Review Time

Astonishing X-Men #16 - About the only bad thing I can say about this book is the fact that it (for now) comes out bi-monthly. Rather than dragging the mysteries out, Whedon & Cassaday actually give us answers to two of the pressing mysteries of the book when we are told who will destroy the Breakworld and who Perfection is under the hood. Of course the answers bring up more questions, but the story never seems like it's on a treadmill. I won't spoil who Perfection is, but I will say that my two guesses, Magik & Phoenix, were of course dead wrong.

Justice League of America #1 - First, I like the new lineup. It's missing a few elements, but overall I think it's strong. Now, on to the story. Normally I would criticize a #1 issue like this for it's lack of action, but the whole Red Tornado storyline was so touching and well done that I didn't mind. One prediction on the villain of the book: Dr. Impossible. (inviso text on I think he's the Mr. Miracle of the new Earth 2. Father box, hush tube. It all fits. off)

Jack of Fables #2 - I'm surprised that Willingham, Sturges & Akins didn't make the enemy in this piece look like Walt Disney. If there was one person more responsible for the neutering and sanitization of our fables & fairy tales than Walt Disney I've never heard of them. The identity of the black janitor is tickling the back of my neck, but I just can't seem to grab it.

New Avengers #23 - The whole Spider-Woman double agent storyline, which has been a part of this book since it's start, is wrapped up in a single somewhat unsatisfying issue. Maybe I'm wrong; Jessica Drew sounds like a shoo-in for this book (the spy-stuff heavy New Avengers vs the widescreen Mighty Avengers) post Civil War, so this may not be the actual denoument, but it sure felt that way. Not a bad book, just disappointing.

Quick Hits
52 #16 - It just wouldn't be a wedding if someone didn't get shot!
Flash #3 - The art really improved in this issue. So did the story, but not as much.
Daredevil #88 - A breather from the breakneck pace of the past few issues that still manages to be better than 95% of the other titles on the shelf.

Review: Dead Rising

Dead Rising is the classic example of a game getting the macro right and the micro wrong. The overall concept and execution is good, maybe even great, but the overall experience is dragged down by a few frustrating design choices.

Firstly the concept of the game; you play a photojournalist who investigates a reported riot and ends up trapped in a mall full of zombies. Sound familiar? Yeah it's pretty much George Romero's Dawn of the Dead in game form. You spend the rest of the game wandering around the mall killing zombies with pretty much anything at hand while attempting to learn why the dead have risen.

The Good
The core gameplay itself is a lot of fun. The sheer quantity and variety of weapons at yur disposal is just staggering. After only a few hours with the game I've sent the dead back to hell with hockey sticks, soccer balls, lawn mowers, construction drills and potted plants. While you spend the wast majority of your time doing the same things over and over, it's got enough variety and difficulty to keep you occupied for a long time. The boss fights, mostly against psychopaths that are trapped in the mall with you, are okay, but they can be so frustratingly difficult at times that it detracts from the experience.

In a move that is either novel or stupid, Dead Rising has you playing against a time limit. After 72 hours in the game (although it comes out to 12-15 hours in actual time), regardless of whether or not you've solved the mystery, you get an ending. You're then expected to restart the game, this time with all of the skills, levels and experience you amassed the first time through the game. While it seems a bit like Capcom trying to artificially inflate how long it takes to beat the game, the system still works.

The graphics are generally spectacular. The cutscenes, rendered in real-time, look incredible, and there can be literally hundreds of enemies on screen at one time.

The Bad
As I said at the top, the big things are great, but the little things that are inexplicably screwed up really drag down the overall experience. First thing, the text in the game is so small and blurred on standard definition screens that it's almost indecipherable at times, and I sit only about 4 feet from my 25" set. The text is apparently fine on HD or widescreen TVs, but this is an inexcusable screw up on Capcom's part.

Secondly, the save system. Now I wasn't expecting Dead Rising to use Oblivion's save anywhere at anytime system, what they use is just plain stupid. You get only one save slot per profile, and the save points are few and far between. On at least 3 different occasions I accomplished something significant, but since at that point there were several hundred hungry zombies between me and the save point I died.

Third, the mission system. You recieve mission info, or 'scoops' as they are called in the game, from a janitor named Otis over a walkie talkie. What's wrong with that? Well for some reason while you're answering the damn radio you can't do anything! You can't fight, heal, open a door or even jump while listeing to Otis ramble on about getting a new ensemble in the style court. I thought the weapon-or-flashlight choice in Doom 3 was stupid, but the walkie talkie system in Dead Rising is even dumber.

The flaws in the game are small, but since those flaws so permeate every facet of the game they are magnified immesurably. Even worse these flaws could have, and should have, been identified and fixed during playtesting. A great game brought down by laziness is more of a tragedy than a mediocre game.

Overall - 3 out of 5

Looking Forward - Marvel's November Solicitations

Once again we hop in the wayforward machine to see what delectibles the House of Ideas will be dropping on Turkey Month.

ULTIMATE POWER #2 (of 9)
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Pencils and Cover by GREG LAND
The Squadron Supreme has invaded the Ultimate Universe seeking revenge, and Earth strikes back with its biggest guns! It's the smackdown of the year as the Squadron Supreme go toe-to-toe with the Ultimates, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Ultimate X-Men and Ultimate Spidey himself. And neither world will survive unscathed. You cannot miss it!
While I'm really looking forward to this series, I think putting three different writers on one 9 issue mini may have been a mistake.

ONSLAUGHT REBORN #1 (of 5)
Written by JEPH LOEB
Pencils and Cover by ROB LIEFELD
50/50 Variant Cover by MICHAEL TURNER
Every time I see this project mentioned I expect to see Joey Q leap out of the shadows and yell "Fooled Ya", or that this is something Warren Ellis wrote to parody the industry.

ASTONISHING X-MEN #19
Written by JOSS WHEDON
Pencils and Cover by JOHN CASSADAY
50/50 Variant cover by JOHN CASSADAY
"UNSTOPPABLE!" Part 1 (of 6)
Strap yourselves in, folks! It's the beginning of Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's final arc on Astonishing X-Men! After the shocking and brain-smashing events of last issue, the X-Men are off to protect the Earth from its destruction at the hands of the Breakworld. And when it's all over, nothing will ever be the same! No really, we mean it! Whedon & Cassaday prove they are more than Astonishing: They are UNSTOPPABLE!
My favorie cover this month. But does it confirm that they're really changing Cyclops' powers?

UNCANNY X-MEN #480
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Penciled by CLAYTON HENRY
Cover by JOHN WATSON
"THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SHI'AR EMPIRE"
The foundations of the mighty Shi'Ar are shaken! Vulcan is here! His first test, the Imperial Guard! It's Vulcan vs. Gladiator. The victor will decide the fate of an entire galaxy! Part 6 (of 12)!
We had an example of a good (maybe great) cover, and now we have an example of a bad cover. Note to publishers: Not all cover painters are good!

As I was picking solicits to highlight/mock I thought the list seemed a little light, then I rememberd the Great Civil War Delay pushed close to a dozen books out of November. No Amazing, no FF, no Frontline, no Civil War. Makes for a short list.

Looking Forward - DC's November Solicitations

It's once again that magical time in which we look into the Crystal Ball at comics slated to come out in November but we still likely won't see until Christmas

BIRDS OF PREY #100
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Nicola Scott & Doug Hazlewood
and Paulo Sequiera & Robin Riggs
Cover by Jerry Ordway
It's time to bring in new blood! Who will be asked to join Oracle in her all-new Birds Of Prey? Who will refuse, and who will fly the coop for good? Plus, a backup story following Black Canary and her new role in the DCU!
Well this solicit makes it pretty clear that Black Canary isn't going to be one of The Birds after this. 100 issues and Black Canary has appeared in (I think) every one. A new era begins.

UNCLE SAM AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS #5
Written by Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray
Art and cover by Daniel Acuña
The covert agency SHADE unleashes a new metahuman threat that leaves the Freedom Fighters powerless! Can Uncle Sam save his team from certain doom?
That is a cool cover!


TEEN TITANS #41
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Tony Daniel & Kevin Conrad
Cover by Daniel
The explosive "Titans Around the World" story concludes with the team finding Raven! Will she bring back a Titans who died?
Another "guess the blacked-out new member" cover? It's a nice concept, but it's approaching overkill at DC.

P.S. - I'm guessing the top silhouette is Miss Martian and the bottom one is Red Star.

