A fairly big week for me (by my standards of course) with 5 books out this week. I didn't even get a chance to read them all yet but I only have one to go. So this week we have Civil War #7, Elephantmen #7, She-Hulk #16, New Avengers Illuminati #2, and The Dark Tower #1 (a hold over from last week but after reading all the hype I decided to check it out). I haven't read the Dark Tower yet. By the time I got done the other 4 it was getting fairly late and I was having a tough time concentrating and after the first couple pages I realized I just wasn't able to give the book the attention it needed. So that review will have to wait. And because Civil War will most likely dominate my attention during these reviews I think I'll leave it until the end.
Elephantmen #7 -- In this issue the storyline veers off on a tangent a bit. We begin with Savannah (the young girl from the first issue of the series) trying to see her friend Ebony in the hospital (this is following his fight in issue 3) and she's taken to Hip instead (who has the idol he fought Elijah, the croc guy). Hip decides to tell little Savannah a pirate story. By the time the story is over, Savannah heads home (though not before Hip gives her the little doll that was inside the idol) and Obadiah learns that Hip beat Elijah and took the idol. And a picture of Hip with Sahara with Hip's comments about a broken heart leaves the reader knowing that things between Obadiah and Hip are intense and getting more so. So much happens in so few pages there but the most of the issue is the pirate story, Captain Stoneheart and the Truth Fairy. It's an enjoyable story with Captain Stoneheart resembling Hip (courtesy of Savannah's imagination) and again, the writing (the story, the dialogue, and the flow) is better than a lot of other stuff I've been reading. This is what happens when the writer(s) really focus on putting out a story that they care about and not focus on flash. My only real complaint, the pirate story was a little difficult to read at time, especially near the beginning. The two page splashes of art all jumbled together that seemed overly dark with narration spattered throughout made it a little more of a challenge. But as the story went on the narration text issue seemed to just be a blip at the beginning. The art remained pretty dark and fuzzy though. But all in all, this was my pick of the week.
She-Hulk #16 -- It's She-Hulk and Wolverine versus Wendigo as SHIELD (a UN force) squabbles with some Canadians about what to do with Wendigo. First up, the art. Seriously, the art really ruins so much for me. Now it's a little too cartoony for me but I can get over that but it's just not even good cartoony in my opinion. I'm reminded of one panel where She-Hulk just didn't look right. By this I mean she looked like that scene from Spaceballs where the guy has his head twisted around, this one it looked like She-Hulk was twisted at the waist and had her butt in front. The sad part is that I think it's actually improving but it's still nowhere near where it should be. Then you have She-Hulk deciding to fight the Wendigo in the snow in her sports bra and panties. Why go so minimal? It didn't make much sense. Though you also have to wonder about She-Hulk herself, as something seems to be going on there. She's seeing images of Jen Walters who now seems to indicate her and She-Hulk are becoming two different people (closer to Bruce and the Hulk) and She-Hulk's antics (sleeping with Quartermain and trying to seduce Wolverine here) leave you wondering. And the fight with Wendigo is decent but in some ways it just reminds me of the poor showing of Abomination from last issue. These sorts of story elements keep me coming back so I'm a little less inclined to drop this book than I was but seriously, the art needs to be changed.
New Avengers Illuminati #2 -- To get the easy part out of the way, the art was good. It was dynamic when it had to be, clearly illustrated the story, etc, etc. The storyline is that after realizing the Infinity Gems were out there unprotected, Reed figures they should assemble the full Infinity Gauntlet to ensure the gems are kept safe. Long story short, he assembles the gauntlet, Uatu shows up and expresses disappointment, Reed decides to have the Illuminati each take a gem and hide it, and Prof X seems to have some concern over Reed. It was an interesting story and I can understand Reed's concerns about the gems being out there but I question his wisdom at having the Illuminati hide them. He went through a lot just to get them himself so if he could put them back it might make sense. If someone had the power to get them from where they were, they probably have the ability to find and take them from where ever Iron Man will put his. In the end, doubt gets cast on Reed. Prof X doesn't seem to trust him, the others have their doubts, and you kinda wonder if he really did try to force the glove to blink itself out of existence. I kinda wonder why Prof X didn't look more deeply into Reed's mind early on but perhaps doing so might have caused more harm. All in all, it's not a bad series but perhaps I'm just tired of the new direction Marvel seems to be heading with their characters with all the deceit, the distrust, the manipulation, etc, etc.
Which leads us into...
Civil War #7 -- Let's start with the art because the discussion of the writing could drag on. I was critical of McNiven on the last issue but I think he made up for it here. It's pretty intense stuff and he conveys the action and emotion well. I might have liked a few more group shots so we can be reminded now and then of the scope of the battle but all in all, the art didn't disappoint in this issue (at least it didn't disappoint me, I know some people really dislike McNiven's art but I'll leave it at that). Looking just at this issue, we have a lot less dialogue so there's not much to gripe about there (except for something near the end of the book that I'll touch on later) and for the most part, the story in this issue alone is decent enough and I'll avoid giving the details as this review will probably be long as it is. Do I have a problem with Cap's surrender, sorta. When I read the original planning sheet and outline for CW 7 that Tom Brevoort put up on Newsarama (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=102414) I thought "Yeah, you know I could have accepted that ending if Tony was still someone Cap could trust." But then you have the "evil Tony" stuff most of which, I admit, happen in the tie ins (except for the cloning/cyborging Thor). The secret Negative Zone prison which may or may not be killing people or making them insane depending on whether the events portrayed in Frontline actually happened or are just a Marvel booboo. The controlling the media to further the hatred towards costumed heroes. The recruiting of villains and seemingly the ones who are most eager to kill someone. The registration not being held to just costumed vigilantes but anyone SHIELD deems of interest. And a bunch of other fun stuff that I've ranted about a time or two. Also, just look at how he acted towards Maria Hill at the end. He's there with the mother who's son was killed to start Civil War off and he decides to revel in Maria's mysery as he smuggly requests that the former director of SHIELD (who has been demoted so that he can take over the role) get them some coffee. Really? He's revelling in the situation even though in some books it was Maria that said she felt Tony was more up to the task of heading up SHIELD than she was. And he chooses this time to rub her nose in it and gloat about his own step up the ladder? At that point my opinion of Tony (and in turn every hero that followed him which amounts to most of the Marvel Universe) dropped again. And that's why I have a problem with Cap just up and saying, "Yeah, I give up." His fight against registration may not have been the right idea but his fight against Tony and some of the stuff going on beyond just registering seemed very justified to me.
And Civil War on the whole, this event was a mess. Quesada and others admitted from the start that this was a last minute change of plans and that showed. They were not prepared. Not only in the delays but there was no communication or strong company-wide focus. We have Frontline and other books portraying events one way and the main book (and Millar himself) contradicting these events. You get the Negative Zone prison depicted one way in some books (showing what should happen when one travels into the Negative Zone) and another way in other books (including the main book). You have the US government controlling SHIELD even though SHIELD is supposed to be a UN led operation. And events of the story get led not by the story itself or by the characters but because someone at Marvel thinks it would "shake things up" or because you want a cool visual (like wanting Thor in the series but not having him available so concocting a story where they create a clone/cyborg hybrid). Not to mention bringing back Captain Mar-Vell (I know I wasn't the only one what surprised when he appeared in CW #7 and not one person on the anti-reg side said "Hey, isn't that Captain Mar-Vell? The guy we grieved as he died?") and Namor's brief appearance in CW 7 are also proof of that. To be honest, it's almost like a pattern for Millar. I find much of his Ultimates stuff to be about doing that "cool shot" (like having two issues in a row end on the dramatic return of a character the rest of the team turned their backs on) but in this case I think others at Marvel are also responsible. And if they had concentrated on the story and kept that original ending in mind, I think it could have been a great series. But hey, Quesada's happy because he gets to gloat about how many copies it sold.
So there you have it, I still have one more issue of Frontline to read before Civil War is done (and it comes out next week) but for me, the series was a pretty solid miss. And the event on the whole has left a very bad taste in my mouth towards Marvel and especially towards Quesada and those that seem to be in his inner circle. So for the next few months I get to save up some money as I pass on all the post-Civil War stuff going on. Do I have high hopes for World War Hulk? To be honest, with Marvel the way it is I'm scared (and not in a good way) of what they'll do next.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
Weekly Comic Reviews February 14, 2007 -- SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
Only one book to review so this should be quick. :) Only Astonishing X-Men #20 and I'll make it quick. But be warned, I'm going to talk about the final page of the issue so there will be spoilers.
Astonishing X-Men #20 -- What can I say about this series that I haven't already said. I'm a Whedon fan so perhaps I'm slightly biased but this issue seemed particularly good. I have found Cassaday's art to miss the mark slightly in previous issues but that wasn't the case here. I found everything from the script to the final art pretty solid. I was enjoying it all and then that last page hit and some confusion set in. Ord was sent to Earth to stop the mutant responsible for Breakworld's eventual destruction and all he knew was that it was a mutant. Then the last page hits and we see Colossus' image in the stone wall. Thinking back in this issue, one of the Breakworld's inhabitants mentions to their ruler that people saw Colossus and mentions that people said he resembled the mutant in question (or maybe I mis-read that part and they only know that he resembled the mutant that the king was looking for but that doesn't seem to make much sense). So that raises the question, why did Ord only know that it was a mutant? Or was that all he was saying to the humans and is there more to Colossus' resurrection? I surely hope so because otherwise it seems odd that Ord would have been kept from seeing Colossus' image (albeit somewhat abstract but c'mon, even Ord would have been smart enough after seeing that and seeing Colossus that there was a connection, it even depicted his red and yellow costume). But then again, Ord seemed genuinely surprised previously when he was told that it was Colossus who would destroy Breakworld after Ord himself was the one to bring him back from the dead. So yeah, that part of the book is now eating away at me. And unfortunately it looks like I'll have to wait until May to figure it out.
Astonishing X-Men #20 -- What can I say about this series that I haven't already said. I'm a Whedon fan so perhaps I'm slightly biased but this issue seemed particularly good. I have found Cassaday's art to miss the mark slightly in previous issues but that wasn't the case here. I found everything from the script to the final art pretty solid. I was enjoying it all and then that last page hit and some confusion set in. Ord was sent to Earth to stop the mutant responsible for Breakworld's eventual destruction and all he knew was that it was a mutant. Then the last page hits and we see Colossus' image in the stone wall. Thinking back in this issue, one of the Breakworld's inhabitants mentions to their ruler that people saw Colossus and mentions that people said he resembled the mutant in question (or maybe I mis-read that part and they only know that he resembled the mutant that the king was looking for but that doesn't seem to make much sense). So that raises the question, why did Ord only know that it was a mutant? Or was that all he was saying to the humans and is there more to Colossus' resurrection? I surely hope so because otherwise it seems odd that Ord would have been kept from seeing Colossus' image (albeit somewhat abstract but c'mon, even Ord would have been smart enough after seeing that and seeing Colossus that there was a connection, it even depicted his red and yellow costume). But then again, Ord seemed genuinely surprised previously when he was told that it was Colossus who would destroy Breakworld after Ord himself was the one to bring him back from the dead. So yeah, that part of the book is now eating away at me. And unfortunately it looks like I'll have to wait until May to figure it out.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
DVD Reviews -- SPOILERS
Okay, so I watched the Invincible Iron Man DVD as well as the Animated Hellboy one so I might as well do the reviews now. Some spoilers will follow.
Animated Hellboy: Sword of Storms -- This movie seemed to be made with a mix of styles. That doesn't really detract from it but I found the story seemed choppy in places and I wasn't sure if it was the "style" or what. But overall, the animation is good and the character designs are pretty cool. The voice talents are impressive. It was a great idea to carry over Ron Perlman, John Hurt and Selma Blair from the movie. I'm not sure why David Hyde Pearce wasn't back as the voice of Abe Sapien but Doug Jones (who played Abe physically in the movie) actually does a pretty good job himself. Peri Gilpin also does a fine job as Kate Corrigen (I hope they bring in Kate for the second Hellboy movie). The story is decent. Although it maybe comes across as a Saturday morning cartoon story, there's enough nods to something more (flashbacks to previous Hellboy adventures, characters that are more complex and have issues, and themes that maybe appeal slightly more to an older audience) that there's more to it than you might think. I wouldn't recommend rushing out to buy it unless you're a huge Hellboy fan but if you see it in a bargain bin of your local shop then you may want to consider picking it up for the 1-hour of Hellboy-fun you'll get from it.
Invincible Iron Man -- To be honest, I was disappointed in this one. First off, I'm not a big fan of mixing regular and computer animation, especially when it becomes noticeable. And here, I found it noticeable and distracting. But I found overall, the animation wasn't that great. Characters seemed wooden and didn't really move all that well. Some clips of a character walking made me cringe and think I'd seen better animation on pretty much any Saturday morning cartoon. And the first time I saw Tony Stark with 3/4 of his body being legs I was worried. Yet he seemed to be the only character I noticed having this problem. Story-wise, it's not a great story. They try to do enough twists and turns that it's not a total loss but it's lacking in several areas. Actually, one of my biggest pet peeves is that Tony's heart damage is pretty much useless here. The Iron Man suits are made before his injury so they aren't a lifeline for him (in the comic, one of the main functions of the suit in the beginning is to keep his heart going) and once he's given a device to fix it (not long after he's hurt) it never comes up again. And taking that connection of his heart and the suit away as well as introducing this heart injury and never touching on it later just seems off. Like they wanted to introduce the injury because it's in the comics but didn't know what to do with it. It was also somewhat disappointing that even though they briefly showed several suit designs (including nods to the Ultimate Iron Man suit, War Machine, and the Hulkbuster suit) he never uses a standard "Iron Man" suit in the movie. It's either his "underwater" suit or "volcano" suit (odd how out of all the suits that are shown he mentions this one earlier in the show and then ends up having to use it) or the make-shift suit he builds early in the movie. And the final "battle" with the "Mandarin" was just so predictable and anti-climactic that when it happens I just felt so let down to watch the movie hoping for a cool finale and getting nothing. So yeah, the story and writing just weren't on par with what I'd hoped for. And the voice talents are just sort of "meh". There just wasn't that much of a connection with them. So overall, I was disappointed with this one and would probably recommend skipping it.
Animated Hellboy: Sword of Storms -- This movie seemed to be made with a mix of styles. That doesn't really detract from it but I found the story seemed choppy in places and I wasn't sure if it was the "style" or what. But overall, the animation is good and the character designs are pretty cool. The voice talents are impressive. It was a great idea to carry over Ron Perlman, John Hurt and Selma Blair from the movie. I'm not sure why David Hyde Pearce wasn't back as the voice of Abe Sapien but Doug Jones (who played Abe physically in the movie) actually does a pretty good job himself. Peri Gilpin also does a fine job as Kate Corrigen (I hope they bring in Kate for the second Hellboy movie). The story is decent. Although it maybe comes across as a Saturday morning cartoon story, there's enough nods to something more (flashbacks to previous Hellboy adventures, characters that are more complex and have issues, and themes that maybe appeal slightly more to an older audience) that there's more to it than you might think. I wouldn't recommend rushing out to buy it unless you're a huge Hellboy fan but if you see it in a bargain bin of your local shop then you may want to consider picking it up for the 1-hour of Hellboy-fun you'll get from it.
