Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen had one major thing going for it before I watched it: my expectations had been knocked down by Transformers 1. Although it still has tons of plot holes, poor acting, and is a (groan) teen movie, I liked Revenge of the Fallen better than TF1! I thought it was more like the comic books and cartoons because there was more action, it had a sci-fi feel, there was more Optimus Prime, and they got into the pre-history retcons with The Fallen and the Primes. I dug RotF.
The Good
Optimus Prime vs Megatron II- wow, looks like my original criticisms were on the money. This time, Michael Bay and the screenwriters move the two titans to an unpopulated area, and Optimus fights heroically, but is killed by Megatron a la the original Transformers animated movie (STILL the best hehehehe).
Action galore- battles were bigger and badder. They kept me distracted from thinking.
Special effects- fantastic. Egypt was a great setting.
Soundwave (voice only) and was nice to see Ravage, although I didn't like his silver coat or one eye. And heaven forbid Ravage is a CASSETTE, right?
Starscream showed some of his old personality. Wish he'd get more screentime, though.
Sound effects (I love Starscream's EMP bomb and other TS laser beams) and music fit the tone.
Glad Optimus Prime is alive again. Whew....
Creating a backstory for the Primes and having Jetfire be a relic got me pumped about reading my Transformers comic books in the future.
The Bad
The freakin' puny humans. I'm not going to spend more time talking about them. I was rooting for The Fallen to blow out the sun to shut them up. In the original Transformers comic books and most of the cartoons, the humans always seemed like insignificant background characters, who were so fragile, in the Bayverse, they are the focus.
The millionaire stripper pig, what's her name? Oh yeah, Megan Fox.
Megatron having a master so soon.
Still was hard for me to distinguish some Autobots from Decepticons.
Hard to tell what's going on, and who's shooting at whom sometimes.
Plot hole city.
Length- 2:30??? I would have cut the college scenes out and a bunch of human stuff to make it around 1:40.
Yes, those two twin Transformers- Amos and Andy- are signs of the demoralization of Western Society.
Michael Bay's vision and design of the robots are different than mine- I still don't like that fact that most of the robots are too silver and most are relegated to being background characters.
College campus. My wife, who was not born in the U.S., wanted to know if that's what college life is like.
Bad directing- scenes jump so fast I felt dizzy. I know he did it on purpose, too.
Conclusion:Revenge of the Fallen, PANNED by critics [20% RT rating], made a lot more money than the original blockbuster. You asked for a sequel America, and you got a better movie. This movie was more enjoyable than the first one, which was a culture shock for me, and it spent too much time on intros and trying to mainstream it for parents.
RotF gets the job done- it seems more targeted to fans of the robots in disguise. I find it amazing how so many critics and forum mutants kill RotF but gave the first movie praise. Continuing my Mortal Kombat analogy, I expected RotF to be like Mortal Kombat 2: Annihilation, which just had new characters and different actors, and was not as fresh as Mortal Kombat 1. However, I was pleasantly surprised that Transformers 2 was a little more enjoyable than Transformers 1.
Ivan Koloff Book: Is That Wrestling Fake?-The Bear Facts Review
Is That Wrestling Fake?-The Bear Facts is written by Ivan Koloff and Scott Teal, 2007. Ivan Koloff is one of the most well known "Russian" pro wrestlers; he is known for defeating Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship in 1971 and being Nikita Koloff's "uncle" in the NWA in the 1980's.
Ivan Koloff's autobiography reads like his oral history- he sounds like your old uncle or grandfather telling you his unbelievable life story. The book starts off with Ivan Koloff describing his childhood and growing up in Canada [his real name is Oreall Perras and he has nothing to do with Russia or communism...but hey it's a living, and everyone needs a gimmick in life]. In fact the bulk of the first few chapters is about his brothers, parents, work ethic, climate, and going to prison for cattle rustling.
Ivan tells his life story chronologically but once he hits his wrestling career, it jumps around a bit, and is not as detailed as some other wrestling books. Ivan is an Enneagram Personality Type 8. He keep things simple and some of his stories are really out there in a humorous (and morbid) way. Ivan is a walking conundrum and full of unintentional contradictions. He seems like a good-natured person who just wants to mind his own business, but his stories show that he usually got into fights, and was addicted to the road life (drugs, alcohol, women, fighting at bars, etc.) He's extremely lucky he never was imprisoned after his cattle rustling days in Canada, and frankly, he's very lucky to be alive today.
Ivan is from a different era and setting- he had to learn how to survive at an early age, so I can't judge or condemn him for repeating his mistakes and going down the wrong path, especially since he was having a great time most of his life, and always had a good heart. He's doesn't feel sorry for himself and just wanted to work for a living as a pro wrestler.
Unlike other books, Ivan Koloff is not negative at all and doesn't bash promoters or wrestlers. You really have to read in between the lines to detect if he felt slighted in any way (for example, head booker Dusty Rhodes did not tell Ivan he was turning Nikita Koloff to be a good guy, even though Ivan trained Nikita and was his tag team partner).
The only time Ivan felt low in his career was when WCW (the NWA) phased him out in the late 1980's because they couldn't find a spot for him anymore. But Ivan knows that "business is business" and is still friends with Dusty Rhodes to this day.
Ivan can't say enough good things about The Living Legend Bruno Sammartino- Bruno was kind, compassionate, and classy. Ivan also preferred Vince McMahon, Sr. to Vince McMahon, Jr., which falls in line with many veterans who worked with both promoters feel.
Funny story- The first time Nikolai Volkoff wrestled Ivan Koloff, Nikolai- who is Croatian- was calling moves to Ivan in their matches, but Ivan had no idea what he was saying. Nikolai finally yelled at him in English since Koloff was messing up all the moves: "Are you anIDIOT???" Nikolai shouted. Koloff said, "Yes."
Since Is That Wrestling Fake?-The Bear Facts is mostly stories told from Ivan's memory, and his career spanned 29 years, it goes without saying that it is not an accurate or very detailed pro wrestling history book. However it is still entertaining. There is even a tidbit that I have never heard before, and many wrestling "experts" online never mentioned before. According to Ivan Koloff, Vince McMahon had it planned for Ivan Koloff to beat Bob Backlund for the WWF World Title to Hulk Hogan in January 1984, but Ivan didn't know that at the time, and had moved on since he wanted to switch territories. The Iron Shiek was the #2 choice.
Ivan wraps up the last few chapters discussing how he became a Born Again Christian thanks to Nikita Koloff. Ivan had been heavily into drinking, smoking weed, and snorting cocaine. Ivan is happy now and spreads the Word of the Lord now.
Blackjack Mulligan provides an additional chapter at the end discussing why we should devote our lives to Christ. Ivan Koloff is not as preachy as Blackjack since Ivan is more down to earth and simple-minded. Blackjack turned me off when he said homosexuality is a sin (and a choice).
After reading this book, I have respect for Ivan Koloff as a person and a wrestler. His gimmick was SO HATED by wrestling fans (including myself) that we really never thought there was a human being behind that communist gimmick, and I certainly never analyzed his matches with the other greats from his era [I grew up with Ivan Koloff teaming with Krusher Khrushchev and Nikita Koloff in 1985. I saw his early WWWF matches on video tape when I was a kid, and last year I finally saw his later WWF run against Bob Backlund in 1983].
I have read other pro wrestling books and did a ranking. Here is my updated list of Best Wrestling Autobiographies of All Time:
1- (THREE WAY CHAMPS) Ric Flair/Chris Jericho/Bret Hart 4- Mick Foley I 5- Dynamite Kid 6- Billy Graham 7- Fred Blassie 8- Lou Thesz 9- Shawn Michaels
10-Batista 11- Ted DiBiase 12- Jerry Lawler 13- Mick Foley II 14- Harley Race 15- Dusty Rhodes 16- Terry Funk 17- Ivan Koloff 18- Bobby Heenan I
Fall of the Hulks Gamma REVIEW and General Ross SPOILERS
Fall of the Hulks Gamma #1 review: written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by John Romita, Jr. And so it ends. General Thunderbolt Ross is dead, killed by Rulk. In a flashback scene used to piece together the evidence of the crime scene, it looks like Thadeus Ross, using The Redeemer armor, ambushed and defeated the Red Hulk in front of the Washington Monument. Before delivering the killing blow, Ross showed Rulk his face from The Redeemer's helmet to taunt him. This made Rulk angry. Very angry. So Rulk killed Ross.
