Been a while...now with comics!

Been a while since I last posted anything. So here's a few random thoughts.

Marvel kills Captain America after throwing good guy against good guy in an attempt to shake of a share of fans, and DC brings back Mr. America. Marvel responds by turning the Hulk red and more zombies covers.

Northlanders was okay. I've been waiting for a Norse/Viking comic for a long time. Thor doesn't count, because my god of thunder and rain doesn't sew dinner plates to his chest. I was excited when I first heard about this comic, but something didn't quite sit well with me after I read the issue. The art is fine, but I think it's the fact that it reads like a modern story (modern cursing included) that just pulls you out of the atmosphere.

Countdown is actually becoming decent now that it isn't mired in all the crossovers it once was. About time DC realized it wasn't working, and it only took them....6 monthes? I really do want Jimmy Olsen to die, and I'm still confused about the rest of the cast.

Arena was interesting, but plese tell me that wasn't our Nightshade from Shadowpact that was disarmed. I liked her as a character in the book, so maybe that's why the book has felt a little off for a while. Interesting abilities and an old school looking costume. It's like they changed outfits to update the characters, but she was one of only 2 or 3 that kept their old outfit (hate Enchantress' current outfit - older one was much better, and Detective Chimp does not need spandex). Figured Red Rain Batman would win since he is, after all, undead. I still don't get Monarch - is he supposed to be written like a mary sue character?

I think Supergirl is finally on the right track. I think that is also a scary thought.

WB rips another one

http://www.newsarama.com/AniShorts/390/Eon.html

It's not Mega Man, honest!
he just has an awesome helmet, awesome enhanced arm, a kid sister, a robot dog, and a mysterious older guy wearing a big scarf. Oh, and he's red!

I wonder if the dog can transform into a hoverboard...

Seriously though, absolute ripoff.

http://www.dan-dare.org/Dan%20Megaman/MegamanBig2.jpg

Wonder Woman casting possibility.

Katie Holmes as Wonder Woman.

I have two words:

NO THANKS.

It's not that I dislike her, even if I didn't like her in Batman Begins. It's that her acting ability is kind of...I don't know...flat I guess. She doesn't have enough on screen power to pull off a strong role in my mind, and this is the freaking most powerful female in DC we're talking about.

I know I'm being premptive in my ranting and I admit I haven't seen but the one movie with her in it, but this is just bad casting in my mind.

Officially boycotting 'Transformers' in theatres

Final stray was pulled to cause me to 100% boycott the upcoming movie.

"It's 'Transformers' -- you can't take it too seriously,"
--Director Michael Bay

Thanks for deciding not to take the franchise seriously, and my interest in seeing what would have been this fanboy's 20 year old dream...

Countdown issues

Is it just me, or does it feel like the writers of Countdown are not communicating with the other writing teams?

Personally, I find it annoying that the monitors are showing up everywhere with conflicting agendas. Maybe that's on purpose, but it isn't very smooth in any case. Nevermind the obviously inconsistancies with Black Adam.

Personally I would have taken him off the radar for several years, only to make a brief appearance during this new crisis - and then only after his upcoming miniseries. I mean, come on, I would have saved the return of his powerword to be the surprise twist ending of the mini. Here we are, spoiled as a silly plot device. I think it would have been better to bring out Eclipse, rather than have Mary joyride with Black Adam's lightning...

With 52 universes to watch over, the Monitors seem to be overly concerned with this earth. Why are they so worried about this Earth? Is Earth1 the hotspot for the multiverse's spring break and we need additional law enforcement or something?

Still, I can't be totally annoyed with DC over Countdown. I'm just annoyed that they seem to be in perpetual balance over what is good and bad. They let promising titles slide indo mediocrity, while the titles we like to laugh about actually gain promise - and the cycle repeats usually.

Justice League is actually decent now that it is crossing over with an already great title (Justice Society). 52 gave way to Countdown and lacks power, even with the awesome Dini driving it. Donner's Superman has practically vanished, while all-star batman is actually seen a new issue appear. Simone is moving from Birds of Prey to Wonder Woman, to bring that title out of a horrible slump - and hopefully BoP won't fall in quality...

At least I'm happy to say I'm through with Marvel. Only one thing could have tempted me back, but after hearing that DC maybe starting a norse comic I feel safe in saying Thor will not bring me back.

