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AICN COMICS REVIEWS! RETURN TO WONDERLAND & 7-pg preview! DAREDEVIL! TEEN TITANS! SILENT WAR! AND MUCH MORE!
| #6 | 5/31/07 | #6 |
Hey folks, Ambush Bug here from AICN Comics with another dose of @$$y goodness. This week we have another set of reviews for your perusal, but first I wanted to run a quick correction in regards to a review I wrote last week. In my review of the excellent anthology book, POSTCARDS: TRUE STORIES THAT NEVER HAPPENED, I mistakenly forgot to mention that Harvey Pekar’s installment “The History of a Marriage” was actually co-written by his wife Joyce Brabner. So now that that’s all cleared up, y’all will rush right out on July 17th and pick up this little indie gem, right? Good.
Now on with the reviews!
(Click title to go directly to the review)
RETURN TO WONDERLAND #1 & 7 page preview
SILENT WAR #5
ACTION COMICS #850
DAREDEVIL #97
TEEN TITANS #47
NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI #3
COUNTDOWN #48
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #42
dot.comics presents SPADEFOOT webcomic
Indie Jones presents…
CHEAP SHOTS!
RETURN TO WONDERLAND #1
Plus 7-Page Preview
Writer: Raven Gregory
Art: Rich Bonk
Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
Click on thumbnails for larger image.
Upon first glance, one may dismiss RETURN TO WONDERLAND #1 while perusing the racks as T&A fodder. I almost did. The cover certainly indicates that this is a far cry from Disney’s rendition of Wonderland. I myself found myself somewhat taken aback by the abundance of “boobs n’ butts” while reading this book. I know there is a market for this sort of thing and lord knows, the comics market is full of guys who like to see the focus on the bathing suit area, but when I see a cover that somehow manages to highlight an @$$shot AND a cleavage shot of the same girl in the same picture, I found myself setting the bar low when it came to my expectations of this book.
Surprisingly, though, this book supplies more than just scantily clad babes. Oh, there’s plenty of that, but there’s also quite a bit of good writing and some really clever pacing when it comes to conveying a sense of dread and fear. Writer Raven Gregory is no stranger to scary comics. He’s supplied some chilling stories in his THE GIFT series, as well as the first issue of the SE7EN miniseries from Zenescope Entertainment. Here, he gives us a wicked looking bunny, a trippy drug-induced sequence that spirals into a nightmare, and some modern and inventive (and don’t forget naughty) takes on an age old story.
Now, I know a nightmarish version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND is an oxymoronic statement. The source material is rife with images and words of the bizarre and downright wicked. And yes, with the recent LOST GIRLS book that caused a bunch of brouhaha last year, this book isn’t exactly blazing new trails with treating a classical kiddie story in a more R rated manner. But what this book does bring to the table is that it is solidly written and doesn’t hold back on the scares.
And the artwork is pretty darn solid as well. I understand that T&A is a major part of the artwork of this book, but despite that, Rich Bonk (and with a name like that, are you surprised he focuses on the female nibblies?) provides some truly solid panel work. He really makes the scary scenes effective with clever panel placement. To top it all off, he draws a pretty ferocious rabbit. Yes, I was distracted by the sheer amount of T&A, but the way Bonk maintained the bizarre tone of the book made up for all of that. Bonk should try to shift the focus from the obvious ass shots a bit. He doesn’t need to do this to make a striking panel. He seems to have talent to spare when it comes to his power over the pencils. The sheer amount of cleavage and cracks in this one shouldn’t distract one from the fact that Bonk is a talented artist.
In the end, I found myself liking RETURN TO WONDERLAND more than I thought I would. ALICE IN WONDERLAND is one of those classic stories that can be told over and over. It’s one of those stories that is so bat-shit crazy that it inspires us all with a mere mention. Much like zombie comics, Wonderland books may be a dime a dozen out there these days. RETURN TO WONDERLAND, though, is one of the good ones.
SILENT WAR #5
Writer: David Hine
Artist: Frazer Irving
Publisher: Marvel
Reviewer: Sergeant Rock-Me
Okay, picture this: an enemy force has managed to parachute onto the front lawn of the White House. Political persuasions aside, I think most of us can agree that it would NOT look good if the upper tiers of our country’s politicians were captured or killed. Bad precedent, at least. But as luck would have it, you and your military squad are in the right place at the right time, and are able to take a stand right outside the White House. You ARE the last line of defense, and not only is your country counting on you, but also your brothers and sisters in arms.
And as the enemy forces attack, one of your numbers with one of the biggest guns stands aside, IN THE MIDDLE OF COMBAT, and simply PONDERS the rights and wrongs of the situation. WTF?
Welcome to the Sentry’s role in SILENT WAR #5. This is not just bad timing on Sentry’s part, like asking to go to the bathroom minutes after your parents pull away from a rest stop. This isn’t awkward. It’s a costly, potentially deadly, potentially treasonous misstep. That is what Sentry has done in this issue. And I hope it’s treated that way in the next.
Full disclosure time: the secret origin of “Rock-Me Amodeo!” I left home and enlisted in the Army in 1982, serving at a time when the world wondered if the Soviet/Afgan war would escalate into World War III. In 1986, I became a Sergeant in the reserves, shortly after Falco became well-known for his one and only musical hit. And at that time, I gained the coolest nickname that this former band-nerd ever had: I became “Sergeant Rock-Me.” Sergeant Rock-Me Amodeo.
My military days are long past, but I walked away with a deep and abiding respect for the military, and even the parts I didn’t like, I at least understood. Like most soldiers, I can grieve the horror of war while still seeing the necessity of standing up for what you believe in, or just making sure that your buddy next to you keeps breathing. So if you wonder whether I have any bias as I review this comic, I would say, “Sure.” Doesn’t everyone?
Reading this issue as a reviewer, I would say that I’m engaged in the story. David Hine has crafted a fine story, even if it does feel a bit (okay, A LOT!!!) outside of continuity. Frazer Irving doesn’t seem like a comic book artist – I would expect to see him more in an issue of HEAVY METAL, or perhaps helping to relaunch Man-Thing – but stylistic musings aside, he’s capable and expressive. I’m enjoying the artwork more each issue. I definitely want to read the next issue, so the comic succeeds in that vein.
I also like the fact that the book explores more Inhuman myth, like the double exposure to the Mists, and the sometimes implausible relationship between Medusa and Black Bolt. I think the Inhumans have always been underused, ever since I and a few other people purchased every issue of Volume I back in the seventies. So I’m delighted that the Inhuman part of this series (the royal family, the intrigue, the foreign nation, the mythos) is being done, and done well.
Ah, but the supporting cast for this issue… reading the issue as a former soldier…I tell you what, if Sentry is not immediately bounced off the Avengers, I’m going to be sorely disappointed, enough to stop reading it until he is. Perhaps Hine doesn’t realize the full ramifications of what he has written Sentry to do. Understand, I’m not disrespecting the actual opinion, not at all. I would have died for a person’s right to disagree with me - I swore an oath.
But you don’t do it in the middle of combat. This is not the sort of thing that that merits a “chewing out.” This is a court-martial type offense, and if they are trying to run the Avengers more like a military operation, this is exactly what should happen, at the very least. I mean, really - would you want him covering YOUR ass as you engage the enemy?
I think not. On missions that go FUBAR, the motto of “mission first” sometimes changes to “My ass first, my buddies’ asses second, mission last.” But you NEVER play philosophical games with the lives of your peers, just to engage in some “I’m so smart that the others probably haven’t considered this” crap. What a selfish and egotistical thing to do.
As for the ending, while it is suspenseful, may I point out that I have NEVER met a marine who actually said “kill, kill, kill” other than perhaps reciting all the lyrics to “Alice’s Restaurant?” Even though I’m ex-Army, I greatly resent the Marines being painted with the sort of broad brush that began with “Full Metal Jacket” and has progressed…absolutely nowhere since that time. Still being painted as the same blood thirsty caricatures. Such a portrayal is beneath the dignity of a corps that has honorably bled for this country hundreds of thousands of times.
Along the same lines, the portrayal of Sentry is beneath the frustrated nobility with which Paul Jenkins created him. The underwhelming reaction of Ms. Marvel is beneath the military training she is supposed to have – I’m thinking her reaction would be much like mine.
