Our Underwear 11: The Super-Secret Vengeance of Atomic Robo’s Hell in Russia!

October 26, 2011

In which I present the last week in review (aside from bad Marvel “event” stuff) but dispense with the device of numbering the discrete elements of this piece.

Best comic of the week: Atomic Robo and the Ghost of Station X #2 (of 5)

Drop everything! — This cover is by the team that did the interior art. How delightfully novel!

Words: Brian Clevinger Art: Scott Wegener Colors: Ronda Pattison Letters: Jeff Powell Editing: Lee Black

Here’s what a fan can find in Atomic Robo: Excellent art, snappy patter, good gags in the minutiae of background details, fidelity – and even fondness – for the world of science (caveat in next paragraph), near-unparalleled action set-pieces, stylistic bravery, and a self-contained universe that builds upon itself exponentially with each volume. I sincerely believe that the world of Atomic Robo is beginning to deserve comparison to Mike Mignola’s universe of [amazon_link id=”1593079109″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Hellboy[/amazon_link] and the [amazon_link id=”1595826726″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]B.P.R.D.[/amazon_link] in its scope and ambition. In fact, the most apt way to describe the Roboverse might be something like, “The Mignolaverse, but with physics and adventure replacing demonology and horror.” And that is HUGE praise.

The premise itself does need a comics-sized suspension of disbelief. It is: Nikola Tesla created a sentient nuclear-powered robot in secret a hundred years ago. Tesla has become THE go-to guy for steampunk sci-fi unlikelihoods. Off the top of my head, he is a deus ex-machina in [amazon_link id=”B000L212HC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Prestige[/amazon_link], [amazon_link id=”1582406057″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Five Fists of Science[/amazon_link], [amazon_link id=”1888963204″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]RASL[/amazon_link], [amazon_link id=”0785144226″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]S.H.I.E.L.D.[/amazon_link], and this. I think that [amazon_link id=”1888963204″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]RASL[/amazon_link] is the only one that gives him credit for both the [amazon_link id=”B000096IAC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Philadelphia Experiment[/amazon_link] AND the Tunguska Event. What the hell, go with it, Tesla invented sentience a hundred years ago, why not? You’d be a fool to miss this fantastic world but for that. You don’t want to be a fool, so that’s settled.

As this issue opens, our hero – Robo – is falling. Credit the cover with truth in advertising on top of its other virtues. Robo had launched into the stratosphere on a mere seven hours notice in a desperate attempt to save some astronauts… but his craft got creamed by a NASA satellite. So, this:

Robo falls — We've all been there, am I right?

Man. Look at that. The struggle and desperation to live explodes off the page pounds ya right in the viscera until what you have left is a totally pounded-to-hell viscera. Ouch! Do I even need to continue? Last week was a pretty flippin’ good week for comics, and this one was the best. You know what to do.

Best re-issue of the week: [amazon_link id=”B000WOVVC0″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]DC Comics Presents Superman: Secret Identity[/amazon_link]

Writer: Kurt Busiek Artist (pencils, inks, colors): Stuart Immonen Letters: Todd Klein

On his Twitter feed, Kurt Busiek opines that this is among his very best work. He ain’t wrong, and considering that he has also written [amazon_link id=”1401229840″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Astro City[/amazon_link], [amazon_link id=”078514286X” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Marvels[/amazon_link], and the Avengers’ [amazon_link id=”0785107746″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Ultron Unlimited[/amazon_link] storyline, that’s saying something. It’s NOT a tale of Kal-El, the last son of Krypton. It is, instead, the tale of a young man who constantly gets teased with “Superman” references because his parents – name of Kent – misguidedly named him “Clark.” Oh, and when he’s seventeen or so, he becomes an actual superhuman. As J. Jonah Jameson might say, “What are the odds?”

But Busiek rocks the premise from honeymoon to Brigadoon, and Immonen does perhaps the best work of HIS excellent career – yeah, better than [amazon_link id=”0785144617″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.[/amazon_link] or [amazon_link id=”1603090495″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Moving Pictures[/amazon_link]. The guys inspire each other to heights in this story that is NOT about becoming Superman, but about becoming a man. Except nowhere close to as cheesy as that sentence I just wrote. It’s about friendship and love and trust. And it’s about being a young man and getting captured by the government for the first time, and resenting it.

SID burn — Kind of a 'flames' theme to the images so far, eh? Hey, where's his weiner?

Honestly, I’m an ENORMOUS fan of what DC is doing in their reissues of their most fantastic work of the last two decades in this format, which splits the difference (price-point-wise) between monthly floppies and trade paperbacks. This $7.99 magazine does NOT, as it happens, have the entire series, just the first two issues. You’d never be able to tell. This is a must-own.

Also very good: [amazon_link id=”B005WD4VLO” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth: Russia#2 (of 5)[/amazon_link]

BPRD Russia 2 — Cover by Dave Johnson - hot damn tamale, last week was a great week for COVERS too, hanh?

Story: Mike Mignola and John Arcudi Art: Tyler Crook Colors: Dave Stewart Letters: Clem Robins

“Every few years, [Mignola and cohorts do some totally awesome Abe Sapien stuff.] Then, five years later, they drop some huge callback on you letting you know WHY it all happened. ” – Me, 10/5/11.

Abe callback — Nailed it! (Okay, okay, The Abyssal Plain came out June & July of 2010. Still...)

Awesome series, awesome world-building, awesome excuse to toot my horn.

Scarface up there is the boss of Russia’s BPRD analogue. He got the job, so he says, because his having been dead for 40 years makes him a natural for paranormal type stuff. This issue demonstrates that he did NOT get the job because of his people skills. Beyond that, I don’t know what to say – what have you been doing with your life if you aren’t reading BPRD by now? You can’t see it, but now I’m slowly shaking my head in disappointment.

I’m digging this series too: [amazon_link id=”B005VSHFQI” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Vengeance #4 (of 6)[/amazon_link]

The credits are right there on the cover, cut me some slack.

Another lovely cover, this one by Gabrielle Dell’otto, and one that proves that a picture of nothing but a single character – not even so much as a background – can still be quite un-boring. The angle of the shot, facial expression, color choices, the medium itself (looks painted, I’d say) all add up to Something New on this cover. Actually, I dropped the ball this week and don’t have a Boring Cover of the Week, which is too bad, because I’m sure there must have been another cover of SOME comic last week with just a lone figure that just sucked. Wait, I’m being boring. Sorry about that!

This series is interesting – I still don’t know where it’s going, but I sure as hell want to find out. The forces of neutral continue to take on the forces of evil and, this issue, an uncharacteristically malicious Kid Loki – it doesn’t look to me like Joe Casey and Kieron Gillen are on the same wavelength with future Legionnaire Loki-Lad, but that’s no big whoop – he IS the god of chaos and mischief, after all. He’s earned the right to be mercurial.

