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AICN COMICS! Advance Review & 5pg Preview of ULTIMATES 2! POPEYE! Y: THE LAST MAN! & Much More!
| #3 | 5/9/07 | #6 |
Hey folks, Ambush Bug here. When we at AICN Comics screw up, we’ve gotta fess up to it. Last week’s column had a review of a book called LEFT ON MISSION. I accidentally got A-happy called it LEFT ON A MISSION. Sorry about the confusion and hopefully that doesn’t stop you from picking up this most excellent spy comic from BOOM! Studios this week.
And now…
we bring you…
REVIEWS!
(Click title to go directly to the review)
Advance Review & 5 Page Preview: ULTIMATES 2 #13
Y: THE LAST MAN #56
NOVA #2
NIGHTWING #132
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #540
THE BATMAN STRIKES #33
IRON FIST #5
dot.comics presents THE END web comic
Indie Jones presents “SHENANIGANS” OGN
Indie Jones presents POPEYE VOL.1: “I YAM WHAT I YAM” TPB
Indie Jones presents…
CHEAP SHOTS!
ULTIMATES 2 #13
Advance Review & 5-Page Preview
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Brian Hitch
Publisher: Ultimate Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Sleazy G
Look, let’s get this outta the way right up front: ULTIMATES VOL.2 #13 is late. Really, really late. We all know the delays on this title have sucked, we’re all annoyed, and we’re all sick of it. A lot of people are going to be asking “was it worth the wait?”, but as pissed as I am about the delays I can’t help but feel it’s an unfair question. So instead let’s talk about the question we really want the answer to: “Is it any good?”And that answer, not surprisingly, is “yes and no.” Mark Millar is one of those writers who I find pretty exasperating. He has a lot of good ideas, and he can write some fantastic scenes, and he’s got quite the wit. But then he’ll do things that are in entirely the wrong voice or mindset, things that just don’t fit with the rest of the story he’s telling and can be pretty jarring when the reader stumbles over them. It’s also pretty apparent at this point that his stories tend to be, well, shallow. Lots of flashy high concept on top, some good action scenes, but nothing particularly suited for deep analysis—in fact, the more you think about it the less it’s going to appeal to you. Much of what he writes is obviously intended to be blockbuster style, which is fine, but it often leaves me wanting more. This issue definitely tends more towards his strong points, and I liked a lot of it, but he still can’t help but trip up in a few places.
Enough with the vague commentary, though—let’s get to the meat of it. I may not have liked this issue as much as some of the others in VOL. 2, but I can honestly say #13 is far cooler than any of them in all of VOL. 1, and far better than VOL. 2 #12. Despite Bryan Hitch’s phenomenal art, I found myself bored by big splash pages of spaceships/Iron Man-armored dudes/giant spandex guys. This issue, though? Much cooler. Why? One word: Thor. Thor’s “is he a lunatic or a god” thing plays out pretty much the way we all knew it would, but that’s not a criticism: seeing this guy rally his forces is impressive as hell. Giants, serpents, Norse warriors, frost giants, trolls…good stuff. All of ‘em beating the hell out of each other in the middle of Washington, D.C. while the rest of the Ultimates try to keep up? Great stuff. All of that drawn by Bryan Hitch? Perfect. A lot more fun, and a lot more impressive visually, than much of what these two cooked up with the Chitauri, that’s for damned sure. 
As for that eight page spread you heard about? Yeah, it’s pretty kickass. It looks great, and I love the way Quicksilver keeps turning up over and over again to show how quickly he’s moving through the battle. Sure we’ve seen it all before over in FLASH, but y’know, there’s a reason for that: when it’s done well, it’s a lot of fun. And when the battle’s over, and everything’s quieting down, and all the lose ends are being wrapped up, we get another last-minute glimpse of badassedness from Hawkeye. Somebody we thought was dead pops up again in his scene, and it, too, ends on a pretty freakin’ cool note.See, that’s the thing: I like a lot of what Millar does, because I understand he’s going for just that: cool. A specific, Hollywoodized, “hell YEAH!” kinda cool. The kind where you see a movie, and some dude’s head gets punched, and then it blows up and spatters the hero’s face with blood, and you’re like “oh shit! SWEET!” And let’s face it, you all know exactly the kinda cool I mean, and that’s why we’re all here, and it’s what Millar is often about. And, in this issue, he’s on top of his game for the most part, and a lot of it works.
And then in creep his bad habits: the smirking potty humor and the pointless scenes shoehorned in where they don’t belong because, well, we kinda forgot to work ‘em in better. Case in point: I know ULTIMATES is supposed to be a darker, edgier, more extreme AVENGERS. I know we’re supposed to have left some of our expectations behind. But I doubt I’m the only reader who thinks having Iron Man reference “lady-boys” at one point (those exact words, yeah) is a bit much in a book that doesn’t have a MAX label. I mean, come on, y’know? “Ha, ha, look at me—I’m Mark Millar so I can say ‘lady-boy’” in a Marvel comic! Ooooohhh, I’m soooo clever!” It just reeks of schoolboy immaturity, and considering it has exactly not a fuckin’ thing to do with the rest of the story because the Ultimates are never attacked by a team of transsexual Thai hookers, it really should have been cut by an editor. Debate over subject matter aside, Tony Stark’s comment just made the character seem more smarmy than charming and didn’t ring true, which should have been reason enough to jettison the line.
Second case in point: remember like a year and a half ago, when there was an issue of VOL. 2 where Captain America visits a chick he used to date back in the 40’s, only now she’s really old because she isn’t a Super-Soldier who got frozen in a chunk of ice for a few decades? Well, the last four pages of this issue are of Cap with her back in the 40’s right before he leaves to head overseas. They have nothing else to do with the rest of the story—no thematic links, no references, no real foreshadowing or commentary, no sense of bringing everything together. They just fall with a dull thud. After so much kickassery, you’re left thinking “what the hell was the point of that?” And then you realize that, well, Millar’s probably got to work something in to tie his run to the one Jeph Loeb is about to start, so we get this boring-assed scene dropped on us out of nowhere. It has no real resonance and doesn’t inform or improve the story at all—it just leaves you sitting there going “meh”. Millar’s capable of better than this kind of rushed, sloppy writing, and it’s not like he didn’t have six months to rewrite the scene, so it’s just unacceptable. Hardly a fitting denouement for his run on the title.Still, the art is amazing as always, and the final throw down is a lot of fun. To be honest, ULTIMATES VOL.2 #13 is much better than I was expecting. If you’ve been enjoying THE ULTIMATES all along, you’re gonna love this issue. If you’ve been waiting a bit more reservedly to see how it ended you may be disappointed in a few places like I was, but overall it’s a pretty entertaining read. ULTIMATES has had some great moments and some rough spots, but this final issue is a strong one to wrap the title up on.
Y: THE LAST MAN # 56
Written by: Brian K. Vaughan
Pencilled by: Pia Guerra
Published by: Vertigo Comics
Reviewed by: superhero
With this issue the protagonist of Y: THE LAST MAN, Yorick Brown, finally completes the one essential journey that he's been on since the beginning of this series. It should be a powerful issue. It should be an issue that grabs you and affects you in some way. Unfortunately, this issue, the issue where Yorick finally tracks down his beloved Beth, ends up having all the emotional resonance of a discarded Hallmark card.
Boy did Vaughan drop the ball on this one.
Honestly, I'm just out and out dumbfounded by Y: THE LAST MAN lately. For the past year or so the book has just stumbled. Revelations about key events or characters that have taken place have come across as forced. This was once a series that almost surprised me at every turn and made me care about its characters more than almost any other comic book series I've ever read. Lately, though, it's just found itself meandering from one installment to the next without any kind of focus to it. And in this issue we get the reunion we've all been waiting years for, the reunion that Yorick has been waiting years for, and the buildup to it lacks any kind of intensity at all.
Look, when it was revealed that Yorick survived the plague because of monkey poop I stuck with the book. When the origins of the plague that wiped all of the tripod humans off the face of the planet was revealed and it made most fans go…"Wha…huh?" I stuck with it. But now, now that this book comes to the moment most of never thought we'd get to it craps out on us???
I don't know man…I just don't know.
I mean, I love Y: THE LAST MAN. I've loved this book for so long. I want to accept it for what it is. I want to just have trust in the way it's going. But this issue, this issue is making me feel like the end run of this title may just destroy all the good will I've had for this book over the years. I'm hoping, praying that things pick up here but I just don't know…I'm seriously starting to lose my faith in Brian K. Vaughan and Y: THE LAST MAN and that's just sad. I mean, what the hell's gonna happen next? Is the Earth just going to spin off of its axis and fly into the sun??? If the remaining installments of Y are anything like this one then it might as well because I honestly don't want to live in a world where the final run of Y: THE LAST MAN just ends up sucking.
NOVA #2
Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Art: Sean Chen & Scott Hanna
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
You won’t believe how excited this book made me. It is so refreshing to see a character done right at Marvel for a change. Richard Rider AKA Nova the Human Rocket has been away from Earth for a while fighting the surprisingly great ANNIHILATION WAR. In the first issue, we caught up with Rider and saw that he had spent little downtime since the war ended. Basically, he’s been keeping himself very busy after taking on the responsibility of the sole bearer of the power of Nova since the Xanadarian Nova Corps was wiped out in the Annihilation Wave. Rider bonded with the Xanadarian Worldmind, which is basically the sum of all of the power of the Nova Corps. Noticing that months of cleaning up the mess of the Annihilation Wave was taking its toll on Rider’s sanity, the Wolrdmind took it upon itself to assign some down time. Not taking no for an answer, Nova arrived on Earth at the end of the first issue.
Issue two picks up with Rider returning home. I can’t tell you how happy I am to see a character in the Marvel Universe with both parents. Too many characters have a dead father or mother or uncle. Not all super heroes have to have the deaths of their parents be the prime motivator in their superheroic actions. I know that the appearance of Rider’s parents automatically places targets on their heads, but I hope they remain intact and stick around for a while. Rider grew up a lot during the Annihilation War. It would be good to see the interaction he has with his family now that the boy has returned home a man.
A lot has happened on Earth while Nova was away. He missed the entire CIVIL WAR and the events leading up to it. In this issue, Rider catches up with the current status quo in the Marvel U and he’s being very wary about it all. A meeting not only with Iron Man, but with former New Warrior Justice, only prove to confuse Rider more as to whether or not he wants to register. Iron Man gives him a day to decide. Of course, all hell breaks loose when an old foe, Diamondhead, shows up. A nice little battle ensues. As Rider is cleaning up after the fight, he finds that his status as hero no longer carries the same weight as it used to. Even though Nova wasn’t there for the New Warrior’s battle with Nitro that caused the death of so many innocents and was the spark that lit the CIVIL WAR in the first place, the public still sees him as guilty by association. I was happy to see so many topics addressed in one issue. Abnett and Lanning definitely are paying attention to continuity with this book. They know Nova has ties all over the Marvel U and seem to be addressing them all from old foes to the fact that Nova’s former girlfriend, Namorita, was one of the New Warriors who died at Stamford.
One complaint I have about this series has more to do with the first issue than this issue, but there was an awful lot of the talkie and little walkie in that issue. Nova spent most of the issue whining about his life to the Worldmind. The Worldmind, in turn, nagged Nova for the entire issue for him to take better care of himself. The nagging and whining lessened in this issue, but I can’t help but be annoyed by the Worldmind, who to me, probably sounds like a more robotic C-3PO. I did like the snippet from this issue where the Worldmind scares the shit out of Rider’s father when he takes control of his body while sleeping and decides to channel surf in the living room. It was a creepy scene and Rider’s father acts accordingly.
Sean Chen’s artwork is top notch and the perfect fit for this title. He does great action and never fails to make the facial expression interesting and unique. His depiction of Nova’s newly tweaked costume, which at first I didn’t like so much, was more to my liking in this issue. Scott Hanna’s inks only add to the artistic experience, making the panels leap and bound in all the right places.
I can’t say enough good things about this issue. Cool characterization. Continuity is noted. Long-standing questions are being addressed. And the issue is not short on action. Plus the inevitable battle next issue with a certain popular set of criminals turned government agents will prove to be very interesting given the fact that one of them used to be a fellow New Warrior. If you missed out on ANNIHILATION, but are curious about what’s been going on with the Marvel U other than that crappy CIVIL WAR thing, check out NOVA. It is very new reader friendly, while embracing what has come before as well.
NIGHTWING #132
Write: Marv Wolfman
Artist: Paco Diaz
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Rock-Me Amodeo
Thus ends the saga of the “Bride and Groom.” People died. Lives were changed. And heads were scratched – what exactly was accomplished here? I dunno.
Let’s start with the strengths – Marv Wolfman is Marv Wolfman. Except for the occasional sacchariny turn of dialogue, the guy is a writing legend. But I’m just not feeling it here, dawg. Maybe I expect more because he’s so good. But it was…uhn, “pitchy.”
New artist Paco Diaz can draw. There are a few wacky muscles and angles and such (nothing as bad as Liefeld, thank goodness) but overall, it’s engaging and nice to look at.
Oddly, my biggest complaint, besides feeling that all these deaths mean absolutely nothing except to make us want to care, is the tactical aspect of the book, especially in this issue.
See, when a hero reacts, he has to take what he can get, and it’s easy to hang plot devices off that scenario. We expect it and accept it, generally. But Dick is mounting an assault here. That means he proactively calls the shots. You would think.
