Cool News
AICN COMICS REVIEWS MOON KNIGHT! SILVER SURFER! A SLEW OF INDIE JONES! AND MUCH MORE!!!
#49 | 4/5/06 | align=right> #4 |
(Click title to go directly to the review)
THE OMAC PROJECT: INFINITE CRISIS SPECIAL #1
ANNIHILATION: SILVER SURFER #1
CRISIS AFTERMATH: THE BATTLE FOR BLUDHAVEN #1
MOON KNIGHT #1
DETECTIVE COMICS #818
Big Eyes for the Cape Guy presents GOLGO 13 V.1
Big Eyes for the Cape Guy presents LIFE V.1
Indie Jones presents BIG MAX #1
Indie Jones presents…
Indie Jones presents a few Indies from the San Fransisco Alternative Press Expo
CHEAP SHOTS!
THE OMAC PROJECT: INFINITE CRISIS SPECIAL #1
Writer: Greg Rucka
Art: Jesus Saiz
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
Out of all of the miniseires leading up to INFINITE CRISIS, I have flipped flopped the most with THE OMAC PROJECT. It was one of those series that had some interesting moments, but it just didn’t live up to its potential for me. I couldn’t help but think that this story was unnecessary as a miniseries and more fitting to take place in one of the Batman books. I understand Batman was busy with all of that Red Hood business, but I always thought that the issue that Batman was so paranoid that he designed a satellite to monitor all superhero activity and neutralize it, if needed, seemed to be a bigger, more interesting story than the tale of a resurrected sidekick. To top it all off, it seemed like a redundant plot because Batman practically did the same thing in a JLA arc a few years ago when he made files on how to take down the Justice League if he had to. But in this miniseries, Rucka did a great job with juggling characters like Booster Gold, Fire, Sasha Bordeaux, and the like despite Batman’s role only as supporting player. I also loathed what Rucka did with Sasha Bordeaux. Having read Rucka’s run on DETECTIVE featuring Sasha acting as Bruce Wayne’s bodyguard, I found it disheartening that such a rich character was reduced to being a fembot spy and member of an uninspired DC version of the Hellfire Club meets SHIELD. I loved the conflict Rucka added to Sasha’s character in ‘TEC as she struggled with her duty to protect Wayne and her desire for adventure with Batman. In THE OMAC PROJECT, I didn’t really see any of these aspects in Sasha’s character. She seemed to merely be acting as Batman’s agent, searching for the truth behind the OMAC business, soulless and uninteresting.
But now that most of INFINITE CRISIS is over and we’re dealing with its aftermath in One Year Later and 52, Rucka returns to OMAC with this special and I found this issue to be a pretty darn good read. Sasha Bordeaux is once again the focus of this issue and looks to be the star of the new CHECKMATE series which springs from the events that happen here. Sasha’s robotic aspects are taken care of in this issue and she’s handled pretty well as a character. She’s determined, strong, and resourceful. I haven’t read a lot of Rucka’s non-superhero stuff, but I hear he always has strong female protagonists. I’m glad Sasha didn’t fade into the back bins when she left DETECTIVE COMICS and this issue intrigues me as to where Rucka will take her in CHECKMATE.
But the highlight of this issue for me is that the book is a testament to Rucka’s power with the written word. Rucka really makes the feelings and sensations palpable in this book. Read this passage as Sasha feels Brother Eye trying to control her.
I’m halfway down the hall to the safehouse when I hear the machine calling to me.
I’ve heard it before…
the buzzsaw whine of its almost voice sends me reeling.
I’ve heard it before, that’s not what scares me.
What scared me is that this time…
I hear myself answer it.
That’s strong wordplay. And there’s more of that throughout this issue as Sasha fights Brother Eye’s influence in order to regain her humanity. This is very much Sasha’s story, setting her up to be a major player in DCU’s future.
The art is equally strong in this issue. Jesus Saiz has a clean style, with a raw touch for his action sequences, all the while delicately handling his female leads. This is a type of versatility that not too many artists have. Saiz’s females aren’t out of proportion, they’re realistic and grounded. His action scenes flow in a consistent and clear fashion.
As I read through this issue, I was instantly taken back to Ostrander’s SUICIDE SQUAD series. Much like JLI, SUICIDE SQUAD was one of the series that made me fall in love with the DCU. With the inclusion of Amanda Waller and Fire, this OMAC PROJECT SPECIAL and the upcoming CHECKMATE series seem to hearken back to a time when I way first becoming a DC-head. As long as Rucka’s writing continues on such a superior level, I’m on board for the upcoming series and fully recommend this OMAC PROJECT SPECIAL.
ANNIHILATION: SILVER SURFER #1
Writer: Keith Giffen
Penciler: Renato Arlem
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Humphrey Lee
There's one main reason I liked this book, and it's really very damned simple: The Surfer actually gets pissed and decides to become proactive in something for once!!
The Annihilation Wave is in full effect and it comes to the Surfer full force. Agents of Annihilus are out on the hunt for the Surfer and all the other former Heralds of Galactus as we actually see the re-emergence of good old Gabriel Air Walker, found by the Surfer locked in combat with these acolytes. And while I'm not exactly the biggest fan of this little section of the Marvel Universe, I did follow along with it a lot back in the days when I first started reading comics. That sort of "almost-intimate" knowledge of these characters is probably what made this issue an overall enjoyable read for me. Seeing Air Walker again was actually a bit of a shock as I wasn't sure anyone at Marvel remembered that he existed. At the same time it also made his unfortunate demise a little more potent. This actual event was handled pretty well from a storytelling perspective so that I'm sure even readers that have no clue as to who he is at least felt a little bit of that "awwww" feeling, but seeing him in his last hurrah kinda takes me back, y'know?
But despite my overall positive feelings towards this book in question, there are some rough patches. There are some very well-written bits like Gabriel's aforementioned swan song, a good old-fashioned cosmic slugfest, and the scenes at the end that start to urge the Surfer to action. On the other hand though there's some heavy and somewhat boring exposition at the beginning between Ravenous (one of Annihilus' commanders) and the two former Heralds, and there's an interlude with Thanos halfway through the book that is somewhat confusing, and mildly annoying as well, though it seems to serve a higher purpose for later as the story progresses. Overall though, I don't think these detracted from the parts of this book that were genuinely very good. And speaking of which...
I don't know who Renato Arlem is, but I'm already a big fan. If there's one huge positive I would use to push this book, it would be his art. Very reminiscent of one Alex Maleev I would say, it's just an impressive sight. Lots of detail in the backgrounds, very streamlined and yet unique looking character designs, and a great command of emotion in the facial expressions and body language of the figures he's depicting. This is the kind of stuff I could use more of. Though one thing I would give over the artist I use to compare this to (who is by no means bad at his trade) is that his figures are a lot less "statuesque" when it comes to fighting scenes, giving it much more oomph in that regard. I'm anxious to buy the rest of this mini to see more of this art alone. Plus those Gabrielle Dell'otto covers ain't to shabby either.
But there you go. This is a decent chapter in setting the stage for this giant cosmic "event" I would say, but I'm not sure if you can get the full effect of this book without being exposed to this part of the Marvel Universe before. This part of the story is in essence straightforward enough, but if you don't know these characters you might not care. That pretty much seems to be the rub for this entire series actually, as it really is dealing with a pretty lowbeat part of the MU. But I think this issue was worth it, if just to see the Surfer do more than float around on his board and lord over events like a glorified Watcher. So I say give it a shot. You never know. If you're not acclimated to these guys this might interest you enough to go out and learn more about them. And if it doesn't accomplish that, well at least you have some pretty pictures to look at.
CRISIS AFTERMATH: THE BATTLE FOR BLUDHAVEN #1
Writers: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti
Artists: Dan Jurgens and Jimmy Palmiotti
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Sleazy G
I was one of the many people surprised to see the destruction of Bludhaven get relatively short shrift in the pages of INFINITE CRISIS. After all, you’d think the destruction of an entire city caused by dropping a brain-dead schlub of a giant radioactive balloon-man villain would deserve a little more attention. Hearing the story was wrapped up so quickly and easily in the pages of a Superman title didn’t restore much faith. Still, when I heard this new miniseries was supposed to fill in a lot of the blanks and saw who the creative team was I thought it might be worth checking out, since the fallout from the Chemo event had some potential for interesting storylines.
The basic idea is this: the Teen Titans jumped into the disaster area to try and help civilians trapped in the city, but are told to get the hell out by a new band of government-sanctioned operatives called Freedom’s Ring. A year later, the refugees of the disaster are still forced to live outside city limits with no homes or belongings, no jobs, and very little assistance for housing, food or water. They’re struggling, they’re angry, and things are heating up. We meet a civilian who was caught in the blast, but instead of being killed or disfigured he’s somehow picked up a few new abilities, like being able to create flames from his hands and the whole “leaping great heights” thing. Apparently he’s not the only one to have undergone changes, though, since we also hear tell of a scientist who’s in stasis to prevent him from blowing up on a regular basis…
Meanwhile, inside the city limits the government is guarding something odd: a fetus floating in that tank Luke was in at the beginning of “Empire Strikes Back”. It’s apparently non-terrestrial and part-organic, part machine (although decidedly not technorganic, so to speak). Naturally, everybody wants to get their hands on the li’l tadpole, so we’ve got roving bands of baddies popping in periodically. Freedom’s Ring has been defending the government’s agents and scientists, not to mention their find, while there’s a third group of unknown intent running around as well, liberating the “test subjects”—the people who have manifested abilities as a result of the attack by Chemo.
It’s pretty clear what’s going on here: we’re looking at a way to rebuild the Freedom Fighters after they were decimated in INFINITE CRISIS #1. Father Time, this new Firebrand kid, a new Human Bomb…and that’s just issue one. I’m cool with that, and I definitely want to see more of these new characters. Still, all the new characters are part of the story’s weakness as well. Other than the aforementioned Titans appearance, it’s nice to see Monolith and his pals Tilt and Alice pitching in to help the needy in this issue, but that’s pretty much it for familiar faces. We encounter so many characters--eight in Freedom’s Ring, six in the Nuclear Legion, six in the Atomic Knights, plus at least another handful beyond those teams—that it’s hard to care about any of them. Just as I was starting to get interested in the Ring, for example, they end up…well…worse off than they started, to say the least. There’s so much jumping around and so many characters to track that I didn’t really feel invested in any of it.
Don’t get me wrong, Gray and Palmiotti do a solid job with the dialogue, and you can’t accuse the book of lingering longer than necessary on any one scene. They keep things humming along, jumping from scene to scene and advancing the plot pretty quickly. Jurgens and Palmiotti’s art is solid, too, and I really dug the character designs on Firebrand and Freedom’s Ring in particular. Overall, it’s a decent read with a lot of potential. I just hope that future issues will slow down a little and give us a chance to get to know some of these characters a little better; otherwise they won’t make much of an impression and could end up lost in the shuffle OYL.
MOON KNIGHT #1
Writer: Charlie Huston
Pencils: David Finch
Inks: Danny Miki
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
I read an issue like MOON KNIGHT #1 and I’m torn. The thing is, this isn’t a bad comic, but it features some things that really annoy me that have become the norm in today’s books. Because I’m a fan, I can sit back and enjoy it for what it is, easily ignoring the parts that bother me. But as a comic reviewer, I have to point these things out.
You see, Moon Knight isn’t Marvel’s Batman. Although I respect my fellow @$$hole, Buzz Maverik’s opinion, I have to disagree with him when he calls him this. Yes, in the past, writers who don’t really know what to do with the character go ahead and categorize him as Marvel’s version of the Dark Knight, but I always found Marc Spector, the Moon Knight, to be a much more complex character. He’s a character drenched in psychological problems. He doesn’t only have to cope with the difficulties of having a dual identity. Marc Spector struggles with multiple identities. More so than any other hero, Moon Knight is a character at war with himself. He’s a man who, despite his faults and failings, tries his best to do the right thing. To me, Moon Knight is one of those characters who just hasn’t had that perfect “treatment” or run yet. No one has come along and “got” the character and took him to a place out from under the shadow of the Bat.