Hey, I just heard a suspicious noise from downstairs, I’ll be right back.

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Our Underwear #10 – The ONLY Fear Itself post you will ever need to read!

velousis

October 25, 2011

by John Velousis

Part 1 – Everything that was right about Fear Itself #7 and the event in general (Kinda spoiler free, maybe?)

1. It totally made sense and was pretty cool when Captain America picked up [that one thing.] Right?
2. I dug how Hawkeye looked kinda pissed because he WANTED missing a shot to be a possibility.

FI Stinkeye — Sucks if he's trying to do that thing where you shoot a chandelier so it falls on somebody. Oh, all FI#7 art is Stuart Immonen, and/or Wade Von Grawbadger (who drew with vines?), and/or Laura Martin "with Ponsor & Milla" - Jesus, even the CREDITS are stupid and fucked up.

3. [amazon_link id=”B005CWOQ1K” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Fear Itself: Deadpool[/amazon_link] ruled the roost. BIG UPS to Christopher Hastings (W), Bong [!] Dazo (Pcls), Joe Pimentel (Inks), Matt Milla (Clrs), and Simon Bowland (Ltrs).

4. [amazon_link id=”078514840X” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Journey Into Mystery[/amazon_link] was the big winner among the non-limited series (in theory) tying into FI. I’ll be talking about last week’s issue at length NEXT week, since the next issue drops Wednesday, but Kieron Gillen womped like a MUTHA in Loki’s adventures. My quick take: This series killed the ass off Superman Beyond 3D, Grant Morrison’s shorter but similarly-themed adjunct to [amazon_link id=”140122282X” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Final Crisis[/amazon_link]. Really.
5. [amazon_link id=”0785163891″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Fear Itself: The Home Front[/amazon_link] had a lot of good stuff. I’m a fan of Mike Mayhew’s particular brand of painted photo-realism, so I’m glad to have seen a bunch of that. BUT, his stuff really pops for me when he has garish colors to work with, so it was a li’l bit sucky that Christos Gage had him (and colorista Rain Beredo) draw so many normal schmucks and baddies whose costumes were just black. Anyhow, the series still had plenty of good stuff, with the standout pieces being most of Howard Chaykin’s pages, the awesome American Eagle piece in #5 by Si Spurrier & Jason Latour, and the always-welcome Great Lakes Avengers/Defenders/X-Men/JLI, by Elliott Kalan, Ty Templeton, and David Curiel.
6. [amazon_link id=”0785157018″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Fear Itself: Youth In Revolt[/amazon_link] (W,A,C,L: McKeever, Norton, Gandini, and Cowles) was a worthwhile read, and it has this:

Metamucil! — You say Meta, I say LaMotta.

7. [amazon_link id=”B005PHT6G2″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Fear Itself: The Monkey King[/amazon_link] (a Fialkov-Doe-Quintana-Lanphear joint) was more fun than watching Joyce Carol Oates foolin’ around with a monkey. Which I have imagined many times.

That’s the good stuff. Any parts of the Marvel [Publishing] Universe that tied into Fear Itself and were good – the best F.I. moments from Invincible Iron Man or Thunderbolts or New Avengers or whatever – do NOT get especial credit, because they would have been just fine WITHOUT the big event. Well, maybe the MODOK thing from Hulk needed a suitably big world threat to help Ole’ Big-Head learn to love. Hard to say.

Part 2 – The BAD things about Fear Itself #7 and the event in general

1. Odin’s plan was absolutely moronic, unrealistic, cowardly, contemptible, poor strategy, and generally asinine. Nobody anywhere doesn’t think this.
2. Captain America using shotguns to easily blow Nazi ~~red-shirts~~ robots out of the sky. Look at all the piled-up wiped-out robot-VolksWagen things:

Cap guns — That grumpy old dude sure wants them to come on!

Golly, if only they had this amazing “shotgun” technology available in Washington, D.C., which those things supposedly totally destroyed. Instead, all they had available in Washington were tanks, fighter jets, bazookas, grenades, and EVERY PIECE OF WEAPON TECHNOLOGY THAT COULD BE BOUGHT WITH 50% OF EVERY FUCKING AMERICAN TAX DOLLAR FOR THE LAST 40 YEARS.
3. Humanity all simultaneously Not Being Afraid was predictable from roughly one second after we found out that the big bad, The Sears Pants, is powered by human fear.
4. The “death” of Thor while he has a current ongoing series has about as much dramatic heft as the death of Kenny in episode #29 of [amazon_link id=”B00023P49M” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]South Park[/amazon_link]. Also, what did he die of, exactly? Anvilitis? The only question on anybody’s mind is how long Marvel will pay lip service to the idea of Thor being dead. But Thor is immortal – not because he’s a “god,” but because he is a corporate property. A corporate property will not and cannot be made to stay in the grave as long as it can be monetized.
5. Just, in general: Fuck prophecy. Don’t like it. Crap story device, except when Loki wields it.
6. BTW also, Heimdal can suck it. What a tool. He just basically does nothing ever except watch Odin act like the king of all assholes, followed by blindly obeying whatever whack shit Odin demands of him.
7. The dialogue in the main series was bad. All of it.
8. If I gave a shit about continuity, I would point out sloppy errors like Captain America’s un-scarred shield in his new series (or the OBVIOUS problems with aerodynamics this would create), or Cap’s WAY continuity-sloppy appearance in Daredevil. Suffice to say, there’s no clear idea what happened when ANYWHERE. (Can you order Fear Itself, Spider Island, Schism, FF’s War of Four Cities, etc? I sure as shit can’t.)
9. I regard Fear Itself (Main Series), Book of the Skull, Hulk vs Dracula, The Deep, FF, and The Fearless (Issue #1 only, not buying the rest) as a fucking waste of sixty bucks. I spent money on all of this, I don’t get review copies (and probably never will with an attitude like this!)
10. So, here is Sin at the end of the big Fear Itself battle.

DARN YOU! — WAKE UP, SIN, I HAVE TO BE SURE YOU HEAR ME READ YOU YOUR RIGHTS!

Let’s ignore the fact that her face is a red skull because of horrible burn scars that are suddenly smooth. Instead, I want to know if she was jailed in any of the prisons that held Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, or Mohamar Ghaddaffi. Oh, wait a sec, it slipped my mind, those guys – who ADDED TOGETHER killed about 5% of Sin’s headcount as the cause of Fear Itself – got killed the fuck dead as soon as ANYBODY laid eyes on them. Seriously, did Captain America fistfight the entire population of Asgard to keep them from chopping off her head? In what silly-assed world is she alive, other than as an act of a god who has a product to move?
11. This:

As dental models.

