Category Archives: Editorial

Editorial

Rant Timing #8: HULK SMASH PUNY MOVIE!

Leave a comment

Rant Timing #8: HULK SMASH PUNY MOVIE!

So as I was leaving Midtown comics last Friday, a dude was hanging out fliers for a Hulk screening taking place either on Wednesday or Thursday. Since I had no idea if I could leave work early on Wednesday, I chose Thursday. Sure, this meant I’d have to leave the Yankees game a bit early, but I saw the bulk of the game so no worries. Although they came back to win after I left, which might be some kind of sign.

Anyway, got to the theater around 4:30, way ahead of the 5:15 deadline and waited on line for a bit. They gave me a survey to fill out, and handed me my ticket. Once Kris arrived she got on line to get her ticket and then joined me afterward, and into the theater we went. Inside, we got a song and dance routine by the theater manager, who was there to tell us how much we would love the movie, and that we got to be the third audience to see the movie in NY, and according to him, anywhere. He then graced us with an interesting bit of news. As opposed to nto being able to bring in camera phones, ALL electronic devices would not be permitted inside. iPods, mp3 players, phones and camera phones alike. They let me keep my digital wristwatch however, so now I can spread my wristwatch video all over the internets! Mwahahaha! Okay, so maybe not.

We get in there, and sit down for an hour and a half before the actual movie begins. Luckily I had some Chase comics with me from the mid-90’s to read to pass the time, and Kris had her jPod. Interesting enough, they let me take my water bottle in with no hassles. Guess they didn’t care about concession sales at a preview screening?

Once the excruciating wait ended (which was alleviated by the dudes sitting next to us being friendly, hi Sean guy I’ll probably never see again), it was time for movie! Advantage of preview screening: no trailers! Woo! Now I won’t give away any spoilers, but I will give out the basics. The opening credits do the job of retconning the first movie (“So it’s a sequel AND a remake?”), allowing the movie itself to begin without long exposition. The special effects were far superior to those in Hulk, and although there were one or two moments where it looked like a video game on a big screen, it got the job done as best it could.

Ed Norton is Bruce Banner. He gets the calm yet creepy nature down, and always appears as if he is one step away from going over the edge. A lot of the plot can lend itself to Bruce Jone’s early arc on The Incredible Hulk, and aspects such as meditation techniques and anger control are present. Both Stan Lee and Lou Ferrigno, with Stan’s appearance actually adding to the plot in a very…amusing fashion. Liv Tyler, while big lipped as always, plays Betty Ross the way she should be played. Vulnerable yet strong, compassionate yet hard-boiled. And Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky? Well, let’s just say he loves being the military for all the wrong reasons. Jim Segulin of Raging Bullets will have major issues with his haircut and unshaven beard however. That ain’t regulation!

The last scene…DAMN. My showing played it before the credits so I assume it will do the same for the major release, but if it doesn’t, stay til the end just in case! Marvel continues to do the right thing with their properties, and the big green giant whose cereal is getting soggy now has a movie to call his own that doesn’t leave you scratching your scruffy beard in confusion. I give it 4 PUNY HUMANS out of 5.

Go see this movie, people, they did it again!

Editorial

Rant Timing #7: Countdown to Nothing

Leave a comment

Rant Timing #7: Countdown To Nothing

I was thinking last night. Usually this leads to insanity, but for once I was hit with some clarity. To be specific, it was about a certain 52 issue series that just wrapped up over in the DC Universe. Countdown to Something Something Yada Yada and so on.

What if instead of Countdown/Countdown to Final Crisis, we were presented with a series of miniseries, similar to how it was done with Infinite Crisis? That is, the story lines that were used at different parts of Countdown separated, as opposed to interspersed and then spliced together at the end? Instead of Dini supervising and only writing two issues, this could have opened the door for Dini to craft the overall plot and perhaps write a full miniseries as well. Also, instead of using the Countdown moniker, the miniseries would have Final Crisis in their name, followed by a subtitle. This gives a feeling of an overall brand, leading up to Final Crisis itself. Some of these could stand on their own without the Final Crisis, but that’s up to editorial. Here’s what I came up with.

Final Crisis: Mary Marvel – Black & White (6 issues miniseries) – written by Peter Tomasi with art by Doug Mahnke.

Final Crisis: Death of the New Gods (12 issues) – written and drawn by Jim Starlin (same as it was, only have the ending take place in issue 12, as opposed to Countdown #2)

Piper and Trickster: Tied at the Hip (6 issue miniseries) – written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Grey, art by Tom Mandrake – this one doesn’t need the Final Crisis subtitle, as it stands on its own and in my opinion, could have done without the trip to Apokalypse and back. Just a simple Rogues story, leading up to Rogues Revenge.