The bulk of Fall of the Hulks Gamma showcased General Ross' funeral. I've read many comic book funerals, and this one ranks pretty well, because they covered all aspects of Thunderbolt Ross (he has an Enneagram Type 8 Personality). However, it was not an emotional funeral by any means- I shed no tears for Thunderbolt, and neither did any of the comic book characters present. Another reason why Ross' military funeral was not sad was because...well...Ross DID die at least three times now. The most emotional time he died was the first time- when he told his daughter Betty Ross how wrong he was, and how much he loved her, as he died in her arms. This was during Hall of Famer Peter David and Todd McFarlane's run. Can't get any better than a Darth Vader death scene.
Who was at Ross' funeral? The Avengers, Fantastic Four, Steve Rogers, Rick Jones (a Blue Hulk called A-Bomb), Doc Samson, and military, plus a very special guest at the end. M.O.D.O.K., The Leader, She-Rulk, future She Hulk, and others from The Intelligentsia were watching from their hidden base, and Doc Samon was their plant, since he is part of them. In fact, so was General Ross. Ross' death was not part of the plan.
Doc Samson, the skewed hypocrite, spoke first and painted Ross as a national hero. Colonel Simon Savage spoke next- he had the most inspirational speech, saying that Ross was the ideal leader in combat. Ben Grimm - The Thing- was next. He brought up how the Hulk was Ross' obsession and how Ross was a nutjob. A-Bomb came on and announced the special guest speaker- Bruce Banner! (The Avengers are there just in case things get ugly...besides Banner is probably wanted for some crime.) Bruce Banner went over how Betty Ross is the true person that Thunderbolt Ross' life revolved around, and gave a tribute about their relationship. Banner was not negative at all- he admitted Ross was right- the Hulk was a menace since Day 1.
SHOCKING END TO FALL OF THE HULKS GAMMA SPOILER:
At night fall, two people approach General Ross' grave to pay their respects. They show their ID to the guard, and he lets them pass. You won't believe this: it turns out BETTY ROSS and GLENN TALBOT are ALIVE and MARRIED to each other.
Yes, Glenn Talbot is alive and Betty Ross is alive. Can't wait for the explanation.
BUT THAT'S NOT ALL- we also see BRUCE BANNER TEAMING UP WITH RULK, saying that "General Ross had to die."
This was a great issue by Jeph Loeb. John Romita, Jr. was solid, but was a bit low key. Anyway, this is a classic issue by Marvel Comics, a must buy for Hulk fans.
Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn review. Although DC's CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS rebooted the DC Universe in 1985/1986, management waited until 1989 to retell Hal Jordan's origin. I remember how confused I was when I read Emerald Dawn when it first came out- I had no advance notice that Green Lantern's origin would be rebooted a la the Superman Man of Steel miniseries by John Byrne.
In many ways, plotter Keith Giffen and writer Gerald Jones retain the same feel as Man of Steel, that is- "this ain't your daddy's superhero anymore" and "everything you know about Green Lantern is wrong". Artist M.D. Bright shines when drawing the yellow robot Legion and when Green Lantern is in outer space and on Oa. There is no doubt that Emerald Dawn not a mid-1980's comic book- it has modern era all over it.
You know, one of the disappointments of Emerald Dawn is that writer Steve Englehart had put Green Lantern back on the map in 1985 and had one of the best Green Lantern runs of all time with Green Lantern #188 to Green Lantern Corps #222. Green Lantern Corps was so popular that DC made the blunder of canceling it at its peak, and moving it to Action Comics Weekly, and Englehart didn't want to write 7 page backup stories, so DC gave GL to James Owsley (Christopher Priest), who is still complaining about how the editors handled him even today.
Frankly Englehart and editor Andy Helfer put Guy Gardner on the map before Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis did in JLI. They were also responsible for bringing back John Stewart, and Englehart broke the barriers by not making Stewart the token "black Green Lantern" replacement. Many of the aspects comic book readers take for granted about the GLC stems from this run.
You may think I am digressing but I want to give as much background as I can- there was no need to reboot Green Lantern's origin besides moving up the timeline. All of Green Lantern's old stories were validated and mentioned throughout the comic's publication history. Thanks to that little Editor's Note, the past was always referenced in GL, old villains came back, and old storylines were brought back and wrapped up or expanded upon. But...DC decided to reboot it all.
Emerald Dawn starts with the events leading to Hal Jordan getting the ring. It ends with Hal and the GLC defeating Legion on Oa, and Hal showing the Guardians of the Universe andhis co-workers in the Corps that he's something special (like Anakin Skywalker or Luke Skywalker of the Star Wars Jedi Knights).
I'm not going to go on a rant like an old timer and discuss every detail that was changed from the original series. But I will discuss how I don't agree with Hal Jordan's characterization. Whereas the Silver Age Hal Jordan was a fearless straight edge playboy confident action hero, here we have....the opposite.
The first few flashback pages are very confusing since M.D. Bright draws Hal, his brother, and his friends all the same- I can't tell who's who, even today. Anyway, it seems like Hal as boy watched his dad- also a test pilot- stubbornly die while trying to land a prototype Ferris Aircraft jet. This tragedy stayed with him all of his life. So when we see him as an adult- he's having relationship issues, drinking issues, and is shown to be unreliable and washed up. [Sidenote: For those of you who saw the new Star Trek Movie this year- I saw a parallel; Emerald Dawn's first scene features a pilot named "Jordan" and he dies, but it's really the future hero's dad. Kind of how ST started- where you see "Captain Kirk" die, but he's shown to have a son.]
As someone who has read every Green Lantern comic book in order and in context, I have seen Hal Jordan's mental health and consistency deteriorate for some time. Even in the 1960's he was mind-controlled. He's been unemployed a lot, quit the Corps, yelled at the Guardians, made mistakes, made illogical decisions when it comes to relationships, and switched political views. Believe me, I've experienced first hand how DC was trying to turn Hal Jordan into Peter Parker in the early 1970's. But at least Steve Englehart explored all of this and restored Hal's confidence, leadership, and mental healthiness at the end of his run. But thanks to Emerald Dawn, Hal kinda starts off depressed, and we really don't know which pre-Crisis adventures really happened.
I also really think it's a shame that Hal totally doesn't even want to ring from his dying predecessor Abin Sur. He doesn't even listen to him or care about him. It's only until Hal meets up with Kilowog and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps where Hal becomes open minded and respectful.
It's like Gerald Jones wanted to not only stamp HUMAN on Hal Jordan (like we hadn't known he was human for decades), but he wanted to make Hal barely qualified to be GL. Hal gets a DUI, and his ring leaves a trail that allows Legion to kill his best friend at the hospital. Hal is in jail. We don't see his relationship or romance with Carol Ferris; she's dating his brother. It's only at the end of Emerald Dawn that we see Hal has a greater destiny (again, very similar to Star Wars, which is ironic since George Lucas based the Force and Jedi on the Green Lantern Corps).
To make matters even more baffling, when Gerald Jones launched Green Lantern #1 right after this series, we see Hal Jordan with gray sideburns and is in "Traveller Mode" going from job to job, and being away from the super-hero community. Yeah, that's real marketable, right? Is it any wonder than DC had to get rid of Hal in issue 48?
Disclaimer: I just want to say that after Englehart left GL, many different writers and editors had Office Wars about Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps' direction. They have been very vocal about this and everyone points fingers. Backstage politics sucks, I know this. Many times a writer gets handcuffed.
Okay, let's talk about the good stuff about Emerald Dawn I:
It was nice to see Hal young again.
It lead to Emerald Dawn II, which featured Sinestro training Hal Jordan. (Sinestro makes a cameo appearance on Oa in Emerald Dawn I.)
Sales were good.
The Guardians of the Universe were very cold and in character.
There were some great emotional scenes when Legion kills Corps members.
The GLC ruled.
When everything is said and done, Emerald Dawn is not for old school Hal fans who read a lot of Green Lantern's old Earth-1 stories, but it is for post-Crisis comic book readers or casual fans. Many younger fans ate this series up, and it's still on Green Lantern recommended reading lists, although there have been recent New Earth GL retcons in Secret Origins (and 1990's GL comics that confirmed and denied certain aspects of the new origin.) [Note: it is outside the scope of this review to discuss the new retcons, or how some fans think Green Lantern's continuity has remained intact since the 1960's to today.]
