Friday, January 24, 2014

1-22-14 Comic Reviews

Hey everyone!

This week I wasn't in a good condition to record a video comic review so I decided to dust off the old blog for a written review. Now let's get into some comics!

DC Comics

Animal Man #27


This issue is filled with action: Buddy Baker (even stronger now thanks Bridgewalker) is fighting the evil Red Totem, Sheperd is trying to protect Maxine while fighting Brother Blood, and Ellen Baker punching a paparazzi for saying something about Cliff (Buddy and Ellen's dead son). Knowing that Animal Man only has two issues left, this issue definitely felt like the beginning of the end. I get the feeling that once this is over and Buddy returns to the Seed Planet to become the new Bridgewalker that will be the character's lead into Justice League United (starts in April). If you've been reading Animal Man since the first issue (whether issue-by-issue or waiting for the trade) you'll get a sense of satisfaction however new readers may want to read from the beginning to understand the full situation between Buddy Baker and the Red. Overall I'd say this issue was buy for longtime readers and a borrow from a friend for new readers.

Batman #27


One of the great things I like to see in a Batman origin story is how Batman (a vigilante) and Jim Gordon (a by-the-book honest cop) became allies in the war on crime. That's what you get in this issue. After Batman barely escapes a trap set by the GCPD, he winds up being saved by Gordon who tells the Caped Crusader how he learned about the corruption in Gotham's police through his partner. Batman then starts to take an alliance with Jim Gordon under advisement after some wisdom from Alfred. The issue ends with Batman discovering that Doctor Death is actually working for the Riddler. Since this is a re-telling of Bruce Wayne's first year of Batman, it makes sense that we get issues that focus on building relationships between characters rather than plot development (although the end scene reminds us who is the main antagonist of this arc). Batman's relationship with Jim Gordon is one of the important factors of the Batman mythology and it's good that Scott Snyder is taking his time with this. Also Greg Capullo is killing it on the artwork. This issue is definitely a buy.

Justice League #27


What doesn't kill you makes you stronger is the perfect description of Victor Stone in this issue. Knowing that Batman and Catwoman are trying to fight the ever growing Crime Syndicate, Victor asks his father (Silas Stone) and Dr. Morrow to upgrade him with technology available in A.R.G.U.S.'s Red Room. After his upgrade, Cyborg says he's going to find the android Platinum, but Morrow warns him it's a bad idea. The issue ends with Cyborg finding Platinum's creator, Dr. Will Magnus, who says the Metal Men were a failure. Geoff Johns does an amazing job showing Cyborg's strength as a character and his will not to give up in the face of danger. Also we get great scenes showing how Victor's relationship with his father has changed since Victor first became Cyborg. Plus one of the great things about Cyborg's upgrade is that now he looks a little more like his pre-new 52 appearance. Besides I'm curious about how the Metal Men will get involved in the Forever Evil story arc, and what Niles Caulder will do for his next Doom Patrol (since this the recent one was killed off by Johnny Quick and Atomica). Overall if you love Cyborg,Geoff John's writing style, and you've been enjoying Forever Evil, then this issue is a buy.

Marvel Comics

All-New X-Factor #2


The new X-Factor continue their mission to rescue mutants (Fatale, Abyss, and Reaper) captured by AIM. When Dr. Hoffman (head AIM scientist) reveals his plan to alter his energy (through Abyss and Reaper) to give himself near omnipotent powers but he's quickly defeated when Quicksilver moves Gambit fast enough to throw a charged card in Hoffman's ear drum. After Hoffman's defeated, the rescued mutants refuse to thank X-Factor because they were victims of Quicksilver's actions during Son of M. Since this new X-Factor works for a major corporation, I get the feeling they may have to intervene for some of Quicksilver's negative publicity at some point. Overall even though it's only been two issues I'm still on the fence about whether or not I should keep getting this title. Therefore I say this issue is a borrow it from a friend.

All-New X-Men #22.NOW


The trial of Jean Grey begins with Shi'ar soldiers showing up to the New Charles Xavier School for the Gifted and kidnapping young Jean Grey. A few seconds after Jean is abducted, the Guardians of the Galaxy show up and introduce themselves to the X-Men. Well this issue is very fast paced with Brian Michael Bendis quickly establishing the plot of the story involving Jean being captured by the Shi'ar and the X-Men have to team up with the Guardians in order to save her. I would say this issue is a good jumping on point for people who have been reading All-New X-Men but have not been reading Guardians of the Galaxy especially since Bendis is currently writing both series. Also this is a great crossover for two Marvel franchises that both have movies coming out this summer. Overall this story arc has the potential to be a buy, particularly if you're an All New X-Men reader interested in the Guardians of the Galaxy (or vice versa). However this particular issue is just a borrow from a friend because it's just a quick Jean Grey abduction sequence.

