Reviews of the Week (RotW) by Phenompyrus
I decided it would be a good idea to utilize our blog by posting my weekly reviews here as much as I can. Let's get the ball rolling:
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1
I missed picking up the first series from the get go, but always heard that it was one of Marvel's best and most consistent books for years. So I was not going to pass this up, even though I still have a bad taste in my mouth with Ultimatum and the main continuity's One More Day. That said, the results of this one were not so bad. If there is one perfect match in comicdom for a writer and character, its Bendis and Spider-Man. He knows how to write the perfect Peter Parker, no matter what version it is. The art makes this seem like a non-television cartoon, part anime. I like the idea of new characters showing up so early too, so let's hope Marvel keeps things fresh with their new Ultimate Comics.
Ultimate Comics Avengers #1
Since I missed Spider-Man and X-Men on the first go around with Ultimate Marvel, I made sure to be there to pick up The Ultimates. As it turned out, it and its sequel were some of the best comic stories I've ever read to this day. Let us forget the horror that was Ultimates 3. How Jeph Loeb still has a job is a wonder to me, but that's a story for a different day. This first issue is very similar to the first issues of Millar's first 2 volumes, and yet again features a focus on Captain America. The characters are back to form, to Hawkeye still being a badass, Cap not missing a beat even though he got his ass kicked by Red Skull, Fury still in charge even though he's not, and Tony being a casual and cool drinker. The art is superb too, capturing some each of Hitch and Mad! (the only good slightly good and redeemable thing about volume 3). The future looks and sounds promising too, with new versions of Wasp, Hulk, War Machine, and Black Widow coming, as well as seeing Ultimate versions of Punisher and Blade. Good start to a book that Marvel desperately needed to revive to its original form.
Uncanny X-Men #514
It is no secret around OKP that I am a huge X-Men fan. I love almost everything from Marvel that has to do with the team. The past few X events have been pretty great, and this one is still delivering. I'm not sure what to think of Emma's 'defection', and I really hope it doesn't cause any long term problems, b/c she might just be the best X-Man of the past few years. Her relationship with Cyclops is much better than that between he and Jean. Dodson lightens things up while keeping it pretty with his art, but the real star here is Matt, who absolutely understands how to write this book. He brings them up to date by also hooking them up with classic devices, such as the little character power profiles. I always think how I could make certain books better, and with this one, I don't know if I could. I hope this creative team (yes including Greg Land) sticks around for some time. Marvel promises big changes, but we all know that just means a lead in to something else. I just hope that it doesn't disappoint a la Secret Invasion.
Blackest Night #2
Let's get to some DC. I read more Marvel overall, but this, GL, the new Doom Patrol, and Batman & Robin are also in the rotation, and they are every bit as good as Marvel's bulk of my reading list. DC knows how to tell a crossover story with all the right points of continuity. This story found the perfect loophole to bring back all the dead characters they want without actually bringing them back. Will any of them stick around? I don't know, but it's a little trickery they have used to get to this point. Will Bruce Wayne come and save the day for his return? Next issue looks to be a doozy. If they bring anyone back, let's do another JLA with the big 7 and Jim Lee drawing.
Walking Dead #64
COTW. This one has been slacking until this issue, which re-established it as the best monthly title that I read. That last panel gave me goosebumps as I said to myself 'Hell yeah!' Part of me feels that it would be a good idea to tell how the plague came to be, but its lasted this long on its own 2 legs without, and that's how it should be. Rick, Carl, Abraham, and Michonne should never die, although with all the crazy stuff that has happened so far, it might be hard not for Kirkman.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Monday, April 06, 2009
Wolverine
Weapon Excreble
Cork Kneivel film rating: Kneivel wipes out after 2-1/2 school buses.A friend of a friend of a pal of a buddy of a friend of a mate of another guy’s cousin’s barber’s homey had it downloaded onto his laptop in about 10 different 10-minute segments. He plugged it into his big screen to show me, and since he knows I’m a comic book head and a fan of the first 2 X-Men flicks (the 3rd one never happened in my world), probably figured he was giving me something special. Well, he was…and he wasn’t.First off, I’ve never seen an unfinished bootleg version of a film about a month before its release date. I have no idea when this cut was actually downloaded, or what percent of the completed project it would be at, but I was really surprised to see just how much is handled with CGI and the like. Almost every scene had something still unpolished: Wolverine’s claws, the sky, wires on a guy who just did, like, a grllion kick flips through the air, etc. One scene had me chuckling as it was all low-budget 3d computer rendering of a jet screaming through dark sky, just greys and blacks and cylinders and boxes representing the jet and buildings, with a fancified scroll along the bottom reading “Atlanta, Georgia”.The movie though? The movie was…well, it just was. It’s biggest crime is how pedestrian it is. You take arguably the most unique and recognizable comic book character, easily the most popular X-Man, a character of nebulous and ever expanding backstory, and somehow make the thing uninteresting. The credit sequence is the exception here as it takes us from 1845 to the recent past (Vietnam era and after) and shows us how Wolverine and his half-brother (Live Schreiber as Victor aka Sabretooth) are the best they are at what they do. And what they do is fight in United States conflicts abroad. Sabretooth, both in the credits sequence as well as the first ¾ of the movie is the more interesting character here. His fighting style, his animalism, and the dark brooding is used better, as well as being a more recognizable rendering of Wolverine than the conflicted catch-phrasin’ pretty-boy Jackman plays him as.I’m not too up on the Weapon X storyline but you got:the guy who played Sam Adams in the HBO John Adams miniseries. He was also the lead vampire in 30 Days of Night as Colonel StrykerDominic Monaghan (Mery from LOTR/Charlie from LOST) – as a guy who can fiddle with electrical things??? as Agent Zero – a guy who’s very deadly with gunsWill.I.Am as a cowboy teleporter named JohnKevin Durand (the big Canadian guy in everything) as Frederick J. Dukes/The BlobAnd the best piece of casting was Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool – this one I would pay to see and there’s a well done scene with him taking on a room full of gunmen with his bladesGambit and Silver Fox also show up. Gambit for a lame 3-way fight with Logan and Victor. They also have Sabretooth chase down a teenaged Scott Summers. One of the better action sequences and one that will be a “wow” factor when its all finished is a scene with Logan taking on a helicopter carrying Agent Zero. Sorry if I spoiled anything, I don’t think I revealed anything important not easily available anywhere else. I don’t think this film will do too well, partly because I think the super-hero fad is dying out and partly because the film’s just not very good.