WILDCATS #2
Written by Grant Morrison
Art and cover by Jim Lee & Scott Williams
Variant cover A by Erik Larsen
Variant cover B by Jim Lee
A deadly super-villain escapes from a prison space station - by leaping to Earth. The Wildcats must use all their cunning, strength and brains in order to capture him and still maintain their covert status quo. All goes according to plan, except for one little hiccup - he kills them all on live television!
Wow do the heroes actually die in the second issue of a major revamp/reset?

The Hot List

I'm may need to sell a kidney to afford this week's haul. At a minimum I'm probably going to spend more than I ever have in a single week.

DC COMICS
52 WEEK #16
BATMAN #656
BIRDS OF PREY #97
BLUE BEETLE #6
FLASH THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE #3
JACK OF FABLES #2
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1
SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #21
WONDER WOMAN #2

IMAGE COMICS
FEAR AGENT #7

MARVEL COMICS
ASTONISHING X-MEN #16
DAREDEVIL #88
ETERNALS #3 (OF 6)
EXILES #85
HEROES FOR HIRE #1
NEW AVENGERS #23
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #99
ULTIMATES ANNUAL #2
WOLVERINE #45

While the roster of the new Justice League may have been spoiled, I'm still waiting with bated breath for the first (real) issue.

I can's decide which is the best comic not published by the Big Two: Walking Dead or Fear Agent. Either way they're both at the top of my read pile.

Astonishing X-Men. Droooollll.

Daughters of the Dragon was one of my favorite stories of the year, and I think Heroes for Hire will be just as good.

Flops on a Plane

Wow. I didn't see this coming at all. According to Box Office Mojo, Snakes on a Plane made only $13.8M in it's opening weekend. That's a little more than half of what I thought it would make. Snakes had one of the best grassroots hype machines I've ever seen behind it and still it couldn't do as well as your typical J.Lo romantic comedy. I mean this was a fairly low budget film that, despite that handicap, still got promo time on all the major TV networks, and it didn't help one bit. It did no better than an anonymous action movie or thriller.

Review: Shin Chan

For a few minutes last night I thought I had actually lost my freaking mind. I was sure, certain beyond a reasonable doubt, that I'd broken my brain and had slipped into blissful insanity. Why would I think that?

Because I watched Shin Chan on [Adult Swim].

The show is almost indescribable. It was like a firehose of wierd blasting out of my television. Superheroes, schizophrenics, wierd little children and a cat car are just some of the elements of the show. Oh yeah, and it's pretty adult as well, with lots of sexual innuendo and humor. To be honest I'm not quite sure what happened in the episode; everything was just so random and strange and oh so Japanese, but it was still fun to watch.

Apparently the show, known as Crayon Shin-Chan in Japan, has been on the air since 1992 and is considered by some to be Japan's answer to The Simpsons. While I'm not yet ready to make that comparison, Shin Chan looks to be a great addition to the [as] family.

RANT: Civil War Delays

As I'm sure you've all heard, Civil War has been delayed. Now when I first heard this, I was more disappointed than angry. Civil War has, so far, been a great read, and the tie-ins have been mostly (GASP!) both intersting while adding something to the overall story. As I said, a little angry, a lot disappointed.

That is, until I started to read some of Marvel's excuses for the delays. Now, I'm pissed off.

I'll start with Mark Millar:

Steve had virtually no lead-time on Civil War and a title with a million characters has proven much tougher than he expected.

So howsabout instead of giving an unproven penciller such a short lead-time you, oh I don't know, delay the start of the mini a few months to give him the lead he may need? I know there was a proposed summer event that was scrapped when Civil War was pitched, but why couldn't they just make Civil War a fall event? You can't tell me that in 2006 a quality series would sell in the summer but not the fall.

Next we move on to Bryan Hitch (who is the foremost expert on late books)

Two of my favourite re-reads in collections are Dark Knight and Watchmen. Nobody now remembers that each was late at the time of the original periodicals but that was a blip, a couple of years in each's 25 year publication history and these will STILL be published 25 years from now.

Now Hitch isn't the only personen making this point, in fact this comparison was so prevalent in comments from Marvel personnel that I suspect it was distributed by management as a talking point to all involved. While this may be true (Dave Gibbons claims that Watchmen only shipped one issue late and the delay was very short) it's also a terrible comparason. DKR and Watchmen were both stand alone stories set outside of DC's main continuity and had no direct bearing on other titles. Civil War ties into (by my count) about 60% of Marvel's main continuity regular titles, most of which will be delayed significantly by this. You want to compare this situation to Infinite Crisis? Fine, it's a valid comparason and it illustrates why Marvel doesn't want to use fill-in artists. But to draw a parallel between Civil War and Watchmen or Dark Knight Returns is assinine, just as comparing Civil War to 52 would be equally stupid.

My final, and biggest, complaint is with this statement from Marvel editor Tom Brevoort.

The only reason our industry runs on a thirty day cycle is because it’s a holdover from the days when comic books were newsstand-oriented periodicals, and everybody’s used to that. But if you look at the entire field over the last five years, you can see that starting to change. And, like with any change, not everybody is going to be equally comfortable with it.

We put out monthly comics because that’s the way we’ve always largely done it. But the reason for why the comics are produced monthly in this format has kind of fallen away–and because of this fact, you’ve begun to see a metamorphosis in the way the industry operates, in my opinion.

So you don't think comics should be done on a monthly schedule anymore? Then why are you soliciting them as such? If you feel that way then announce that from now on all Marvel books will come out on a when-it's-done basis. You know why this won't happen? Because it would be an unmitigated disaster for the House of Ideas. Comics generally come out on a monthly basis for the same reason television shows come on at the same time each week: Because consumers are creatures of habit. A book that comes out sporatically, unless it's an absolute masterpiece like The Ultimates, won't be successful. Want proof? Look at the early days of Image Comics. They put out some okay books that were absolutely killed by a complete lack of scheduling. Brevoort knows all this, but he's trying to spin the delays as some kind of prescient look at the future of the industry.

All of the above mentioned bothered me, but not nearly as much as what wasn't said: We're Sorry. The first thing out of Quesada & Brevoort's mouths should have been mea maxima culpa, instead we get justifications and excuses.

'Wanted' Casting News

Mark Millar has done a lot of great stuff. The Ultimates, The Authority, Wolverine, but to me his best work was Wanted with J.G. Jones. Because he wasn't playing in someone else's sandbox he was able to let loose and do all the evil perverse shit he always wanted to do. What we got was a book without heroes. Not the traditional comics 'anti-hero' who kills but is fundamentally good, but flat out evil villains made up the entire cast of characters. It was lewd bloody and oh so much fun.

Some time back Wanted was optioned as a movie. I yawned. Come on, there was no way this would actually hit the screen! I may have been wrong. According to The Hollywood Reporter (h/t Newsarama) a guy by the name of James McAvoy has been cast as Wesley Gibson, the star of the series. Now while this doesn't necessarily mean the movie will be any good, it likely means that we'll at least get to see it at some point.

Remakes That Should Not Be: Last House on the Left

I've seen a lot of horror movies over the years and while several have scared me, very, very few have disturbed me. The Last House on the Left was one of those films. Taken individually sex, gore and violence really don't bother me, but Last House..'s confluence of the three actually made me uncomfortable. It's a movie that I know is good, and is rightly considered a very influential film, but I just don't enjoy watching.

So it comes as no surprise that the creatively destitute Hollywood machine has decided to remake Last House on the Left. Honestly, it was probably inevitable. Both Saw & Saw 2 were fairly big hits and they were obviously influenced by Craven's early work. Rouge pictures could have taken the time and effort to find a the next young horror master and let him or her work their magic, but it's a lot easier to just remake Wes Craven's back catalog. Let me make sure Rogue Pictures, and the rest of the Hollywood studios understand what I'm saying.

STOP REMAKING CLASSIC HORROR MOVIES! THEY ARE ALMOST UNIVERSALLY TERRIBLE!

House of Wax, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho, Amityville Horror, The Omen, When a Stranger Calls. All good or great originals. All excretable remakes, the majority of which were financial failures to boot. Dawn of the Dead was good, but it still wasn't as good as the original. Classic horror movies were mostly indie flicks with a minimum of studio interference. Modern remakes are neutered, butchered and focus-grouped to death. Please let the giants lie. Honor them, revere them, but for the love of God, don't try to make them 'better'.