Norse Gods should not wear dinner plates as armor, nor should they be well groomed.

Something to note about the new Hulk movie

First of all, as many who know me would know, I loved the Hulk movie directed by Ang Lee. I have no clue how accurate it is to the comics, but I love the way the movie plays out the character drama.

As many people on the internet would know by now I'm sure, there is a new Hulk movie in the works with Edward Norton and Liv Tyler. I fear for this movie, firstly, because the director is the same guy who directed The Transporter. I didn't particularly care for this movie, but it did have style. Before people get too hyped, however, know that he also directed Dead or Alive.

Behold, Dead or Alive:


Also: Poor Devon Aoki. She just can't seem to break out of being typecasted.

About this statue thing...

WIth so much flak being shot around from so many sides on this MJ statue thing I feel like I should at least say something about my whole take. Everyone is doing it, so why not? I mean, there is something to this issue, otherwise I don't think the mass media would have even registered it.

First of all, Adam Hughes is not to blame. Marvel hired him to create the concept art the statue is based on, and he drew it. That isn't the issue. Hughes drew a decent pic, and how much of the controversy is that image causing? Hughes takes his liberties with anatomy, but at least his art shows he understands anatomy.

The sculpture holds most of the blame. Hughes made his image of MJ becuase he was paid to produce it, and then it was handed off to the sculpture to turn it into a 3d piece. They took liberties as they translated the work. Liberties that included a ripped seat in the jeans and the removal of MJ's gastro-intestinal tract.

Yes, the image is sexist and was made for male fans. How do I know this? I'm no expert, but I would think that in order to maintain balance in that type of pose she would have had to bend her knees ever so slightly. She isn't, and therefore presenting herself to the curious fan that figures out how to turn the statue around. To those who would suggest it wasn't intentional, I return to the point that the sculture has a rip in the seat of her jeans. It's a bonus, right?

Marvel should hire people to be a little more accurate with their 3d art. Take notes from the Women of DC busts that Hughes designed. Sure they're sexy, but in a good way - if that's possible. What I mean by that is that they retain the "good girl pinup" feel that Hughe's art tends to be known and admired for.

At least that's the unedited opinion of a male artist that feels he knows what he knows fairly well.

Dark Knight vs Joker, thoughts

So most people know about the 'I believe in Harvey Dent, Too' site. Well the Joker is just about totally revealed now and I can only think one thing.

Why do they feel a need to have the Joker's smile a cut lip smile? I know the Joker was originally inspired by 'The Man Who Laughs' but Joker in the comics has never had a cut grin to the best of my knowledge. If anything, give him a prosthetic chin enhancement. He has a big chin, not a big mouth. The mouth only looks big because he is always smiling/laughing.

Still, as much as I can complain about this bit of visual disgust over artistic liberties, I still have to remember how well Batman Begins was pulled off. The same crew is working on this movie. Here's to having a little hope placed in Nolan to know what he's doing.

Not so Green

This current arch of Green Lantern has yet to really pull me in like previous stories have. It may still be a bit early in this arch, but after two installments you would think it would at least have a thread to pull you into the story. I have my theories, of course, as to why I'm not enjoying this as much as I probably should.

1) The art.
Being an artist I think I can hold this reason as important. Sure there are artists out there that use one face or one body, changing clothes and hair to make a new person. Afterall, the Earths based Green Lanterns themselves have different masks - Zorro style (hal), ink blot style (kyle), red head (guy), and African American (john). Yes, I know it's not nice to break them down like that, but it appears true to form. There is a lot more diversity in the Corps, but this isn't the Corps title. This is Hal's title, and aside from hair color you wouldn't be able to tell either girl apart.

The other thing I'm not enjoying a whole lot about the art is the painted aspect. Now, I can't be overly harsh since I did like some of the scenes in the previous issue (like inside the jet with the switched land and sky background). This issue, however, didn't have the same feel.

2) I don't care about Star Sapphire.
I've never had any interest in her as a character/villain. This is probably partly due to not knowing the character that well, but after learning the origin of the entity I still don't care much about her. I think this is because she appears one-dimensional. She'll do anything to mate with Hal Jordan. I know plenty of fan girls lust over Hal's rear, but come on. She doesn't need a quick fix by throwing a touch of trajedy or angst, but I think for me to have any interest there needs to be something for me to grasp onto.