Although Hal gets a good redeeming treatment at the end of this 6-issue limited series, Gerald Jones and Keith Giffen give Hal's reputation too many black eyes; DC would never permit Superman/Clark Kent to be retconned in such a humbling manner (DUI, running from responsibility, etc.)
Detective Comics #860 review: wrapping up the origin of Batwoman (DC's openly gay super heroine), writer Greg Rucka and artist J.H. Williams III put on another great piece of work this month. Here we see the beginning of Kate Kane's crime career- working undercover dressed like a slut in seedy places to gather intel, and stealing technology and tear gas from an army base to work the streets. When her dad finds out, he gives her a hard time before realizing that Kate needs to do this to serve a greater good. Her dad actually accepts her and supports her. This was a great scene.
If you see Kate's secret crime fighting life as a metaphor for her being a lesbian (both are not accepted in society) than it is refreshing that her dad supports both aspects of his daughter. I'm sure many gay comic book readers were glad to see her dad support her crime fighting lifestyle (and, of course, never judging her lesbianism).
Splash pages show how Kate got her physical training and detective skills all around the world, with the help of her dad's connections and money. We also see how her dad designed the Batwoman costume. Comic book continuity fans take note: J.H. Williams III was 100% correct with the way he drew Batwoman's original costume, which was designed by Alex Ross during 52. Williams could have easily penciled his own tweaked version, but he stuck to the continuity. Her dad included the Bat emblem so "everyone knows whose side you're on".
In the last scene we see Kate and her dad's relationship sour; he's drinking, it's raining, and Kate had used her skills to determine that her twin sister Elizabeth was the villain (Alice- like Alice in Wonderland) from previous issues (whom Batwoman saw fall to her death). Her dad never told her that her sister may have been still alive. Since she was 12 and her mom died, her dad wanted to protect her feelings and not say that he was unable to find her sister (no body was recovered).
The Question backup story was finally good, once again featuring Rene Montoya, the female Question (DC's other lesbian super heroine, and on-again/off-again lover of Batwoman), and the Huntress cracking down on organized crime.
I feel much better about Batwoman now than when I first starting reading this story arc. Here's why:
1) Batwoman is a strong lesbian character. Although her outfit and artwork seems overly fetish, she's not just eye candy like a WWE diva. 2) Kate Kane is victim of tragedy and society, but is strong, and focuses her energy to save one life at a time, not to bring back her mom or sister or to win the war on crime. 3) Unlike the seemingly dozens of Batman related characters running around Gotham City, her origin isn't tied into Bruce Wayne's and she in effect is her own person, not a Batman wanna-be, Robin-wanna be, or Batgirl wanna-be (and obviously both Robin and Batgirl can be seen as Batman, Juniors). She sees her role as a crimefighter as a "call to arms" and that's what Batman's light in the sky means. I think she would shrug if the other Batman characters or even Batman himself judged her.
Amazing Spider-Man #616 review- This continues the Spider-Man The Gauntlet event, and is written by Fred Van Lente and drawn by someone who is quickly becoming one of my new favorite artists Javier Pulido.
Being Christmas Eve and all- and considering I am about to do something in real life in 5 minutes- this has to a quick Spidey review:
This is yet another solid Amazing Spider-Man issue, and The Gauntlet event has surprised me in terms of delivering classic Spidey stories. It's not like ASM 616 was anything super special, but the storytelling, art, and characterization once again brought me back to the pre-1990's Spider-Man comic books.
In this issue Spider-Man has an all out battle with the Sandman (who is drawn like Sandman from the Spider-Man 3 movie) over the little girl Keemia in Governor's Island. Keemia loves the Sandman and hates Spider-Man for trying to save her from the giant sand castle.
Amazing Spider-Man 616 SPOILERS: It is revealed that two of Sandman's identity's committed murder and framed Carlie Cooper. After Spidey defeats the Sandman, the Department of Child Services (or whatever they are called now) takes Keemia away and puts her in a ghetto foster home. Keemia hates Spidey more than ever, especially since Spidey thought Keemia would be reunited with her abuela. Although the villain is defeated, Spider-Man is praised, and Carlie is off the hook, Peter Parker feels guilty and helpless about the situation. This wraps up the Sandman right now in The Gauntlet.
Amazing Spider-Man #615 review and SPOILERS, written by Fred Van Lente (awesome name) and drawn by Javier Pulido, continuing The Gauntlet storyline.
Keemia is a little girl living in the city all to herself. All hints point to The Sandman taking care of her in her own little castle. Who is she? Why is she being taken care of? What happened to her parents?
Peter Parker gets an assignment from Glory at Major JJJ's office. An evidence screw-up at the crime lab is making the city look bad, so J. Jonah Jameson wants a good press release spin showing that everything is and wants to blame Carlie Cooper.
As Peter takes pictures, Carlie is being escorted from the building and begs Peter to believe her innocence (Peter has had a crush on her).
So Spider-Man kinda copies Dick Grayon in Batman #694 and becomes the World's Greatest Detective and figures out that a series of murders leads to Governors Island (I love when Marvel Comics shows weird areas in New York that are closed to the public...I was always interested in those areas when I lived in NY.)
Turns out Sandman has the little girl, he framed Carlie, and Spidey thinks Sandman is a murderer too (yeah, right). They fight and Spidey is left in a compromising last page, surrounded by a bunch of different Sandman versions from over the years.
Solid issue- very clean and retro art, setup issue, no complaints here. Last 4 issues of ASM were great. If you're a casual Spidey fan or if you have felt burnt since Brand New Day, you should check The Gauntlet out- the editorial direction is finally going back to what makes Peter Parker great.
Hulk #18 review- Maybe there is an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-good God after all. After 17 horrible issues of RULK, writer Jeph Loeb came up with a winner on the 18th try. Hey, I just realized something after reading Hulk #18, RULK isn't even in it.
I had been used to Doc Samson's 1980's appearances as a guest star in the Avengers and being a main cast member in John Byrne's and Peter David's Hulk runs, so I had no idea how selfish, insecure, and unhealthy Doc Samon was before he had transformed into a gamma irradiated superhero until I had finally gotten my hands on his 1971 origin issue and his first few storylines. There is no doubt that Roy Thomas had set out to create a rival for the Hulk, not a helper, as Samson was later depicted as, and certainly not a true super hero.
Anyway, Hulk 18 showcases Doc Samson- who had been revealed to be a villain in the last few Hulk issues- having a therapy session. Here we finally get into an excellent deconstruction of the character that first made his appearance in 1971 (Incredible Hulk 141 by Roy Thomas). Quite frankly when I read the Hulk 141 back issue this year, I was so shocked that Dr. Leonard Samson was a barely average Enneagram Type 5 when he made his first appearance (an absent-minded professor-type who felt rejected by his peers and didn't have a woman, so he tried to compete with Bruce Banner to get Betty Ross by stealing the Hulk's power). I HATED Samson's early appearances, especially since he was tagging Betty Ross. Although other comic book writers have used that angle, no one did it as good as Loeb in this issue (ALL is revealed).
The reason I bring all of this up is because Jeph Loeb tackles everything I had just typed in this Doc Samson issue- and more. Loeb created a great retcon- how was Dr. Leonard Samson even allowed on a military installation in the first place, and who funded his work to create a super powered being? In 1971, it was kind of accepted that any "doctor" can just waltz in on Gamma Base with General Ross's blessing and no one wrote in letters to the editor. But now, Loeb actually retconned that event into the Fall of Hulks storyline and tied it to the creation of the Red Hulk! Yes, Samson was sent to Gamma Base back then to test out the device and draw power from the Green Hulk to create a super powered being (himself). A similar device was used to create Rulk! In other words, this plot has been going on since Incredible Hulk 141-and it all fits.
We also find out the deep rooted psychological issues that motivate Doc Samson- he was living in the shadow of his father, who was also a psychologist/author/intellectual snob named Leo. His wife called him Samson. Leo's patients were HOT women suffering from anorexia. Leonard never had the women, the fame, or the respect- even after he became a super-powered being, he never became accepted by the Avengers, Defenders, or other Marvel teams.
To further get into the sick and twisted mind of Samson, he finally admits he "gets off" by fighting the Hulk (which, according to his therapist, obviously means he feels impotent for losing all the time).
This was the first Jeph Loeb Hulk comic tackled characterization, motivation, and continuity. What a concept.