Invincible Iron Man -- To be honest, I was disappointed in this one. First off, I'm not a big fan of mixing regular and computer animation, especially when it becomes noticeable. And here, I found it noticeable and distracting. But I found overall, the animation wasn't that great. Characters seemed wooden and didn't really move all that well. Some clips of a character walking made me cringe and think I'd seen better animation on pretty much any Saturday morning cartoon. And the first time I saw Tony Stark with 3/4 of his body being legs I was worried. Yet he seemed to be the only character I noticed having this problem. Story-wise, it's not a great story. They try to do enough twists and turns that it's not a total loss but it's lacking in several areas. Actually, one of my biggest pet peeves is that Tony's heart damage is pretty much useless here. The Iron Man suits are made before his injury so they aren't a lifeline for him (in the comic, one of the main functions of the suit in the beginning is to keep his heart going) and once he's given a device to fix it (not long after he's hurt) it never comes up again. And taking that connection of his heart and the suit away as well as introducing this heart injury and never touching on it later just seems off. Like they wanted to introduce the injury because it's in the comics but didn't know what to do with it. It was also somewhat disappointing that even though they briefly showed several suit designs (including nods to the Ultimate Iron Man suit, War Machine, and the Hulkbuster suit) he never uses a standard "Iron Man" suit in the movie. It's either his "underwater" suit or "volcano" suit (odd how out of all the suits that are shown he mentions this one earlier in the show and then ends up having to use it) or the make-shift suit he builds early in the movie. And the final "battle" with the "Mandarin" was just so predictable and anti-climactic that when it happens I just felt so let down to watch the movie hoping for a cool finale and getting nothing. So yeah, the story and writing just weren't on par with what I'd hoped for. And the voice talents are just sort of "meh". There just wasn't that much of a connection with them. So overall, I was disappointed with this one and would probably recommend skipping it.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Weekly comic reviews for February 9th, 2007 -- SPOILERS
Well, I have a lot of reviews to get to including season 4 of 24 and not so much time right now so let's get right to it.
Incredible Hulk 103 -- The usual thing for me with this issue, the story overall is good but I just find the storytelling a little lacking. The art seems good taken individually but overall I find the flow off. It seems that we're rushing through parts of the story and it feels like I'm being dragged through the events at a fast pace. Yet in the end, the overall story almost seems to be dragging. Maybe that's from knowing that Hulk is already scheduled to come back to Earth and do some serious smashing. But overall, it's still on my recommended reading list. And this book has a few highlights like the re-emergence of Banner, the Hulk's true character shining through (Pak gets the Hulk, and I have a lot of respect for him for that), and the Hulk's wedding (yep, he's off the market ladies). A "lowlight" is Miek and the Brood sharing a "moment", but at least it leads to the discovery of the Hulk's ship and triggers Miek's plan on bringing back the "fun" Hulk (ie. the smashing Hulk). So the book ends with some promise of great times ahead.
White Tiger #4 -- I do find this book improving from issue to issue as the story gets more flushed out. And I had fewer problems with the art than the previous issues. But sometimes I just find it misses the mark. The storytelling sometimes seems "jumpy" as the reader is thrown from one scene to another at times with no resolution or warning. And the cameos, the Luke Cage one was okay as it made some sense but it was hard to take considering we've already had a few different cameos in this series. But then when Emma Frost seemingly appeared out of nowhere I was just left wondering what the heck she was doing there. Are these cameos part of something bigger or what? Because if they don't amount to something in the next two issues they'll just seem out of place. Also, I know my blog got linked on the writer's livejournal page as a negative review. Perhaps I do come off as somewhat negative of this series in my reviews but overall, I think this is a good series with a new character that shows a lot of potential. I just think the book could have been improved in some areas.
Lone Ranger #4 -- For me, this series seems to be losing its luster. I'm still pretty stoked about the whole Lone Ranger thing but the storytelling is starting to fall short for me. One example of something that isn't working for me is that the reader is often not given an establishing shot when the setting changes (a shot from further away to show the reader the setting). So many times through this series when we are taken to see Black Bart's scenes we see only him and not his surroundings or those he's talking to. At times this can set an interesting mood. When it's done too many times it takes me out of the story but I'm more of a visual guy anyways. So after reading this issue I felt a little let down for the first time. I think this book was originally supposed to be a 6 issue series and it was recently announced that they'll be going beyond that. I'm not so sure I will.
Tales of the Slayers TPB -- Not to be confused with the Tales of the Slayer books. This is a collection of a few short stories from the Buffy-verse about various Vampire Slayers. Some are written by Joss and one is done by Amber Benson. The book seems rather short considering and I was actually expecting a bit more to it but beyond that, it delivers. There are some really great stories of previous Slayers as well as another story about Fray, the future Slayer. Each one leaves me wanting to read more stories about these characters. Each one is so distinct and fleshed out in such a short time. It almost makes me laugh considering some comments recently posted by Paul Jenkins about having only 13 pages limitting what could be done when bringing back Captain Marvel. These stories show otherwise. Sure, some stories are a little predictable at times but even then, they're enjoyable to read through to the end. This book definitely gets me even more stoked for the upcoming Buffy season 8 comic.
Hellboy: The Black Wedding (also includes a second short story) -- I was warned that this book wasn't good and I think that warning was appropriate. Starting with the main story, it wasn't that good. It's not Hellboy from the comics, it's the animated Hellboy and I was okay with that but the story is lacking and drags on. The storytelling is choppy and seems rushed. And the art, which is based on the animated Hellboy so it's more cartoonish, is hit or miss. Some panels are okay, others just miss the mark entirely and are a bit of a mess. This book almost seems like something that you would rush out to be included free with the animated Hellboy DVD but even then I'd probably recommend passing on reading it. The second story (a short story involving a very young Hellboy) is a little bit more fun but it can't make up for the main story.
Hellboy: Phantom Limbs -- This was a 32 page comic that got slipped in to the DVD (which I haven't watched yet so you'll have to wait for that review). I actually found it to be a much better book than the Black Wedding. I was expecting something a little more general audience so some scenes kinda surprised me. But overall the story seemed better, the telling was clearer, and it was a nice treat to go along with the DVD. So I guess I should be happy it came with it rather than the Black Wedding.
24 season 4 -- Yikes! Who doesn't get tortured in this season? Guilty, innocent, somewhere in between, they all get tortured by Jack and/or his CTU allies. I'm sure there are a lot of interesting discussions out there about that part of the season so I'll avoid it for now. Overall, the intensity of the show continues throughout the season as you never know what's going to happen next. Who will live? Who will die? Who's good? Who's bad? It's all in the air. That's what I like most about this show, you attach to characters because there is a real sense of danger. You don't know if they're going to make it through the day or not. And of course, there are the characters that you want to smack upside the head for their stupidity or pig-headedness. But I definitely prefer watching this on DVD where I can watch it at my own pace and I don't have to wait for a week in between episodes. The main downside, the package and DVD menus do give stuff away. After seeing some characters on the packaging you know they'll be making an appearance. So when Jack says he calling the one person he trusts and you're supposed to be left wondering who that is DVD viewers have a very good idea of who it is. I'm looking forward to season 5 now and I'm still avoiding season 6 spoilers. But 24 is definitely on my recommended viewing list.
So that's it for me for now. Hopefully I'll have some more reviews to do shortly. I have The Life and Death of Captain Marvel and Marvels still to read and the animated Hellboy movie to watch. And the animated Invincible Iron Man movie will be added to my collection shortly.
Incredible Hulk 103 -- The usual thing for me with this issue, the story overall is good but I just find the storytelling a little lacking. The art seems good taken individually but overall I find the flow off. It seems that we're rushing through parts of the story and it feels like I'm being dragged through the events at a fast pace. Yet in the end, the overall story almost seems to be dragging. Maybe that's from knowing that Hulk is already scheduled to come back to Earth and do some serious smashing. But overall, it's still on my recommended reading list. And this book has a few highlights like the re-emergence of Banner, the Hulk's true character shining through (Pak gets the Hulk, and I have a lot of respect for him for that), and the Hulk's wedding (yep, he's off the market ladies). A "lowlight" is Miek and the Brood sharing a "moment", but at least it leads to the discovery of the Hulk's ship and triggers Miek's plan on bringing back the "fun" Hulk (ie. the smashing Hulk). So the book ends with some promise of great times ahead.
White Tiger #4 -- I do find this book improving from issue to issue as the story gets more flushed out. And I had fewer problems with the art than the previous issues. But sometimes I just find it misses the mark. The storytelling sometimes seems "jumpy" as the reader is thrown from one scene to another at times with no resolution or warning. And the cameos, the Luke Cage one was okay as it made some sense but it was hard to take considering we've already had a few different cameos in this series. But then when Emma Frost seemingly appeared out of nowhere I was just left wondering what the heck she was doing there. Are these cameos part of something bigger or what? Because if they don't amount to something in the next two issues they'll just seem out of place. Also, I know my blog got linked on the writer's livejournal page as a negative review. Perhaps I do come off as somewhat negative of this series in my reviews but overall, I think this is a good series with a new character that shows a lot of potential. I just think the book could have been improved in some areas.
Lone Ranger #4 -- For me, this series seems to be losing its luster. I'm still pretty stoked about the whole Lone Ranger thing but the storytelling is starting to fall short for me. One example of something that isn't working for me is that the reader is often not given an establishing shot when the setting changes (a shot from further away to show the reader the setting). So many times through this series when we are taken to see Black Bart's scenes we see only him and not his surroundings or those he's talking to. At times this can set an interesting mood. When it's done too many times it takes me out of the story but I'm more of a visual guy anyways. So after reading this issue I felt a little let down for the first time. I think this book was originally supposed to be a 6 issue series and it was recently announced that they'll be going beyond that. I'm not so sure I will.
Tales of the Slayers TPB -- Not to be confused with the Tales of the Slayer books. This is a collection of a few short stories from the Buffy-verse about various Vampire Slayers. Some are written by Joss and one is done by Amber Benson. The book seems rather short considering and I was actually expecting a bit more to it but beyond that, it delivers. There are some really great stories of previous Slayers as well as another story about Fray, the future Slayer. Each one leaves me wanting to read more stories about these characters. Each one is so distinct and fleshed out in such a short time. It almost makes me laugh considering some comments recently posted by Paul Jenkins about having only 13 pages limitting what could be done when bringing back Captain Marvel. These stories show otherwise. Sure, some stories are a little predictable at times but even then, they're enjoyable to read through to the end. This book definitely gets me even more stoked for the upcoming Buffy season 8 comic.
Hellboy: The Black Wedding (also includes a second short story) -- I was warned that this book wasn't good and I think that warning was appropriate. Starting with the main story, it wasn't that good. It's not Hellboy from the comics, it's the animated Hellboy and I was okay with that but the story is lacking and drags on. The storytelling is choppy and seems rushed. And the art, which is based on the animated Hellboy so it's more cartoonish, is hit or miss. Some panels are okay, others just miss the mark entirely and are a bit of a mess. This book almost seems like something that you would rush out to be included free with the animated Hellboy DVD but even then I'd probably recommend passing on reading it. The second story (a short story involving a very young Hellboy) is a little bit more fun but it can't make up for the main story.
Hellboy: Phantom Limbs -- This was a 32 page comic that got slipped in to the DVD (which I haven't watched yet so you'll have to wait for that review). I actually found it to be a much better book than the Black Wedding. I was expecting something a little more general audience so some scenes kinda surprised me. But overall the story seemed better, the telling was clearer, and it was a nice treat to go along with the DVD. So I guess I should be happy it came with it rather than the Black Wedding.
24 season 4 -- Yikes! Who doesn't get tortured in this season? Guilty, innocent, somewhere in between, they all get tortured by Jack and/or his CTU allies. I'm sure there are a lot of interesting discussions out there about that part of the season so I'll avoid it for now. Overall, the intensity of the show continues throughout the season as you never know what's going to happen next. Who will live? Who will die? Who's good? Who's bad? It's all in the air. That's what I like most about this show, you attach to characters because there is a real sense of danger. You don't know if they're going to make it through the day or not. And of course, there are the characters that you want to smack upside the head for their stupidity or pig-headedness. But I definitely prefer watching this on DVD where I can watch it at my own pace and I don't have to wait for a week in between episodes. The main downside, the package and DVD menus do give stuff away. After seeing some characters on the packaging you know they'll be making an appearance. So when Jack says he calling the one person he trusts and you're supposed to be left wondering who that is DVD viewers have a very good idea of who it is. I'm looking forward to season 5 now and I'm still avoiding season 6 spoilers. But 24 is definitely on my recommended viewing list.
So that's it for me for now. Hopefully I'll have some more reviews to do shortly. I have The Life and Death of Captain Marvel and Marvels still to read and the animated Hellboy movie to watch. And the animated Invincible Iron Man movie will be added to my collection shortly.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Weekly comic book reviews -- January 31st, 2007 SPOILERS
Only two books up for review this week: Ultimate Civil War: Spider-Ham #1 (featuring Wolver-Ham) and Elephantmen #6. So let's get right to it...
Elephantmen #6 -- So we're back to the split book with this issue. After reading one story you flip the book over to read a second one. I'm not sure in what order they should be read or if it even matters. My first thought while reading the book was that the two stories could have been merged but after finishing it I don't think they could have been. It would have shifted focus too much and taken away from the impact of both. So in this instance, the split book didn't detract from the issue as much as previous splits (in my opinion at least). The shorter story, "The Last Thing I Remember", was a pretty disturbing flashback to Sahara's mother. Though in some ways I found this story a little hard to follow at the beginning that may have just been symbolic of the chaos of the moment as it seems to settle in as the story progresses (or I might just be reading too much into it). The story gives some more insight into Sahara and her early life which I won't go into. It's an emotional tale that almost seemed to end too quickly as you want more closure. Fortunately, you know this wasn't the end of the story as much of the continuation we've already seen in the Hip Flask books or previous Elephantmen issues. For the second story, "Abandoned by God", we have Obediah Horn (the Rhino) and Sahara doing an interview after announcing their plans to marry. I really enjoyed this story as you see the two very different personalities of Obediah and Sahara yet both seem to share a love for one another. When I decided to pick up this series just on a whim I had low expectations. I didn't expect to become so connected with the character and the story. But I've gushed enough about this series. Let's just say it's very high on my recommended reading list and leave it at that.
Ultimate Civil War: Spider-Ham (featuring Wolver-Ham) #1 -- And that will be the last time I type in that title (why I didn't just copy and paste is beyond me at the moment). This one is going to be a tough one to review. I mean, can you really critique a Spider-Ham book with a straight face? Well, I'm going to try. I remember collecting Spider-Ham's series as a young kid but to tell the truth, I can't remember much of the stories. It's not like I go back and re-read them. But this book wasn't what I was expecting. In this book Spider-Ham is on a quest to discover where his thought balloons have gone (they've been replaced with narrative boxes). For long time readers of comics you know this is reflective of Marvel because thought balloons have been replaced with narrative boxes in a majority of their books. And that was my first let down, it almost seemed like a story that the people working at Marvel thought was funny because they're in on the joke and deal with this sort of thing all the time. From the readers' perspective it just doesn't seem as funny. There are a few punchlines from the beginning centered around Civil War and the superhero "merchandising" act as opposed to the "registration" act. But then the book quickly goes to pin-ups. The pictures are pretty well done (the Wolver-Ham may be the weakest of the bunch for me) but they almost seem like a waste to just flip through a few pages of full page pin-ups. And then we get the "moral" of the story at the end. All in all, it actually seemed like a disappointment. I enjoyed the Civil War: Howard the Duck story more than this. But perhaps I was expecting too much.
Elephantmen #6 -- So we're back to the split book with this issue. After reading one story you flip the book over to read a second one. I'm not sure in what order they should be read or if it even matters. My first thought while reading the book was that the two stories could have been merged but after finishing it I don't think they could have been. It would have shifted focus too much and taken away from the impact of both. So in this instance, the split book didn't detract from the issue as much as previous splits (in my opinion at least). The shorter story, "The Last Thing I Remember", was a pretty disturbing flashback to Sahara's mother. Though in some ways I found this story a little hard to follow at the beginning that may have just been symbolic of the chaos of the moment as it seems to settle in as the story progresses (or I might just be reading too much into it). The story gives some more insight into Sahara and her early life which I won't go into. It's an emotional tale that almost seemed to end too quickly as you want more closure. Fortunately, you know this wasn't the end of the story as much of the continuation we've already seen in the Hip Flask books or previous Elephantmen issues. For the second story, "Abandoned by God", we have Obediah Horn (the Rhino) and Sahara doing an interview after announcing their plans to marry. I really enjoyed this story as you see the two very different personalities of Obediah and Sahara yet both seem to share a love for one another. When I decided to pick up this series just on a whim I had low expectations. I didn't expect to become so connected with the character and the story. But I've gushed enough about this series. Let's just say it's very high on my recommended reading list and leave it at that.