There’s a lot of good in this first issue of MOON KNIGHT. Writer Charlie Huston focuses most of the issue defining just what Marc Spector’s role is in the Marvel U. He establishes that while the X-Men, the Avengers, the FF, Daredevil, and Spidey are busy fighting world threatening menaces and costumed madmen, he’s busy taking out the street crime. He gets into the down and dirty of it all and in a nice bit of characterization, Spector admits that he has a hell of a lot of fun doing it. All of this is revealed during a pretty well crafted and brutally intense action scene.
What comes next is equally well played. The drama which Huston introduces in this issue shows Marc Spector about as low as it gets; crippled, pitiful, alone. In the end we find that Spector has undergone some kind of real tragedy. The questions Huston pose to folks are how did he get there and what will he do now that he is there? These are nice questions and the snippets of information piece together a nice puzzle for the reader to figure out. I have to admit I am intrigued and seriously can’t wait until the next issue.
That said, this issue is peppered with some of the worst trends in today’s comics. First and foremost, the abundance of splash pages throughout. I understand that David Finch is the type of artist who adds spectacle to his comics and his work is pretty…well…pretty. But this issue has one title page of text, three single pages of splash, one double page splash, and a letters page, leaving only a few pages to establish some type of story. I understand that this is an issue filled with dramatic beats and reveals, but seeing an issue where almost every fourth or fifth page is a splash feels like a waste in my opinion.
And that’s the thing. This is clearly a set-up issue. Its purpose is to introduce new readers to the character and a story and remind old readers just how cool Moon Knight is. It does that, but I put this book down wanting more. Not more in a sense that I can’t wait to come back to see what happens next (even though I do have that feeling too), but more in a sense that I didn’t get enough to satisfy my appetite for a single serving of a comic book.
But that seems to be the trend these days. Make it flashy. Make it splashy. Toss in an obligatory action scene and advance the plot an inch. Huston does this like a pro. The problem is that it has become the norm. Intro page, bit of action, start drama, leave them hanging till next issue. It’s got the structural creativity of a shampoo container. Wash, rinse, repeat. Formula accomplished. I’d just love to see this norm strayed from. Tell a whole story with a resolution in the first issue to let the reader know what to expect. To let the reader know if this writer is one of those people who start out strong and peter out or if he can write a comic with a finish as powerful as his start. I’ve not familiar with this writer or his style. I shouldn’t have to “be patient” and buy a few issues to know if I like it or not. At the end of this issue, I was left with the usual feeling I get from an intro/set-up/Marvel 1st issue. That feeling of “hmn…not bad. I guess I’ll check out the next few issues and see.” And frankly, I’m kind of sick of that feeling. I’m sick of waiting to see if I like the issue until a few more comes out. I’m sick of not knowing how to feel about a comic until it’s too damn late and I’ve bought four issues. I’m sick of being served a potato chip bag of a comic and finding that most of the stuff inside is air and crumbs. I want a whole chip or three, dammit!
Moving to the art department, David Finch is channeling his inner Jim Lee big time in this issue. This may be a detractor or a plus depending on how you feel about Jim Lee. To me, I kind of liked Lee and kind of like Finch too. Finch has a much better eye for panel transition than Lee though. The sketchy, highly-detailed, rippled muscles, flowing capes and overdrawn intricacies are there, but Finch’s style is much more cinematic. He draws a pretty imposing Moon Knight and he splices the action scenes together sharply. Like I said, Finch likes the spectacle, which can kill the flow of the story, but once the panels start falling with more frequency, his skill as a storyteller comes out. This is definitely an artist who needs to forget about the splashes and concentrate on telling a fluent story. He’s able to do it, but the splash pages are the sure fire way to make this guy lose credibility quick.
Don’t get me wrong, despite my criticisms, this is a pretty entertaining read. It’s a light snack of an issue, teasing us with a hint of a story and a bunch of pretty pictures and reminding us of who Moon Knight is and why he’s so damn cool.
DETECTIVE COMICS #818
Writer: James Robinson
Penciler: Leonard Kirk
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewed by Humphrey Lee
Alright. Here we are. One Year Later round two. Most of the new spinoff series are still waiting in the wings for their debuts, but now we're starting to get deeper into where a lot of DC's main titles are now standing. This week's DETECTIVE COMICS is showing us that we're standing in the middle of a full-fledged murder mystery. And for that I am very happy. As much as I occasionally enjoy seeing the "UberBat" (Y'know the one I mean--the guy that takes down White Martians like third rate thugs) this kind of "Noir" setting is where Batman thrives and really should be. There's a reason why this book is called DETECTIVE COMICS, after all. Just by making this move back into that kind of environment, I almost want to call this whole "relaunch" with the OYL concept a success. But there's still a bit of a hangover from all said relaunch nonsense that causes this issue to lag a little bit.
So yea, apparently there's a new serial murderer roaming about Gotham and eliminating some third tier and lower Batman villains pretty systematically (KGBeast, you'll be missed *sniff*). This issue continues straight from the last issue of BATMAN as the Bat finally gets to see this murderer's dirty work first hand as he's on the scene of the newly deceased Magpie. Apparently both she and KGBeast have been taken out the same way, two simultaneous gunshot wounds to the head. And obviously that kind of clue has to bring up Two Face. But he's good again, right? Well, I guess we'll have to see as that unfortunately is mostly all we get as far as this murder case goes this issue, with the exception of yet another number added to the body count at issues end.
The majority of the rest of the issue is again "status quo" work. Pages and panels reminding us that yes, Batman and Robin are once again the fabled "Dynamic Duo" and raising a lot of hell in Gotham. Also, Batman is worried about Tim Drake's mental stability as he now combats the loss of his best friend, as well as still coping with life without his father. Obviously this is some central stuff to the overall tone of the book, but like I said before the book tends to lag under it as it pulls away from the main plot. Mainly it's the execution. There's a lot of cutting away to actually show these things and that just kinda cuts into the time that should otherwise be going towards developing the murder story better. The best example of this I can think of to show what I mean is the actual point where Batman is talking to Alfred about his worry for the boy. We get some words of dialogue between the two taking up a page of this, and then we cut to just a page of Tim sitting around by his lonesome and getting a little emotional in front of a picture of his father. Stuff like this could have served much better for the pacing, in my opinion, if say, the conversation between Bruce and Alfred had overlapped via dialogue boxes on the page where Tim was moping around. Using a page to talk about Tim being sad, and then a page to show it is a little bit of overkill is pretty much what I'm saying, and there's been a few too many instances of stuff like this so far in the three parts of this story.
But overall I'm enjoying this new era in the Batman legacy. A lot of that is definitely just a joy in seeing Batman back on his home turf so to speak, but there is a legitimately interesting story going on in this little crossover here. The overall tone is dark, but not crushingly so, just like Batman should be. And so far I think both Kirk here and Don Kramer on BATMAN have been doing a tremendous job of bringing this to life. The art itself has had some great flow from panel to panel, even if I do think the writing hasn't directed it well. And the books both look just as dark as the writing pushes, but again without ever becoming overly bleak. Plus, hell, this issue even has a pretty fun "interlude" story of a sort, featuring long lost character Jason Bard (a detective character not seen since Dixon's BIRDS OF PREY run I believe), who will apparently be coming to some sort of a role of prominence in the world of Gotham now as he'll be working for the Bat. Hell, pulling that off alone makes this an interesting read. Now if we can just pick up the pace a little and streamline the plot threads, I think we'll have ourselves a pretty darn good story on our hands.
GOLGO 13 V.1
Creator: Takao Saito
Publisher: VIZ
Reviewer: Dan Grendell
The world's best assassin is for hire.
There's always been something about GOLGO 13 that has bothered me as slightly off, and this first volume collecting what VIZ considers the best of the long-running manga's stories finally clued me in to it. The basic premise of the book is that Duke Togo, AKA Golgo 13, takes various jobs around the world as an assassin, usually killing with an M-16. He's the consummate professional, and gets laid all the time, but is cold as ice. Okay, people love badasses, that's nothing new. So what bothers me about this one?
He's good at EVERYTHING, that's what. There's a rundown of various data in the back of this volume, and it's ridiculous. His IQ is "quite high", he has a knowledge of ballistics that fills mathematicians with wonder, the medical expertise of an MD, advanced engineering and computer programming knowledge, and he can fire a pistol with both hands. He's a skilled knife fighter (thrown and carried), Olympic-level in wrestling, judo, and boxing, trained in several martial arts systems, has a complete command of self-hypnosis, the "voice of a movie star", can outrun cyborgs, ranks with the worlds top linguists, and has, believe it or not, "an amazing penis". Why in the hell am I supposed to believe that ANYONE has a chance against this guy? He's too perfect, so I don't care.
There are two stories in this volume. The first, Supergun, involves the building of an Iraqi supergun during Clinton's administration aimed at the US. Golgo 13 is sent in to shut it down, and he snipes the cannon to death with one shot from his M-16. That's right, he kills the fucking supergun, blowing it up, with one bullet from his mighty M-16. That's how awesome he is. In fact, he's so awesome, he isn't even in the second story - the threat of him being called in is enough to make a scumbag confess to a crime. He must have been off somewhere using his amazing penis.
Artwise, the manga isn't bad, though the people's faces all tend to look as if they were sculpted out of clay. Vehicles, guns, and buildings all look very impressive and accurate, however, and are the high point of the manga. This is clearly where Saito's strength lies.
I think I'll be giving future reprint volumes a pass. I've had enough of Duke Togo for now.
LIFE V.1
Creator: Keiko Suenobu
Publisher: Tokyopop
Reviewer: Dan Grendell
"...I get rid of all my worries, all my confusion... with pain."
You just know there's gonna be something different about a manga when it says on the back cover that there's a postscript by a licensed clinical psychologist. LIFE is not one of those fun, cute books, nor is it full of action or jokes or any of the stuff you find in most manga. No, buckle up for a look at real issues, people, and it ain't pretty.
LIFE focuses on Ayumu Shiiba, a teenage girl with some academic issues. With the test to see which high school she can qualify for fast approaching, she leans on her best friend Shii for help, but when Ayumu makes it into Shii's target school and Shii doesn't, it drives a wedge between them and sends Ayumu into a deep depression. Overwhelmed by her emotions, she begins cutting herself with a razor, finding release in the pain, and that behavior continues as she starts her new school year in high school, confused and alone. Though she makes friends, one in particular is even more damaged than Ayumu, and in no position to offer her support.
I was quite impressed with the way LIFE portrayed cutting, a well-known behavior among therapists and the like, and one that I have some personal experience with. Suenobu tells it like it is without glorifying the act but without demeaning Ayumu. She does the same with suicide, to a lesser extent, and that is handled well also. Neither of these are subjects that I would have expected to read about and not feel uncomfortable, but Suenobu has written them in such a way that you feel too much empathy for the characters to be discomfited by their actions.
The art is very evocative, pulling emotional strings easily. At times Suenobu goes from very detailed work to an almost-sketched panel, and this produces quite a bit of emotional impact when done skillfully. Overall, the art is much like many shojo manga, so when disturbing things like cutting happen it has that much more impact.
I'm very interested in the next few volumes of this manga. Real-life issues, dealt with skill like this, don't come along every day.
BIG MAX #1
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: James W. Fry (pencils) & Andrew Pepoy (inks)
Publisher: Mr. Comics
Reviewer: Prof. Challenger
"Get Ready to Go Ape!"
— Big Max
In a recent AICN Comics interview, Javier (Javi) Grillo-Marxuach, writer of SUPER-SKRULL, said he felt there were a couple of things missing from the current crop of comics being published: “the funny” and “monkeys.” So, what happens when you combine both into a hilarious one-shot? You get BIG MAX, a pun-filled charming cheese ball of a romp by comics’ number one go-to guy for “the funny,” Dan Slott and exuberantly illustrated with some nice cartooning by James Fry and Andrew Pepoy.