Review Time

Robin #153 - A fun trip through the booby trapped hideouts of Batman's rouges as Robin and Boomerang Jr. try to find the Joker's nuke. Boomerang offers to bury the hatchet, but Tim just isn't ready to be friends with the son of the man that murdered his father. One gripe: how does Owen know Robin's identity? Hawkgirl knowing Batman and Robin's IDs I can buy, she's been a hero for a while now, but who would tell Boomerang something like that? I know that he's been a white hat for at least some time, but he was still a member of The Rouges & The Society as little as year ago DCU time. Batman may be kinder and more trusting than he was pre-IC, but this is a bit of a stretch.

Nextwave #7 - This may have been the best single issue of the year. We get the secret and convoluted origin of The Captain's name. Monica and Else discussing whether or not Captain America is gay, and how much they wish he was. And what may be the best exchange ever.
Tabitha - "They shot their muck all over me!"
Aaron - "Like that's never happened before."
Tabitha - "Shut up and die, Robot face."

Ion #5 - Hal & Kyle try to interrogate Nero, but he's crazy and doesn't know squat about what's been happening, so Kyle goes to confront the Guardians. That's about it. Yeah there was a fight with Nero, and the mute girl from the artist's commune in #1 finds a Thanagarian ship, but nothing really happened here. Combine that with mediocre art, and I'm jumping ship.

Civil War: X-Men #2 - So the Sentinels are freaking Gundams now? After Evangelion-lite appeared in the Sentinel series, and another Sentinel in this issue looks like an old Decepticon? I know American comics are trying to attract manga readers, but this is assinine. Other than that, it was an okay issue that lays the groundwork for mutants re-entering society.

Quick Hits
Shadowpact #4 - It's too early in the series' run for a single character one shot.
Runaways #19 - Two Runaways deal with Gert's death by bumping uglies. While believable, it was still a little shocking to see, even in tame form.

Wii for $170?

Nintendo has said for months that their Wii console would be shipping this year for less than US$250. IGN recently pegged the price point at US$229. Now, according to this article, the Wii may ship for as little as US$170 in Japan.

A few caveats. First, this is an analyst report predicting a game console price point, which means it's likely about as accurate as throwing darts at the multiplication table. Second, even if the cost of producing the CPU are less than estimated, the cost of all of the other electronics are notoriously volatile. Finally, and contrary to my first two points, consoles and other hardware tend to be more expensive in Japan than in America. My guess: $199 with one Wii-mote, a demo disc and no full games when the system launches in early November.

H/T - Evil Avatar

Maybe They Should Change the Name to "Hundred Year War"?

It's official. Marvel's Civil War #4, originally slated to ship Wednesday, August 16, will now ship on September 20th! Think that sucks? Oh, wait, it gets even better: Civil War #5 won't be on shelves until November 15th. Marvel's biggest mega-event in God knows how long, and they're only going to ship one issue between mid-July and mid-November. Worse, this forces a dozen or so tie-in titles to slip as well.

DC took a lot of criticism when Infinite Crisis fell behind schedule, even after a boat load of artists were added to the mix, but the final issue shipped only 2 weeks after it was originally scheduled to. This puts MCW at least two months behind and that's assuming that no further delays pop up in the meantime. I can't even begin to imagine what this means for all the other titles in the main Marvel U. The worst part? A lot of creative teams that DID meet their deadlines are going to have their work ship late through no fault of their own.

Whose fault is this? Millar? He's been the writer of a lot of late books, so he likely has to bear a lot of the blame here. McNiven? He may have to go into the Jim Lee, Frank Quitley, Phil Jimenez, Bryan Hitch class of pencillers that can't be trusted with a monthly book. Quesada? Ultimately he's the boss, so he has to take the blame. Either way there are too many books that don't ship on time now, and sooner or later it's going to kill the industry.

technorati tags: comics,

The Hot List

DC COMICS

52 WEEK #15
CHECKMATE #5
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #3
ION #5 (OF 12)
MANHUNTER #25
ROBIN #153
SHADOWPACT #4
TESTAMENT #9

MARVEL COMICS

CIVIL WAR X-MEN #2 (OF 4)
IRON MAN #11
NEXTWAVE AGENTS OF HATE #7
RUNAWAYS #19
THUNDERBOLTS #105 CW
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #32
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #2

This week's list may be more interesting for what isn't on it. As of Saturday Justice League of America #1, Wonder Woman #2 and Flash #3 were all scheduled to come out this week, yet none are on Diamond's final list. All three issues of Flash have been delayed, albeit slightly. Wonder Woman #1 came out, what 7-8 weeks ago? We may not see #4 before the end of the year at this rate. And Justice League #1? A first issue that's been in the works for almost a full year is late? Ridiculous.

I've loved the first few issues of Rucka's Checkmate. I know a lot of people are turned off by a comic that centers around espionage and realpolitik but it's a great read. A worthy sucessor to Ostrander's Suicide Squad series from the 80's.

Manhunter. Good. Save book.

Thunderbolts seems like a team book from the 80's, but in a good way. The whole team doesn't really get along with one another, and it's not trying so hard to be 'realistic' that it forgets to be fun. And it almost always ships on-time, which fewer and fewer good books do now.

technorati tags: comics, TheHotList,

Genpets. Both Creepy and Brilliant

Genpets. It may be the most disturbingly ingenious thing I've ever seen. Genetically engineered pets, packaged like action figures or consumer electronics. They come in 1-year and 3-year configurations, and their emotions can be controlled via their special nutrient packs.

Now before anyone gets upset, it's not real; the whole thing is an art project by a guy named Adam Brandejs. It is still one of the more fascinating art projects I've ever seen. It's a science fiction satire of modern consumerisism that isn't obnoxiously pretentious. It makes it's point subtly but powerfully and, most importantly, without making the subject feel stupid. Let's be honest, this little troll-looking thing would sell like crazy if it actually existed. It's hairless, allergen free, can't run away and you only have to feed it once a week. It's like a goldfish that you can hold like a baby. A creepy Gollum looking freak baby, but a baby none the less.

technorati tags: technology, art, scifi,

Download Classic DC Comics for Free!

I found this on Digg today and it blew my mind. Hundreds, thousands of old school DC Comics to download, complete with the original ads! I have a feeling that the site may not be long for this world, so get em' while they're hot!

technorati tags: Comics, technology,

Book Review: Sword of Truth 10 - Phantoms

Have you ever seen a link or video that you KNEW would be disturbing, yet you felt some compulsion to check it out anyway? That is basically how I feel about the Sword of Truth series of fantasy novels; I know at some point I'll be bothered by what happens in the book, but I'm still compelled to check it out. At least now I just go to the library instead of plopping down $24.95.

For the uninitiated, Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series is fairly standard Tolkien-esque high fantasy: magic swords, wizards, monsters, heroes and beautiful maidens; all set against an unimaginable evil that threatens to consume the entire world. The big difference between SoT & LoTR? Graphic, brutal and lurid scenes of sex, violence and sexual violence are prevalent throughout the entire series. In fact most of the last third of the first book, Wizard's First Rule, is really just one long S&M session. Now I'm not a prude, but this was a little offputting at first. That said, the first 2-3 books in the series were actually pretty good; the main characters were more fleshed out than in most genre novels and their motivations were fairly realistic; brutally so at times. There was still a lot of sex and brutality, and sometimes sex & brutality, but the world Goodkind crafted was engrossing with lots of new and interesting concepts. It wasn't as good as the great fantasy epics, but I looked forward to new iterations of the series.

Things began to go downhill from there. All the charm and innovation of the earlier books had been leeched away, replaced by flat characterizations and gore by the truckload. The two main characters, Richard and Kahlan, were great; the rest of the cast was mostly boring and one-dimensional. To make things even stranger, at some point the books morphed into polemics against Soviet-style communisism. Now I have no love of Stalinism, but the subtext and metaphor became about as subtle as a hammer and sickle over the head. Still I stuck around, mostly because at the end of every book there was a sense that the climax was just around the corner. That changed with book 7, The Pillars of Creation, a book in which the series' two main characters don't appear until the last 40 pages. In their place is a character that, by the middle of the next book, has been all but written out of the series.