Ultimate Civil War: Spider-Ham (featuring Wolver-Ham) #1 -- And that will be the last time I type in that title (why I didn't just copy and paste is beyond me at the moment). This one is going to be a tough one to review. I mean, can you really critique a Spider-Ham book with a straight face? Well, I'm going to try. I remember collecting Spider-Ham's series as a young kid but to tell the truth, I can't remember much of the stories. It's not like I go back and re-read them. But this book wasn't what I was expecting. In this book Spider-Ham is on a quest to discover where his thought balloons have gone (they've been replaced with narrative boxes). For long time readers of comics you know this is reflective of Marvel because thought balloons have been replaced with narrative boxes in a majority of their books. And that was my first let down, it almost seemed like a story that the people working at Marvel thought was funny because they're in on the joke and deal with this sort of thing all the time. From the readers' perspective it just doesn't seem as funny. There are a few punchlines from the beginning centered around Civil War and the superhero "merchandising" act as opposed to the "registration" act. But then the book quickly goes to pin-ups. The pictures are pretty well done (the Wolver-Ham may be the weakest of the bunch for me) but they almost seem like a waste to just flip through a few pages of full page pin-ups. And then we get the "moral" of the story at the end. All in all, it actually seemed like a disappointment. I enjoyed the Civil War: Howard the Duck story more than this. But perhaps I was expecting too much.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Weekly Comic Reviews for January 24, 2007 -- SPOILERS
Only two books to review this week, Civil War: The Return and Clive Barker's The Great and Secret Show #9. Spoilers abound.
Civil War: The Return -- The regular cover pretty much gives away the big return, the limitted cover leaves no doubt. Captain Mar-Vell is back. My big question is "why?" Was it really necessary to bring him back? And why do it during Civil War? Was it just to give Civil War yet another "wow!" moment without really concerning yourself with what Civil War is supposed to be about? Was it like their reasoning for cloning Thor? Did they just want Captain Mar-Vell's likeness in their big epic story even if it didn't really make sense? All in all, him returning now leaves a bad taste in my mouth so I was hoping this book would alleviate some of those concerns. For me, it failed pretty badly in that area. The random "plucking" of Captain Mar-Vell from time seems to be something the Marvel janitor came up with because they couldn't come up with something better or more tied into the Civil War storyline. And since he still has the blackend (I'll avoid calling it cancer just as Marvel did) you have a character with a limitted shelf life (or he'll be cured of his disease this time which for me would be the wrong thing for Marvel to do for several personal reasons). And in the end, this half of the book played out like a 30 second movie teaser and really not worth the money. I actually wish I hadn't bought it. The second half with Sentry battling the Absorbing Man didn't really make up for it either. So we get to see Sentry's reasoning (somewhat) for registering (a few months late isn't it considering he had that dilemma so many months ago but has been shown to be on the pro-side since then). To be honest, I had to look up the Absorbing Man's powers because this idea that he could also absorb all of Sentry's strength and powers seemed off but it seems he has been able to do stuff like this in the past (like absorbing Thor's strength). So I can't criticize Jenkins there, he is sticking with established abilities of the character. It's mostly the other writers who haven't been consistent and haven't used this aspect of his powers. It wasn't a horrible story as you get to see what's weighing on Sentry's mind but since it didn't really fit with the first half of the book it made the entire book appear more as a "hey, we have a month to fill, let's throw something together." All in all, a pretty big disappointment for me.
The Great and Secret Show #9 -- I think a recap of this book would be next to impossible if you haven't been reading it for yourself. There's just too many characters and too many stories going on to do so. Having said that, this issue continues to work well. I can only think of one complaint I had and that's the scene where Raul is about to be attacked and you see one of the Lix (snake-like creatures) start to move. The problem, you have a few Lix lying "dead" on the floor and one starts to move but they put word balloons over the Lix that started to move. If you don't look hard and realize that little greenish part popping out to the top left of the balloon is one of the Lix you'd be a little lost. But other than that, I'm still enjoying this book. I'll probably still have to read it again after the series is done though. It remains too hard to keep track of characters and storylines with the month gaps in between.
And hopefully Carl gets his RSS feed fixed so he actually reads this review. ;) I'm not sure if anyone else might be having this issue but I hope not.
Civil War: The Return -- The regular cover pretty much gives away the big return, the limitted cover leaves no doubt. Captain Mar-Vell is back. My big question is "why?" Was it really necessary to bring him back? And why do it during Civil War? Was it just to give Civil War yet another "wow!" moment without really concerning yourself with what Civil War is supposed to be about? Was it like their reasoning for cloning Thor? Did they just want Captain Mar-Vell's likeness in their big epic story even if it didn't really make sense? All in all, him returning now leaves a bad taste in my mouth so I was hoping this book would alleviate some of those concerns. For me, it failed pretty badly in that area. The random "plucking" of Captain Mar-Vell from time seems to be something the Marvel janitor came up with because they couldn't come up with something better or more tied into the Civil War storyline. And since he still has the blackend (I'll avoid calling it cancer just as Marvel did) you have a character with a limitted shelf life (or he'll be cured of his disease this time which for me would be the wrong thing for Marvel to do for several personal reasons). And in the end, this half of the book played out like a 30 second movie teaser and really not worth the money. I actually wish I hadn't bought it. The second half with Sentry battling the Absorbing Man didn't really make up for it either. So we get to see Sentry's reasoning (somewhat) for registering (a few months late isn't it considering he had that dilemma so many months ago but has been shown to be on the pro-side since then). To be honest, I had to look up the Absorbing Man's powers because this idea that he could also absorb all of Sentry's strength and powers seemed off but it seems he has been able to do stuff like this in the past (like absorbing Thor's strength). So I can't criticize Jenkins there, he is sticking with established abilities of the character. It's mostly the other writers who haven't been consistent and haven't used this aspect of his powers. It wasn't a horrible story as you get to see what's weighing on Sentry's mind but since it didn't really fit with the first half of the book it made the entire book appear more as a "hey, we have a month to fill, let's throw something together." All in all, a pretty big disappointment for me.
The Great and Secret Show #9 -- I think a recap of this book would be next to impossible if you haven't been reading it for yourself. There's just too many characters and too many stories going on to do so. Having said that, this issue continues to work well. I can only think of one complaint I had and that's the scene where Raul is about to be attacked and you see one of the Lix (snake-like creatures) start to move. The problem, you have a few Lix lying "dead" on the floor and one starts to move but they put word balloons over the Lix that started to move. If you don't look hard and realize that little greenish part popping out to the top left of the balloon is one of the Lix you'd be a little lost. But other than that, I'm still enjoying this book. I'll probably still have to read it again after the series is done though. It remains too hard to keep track of characters and storylines with the month gaps in between.
And hopefully Carl gets his RSS feed fixed so he actually reads this review. ;) I'm not sure if anyone else might be having this issue but I hope not.
Monday, January 22, 2007
We are the champions!
Wow, a post not related to comics! Yesterday my ball hockey team played in the league championship game and won. We had a rough season with 3 players going down to various injuries and 2 replacements coming in mid-season but we fought hard during the playoffs. We had a few really close calls earlier in the playoffs with one game going to a shootout and one game where we tied it up with less than a minute to play and took the lead with 20 seconds remaining. Yesterday's game we won 6 to 3 but it was a tense game.
To be honest, I was pretty nervous going into it. When I went out for my first shift my heart was already racing. Which I know is silly for recreational hockey but I really wanted to win this. We had a lot of players who had never played for the championship (including me) much less won it. Even the league organizer, who is on our team and has been running the league for 14 seasons or 7 years now, had never made it this far. But with incredibly solid goaltending and every contributing in both the offensive and defensive zones, we pulled through.
I'm looking forward to the end of season banquet this Friday. And there's no rest for the wicked as next season's draft happens tomorrow (Tuesday) and the new season starts Sunday.
Oh yeah, our team name was the Bruins. As a Canadiens fan it's bitter sweet to know that we're adding "The Bruins" to the list of championship teams. But oh well, what can you do.
To be honest, I was pretty nervous going into it. When I went out for my first shift my heart was already racing. Which I know is silly for recreational hockey but I really wanted to win this. We had a lot of players who had never played for the championship (including me) much less won it. Even the league organizer, who is on our team and has been running the league for 14 seasons or 7 years now, had never made it this far. But with incredibly solid goaltending and every contributing in both the offensive and defensive zones, we pulled through.
I'm looking forward to the end of season banquet this Friday. And there's no rest for the wicked as next season's draft happens tomorrow (Tuesday) and the new season starts Sunday.
Oh yeah, our team name was the Bruins. As a Canadiens fan it's bitter sweet to know that we're adding "The Bruins" to the list of championship teams. But oh well, what can you do.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Weekly Comics Reviews for January 17th, 2007 -- SPOILERS
Better late than never I suppose. Only one book to review this week, She-Hulk #15. So let's just get right to it:
She-Hulk #15 -- Let's see, She-Hulk questions how heroes might become agents of SHIELD and then is forced to become one herself and she seems to have mixed feelings about it. This issue starts her new storyline of chasing after Hulk foes. It seems that without the Hulk around some of his villains are popping up and SHIELD is sending in She-Hulk to deal with them. In this case, it's the Abomination. Character-wise, Slott continues to make She-Hulk an interesting, multi-levelled character. Her attitude towards SHIELD and the registration is done much better in this series than in Civil War and most definitely better than Frontline. I still cringe when I think back about how she got physically pushed aside by a few media people or how she seems to buckle at the first sign of adversity in Frontline but that's a rant for another review. Besides that, she's filled with doubt on several levels. The separation of Jen Walters and She-Hulk, being thrown in there against Hulk foes, marrying the Man-Wolf, the registration and working with SHIELD, and her final "getting busy" moment in this book. They're all weighing heavy on her. Though I do question some aspects of this book. For one thing, why start with the Abomination? Was Slott trying to start with a bang? Because Peter David really did a great job of building Blonsky up where he wasn't just someone that got his butt handed to him repeatedly by the Hulk. This was the guy who killed Betty (ignoring Bruce Jones' switheroo of putting her into a coma instead) and also the guy who was pretty much made to go toe to toe with the Hulk, even starting off at as stronger than the Hulk. Slott tries to play up the Abomination with She-Hulk's narration but in the end, she beats him without Abomination doing anything to her. Sure, she started off using her "fighting prowess" courtesy of Cap and a psychological attack courtesy of Doc Samson but still, if she can put away the Abomination in such short time, and the Abomination regularly goes toe to toe with the Hulk in matches that last a long time, where do you go from there? I mean, just the fact that SHIELD only sent She-Hulk in kinda diminishes him and in turn, the Hulk. And although the psychological twist she uses makes use of just who the Abomination is and his self-hatred, it was all done just a little too easily. So yeah, as a Hulk-fan, I found this book to be a little disappointing. I know with Slott's She-Hulk sometimes you can't take things too seriously but on the other hand, I find it was diminishing character.
Secondly, there was the art (ooh, I started a second paragraph, unusual for a review). The art continues to be bad. Now I'm not a fan of the overly cartoony stuff but the art here continues to disappoint me. I've complained about it for the last few issues and although there seems to be improvement, it still bugs me. When the Abomination first appears the bumps on his head look like little ... well, I won't say what they look like but they stick out way too much. But as the book goes on it seems like the artist got tired of drawing them because by the end of the book he only has 5 or so. His head starts to look like an inflated latex glove albeit with small fingers. For a book that is as well received for its writing as this book is, I think it deserves better in the art category. And overall, I'm still hoping for a turnaround in this book after Civil War is done. Hopefully the time between Civil War/Planet Hulk and World War Hulk will do the job for me.
She-Hulk #15 -- Let's see, She-Hulk questions how heroes might become agents of SHIELD and then is forced to become one herself and she seems to have mixed feelings about it. This issue starts her new storyline of chasing after Hulk foes. It seems that without the Hulk around some of his villains are popping up and SHIELD is sending in She-Hulk to deal with them. In this case, it's the Abomination. Character-wise, Slott continues to make She-Hulk an interesting, multi-levelled character. Her attitude towards SHIELD and the registration is done much better in this series than in Civil War and most definitely better than Frontline. I still cringe when I think back about how she got physically pushed aside by a few media people or how she seems to buckle at the first sign of adversity in Frontline but that's a rant for another review. Besides that, she's filled with doubt on several levels. The separation of Jen Walters and She-Hulk, being thrown in there against Hulk foes, marrying the Man-Wolf, the registration and working with SHIELD, and her final "getting busy" moment in this book. They're all weighing heavy on her. Though I do question some aspects of this book. For one thing, why start with the Abomination? Was Slott trying to start with a bang? Because Peter David really did a great job of building Blonsky up where he wasn't just someone that got his butt handed to him repeatedly by the Hulk. This was the guy who killed Betty (ignoring Bruce Jones' switheroo of putting her into a coma instead) and also the guy who was pretty much made to go toe to toe with the Hulk, even starting off at as stronger than the Hulk. Slott tries to play up the Abomination with She-Hulk's narration but in the end, she beats him without Abomination doing anything to her. Sure, she started off using her "fighting prowess" courtesy of Cap and a psychological attack courtesy of Doc Samson but still, if she can put away the Abomination in such short time, and the Abomination regularly goes toe to toe with the Hulk in matches that last a long time, where do you go from there? I mean, just the fact that SHIELD only sent She-Hulk in kinda diminishes him and in turn, the Hulk. And although the psychological twist she uses makes use of just who the Abomination is and his self-hatred, it was all done just a little too easily. So yeah, as a Hulk-fan, I found this book to be a little disappointing. I know with Slott's She-Hulk sometimes you can't take things too seriously but on the other hand, I find it was diminishing character.
Secondly, there was the art (ooh, I started a second paragraph, unusual for a review). The art continues to be bad. Now I'm not a fan of the overly cartoony stuff but the art here continues to disappoint me. I've complained about it for the last few issues and although there seems to be improvement, it still bugs me. When the Abomination first appears the bumps on his head look like little ... well, I won't say what they look like but they stick out way too much. But as the book goes on it seems like the artist got tired of drawing them because by the end of the book he only has 5 or so. His head starts to look like an inflated latex glove albeit with small fingers. For a book that is as well received for its writing as this book is, I think it deserves better in the art category. And overall, I'm still hoping for a turnaround in this book after Civil War is done. Hopefully the time between Civil War/Planet Hulk and World War Hulk will do the job for me.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Weekly Comic Book Reviews Delayed, Classic Reviews Continue
My weekly reviews will be delayed until this weekend as I won't be able to get to the comic store tonight. I think I only have She-Hulk coming in anyways. But to fill in the gap here are my reviews of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (which I will now refer to as "The League") volumes 1 and 2. I'm only reviewing the comic portion of them as I haven't read the other written stories that accompany them (I'm a couple chapters into the first one). And I'll do it all in one chunk to save me time but I'll include a second part to comment on the movie. I should also mention that the books are intended for a more mature audience due to violence, nudity, and all that other good stuff. ;)
The Review: What can I say about Moore's writing. The guy has received so many awards and so much recognition for his work that it seems rather silly for me to continue to praise it on my simple little blog. The level of detail in the writing in the League is exceptional. His inclusion of characters (from major to minor) and even the smallest detail from classic literature and how it's all woven together is really amazing. A lot of the details went over my head (I have to admit my ignorance to a lot of the classics) but I didn't find it to distracting to be missing out on some things while catching others. The thing I love about Moore's work is that the characters are real. They're not perfect and despite their flaws the heroes still come out as heroic (well, those who are supposed to be heroic do). The pacing of the book, the character designs, the dialogue, it all helps the reader make that connection with the characters. I'm reminded of one scene after the Invisible Man killed a police officer, you have a page (maybe it was more, I can't quite recall now) of silent panels with him removing the officer's uniform and putting it on. I found myself wondering what the heck the guy was doing and almost urging him to hurry up and get back to the Nautilus. And as he strolls through the street so nonchalantly I found myself just as frustrated with his actions as the characters in the book. It's that kind of connection that truly great writers and artists can make with a reader. And it's moments like that and the appreciation of them that make me the comic geek I am. Which leads me to the art. Now normally I'm not a big fan of the style Kevin O'Neill displays in this book so I was a little worried when I started. And at the beginning, that prejudice on my part made me question whether another artist might have done a better job of drawing some panels or scenes. But it didn't take too long before I was won over. I think the fantastic nature of this book needs an artist like O'Neill and the characterization he achieves is remarkable. And his rendering of some of the scenes (such as the Invisible Man one I mentioned earlier or Hyde sitting down for dinner with Nemo at the museum, a scene Wizard Magazine listed in their top 25 "creepiest, eeriest, goriest, most disturbing, and just plain scariest comics moments ever" so I won't spoil it) is top notch comic book story telling. Needless to say, I loved both volumes and recommend them.