I think what has happened is that we have a writer with an agenda, and he is changing the characters’ actions to fit that agenda. Hey, I don’t begrudge him his agenda. But at least keep the characters consistent. If he wanted a sometimes gutless, self-serving over-thinker, maybe he could have drafted Hank Pym, doing a two-steps-forward, one-step-back “road to redemption” thing. But for me, I will never read another story with Sentry the same way, wondering which situation might get his less-brilliant-than-him comrades killed, as he carefully considers every nuance that his peers have missed – in the middle of combat. It’s a shame that Hine let the Sentry ruin this issue. What a pompous jerk.
And Semper-fricking-Fi.
ACTION COMICS #850
Writers: Kurt Busiek, Fabian Nicieza, Geoff Johns
Artist: Renato Guedes
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Squashua
When a comic has a big event like the 850th issue, they occasionally flash back to the main character's history, and sometimes it's actually relevant to the character's overall storyline. This is one of those issues.
And it's very, very, very, very good. Buy on sight.
If you even marginally like Superman, Supergirl and/or the Legion of Super-Heroes, if you've got questions about the contradictory dual Legions, and if you absolutely hate the modern day Supergirl, this issue is for you. Bitch-angst Supergirl is nowhere to be found.
Brainiac 5 invents a time-viewer as a first step to get Supergirl back to her appropriate time, and they use it to take a look at the past history of Superman. But it has flaws as it opens up to different parallel earths before tuning in to the proper storyline. We get a partial look at some of Kal-El's revised history including such gems as a "Krypto" dog living on Krypton, confirmation of Lana Lang as heir to the Weasley bloodline (all Clark Potter needs is a head scar), a couple JUSTICE SOCIETY-style future-flashes, and a newly revised classic villain added to Supergirl's rogues gallery.
The art is beautiful. Renato Guedes renders faces with utmost care and the mouths... THE MOUTHS. I have never before wanted to make out with a drawing of Supergirl. I can't get over the incredible expressions. His pages are fantastic. Of course, there are a couple of falters that only a nitpicker like myself might catch. First, to quote one of Superman's biggest fans, baby Kal-El makes for a very "breathtaking" child. And later, Brainiac-5 directly responds to something Chameleon says, but Chameleon's irrelevant-to-the-story word balloon is missing. Or maybe it's supposed to be and I didn't get the joke. Nonetheless, this fun-to-read issue is one of the best looking books I've read in a long time. If you're lacking something to read and look at, this is an excellent comic to pick up and run with.
DAREDEVIL #97
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Penciler: Michael Lark & Stefano Guadiano
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Humphrey Lee
I was actually starting to get kind of afraid after the past few installments of DAREDEVIL here that this title was hitting a little bit of a lull. Now that Matt Murdock's life has started calming down a bit in the wake of his public outing and the storm and frenzy that has been his life over that period I figured Brubaker and Co. would be taking that little bit of time for reaffirmation and a "where do we go from here?" breather. And I guess that is kind of where we stand. Sure, there's a couple loose ends coming up here; a certain foxy female that was used as a means to an end to DD's eventual confrontation with Vanessa Fisk a few issues back has returned to Murdock's world, but there's nothing "big and overlying" going on right now like there has been for so long in this book. So that brings us to Melvin Potter...
Avid DD fans know that Melvin's always been a tortured soul. A bit of mental instability here, some multiple body counts there, and that all leads to one big, confused galoot constantly in the slammer trying to make amends for some horrid crimes he knows he committed but also wasn't wholly responsible for. And now he's back at his old tricks. Now, sure, this time he's "more vicious and bloodthirsty than ever!", but again, something we haven't seen before and that was reinforcing my belief that we were in more of a holding pattern. But just like that, the end of this particular issue shows that we're playing for more stakes than we were led to believe.
Even if this arc really had turned out to be just more Melvin based I probably would have been fine with it. Brubaker and Lark at the very least have gone through great lengths to raise the gore and brutality levels to give us the hint that this might be the character's last hurrah, pushing him to a point of no return. And given the longevity of the character, and how involved he's been at times in Daredevil's world, that alone would have made this arc significant enough. But by bringing the bloodshed into a much more personal area of Matt Murdock's life like was done at the end of this issue, and by implementing that there's a much larger scheme with an honest to god mastermind behind Melvin's newest Gladiator meltdown, I've been drawn right back into the fold like this book never missed a beat.
As always, Michael Lark's art (with an assist from the always reliable Stefano Guadiano) is impeccable. The art really drives home the absolutely chilling brutality that abounds in this book simply by not overindulging in it. The storytelling that comes from his pencils is fantastic. The establishing shots and the angles and zooms are always pitch perfect for every frame, and always help emphasize the rise and fall of the story and anticipation for it. And a lot of credit for Hollingsworth's coloring job too. The separations are fantastic and always leave the figures in each frame with just the perfect amount of shading. And I've been thinking about it, and I know this is kind of an odd compliment, but he does my absolute favorite night-time backdrops in all of comics these days. I honestly wish I knew more about the coloring process to be able to properly describe it in technical terms, but I really can't do much better than say it "feels" like a nighttime scene should.
I actually feel kind of bad that I would suspect Brubaker and crew of doing a more "filler-ish" arc in lieu of the previous year's events, but it looks like they've shown me. The book is rife with tension again, and I'm legitimately scared for what may happen to some of our regular cast, not to mentioned intrigued by the emergence of a new player in the never-ending game of "let's make Daredevil's life hell." I feel a big shakedown coming for this book's Centennial issue under the Marvel Knights banner. At this point it's the least I expect from this crew.
TEEN TITANS #47
Writer: Adam Beechen
Artist: Chris Batista
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Squashua
Longtime AICN Comics readers know my sordid history with bitching out issues of TEEN TITANS for the lazily decompressed storylines and horribly drawn artwork. Issue #47 has Adam Beechen on board with Chris Batista as artist, and I've got to say that things are looking up. They might just turn it around if they can continue to make this title just a bit more...interesting.
As the team flies back from the funeral of Duela Dent a.k.a. The Joker's Daughter (as referenced in this week's COUNTDOWN), they divide up into two groups, one of which will investigate Duela's death further, while the other tries to keep Match (Superboy's clone) in line. Plenty of drama comes from all sides as Nightwing and Robin brotherly bond with Jason Todd, Wonder Girl and Donna Troy make the most of their sisterhood, and Beast Boy has a "yeah, I'm also an only child" bonding time with Kid Devil. There's detective-style investigation, some possible alien intrigue, and a little "clone war" to boot. We're gifted with a couple of multi-page fight scenes that don't manage to take up the entire issue for once, and are treated to a lot of the angst and emotion that's supposed to be expected from Titans.
Essentially, even though absolutely nothing was accomplished in this issue besides plot advancement, Beechen has written a single entertaining issue that brings the Titans completely back to their traditional form and restored my confidence in the title. He writes the Titans with the distinguished personalities they are supposed to have and the meaningfully expressed relationships that have eluded the prior run.
The art in this issue is also top notch. You can literally see the definite age difference between the three Batman protégés, without making any of them look younger or older than they should be. In fact, there's a scene towards the end with both Wonder Girl and Supergirl that literally defines the difference between their head structures. Batista has a way of making everyone look appropriately distinct without losing any detail or adding inappropriate extras. Faces and actions are expressive and properly proportioned, and Ravager is flirtatiously hot in a couple of background/foreground shots, doing her own thing. OK, there are a couple of "Gilmore Girls foreheads" during the Donna/Cassie showdown, but otherwise I can't find any flaws, only praise.
I am just so literally shocked at the 100% turn-around of this issue, in the art, writing and overall content, that I can't recommend it enough.
Earlier I mentioned I'd like my Titans to be a bit more interesting and as this is just his first issue, I can forgive Beechen for doing the proper thing and (appropriately) wrapping up a few loose ends. My problem with the Titans stems from their adventures, or rather their lack thereof. Lately, Titan plots have been quite insular. Sure they claim to be a family self-help hangout group for super-powered teens, but as a super-team, they're quite passive, only reactive when assaulted directly. In fact, I have yet to see them be proactive in their own book, going after trouble when or before it begins. There is the start of that here, with the investigation into Duela, but I'm almost certain that will end up as a hook for COUNTDOWN, to be continued there. I'd rather like to see a more proactive TEEN TITANS, as I have no desire to read THE OUTSIDERS (I get burned every time I pick up a Winick-authored DC issue), which is probably where I'd find such a group.
