Heroes Season Finale -- SPOILERS

Yeah, I recorded it to watch it later so I'm a little behind.

Wow! I can't be the only one who was severely disappointed by that episode. I was really disappointed with the first half of this season and I felt the second half was only slightly better. But this episode sort of blind sided me. The battle with Sylar was ridiculous. I know they're under a budget and everything but the extended shots of Claire peeking through and then pacing around just annoyed me. And the number of things that seemed to just happen so easily to get from point A to point Z, well, I couldn't even keep count. I felt like I wasn't being told a story but getting the cliff's notes. The sudden "We need Nathan alive" stuff for example. Yes, they did end up explaining it quickly but only after they'd already come to the conclusion to do it. At first, it just seemed like it was plucked out of nowhere.

Even the stuff left open for next season doesn't catch me. Sylar still peeking out from under the Nathan blanket? Who didn't see that coming? Tracy back hunting down the people from building 26? Yippee. And Hiro suddenly saying he had to go home and nobody saying anything? He's there with people who know him, one of which is a doctor, another that's a Senator, and the Senator's mother who still has lots of power. Why would he leave and why would they let him? Unless they already know something (ie. he's dying).

Overall, the finale left me with questions but not in a good way. I don't even know if I'm going to be back to watch it next season, that's one question I have.

Weekly Comic Reviews for April 22, 2009 -- SPOILERS

Let's get right to it shall we...

Elephantmen #18 -- This was a powerful issue. The story was pretty simple and the art wasn't overly complex in its detail which fit well. The reader is presented the story in its most raw form without interference from a preaching narrative. In usual "Elephantmen" fashion, it concentrates on the characters while giving the reader a glimpse into a larger story. I think reaction will vary depending on the reader's beliefs and feelings toward the subject matter but it's done extremely well. I'm probably starting to repeat myself with my reviews of this book but it's just been so good.

Detective Comics #853 -- In case you were wondering why I'm reviewing this, it was the second part to the Neil Gaiman story. This was a pretty weird storyline, which I probably should of expected of Neil Gaiman. After the first issue I tried to explain it to my brother and was having a pretty hard time. I don't think I'm any better off after this one. It's something you'd have to read to get it and to be honest, I'm not sure I do exactly. But that's not necessarily a bad thing here. For me, it left me with a fantastic story about what it is to "be Batman". Though I'm sure everyone else who reads it would read that last line and go "What? Did he read the same thing I did?" And if Neil Gaiman ever saw this review (yeah, I know he won't but just go with me here) he'd probably say "This guy just didn't get it" and hope I never review his work in the future. But in the end, I really think it's worth checking out, it's a pretty amazing two issues. And who knows, maybe you'll be able to come back and tell me what it's "really" about. :) Oh yeah, my favourite line had to be the "retire and golf" line. I laughed at that and now I'm curious, if Batman can put so much into his belt imagine what he could do with a golf bag.

Angel #20 -- I've been enjoying this series more with the new creative team but this issue felt a little bit like a let down. It wasn't that bad but there were parts that I thought could have been done better. It seemed like the story jumped a bit at times and things weren't exactly clear. Things seemed to jump between panels or pages and it was a bit disorientating. One example that comes to mind is when the character transforms into a rampaging animal only to be unconcious in the next panel. Maybe we're supposed to surmise what happened but it didn't feel right to me. And there were other parts, like when Angel says "Mine is defective" (or something like that), I didn't know what he was refering to. I'm guessing he was talking about his sword not working on a demon but I felt that could have been more clear in the art. And around that time, it looked like Angel had large claws (his fingers were large and to a point), that seemed odd. It was just a lot of these little things that seemed to take me out of the story a bit. The overall storylines I'm interested in, I just don't think the execution is where it needs to be.

So that's it for this week. And yes, I'm now twittering. :)

Weekly Comic Reviews for April 15th, 2009

Wow, busy day today and I almost forgot to do my weekly reviews. That could also be due to only getting one book this week. So without further ado...