Imagine a world where Superman got old, retired, and passed on the top super-hero mantle to a powerful flying intelligent gorilla. That’s your basic one-sentence premise for this comic. There’s a bit of a HOWARD THE DUCK feel to this comic….well, minus the biting political satire. Howard was an anthropomorphic duck waddling his way through a world of humans and experiencing all sort of bizarrely weird adventures. All the while, Howard was accompanied by the beautiful red-headed Beverly who was clearly in love with Howard, regardless of the fact that he was a duck. Likewise, Big Max is an anthropomorphic ape who pounds his way through a world of humans as their premier super-hero, “The Ape Wonder of the World!” All the while, Big Max harbors an unrequited crush on the beautiful human female news photographer, Anne Fries. So, when you have Big Max, Shakes, and Anne Fries together you have one of those groan-inducing, but charming, gags that Slott and Fry fill this comic with. And Ronald McDonalds’ lawyers are all now scouring esoteric legal texts trying to see if there’s a potential lawsuit here.
The comic is a veritable potpourri of pop culture reference, everything from CITIZEN KANE to the Beatles to super-models, but the main emphasis is on wallowing in super-hero silliness. This gorilla-in-tights fights villains like Knock-Knock who obsessively tells knock-knock jokes or the Get-A-Way Ghost, a mime who has the power to make his “invisible” props real. The gags come fast and furious with lots of sight gags in the backgrounds including funny newspaper headlines and such. At the same time, Slott gives enough background on each character to be sure that every reader has a good grasp on who everyone is and insight into the Super Simian’s past. One of the funniest bits is that Big Max keeps a secret identity as a human named Homer Sapien who works as a deliverer of “Gorilla-Grams;” sort of like singing telegrams but the deliverer is dressed in a gorilla suit. And…pardon me for laughing…Shakes’ secret identity is as one of those monkey toys that clang cymbals together. Slott teases the reader with just the barest glimpse of Big Max’s arch-villain, Dr. Galapagos, who created Big Max’s own version of “Kryptonite.”
Now, word from Slott on this one-shot is that if sales are good enough to justify it, more adventures of the Mammal of Might may see print soon. I really have got to say that the darker that DC and Marvel storylines get in their misguided quest for the short-term dollar gain, the more I find myself searching out and gravitating towards light-hearted fair like BIG MAX and I would love to see the title published on some type of a regular basis. The problem with humor comics in general is that “funny” is not quite so easy to write as readers tend to assume, but Slott has a real knack for it and I for one really appreciate that. BIG MAX is not the type of comic that’s going to change the world, but it is one that is clever enough for adults and clean enough for kids. In fact, I can’t imagine a young boy out there who wouldn’t get a big kick out of Big Max and Shakes. There’s a crowded field of crappy comics out there, but BIG MAX is not one of them. Search this one out at your local or online comic store and let our collective voices be heard: “More Monkeys! More Funny! Si Se Puede! Si Se Puede! Si Se Puede!”
THE FURIOUS FIST OF THE DRUNKEN MONKEY: ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES #1
Silent Devil Productions
This was a fun read about a monkey, a gal, a frog, and a quest for love. If there is one unequivocal truth about the world it is that monkey = funny. Although the use of monkeys in comics has been prevalent throughout the years, I don’t think I’ve seen such an influx of primate activity on the four color page as I have recently. THE FURIOUS FIST OF THE DRUNKEN MONKEY is yet another tale of a tough talking simian and the trouble he gets into. Like I said, it’s a fun read that takes stabs at popular comics trends and had some pretty interesting twists and turns concerning monkey/hot chick relations that made me giggle quite a bit. - Ambush Bug
UNDEAD TASK FORCE (UTF) #1
APE Entertainment
Like monkeys, zombies are another facet of comics that appear to be in abundance these days. There are a lot of books out there featuring the undead. And that ain’t a bad thing. I love the zombie genre and will give any of them a shot. It’s a good thing too. Otherwise I would have missed out on UTF. This book has a great premise: a vampire gets sick of humanity and gets himself arrested so that he can be placed in prison where society’s worst criminals are just waiting to be recruited into an undead army. Once the prison turns corpse-like, though, it goes into lockdown, and it’s up to the UTF to clean up the mess. This book has one of those premises that screams to be adapted into film. It also has some pretty cool set-up scenes as the UTF have a meeting with the President and prepare for battle. Although the UTF and the undead don’t actually collide in this issue, it does set up for a great story. This book concentrates on the horror of the undead and the UTF’s military-esque reactions to it. It’s high caliber action horror and a nice alternative to the more human-centric focus of books like THE WALKING DEAD. Plus it’s got a character named Nacho, so it has to be good. - Ambush Bug
THE SHAOLIN COWBOY #5
Burlyman Entertainment
No monkeys or zombies in this one (well, there is a jabbering skull that is stuck on the end of the Cowboy’s sword for the entire issue), just cover to cover @$$-kickery. The Shaolin Cowboy and his talking donkey continue their non-stop adventure fighting demons and dragons in a bleak yet ultra-detailed desert landscape filled with all sorts of evil and, of course, lots of iguanas. Hints of a plot continue to surface throughout this issue, mostly coming from the afore-mentioned talking skull on the end of the Cowboy’s sword who doesn’t stop jawing for the entire issue. I’m fascinated with this book because underneath all of the insanity there appears to be some sort of sense going on. At first glance, this book would appear to be a non-stop senseless slugfest series, but something interesting is going on underneath as the Cowboy and his burro fight to protect an infant who only says “Mine” and holds two veiny eyeballs in his bloody hands. As always, Geoff Darrow provides jaw-dropping artwork. The intricacies of each panel are worth the price of admission alone and forces one to forgive Burlyman Entertainment for such an erratic distribution schedule. This series is one of the few books I read over and over, scanning each panel and finding new surprises with every read. Pick this series up and dive into the madness. - Ambush Bug
SLAINE: THE BOOKS OF INVASIONS HC VOL.1
2000AD Comics
I probably am getting on board this thing late, but this book is by far the one of the most beautiful and interestingly rendered comic books I have ever read. I’m not completely familiar with the artistic process, but it looks as if photographs are taken, scanned into a computer and then three-dimensionally rendered and added to via computer art programs. Whatever the process, this book looks amazing. The figures don’t look static like most photo-realistic styles. There is a real sense of movement, poise, and emotion in the subjects. They don’t just stand there looking as if they are waiting for the photographer to shoot. Artist Clint Langley’s figures actually look like they are doing what they are doing in the panels, as if the camera catches them in mid-motion as they hack and slash through demon hordes and fierce warriors. I don’t know where the photograph ends and the art begins, but it’s seamless and gorgeous. Slaine is a true badass; a Celtic King whose land has been overthrown by demons and whose life has been destroyed. Now he walks the earth in search of creatures and people to bury his axe into and there are plenty for him to do that to. Although I found it distracting when Slaine and the rest of the cast use a modern form of speaking, I found this beautiful Hardcover Graphic Novel to be one of the most entertaining eye-feasts I have ever laid my peepers on. Mountaintop highly recommended for those who appreciate good art in comics. - Ambush Bug
Howdy out there in talkback land! I, superhero , have just returned from the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco, California. I’ve brought back some of the independent mini-comics and ‘zines from the show with me to review. APE is truly an independent comic lover’s dream and I was able to find some really great mini-comics and ‘zines to share with you all. This is just a tiny taste of what was available and this week’s sampling is just what I was able to check out on the voyage back from San Fran. I’ll be reviewing some other books in the next several weeks as well. So without further ado…
EVERYBODY HAS ONE
Written, Drawn and Published by: Maris Wicks
By far my favorite discovery of the Alternative Press Expo, EVERYBODY HAS ONE presents us with cute little Totoro-like animals that discover an indispensable part of their anatomy: their butt hole. This tiny little pamphlet presents a story full of heart and humor that’s often hard to come by in any medium. It’s unapologetically simple and cute and is sure to induce a wide grin on the face of any who read it. This is a little book that deserves to see the light of day as an actual published book. But then I’m afraid that the slightly risqué elements that make it so perfect would be taken out. I take it back. Leave it alone. It’s perfect as it is.
GRITTY TALES OF ESPIONAGE AND DANGER
Written, Drawn and Published by: www.grizzledcomics.com
Take one part Frank Miller and add one part Brian Azzarelo, mix it in with a bit of Mignola and what do you get? GRITTY TALES OF ESPIONAGE AND DANGER is what you get, you bastards. Another tiny pamphlet that makes great use of the limited pages it contains, GRITTY TALES presents us with a tale of man who awakes to find himself bound to a chair with his pinkie finger cut off and his left eyeball plucked out. In true SIN CITY style, the protagonist concentrates only on escaping his situation (instead of crying like a little girl, which is what I would do). This book is a great little primer to creator Kyle Strahm’s dark and nuanced online comic book world. I’m hoping he’s actually able to get a larger work into print soon because if this little book is any indication he could have the potential to be a really great creator of crime-themed comics.
ZOD Issues 5 & 7
Written, Drawn and Published by: Jacob Steingroot
Lemme see…cute little animals re-enacting classic works such as ROMEO & JULIET and THE ODYSSEY? Yeah, I’m all in. Steingroot presents some of the best storytelling I’ve seen in comic book art in a long time. Especially when you consider that issue number five (the ROMEO & JULIET issue) actually has no dialogue at all! As tiny as ZOD is (each issue measures in at about 4 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches) each one actually packs quite the amusing punch. Not only that but the quality of each issue is top notch. ZOD is one of the few mini-comics/’zines that I saw that was published in full color. ZOD is perfect for any young reader or for any older reader with a younger one trapped inside of them. I hope this one is able to reach a larger audience as I’m pretty positive that it’d have widespread appeal if it could find a worthy distributor.
TALES OF THE DREADED ATROX!
Written, Drawn and Published by: Team Atrox
Atrox is a cute little dragonlike creature who apparently is trying to reform his ways. Meaning: no more eating living things as well as trying to take in artistic cinema with his overbearing intellectual monster pal, Bigfoot. ATROX is nothing short of hysterical and yes, again, cute. This mini-comic is another introductory pamphlet designed to draw readers into checking out an online comic but it’s a pretty neat little publication on its own. Even if the cover is printed on the type of green construction paper I played with in kindergarten. But that’s what adds to this thing’s charm. Not only that but the forward, written by the aforementioned Bigfoot, is worth the reading time alone. Kudos to this book. Another one that I hope gets its chance to cross over into the mainstream somehow.
DRUNKEN MASTER # 8
Written, Illustrated, Compiled, and Published by: Kiyoshi Nakazawa
DRUNKEN MASTER qualifies as more of a straight up ‘zine but there are comics in it so I’m reviewing it here. Nakazawa presents a mish-mash of absolutely crazy art, interviews, and random writings. DRUNKEN MASTER succeeds at being incredibly interesting and actually, to a certain extent, beyond description. I’ve had a chance to check out other issues of DRUKEN MASTER before and it’s always entertaining stuff and worth picking up. If you want something different and beyond the norm, this ‘zine is definitely the place to go. Wildly creative.
Remember, if you have an Indie book you’d like one of the @$$holes to take a look at, click on your favorite reviewer’s link and drop us an email.
Remember, if you have an Indie book you’d like one of the @$$holes to take a look at, click on your favorite reviewer’s link and drop us an email.