The artwork by 1990's wunderkind Whilce Portacio fits the issue much better than Ian Churchill's Hulk artwork.
Hulk 18 SPOILER: It is revealed that Samson was actually speaking to himself [yes, HE was the therapist] and there were three projected personalities in the room at the end: Samson the nutjob, Doc Samson the superhero, and Dr. Leonard Samson the psychologist. In the end, only Samson the madman remains- he kills the other aspects of his personality because he wants to suppress his intellect to become more vicious to defeat the Hulk. M.O.D.O.K. was watching the whole session and said that Samson is ready now.
This issue is highly accessible to any Hulk fan, and a must for Doc Samson fans. Two thumbs up! Get it today. Hulk #18
Where the Wild Things Are review- For someone like me, a boy raised in Brooklyn, New York (where author Maurice Sendak was raised and was inspired to write the 1963 classic children's book) "Where the Wild Things Are" was not only required reading, but FUN reading. First let me make it clear- WTWTA only had around 10 sentences in it- it was a children's book powered by drawings of fantastical monsters.
Question #1 for me was: how can you adapt a full length movie based on a few drawings?
After watching the movie (I had a free pass) I can say that the director Spike Jonze (who teemed up with Maurice Sendak) just used the barebone book and weaved a whole world powered on a child's imagination, and finally gave those monsters I stared at as a kid personalities. After the initial feeling of "oh, this didn't happen in the book" I realized how STUPID that comment is since the "book" is just a bunch of drawings. This movie is an entirely different piece of artistic work.
Yes, the Where the Wild Things Are movie is a work of art. It's different than any movie you've ever saw in this sickening modern era of pop cinema. It is original, odd, offbeat, methaphoric, weird, and engaging. It leaves the crapfest that is New Moon (the new, new Star Wars trilogy) in the dust [I'm sorry, I just don't get Twilight, okay?].
And... it's not for kids of today. It's for the adult Baby Boomers and Generation X'ers who read the book when they were kids. The movie has a warped melancholic tone and dark mood since the opening scene. Of course, I thought Wall-E was dark, but kids liked that. Kids like the Harry Potter and Narnia movies, and they seem pretty serious as well. So I guess it all depends on your children. The good news is that there's no sex, violence, or cursing, so it's all about tone, and if they will find it entertaining.
Where the Wild Things Are is kinda like a throwback to The Neverending Story, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, or The Princess Bride and other 1980's fantasy movies. One refreshing aspect of WTWTA is that the human scenes can take place in any era- there's no fad technology that would instantly date the movie; it is a timeless tale about a lonely child wanting the attention of his mother, sister, and non-existent friends.
Child actor Max Records blew me away. That kid has super talent. "Tony Soprano" does the voice of Max's best monster friend and did a fantastic job.
The Mother reminded me of the neglectful mother archetype from the Amazing Stories anthology TV show in the 1980's.
I thought the special effects would have been the most controversial aspect of the film, but after I just checked out Rotten Tomatoes while typing this review, I see that the target audience mystery and that the movie didn't follow the book were the major issues naysayers had. For those critics who attack WTWTA for being over the heads of kids- how about just reviewing the movie for yourself? Did you like it or not?
Where the Wild Things Are is an imagintaive film with comedy and seriousness, and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to see the world through the eyes of a 9-year old single child. I can vouch for the kid.
Oh yeah, the Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack by Karen O and the Kids totally blew me away. I need to get my -ahem- hands on Where the Wild Things Are musicTODAY.
Batman #694 review- written and drawn by double-duty Tony Daniel- gotta say that Tony Daniel's artwork on Batman is getting better and better if that's possible. The plot focused on the new mysterious Black Mask and his Ministry of Death struggling to maintain control of Gotham City. Batman- Dick Grayson-is investigating Kittyhawk – a young thief pivotal to the outcome of the gang war.
Ongoing plots/revelations in Batman:
The Falcone family is at war with Black Mask.
Katrina (Kittyhawk) who stole something and is being hunted down by everyone
The Riddler is still missing after the explosion that may have given him his old personality and memories of Bruce Wayne back
The Arkham Aslyum's Dr. Singh may have invented a cure for all mental illnesses, but someone blew up his team.
Hush is the one pretending to be Bruce Wayne, and he is planning something
The Reaper, Dr. Death, the Golden Age Batman villain, and Dr. Hugo strange are up to something sinister. They work for the Black Mask.
The Penguin is thwarting assassination attacks because he did something that pissed Black Mask off.
More tension between Dick Grayson, Oracle (Barbara Gordon), and the Huntress.
Dick Grayson feels guilty over the death of the teen informant named Baby D from Batman 693. While Baby D was in the hospital, Dick's thought bubble revealed that he will get the kid a mentor, job, and college education once he gets better. But Baby D dies at the end.
And of course "Who is Black Mask?"
My only problem with Batman 694 is that all of these plots and subplots are too complicated and densely packed; it's impossible for any new reader to jump aboard. With so many comics on the market DC Comics should make it mandatory to have a recap page at the beginning of every issue. That being said, I shouldn't complain too much because Batman comics have been in this serial detective format for years now, and it works. Obviously everything is building up towards Batman #700, and all will be revealed and make sense in time. Batman #694
Hulk: Winter Guard Special Review- Russian Superheroes
Hulk: Winter Guard Special #1 review- For an old time Marvel Comics fan such as myself, I was familiar with the Winter Guard. Back in the early 1980's the original members were in Contest of Champions and some classic Incredible Hulk comic books drawn by Sal Buscema. Well, it turns out the Winter Guard is kinda like Damian Hospital and Tony Vahl's Dream Seeker Universe: the team is cursed like The Soul Patrol, and it is a legacy group: when members die, they get replaced with similar looking heroes, and the MEDIA doesn't know the difference.
Their arch-enemy The Presence is in Winter Guard Special as well. He's a mysterious all-knowing energy eater. So what the heck does all of this have to do with the Hulk? Well, Igor the spy fromHulk #1 is in it. The Presence had mutated him into a giant gamma monster.
Hulk: Winter Guard Special #1 One Shot is written by David Gallaher and penciled by Steve Ellis. The colors are dark and murky...the artwork is OK for this issue, nothing exciting, though. This comic includes a reprint of from Incredible Hulk #393 featuring Igor the spy written by Peter David and drawn by Dale Keown.
This One Shot focused on the new Darkstar and how her amulet possessed the DNA/soul of her predecessor (The Presence's daughter). Darkstar also was possessed by Igor after she defeated his mutated Starro state. She and the Crimson Dynamo died and were replaced in this issue. The Russian version of Captain America- Red Guardian VII- is particularly callous when it comes to replacing members.
Anyway, I don't believe the Winter Guard as a team gets American comic book readers excited. It's a great concept and a great idea- a replaceable and expendable heroes, but is more suited for Marvel MAX, Marvel Knights, i.e. mature readers. Winter Guard doesn't belong in the mainstream Marvel Universe in 2010 unless they have a hot artist like Ed McGuiness, since everyone will buy it regardless. Yeah, call me a joy killer or creativity censor, but the truth is I don't think it's marketable enough for the fanboys.
So what does any of this have to do with the Hulk? Well, there's no doubt Igor- the man who created the Hulk- will play a part in Fall of the Hulks, even though he's just a spirit now. I guess it's possible Winter Guard may get a mini-series down the road, but there's no way it could sustain an ongoing monthly comic. The cover has a SIEGE logo on it- that's another massive crossover. I guess Winter Guard will be in that? Right now Marvel has been pushing Dark Reign and War of the Kings (B and C List) and Fall of the Hulks.
Conclusion: This was an OK read. I wish it had some flashbacks, editor notes, or summary pages to bring me up to speed with the new Winter Guard, however. If not for the Peter David reprint there would be no Hulk in this comic.
Incredible Hulk 605 review- Here we have a solid issue written by the modern day Hulk wunderkind Greg Pak and masterfully CGI drawn by Ariel Olivetti with flashback pages drawn by Paul Pelletier, this time with ideal and inker and colorist, so we had the vintage awesome Pelletier.
The whole story takes place in New York City where Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four put a gamma shield around Times Square so Skaar, son of Bruce Banner/Hulk doesn't destroy everything as he battles the Mole Man's new monsters. The shocker is that these Mole Man monsters landed from Skaar's homeworld, so they have a connection with Skaar. Bruce Banner wants to test Skaar: will he become the new King of Monsters or will he defeat them?