Read More......
Thursday, February 19, 2009
GEMS
How many of us have them?!?
GEMS...ones we can depend on...
Now I’m sure all Posse members have their favorite stores, and that we all could probably rank them in order. I’m sure we all have our least favorites too (because ANY store w/ comics is still a “favorite”, right). But how many of us have a "GEM”?
I do. In true GEM fashion it’s not the place I keep my saver ((regular pull)) list. It’s not the super-duper glitzy comic-o-rama semi-chain that has more than one location in my city. It’s not even the place around the corner from my house that I hit up on days when I get some spare time and dough to waste. It’s none of those.
But I probably wouldn’t want to write about any of them.
As I define it: a GEM is a building in which I find the greatest deals in the history of the universe. Others may define GEM differently, and that’s their prerogative. Word to B. Brown.
I only tell two kinds of people about my GEM:
· Those whose collections, and collecting appetites, I respect but they DO NOT collect anything I might be after
· “Squares” ((People who have no use for comic books))
· My PTP brethren!!
My GEM is called GREAT ESCAPE GAMES, and is located at 1250 Howe Ave. here in Sacramento, CA. I shit you not, it is invisible from either of the two frontage roads you use to get to it and faces the back parking lot of an adjacent apartment complex. I am not kidding, still no shitting going on here, I once heard an employee describe to someone, over the phone, that in order to find the place once they got to the parking lot they should “pretend you’re going to go dump a couch”!!! I mean is that GEM material or not?
So what is so great about this place, aside from being utterly invisible to all who drive past it? Well, it’s not “really” a comic book shop. Nay. Nay I say. This store is probably about 10% comic book and 90% gamer. Not video-gamer, nay again, this place is for the serious “role player”. This place abounds with Worlds of Warcraft, Magic: the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, D&D, and HeroClix ((the one I’d ever consider getting into)). They also have a shit load of those kind of board games that you’ve never heard of, cost $69.99, and have a baker’s dozen or so stickers on the front proclaiming that this game swept each category of the 2002 European “Toy of the Year” Awards. The store is also unique in that only the front 25% or so is devoted to retail. Pass through the make-shift 4’X9’ hole in the wall and you find yourself in Gamer Tournament Paradise. Table after table of acne-riddled sexual frustration can be found there 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, tackle boxes and expansion pack decks at the ready. Some tables are devoid of people but are covered with “terra”, half demolished castles, miniature houseplants representing the forest, miniature cacti representing the desert, and brown and green painted Styrofoam. The people watching in here is choice **smuah**
However, as fun as all of that may be for a couple of minutes, the true beauty to this GEM is to be found in the long boxes. For it is there, my fellow POSSE members, that you will find laminated 8.5X11 sheets of paper stating:
“Dollar Boxes – Buy 5 get 1 FREE, Buy 10 get 3 FREE”
“So what?” You may say out loud to noon in particular as you read that. Or you might scream it at some unsuspecting neighbor, and if you did you should now apologize. I’ll wait. Well, Mr./Mrs. So What, I’ll tell you “so what”:
In the 25 or so long boxes, stacked in such a way that there’s 10 on a table top ((2 rows of 5 back-to-back)) and 10 below, with another 5 set off in the corner, that comprise this discount comic book bonanza…you can find last week's books!! That’s right…that’s how they do around GREAT ESCAPE GAMES…they have the smallest shelf set up for the books that come out that week only. Anything older than that gets moved straight to the dollar bin section. I am still crapping you negative. Negatory are the B.M.s here, my friends. Not only is it possible to stumble upon that long sought after Action or Detective Comics you’ve been looking for since ’03, but its highly probable that you’ll stumble upon that long sought after LAST. WEEK’S. BOOK. And won’t that have been well worth the hunt?
It has been tres lovely, folks.
And I do mean tres.
For example: I only recently discovered that the current Ultimate Spider-man team is Bendis and Immonen, both guys whose works I find I tend to appreciate above most others. I had about 20 or so issues to back track and collect if I wanted the entire body of work. It’s a pricey situation, but that’s the way I have to have things. Well, thanks to the GEM known as G.E.G., I found 10 of those 20 for $10, and then got an additional 3 books for free…just on G.P.!
Here’s my haul from Feb. 17th, 2009, now mind, I paid $12.83 for this little bundle:
JLA - #29
JSA - ANNUAL #1
JSA - #12, 14, 15
Punisher MAX - #24, 29, 55, 62
New Avengers - #1 (3 copies – Imma see if I can peddle them elsewhere and for what value. There’s still 3 more #1s in the bin)
Amazing Spider-Man - #585
Ultimate Spider-man - #130
Daredevil - #115
EYE POOP EWE NON. (All palindrome style on that ass).
That’s just a little taste of how I feel about it, a little taste of why this place deserves to be written about.
What about you? Any GEMs in your area? Give ‘em some shine. What do you like about them? Read More......
Thursday, February 12, 2009
My Love Is No Longer Blind
The following statement has been very hard for me to come to terms with, let alone for me to write down as my current formal position on the matter, but I must speak the truth. Prep Time Posse brethren:
DARDEVIL is no longer my top comic book.
Whew. Gotta take a personal moment and compose myself. …3…2…and…1…okay, I’m ready to continue.
I don’t like saying it, but the quality of the book has steadily deteriorated since Brubaker and Lark took over from the HOF run of Bendis and Maleev (the run that made me fall in love with the blind Irishman). It kinda started when Matt went on his grand tour of Europe, North Africa, French Guyana, and Khazikstan. It festered for a bit and really became just blatantly obvious with the last 8 issues: the Cruel & Unusual and Lady Bullseye storylines.