Mysterius the Unfathomable #4 (of 6) -- First off, I think Tom Fowler's art has been working well with this series. I think it's hitting the right tone and it works well in this issue with all the weird and "wonderful" creatures. Unfortunately though, I found this issue to run on a bit too long at too slow a pace. Maybe it's just that it didn't seem to keep up the tempo of the previous issues or we've just hit a lull in the 6 issue storyline (or, and this is a definite possibility, it was just me) but it seemed like too much of a chore to make it through. And maybe the dialogue (the rhyming) didn't help too much. Fortunately, we end on a cliffhanger with promise of some excitement in the next issue. Not a bad issue but not one of the better ones of this series.

And that's it. Kinda sad huh? Oh well, next week promises to be busy comic-wise for me.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century #1 preview

Newsarama has some preview pages here but just so you know, they try to blur certain body parts out but it may not be safe for some work environments. Anyways, I enjoyed the first two volumes but I wasn't a big fan of the Black Dossier. This looks to be more along the lines of the first two. So now the question, pick it up individually or wait for a TPB/hardcover version to put on my shelf with the other LoEG?

Wow! I seem to have a lot of things I want to blog about today... Perhaps I shouldn't have deleted my twitter account after all. :)

Very late but oh well...

I didn't realize this until now but despite Marvel's article talking about Rey Mysterio using Marvel characters as inspiration for his masks what character did he go with for Wrestlemania? None other than the Joker. Though I'm pretty sure it's not the first time he's gone DC, I think I recall a Flash one. But I do find the timing of it (with that article) pretty funny.

Weekly Comic Reviews for April 8th, 2009 -- SPOILERS

Well, I had hoped to get this review in on the weekend but I had a busy couple of days. I only had the one book last week, Ultimate Wolverine VS Hulk #4, so let's get to it shall we. And SPOILERS abound!

Ultimate Wolverine VS Hulk #4 -- I have to be honest, I found this issue somewhat lacking. Right from the start it seemed obvious to me that Betty would be She-Hulk in this universe so the issue felt like it dragged as they try to point to it being Jen Walters. It may also have to do with the time shifting as we are once again taken back into the past to see how it all came about, leaving the ending to this issue just moments after the ending to last issue. It just doesn't feel like anything is progressing. I'm pretty confident that will change with issue 5 since I can't see any reason to go back again (but I could be wrong). And all this is weird for me because I really think I should be getting into this book. The art is great, the dialogue smooth and witty, and the story is an intriguing one, but something about the execution of it just isn't hooking me. I wonder if it would be any different had I waited for the TPB.

I also had the opportunity to read Valerie d'Orazio's Memoirs of an Occasional Superheroine. I'm honestly still digesting it, going over and over a lot of thoughts and feelings that it's brought up for me. Right from the start, it's raw, it's powerful, and it's heart wrenching. I can't put into words just how much I admire Valerie's strength, to go through what she's gone through and be where she's at now, both personally and professionally.

The thing that has me thinking the most is that I'm opening my eyes more fully to the people I've associated with, some as friends and some as no more than acquaintances who shopped at the same comic store. Now I'd like to say that none of them came close to the people Val writes about but the truth is, I don't know. There was and always will be the rumours about one guy or another but that's all I ever heard, rumours. Heck, I've had several rumours spread about me, some from people I considered my closest friends. But I do know that I see bits and pieces that connect those people and the ones Val writes about, from the somewhat socially inept to the downright creepy. I'd have to admit to putting myself somewhere in the "somewhat socially challenged" category. And I still wonder about that guy who I saw at some conventions with the store name "Kool Kards and Komics" (the K's were always in big letters).

Perhaps one day I'll have some more coherent thoughts on this and I'll come up with something clever and insightful but that's all I have for now.