My personal expectations aside, this is a fantastic start for the new creative team, and I can finally recommend that you kick back with the TEEN TITANS, starting with this very issue, for as long as they can keep it up. Unfortunately, next month ties in directly with AMAZONS ATTACK, which I've already panned in a prior review. This means the next issue will be reactive, but maybe it will be a more interesting tale from Beechen's point of view. I'll definitely give it a try and let you know, but if this issue is a sample of what's to come, you probably won't need to wait around for my review.
NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI #3
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis & Brian Reed
Penciler: Jim Cheung
Inker: Mark Morales
Colorist: Justin Ponsor
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Jinxo
Before I even get into anything serious on this book can I just ask why the hell this book’s title brings up The New Avengers at all? I mean, when there was just The New Avengers it didn’t make sense but wasn’t too weird. But now with multiple Avengers groups running around all hating each other this book just seems disconnected from anything Avengery out there right now.
As to the book itself, I really liked this issue even though it sort of violates the rules of how “good drama” is supposed to work. I mean, usually what makes a good story is that your main characters are important to the action, to what is happening. Sounds obvious I know. And the past two Illuminati issues have stuck to that formula, going back and ret-conning The Illuminati into previous unrevealed moments in Marvel history where we learn their hidden actions had some impact we were not aware of. And those stories were…okay.
But now in this issue, The Illuminati really don’t do much. It’s more about them figuring things out and not doing much of anything. That should be dull but for me it was really interesting. This should be the “it was okay” issue. It really isn’t supposed to work this way.
So what is up with the behind the scenes busybody bastards in this issue? Issue #3 shows what the Secret Weasels were up to during the original Secret Wars. There is some surprising ret-conning going on here that really intrigued me. The fly in the ointment is that, really, The Secret Wars and The Beyonder have already been tweaked and ret-conned to within an inch of their lives. The Beyonder was a living pocket galaxy thing, no wait he was a Cosmic Cube, no wait he was a sentient cheese, what you thought happened in X scene isn’t what really happened, no wait… I’m not even sure how the changes introduced in this issue even jive at all with everything previously established. But the new changes are just so weird that they intrigued me. If the Secret Wars and The Beyonder all came out of a giant cosmic level drama, that’s one thing. But these Illuminati changes really flip things in a way that makes me happily uneasy.
It’s like on STAR TREK with the Q. The Q are crazy dangerous but also smart enough not to really dick things up. But that Q power in the hands of someone human, even one as smart as Will Riker, and bad thing start happening. Wesley Crusher is a giant gay bodybuilder, Klingons are banging on the bridge, La Forge stops wearing air filters on his face…it’s anarchy. And, in this case, we’re not necessarily talking about someone of Riker’s caliber. That could be a bad thing for the Marvel universe but a good thing for the readers.
And while we may have seen the end of The Beyonder, it seems possible his story hasn’t actually even started yet.
If only they could have ret-conned away that Beyonder look, like he rolled around in the crap on the eighties, got up and gave himself a white man jeri curled perm. Do you know how bad a look has to be to overshadow the fact you have the powers of a god? Would it be too much to ask for a scene where, as a joke, Professor Xavier plants the idea in The Beyonder’s head that that look was a good idea? “Really guys, it was a goof. I didn’t think it would really work.”
COUNTDOWN #48
Writers: Paul Dini with Adam Beechen
Artist: David Lopez
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Squashua
"And then there's Maude." – Starman
This series never claimed to be 52, yet as evidenced by the cover each week, it wears the trappings. It just isn't living up to the hype. Jimmy Olsen keeps getting weird super-powers (I suspect he's being replaced with able versions of himself from parallel Earths), Mary Marvel is moping around without powers, and we keep flashing back to Karate Kid several issues back in JUSTICE LEAGUE where nothing gets done. I guess the title is supposed to feel fun, but the slow going is simply lacking.
We visit the funeral for The Joker's Daughter to catch up with Jason Todd and Donna Troy, which played like editorial asked Beechen to cut two pages from his latest TEEN TITANS issue. I don't understand why Duela Dent was murdered; a Monitor supposedly killed her to stop her interference with a parallel Earth, but wouldn't the simple existence of her dead body, consisting of 100% parallel Earth atoms, continue to maintain conflict? Sure, it's just lying there inactive, but why is that any less dangerous? Why is it that interactions, and not just material transfers, cause parallel Earth imbalances?
Honestly though, I'm not sure I need these questions answered. They're not burning a hole in the space-time continuum for me, and neither is this issue, which is only burning a hole in my wallet. If the snore-fest continues, I know I can find other avenues of entertainment elsewhere.
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #42
Writer: Mike Carey
Artist: Pasqual Ferry
Publisher: The Merry Marvel Marketing Machine
Reviewer: Rock-Me Amodeo
What an amazing coincidence! The plotline for the next few issues of Ultimate F.F. just happen to feature the Silver Surfer! Is that the same Silver Surfer in the F.F. movie? Why yes. Yes it is. What are the odds? And once again, I try to forget that there is a marketing behemoth behind some of my favorite Marvel characters. **Sigh**
Fortunately, the art is well done, and Justin Ponsor deserves a pat on the back for adding some excellent colors to Ferry’s art, though I’m not loving it quite as much as the “God War.”
And what startling developments happen this issue? Well, it’s no surprise that the Surfer shows up, and most of this story deals with how he gets here, i.e. all talk, no action. Decompressed storytelling and all that. You know the spiel. Five issue arc = TPB.
So what happens? Well, Reed’s dad is somehow ashamed of his son, an undisputed hero (maybe this Reed and our universe’s Nova can form a support group…). Sue comes to the emotional rescue of her man. And do I detect a love interest for Johnny when current squeeze Donna refuses to be treated like the brainless bimbo she appears to be? Tune in next issue! If it sounds like a soap opera, there’s a reason: it kinda is, for now. And if you like the lull before the (literal) storm, then you’ll eat this up with a spoon.
Gripes: I’m not sure Scott Kolins (last arc’s artist) and Ferry discussed Mrs. Grimm, but since last issue and this one, Benjy’s mom has got it goin’ on (with apologies to Fountains of Wayne). She’s dropped twenty years and thirty pounds since last issue. Eh, that’s a minor gripe, and not even unwelcome.
What really concerns me is that this is at least the second recent arc fueled by Reed’s blundering (the first was the still pending “Supreme Power” series, so that one might not actually be Reed’s fault.) But I hope we’re not seeing a trend. I know he’s not written to be perfect, but I think most people want to see Reed SOLVING problems, not creating them. And is it me, or does it seem like Sue is spending less time in the lab and more time acting like the standard Sue Richards, just wittier and with improved buzzwords?
One last gripe: of all the stars that Sue could wish upon, she picks the Silver Surfer? Again, what are the odds? Well, with a movie release date in less than two weeks, I guess it’s short odds indeed. Let’s hope things pick up next issue.
SPADEFOOT webcomic
Writer/artist: Matt Dembicki
Website: Spadefoot – DrunkDuck.com!
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
Man, what did I get myself into starting this dot.comics thing? I had no idea there were so many of these out there. And I have to say, I’m having a blast reading them.
One such comic I had the chance to take a gander at was SPADEFOOT, a sci-fi epic starring talking alien animals. Even though there are tons of references to sci fi films, this story is original enough to keep me entertained. The main character Spadefoot is an unlikely hero. I caught up with this hapless frog hero as he hops into one adventure after the next. He’s the supposed chosen one, sayeth a mysterious mole, but the sultry one eyed warrior woman Indigo doesn’t believe it. The three argue with themselves, yet seem to be destined to make intergalactic history. I especially like the design of the bad guys--giant flies with spears and rayguns lead by a salamander type monster. Spadefoot and Co. interact in a comfortable and entertaining way. The dialog is never clunky or amateurish. Writer/artist Matt Dembicki seems to have a good handle on dialog and knows how to keep the story flowing with just enough exposition peppered in between the action bits.
My only complaint about this webcomic is the fact that I wasn’t able to access the story from the beginning. Pages 30 through 54 were available to through the Drunk Duck website, but that’s it. After reading the last twenty or so pages in the archive, I found myself wondering how Spadefoot got to the predicament he was in on page 32. But the missing first 30 pages didn’t really hinder me from picking up on the action that was going on and understanding the comic. I found the story to be highly accessible.
Reading these webcomics has become a new sort of addiction for me. I’m going to be accessing SPADEFOOT occasionally to catch up on the story. And as usual, I’m going to stress the major selling point that has become sort of a mantra for dot.comics: It’s free, folks. Free comics, just a click away. So while you are whining about the high price of comics these days, know that there’s a worthwhile alternative out there. SPADEFOOT is just one of them.