Final Crisis: Arena (12 issues) – written by Paul Dini and Keith Champagne, art by Scott McDaniel – This is the miniseries which would tell Dini’s overarching Monarch story. The forming of the army, the Arena battles, the attack itself, and the attempt at intervening on the part of The Monitors. This would lead into…

Final Crisis: The Great Disaster (8 issues) – written by Jeff Katz, art by Pat Oliffe – Karate Kid’s story, told nice and quick so it doesn’t have to be drawn out. It begins at the end of The Lightning Saga, and explores the Monitors, Karate Kid and Una, and Bob asks for their help to find Ray Palmer as opposed to The Challengers, leading to a dejected Ray Palmer making his way home without those who came to save him.

Final Crisis: Amazon’s Reign (6 issues) – written by Sean McKeever, art by Pete Woods – This is Amazons Attack done right. The rise and fall of the Amazons at the hands of Granny Goodness, ending with the New God killer cleaning house.

I leave out The Challengers and Jimmy Olsen because, in essence, they did not need to be there. Kyle, Donna and Jason have their own things to worry about in other titles, as is proven by the current climate of the DCU. This allows Kyle’s story to run its course properly in GL and GL: Corps without Countdown giving anything away, and for Jason to appear regularly in Batman and Nightwing looking to find a path, as opposed to adopting something new only to drop it immediately. As for Jimmy, despite those of you who feel it makes perfect sense for the best friend of Superman who other than a few transformations back in the day has no powers to all of a sudden become a power battery, I’ll pass on that. If you want to form an Olsen Bug relationship in Busiek’s Superman then by all means, but he’s staying out of the Darkseid story in my opinion.

If you’re looking to tie these together and prep everyone for Final Crisis, then release a DC Universe one-shot, which is basically DC Universe #0, only work with these stories instead. For the story of DC Universe #0, see Final Crisis: Prologue for all that material.

This my Earth 2 working of Countdown. To me it simply makes more sense to flesh out each and every story without jury rigging together a plot. Not all of these stories deserved to be in the same place at the same time, and this story was not made for a 52 issue weekly series. Here, we can pick and choose which stories we wish to read, and all is well with the world. The 52 issue weekly idea takes a year off to regain steam in the eyes of exhausted fans, to return with Trinity, as it should.

If only, right?

Editorial

Rant Timing #6: The Invasion Becomes Not So Secret

1 Comment

Rant Timing #6: The Invasion Becomes Not So Secret

Today, I made a mad rush to the comic book shop the minute I left work. I needed something in particular, before I could get spoiled. I needed a book that will change the face of the Marvel Universe for years to come. Even though I am getting it FOR FREE in two weeks, I still spent $3.99 on Secret Invasion #1. Am I in Marvel’s pocket now? Probably, but you know what? I could care less. Spoilers to come after an image of The New Avengers as Skrulls, from one of the 12 different Secret Invasion #1 covers.


This comes from a post I made on the forums, but I figured it was good and long enough to warrant posting it here on the web site as well. Once again, spoilers ahead, so you have been warned.

Call me crazy, but do you think “He loves you” is a trigger phrase? Maybe it is indeed simply a variation on a Beatles lyric, which would also lead nicely into being explained by John the Skrull in the upcoming MI:13 series? A battle cry of sorts, stemming from when Earth music was first beamed into space, which might have been what called Skrull attention to our planet in the first place. Crazy, but I love coming up with crazy explanations.

Now, as for the heroes that just returned to Earth, I say some will be Skrulls, while some will be originals. If I am correct about there being sleeper Skrulls, there will be some heroes that do not even know they are aliens. During the Skrull-Kree War, some heroes were captures and brought to a cell with other heroes that were already “captured.” I believe that the Scarlet Witch that came to Earth is our Scarlet Witch. This explains why there is no Chaos Magic quite well, as it was created by a Skrull to explain away increased powers. The Beast of the group is ours, with the feline Beast being a Skrull; the secondary mutation was simply shape manipulation. Our White Queen is real, but so is the Phoenix that just came back. Best explanation for the multiple Jean Greys anyone can have: there was always just one; the rest were Skrulls. Now Scott will have to choose once more between two women who have his mind in the palm of their hands, and his heart too.

Up in the air is Hawkeye and Wonder Man, I highly doubt Ms. Marvel is a Skrull, and it would be evil to have Jewel be the real Jessica Jones after all the character building Bendis has done for her over the years. Luke Cake, the Luke Jessica married, is a Skrull. Hence the baby is half Skrull, half human.

