capullo "Batman", Mark Waid/Chris Samnee "Daredevil", or Dan Slott/Humberto Ramos, etc. "Spider-man". This comic was a little more under the radar, but in their limited run they accomplished a lot with Ollie. Some of the better stories included "The Outsiders War", "The Longbow Hunters", and Ollie's run-ins with Komodo. While it wasn't a direct companion piece to television's "Arrow" it would be a good pick up for any fan of the emerald archer. I will say that any of the previously mentioned titles would also be a good choice for this award, or even anything with Geoff Johns on it would be good.
Hero of the Boob Tube Award (best in TV): Superhero television is a growing goliath with a lot of new projects coming out in the next year or so. In 2014 the best of the boob tube ; however, was the CW television's "Arrow". The 2nd season really brought the lighting and the thunder to the small screen, and made up for some areas that needed improvement from the first season.
Best Movie: Our final award goes to the best Comic Book Movie of 2014. In my opinion the best comic book movie of the year was "Captain America: The Winter Soldier". While "GOTG" and "X-men: DOFP" were excellent movies in their own right I feel that the Cap sequel accomplished a lot more of the big picture stuff. It was basically a reboot of the Marvel Universe that ensured that we wouldn't be given the same set-up for all of these upcoming "Avengers" sequels. Like I mentioned before there was also a breakout performance, and the refreshing lack of romantic interest in the movie. This movie answered questions that we did not know were even going to be asked. I did not know what to expect going in, and while it wasn't a direct adaptation of the source material it was an excellent alternative.
Thank you all for reading and for your continued support of "The Comic Shop Blog"......
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)