COVER GIRL #2
BOOM! Studios
This may be my favorite comic from BOOM! Studios at the moment. Alex Martin is an out of work actor who stumbles into the limelight when he rescues a mysterious damsel in distress from a car wreck. Now he finds his life threatened by the same people involved in the car accident, but because of the “man’s man” image he’s tying to exude to cash in on his newfound stardom, having a big beefy bodyguard would just make him look like a wuss. Enter Rachel Dodd: hottie, tough girl, bodyguard. She poses as Alex’s girlfriend in order to protect him when he’s doing interviews on E! and walking the red carpet. What I like about this book is the comfortable feel of the dialog and the nice action/comedy premise that seems better suited for film than comics. But it still makes for a fun read. Artist Mateus Santolouco doe a great job of keeping things real while stylizing facial expressions and action. This is an all around fun book. - Ambush Bug
KISS 4K: LEGENDS NEVER DIE #1
Platinum Studios
Wow, was this a stinker of a read. I really wanted to give this book a shot. I remember back in the day, my old boss at the comic book store I used to work for loved KISS. Personally, I never really saw the appeal, and maybe if you’re a die hard KISS fan, you may find this read enjoyable. But man, I couldn’t wait to get to the last page of this book and walk away from it. The book starts out with the clichéd age-old evil, unimaginatively called Unholy, as it apparently wants to conquer all that is living. Through the ages, KISS in various incarnations have battled Unholy, but a new threat arises, and the reincarnated warriors (now dressed in KISS’ fetishistic stage garb) are drawn together to battle the evil once again in the present. From the beginning, I felt as if I were walking into the middle of a joke and missed the first part. The book relies on its readers to already know the members of KISS. Their names are hardly mentioned at all. From what I got from this issue, the characters names are Starchild (Paul Stanley as a reincarnated version of Casanova), Demon (Gene Simmons; official banger of Skinamax’s Queen Mother and reincarnated version of *I shit you not* Shaka Zulu), Cat (name never mentioned in the first issue, but I knew enough about KISS to know his name; the character is supposed to be a reincarnated version of an Ancient Japanese warrior who had a way with animals) and…the fourth guy (who’s name slips my mind *maybe it slipped the writer’s mind too since his name is never mentioned* and who is the reincarnated version of Constantine). Since I know next to nothing other than the fact that “Beth” is a pretty sweet song and that Mini-KISS freaks me the fuck out, I wasn’t privy to who these characters were or represented and the story didn’t do a good job of clearing that up with its sporadic flashbacks and confusing panel overlapping. The story seemed like something a high school kid would write on the back of his Trapper Keeper in the late 70’s. It felt disjointed, as if the writer had a tough time conveying the whole story onto the page and the artists didn’t know how to do it either. I just can’t recommend this one. I wanted so much to see the appeal of KISS in this book, but it simply didn’t do a good job of communicating it. - Ambush Bug
THE LEADING MAN V1 TPB
Oni Press
I was lucky enough to happen upon this amazing trade and I’m glad I did. Like BOOM!’s COVER GIRL miniseries, this book is all about Hollywood action, but this time, it’s the Leading Man, Nick Walker, the number one action movie star in the world, who is the secret agent working for the government. Think Tom Cruise, but instead of being all about Scientology, he’s all about real life espionage and that pretty much describes this one to a tee. What I loved about this trade, which collects the first five issues of this series, is that it aims low at first. This is one of those “snowball down a mountainside” style stories, where the action builds upon itself until it forms this massive ball of fun. While on a movie shoot, Nick uncovers an age-old evil organization bent on terrorism and winds up getting himself caught. While his Agent, Stylist, and PA (all government agents themselves) work to find Nick, he ends up having to break himself out. What I love about this story is that it plays the action for real. This is a gritty, hands-on style spy book. The simple goal of this arc is for Nick to escape in one piece. The world threat isn’t really the main problem. It’s Nick getting out in one piece. I like the way this book strays from the norm when it comes to spy stories. The artwork by Jeremy Haun is beyond amazing. He’s got a Cully Hamner/Tony Harris vibe to his style and definitely knows how to design some memorably vicious bad guys. The action is communicated with ease and some of the panels are simply breathtaking by way of design and choice of angle. The best thing I can say about this trade is that it is going to make me hope that more issues of this book will be made. Highly recommended. Check out the entire first issue here to see what I mean. - Ambush Bug
THE SHAOLIN COWBOY #7
Burlyman Entertainment
I know, I know. Burlyman books are later than late. Hell, the ads for DOC FRANKENSTEIN in the back of this one even say “We’re working on it…honest.” As much as I’d like to come down on Burlyman for being so late with their two titles, I can’t because when these books do hit the stands, they are the absolute best in comic book enjoyment the industry has to offer. For that, I will wait for THE SHAOLIN COWBOY and DOC FRANKENSTEIN for as long as it takes. The appeal of THE SHAOLIN COWBOY is, as always, the sheer lunacy and ungodly amount of it between its covers. In this issue, Donkey furiously runs with a baby who is said to be some sort of chosen one in tow as they are followed by two flying demons who never shut up with the nonsensities. The three make chase on the back of a giant dinosaur which is so massive, a city has been built along its spine. Inside the dinosaur’s mouth, the Shaolin Cowboy fights yet another jabbering demon in the temple of the Zombie Queen. The Cowboy’s weapon of choice, a chainsaw on the end of a stick, is poised and ready for some buzzsaw/bad@$$ action. So yeah, there is some madcap shit going on in this issue story-wise, but the real treat is reading and re-reading this book to look closer into the finer details of writer/artist Geof Darrow’s drawings. Little things like the fact that the donkey’s tail has been cut off and continues to spurt blood from its tiny stump throughout the entire chase scene decorate each and every panel. It must take Darrow hours and days to draw it all with such accuracy and detail. The man is a mad genius whose work is only highlighted by the colors of Alex Wald, who never forgets aspects such as shadow, depth, and hue when perfecting one of Darrow’s panels. This is comic book eye crack for the demented brainpan and although it takes a lot of time between fixes, the rush of reading and re-reading it is well worth the wait. – Ambush Bug
BLUE BEETLE #15
DC Comics
I have an on-again, off-again love affair with BLUE BEETLE and I think I'm going to be off-again and forever if this keeps up. Beetle's been dwelling on the Reach invasion for the last few months, yet nothing has come of it and this issue simply adds more navel-gazing to the fire. The story, essentially Blue Beetle trying to figure out if the scarab selected him because he may potentially be a villain, ends up being yet another classic fight-due-to-misunderstanding, and though Superman is on the cover, he's barely in the issue. Even worse, when he is in the issue, he comes off looking like a sap, with his eyes closed and cutesy eyelashes all a-flutter. Some barely interesting theories about the Beetle-suit are bandied about, and a future enemy/ally is made in WB-character-turned-comic-character Livewire, as well as a possible connection with S.T.A.R. Labs, but in the end, this issue is filler that simply wasn't worth the price of admission. - Squashua
SILVER SURFER:REQUIEM #1
Marvel Comics
It’s a little too early to tell if this is going to be one of JMS’ gems or stinkers. All the elements are there for goodness, although some of the drama is a bit forced, especially the way JMS depicts Sue Storm as a grieving hausfrau rather than the strong matriarchal figure she has been since Byrne wrote her. The Silver Surfer has some dire news and if Reed Richards’ scientific calculations are correct (are they ever?), it looks as if the Surfer is about to catch his final wave. The story was strong enough, so I’ll probably be back for issue two. New readers are treated to a retelling of the origin, but it doesn’t linger on long enough to bore those who know the tale. The one problem I had with this issue was with Esad Ribic’s art. Ribic does a mean looking Surfer with his painterly style, making his body all reflective and shiny, but his palette is very muted--almost too muted. There’s not a lot of distinction between the characters and the environment they are in. They all sort of blend together into a cloudy mush. When set against the dark background of outer space this book is pretty breathtaking, but other than those scenes, this book simply shows that Ribic really needs to work on bringing a little variation to his palette. - Ambush Bug
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #6
DC Comics
Okay, I finally made a decision: I like it! In fact, I love it. This is NOT a jumping on point for a new reader. What it is…is a big mushy love letter to all of us grown up fanboys (and fangirls) who went through our older siblings’ comic books and fell in love with the Legion (waaaayyy back in ADVENTURE COMICS), and crossovers between the JLA and the JSA. THEN we fell in love with the Legion all over again, when Dave Cockrum (and later Mike Grell) took over the art chores and made the Legion slick, beautiful and stylish. And all of this – old Legion, newer Legion, classic crossovers - is finally coming to a head in this issue. Be forewarned – if you don’t remember why Triplicate Girl should have an almost instinctive fear of Computo (remember Computo? For crying out loud, remember Proty? Daaaaaaammmnnn…) then you won’t get quite as much glee out of this as older readers. And Dale Eaglesham deserves a big pat on the back. Much of this book felt like he was channeling Curt Swan, but in a powerful, vibrant way. And THAT was a really unexpected treat. I don’t know where this title is eventually heading. But I’ll stick around for a while. Writer Geoff Johns has earned that much. - Rock-Me
FEAR AGENT “My War” Vol. 2 TPB
Dark Horse Comics
I had no idea the second trade was coming out the week after the first, so I shelled out another $15 bucks for yet more gritty sci-fi pulp intrigue and saw a little something on the back cover that I'm inclined to share with the rest of you: "FEAR AGENT is a rare treat in comics these days. Remender has done an amazing job of keeping a high level of good old-fashioned science fiction adventure ... FEAR AGENT has been a wild ride since its inception ... FEAR AGENT is not just great science fiction ... it's also just fun comics." -- Humphrey Lee, Ain't It Cool News. What he said. These compilations are worth every penny. - Squashua
Remember, if you have a comic book you’d like one of the @$$holes to take a look at, click on your favorite reviewer’s link and drop us an email.