I hate this fucking word.

Are event comics ALWAYS money-grabs by desperate companies who hope the jump in sales makes up for the rotten aftertaste that never, ever goes away? Hey Marvel, keep searching for the new Jim Shooter, okay?

Part 3 – And now, a word from the medium of comics

And from me. Me and comics, both at once somehow.

Splitlip gets analytical — "So... wanna go to my place?" "... All right." Art: Larroca Color: D'Armata Plot: Fraction

The above is my favorite scene from Invincible Iron Man #509, which I have profaned by replacing Matt Fraction’s words with MY OWN treatise on What Is Good, which differs shamefully from that of Conan the Barbarian. End of column, thanks!

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The New 52: Batman #2 Review

mDeVivo

October 20, 2011

Written By: Scott Snyder

Art By: Greg Capullo

Review Score : 9.5/10

Wow..Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo up the ante in every way possible this issue. We start with a beautifully drawn Gotham Skyline as the sunsets. Scott Snyder continues to explain to us in great detail the inner workings of Gotham City and Wayne Tower in particular. We learn what the twelve Gargoyles around the tower represent and their importance to the city.

Bruce Wayne is then thrown through the glass at the very top of Wayne Tower, Fade to black and cut to 24 hours earlier. Last issue ended with the reveal that Dick Grayson may have been behind the grisly murder of an innocent man . Batman is now on patrol in pursuit of a train robbery and we are once again reminded that Batman is an overconfident sadist with a twisted sense of humor . Greg Cappullo draws this scene with such a sense of Kinetic energy that you cant help but feel like your watching a movie. He draws one scene at the end of the chase that starts with a smirk from Batman and ends with him launching his Motorcycle off of a train and into a helicopter . The henchmen cry out “He Wouldn’t” oh yes he would .

What follows is a couple of scenes of dialogue between Nightwing and Batman in the Bat cave . I’m glad that Snyder chooses to eliminate Dick as a suspect in the murder, but more importantly it seems in the New 52 Dick and Bruce are equals . I love this approach seeing that Snyder wrote Dick as such a strong Batman in his own right. It’s nice to see a writer who doesn’t fall back on the tired approach of Batman not trusting anyone which ultimately pisses off everyone around him.

Every page is filled with moments that pay off in the last few moments of the issue. Bruce is attacked and caught off guard while trying to catch up with his new philanthropist friend Lincoln , who shares more than a few odd things in common with the Dark Knight . Bringing us to Bruce crashing through the window with a very Owl Like villain in pursuit. The court of Owls makes their presence felt but Batman ultimately survives the fall. Lets just say there is another gargoyle that we find out about that prevents Bruce from becoming a pancake, our villain isn’t as lucky.

Batman doesn’t believe that The Court of Owls exist. He believes Gotham city is his playground and his alone. Scott Snyder is weaving an amazing story thus far that shows Batman’s overconfidence and solace as Gotham City’s protector may lead to his undoing. Which poses the question , What will Bruce do when he realizes he isn’t the only Legend in Gotham City? Two issues in and its looking like Snyder has another classic Batman Story on his hands.

Mike DeVivo

Follow me on twitter @pandasandrobots

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Writers Spotlight: Kieron Gillen’s Phonogram

mDeVivo

October 20, 2011

Kieron Gillen has had quite a run thus far with Marvel . Doing amazing work on Uncanny X-Men seeing the series to its conclusion with #544 ( which was reviewed by our own Ryan Duelfer and can be read HERE), and ultimately its rebirth next month at #1 . He also writes Journey Into Mystery starring Young Loki. Which just so happens to be the superior Thor Book ,an amazing feat considering the fact there is little mention of Thor anywhere in it. After a couple of issues of decent work at Marvel , Kieron got his Big Break writing a Loki One Shot during the events of Siege that would ultimately prove to show how strong he is at balancing multiple character arcs , creating crazy out of this world concepts and leaning heavily on Mysticism to tell an original tale.

However this Article is going to focus on one of his first series. One that I thoroughly enjoyed and have a soft spot for in the same vain that I do for Scott Pilgrim. Gillen’s creator owned Image title Phonogram was where I first discovered his amazing storytelling at work. The mantra of Phonogram’s first limited series run was “Music is Magic”. You see Musicians have the ability to effect normal folks like you and I in deep and impactful ways. They tap into something other worldly to create songs that we play on Repeat , listen to after a break up , and lose our shit when we hear our favorite song in a bar.What if the musicians we speak of are tapping into something supernatural to create the music we know and love?

This is the basic story to Phonogram . Kieron introduces us to our Jaded Protagonists David Khol who is a Phonomancer who hasn’t been interested with any music scene that has existed after the early Brit Rok Invasion of the 90’s. What unfolds for six issues is a love letter to Brit Rock , New Wave and Pop Music . Also one hell of a fun , witty and well written comic book. Everything you would want in a comic is here Huge concepts , great characters , creepy moments , action , well written relationships . You buy into this world immediately due to Gillen’s passionate writing. You can tell this series is a labor of Love and it shows. His Artist for this series is Jamie Mckelvie and he knocks this book out of the park . The issues are all Black and White and each cover is in color representing a unique twist of a famous album cover . He makes references to bands you may or may not have heard but takes the time to give you information on every single song and Artist at the end of the book. If you enjoy Music and Comics as much as I do , you must seek out this first series .

Issue#3 from Phonogram's second Series "The Singles Club"

Gillen’s second run in the world of Phonogram is a series of single issues that stars separate characters all converging at the same Night Club. Each issue allows us as readers to view the night through their eyes . It’s a cool plot for the series and Gillen’s grasp of both Male and Female characters is very strong . While this series isn’t as cohesive , the story is still enjoyable and beautiful to look at. The art in this book is again handled by Jamie McKelvie , this time with full color pages. Once again his character designs are simple yet capture every facial expression and emotion perfectly which is important for a book with so many characters.

So if you love Gillen’s work on Uncanny X-Men and Journey Into Mystery give this series a try. You will be pleasantly surprised at how well crafted it is and you will find yourself seeking out the music Gillen constantly references page after page. Kieron Gillen’s original work set the building blocks for a very successful career in comics. You owe it to yourself to jump into this unique and colorful world and experience something different. After All isn’t that why we enjoy reading comic books in the first place?