Has he or has he not been trained by one of the finest tacticians in the DC universe? So why he is leading himself, and a bunch of other folks, into close quarters with an energy leech and a mind controller? This should have been a titanium netting and sleep gas – 2 pages max. Somehow, these losers have been stringing him along since he ran into them three issues ago. And the strategic precision he evidenced last year, while playing Henry Higgins to Rose Wilson’s Eliza, was completely missing here.
I was excited about Marv coming aboard and, and out of fanboy respect, I stayed with it. But I think I’ll check in with this book in a few months and see what’s going on. Let me know if I miss anything.
AMAZING SPIDER-ASS (er…MAN) #540
Writer: J. Michael Strazynski
Artist: Ron Garney
Publisher: Marvel - The Corporation known for making money, pissing people off, crossover churning, and publishing RUNAWAYS.
Guest Cog Reviewer: Loodabagel, not the baddest mofo on the internet, but I’d say he’s in the top 20.
Lucky me, I didn’t even have to open the book before my trip into comics agony began. Right on the cover, someone was nice enough to supply me with an image colored with a crayon. The prime suspect would be that Matt Milla character who colored the insides of this book, but I don’t like to point blame where it doesn’t belong. I remember a while back when Salvador Larocca started doing his own inks. He’s improved since then, but the point is, it looked like he brushed over his pencils with a Sharpie. The lines were crazy thick and you could actually see the marker lines on the page. This cover looks worse than that. Good thing it’s just the cover. Whatever. It sucks.
Open the book and it’s not much better. There’s some more of the boring whining and laughable tough guy talk that came with last issue, but JMS was nice enough to leave out the death threats for a few pages. Perhaps he was trying to give us a false sense of hope, tricking the readers into believing that he realized the error of his ways. Nope. Sorry kids. This story still smells like Punisher-Lite and it still tastes like a shit sandwich.
But I exaggerate. There are actually three good pages in here where Spidey interrogates a gun runner in a rather well drawn, Cockrum-esque sequence. So that makes for 1/7 of a good story. The rest of the time, Spidey’s busy brooding, removing his mask, and saying stuff like “I am going to kill this man. Then I am going to rip his head off and eat his brains. Then I am going to go to his funeral, kill his friends and family, and eat their brains too.” Also, he’s nice enough to point out ironies for us. Thanks for the heads up, Spidey. I sure wouldn’t have figured that one out without your help.
Of course, what would a bad JMS comic be without a heavy-handed speech about cowards? Don’t worry. There’s like 3 of ‘em in here.
Symmetry. Ain’t it something? I know people who like to use a certain word all the time. It’s kind of a mini-catchphrase to them. I spent a few weeks saying “anagram” every chance I got, but than I realized the word I meant was “acronym” and it put a shameful end to my anagram dropping. Our good pal JMS seems to be having one of those love affairs with “symmetry.” Hey, I can deal with it. But when you’re really trying to rip a comic, you gotta rip, ya know? I’m sure he’ll be over it by next month. But after seven years, a guy’s style can get really irritating. If he had sprung this type of soliloquy on us back in ’02 (and he probably did) I would’ve enjoyed it. But the poor guy’s way past his due date. I remember back when Kevin Smith was going to take over back in 2000-freaking-4. JMS’s flag has long since flown. He’s out of ideas. He’s out of stories. He’s just been coasting on crossovers for two years. I can picture him now:
“Guys, I’m out of stories. I used to make this title refreshing and exciting, but now I just suck.”
At this point Joe Quesada and his partner-in-crime Avi Arad would cackle and blow cigar smoke in his face (they stole the cigars from Wolverine, by the way). Quesada will then go announce stuff like “Dan Slott” and “Jeph Loeb” just to watch the fanboys squirm with excitement. I bet he’s got a fanboy aquarium. He doesn’t tap on the glass, but he writes bulletins and shows ‘em to the fanboys to freak them out. His bulletins usually read something like “Bendis is working on something awesome, but I can’t tell you anything about till, like, 2010.” Or “there’s an awesome new creative team coming onto SPIDER-MAN. You’ll love ‘em.” Of course, he loves to talk about ULTIMATES 2. “Issue 13 is totally coming out this month, guys.”
I’ve gotten away from the point. My apologies. The point is this: when you go to pick up your comic books, whatever you do, do absolutely not buy AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #540. Unless it is free. And if it’s free, you have to be an absolute completist to pick it up. Believe me; this crap will be in the quarter bin by this time next year. Get SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE instead. This “Back in Black” story is such a disgusting abomination of the comic book, I will personally come to the homes of everyone who paid money for this and kick their ass. Well maybe not, but I urge you not to pick this up. I mean, for all of those of you who cried “character-rape” during CIVIL WAR, this is like 10 times worse. Oh my god, it makes SPIDER-MAN 3 look like SPIDER-MAN 2, STAR WARS, and LORD OF THE RINGS rolled into one. Well, maybe not that much. But this comic does make SPIDER-MAN 3 look better. Maybe you should read it before you watch the movie.
THE BATMAN STRIKES #33
Writer: Jai Nitz
Art: Chris Jones & Terry Beatty
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
It's becoming a tradition that these books geared supposedly towards kids (I'm talking specifically about this book, and Marvel's SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE and MARVEL ADVENTURES: THE AVENGERS) actually are telling some of the most entertaining stories on the racks involving these iconic heroes. Some may argue that these characters have been condensed down to their purest form for these "kiddie" books, but it shows as a testament to these strong and iconic characters that, despite the fact that they are written to be told to a wider audience, they do make for some terrific reading.
One of the things I like about these stories is the fact that they are continuity free. There are a few givens: Batman's parents were murdered, he has a pair of sidekicks named Robin and Batgirl, a butler/father figure named Alfred, and a cave filled with an arsenal of weaponry for urban combat. These are established facts, but from there, the writers can go just about anywhere, as writer Jai Nitz does with this tale.
In THE BATMAN STRIKES #33, Poison Ivy is on the rampage. She escapes one battle with the Caped Crusader and his sidekicks, and infects Batman with a de-aging serum. Soon, Batman is younger than Robin and Batgirl. What makes this story fun is the fact that writer Jai Nitz seems to really get the characters of Batman and his supporting cast. This book is filled with nice moments where Robin suddenly feels a bit superior to the de-aged Batman and Alfred can't help but show affection towards the boy he remembers taking care of years ago. These are heartwarming and fun moments. This premise (a pre-teen Batman story) may seem campy and ludicrous in one of today's mainstream books, but it works in this format, and that's why I like reading these types of stories.
At times, I've built a soapbox and chirped on it for hours on end about continuity and its importance in comic books, but every now and then I am reminded that sometimes (as is the case with these more kid-oriented books) continuity free isn't such a four letter word. Sometimes, they can be downright fun.
IRON FIST #5
Writers: Matt Fraction & Ed Brubaker
Artists: David Aja, Travel Foreman, & Derek Fridolfs
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Rock-Me Amodeo
There’s a couple different ways to shoulder the story-telling chores of iconic characters. One is to redefine, and we’ve seen that recently with the Hulk as Conan, or Madrox in a comic-noir styling. Another way is to deconstruct and reconstruct, done in varying degrees of success in the “Plotlines: Dis-assembled” and “Meh-Day” events.
Then there is a third way, where previously ignored elements are mined, “richly and deeply,” to paraphrase something on the splash page. The character grows in power, mythos and general butt-kickery. And I know, I know - eventually, it has to end, or else everyone would be Galactus or The Spectre; but done well, it’s a fun, fun ride.
Welcome to Iron Fist, circa 2007, folks. I love where this book is going.
The book has already paid homage to some of Claremont/Byrne’s better work (the visual tracking of Iron Fist’s movements in a single panel; the history; and of course, it’s still one of the only things I can think of that tells the story in second person.) But now it’s building on that, and exploring what the Iron Fist really is, and Kun L’un, and all sorts of other things.
The artwork is beautiful. Where did David Aja come from? I’m hoping that their usage of other artists (for flashbacks) is just a cool approach, and not an indication that Aja draws with Hitch-ean speed, because it’s really nice stuff. I suspect he’s doing his own inking, too - the whole package is tight. For instance, on page seven, check out the chains hanging on the train. Look at them. Then notice that he drew the freaking shadows of the chains…AND accounted for the direction of the lighting.
The whole book (Aja’s parts, anyway) is like that. For real.
The writing is nice, too, flashing between past and present, though I confess I’ve never been impressed with Davos as a villain. If you remember, he’s got the dragon with no wings on his chest because he couldn’t hang tough. In lieu of ringing some kind of mystic bell (to get his wings…get it?) he’s going to just kill Iron Fist. Okaaayyyy…but the writing is so well done, I’m not bored.
On this issue, my only real regret was that the underground station was so stinking cool…I mean it was like MYST cool…that I WISH we could have explored it a lot more before it got blowed up.
Overall, my hope is that we really DO find out just how powerful Danny could be. We’ve seen this before - remember Spiderman and Ezekiel? That “you have no idea what your powers can do” kinda stuff? Well, its been 6 years, and except for sprouting a spike out of each hand (which I guess makes him…lets see, doing the math…an additional third as interesting as Wolverine), I’m still waiting.
Please, let us find out what Danny can do before I become Arthritic Fist. But for now, I’m definitely on this ride.
THE END web comic
Website: theendcomic.com
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
I’m a novice when it comes to webcomics. Reading comics on my computer screen is vastly different from flipping through and actual comic. The texture of the pages. The weight of it in my hands. The tangible aspects of it all. The curmudgeon in me wants to rock back and forth in my rickety rocking chair and yell phooey at all of these new fangled webcomics.
But I can see the appeal of webcomics. First and foremost, they are free. There’s something about free that’s appealing to me, especially when the cost of comics seems to be rising and rising. Webcomics also are easily accessible if you have an internet connection. You can read them whenever you want and there’s no need for polybags or longboxes.
A link for THE END webcomic wound up in my inbox a while back. It was an interesting read; a horror/fantasy/noir genre type story. What impressed me the most about this webcomic is the fact that the creator (I believe the creator’s name is Tommie Kelly) has made a fully realized and multi-textural world. There’s an entire mythology mapped out in this story, starting with a plague that hits the world’s population, and resulting in a police state type scenario and people developing immunities and super powers. The fact that the creator took the time to plot out an entire backstory before page one impresses me. My old college writing professor used to say, write an origin story. Get it out there on the page. Now, toss it out and write what happens next. That’s where the interesting stuff happens. And to a degree the old coot was right. Origin tales are fun and all, but stories can be much more than that. The writer of THE END seems to feel the same way.
And this is quite a dark read. The website allows you to either read a quick synopsis of the story so far to catch the reader up right away, or allows you to click on the archive and read the story first hand. So far, four chapters and a prologue have been completed. This seems to be a fully realized tale, done in a professional and patient manner.
The comic is not without its faults. The artwork is slightly flat in areas, but some panels are more fleshed out than others. There is little variation in line work. Everything is done in thick dark lines which sometimes end up leaving the panel too dark and garbled to fully understand the action taking place in them. But for the most part, the art clearly moves the story along.
The wrier does a good job with dialog though. There is some pretty heavy text being spewed by the all too serious characters, but somehow the writer pulls it off. There’s an eloquence and poetry to the way things are said that I found to be engaging.
All in all, this is a web comic worth checking out. Again, you can’t complain about the price of these things. If you’re looking for some time to waste at work, click on the website and read a few issues. It doesn’t hurt to give it a gander and, like me, you might find it to be an entertaining read.
”SHENANIGANS” OGN
Writer: Ian Shaughnessy
Penciler: Mike Holmes
Publisher: Oni Press
Reviewed by Humphrey Lee
“SHENANIGANS” is like almost every random 80's comedy I've ever seen; it's got a pretty quirky albeit not terribly unique story, characters that are about the same, and some genuine heart to it to differentiate it a little, but not so much that it succeeds at separating itself from the pack. In a nutshell, eh, this turned out pretty okay.
Our main character is a guy named Holden. A little bit on the geeky side, has a little bit of slacker in him, tends to be a complete fuck up with the womenfolk. After a little bit of a falling out with his current girlfriend he happens to "imbecile" his way into meeting the girl of his dreams, Casey. But as things seem to be moving along just fine with this new gal things hit a snag: Casey takes on a new tutoring job which ends up leaving her and Holden almost no time together, and puts Holden in a predicament because all of Casey's new clientele is made up of jocks, freaks and geeks all trying to give her the moves. And that's when Holden puts in the zany idea of impersonating another person in order to buy up all her time in order to spend more of it with her. Hilarity ensues... well, occasionally it does.
Now, I don't want to be overly critical on this story, because it was entertaining on the overall and I like the effort put forth, but it really did have too much of that "been there, done that" weighing it down. The thing is, while you don't see this kind of premise so much (especially in comics) it usually ingrains itself into your memory when it does that, for good or for bad, you always get that feeling of "I've been here before" when you immerse yourself in it. There's a standard set of clichés that always, always, always comes with it, and there's a bit of them apparent in this story too. Like at about the halfway point where Holden gets so preoccupied living the double life that his factual single life almost never spends time with his girl, or even the old standby of himself and his other self being on two dates at the same time in the same place with pretty much the expected outcome. It's just a little much and draws you out of the story.