It's with all of this in mind I headed out to pick up Goodkind's newest book: Phantoms. However I headed not the bookstore, but the library, because by now I don't even want to spring for the paperback. How was it? Pretty much exactly what I expected. Richard, Kahlan and a couple of other characters are well written and interesting, everyone else is flat, dull and irritating. Like every other book in the series it boils down to Richard knowing what to do, but all of his friends and allies spend most of the book disbelieving. He's proven right in the end, but not before the lack of faith makes matters worse. Having a formula while writing can be good, but this just comes off as repetitive.

According to several sources this was the penultimate book in the series, to which I say: thank God.

2 out of 5

technorati tags: Books, Fantasy, reviews,

Review Time

Fables #52 - In french this issue would be described as la merde est sur le point de frapper le ventilateur. A lot of talking, a few nice revelations (Hansel the badass inquisitor) and an overall sense of menace throughout the issue. As always Fables is a much more enjoyable read when you have Wikipedia open to look up the obsucre characters Willingham throws into the mix. (I had no idea there were other OZ books) The backup feature, starring Rapunzel, was a great addition.

Squadron Supreme #6 - The biggest real difference between Supreme Power and Squadron Supreme isn't content but perspective. Supreme Power was told almost exclusively from Hyperion's perspective; while Squadron's perspective tends to jump between Blur, Inertia and Emil Burbank. Especially Emil Burbank, who may be one of the breakout characters of the year.

Civil War: Frontline - A good main feature, a good backup feature, and 2 wastes of ink and paper. The main feature is still heavily slanted in favor of Cap's anti-registration side, but bias aside, Jenkins is telling an interesting story of how Civil War is playing out on the street level. The feature comparing MCW to real wars continues to piss me off immensely.

Quick Hits

Annihilation #1 - Giffen really makes this seem like a real war, not just another superhero battle. The ending was a bit of a shocker, but one that I just don't think will stand for long.

52 #14 - I like the narrower perspective of the more recent issues. It may be 3-4 weeks between appearances, but each appearance is tighter and more focused.

Green Arrow #65 - The return of Speedy, more on Deathstroke, and even a little news on Connor. What more can I ask for from this book?

technorati tags: comics, ReviewTime

The Hot List

DC
52 Week #14
Fables #52
Firestorm The Nuclear Man #28
Green Arrow #65
JSA Classified #15
Martian Manhunter #1
Secret Six #3
Superman #655

Marvel
Annihilation #1
Civil War Front Line #5
Incredible Hulk #97
Ms Marvel #6
New X-Men #29
She-Hulk 2 #10
Squadron Supreme #6
Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #2
Ultimate X-Men #73

#13 may have been the best issue of 52 to date. The pattern of the book has visibly changed in the last month, and the new focus, both in terms of characters and timeframe, has improved the pacing dramatically. Replacing the 'History of the DCU' backup with new character origins has helped as well.

JSA Classified has been pretty good up till now, but Englehart's Detroit era story in JLA: C stunk from issue 1, and the modern continuance hasn't helped one bit.

Martian Manhunter. I like the character (and Monitor Duty has one of the best profiles on J'Onn ever) but I'm not sure he can carry a solo series, even a limited series. The BNW short did ignite my interest however, so I'm giving it a twirl.

I read the first issue of all 4 Annihilation minis, but the Nova mini was the only that stuck with me. I tend to like Sci-Fi superhero stories, so I'll give this one another try.

When I first heard about Civil War i feared it would be really preachy, like Millar's Authority run. Overall I've been pleasantly surprised by how even-handed it's been, but Frontline has been an exception. It hasn't been bad, just slanted. Sally Floyd, the anti-reg reporter, is taking a moral stand for freedom. Ben Urich, the pro-reg reporter, is actually anti-reg, but his publisher, J. Jonah Jameson, is forcing him to write pro-reg articles. The Speedball feature has been okay, but suffers from the same slant as the main story. The less said about the 'war correspendence' segment the better.

technorati tags: Comics, TheHotList,

Cover to JSoA#2

From Wizard World Chicago: Alex Ross' cover to Justice Society of America #2. Beautiful. Although with 17 characters on the cover (I'm betting the eyes in the top right belong to Obsidian) it may not be the final roster. The bad news? The series now won't launch until December.

technorati tags: Comics

Review Time

Uncanny X-Men #477: It's a bad sign when three issues into Ed Brubaker's run we already have a guest penciller. I guess if you're going to have a guest penciller then it should probably be the issue in which not one member of the team appears. This book should have FILLER written across it in big bold letters.

Moon Knight #4: A good issue that once again gives vivid insight into the minds of both Marc Spector and his shadowy antagonist. But four issues in and we're yet to see Moon Knight in costume outside of flashbacks. I love when a comic character is given layers and dimension, but the time has come for some ass kickery already.

Ex Machina #22: Ah Ex Machina. What other book gives you politics, betrayal, same-sex marital infedelity, and beautifully rendered shotgun wounds to the abdomen all in one package? Although I could have lived without seeing someone use a breathing aparatus for self-gratification. Note to those readers outside of the New York City area: Google Fire Fiend to get some background on what happened in this issue.

Quick Hits
All New Atom #2 - Not as good as the first issue, but still fun.
Detective Comics #822 - Another very good one-and-done story. I loved the Riddler as a rival detective. Don Kramer is the most underrated penciller in the business today.
Outsiders #39 - A lot of people like to slam Judd Winick, sometimes with good reason, but this issue showcases what he's great at: quirky dialouge between villains. His Mallah & The Brain is almost as good as his Sivana & The Fearsome Five.

technorati tags: comics, ReviewTime

Batman Sequel News

It's official. The next Batman movie will be titled "The Dark Knight", and Heath Ledger has been cast as The Joker. Ledger's work, what I've seen of it, is okay; nothing spectacular, but he can act. I am really glad that Nolan and Warner Bros. didn't go 'wacky' for the Joker. The rumors of Robin Williams getting the part made me ill. All of the other principal actors, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman & Katie Holmes are also returning, and the film is slated for a summer 2008 release.

technorati tags: comics, movies

The Hot List

DC COMICS

52 WEEK #13
ABSOLUTE KINGDOM COME EDITION HC $75.00
ALL NEW ATOM #2
CREEPER #1 (OF 6)
DETECTIVE COMICS #822
EX MACHINA #22
EXTERMINATORS #8
JONAH HEX #10
MANIFEST ETERNITY #3
OUTSIDERS #39
Y THE LAST MAN #48

MARVEL COMICS

FANTASTIC FOUR #539
FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #11
MOON KNIGHT #4
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #98
UNCANNY X-MEN #477

OTHER

INVINCIBLE #34
FALLEN ANGEL IDW #7

It's unnatural, unhealthy and maybe even illegal for a man to lust after an innanimate object as much as I lust after that hardcover edition of Kingdom Come. Some people refer to KC as the Mt. Everest of Fanwankery. They may be right, but I still consider it to be one of the best comics I've ever read. But I cannot justify dropping $75 on any book, especially one I already own.

Paul Dini's first issue of Detective Comics has been rightly heralded as one of the best single-issue Batman stories in a long time, can his second issue be as good?

Manifest Eternity, another book I got from my LSC as a freebie, has been a lot of fun. The whole science versus magic theme has been done before in various mediums, but the concept is still an untapped gold mine. The art gets a little muddled at times, but it's not a deal breaker.

Moon Knight has been bloody, brutal and primal fun, but this issue needs a little more plot advancement and action to keep up the momentum.

Invincible is the best silver age comic being published in 2006. The art is vibrant with lots of bold colors and wacky looking characters. The stories are, for the most part, simple and straight-forward but with lots of underlying emotion. Most of all you like, or want to like, all of the characters.

technorati tags: comics, TheHotList,

Review Time

Birds of Prey #96 - It has been more than a year, both in real time and DC Comics time, since Ted Kord was murdered, and he is finally given the memorial he deserved. It was a bit melancholy, a bit dignified, and very, very funny; the perfect tribute to the second Blue Beetle. Oh yeah, and the Society (remember them?), in the form of Talia, Felix Faust & Cheetah, attempts to manipulate Black Alice into joining up, leading Alice to steal Wonder Girl's powers and lay the smackdown on the ladies. Oh yeah, one more thing: Batgirl returns. The original one: red hair, yellow cape, the whole shebang.

Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways #1 - Earlier this week I predicted doom and gloom for this book. Was I right (as usual)? Not this time. While it wasn't great, Zeb Wells nailed the motivations and tone for most of the characters and the action scenes were nicely done. It does fall into the same trap that almost every other Civil War book by portraying the pro-Registration side as one dimensional bad guys, but I'll be ranting about that later.