Check out the website for the series HERE

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Mike DeVivo

Follow me on twitter @pandasandrobots

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Review: Uncanny X-Men #544 “It’s the end of the X-Men as we know it, and I feel fine!”

rDuelfer

October 20, 2011

Uncanny X-Men #544
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Greg Land

This issue of Uncanny X-Men is one of many issues depicting the emotional anguish from the fallout of Schism. It also marks the ending of volume one for this series, which is always sad and rarely justified; especially with the fact that volume two is right around the corner: coming in November. Mr. Sinister takes a role in this issue as narrator, walking us through the events that caused the break between Cyclops and Wolverine. As this event is still very fresh in our minds, his part in this issue was a complete waste of space in a comic that should have fired on all cylinders as a tribute that was the past 48 years of X-Men history. Granted, there was a scene within showing Sinister being, “birthed”?, from a mechanical sphincter and yes, it’s hilarious looking! Sorry for that spoiler, but from here you can run wild imagining the context around such event!

But, when you judge only half an issue on its content, it seemed mildly worth it. This series’ just coming out of an epic event with Colossus becoming the Juggernaut as a sister story of Fear Itself, which I think may be the best concept coming out of said story. So congratulations there! I was ready to wind down from these “larger than life” events marvel continues to weave, so the content between Scott Summers and the few X-men they could fit in, was touching. Beast had to fly himself to Utopia to make one last personal jab at Cyclops, cause we hadn’t heard it enough from him. Beasts’ character has certainly taken a hit; since they turned him into a whiner, thank goodness for Iceman in this issue!

Writer, Kieron Gillen, really attempts to set the stage for volume two of Uncanny X-Men, cue Mr. Sinister. I think everybody’s “Hype-O-Meter” is soaring surrounding X-Men titles, that the necessity to plant seeds in this issue truly wasn’t necessary and really hurt the underlying emotional turmoil that this “family” is breaking. Never the less, I’m extremely excited for volume two, because ever since Gillen has come on board with X-Men titles, he’s been producing great work. Generation Hope took a while to find its wings, but it’s certainly starting to pick-up.

Artist, Greg Land, does a good job this issue. I am a fan of Land, though I agree his anatomy of a woman is tweaked to appeal to the perv in all of us. But he conveys emotion very well and holds weight in this issue with scenes of Cyclops packing away old photos with not a word spoken. Also, i commend the way he pencils Cyclops overall. Over recent years, Scott Summers has been built up to be a commander of a truly powerful army and you have to almost have a Steve Rogers confidence and appeal to pull such a feat off and Greg Land really paints that image of him well.

This issue is an unfortunate send off to such an influential run. Though this sure doesn’t dampen the excitement for upcoming volume two! I mean, have you seen the roster, this team is going to rule the world within Cyclops and Magnetos iron grip! X-fan’s it’s an exciting time, so save your pennies!

Story: 6
Art: 8

Follow me on Twitter @ddsuperbatnix

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Review: Wolverine #17

Roger Riddell

October 19, 2011

Wolverine #17
Writer: Jason Aaron
Art: Ron Garney & Jason Keith

Jason Aaron’s run thus far on the relaunched Wolverine has been nothing short of what fans of the Marvel Universe’s favorite clawed berserker want. It gives them all the claw popping ultra-violence the character’s solo series have become known for without sacrificing a more fleshed-out approach to Logan’s personality. After all, Wolverine is not a cold-blooded killer so much as a failed samurai, or a man with a noble idea of who he wants to be and yet doesn’t realize he is already that person.

From the stories that began in Aaron’s earlier book, Wolverine: Weapon X, to today’s Wolverine #17, everything has felt streamlined and there has been a great balance between fast-paced, energetic storytelling and deeper exposition.

Having just returned from his isolation following what happened at the hands of the Red Right Hand over the course of the first dozen or so issues, Wolverine finds himself at a crossroad at the beginning of this story. If you’ve kept up with the events in the wider X-Men universe, there was a falling out between Wolverine and Cyclops during the Schism event. Logan, feeling it wasn’t right that Scott expected the children on the X-roster to become warriors, ultimately decided to return to Westchester, New York to restart Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters (which, if you haven’t been keeping up, was destroyed during the “Messiah CompleX” crossover a few years ago).

Before he can leave San Francisco, however, Logan has a few loose ends to tie up — like letting his reporter girlfriend know that he’s leaving and ending his masquerade as Chinatown’s kingpin the Black Dragon. Upon visiting Kung Fu Master Po’s dojo, however, he discovers the money he had stashed in a safe there has been stolen by a gang involved in a Chinatown drug war. This is the money Logan planned to rebuild the school with. (Yes, he has that kind of money. He’s been around for like 200 years, you know?)

Needless to say, he’s pissed.

The pace of the issue is rather fast, feeling much shorter than it actually is. It sets up a team-up with Gorilla Man, including some fun back-and-forth banter (not just with Gorilla Man, but with Po, as well), and introduces some elements of Chinese mysticism. Ron Garney and Jason Keith’s art continues to fit the tone of the book well, whether Logan is slicing and dicing his way through a hail of gunfire or having a heart-to-heart with Melita.

That said, I’m not really sure how I feel about mythical elements and Wolverine being together. I’ll be honest and admit it took me a few issues to wrap my head around “Wolverine Goes to Hell” last year. This is only part one of the story arc, and a fun read regardless, so I’m willing to further suspend my disbelief to include those elements for the time being.

Story: 7/10
Art: 9/10

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Our Underwear #8 – TUESDAY? But that’s TONIGHT (Tonight… tonight… tnit…)

velousis

October 19, 2011

Part 1 – Been a long time since I rock and rolled

Orchid #1

“Story”: Tom Morello

Art: Scott Hepburn

Colors: Dan Jackson

Letters: Nate Piekos of Blambot (which is a Registered legal entity)

Cover (THIS one): Shepard Fairey

GRADES:

Writing: Dismal

Art: Mediocre

Politics: Hypocritical at best

So, I didn’t like this. I WANTED to like it. As I said to Matt at Graham Cracker Comics, ” I hope it’s half as good as [amazon_link id=”1593079788″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Umbrella [/amazon_link] [amazon_link id=”B005HKKXH8″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Academy[/amazon_link] [written by musician Gerard Way.]” Matt said something like, “I doubt it’ll be CLOSE to half as good as [amazon_link id=”1595823441″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Umbrella Academy[/amazon_link].”

As it turns out, if [amazon_link id=”1595821635″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Umbrella Academy [/amazon_link](either series) consisted of nothing but the letter “U” on the front cover (as drawn by Fabio Moon, Gabriel Ba, OR Gerard Way,) this STILL would’nt be 1% as good as [amazon_link id=”1593079788″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Umbrella Academy[/amazon_link].