So why was this still entertaining despite the big glaring flaw? It really does have a lot to do with the characters. While they're not exactly a breath of fresh air themselves, you still give enough of a damn about them to see if they make it through this big fork in their relationship and come back together in the end. Holden really does channel a lot of the qualities that I think your more comic reading, video game playing slacker types tend to see in themselves, and Casey is definitely the kind of catch we all like to hope we can snag one day. And sometimes Holden's rather extreme failings can be so oddball funny you can't help but laugh out loud which does even out pretty well with the moments where you'll probably glaze over what should be a funny bit if you hadn't seen it a dozen or so times before. And there's some amusing side characters too, like the barkeep that ends up helping Holden with his dual identity despite his better judgment, though they're not given as much screen time as they probably should be to keep things fresh and flowing well.
The art from Mike Holmes for “SHENANIGANS” is a pretty nice treat, though not without its own little problems. Overall the art is very sound, with great facial cues and great expressions and a whole lot of energy to it. The thing that bugs me about it is, well, for some reason none of the character's eyes have pupils and it looks really damn odd. I don't know why, maybe it's just a stylistic choice, maybe it was just a detail that they thought could be dropped to get this to print faster or something (don't ask me, I'm just theorizing) but it really does draw your attention away from the story at hand because it's just so random. Sometimes it just gives this weird glowing eye effect that you'd expect to see maybe in a tense modern zombie movie scene or on the cartoon characters on the front of a Gorillaz CD, but here it just looks, well, weird. But if you can get past that, the art is pretty top notch. Like I said earlier: facial expressions, story flow from panel to panel, all that you expect from good storytelling art is here in full effect.
”SHENANIGANS” is the first time in a long while that I can't go hog wild over an Oni book. Maybe I'm just spoiled by all the LOCALs and WASTELANDs and SCOTT PILGRIMs I've been getting from them, but this is a little too on the mediocre side for me to really recommend it. This is a classic case of Opportunity Cost as the always half-in-the-bag student in me that earned his Bachelor's in Business four years ago would say to prove he occasionally paid attention in class. It's a fun enough read that I think if the opportunity presents itself to give it a try that it wouldn't be a waste of time to do so, but then again, that time (and money of course) could be spent reading so much more engaging material, or even stuff that succeeds better on just a pure entertainment standpoint, all just from the same publisher alone, let alone with the sheer amount of material that is released upon the comic reading elite from around the industry. Sometimes that's just the way it is.
POPEYE VOL.1: “I YAM WHAT I YAM”
Writer: E.C. Segar
Artist: E.C. Segar
Publisher: Fantagraphics
Reviewer: Jinxo
I love the history of comic strips. Just fascinates me. But until now I haven’t had the chance to really dig into a comic strip classic: Popeye. Mostly I knew him from how most folks know him, the cartoons. As to the comic strips, I knew what was said about them. “Oh, Popeye from the cartoons is nothing like the comic strip Popeye. That was where he really shined.” Some of that talk came from around the time of Robert Altman’s Popeye musical. “Some people won’t like the film because he based it more on the classic comics than on the cartoons.”
With Fantagraphics releasing the first in a collection of the original Popeye comic strips readers can finally see for themselves if all the talk was true, if the comics are all they were reported to be. So far I am through the first year of the daily strips and…I am impressed. It’s kinda weird. The cartoons DO in fact color the view of these characters. It’s like having grandparents. You grow up with them and love them and you assume you know them. Then you discover, hey, they had lives before you were even born. They did and went through things you never imagined. Suddenly you see them in a whole different light. That’s what reading these books are like. The hype is true. Popeye was more than a spinach addict with violence issues and bad taste in women.
Actually, the first surprise is that Popeye’s world existed for a full decade(!) before Popeye himself. The comic strip THIMBLE THEATER trudged along a good long time before stumbling on the sailor who became its star. The collections start with the plot that introduces Popeye, the previous decade worth of strips likely never to see print. Likely that’s for the best but it does leave me curious about what came before.
As to the characters and the stories, they are different from the cartoons. But I have to say, if Altman was trying to capture the flavor of the old comics in his film I think he missed the mark. The characters and stories in the original strips are very different from his film as well. The cartoons were almost all about Popeye and Bluto/Brutus fighting over Olive and Popeye eating spinach to win the day. Altman’s film presented the characters as all living in this small, self contained village cut off from the world. All the characters seemed caught up in there own silliness and blind to the world around them. Of particular note is Olive’s brother Castor Oyle. The Altman film shows him as big, tubby and a bit of a simpleton. All of this is way way off.
While there is violence it certainly isn’t all about fights. And the players in THIMBLE THEATER weren’t removed from the real world as in Altman’s film but clearly were meant to reflect it in its own cartoony way. Also unlike Altman, the original characters were not oblivious to what went on about them. Self involved, yes; oblivious, no. Castor Oyle is the biggest surprise. Instead of a big dope of a supporting player, he’s a short fireplug of a character. More than anyone he resembles “Seinfeld”’s George Costanza. He’s willing to go to crazy lengths to make his schemes work. If there is danger, Castor is the first one to knock people over to get away from it. Still, you like him anyway. With George they could just let him be trouble through and through. Maybe just to play it safe, as greedy and bad as Castor is he also has a decent side. Sure, Olive’s boyfriend tries to rob them of all their money. And Castor sets a trap to kill the guy. But in the end, realizing the guy is broke, Castor gives the guy a huge sum of money even by today’s standards. Actually, “Seinfeld” might be the perfect comparison. I’m not saying if you like “Seinfeld” these books will knock you out. But they both have a similar sensibility. They are both the real world, only bigger and sillier with characters that are just horrible and yet somehow likable.
And what about Popeye? He’s a badass. He just is. He comes in as a sort of odd sailor Castor Oyle hires to help them sail to a gambling resort. He comes in as this odd looking freak. Now in the cartoons it seems we are meant to believe Popeye is somehow presentable and that Olive is somehow hot. Not in these. Right off the bat people are telling Popeye that something bad must have happened to his face, and Popeye’s first words to Olive aren’t about her beauty, it’s about how homely she is. Even one of Olive’s suitors admits she is one homely chick. Where the other characters look okay on the outside but are horrible inside, Popeye looks horrible on the outside but seems the only one truly good on the inside. When everyone else cowers in fear for themselves, Popeye is always looking for a fight…with someone who has it coming. And no spinach at all. Bah! We don’t need no stinking spinach. He’ll kick your ass regardless. Popeye is sort of Wolverine if he was designed by Jim Henson. He’s beaten and rough looking, he smokes and curses but he’s also good at heart and surprisingly unkillable. Seriously, in his first fight Popeye is shot sixteen times! And not in a “the bullets bounced off him” way. He’s got sixteen slugs in him and he still gets up from dying to bop the bad guy in the jaw one more time. He is the man. You can see why he became so popular. I actually have a growing affection for the phrase “Blow me down!” It’s constantly used as a capper to the strip. You get the final panel joke and then, sometimes almost without any logic, Popeye will just say, “Blow me down!” It’s the comedy of repetition. They just keep doing it so much that it starts being funny because they keep doing it.
These old strips might not be everyone’s cup of tea. A lot of the time they are enjoyably silly and amusing, not laugh out loud funny. But I find them very addictive. I also admire the lengths Segar would go to with his stories. With current comics, maybe they’ll run a few weeks at most with a running plot or gag. In these strips Segar runs and runs with gags and plots. The opening plot in the book is Castor making a bet that he can kill an unkillable bird. There are then six weeks worth of gags with Castor trying to murder this animal! That’s commitment to a non-pc gag. I am also very impressed how the plots slide seamlessly into each other. So far I haven’t hit a point where the running plot ends outright and a new one starts. They always smoothly dovetail into each other. Castor tries to kill the whiffle bird. This incredibly makes the whiffle bird love and stay with him. Then others want the bird for some mysterious reason, causing trouble for Castor. Then the solution to the mystery of the whiffle bird sets Castor and company on the road to their next adventure and so on and so on…
Can I also say, it’s a nice looking book. Showing it to people where I work, seeing the cover alone they would just blurt out, “Cool!”
One thing to be warned of…these strips were written in the 1920s so, occasionally, some heavy duty stereotypes do pop up. Not often. I’ve read a year of the daily strips and about four instances have popped up. But you should be prepped for when they do. You hit them and just go, “Holy crap! What the hell were they thinking!?!?” Then the story moves on and you thank God Segar didn’t decide to run with those bits for six weeks.
Here is maybe the biggest compliment I can pay this book: I initially didn’t want to tell the @$$holes I was going to review this book until I had read it cover to cover. Only I wanted to have it ready for review this week. In the end, I realized fully reading this book would require more than a single week, not just because of its length but because I realized I really didn’t want to rush through this book. I want to take my time and really enjoy hanging out with this crusty old sailor. Blow me down!
CONTRABAND #1
Published soon by Slave Labor Graphics
Sometimes a book comes along and just knocks you in the gut. IN a good way, mind you. CONTRABAND is a story set in the very near future. Reality TV has grown to massive proportions and technology has advanced to match it. Everything can be recorded with camera phones and immediately uploaded to websites for all to access. Privacy is an obsolete concept and the public has grown hungry for the next shocking thing and their fifteen minutes of fame. This story is a smart and scary vision of where we all may be headed. At times, the story can get a bit techy, but it only disrupts the momentum of the story slightly. I found the tech-speak to be extremely interesting because it is such a major part of the story. This Orwellian tale is not to be taken lightly. You can tell the writer has done his research. According to writer TJ Behe’s bio, he’s a digital creator who has worked for the BBC, Playboy, and MTV, so it looks like he knows what he is talking about. The art is equally powerful in its simplicity. Artist Phil Elliot does a great job of evoking powerful imagery with very few lines. Despite the attention to technology, this story has a lot of heart. There is a passion for the material and a moral lesson beneath it all. This is the type of story that will make you think about yourself and the direction humanity is going with its addiction to technology, voyeurism, and fame. You can check out a preview of this book on the creator’s ComicSpace page. - Ambush Bug 
2 GUNS #1
BOOM! Studios
This book kept me guessing until the end. It was a good looking, easy talking read by artist Mat Santiolouco and writer Steven Grant. Grant’s expertise at writing action stories is evident in this one. There are double and triple crosses going on throughout this entire issue. Focusing on a pair of guys who are planning on robbing a bank, I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one, and I found myself pretty taken aback by the shockeroo ending. This is a comic where anything seemingly can happen to these characters and no one is safe. I like a comic like that. - Ambush Bug 
RAISE THE DEAD #2
Dynamite Entertainment
Damn, this is a surprisingly good miniseries. I’ve gotta admire this story for the fact that it is a straight-forward zombie story with no real gimmicks or twists or anything. It’s just a bunch of human survivors trying to get from point A to point B. What makes it cool is the fact that it is filled with zombie attacks interspersed with LOST-like flashback sequences of the survivors. The story sort of plays like the old fable about the five blind men and the elephant, where each knows a snippet of information, but none of them are seeing the big picture. This is a textured and surprisingly well done addition to the zombie comics genre. The artwork by Hugo Petrus and Marc Rueda is nice and gory as well. To top it off, this miniseries has some of the coolest zombie covers ever put to print. - Ambush Bug 
HUNTER’S MOON #1
BOOM! Studios
James L. White wrote the hit movie RAY, but writing a hit movie doesn’t always mean that one can do good comics. In this case, though, it does. White writes a nice story about fathers and sons. There’re a lot of exposition and getting-to-know-you bits in this issue, but it proves to be effective because of the emotional punch in the last few pages. Stuck in the middle of the woods, no contact with the outside world, and no real idea what is going on, a man named Linc’s plans for a nice hunting trip with his son soon turn into a desperate fight for survival. I’m not sure if the race issue is going to come into play, but the fact that Linc and his son are African American in a Southern wilderness and the foreboding run-in with the police at the diner seem to indicate that it will. Art by Dalibor Talajic is expressive and does a fine job of illustrating the vast wilderness. This is an emotional and interesting beginning. - Ambush Bug 
GAMEKEEPER #2
Virgin Comics
This book is BAD @$$. It’s a simple story of a man who used to be the best there is at what he does, but now just wants to live a peaceful life as the gamekeeper on a secluded farm in the mountains of Scotland. He takes care of the land and brings in food for the small community living on the private estate. Then for unknown reasons a squad of mercenaries show up and start killing people. Soon, the Gamekeeper must do what he does best once again. This book reminds me of FIRST BLOOD in many ways. It’s a one man killing machine, silently defending his home. It is beautiful in its simplicity. The action sequences here, written by action comics guru Andy Diggle from a concept by action movie guru Guy Richie, stand out as memorable and rank off the chart on the cool-o-meter. Add some gritty linework by Mukesh Singh and this is one of the best action books on the shelves right now. Highly recommended for those who like their action with the hardest of cores. - Ambush Bug 
STRANGERS IN PARADISE #89
Abstract
A solid issue. It brings to mind all the writers, comics, etc who say that by using curse words only rarely you gain impact when you do use them. SIP has always been about sex and relationships but it has also always had certain set boundaries. With one issue to go, Terry Moore lets you know it is for real almost the end by punctuating this issue with moments that ignore the boundaries. Not saying there are orgies and cursing galore. Just a couple points where you go, “Did I really just hear that? Did I really just see that? Really didn’t expect to ever…” A fun, flirty slap in the face to say, sadly, the party is almost over. - Jinxo
COVER GIRL #1
BOOM! Studios