TEEN TITANS #34
DC Comics
I know I've said it to death by now when it comes to all this One Year Later stuff, but here it is: WELCOME TO THE NEW STATUS QUO!! Cyborg has been out of action for a year, there's a new and unusual line-up for the Titans after the events of OYL, and yes, a Titan has fallen. That's pretty much what this issue gives us. It fills in some gaps of the OYL leap by giving us vague and not so vague hints as to the whereabouts of the former Titans like Starfire and Beast Boy, and gives us a crash course into our current lineup. The only thing here that really piqued my interest was the very last page as we see how "well" Robin is apparently dealing with the loss of his best friend. That sets up some very interesting situations and conflicts that could arise down the road from this. Oh, and Wendy and Marvin from the old Superfriends cartoon are now in DCU continuity and are now random sidekicks to the Titans. I really don't know if that's really cool or very very sad.... Aw well. Here's to hoping the next issue of Titans has some more meat to it. - Humphrey
THE PUNISHER #32
Marvel MAX
Garth Ennis does a phenomenal job of creating yet another vile character to do battle with the Punisher in Barracuda, who looks like Michael Clarke Duncan with a set of gold-plated teeth that read FUCK YOU. The middle part of this issue focuses on corporate crime and the Punisher debating if he should get involved. I admit I was asking the same thing, but Ennis sells this plot well as Frank rationalizes it all. I like the way Ennis has structured his issues recently. He has the action occur, the plot moves forward, and towards the end of each issue, we get inside Frank’s head for some inner monologuing. This is the type of attention to character that Ennis’ old series was lacking. But Corporate lingo and characterization aside, it’s all going to come down to Frank vs. Barracuda eventually. Ennis sure knows how to make you hate a guy. Can’t wait for Frank to get this one into his sights. - Bug
AQUAMAN #41
DC Comics
I know some of the folks around here were pretty impressed with last month’s debut issue from Kurt Busiek. By the end of this issue, though, I was already annoyed with the “new” direction. If there’s any one thing that has hampered AQUAMAN for the last decade and a half (at least), it’s constantly dealing with the undersea society in Atlantis. Heroes work best when there’s something that makes them unique, which is why Arthur loses his appeal when he’s in a city full of people just like him. Beyond that, the constant bickering with the royal society in Atlantis is dullsville. He’s king, he’s not king, his ex-wife is queen, no she’s not, his advisors can be trusted but can’t, blahblahblah. I thought creating Sub Diego was a great idea because it added so many new and far more relatable conflicts to the readers, but now that’s out the window in favor of…oh, yeah. More of the same old stuff: Atlantis is destroyed again, Mera is kinda-queen of a small group of the loyal but consensus-building is desperately needed, royal guard Rodunn is kicking around, and within the first issue or two it’s so painfully obvious that The Dweller is Arthur Curry that it drains a lot of the fun and anticipation from the supposed mystery. In fact, for me there are really only two mysteries of any interest: how many months will this far less accessible approach hold on to new readers, and why the hell is New Alterna-Aquaman the only character with eyes that are solid black when everyone else who lives under water has humanoid eyes? Just wonderin’.--Sleazy
THE EXTERMINATORS #4
DC Vertigo
Ok…just…ewwwwww. There’s nothing like seeing the soiled south-bound end of a north-bound obese person to make an issue stand out as one of the best of the week. THE EXTERMINATORS continues to be the top o’ the heap of Vertigo’s most recent ongoings. This book has so many twists and turns that I have no idea where it’s going and I love every panel of it! This is one of today’s most original and most ballsy series. It’s not afraid to gross you out or give you the heebies. Deliciously uncategorizable and thoroughly entertaining. - Bug
INFINITE CRISIS #6
DC Comics
If I have any one complaint about INFINITE CRISIS, it’s that the series feels rushed. There’s so much happening in each issue that I wish each scene had a little more time to breathe. Stretching it out over a full year, like CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, would have been too bloated, I’ll grant, but seven feels a bit short. There’s a lot to wrap up in the final issue to come, and I’m worried it may move to quickly to really have the impact that it requires. Reservations aside, though, this issue has a lot of great stuff crammed into it. I loved the diversity of the alternate earths glimpsed (including, unless I’m wrong, one of the Earth from the DC/Marvel crossover of the 90’s—and what the hell ever happened to Access, anyway?), and seeing so many underused characters pop their heads in makes me hope we may be seeing more of them in the OYL DCU. I knew those who felt the TEEN TITANS ANNUAL was pointless had misunderstood the intent of it, and Conner’s fate here makes it clear that the annual is a crucial part of his story. As much as I’ve grown to like Conner, losing him here makes so much sense from a storytelling perspective that it’s difficult to argue with, and in the end it feels like the right choice. Oh, and those of you wondering about the Psycho Pirate’s mask? I think it’s easily answered: Black Adam’s a pretty heavy hitter, and I think we can assume he used such force that he pushed clear through the brain matter instead of pushing the brains out behind it. Works for me (well, the assumption and finally whacking that annoying little S.O.B.). --Sleazy
-
+ Expand All
-
I was SO happy to see Psycho Pirate's death, and the way he died! So wonderfully disgusting!
-
I've never read Infinite Crisis. what's it about? Second, is Ambush Bug trying to imply that Batman doesn't have psychological problems? If so, that's crazy talk. And yes, Moon Knight is Marvel's version of Batman. It's true, it's true!
-
No one talks back about comics? I never even post stuff.
-
... is all about wrapping up the loose ends, multiple origins, and extra characters of the last 20 years of DC comics, while at the same time trying to keep it as an engrossing story for the fans to enjoy. I'm callingit, so far, a 90% success. It's not a total success, but the creators only have 7 issues to do what Marv Wolfman & George Perez did in 12 issues 21 years ago..... And at least DC is acknowledging their past mistakes and trying to fix them, while keeping them in continuity. Marvel just pretends they never happened in the first place *cough*baby May Parker*cough*
-
ok, there's one post:"Not First" posted about 25 min ago. I'm going to predict upon my posting this postI I will be the 5th poster. Postitty post-post.
-
Science!
-
I have discovered and now love NextWave. It is the sort of creamy goodness I normally only get from Peter David novels. That is all.
-
...one of them "Monkey Kombat" moves in one of those Monkey Island games from LucasArts? Along with Amazing Ape, Charging Chimp, Bobbing Baboon, Gimpy Gibbon and...uh...well, I just got my UberGoob membership card double-stamped, didn't I. Never mind.
-
You summed up my thoughts (good and bad) on Moon Knight #1 exactly.
-
Can I just say how sad it is that people have to essentially beg for others to buy THE THING? Believe me, I'm feeling like an industry where the creator and critics have to beg people to buy a book full of heart, humor, excitement, and just plain fun, is not an industry I necessarily want to support any longer. It's sad, and it's a definite dilemna for me.
-
Sorry, but he was one of the most interesting second tier characters (considering that main tier consists of Superman and Batman and...that's it), in the DC line up. Killing him off may have been the artsy choice, but it's the kind of thing that makes me hate comics now. And worse, fan boys will bitch if he's brought back becaue it cheapens death. So of course characters I don't care about are brought back when characters I started liking are left dead and forgotten. Shit.
-
This was the second issue I've ever read of Aquaman and I'm pretty confused. I think I could like it, but there's just things like the eyes, multiple Arthur Curry's (maybe?), No mention of THE Aquaman really, etc., etc. I like Butch Guice too and for some reason have an affection for the underwater word baloons. Is it late? Hey, that Jack sure is a good shot, huh?
-
but who plays capt. marvel? and who plays billy baston? hmmm...someone ponder...
-
Peter Segal will take no other! LOL. I mean, if they were considering Jack Black at one point for GL, what is one to think when New Line hand Shazam to LONGEST YARD/50 FIRST DATES/ANGER MANAGEMENT director Pete Segal? In other news, I really dug INFINITE CRISIS 6, and look forward to the end. But I am getting really psyched for this CIVIL WAR shit about to go down in Marvel-land. And my DC/Marvel comic collecting ratio over the past 14 years I have been collecting comics has been 100:1, I shit you not.
-
...I learned reading Grant Morrison's kick-ass JLA story where Conner takes on the Key after all the other Leaguers have been brought down. Actually that's not quite true - I think I caught him popping up in a BIRDS OF PREY or two from Dixon's run. And my first impulse was to hate the kid, 'cause I don't like legacy characters, but he actually won me over. Dead now, eh? Fucksticks. Hey, Sleazy, can you elaborate on your Cheap Shot and tell me WHY "losing him here makes so much sense from a storytelling perspective"? I mean, I already hate CRISIS, but I have a morbid curiosity as to what killing off an interesting character supposedly did for the greater good of the DCU. ***** As of the moment, I'm pretty close to disinterested in the company's line-up. BLUE BEETLE #1 was probably my favorite OYL outing, with its lighter tone, swanky powers, and strong visuals. Robinson's BATMAN is a nice return to form for the character, but surprisingly uninvolving. Also: the Ventriloquist dead? Fuck THAT. And beyond those two, nothing else of great note. I'll read BIRDS OF PREY, but its OYL kick-off wasn't a grabber. HAWKGIRL's got me watching for the art, and a little bit for the writing. Mostly I'm feeling like OYL is a creative flop, though, with nothing of the impact of the 80s post-CRISIS relaunces. Disappointing, but as always, there's other fish in the sea. Sometimes I actually like it when the Big Two are annoying the hell out of me, as it inspired me to dig a bit deeper elsewhere for the good stuff, and even acknowledge to myself that it's okay to read a few less comics for awhile. Weirdly liberating.
-
Probably. Likely. Seeya in a few years or so, Connor me boy!
-
I'm actually liking Marvel's ANNIHILATION stuff pretty well so far. Good prologue, liked SUPER SKRULL this week, and was especially taken with SILVER SURFER for all the reasons Humph cited. Air Walker? Man, I only know this guy from his MARVEL UNIVERSE entry, but the dude actually went out in style. Here's a character who's legitimately far enough down on the totem pole that he's a fair candidate for cannon fodder, and he STILL got a better death than any of the other heroes that've been cacked lately. As always, I'm cynically bracing for the series to go South, but y'know...so far, so good. I like that all the shit's going down in space, far from Civil Wars and killing Hulks and Iron Spideys.
-
I like IC so far, but I also feel Johns crammed too much into too few issues. Given the scope of the story, I think 9 issues probably would have been better suited for the series; a three act story structure with each act consisting of three 36 to 40-page issues. The first act would basically be IC #1-3 -- a cool close to the first act as the stage is set and we learn who the villains are. The second act would be a more fleshed out version of IC #4 and #5 -- the second act closing with the rebirth of the multiverse. The final act with the heroes mounting their offensive on various fronts would cover IC #6 and the yet-to-be-relaesed #7. With that much room to tell the story, there could have been more time to have the cool fights as well as the great character moments, thus giving each of those two elements their ability to shine. As it is, it's good, but it just leaves me wanting more.
-
FABLES (perennial), ALL-STAR SUPES (forgot to mention it before; DC's best hero book), ANNIHILATION (don't drop the ball...), KEIF LLAMA (indie sci-fi!), THIEVES & KINGS (indie fantasy!), MOUSE GUARD (where's issue #2?), AMERICAN VIRGIN (can't predict its path, but that's actually a good thing so far), LOCAL (the place to be for done-in-ones), WALKING DEAD (it's won me back), SHE-HULK and THE THING (please don't be tainted by CIVIL WAR...), STAR WARS comics (an only mildly guilty pleasure), NORTHWEST PASSAGE (token Canadian comic), THE ATHEIST (when it's out), and GODLAND (I could almost worship it). Buy these books and no others and the industry will right itself.
-
'hasnt gotten up from the couch since '92 obese bitch' makes the book a must to at least glance through at the shop. but yeah it does deserve the high praise its getting so far.i think i should be quoted above the title on the next issue "it makes my skin crawl just to hold the book in my hands".but in my defense ive always had a thing about bugs since a huge wasp stung me when i was a kid.in other news(that segueway is aging rather poorly)i bought an xbox 360 with my tax return money.im in HD nirvanna...no new comics this week for me...i needed a new 360 game!i havent seen tonights lost yet because i went to dinner with the girl but its tivoed.im usually pretty excited about catching the new ep by noon on wednesdays and will usually put off pretty much all else. today, not so much. after last weeks "its all in crazy hurley's mind" finger diddle im kinda like whatever about it. its on the tivo. im sure ill catch it this weekend.or whatever. im starting to lose interest
-
the mail thing is coming!bear with me a bit but its on the way.
-
i've never gotten syntox gas through the mail before...but i'm confident bauer will swoop him before too much damage is done...best be on gaurd darth...
-
Connor Kent, the '90s Superboy. I'm not sure what Connor Hawke is up to.
-
Connor Kent = Dead. Conner Hawke = who cares, I don't know.