The Vision will be the easiest to debunk, since he is an android. If this one is not an Android, it is a Skrull. Spider-Man is not a Skrull, since that would be too damn easy.

Mar-Vell is Kree, attacking the enemy. One of the Thunderbolts is a Skrull, and my money is indeed on Norman Osborn. Although if it is Penance, that would be fun too.

Mockingbird is human, meaning that if our Clint is the real Clint, he’ll have to choose between Maya and a women he thought he saved from hell to get to heaven where she belongs.

Iron Man and Captain America from space are Skrulls, and are part of the group of heroes I mentioned were in holding from the start. They are the leaders, so of course they would be the ones to copy.

Sue Richards? Tough one. No matter which way you slice it, there are problems.

Finally, we have Wolverine from space. Skrull. No way will they get rid of thirty years of Wolverine’s history like that. He will cause problems however, as it is likely his “senses” will “smell” Skrulls, while our Wolverine will still have no ability to pick up the scent.

There, I think that’s all of it. Once again, I spent $3.99 on a book I’m getting free from Heroes Corner this month because I couldn’t wait to read it. $3.99 well spent I must say.

Keep it coming, Bendis, you’ve got me hook, line and sinker! Again. I am a junkie, coming back for more Bendis multiple times a month. Anybody got a spare hit?

Editorial

Rant Timing #5: New York Comic Con Roulette

Leave a comment

New York Comic Con Roulette

So, for those of you who were hoping we were done with New York conventions taking place in the middle of winter, it ain’t over yet. The following was posted on Newsarama at their Blog@ blog, in a response about NYCC being the weekend of Passover this year:

The unfortunate reality is that these were the dates we were given at the Javits Center. Javits is unlike most places in that the demand for the space far outstrips the availability, so customers, such as NYCC, are left with little to no choice as to what dates we are given. To that point, I’ll announce here first that the show will be moving back to February next year – because we want to be in February? Not really. Quite simply, these are the only dates we can get next year.

See, this is the worst part about trying to run a convention in New York. There is only one real convention center in the largest city in the world. I don’t count Madison Square Garden as that is certainly more of an arena than anything else. This convention hall can only hold so much, and it is in the ass end of the borough, three or four avenues down from the nearest subway. They are planning to extend the 7 train so that at least one train will be down there, but that is still at least a few years away from completion. There have been proposals to expand the Javits Center in order to make room for more events, but is this truly what we need? I would love to have a place in the heart of the city devoted to a convention atmosphere, but New York is simply not built to support such an addition. And so our convention center remains where it is.

As for the Passover problem of this year, I doubt is it truly going to affect the majority of the crowd. While Passover is an important holiday for the Jewish faith, I know that my family celebrates it with a family gathering, and that is it. Religious Jews will have their hands full that weekend, but how many religious Jews were planning on attending the convention in the first place? Not to be insensitive, but I doubt the number was very high. As previously stated, next year this will not be a problem, so save your money and go elsewhere instead, or wait until 2009 if there is a conflict.

New York Anime Fest, the other event run by Reed Exhibitions, will be moving to September for its second year, avoiding the winter cold as well. But will this return back to December the year after that? All I know is that most conventions have a set month to rely on, and no New York convention will ever have that luxury. I love my city, but sometimes it can be quite the pain. Anybody got a spare plot of land they’re not using? It would be awesome if you did, and decided to build a convention hall on it. Anyone? Well, crap.

Editorial

Jim Lee Kills My Feet at a Signing

Leave a comment

The Corner I was Stuck at

My feet hurt, thanks to a long line at a Jim Lee signing at Sci-Fi City in Orlando, Florida. I went to Orlando this past weekend for this signing and was particularly excited to get stuff signed, and maybe even get a sketch in the Absolute Hush that I won from Nick in his massive contest awhile back. I got to the store at noon and saw a full parking lot, I went inside the store, which is a massive space, much bigger than most comic stores with spaces for card games, table games, video games, an Xbox 360 lounge, Sci-Fi City is really a great store and I had a high opinion of it, until I left the signing. Anyway. I got there at noon, and was prepared to wait an hour when Jim arrived at 1 pm. After I had my books counted and stickered (so you left with the same amount of books as you came in with) I got in the main line. After I got in this line, I learned, as the manager announced over the microphone, there were two more lines that would be able to get their stuff signed before me! So, I went from being not that far back in line, to way at the bottom.