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Reviewer: Ambush Bug
BOOM! Studios
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Busiek has to be the most under-appreciated writer of all time. ASTRO CITY anyone??
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I almost posted it! Any New Gods fans out there???? :(
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Didn't like it. I also didn't get Tom Strong. Sigh.
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Getting an ass and cleavage shot of the same girl on the cover really is something to stand up and applaud. We should all give Mr. Bonk a big hand for his achievements. Seriously, I can't draw that well.
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What's the hold up? It's been forever since Pt. 3 and the Annual cam out. Why the delays? And will the conclusion still be in 3D? I guess I'll pick up Action #850, but it had better be as good as you say it is. And "The Lightning Saga" is a pretty darn good read, with great art in both books, (JSA and JLA) and a really good mystery. If you buy it though, it starts in JLA #8, then goes to JSA #5, JLA #9, JSA #6 and it concludes in JLA #10. (which isn't out yet) And I really liked the run on JLA #0-7. Benes and Metzler are a great team. Keep up the good work, guys!
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The Daredevil review reminded me... How far does the gore have to go before that an "adult" rating? All I've seen in Marvel comics are that odd T+ thing. In Moon Knight, a man's face bets ripped off. In Daredevil, Gladiator kills some men by shoving saw blades into their backs. And in NewUniversal, Justice cut a man's head in freakin half and then I saw his brain fall out. Must we result to skull-fucking before we can achieve the coveted "Adult" rating? Or merely, show a magical ass/tits shot of the same chacter on the cover?
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Slave Labor Graphics does it so much better.
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Not really, but the story begins in Countdown...ends in countdown then has a kidnapping......huh wha?
Giant Earth Shattering Event is one thing but I shouldn't have to read every damn DC book to know what's going on in a title I have long supported. When that crap happens coughcivilwarcough you know what I do? I read none. You had just started to recover from the one year later crapfest and you go and pull this shit. -
And isnt the whole point of Sentry that he is in fact a looney? Seems consistant to me. Anywho it's a shame that this title - like the eternals - is completely removed from the rest of the MU.
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I think what they were going for is that... if soldiers are weapons he's a nuke. And he could wrap up everything way quick. At the same time, he knows what is going down inside, he knows the government keeping the crystals is a bad idea. And he has ties to the Inhumans. So he thinks letting them win the day is in a bunch of ways the right move. At the same time he was a stupid idiot. I mean even if it is everyones best interest to let the Inhumans get away with the crystals, for the love of God at least PRETEND to do your job. You don't have to fly in and stop them or tell Iron Ass what's going on but fight the good fight outside. Maybe you don't want to stop what is happening inside the Pentagon but you can still watch the backs of your friends outside. If it seems you are performing under par on purpose, hey, throw a fake fit of the crazies. But for the love of God do SOMETHING. I have to say I thought when they brought him in he'd be an interesting character but, mostly, his behavior in Silent War sums him up for me. He looks like he should be powerful and interesting but really he doesn't seem to be going anywhere or doing anything except for putting that big black tiara thing on Stark's Tower.
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I haven't read Silent War, but I don't think the reviewer fully explained why The Sentry was out of character. If you've read the two volumes of The Sentry and his appearances in New Avengers, it's clear that he's like a big, huge gun that very easily gets jammed. He can solve a situation instantly, just like Superman, but unlike Superman, he's utterly mentally broken, and usually doesn't act. I don't find it strange that a guy who has to be yelled at by Captain America to "Get out of bed, Bob!!!" when the world needs saving would find some reason to just stop and stand on a battlefield, more concerned with his own thoughts than with what's going on around him. If you want to make a military analogy, he's the guy in the trenches in war movies that's just curled up in the fetal position mumbling to himself, and who then may or may not flip out and kill a whole bunch of bad guys once his mind comes back to reality.
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Good point. I think up to now, we've seen Sentry as unwilling to unleash his powers for fear of hurting someone, or unleashing the Void. That's what I meant by frustrated nobility. He WANTS to do the right thing, but he's afraid. In THIS situation, it's not fear stopping him...it's more like contempt for the situation and his own peers. It's not that he's afraid...it's more like he feels he is better than the situation. And those are two very different motivations, I think.
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Get this - it's Alice in Wonderland, but - and here's the twist - it's for KIDS. No nudity! Alice doesn't fuck any rabbits or shoot heroin. It's just the story of a young girl who goes on a journey designed so that children are intrigued and laugh and maybe get a little scared, but are still thoroughly entertained. You think there's a market for it?
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It says on his chart that he's fucked up. He talks like a fag, and his shit's all retarded. If he was a normal guy, he wouldn't be in the military at all - but he's the Marvel Superman, so when he flakes out they just have to deal with it. That said, rock-me Amodeo needs to stick around so that the next time Hal Jordan or Captain America has a sudden mid-battle crisis of conscience he can remind everybody what people in the military are supposed to act like.
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Those were fun.
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It takes a little while to get into its rhythm, but once you do, it's definitely worth it.
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That was a filler issue by a different creative team. Blame them, not the book itself. John Rogers is a severely underappreciated writer, methinks.And on Titans, I'm inclined to agree with arrangedletters. Compared to Johns' style, that issue was an creative mess and McKeever can't get to the book fast enough. The lack of navel-gazing was good, but it'd be nice if it were more of a coherent lack of navel-gazing.
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You might as well; fooling around with that crap masquerading as something to read.
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The last several Titans books by Johns have been complete crap both story-wise and art-wise. We were given a multi-multi-issue fight scene. This single issue got a heck of a lot more "done" than any of those prior issues.
"Titans East" was a travesty, as was the prior storyline, "The search for various Titans".
Maybe my review was influenced by how different it was than the previous issues, but I'd much rather have purchased this month's issue than last month's issue. -
If you don't know about it by now, well, the other outlets aren't making it much of a surprise, so this Talkback shouldn't bother anyone.
The death of Lightray was so "meh" that I didn't even bother to mention it in the review. TADA! -
Bwa-ha-ha-ha! So true...Star Trek in the late 80s was weird.
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..and I agree with it. But I'm not a fan of Batista (I rolled my eyes whenever I saw that he was the artist on 52) and they put all the meat of this issue's story in Countdown. The Cassie/Donna bit was great and long overdue - if Cassie could relate to anyone right now it'd be Donna. I went "huh?" at Robin/Jason Todd because I hadn't seen the much much earlier story it harked back to apparently. And overall it was just a lot of bits and pieces with a mildly intriguing Robin/Wonder Girl/Match thing at the end. But the dialogue? Looks like a job for Captain Obvious! Oi..
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... was from that terrible pre-IC Titans issue where Red Hood confronts Robin, then yanks off his Red Hood costume to reveal a full Jason Todd Robin costume underneath.