For evidence of which I speak, one need look no farther than issue #110. This issue, which was a culmination of a 4-issue storyline ((and what issue of what comic ISN’T currently part of a multi-issue, soon-to-be-traded storyline)), was co-written, as weer the previous 3 installments, by Greg Rucka. Now, Rucka is another one of my faves, his Q&C and CHECKMATE street cred is gold plated with me, but even his sheen couldn’t polish this turd. I can only assume he was aboard to answer legal and/or black co-ops questions for Brubaker because there’s lots of both in this storyline. The problem is neither of those elements are wrapped up quite clearly, or interestingly for that matter, and we need a 3 page expository conversation between two minor characters, one of whom we’ve never seen before, to make sense of how everything went down.
The biggest peanut in this turd, however, is the pacing of the action. Now I loves me some DAREDEVIL ass whoopin and I am certainly one who’ll bend the rules of reality for the sake of a well-told super-hero fight, but this was ridiculoid. At the beginning of 110, a continuation of the conclusion of 109, Matt’s about to throw-down with a penthouse full of oncoming SWAT team members who are all armed and ready to rock with their sub-machine guns. Not only that, but there’s a sniper in a heliocopter just outside the penthouse repeatedly being told to “take the shot”. The sniper opens up, the SWAT guys open up, Matt’s focusing on heartbeats and doing donkey kicks…bada boom, bada bing, he’s got the SWAT dudes subdues and decides to make for daylight through the window towards the flying sniper’s roost. More SWAT guys unload towards the fleeing crimson crusader who, amidst a hail of sub-machine fire opening up not 10 feet behind him, dives blindly (HAH!) through the window. He DOES take care to tuck his head in both hands so as to protect his lady-killer face.
Now here’s where it gets my dander up. In the very next panel Matt Murdock, aka DAREDEVIL, aka The Man Without Fear, is flying. Above him and seemingly about 50 feet away or so, the sniper stands at the opened helicopter door saying “SON OF A—“ as either the chopper or one of the baker’s dozen automatic weapons that are firing at him says CHAKCHAKCHAKCHAKCHAK”. Now…one could interpret this as Matt simply leaping out the whatever-storyeth window and plummeting gracefully while people shoot at him. One could…until the very next panel which shows, I shit you not, DAREDEVIL clinging to the roof of the chopper and doing a swingin-double kick right into the moosh of the baddy who was snipin’ at him. SOMEHOW THIS FUCKER JUMPED OUT THE WINDOW BELOW AND AWAY FROM THE HELICOPTER, THEN ROSE ABOVE IT AND GRABBED IT, NADIA COMENICI’D THE BAD GUY WITHOUT TAKING SO MUCH AS A HANGNAIL, and then!! Then!! He jumps out the OTHER side of the helicopter, once again plummeting gracefully. We don’t se the ffects of this though, as the bad guy in the chopper tells us, “…we lost him…” The next time we see Matt, he isn’t lost, no he is in his kitchen removing his mask to wash his face. Breaking the laws of physics and falling from several hundred feet to the pavement below can really dirty up a guy. DD needed a refresher.
Am I being nit-picky?
Perhaps. But whoever’s fault that whole action sequence was, whether it was the illustrator or the writer, and the incredibly sloppy conclusion to it, as well as to the whole storyline, is indicative of why I no longer find DAREDEVIL my absolute favoritest book.
P.S. I’ve never been crazy about Marko Djurdjevic’s covers either.
Monday, February 09, 2009
How To Cast Comic-Book Flix
Who as Who in What?!
Instead of thinking about it like “Who is right actor to play Wolverine” ((fuck the dumb shit, Huge Gackman was NOT the right person for the role)), I usually catch myself thinking about it like “What super-hero would Leonardo di Caprio be the guy right for???!”.
Anyone else do this? What have you come up with?
Clint Walker circa 1967 as The Punisher – Anyone who has seen The Dirty Dozen ((and if you are a heterosexual American male who hasn’t then you either need to move to Canada or blow the first guy you see)) and seen the character “Posey” knows who I’m talking of. 6’6” and a muscled 260, they could have shown the movie on this guy’s chest. He was BORN to play Frank castle, only if the space-time continuum and the laws of physics didn’t exist.
Leonardo di Caprio as Gambit – I hate that Remy Etienne LaBeau is the one name that keeps coming to mind for him because he’s too good of an actor and Gambit sucks anyway. Still, tho….
Josh Brolin as Deadshot – something about him SCREAMS Floyd Lawton!
Scott Caan as Wolverine – The neck. Just…the neck. Plus he’s short and stocky. Then, the Alchemist could show up and they could double team the guys from Ugly Duckling in what could only be described as "A 1997 Backpacker's Wet Dream".
Matt Damon as Daredevil – This is NOT stuntcasting just because Ben Whoffleck? Was so horribly miscast as Matthew Murdock back in the first pic. Its because everywhere Ben was wrong for the role, Matt is right. He’s shown in the Bourne trilogy that he can do some good hand-to-hand, and that was the worst thing about watching Daredevil: seeing this big gawky, stiff and slow guy supposedly be a master martial artist. I’ve seen where Jason Statham is supposed to be DD, w/ Frank Miller’s blessing ((as if he’s the go-to guy for what makes a good movie)), but I don’t think he can lose that innder-city London accent. He’s not THAT good of an actor.
Daniel Craig as Oliver Queen – Maybe it’s because he’s British and Ollie reminds me of Robin Hood…I dunno.
Dennis Haysbert as Gen. Nicholas Fury (Marvel Ultimates universe) – I know the character was originally created to be Sam jJack but I’d like to see Fury be less “street” and Haysbert has that presidential cache
James Carville as Scarecrow ((DC)) – Screw Cillian Murphy. Carville wouldn’t even need makeup.