BOOM! Studios’ ties to Hollywood have never been more evident than they are with this issue. Set in the City of Stars, this book follows a starving actor as he tumbles into stardom when he rescues a beautiful and mysterious woman from a car crash. Reading this book reminded me of the Robert Altman flick THE PLAYER in that it tells a tale of how the Hollywood machine works its magic. The Hollywood in-speak runs rampant. Image is everything. This book does a great job of mapping out how to build a better star in Hollywood. Of course, things aren’t all great for our would-be hero, Alex Martin. Ramifications of the act that brought Alex the stardom in the first place seem to be playing out, putting the rising star in danger. In order to maintain his man’s man appearance, his agent gets a hot bodyguard to look after him. This looks to be a very fun book. The characters have a lot of personality and the inside Hollywood stuff is something new and entertaining to see in a comic. - Ambush Bug 
UNIQUE #1
Platinum Studios
Tales of alternate realities and physics usually make my head ache. I like my stories a bit more grounded. UNIQUE snagged my interest, though, due to the everyman point of view the story is told from and the, dare I say it, unique premise regarding alternate realities and the like. OK, here goes. Everyone who has ever read Robert Frost’s poem or any DC comic knows that there exist alternate realities. In this story, though, there are those known as Uniques, people who do not have counterparts in these alternate realities. They are unique in that there is only one of them. Jon Geoffries is one of these Uniques - or maybe he’s just nuts. This is a surprisingly down-to-earth tale of cosmic proportions. I enjoyed reading this 48 page premiere issue a lot, especially since it caused limited head-scratching. If you like your cosmic mumbo-jumbo in bite-size doses, this is the book for you. - Ambush Bug 
DOMINION #1
BOOM! Studios
Yet another first issue from BOOM! Studios this week. This time it’s an INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS type dealie as the beginning narration suggests that an ancient form of biological warfare is unleashed from space onto my place of residence, Chicago. Normal human beings find themselves with destructive and repulsive powers and rampage out of control. This issue does a good job of hyping the paranoia of the onset of this attack as the transformation of individual humans to out of control monsters is depicted over and over. There is a slight contrivance where an off-duty cop knows just what to do to fight a specific monster, but I can get past it due to the strong plot and nice gritty artwork by Tim Hamilton. I really like the ugly look of the transformed humans too. The last monster in particular is especially cringe-inducing. Now that these monsters have been introduced, I look forward to getting to know them and seeing them interact more in upcoming issues. - Ambush Bug 
COUNTDOWN #51
DC Comics
Can’t let this one get by without at least giving it a cheap shot. I would’ve given this one a more extensive review, but there really isn’t much here by way of content. Don’t get me wrong. Stuff happened. But I’m just not sure if I like it or not. Maybe I’m still reeling from the lackluster ending of 52 and I wasn’t really given enough time to recover. This is supposedly the beginning of yet another something big for the DCU, but after reading this issue, I was overcome from the from the top of my bald noggin all the way down to that piddy that runs all the way home with a feeling of utter “meh.” I’ll be following this maxiseries, but the excitement has been diluted due to the fact that the Big Two have been on event overdrive for way too long now. - Bug 
MARVEL ZOMBIES: DEAD DAYS #1
Marvel Comics
Yeah, I think this franchise is officially out of steam. Just last week I was remarking on how much I'm enjoying the new mini-series about teaming up our favorite spandex-clad-supertypes-turned-flesh-eaters and the hero of the EVIL DEAD series of movies, Ashley J. Williams. And now I know why: because that book tends to be a little more "lets throw this at the wall and see if it sticks" while this main story of zombification has become a little to matter-of-fact and lost its sense of humor. Now it's just capes eating capes and some more Chicken Little-ing (y'know, "the sky is falling"). It is kind of cool to see how this all went down; why the superhero community and the world ended up falling to it, what kind of effort did they put forth, and there's even a pretty unexpected twist as to the Fantastic Four's part in all this (seeing as how they're the first of this kind we saw way back when in UFF). Sure, this is kind of fun in a sick and depraved sort of way but honestly it's gotten to that point where I'm asking myself "do I really need any more of this?" and I just can't really find reasons to say yes anymore. - Humphrey 
GREEN ARROW #74
DC Comics
First STRANGERS IN PARADISE and now another second-to-last issue. I swear I’m not trying to write about every last issue of a cancelled series. But after the last smack down review I figured I should give credit for a much improved issue. In this one the art is solid and the story moves. We get a good extended action scene which is exciting, easy to follow and brings a classic arrow back into play. I would almost say there is so much violence that I want to ask “where’s the love?” But quite frankly, Ollie puts a whole different sort of shaft to work for an impressive number of hours. On top of all that there is a setup for one final mother of a blowout. I say again, Winick should always write like every issue is the last. Way more fun. - Jinxo
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Of course, I haven't read the article yet.
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Yes............................
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Hooray for third!
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that Ultimates took so long to get here. It's probably the most entertaining of any of those "Alternate Universe" titles that Marvel has churned out. And I remember picking up the first issue of Nova off the newstand when I was a kid. A more fun and entertaining book, was nowhere to be found. It had one of my favorite covers from the mid 70's on issue 4 with Thor. I think it was by the King, Jack Kirby himself. (Curious how Thor was also on issue 4 of my favorite Silver Surfer cover of the original '68 run.)
It's really a d@mn shame how low Marvel has fallen in the last decade. It seems they've lost all their sense of fun and adventure, and traded it in for heroes that blur the lines so much sometimes.....that it's hard to distinguish them from the bad guys. ....just my two cents. -
Talking about covers in that post above, kind of gave me an idea. I'm just curious as to what you fellas in the talkbacks consider to be one of your all time favorite covers? Maybe you have several that strike a chord with you. One that brings back fond memories of a story you loved in comics.
Anyway, I know I have many and it would be hard to pick a favorite, but here's one of my favorites; Thor #171! It was the first issue of Thor I ever bought. And remains one of my all time favorite covers by Jack Kirby. -
I totally have to disagree with you on that review. For some books I take a cue from you guys as to whether to pick up a book I've been hearing about just to see if it really is good. But, this one? nope, dead wrong.
For a long time reader, I liked this one a whoooole lot. More than anything, this gave a good amount of closure for 355, and THAT'S what this issue is all about. Not the reunion. And you didn't even MENTION this in your review. Will we see 355 again, I dunno. How will Beth-2 react when Beth-1 is really in front of her (not just a poster with contact info), I dunno. I'm less interested in the whole Israeli army thing going on, but if it ties into the finale, I'll reserve final judgement on that arc. But all-in-all, there's still a helluva lot of character development going on.
If anyone dropped the ball, superhero, it's you on this review. -
Been waiting for to long :)
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And yes, Aja is amazing. He is a combination of Michael Lark and John Cassidey, he is going to be huge. Countdown on the other hand sucked donkey balls.
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"Maybe I’m still reeling from the lackluster ending of 52 and I wasn’t really given enough time to recover. "
52 ended just fine. -
Pretty much sums up my feelings on the Straczynski era. The last four or five years have been a complete waste. Now...Joss Whedon's RUNAWAYS...hasn't done a whole lot for me, still fun and above average but lacking the invention and originality of Vaughan's run. The characters seem a little too one-note in comparison too, and Molly's being overused.And SPIDER-MAN AND THE FANTASTIC FOUR is the shit.
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Comparing Thimble Theater ANYTHING to the cartoons that followed is like comparing Bob Kane's Batman to Adam West in spandex.
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One decent movie does not an action auteur make. You lost me after that.
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Rainbow Brite appeared in Ultimates #13.I SO have to get this now...
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And since he's only done three, that's not too bad a record.
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Figures it would partially suck on arrival. I'll regretfully get it anyway.
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Has actually done five movies...with mixed results.
Hey, sort of on the subject, are there any film/tv guys who have tried their hand at comics that you do like? Besides Joss? -
Oh thank sweet Jesus, I am eternally devoted to the Ultimates title and I fucking HATE the endless months that go by between issues. For such a monster title, you'd think Marvel would be poking Millar and Hitch with a sharp stick to get it on some kind of regular schedule. I mean, I'm positive it will be worth the wait, and while I would give anything to have them stay on the book, I'm just hoping the new Loeb/Madeira (sp?) era comes out a rate that will allow folks other than my great-great grandchildren to know the ending.
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We'll find out if he really is the goddamn Batman if it does.
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Don't you get it? Y was never about the search for Beth. Finding her was anticlimactic because it wasn't the climax.
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it just reminds me what a good decision it was to abandon comics. The whole industry is wrong from the top down.
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http://www.darkhorizons.com/news07/ffe2.jpg
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The greatest comic ever. I bow before it's awsomeness.
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It concluded this week, and it was great! I bought the first issue for the retro vibe, then stayed for the great writing and cool characters. Hope another mini is on the way. Anyone? Anyone?
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While both books were waaaay late, the redeeming quality of Ultimates lies in the fact that editorial was smart enough to respect the reader enough to supply a simple recap page which would help catch up readers who couldn't remember the last time they read an Ultimate comic.
7 Soldiers just plodded along and picked up on plot points that hadn't been addressed in years, then threw on more incoherent crap just to be safe.
I razz Marvel editorial alot, but they at least know how to keep readers up to date with the recap pages. DC needs to wake the fuck up and give it a try. Especially since their books (for the most part) stick so much to continuity. -
Thanks Jinxo! Nicely done! That is going on the pull list....and 'Batman Strikes' whoa I didn't even know that book existed.
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The Marvel Zombies: Dead Days cover isn't too shabby either!! Talk about some out-of-character actions though, especially Reed. What is Marvel doing with him lately???
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I am really tempted to spew a vulgar, incomprehensible tirade at superhero for bashing the best issue of Y in a very long time. Holy SHEE-ITE did you not get it. You could have just written "I didn't like it" and it would have given us the same amount of information as that half(quarter)-review. GARRR!!!
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I would imagine that if you were reading one of the trippiest and most ambitious GRANT MORRISON stories in his career, and were confused by it, a single recap page wouldn't have made any difference whatsoever.
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There's really a lead character named Jon Geoffries? Is there also a character named Wolf Marvman or Simon Walterson?
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happy Shigeru.
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I think we could all take pointers from you and I hope the majors are watching. "But this comic does make SPIDER-MAN 3 look better. Maybe you should read it before you watch the movie." really needs to be a blurb, my dear Cog.
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I have not cared at all for the retread of Captain Weird, or whatever. All the characters talk the same, Starlin is still obsessed with Church/State issues, and the big bad looks like Lord High Papal got caught in a taffy pull. As for Dr. Thirteen - at first, I didn't get it because...I guess I was just slow. But that part ROCKED! There were some laugh out loud parts in every leg of the story. Favorite line from this one "Get the hot chick!" And Infectious Lass gets the explanation why she wasn't chosen - becuase Thirteen's daughter is half-asian. And in comics, we know that all the hot chicks are half-asian... I would recommend this book to any fanboy.
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Me likey (much with the funny!), 30 Helens approve, and the alien monkey eating my brain could not fling poo at it. I bow to you sir. (*_^)
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If you're half as crazy-smart as you claim to be, you would understand that in your post, you tried to point out some inconsistency in Sleazy's writing when he complained about the late-ness of 7 Soldiers a little longer in that review, and was more dismissive of the same lack of punctuality of the Ultimates 2. I addressed your Swiss cheese like argument by saying that the late schedule wasn't as much of an issue because Ultimates had a page to recap what had come before. 7 SOldiers did not. Marvel was considerate to those who buy many books and acknowledging the fact that a little recap may help spark some memories as well as interest those who may be picking it up for the first time. 7 Soldiers failed at Stan Lee's 1st and most important golden rule: Every comic is someone's first comic.
Again, you harp on the fact that our mental faculties are deficient because we didn't remember when Expository Butler AKA The Spider farted in panel nine of 7 Soldiers #0 and it was blamed on Teekyl two years later when issue #1 came out.
When we review a book, at least when I do it, I try to look at what is before me. 7 Soldiers was flawed in that the book I was reading in my hands was hard to make out due to too many characters, too many storylines rushed to an end, and too many things just happening out of the blue with little or no sense. To me (which is the imoportant thing to note here), it wasn't an enjoyable read. If you liked it, well then here's a big bowl of gravy for you, but why on earth would you try to put someone down because they didn't like what you liked? How childish is that?
If you want to talk about how you liked 7 SOldiers, taped it to your ceiling, and busted out the lube, then fine. But you haven't done that at all. You have just ripped on anyone who criticizes the book and called them idiots for not understanding it. -
I liked it. To me it served as a bookend for the 2 volume series and complimented the Capt. America "death at the beginning of issue one.
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Why does Cap look like Tommy Smothers in that bottom panel? You guys waited how long for that art? Somebody with better photoshop skills than I, please give him a dialogue balloon that says "Mom always liked you best." Thanks. JQ.
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OK, I was out of town and haven't read all of last week's stack, and I saved Y for the last read, so I can't say if this issue is a let down. It may be, since the whole "Beth" angle isn't one of the most interesting threads of the book.
But I have to disagree that Y has gone downhill in the last year. I have greatly enjoyed it and felt it was tying up storylines in a most satisfactory manner. In fact, I give it a total "A." -
"Every comic is someone's first comic." as an excuse is utter horseshit.
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...there!
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...and Ultimate Iron Man is based on his brother, Dick. Also, Ultimate Pietro and Wanda? Donnie and Marie Osmond.