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You're mistakenly thinking of the bastardized Disney version of Alice in Wonderland. The entire thing was written by an addict with delusions of grandeur. It wasn't for children, and most adults couldn't comprehend it (and still can't). How about instead of being a pretentious neo-con half assedly talking about shit you don't know about, you instead chastise the book on it's writing, or the art, or something credible.
BAD MONKEY! stfu and gbtw. -
This is ridiculous. There were three issues, a bigger cliffhanger, and then a new creative team with a completely new story. I don't get it.
Well, maybe I do. Donner's story was completely discontinuitous with the current universe. General Zod is dead in regular DC universe, right? Well in this story arc Superman had never met him before.
Has DC moved the story to a seperate, new and inconsequential mini-series or something? I should just go to the DC website shouldn't i? -
That's why the sell the book in the children's section. I read Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass when I was a youngster and I didn't have to filter it through some sort dark postmodern lens of pornography and drug addiction to enjoy it. Because, dig this, kids like nonsense. They think it's fun. They don't have to examine the work with regards to a subtextual literary architecture of a borderline pedophilic laudanum drinker. Damn right it was for children, though adults are certainly able to enjoy it. Carroll even wrote an abridged version for very young kids. So take your Criticism in Victorian Literature notebook and Jefferson Airplane record and shove 'em up your ass. And don't go calling someone a "neo-con" or say they don't know what they're talking about unless you've got the evidence to back it up, junior.
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Lewis Carroll, i.e., Charles Dodgson was a mathematician, author, clergyman and photographer. He had a stammer in adult company, but was stammer-free with children, thus his talents as a children's storyteller. Far from being misunderstood, most thought his writings to be enjoyable nonsense, which they were, for the most part. It absolutely was for children, though its sequel, "through the looking glass" really was not, as it was written with a much more depressed tone (Dodgson's father had recently died.) There is NO direct and scant indirect evidence of any drug use in his life past a common medicine used for arthritis. Talk about pretentious - get your own head out of your own ass before you go off on someone else's.
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The Donner/Johns/Kubert story picks back up with #851.
http://tinyurl.com/2m5sh8
What is most distressing is at the bottom, DC shows the lineup for the following two months during which the comic reverts back to Busiek.
So they have two separate, Intertwining story arcs on the same book??
What a bunch of carp! (intentionally left misspelled.) -
You're aaaaaaalllll right.
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Now all we need is Prof Challenger for the trifecta.
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...of a few years back when LEAGUE O' EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN movie was coming out. I loved the comic for a while, and I'm kind of an Anglophile, with an interest in Victorian and Edwardian literature, what Jess Nevin's calls Fantastic Victoriana. I didn't care for the additions of Dorian Gray and especially Tom Sawyer on the team and I said so in a talkback.I get this hilariously "blistering" response post telling me how there was a book about an adult Tom Sawyer as a secret service agent called TOM SAWYER DETECTIVE, and that my Mom is a slut. I take the high road and post back, "Of course my Mom is a slut and she said you had a little dick and an atrophied nutsack and couldn't get it up anyway....And that unlike you, I've actually read Tom Sawyer Detective, which was about a teenage Tom and Huck clearing Tom's uncle of a murder charge." Moriarity e-mailed me and said the guy was LOEG producer Don Murphy, which sort of made me embarrassed.No, ALICE was children's lit for the time. Almost all great children's lit, as Carroll's books are, can be enjoyed by all ages. But up until about the 1980s, at some point people became adults. They didn't have to pretend that kid lit was never for kids. And a lot of comic book types only know ALICE from what Alan Moore has told them.Which brings me to Alan Moore and this stuff. With LOST GIRLS, if you criticized it you got every comic nerd fighting censorship against art and literature (even though they wouldn't have said shit if the art was on a museum wall or the literature was in a library and failed to contain sequential art). But my main objection, as was fellow @$$hole Dave Farrabee's, is that we've seen Alan Moore retread classic literature and characters for about a decade and a half now, and the schtick is getting old. Warren Ellis did it better in comics and Phillip Jose Farmer pioneered the ideas.Here's what I don't get and don't want to get about a T&A WONDERLAND: why? Okay, T & A has always been a big part of comics. It's important in comics. It's important in fantasy. The target audience is men. It's always been young men more than kids, because GI's in WW II, the big one, were guys like us who read comics. They kept reading comics into the EC days and the Marvel black and white days. So, why WONDERLAND or OZ, or some bullshit like that? I wanna see Mary Fucking Poppins get nasty?Yer man enough for T & A and you wanna read it in a Victorian children's story? Kinda sick. Put it in a crime story. An espionage story. A war story. A sword and sorcery story. A space opera. But grow yerself a fucking Y chromosome.
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...back in the day. What a maroon.
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Oz statues. Some idiot posted something along the lines of "this is how dark the books are". NO THEY'RE FUCKING NOT. It's a kid's book about a 6 year old girl. Just because you tossed off to Judy Garland doesn't mean there is anything adult about Oz. Baum himself even has a quote from the introduction:
Modern education includes morality; therefore the modern child seeks only entertainment in its wonder tales and gladly dispenses with all disagreeable incident. Having this thought in mind, the story of 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' was written solely to please children of today. It aspires to being a modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heartaches and nightmares are left out
But apparently that's not good enough for McFarlane.
Although that Dorothy statue is a "little" hot -
"...DAREDEVIL/X-MEN/HULK/WHATEVER was never a superhero book...except for those 300 or so issues they printed before I started reading comics last year..."
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If.. Green=Will Yellow=Fear and Pink=Love..then what are Blue, Orange, Red, Purple, Brown, White and Black?The best I can tell, The Reach are Blue..
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of an "adult version" of this fairy tale or that children's tale has a lot in common with the way a lot of comic book characters have been treated throughout the years. "Sophisticating" the comic book characters by introducing mroe real world and adult themes has been going on for the last twenty years in comics. It's more fun to drag the characters through the mud, make fun of them, or totally deface them, and more profitable it seems if you go by sales figures. I think in some way, this is the writers' and the audience who buys the books way of exclaiming how grown up and sophisticated they are. Want to make sure everyone knows that they don't need these childish tales of morality and virtue. They're too good or cool for that kind of stuff. So if you are going to write and read funny books, you're going to write and read the ones that sully the characters in a way. In some people's minds that makes it ok for them to read books then. Sure they read comics, but only the ones that make fun of comic book standards are cool.
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and always will be poo.
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That whole trend of "sophisticating" children's story characters probably won't go away until the high divorce rate retreats. It seems the innocence of childhood is nothing but a sham scaffold hiding the Frnak Miller-ness of the real world, so only an idiot would embrace it (and why embrace something that only brings back and doesn't protect you from bad memories?). I hate the deliberate ironic distance everyone seems to embrace nowadays, even though it's a poor coping mechanism and then the Butters Kotches of the world have to keep up though they don't really get it.
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"the percentage of all marriages that eventually end in divorce peaked in the United States at about 41% around 1980, and has been slowly declining ever since, standing by 2002 at around 31%"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divorce#Statistics (I know, I know, it's Wiki, but it looks like it's citing some good sources) -
And what age are people who are writing comics right now?
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Last time I bought comics weekly, Superman had long hair, Lex Luthor had even longer red hair and was posing as his own son, Superboy wore a leather jacket and Batman acted like a total dick....I guess some thing dont change.
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Superman realized that he was actually about 4 or 5 years behind on the mullet thing and cut it, Luthor lost his hair again when he got clone sickness (then he became President and then he became not the President), Superboy ditched the jacket in favor of jeans and a t-shirt and recently died, and Batman is still a dick. If you read "All-Star Batman and Robin" he's actually now a super-dick.
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I don't know, 8? 9?
I'm joking of course. My point in citing the statistic is that I doubt it has anything to do with an earlier facing of adult issues by children. Children face adult issues all the time: theft, fighting, playing doctor, etc., and always have. Look at the Little House books -- there is some seriously dark stuff happening in them. But they still maintain a cynicism-free demeanor.
I think in the end, everyone wants to be 'cool'. It became cool to be self-referential, culturally hip and cynical over the last couple decades. Frankly, I think it's because people were ultimately embarassed by the 70s. Since they lived in the 70s, the only way they could deal with that fact was to attack it ... but they couldn't attack it directly (like they could the 50s) because then they'd be attacking themselves. Thus, the subtle attack of cynicism. -
Good points all, I cede, though somehow I doubt the "sophistication" by certain writers eschews a working out of some of their own demons. But when "adult" issues happen to children, do they see them through adult eyes or a child's eyes? And I've read all the Little House books, numerous times - what would you call dark in them? It honestly seems like a slice-of-life and the attitude of the culture seemed to have been to take the bad times in stride.