“Randall from SCRUBS” as UATU The Watcher – some are so easy I should get a finder’s fee.
Vincent D’Onofrio as Thor – He knows the character already!!Paul Walker as Speedball –
Because I would LOVE to see a whole film of him getting tortured mercilessly as Pennance.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Welcome to Sinestro Week
It came and took over our lives, like heroin or Despotellis.
It is Sinestro Mania, and it has laid low the Prep Time Posse.
image courtesy of this guy
It’s not our fault. Even the Marvel Zombies among us recognize that since the Sinestro Corps one shot dropped, Dat ‘Stache has been the best villain in superhero comics by a country mile. I spit on your Red Skull. Black Glove couldn’t even keep his chopper in the air, assuming that was even him. As good as Final Crisis has been, Darkseid ain’t got face time. Oh, and then there’s the Skrulls and the “Dark Illuminati.”
*does asshole Basaglia-inspired Wop of Geoff Johns Victory*
I defy you to find one issue of Green Lantern in which Sinestro appears from the last two years in which Sinestro isn’t a complete and utter bad ass. As I’ll go into later this week, there is not a more quotable villain than Sinestro. EVERY ISSUE has two to three Sinestro lines that are just the coldest shit imaginable. What makes the words work is Sinestro’s utter craziness/evil. He basically raped Kyle, but Johns made it less gross and more upsetting than the Dr. Light nonsense. He just toasted a Laira on the verge of redemption. He owns
And it’s clear he is Geoff Johns’ biggest mancrush in the whole DC Universe. Johns gets Sinestro like no other writer going right now gets a character, and I’m including Morrison and Superman.
*ducks a Shoe to Suffice*
If you doubt it, pick up In Brightest Day, the recent trade in which Johns compiles his favorite GL stories. The first story shows Sinestro’s first appearance (without a ring!!). Johns understands that Sinestro’s monologue at the end of this first issue about the power of evil contains his entire ethos. Johns understands that there is just enough sense in what Sinestro believes that you can let your guard down and think that you and this guy share some goals. As soon as you do, Sinestro puts a ray of yellow through your chest. Johns’ Sinestro might be a necessary evil, at least if you believe Ganthet. But he is definitely, purely, awesomely evil.
So welcome to Sinestro Week. I call on the Prep Time Posse to rise to the challenge, drop a boatload of ‘Nestro propaganda, and recharge the movement.
And if we don’t?
Look at that, reader.
Another broken promise.
Read More......Friday, January 23, 2009
Black Adam 101
In anticipation of all the head-squishing fuckery sure to go down in Justice Society of America #23 next week, here's something a lot of JSA/52 readers and Black Adam fans have probably never seen: his first (and only, as Geoff Johns unfortunately learned during research for JSA) Golden Age appearance.
"The Mighty Marvels Join Forces" was the main story from the first issue of Fawcett Comics' The Marvel Family series, published in December 1945. It features Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel Junior, and Uncle Marvel - yes, there really was an Uncle Marvel - banding together to fight Black Adam - whom their mentor, the old wizard Shazam, created 5000 years ago and conveniently waited until now to tell the Marvels about. Like most Golden Age Captain Marvel stories, it was written by Otto Binder and drawn with dot-eyed, potato-nosed precision by C.C. Beck.
Read up over @ Flickr.
(Incidentally, the backup story featured the Marvels adopting and taking care of a foundling baby they dub "Baby Marvel". I shit you not.) Read More......
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
DARKNESS IS SPREADING! (c) Dave Chappelle as Rick James
"You want a piece of me, bitch?" I'm not even a big fan of Supes, but dude deserves better. A Superman movie should be about as dark as "Spider-Man 2," maybe less. The film could increase the action without being a near rated-R frown fest. And last time I checked, "Iron Man" made a damn nice chunk of change last summer, and it was mostly shits and giggles.
Some characters like Batman, the Punisher, or Wolverine are suited for dark stories. The movies tend to go awry by having the heroes kill or let the villain die. I understand the general movie audience is used to seeing the bad guys get theirs after 2 hours, but there is a line. Batman tying a bolo around the Joker's leg to a stone gargoyle - wrong. Daredevil letting the rapist who beat him in court get run over by a subway train - wronger. Bats leaving R'as Al Ghul on a runaway train - wrongest. There are other ways to tie up the story without having the villain die, or at least have them die from something of their own doing (I don't know, getting stuck with their own bomb, for example).
Am I being too much of a stickler for the rules set by the comics' version? Maybe. But I just feel if a character/story is good enough to adapt, it's good enough to adapt right.
Read More......Monday, December 08, 2008
Rorschach's Dance Party! ALBUM IN STORES NOW!
Rorschach performing "When The Sun Goes Down", from his new album, "Rorschach's Dance Party!" Remember, in our own universe, Rorschach's mother was not a prostitute, so songs about hookers don't make him cry and kill dogs. But the new Common album does, so don't talk to him about that if you like puppies.
Many thanks to the videographer, regardless of their drunken forgetfulness of how turning the camera on it's side doesn't work for video. Also, President Truman's corpse will have to excuse the disheveled appearance. Rorschach was a little drunk and in the bathroom when his name was called, thus the open coat and missing glove.
Anyways, enjoy!
Bonus! "New Year's Day" snippet.
Friday, November 21, 2008
kracka-THOOOM!!! - My favorite ______ is drawn by _____
A brief respite today, while I get busy devouring Usagi Yojimbo tpb Vol. 8 "Shades of Death" & The GOON tpb "Chinatown"...