It’s an unfair comparison, of course. [amazon_link id=”B005HKKXH8″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]UA[/amazon_link] is one of the greatest comics ever made. Okay, well, then, this isn’t 1% as good as [amazon_link id=”160706359X” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Fall Out Toy Works[/amazon_link]. Still unfair, [amazon_link id=”160706359X” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]FATW[/amazon_link] (while quite flawed) had a “ringer” on writing chores – Brett Lewis of the brilliant [amazon_link id=”1401225268″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Winter Men[/amazon_link] fleshed out the story by Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy (and a couple of his cronies). In fact, while I’ve read none of the following, I have a hard time believing that Orchid approaches [amazon_link id=”B004RDFRYA” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Amory Wars[/amazon_link] (Coheed & Cambria singer Claudio Sanchez – I’m told that ALL of the band’s albums tell the story of the Amory Wars. That seems goofy to me, but then, I’m a failed musician and they aren’t.), [amazon_link id=”1934413054″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Walk In[/amazon_link] (ideas by the [amazon_link id=”B000002WAA” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Eurythmics[/amazon_link]’ Dave Stewart, NOT the kick-ass colorist of the same name), [amazon_link id=”1401228917″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Lobo: Highway to Hell[/amazon_link] (Scott Ian of Anthrax and[amazon_link id=”B00004NRW9″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ] S.O.D. [/amazon_link]- by the way, Stormtroopers of Death ARE thrash punk, there is no other. Maybe you didn’t know that.), [amazon_link id=”1600102093″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Gene Simmons’ House of Horrors[/amazon_link] (Chaim Weitz of KISS), or even [amazon_link id=”B00435EM8O” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Akuma-She [/amazon_link](which looks like shitty hentai porn and is written and penciled by little person Glenn Danzig of the[amazon_link id=”B000000I3O” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ] Misfits[/amazon_link].) Okay, I’m piling on, but it’s because this comic suuuuucked.

I had unrealistic expectations. First of all, I wasn’t much of a Rage Against the Machine fan, so I forgot that Tom Morello was the GUITARIST and that Zach de la Rocha was the vocalist and lyricist. So, while “Fuck you! I won’t do what you tell me!” is a philosophy that is near and dear to my heart, it is NOT one that was written by Morello. Secondly, I really like orchids. They’re the best flower. There’s just no point even debating that. Finally, I’m a left-lib pinko type, and I figured at the very LEAST, this comic’s politics would jibe with my preconcieved prejudices. Well, the ideas kind of do, I guess – I agree that it’s bad for rich people to enslave everybody else. That does make them BAD GUYS, indeed. But, well, I’m not so sure that rich people’s money would mean diddly shit after the utter collapse of civilization itself. Ya see, “When the seas rose, genetic codes were smashed.” Yeah. Like, the water rose, you dig, and it SMOOSHED the “genetic codes” of froggies and clownfishes and komodo dragons and people together, making them into mean looking scaly monster-frogs. But the dollar remains backed by the gold standard? Whatever, money is all an artificial construct as is.

Jimmy Snuka, CEO — "Muthafuckah, you had best not fuck wit my Powerpoint slides!" Orchid shows World Chem Inc in an unguarded moment. World Chem Inc, you got SERVED!

Anyhow, the writing is just plain BAD, but that’s not the worst sin of this comic, not by a long shot. No, the WORST is this comic’s ONE-IN-TEN INCENTIVE COVER. That’s right, for every ten copies

Terrible orchid — Gletkin, you got SERVED.

of this bought by comic stores, they are entitled to BUY another ONE copy with an alternate cover. The alternate cover in this case is the one I got, by Shepard Fairey. Normally, I refuse to pay a single penny extra for incentive covers because I find the practice despicable, but I liked this one’s cover by Fairey (the Obama “HOPE” / Andre the Giant “OBEY” guy) a LOT better than the ordinary cover by Massimo Carnevale. Also, I figured, “I’m spending 80 fricking dollars on comics, what’s another couple?” But, here’s the thing: incentive covers deliberately manipulate the supply of a particular version of a comic, thereby making that version more valuable. Perhaps you’ve heard of the law of supply and demand? Well, I have two problems with this: 1) A comic is an object of art. The purist in me feels that there should be only one The Old Guitarist, or one Cloud Gate, or one Flamingo, or one The Sun. I feel that so, too, should it be with printings of comic books. Now, I can hear you saying, “But John, Edward Munch did dozens of versions of The Scream, and more than one version of The Sun itself!” Well, if Edward Munch told you to jump off the top of Claes Oldenburg’s Dickmonster, would you do it? Hmm? 2) By FAR, though, the bigger problem is this: Since rarer comics cost more, incentive covers will tend to be bought by the people with the most money. Do you see the irony there? Morello and Fairey, POO ON YOU!

Part 2 – I ain’t joking, woman, I’ve got to ramble

Demon Knights #2

W: Paul Cornell

A: Diogenes Nieves, Oclair Albert, Marcelo Maiolo, Jared K. Fletcher

Rating: Is something I’ll be dispensing with for the rest of this post, ’cause I really need more sleep.

In Demon Knights, Paul Cornell has made a poor decision. I like Cornell, I wish him well, but here he earns derision. In DCU’s “New 52,” this book depicts Medieval times. But Cornell’s plan for Etrigan the demon takes away his rhymes. With continuity remade, each scribe is freed from canon’s shackle, but mere acuity of trade can make Etrigan’s comments crackle. I’ll drop it now, I’d rather not overdo Cornell’s castigation. The gag wears thin, and it begins to look like verbal masturbation.

As with Stormwatch, this series feels like Cornell is still finding his footing. Vandal Savage’s non-conformist reaction to a dragon attack is one step in the right direction, and points to what exactly feels off in both books: Because A) they are team books and B) all of continuity is new, there is too much characterization that needs to be shoehorned in. If this was a solo book, there would be plenty of room for Cornell to flesh out the protagonist’s new backstory and such, OR if we were just using the already-established DC Universe’s continuity, he could take the characters’ histories as read. But the combination binds Cornell. One would think that being able to do whatever one wants with the players would be freeing, but we see again my contention that limiting a creator can lead to the best work. While Stan & Jack were the literal creators of Pietro “Quicksilver” Maximov, it was Peter David who truly defined him forever afterward in his ingenious exploration of Pietro’s psychological motivation in [amazon_link id=”0785127453″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]X-Factor #87[/amazon_link]. Similarly, Cornell’s best work ([amazon_link id=”1401230717″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]this [/amazon_link]and [amazon_link id=”0785139524″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]this[/amazon_link]) has been with heroes (mostly) invented by others and perfected by Cornell’s craft. I doubt that the new “twist,” wherein both Etrigan and his unaware alter-ego Jason Blood are sexing up Madame Xanadu, will bear any lasting artistic fruit. On the other hand, I AM amused by the possibility that the exploits of EtriXan will be covered by the Gutenberg Tabloid Press. I do still have faith that Mr. Cornell will gain strength and momentum as the series continues, but I do worry that Demon Knights may be canceled before it hits its stride. Luckily, everybody in the nation has at least bought issue #1 of every “New 52” book, so that helps. That fact, though, makes me wish I could give the comics-buying public a lesson about the law of supply and demand. Hey now…

Part 3 – I’m about to lose my worried mind

Morning Glories #13

W: Nick Spencer

A: Joe Eisma Cvr: Rodin Esquejo Clrs: Alex Sollazzo Ltrs Johnny Lowe Design: Tim Daniel

This comic still kicks ass. Did you know that Morning Glories kicks ass? Now you do. You DO trust me, right? Man, I’ve written like twenty thousand words at this site, if you don’t trust me by now… I guess maybe I’ve relied on the “unreliable narrator” device too much. Have you seen Jules et Jim? It was okay.