-
I don't know a lot about his past... but that's the same one that came from the Death of Superman thing? With the leather jacket? I'm not sure I put 2 and 2 together and knew that. Duh.
-
I liked the Nextwave letters page in the most recent issue. It wasn
-
Anyone know when Frankenstein #4 and Seven Soldiers #1 come out? I'm dying here. Seriously.
-
I don't know how much common ground we have either. I thought I knew you, man. Suppose I'm more of a Marvel Zombie (Cap, UFF, Daredevil). The best indie book thus far in 2006? Easily Crickets #1 from Drawn & Quarterly, maybe the best single issue I've read yet this year. But overall, 2006 has me feeling weird about the state of the industry. Also, I hate that I was right about Paul Pope's Batman going into it: sure, it looks great, but Pope should never, ever, ever do company-owned superheroes again. Ever. I can't believe we're not getting a new Paul Pope original for at least another year because of fucking Batman.
-
Okay. It's almost over, what a disappointment. Can anyone tell me why this was really necessary? I mean, there was a point to Crisis 1. It eliminated all these earths. What did IC really change? Okay, a bunch of b-list heroes got killed. Again. Come on, even "Connor" Superboy is WAY BList. And apparently, he'll be cloned back to life sometime soon anyway. Yes, the Human Bomb died. Yes, we had the deaths of Maxwell Lord and Blue Beetle. Oh, and Wildebeest. Superman lost his powers, which will return within three months. I bet $20. Any takers? Nightwing as a title now is almost unreadable. At least once in every title, someone says someone like "Yes after what happened last year, I didn't expect to..." Everyone speaks cryptically about events that are apparently well known to everyone except the reader. And probably the writer, too. And every single OYL storyline is just kinda boring. The titans lineup is even lamer than the late-Wolfman era, which will now be known as the "Pantha/Phantasm/Danny Chase" era. Psycho Pirate is dead. Everyone's really excited about the new Blue Beetle title, which will be cancelled by issue 18, sending that character into obscurity and the meat-grinder line for the next crisis. Uh...great job, DC!
-
we already buried the cog mascot...i was hoping we wouldn't be wiping out cogs so soon...but maybe we'll just retcon you...or perhaps we can persaude morisson to get them issues out faster...oh frankenstien...he kicks some ass, that is all.
-
Apr 13, 2006 9:58:30 AM CDT
What does the Titanium Man need with a sniper rifle?
by vagrant's choice
I know this book (Amazing Spider-man #530) came out about three weeks ago but I just read it last night. Titanium Man using a gun makes about as much sense to me as Iron Man using a gun. WTF? Oh well, at least it
-
I still got a good 50-60 yrs in me. Still dying, though.
-
In IC #6, Batman tells GL to stop by Superman's fortress to pick something up. Given the Superboy prime isn't arount OYL, I'd assume it's gold kryptonite that Batman picked up. That's the one that "permanently" removes Superman's superpower, right. And somehow the New Earth Supes was also exposed. By the way, how does one determine that gold kryptonite permanantly removes Kryptonian powers? It's not like there's a lot of subjects that it can be tested on.
-
So wait...what do you want? I hear lots of bitching that Crisis will have no lasting ramifications or changes made to the DCU. That some things will change for a maybe a year, and then something else will come along. To which I say: Um, duh. It's friggin' comic books. This kind of stuff has been going on for a long time. You really want the status quo shaken up for good? You want Batman to permanently become a transvestite and Superman exiled to Venus? You want to ask if every story in comics is "NECESSARY"? What does that even mean? Is 'She-Hulk' "necessary"? How's about you sit back and just enjoy a well-told story? Yeah it's got tons of heroes doing magic and battling each other and multiple planets colliding and cosmic storms and great characterization and personal moments. I'm not seeing where the problem is? Was it the hype? I don't think it's that hard to see past is it? I have read exactly ONE OYL issue but am loving the heck outa IC. If you don't like the sound of it, don't buy it. Pretty easy. The end.
-
Y'all are telling me it was CARROLL O' Conner who died? Not like this, Archie Bunker! Not like this!
-
I actually don't care for "events" with the major DC characters, because we all know that ultimately, nothing is going to happen with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. The original Crisis did axe 2 fairly major characters who never returned (well, ok, their uniforms returned with different people inside)and eliminated the multiverse. I mean, it's hard to deny that nothing really signifigant has happened during this crisis. Maybe the shakeup is still to come, but I think it's due to the lack of impact we see in the OYL titles that people are complaining. Nonetheless, I am enjoying Infinite Crisis quite a bit. It's thousands of times better than House of M, which actually did have major ramifications on the Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, those ramifications have been quite craptacular. btw, I didn't even realize that Teen Titan Connor Kent Superboy was the same one who came out of the Death Of Superman crapfest. I guess he was the same character who used to wear a jacket and fight Knockout, he just seemed very different.
-
Can a comic be too old-school? Judging by the latest issue of the Thing, yes it can. That corn came from the 1950's and it wasn't my...dare I say...thing. Yancy street, self-righteous pawn shop owner, Thing too ugly to love...it's all just too throwback, so another issue like the latest one and the Thing has one less reader. bfd.
-
Here's my rant about that Spidey issue from a few tb's ago, "First off, Tyler Kirkham draws Peter Parker like a teenager in a manga book. There's even a flashback scene where when Peter was bitten and he looks exactly the same as he does presently - a teen boy. That shit drives me nuts. Secondly, Peter calls Tony Stark, "Boss" around 20 times and it just annoyed me every single time. Trust me, around the tenth time it's just grating. I can't believe JMS also writes Supreme Power, which is leaps and bounds better than this. And last, the 'Iron Spidey' costume can dhange form and look like civilian clothes, a symbiote costume, Spidey's original duds, or
-
Not ConnEr Kent or ConnOr Hawke. You may be right about Carroll O' Conner though
-
Mouse Guard may be great, but the best thing in 2006, the best thing in years -23040 to 2009, is quite simply Go-Go the Gorilla. He's cooler than Sarah Connor, John Connor, Connor MacLeod (from Highlander) and Superpansie aka Conne/or Kent. He deserves to be elected president of every country. When he speaks nations weep at his majesticness-tude! http://tinyurl.com/gwrd4
-
what happened?
-
i'm officially conner/or'd out.
-
How did it go down that Spider-man became Stark
-
I really need to pick up that trade.
-
The reason I read and enjoy Marvel comics, and can't slog my way through stuff like "Infinite Crisis," is that Marvel comics know how to breathe. Splash pages are great as long as there is a lot to look at and a good context for them. There is in that Moon Knight. By the way what Moon Knight should be, IMO, is the seventies exploitation era character, splashes of disco-era cool, late Moore Bond, but also urban rot of the Taxi Driver variety. It was like Hart to Hart meets Tarantino at its ever-modest apex, and if they could take the focus off his tortured psyche (at this point who the hell cares about another tortured psyche) and focus on THINGS HAPPENING THAT MATTER, then they'd have a current hit. .....Nah, you're not ALL wrong, I just wanted to git yer attention.
-
It would be best, to differentiate the character from Batman, if he wouldn't be just another vigilante doing the job of police. Helllloooo.... It's NOT the seventies anymore, the whole "Deathwish" vibe is passe because we have a militarized police force and so forth, we live in a virtual police state, where is the high concept in crimefighting superheroes? Or forget high concept, where is the immediacy? We need Moon Knight to be cracking the heads of middle eastern, neo-nazi, and rogue-agent terrorists. He needs to set up shop as a mercenary again just so the worst creeps will come to him looking for him to do dirty deeds, just so he can turn the tables on them.
-
Batman tells Hal to go to Superman's fortress because that's where the big action is. Clearly he's standing there on the very last page and can be seen arriving with Hal behind Wonder Woman on the shattered glass/New Earth page. My question is, what happens to both Earth Prime Superboy and Earth-2 Superman? Can only one Superman have power, and because Earth-1 Superman has his Lois, he chooses to be Clark Kent?
-
you're the best!
-
I thought it was okay. The thing that bothered me about it was the sky. Yep, I know that all the Earth's had merged into the new Earth, but I would have expected NOT blue sky's and people having picnics. That's all.
-
Tony explains to his cohorts that the best idea would be to sit and speak out the bill with the law makers. Not to be behind it, but to offer its support so they can break it down from the inside. The ILLUMINATI not growing with age... its seems you read it once...
-
That is all...
-
Anyone who says nothing is really happening other than characters dying is sadly lacking in comprehension apparently. Not only is DC trying (yes, yet again I know) to clean up their continuity but also address their entire publishing history with said continuity. IC# alone re-established Joe Chill as the killer or Batman' parents, put Wonder Woman back into the original JLA (where she belonged), and gave us back Supman was once Superboy. Not much happening? You probably thought the last 2 episodes of South Park were meant solely as a slam on family Guy too huh? Yeesh.
-
IC# what did all these things? Did I miss an issue?
-
Unless I'm mistaken, Peter Parker is technically a Stark employee since he's an Avenger now. I think.
-
WTF is exactly what I think when I pick up DC megabooks like that. Granted too little happened in House of M, but too much is bad too. Cramming in panel, cramming stuff into pannels, and cramming words into panels is no substitute for having a strong narrative that doesn't need torturing to make it seem substantive. It's a waste of George Perez, for one. ...Some interesting themes have been raised in a couple of the Superman titles. But raising a theme and moving through dynamic action to a climax beats four climaxes per page, or indeed per panel. Well that's what I think anyway.
-
That's what I get for trying to post during peak call time on the job. Howzevah.....I do agree with the poster who stated that IC should have been 9 issues and the structure he gave was spot-on. It IS a bit crunched I agree, but by all means, feel free to compare what happens in IC with what happened in HOM. One was just a drawn out 'what if' while the other is very much 'what is'.
-
There is NO. SUCH. THING. as a 'waste' of George Perez and never has been ( not to mention putting his name in conjunction with the complaint of too much happening in a panel is THE most laughable thing I've read here in a loooong time). Dude, Perez is one of THE guys you go to when you want to cram your panels with detail and action. A 'waste'....shyeaaah riiiight.
-
Early on, Lee and Kirby had the Surfer doing stuff and causing trouble because he was sooo alien and didn't understand. This was Kirby's Surfer, since Kirby did the plotting. Then, Lee did a solo SILVER SURFER book, mostly with John Buscema, which except for the great, first origin issue, was some of the worst stuff classic Marvel ever produced, as you can see in ESSENTIAL SILVER SURFER VOL., redeemable only for SS # 1 and the lone Kirby story in which SS battled the Inhumans for no apparent reason. Stan loved the character but didn't get it at all. He introduced Shalla Bal and the idea that SS had once been a human alien named Norrin Raad. This is was a mistake because Kirby had conceived the character as a creation of Galactus, who was on Earth to earn his humanity, which would have made for more interesting and exciting plots. In the 80s, Steve Engelhart and Marshall Rogers sort of reconciled the two concepts and got SS off Earth. Surfer was more active, buzzing about the universe, taking on quests, mixing it up at every turn. Best non-Kirby SURFER series, in my opinion...Glad to see Gabriel Airwalker, the second and least interesting Herald of Galactus back. Firelord was a cool herald; Destroyer was boring; Terrax was great because he was a real bastard; the female Nova or Chick-Nova as I call her was a brilliant idea of Byrnes; I don't know any heralds beyond that. Wasn't Johnny Storm turned into a herald recently?
-
Aw, shucks...I can't stay mad at you. But STILL! The Thing is awesome. I see your point, but still...the Thing is "anti-everything I hate about modern superhero books" so I must love and support it. Someday I'll uncork my 700-word anti-New Avengers post and it will make sense. But whatever @$$hole (Ambush?) eviscerated the last NA issue did a better job of it than I.
-
The only Surfer stuff I was really into was the stuff DeMattias (sp?) wrote. I saw this new SS and got excited about it until I read it takes place in the backyards of space with characters I'm not familiar with. But if the art is good ... well, sometimes that is all it takes for me (Iron Man #6, for example).