American Way #6 - Right now this has to be the front runner for miniseries of the year. It's a fascinating deconstruction of the whole superhero/supervillain dynamic that goes the extra mile by setting up shop in the middle of 1960's era U.S. politics. John Ridley & Georges Jeanty tackle topics like racism, the Cold War, gender issues and most of all fear that lesser writers woudn't touch with a ten foot pole, but they do so without turning it into a polemic.

Quick Hits

Amazing Spiderman #534 - In war, everybody is an unlikeable jackass. Even Spidey.

Daredevil #87 - Yeah the mystery of who the fake DD was inadvertently spoiled a few weeks ago, the new mysteries, and revelations, more than made up for the spoiler.

Batman #655 - Grant Morrison at his best takes the bizarre and makes it approachable. Grant Morrison at his worst requires a tab of acid to understand what the hell he's trying to say. This one was definately more of the latter.

52 week 12 - Awww, Black Adam has a girlfriend. How cute. I <3 Black Adam & Isis.

technorati tags: comics, reviews,

A Strawberry Shortcake Videogame!?!

Oh God, the colors! They're making my eyes bleed. Make it stop! Make it STOP.

technorati tags: videogames

Simpsons Movie Clips from SDCC - UPDATED (AGAIN)

The Simpsons seasons 2-12 are, pound for pound, the greatest thing ever. I could watch them all day long (with the exception of the 'future' episodes). But I don't know how I feel about the prospects of a Simpsons Movie. Can they recapture the magic of those great earlier seasone, or will it be an amorphous mess like the last 4 seasons? Well judging by the clips shown at SDCC, I think it's the former.

UPDATE - As expected Fox has ordered YouTube to pull the video. I'll let you know if/when I find it again.

UPDATE 2 - They're baaaaacccckk

technorati tags: Animation, television, movies, TheSimpsons

Panning for Gold - SDCC Edition

Now that the San Diego Comic Con has wound to a close, I can begin to sort through the various bits of info that were drowned out by the cacaphony of nerdly goodness.

• J.M. Straczyinski's Rising Stars is apparently in development as a TV series, with Sam Raimi attached in some fashion. A year ago this would have been great news, but now it's just too close in concept to NBC's Heroes for it to flourish on it's own merits.
  
• Marvel announced or illuminated several new movies in development including: Iron Man w/ Jon Favreau, Ant Man w/ Edgar Wright, a new Hulk w/ Louis Letterier, Captain America, Thor & Nick Fury. Marvel Films honcho Kevin Feige also said that it's not a coincidence that all of these characters have links to the Avengers. While I think a live-action Avengers flick could be mind-blowing, it would also likely be prohibitedly expensive to produce, so I'm not holding my breath.
  
• Finally I tried to watch G4's coverage of Comic Con, but after 20 minutes I couldn't take any more. As predicted, the actual comic book related stuff was glossed over in favor of MORE coverage of Snakes on a Plane and interviews with strippers in Black Cat costumes. More aggregious: the on-air personalities that actually read comics, Blair Butler & Adam Sessler, were never heard from at the show. Just a complete waste of time.

technorati tags: comics,

The Hot List

DC
52 Week #12
Action Comics #841
American Way #6
Batman #655
Birds Of Prey #96
Blue Beetle #5
Jack Of Fables #1
JSA Classified #14
Nightwing #122
Supergirl #8

Image
Casanova #2
Fear Agent #6

Marvel
Amazing Spider-Man #534
Captain America #20
Civil War Front Line #4
Civil War Young Avengers & Runaways #1
Daredevil #87
Exiles #84
New Avengers #22
X-Men #189

I just can't justify spending any more money on Nightwing and Supergirl at the moment. They are both well written and likeable in other books, but thoroughly bland and disagreeable in their own titles.
It sounds like Morrison is trying to recapture the 70's Denny O'Neill - Neal Adams vibe on Batman. Which means Batman getting laid left and right, and lots of ninjas.
Can Fables survive an expansion?
Runaways and Young Avengers are two of the best books Marvel publishes. They are meeting under the umbrella of a great crossover. This, of course, means it may suck hard.
We finally discover that Iron Fist ..is the fake Daredevil.

technorati tags: Comics, TheHotList

DC Animation News

I'll cut to the chase. DC is getting into the animation business, and the first three (or four?) projects were announced @ SDCC.

The New Frontier - Darwyn Cooke's re-imagining of the silver age of DC comics with it's Bruce Timm-inspired art style is a great read, and the perfect leadoff hitter for the new DC Universe animation line.

Superman/Doomsday - Why? The actual fight between Superman and Doomsday was the least interesting part of the Death of Superman storyline. I just don't see this as being good, unless they are already planning a Reign of the Superman movie as a sequel of sorts.

New Teen Titans: The Judas Contract - Yeah I know the Teen Titans animated series did a version of this legendary story, but this one will have an art style closer to the George Perez original, and should include the apropriate Titans lineup.

While I would still rather that JLU was never cancelled, this is a pretty good replacement. However: Is the Bat-Emabrgo still in effect? I can't see The New Frontier working without Batman, or the Judas Contract without Robin/Nightwing, so lets hope that rational minds at DC & WB prevale.

Now at the top I said they may have announced four projects. According to DC Publisher Paul Levitz:

Ultimately, once we figured out what the box was that we wanted to work in creatively; we sat around and asked what's cool? We started playing with the ideas - if we were going to do the New Teen Titans, one of the best stories and one that everybody loved was The Judas Contract. Wouldn't it be incredible to get Marv involved in that? If we're going to do the Justice League characters, well, you could do Kingdom Come on one hand, but maybe do New Frontier, and we settled on that as a logical place to start.

Now this could just be Levitz illustrating the selection process (i.e. - we wanted to do a Justice League movie, and we selected New Frontier over Kingdom Come) but it could also mean that they wanted to do one before the other. Kingdom Come is one of the best stories ever and could make a great OAV. Time will tell.

technorati tags: comics, Animation,

It Begins - The War on Video Games

I have said many times that for a medium to become mature it has to undergo 4 phases. Movies went through them. So did television, comic books, jazz music, rock, rap, television and The Internet.

1. The Me-Too Expansion. Every company in the world sees how profitable the new medium is and tries to enter the market, even though they have an almost universal lack of insight into the particular medium or market. The companies that survive this phase, which can come in waves, usually go on to become paramount in the industry. Websites like YouTube and MySpace are living through this right now.
   
2. Fear Mongering. Every ill that is presently befalling our children is blamed on the new medium. Hearings are held, regulations are passed, ratings are drawn up, taxes are proposed and news anchors breathlessly ask "Won't anyone please think of the children!" Most, if not all of the fears are overblown exaggerations if not out right lies.
   
3. The Art House Expansion. Pretentious artistes 'discover' the medium and proceed to churn out a ton of obtuse, joyless, technically inferior dreck. It is labelled as 'brilliant' and 'revolutionary'. Anything that came before is 'obsolete'. Anything that most people would consider fun is 'plebean'.
   
4. Maturity. This stage begins when the men and women that grew up with the medium begin assuming the reins of power in society. There is no social stigma attached to the medium, it is simply another from of entertainment. What was once taboo is now accepted, if not hokey. The medium is defined, for the first time, by itself and not by the mediums that preceeded it.

Just about any media, any form of entertainment, you could name falls into one of these categories. So it should come as no surprise that Hillary Clinton is looking to pile on the video game industry. Placing a sin tax on video games, and it is a sin tax, is moronic. It's a cash grab, an expansion of the nanny-state, and pandering to elderly voters at the expense of young voters. But claiming that "people will be implanting chips in our children to advertise directly into their brains and tell them what kind of products to buy" may be the dumbest thing to come out of a politican's mouth this month (and that includes Ted Stevens). Either way, it's the opening salvo in a new war on Gaming.

technorati tags: videogames, Politics,

Comic Movie News! Doom Patrol & Deadman

Wow. Doom Patrol & Deadman as movies. Deadman I've already said has the potential to be a soild movie, maybe even a franchise. But A Doom Patrol Movie? I'm just not quite sure how that would work. The whiny, emo original team? The toad-licking surrealisim of the Morrison era? A dark comedy? Did they just look at the DC team catalog and pick the longest running team that didn't have it's whole roster locked up in other deals. At least Akiva Goldsman is producing and not writing, but the scribe, Adam Turner's, 3 credited works have a combined 48 minutes running time, so he doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

technorati tags: Comics, Movies

TV Review - Eureka (2 Hour Pilot)

Plot: A US Marshall, transporting a pretty, young female fugitive cross country gets stranded in a strange town. Wierdness and family situations ensue.