Before the Hulk's son can make the decision, Tyrannus and his slaves appear from their vintage 1963 underground drilling machine. Tyrannus renews his war with the Mole Man dating back to Incredible Hulk #127 from 1970! (I always mused that Stan Lee had forgotten he created two villains which rule Subterranea).
Hulk SPOILERS:
Skaar does what his dad was never able to do: easily defeat Tyrannus in two pages. I never liked Tyrannus, a C-List villain who bored to tears when he would drag a war against the Hulk on for 1-2 issues back in the 1960's to early 1980's (Hall of Fame writer Peter David wouldn't touch him, which says a lot). Additionally, a post-prime John Byrne used Tyrannus to launch Hulk Volume 3 around 10 years ago and dragged that awful storyline out for months. My problem with Tyrannus is that he has no humble bone in his body and is very one dimensional. In contrast, the Mole Man has personality- he was shunned by beauty on the surface and made a name for himself on Monster Isle, where the underground outcast brutes accept him as their master. So...I was OK with Tyrannus getting jobbed out in two pages by not only being portrayed as being C-List, but also being too melodramatic. It showed a great clash between generations: Son of Hulk wasted no time playing the game with his guy.
Skaar then has a tear in his eye before he kills the monsters from his homeworld. Okay- why did he kill his buddies? I guess he 1) Didn't want them to be enslaved 2) Didn't want to lead them or 3) Realized the havoc they would cause to humanity. For the record he tells Banner that what he does today is what he did every day on his home planet. The rugged individualist tells Banner that no lesson was learned today except that he hates Banner now, along with his prexisting hatred of the Hulk.
At the end, Reed Richards figures out that Banner orchestrated this entire episode.
Banner introduces Skaar to the MEDIA, so now the Son of Hulk is known to the general public.
Banner's eyes are green in the last panel and he hints the Hulk would be back soon.
The She-Hulk backup story was once again not my thing. This She-Hulk (Lyra) is the daughter of the Hulk from the future and she is searching for Jennifer Walters (the real She-Hulk, Bruce Banner's cousin). Along the way she fights female versions of the Hulk's villains, like Zzax.
That being said, this is a good action comic book with comedy elements. There was no deep psychology here. Yet it's a highbrow version of Jeph Loeb's Rulk fiasco.
Amazing Spider-Man 614: Review SPOILERS- The End of...
Amazing Spider-Man #614 review: Hall of Fame comic book writer Mark Waid continued The Gauntlet storyline, which featured Electro becoming a "Power to the People" hero due to the financial crisis and recession. In ASM 614, the citizens of New York power-up Electro by turning on all of their electric appliances at once. Spider-Man and Electro duke it out, as Electro wanted to kill the New DB publisher Dexter Bennett because his newspaper received bailout money from the stimulus package.
Electro's powers are at an all time high and the foundations of the DB (Daily Bugle) are shaken in the fight. Although Spider-Man prevailed by creating a new type of web fluid, the DB collapsed. Bennett himself is crippled. Former Daily Bugle founder J Jonah Jameson (now mayor of New York City, and hated rival of Dexter) watched as "his" lifelong achievement came tumbling down into dust.
The art by Paul Azaceta once again fits the mood, and the story was once again excellent. Amazing Spider-Man #614 is an historic issue in Peter Parker's life. It is equivalent to Clark Kent's Daily Planet getting blown up.
The dialog and story- although using modern topics such as the recession and having new technology- felt like a excellent issue from the 1970's or early 1980's, like writer Roger Stern's work.
The epilogue has the Chameleon and the new female Kraven recruiting Electro, who has become a villain again in the eyes of the public for destroying such an iconic building as the Daily Bugle.
Wouldn't be surprised if Amazing Spider-Man 614 sells out and goes into a second printing.
I started buying DC Comics religiously in 1985 (although my mom started me in 1981, and I eventually went back into time), and saw the house ads for DC CHALLENGE in the famous CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. As a sucker for epic team-ups like Marvel's CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS and SECRET WARS (I even picked up SUPER POWERS- all of them), I was very disappointed that I never was able to collect DC CHALLENGE. Heck, I never even saw one in the $0.25 bin in the early 2000's. I even was offering to make some trades and tried to barter with people online to get my hands on DC CHALLENGE in recent years, but to no avail...until NOW. Yep, I have DC CHALLENGE; aren't I special? So...what was DC CHALLENGE?
DC CHALLENGE was a12-issue maxi comic book series that ran the same time and past CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS in 1985-1986. It was a round robin experiment in narrative because each issue would be written by a different author and illustrated by a different artist without consultation from the previous team. Each issue would end in an impossible cliffhanger and the name of the next chapter would be provided. Authors were free to use any character or concept from DC, with the exception of those whose more orthodox appearances they were currently writing. DC CHALLENGE's tagline was "Can You Solve It Before We Do?" This was the last multiverse story.
Issue 1 - "Outbreak!" by Mark Evanier; art by Gene Colan & Bob Smith (Nov. 1985)
Issue 2 - "Blinded By the Light" by Len Wein & Chuck Patton; inked by Mike DeCarlo (Dec. 1985)
Issue 3 - "Viking Vengeance" by Doug Moench; art by Carmine Infantino & Bob Smith (Jan. 1986)
Issue 4 - "Atomic Nights" by Paul Levitz; art by Gil Kane & Klaus Janson (Feb. 1986)
Issue 5 - "Thunderbolts and Lightning" by Mike W. Barr; art by Dave Gibbons & Mark Farmer (Mar. 1986)
Issue 6 - "A Matter of Anti Matter" by Elliot S. Maggin & Dan Jurgens; inked by Larry Mahlstedt (Apr. 1986)
Issue 7 - "Don't Bogart That Grape . . . Hand Me the Gas Pump!" by Paul Kupperberg; art by Joe Staton & Steve Mitchell (May 1986)
Issue 8 - "If This Is Love, Why Do My Teeth Hurt?" by Gerry Conway; art by Rick Hoberg, Dick Giordano, & Arnie Starr (June 1986)
Issue 9 - "All This and World War, Too!" by Roy Thomas; art by Don Heck (July 1986)
Issue 10 - "Jules Verne Was Right!" by Dan Mishkin; art by Curt Swan & Terry Austin (Aug. 1986)
Issue 11 - "How Can You Be In Two Places At Once When You're Not Anywhere At All?" by Marv Wolfman & Cary Bates; art by Keith Giffen & Dave Hunt (Sept. 1986)
Issue 12 - "Fathers Against Suns", with everyone
Are you sold yet?
A wise man once said: "Be careful what you wish for."
DC CHALLENGE was high in concept but low on execution, but it's saving grace is that most of the writers really had fun doing this (based on the letter pages). So...it was a labor of love. It really was a challenge for the writers and artists; it was a grand geek contest. It should have been an in-house experiment only, because trying to follow this maxi-series was virtually impossible. Theoretically, you could read DC CHALLENGE #12 only because it explains all of the dangling plots.
Like CRISIS, dozens of obscure and mainstream heroes and villains made appearances. One cool concept was a Nazi Earth. But the plot is nonsensical, and there's really no characterization. This series was probably appealing to 1% of comic books fans at the time, and will never be reprinted in trade paperback or even mentioned by DC today.
I can't criticize the writers too much because it was an original idea, they were really into it, and only a couple seemed ruined the story on purpose out of frustration (Paul Levitz and Gerry Conway come to mind). This series is quite harmless and self-contained. It's fun and wacky. Butf or many issues the letter pages were more exciting than the actual story because the writer from the previous issue explained what direction he wanted to go in.
Frustrating things about this series: the seemingly random use of Adam Strange's Zeta beams, too many aliens, characters from the 1940's popping up for a panel or two just for the heck of it, subplots being dropped off and picked up, the fact that the writers had no idea what was going on, and lack of a clear focus. You know some CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTH naysayers (blasphemers) said that they couldn't follow Marv Wolfman's masterpiece because there were too many characters and a complex storyline. Well, DC CHALLENGE is 100x more confusing than CRISIS was. [Sidenote: since these two maxi-series came out at the same time, there are some scenes that are actually reminiscent of each other, such as the Outsiders in Metropolis and the Joker being in on a mystery.]