-
This Infinite Crisis (so far) has not created much excitement for me - in fact, it has made me walk and check out Marvel instead. The IC series itself is fucking cool. But outside ... I mean ... that OMAC special and the BLUDHAVEN series look like two of the most boring fucking DC books that are going to ever get shelf space. DC brought out some little preview pamphlet a few months back with all these boring titles on it ... it was depressing. Shigeru writes "If you don't like the sound of it, don't buy it." - and I'm not. But at the same time I am extremely disappointed with what DC has done. I expected a lot more from this. Someone lost a grip on things. I think they are all quite confused in their DC office, juggling IC with OYL and 52 and all the other titles and print dates. Who the fuck came up with the brilliant idea of taking Superman's powers away? He may be my favourite superhero character, but I am glad I stopped collecting his titles years ago. I even stuck out that bullshit electricity suit phase. Anyway, I hope things pick up. But Civil War is looking far more interesting to me.
-
Y'know, sometimes this board can be a little bit frustrating, i mean the whole "You like Bendis?WTF?! You don't like IC? WTF?!" deal is pretty tiresome. I still love you tho'.
-
"IC is good because HoM sucked". Sure sure.
-
Uh, I'm just saying...I would PREFER a well told story, instead of a cheap marketing scheme. Nothing substantial has happened. At all. And I see you won't take me up on my $20 bet. Same problem I had with Meltzer. Killing and raping people does not a story make. It's like some freshman drama major putting naked people on stage and saying, "Don't you think I'm artistic because I did that?" It's just shock value. And seriously, killing Wildebeest and raping Sue Dibny doesn't shock me. It just sort of depresses me. Nobody could think of anything better, so they just decided, "Hey, it's time to bring back some people we killed and kill some b-listers again." It's like you can set your watch to it at DC. I don't want them to kill Supes or Bats or make Wonder Woman a murderer. But I wouldn't mind something actually that contained a story...like the Sandman series, or a "Whatever happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" or Year One, or Born again. Those are stories that resonate, and earn their tragedies. It's just so craven and cheap and lazy to do this.
-
Actually guys, the story has been going on for at least two year...From the time of Identity Crisis. Then you had countdown...then The four mini-series that lead to the final one. These 6 issues were a great wrap up I am greatful DC is cutting it "short" The actual tale itself is in multiple issues theought DC>
-
(*_^)
-
You Hear me DC?!? NOT cool, not cool in the 'majorly ripped-off and burned" feeling ya dig, Motherfuckers? (Strangely enough it is THIS that is making me drop several titles from them right now...)
-
I've been blown away by Perez since his Wonder Woman. But it's a waste of his ability if so much is happening (and being commented on) that you can no longer tell or care much what is happening. All I'm saying is that there is a difference between lush illustration and cramming twenty pounds of shit into an eight pound sack.
-
I know IC's been 'planted' for two years. (If by 'planted' you mean a couple random panels of someone in the shadows saying, "A Crisis is a comin'!") But... what is it, exactly, that was planted? I guess I'll wait for issue 7, but it doesn't really seem like the big ending is all that big. I mean, in Crisis, you had relaunches that were substantially new and different--Batman (Year One), Superman (Man of Steel), Perez's Wonder Woman, Justice League, even the Green Lantern Corps was vaguely interesting--but the bottom line was, everything was seriously different. There was no multiverse anymore, no Earth-2, no Earth-3. Barry Allen-- a character with 30 years of history by 1986, and Supergirl, with a similar pedigree--died. Here it's like, "Meh. Jason Todd's back." Except he's already BEEN back basically since Jim Lee's "Hush", which was four or five years ago. What's been 'cleaned up?' It's just a mess now. And an anticlimactic mess, to boot. DC couldn't even get their acts together to finish IC BEFORE all these OYL stories started popping up, so there's an awkward overlap between the end of IC and the beginning of this other thing, which seems half-baked, at best.
-
Check this out, Buzz: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactus%27s_Heralds Rom?
-
I see where you
-
The problem is... Where have the big 3 been? They are running around like chickens with their heads cut off while extremely obscure characters pop up and do stuff... Why? Because, duh! GEOFF JOHNS loves Z-Listers. His entire, albeit amazing, Flash run was completely over run with Z-List villians be made cool. But Crisis was not the place for that. And here it is. Alexander Luthor did a bunch of obscure things ie. make brother eye sentient, unite the villians, something in space (im still not sure about), and made the spectre crazy. Why? Even though he had a great bond-villian-esq issue completely devoted to expostition... WE STILL DON'T KNOW. And what does this have to do with identity Crisis? God if I know, but I thought the seeds for this was planted there. Color me confused. Infinite is not bad... In face its quite good. Its the hype behind it that is bad. It doesn't have to be tied to every single book in the DC universe to be good.
-
What was the bet? That Superman's powers will return in 3 months? I'll up you and say within 2. Who cares? Nothing substanstial is happening? Um an evil genius from another dimension captured various heroes and villains from the DC Universe in order to power a giant tower that creates an infinite number of alternate reality Earths he can poke through and destroy and meld together in order to form a misguided notion of a "perfect" Earth (Longest run-on sentence EVER). So all Earth's heroes must band together to stop him, the giant killer satellite he's taken over and the group of villains he's formed. It sounds like a rollicking good Superhero tale to me. Maybe you just don't like the way it's being told? You don't like the writing, is that it? Year One and Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow are great stories, but I would dare say nothing *substantial* came out of them. It's one thing if the drama of IC just doesn't click with you, but don't say the whole thing's a giant sham and doesn't have a story at all.
-
The Hulk's not a superhero. And it's NOT cause he doesn't have a cape and a sidekick.
-
Which is why if I was doing the restructured 9 issue IC, the first act would see the DC trinity dissolve, the second act would see the DC trinity realize that they have to act and thus come back together to collaborate with each other and all of the world's heroes on the best way to deal with the crisis, and the third act would be the trinity and all heroes united as one with a common goal. Sure, you'd have small pocket groups go rogue (I like the idea of Nightwing and Superboy working together, though I wish that had been done throughout the series rather than starting in just issue 5) but in the end they'd all have the same cause and unite.
-
...that can be a good thing about the new SILVER SURFER series. The backyards of space (great term,btw) are certainly interesting and different from the standard settings. And characters we aren't familiar with are a chance to get to see something new, to learn about new characters, etc. Otherwise, one could just read the same comics over and over.
-
but I just remembered that neither one of us are full time geeks. Union rules are very clear. That's a full time geek type argument along with "Batman's not a superhero". I mean, let's face it, if we have that argument, this becomes more than just a sideline. It's our fucking career, and I don't know about you, but I just can't face that.
-
...I don't actually think Moon Knight is Marvel's Batman. Marvel doesn't really have a Batman, just like DC doesn't have a Spider-Man. These are good things. Sometimes, Moon Knight has been used to tell moody, exagerated crime stories with superhero adventure and has given writers and artists a chance to tell a Bat type story while at Marvel. I'm not sure what the best use for Moon Knight would be, but he's not Batman and neither is the Punisher and neither is Daredevil, although fine semi-Bat pastiches have been done with all three characters.
-
Over in Infinite Crisis they're killing off D-List Super-heroes and Super-Villains and over in Battle for Bloodhaven they're creating new D-List Heroes and Villains to take their place. And why is this any better? Why, because the new Super-hero believes THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS, and the new villain? HE'S A TOTAL PSYCHO. (Sigh) When they ever learn? When will they ev-er learn?
-
...were DC's old SUICIDE SQUAD series where villains often bit the dust, and the Marvel stories involving the villain Scourge, which took place, mostly I think, in Gruenwald's CAPTAIN AMERICA but I could be wrong. The only Scourge story I ever personally read was by John Byrne, a very cool Hulk tale in MARVEL FANFARE, told all in splash pages, involving the deaths of Hammer and Anvil. What? They killed Hammer and Anvil? Aw damn! Who were Hammer and Anvil again? (Actually, they were a fun concept. THE DEFIANT ONES with super powers and an alien chain linking 'em. The Hulk always kicked the living shit out of 'em).
-
Was that he would pop up in other people's books and off a villain for no reason, then never get mentioned again!
-
Yeah, I did read 'ILLUMINATI' just the once. As to why besides me stating that it didn't age well? Please refer to superheros post: "Illuminati sucks!" That pretty much sums it up. I don't have the stomach to read it again. And if I was a little off on Tony's agenda (which I'm not certain I was) then there are about ten other things that bug the hell out of me. From Namor's costume change, Hulk killing, Hulk being sent off to space, Tony and Reed 'revealing' to Hulk it was them that sent him because of 'respect' (and not stupidity), etc. etc. Where have the big three been in IC? Batman just lead a bunch of superheroes (TM, DC & Marvel) including such z-listers as Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Black Canary, John Stewart, Mr. Terrific, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold to take down the Brother Eye sat. Umm
-
Even though I may have my gripes with some rushed stuff, there's quite a bit to like about IC. Can't pass full judgement now, but with one issue to go, I'd give IC about an 85%. Hopefully it'll go up when issue 7 comes out (and hopefully it doesn't get pushed back).
-
Because someone else took over the identity.
-
AND HE'S A TEST PILOT! *** cooky. Sure, why not? Azrael??? I dunno? What's your point? There's always going to be D-listers and A-listers. Not everyone can be Superman, and Batman. Personally I like those characters that aren't. I like the Booster Golds and Catman's. The new Blue Beetle is still too early to decide on and knowing his history as a charcter, the book may not survive long, but it could. How about Echo? <--- Joke. Point is, DC and Marvel will eventually need to kill some more people, and after thinning the herd of D-listers, they needed to stock up didn't they? If not, they'd end up killing people like Superboy. What? Oh.
-
I am going to try and think of someone who has gone from D to A now. I think Tim Drake is a great Robin, but Robin was never D-list. I don't care for long-gone characters returning and would hate to see Barry Allen back. After Hal Jordan, it would be a real move toward the old, square DC. Wally West was a much more interesting Flash. I am most interested to see what happens with Flash in the final IC. Despite everything Heathen listed, I agree that nothing so major has happened, but it's still a very entertaining story. Stuff has happened, all right, but it's medium-level and I give it at least an 80%, maybe higher. I don't know how someone would think Geoff Johns loves z-listers. Look at his JLA, full of A-listers. That, in fact, is my criticism of Johns. He writes really great stuff, but he's too focused on the regulars, the "big guns," and I prefer less exposed characters.
-
and just for kicks...that really cool animated show featuring the justice league on cartoon network...i can't recall what it was called since it never showed and when it did never when you expected it seemingly...but z-lister to a-lister...just in my books...what they did with the question on that program was brilliant!
-
no wonder no one listens to you beacuse you have made some DUMB staments on these and other boards. good rule to follow
-
when will we get dvds of complete seasons? i cant deal with setting up the tivo to record it only to have it pick up naruto or zatch bell or some other thing i dont want to see. cartoon network WHERE IS OUR JLU?
-
brand new JLU tomorrow, 10:30 PM, COmedy Central
-
enter moviemack
-
right up there with logan he be...only a few more days until 24...and for lost...i'm glad to see michael back. i just saw lonesome jim today...a nice little film from buscemi...worth a look...and the girls basketball team that the main character coaches play like how ucla did against florida a few weeks ago or like the atlanta hawks...whichever is more inept. and i want more ic dammit!!!
-
Wally West. He went from D-List to A-List. Right?
-
Wally West was definitely not D-list when the (real) crisis came around--he was a flagship member of DC's most popular title at the time. (New Teen Titans). As far as for nothing substantial coming out of Year One or "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" First of all, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Year One, and Dark Knight, pretty much set the tone for an entire decade. By themselves. "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" was a punctuation mark on the entire bronze age. Maybe, chronologically, it wasn't the "last" pre-crisis story, but can anyone argue that it's not the definitive "last" story of the brozne age? Besides that, NEITHER story made any claims to "THIS WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING!" B.S. that Johns, DiDio and Co have. Don't get me wrong--I like some of what DC is doing now, especially Grant Morrisson's All Star Superman. That's a "rollicking good story" that doesn't claim to be anything else. But here we have an event, where, yes, some supervillan has assembled a magic tower, etc. and everyone has to band together... but in the end, everything will be basically the same, except there's a new Blue Beetle, and GL#8B will henceforth be known as Ion. At least until 18 months from now, when all that crap will be swept under DC's EventAftermath rug, where you'll also find the revamped Dr. Light from Underworld, all evilled up but no one to rape.