Review: While Eureka looked fairly promising, it didn't quite live up to expectations. The central conciet of the series; a town founded by the US Government as a haven/think-tank for geinuses, has a lot of potential, but very little of that potential is explored in the premiere episode(s). Worse still, all of the characters come off as cartoonishly one dimensional; I couldn't tell if it was intentionally self aware humor, or just light-hearted but flat drama. It was much less X-Files and much more Dexter's Laboratory. I'll give it another look, as much because there is nothing else on @ 9pm on a Tuesday as any other reason

2 out of 5

technorati tags: Television, SciFi

Looking Forward - Marvel's October Solicitations

This time we're looking at Marvel's October slate.

ULTIMATE POWER #1 (of 9)
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Pencils and Cover by GREG LAND
The Fantastic Four's leader, Reed Richards, has accidentally punched a hole into an adjacent universe in a desperate bid to gain the knowledge he needs to cure his friend Ben Grimm-The Thing. But something has come through the aperture from a realm known as the Supremeverse: The Squadron Supreme! They are angry and here to arrest young Reed for high crimes against their world. You must not miss the crossover of the decade!

I loved Supreme Power, but I've been underwhelmed by Squadron Supreme. This however has the chance to be very, very good.

FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #13
Written by PETER DAVID
Penciled by TODD NAUCK
Cover by MICHAEL WIERINGO

The Young Justice team of David & Nauck back together.

THE IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #1
Written by ROBERT KIRKMAN
Pencils and Cover by PHIL HESTER

This pretty much insures that Hank Pym dies in Civil War.

ASTONISHING X-MEN #18
Written by JOSS WHEDON
Pencils and Cover by JOHN CASSADAY
"TORN"
It's the jaw-dropping conclusion to "Torn!" How will Emma's betrayal affect the team?! Will the Hellfire Club stand victorious?! This issue also sets up the events leading into John and Joss' final arc of Astonishing X-Men! Don't miss it!

This may be the best X-Men book since Claremont left the first time, when it comes out on schedule.

NEW EXCALIBUR #12
Written by FRANK TIERI
Pencils and Cover by MICHAEL RYAN
"THE LAST DAYS OF CAMELOT"
It's Camelot's last stand! New Excalibur faces a mysterious race of dragons that threatens to end history as we know it!

Why is this book still around if it's not a vanity project for Claremont? Because no one else want to use these particular characters.

X-FACTOR #12
Written by PETER DAVID
Penciled by RENATO ARLEM
Cover by RYAN SOOK
It all climaxes here: The final showdown with Mr. Tryp and Singularity, X-Factor's desperate race to save all the former mutants from annihilation, and the truth behind the shocking traitor in their midst.

A great book, that is unfortunately kiiled by having too many pencillers. This is issue #12 and I think Arlem is the 4th or 5th penciller. Find someone and stick with them, please.

DAREDEVIL: FATHER HC
Written by JOE QUESADA
Pencils and Cover by JOE QUESADA

Comedy, thy name is Quesada. This mini will finish shortly after Duke Nukem Forever goes gold.

technorati tags: Comics, LookingAhead

Looking Forward - DC's October Solicitations

It's the middle of the month, that means it's comic solicitation time!

SUPERGIRL #11
Written by Joe Kelly
Art by Ian Churchill & Norm Rapmund
Cover by Churchill
Supergirl joins the Outsiders, but does she have what it takes? Plus, meet the boy of Kara's dreams!
On sale October 4 o 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Let me guess, the 'boy of Kara's dreams' is a former backup dancer in a tank top with delusions of being a white rapper.

NIGHTWING #125
Written by Marv Wolfman
Art by Dan Jurgens & Norm Rapmund
Cover by Andy Clarke

Will we finally get a well written Nightwing in his own damn title? I sure hope so.

THE ALL-NEW ATOM #4
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Eddy Barrows & Trevor Scott
Cover by Ariel Olivetti

Is John Byrne off this book already? DC must be more pissed over the Superman Returns adaptation than I thought.

GREEN LANTERN #15
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Ivan Reis & Oclair Albert
Cover by Ethan Van Sciver
Part 3 of "Wanted: Hal Jordan," guest-starring Alan Scott, Green Arrow and Roy Harper! Wanted for murder and on the run, with John Stewart's life on the line, Hal Jordan struggles to clear his name once again. But who put a price on his head? And what do they want from Green Lantern?

Well I guess that's proof that Arsenal is still alive, and it still supports my theory that he's going to be part of Checkmate.

GREEN ARROW #67
Written by Judd Winick
Art and cover by Scott McDaniel & Andy Owens
Still on the island recovering from his wounds, Green Arrow and company are attacked by some of the world's most deadly mercenaries! Will this destroy Ollie's plans to return to - and save -Star City? And if not, who will remain by his side?

Does this mean Ollie is no longer Mayor? Or am I reading too much into this?

THE OMEGA MEN #1
Written by Andersen Gabrych
Art and cover by Henry Flint
A classic team makes an unexpected return to comics in a 6-issue miniseries written by Andersen Gabrych (DETECTIVE COMICS) with art by Henry Flint (2000 A.D.)! Convinced that all of creation is on the brink of cosmic apocalypse, the last remaining Omega Men begin a universe-spanning rampage of murder and destruction. Pursued by every known league of interstellar justice, they are on the run and taking no prisoners! What is the mystery in space that One Year Later transforms these former freedom fighters into brutal terrorists? Climb on board for the controversial and head-spinning science-fiction odyssey that synthesizes intolerant zealotry, quantum mechanics, and all-out action!

I think The Omega Men is a great concept, but this worries me. It's one of two things:
1) Inspired by Battlestar Galactica they are looking to delve into the more mature themes that are possible in Sci-Fi.
2) It's a polemic about how terrorists really aren't that bad.
1 can be good, 2 can't.

SEVEN SOLDIERS #1
Written by Grant Morrison
Art and cover by J.H. Williams III
Resolicited; on sale October 25
This book, if it comes out when is says, will be 6 months late, and in this instance it's apparently all the writer's fault.

technorati tags: comics, LookingForward

It Should be on Screen: Daughters of the Dragon

One of the most pleasant surprises I've gotten at my local comic shop this year was the free issue of Marvel's Daughters of the Dragon I recieved. I had seen some of the promotional materials for the book, but it really didn't grab me in any way. The book starred two characters that I wasn't that familiar with and was done by a creative team (Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti & Khari Evans) that wasn't 'must see' material. So I went home and with the lowest of expectations flipped the cover. I spent most of the next hour chuckling. I was hooked. The book is steeped equally in the films of Melvin Van Peebles, Bruce Lee and Eddie Murphy. The titular Daughters of the Dragon, Misty Knight, the foxy lady with the metal arm along with her buddy and partner, the smokin' samurai Coleen Wing, work as bail bondswomen. Not just bondswomen, but apparently they handle bonds for most of the C & D list supervillains in New York. The rest of the mini, the final issue of which ships this week, deals with the Daughters trying to foil an equally hot super villainess, but what really got me hooked was the central concept: hot, ass kicking chicks that deal not only with normal criminal scum, but with low level super goons as well. This is the part that really begs to be made into a television show. It takes the best parts of Buffy & Alias and mixes it with a little mad cap action in the vein of The A-Team or Las Vegas. Is it a bit mysoginistic? Yes and no. Yes the protagonists are hot, fantastically proportioned women in impractically revealing clothing, but they are also smart, capable and self reliant.