Zuda April Competition Reviews

Wow, it's been a long time since I did a Zuda review. And to be honest, I wasn't really planning on it this time (my comment about weekly reviews was about print comics) but since Ryan and Tim are looking forward to them... :)

In alphabetical order:
Cancer Troop 4 -- I thought this one was well done (though on a nitpicky note I thought the first few pages could have been a bit clearer as to what was going on). The art was unique, especially when it comes to the colour choices, and the characters were more interesting than I expected going in. And the pacing of the last few pages was excellent. But unfortunately, I just didn't feel there was anything in these first 8 pages that would make me want to vote for it. I'd like to see it continue just to see where it's going but that's not always enough to get the vote (especially when there are other books I really want to see more of).

Earthbuilders -- This is definitely a high quality book with solid writing and art. Perhaps if it wasn't constrained to 8 pages I would have liked the action to be a bit bigger (larger panels and a bit more pacing) but with more pages you have more room for storytelling. But unfortunately the story just didn't grab me, there just wasn't anything there I felt was "new". Perhaps if it were to continue and more of the story was flushed out I'd go for it but these 8 pages weren't enough for me.

Intergalactic Law: Grey Squad -- I actually had a hard time reading this one. There is some definite talent there but the story and pacing just seemed all over the place. It jumped ahead with no warning and we just kept getting snippets. The art was sort of hit or miss with me with some panels/characters seeming a little too sloppy for me. Even the talk balloons seemed a bit off at times either with too many or just drawn out kind of weirdly. It was pretty unique though and had a lot of potential. But unfortunately "potential" won't get my vote this month.

Mecha-Simian -- Maybe I just have Stephen Colbert on the brain for some reason but this one sort of reminded me of Tek Jansen in some ways. But that's neither here nor there. The art was pretty solid (though given time I think there's some room for improvement), good pacing, and there was enough story there to get the general idea across and engage the reader. I guess my only issue with this book was that the main character felt a little too "done before" with the only difference being this one is a monkey. But since we don't see any other good guys this doesn't feel too out there, I mean we also have robots and a talking ship already. So unfortunately I think this one falls just short for me.

Myth -- At first I thought this one was going to be a miss for me as the first few pages just didn't grab me but then the fifth page knocked me over. The art has a nice style to it and the writing is good. I generally skip the intro paragraph and go mostly by the 8 pages but in this case, the 8 pages left me slightly wanting and it was the intro paragraph that gave me a better idea of what to expect from this book. I think this is a bit of a negative on one hand (that the 8 pages just didn't feel like enough) but on the other hand, they were enough to make me check out the intro to see what it is that I just read. I could definitely see myself coming back to check this book out, especially if it keeps up this level of quality. And with more pages to work with I think it could really be good. So it remains on my short list of potential vote getters.

Pirate Eye -- I think the first thing that stood out for me on this book was the art and not necessarily in a good way. It's of a fairly high quality but too static. I just didn't feel any emotion or movement to the characters. Even a guy getting shot in the leg doesn't really seem to be reacting. And that scene could have been much more dynamic in its perspective. And I'm not sure if the writing really helped. Though the general idea seems like a decent one these 8 pages just didn't have any "oomph" to them, nothing that made me think "Wow!" It just felt like we were getting from point A to point B in a pretty straight line. So unfortunately I just don't think there's enough there for my vote.

Spy6teen -- Again, we have another high quality comic here. The art was great (though at times I thought the inking could have been a bit smoother) and the writing was well done with great pacing (combined with good layouts) and an interesting character. I'm already wanting to learn more about her backstory as well as see where things go from here. I really can't think of much in the negative category for this one. Perhaps I would have liked a bit more info about how/why a 16 year-old is a government spy but you could see that there was a story there and it's just something you'll have to wait to find out. And perhaps one could say we've seen similar stories to this but considering the high quality of these 8 pages again, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that once we get into the story it'll evolve into something different. This one is currently sitting as the favourite for my vote but I like to mull it over before I make my final decision. It really did get off to a great start.