The first line was for people who dropped $50 in the store and bought and Absolute Hush the day of or a few days before and had a reciept. They had first crack at Jim. The second line was for comic subscribers at Sci-Fi City, and they had second crack at Jim. After them was the main line, which I was in. I thought, “Ok, well that’s cool for people, hopefully I’ll get my sketch.” 2 hours later, my line and the subscriber line had not moved more than 5 feet and more people were entering the store and getting in line than were leaving. Feeling discouraged, thirsty, hungry, and tired, myself and the people around me asked some employees what was going on. We were told that Jim had started doing sketches for whomever wants one (I think for free) and that’s what the holdup was. We asked if they could change the lines, cut some off, so that people would be able to get their stuff signed, shop around the store, and leave. The employees told us that they were sticking to the system they had. Bummer. An hour after that, my line moved, and I rounded the corner I had been stuck behind for the past 3 hours. Jim Lee was in my line of sight, drawing inside and Absolute Hush, and my hopes were raised.

As I got closer to the front of the line, I realized that someone had listened to us an hour ago, and was rotating through the still existent 3 lines to move people through, as Jim was leaving at 6pm and there were still over 100 people in line, some with only one or two things to sign. As I got to the front of the line, I had all my books out, Absolute at the ready for a quick sketch, when the manager tells me, “You know he’s only sketching in the Absolutes for the people who bought them here.” What? Blast! So, I walked up to Jim Lee, handed him my books, told him how much I loved his work, inquired about how long he’ll be on All-Star Batman and Robin (till issue 20), and the DC MMO (which is still alive and “looks great”). After he signed all my books, and the inside of my Absolute, I left, put the books back in their bags and proceeded to leave the store. As my books were being counted, an employee asked me “Was it worth it?” I looked to him and lamented that my feet were tired, thirsty, and hungry, and that I thought it was unfair that they were limiting who got sketches in their Absolutes. He looked at me and told me I could get in the Absolute line now, and hope that Jim got to me. I looked at the still egregiously long line, looked at my watch, and then the employee. I said to him, “Dude, it’s 5 o’clock, I’ve been here since noon. The day is over,” and walked out the door as he said, “thanks for coming, come back soon!”

Jim Arrives

So that’s my story. Did I have fun? Yes, but only because I met this cool guy Josh (hi Josh!) and talked to him for the hours I was in line. Was this signing mis-managed? Hell yes. Before Jim arrived, the manager was telling me how long and hard he had to work to get Jim to come down. He’s in a band, Jim has his CD, which lead to e-mails, someone in the store donated Disney tickets, as well as pulling in some favors for a stretch Hummer limo to cart Jim and his entourage around from Thursday till Sunday, all free for Jim. Sounds like it took a lot of work right? So then why bumble the event with 3 different lines? If you want to give subscibers a jump ahead, ask Jim to sign for them only on a different night and time. Tell the subscibers that their line closes when Jim arrives, and after that they have to get in the regular line. I watched about 20 people with “subscriber cards” jump in line ahead of me for 4 hours, after I arrived. It felt like comic-book racism. They are better than you, so they get to cut in front of you all afternoon long and you can’t do anything about it.

I will say that there were people who walked in the store at 4pm, got in my line, which at that time was stretching out quite a bit around the store, and did not get their stuff signed, if Jim left at 6pm like we were told all afternoon long. If the lines had been worked quicker, then people may have had time or even the inclination to walk around the store and buy stuff, but instead, all of the traffic that this signing generated was tied up in line for Jim, and never at the register. Another thing that could’ve been clearer, at least for me, was the sketches. Is he or isn’t he doing sketches? Not letting everyone get a sketch that wants one is silly. If they had told Jim to sketch at the end and do signings till the line went way down, I would’ve been out of there at 2:30pm instead of 5pm, and maybe then I would’ve gotten in the sketch line. While I’m sure people will look on the wall, and say, “Wow, this store is cool because they had Jim Lee here,” the people who were in line with me will say, “Wow, they really mismanaged what could’ve been a cool event.” Next time they have a signing at Sci-Fi City, I’m going to call ahead and see how many lines they are going to have, before I kill my feet waiting for a minute of face-time with an artist I like.

Checking the books.

Editorial

Rant Timing #4: Why So Serious?

4 Comments

Why So Serious?

The film world lost a great one today, long before his time should have been up. Heath Ledger, age 28, died today. He was about five years older than I am, as he would have turned 29 in April. Deaths like this put your life in perspective. You never know what day you will wake up, do your daily routine, all without knowing it will be your last time. Heath’s career was budding. After Brokeback Mountain, most of Hollywood knew his name. With The Dark Knight, the second Batman film directed by Christopher Nolan, he was to be the successor of Jack Nicholson in the role of The Joker. The film wrapped principle photography, so that is at least secure, as of now. He was filming another movie, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, when he died, and that one looks to be in jeopardy, as it was in the middle of production. Will The Dark Knight be the last time we see Heath Ledger on screen? A talented, wide-ranging actor, ends his life with a role like The Joker. Serial killer, insane, a malicious smile upon his face. Is this how you would want to go out? I certainly would be torn. On the one hand, I guarantee people will believe that the role led to his death, that acting crazy made him crazy. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that is ridiculous. No, there is no Batman curse that has been transfered over from The Superman Curse, and no, the role had nothing to do with what happened. He simply died. End of story. Even if he did commit suicide, or if he overdosed on pills, this was not because he was The Joker. It was because he was a troubled man. None of this has been confirmed, so I’m not going to speculate on any of this until there are facts to turn to.