As for the movie, I saw this movie a while back so obviously it was before reading the books. Upon first viewing I had mixed feelings about it. The over-the-top fantastical nature of the story threw me a bit. But it grew on me and to this day, I actually enjoy watching it. Which is actually a little hard to admit to now (after having read and enjoyed the comics so much) because the liberties they took with the characters and the story would normally make me cringe. Some of the changes really take away from the indvidual characters and their ties to their origins in the literature and that's too bad. On the other hand, it's Hollywood so at least they were in the ballpark in some cases. And it was a rather fun ride even if it was rather predictable. The books tell the story as it should be told and even though the movie falls short of that, I still find it a guilty pleasure to watch.
So that's it for now. Hopefully the She-Hulk review will go up this weekend. I'm not sure what's next on my list. I have "Re-inventing Comics" by Scott McCloud to read and I'm looking to pick up a copy of "Marvels" to re-read that. But there's also a few novels I'd like to get to and of course, all this reading is keeping me from doing any drawing. So we'll have to see where I go from here.
The Review: What can I say about Moore's writing. The guy has received so many awards and so much recognition for his work that it seems rather silly for me to continue to praise it on my simple little blog. The level of detail in the writing in the League is exceptional. His inclusion of characters (from major to minor) and even the smallest detail from classic literature and how it's all woven together is really amazing. A lot of the details went over my head (I have to admit my ignorance to a lot of the classics) but I didn't find it to distracting to be missing out on some things while catching others. The thing I love about Moore's work is that the characters are real. They're not perfect and despite their flaws the heroes still come out as heroic (well, those who are supposed to be heroic do). The pacing of the book, the character designs, the dialogue, it all helps the reader make that connection with the characters. I'm reminded of one scene after the Invisible Man killed a police officer, you have a page (maybe it was more, I can't quite recall now) of silent panels with him removing the officer's uniform and putting it on. I found myself wondering what the heck the guy was doing and almost urging him to hurry up and get back to the Nautilus. And as he strolls through the street so nonchalantly I found myself just as frustrated with his actions as the characters in the book. It's that kind of connection that truly great writers and artists can make with a reader. And it's moments like that and the appreciation of them that make me the comic geek I am. Which leads me to the art. Now normally I'm not a big fan of the style Kevin O'Neill displays in this book so I was a little worried when I started. And at the beginning, that prejudice on my part made me question whether another artist might have done a better job of drawing some panels or scenes. But it didn't take too long before I was won over. I think the fantastic nature of this book needs an artist like O'Neill and the characterization he achieves is remarkable. And his rendering of some of the scenes (such as the Invisible Man one I mentioned earlier or Hyde sitting down for dinner with Nemo at the museum, a scene Wizard Magazine listed in their top 25 "creepiest, eeriest, goriest, most disturbing, and just plain scariest comics moments ever" so I won't spoil it) is top notch comic book story telling. Needless to say, I loved both volumes and recommend them.
As for the movie, I saw this movie a while back so obviously it was before reading the books. Upon first viewing I had mixed feelings about it. The over-the-top fantastical nature of the story threw me a bit. But it grew on me and to this day, I actually enjoy watching it. Which is actually a little hard to admit to now (after having read and enjoyed the comics so much) because the liberties they took with the characters and the story would normally make me cringe. Some of the changes really take away from the indvidual characters and their ties to their origins in the literature and that's too bad. On the other hand, it's Hollywood so at least they were in the ballpark in some cases. And it was a rather fun ride even if it was rather predictable. The books tell the story as it should be told and even though the movie falls short of that, I still find it a guilty pleasure to watch.
So that's it for now. Hopefully the She-Hulk review will go up this weekend. I'm not sure what's next on my list. I have "Re-inventing Comics" by Scott McCloud to read and I'm looking to pick up a copy of "Marvels" to re-read that. But there's also a few novels I'd like to get to and of course, all this reading is keeping me from doing any drawing. So we'll have to see where I go from here.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Comic Reviews for January 10th, 2007 (SPOILERS)
It was a slow week for me with only White Tiger #3 coming in. I considered getting the Hyperion/Nighthawk series set in Darfur but passed on it for now. I'll wait and see how the rest of the series is received and then maybe hope for a Trade Paperback. But I also finished Making Comics by Scott McCloud so I'll have some final thoughts on that book.
White Tiger #3 -- I found this issue to be an improvement over the previous two but it still seems to be missing the mark for me. The characters (especially White Tiger herself) are well thought out and interesting but the storytelling seems off. Spider-Man's extremely brief appearance seems to come out of nowhere and he really doesn't contribute too much (just a brief insight and a few jokes) before running off on the next page. Some parts feel disjoint, like when two people talk about not knowing where White Tiger was and the next panel says "A few blocks away" while showing her confronting a guy trying to steal a car. Then we're taken away from that scene back to the two people. It just seemed too choppy. And her narrative about how she's spending her days doesn't match up with the panels (she gives the narrative and then it's followed by several panels, the narrative could have been broken up so that each part is with the panel it matches). Then there are the 2 page displays. They feel out of place here and not very effective. It was almost like they were trying too hard to make more out of some scenes than was necessary. It didn't help that some slender panels were put right in the middle of the two pages, you kinda overlook them as they get lost in the crease of the book (which made me miss some dialogue in my first pass). Although the story seems interesting it still seems to be struggling to get out of the gate. And even though I'm enjoying it on some level I wouldn't recommend this book outright.
Making Comics by Scott McCloud -- I know I'll be singing the praises of Mr McCloud for quite some time now. I started reading his books just because of the praise he was getting on various message boards and now I see why. I don't know about his "Redefining Comics" (which came in the mail yesterday), I've heard it's not as good, but Making Comics and Understanding Comics are great books. Understanding Comics is really for the comic enthusiasts out there but is a great overview of comics in general. Making Comics carries on for those interested in... well.. making comics. There are tidbits in there that might be of interest to others but yeah, for the most part it's all for the makers of comics. He might not go into the level of detail as some other dedicated books (like David Chelsea's book on comic book perspective or Gary Martin's book on comic book inking) but he covers so much already. And although some of those books cover the how to as well as the why/when (though many books out there just cover the how to and not the why or when) McCloud breaks it down with theory and clear explanations. His love of comics in all forms (though he seems to really push Manga) really opened my eyes to a lot of the comic book world that I had passed over in the past. I don't think this book will go on my shelf for quite some time as I'll probably be pulling it out to look something up so often. It'll just be easier to leave it next to my drafting board for quick access. I really can't praise this book enough and I think every comic book creator, whether it be a penciller, inker, writer or editor, should read it.
Although I got "Redefining Comics" in the mail yesterday, I may take a break from Scott McCloud's books so that I can read the other books I got. Those would be the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volume 1 and 2.
White Tiger #3 -- I found this issue to be an improvement over the previous two but it still seems to be missing the mark for me. The characters (especially White Tiger herself) are well thought out and interesting but the storytelling seems off. Spider-Man's extremely brief appearance seems to come out of nowhere and he really doesn't contribute too much (just a brief insight and a few jokes) before running off on the next page. Some parts feel disjoint, like when two people talk about not knowing where White Tiger was and the next panel says "A few blocks away" while showing her confronting a guy trying to steal a car. Then we're taken away from that scene back to the two people. It just seemed too choppy. And her narrative about how she's spending her days doesn't match up with the panels (she gives the narrative and then it's followed by several panels, the narrative could have been broken up so that each part is with the panel it matches). Then there are the 2 page displays. They feel out of place here and not very effective. It was almost like they were trying too hard to make more out of some scenes than was necessary. It didn't help that some slender panels were put right in the middle of the two pages, you kinda overlook them as they get lost in the crease of the book (which made me miss some dialogue in my first pass). Although the story seems interesting it still seems to be struggling to get out of the gate. And even though I'm enjoying it on some level I wouldn't recommend this book outright.
Making Comics by Scott McCloud -- I know I'll be singing the praises of Mr McCloud for quite some time now. I started reading his books just because of the praise he was getting on various message boards and now I see why. I don't know about his "Redefining Comics" (which came in the mail yesterday), I've heard it's not as good, but Making Comics and Understanding Comics are great books. Understanding Comics is really for the comic enthusiasts out there but is a great overview of comics in general. Making Comics carries on for those interested in... well.. making comics. There are tidbits in there that might be of interest to others but yeah, for the most part it's all for the makers of comics. He might not go into the level of detail as some other dedicated books (like David Chelsea's book on comic book perspective or Gary Martin's book on comic book inking) but he covers so much already. And although some of those books cover the how to as well as the why/when (though many books out there just cover the how to and not the why or when) McCloud breaks it down with theory and clear explanations. His love of comics in all forms (though he seems to really push Manga) really opened my eyes to a lot of the comic book world that I had passed over in the past. I don't think this book will go on my shelf for quite some time as I'll probably be pulling it out to look something up so often. It'll just be easier to leave it next to my drafting board for quick access. I really can't praise this book enough and I think every comic book creator, whether it be a penciller, inker, writer or editor, should read it.
Although I got "Redefining Comics" in the mail yesterday, I may take a break from Scott McCloud's books so that I can read the other books I got. Those would be the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volume 1 and 2.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Weekly Comic Reviews (and 24 season 3 DVD) some spoilers -- January 3rd, 2007
Happy new year everyone! Let's get right to the reviews because I might be ranting a bit today. Spoilers will be kept to a minimum where possible (mostly for Carl's sake with Civil War #6). We have three books this week with Civil War #6, Civil War Frontline #10, and Incredible Hulk #103. On top of that we have Watchmen and 24 Season 3.
Civil War #6 -- I find the penultimate issue in most comic book stories to be a downer. It's generally that lull where things are put into place for the big finale but nothing really significant happens. Civil War #6 was really not much different. Yes, we get some of the "traitor" stuff resolved though I'm curious how in Frontline Tony and Reed claimed to know about the traitor and who he/she was but seem genuinely surprised here. I'm not sure the whole "traitor" thing was resolved. Punisher provides a few highlights. But after reading it I just felt "meh". It didn't really help that I felt this was some of McNiven's weaker artwork on the series. The artwork had its highs and lows but it just didn't seem to have the intensity it needed. And that hurts some panels. And when it comes to Tony's line about no shame in "making enemies", it comes off as rather callous in the face of all the deaths that the pro-reg side has been responsible for in this war, especially when the looks on Reed and Tony's face seem to be just happyness. You don't even get a sense that they're just trying to put on a brave face or anything, it almost seems like they're enjoying it. I continue to dislike where Marvel is going with this series but there was very little meat to this book so there's less for me to gripe about.
Civil War Fronline #10 -- Technically, I read Hulk second but I'll keep the Civil War reviews together this week. This book continues to be crap. Last issue the two reporters each discovered "the secret" behind the Civil War. The first half of this issue they plan on meeting up and telling each other. Well, they eventually meet up (after Ben Eurich quits) and then spend a few pages running from explosions that just happen to be happening around them. It's a fight between some pro-reg villains and some anti-reg heroes. Of course Venom is drawn as the old Eddie Brock Venom for a panel or two (and some scrawny Venom-lite in the background of one panel) and "Daredevil" is there (making me wonder about the timeline, I guess this is where they captured him but that doesn't seem to mesh either). And we have the pro-reg heroes and villains blowing up buildings and killing people (apparently civilians and anti-reg people). Yay for that nano-technology SHIELD put in them to monitor their activities. And yay for Radioactive Man who had turned good in Thunderbolts but seemed to be going along with the death and destruction. But enough about that, the two reporters get to a safe spot and ... and ... cut to a few minutes later, after they've revealed their big finds to each other, the end. What the heck!!! I'm all for building suspense but that's just crap! That story contained absolutely nothing of use. As an aside, when reading Scott McCloud's book about making comics he says to remove a panel and see if the story changes. If it doesn't then maybe that panel isn't needed. The fact that you could remove this whole 12 pages and other than the one panel where Ben quits the reader would miss out on absolutely nothing shows just how unnecessary this story was. It was filler, plain and simple. And as a consumer I felt ripped off. The second half of the book was slightly better. Sure, I knew the result but in this case it was my fault for reading the preview stuff on the Thunderbolts. But even with that, it just dragged on and on. Page after page or repetitive junk. I almost fell asleep reading it... in fact, I wish I did. And the dialogue is pretty bad, especially Reed. The whole "Don't do this, you'll be committing suicide" while avoiding saying what "this" is comes off as unbelievable and unrealistic. But at least they got rid of those comparisons of this Civil War to the real one. Yeah, this series has been junk.
Incredible Hulk #103 -- The good story continues. But so does the so-so presentation in my mind. At least this time there were a few reminders like "one hour ago" and "now" to let you know about the jumps (even though they still seem jarring) but then at the end it seems to fall apart. A big problem is that there's not enough space provided in the writing to create scene establishing shots. Instead of having a larger scene showing that the setting has changed and we're moving ahead in time we get a couple headshots and dialogue that seems to be mismatched. It's a page later that we discover we jumped ahead in time and to a different location. In some instances that can be used as a story telling device. In this instance, it's out of place and a little jarring. Having said that, I can still forgive these issues due to the fact that the Hulk has a decent storyline to it. But the one thing I can't really get over is the Hulk's display of strength. By the description of the act (which I'll avoid spoiling) it almost seems to be something that pre-Crisis Superman would have done. And as much as I want the Hulk to be shown some respect when it comes to his strength I don't want him to fall into the "overpowered" crowd either. But overall, still a good series.
Watchmen TPB -- Okay, it might have taken me 13 years to get around to "Understanding Comics" by Scott McCloud but it took about 20 years to get around to reading Watchmen. And that's really sad considering. The praise this book has received for not only re-inventing the world of comics (showing the potential for the medium) but as an exceptional literary work (being listed in the top 100 English literature books by Time Magazine in 2005) is all over the place so I won't get into that. Let's just say I had to read it eventually and I think most comic book enthusiasts have to. And in some ways it's probably best that I waited until I was old enough to appreciate it. By this time the book may have lost some of its "oomph" as many comics have followed in its path. No longer is it so shocking to see a serious attitude taken to writing a complex and meaningful story in a comic book format. So you kinda have to remind yourself of what the comic book world was like in 1986. But putting all that aside as well, the story still holds out. The characters still have the emotional impact on the reader, the symbolism is all there for those who want to delve into it while for others it will just be an amazing story. You could spend forever discussing the ins and outs of Rorschach (probably the most memorable character in the book for many people) or any other character in the book (though Rorschach would be my pick). The art might seem dated by today's standards but it's effective in telling the story and still holds its own. The body language, the emotion, the settings, it's all top notch. Many artists of today could learn a thing or two from examining those details. Personally, I cringe at all the work that went into it. All those pages of 9 panels, each panel containing more information and detail than some artists put in a whole page. And just when you think you've absorbed it all you learn something new on a second or third look or when it's pointed out to you. The same goes for the writing and story. It's really a masterpiece and the more I think about it the more I realize that it deserves all the praise it gets. If you're a serious fan of comic books and haven't read this than do yourself a favour and do so.