Ultimately DC CHALLENGE is rightfully a footnote in comic book history. Believe me, there's no reason to unearth this- it's not a hidden gem or a classic. It's not even in continuity because it started out pre-Crisis and never acknowledged Earth-Sigma or the Crisis after 1986 (except a note saying that Uncle Sam's Earth-X doesn't exist anymore...arggghhh...my head just exploded now). If you must read DC CHALLENGE, just grab issue 12.
Spoiler Alert: Darkseid is the master villain in search of the Anti-Life Equation and is featured in DC CHALLENGE #11. Some things never change (see Grant Morrison's FINAL CRISIS of the modern day). DC Challenge #11 September 1986
Fall of the Hulks Alpha Review: Origin of Red Hulk
Fall of the Hulks: Alpha review: I was just blown away. Holy crap, I was blown away. I had no idea what FotH was going to be about- I figured some stupid Rulk action fest (I stay away from Previews, which molds expectations). Boy, was I wrong. This was written by Jeff Parker (Thunderbolts) and drawn by one of my personal favorites, Paul Pelletier (Green Lantern, Flash). FotH is a one-shot, but it really is a bookend mini-series, since there will be Fall of the Hulks: Gamma.
Okay, enough of that, let's get to the plot and synopsis- the Hulk isn't even in this comic book, which is fantastic. FotH features a group of evil super villains- some of the smartest brains in the Marvel Universe. If I was a Marvel villain, this would be my group, and my name would be Overmind the Great. They call themselves The Intelligencia, and they have been working behind the scenes for YEARS in the Marvel Universe, in search of knowledge from Alexander's Library. The Intelligentsia was comprised of The Leader, Doctor Doom, The Wizard, The Mad Thinker (with Awesome Android), The Red Ghost (with his apes), and Egghead. After Egghead was killed, The Leader recruited M.O.D.O.K. This may sound like a B-Team, but in the Marvel Universe this is a strong team because of their technical skills. If you were scared of The Frightful Four or Masters of Evil, The Intelligencia would destroy them in one panel.
The Intelligentsia used their combined intellect to power a time-displacement shift and teleporter device to steal the various tomes of knowledge and artifacts of Alexander from the Eterernals, Atlantis, and Wakanda. Along the way, this group contributed to some cool retcons in the Marvel Universe- this retroactive continuity did not offend me, like it usually does:
1) Using this stolen knowledge, they created a device that inadvertently attracted The Beyonder (1984 our time). This lead to Secret Wars I and II. 2) The Intelligentsia used a rejuvenation ray to help each other (except Doom) and other non-affiliated villains (like Absorbing Man and other B- and C- list Marvel villains). This explains why so many bad guys keep coming back to life all of these years. 3) They stimulated the symbiote later known as Venom (Spider-Man's black costume) after it was defeated in Web of Spider-Man #1 to cause major distractions while they continued to plan to steal the artifacts. 4) The Leader had control of Betty Ross's (Bruce Banner's dead wife) body in suspended animation.
Anyway, The Leader was the field leader, while Doctor Doom kept the tomes of knowledge in his castle in Latveria to guard them. However, once The Intelligentsia found all of the missing pieces of Alexander's pyramid of knowledge, Doom turned on them; The Leader ran away while the others got their butts kicked by Doom's army. They managed to escape, because much later, M.O.D.O.K. eventually found The Leader underground and they teamed up using Alexander's knowledge of cosmic rays and gamma rays to create RED HULK. Who is RULK? It is not revealed yet, but remember I predicted that Rulk is Betty Ross Banner, with her dad Thunderbolt Ross as #2 choice.
The Good Well, this felt like an old-school Marvel comic. From the cover to the last page, this felt like a late 1970's to late 1980's Marvel tale; The Intelligencia is made up of old-school brains from the 1960's- no new deconstructed Image-clone villains. This was vintage Marvel- showing how the greatest brains plot something, succeed, but always wind up backstabbing each other. Doom and The Leader? Sign me up with The Intelligencia.
The continuity: I'm sure some comic book geek can find faults in TheIntelligencia's time-line, but "it felt right" to me. Considering all the liberties Brian Michael Bendis makes every month on his titles, nothing with The Intelligentsia offended me in any way.
Great scene: The Leader had finally built a bomb that could destroy the Hulk, but Dr. Doom gleefully informs him that Reed Richards and Tony Stark used their intellect to banish the Hulk to another planet.
The Bad
Not personal bads for me, but I guess if you were looking for the Hulk, you may be disappointed.
Paul Pelletier's inker and colorist were not as good as his Kyle Rayner Green Lantern run. In fact, some of Pelletier's artwork looked like Paul Ryan's (1990's Fantastic Four) mediocre work. HOWEVER, I personally enjoyed the old-school feel- no "hot" artist, no anime, and no 3-D CGI.
What this means for the future of Hulk comic books and Rulk is what the comic books fans are more than likely debating on the comic book forums as you read this. (I check them out after I read a comic book). In other words, they once again lose the forest in the trees. Fall of the Hulks: Alpha was a great comic book. Based on a Marvel in-house advertisement, it looks like Red Hulk will get his own comic, while Hulk and Incredible Hulk will still exist (which means Bruce Banner will once again turn into the Hulk) and there's going to be Savage She-Hulks. It still sounds like overexposure and overkill to me, but it all depends on how much influence Jeph Loeb will have on these comics. If I were in charge of Marvel, I'd have one Hulk comic book, two max, not four.
Also, this was not handled the best way since World War Hulk since the Hulkverse has been awfully weird since that critically acclaimed mega-event.
That being said, Fall of the Hulks: Alpha ruled- "already read it twice" ruled. Not only are the origins of every member of The Intelligentsia told, but The Leader also briefs you on everything that has happened to the Hulk in recent years. This is a great jumping on point for casual Hulk fans. Get it.
Detective Comics 859 review- My partner Tony Vahl had e-mailed me about Taking the Kinsey Scale (now HOW GAY DOES THAT SOUND- it's not what you think, either), and ironically enough, I was reading Detective Comics #859 at the time. I had been harsh on Detective Comics since DC decided to make it a double-sized lesbian fetish fest since Battle for the Cowl, but I have to say...I was won over with Detective Comics 859.
Here we finally get some solid pieces of Kate Kane's origin, written by All-Star Greg Rucka and drawn by pro J.H. Williams III. This was a relevant and trendy origin: we see how much Kane enjoyed being a Cadet at West Point Academy, and wanted to make her dad, also military, proud. Unfortunately, Kate gets reported for engaging in an improper act. She has a chance to deny it, and "don't ask, don't tell", but she has too much integrity to live a lie. Now, out of the closet, she destroys her military career.
We finally also see how Kate Kane and Rene Montoya met and began their lesbian relationship. Turns out Rene was giving Kate a speeding ticket, and, uh, one thing led to another. From my experiences reading craigslist posts, I guess I shouldn't be shocked anymore.
The Good
The new Batwoman is finally fleshed out, and I like her now. Just wish they would have done this sooner (instead DC opted to make her mysterious since she first appeared around 52).
J.H. Williams III is great.
Brings exposure to the tough time homosexuals deal with when it comes to Establishment.
Great REAL relationship with Montoya: Kane yells at her for being in the closet.
Kane refuses to be a VICTIM of a mugger.
The Bad
I'm still not sure about the splash pages subplot about some prophesy.
I still don't dig the Rene Montoya (The Question) backup stories, written by Rucka and drawn by Cully Hamner.
Conclusion
Detective Comics 859 would be a good jumping on point for new readers. Batwoman is not really involved with the other Batman and Robin comics right now, so it's for a different target audience. It has a Vertigo feel to me, since lesbianism is a mature topic when compared to what is happening in other comic books on the stands, like RULK.
Red Hulk#17 review: The Day After Thanksgiving means a few things in American society: 1) Black Friday sales and 2) Taking several dumps in the toilet. Somehow both are related to RULK. I read RULK, the RED HULK #17 by Jeph Loeb and Ian Churchill today! Here's my review:
Doc Samson is a bad guy. He and Rulk work for the same people, but it appears THEY find Rulk expendable (don't we all). Samson and Rulk fight with Domino, Punisher, Elektra, Silver Sable, Wolverine (don't know if that was Logan or his son, sorry), and other mercenary types in the mix. She-Rulk hates Male Rulk.
The Good
I saw the word "Conclusion" in the title.
The Bad
No Conclusion here.
Just more of the same: Random betrayals, random battles, one-liners, nothing revealed. Who is Rulk? Who is She-Rulk? (By the way, without the whole "Who is Red Hulk" marketing campaign, this comic book would get no Internet coverage.)