In this issue, the mystery deepens… but that explains pretty much EVERY issue of this series. I’ll repeat that Nick Spencer really needs to absolutely nail the landing on this comic, because the “It was all a dream!” twist ending would be a total kick to the dick of everything that came before it. (Reread that line. Nice, eh?)

So, lotsa weird shit again. That number 2 on the cave wall on page 27 panel 4 – mad clue or art fuckup? Could totally go either way. The bit from Psalms 18:4, “The sorrows of death compassed me,” cutting off the end, “and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.” Is that significant? Got me! Heck, maybe every panel on page 29 is analogous to Psalms 18. Like, in panel three, Casey says, “WHAT’S THAT SOUND?” and Psalms 18:3 says, “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from mine enemies.” So maybe the sound she’s hearing is the 1st-person narrator of Psalms (King David, I think?) calling upon and praising the Lord? What about the fire on page 31 near the street sign saying “Rue Pitarra” – Google says there’s an apartment for rent there. Fuck, do I have to go to SPAIN to figure this shit out? Punching “Pitarra” into Wikipedia redirects you to Sacramental Wine – man, this had better not JUST be a bunch of God crap, because the Lord is totally NOT worthy to be praised. Anybody who’s read Kings II 2:23 – 2:25 knows that.

Part 4 – Always the same, playin’ your game: Boring Cover of the Week

Unlike the week of 10/5, 10/12/11 had many worthy candidates for BCotW. Take Demon Knights – please!

Proxemics, people! — Scimitar guy is SO gonna "do it" with the back of Etrigan's head.

Everybody is just, y’know, there. Staring in a random direction, being a random size. But the staging of this cover is so relentlessly dumb that it just ISN’T boring. Is Etrigan going to bite Madame Xanadu’s head? Does Boob-Woman want to gay-marry Shining Knight? Would Vandal Savage be less angry without all of those letters on his face? Sorry, Tony Daniel and Tomeu Morey, but bad is not boring. Worser luck next time!

Go! — Okay, people, gimme angry. Grrr! That's right! Now RUN AT SOMETHING!

[amazon_link id=”B005TKW112″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]New Avengers #17[/amazon_link] had a decent shot (Mike Deodato and Rain Beredo did the cover-o.) The people just running was pretty pointless. OTOH, the image does emit a legit feeling kinetic energy, movement. Plus you have Luke cage, Wolverine, and Daredevil all going “rarrrrr!” And Spider-Man seems to be trying to shove his ankles up his ass while planning on swinging from a stop sign. So, the prize goes to…

Hmph! — I have a rifle, but I'm not happy about it!

[amazon_link id=”B005TJXW0W” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Alpha Flight #5 (of 8.)[/amazon_link] This is seriously the most boring cover that could possibly be made depicting a bunch of stridently marching superheroes – including hot twins, a musclebound dwarf, a hot fish-woman, and a Sasquatch – holding laser rifles. While Taskmaster looks on from Heaven and is all, like, “Hmph!” Congrats to Carlo pagulayan, Jason Paz, and Chris Sotomayor – you guys win the booby prize. It’s a damn shame, because the comic itself is super fun, the best issue of this series so far, and the best work by Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente since their Hercules heyday, with splendid interior art by Dale Eaglesham (and no credited inker.) Here, lookit this:

Eh?

The l.ook on Puck’s face is totally priceless, right?

Part 5 – Speak to me only with your eyes: Awesome cover of the week

Pink matter — The dude has balls. Have a lot of people used that joke already?

Mister Terrific #2, cover by J.G. Jones. Forget 22 pages, guy, just do one of these per month. You’re money, baby.

Okay, sleepytime, thanks for sticking around!

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Our Underwear #7 – Parker in the front, lurker in the rear.

velousis

October 18, 2011

by John Velousis

Part 1 – How NOT to get to the point

There’s a saying that goes, “The best laid plans of mice and men can sometimes get all fucked up and out of control despite our best intentions, which pave the road to hell with idle hands.” Or something like that, I don’t really read the Bible much. Well, this last fortnight, I found out that saying is totally true!

Dig it: Two mags written by Jeff Parker were released on October 5: Thunderbolts #164 and Hulk #42. I was going to review them in my usual wacko manner, which would involve talking about some other comic book entirely, or no comic books at all, like anybody even cares anyhow, right? My REAL goal was to give Mr. Parker some kudos (or props or big ups or straight real fine azza blintz chummie, depending on your generation) for wrapping up no less than FIVE storylines in Hulk #41. My circumlocutious [scenic-route-taking] plan involved getting TO the plot-wrapping-up thing by talking about how these damn kids nowadays don’t wrap up plots enough, dammit; by way of example, I would have maybe mentioned Brian K. Vaughan’s plotting in Ex-Machina. In case you didn’t read that, what happened is that a guy (who later gets elected Mayor of New York) was given dominion over machines by extra-dimensional entities. The entities wanted they guy to prep our dimension for invasion, but he didn’t want to, even though they kept trying really hard to change his mind. Anyhow, the way Vaughan dealt with those alt-universe assholes when he ended the series is: he didn’t.

Window to the soul — Everybody likes boobs, right? Boobs, package, coupla camel-toes by Amanda Conner

My problem is that art is just too big. Think of every connection and/or comparison between artworks as a tree, okay? Well, trees have lots of branches. If nothing else, what I want to teach people is that trees have a lot of branches. So, I was going to get to Ex-Machina by finally explaining in detail why superhero comics are like Lars von Trier. If you’ve read one of my other columns mentioning this superhero/von Trier shit, you could be forgiven for assuming that I’m just saying something absurd for its own sake. That thing where I said that I once single-handedly beat the shit out of three attacking collies? Never happened. I DO believe that I could win a fight against dogs, but it hasn’t happened yet. But the Lars von Trier comparison IS A REAL THING that truly will see the light of day someday. Well, if daylight was a thing that hit computer screens. So I started writing it, the stream of ideas was supposed to flow kind of like this:
Lars-O-Mania! (Dogme 95 and The Five Obstructions) >< limitations of form/writers’ exercises & improv games (“Okay, folks! We need a profession, a locale, an accent, and a mental illness!”) >< superheroes likewise impose a limitation (talk about Nick Spencer’s device in T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents {“Why did God harden the Pharaoh’s heart?”}) >< necessary maintenance of a perpetual status quo in corporate-owned properties and its effect on story lines >< Vaughan crapping the bed in Ex-Machina >< Parker!