24 season 3 -- Yeah, I'm behind on this as well. How I got into this series? Well, people kept talking about it but I never bothered with it. Then one night I was channel surfing and saw Sean Astin. Since nothing seemed to be on and I've enjoyed his work in the past I figured why not watch whatever it was. It was 24 season 5 of course and I was almost immediately hooked. The problem was that I had no clue what was going on but I was hooked nonetheless. So I resolved to stop watching it and catch up via DVDs. Seasons 1 and 2 were amazing which leads me to season 3. I had heard that this was the weakest of the seasons but I don't know about that. I really enjoyed it. The intensity remains. You never know what's going on or what's going to happen and just when you think you do, the rug gets pulled out from under you. I have commented in the past how everything seems to happen on the hour every hour (since the show is in real-time and you need that cliff hanger every week) but other than that, it's great. It leaves you on the edge of your seat constantly. It's addictive actually. You keep saying "one more episode before going to bed" but after each episode you have to see what happens next. The joy of watching it on DVD, you don't have to wait for that week in between. Plus, you don't have to worry about missing an episode. In season 2 I hated Jack's daughter. Her constant nagging of him while he's busy with stuff (like you know, saving the world from WW3 and little stuff like that) made me very angry. In season 3 it's Chloe while the daughter wasn't nearly as bad. Chloe just rubbed me the wrong way and was just way too annoying. I'll have to see if that improves in season 4 (oops, that might be a spoiler there). And for the Heroes fans out there it might be hard to watch the actor who now plays Sylar. Every scene he was in I half-expected him to start ripping people's heads apart to get at their brains. Wow, I just got deja vu. Weird. Anyways, it's a great show and I can't wait until I get season 4. It's smart, it's emotional, it's engaging, etc, etc. :)
As a preview for my next reviews (at least I hope I'm done the book by then) I'll just mention that I've been reading "Making Comics" by Scott McCloud. I'm about half way through it and have come to the conclusion that McCloud is a god of comics. I think every comic book writer and artist should read this book. I might even do a few of his little exercises, especially the ones about body language and emotions. I've been told several times that the characters I draw are too rigid and such (which I admit is very very true) so it would be good to try some of these things out. But enough about me. Once I'm done the book I'll say more but already it's high (probably the top book) on my recommended reading list for comic writers and artists.
Civil War #6 -- I find the penultimate issue in most comic book stories to be a downer. It's generally that lull where things are put into place for the big finale but nothing really significant happens. Civil War #6 was really not much different. Yes, we get some of the "traitor" stuff resolved though I'm curious how in Frontline Tony and Reed claimed to know about the traitor and who he/she was but seem genuinely surprised here. I'm not sure the whole "traitor" thing was resolved. Punisher provides a few highlights. But after reading it I just felt "meh". It didn't really help that I felt this was some of McNiven's weaker artwork on the series. The artwork had its highs and lows but it just didn't seem to have the intensity it needed. And that hurts some panels. And when it comes to Tony's line about no shame in "making enemies", it comes off as rather callous in the face of all the deaths that the pro-reg side has been responsible for in this war, especially when the looks on Reed and Tony's face seem to be just happyness. You don't even get a sense that they're just trying to put on a brave face or anything, it almost seems like they're enjoying it. I continue to dislike where Marvel is going with this series but there was very little meat to this book so there's less for me to gripe about.
Civil War Fronline #10 -- Technically, I read Hulk second but I'll keep the Civil War reviews together this week. This book continues to be crap. Last issue the two reporters each discovered "the secret" behind the Civil War. The first half of this issue they plan on meeting up and telling each other. Well, they eventually meet up (after Ben Eurich quits) and then spend a few pages running from explosions that just happen to be happening around them. It's a fight between some pro-reg villains and some anti-reg heroes. Of course Venom is drawn as the old Eddie Brock Venom for a panel or two (and some scrawny Venom-lite in the background of one panel) and "Daredevil" is there (making me wonder about the timeline, I guess this is where they captured him but that doesn't seem to mesh either). And we have the pro-reg heroes and villains blowing up buildings and killing people (apparently civilians and anti-reg people). Yay for that nano-technology SHIELD put in them to monitor their activities. And yay for Radioactive Man who had turned good in Thunderbolts but seemed to be going along with the death and destruction. But enough about that, the two reporters get to a safe spot and ... and ... cut to a few minutes later, after they've revealed their big finds to each other, the end. What the heck!!! I'm all for building suspense but that's just crap! That story contained absolutely nothing of use. As an aside, when reading Scott McCloud's book about making comics he says to remove a panel and see if the story changes. If it doesn't then maybe that panel isn't needed. The fact that you could remove this whole 12 pages and other than the one panel where Ben quits the reader would miss out on absolutely nothing shows just how unnecessary this story was. It was filler, plain and simple. And as a consumer I felt ripped off. The second half of the book was slightly better. Sure, I knew the result but in this case it was my fault for reading the preview stuff on the Thunderbolts. But even with that, it just dragged on and on. Page after page or repetitive junk. I almost fell asleep reading it... in fact, I wish I did. And the dialogue is pretty bad, especially Reed. The whole "Don't do this, you'll be committing suicide" while avoiding saying what "this" is comes off as unbelievable and unrealistic. But at least they got rid of those comparisons of this Civil War to the real one. Yeah, this series has been junk.
Incredible Hulk #103 -- The good story continues. But so does the so-so presentation in my mind. At least this time there were a few reminders like "one hour ago" and "now" to let you know about the jumps (even though they still seem jarring) but then at the end it seems to fall apart. A big problem is that there's not enough space provided in the writing to create scene establishing shots. Instead of having a larger scene showing that the setting has changed and we're moving ahead in time we get a couple headshots and dialogue that seems to be mismatched. It's a page later that we discover we jumped ahead in time and to a different location. In some instances that can be used as a story telling device. In this instance, it's out of place and a little jarring. Having said that, I can still forgive these issues due to the fact that the Hulk has a decent storyline to it. But the one thing I can't really get over is the Hulk's display of strength. By the description of the act (which I'll avoid spoiling) it almost seems to be something that pre-Crisis Superman would have done. And as much as I want the Hulk to be shown some respect when it comes to his strength I don't want him to fall into the "overpowered" crowd either. But overall, still a good series.
Watchmen TPB -- Okay, it might have taken me 13 years to get around to "Understanding Comics" by Scott McCloud but it took about 20 years to get around to reading Watchmen. And that's really sad considering. The praise this book has received for not only re-inventing the world of comics (showing the potential for the medium) but as an exceptional literary work (being listed in the top 100 English literature books by Time Magazine in 2005) is all over the place so I won't get into that. Let's just say I had to read it eventually and I think most comic book enthusiasts have to. And in some ways it's probably best that I waited until I was old enough to appreciate it. By this time the book may have lost some of its "oomph" as many comics have followed in its path. No longer is it so shocking to see a serious attitude taken to writing a complex and meaningful story in a comic book format. So you kinda have to remind yourself of what the comic book world was like in 1986. But putting all that aside as well, the story still holds out. The characters still have the emotional impact on the reader, the symbolism is all there for those who want to delve into it while for others it will just be an amazing story. You could spend forever discussing the ins and outs of Rorschach (probably the most memorable character in the book for many people) or any other character in the book (though Rorschach would be my pick). The art might seem dated by today's standards but it's effective in telling the story and still holds its own. The body language, the emotion, the settings, it's all top notch. Many artists of today could learn a thing or two from examining those details. Personally, I cringe at all the work that went into it. All those pages of 9 panels, each panel containing more information and detail than some artists put in a whole page. And just when you think you've absorbed it all you learn something new on a second or third look or when it's pointed out to you. The same goes for the writing and story. It's really a masterpiece and the more I think about it the more I realize that it deserves all the praise it gets. If you're a serious fan of comic books and haven't read this than do yourself a favour and do so.
24 season 3 -- Yeah, I'm behind on this as well. How I got into this series? Well, people kept talking about it but I never bothered with it. Then one night I was channel surfing and saw Sean Astin. Since nothing seemed to be on and I've enjoyed his work in the past I figured why not watch whatever it was. It was 24 season 5 of course and I was almost immediately hooked. The problem was that I had no clue what was going on but I was hooked nonetheless. So I resolved to stop watching it and catch up via DVDs. Seasons 1 and 2 were amazing which leads me to season 3. I had heard that this was the weakest of the seasons but I don't know about that. I really enjoyed it. The intensity remains. You never know what's going on or what's going to happen and just when you think you do, the rug gets pulled out from under you. I have commented in the past how everything seems to happen on the hour every hour (since the show is in real-time and you need that cliff hanger every week) but other than that, it's great. It leaves you on the edge of your seat constantly. It's addictive actually. You keep saying "one more episode before going to bed" but after each episode you have to see what happens next. The joy of watching it on DVD, you don't have to wait for that week in between. Plus, you don't have to worry about missing an episode. In season 2 I hated Jack's daughter. Her constant nagging of him while he's busy with stuff (like you know, saving the world from WW3 and little stuff like that) made me very angry. In season 3 it's Chloe while the daughter wasn't nearly as bad. Chloe just rubbed me the wrong way and was just way too annoying. I'll have to see if that improves in season 4 (oops, that might be a spoiler there). And for the Heroes fans out there it might be hard to watch the actor who now plays Sylar. Every scene he was in I half-expected him to start ripping people's heads apart to get at their brains. Wow, I just got deja vu. Weird. Anyways, it's a great show and I can't wait until I get season 4. It's smart, it's emotional, it's engaging, etc, etc. :)
As a preview for my next reviews (at least I hope I'm done the book by then) I'll just mention that I've been reading "Making Comics" by Scott McCloud. I'm about half way through it and have come to the conclusion that McCloud is a god of comics. I think every comic book writer and artist should read this book. I might even do a few of his little exercises, especially the ones about body language and emotions. I've been told several times that the characters I draw are too rigid and such (which I admit is very very true) so it would be good to try some of these things out. But enough about me. Once I'm done the book I'll say more but already it's high (probably the top book) on my recommended reading list for comic writers and artists.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Comic (and other) Reviews with minimal spoilers -- December 27th, 2006
Last reviews of 2006, how exciting! I hope everyone had a great Christmas. It was extra special in the Ferguson household this year but I'll leave it at that. ;) So only two comics to review this week, Astonishing X-Men #19 and The Great and Secret Show #8. On top of that I'll be adding a review of Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud and the "movie" An Inconvenient Truth (*gasp* I touch on something beyond on comics???).
Astonishing X-Men #19 -- It's getting harder and harder to review this series. It's great. Issue after issue I just love the work of Whedon and Cassaday. There may be points where I might linger over a panel and say "This isn't Cassaday's best panel" or kinda get taken out of the story by a glitch in the story or dialogue. Was I the only one who found it weird that Colossus was speaking in very broken English at times? I haven't seen anyone write him like that in a long time. Then again, I didn't really follow the X-Men too much. But despite any shortcomings the book may have, I still love every issue. All I can say is give me more!
The Great and Secret Show #8 -- Yeah, it seems like I've been repeating myself over and over on this series as well. Still solid art. Still the same quality of writing. That's a great thing for this comic as both have been well done but it's harder for the reviewer (ie. me). Some things still remain a problem for me like trying to keep track of things from month to month (especially if particular characters happen to go missing for an issue or two due to the story) but at this point, what can you do? Once the series is over I'll probably re-read it before delving into the sequel that Clive Barker wrote. So any Clive Barker fans may want to look up the TPB when it's out (I think the first 6 issues were already collected).
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud -- Yeah, it only took me 13 years to get around to reviewing it. :) Warning: This book is only for the comic enthusiast. Those who are currently content to just sit back and enjoy comics for what they are would be better off avoiding this. Those interested in creating comics on the other hand or those who are borderline obsessed with them, this should probably be a must read. The appreciation you get for comics, their history, and their future would be a blessing. Though you do need an open mind and maybe a little patience through some parts. But I think each chapter has a wealth of hidden tidbits that would help out any aspiring comic book creator and give enthusiasts a little bit more to chew on. You might find yourself having your brain open up to new ideas. Like me for instance, I've never been fond of most non-North American comics but as McCloud mentions ideas that came to North America from Japanese comics I had to admit my ignorance. And as he discusses some rationale behind cartoony characters existing along side more realistic ones and objects depicted as cartoony in one panel and realistic the next, it started to make a bit more sense to me. I still don't think I'll be rushing out to read more but at least my eyes and mind are a little more open now. It was definitely worth the time and money as this will stick with me for a long time. I can't wait to read the more recent "Making Comics" by McCloud.
An Inconvenient Truth -- Although I wanted to see this I never got around to seeing it in the theatre. For those that don't know about the movie/documentary, it's Al Gore talking about global warming. He has been travelling the world doing a talk about global warming and one day they decided to shoot it. But just to keep things interesting they intertwine the talk with little asides about Gore's childhood and why he's so interested in this topic. And in case anyone was wondering, I asked for this as a Christmas gift, it wasn't given to me by someone who felt I "really needed to see it". Avoiding the "controversial" message for a moment, as a documentary this movie is put together really well. The shifting from slide show to Al's personal life keeps the viewer invested in both the presentation and Mr Gore himself. And Gore comes across as an incredible public speaker, though it doesn't hurt that he really displays a passion for this. There was something that made me wince slightly though. I had thought that this documentary was advertised as something that didn't attack any US administration, past or present, yet there were a few times where I felt it did go after the current Bush administration. The problem being though that the current Bush administration opened the door with it's attacks on global warming. I only worry that once the mud-slinging begins the message is lost. And as for the message, I have to admit, I do believe the "current scientific consensus on climate change" which according to Wikipedia is " recent warming indicates a fairly stable long-term trend, that the trend is largely human caused, and that serious damage may result at some future date if steps are not taken to halt the trend." Though I also believe that even if that consensus is wrong that taking measures to curb green house gas emissions and pollution just makes sense and also wouldn't lead to the economic crisis that some would have you believe. So having said that, this movie moved me. I do take some steps already such as replacing light bulbs with more energy efficient ones and trying to keep the temperature in my condo cooler in the winter, warmer in the summer and I'll continue to do so with even more vigor. So the message appealed to me but I know it won't for a large number of people out there. I only hope that it continues to get people talking about global warming and maybe one day, we will actually start listening to each other as well. Because I feel that only then will we be able to do anything.
Oh yeah, for those who did see the movie in theatres the DVD has 30 extra minutes where Al Gore talks about more up to date publications, data, and events. If you enjoyed the movie then it's worth checking out. I guess the only problem is that just like all areas of research, our knowledge continues to grow. So like Gore needs to keep updating his slides, we probably need to keep updating this DVD.
In conclusion, if you had any inkling of seeing this film then I recommend you do so. If you're already preparing a scathing response to this review then it's probably not for you. And in the end, don't let it be the end all of the story. Keep an open mind, take the time to listen and better educate yourself, and never dismiss an idea.
Astonishing X-Men #19 -- It's getting harder and harder to review this series. It's great. Issue after issue I just love the work of Whedon and Cassaday. There may be points where I might linger over a panel and say "This isn't Cassaday's best panel" or kinda get taken out of the story by a glitch in the story or dialogue. Was I the only one who found it weird that Colossus was speaking in very broken English at times? I haven't seen anyone write him like that in a long time. Then again, I didn't really follow the X-Men too much. But despite any shortcomings the book may have, I still love every issue. All I can say is give me more!
The Great and Secret Show #8 -- Yeah, it seems like I've been repeating myself over and over on this series as well. Still solid art. Still the same quality of writing. That's a great thing for this comic as both have been well done but it's harder for the reviewer (ie. me). Some things still remain a problem for me like trying to keep track of things from month to month (especially if particular characters happen to go missing for an issue or two due to the story) but at this point, what can you do? Once the series is over I'll probably re-read it before delving into the sequel that Clive Barker wrote. So any Clive Barker fans may want to look up the TPB when it's out (I think the first 6 issues were already collected).