Rulk is a good guy now. Yup. Seems like he wants to clean up this country since Green Hulk declared war on the world in the World War Hulk storyline from a few years ago. The fact that Rulk crippled, destroyed, and murdered in the previous issues is kinda forgotten now.
Took 5 minutes to read, but would have taken 3 minutes if not so wordy. Jeph Loeb pulled an Obama this time: a whole lot was said, but in the end, nothing was said. Did the plot advance? What is the plot?
Silver Sable got jobbed out. She NEVER would be on her knees and let Domino hold a gun to her head and be intimidated like that in her appearances in late 1980's/1990's Spider-Man comics. What is Loeb smoking?
I hate Marvel mercenaries. They are sooooooo 1990-late. Give me DC's Deathstoke the Terminator any day of the week.
How many times did YOU go to the bathroom the day after Thanksgiving?
I know, I know... you don't want to hear how bad Rulk is. Just buy it, I mean he's RED and drawn by IAN CHURCHILL!
Amazing Spider-Man #613 REVIEW- First of all, Happy Thanksgiving everyone. My buddy George The Comic Book Fan got me this week's pulls. He had been worried all week that the comic book deliveries wouldn't come in because of Thanksgiving, but George is relieved now. Well, after last week's amazing Amazing Spider-Man review, let's see if Mark Waid can make it two issues in a row. The only thing that's different reading Gauntlet Part 2 is that my expectations are higher- and that could be a bad thing for Amazing Spider-Man #613. So without further ado:
Electro blackmails the owner of The DB, Dexter Bennett, into getting the cash so Electro can get cured by The Mad Thinker. The Mad Thinker makes Electro a living thunderbolt, and even more powerful than before. The people are still pro-Electro and anti-Spider-Man. Electro double-crosses Bennett.
The Good
Solid follow up, and good set up for The Gauntlet Part 3.
Great action scenes.
Felt like old Spidey again: Peter Parker used his scientific skills to build an Electro detector.
I, for one, like the artwork by Paul Azaceta because it's not cartoony.
The Bad
Since ASM gets published 3 times a month, there are "setup" issues.
Way too quick to read
Amazing Spider-Man 613 Notes
I get the feeling writer Mark Waid doesn't dig Peter's roommate Michelle, since she doesn't get a lot of panels, and when she does, she's a barbarian (even slamming the door in Aunt May's face).
Speaking of Aunt May, since she married J. Jonah Jameson's father, she has been pretty much phased out; the newlyweds travel all around the world. In fact it could be argued that since Brand New Day (the Spidey reboot), Aunt May has been downgraded when compared to how she was treated during JMS's famous Spidey run.
PS I just want to say that before I write my comic book reviews, I don't read the comic book message board forums. I also won't read previews or opinions before I actually sit down and read the comics George lends me. However, I do read various message boards after I write my original review, and I am not pleased to report that 1) Comic books fans have not changed- they are more critical and fickle than I am and 2) Their reviews are totally skewed. I can vouch that my comic book reviews are from a different perspective (I'm an old school fan who has read tens of thousands of comics, including every issue of ASM) and 3) They can only be pleased if they deem a creative team "hot".
Conclusion
This is a solid issue; not as groundbreaking or good as Amazing Spider-Man #612, but a good chapter in the ongoing adventures of your friendly neighborhood web-head.
This is not truly a Son of Hulk #16 review, I'm just finally all caught up with the Son of Hulk series (16 issues plus three specials) so I will go over what I think of Son of Hulk.
The title started off as Skaar, Son of Hulk. This was a spin-off from the award winning Planet Hulk event where the Hulk was banished from earth, and landed on a distant planet, named Sakaar. The planet itself is THE most hostile planet in the Marvel Universe, filled with magic, advanced technology, monsters, robots, poison, volcanoes, and being stronger than the mightiest heroes or villains on earth.
Skaar was raised without the Hulk and blamed him for leaving him and his people, not to mention the death of his mother Caiera. Skaar, Son of Hulk #1 to #12 (plus the three specials) shows Skaar's rise to power on the planet, by defeating the most powerful warriors, creatures, and armies, while learning how to harness his OldStrong power that he inherited from his mother (who was a Shadow).
Skaar is a young intelligent monster, a murderer, and an unstoppable force. He carries a giant Conan-like sword just for show, as only the world-eater Galactus and Silver Surfer were able to stop him. That being said, Skaar has a lot to learn about himself. He is an anti-hero, if not a villain.
Writer Greg Pak (Planet Hulk, World War Hulk, and now Incredible Hulk) created a unique planet, and had free reign to create its back-history, geography, customs, citizens, monsters, etc. It's a sci-fi fantasy world with slaves, dragons, lasers, obiendence disks, kings, princesses, and high-tech war machines. The setting stands on its own, and franly Marvel was correct to have a spin-off series from Planet Hulk.
Artist Ron Garney (Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man, Ka-Zar, Hulk, etc.) provided the pencils at first. Garney taps into the style of Walt Simonson with the sketchiness, and is a reliable worker, but if this was baseball, he'd be 3rd in the starting pitching rotation. When the Silver Surfer arrived, artist Butch Guice took over for a while (he reminded me of Earth-X's John Paul Leon) before one of my all time favorites Ron Lim (Silver Surfer, Thanos Quest, Infinity War, Captain America, etc.) took over for a few issues. Current artist is Andres Guinaldo, who is like Universe X's Doug Braithwaite, but more colorful and exciting.
As of Son of Hulk #13, formerIncredible Hulk writer Paul Jenkins took over with a new direction; Skaar is now earthbound and wanted his father dead. Skaar's adventures are now being told in Incredible Hulk by Greg Pak. So..what is Son of Hulk about now? A slave boy named Hiro-Kala believes he is Son of Hulk and has the power of a God. He blames Galactus for his fallen planet and the second death of his mother. He truly is one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe and he is a world-killer...his brutality is reminiscent (but not quite as sick) of Superboy Prime's destruction of an earth in Countdown to Infinite Crisis.
Son of Hulk is not as popular as Skaar, Son of Hulk simply because the star of the comic is not a gamma-powered green (or red..hehehe). Some casual fans said it Son of Hulk jumped the shark when Skaar left the comic book.
I read that Son of Hulk will be canceled soon, and that this was all part of Marvel's plan. Historically, this title will probably be a footnote in the history of comics, which is a shame since this was an original series for Marvel- an innovative take on "Son of Hulk". It's self-contained dark barbarian space opera. I recommend it.
Batman #693 review- written AND drawn by Tony Daniel, Part 2 of Life After Death. This continues the chronicles of Batman (Dick Grayson) assuming the mantle from Bruce Wayne. This comic is smack in the middle of a gang war between Black Mask and his False Faces vs Mario Falcone and his family.
Along the way Dick and Helena (The Huntress) attend a fund-raising event. Bruce Wayne is there, too. However, I'm not sure if it was an actor hired by Alfred to keep appearances or Black Mask in disguise. The function is interrupted by a bomber (I think she works for Black Mask). The Riddler (who has become a TV psychic detective) gets caught in the explosion and seemed to have reverted back to him psychotic self.
ENDING SPOILER:
An innocent gang member (an African-American kid) is gunned down while informing Batman. I'm sure Dick is going to feel guilty about that.
Conclusion
Solid Batman comic; in the middle of story arc, so tough to really judge on its own.
Amazing Spider-Man #612 Review - The Gauntlet Begins
Amazing Spider-Man #612 review, Part 1 of The Gauntlet Begins, written by comic book ICON Mark Waid and drawn by Paul Azaceta. If you have been following my Amazing Spider-Man reviews, you are probably thinking: why the heck does Damian Hospital continue to read this crap? Well, I got good news for you: it paid off! We can thank Mark Waid for this. Mark Waid (The Flash, Kingdom Come, Fantastic Four, JLA, Empire, Captain America, etc) presented a serious tone to kickstart this Spider-Man event.
Basically, the splash pages indicate that a master plan has been in motion for a while, and all of the old classic Spidey villains are in on it (although they may not be 100% aware of their roles). It seems like Kraven the Hunter's wife and daughter are behind everything to avenge his death.
Anyway, ASM #612 spotlights Electro. Like many classic Spider-Man villains Electro has been jobbed out in recent years (pro wrestling term for losing a lot, and losing status). Seems like Marvel has been making new villains lately..it's one of the drawbacks of having an ongoing serial comic book: the villains always lose, and the older the villain is (Electro is from the 1960's), the more losses he has.