The problem with this strategy, aside from everything about it, is that it requires an endless series of explanations about each element. One cannot just say, “You know how Lars von Trier had the whole Dogme 95thing, then he had his old film teacher remake his favorite film five different ways?” The reason is because you DON’T know (probably), so I would have to tell you! To make a long story short (AS IF!), I had written about 500 words of my Intro To Lars von Trier symposium when I realized that I should probably try a more direct approach. That’s what this is. Obviously.

I'll bone that for a dollar — Erika Moen makes a boner. Moener. Check out Bucko (by her & J.P.) today!

Part 2 – Did Jeff Parker have long hair and favor sleeveless shirts once, or did I just dream that?

Here, then, is the next stab I took at writing about Parker’s work on Hulk and Thunderbolts. It summarizes his career, except it doesn’t get to the point where he starts writing Hulk and Thunderbolts.

Parker Art Tec 806 — Art by Jeff Parker from Detective Comics #806. The servant? ALFRED!

Jeff Parker’s career in comics is an odd one. Plenty of the current generation of comics writers had their beginning as writer-artists: Ed Brubaker, Brian Michael Bendis, Jonathan Hickman, Jeff Lemire. Outside the mainstream (represented, as ever, by Marvel and DC), in fact, creators tend to seldom do anything BUT both, artists like Eric Powell, Jeff Smith, David Petersen, the amazing Chris Giarrusso, Bryan Lee O’Malley, and nearly all the major indie auteurs from the previous generation: Daniel Clowes, Peter Bagge, the Hernandez Brothers, Dave Sim, Jeff Smith, Jeff Nicholson, Paul Chadwick, etc.

Brubaker drazzz — From Lowlife #1 by Ed Brubaker. I own every issue of Lowlife, but I don't let it go to my head. Hey, where's his hat?

It’s a lot rarer for a comic book professional to break through as an illustrator and THEN become a writer / artist, or a full-time writer, but when these guys DO make the switch, they seem to be astoundingly good at it. I could cite the example of Tony Daniel if I wanted to make myself look like a complete asshole. The guys who actually PROVE my assertion there are people like the great Mike Mignola (Hellboy and B.P.R.D.), the brilliant Luna Brothers (Ultra, Girls, and their masterpiece to date, The Sword), and the subject of this piece: spelunking Portlander Jeff Parker.

Catwoman 11 from Comic Vine — Catwoman #11 cover by Jeff Parker

Parker’s earliest pro work, as I’ve said, was in illustration. His first listed work in the Comic Book Database was as penciler for a couple of issues of Wonder Woman in 1994 (illustrating for another former Double Threat, Bill Messner-Loebs), inked a piece in Negative Burn #13 – which also had an Alan Moore story which was penciled by Neil Gaiman (WHITRIFUK?), did artwork in many of DC imprint Paradox Press’s “Big Book of…” series – illustrating pieces about important artists such as Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Burt Reynolds. From 1994 to 2003, only piece of writing cited by the CBDB is a short in Negative Burn #36 entitled “Volt 2000“, which he also penciled and inked, and which was evidently good enough to earn him the right to draw that issue’s cover as well. Then came his original graphic novel, The Interman. (Rating Review Grade Score: 8 / 10 – hell, why not buy it here?)

Parker did EVERYTHING on The Interman. He wrote, penciled, inked, colored, and even LETTERED it! Would-be collaborators can go pound sand as far as The Interman is concerned. It’s a splendid 130-ish page treat of a tale about a genetically engineered man created to adapt. His intended purpose is to be a super-soldier for the military (isn’t everybody’s?), but this flies in the face of his being a pretty nice guy. Parker displays an intuitive grasp of dialogue, plotting, and character – put that shit together and you call it storytelling, kids. My favorite panel in the whole thing has the story’s best joke AND a piece of authentic Greek profanity. This dude even does RESEARCH! Or maybe he just knows a Greek person.

I don't even KNOW 'irella! — More Jeff Parker art, couldn't find the comic's name. Swamp Grundy?

Jeff Parker’s work as an idea man has some distinguishing characteristics – one of the better ones is the amount of thought he puts into through lines. By this I mean character traits, motivations… he’s good at focusing on an action and visualizing its impetus. As an artist, he gets details right. In The Interman, the titular character is made of the genetic material of hundreds of donors. As such, it’s no accident that his look is multiracial, with his predominant look naturally being Asian, as they’re the most populous people. This is a skill that Parker has brought to bear throughout his work, as in the underrated and bravura Fall of the Hulks: Alpha {which has THIS great line of dialog, from big-headed Banner-Hulk foe The Leader: “[Dr.] Doom claims to be beyond base human traits, yet he is nothing but them.”} In FotH:A, Parker shows how a secret cabal of Marvel Universe mad scientists have been influencing [heretofore-unexplained] events in Marvel history behind the scenes, plus he ties all of this together with over 20 issues of Jeph Loeb’s red Hulk comic that, I daresay, did NOT put a ton of thought into character and motivation. This isn’t to say that seeing the whole Marvel U get slapped around is of LESSER artistic merit. Hell, it isn’t like Loeb dedicated his work to glorifying something TRULY worthless, like, oh, say, Smokey and the Bandit. No, what I’m saying is that Parker took this and fleshed it out into something yet greater. Ah, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Interman brought Mr. Parker’s authoring skills some attention. From that point, he began alternating art gigs with writing work. The drawing stuff was all over the place, but the writing work’s main venue was in Marvel’s family friendly Marvel Adventures line, starting with a story in Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #4 called “Goom Got Game.” With titles like “Doom, where’s my car?” (Marvel Adv. Fantastic Four #12) and “Ego, the loving planet” (M.A. Avengers #12), and with plotlines where Spider-Man’s use of the Ultimate Nullifier caused a baseball game with Galactus, Parker’s fun and funny scripts quickly attracted a loyal internet following. Among his fiercest devotees were bloggers such as Chris Sims, the internet’s ne plus ultra of guys-who-like-seeing-face-kicks. Parker’s last illustration-only work was in late 2005’s version of Amazing Fantasy #15. From then on, he would write everything he worked on, occasionally slipping in some drawing duties as well.