Now, for the other side of going out as The Joker: the character is one of the best known comic book creations in the history of the DC Universe. He is the villain of villains and heroes alike, and has appeared everywhere from lunch boxes to cartoons to posters. If Heath plays The Joker as well as I believe he will, he will go out on top. The performance will always be remembered. If he tops Nicholson, more power to him. No one will be able to replace the image of a man who died with the role in the eyes of fans and movie-goers alike. Plus, the viral marketing campaign already had people jazzed for the movie; even those who would not have seen it originally are now interested. Heath’s death will drive even more people to the theaters. So yes, The Dark Knight will be a success on multiple plains. A great movie, with roles to remember.

Rest in peace Heath. You leave behind a daughter who will hear stories about you for a long time to come. While your career might have been cut short, it was still longer than most, with more accolades than some people who have been in the business twice as long have achieved. The line I titled this column with is apropos to the situation. “Why so serious?” Today, we are allowed to be.

Editorial

Spider-Man 3: A Retraction

1 Comment

On the Upcoming Marvel Year-End Wrap-Up show, I talk a little about how I think Spider-Man 3 was the worst of the Spidey films. I still think this, but upon a second viewing, it’s not as bad as I thought. Dammit! The same things that “bugged” me before (sorry, bad pun) still bug me, but what makes it better is that I see the things that work well, although it took me a second viewing to realize it. So how good is a film if it takes you more than one viewing to realize it? Shouldn’t great films hit you on the first viewing?

The Good:
What I liked in this film was the interaction between the three main players, Peter, MJ, and Harry. On a second viewing, these things seem like a real progression from the second film. Harry is harboring anger for Peter, MJ is with Peter but realizing that he’s not always going to be there for her, because he’s Spider-Man, and Peter is just missing all the cues, like the loveable lug we met previously. Yes, the bump on the head for Harry is silly, but when he forces MJ to break up with Peter and forces Peter to come to him to vent, and then ruins his day again, it just seemed brilliant. And after that, Peter shows up at Harry’s house to beat the crap out of him! Harry wanted to make Peter angry, to lash out in rage, and he succeeded. You could almost say that Peter hitting MJ in the Jazz club is also Harry’s fault. Harry fought Peter in his house, while Peter was under the symbiote’s influence, gave him the rage to win, and go out and be bad, wanting revenge on MJ now. Peter lost control, hit MJ, and then freaked out when he realized what happened. Harry’s actions caused Peter’s heart to break three times, when MJ broke up, when Harry was the other man, and when Peter hit MJ. As Harry said, “sooo good.” That really worked for me the second time around. Because of this, Harry’s redemption at the end of the film really came through, even though Raimi and his writing team had to resort to the Deus Ex Machina of the butler, which is still lame a second time around. Harry, even though he’d been a reak jerk to Peter in the recent past, saved his friend from the spikes and Venom, showing Peter the ultimate act of friendship, self-sacrifice, even if it was impulsive.

MJ’s scenes worked for me on the first viewing, and here as well. I really got the sense that she was feeling left out. Peter was so high on being Spider-Man that he couldn’t see her being so low. Peter couldn’t be there for her, and so she reached out to Harry. Peter’s growth worked a little better, and I even smirked a little during the emo-dance scene. I think I got it this time around, seeing how Harry’s machinations were inadvertantly at work.

The Bad:
Too many villains. Harry, Sandman, and Venom. This is where the film really fails. None of these villains, other than Harry, were really developed characters. We only got a few scenes of Eddie Brock before he became Venom. Sandman was a total joke, being a victim of too little screentime, and the fact that just like Doctor Octopus, he had to be redeemable at the end. Doc Ock’s redemption worked, because we got to know him before his arms went nuts, there was a reason that he was acting weird. Sandman, had no real motivation to be Sandman. His little girl is sick. With what? A cold? Tell me what’s wrong with her, how much does it cost? How long does she have to live? If she has cancer, make her bald or something to show that she had radiation treatments but had to stop due to money problems.

