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!
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
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!
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