Also, and this relates to the art portion of my dislikes, is the fact that the other blue people who appear to be related to the Guardians are far larger than the Guardians. These Oan Amazons, as aluded to in the issue, just don't fit visually. This also leads me to my next reason.

3) Oan Amazons?
Seriously, this is a tie-in to the Amazon Attacks mini if I have ever seen one - and I see a lot that doesn't connect. This likely won't tie in directly, mind you, but isn't it a little obviously timed well with its referencing? Also, isn't the build up very similar in concept? Even the clothing is similar.

On one hand you could probably argue that ideas get repeated through time, or have a tendency to ripple into repitition. It's an easy explination, but it still leaves a bit of creativity to wish for.

In the end, however, I'm still going to finish reading this arch. Geoff Johns is a bit of a trade writer, so you can predict that twists will occur in another issue or two. Maybe then I'll find a chunk of the excitement in this story that I had in the previous arches. Even if I don't I still have the Sinestro Corps to look forward to after this bit.

DC's STILL going downhill it seems

I've bounced from sinus infection to a cold, and last night I hallucinated a bit while trying to some-how sleep.

And, I wake up to see this, ss posted by Ragnell,
http://www.afhub.com/toy-fair-2007-update-ame-comi-super-heroines/

First reaction?
OMG MY EYES ARGH

Seriously...they freaking scare me.

Especially Supergirl.
Batgirl isn't too poorly concieved.
Catwoman....no.
Power Girl? very no.

I want to crawl back into a dark corner and forget today has even occured...

DC Movies and their slow collapse

WB and DC seem to be fracturing at the seems when it comes to movies now.

Joss Whedon off Wonder Woman - It would have had great pacing and good dialogue, but I always felt his take might not have been the one non-whedon groupies would have liked on the whole. I do approve of who he had it might for Diana visually at least. It would have done well in any case.

Now there's the confirmed word that David Goyer is off the Flash - This is something I would normally slam my head on my keyboard for, because knocking him off that title after all I have read is a very very stupid move. I was really looking forward to this movie, even though I don't know a whole lot about the character. He's got great villains from what I've seen and read, even if much of them come across as less able Batman rogues.

Both of those moves toss both properties back into development hell. Afterall let's face it, who cares about those two when you have Batman and Superman?

What's next? James Cameron off Aquaman? To bad that was only a rumor spun out from a tv show's subplot. It would have been awesome.

Green Arrow will never have a movie, and let's just forget about Steel, shall we?

It's been a month now...

...since I've posted here. What's new? Well, I've been sick this week - on top of fatigue and exhaustion from work. I haven't been getting much done lately, and have barely written 2 pages on my novel.

Yes, I have been reading comics, and wondering if DC has noticed a slip in the quality of their print. The main titles barely stick to schedules, and the side titles are very average at best. I'm put off from Batman thanks to that Grotesk storyline and confedential fels very cookie-cutter and I dislike the art in it. Manhunter's been recanceled, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman might come out in a month. Where's Action Comics? Is Legends of the Dark Knight really ending?

Spawn wasn't too great this past week either, retconning in a craptastic reason why Al can't go home after remaking the world at his command.

Don't even get me started on Marvel...

Maybe I'm just in a bad mood, but seriously, things are not looking too bright this year. There's possible hope for Cassandra Cain, but with some of the choices DC's made recently have not reflected too well.

"Heroes"

I've been forcing myself to watch Heroes, and honestly that means one of two things in my book. One is good and the other is bad, obviously.

I want to like this show, I really do, but it just tends to hurt to have to sit through an hour of it. See, Lost and Dr. Who fly by for me in their timeslot. Even Battlestar Galactica can feel like its moving by fast when it isn't all angsty with pointless flashbacks.

This show, however, really drags along.

I blame the writing first. It doesn't matter who thought it was a good idea to put certain characters in, but if they are not written to be interesting the characters fail. They then produce a moment where I start to think getting something to drink before the commercials roll wouldn't be a bad idea. Seriously - I've fixed my dinner while the show was still the show due to a lack of interest in a plot segment.

In my book, there are only three interesting characters out of how many? I honestly don't know how many characters there are. They all tend to blur together on the sidelines.

Hiro, of course, seems to be the only one really advancing the plot. For a long time he also seemed to be the only one actually doing anything worthwhile. He accepts his powers and is trying to use them for good - That, my friends, is what the show is supposed to be about, right?