President ThingBeard — 'Strewth! Hulked Out Heroes #2 (W:J.P. A:Humberto Ramos,Carlos Cuevas,Edgar Delgado)

Most comic book fans are likely conversant with Parker’s career as a writer from this point onward, so I’ll just gloss over the details: In late 2006, he was given writing duties on two new titles for Marvel: X-Men First Class, and Agents of Atlas. Both continued to display a powerful antidote to the overdose of grim ‘n’ gritty that had lain on comics for some time. Atlas, in particular, seemed to be chronicling Parker’s endless wager with himself to keep reaching ever-higher peaks of superhero hijinks. Senselessly, though, it never sold well enough to avoid cancellation, despite multiple jump-starts and crossovers with every Marvel property possible. But Mr. Parker was to seize glory from the jaws of defeat: upon the demise of Atlas‘s last regular series, [TO BE CONTINUED.]

Hulk # 43 comes out this Wednesday, October 19.

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Why you should watch GREEN LANTERN Extended Edition

mDeVivo

October 16, 2011

I’ll start by saying that I know this is a flawed film , however I am going to recommend that you check out this Extended version of Green Lantern, if only to see a stronger version of Hal Jordan on-screen . There is only an extra ten minutes cut into the film but those ten minutes go great lengths to improve the story between our three main earth characters (Hal Jordan , Carol Ferris and Hector Hammond). I’m primarily going to focus on the new content.

This movie starts out the same way but instead of fast forwarding 6 months later after Parallax is freed we go back to the past to visit Hal Jordan as a child the night before his fathers big test flight. The next morning Hal skips school to see his dad pilot his ship for Ferris Air. It is here that we first meet Hal’s friends Carol and Hector. This scene helps solidify that these characters had known each other and creates more weight to Hector’s story later in the film. Next we are shown the iconic scene of Hal’s father crashing into the air strip . While parts of this are later shown in flashback form during Hals spin out , the extended sequence makes it easier to except that Hal would be driven to follow in his fathers footsteps as a Pilot.

Following this sequence we have a better exchange between Hal and his nephew where Hal draws a contrast between his Nephew pitching a perfect game for his little league team , and Hal flying . In this moment they both have their eyes closed and Hal explains to his nephew that the amazing feeling he felt as pitcher is how he feels every time he is in a plane. While Hal’s eyes are closed we see a tiny orb of green light come through the window and hit Hal selecting him as Abin Surs’ replacement which is a far better moment than just seeing Hal take off after leaving his Nephews Birthday party.

The one other added scene I noticed was a longer exchange between Carol and Hal while they are dancing in the bar. All of these scenes help breathe more life into the characters . The fact that this movie didn’t do as well as Warner Brothers or DC expected is largely due to the poor Editing and lack of direction from Martin Campbell. The actors themselves are all great in their respective roles and I like Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan. He obviously cares for the character as well as the fans of the character. However the writing is probably the biggest problem in this movie. Having four writers credited in the film shows there were too many cooks in the kitchen. Further more you would think Geoff Johns would have more input on the direction the story took since he was on set during filming . I have a feeling he was more in awe that something he loved was getting made that he didn’t stop to make sure his baby was in the best of hands.

I will also say that I think this movie actually is better after multiple viewings . Sure its flawed but it is fun and instead of beating it up for what it didn’t do right I will enjoy it for the things it did do well. I love the special effects, the costumes, aliens , and the action sequences. I wish that there was more OA as does everyone else but after watching the special features it was nice to see the art department taking so much time and care with each aspect of the film. I got that they spent so much time and money on pre – visuals that there were many deleted scenes which are on the disc that didn’t make it into the film due to budget constraints. Again the blame falls on Director Martin Campbell who has already excluded himself from the next film.

So yes I am telling you to give the film another go. I know you will enjoy the extended edition far better than what we saw in theaters . The special features and Deleted scenes are also great for fans of the film and the character. There is a great exchange between Sinestro and Hal in the Oan graveyard which seems to have been cut due to unfinished special effects.

While I’ll admit that the film isn’t as good as fans of the character and series deserve , this fan is not ashamed to admit enjoying the hell out of it either.

Mike DeVivo

Follow me on Twitter @pandasandrobots

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Review: Batgirl #2

rDuelfer

October 13, 2011

Batgirl #2
Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Ardian Syaf

Batgirl leads in directly from the last issues tense cliffhanger; The newly established villain known as “The Mirror”, has a gun poised directly at Barbara Gordon’s Achilles Heel, her spine! The events that conspire present the vulnerability and doubt that Batgirl carries with her from her time in a wheelchair. Gail Simone excels at showing Barbara’s humanity when under the cowl of Batgirl. Where Batman almost feels legendary and bulletproof, in this issue you really feel the danger at present; Batgirl even makes a point that she’s not Batman and has to fight more with her Witt, than brawn.

Batgirl is the first Gail Simone series I’ve tackled and I’m quite impressed, though I’m certainly not surprised, I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews for her previous work on DC Comics “Birds of Prey” and “Suicide Squad”. Though this issue consists mainly of action sequences, there’s a perfect ratio mixed in of Barbara’s personal life and her father, commissioner Gordon, which I’m very excited about his plot thread!

The Mirror gets a quick back story, which delivered his motive, a touch similar to the modern-day cinema serial killer, Jigsaw. But i really am enjoying his character and at this point in the series, I see him as more a vigilante rather than a villain.

Ardian Syaf’s art is detailed and dynamic. his action sequences fail to bore; I always enjoy a good brawl, fought in a well drawn rain storm. Syaf’s character design sells the new villain: The Mirror, hands down. I feel he draws the villain with slight more care than with Batgirl, which i find surprising since Batgirl is sporting a pretty intricate new suite.

Overall, I’m very excited about this reincarnation of Batgirl. I’ve read that Gail Simone love Barbara Gordon, as a character and I can’t wait to see where she flys with her. It’s hard not to get excited when you know the creator is truly passionate, I can only hope that Gail Simone stays for the foreseeable future and beyond.

And still the gnawing question as to how Batgirl miraculously gained the use of her legs is again dangled in front of us with no satisfactory answer. The motive behind The Mirror makes the tension between these to quite exciting; as is seems to be closely tied to the recent mobility Barbara has found. Mix this with the pure excitement that comes with next months cover, really makes this series a sure pull.

Story: 9
Art: 9

Also, highly recommended this week:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer S.9 #2
Batman and Robin #2
Uncanny X-Force #16 – Reviewed by: Roger Riddell, Check it out @ http://www.chicagocomicvault.com/2011/10/review-uncanny-x-force-16/

Follow me on Twitter @ddsuperbatnix

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