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud -- Yeah, it only took me 13 years to get around to reviewing it. :) Warning: This book is only for the comic enthusiast. Those who are currently content to just sit back and enjoy comics for what they are would be better off avoiding this. Those interested in creating comics on the other hand or those who are borderline obsessed with them, this should probably be a must read. The appreciation you get for comics, their history, and their future would be a blessing. Though you do need an open mind and maybe a little patience through some parts. But I think each chapter has a wealth of hidden tidbits that would help out any aspiring comic book creator and give enthusiasts a little bit more to chew on. You might find yourself having your brain open up to new ideas. Like me for instance, I've never been fond of most non-North American comics but as McCloud mentions ideas that came to North America from Japanese comics I had to admit my ignorance. And as he discusses some rationale behind cartoony characters existing along side more realistic ones and objects depicted as cartoony in one panel and realistic the next, it started to make a bit more sense to me. I still don't think I'll be rushing out to read more but at least my eyes and mind are a little more open now. It was definitely worth the time and money as this will stick with me for a long time. I can't wait to read the more recent "Making Comics" by McCloud.
An Inconvenient Truth -- Although I wanted to see this I never got around to seeing it in the theatre. For those that don't know about the movie/documentary, it's Al Gore talking about global warming. He has been travelling the world doing a talk about global warming and one day they decided to shoot it. But just to keep things interesting they intertwine the talk with little asides about Gore's childhood and why he's so interested in this topic. And in case anyone was wondering, I asked for this as a Christmas gift, it wasn't given to me by someone who felt I "really needed to see it". Avoiding the "controversial" message for a moment, as a documentary this movie is put together really well. The shifting from slide show to Al's personal life keeps the viewer invested in both the presentation and Mr Gore himself. And Gore comes across as an incredible public speaker, though it doesn't hurt that he really displays a passion for this. There was something that made me wince slightly though. I had thought that this documentary was advertised as something that didn't attack any US administration, past or present, yet there were a few times where I felt it did go after the current Bush administration. The problem being though that the current Bush administration opened the door with it's attacks on global warming. I only worry that once the mud-slinging begins the message is lost. And as for the message, I have to admit, I do believe the "current scientific consensus on climate change" which according to Wikipedia is " recent warming indicates a fairly stable long-term trend, that the trend is largely human caused, and that serious damage may result at some future date if steps are not taken to halt the trend." Though I also believe that even if that consensus is wrong that taking measures to curb green house gas emissions and pollution just makes sense and also wouldn't lead to the economic crisis that some would have you believe. So having said that, this movie moved me. I do take some steps already such as replacing light bulbs with more energy efficient ones and trying to keep the temperature in my condo cooler in the winter, warmer in the summer and I'll continue to do so with even more vigor. So the message appealed to me but I know it won't for a large number of people out there. I only hope that it continues to get people talking about global warming and maybe one day, we will actually start listening to each other as well. Because I feel that only then will we be able to do anything.
Oh yeah, for those who did see the movie in theatres the DVD has 30 extra minutes where Al Gore talks about more up to date publications, data, and events. If you enjoyed the movie then it's worth checking out. I guess the only problem is that just like all areas of research, our knowledge continues to grow. So like Gore needs to keep updating his slides, we probably need to keep updating this DVD.
In conclusion, if you had any inkling of seeing this film then I recommend you do so. If you're already preparing a scathing response to this review then it's probably not for you. And in the end, don't let it be the end all of the story. Keep an open mind, take the time to listen and better educate yourself, and never dismiss an idea.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Weekly Comic Reviews for Dec. 20th, 2006 -- SPOILERific
A busy week (by my standards) with 7 books and a Wizard Magazine (which I haven't read yet). And on top of that, my Chapters order came in yesterday consisting of two books by Scott McCloud about understanding and making comics and the TPB for Fray. I'll be posting my thoughts on the McCloud books when I get to read them. So let's jump right in:
She-Hulk 2 #14 -- I've been rather hard on this book as of late but this issue restored some of my faith in it. The downside of that though is that the book concentrated on Awesome Andy and She-Hulk was relegated to appearing in the first and last few pages of it. I've really liked what Slott has done with Awesome Andy, he's such a loveable character and the chalkboard he uses to communicate (explained in this issue) was a great touch. So from the solicitation and cover to this book I had some concern about what they were going to do with him. In the end, I'm sorry to see him go but I'm glad they added the switch ending. I also have to say that my jaw almost dropped when he seemingly held Mjolinor, if only for a brief moment. As for the art, it still wasn't great but it seemed to be less of an impact on this issue. Perhaps it's because it focussed on Andy, he's really not that hard to draw. And then there's the teaser for next issue, Clay Quartermain returns and drafts She-Hulk into SHIELD. I liked Clay in the Peter David run on the Hulk where he, Rick and Bruce/the Gray Hulk travelled around in a little van so it'll be nice to see Slott using this character (hopefully). So the series stays on my list for now.
Elephantmen #5 -- In this issue we jump back in time to the "rescue" of the Elephantmen. The solicitations seemed to focus a bit more on the fact that it was the first fight between Hip Flask and Obadiah Horn but that doesn't really do it justice. There was much more to this issue and much more to the "fight" than a simple slugfest. Starkings (the writer) really does a masterful job at interweaving events to highlight the individual characters that make up the Elephantmen. The fight isn't just a slugfest, it's a clash of ideals. And on top of that, we also get a few more plot details filled in from Hip Flask: Mystery City. Elephantmen has quickly moved up to the top of my pile as the book I look forward to the most.
New Avengers Illuminati #1 (of 5) -- I haven't been a big fan of the New Avengers or Civil War so I had a bad feeling going into this book. To be honest, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Although you have to wonder how a bigger fan of these characters feels about their portrayal. I mean really, they think they're just going to walk into the Skrull armada and walk away without so much as a boo from the Skrulls? And in the end, what did they accomplish? They might have delayed the next attack or they might have made things worse (now that the Skrulls have what they wanted, whatever that was). And they know it in the end too. It's really interesting to see how this super group of the supposedly top minds can make a mess of things while also being darn impressive (they did survive in the end after all) at the same time.
Lone Ranger #3 -- I got chills when the message is openned and the last line reads "Lone Ranger remains" (though why "remains" isn't capitalized when every other word in the message was is kinda funny). For fans of westerns or the Lone Ranger or just a good book should enjoy this series. My only complaint, there are a few times where things aren't made quite as clear as they could be. Part of it is the art, part of it might be something else. At the start of the book we see him chipping a hole in some wood and then pouring metal (his melted badge) into it. I was left wondering if the wood could actually work to forge a bullet like that but also, how he was able to dig up a bullet shaped hole was also weird (it looked like it could only make half a bullet). Then, when Tonto has him on the floor and asks him if he knows what happens to horse thieves there is a silent panel and then Tonto says "yeah, something like that". I found that part poorly done as it's not quite clear at first what's happening. As the panel is small it took me a minute to realize Tonto and the Ranger were looking over to something and then it took a minute to realize what that something was. But overall, these little details could be overlooked (and maybe improved in the future) as the story more than makes up for them.
Civil War Frontline #9 -- Now we move into the Civil War portion of the reviews. I can't stand picking up this book. I really can't. If I wasn't a completist who wanted some of the details of Civil War flushed out a bit more I'd stop buying it. To be honest, I might actually enjoy Civil War more if I did drop it. The female reporter leaves Cap after 5 minutes to go out on a date because she says the interview is going badly. EXCUSE ME??? This is Captain America, leader of the anti-registration heroes and currently locked in a bloody civil war with one of his best friends and she's just going to walk away from the interview? I don't care how bad the interview is, a reporter isn't just going to walk away from an exclusive like that. And it all comes back to that stupid note the senator passed her that seemingly turned her into a different character. Oh, and somehow Spidey is fine, still in his armour suit and helping Ben Eurich discover that Tony Stark has been using the Civil War as an opportunity to make a whole bunch of money. Maybe this happened before CW #5 but that seems weird as Ben mentions Spidey switching sides. Then we have Speedball being taken to a pretty sad prison that's being used to house criminals (I guess the prison in the negative zone is reserved for heroes only and now Speedball won't be going there). Of course they drag him within arms reach of the vilains (who for some reason is allowed to have metal hooks on his arms) and without going into all the other things that are just as stupid we have Speedball's new powers manifest and go kaboom. Gee, who'd a thought? Oh, that's right, I did. I guess that makes me smarter than that SHIELD chick, She-Hulk, and Reed Richards. I rock. SHIELD shows up and Speedball is sitting amongst the wreckage and says he's going to sign the registration. Next mini-story, Reed's looking for who helped Osborn undue the nanite stuff and Tony tells Reed he's known who the traitor was all along. The end. Yeah, that was useless. Although it also had a dog walking around in it. Next, Osborn is being interrogated about killing the Atlantean and claims it wasn't him. At least the cops acknowledge how things don't make sense (as he was able to get through security with a gun and stuff) but every time Osborn tries to explain his mouth goes all frothy. And a mystery figure comes in and takes Osborn away leaving the police in the dark. Seriously, how many dark mystery figures do we need in this series? I've lost track. I think the last issue is going to be a checklist so you can go back and see who everyone was.
Iron Man Captain America Casualties of War -- Taken alone this book wasn't bad (although slightly on the boring side). It had some nice flashbacks to the history Cap and Iron Man have. And if it wasn't for the pro-reg side torturing, killing, recruiting homicidal maniacs, silencing and manipulating the media, cloning, jailing for life without trial, yadda, yadda, yadda, I might be able to read it. But to be honest, Civil War's portrayal of the pro-reg side irks me so much. This book reminded me of why I'm just eager for Civil War to end so I can drop all these books.
Civil War Casualties of War -- Out of the Civil War books this week, I enjoyed this one the most. Just when you think Wilson Fisk is being left out of things, he shows just why he's the Kingpin. Though it's weird to see Stark as more of a stooge, answering to that SHIELD woman, in this book.
Fray (the trade paperback) -- Last but definitely not least, my review of Fray. Fray was a series written by Joss Whedon which tells the story of a Slayer in the future. I'm running short on time (too many reviews I tell ya) but this book is amazing. Simply amazing. I started reading it thinking that I'd stop about half way so I could go to bed but I just couldn't. I had to finish it. It's definitely not "Buffy in the future" as Fray's personality, situation, and environment all give a different tone to the story but it's amazing nonetheless. The art fits and is full of energy. The demons and creatures look amazing as does the city. There are some connections to Buffy (like this is actually the first appearance of the scythe that Buffy retrieves and uses during the last few episodes of the TV series) but nothing that would hurt a newbie to the universe. Everything is laid pretty cleanly. The only downside of the series is that even though it closes things up fairly well it still leaves me hanging, wanting more. And to date, I think there's only been one other short story featuring Fray. Darn it Joss, either stop writing all these amazing stories that leave us wanting more or write faster. Did I already mention my idea for cloning him?
She-Hulk 2 #14 -- I've been rather hard on this book as of late but this issue restored some of my faith in it. The downside of that though is that the book concentrated on Awesome Andy and She-Hulk was relegated to appearing in the first and last few pages of it. I've really liked what Slott has done with Awesome Andy, he's such a loveable character and the chalkboard he uses to communicate (explained in this issue) was a great touch. So from the solicitation and cover to this book I had some concern about what they were going to do with him. In the end, I'm sorry to see him go but I'm glad they added the switch ending. I also have to say that my jaw almost dropped when he seemingly held Mjolinor, if only for a brief moment. As for the art, it still wasn't great but it seemed to be less of an impact on this issue. Perhaps it's because it focussed on Andy, he's really not that hard to draw. And then there's the teaser for next issue, Clay Quartermain returns and drafts She-Hulk into SHIELD. I liked Clay in the Peter David run on the Hulk where he, Rick and Bruce/the Gray Hulk travelled around in a little van so it'll be nice to see Slott using this character (hopefully). So the series stays on my list for now.
Elephantmen #5 -- In this issue we jump back in time to the "rescue" of the Elephantmen. The solicitations seemed to focus a bit more on the fact that it was the first fight between Hip Flask and Obadiah Horn but that doesn't really do it justice. There was much more to this issue and much more to the "fight" than a simple slugfest. Starkings (the writer) really does a masterful job at interweaving events to highlight the individual characters that make up the Elephantmen. The fight isn't just a slugfest, it's a clash of ideals. And on top of that, we also get a few more plot details filled in from Hip Flask: Mystery City. Elephantmen has quickly moved up to the top of my pile as the book I look forward to the most.
New Avengers Illuminati #1 (of 5) -- I haven't been a big fan of the New Avengers or Civil War so I had a bad feeling going into this book. To be honest, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Although you have to wonder how a bigger fan of these characters feels about their portrayal. I mean really, they think they're just going to walk into the Skrull armada and walk away without so much as a boo from the Skrulls? And in the end, what did they accomplish? They might have delayed the next attack or they might have made things worse (now that the Skrulls have what they wanted, whatever that was). And they know it in the end too. It's really interesting to see how this super group of the supposedly top minds can make a mess of things while also being darn impressive (they did survive in the end after all) at the same time.
Lone Ranger #3 -- I got chills when the message is openned and the last line reads "Lone Ranger remains" (though why "remains" isn't capitalized when every other word in the message was is kinda funny). For fans of westerns or the Lone Ranger or just a good book should enjoy this series. My only complaint, there are a few times where things aren't made quite as clear as they could be. Part of it is the art, part of it might be something else. At the start of the book we see him chipping a hole in some wood and then pouring metal (his melted badge) into it. I was left wondering if the wood could actually work to forge a bullet like that but also, how he was able to dig up a bullet shaped hole was also weird (it looked like it could only make half a bullet). Then, when Tonto has him on the floor and asks him if he knows what happens to horse thieves there is a silent panel and then Tonto says "yeah, something like that". I found that part poorly done as it's not quite clear at first what's happening. As the panel is small it took me a minute to realize Tonto and the Ranger were looking over to something and then it took a minute to realize what that something was. But overall, these little details could be overlooked (and maybe improved in the future) as the story more than makes up for them.
Civil War Frontline #9 -- Now we move into the Civil War portion of the reviews. I can't stand picking up this book. I really can't. If I wasn't a completist who wanted some of the details of Civil War flushed out a bit more I'd stop buying it. To be honest, I might actually enjoy Civil War more if I did drop it. The female reporter leaves Cap after 5 minutes to go out on a date because she says the interview is going badly. EXCUSE ME??? This is Captain America, leader of the anti-registration heroes and currently locked in a bloody civil war with one of his best friends and she's just going to walk away from the interview? I don't care how bad the interview is, a reporter isn't just going to walk away from an exclusive like that. And it all comes back to that stupid note the senator passed her that seemingly turned her into a different character. Oh, and somehow Spidey is fine, still in his armour suit and helping Ben Eurich discover that Tony Stark has been using the Civil War as an opportunity to make a whole bunch of money. Maybe this happened before CW #5 but that seems weird as Ben mentions Spidey switching sides. Then we have Speedball being taken to a pretty sad prison that's being used to house criminals (I guess the prison in the negative zone is reserved for heroes only and now Speedball won't be going there). Of course they drag him within arms reach of the vilains (who for some reason is allowed to have metal hooks on his arms) and without going into all the other things that are just as stupid we have Speedball's new powers manifest and go kaboom. Gee, who'd a thought? Oh, that's right, I did. I guess that makes me smarter than that SHIELD chick, She-Hulk, and Reed Richards. I rock. SHIELD shows up and Speedball is sitting amongst the wreckage and says he's going to sign the registration. Next mini-story, Reed's looking for who helped Osborn undue the nanite stuff and Tony tells Reed he's known who the traitor was all along. The end. Yeah, that was useless. Although it also had a dog walking around in it. Next, Osborn is being interrogated about killing the Atlantean and claims it wasn't him. At least the cops acknowledge how things don't make sense (as he was able to get through security with a gun and stuff) but every time Osborn tries to explain his mouth goes all frothy. And a mystery figure comes in and takes Osborn away leaving the police in the dark. Seriously, how many dark mystery figures do we need in this series? I've lost track. I think the last issue is going to be a checklist so you can go back and see who everyone was.
Iron Man Captain America Casualties of War -- Taken alone this book wasn't bad (although slightly on the boring side). It had some nice flashbacks to the history Cap and Iron Man have. And if it wasn't for the pro-reg side torturing, killing, recruiting homicidal maniacs, silencing and manipulating the media, cloning, jailing for life without trial, yadda, yadda, yadda, I might be able to read it. But to be honest, Civil War's portrayal of the pro-reg side irks me so much. This book reminded me of why I'm just eager for Civil War to end so I can drop all these books.