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The whole Indian War council thing. The F'ing Government in Prairie. Jack dying (poor little dog)
I'm not talking dark in the Hostel 2 sense. I'm talking dark in the 'stuff way too serious for a child to have to deal with' sense. And there's a forced maturity there, not the false maturity kids have today (i.e. dressing like whores at 6 and having sex at 10). You were still allowed to be a child back then, but you had to be a mature child. Today's kids seems like they want to be immature adults. And there's a huge realm of difference there. -
The so-called "creative forces" can't think of a new spin on anything old, so they get an idea that everyone is cynical just like them, and all that all people really want to do is see Mary Poppins' boobs. So they make a movie like "S.O.B.", cleverly disguised as a movie about people that are cashing in on tarnished innocence...by actually tarnishing innocence. Only once the deed is done, no one seems to care anymore, and the emptiness of cynical exploitation, rather than being revealed, simply moves on to its next target. In a full circle of irony, expect to see Anne Hathaway in the full-screen cinema version of an R-rated "Alice in Underwearland."
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Aargghh.
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Never use an ascii arrow in a post. Let's see if I can remember what I typed ...
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...which is always a viable thought.
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The whole Indian War council thing. The F'ing Government in Prairie. Jack dying (poor little dog). 12 year olds marrying. Mary's eyesight. Pa out in the blizzard for 4 days. The Long Winter.
It's not that they're Hostel 2 'dark', but more 'stuff children shouldn't have to deal with' dark. Back then, you were allowed to be a child, but you had to be a mature child. Today's children are trying to be immature adults. There's a huge realm of difference there. -
Are you telling me NONE of you see the wry humor inherent in doing a T&A take on a VICTORIAN tale? 'Cuz I sure as hell do......(or is it that none of you can just say 'Not my cup of tea' without having to intellectually justify yourself first?)
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Are you saying the Victorian Era had no T&A? Because that's a load of bollocks my friend.
I think most of us are just tired of it. It's been done before. Many times. Many, many times (granted, sometimes it was Fan Fic, but still). Heck, wasn't Lost Girls originally published in the 80s? -
And nothing like the supposed "source material".
Don't let anyone ever try to tell you otherwise.
Flames on Nipples == Optimus on Batsuit. -
I see a cover and pages like that, with Liefieldian (tm) women's skirts blowing up, and I pass. Wake me when something interesting happens.
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Wow man, way to read into a statement. Umm, no, I wasn't saying that at all. What I was implying is that considering the uptight social morals that were 'the norm' during that time that a T&A take on a story from that era strikes my irony bone. 'Cuz, y'know, when you are cynically decrying cynicism, well, um....yeeeeah.
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A good review for Teen Titans. I don't see how anyone could think it was good seeing as the entire point of it seemed to be Tim kicking Jason Todd in the balls to make a once bad ass character look like a little bitch.
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Here I am. Been dealing with a personal issue involving Dr. Who and his sonic screwdriver. Should be back up to full power next week and able to jump back into the game and continue my well-worn path of pissing off DC, Marvel, and pre-pubescent Talkbackers. :)
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Lubbed the comic. Lub the moobie. But for entirely different reasons. I love the comic because it's about as close to classic lit as a super-hero comic can get. Plus I love the "Where's Waldo" game of trying to identify all the refs. I love the movie because it's a cool looking trashy little illogical and confusing piece of crap that entertains the hell out of me. Sue me. Sometimes bad movies are fun to watch.
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'Cept fer that part where vampire chick goes all 'Storm of Bats' during that otherwise retarded chase scene in Vienna.
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...morals. Gawd, I hate the term Victoriana, even though I like to read the stuff. The Tyler Durden in me smacks the Jack in me and says,"Why do guys like us even know what that is?" But we are literate so...The list is long and far better people than me have cited far numerous sources and I'm tired but let's see: Dracula as a repressed woman's sexual fantasty. Mr. Hyde as Dr. Jeckyll's (never can spell that one, ain't gonna look)repressed homosexuality, and all that damned opium everybody got to smoke in everything from THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD to Sherlock Holmes, who also shot up cocaine, etc.Personally, I think we oughta move on to another repressed time, like the 1950s or something.
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I thought he was holding back in reaction to Black Bolt holding back. A sort of "cold war" if you will, between the two sides.
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goal!
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Makes you kinda wish we had a bit more of a repressed era.. The collective unconscious seems tapped out and all anyone's doing anymore are Marxist power fantasies.Unless you consider political correctness...though we'd need another 10 years for it to properly deepen and the global warming hysteria could surely help and...though maybe with the desperate housewives and the Yo Yo Ma soundtracks...
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repression! The entire point of Jekyll and Hyde was that Doctor Jekyll -- who was a lot closer to 50 than is commonly portrayed -- wanted to transform himself into someone else who could indulge in his repressed urges. I mean, that's the book. The problem is that he gets addicted to it -- so addicted that his changes move outside of his control, resulting in *SPOILERS* murder and finally murder/suicide. The story does double duty here: it points out that Victorians are repressed, and then turns around and says maybe that's a good thing, because the other result is chaos (conversely, it might be condemning Jekyll for not justing indulging in those urges himself naturally -- any English Majors know for sure?)
This is the core of my response to Psynapse: the Victorians may have been stereotyped as repressed (even by themselves), but there is countless evidence it didn't work: Jack the Ripper didn't kill milkmaids, you know. And as Camille Paglia points out, there was a definitive rise in homosexuality in Victorian Times.
Therefore, those who think that Victoriana needs to have abundant sex as a counterpoint to the original Victorians really need to do a little more study of the period. -
I have no idea who, what, or why, just go get 'em! (*bonks her head* ergh, and that's the caffeine v5.3 not working properly.. Back to the lab, Otis..)
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Filthy, filthy stuff. Moore didn't just make up all that incest and pedophilia in "Lost Girls" - he was pretty clearly inspired by the dirty books of the time.
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good post, sir.
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Sorry man, that's not really a review. That's your personal problems with what is going on in the issue. As an issue, it reads great. And the Sentry has been shown to clam up before. He's just stopped because he thinks too much. It's part of his character and one of the reasons Iron Man has him on the team is because he believes in him. I've not been the military, but I do know a LOT of people who are/were in Iraq, and ALL of them have SERIOUS doubts about the leadership--which is shown very well by the Sentry's actions.
The story is great. The build-up to Blackbolt's unleashing is great and the art is fantastic for this otherworldly Inhumans thing. -
You know who you are.....(*_^)
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Paranoia and arrow-in-leg, that's all I have to say.
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For the VERY obvious assumption that I had no idea what I was talking about....
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Frankenstein, Dr. Jeckyll, read those back in the day and didn't care for them much. The reason modern day Victoriporn is so popular is that all of the scarf wearing, PBR swilling, Pavement listening hipsters of today don't want to bother reading something they don't find interesting. It's much easier to pick up a comic book, flip through, pause to look at tits now and then, and then assume that the comic contained actual truths about the original story. Hipsters can then impress their friends with their knowledge of Victorian literature. (It's cool because they did opium, dig?) It's a bit like "Kafka-esque."
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I'm amazed by your knowledge. Have a PBR on me. Then we can drink some coffee and sulk. You're so "Kafka-esque." All the hipster ladies must be amazed by your knowledge. Please have hipster sex with me.
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No, it really IS a review. I discussed the the art, the direction and the plot. The story DOES read great. That said, I had a reaction to the storyline and shared it. It may not have been YOUR reaction, but that is what happens in a review. And as I said, I don't discount the opinion of Sentry - people are allowed to have doubts - but I was personally perturbed seeing him wrestle with them while his peers' lives were on the line. There is a time for thoughts and discussions like that. I don't think combat is one of them. But that is just my reaction. Your review of my review is kind of like my review of the issue - I didn't like your opinion, but that doesn't make your opinion, or your review, invalid. Yes?
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Just kidding, buddy, never my intent, I assure you
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....i was kinda hoping that the teen titans would start a trend with that scene of jason getting kicked in the nuts by tim. DC could publish a book called "365" with an issue comming out every day of the year. the book would consist of one splash page depicting a diffrent character in the DCU kicking jason todd in the balls. then in the final issue "uncle" joker would beat jasons head in with a crowbar (again) toss him in a shallow grave and fill it with cement and say "..and this time STAY dead, you little jerk!"