Daredevil / Joe Quesada – Joey Q does DD, my favoritest Marvel character hands down, all swirly and curvey and has him falling upside down 20 stories up from the Hell’s Kitchen street below, his nun-chukas splayed out with the wirey cord wrapped around and around and around him. Shits great. Some of my favorite images ever are of DD going to see Dr. Strange and Quesada drawing the Sorcerer Supreme getting all Doug Henning and introducing other dimensions.
http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/daredevilv2n01.jpg
Midnighter / John Paul Leon – Maybe not really fair because JPL is my favorite artist out there (Wintermen represent!!) but his guest shot on Midnighter was HOW I want to see the character! Also it was cool to see cyborgs and animal/machine experimentations. Oh what I wouldn’t give to have a 5-issue JPL Queen & Country run. That sombitch can drawr!
http://www.johnpaulleon.com/index.cfm?page=artwork&cat=1&subcat=36
Batman / Jim Lee (just edging out Andy Kubert) – Not really much to say here. I guess the one thing I could bring up is an idea I’ve been toying with lately, dunno if I can write it into a full length article or not, but, is Batman an icon and an institution because he’s inherently a really cool (and really established) character…or is he an icon and an institution because some of the best writers in the biz have done their best work with him?
http://www.ifanboy.com/images/ifanboy/batmannightwingposter.jpg
Thor / Olivier Copiel – Again maybe not fair because I never ever looked at a Thor book, or Thor IN a book for that matter, until Millar & Hitch (who is easily my favorite artist) did the Ultimates, so I don’t really have much of a frame of reference with him. Copiel’s got skills though and he gives Thor such a heavy presence. All Asgardian and shit.
http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs16/i/2007/222/e/9/Oliver_Copiel_Thor_1_cover_by_JonBolerjack.jpg
Tara (Q&C) / Rick Burchett – All right now I’m just bullshitting because on Q&C: Declassified Vol. 2 Burchett doesn’t even DRAW Tara. But I just HAD to talk about this artist! The story is about Tom Powell’s earliest days and the only thing better than the who-dunnit? is Rick Burchett’s ability to create such a beautiful book, clean and sharp yet not sacrificing any of the frenetic pacing and energy the story demands. He truly is my favorite artist in the world.
Bizarro / Eric Powell – One last time…un-fucking-fair because I just wanted to mention Eric Powell’s name because he is…without a doubt…my favorite artist there is. The GOON is like my life’s bl—oh!! I was talking about Bizarro huh?
http://bp0.blogger.com/_Q_v4mvspvuU/Ry0AhRRE8eI/AAAAAAAAAj4/mPMw80Rn0BU/s1600-h/Action+Comics+857+Eric+Powell.jpg
Heath Huston / Jerome Opena – No offense to anyone else on that fanastic book but something about the way JayO draws it…to me THIS is Fear Agent.
http://comicsmedia.ign.com/comics/image/article/725/725476/the-ten-best-image-comics-20060814044118469-000.jpg
Ms. Marvel / Frank Cho – I guess you all can tell I’m fairly new to comics but dammit if they shouldn’t just not let anyone else at Marvel EVER draw Ms. Marvel basept Frank. Basically all women, just let the Cho-ster draw the wimmin folk.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u252/TheBraxcave/MsMarvel.jpg
Spider-Man / the Dodsons (just edging out McFarlane)
Wonder Woman / the Dodsons – Sensational S-M was a great friggin title and they rocked it for the first dozen or so issues. They’re up in the tops of my faves anyhoo, clean crisp lines and a real slinky and sensual style. They’re the only reason I would ever pick up a book with WW…she bores me.
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/1016/asm523cov3yq.jpg
Wolverine / Humberto Ramos – I swear…I dunno…it’s just with Wolveirne being so small and scrappy and full of attitude, as well as being so overexposed and all…I think Ramos’ graf/anatomically impossibly contorted style works great here. I also really liked his take on the costume and webbing in a few Spider-Man issues I caught back 5-6 years ago. You know the ones.
http://www.album.fr/album-comics/images/_dedicaces/Ramos-Wolverine1.jpg
Captain America / Rob Leifeld – Pretty much the GOAT, am I right? Until I saw the master at work I never knew Steve Rogers was Chinese…or that he had hooves…or that sometimes his muscles have been working out and then THEY get muscles of their own!
http://images.somethingawful.com/mjolnir/images/cg12212004/Cecotroph.jpg
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
kracka-THOOOM!!! - Bad Guys & the Team Dynamic
I enjoy “team” titles for various reasons. The varied characters, the inter-team conflicts and relationships, the fight scenes are often on a much grander scale, and the possibilities for storylines are seemingly endless. Within this realm of books I have an affinity for books featuring evil team-ups. The books Villains United & Infinite Crisis planted this seed for me.
Villains United: While I find this book to be well written but poorly illustrated, what I liked most about it was that it was my introduction to a vast amount of lesser-seen criminal characters and how it really helped flesh out the DC Universe for me when I was relatively unfamiliar to anything beyond the Justice League. The book also introduced me to the dynamite storytelling and compelling plots spinning out of the head of Gail Simone.
Identity Crisis...the GOAT of the new millenium (so far)? Even if one leans to the side of it not being the GOAT (its not) one might still lean toward the opinion that it’s pretty fockin brilliant (it is). And I absolutely lurv the way it opens: following the good guys who are following the bad guys and how they do both do business…Firehawk & Elongated Man watching Bolt watching a couple of hoods while trying to scramble up info. From the criminal 411: Calculator. Also cool for the way it bookends Merlyn’s narration up on the bad-guy satellite o’ love with his good-guy “master arrowsmith” doppelganger (and the guy who I think the story is actually about) Green Arrow. Following Merlyn as the main voice of the baddies, It was really interesting to follow the way one bad guy views others of his ilk. There are those he despises, those he fears, and those he seems to reluctantly admire. The camaraderie is out of necessity and most definitely not borne out of affection. The bad-guy team ups as Merlyn seems to portray it, and as we see Calculator arrange, are borne out of financial motives with a tinge of a revenge factor.