Civil War Casualties of War -- Out of the Civil War books this week, I enjoyed this one the most. Just when you think Wilson Fisk is being left out of things, he shows just why he's the Kingpin. Though it's weird to see Stark as more of a stooge, answering to that SHIELD woman, in this book.
Fray (the trade paperback) -- Last but definitely not least, my review of Fray. Fray was a series written by Joss Whedon which tells the story of a Slayer in the future. I'm running short on time (too many reviews I tell ya) but this book is amazing. Simply amazing. I started reading it thinking that I'd stop about half way so I could go to bed but I just couldn't. I had to finish it. It's definitely not "Buffy in the future" as Fray's personality, situation, and environment all give a different tone to the story but it's amazing nonetheless. The art fits and is full of energy. The demons and creatures look amazing as does the city. There are some connections to Buffy (like this is actually the first appearance of the scythe that Buffy retrieves and uses during the last few episodes of the TV series) but nothing that would hurt a newbie to the universe. Everything is laid pretty cleanly. The only downside of the series is that even though it closes things up fairly well it still leaves me hanging, wanting more. And to date, I think there's only been one other short story featuring Fray. Darn it Joss, either stop writing all these amazing stories that leave us wanting more or write faster. Did I already mention my idea for cloning him?
Friday, December 15, 2006
Weekly comic reviews -- Nothing happening
No comics this week so no reviews. I might borrow my brother's copy of the recent Onslaught returns book (whatever it's called) this weekend so there may be that.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
A farewell to Divine Leap
For those of you not in the know, Divine Leap was my attempt at doing a webcomic. I have been working on it and posting it on DrunkDuck for about 2 years now (I think) but I've decided to stop working on it. I've decided to post a message on DrunkDuck shortly outlining my decision and below is the first draft. I figured some of you may be interested in it as well. But the message I post on there won't have these pesky other images inserted. For the curious amongst you, before I finally decided not to continue with Chapter 2 I had begun working on some pages. None of the pages are finished, some are fairly close to being done while others need some fairly major correcting. But I figured what the heck, why not post them.
I had come up with the idea for the story to Divine Leap a long time ago and let it brew in my head for quite some time and even sketched out some character designs and a page or two. But for the longest time it never went beyond that. It wasn't until talking to my good bud Dave at the local comic shop about his webcomic that I decided to try my luck at actually putting Divine Leap on paper (or in this case, the web). So about two years ago my journey began.
Over the past two years I have become to appreciate even more the work that goes into every aspect of creating a comic book. From original concepts, to generating the story, to writing, to drawing, inking, lettering, etc, etc. I had to admit, it was much more work than I expected. And looking back at the beginning of this chapter I can really see how little I knew. Looking at the ending of the chapter, I see just how much I still need to learn.
So you might be wondering why I'm ending it here instead of continuing 
on. Well, it boils down to seeing it as a failure on my part. I'm currently looking at 6 users who have favourited it (at least one of which was a friend I kinda pressured into it), only 2 or 3 users who routinely comment on it, and a relatively small number of pageviews. So if I haven't generated more interest by the end of Chapter 1 I have to re-examine what I'm doing. While doing some of that re-examination I look at the weak artwork, the not-so-engaging storyline and dialogue, and the general amateurishness of the book. So instead of tredging on I think it might be best for me to put Divine Leap aside and move on to something else. Improve my skills in another way. Maybe one day I'll want to re-visit the life of Anthony and his quest to find Beatrice but not until I feel I can do it justice.
So in conclusion I'd like to thank all of you who have dropped by to read the book especially for those of you have left comments or votes, those were greatly appreciated. I'd also like to really thank those who took the time to give me critiques on the book either in the comments or in the forums. Feedback from people like mykill (not even sure he's still around) really gave me a sense of where I needed to improve. I'd like to think that I put at least some of their comments to good use. And the support from my friends who actually took the time to read the book like Carl, Jason, and Dave helped me get at least this far. I'm sure there are more to thank so basically if you're reading this, thank you.
So that's it for me for now. Hopefully I'll see you all again soon with something a bit more worthy of reading. Until then, take care of yourself.
Sincerely,
Darrell
PS. Oh yeah, in case anyone cares; No, that's not Beatrice in the bathtub.
Friday, December 08, 2006
Weekly comic reviews for December 6th, 2006 -- SPOILER FREE!!
Three books this week and I think I'll be able to keep spoilers to at least a minimum if not out altogether. This week had three books for me; Hulk, White Tiger, and American Splendor. So enough with the chit chat...
Hulk #101 -- Over all the story continues to be a good one but I don't find it being presented in the best possible way. For one thing I find the narrative choppy. There doesn't seem to be a flow to it and things just seem to happen abruptly throughout (stuff that shouldn't be happening abruptly that is). I like the regular artist on this book and he's consistent but the insertion of some Gary Frank pages seemed out of place. At first I thought those few pages weren't really well done but after looking more closely at them, it's not that they weren't well drawn but that they just didn't fit. Frank's Hulk looked more human-ish and more like his professor Hulk. The Hulk just prior to these pages (and afterwards) was more brutish looking, more of a monster, and bigger looking. If the Hulk appeared like that in two different comics I'd be okay with it. Having it in the same comic kinda took me out of it. And then there's the ship, the one the Hulk pulls out of the ground. It didn't look that big when Frank was drawing it but the next page it seemed huge. But I might have to double check that, I might have just missed a shot by Frank that showed how big it was. So all in all, it's a good story but it almost needs a cleanup to the storytelling.
White Tiger #2: The art is fairly solid in this book with a few little problems. Some times it's just that there seems to be a difference to the art from page to page. It's hard to explain but it's almost like there was more than one inker or something. Maybe there was, I didn't check the credits. Plus, twice now I've seen unexplained dangling feet. In the first issue there was a panel where she jumped down amongst a group of thugs and although you can see her amongst them you can also see someone from the waste down hanging from the top of the panel. Then in this book, it's the same thing. She drops down amongst the bad guys and you can see legs dangling above her. So I'm assuming it's the artist trying to draw multiples of her to show how quick she's moving but somewhere along the line the information is being missed because the legs don't match hers in colour and if you are doing that then you might want to make the snapshots of her faded (almost ghostly). The writing is pretty good as she explores her new powers and new costume and I'm starting to clue in a bit more about what's happening but there are still some hiccups. You could almost say that as a new superhero maybe that's the reason for it but there are times where the dialogue just seems to jump and I feel I missed something. As she jumps into the afore-mentioned fight she says something about the bad guy's driver (Cobra), then a few other people say stuff, then you have the bad guy say something about not needing "that Snake". As it's building to the fight I find I start to read a little faster but when I read that line I was wondering who he was talking to or about. Because the previous lines weren't really talking about anyone. I had to look further up to see what he was responding to. This kind of dialogue flow (or lack thereof) seemed to take me out of the moment. I think I said I was going to give this one more issue to test it out, I think it survived for another issue or two.
American Splendor #I don't know -- What can I say about this book that I haven't already said? It continues along the same lines of just telling simple stories from Harvey's life yet it's still addictive to read. Possibly because I see a lot of my own neurotic tendencies in Harvey. I think if I ever spent time with Harvey (which is weird for me to say) I'd probably go insane, feeding off his stress and how everything becomes an event until I snapped. Yet I enjoy reading about his life. I guess having that barrier helps. Yeah, not much else to say. The artists all bring their own personal touches to the story and it works. I really didn't think I'd be getting this much out of this series but I am.
Hulk #101 -- Over all the story continues to be a good one but I don't find it being presented in the best possible way. For one thing I find the narrative choppy. There doesn't seem to be a flow to it and things just seem to happen abruptly throughout (stuff that shouldn't be happening abruptly that is). I like the regular artist on this book and he's consistent but the insertion of some Gary Frank pages seemed out of place. At first I thought those few pages weren't really well done but after looking more closely at them, it's not that they weren't well drawn but that they just didn't fit. Frank's Hulk looked more human-ish and more like his professor Hulk. The Hulk just prior to these pages (and afterwards) was more brutish looking, more of a monster, and bigger looking. If the Hulk appeared like that in two different comics I'd be okay with it. Having it in the same comic kinda took me out of it. And then there's the ship, the one the Hulk pulls out of the ground. It didn't look that big when Frank was drawing it but the next page it seemed huge. But I might have to double check that, I might have just missed a shot by Frank that showed how big it was. So all in all, it's a good story but it almost needs a cleanup to the storytelling.
White Tiger #2: The art is fairly solid in this book with a few little problems. Some times it's just that there seems to be a difference to the art from page to page. It's hard to explain but it's almost like there was more than one inker or something. Maybe there was, I didn't check the credits. Plus, twice now I've seen unexplained dangling feet. In the first issue there was a panel where she jumped down amongst a group of thugs and although you can see her amongst them you can also see someone from the waste down hanging from the top of the panel. Then in this book, it's the same thing. She drops down amongst the bad guys and you can see legs dangling above her. So I'm assuming it's the artist trying to draw multiples of her to show how quick she's moving but somewhere along the line the information is being missed because the legs don't match hers in colour and if you are doing that then you might want to make the snapshots of her faded (almost ghostly). The writing is pretty good as she explores her new powers and new costume and I'm starting to clue in a bit more about what's happening but there are still some hiccups. You could almost say that as a new superhero maybe that's the reason for it but there are times where the dialogue just seems to jump and I feel I missed something. As she jumps into the afore-mentioned fight she says something about the bad guy's driver (Cobra), then a few other people say stuff, then you have the bad guy say something about not needing "that Snake". As it's building to the fight I find I start to read a little faster but when I read that line I was wondering who he was talking to or about. Because the previous lines weren't really talking about anyone. I had to look further up to see what he was responding to. This kind of dialogue flow (or lack thereof) seemed to take me out of the moment. I think I said I was going to give this one more issue to test it out, I think it survived for another issue or two.
American Splendor #I don't know -- What can I say about this book that I haven't already said? It continues along the same lines of just telling simple stories from Harvey's life yet it's still addictive to read. Possibly because I see a lot of my own neurotic tendencies in Harvey. I think if I ever spent time with Harvey (which is weird for me to say) I'd probably go insane, feeding off his stress and how everything becomes an event until I snapped. Yet I enjoy reading about his life. I guess having that barrier helps. Yeah, not much else to say. The artists all bring their own personal touches to the story and it works. I really didn't think I'd be getting this much out of this series but I am.
Friday, December 01, 2006
No Comic Reviews for November 29th, 2006
Unfortunately I picked up no books this week so I have nothing to review. I did pick up another Wizard Hot To Draw book and I'm sure I'll be eager to vent about how most of it is reprinting the earlier books but I haven't gotten to read it yet. Yeah, I don't know why I keep buying those.
Knowing that I had no reviews to do I was preparing to rant about some of the comic fans who have reacted to the latest Civil War delays with more attacks on the penciller, Steve McNiven, but I think it might be best to let it go. Instead, I wish McNiven the best as he recovers from strep throat. Funny, I say that as if he's going to read it. :) And as for the delay, at least it's not on the same schedule as the Ultimates book. Or worse yet, Spider-Man/Black Cat.
So unless I finish that Wizard book or find something else to rant about, I'll see you all next week.
Knowing that I had no reviews to do I was preparing to rant about some of the comic fans who have reacted to the latest Civil War delays with more attacks on the penciller, Steve McNiven, but I think it might be best to let it go. Instead, I wish McNiven the best as he recovers from strep throat. Funny, I say that as if he's going to read it. :) And as for the delay, at least it's not on the same schedule as the Ultimates book. Or worse yet, Spider-Man/Black Cat.
So unless I finish that Wizard book or find something else to rant about, I'll see you all next week.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Extra comic review -- Hip Flask: Mystery City with SPOILERS
After my unsuccessful attempt at ordering this book through my friendly neighbourhood comic shop (hey Dave) I decided to give the Chapters website a try. And I had it in a couple days. Granted, it was slightly squished in the packaging but it arrived all the same. So with spoilers, here we go.
Hip Flask: Mystery City -- Hey, they turned Nick Fury into a zebra!!! Okay, maybe not but the eye patch on the zebra guy was pretty funny looking. Off the top of my head, I like how the characters keep taking exception to being called "Elephantmen" yet the writers almost force the readers to do it (they even titled the second book and the recent ongoing series as that). It makes me feel weird using that word knowing that the characters I'm referring to would object to me using it. And it's interesting thoughts like that that make these books (both Hip Flask and Elephantmen) worth reading. Yeah, the art in this book is beautiful. The scenic shots are breathtaking. The "elephantmen" are all amazingly drawn. Yadda yadda yadda. :) But I'm just so glad that I decided to give these books a try. My only two gripes are the time between issues (this series started in 2002 and the fourth book is advertised as coming out in 2007) and that maybe the story could benefit from having stronger female characters (it didn't help that the female character I felt had the best potential for being a strong character was shot and seemingly killed in this issue... What? I said there'd be spoilers).
Hip Flask: Mystery City -- Hey, they turned Nick Fury into a zebra!!! Okay, maybe not but the eye patch on the zebra guy was pretty funny looking. Off the top of my head, I like how the characters keep taking exception to being called "Elephantmen" yet the writers almost force the readers to do it (they even titled the second book and the recent ongoing series as that). It makes me feel weird using that word knowing that the characters I'm referring to would object to me using it. And it's interesting thoughts like that that make these books (both Hip Flask and Elephantmen) worth reading. Yeah, the art in this book is beautiful. The scenic shots are breathtaking. The "elephantmen" are all amazingly drawn. Yadda yadda yadda. :) But I'm just so glad that I decided to give these books a try. My only two gripes are the time between issues (this series started in 2002 and the fourth book is advertised as coming out in 2007) and that maybe the story could benefit from having stronger female characters (it didn't help that the female character I felt had the best potential for being a strong character was shot and seemingly killed in this issue... What? I said there'd be spoilers).
Friday, November 24, 2006
Weekly Comic Reviews -- November 22, 2006
Three books plus a Wizard Magazine (which I won't be reviewing because I don't usually and I haven't read it yet). This week we have Civil War Frontline #8, Avengers: Earth's Mightiest #2, and Hip Flask: Unnatural Selection The Director's Cut. So let's get started shall we:
Civil War Frontline #8 -- Some of Jenkins' writing I've liked (Origin and a good chunk of his run on the Incredible Hulk) but other times I find I absolutely loathe it (such as Wolverine The End and the Hulk Annual where he had the Hulk trying to have sex with She-Hulk). This book is closer to the second category. We start off with Ben Urich talking to a police officer who seems to know way too much about how the villains are being used by the pro-registration side (right down to the technology they are using). And I don't mean he knows too much as in there might be more to it, he simply knows stuff that shouldn't be known (how the technology works, how someone is helping Green Goblin beat it, etc). Plus, it's a lot of pages of rehashing stuff the reader already knows. But then it goes downhill. The female reporter is introduced to a homeless man who has some information to show her but of course, it's Captain America in disguise. Putting aside the fact that Cap is supposed to be a little pre-occupied and really hurt (as shown in Civil War #5) and it seems odd for him to be hanging with homeless, that's not what irked me, what irked me was the dumb comments he made (while in disguise) about glass Coke bottles and watching baseball players that played before WW2. Either Cap is an idiot for not realizing he was making that mistake or he's an idiot for putting those clues out there intentionally even though he knows the woman should be under surveillance. Then we have She-Hulk being interrogated by the head SHIELD woman. The SHIELD woman threatens to have She-Hulk imprisonned because she suspect that Shulkie had something to do with what happened to Speedball (where he went all glowy and blew up). Her reasoning, She-Hulk was hurt when it happened and that doesn't make sense to her. That's her evidence? That She-Hulk has a cut lip and is temporarily blinded by the explosion? But what irks me is that when she outright says that she's threatening She-Hulk with life imprisonment and a host of other stuff, She-Hulk wilts like a daisy. The confident and normally straight talking She-Hulk who just recently stood up to Thanos (okay, it was a clone of Thanos but she didn't know that) now bows her head and accepts these kind of threats. And according to previews of She-Hulk she's actually going to start working for SHIELD (under the command of this woman). Way to take a proud heroic female character and turn her into someone who won't say "boo" when she's being mistreated. Then you have the SHIELD person leave to boss around Reed Richards. You see, Reed's treating Speedball for his gunshot wounds and for a bunch of identifiable masses or somethingorother that are growing inside him (which Reed also wants to identify). The SHIELD person orders him to stop so they can take Speedball back to prison. Her reasoning, she doesn't want Speedball getting special treatment. Ok, like getting a doctor to treat someone who was shot while in your custody is special treatment. And like it's a good idea to send someone who just exploded without any explanation and is now growing masses inside him that Reed Richards can't identify back into prison is just plain stupid. And of course Reed goes right along with it. Way to stick up for your patients doctor. The last story had the Atlantean ambassador come up for a press conference only to be shot by Norman Osborn (great security they have there, a homicidal maniac that they released and are now searching for can walk straight up through SHIELD agents and other superheroes while carrying a gun and no disguise). It was "meh". All in all, it was crappy writing and it belittled two major heroes making them act totally subservient to a woman who is obviously not one of the "good guys".