The Daemon Brethren: Advent of Chaos -- You can tell that a lot of work went into this one, especially artistically, but I think it falters for me. First up, I think the brothers could have been a bit more distinct in their faces from each other. Some of the pages involving the action came across as a little confusing as to what was going on. Perhaps too much was just crammed into too little a space. And there were a few times where the art style seemed to differ so a bit more consistency in the art could be needed. Unfortunately, the story didn't really catch with me and when I read the intro paragraph I got even more confused. The story just didn't seem to flow and needed a bit more polish. That last page had me confused briefly as we move to Chicago suddenly and yet we have someone talking. It took a second before I realized that this was the conversation from the previous page continuing. I think that could have been executed better. So while there's some definite talent there, I just don't see myself following this book.

The Kind You Don't Bring Home to Mother -- Right off the bat I was pretty hooked into this story. It seemed pretty unique and the characters started to grow on me right away. The parents were great and I found myself chuckling at them the most. The art was solid and well laid out. The pacing was well done and the dialogue was great. Overall, I really don't have much negative to say about this one either. To be honest, after re-reading it for this review I think it's right up there beside Spy6teen. I'm not sure which one I will eventually go with and who knows, Myth might make a comeback over the weekend. :) I'm so indecisive, but at least it's a positive that there are a few books this month I'd like to see continue.

The Rise and Fall of the Penguin -- I think every book has an audience it reaches out to, I'm just not part of that audience for this book. I'd say I'm far from it. I didn't find it funny nor did the story really interest me at all. And the art really doesn't work for me either. I'm really not even sure there's much else I can say about it.

So that's it, I'm currently going back and forth between Spy6teen and The Kind You Don't Bring Home to Mother (which I think I'll call TKYDBHTM) with Myth still in the running.

Quick update on the reviews

I just wanted to mention that my weekly reviews will be delayed this week, possibly until the weekend due to a doctor's appointment tonight and my mother's birthday get together tomorrow.

Also, High Moon, Celadore, Bayou, and several others have update on Zuda and the April contest is under way. I haven't decided who I'll be voting for but after a first read through them I think Myth, Spy6teen, and The Kind You Don't Bring Home to Mother are the three frontrunners for my vote.

And I really need to organize my reading better as I'm currently trying to read 4 books at once including re-reading Watchmen, The 10-Cent Plague by David Hajdu, Valerie D'Orazio's Memoirs of an Occasional Superheroine, and still making my way through the Hulk Omnibus. Hopefully the long weekend will help.

Len Wein

I just wanted to comment on the news regarding Len Wein's house fire. My thoughts are with him and his family during this troubling time and my condolences on the loss of their dog, Sheba. I hope someone steps up and helps out a man who has contributed so much to the world of comics and beyond.

Weekly Comic Reviews for April 1st, 2009

I only picked up one book this week so this shouldn't take long. :)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #24 -- We have a Faith one shot here with her following through on her decision to help the slayers who have nobody to help them, she quickly learns about the "Slayer Sanctuary" and the action quickly picks up. Overall I thought this was a pretty good issue though it felt a little choppy at parts (more so in the beginning I think where things just seem to quickly fall into place in order to get Faith and Giles from point A to point B). Overall the story may feel a little "done before" but we do get to see a few character moments for Faith and the new slayer. So I enjoyed it but it didn't necessarily blow me away.

On the webcomic front, the latest update for Bayou contains some incredibly beautiful art and I really love this series. And I finally read through the Night Owls, and it really is well done. Sometimes the jokes or characters seem like something I've seem several times before but it's written intelligently enough to bring a new twist to it. So I'll be keeping an eye on that one as well.

And that's it for this week's reviews. Anything I missed?

Free Webcomics?

Newsarama just posted an article about a poll they conducted on their website about whether "digital comics" should be free. I'm actually somewhat surprised that the numbers are so high for paying for digital comics. And I think in many ways, I agree with a lot of what is said. First up, I think giving it away free does devalue the comics themselves. And I just don't think relying on advertising revenue is a viable model, you're relying on other companies to be successful enough to pay you and if they hit a dry spell so do you. Also, I've talked before about the feeling of "investing" through paying for comics in my previous rambling on webcomics.