Good to hear from ya, JQ! -
Stan's credo: Every Comic is someone's first, may be an aged theme these days, but I also think that it is one of the reasons comics have been on the decline. Stan's comment was meant to mean that comics should be accessible to anyone who walks by a comic store and decides to stop in. Today, mainstream comics are anything but. It's the typoe of elitist crap that pans this credo that alienates new readers. And yes, new people in my comic shop are annoying at times, but I have to put myself in check too because I was that little kid 25 years ago who didn't know who Spider-Man was, yet curious to find out. Guess what, that comic that you complained about paying $2.99 for is only going to go up in price if new readers aren't harvested somewhere.
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Good to hear from you, my snarky Canuck friend!
Sleazy said "Dick Smothers."
Heh. -
The series has been draggin for the last ten issues. I love the series too, but I feel as if it kind of lost it's stride somewhere around the time before they met up with the pirate chick. Maybe it was the fact that Yorick started banging a few girls (and even knocked one up) that really kind of made me care less about his quest to find Beth. Or maybe it was when guys started showing up like Dr. Mann's father and the little baby kid. Somehow it made Yorick less distinctive. I'm just not so sure, but I find myself looking forward to the end whereas if I liked this book, I should be wanting the end to be far, far away.
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Has been worth a damn. YES, I'm including Snatch too. As far as Y is concerned - yeah, I started to fade out after the monkey feces, but you know, if they didn't make the lesbian scenes so damn "tasteful" it might still be worth a buy.
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What a fantastic mistake.
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who walks by a comic store and decides to stop in." Way to severely handicap an entire medium. But hey, it's just funnybooks! And don't you dare call me an elitist and blame me for comics downward sales trends. You think I want every single comic to look and read like SS #1? I don't. Blame the store owners whose stores still look like dark, dank porno dens. Blame the store owners who take no effort to bring in new readers by fuck, I dunno, organizing their books into easy to navigate sections. Blame videogames for becoming the primary source of adolescent entertainment. Blame the publishers for not taking greater initiative to bring in new readers by supporting beginner-friendly books, instead of just canning them. For putting out derivative crap month after month. For not capitalizing on the enourmous success of their movie franchises. But don't blame ME. Sorry if I come off as overly confrontational. Nuthin but love.
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please don't associate my opinions with the above post.
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Translation from Oscar WIlde's post:
I give a pointed description about what I found to be lacking in 7 Soldiers of Victory #1. See previous post.
Wilde's response: Yer stoopid.
Thanks for proving my point, Brainiac. -
...is that you're a fuckin' jagoff who just doesn't know when to let something go and move on. Unlike the rest of us, you're completely unwilling to admit to mistakes or see anyone else's point of view. And also unlike the rest of us, it's less important to express your opinion than it is to to insult everyone else while acting smug and superior, which is why you've yet to contribute anything of value or provide any sort of insight. Which is why, also unlike the rest of us, you keep getting yourself banned only to come back with a new name and revisit the same subjects and people over and over again.
You're a fucking troll. Not a clever or entertaining or funny one, mind you--just a self-involved one who's completely in love with himself and the little bridge he lives under.
So go right ahead and keep doing what you've been doing, and we'll all do the same: ignoring you and refusing to take you seriously, because you're a waste of fucking time and effort.
I mean, sure, you could always try and contribute something constructive or original or insightful, thereby proving just how smart you really are...oh, wait: no you couldn't. Guess it's back to jerking off over your copy of the SEBASTIAN O trade paperback or Morrison's VAMPIRELLA run for you, eh? -
...might really have turned the tide. I could be wrong.
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The absolute worst "lack of a summarization of the plot" issue I have ever read was a pre-Infinite Crisis issue of "The Outsiders" by Judd Winnick. This issue was part of a crossover with "Teen Titans" with Indigo turning into a Brainiac plot device, while Superboy went Luthor-nuts in the other title.
This was a crossover that was supposed to potentially bring readers from Titans over to Outsiders and yet,(1) nothing was recapped.
(2) not one member of The Outsiders was properly introduced.
(3) story elements haphazardly introduced and removed characters arbitrarily.
I miss the days when we not only got a proper short-paragraph "re-cap", but also had notes from the "Adjective-laded Editor-Name" referencing past issues where stories took place.
At least Bendis brought back thought balloons. -
In comparison, the associated "Teen Titans" issue had a comprehensive re-cap and a completely understandable story.
Now excuse me while I go update our ComicSpace profile with this week's reviews. -
which is the argument worth taking part in.
I wasn't blaming you specifically and I do agree with a lot of what you said about where the rightful blame should fall. Store owners, narrow minded publishers, video games, bad parenting, global warming. But I stil think that Stan (while not always dead on in his commentary on comics) did speak wise words when he coined the phrase. The point that proves this? Well, the comics he took part in are still the icons they are today and known by a majority of the public. The stories being made into films are his stories or stories that occurred while he was at Marvel. The stories being remade by the Ultimate U are too with modern tweaks. The Man ain't Buddha, but he did do a pretty good job of making his stories worthwhile, while still thinking like a good salesman.
We now return you to Oscar Wilde who more than likely will continue to berate me for two reviews I didn't even write. Troll on... -
Can't do it, can you? Now go back and prove you "pwned" anybody here at all. Anywhere. Ever. Can't do that either, can you? Now try to not come here any more to talk shit because you're so much better than all of us, and we're all so inferior to you, that we're just not worth your time and effort. Can't do that either, huh? Then tell me: just what the fuck can you do? I mean, besides being an annoying douchebag pain in the ass, which you're able to prove every time you open your fuckin' mouth, of course...
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Then I would have a reputation of great renpwn. Maybe they would give me a crpwn!
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... his crowning glory is when an @$$hole misremembered a story arc from THE INVISIBLES....he knows how to make lots of fancy user IDs so it looks like people are agreeing with him....he understood absolutley EVERYTHING in 7 SOLDIERS. Just doesn't fancy explaining it.
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No contraction for the possessive, "looser".
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just askin
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cause that's how we rpll.
That's it. If Pscar dpes it, we shpuld all dp it, dpn't ypu all think sp? -
got a little too silly for my pwn good...
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To those who haven't read it yet, prpared to be underwhelmed. Other than the crass giant fold-out smackdown (not the ads, but the Ultimates D.C. superfight), there's not much here after an eight month hiatus. The ending was contrived, the character left with lame sitcom wrap-ups, and Marvel has my four bucks, because of my own volition. We deserved better than this. Or did we?
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Oscar used to be here under another, rather unpopular Star Wars-based name, until he accidentally posted replies to himself. At least, I believe it is him under a new nom de keyboard.
To my surprise, I liked Marvel Zombies: Dead Days. No interest at all in the Evil Dead crossover, since I hate that mixed-media stuff. And I dropped Ultimate X-Men because Kirkman's writing on that one is just horrendous. I actually bought Dead Days for my 12-year-old nephew, but surprise....I really enjoyed it. I liked the backstory on the whole zombie plague, and out-of-character behavior doesn't bother me in "alternate" worlds. Perhaps a bit misogynistic, but way above average for Kirkman, a solid "B."
Finally, a question: Should I know already what's going on with Mary Marvel? I see a lot of chatter about "what's being done with her," but I don't really know what that is?
Really finally: Ultimates 2 si finally concluded! YaY! Trade Paperback soon to come. If ever there were a book meant to be read in collected format, it's Ultimates. -
What the fuck are you guys talking about??? It's a huge plot point of the book!!! You may disagree with me on how the past year of Y has been going but to say that the search for Beth wasn't a huge part of this book is ridiculous!!! I mean there are whole chunks of issues devoted to Yorick's wanting to find his Beth!! And as far as this past issue not being about the reunion...of course...the next issue is. But it HAPPENED in this issue and the buildup to it was lax at best. No suspense whatsoever. And great, sure, 355 takes off in this issue but if you think this is the last we see of her you're on crack! And if we're going to debate the pacing on the past year of Y are we going to talk about at least TWO frackin' filler stories with characters no one really cared about or really wanted to see again? Huh? Are we? Huh??
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Cuz clearly, not just anybody can come in here and talk shit! You gotta be an Officially Licensed Troll before you can start pulling that shit! If you want an application, just stop by the basement of Mamma 4 Prez's house. Don't worry, the printer's manned by a mouth-breating OLT at all times, so he'll be able to get you that form right away.
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And btw, I actually have posted some things about comics I've liked here and why from time to time, instead of just trolling and pointing out how much more intelligent I am than everyone else because I liked a comic some other guys didn't.
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...but it's funnier now that Sleazy G got in first.
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Guy's been through a few names. He gets banned, waits a month or two, can't resist any more...and just has to sign back up to say the same tired old shit. We shouldn't let him get us riled up, but after ignoring his shit for weeks at a stretch we sometimes get a little fed up. Like all trolls, he figures poking somebody with a stick until they tell him to fuck off means he won and they lost. Guess that happens all the time to misunderstood geniuses like Hawking and 4 Prez. Must be rough.
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...but you're a regular laff riot, yessir. Fuckin' hysterical. And smart. And pretty and charming and popular, too. Gosh, you really *are* too good for the rest of us. So why not fuck off to one of those places where you'll be appreciated by others as fabulous as you, never to stoop to our level again? Can't fuckin' do it, CAN YA?
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Seduction by Jean Loring/Eclipso. It might not be as big a deal if it weren't for the nature of her character. It's all happening in Countdown, apparently. Here's the relevant cover/solicit: http://tinyurl.com/yvsdzy
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Can we please remember rule #1: "Do not feed the trolls."They are irrational troglodytes and you all are demeaned by getting sucked into muck with them.P.S. "pwned" is so 5 years ago, at latest. Furthermore, you're incorrectly using the verb, Oscar. "Pwned" is passive (that is, something that happens to someone), "owned" is active (something someone does to someone else). Get with the program, boys.
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Thanks, Thalya. (By the way, I have always loved reading your posts.) Sometimes the best way to learn is to simply be shpwn...uh, shown the truth. I now withdraw to parts unknpwn...unknown.
Crap, I can't stop! -
*smacks face* We've got Oscar Wilde and his Bizarro-world cousin on our hands..
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Boy, it's been a while huh? Superhero, you are wrong. Y #46 totally kicked my ass. Sure, it was all about 355 but that's what the whole thing is about as far as i'm concerned. By now it's pretty evident it doesn't matter whether they call eachother dude or not, those two are in love. It's like real life (am i gonna get some shit for saying that), you think you're looking for something and you end up finding something else. And that's why Yorick tells Beth "Fuck you!", because he's resisting this encounter, in a way. Sure, it's sort of anticlimactic, i mean...remember Jesse and Tulip's encounter after all the shit they'd been through when she thought he was dead and he thought she was in love with his best friend? That one made your heart race. But that was about different things, it was about two people who love eachother more than anything finding eachother again. Here? We just don't know. Yorick is a different person now, and he's more 355's than he is Beth's. And that my friends is how you read a comic you really like. Insightfully and below the surface.
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Bite me.
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do NOT feed it!
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What the hell are you guys talking about in here?
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How abysmally boring.
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Um Vale I'm not sure I agree with your take on the issue, tho I loved it. The reason Yorick was so freaked out and said "Fuck you!" was because for the past 3 (?) years or so since the plague hit, he's been constantly having dreams about reuniting with Beth only to have her decompose or get killed graphically or something. So it was just too strange for him. The 355 stuff was wonderfull. Especially when she asks him how he just up and disappeared back in DC, and then she does it to him the next day! superhero, in my post I said that Y #56 was the best issue in a LONG TIME. I don't want to talk about the last year of Y. I want to talk about issue #56. Yes, Beth was and is a great part of the book. There was no buildup to their reunion because it was a *twist ending*! You're not supposed to see it coming. All the readers weren't expecting Yorick and Beth to meet up until the last issue, and BKV throws us a killer curveball by having them reunite 4 issues prior. I thought it was brilliant.
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The ONLY person in this TB amused by your antics IS you. Now what do you think that makes you and what do you think EVERYONE else on this TB thinks of you? Uh-huh that's right: A pathetic fucking troll. Now sit down and SHUT THE FUCK UP already.
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I'm not sure I buy the whole Stan Lee's books are classics, therefore he's right on some other point argument. Hindsight is 20/20, through rosy glasses. ^_^ I mean, yeah his old books are accessible so I can see a relation but surely you're not suggesting comics should all be formatted like that? Actually it sounded like you were suggesting that. And besides, I view myself as SS#1 target audience, and if I had never read a comic before and picked it up, I would be fascinated enought to pick up the rest.
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So can someone tell me who has mystical rainbow powers in Ultimates #13? For real?
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Good job reviewin' this time I picked up a few on yer say so(Nova IS good)and was pleasantly surprised. Yawta get Harry to let ya write more than just reviews about comics. This don't mean i wanna swap spit with ya in a warm shower.
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Shit. I can't even participate in all the pwning b/c youse guys is all spoiling Y for my pwned "waiting for the trade" @$$.
Anyone else more than a little disappointed they aren't getting any oscar attention? abloo bloo -
So how about that cup of SHUT THE FUCK UP.
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Yeah, that's the apparent reason he's so freaked out. But that's what i read into the whole thing.