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Though my vagina remains quite sandy today. Customers suck rancid pustulent ass today...
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I hear ALL of the cool kids are doing it.
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I don't hate my store as much anymore. I picked up the first issue of this Fear Agent Miniseries, Jonah Hex, The Loners, and Avengers Initiative, all titles previously unavailable. Next month, I'll also get Punisher Max and The Exterminators. (Didn't want to pick up the last issues of the stories) I'm in a surprisingly good mood.
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But decided a nice eye-gouging would be a welcome change of pace.
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Does your LCS do subs? If so why aren't they ordering what you want for you?
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.......
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Just a store that happens to sell comics. For a while, I thought they were phasing them out completely, but now, all of a sudden, their selection improved tenfold.
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Yet another wacky idea that came to me while I was waiting for the train tonight. I was putting on my Scott McCloud hat while pondering how different elemental characters could have their stories told in comics, then the idea hit, I extrapolated out to art in general, then back in:There are four aspects to art, of which any medium can, at best, well-encompass three: image, motion, word, sound. Take a play, for instance: word is easy enough, it's all about the script; the actors are right there in front of you controlling the motion and producing sound; yet when it comes to image you can't help but notice the scenery and all for its faux-ness. The image aspect is weak for that medium.For comics, you've got strong image and word, and motion is the hallmark of good craftmanship, yet the pages are soundless (say what you will about sound FX, but they're mostly word-based and you don't experience them as "sound").And oh yeah, the four elements.. You can take my word for it (or go here for a pretty thorough write-up: http://tinyurl.com/fpwjg), but image=Earth, motion=Water, word=Air, sound=Fire. That said, I think were there experimental ways to bring sound to comics (perhaps music?), it would cease to be an art form and become a level of being. That, or I'm tired and incoherent. 'Night!
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When a math nerd has too much time on their hands.
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Money in the bank.
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It just comes easily to me. I don't nerd out or actually read math books, mind you (why would I when I can think about T.O.E.s?).Just think what I'd come up with if I did drugs though!
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Being a nerd is genetic just like being a geek (raises hand). (Though the traditional definition of geek would require me to bite the heads off of chickens)
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What does it mean "to nerd" vs "to geek", and, while we're at it, "to dork"?
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.....i actually know a few people who listen to music while reading their comics. so it's not all that far off from what you suggest. but i imagine that getting the right music for the right book takes some serious time and consideration, prehaps more that it's worth?
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...they both should be dead. *rim shot*
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You never know.. I've got this great fight scene in my head that extends over the course of a book that's choreographed to Stabbing Westward's "Save Yourself". It also helps that music itself is the cause of a character's powers, so.. I bet, moreover, it could be feasible if a creator simply listed a playlist with tracks and times in the preface/"previously in.." page, or included a link to an iTunes playlist or, maybe if it were an indie publisher, included a mini-CD with the specific tracks for the book..
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Jun 08, 2007 12:55:45 PM CDT
Maverik's Community Collegiate Dictionary Defines Geek.
by buzz maverik
...nerd and dork as terms that intelligent, artistic fans of genre medium and entertainment should never use to belittle themselves, because you never heard of a football nerd or a Nascar geek and those people are really fucking sick.
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Now you know......
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Now you know....
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damn double posts!!
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There's definitely film geeks. And I definitely know a few people I could call football geeks. A dork genuinely defies categories. Anyone can be a dork. For example, I could be a dork because I read comics and listen to Weezer. But someone could also be a dork because they play too much WoW. Or if you know the names of every player in the British Premiere League, you're certainly a dork. If you're a fat kid who's not as funny as you think you are, you're a dork. Nerds are those who piss even me off most of the time. Nerds are a very timid people. In other news, did you know there was a math question about ALice in Wonderland on this year's ACT?
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Did it have T&A?
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oh...
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Sorry, I made a note to check on this and forgot about it - Plug the URL for the Spadefoot comics into www.archive.org. It archives web sites and I think you'll find the earlier Spadefoot pages there.
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I come to AICN at all. Sure there are assholes.. and @SSHOLES, but the latter are willing to embarrass the hell out of the former and good times are had by all. By far the most entertaining and 'on-topic' column on the site. Keep up the good work!
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The question in uh, question went something like "In Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland, Alice drinks a potion that shrinks her down to 10 inches. Later, she eats a cake that makes her larger. Her growth can be described by the equation blah blah blah. In how many seconds will she be ten feet tall? So, I suppose you could try really, really hard to get something out of that.
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I wonder if you could apply that to Pinocchio somehow..
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or fables' pinocchio?
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Though mind you, I've only gotten through the third trade so far. But "wow" for the consistent goodness..
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Who do I have to kill and sodomize before someone reads my fanfic? 'Cause that'd, like, be good to know and stuff..
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47.5 hours last week, 48.5 the week before and this week is more of the same. It's taking all I've got to survive that and get through the weeklies (comics) and these damn boxed sets of 'The OC' (it's like crack I swear)......
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*Morrisons reprieve* Though I dare say the fanfic might outdo some of your weeklies...
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*mwah!* baby!
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I DID sell $192,650.00 worth of hydraulic cylinders and components in the month of May. I DON'T get commission though......
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But you did stay at a Holiday Inn Express, right? Right? Or at least get benefits?I think the confidence issue has dropped to the backburner if anywhere. But it's been like I've been holding my breath for 3+ weeks with all the fun and goodness remaining embedded in the words I wrote. I can only exhale when the release caused by others reading it and enjoying it happens. I only spent a year writing it.. [/guilt trip]And I mean, can you really argue with..Grant Morrison: Arm-Fall-Off Boy!Dave: Man! Arm-Fall-Off MAN!!!
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The 'confidence' remark was a line stolen from 'The OC' and referring to you having confidence in your work. The other comments was (of course) referring to my job....hey wait, that IS kind of DaDa....huh....
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Nothing like practice pieces to get a sense of where you are skillwise vs where you want to be.. Now I've got three stories (the fanfic's only one of 'em) in development in my head all at once, but oddly, I'm not going crazy - I'm just not bored or having the potential to get frustrated now.. That and I'm a bit more confident about the actual comics medium, so look out, I guess?
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(*_^)
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Where the hell is everyone today?
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Hold on for a second here. Tits and ass is a BAD THING? Mini-skirts and low-cut tops NOT awesome. WTFIWWYFP?
Didn't read Silent War. Didn't read Civil War. Wanna know why? Because there's an imposter in the EiC chair. Fat Joe is a mediocre artist with delusions of importance, and he's letting his fuck buddies Millar and Bendover..er..Bendis ruin the Marvel U because someone kicked sand in their eyes and stole their lunch money as children.
HEY, FUCKHOLES! THEY'RE NOT REAL JOCKS! YOU'RE NOT GETTING BACK AT THE FOOTBALL TEAM BY RUINING SUPER HEROES!
And none of you fuckers give me shit about who wrote what and that I'm blaming the wrong guys. Bendis started this shit with Dis-Assembled, Millar wrote Civil War, and Fat Joe LET them. I still say that it was Brubakers idea to kill off Cap just so he'd never have to write about Cap "finding himself" with his cell-mate over a glass of toilet bowl Merlot. Fuck Joey and the Pussy....cats. Fuck them in their stupid asses. I will not read Marvel unless one of three things happens. First, Joey Q. dies, quits or is fired. Second, Stan the Man walks up to Fat Joe, Bendii and Limey at a Con panel and proceeds to kick them all square in the nuts while an in-constume Lou Ferrigno (SP? but really who the fuck could spell that?) dry-humps them all at the same time. Last, and the only way it happens with the current management, is if Joey, Bendass and limey all hold a press conference all while dressed as a Leifield (SP? but really who give a shit?) drawn Thor complete with horrible be-banged mullet, singing an original composition apologizing for all of their transactions, including some I didn't catch myself. They're "creators", let the fuckers be creative! -
i have gaged your feelings on marvel's eic yet...do you have more?
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No sir...I don't like'em.
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I'll fuckin pull his tongue out with an stab that shit with a rusty screw driver. I'll fuckin tie you to a fuckin bedbost with your asscheeks all spread out like, and put a hanger on the stove and let that shit shit there for like a half and then shove it up your ass slowlike. Ssssssss... Yeah, it's good to get some violence in there.
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ditto
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Holy crap. This is a 2 year old talkback, and the majority of my posts seem to have missing words. I must've had a sucky keyboard or something...
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