On the other hand, I still haven't seen a model I'm entirely happy with. For one thing, I really want the download option or something similar. And this actually goes beyond just "download", I want the book to remain readable 5 years from now so this means it probably can't rely on one company's reader software. This wouldn't be for all books, some I'd be happy to just be able to read online and that's it. But other books, I may want to be able to open up 5 years from now and read it. So if the book is no longer available (because I haven't kept up with the subscription, the company stopped offering it, the technology used to read it is no longer supported, or whatever) then I can't. You could also go with the option of providing digital and print versions but then the creators have to take into consideration that their work has to fit both mediums and that could limit their storytelling techniques.

I also wonder where webcomics like the ones on Zuda, DrunkDuck or whatever could fit in this. I could see someone paying a buck for an issue of Spider-Man or the latest Brian Michael Bendis book but would they pay for an unproven talent with a new idea? Probably not at first. But if you give them away for free I wonder how many people will pay for them down the road. Perhaps if they are good enough some people will want that guarantee of being able to read them in the future and want a downloaded or print version. Or if you do try to fit them in then perhaps they can be freebies to start, pay to read some comic and you get a few pages from a Zuda/webcomic for free. But these are just ideas off the top of my head and the idea of giving these webcomics away for free does go against my earlier statement that comics shouldn't be made available for free.

Another issue I see is if companies go their separate ways on this then that could be a stumbling block. If someone wants to read two Marvel books, two DC books, two Dark Horse books, two Devil's Due books, two Image comics,... then are they going to be happy going to any number of sites, downloading software for each site, paying for each site, etc, etc. I'd probably get tired of it myself. I think it might even be better in some ways if one external company ran it. That would be an interesting model, especially if you tied in webcomics. So someone could pay to read an issue of Amazing Spider-Man, be given the option to add a few pages from a webcomic of their choice for free, and the money is split between Marvel, the webcomic owner, and the providing company (with Marvel getting the bulk of it). I can't really see this happening of course but I think it would be interesting. There is the huge risk that the comic companies would now have to rely on this external company to keep things running.

It seems the more I think and ramble about the idea of digital or web comics the more questions it raises for me. I also have friends who own or work in comic stores, and it scares me to think what this would mean for them.

Weekly Comic Reviews for March 25, 2009 -- SPOILERS

I'd like to say it was a fairly busy week for me comic-wise but it's just relative. Since I don't buy too many books a week of 3 books plus Wizard magazine is "fairly busy" for me. So let's get right to it shall we... Oh wait, be warned that all of this week's reviews will CONTAIN SPOILERS so you have been warned...

Runaways vol 3 #8 -- This issue seems to fit in with Moore's other books in terms of pace in that in the end, you don't really feel like much has happened. There's a lot of little events and character moments but it can feel like it's dragging on a bit. It's still enjoyable but I'm still looking for something more (and no, I don't even know what "more" is). The art was okay, I wasn't really a fan of Ramos on this book so this felt a little better for me, though there were some parts I felt could have been a bit better (Nico's look seemed off in some panels). And speaking of Nico, Moore has really been writing her as bad with the magics. I thought she seemed a lot more competent but since he's taken over, her spells have been going awry, more like she was in her early days. I kinda hope there's a reason for this but I have a feeling there isn't.

Skaar Son of Hulk #9 -- Well, at least someone can write a good Hulk even if it's not the current Hulk writer and it's not even the Hulk. Okay, that was uncalled for. A lot of people are really enjoying the Hulk series and I'm just bitter. Getting back to the issue in question, it has the feeling of things falling into place. Both literally (the ruler of Sakaar determined, people fall into line, etc) and in other terms (Skaar coming into his own, his character being flushed out a bit more, and we see there will be some progression made). I'm looking forward to seeing what Caiera and the Surfer have in store as the end of this issue was interesting to say the least. I think the series has also improved under Lim's art. I normally like Garney's art a lot but something just wasn't working for me with his work on Skaar. I think this book still has potential and I'm sticking with it.