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Not exactly. See, Thor? Norse god. How do the Norse gods travel from Asgard to Midgard (Earth)? They travel across a rainbow bridge. So what happens when Thor opens the gateway to the rainbow bridge? Well, Norse gods and warriors and shit show up to kick frosty ass. Meanwhile, Loki is summoning up all kinds of serpents and trolls and shit to fight 'em off. Tasty Norse goodness entails, with nary a confusing "Thee shalt get thouest" anywhere to be found, thankfully.
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And here I was expecting Starlite to come galloping down the bridge, with Twink on his back distributing star sprinkles everywhere, and *smacks face again* dammit I'm inadvertently starting to pervert a beloved childhood memory of mine so I'd better just shaddup.. P.S. I do believe there's been a banning. Star Sprinkles for everyone!
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I liked the one that said something about the @$$holes being the crew at the stockroom in Costco. Because it would be cool if we were.I'd be all:"Will you get those fuckin' TVs down here? We need 'em on the floor!"And Bug would be all,"I'm trying to get the column together! Who threw that?"While Squashua and Superhero raced forklifts, Sleazy would zip in on a motorized handcart and say, "Man, can you believe the housewives today? Ever since the built that housing development...those boys are doing alright for themselves."Bug:"The column is fucking short! Buzz, could you please fucking write something?"And I'd say,"No,man, ever since my promotion, I don't have time."ALL:"But yer just third-associate-assistant-stockroom-manager."
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I DO believe in what Stan said: every comic is someone's first. That said, it would be unwise to build a marketing plan around it solely, because those of us who have been reading for 10, 20, 30 (or more, like me) years would really be bored to tears. I tend to skip the first page synopsis, frankly...but I APPRECIATE its necessity.
I think what’s being said is that sometimes its really helpful, and sometimes it's a distraction. On crossovers trying to gain new audiences, one would think it would be there. On a summation of the efforts of several books, it's (obviously) debatable – one could argue that only fans would pick up the book, so why put it in, and one could argue that a well-done explanation could cause readers to seek out the originating volumes.
Likewise, Stan's wisdom re:format is an ipso facto argument. But it should also be noted that Stan would not have created a Wolverine (in his current form), or a Ghost Rider, or any of the darker and more popular characters, so clearly it's an evolving medium where some of Stan's original creations have not stood the test of time unchanged. (Yet Spiderman and the FF are remarkable UNchanged, and they are still flagship products.)
Personally, I appreciate that the synopsis is the rule. But there are exceptions, and what those should be...well, that's just a difference of opinion, I think. And everyone's opinion (on this particular topic) seems to be pretty well informed.
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Thankee! BTW, cool beans on getting some well-written reviews published.
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You gotta remember, Stan's not a geek. He's a hustler. He was a poor kid and he knew he was in a trendy pop medium. In the 70s, when superhero comics weren't selling as well, and THE EXORCIST and THE OMEN were blockbusters, Stan told Roy to give Satan is own comic, or at least a try out in MARVEL SPOTLIGHT. Roy's sanity prevailed and instead we got GHOST RIDER and SON OF SATAN.That said, I don't think you need a synopsis with a lot of modern comics because they'd read like this:"People talked a lot and did nothing last issue..."
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I forgot about the Ghost Rider bullpen story. And you're right, Stan was a marketer first, not a "purity of concept" kind of guy.As far as your generic synopis, we could do a whole nother talkback on how wordy comics have become, LOL...
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Forgive me for not having read any Seven Soldiers yet, but wasn't the point about issue #1: "ooh, look, the first issue of a comic! I think I'll pick it up, get in on the ground floor, an-what the heck's goin' on?!?!". The point being that anyone's first issue is always in medias res and comics at this point in the game, in universes that have heavy back-history, are about simply hooking people and encouraging them to go on a treasure hunt of back issues and delve where they want in this big gigantic sandbox? I think anyone getting into comics in this day and age, save for the really young'uns, would have that understanding upon taking the dive in, especially when it's general knowledge that these blockbuster comic-based movies are derived from decades worth of source material.
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OK, fine Shig, you want to talk about one issue of Y? Well, as far as I'm concerned one issue of a serialized, monthly comic does not exist in a vacuum. It depends upon what came before it story-wise. Especially something like Y that is a long protracted story lasting something like 60 issues. Sure, each issue must be individually impressive but each issue is also dependent upon the story before it. Not so much with something like Spider-Man or Superman but with a title like this it absolutely depends on what’s come before it. So if issue # 46 of Y THE LAST MAN suffers because of the issues leading up to it that is something I have to take into account while reviewing it. Especially as a Y: THE LAST MAN fan. Try and say that three times fast.
I get that it’s supposed to be a surprise ending. Fine. I didn’t see it coming but the surprise wasn’t that shocking to me. And that is because of poor pacing and mediocre storytelling. Sorry. But this book’s been off its game. It’s true. And the ho-humness of this “shocking twist” is the evidence.
Vale, please, get over yourself. If you had read Y as “insightfully and below the surface” as you claim to have you would have understood what Yorick meant when he said “Fuck You” to Beth. Shig got it so maybe he’s the one who read the book “insightfully and below the surface”. And as far as Yorick being in love with 355? No, I’m not sure I agree with you on that. I think they both have a love for each other that’s beyond what ‘Rick and Beth may have ever had but it’s not just a romantic “We’re in love” type of thing. I think that it’s developed into something that is more like family or siblings have for each other. I think that 355 tears up in the book because she knows that ‘Rick no longer needs her anymore once he’s completed his quest. Also, despite their closeness, she gets that three’s a crowd and that she’d just complicate things if she hung around. Not because Yorick’s in love with her because she’s in love with Yorick. ‘Rick is much like many people who have a best friend of the opposite sex at some point in their lives that they’re not interested in romantically…he’s so thick he doesn’t see it. Sorry you haven’t understood that. But sometimes stuff isn’t so complicated that it has to be read into. Sometimes it’s so obvious that pretentious prigs on message boards like yourself have to make up stuff as they read so they can feel like they know more than everyone else.
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Love your handle by the way...
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Fuck that.
I was actually open to the idea of collecting 52 in the trades until I heard about the ending that stupid WWIII tie in crap. I flicked through this Countdown with hope, but Joker's daughter just does nothing for me. And the art was shit-tastic.
No thanks - I'll just stick to my Detective and JLA treadmills.
Somehow I have managed to maintain an erection for WWH despite not having read the She-Hulk/Tony Stark face off.
And I have no problem with ASM 540. Maybe because I have little investment in the character. I'm in it for the action. -
...and now I need to go buy me some funny-books!
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I was kidding, you fuck. I thought it was pretty obvious since i like saying pretentious, self aggrandizing things jokingly to see if they piss some idiot off. Sure enough... Second, it's not like i didn't get it! How could i not get it? It was RIGHT THERE ON THE PAGE. Yorick said so himself, this is another dream blah blah blah. And i explained what i read into it because i love this book so much i'm thoroughly invested in the characters and maybe i see myself reflected in them a bit so i read it my own way, is that a fucking sin you asshole? Fuck you.
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No fuck you you fuckin' fuck...
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Fuckitty fuck fuck fuck!!! FUCK! Wow...look how intelligent I seem! FUCK!
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They way SEVEN SOLDIERS worked was this: SS #0 comes out. Then you get seven four-issue miniseries following seven different characters. These minis? Released on an intentionally weird-assed staggered schedule that would have taken a full year to come out--if they weren't late. Then, when all those minis are done, you get SS #1, which incorporates characters and elements from both #0 and all seven miniseries. Except that SS #1 came out like a year and a half or more after #0. So yeah: 20 months and 28 lurchingly released issues later, you're supposed to remember everything that went on waaay back in #0. Summary page? Nope. Expositionary catchup over the course of a handful of panels? Nope. Eight different stories converging, with each one getting such short shrift that you're left wondering what the point of anything happening even is? Yup.
#1 needed a lot of things it was missing to work: a recap page because it was so incredibly behind schedule (well over half a year, if I remember correctly), subtle reminders of what had happened, more than three pages spent per character, and--most importantly--some heart. Some of the series felt empty and paint-by-numbers, and when you're only giving each one a coupla pages, you need to give the reader a reason to give a damn. For some characters there was, and for some it just lacked resonance. It was an interesting idea, but was lacking a bit in follow through and in emotional grounding. Not unusual for Morrison, really, but disappointing nonetheless. -
I really appreciate the reviews and hang out here all the time. I would like to ask the reviewers to do what reviewers are supposed to do: Write a review. Leave it at that. Let us talkbackers debate the review. It is really demeaning to have a reviewer engage in a snotty exchange with talkbackers.
OK, I must admit that I do not care for the reviews of 2 or 3 of the reviewers, and I may criticize their reviewing skills. I certainly do not expect one of these reviewers to start insulting me or getting all huffy because I didn't agree with the review. If I were vale, I'd be offended by what superhero said. I'd expect it from a talkbacker, but not a reviewer. -
Then you are on the wroooonnggg site my friend...
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Wait, so Vale can make a snide comment directed at me and my review (He said he was “kidding”, fine that’s cool. But as we all know “kidding” doesn’t always translate on the internet.) and, what, because I wrote a review and am a reviewer I’m just supposed to sit back and accept what someone says without rebuttal? Please! How long have you been coming to this site??? That’s what talkbacks are for! To talk about the reviews! Should I just be confined to talking about Ambush Bug’s, Sleazy G’s, Professor Challenger’s, or rock-me Amodeo’s reviews? I mean, really, Homer…what site have you been going to for the past couple of years????
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Yet you're writing reviews for AICN? Please do us all a favor and grow up.
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So I have a busy day at work, and see what I miss? I even missed all of the Oscar stuff before he was booted. Damn.
OK, Vale... that argument blew. the "joke" would have worked, but with a better set-up.
superhero, no worries! yay for discussion on the TB, tis a great thing. :)
As far as this issue of Y went. I still believe it was all about closure for 355. To her, she is finally done with the shenanigans of Mr. Brown, for better and especially for worse. But BKV... I too have serious, serious doubts that he's done with her. Personally, I think it'd rock if she was gone from the book for good, or at least shown to be watching from a distance, but with no in-story character interaction. This past year? Meh, I'll agree that it was so-so. But I will say that I did buy the Dr. Mann's daddy with the monkey poop after the third time I read it. after all, SOMEONE had to handle Ampersand, why not the dude who caused it in the first place?
I do have one question though superhero, what DID you like about this issue? after re-reading all your comments, I can't find a single thing you've said that says "yeah, there's some good stuff, stick around 'til the end" nor anything like "drop the book like it's Hasselhoff". It's easier to list the faults of someone/thing, but it's far harder to also list the positives of something you don't agree with. (Wow, I feel like I'm back doing my Student Teaching self-analysis in Senior Year again.)
On a side note, I can't wait til next week's review of the stalemate that was Uncanny X-Men
Hmmm, Does Oscar have a "p-face" -
Regarding Oscar Wilde 4 Prez, I just want to say that you guys are truly a sight to behold. The "pwnage" was magnificent.Gentlemen...I salute you.
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As was said by an earlier poster (I checked to see if the comment had already been made) it clearly intends to bookend the series. Admittedly it might not fully work if considered solely in the context of the issue, but it does terms of the concluding the story Mark Millar wanted to tell, which primarily focused on the modernization of Cap. Of note is the fact that the picture Gail gave Steve Rogers was featured in issue one of the first volume prior to the paratroopng.
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Not to mention the gripe that it makes him apparently "smarmy" and not charming. Um, isn't this supposed to be a re-imagining of the characters or was the original Hank Pym a wife beating traitor to his country. Was the Hulk a mass murderer? I mean, the only merit behind that critique is that you didn't like it, not that it interferes with the story. Typical
AICN review, "I think it sucked, so it does. That's how my sister grades movies. -
Check my earlier post, we are on the same "page", if you will.
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I know about issue #0 and the 7 four-issue minis. I think the rationale I described is the entire point behind the numbering system they used. If a person unwittingly picks up #1 thinking that's where it starts, they're totally screwed, but hopefully they like or are intrigued by at least one of the storylines enough to maybe go back and get that particular mini.The design of the whole release structure is interesting too. You can follow it as it's getting released in lots of crazy, jumping around everywhere conspiracy-driven episodes, or there's the tail-end wait-for-the-trade experience. I almost wonder if there might have been a slight bit of deliberateness on the very late release of #1 specifically so you wouldn't remember anything that had gone before. I think I remember reading a Morrison interview awhile back where it mentioned he wanted to simulate that experience of picking up a comic for the very first time and being thrown headfirst into it all. Maybe the various storylines in #1 were given short shrift because they were more to whet the appetite?Of course, it still has to come through in the execution and like you say, Morrison may have been too focused on the experiment to give it that needed oomph. Do you think it might've been better if the 7 Soldiers were allowed to meet in any fashion? Or maybe they were deliberately separated so that it'd be less confusing to go back to the minis to learn more about particular characters?*weak shrug* But what do I know? I haven't read the thing yet.
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What an eventful day. There was a new column, some trolling, a gangpile on said troll leading to a banning, a mini war between an @$$Hole and a cog, and now it's back to bashing on Sleazy because he didn't like what some other people like. When are people going to learn that just because you don't like the same things, that doesn't mean that anything is wrong with them. It just means that they have a different opinion. No need to take it as a personal attack on you. And no need to attack the reviewer. What happened to trying to stick to the material in order to support the argument? It really doesn't help your case that all you have to say is "Typical AICN reviewer..." Is it so hard to give an example of why you think so passionately about the opposite? If "we" are so wrong, it should be pretty easy to not make a personal attack of it and focus on the material. Ponderous, man. Just ponderous. Is healthy debate such a lost concept?