I have followed bad guy teams in other books featuring: Secret Six, Spider-Man’s Sinister Six, Thunderbolts, etc. and one 3 issue run in a book, ironically following the exploits of a super-HERO team, really got me thinking on villain teams. That run was JSA Classified Issues 5-7. Now, I don’t mean the kind of “every single criminal getting together” type of enterprise like the Society, nor the “one chief will tell all the super-villains what to do” type of conspiracy depicted as Two-Face’s elaborate plot to take over Gotham featured in the slickly-written and stunningly drawn Batman: Dark Victory. JSA Classified Issues 5-7 featuring a formation of the “Injustice Society” comprised of: Icicle (the narrator), Tigress, Wizard, Ragdoll, Solomon Grundy, Gentleman Ghost, & The Thinker. I really liked a lot of the runs in that title. I especially liked THAT little run, produced by the incredibly talented team of Van Meter, Oliffe, & Geraci, as it focused more on the IJSA[/b] and how they depended upon, came to the aid of, and supported each other, as opposed to the JSA and they’re usual troublesome travails. An aspect of the storyline I enjoyed, and to tell the absolute truth I’m not sure if this is good comic book or bad comic bad storytelling, was icicle’s solid friendship with Wizard and how determined he was to assist his friend in his friend’s hour of need. Even though the risks were great and he wasn’t quite sure of what he was dealing with, Icicle was not going to let his friend give up without trying everything to help him. He also used the formation of their little cabal in order to re-ignite his love affair with Tigress. Like I said, I can’t tell if its good comic book writing or bad comic book writing to have a bad guy, a through-and-through villain, be so driven by friendship and romance. Its not that he does stupid and illegal things for his friend and lover and only do crime because he has to, no…he’s an avowed evil-doer. Rehabilitation is not in the cards for Mr. Mahkent. However, he is given complexity and layers to his character so that he’s not hated without reason and he’s not just a caricature of a nefarious ne’er-do-well. I’ll come down and say it’s GOOD comic book writing.
Soon though, the baddies all learn who and what they’re dealing with and aren’t really all that excited about letting Johnny Sorrow back into this dimension as he is not known to play well with others. Ragdoll double crosses them all, as they expected all along, and ends up getting fricasied by Mr. Sorrow’s return to this dimension. AGAIN...as they expected all along. It ends with Johnny Sorrow eagerly voicing that he is back in command of the Injustice Society, and is the only one in the room happy about this turn of events.
Long story short…what I’ve been thinking about is the dynamics of “super teams” and specifically, super-villain teams. It seems like there are specific key elements to comprising teams that comic book authors and illustrators follow faithfully. I think it’d be a kick in the pants to be able to bounce around ideas of who could fit well with who and what they could be good at. But I’m a nerd like that. Here are some I’ve noticed:
1. Each team needs a physical powerhouse. Whether its IBAC, Solomon Grundy in the JSA run I mentioned or Solomon Grundy in Dark Victory, each team needs one character who’s going to be able to fight several people at one time and, subsequently, take a large amount of the blows.
2. Each team needs a meta-human, magical, or alien powerhouse. Well, they need one if they want to be successful, that is. Some key member that can lay waste to a city by blinking or something. Someone to lend some credence to the squad’s cache and someone possessing the firepower to make any serious threats believable. I’m thinking someone like Prometheus, Amazo, or Black Adam. Black Adam filled this role in the Society, IMO (although with Luthor, Deathstroke, and Calculator on the squad that’s like a literal “Murderer’s Row” line-up there).
3. Each team needs a legitimate “psycho”. Someone who actually scares the other bad guys on the team. This is vital because when you’re on a bad guy team doing bad guy stuff, someone is going to have to get their hands dirty. Just in case you’ve comprised a team of somewhat squeamish bad guys, it pays to enlist someone like Joker, Crime Doctor, Shadowthief, etc.
4. Each team needs to know that one of their own is going to double-cross them all. That’s just the price of doing business with the baddest of the bad, I guess, but there will always be one member of the team to say “Screw you all” and go for themselves. I think this plot twist has borne itself out in every bad-guy team ever. EVER. Read More......
Monday, November 17, 2008
Kracka-THOOOM!!! - My love affair with a samurai rabbit
I’ve been reading Usagi Yojimbo (UY) pretty much exclusively as of late and I have to say that nothing has touched me, and inspired me, so much since I began my infatuation with Usagi’s stable-mate The GOON. Much like Mr. Powell’s work from 3-4 years ago, Stan Sakai's subtly splendriffical creation strikes the perfect note with me. It’s cartooney and simple on every page, but that’s not meant as a negative here at all. I’ve used the words “cartooney” and “simple” but I consistently find Usagi Yojimbo conveying an advanced, perhaps “dignified” is a better word(?), sensibility. For perfect example of what I mean regarding UY’s dignity, take a look at the sketch that serves as the guest artists’ introduction to the Dark Horse UY trade “Duel at Kitanoji ” (Vol. 17). Legendary MAD Magazine mad-genius Jack Davis duplicates a distinctive UY cover that displayed the sword wielding rabbit donning a traditional Japanese straw hat, poised with his back elbow raised high, his face set in a grim determination and his blade ready to strike its target true. In JD’s rendition of the image UY is replaced by the artist, Samurai Davis-san, and suddenly becomes less real. Both drawings would correctly fit the dictionary definition of “cartooney”, meaning that neither one of them convey a sense of “lifelike” illustration, only somehow in some way Sakai’s drawing of a Samurai rabbit conveys more composure and believability than Davis’. This is no knock on Mr. Davis at all, I just feel it best illustrates Stan Sakai’s ability to be so consistently and abjectly cartooney yet never be silly about it.
I truly believe while operating at its zenith, Sakai’s book expects very little from the reader by way of design, plot development and characterization while simultaneously demanding the same reader possess a modicum of intelligence in order to follow along. The anthropomorphic creatures are unapologetically cartooney, their actions are black & white good & evil, and very little exposition and/or plot development is left un-said, but I have yet to find even one panel to be buffoonish or childish. The storytelling is also pitch-perfect for me as it moves at a brisk clip with events unfolding rapidly. Usagi Yojimbo also often juggles storylines as it follows several distinct characters unwittingly meandering their way toward their ultimate convergences with one another, and once again I find it’s all to the goodage.