Then there's Peter, who I am starting to enjoy as of recently. He is also using his power to help others, though he doesn't quite get the chance to be selective over his power. He risked his life, unsure what would happen - and that is also the very definition of being a hero.

As far as I can tell those are the only two actual heroes in the show. That is terrible in my opinion.

Oh yeah, I said three people didn't I? The other is this Syler guy that absorbs other people's powers after killing them. He's got some real potential to be a great villain so long as they don't wholely overpower the guy. I just hate that the girl that was the Indian guy's neighbor was killed because of him, becuase I also liked her despite limited character development.

Anyway, here's me yelling out that the show needs a lot of help in the concept department. They have something that could work really well, but right now it feels like bare minimum.

On a side note: Imagine how awesome the show would be if Frank Miller wrote it? It would probably not make a whole lot of sense and offend a bunch of people, but at least it'd be fun to watch...

blah

Laptop is dead, so I'm having to recover things by memory. Part of the reason for not so many updates, since I used the laptop for all my writing. Nothing too new, but this weekend I will begin typing about comics once again. Good stuff this week, so I have good reason.

Also, tomorrow is the local comic convention. It's a single day event, so I'm going to be running out to see what is available.

Two very different things to mention briefly

First: What the heck did Yahoo do to their front page? It looks horrible with all the extra graphics tossed in. It's highly confusing and requires a while to load. The new lay out is a terrible mess of everything that a front service page should not be. I'm just glad they gave an option at the bottom to reset back to the text-friendly old page. Not everything should copy an OS look. I like my no-nonsense text when I read my news.

Second: Screw you, Marvel, for releasing all their second prints at the same time and multiple variant covers for Civil War. You bumped my single day comic purchase record far above its previous level, and makes me want to drop titles. It's almost assured I will not be reading Marvel for a long time after Civil War ends. I hope eBay can help me make up lost cash.

(Also, a big thank you to Israel for jump starting World War 3. )

Transformers, the Bay Film

It could be said that I'm a fan of Transformers, specifically gen 1. I happily review the comics as they come out. I know the main players, and I have my favorites.

I am also very worried about what Michael Bay is doing.

Recently an image of Optimus Prime in vehicle mode was leaked. He's based on a Peterbilt, which makes sense. He's not a flatnose, but that doesn't bother me so much. They are not used in America anymore as far as I can tell, and they were primarily a Japanese vehicle if I remember right. There are two things that bother me about this.

First, Bay stated that he chose the Peterbilt because he thought Optimus should be a massive 40-50 foot tall robot, and that truck could house enough insides to make the mass fit. I find this hard to take, since what makes Optimus Prime such a powerful character isn't his size. It's his charisma. I always thought he was maybe 25 feet tall, which probably makes sense for the flatnose cab. His battle prowess and such came from the Matrix, which was all the knowledge of those before him and such. Making him stand 40-50 feet is very much something Bay would do, because he likes taking things to a popcorn-extreme.

Second, Optimus is black with red flames for a paint job. Sit and think about for a minute, but don't take too long else you may burst a vessel in your brain. I don't think I really need to explain this. Optimus Prime is red with white trim and a blue frame. He is Red, white, and blue - because he's a real American hero. He doesn't have black, because that is Nemesis Prime or whatever they are calling him now.

There are also issues with changing some of the vehicles, but I'm not so worried about that. Bumblebee has always been trouble because VW doesn't like others using their vehicle image. I can accept his use as the bridge with the humans, because he has often been the one who was seen more as a kid than the other Autobots.

I can also accept Megatron turned into a tank. He has also been cannon-based. I can honestly say that turning into a Walther p38 would have caused a lot of general public outcry. As much as I love the symbolism behind that, the tank makes sense according to War Within and Gen2. Besides, it is an easy way for him to have his fusion cannon, if Bay keeps the fusion cannon.

I have worries about Soudwave and Starscream. Soundwave may still be a boombox, but that'll mean that Bay keeps him about 4 feet tall in robot mode. Starscream maybe tossed into the same lump with his "brothers" Thundercracker, Dirge, Skywarp, and Sunstorm (and the rest of the clones). Starscream is the one whose spark was screwed up, became immortal, and has megolomania on par with Megatron. Starscream is just impatient when it comes to victory. I hope Bay is aware of this, as are the scriptwriters.