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not for nothing, but in my opinion, i think beth is basically the "macguffin" in Y-the last man. she is what yorick *thinks* is driving his "plot" along, but in the end she really isn't that important. i just get the feeling that Y is going to be less about the destination and more about the journey. anyway this is comming from someone who is "trade-waiting" on Y, so take my 2 cents with a large grain of salt.
as far as the recap page or paragraph at the beginning of late books goes, i see it both ways. i think it's a good idea and only fair considering how late some of these books come out and it is nice to get the reader caught up. but part of me understands that most of the writers doing these types of book aren't really pacing the story for individual issues anymore anyway. instead the writters are thinking about how it will read in the trade paper back.
and yes, i agree, that sucks. but it's just part of the reality of the medium at this point so what can you do? in the end it's just an unfortunate side effect of the medium of comics "growing up", so to speak. even with books i get on a monthly basis, i find i get much more out of them when the story arc or crossover ends and i get a chance to go back and re-read the story as a whole.
so just to "recap" that for everyone: yeah, having a paragraph recounting the main events of a long storyline when a book is late is nice and all. but in the end, if i don't remember whats going on in any given title, i can always get off my lazy ass and find the back issues in the longboxes if i really need to, so it's never been a point of contention for me personally.
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Fisrt off, I would like to thank Thalya, Psynapse and Stones_throw for their fine props. Dregmobile, cool that you disagreed. I'm not going to start a war with you. Sorry, man. We're just too tight y'know? I'd like to really get into the discussion here, but I don't want to reveal any Y or Ultimates secrets to myself, so I think I'll take a break for a few days. Y'all can spoiler the shit out of 'em.
In an unrelated topic, I was in Seattle two weeks ago and I bought a ton of comics, since there's so few available here. I finally picked up Y Volume 6. (I've had Volume 7 since last July and I was itching to read it.) I think the highlight was the Desolation Jones trade. JH William's art is great and I think you all should read it. I didn't pick up Seven Soldiers, but I did get Seaguy. Seaguy was great. I have no idea what happened, but it was good. I'm rereading it now so I can better figure things out. That was confusing enough, so I think I'll wait a bit before I pick up Seven Soldiers.
Finally, I really love that DC has the balls to put out the next issue of All Star Batman. I honestly think I might read it now. -
what has been happening in my room...i don't care...but dammit...why must i wait a week for lost? and hmm...i have black thoughts...nothing to do with loki or thor...mostly with banana bread. do with that what you can...i know i will. peace.
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...reasoned debate isn't dead is just depends on who you are talking to, at what time you talk to them and where the discussing takes place. i would submit to you that the internet isn't the best place to find "reasoned debate". due in no small part to the nature of the beast, it's just way too easy for people to act like jackasses when they are nameless and faceless. not to mention that having a reasoned debate takes time, energy and thought. and lets face it, how many people actually have time for that anymore in this crazy mixed up world.
also (and please don't take this the wrong way) but calling yourselves the "leauge of @$$holes" really dosen't set the tone for "reasoned debate". thats kind of like daffy duck complaining that no-one takes him seriously, regardless of the fact that he named himself "daffy" duck.
again i say this not to be a jerk, just saying it might be a factor to consider when questioning the lack of insightful debate in the talkback. -
Okay, maybe next time?
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"We're @$$Holes, not assholes. A lot of people confuse that term. Basically, long ago the Original Ten @$$holes (O@'s) got together and worked it out to mean this: We tell reviews off the cuff and straight from the heart. We won't be bribed and will always give our honest, unbiased opinions. Sometimes, we say things that offend, contradict, and challenge others' opinions, but sometimes the truth hurts and that's why some call us @$$Holes. Our reviews don't come from a mean place spawned from jealousy or arrogance (people who do that are assholes). Our reviews comes from a deep seeded love for comics and a desire to see comics, the characters in them, and the people making them improve the medium for all to enjoy. We hope that our little weekly review column can somehow speak to the masses so that we can enjoy the comics we read more. We also try to provide a vast assortment of reviews to embrace all aspects of comics (a la manga, indie, webcomics) and push the medium forward...we are The League of @$$Holes."
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I am not bashing on sleazy because "he doesn't like what I like", I was ambivalent to the line about lady-boys. I was bashing on him because he bashed Mark Millar in a very immature way that to me, did nothing towards a constructive review but illustrated that Sleazy apparently has a bone to pick with Millar. To quote sleazy, "I mean, come on," - “Ha, ha, look at me—I’m Mark Millar so I can say ‘lady-boy’” in a Marvel comic! Ooooohhh, I’m soooo clever!” It just reeks of schoolboy immaturity, and considering it has exactly not a fuckin’ thing to do with the rest of the story because the Ultimates are never attacked by a team of transsexual Thai hookers, it really should have been cut by an editor."
Talk about reeking of schoolboy immaturity and rigid literalism.
Now as for supporting an argument as for why Tony Stark said this (which is beside the point) How about that in the next page he's weeping about lost love through betrayal, something he probably never imagined could happen to the likes of him. After all the Iron Man armour isn't the only kind he wears, okay? So maybe as he's trying to fight back that awful feeling he's being a little more flippant, a little more cavalier than usual, to convince himself he's fine, etc etc. There's my 2 cents. -
....you can carve that wherever you want, and keep saying it until you are blue in the face, all i'm saying is the name gives off a "negative vibe" right from the word jump.
believe me, i get the place where you guys are comming from, "@$$holes" seems like a clever enough twist to make it exactally as you guys intended it to be when you started these reviews. kind of tounge in cheek but with a deep love of comics. i get that i really do. and i really like the comic reviews you guys do, it's great that someone is representing comics BOOKS (and not just comicbook movies) here at AICN.
all i'm screaming is that some words can't shake their negative vibe no matter how you intend for it be be re-interpreted. it's just someting to consider next time you lament the lost concept of healthy debate in these talkback.
and again, i say this with no malice. and i don't mean to imply that you guys deserve the shit you get from people because of the name you picked. all i'm saying is that as far as names of groups goes,"@$$holes" ....well it ain't exactally "the beatles" now is it? -
"Sometimes, we say things that offend, contradict, and challenge others' opinions, but sometimes the truth hurts and that's why some call us @$$Holes."
I guess that goes double for talkbackers.
And no, my critique of Sleazy didn't come from jealousy or arrogance, I just thought I was matching his tone. -
The names worked for six years and counting on this site. I think we'll keep it.
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And @$$hole responses are the equivalent of gangsta rap. Only since we @$$holes are comic book reviewers it's in a much lamer way, because we ourselves are lamer and we're dealing with lamer people.I stole the @$$hole monicker from Kevin Smith. There was a talkback about JAY & SILENT BOB ARE ALL I CAN DO or whatever it was called, and Harry and Kevin were chuckling over the depiction of "talkback assholes". At first, I was irritated that my friends were spelling it @$$hole, but that became funnier somehow, like when Alex Cox edited out all the swear words from REPO MAN and decided it made a much funnier movie. I found it hilarious that a film director would give a shit what someone said about him on a messageboard. I can see Sam Peckinpaugh or Don Siegel getting their feelwings huht, ya know? So I wrote back: "Dear Kevin, Talkback @$$hole Number One Here"...I was amazed at the e-hate-mail I got from other talkbackers. Like they knew Kevin Smith. Like he was a friend of theirs. He's not their friend. I mean, I like John Boorman's movies but I'm not going to send ya an e-mail because you make fun of Boorman (and before you shit, I like Kevin Smith's persona and all that. I've just had to realize, over the years, that I don't much like his movies or comics).Also, at the time, there was another comic book review group here at AICN. They were professionals. How the hell can you be a professional comic book reviewer? And why would you want to? Comic books are supposed to be fun. They are Outside. They are Contra, bay-bee. Fuckin' Contra. These guys were professional because they told us so. Also, they weren't allowed to write negative reviews. They didn't appreciate it when we talkbackers pointed out at the time that they weren't really reviewing: they were advertising for free. Also, they weren't allowed to swear. Swearing, the head pro told me, meant you didn't get quoted in ads. "So you are advertising?" I said. In one of our first columns, insane Canuck "Yukon" Jon Quixote started off with a list of swear words. We got a nasty post from the other guy about that. I kind of agreed with him. "Fuck yeah," I said.The funny thing about developing the @$$hole person was that it soon became apparent that many fans weren't really all that interested in comics. They followed a writer (never an artist any more) and called him a creator, even though he didn't create anything. It was like they thought the writer was their friend and they had to protect him. Maybe he had a messageboard they posted at. It seemed strange to me that people would base their self images on guys who wrote comic books. I mean, I still think Marv Wolfman is the greatest but I don't get my identity from him. @$$holishness seemed like a way to help our fellow fans out by example. Never once worked.People would bitch about our qualifications, our professionalism, etc. How the hell does someone have qualifications to review a comic book? It's a comic book. Read some comic books and yer qualified to review a comic book.Taking a cue from Smith (and hip hop), @$$holes always seemed ready to mix it up with the talkbackers. Sometimes, it's just for fun. Sometimes, we forget to be cool (but really how cool can guys who review comic books be?) I still find the idea hilarious of a comic book guy who comes across like surfer defending his breaks. Deluded characters and personas are funny to me.I think @$$hole is a great name. It's memorable. It's vulgar. It says it all.
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....i'm not trying to be a jerk. just making an observation. to me complaining about lack of civilized debate in a talkback that comes with the sub-title "@$$hole" strikes me as strange. it's like someone opening up a bar, calling/naming said bar "the fight club" and then wondering why they have to mop up blood off the floor every night. you dig?
again, i'n not suggesting you guys should change the name or that you need to stop being who you are, or that you deserve the shit you get from some people. just suggesting that, all things considered, the occasional person acting like an "asshole" in the talkbacks is just par for the corse, so to speak. -
I realise the debate has kind of moved on now, but I thought I'd drop in my 2 cents. Firstly, I don't think it's supremely important to have an anal recap page or panels explaining everything that's gone before. Show, don't tell. The most important thing is that a reader who hasn't read the previous few issues can still enjoy and be intrigued by the story. If you're reading a Spider-Man story you don't have to recap his origin and history every issue, but make sure it's not exclusive to people who've been reading for years. As long as new readers can enjoy the story, that's accessibility. If your comic can't do that, then put it out as a graphic novel, not in a serialised format.
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Ok first off, I'd like to point to Ultimate Spider-Man. That book still has a recap page attempting to explain 108 issues worth of stories. Seriously, if ANYBODY is picking up USM for the first time starting with issue #109.... well the point is, that recap page is laughable. SLEAZY: "Summary page? Nope. Expositionary catchup over the course of a handful of panels? Nope." Um this is a bad thing?? You complain about not enough time being spent on character/s and then suggest the book would be better wasting more space on explicit exposition. That kind of thing is the stuff that turns me right off from books when I read it. There is no proverbial wide-eyed golly gee whiz 8 year old with a Spider-Man tshirt, ready to pick up his first comic book, buying Seven Soldiers #1, and then subsequently being turned off by it, doomed to a life of murder and rape. As far as Seven Soldiers as a whole goes, labrynthine stories aren't automatically a bad thing. Not everything has to be laid out in a concise and logical order. The wait was painful, but just got me more hyped and encouraged me to read more into the series. It's fine if it just wasn't your cup 'o tea, but don't say it was a failure. There's a reason there's still a myriad of websites debating/analyzing SS.
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if it wasn't your cup 'o tea, I guess it was a failure to YOU. but yeah.... you know what I'm saying. or do you? do I??? I'm confused.
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Updated the ComicSpace Account with a little Ambush Bug-ism. Yes, I'm the one that sends out the weekly bulliten.
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That's who we are and if'n yeh got sand in yer vagina over that then douche yeh scab. (Not directed at any one person, just sayin'...)
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fell off the map for me. became very blah. worth getting back into?
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...To recap an entire series is stupid and pretentious, which is why I'm sure they do it in the Ultimate Line.To me, not recapping at all is giving up. Giving up on the idea that you may have new readers. Talk about CHILDREN OF MEN. Next thing you know, I'll be assigned a mission to smuggle the last new comic reader on Earth to a ship sailed by the Nerd Project.Good exposition is one natural way. All of us probably reflect on the most dramatic events on their lives, especially the recent ones. For example, I'm sure many of you are thinking,"Okay, I didn't score that time, but almost...I will lose this virginity if it kills me!" Shit like that. Hey, it can even make sense:WOLVERINE:Hey, Summers, what's wrong with Jeannie?CYCLOPS:What do you think, man? She just stopped Firelord from burning down the state of New York and used up her power to transport us across the universe. She's out cold."Marvel used to do them in a light hearted way, back when the only humor in comics wasn't snark and in jokes:"See the woman? That's a clone of the heroes girlfriend. The gent in the tarantula suit would be the Tarantula and the other gent in the jackal suit would be the Jackal. But who's the webbed titan in chains that they're kicking off the bridge? If you don't know that, true believer, you've picked up the wrong magazine. Archie is on the other side of the spinner rack."