The wanderings of Yosagi & Co., in this little slice of feudal Japan, never seems forced, never seems heavy handed, and it never gets stilted and bogged down. This is where the simplicity is a boon to the storytelling. The storytelling is also benefited, however, by the delightful brush work of Stan Sakai and the incredibly rich and detailed backdrop he’s able to wring out of black and white. Technically…its black ink and the absence of black ink on the page that we’re looking at, but in Stan’s masterful hands it becomes a beautiful display of heavy and fine lines, of intricate patterns, of vibrant flora and fauna and of ornately detailed architecture. The rigid straight lines of Japanese architecture and design are given a soft, bouncy treatment on the pages. Straight lines don’t exist in Mr. Sakai’s world and God bless him for it! I adore his style.
I think panel for panel this book offers more action, literal “mano y mano” combat type action, than 99% of the books out there. And though the life of the sword-swingin’ Samurai (or in Usagi’s case: the life of a Ronin) living by the Bushido code is bound to be violent, when the samurai shit hits the Japanese folding fan the book never goes the grisly gross-out route. Sword slices are more implied than anything, with the poor unfortunate slice-ee simply uttering a “GOO!” or a “HYUK!!” and their face contorts in a grimace. Curvy lines arc from Usagi’s back to his sword, which offers a simple “shnuck”, and the unseen blood is spilt. Seriously guys…with as many sword fight scenes are in every one of these books…I think what if Rick Remender, Tony Moore, or even Eric Powell drew this?! There’d be bone fragments, entrails and brain matter flying every which away. But somehow in some odd way, Stan Sakai manages to stuff his book full with beautifully drawn action and swordfight scenes without once EVER veering into the sophomoric or slapstick avenues most would take it.
Long story short, I recommend picking up the TPBs “Grasscutter” (Vol. 12) or “The Mother of Mountains ” (Vol. 21) and check it out.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Bless those damn Limeys!
-Captain Britain has died and come back...with a new costume.
-John the Skrull dies.
-Faiza (who seemed to be an insignificant character at first) becomes the new wielder of Excalibur.
And that's just the first five issues!
The first story arc was a direct SI tie-in but it was pretty damn good on it's own merit. Besides fighting the Skrull army, the first arc was mainly about establishing the cast of characters as a cohesive unit, which Cornell does well.
Monday, March 24, 2008
When Bad Idea Jeans Fit Very Nice
After World Wide Hulk ended and I saw the list of books that were coming out afterwards, I had pretty much resigned myself to not buying anything in the Hulk Universe anymore.
Matter of fact, the only reason I bought Incredible Herc #111: the Art Adams cover. No, seriously.
Damn, am I glad I did!
On paper, this should have been awful. Hercules, a character who can't maintain his own title for longer than 20 issues. Amadeus Cho, another one of those Marvel characters who is smarter than everybody else*
And I'll be honest, the first issue was just okay but then Pak had the inspired idea to make the first true villain of the first arc, Ares.
It's as if everyone forgot that Ares used to be a villain and a dick for that matter.
The ongoing fight between the two - which his hilarious yet manages to grow the characters - is what Daniel Way is going for with his Wolverine vs. Deadpool fight in Wolverine: Origins with less than stellar returns. Tying their fight to Hercules' mythology has made Hercules and Ares more interesting characters.
Meanwhile, you have Amadeus Cho continuing his ongoing technological war with S.H.E.I.L.D. I appreciate that while Cho is incredibly intelligent, he is a kid and his emotional rationalization for his actions are questionable and immature (bringing down the nation's security for his injured puppy?)
It's kinda sad that the best Marvel books out right now - The Incredible Herc, Iron Fist, The Order - don't involve their flagship characters and are on the verge of (or already are headed for) cancellation
If Jeph Loeb's Hulk is the future of the character, I hope he never comes back to Incredible.
* Do they still make Marvel baseball cards with the stats on the back? If so, who is officially the smartest person in the Marvel Universe?
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Winick is German for 'Winner'
Hello Internets. New PTP blog member here. I am The Turquoise Chef, #1 Supervillain in Coney Island.
I'm here to talk about my favorite current writer in comics. That is Judd Winick. I read a lot of comic sites where the fuckin assholes who post there talk about how Judd is trash. Well fuck you too, Newsarama and Comicon posters. These are probably the same dickheads who would say Watchmen is the greatest comic ever (what a predictable answer.)
The GOAT!
Sorry fuckers, but Judd is the best comic writer of the last 10 years. The only other writer who even comes close is Chuck Austen.
What makes Judd so good? He takes former shitty characters and improves them for the new millennium.
Take Captain Marvel for instance. He used to be a outdated douchebag like this:
But Judd the GOAT understands that a pussy like that is irrelevant in today's society. Enter a Captain Marvel who is actually cool:
(My fellow PTP cohort Nukkapedia will probably hate my guts for this, but what does that guy know? He thinks 2D animation is better than 3D.)
Jason Todd? He was just a dead piece of shit until Judd turned him into the greatest villain Batman ever faced.
Mia from Green Arrow? She was just another boring girl tagalong until Judd gave her AIDS.
Can't you see it? Don't you understand the amazing character development? I even stand alone on my opinion from the rest of the PTP blog. These dorks would probably rather read some weak mystical crap from bald wizard Grant Morrison.
I'm a supervillain. I know good comics when I read them. This will not be my last post.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Roy Terdberger's Comic Book Happenings
2008: Year of Teh Suck
by Roy Terdberger, Comics Blogger to the stars
Terdberger here, transmitting at you live from 2.20 GHz of AMD Inspiron processing power and enough RAM to fry the short and curlies off your pruny little nut sacks. That's right, friends, Your Homeboy Roy finally saved up enough scratch for that new DELL 9200 he's been eyeing for so long (or as I like to call it, "The Pussy Magnet") - and let me tell you friends, if you thought I was a badass before, just watch out World (of Warcraft)!!!