Elephantmen #17 -- In some ways, you sorta know where this issue is going right from the start but I was still intrigued to see how it got there. And as is the norm for this series, the unique characters really make the story from the overzealous police, the old lady, right to Hip and Ebony. Also, we get a quick moment to indicate that the events from last issue of the Spore Wars story aren't necessarily over and done with which I rather liked because I had originally thought Miki's survival came a little out of nowhere. I love how the story just keeps growing with each issue of this series. I did find the art a little lacking in places and I found a few parts a little off (I don't want to get side tracked with the details but one jarring scene had two police talking helmetless and the next they were helmetted, it was rather weird, I wasn't sure if that was to indicate the passing of a small amount of time or whether the scenes where they were talking took place before they even started going after Tusk). As well, the two main officers just looked too similar once they had their helmets on. One seemed to be the older of the two (the bald one) but it became harder to distinguish them. So I thought there was some room for improvement there. I think I've rambled on enough though, despite some shortcomings (and what book doesn't have some) it was another strong issue from a series I continue to enjoy.

And I guess that's it for now. So let me know what you've been reading if you want. And if you don't then take care. :)

Watchmen

I finally got around to seeing Watchmen. I'm not going into great length on it, I think pretty much everything has already been said about this film. But overall, I really enjoyed it. I thought it was as faithful to the book as they could make it (though I know some would disagree on this point based on the major change in the ending). I could nitpick about this or that, or say what parts I wished were included but overall, I thought it was a great film.

Now if I could just get my hands on a copy of "Watchmen Babies in V for Vacation".

And for something totally unrelated, I also decided to catch up on the Guild recently. I had heard about it on some Joss Whedon sites and on the Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog DVD, and I thought Felicia Day was great in Dr Horrible, so I decided to check it out. It was good for a few laughs. I'm not actually a gamer but I still found it pretty funny.

Weekly Comic Reviews for March 18th, 2009 -- SPOILERS

Let's get right to it shall we...

Angel #19 -- I liked Kelley Armstrong and Dave Ross's first issue much more than the first 17 and I think this one may have been slightly better. I think the storytelling, the art, the flow, the dialogue everything seems to be working better for me. It's not really blowing me away mind you but I'm enjoying it. I've already pretty much decided I'll be dropping the series after issue 22 but I think I'll enjoy these last few issues.

Mysterius the Unfathomable #3 (of 6)-- I think I forgot to list this one in my monthlies last month. I guess it's because it's only been a few issues and I have a crappy memory. So my apologies for that. I found this issue to be packed with stuff being hurtled about at a very fast pace. And it works for the most part but I did have times where I had to go back and forth to figure out who was saying what, there were times I found that there was just so much crammed into it. But it worked well in giving a sense of urgency to the characters and the story. And Tom Fowler's artwork lends itself well to this kinda out there story and unique characters. I feel I should point out that one of the main reasons I started picking up this series is because Tom is a friend of a friend of mine but I've been pleasantly surprised by how much I'm enjoying it.

I also polished off two TPBs in the past week. Powers Vol 12 and Planetary Vol 1. Some quick comments on both but be warned MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW!!!

Powers vol 12 -- I'm rather happy that Deena is powerless by the end of this story, I really didn't like having her and Walker being powers. Though obviously her powers were a bit different than your standard ones. Anywho, it was a very intense chapter for Powers but a very well done one.

Planetary vol 1 -- I don't really know why I picked this up, I just noticed it on Amazon and remembered so many people talking about it in the past and thought "what the heck." On the one hand I like the writing and Cassaday's art is great (though I find he's improved a lot since this first volume) but on the other hand, I found myself shrugging off some of the "twists". The "tie" to Crisis/JLA/multi-world stuff, Doc Savage, Godzilla, the FF, the Hulk,... it just felt a little "done before" to me. But the main story of the Planetary themselves is interesting and I'm curious to see where it goes. The fact that it's only 27 issues/4 TPBs also probably helps, if it was ongoing I might not be as interested to see where it goes.