Captain America #15


Captain America and Nick Fury Jr. bring Nuke to the S.H.I.E.L.D. hub station for questioning. After Falcon drops Cap back to his apartment, Falcon returns to the hub station just as the Iron Nail pulls the old self-destruct my pawn (Nuke) just to free a more powerful captured ally (Dr. Mindbubble). Falcon saves Fury Jr. just as Nuke destroys the hub station. We also learn through the Iron Nail's monologue that Dr. Mindbubble experimented on the super soldier serum by lacing it with LSD and injecting it into himself. I'm interested to see how a psychedelic super soldier fits into the Iron Nail's master plan however I'm worried that this may take a while because of Rick Remender's slow and steady pace. Overall I would say this is a borrow from a friend.

Well that concludes this week's comic reviews. Sorry that this review not my usual style but I hope to get better and start making more videos real soon. If you like my blog entries please let me know if you'd like to see more of them. See you later!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Marvel's Ultimate Relaunch

There's an old saying "if something isn't broken, don't fix it", this does not apply to Marvel's Ultimate imprint. In 2008, Marvel released Ultimatum, which ended with the slaughter of nearly every character in the Ultimate universe. Now Marvel is relaunching several Ultimate series this August. Here's what the first issue covers will look like and some commentary.

Ultimate Comics: X-Men


This will be a new and different team of X-Men which is good because they suffered a lot since Ultimatum. Now the team's back and ready for action. Not only do you get the return of veteran members, such as Kitty Pryde and Iceman, but you also get some new members, Jimmy Hudson (Wolverine's son) and the Human Torch. First of all seeing Johnny Storm on the cover may have some people confused about why he's on the team since he's not a mutant. Well there is no more Ultimate Fantastic Four so Johnny's been living with Peter Parker and Bobby Drake (Iceman) for the past year, and with the impending death of Spider-Man obviously Johnny's gonna need a new place to live. The Human Torch on Ultimate X-Men may be an "out of the box" decision but so was mainstream Spider-Man joining the FF and that worked out so far. If you wanna know about Wolverine's son, Jimmy, and some other mutants that might be on the team then you should check out Ultimate Comics: X (although at this point you should probably wait for the collected edition to come out).

Ultimate Comics: Ultimates


Before I start talking about the series, I just want to say that this cover looks like Marvel's movie posters Photoshoped together. Now let's move on to the comic. In the past every comic to feature the Ultimates has been a mini-series, hopefully Marvel will finally make this an ongoing since these versions of Captain America, Iron Man and Thor don't have their own ongoings. I've always felt the Ultimates were at their best when the story was written by Mark Millar, but I have a good feeling about Jonathan Hickman after enjoying his run of Fantastic Four and FF.

Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man


No that is not Peter Parker with a new costume, it's a brand new Spider-Man for the Ultimate universe. If you've been reading the recent story arc in Ultimate Spider-Man then you know that Marvel is planning to kill off the Ultimate version of Peter Parker. Whoever the new Spider-Man is, the most likely explanation is that he's a clone of Peter Parker (probably the Scorpion clone from the Clone Saga), or Marvel could go in a completely different direction by putting someone completely different in the suit. Either way I look forward to this first issue.

Ultimate Comics: Hawkeye


This version of Hawkeye is more of a black ops agent than a superhero. This mini-series will focus on Hawkeye's background and how he joined S.H.I.E.L.D. then the Ultimates. Even though he's been featured in the previous Ultimates and Ultimate Avengers series, Hawkeye's never been given the spotlight until now.

All of these series look interesting and I hope these reboots draw in new readers and keep the old readers entertained. I'll probably check out X-Men, Ultimates, and Spider-Man. Also please feel free to comment about which series you look forward to reading later this August.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Summer 2011 Reading List

Well, it's that time of year again, summer. To me, summer is a time of vacations, BBQ's, and superhero movies. This summer comic book fans are in for a treat with a film about one of DC's big heroes, Green Lantern, and three movies from Marvel (two of which tie into the Avengers movie coming out in 2012 and a prequel to the X-Men films that focuses on Professor X and Magneto). After re-watching the available trailers online, I'm pretty excited for all four movies. While comic book readers are know some of these characters, most moviegoers are not familiar with the characters beyond their names and powers. Luckily, I've made a list of graphic novels that people can read before they see the movies if they want to know more about the characters.