-
indeed. a constant,though minor thorn in ones side used mostly as canon fodder. or it could be a german thing-"ze batman beginz iz ze crap because...well umm...because it ze bloz!thats right it bloz. its ze schiesse!no, more to the point itz he who eatz ze shiezze!"
-
And even before that he was a half-assed character. Just because the teen titans was a flagship book doesn't mean every character in it was A-List. Plus, see other people asking if Robin was ever a-list. I mean if Robin's not A-List then Kid Flash DEFINITELY is not A-List...I mean did ANYBODY give a crap about Wally West at the time of the original Crisis???? I thought not. :O)
-
Tht thing re-vamped EVERYTHING in the DCU. This new Crisis? Not so much of a big deal. I'll wager that in 5 years it'll be pretty much forgotten like all the Zero Hours and Invasions that have come since the original Mac Daddy of all intercompany crossovers, CRISIS OF INFINITE EARTHS.
-
though how long he remains a-list (if i dare categorise him as that) remains to be seen. yeah, that ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY cover is pretty fucking gay. way to appeal to the kids ... and yeah, good point, Buzz, i will certainly have a flick through that SS ...
-
Because 1. Wally West is/was cared about greatly by many both before and after COIE...and B) Kid Flash has NEVER been a Z-lister. The sidekicks of the big Guns (The JLA's) have ALWAYS been considered on the B-List. If for nothing else the fact that THEIR training has always come from the A-List. Also, I have to disagree with your statements that the changes wrought by IC are mere window dressing. Part of 52's purpose (besides sucking $111.28 out of my annual budget this year) will be to give the (revised yes I know) history of the DCU. They did the same with COIE when they put out that 2 part History of the DCU drawn by Perez shortly after the conclusion of COIE.
-
This Infinite Crisis may not be what the original Crisis was, but I venture to say that it will be remembered at least for no other fact (despite all it's pros) that it is a direct sequel to the original. Zero Hour and those others didn't have that going for them, and were they honestly this well organized? What IC is trying to do is set the tone for DC's characters in much the same way that Dark Knight effected comics in general for more than a decade, it's making superheroes super again and doing a damn good job so far with Batman and Superman and Green Lantern in my book. So, The IC probably will have some lasting effects, and like I've said before #7 isn't out yet, so who knows? And is it really that bad for DC to get their house in order? Admit mistakes, but utilize them instead of shying away from them? If that's all that it does or accomplishes then I'm satisfied.
-
I downloaded IC 1-5 and am downloading HoM...let's see what i thunk.
-
Having not read them, here's what i think i'll think: IC: Not impressed. HoM: Not that bad.
-
You have completely 100% biased remakrs. Your one of those people who judge entirely on who publishes rather than what is published. (And now bring on the list of DC titles that you don't like... Whatever. Can't argue with you)
-
i think you have it wrong with heathen man. if there is someone who honestly loves open discussion about comics its heathen. i know for a fact he doesnt like people acting like dicks about their opinions so he doesnt do it about his. looking at his posts i constantly see things like "IMO" or "In my book". Biased? Not very
-
Seriously, think back. Did they? I'm noy sayin' it's fact. Just because I couldn't have given two shits about him doesn't mean others didn't. I may have been oblivious to the hordes of Kid Flash fans out there in the pre-crisis days. I really must've missed that huge Kid Flash love-in that all the fans were having...what the hell was I on? Oh, and I agree that the sidekicks aren't all Z-Listers but just because they're being trained by A-Listers doesn't mean they're B-List either or that fans give a shit about them. "Cough" Jason Todd "Cough" OK, I can't believe I just typed out all the A-List, B-List, Z-List crap. Where the hell is Buzz to smack the nerd outta me when I need it? Or at least Dave, or Bug,or Prof. or someone...Jesus guys, come on! A little help? I've de-volved into full on comic-geek guy!
-
"I'll wager that in 5 years it'll be pretty much forgotten" - if the internet existed when COIE happened, this would be a common phrase thrown about. The amount of bitching that would have been done about that series probably would have eclipsed what is happening now. Hindsight is 20/20, and we can all suck COIE's dick all day long but we won't know how long IC changes will reverberate until they stop doing so. I'm enjoying it RIGHT NOW. *** I think Kid Flash back then was a C++ Lister. *** I also think I'm ignoring moviemack forever.
-
Then I guess I must have hallucinated the entire Wolfman & Perez re-launch of the New Teen Titans that introduced Cyborg, Raven, and StarFire. I guess I must have imagined that it was DC's top-selling title quite often and was running damn near Uncanny X-Men numbers at the time. Yes, by the time COIE rolled around they had all but mothballed Wally but much of that was due to the fact they planned to revitalize the character by making him the Flash at the end of COIE. But yeah sure why not, I was just really high and the title wasn't selling so well that they split it into 2 books for a year. Granted, since COIE, there hasn't BEEN a Kid Flash until Bart took it over in this latest run of TT...
-
especially after johns run on it which was quite stellar...and shig, that is a wise move...ignore forever...just like his mum does. its all for the best really...and happy easter or whatever it is today.
-
If the internet existed back when COIE went off--it still would've changed everything. Something substantial happened in COIE, something fundamental to continuity at DC. At least in House of M and Civil War, there are MAJOR changes to the status quo (like them or not). What's the major change in IC? I've already said: of course major change doesn't have to happen in every title, and in fact, it's better if it doesn't. But if you're going to do something this "big", and advertise smugly that this will "change everything!!!!" and then get so incredibly arrogant that you think fans will be snatching up 52 consecutive issues to unravel the mystery of why their favorite books have suddenly become boring, derivative, and in some cases, unreadable, you're out of your mind. (Uh...is anyone with me here on the Nightwing title? That thing is AWFUL. 118 was one of the worst single issues I've read in YEARS. The story was lousy, there's no real mystery, the art looked rushed, the character decisions were mind boggling--even the inking and lettering bothered me on that book.) Yeah, of course, I don't have to read it--and I won't-- but none of the OYL titles are even vaguely interesting to me. In COIE, something was wrong, the world was too convoluted, and they needed to simplify the whole thing to introduce the DC universe to a whole new generation of readers. That's why it worked. The relaunches were inspried, and truly, honestly, really bold. Courageous, even. Year One, Man of Steel, Perez's Wonder Woman, and yeah, Justice League all made different, interesting choices that worked. And that was followed VERY shortly thereafter by the launch of titles like Helfer's "The Shadow" and Dennis O'Neil's overlooked "The Question", which led to Vertigo, Sandman, Preacher. That was a whole different ballgame then what went on in the previous decade. Does ANYTHING they're doing now come close to any ONE of those late-eighties projects? In Imagination? In execution? In scope? The whole thing lacks enthusiasm and originality, and yeah, it does feel like a cheap scam. "52" is not a cheap scam? Seriously? Because from where I'm standing, it just looks like a rollicking good way to snatch 52 sales from the completists out there.
-
NAIRB, YOU DON'T KNOW ME, SO DON'T ACT LIKE YOU DO. And your'e a sneaky one aren't cha? "now bring on the list of DC titles that you don't like... Whatever." I suppose that statement was to undermine the titles I would say that I don't like at DC, who apparently is my all time favorite publisher because you know me so well, right Nairb? Well instead I will list the titles I like NOT from DC, but first a brief history of the different publishers and comic titles I've enjoyed: DC, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse, Speak Easy (R.I.P.), Burlyman, Vertigo, MAX, Wildstorm, Graphitti Designs, IDW, and NBM. FYI, I'm reading books from ALL of these publishers
-
translate into love for KID FLASH. He was a minor character in the Perez/Wolfman re-launch at best. And blackthought, just because I didn't care about Wally then doesn't mean I don't like him now. But he's the Flash now so of course he's A-List. My point is that Kid Flash was NEVER a character who fans really clamored for or ever had his own book. He wasn't z-list but he was defenitely c-list. And please, c'mon people, the original Crisis kicks the crap out of Infinite Crisis as far as reprecussions are concerned. You gotta be smokin' some STRONG stuff to think otherwise...
-
i never said that you didn't like him at all or anything...in fact i didn't even pay attention to who wrote what...all i said was that i like wally...goodness ppl. and um...i love rice...that's about it.
-
*ZING*
-
"He was a minor character in the Perez/Wolfman re-launch at best."***With this statement you've shown me that you have no clue what you're talking about and haven't actually read the material in question. My opinion is at least based on what I read and knew of the comics of the time. That's all there really is here, a difference of opinion. Since I'm not in the habit of eschewing the realities of personal experience to favor the spoken platitudes of others, we're done here. Mainly because you really don't know of which you speak.
-
YOU LIAR!!! That is only brief history of your Marvel portion of fandom. There were several other companies you mentioned. So whilst I am sitting here with my pinky sized penis (at least it is getting some hyperboled recognition... Its quite smaller)... I await the continued "unibiased" rant of how much you liked Marvel... Please go on...
-
And you thinking that Kid Flas was ever a major character in those books shows how little you actually remember them. Kid Flas was never B or A list. Sorry the truth hurts. But it's true. :O0
-
Damn typos!
-
Some people here in the southern americas reffer to Flash as Flas cause they can't pronounce it, and let's be honest here, you're part Colombian. So kudos, i say. Kudos.
-
It kicked ass. Brian Michael Bendis did an amazing job of ... wait ... this was last week's discussion ...
-
Maybe not A-List, but come on:
Kid Flash, or the Human Bomb
Kid Flash, or Sue Dibny
Kid Flash, or Blue Beetle
Kid Flash, or Psycho Pirate
Kid Flash, or Dr. Light
Kid Flash, or Wildebeest
Kid Flash, or Superboy Prime
Kid Flash, or Low-Budget Telekenetic Superboy
Kid Flash, or any one that perished or was violated in this horrible excuse for a series. -
Apparently you didn't read my subject line, which was, "Here's a completely 100% biased remark
-
my typing monkey is always a bit slow on Monday's. He's real pissed that I just made him type that, I was even eating a banana in front of him too! *** I found JLU to be pretty cool this weekend. I've never read any Legion of Superheroes stuff, but because DC is the 100% best I dug it no matter what! Seriously though, it was fun. Is there only 3 eps left? Say it aint so?
-
"Back in January, when DC Executive Editor Dan Didio confirmed that Paul Dini would be the new writer on Detective Comics following James Robinson
-
I like Williams, but...in that piece it says that SEVEN SOLDIERS #1 is still being rewritten/added to, and the page count is going up. That means it's not done yet and won't be for several months, which means instead of taking a year it'll take at least 15 months, maybe more. That really pisses me off, especially since the whole thing never should have been stretched out this long. Not to mention the fact that it's apparently also gonna cause some problems with DESOLATION JONES, too...
-
It's a bi-monthly that comes out every three months it seems. I liked #6, but had trouble remembering all the details. Still, I'm jazzed about JH Williams doing Batman, even if it's only a couple of issues. I wonder what DC is going to do about scheduling? It's still early after Infinite Crisis and they want readers to transition/pick up the books easily right? Having Detective not ship on a normal basis wouldn't be good. But, damn Williams is good.
-
logan is a bitch!!! that is all.
-
You are arguing...over whether Kid Flash... was a B-List or C-List character. ...That's all.
-
wha???
-
so speaketh the yod-ster
-
Ooh, how's about this - I have a comic related question? What can anybody tell me about Planetary: Crossing Worlds? Keep in mind I've only read the first 12 issues, so please no spoilers. Was this a miniseries or what?
-
who's doin' who at the x-mansion?