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So I re-read the reviews and talkbacks, and I feel good about my commentary on @$$hole reviewers responding inappropriately to posts. I have no issue with a reviewer also posting. Ambush, Buzz and Sleazy all do. If I were to write a review, I would leave it at that and let others defend/attack it. But maybe I am out of step on this. Maybe not, though, because when reviewers start tossing out insults or let themselves be baited by trolls, it makes the whole forum uninteresting.
Superhero responded to Vale by calling him a "pretentious prig" and telling him to get over himself. Is that necessary? Does it add to anything? I'd say not. Should Vale have responded with cursing? Of course not, but he was insulted first, and by a reviewer.
Of course, I love Y, and I really enjoyed the latest issue as well as the past year that seems to have bored many people. I could defend the plot and character development, or I could insult people who don't like it. Being older, I'd prefer option A.
What I do love is getting answers to all my questions here. Thalya clued me in on the Mary Marvel thing, which does indeed sound horrible and like something Quesada would do, but I guess I'll see if the misogynistic treatment of Jean Loring is passed on to Mary Marvel, or if something better will ultimately come out of it. Really sounds awful, but I'll reserve judgment for now. -
'course, you all have me set on "ignore". Except Thalya. She's stalking me.
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'kay? 'kay.
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...which was my point. It was a childish, sniggering, "look what I got away with!" attitude that continually hamstrings Millar's writing. Dealing with inappropriately mature subject matter in a juvenile manner holds him back when he writes for Marvel, just like in his Spider-Man story when Electro asked a shape-changing prostitute to transform into Spidey. Pointless, inappropriate, and immature. Out of character and unncessary. Takes me out of his stories every time he does it.
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Was it a male or female prostitute?
What was Electro... DOING... with his Spider-Man prostitute?
Maybe I don't want to know, but you've intrigued me. DAMN YOU MILLAR! DAAAAAAAMNNNN YOUUUUUU! -
Oh, I get it...he meant *metaphorical* lady-boys. Well, shit, I stand corrected: he *is* more mature than me.
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...I see what you're saying, and there's no offense taken. You're not entirely wrong. Everybody's gotta have some kinda standards, though, and while we may draw the line a lot farther out than some others, don't mean there ain't a line. But yeah, I see where you're coming from, believe me.
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Haven't read it, but "lady boys" certainly doesn't sound charming. Of course, Tony Stark has done far worse things lately than use vulgar hate speech.
Electro asking that shapeshifting ho to become Spidey? Well, I must agree with Squashua: That sounds quite interesting. Like Mirror Master becoming a cokehead. While that move was hated here, I quite enjoyed it. Not like MM or Electro have well-defined characteristics to violate, after all. Why not let the villains be kinky? -
..feedback.
And Homer, I think Mary Marvel's story, as of right now, seems rather compelling. It could turn bad, but I think, if 52 is anything to judge by, the point of her story will be for us to root for her and to see her come through in the end. And if nothing else, that storyline will probably interweave with the Search for Ray Palmer. If there's anyone who can help her come out of her descent after all he's been through, it'll be Ray. -
...At times, he's been my favorite writer in modern comics. Then, he does something where I can picture him writing it. Whether it's a "good" line, like they use in movie trailers (I'm bein' as sarcastic as I've ever been here, I just want everyone to know!), or a deep political insight (old guys from WW II aren't nice by our modern, caffinated only-the-volunteers-fight standards)or the one I hate the most, the Casting Session. Takes me right out of the story and I only see Millar at a word processor. It's like when some author adds a pointless character who happens to have the same name as one of their friends or relatives (I'm thinkin' Stephen King in EYES O' THE DRAGON)just to say hi.
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And I'm not offended or disgusted by or passing judgements on their existence, either. What bothers me is, quite simply, the sneering, juvenile manner in which Millar stark uses it (gee, a pot shot at American politicians!) and its use in a non-MAX title. It's not the existence of the word, it's that it was used in this context and in this location.
For further details on just what a lady-boy (or ladyboy, or lady boy--all spellings are used to refer to the same people) is, feel free to check out the below link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladyboy -
Although I can no longer review due to a court order in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, I tried to do what you said in terms of the review itself.I have to admit, though, what I enjoyed responding to were the hate e-mails I'd get. I always begged those guys to post them in the talkbacks so I'd have an audience for the snark fueled horrors I unleashed on 'em but none of 'em would do it. My personal favorite was one guy who told me that he'd never read anything as painfully unfunny as my review since he'd seen GIGLI, which his girlfriend made him see. Of course, I responded in a mature you fashion:"Ha! Ha! You saw GIGLI! And an imaginary chick made you see it. Yer whipped, dude."Also, no one should call El "pretentious" even though I've done that myself a time or two. In my own defense, I didn't really think he was pretentious but I knew it would get a rise out of him. It's part of the @$$hole strategy of tearing a man down, building him back up part of the way, then delaying the completion of the job until the check clears.
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Actually, I wouldn't give a shit. Just don't call me a snitch. I got called a snitch once and it really hurt. Just because I ratted that guy out...
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Bitten by a radioactive finger sandwich, young Craig Canopy was forever altered. He now seeks justice from under a painted face with his pinky sticking out...The Mighty Lady Boy.
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"Fascinating people. Looks like a lady, actually a chap." Anyone seen Alan Partridge
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Have I ever said something in the talkbacks that I wish I didn't? Hellz yes. All the time actually. It's the nature of the beast here since once it's posted, it's there for the long haul. No edit, what so never. Everyone has days where their tolerance level is low. Sometimes posts are written hastily and impulsively. Everyone makes mistakes, @$$Holes, Cogs, and talkbackers alike. I know that there has been more than one occasion where I get heated up over what someone is saying in the TBs and immediately race to post a response. Most of the time when this happens, I am regretful. And most of the time, had I taken a second to put things into perspective, I would have answered differently or not at all. I understand what you guys are saying about arguments in the talkbacks (no matter who started them), but you guys have to understand that many of us Holes came from the Talkbacks. We love to conversate in the TBs just as much as anyone. The @$$Holes have always had an open forum with readers; answering questions, making further recommendations, making corrections to mistakes that may have been overlooked or misinterpereted by readers.
And that's why I argued the fact that was raised earlier about the @$$Hole name. Sure it is an abrasive title, but for the most part and ironically, our TBs have been the place for civil, intelligent, and fun conversations (moreso than most other pages on AICN). Maybe that's why we react so strongly when a troll does appear.
And I don't think the troll was baited in this case. A conversation was begun and then personal attacks were made (I'm talking about my back and forthing with Oscar). His response was personal and he continued to unravel and make threats and go further off topic, fighting with anyone who would give him the attention he needs desperately.
The conversation between supes and El got a bit heated, but both are seasoned TB pro's and I doubt they are out to start a flame war, and both were willing to give examples and talk things through, even while they were agruing.
No one's perfect, but the difference between those of us still in this TB and the troll who was banned was the fact that (despite momentary detours into bashing) we understand how important it is to maintain respect, focus on the material, and not get personal or threatening.
Even though this wasn't one of the TBs that I am most proudest of, it is still a good place to talk comics and welcome to all who wish to do so.
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Who wants banana bread? *offers up large platterful of the same*
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Sure, I agree with you, ASM #540 was weak sauce. But then again, so have most of the Marvel comics ever since this Civil War crap came around. The entire time I was reading the thing, I could practically hear Editorial breathing down JMS' neck. "Get him in a black costume like in the movie." "Tie it in to Civil War." "He's got to act like this now - who cares about his actual character? Just get it done." Name me any writer in the industry who can produce quality work under those kind of conditions. I still think JMS' dialogue is some of the best I've seen in the recent Marvel mainline comics (though, admittedly, that's not saying much).
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...let's look at JMS when left to his own devices: Morlun? Spider-totem mysticism? A female "other" or whatever the hell went on there with that cocoon/Dagobah experience? New powers like being able to suddenly stick a little girl on his naked back that vanish, unaddressed, two issues later? And that's before we discuss JMS's awful DR. STRANGE miniseries or his dropping the ball completely and utterly with SUPREME POWER. I kinda tend to think he's a hack at this point.
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When he first started writing Amazing Spider-Man, it was good. That initail arc is one of my favorite Spidey stories ever. When they first appeared, Morlun and Ezekeil were great characters. Like I said in the review, I think he's a burnt out by now. After he made a forgetful mess with The Other, he's just been coasting on crossovers. Done properly, The Other could've been a swan song to his generally pretty good run. I will say that he did a great job handling Civil War. I'm not his best bud, but right now, I think he's probably jonesin for Thor and could care less about Spider-Man.
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Oooh, that'd be nice. Or maybe it's time for another older revival for JMS in the vain of the Supreme. I've always been a fan of (and consequently missed) Silhouette. She's had a recent revival post-Shrivel War, and I think she could have some interesting relevant stories.
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We all know what a classic comic cover is, so what do you think qualifies as a classic cover from a recently published book? Not much really stands out to me, but I think Astonishing X-Men 6 or (sadly) New Avengers 1 are some of the more memorable images of recent memory.
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hmm...
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I think there have been a ton 0of iconic covers. A lot were mentioned in the last @$$ies, which included anyhting by Jock on THE LOSERS (some of the best covers I've seen in ages), ANNIHILATION #4 with Thanos looming over Drax was my favorite pic, and despite it's problems 52 had some of the best covers I have seen in years; specifically the Halloween cover, the one with Doc Magnus, and Black Adam against the World.
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....i feel i owe you an apology. i came late to the party and didn't see/read the back and forth with the troll. (i knew someting went down i just didn't see what was actually said). all i was trying to say is that you should be more zen like in dealing with that type of shit. become "duck-like" and let that rain-water roll right off your back my brother.
guess i just went about trying to say that the wrong way. anywho, i'm glad that got cleared up. here is to hoping that one of you guys/gals reviews "ALL STAR GODAMN BATMAN and ROBIN THEMUTHAFRACKIN' BOY WONDER" next week and we all can have a good giggle together in THAT talkback. cheers up to the @-holes and cogs. -
That skanky-ass ho Batgirl should be in it too. And those are some good mentions Bug. I was also thinking about the first issue of the Teen Titans relaunch, but it might have been an ode to an older cover. I'm not as well read on my DC.
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Is pretty good too.
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I too loved his first arc on Amazing Spidey. You know, the one that won an EISNER? Since then it's been crapola tho.
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I finally read Ultimates #13 last night and I gotta wonder how "ladyboys" stuck in your craw. You do realize that in that same conversation Tony Stark says, sad over Natasha's betrayal, and I quote, "She was me with magnificent breasts. Which as you know darling, is one of my ultimate fantasies." LOL come on! Offhandedly dropping ladyboys a few lines later (or was it earlier?) fits perfectly with Ultimate Tony Stark. And isn't that what it's about? Staying true the character? The same character that would fly in after the battle and inquire if anyone would be up for some "rumpy-pumpy"? Ultimate Tony Stark is hilarious. He's um... *supposed* to be juvenile. This whole issue pushed the right buttons for me, from Bryan Hitch being from another planet, to the nice and sweet bookend with Gail giving Cap the picture he had way back in issue #1.
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Hawkeye: "You won't see them where you're going. Burn in hell". FUCK YEAH. Also some righteous pissed-off Thor lines. YOU ARE VERMIN! YOU ARE EXCREMENT!
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Seriously.
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I can tell you why you haven't finished it yet...the size! Most awkward book to hold I've ever tried to read. I have to take a break because half the time there isn't any way to get comfortable. Wait 'til you get to the part where Popeye and Castor are in jail...really really good stuff,
so ty. -
I almost made it without an Ultimates spoiler. I knew I sholud have stayed away. I knew I should have stayed away.
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Is this in 'Countdown'???
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....personally i really liked the covers from the "broken city" story line in batman from a few years back. really modern and minimalist looking but cool in their own way. very similar to the covers from the "100 bulletts" series, but of course thats to be expected since both stoys came from azzarello and risso.
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Excellent work, man.
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Coolness personified.
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As you'll see shortly.
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You're the best. Ha ha ha ha ha! (A little Gwar humor for ya.) I believe that's the first time I've ever said "Oh Buzz! You're the best." In town, there's a guy called Buzz the Bum and we all hate him.
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Issue #2 is finally done! Go here to see what all the fuss was about: http://tinyurl.com/2kyrpp
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Mickey Mouse is where it's at! At risk of ridicule I picked up the Gemstone FCBD issue with reprints of Mickey Mouse strips from the 1930s and it was pretty damn amusing. Like Jinxo's Popeye review, it certainly was neat how each strip led into the next one, but I was more impressed with Mickey's character. I have never seen him so ornery, in contrast to his regular earnest self. In these strips he was without fail the trouble maker. That mouse really had a chip on his shoulder.
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Scrooge McDuck would kick the crap out of Mickey any day of the week. Now those made for some hella good comics. I haven't seen any Mickey newspaper strips, but I bet he didn't wheel and deal like Scrooge.
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Thanks Bug! Planning to read it once I'm through with all my end of school exams. Next time I buy some GNs I'm definitely gonna get The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, I've heard nothing but fantastic things about it.
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I particularily enjoyed ihs adventures with Teddy Roosevelt.
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...is almost exactly the same as that of a prominent comic book author? Weird...
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My 28 Days Later trade in the mail. Thanks, Bug! You're an @$$hole and a scholar. I read it and I hope to see the sequel movie if at all possible before Pirates. Yarrr…
How about ASBAR, huh? Wowsers. Wonder Woman hates men. Like really hates them. Hates them. *smooch*
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