What was Flint in prison for in the first place? Has he tried to get a regular job? Play the lottery? A scene or two showing us this would’ve gone a long way. Also, a giant sand-monster, really? Why did Flint lose his speaking ability when he enlarged himself? If they had kept him normal size but just let him enlarge his hands, feet, head, one thing at a time (like in the comics) then I think that final battle would’ve been more personal. Once he became a giant sand-monster I lost all respect for him as a character, he just became lamer. They had already shown how much of a threat Sandman was in the armored car robbery scene, so we know he’s hard to fight, just give the man more motivation to fight and he’d have been awesome. Some other things that really killed me were the kids. “Wow! Spider-Man!” Shut up kid, where’s your mom and why aren’t you in bed? It’s a school night. Sam, you can put your kids in the film, but they don’t need speaking parts to break up the action, it just takes away from it. Speaking of taking away from the action, the news reporters didn’t need the second sequence. Them setting up the danger was fine but once they entered in with the “Oh, the brutality” and “This could be the end… for Spider-Man” they robbed the final battle of all the tension. I know it’s brutal, I’m watching the battle happen, I don’t need your commentary.

So all in all, I’d give Spider-Man 3 a C, on a second viewing. I still think that it not working on a first viewing says something about the film, it’s nowhere near perfect, but it does have some redeeming qualities, mainly our three main actors and their plotline. If you were dissapointed with the film when it came out, go rent it and try it a second time, let me know what you think.

Editorial

Rant Timing #3: One More Bad Story

1 Comment

One More Bad Story

Here’s a combo of what I’ve posted over at Newsarama and on CBR after reading Amazing Spider-Man #545: One More Day Part 4.

Won’t this affect Thunderbolts as well? After all, Norman plays a huge part in that book, and having his son back would certainly effect his decisions a lot. Would he have turned away from the darkness, or embraced it? Would he ever turn to working for the government? It’s a question that will need to be brought up, although I’ll be curious to see if Ellis even acknowledges the change. Hell, I’ll be curious to see if even BENDIS acknowledges the change in New Avengers! Wasn’t the unmasking half the reason why his teammates thought he might be a Skrull? Oh, and Dan Slott brought doubt upon Peter being Spider-Man in Avengers: The Initiative. Does this mean The Scarlet Spiders are still secret agents because they never went to help Peter?

How about Flash? Did he ever even wind up in a coma? Is he with Betty Brant, and if so, does she remember almost being killed not too long ago by a psycho woman made of spiders? Does Black Cat still know Peter is Spider-Man? Does Black Cat even remember being with Peter at all?

Is Doctor Octopus still disgusted over the fact he got beaten by a kid all these years? Better yet, is he back to being a green suited mop top villain now?

Too many questions, all thanks to Joe Quesada’s editorial mandate. Will we get answers to even HALF of these questions? Doubtful. By 2009, new EIC at Marvel. I’m calling it. Not even the best creative teams can wipe the fact that 20 years of continuity just got destroyed, all thanks to an immature young old man who hates the very idea of marriage. Quesada didn’t even bother to try with this one. All he did was wave a magic wand. But what about all those writers out there who were itching to give their shot at the current Spider-Man? Did he even bother to see if the wealth of creators would be willing to revive Spider-Man while still keeping what has made him such a compelling character over the past few years? No, he did not.

You’re a child, Joe. Sometimes that works to your advantage, as a man with an imagination makes it big in comic books. This time however, your immaturity has alienated your core audience. Does he even bother to read reader responses anymore? I mean he used to do that here on Newsarama, but I know he’s been a busy man lately, drawing an Alien headed Spider-Man for four issues. I hope he realizes our response has been almost entirely negative. I say almost because yes, there are people who saw it as a positive, and I do not want you to feel your take is invalid. I hope you enjoy what you read, more power to you. It’s just not what I’m looking for in a character or a company to spit on the past twenty years.

I started reading comics with a married Spider-Man when I was just a boy, and I loved the dynamic, even then. Now I’m left with a stranger. JMS was right.

Joe Quesada wants an uninteresting Spider-Man who lives with his Aunt even though he’s well into his twenties, and is addicted to wheat cakes. We want a Spider-Man who is compelling, knows how to grow up, and feels real. Marvel Comics was founded upon the belief that we should be able to relate to the characters as human beings. How can we possibly relate to a Peter Parker who makes a deal with the devil to erase his marriage from existence? It certainly will never happen to any of us. We cannot relate.

This is something Joe Q has forgotten, and it is the major mistake One More Day made.

The last 20 years of storytelling is indeed worthless now. My Spider-Man, the one I grew up with, the one who found a wife and friends to rely on, the one who lost his best friend in tragic circumstances, no longer exists.