Avengers: Earth's Mightiest #2 -- It wasn't terrible but there really isn't too much in this book for me to get excited about. I'm not a big Avengers fan, especially the Avengers that are in this series, so a lot of it is lost on me. Heck, when I saw a woman with short slicked hair walking around in her underwear my first thought was that it was the Wasp, it wasn't until Hawkeye (who I mistook for Hank Pym as Hawkeye was also in his underwear) called her Natalia or whatever Black Widow's name is that it dawned on me. But other than that confusion (and a bad perspective job on one page that makes is look like Vision is a giant looking down at hobbit sized police) the art wasn't bad. But overall, I'm not really liking this book. I'll probably drop it.
Hip Flask: Unnatural Selection The Director's Cut -- I wish I could compare this book to the original "cut" but I didn't catch the differences (it's been a while since I read that book) so I can't. But it was nice to go back and read this issue now that I have a better feel for where the story was going. And that might be something to think about, perhaps this book could have been improved by having a brief scene showing the "Elephantmen" now (living amongst people) before going back to how they were made. Just so you know where the meat of the Elephantmen stories will take place. But overall, it was enjoyable to read yet again. It has some interesting ideas, some great visuals, and is an all around great book. Now if it didn't take a couple years between issues it would be great (but at least we have the Elephantmen series to keep us happy).
Civil War Frontline #8 -- Some of Jenkins' writing I've liked (Origin and a good chunk of his run on the Incredible Hulk) but other times I find I absolutely loathe it (such as Wolverine The End and the Hulk Annual where he had the Hulk trying to have sex with She-Hulk). This book is closer to the second category. We start off with Ben Urich talking to a police officer who seems to know way too much about how the villains are being used by the pro-registration side (right down to the technology they are using). And I don't mean he knows too much as in there might be more to it, he simply knows stuff that shouldn't be known (how the technology works, how someone is helping Green Goblin beat it, etc). Plus, it's a lot of pages of rehashing stuff the reader already knows. But then it goes downhill. The female reporter is introduced to a homeless man who has some information to show her but of course, it's Captain America in disguise. Putting aside the fact that Cap is supposed to be a little pre-occupied and really hurt (as shown in Civil War #5) and it seems odd for him to be hanging with homeless, that's not what irked me, what irked me was the dumb comments he made (while in disguise) about glass Coke bottles and watching baseball players that played before WW2. Either Cap is an idiot for not realizing he was making that mistake or he's an idiot for putting those clues out there intentionally even though he knows the woman should be under surveillance. Then we have She-Hulk being interrogated by the head SHIELD woman. The SHIELD woman threatens to have She-Hulk imprisonned because she suspect that Shulkie had something to do with what happened to Speedball (where he went all glowy and blew up). Her reasoning, She-Hulk was hurt when it happened and that doesn't make sense to her. That's her evidence? That She-Hulk has a cut lip and is temporarily blinded by the explosion? But what irks me is that when she outright says that she's threatening She-Hulk with life imprisonment and a host of other stuff, She-Hulk wilts like a daisy. The confident and normally straight talking She-Hulk who just recently stood up to Thanos (okay, it was a clone of Thanos but she didn't know that) now bows her head and accepts these kind of threats. And according to previews of She-Hulk she's actually going to start working for SHIELD (under the command of this woman). Way to take a proud heroic female character and turn her into someone who won't say "boo" when she's being mistreated. Then you have the SHIELD person leave to boss around Reed Richards. You see, Reed's treating Speedball for his gunshot wounds and for a bunch of identifiable masses or somethingorother that are growing inside him (which Reed also wants to identify). The SHIELD person orders him to stop so they can take Speedball back to prison. Her reasoning, she doesn't want Speedball getting special treatment. Ok, like getting a doctor to treat someone who was shot while in your custody is special treatment. And like it's a good idea to send someone who just exploded without any explanation and is now growing masses inside him that Reed Richards can't identify back into prison is just plain stupid. And of course Reed goes right along with it. Way to stick up for your patients doctor. The last story had the Atlantean ambassador come up for a press conference only to be shot by Norman Osborn (great security they have there, a homicidal maniac that they released and are now searching for can walk straight up through SHIELD agents and other superheroes while carrying a gun and no disguise). It was "meh". All in all, it was crappy writing and it belittled two major heroes making them act totally subservient to a woman who is obviously not one of the "good guys".
Avengers: Earth's Mightiest #2 -- It wasn't terrible but there really isn't too much in this book for me to get excited about. I'm not a big Avengers fan, especially the Avengers that are in this series, so a lot of it is lost on me. Heck, when I saw a woman with short slicked hair walking around in her underwear my first thought was that it was the Wasp, it wasn't until Hawkeye (who I mistook for Hank Pym as Hawkeye was also in his underwear) called her Natalia or whatever Black Widow's name is that it dawned on me. But other than that confusion (and a bad perspective job on one page that makes is look like Vision is a giant looking down at hobbit sized police) the art wasn't bad. But overall, I'm not really liking this book. I'll probably drop it.
Hip Flask: Unnatural Selection The Director's Cut -- I wish I could compare this book to the original "cut" but I didn't catch the differences (it's been a while since I read that book) so I can't. But it was nice to go back and read this issue now that I have a better feel for where the story was going. And that might be something to think about, perhaps this book could have been improved by having a brief scene showing the "Elephantmen" now (living amongst people) before going back to how they were made. Just so you know where the meat of the Elephantmen stories will take place. But overall, it was enjoyable to read yet again. It has some interesting ideas, some great visuals, and is an all around great book. Now if it didn't take a couple years between issues it would be great (but at least we have the Elephantmen series to keep us happy).
Friday, November 17, 2006
Comic Reviews for November 15th, 2006 -- SPOILERS!!!
I know, I was supposed to review 300. But I'm on vacation so I figured I'd just wait and do all the books at once. I'll save the rant (Civil War) until the end. So this week we have White Tiger #1, Civil War #5, Astonishing X-Men #18, The Great and Secret Show #7, and of course, Frank Miller's 300. And let's start there.
300 by Frank Miller -- As I was approaching the end of this book I started to say to myself over and over again that this would be so much better if Frank Miller hadn't done it. The story of the 300 Spartans is incredible on its own and doesn't need the Frank Miller tweaking that it gets here. Scenes that could be epic seem diminished while other scenes seem exaggerated, like much of Frank Miller's work. You could say that maybe he's ignoring the grand epic nature to focus on characterization but nope, I don't see that either. Few characters are even recognizable or last more than a page or two and I don't find any real character development in them. Besides which, I don't really find Miller to be all that great at developing characters (though to be honest, I didn't read his Daredevil stuff). There are some visuals that work and some parts of the story where you really get a feel for the importance of this story, then it seems to falter and trip over itself. I only hope the movie is better.
Astonishing X-Men #18 -- I knew the next story arc was supposed to start with the next issue so I kept wondering how they were going to tie everything up in this issue. Turns out, they don't. Courtesy of SWORD, everything (and everybody) is temporarily bundled up and taken to Breakworld to continue this arc into the next one. In typical Whedon fashion, you get action, you get laughs, you get tears (okay, maybe not tears), ... you know when you're picking up a Joss Whedon book you are getting the full Whedon. The ball of string, the beer, Cyclops' actions throughout, all top notch stuff. The art continues to be great. This is the X-Men that I have been wanting to read for the last however many years. I'm tired of gushing about this book, just read it.
The Great and Secret Show #7 -- Why do I keep doing this to myself? I really should wait until the series is done and read it all at once. Maybe wait until the Trade Paperback. The art is great. The writing is good (though I do wonder why we have to sit through the old guy recapping events for the woman, events we've already seen, I kinda started to gloss over that which is bad). But the story doesn't seem to work as a monthly (or however often it comes out) book (at least for me it doesn't). There's just too much going on, too many characters. I'm thinking that after I'm done with this series I should read the novel again. Then I'll be ready to tackle the sequel which I have had on my shelf for ages.
White Tiger #1 -- I have no clue why I picked this book up. I guess after spending some time reading the complaints about women in comics I decided that I should pick up a book with a female lead. The art was good but obviously Marvel's not using one of their top tier artists on this book. That might sound harsh but I don't mean it that way. It's good solid art. The story is a fine start, the usual adjusting to hero life (first night out mistakes, bad costume, being mistaken for a mutant, getting a costume, etc). It's going over some of the "realistic" aspects of being a superhero. But I did find myself swimming in details. There was a lot to absorb with the new characters and such, and I think there was an attempt at flashbacks that went over my head. It was good enough to try out a second issue but I hope I can catch on or it's going to lose me.
Civil War #5 (Let the rant begin) -- Finally! Finally, they give Iron Man his time to talk. To try and redeem himself. And they put Cap's morals to the test having him recruit the Punisher. Unfortunately, it's too little too late for me. If this series had been about "registering" and nothing more than that talk would have gone over a bit better. If we didn't have the destruction of habeus corpus, the silencing and manipulation of the media, the sentencing friends and allies to torture and death in the Negative Zone, the cloning of gods and then removing any rights and freedoms of that clone by making it obey any command you give it, recruiting homicidal maniacs to hunt down people, and all that other fun stuff, then I could see where Tony was going. But unfortunately, that ship has already sailed. He talks about the people being against heroes (although Marvel's world wasn't as pro-hero as it could have been, it seems like a stretch to say the support the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and others had disappeared so quickly and without notice), he and Reed seem to be encouraging that with their silencing and manipulation of the media in Frontline. He talks about needing to make a prison in the Negative Zone because Ryker's won't work, well that would make sense if superheroes had been using Rykers but time and time again the big brains in the Marvel Universe have created prisons to confine criminals that don't force mental breakdowns and suicides. But now that you need to confine friends and allies, you create this. And come on, bringing up the safety of Mary Jane and Aunt May, you might as well have been threatening them yourself. He talks about people inside the government and SHIELD forcing an even more evil agenda through if the registration didn't go through, and these are the people you're putting in control?
The book itself is a fun book to read and the art is great. But for me, it just doesn't fit. Marvel wanted to make waves at any cost and I think their heads swelled a little too much when they started thinking about shock moments they could thrown into the story even if it didn't fit. The registration should have been left at that, a registration. The draft, the prison in the Negative Zone, recruiting villains, and all that other fun stuff should have been a what if story that is meant to show what would happen if the registration was taken to the next level. People say DC went too dark with their characters (Identity Crisis) and had to pull back. Now it seems Marvel wants to one up them and personally, I'm hoping Superboy has it in him to punch through one more wall.
300 by Frank Miller -- As I was approaching the end of this book I started to say to myself over and over again that this would be so much better if Frank Miller hadn't done it. The story of the 300 Spartans is incredible on its own and doesn't need the Frank Miller tweaking that it gets here. Scenes that could be epic seem diminished while other scenes seem exaggerated, like much of Frank Miller's work. You could say that maybe he's ignoring the grand epic nature to focus on characterization but nope, I don't see that either. Few characters are even recognizable or last more than a page or two and I don't find any real character development in them. Besides which, I don't really find Miller to be all that great at developing characters (though to be honest, I didn't read his Daredevil stuff). There are some visuals that work and some parts of the story where you really get a feel for the importance of this story, then it seems to falter and trip over itself. I only hope the movie is better.
Astonishing X-Men #18 -- I knew the next story arc was supposed to start with the next issue so I kept wondering how they were going to tie everything up in this issue. Turns out, they don't. Courtesy of SWORD, everything (and everybody) is temporarily bundled up and taken to Breakworld to continue this arc into the next one. In typical Whedon fashion, you get action, you get laughs, you get tears (okay, maybe not tears), ... you know when you're picking up a Joss Whedon book you are getting the full Whedon. The ball of string, the beer, Cyclops' actions throughout, all top notch stuff. The art continues to be great. This is the X-Men that I have been wanting to read for the last however many years. I'm tired of gushing about this book, just read it.
The Great and Secret Show #7 -- Why do I keep doing this to myself? I really should wait until the series is done and read it all at once. Maybe wait until the Trade Paperback. The art is great. The writing is good (though I do wonder why we have to sit through the old guy recapping events for the woman, events we've already seen, I kinda started to gloss over that which is bad). But the story doesn't seem to work as a monthly (or however often it comes out) book (at least for me it doesn't). There's just too much going on, too many characters. I'm thinking that after I'm done with this series I should read the novel again. Then I'll be ready to tackle the sequel which I have had on my shelf for ages.
White Tiger #1 -- I have no clue why I picked this book up. I guess after spending some time reading the complaints about women in comics I decided that I should pick up a book with a female lead. The art was good but obviously Marvel's not using one of their top tier artists on this book. That might sound harsh but I don't mean it that way. It's good solid art. The story is a fine start, the usual adjusting to hero life (first night out mistakes, bad costume, being mistaken for a mutant, getting a costume, etc). It's going over some of the "realistic" aspects of being a superhero. But I did find myself swimming in details. There was a lot to absorb with the new characters and such, and I think there was an attempt at flashbacks that went over my head. It was good enough to try out a second issue but I hope I can catch on or it's going to lose me.
Civil War #5 (Let the rant begin) -- Finally! Finally, they give Iron Man his time to talk. To try and redeem himself. And they put Cap's morals to the test having him recruit the Punisher. Unfortunately, it's too little too late for me. If this series had been about "registering" and nothing more than that talk would have gone over a bit better. If we didn't have the destruction of habeus corpus, the silencing and manipulation of the media, the sentencing friends and allies to torture and death in the Negative Zone, the cloning of gods and then removing any rights and freedoms of that clone by making it obey any command you give it, recruiting homicidal maniacs to hunt down people, and all that other fun stuff, then I could see where Tony was going. But unfortunately, that ship has already sailed. He talks about the people being against heroes (although Marvel's world wasn't as pro-hero as it could have been, it seems like a stretch to say the support the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and others had disappeared so quickly and without notice), he and Reed seem to be encouraging that with their silencing and manipulation of the media in Frontline. He talks about needing to make a prison in the Negative Zone because Ryker's won't work, well that would make sense if superheroes had been using Rykers but time and time again the big brains in the Marvel Universe have created prisons to confine criminals that don't force mental breakdowns and suicides. But now that you need to confine friends and allies, you create this. And come on, bringing up the safety of Mary Jane and Aunt May, you might as well have been threatening them yourself. He talks about people inside the government and SHIELD forcing an even more evil agenda through if the registration didn't go through, and these are the people you're putting in control?
The book itself is a fun book to read and the art is great. But for me, it just doesn't fit. Marvel wanted to make waves at any cost and I think their heads swelled a little too much when they started thinking about shock moments they could thrown into the story even if it didn't fit. The registration should have been left at that, a registration. The draft, the prison in the Negative Zone, recruiting villains, and all that other fun stuff should have been a what if story that is meant to show what would happen if the registration was taken to the next level. People say DC went too dark with their characters (Identity Crisis) and had to pull back. Now it seems Marvel wants to one up them and personally, I'm hoping Superboy has it in him to punch through one more wall.
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