-
It's basically an 'elseworlds' featuring the earth that Clark, Diana, and Bruce inhabit ALONG with Elijah, Jakita, Drums, & Ambrose. BUT...They're not the ones you know. AaaaND...don't EVEN give me an OUNCE of shit for arguing about goddamn Kid Flash on fucking AI-motherfucking-CN you buncha Goddamn Geeks.....(says King Geek)**cuz aren't these kinds of arguments exactly what AICN is for?** Yeahh, uh-huh tha's right...(bitches)
-
imagine the homemade porn stash in brother eyes memory banks?
-
If I wanna bitch about the sub-par ness of the original Kid Flash then this is the place to do it dammit!
-
The guy that was running his mouth last week, or the week before, about there not being enough reviews here (or whatever) and promised to have reviews-a-plenty come Sunday...did he ever post any reviews or did he punk out? Just curious.
-
...but, like, Hot Topic "never heard of The Damned or The New York Dolls or The Stooges" mall punk. Turns out it's not as easy as some people think to do what we do for four years straight, week in week out, plus special columns for interviews, cons and so on. Well, that and he said he wasn't sure anybody was interested--as if we all knew when we started that we wouldn't just get ripped to shreds for our efforts. I'd like to think he'll come away from it with a newfound appreciation for what we do, but I kinda doubt it.
-
That is all....
-
Yeah, Bahimiron was his name and I called him out on it when he didn't have his two 'new' reviews come weekend, then last week (a few weeks after the first time) I asked him where his reviews were and he said the bit about nobody being interested and said he'd have a review come Sunday
-
Psy, Supes, you can argue, I like it...I was just pointing it out. *** PLANETARY: Crossing Worlds is worth it Heathen. No spoilery stuff if you've only read to 12 in there. It's worth it just for the Planetary/Batman story which takes place in Planetary continuity and is fucking outstanding. Jakita vs. Alex Ross Batman? Elijah vs. Frank Miller Dark Knight Returns Bats? I kneel before Cassaday.
-
I'm punk! My Mom went to High School with Iggy! He was in her homeroom! She graduated with him.
-
with the third summers brother and prof x. just outright laziness and distaste for walking over the decades? and why am i hungry?
-
and um...why am i not paying attention in this class...lost? is there new one...yay or nay?
-
i think its a nay my friend.and heathen that xmansion scene from your previous post had me rolling. almost as good as that horrible cover for ultimate exticntion i think it was where wolvie gets busted about to munch on caps ass!
-
but you get the idea."hey can we get some privacy in here bub?"http://tinyurl.com/ovc2t
-
Two-hour return of "Alias" (first of the final six hours) followed by a new "Invasion", which I watch only for the hotties, cuz it's really, really, really fuckin' slow and dull--It's barely half as good as the sadly overlooked "Threshold". And screw you people who overlooked it for ONCE AGAIN getting a show with Carla Gugino bumped off the schedule. BASTARDS!
-
Schleppy does have good taste
-
Read this ** http://tinyurl.com/eex33 ** Now go buy Runaways! It's my 100% biased opinion that you should. When Brian K. Vaughan say's, "Stay tuned, True Believer." I can't help but listen to him.
-
I'm the only person I know that watched and liked THRESHOLD. So what if it was on Friday night. That's what Tivo is for. A gem that too many missed.***I remember you calling him out Heathen. Well done. The next time I confront someone talking incesently in a movie theater I'll channel my inner you.
-
remember to sigh loudly at first, then do the 'halfway glance', then the, "SHHH!!!" and finally the, "WHAT ARE YOU? RETARDED ARE SOMETHING? THIS IS THE GOD DAMN MOVIE THEATER!!!" *end scene*
-
is it a sci-fi/comedy? Or is it more sci-fi/thriller? I've never seen it, but the commercials look like they play "The Station Agent" guy for laughs. Is it really good? And is it still on?
-
...that got cancelled by Episode 13, right after additional hottie brunette Catherine Bell joined the cast. The "Station Agent" dude wasn't really for laughs, he was the most sensitive and put-upon guy. The midget linguist played by Peter Dinklage was more of the comic relief, but not in a "Time Bandits" way--he was the hard-drinkin', whorin', drugged-up member of the team, god bless 'im. Far more interesting, better written and better acted than "Invasion" or "Surface", but it had three things against it: it was on CBS, it was on Friday nights, and it was on CBS.
-
Okay, maybe not D-list but certainly C-list. When Lee and Kirby left the book, not even Roy "I'll Write Anything" Thomas could maintain much enthusiasm. He'd let anybody do X-MEN. I think your Mom wrote and drew two issues. The book was always on the brink of cancellation. A few hot talents took cracks at it because they could do anything they wanted with it since Marvel didn't give a flying fuck and nobody read X-MEN anyway. Steranko. Ster-ank-o. Steranko was so far ahead of his time, he's still ahead of now. Then, Roy hired Neal Adams away from DC and said he could have any book he wanted. Adams goes,"What's yer worst seller?" Roy goes, he goes, "X-MEN. Duh." Adams is all, "I'll do that." Roy's,"Okay, let's give Scott a brother we've never mentioned before and have him get kidnapped by King Tut from the BATMAN TV show and taken to an Egyptian style lair in Jersey." Neal's,"Roy's talkin' but I can't hear him..." And he did Buzz Maverik's single favorite X-MEN comics...NO! Buzz Maverik's single favorite comics period (caught 'em in reprints before my balls dropped; they reprint 'em all the time -- the Adams stories, not my balls). But it was too late. Marvel needed to make cuts, so the X-MEN were gone. They drifted around the Marvel Universe without a book until the mid-seventies when editor Len Wein, who was a fan, let artist Dave Cockrum create a new team, while inserting old X-Foes Sunfire and Banshee as team mates, as well as a creation of his own (with Herb Trimpe), a mutant who'd fought the Hulk in Canada whom we've never heard of again (you guys know this because they reprint those stories every day, I think). After the intro, Wein let a former Marvel office clerk who'd written a few back up stories and C-characters take over scripting and it was A-list, bay-bee!...Oh, and Sleazy's wrong. These reviews are easy. I don't even know I've written most of mine until the columns been up a few days. Here's why that guy who was gonna do the reviews had no hope: he cared if someone was interested. You guys have read our column. Do we write it like we care whether anybody's interested?
-
I got his name mixed up with the other dude. So yeah, Dinklage was the comic relief--but he wasn't unsympathetic, it was clear that his bad habits were coping mechanisms (which they always are, after all).
-
i remember seeing some episodes of threshold but for some reason it dissapeared after awhile...i.e...got foxed!...cancelled etc...anyway i can't recall but wasn't goyer behind that show? not the cancelling but you know the show.
-
any word on the early years of Blade starring, Sticky Fingaz? *** Sleazy. Yeah, CBS didn't help Threshold. Maybe if there were angels and a Texas Ranger in it, but otherwise
-
"I care ..."
-
i was going to go to toshce station and pick up some power coverters! *pouts*
-
Hey dudes and dudettes, sorry i haven't been on much but you know how it is. Anyway i've been busy plus i was reading IC and HoM and planning my forthcoming reviews which you should prepare yourselves for because they should be awesome. One thing tho', i only found 5 issues of IC so i had a little crisis (heh get it?) of consciousness: Do i do the right thing and wait for the other 2 issues to come out in internet form to give it the proper review treatment, or do i review what i have based on its own merits? What do you guys say? In the meantime feast on my latest poem: http://tinyurl.com/ryuw8
-
The very act of writing the review is indicative of caring IF someone reads it. Now whether you give a flying piece of rat shit if they AGREE with your review is another ball of wax entirely.....
-
Insomnia isn't all it's cracked up to be.
-
its ok i still heart u guys
-
columns are like wizards, whenever they show up is percisely the time they should arrive or something like that.
-
you're telling me there's TWO midgets/dwarves on this Threshold show? What?
-
...and it's Peter Dinklage. I just fucked up and thought Rob Benedict's name was Peter Dinklage. Oddly enough, it's not: it's actually Peter Dinklage. Totally my bad.
-
And you guys are wondering why it got cancelled. By the way, i asked you fuckers a question!
-
Honest. I'm waiting for it to magically appear just like you.
-
review what u have and then give us another full review. or did u mean the question about us missing u? yes we missed u
-
i'm just gonna skim your review...or just read the last sentence..and that is all.
-
i'm gonna print out your review, crumple it up and eat it.
-
He's a dwarf, right? Ever seen the station agent? That's one depressing movie. He's great in Elf, too.
-
Fuck you...and that is all.
-
Thaaaaat's the spirit. Tasty reviews, that's my specialty.
-
not fair!
-
You're gonna have to do better than that.
-
How are you posting Vale, I didn't know they had the internet in Mexico! *please don't kill me*
-
fuck'd you another colombian? where is our national pride vale? jesus shig...i'llsay a fuck to you on the mexico comment...how dare you compare colombia to mexico...though i do second crumpling vale's reviews...maybe burn it too...or wipe ones ass with it...i'm not sure yet.
-
and he foams at the mouth over mexico/mexicans so I thought I'd try it out!
-
Hmm..great Coke and Coffee versus cheap prescription drugs and labor. That's a tough one.....PS-Where the hell is the new column?!? I have a new tasteless joke (acutally 2!) to post!! (Even more tasteless than this post even!)
-
The land of...people who infuriate Colombians. Mexico sucks, Mexican spanish sucks, Mexican tv shows suck etc. Belinda, a Mexican pop star, DOESN'T SUCK AT ALL, she's gorgeous! And national pride? Do we have that here? I don't believe in patriotism myself, i believe in people reading my IC review even if they disagree with every point made. Seriously, if you don't read it, you're not my friend and i hate you. Should i post it here or should i wait for this week's column?
-
I was in Mexico City for two weeks almost 2 years ago to the date, I never watched tv their besides movies (mainly bootlegs of course) and I saw El Hombre Arana 2 in the theatres. The smog nearly killed me
-
i'm no longer coked out...i swear.
-
There it is...a statement from someone who has --no idea-- what a Golgo manga is all about. We, as the reader audience, are not solely there to pray witness to Golgo's amazing feats (and penis), but rather to see just the depths that humanity will sink to. Golgo 13 is simply an agent, the same way Jason from "Friday the 13th" is in dispatching those around him. You know he will get the job done somehow, but that's not the entire point of the stories. It's the unique *situations* that drive the story, not Golgo's feats by themselves. Many of the side characters (and usually those Golgo is hired to kill) and fleshed out and given 3-dimensional motivations and reasons for being at odds with each other, wanting to do nefarious thing, wanting each other dead, etc. These stories are not simply "Kill this guy for me," otherwise the manga would not have lasted for nearly 40 years so far. Sure, there are the guilty pleasure aspects of seeing Golgo think up some extremely complex plans, making impossible shots, and being more suave than James Bond, but again, that's usually treated more as window dressing to the actual story arcs and politics that transpire. This is one of the failings of the first movie, "The Professional"; it relies too much on the "cool" factor of Golgo's actions, and doesn't build a traditional, complex web of a story that usually drives Golgo's actions. So yea, in closing, whoever wrote this review has little understanding of one of the longest running mangas of all time, which is disgraceful if you're actually trying to do an honest review of the material. *friendswithbenefits.com*
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 419 total posts 209 posts
- WTF HOLLYWOOD: SOLARBABIES -- 131 total posts 129 posts
- Herc’s Seen Tonight’s Return Of THE WALKING DEAD!! Discuss Also DOWNTON ABBEY, FEAR FACTOR, PAN AM, ONCE, SIMPSONS, DYNAMITE, LUCK, SHAMELESS, BAIT CAR, THE GRAMMYS And More!! Sunday Is Sweeps Day 11!! -- 123 total posts 122 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 124 total posts 58 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 191 total posts 47 posts
- Avid Comic Reader Hercules Does Battle With Tedium During Kevin Smith’s COMIC BOOK MEN! -- 43 total posts 43 posts
- If the Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day drops her pen, pick it up, but don’t look at her legs or else it will be on your record. -- 60 total posts 42 posts
- I am The Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day! No, I’m the Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day! -- 27 total posts 27 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 506 total posts 26 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 77 total posts 24 posts