technorati tags: Comics, television,

Review Time

Green Lantern #12 - Let's get this out of the way, this was a fantastic issue. Art, story, dialouge, pacing, it had it all. Now I can get down to the flaw in this issue: the whitewashing of Hal Jordan's history. I know that the decision to turn Hal from beloved Green Lantern to the murderous Parallax was one of the most reviled in the history of funny books. But it happened. It wasn't retconned away. Superboy Prime didn't punch a wall and make it evaporate into the ether. So why is Geoff Johns, a writer I usually think the world of, trying to paint over the bad things Hal Jordan did? The revelation that Parallax was a separate entity that 'possessed' Hal was a little hokey but it still worked. Now we discover that most, if not all, of the Lanterns he killed during the Emerald Dawn storyline are somehow alive, albeit comatose and under Manhunter control outside of known space. Why? So Hal's guilt can be assuaged? "Well, he really didn't kill anybody, so no harm, no foul." Not only is this a 'cheat', it damages the character. Post-Spectre Hal Jordan puts on the ring not just to save people and get an adrenaline fix, but to atone for his actions. Parallax may have influenced his actions, but much like an alcoholic is held accountable for his actions while drunk (another acpect of Hal's past that was Punched out of existence) he is still culpable for what was done. Now, since nobody really died, his murderous rampage gets downgraded to a temper tantrum. The hardcore Hal fans may be pleased, but I see it as a misguided whitewash of the character's (recent) history.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #31 - Part 2 of Frightful, Mark Millar's final story on UFF, is so chock full of over the top evil that I couldn't stop snickering (I'm way too macho to giggle, but I came close). What do we have? The Frightful Four finally, after a year of bragging, break out of their cage and proceed to treat the Baxter Building staff like it's all you can eat day at the barbecue cook-off. And Doom, looking more and more like the traditional Doom, makes Reed an offer he can't refuse. I like Greg Land's art in a pin-up/fan service sort of way; he draws undeniably beautiful women, but seems bored to tears drawing everybody else.

Fables #51 - A one-and-done story featuring Cinderella trying to finalize a treaty with the Cloud Kingdoms. Unfortunately Cindy is much more used to the cloak and dagger side of life and is feeling very frustrated in her role as a diplomat, especially since the giants that inhabit the Cloud Kingdoms are none too bright. Mayhem insues involving size changing, shape changing, anthropomorphisim, aural surgery and a witch's price. Good fun stuff, as always.

The XBoy? The iBox? The Xberry?

As many of you may know rumors are circulating wildly that Microsoft is soon to unveil their new portable media device. While no name has been announced it should probably be called "Rashomon" since everybody seems to have a different perspective on what the device actually is. Audiophiles and casual gadget mongers see it as Microsoft's answer to Apple's iPod: a portable music and video player. Gamers look at it and see a rival to Nintendo's DS and Sony's PSP portable gaming systems. A third group even sees this device as a new attempt to unseat the Blackberry from it's perch atop the business gadget heap. The thought of all of these features integrated into the same portable device is enought to send even the most casual of gadget-philes into a state of near sexual euphoria. What do I see when I think about this digital Chimaera? A bloody mess.

Not that I wouldn't love a device that can do all of these things, unfortunately I just don't expect it to do any of those things particularly well. It's the old jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none quandry. One of the things that made the iPod so successful was it's simplicity; it just played and organized your music. Apple could have slapped on e-mail functionality, or a wireless connection, or a web browser, but they chose not to. They realized that those features would make the iPod more expensive, more complicated and worst of all, less accessible to the general public. The same could be said about Nintendo and their portable game systems; they could have included a web browser with the DS, but why? A good example of 'cramming' is Sony's PSP. They tried to make a device that could do just about anything digital: videogames, music, video, web browsing, the works. But in the end it really didn't do any of them particularly well. The games are mostly PS2 ports shoe-horned into a crappy control scheme, importing music & movies to the system is needlessly difficult, and the web browser has yet to materialize in the US.

Now I'm not saying it can't be a useful and successful product; in fact I think it, whatever 'it' is, will probably be one of the hottest items this coming Christmas season. But if Microsoft tries to be all things to all people it assuredly won't be the hot item for Christman 2007. So what if they are not trying to do a Chimera, but instead a more streamlined product? This also may be a bad idea.

Let's say the big M is doing a music player. What can they offer that Apple and the iPod don't? It won't be cheaper. It won't have any fewer restrictions on the media you buy. Could they possibly offer a larger library than iTunes? What's left? A larger, hi-def screen? When the screen is 2" or less what does it matter? Wireless connectivity? It would be nice, but not nice enough to get very many people to switch over. Finally Microsoft doesn't have a tenth of the brand loyalty that Apple does, so nobody is going to be buying it just for that reason.

Is the mystery device a challenger to the Blackberry? Not likely. Big M has been trying unsucessfully for years to unify the portable OS market the way they dominate the PC market. The Palm OS and RIM's Blackberry are just too good to trounce, and besides the handheld market just isn't profitable enough to spend the megabucks they would need to dominate.

Okay, what if they're making a portable game system? This one is a lot more fesable for one reason: digital distribution. The thing that kills the PSP the most is it's media. Those little UMDs have hellatious load times and require a ton of power to run, so you end up with a system that has a miniscule battery life, for which you spend most of that time watching static load screens. Say what you want about Big M, they aren't stupid. They have to know from watching Sony's struggles that an optical media based portable just isn't practical right now. The solution? Ditch the lasers. If Microsoft put out a hard drive (or flash memory) based portable they could eliminate most of the loading and battery issues that plague the PSP. And the fun doesn't stop there. I have two words for ya: digital distribution. In this scenario Microsoft sells most, if not all, of the titles for this system over the internet, either through the Web or Xbox live. Games are downloaded straight to the system; no discs, no cartridges, and best of all (for Microsoft), the brick and mortar game stores don't get a cut, either on the front end or through the sale of used games.

technorati tags: Videogames, Technology, Music, Movies,

The Hot List

DC COMICS

52 WEEK #10
EXTERMINATORS #7
FABLES #51
FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MAN #27
GREEN ARROW #64
GREEN LANTERN #12
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #2
SUPERMAN #654

IMAGE COMICS

WALKING DEAD #29

MARVEL COMICS

CIVIL WAR FRONT LINE #3 (OF 10)
IRON MAN #10
SQUADRON SUPREME #5
THUNDERBOLTS #104 CW
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #31
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #97
X-MEN #188

Fables & Walking Dead are the two best non-superhero comics published today. Both deal with some fairly fantastic situations, but in a mature and believable fashion. Both also juggle fairly large ensemble casts while keeping the characters distinct and believeable. X-Men #188 is the second part of the newest X relaunch, this time written by Mike Carey & drawn by Chris Bachalo. I loved Bachalo's older stuff, but his newer work on Uncanny X-Men has left me kind of cold, while I'm just not that familiar with Carey's work. That said, I'm giving it a try, for now. I constantly worry that this is the month that Stuart Moore & Jamal Igle's terrific Firestorm is going to go the way of such excellent-but-cancelled books as Batgirl, Gotham Central, & The Thing and each month it sells just enough copies to keep it going, but not enough to ensure it's continued health. It's a great, fun, book that is well written and well drawn, and best of all Moore & Igle make you like their protagonist, Jason Rusch.

Bono & Videogame Propaganda?

Okay, this one is a bit convoluted, but hang with me. A company establighed by Bono, of U2 fame, recently invested $300M in Pandemic Studios, a videogame developer most famous for creating games such as Star Wars - Battlefront, Full Spectrum Warrior & Mercenaries. Pandemic is currently developing Mercenaries 2: World in Flames for the next gen consoles. Mercenaries 2 takes place in Venezuela after it's "power-hungry tyrant" siezed control of the nation's oil fields. Hugo Chavez, who fits the definition of "power-hungry tyrant", decried the game as proof that America is attempting to overthrow his regime. What does this all mean? According to some sites it means that Bono is now funding anti-leftist propaganda. Now I like Bono, and he is a lot of things, but a right wing propagandist isn't one of them. In fact of all the labels you could apply to Bono 'right-winger' & 'tool of American imperialisism' are probably right at the bottom of the list. Not to mention the fact that Chavez has threatened to forcibly take over the oil & natural gas fields in Venezuela (he calls it 'nationalization').
Oh wait, it gets better. Now Jack (murder simulator) Thompson has chimed in on the controversy. I'll save you the trouble of reading Thompson's interminable diatribe and summarize:

Games bad. Violence bad. Won't you please think of the children. Murder simulator. Grand Theft Auto. Hookers. Guns. Manhunt. Boobies. Sky falling. Rockstar. Take Two. Don't invest. Kill everybody. Brainsss. Brrrainnnsss. Hooookerrrss.

Ah Jack, the eloquent dignity that comes from your pen is a sight to behold. I thought it would be impossible for Thompson to become an even bigger jerkwad, but wow was I wrong. To sum up my point: Bono, keep up the good work. Hugo, a freaking videogame isn't a declaraton of war, no matter what the magical tree fairy living in your head tells you. Jack, please fade into the Frederick Wertham inspired nothingness from whence you came and stop trying to crush a safe & fun hobby that millions of people indulge in daily. Thank you and goodnight.

technorati tags: Videogames, Politics

Dragonlance Animated Movie?