I think that's it for now. :)

Spider-Girl goes "digital"

So Marvel has announced that Spider-Girl will be continuing online via its Digital Comics Unlimited thingmajig. Could this be the start of something? Could we be seeing more and more books that aren't selling as well start moving online? And would it be seen as a viable money maker? And could this have saved some of the Marvel books I liked that were eventually cancelled?

I think we'll just have to wait and see. I will say this however, I do like that Marvel is trying to find a way to keep these books alive in some form or another. Though I'm sure someone will see it as them trying to get Spider-Girl fans shelling out for a subscription even though they only want that one book. But you can't please everyone. :)

A few things from the interview with Tom DeFalco:

"Marvel.com: Will the digital format change anything about the way you plot or script your stories?

Tom DeFalco: Not at first, but, as time goes on, I'll be experimenting with the format. As far as I'm concerned, the digital format is like the early days of television. It took the writers, actors and directors a little while to learn what could and could not be done with their new format. At first, everyone treated television a lot like radio, but then people realized that the actors could actually move around and that visual action could be used to advance the story. We're still learning what the digital format can do. You should ask me the same question a year from now."

I love that answer!

And...

"Tom DeFalco: I think it's time to introduce a whole bunch of new villains and supporting characters."

That was one thing I had said about the series before, I didn't like the Spider-Man foes or their knock offs that much. I'd be more interested in seeing something new.

And a final thought of my own, on the one hand I really hope they maintain top notch talent on whatever books they go the digital route on. On the other hand, I think it could open up the door to Marvel to possibly showcase newer talent.

Yahoo on comics

While visiting Yahoo I noticed they had a photo gallery of comic related pictures on their site and flipping through I see pictures of Captain America #25 (his death), the Hulk (movie version), Downey Jr (as Iron Man), Obama/Spidey, etc. and then I get to a picture of Ultimate Captain America and I read:

"This illustration released by Marvel Comics, shows comic book hero Captain America from the Ultimates universe. Marvel Comics, which killed off the veteran superhero almost a year ago, brought him back to life Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008"

Now I wonder how I'd explain to the layperson just how they got it wrong...

Edit: And would the layperson even care? ;)

Weekly Comic Reviews for March 11th, 2009 -- Pas de spoilers!

I got nothing.

Yep, travelled down to the comic shop and there was nothing for me. I did expect it but I had hoped I missed something or that I'd see something on the shelf that caught my eye but nope, nothing. At least nothing I really wanted to spend money on. So I went home and cracked open the Incredible Hulk Omnibus. I've had it for a while now but I've been busy reading other stuff. It's really interesting to go back and see how the character started. I find the Hulk to be one character in particular that has been portrayed in so many different ways through the years by the various writers so it's interesting to me to go back to the original Stan Lee/Jack Kirby stuff.

Which kinda leads me to a possible rambling. I don't have all my thoughts laid out just yet but it also connects to something that was said in the Comic Book Club's latest review video of Final Crisis #7. I think it was Alex who said that he feels Final Crisis would have been better for him had it been outside continuity. Then there were comments on Valerie D'Orazio's post questioning what will be the next classic graphic novel where it is suggested in order for a book to achieve this it will have to be something that is discreet. Which leads me back to the question that I've rambled about before, how should continuity be handled.

I have to say that Alex's comment rang true for me to a high degree. I haven't really been a big fan of the Marvel or DC event storylines as many felt forced to me and one of the reasons for that is that I'm always trying to figure out where it all fits and how everything got to these points so quickly. But if the events weren't part of some larger continuity, if we just had a story marketted as "Let's see what would happen if Norman Osborn gained control of SHIELD, etc..." and we could just brush it aside when it was done (which some of my friends have said that is how they look at it) then I might pick up the TPBs (provided I didn't have to buy 10 just to get all the crossover stuff).

