Sunday, July 21, 2013

Another Year, Another Comic-Con I Didn't Go To

I keep telling myself that at this point I'm better off not going to Comic-Con. I get to sit at my computer and see the news as it comes in via Twitter/Bloggers/Comic news sites instead of having to brave the crowds for a glimpse of some nugget of info. It makes me feel a little bit better about missing all the fun/craziness.

This year didn't really seem to blow me away in terms of announcements. There seemed to be some great panels and such but they were mostly for stuff we already knew was coming (Thor 2, Cap 2, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc). The Avengers 2 announcement (titling it "Age of Ultron") surprised me but it wasn't a complete shocker. Batman appearing in Man of Steel 2? That was quite a bit of a shocker but since I didn't really care for the last couple Batman films or Man of Steel, my shock quickly turned into "expect to be disappointed again." And in terms of comics, I didn't really see much news that blew me away. The Sandman art looked awesome but I'm trying to avoid reading too much about it. I'm glad to hear a new Parker book by Darwyn Cooke is on its way. I wonder if companies are not relying on making Comic-Con announcements as they usually get spoiled days in advance anyways (even the Batman news got leaked almost a day early I believe) and more on just promoting what's already known (with small nuggets of new info).

Either way, it seems like people had a great time and that's what it's all about right? Maybe one of these years I'll get to brave the crowd just to say I've experienced it, for good or for bad.

Monday, July 01, 2013

Quick Comic Reviews - Sweet Tooth Volume 6

So Sweet Tooth has come to an end and it's been a great run. There were a few times where I doubted it but it ended strong. There were some parts where I felt the page layouts were a bit off but other than that, a very solid conclusion. I wouldn't put this one up with Lemire's Essex County or Underwater Welder but it's a series that's worth checking out.

Man of Steel Review - Bad but okay? SPOILERS

I went to see Man of Steel yesterday and I came out of the theatre thinking "That movie was okay. I didn't really hate it." Yeah, there were some things that I felt were bad but all things considered, I was entertained for the most part. But I also recognized right away that it was a bad movie. It was poorly written, badly directed, and quite a bit of a mess. Yet, I was entertained.

Overall, the movie was a mess. Every scene was written and directed to force you to feel at every moment and it felt like it. It comes across as corny. Instead of building characters you feel for you're getting characters thrown at you while it feels like the writers and directors are yelling in your face to feel for what's happening. Then it switches gears to be over the top action. Again, it feels so in your face that it loses any real potential to connect. So all the things you're supposed to respond to like Pa Kent's death, Superman killing Zod, Superman's decision to bring Krypton's legacy to an end, Colonel Hardy's sacrifice, etc, etc they just get washed away as we get something else thrown at us. It gets thrown at you and then washed away with whatever you're supposed to care about in the next second.

I have to commend the actors, they actually did a decent job with the material and they still come out okay despite all the directing/editing/writing that just gets in their way. I wonder what could have been.

And I won't get into the stupidity of some parts. I'm really trying not to nitpick story parts that made no sense or were just idiotic but there was so much of that here.

So, overall, it wasn't a complete waste of 2 hours for me. But it's a very poorly written and badly directed film.