I would love to have Shockwave appear because he is one of my favorites, but I don't see how he would make sense in this movie. If it gets a sequel, maybe, if they return to Cybertron. Dinobots also wouldn't make much sense in this movie, and Unicron should be saved till he could be used as a cap to a trilogy.

Other issues I'm curious about are the female transformers. There aren't many, because supposedly the models became more 'gender nuetral' through upgrades and time since they didn't reproduce in that way. Arcee would be the main choice, but I fear Bay will totally mess her up if he's included her.

Bay has said he wants to audition the original voice cast, or at least those surviving. Very smart move. He has also said that he doesn't want to show any robot modes beofre the movie is released so everyone who sees the movie sees it with a fresh mind. Stupid move. Transformer geeks will rip it apart by speculation.

Get Peter Cullen, show us Optimus Prime transforming into robot mode, and have his say "Autobots, roll out" with his gun in hand while pointing. If you do this, Mr. Bay, you will have won over us geeks.

Happy 666 day, everyone

About this time I wish I was in Hell for all the fun going on today, because it was a typical day at work. When got home I did nothing but lay around too tired to do much of anything.

I packed two shipments worth, which was nice. Just so you know, that doesn't mean two days worth of work - one shipment is the minimum amount we can send over. Basically, I did twice the minimum about of work, or, a little more than what I should have packed.

Anyway, happy number-of-the-beast day. One thing I can thank christianity for is their take on the end times. Celebrate 666 with plenty of sacrifices to the dark one (now accepting any directed my way)!

Comics!

Comics were a bit of a disapointment this week, but I'll touch on a few that were decent.

52 going on 4 weeks on schedule, and more Question & Montoya action. Space crew returns from the R/T war with Alan missing his eye and a huge Hawkgirl. Also, Mr. Irons is freaking out. I really wish these issues were longer, but hey, they come out every week so I have no room to make requests. So far the history of the DC universe segments are interesting (I know very little of it), however, I'm not fond of Donna Troy so her focus makes it a rough read for me. 7/10

Ion #2 - Starting to make a little sense, but Kyle Rayner is having identity issues. Bit of a fun issue, but I fail to see the logic of leaving the assassin that want you dead alone on Earth. I'll just figure Rayner couldn't think clearly, as he seemed to be nable to last issue as well. It should be noted, that Rayner really is something special becuase the Guardians are actually going outside telling the other Lanterns to leave him alone. 7/10

The Spectre #1 - This was the highlight of this week from what I read. I really liked Gotham Central, and this really feels like an extension of that series, and it is a smooth read. It doesn't really make much sense that god's vengence was put on hold worldwide for a year simply becuase Allen turned the offer down initially, but maybe the Spectre is getting his own chance to punish him for that year by forcing him to witness the craziness that the Spectre's wrath manifests as. Who knows, but comparing to the other Crisis Aftermath title this is such a better read. Two characters to keep up with, and a simple exploration of possibilities. 8/10

Transformers: Infiltration #5 - I initially had resurvations about this title becuase it started off slowly. I'm glad I stuck with it. The arrival of Megatron, and his jerking the Decepticons back in line really shows the reader how serious the character is. Everything is falling into a massive climax due for the next issue and the Autobots appear mostly helpless on the sidlines. 7.5/10

hmm

First thing I noticed when I got home and started reading news?

Batwoman made yahoo news

Is it really as big of a deal as everyone is making?

Saw X-Men 3 last night...

All I can really say is "wow."

Wow, as in impressive special effects.
Wow, as in terrible writing.

I'll try to keep spoilers out.

Honestly, I don't care that Ratner took over directing. I don't care that they killed people off. I don't care that Storm had more screen time due to her having an Oscar and demanding it.

Still, there was little plot except as an excuse to fight. Mutants tossed in that really didn't belong half the time (I'll admit you need many mutants for an army, but they don't all need screen time). Glaring continuity problems. And, contrary to what Piccard was trying to teach the kids early on, there are no ethics or morals involved at the end - it is just one massively pretty battle.

It's sad too, becuase there were several moments where the film touched a very strong core. Angel crashing through the window and escaping over the street protest. Close up on Rogue when the cure is announced. Magneto working his magic is equally fun to watch.

I'll give it a C overall. If it would have been well written and executed it would have been much higher, and only the visuals save it from a worse grade.