Thor (May 6th):


Since it reprints Thor's first appearances in the Marvel universe during the Silver Age, Marvel Masterworks: Thor is a great companion if you're going to see the movie. This book tells the tale of how Odin sent Thor to Earth to learn humility in the guise of Dr. Donald Blake. During an alien invasion Don Blake finds the mystic hammer Mjolnir which transforms him into the thunder god Thor. This book also features the first appearances of Thor's first love interest, Jane Foster. Other than some differences in detail, this Marvel Masterwork is a perfect frame for the Thor movie coming out in May.


J. Michael Straczynski helped re-introduce Thor and the other Asgardians into the Marvel Universe. The story has Thor re-establishing Asgard in Oklahoma and dealing with Tony Stark after Tony made a clone of Thor during Civil War. Many first time Thor readers said that this was a great introduction to the character and it would help people get to know the God of Thunder before the movie comes out in May.

X-Men: First Class (June 3rd):


Another Marvel Masterwork that features the first appearances of the original team of Charles Xavier's X-Men and the first formation of Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants. Before their backgrounds were explored, it was clear that Charles was the hero and Magneto was the villain.


One of the main storylines of X-Men: First Class is how Eric Lehnsherr became Magneto. Eric's time in a concentration camp during the German invasion of Poland is one of the factors that influenced Eric's decision to take the fight to the humans before they attack mutants.

Green Lantern (June 17th):


Emerald Dawn is the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths version of Hal Jordan's origin. It provides some more detail into Hal's early days in the Green Lantern Corps and the story provides information about his father's death. The plot is how Hal Jordan changes from a depressed former air force pilot into one of earth's greatest heroes.


Secret Origin is another re-telling of Hal Jordan's early ring slinging days. Like Emerald Dawn, it does draw some focus to Hal's relationship to his father and how he becomes a pilot again. However, like most of Geoff Johns's work on GL, it does foreshadow Blackest Night with the additions of Atrocitus and William Hand (a.k.a. Black Hand). This is version of Hal's origin does explain how Hector Hammond's brain grew at least three times its normal size, so that might help people know this villain before his debut in the GL movie this summer.

Captain America: the First Avenger (July 22nd):




Why is an Avengers book featured on a list of Captain America graphic novels? Well that's because Captain America was found and revived by the Avengers in the fourth issue of the series. After his revival, the Avengers series started to show Cap's adjustment to the world after he was frozen for many years.





When Captain America regained his popularity in the Avengers series, Marvel decided to put out some solo stories for the Star Spangled Avenger which were featured in Tales of Suspense. The stories featured were flashbacks about Cap's adventures during World War II. Since the Captain America movie will primarily be set during World War II, this book is a great way to get an understanding about what Captain America was like during the war.

So those are all my graphic novel recommendations for people going to see the movies this summer. There are many other graphic novels for these characters available and if you have any recommendations please feel free to comment on this post. I hope everyone has an awesome summer and that none of these movies suck.

Farewell, Elisabeth Sladen

Yesterday it was reported that Doctor Who actress, Elisabeth Sladen passed away at age 63. Elisabeth Sladen is best known for her portrayal of the Doctor's companion, Sarah Jane Smith. When I started watching Doctor Who last summer, my viewing began with David Tennant's first season and the third episode I saw was "School Reunion". When Sarah Jane first appeared on screen, I started to develop an interest in her character as well as the classic episodes during her time in the TARDIS. After I finished watching most of the modern episodes (up until the End of Time), I decided to start watching The Sarah Jane Adventures and then I moved onto the seasons of the original Doctor Who that featured Elisabeth Sladen as a regular companion. Elisabeth Sladen's performance is one of the reasons I've enjoyed the Doctor Who franchise and it's why Sarah Jane is my favorite of the Doctor's companions.

Elisabeth Sladen first appeared as Sarah Jane Smith in the episode "The Time Warrior" during Jon Pertwee's final season as the Doctor. Here's a clip of when Sarah Jane first met the Doctor.


During Tom Baker's third year as the Doctor, Sarah Jane left the TARDIS when the Doctor was summoned back to his home planet, Gallifrey.


During the 1980's, Elisabeth Sladen returned to the role of Sarah Jane Smith two more times, for the pilot of K9 and Company and the 20th anniversary Doctor Who episode "The Five Doctors".


In 2006, Sarah Jane Smith returned and met the 10th Doctor during the episode "School Reunion". This appearance eventually led to her own spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures.


The Sarah Jane Adventures still had the heart and thrill of Doctor Who and it allowed the character of Sarah Jane Smith to evolve by giving her a son and her own set of alien enemies. Plus during the third and fourth season, the show featured guest appearances by the Doctor.



Elisabeth Sladen is survived by her husband, Brian Miller, and their daughter, Sadie.


R.I.P. Elisabeth Sladen, we will never forget you.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Friday, April 1, 2011