Thanks, Joe. For nothing.

Editorial

Rant Timing #2: The Battle of the Analogues

Leave a comment

Battle of the Analogues

VS.


I have a to read pile of about 35 comic books thanks to DCBS, so it takes quite a while for me to actually read certain books. I have also grown accustomed to letting certain series accumulate on the pile so that I can read multiple issues at once. One of the series I chose to do this with is Lord Havok and the Extremists, which happens to be one of 87 different Countdown titles currently being produced by DC. Now I have not been nearly as down on Countdown as some others have been. In fact, in my observations, the tie-ins are often better than Countdown itself. Just as Sean and Jim put it on Raging Bullets, you get the basics in Countdown, and if you are interested, you check out the tie-ins for more information. That does not always work, but hey, you can’t win ’em all. So I read issues 1 and 2 of Lord Havok at the same time, and it seemed quite familiar. I was looking at a dystopian version of The Marvel Universe, Registration Act and all. With characters such as Americommando and Tin-Man, they certainly were not trying to hide their true intentions.

This was far from the first time such a tactic was performed by either Marvel or DC. The “Meta-Militia” as they are called here, originally appeared as “The Champions of Angor” in Justice League of America #87, back in 1971. This was right around the same time Marvel introduced “The Squadrom Supreme” in Avengers #85. Hell, this was done as a way for the two companies to have an unoficial crossover, as both were on the stands at almost the exact same time (See Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed for more info on that)! As the years went on, each set of characters evolved, and we got what could be classified as What If? or Elseworlds versions of the opposite side’s heroes. What If Marvel’s Supervillains Destroyed The World? Superman: King of The World. All you have to do is change Angor to Earth, Extremists to The Masters of Evil, Champions of Angor to Avengers, Angor to Earth, Hyperion to Superman, and Squadron Supreme to JLA, and that is exactly what you get.

Flash forward to today, and each other’s opposite team continues to mimic the other company in new ways. The Squadron Supreme are still around, but so is the newer, hipper Supreme Power. Here, we have a world where Superman (okay, Hyperion) was not found by loving parents and raised to be a good boy. Instead, the government find him and raise him in The Truman Show. Of course, once he realizes his life is a lie, all hell breaks loose and he decides to make things better his way, or the highway. Oh, and Wonder Woman (fine, Princess Zarda) is naked a lot. And Flash (once The Whizzer, now Buzz which sounds less wrong) and Batman (Nighthawk) are black. And Green Lantern (Dr. Spectrum who I’m pretty sure is not a doctor) works for the military. Yeah, you get the picture.

The Champions of Angor are pretty much gone in the regular DCU, but The Meta-Militia are better, faster, stronger, and live on Earth-8. Iron Man (Tin-Man) is president, with Captain America (Americommando) as his VP, in a world where those who do not follow the Registration Act get killed in most horrific fashion. Of course, the villains of this world are none too pleased, and get together to screw up their hard worked plans, and it all goes horribly, horribly wrong. Oh, and the A in USA stands for Angor.

New times, same old song. It shows that Marvel and DC have drifted so very far apart over the years as well, as what was once a playful way of crossing over without crossing over is now “Let’s show how messed up the other company is!” Still, is would be quite interesting to see Supreme Power cross over with The Meta-Militia/The Extremists. Would they fight, or band together to try and control both of their worlds? Do Americommando and Hyperion have a lot more in common than you would think? The guy writing this right now thinks so. I would appreciate seeing Earth-8 get further explored past a miniseries, as Frank Tieri has my interest. Hopefully sales will warrant that. So yeah, let’s see a crossover of a different ilk for once. Sounds good to me.

How about you?

Editorial

Triple Daredevil Review… Yellow, Father, and the Man Without Fear

1 Comment

I’ve been on a Daredevil kick for the last few weeks, so having read 3 six issue arcs, I’d figured I’d review them here, from worst to best. What’s weird is that in some way, all of these stories have to do with Daredevil’s origin and his father, Jack Murdock.