But I digress. Friends, as you're probably all too aware by now, 2008 is shaping up to be another landmark year in the continuing shittification of the American Funnybook. And you know Roy Terdberger isn't the type to just stand quietly in the corner when something's stuck in his craw. So I'm here to set the record straight on What's 'Hot' and What's 'Not' in 2008.
Oh sure, we've had a few high points. Take 'Brand New Day' for example. Finally someone at Marv-Capital-L had the wherewithal and the cojones to remove the continuity tumor that was the Spider-Marriage. Look, a swingin' 25 year old bachelor like Peter Parker has no business getting hitched. It's boring, it's lame, and it's completely unrealistic. Hell, I'm 36 and I've never even had a real life girlfriend. So cheers to Mr. Quesada for cutting through all the bullshit and bringing back the webshooter. Terdberger salutes you.
Everything else though? Shit. Just shit, shit, shit, and more shit. And it's gonna get worse before it gets any better, believe you me. 
Let's start with DC Comics. With 'Final Crisis' just around the corner, there's no denying that DC Editor-in-Chief Dan Didio has a solid, thought out game plan for the future of the DCU. And that plan is utter, dismal failure. I mean Christ, don't even get me started on Countdown. What a clusterfuck! And trust me, I know, I've been buying it every week. This book is so bad, I almost didn't notice Geoff Johns turning Green Lantern into the fucking Mighty Morphin Power Rangers:
In fact the only DC comic coming out right now that's worth half a damn is Nightwing. Now there's a book that needs to be published weekly. Getting it 12 times a year just ain't enough Dick for yours truly.
Meanwhile, over at the House of Ideas - or should I say, The House of BAD Ideas, everything's coming up Skrully. It's retcon season, again, and this time Marvel's cleaning house with a little help from everybody's favorite shapeshifting alien race - The Skrulls. That's right, the same Skrulls who couldn't invade their way out of a wet paper sack have evidently taken over Earth. Yes, the same Earth that Galactus himself couldn't conquer. Yeah, I'll buy that for a dollar. Think Civil War meets Battlestar Galactica (the new one, not the good one), meets whatever drug Brian Michael Bendis was on when he pitched this pitiful excuse for a crossover event. Whatever happened to good crossovers like Heroes Reborn? Oh well, at least this time I've got a contingency plan to reap profit from this dark and dreadful hour:
Pretty smart, huh?
And while I'm on a roll here, I just gotta ask one more thing, folks. Variant Edition Sketch Covers: What the fuck, people?! You mean to tell me for a mere 75 dollars more I can get the exact same book with a shitty, unfinished cover slapped on it? Golly fucking Gee whiz! Please. This is like McDonalds selling Big Macs for 2 bucks, then turning around and selling handfuls of raw meat for 100 bucks. Hey guys, guess what? If I wanted to look at a bunch of black and white chicken scratch, I'd read indie comics. Who's buying this shit, anyway?
Well, that's my time folks. Stargate SG-1 starts in 10 minutes and let's face it: Some things are just more important than comics. So until next time, this is Roy Terdberger, Comics Blogger to the Stars saying: See you in the funny pages!
Man, I read a damn emo comic.
Would you read anything written by this guy?
Just look at this kid. He looks like a meth addicted high school kid who really wants to be in the marching band but never signed up because he knows his friends would make fun of him, which he wouldn't be able to take considering he already has to deal with football players who aren't even that talented or popular beating him up after school every day.
So I know that I sure as hell wouldn't read anything this guy was even remotely involved with. Well, at least not on purpose. But I did. And I'm so glad I did. This whiny, columbine-lookin' motherfucker is Gerard Way. He's the singer of My Chemical Romance; the closest thing anybody's gotten to Queen since Freddie's mustache left us for a better place. And he wrote a comic. It's called The Umbrella Academy. His name is on the front, and the letters in the back even make reference to the term "rock star," but I had absolutely no reason to know who he was before reading this. While I used to pick which comics I followed based upon the main characters, I later realized that the author brings (arguably) the most important aspect to any comic. Now, I often find myself following books and stories that I otherwise wouldn't have cared about based purely upon the writers. So after looking this guy up, I was really surprised to find out he hadn’t written anything else other than songs with titles like, “Early Sunset Over Monroeville.” This is the first time that not knowing a writer’s name helped me find a new book. But I feel like I should say at least something about the comic itself. Since nerds like us always love describing things in vague, referential terms, The Umbrella Academy is kind of like if you mixed Generation X with the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and stuck it into in the world of Hellboy. The final issue in The Umbrella Academy's 6 issue story, The Apocalypse Suite, ships Feb 20th.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
A Titan Rides the Train
I'm sure that any comic fan who is dependent on public transportation hates Wednesdays (or whenever they get around to picking up their four colored haul).
I'll elaborate on why for the automobile owners momentarily. First, let it be known that I'm not one of those self-deprecating comics fans who figured out in high school that you have to make fun of yourself before others can. I feel no shame towards reading comics, but I'll be damned if my fellow commuters don't try to grill it into me.
Seriously, reading a comic on a bus or train will have people looking at you as if you've made repeated guest appearances on To Catch a Predator.
I'm quite certain that a few women who were feeling me lost all interest the moment they spotted the Midtown Comics bag I was holding. They didn't see the newest issues of Action Comics or Hellboy in my hand. Instead they saw a giant copy of Big 'Uns (can I get a "whoa Bundy?").
Strangely enough, just as if I actually was rocking a porno mag, all the elitism in the world isn't going to stop them from trying to sneak a peak at what's going on between those pages. The interest is obviously there. Shit, I'm sure these same people had Heroes cued up on TIVO, the complete Buffy the Vampire DVD set, and saw 300 on the opening day.
At the end of a work day, I can't be concerned about what these closeted comic fans are thinking about me. I have a 2 hour commute, and best believe I'd rather break out my Birth of a Nation GN rather then reset my ipod's eternally dwindling battery for the fifth time that day.
...
Unless, of course, I'm sitting next to a remotely attractive woman. In that case I just may have to carry a sudoku book or something. Read More......