And even the non-event books might fit into the same category. Looking at the Hulk we have a few points in his history I didn't like, John Byrne's second run, Bruce Jones' run, and Jeph Loeb's current run. But again, I find that for me a big problem is seeing how these fit in the overall storyline for the character and the Marvel Universe. Again, if they were marketted as a disjoint story I'd probably have less of a problem with them. I know there are other Hulk books that are said to be outside continuity that I've read and were of probably a lesser quality than these runs yet they didn't seem to rub me the wrong way like these runs did.

Now quite a few of my friends say that this is how they read comics anyways so they don't have the same problem that I do. So maybe I'm alone here but I do want to point at least some of the blame on the companies and writers as well. It's not like they are pushing the idea of the stories being disjoint and a lot of their stories rely on the continuity and they flaunt it when they can go back to tie their story into something that happened 20 years ago. And I think they encourage the idea that Spidey in comics now is the same guy Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created, the same guy that was on the bridge when Gwen Stacy died, the same guy that went through the whole clone saga, etc, etc. And I understand that, fans feel they have a connection to that character as they've been reading his life story so long it's almost like he's their closest friend (yes, I know how sad and geeky that sounds and maybe it's overstating it).

And that can be the biggest loss of dropping continuity altogether. Fans have grown attached to the character and if you're always playing with the idea that the Spider-Man in one story shares some elements of his history with some of the previous versions then is he really the same character? And if all we have are Hulk comics where the character may or may not share some of his history with previous versions can we really grow so attached to them? They may make for compelling individual stories but will there be something that makes the character speak to us if he's always speaking differently?

As you can see, my thoughts are still a bit messy on this subject. I could ramble on and on, going back and forth, but I think I'll just leave it for now because really, I have no answers yet. Maybe I'll do a more proper rambling on the subject in the future.

Hip Flask: Ouroboros???

In an interview over on CBR, Ladrönn had this to say about his current projects:
"I’m working on three projects right now. In the U.S., I’m drawing the second issue of “Hip Flask: Ouroboros,” ..."

This is the first I'm hearing of "Hip Flask: Ouroboros" and as a Hip Flask/Elephantmen fan I'm very interested so I'm putting it out there, anyone have any info on this?

A Few Tidbits...

I don't think I have any books coming out this week. That usually means I'll end up spending more money buying TPBs. :) So few tidbits...

I'm nearly caught up on Powers, I recently finished volume 10 (volume 11 is out and 12 is coming out shortly). I've been enjoying this series quite a bit but I'm a little uneasy at the direction the story seems to be taking. Though I'm hoping the writing will get me through it. One thing I'm kinda noticing is that with Oeming liking the 2 page spreads I sometimes get a bit lost if I don't notice the panels spreading over the break or the letter balloons falling right in the middle because I don't crack open the TPB far enough (don't want to break the spine). But that's just me I think. :)

I also picked up the Joker by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo. It was an interesting story with a unique look artistically. For Batman fans who can't get enough Joker I'd definitely recommend it.

In terms of Zuda comics, I'm still reading my usuals (High Moon and Bayou) and the new chapter of Celadore started and it looks good. I'm also curious to see where "I Rule the Night" is going. I haven't got through all the latest competition entries but some look very nice, I just hope some of the writing is of the same level of quality.

I am such an evil person...

Because I keep getting friends who had stopped buying comics back to feeding their addiction. Whether it's Fables, Elephantmen, Invincible, or even books I don't even buy (New Avengers and a crapload of other Marvel titles). I'm even working on my 18-month old nephew with Hulk and Spider-Man toys. Which leads me to... I'm going to be an uncle again. My brother and sister-in-law are expecting their second child.

Yeah, you got me. This post has nothing to do with me being evil, I just wanted to post my happy news in a weird way for some reason.