Daredevil: Father
Writer and Artist: Joe Quesada

Ever remember people saying that Joe Quesada had forgotten how to draw at one point? After reading this abysmal story, I now believe them. Joe Quesada’s Daredevil here is a bulky, grimacing beast, unlike the one he had drawn with Kevin Smith 10 years back, and every other interpretation of the character. The story here is that there is a serial killer going out and cutting out people’s eyes, while Daredevil does nothing, and in the end, it’s all his fault. Well, partially anyway. Quesada introduces some new super-team called the Santerias who do nothing but fight with Daredevil in the two issues they appear in, and their inclusion in the story has nothing to do with the ongoing plot. There are some asides to a young, media-mogul, who has daddy-issues too, and he funds the Santerias and asks Daredevil to look into this serial killer. Daredevil refuses because the killer is not striking inside Hell’s Kitchen, so it’s not his problem, that is until he finds out that all of the victims are his former clients, and that the killer is someone he knows. All of these plots converge in issues 5 and 6 of this mini, showing me that issues 1-4 were pretty unnecessary and that you could’ve picked up issue 5, read the recap page and finished the mini. That’s not good for a story. Quesada seems like he’s reaching out in every direction here, which leads to a sloppy plot, and an even sloppier finish, leaving me to close the last issue with disgust. I went into this thinking it was going to be a story that hearkened back to Matt’s Father, Quesada tried to do this, but got so wrapped up with everyone else’s daddy-issues that he forgot that Jack Murdock was supposed to be the centerpiece of the story. It’s because of this that the story gets lost. If Quesada had kept everything in check, this might have been a mediocre story, instead of an abysmal one. Quesada is trying to do too much here, and it all gets lost in the shuffle. As for the art, People weren’t kidding that his “One More Day” stuff was his best in awhile, because the stuff here looks more cartoony and less detailed than any of his previous work or his new stuff, and that’s bad for an artist who is known for a dynamic, detailed style. I don’t know if Quesada was so loose to try and get a nostalgic feel in the art, or because his Editor-In-Chief job at Marvel got in the way of the quality. Richard Isanove does the colors here, with his digital painting style, and I almost wish he didn’t. Every panel has some wierd color filter. Flashbacks are all yellowed, like on old paper, Daredevil scenes are bathed in red, and the Matt Murdock scenes have a blue hue. This doesn’t work well across the board, because it makes the book look monotone. There is nothing to keep me looking at the page, since, because of the coloring, it all looks the same. I want the coloring to make me stop and smell the roses, this stuff didn’t. All in all, don’t spend your money on this book because you’re wondering what the hassle was all about with the delays way back when, grab it in a bookstore, take 20 minutes and skim through it. You won’t be thoroughly impressed to buy it after that. D

Daredevil: Yellow
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Tim Sale

One of many “Color” books by Loeb and Sale, this one focuses on Dardevil and his time at the beginning of his career, in his Yellow costume. A majority of the book focuses on his origin, slightly altering it more than I’ve ever seen. In this book, Jack Murdock is killed while Matt Murdock is studying in Law School. Everywhere else, Jack Murdock is killed while Matt is a young boy. It doesn’t do much to serve the story, other than place it within the first year of Daredevil’s first appearance. Anyway, Matt fights some gangsters, it’s all pretty standard stuff. The real star of the book is Tim Sale, who’s work is phenomenal in whatever form it appears, whether for DC, Marvel, or on the Heroes TV show. If you’re looking for a book that cover’s Dardevil’s origin without feeling dated or tying into any continuity, this is the book for you. If you’re looking to introduce someone to Daredevil, this might be the book to do it. A solid comic story with some fantastic art. C

Daredevil: The Man Without Fear
Writer: Frank Miller
Artist: John Romita JR

Out of all the Dardevil stories I’ve read, which really is limited to these three, plus Kevin Smith and Brubaker’s first arc, this was the best. Like Daredevil: Yellow, this is an origin story, though it ties in the origin everything Loeb left out, mainly Stick and Elektra. Elektra has been trained by the Hand and is addicted to killing people, but must start confrontations to with thugs to do so. Stick, here is a mysterious janitor who trains Matt in his dad’s gym at night. It’s not clear why he trains Matt, what is clear is that he’s disappointed in Matt when he uses his skills to fight crime, though his black-silhouetted boss is not. This is like Batman: Year One, but for Daredevil. I think it might not be as revered as that, because, essentially, Miller is applying his Year One formula to Batman. It introduces a young boy, his dad dies, he trains, meets a female villain, and fights crime. The Kingpin also makes his first appearance here, and his rise to power is quickly established in a few, pages, and that’s all we need to know, we can fill in the blanks ourselves. That might be what makes this story so great, is that we’re able to fill in the blanks ourselves, with whatever we want the blanks to be, or whatever continuity we know and love. This is pre-Goddamn Batman Miller, so it must be good, right? Fear not, it is. John Romita JR, does a formidable job on art here. I’m not quite sure whether it’s because of his love for the character, or because the acrobatic Daredevil is slightly similar to the lanky and acrobatic Spider-Man, which he so greatly draws. And, it’s not heavily inked by Klaus Janson, so there is no muddiness to the art, like on that last issue of World War Hulk. This is good quality Miller and Romita JR, and should not be missed for any comic fan, even if the Daredevil costume never appears in the actual story. A