Ah Dragonlance. It seems like just yesterday I stepped into the local Waldenbooks with my mother, intent on buying my first real book. I was immediately drawn to the sci-fi/fantasy section of the store and one book in particular; a large, softbound edition of Dragonlance: Chronicles. I recognised the title from a recent SSI-TSR Gold Box RPG (100 points to anyone that knows what I'm talking about) we had been given for the Commodore 64. Within 2 months both covers had begun to fall off. Within 6 months the book was dog-eared, faded and held together with duct tape from the long hours my brother and I spent immersed in it's goldenrod colored pages. It was the perfect book for my 9 year old mind: action, adventure, mystery and tension. I still look at that book much the same way I look at the Star Wars original trilogy or Transformers; any and all flaws I see in them as an adult are smoothed over in a flood of innocent, childlike glee. And it is in that childlike mindset that I come to tell you that an animated version of my beloved Dragonlance: Chronicles is now in production and set for an August 2007 theatrical release. Oddly enought the normal scepticisim, or outright cynicisim, I usually feel in cases like this just isn't there; I feel nothing but glee at the thought of a big screen animated version of Weis & Hickman's classic. I could still be crushed by the final product, I've yet to see any concept art, and the team behind it isn't exactly convidence inspiring, but for once I have almost complete confidence that this will be a good adaptation. Am I changing my ways? Am I just hoping against hope that my childhood will not be kicked in the nads...again? Or have I just gone wonderfully, pleasantly insane? Only time will tell.

technorati tags: Animation, Fiction, Fantasy, Movies

"The Descent"

This movie was not on my radar at all. While jamming around the dial last night I stumbled upon the trailer for "The Descent", and for the first time in a long time a horror trailer actually scared me. Hell, very few full movies in the past decade have produced even the bare flutter of fear I felt watching this trailer. While it was released in the U.K. almost a full year ago, it will be hitting American theatres for the first time on August 4th and was written and directed by Neil Marshall, the man behind the Dog Soldiers, a movie that was only okay, but loaded with potential.

technorati tags: Movies, Horror

The Hot List

DC COMICS:

52 WEEK #9
ALL NEW ATOM #1
DETECTIVE COMICS #821
JSA #87
OUTSIDERS #38
SECRET SIX #2 (OF 6)
SUPERGIRL #7
TEEN TITANS #37
Y THE LAST MAN #47
I'm really looking forward to All New Atom. A concept by Grant Morrison, written by Gail Simone, starring a bunch of science geeks. I'm in the minority since I like Byrne's art, but only when he isn't phoning it in. I'm buying JSA more out of inertia than anticipation. Paul Levitz' run has been awful. The relaunch can't come soon enough. Teen Titans is another title that is beginning to really suffer due to chronic lateness. Renato Guedes' art in the OMAC section of Brave New World was almost enough to make me pick it up. Almost. Did you know that Bruce Jones is writing more books (4) than Geoff Johns, or any DC writer, at the moment?

MARVEL COMICS

ARES #5 (OF 5)
INCREDIBLE HULK #96
THING #8
UNCANNY X-MEN #475
The start of the 734th X-Men revamp in the last decade. Will this one be any better? I don't know. Brubaker is already one of the best in the business, and X-Men - Deadly Genesis was fun. BUT. When was the last time three X books were good at the same time? At least Wolverine isn't on all 3 teams like in the last revamp. Planet Hulk continues to impress me, but not as much as The Thing.

technorati tags: Comics

Does DC Have a BLADE?

This week we saw the premiere of the Blade television series on Spike. This time everybody's favorite Daywalker is played by Kirk Jones, formerly Sticky (Fingaz) of Onyx. While I'm looking forward to the show, it got me thinking about comics properties on both the big and small screens.

Marvel seems to have every character short of Batroc the Leaper locked into some form of development deal or another, but what does the Distinguished Competition have in the pipeline? New installments in the Batman & Superman franchises. Joss Whedon's Wonder Woman project. David Goyer's Flash picture is in some stage of production. A Legion of Superheroes cartoon? What else? (and no, James Cameron's Aquaman doesn't count) Part of the problem is that DC is part of the Time Warner family, and consequently all of their characters (with a couple of unique exceptions discussed below) are limited to the Warner Bros. studio. Marvel can pick and choose the studio each property goes to and, to a lesser extent, the talent on the project. DC has no such flexibility. What does this have to do with Blade? He's an example of the most successful type of comic movie; a relatively unknown character, a managable budget and most importantly, it wasn't tagged with the 'Comic Book Movie' label. That last part may piss you off but the fact is "Comic Book Movies' have a stigma atteched to them. You and I remember the good Comic movies: Hellboy, Batman Begins, and X-Men 2. What does your buddy that doesn't read comics remember? Nipples on Batsuits, Halle Berry purring, and Jennifer Garner holding sais. Especially when you consider how much movies cost to make today studios are reluctant to put a property into production unless they are sure it will make them money. Again, I go back to Blade. From a technical standpoint Blade was everything Superman Returns is not. Superman was one of the most beloved characters in the history of literature. Blade was unknown to all but the most hardcore Marvel fans. Superman cost as much as $325M to make. Blade cost less than a tenth of that. But most importantly Blade, as a character, is fairly flexible, while Superman is just too iconic to modify. You can't cast a 40 something Kiefer Sutherland as Superman. But a minor character like Blade? He can go from his early 20's to late 30's with no problem. His backstory can be tweaked and you can use, or not use, any member of his supporting cast you want to. Just as importantly he doesn't need a lot of expensive special effects; no flying, no fire breathing, no shape changing. You can do Blade on a budget that almost guarantees it's profitability. The same can't be said for Superman. Marvel took the Blade model and ran with it, but DC, other than Constantine, still seems to be thinking "Blockbuster or Bust". If a character isn't enough of a household name then they don't get a movie. Period.

So does DC have a character in their library capable of following the Blade formula? Of course they do.

• Cyborg - While Vic Stone began as a rip-off of the Six Million Dollar Man, he's evolved into much more over the years. Lots of emotional context to play with here. You could go crazy on the character design here and still have it work. Being a high profile black character helps too.
  
• Plastic Man - This one is an oddity. Plas' movie rights are actually in the hands of the Wachowski brothers, and a draft of their script has been online for years. It was too expensive to do in the 90's, but with advances in CGI it could be done on a much more reasonable budget. The right balance of humor and action could be difficult to pull off but it has the potential to be off the charts.
  
• The Omega Men - This one would be better as a TV series than a movie I think. Aliens from a dozen different worlds banded together to fight for their people's freedom, it's like Farscape meets Battlestar Galactica but with tons of blood and gore. It could be one hell of a series, if they got the make-up and costumes right. You could even have guest stars like Adam Strange, Captain Comet and Vril Dox.
  
• Manhunter (Kate Spencer) - It's L.A. Law with a killer vigilante! Another selection that makes a better TV show than film. But the idea of a strong but flawed female character hunting super criminals by night while prosecuting them by day just works as a tv show. A little Law & Order, a little CSI, a little Buffy and you have a hit baby! And who doesn't want to see Dylan (The Tech Wonder) Battles on screen?
• Deadman - Maybe the longest shot of the bunch. This could be a great horror movie. The Hindu spirituality is pretty unfamiliar to westerners, but it's fascinating and can be visually stunning. I'm not quite sure who Boston Brand would be fighting exactly, but the magic/horror side of DC is an untapped gold mine.
• Starman (Jack Knight) - The most emotionally real comic in a long time, at one point it was in development as an hour long drama but nothing came of it. While it would work great as a TV show, it could be amazing as a series of movies, each covering one of the eras of the character, and culminating in Grand Guignol. Jack Knight doesn't wear a costume, and he doesn't look like a bodybuilder or a basketball player. You could put real actors in the roles of Jack, Ted, Sadie & The Shade, not glorified stuntmen. I can see the movie poster in my head as I type this.
  

There you have it. Six properties, each inhabiting a different niche of the DC universe. All could be money makers. None are likely to see the business end of a camera unless DC and Warner Bros. change their practices soon. And that is a crying shame.

technorati tags: Comics, Movies, Television,