But I digress: Electro is down in the dumps; his powers are haywire and he can't be touched or get excited. He has no money. The Mad Thinker screwed him. Everybody screwed him. There is a Kurt Busiek Astro City feel to Electro's sorrows.
The converging plot is that The DB (the NEW Daily Bugle, owned by an evil version of Perry White, Dexter Bennett) qualified for Obama bailout money from the stimulus package. This sends New Yorkers in an uproar, and when Electro gets wind, he shouts to the world about POWER TO THE PEOPLE. This goes viral on the net and is picked on the TV news channel. Electro has become a hero! Even the police dig him now, and allow him to form a protest in front of City Hall. But Spider-Man doesn't (after all, Electro is a SUPER-VILLAIN). Electro defeats Spidey, and the protesters cheer him on.
Pros
Felt like a REAL Spider-Man comic book, not the crap I've been reading recently.
Artwork fits the mood, and doesn't remind me of Gossip Girl or whatever hip TV show teens watch.
Electro gets a great treatment by Mark Waid; his origin was shown and continuity was respected.
Cons
The extra backup story by writer Joe Kelly and artist JM Ken Nimura (bad art) was nothing special and simplly was used to justify the $3.99 cover price. The story had to do with Spidey's romantic life and his relationship with the Black Cat. I liked it in the 1980's, but nothing has evolved for the better in 2010 (sorry if I fast forwarded a month-and-a-half).
Note
Well, I think this is a controversial move by Marvel and Mark Waid to bring on the bailout in Spider-Man. Then again, when I read every Amazing Spider-Man comic book from scratch, I saw that this has always happened; in the 1960's race and protests was tackled, and in later years, the oil crisis is mentioned. Yet I still want to suspend my disbelief when I read super-hero comics; I don't want to hear about MY earth, that's why I don't listen to Glenn Beck. I can go either way on this, because the story itself was good, and it fit fine. It was a good symbol of left wing vs right wing opinions.
Amazing Spider-Man Letter Page Controversy
An old time fan complained about Peter Parker getting drunk, having sex, and other stuff. I was glad it was print. Ironically enough in the very same issue, it was revealed that Michelle (Parker's roommate) got Petey "drunk" on ginger ale. Nice No-Prize save by Marvel.
I recommend this comic, and am glad Spidey is back on track, thanks to Mark Waid.
Batman and Robin #6 review: Written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Philip Tan (one "l" and one "p" in "Philip"). Just in case you've been under a rock, Grant Morrison spearheaded DC's bomb of the year FINAL CRISIS, and also "killed Batman". He's also one of the best writers of all time. Batman and Robin #6 is about Batman (Dick Grayson) and Robin (Damian Wayne) fighting a new villain named Flamingo. Flamingo also wants to kill the evil Red Hood (Jason Todd) and his sidekick Scarlett.
Revenge of the Red Hood Part 3 of 3 is a quick read...I think Philip Tan is too modern and his panels are not clean enough for me. Morrison has some nice dark humor here, and there's lots of violence.
Damian actually gets shot by Flamingo in the back a few times; thankfully, his mom Talia Al Ghul sent people to pick him up and heal him. The Red Hood pretty much killed Flamingo in a skewed attempt to rid Gotham City of all criminals (Red Hood doesn't believe in keeping people like The Joker alive), however, since Philip Tan's artwork is so sketchy, I don't know if Flamingo managed to escape or not. Also, due to Philip Tan's deconstructed layouts and Morrison's lack of captions, I don't know if Bruce Wayne is alive or not at the end of this comic in a healing chamber or not. Damian was much more tolerable in this issue..he may be a good Robin after all. This was an OK issue, but Red Robin #6 was better than Batman and Robin #6 this month. I also feel that The Red Hood has run its course, and Jason Todd needs to tone down his appearances now to avoid being overexposed (although it's probably too late now).
On the plus side, The Red Hood does show us how Gotham City would be if Batman killed criminals: it would be even UGLIER than it is now. I'm glad Jason Todd is not Batman. I'm also totally cool with Dick as Batman and Damian as Robin.
Red Robin #6 review, continuing my "I read it for you" reviews: by writer Chris Yost and artist Marcus To. Red Robin #6 is Council of Spiders Part 2 of 4. Basically Red Robin (Tim Drake Wayne) is still trying to find evidence that Bruce Wayne exists, and wound up making a deal with Rhas Al Ghul's League of Assassins, but finds himself in a war between different assassin groups and an inside job (who's killing the members of the League of Assassins?). This felt a lot like the movie Wanted with so many professional assassin ninjas and hits.
Subplot: Vicky Vale was interviewing Lucius Fox to try and get Bruce Wayne, a lo and behold "Bruce Wayne" walks in. But...he's "dead". Obviously this one of Batman's contingency plans: it's probably someone wearing makeup to pose as Bruce Wayne. So..does Bruce Wayne return in Red Robin #6? We'll find out in Red Robin #7, I guess.
Anyway, this was a solid issue; kinda reminded me of some 1990's Green Arrow comics with assassins and heavy hand-t0-hand combat. Two thumbs up for artist Marcus To, especially the way he captures female beauty. Marcus To has a nice clean style, but is very modern. Very talented.
How about that- a comic book that takes place in a fantasy world with no references to Facebook or Wikipedia; DC Comics has once again succeeded in temporary suspending my disbelief. Thank you.
Amazing Spider-Man #611 review- Why am I back for more after I declared Amazing Spider-Man sucks? Well, my buddy George dropped off this week's comics, so I read it since I don't get AMC to watch the new Prisoner TV series. So, without further ado:
Amazing Spider-Man #611, written by Joe Kelly, drawn by Eric Canete. Spider-Man fights Deadpool, who was hired to distract Spidey while Ana Corozon and her mom (New Kraven?), who have Madame Web hostage, kidnap Spider-Woman.
This was a "comedy" issue. For those who don't know about Deadpool, he is a joke character, who is a mutant mercenary and routinely breaks the fourth wall. He's a good-natured manic psycho and schizo. I can't stand him, since he's always a "guest star" every month in various Marvel titles, in addition to being in his own comic book, X-Force plus specials. Can you say overexposed? His appearances are always the same: he gets hired to take out the title's hero, engages in a slapstick battle, uses his mutant healing factor to avoid death, and never kills the title hero for some lame reason. Wash, rinse, repeat.
I eluded to Marvel Comics deconstructing their titles, and taking away the illusion (I read comics to enter a fantasy world, not to read about Spidey using Twitter). This has never been more evident with Deadpool, who can see and make fun of caption boxes and issue numbers. He knows he's a comic book character. This sort of stuff should be confined to his own comic, not brought into mainstream Marvel titles. Because after Deadpool leaves, we are supposed to care about the title hero again.
What can I say? This was a Deadpool comedy throw away issue. Happens every month somewhere in the Marvel Universe. Sometimes it happens 4 times a month. Speaking of deconstructing comic books, Spidey fought "Lady Stilt Man" at the beginning. She said she's "paying homage".
Spider-Man artist Eric Canete? Pass. Spider-Man writer Joe Kelly? Deadpool is his baby. Wasn't Kelly awesome at once point?
Trendy pop culture references this month in ASM: ViewTube (guess Marvel doesn't want to advertise Google's YouTUBE for free anymore, especially since they pay Google AdSense every month), President Obama, E-Phone, calling Peter Parker "white boy", recession, low cholesterol, Kardashian, Hilton, Models Inc., swagga (used to be spelled "swagger"), and Blackest Night (DC Comics' hot Green Lantern event!).
Batman #692, Detective Comics # 858, Batman and Robin #5, Red Robin #4 Reviews
Earlier this year I read all of Batman related comics since 2003, and then I read other comic books titles from scratch, so I fell behind my new Batman comics after Bruce Wayne "died" in FINAL CRISIS. I am pleased to announced that I am all caught up now. Here is what has been happening in Batman comic books:
Dick Grayson (Nightwing, the original Robin) won the Battle for the Cowl, and is now Batman. To the general public, there is no change; but the superhero community knows the truth. His sidekick (the new Robin) is Damian (son of Bruce Wayne Batman and Talia al Ghul). Tim Wayne (formerly Tim Drake, Robin III) is called Red Robin and is searching for proof Bruce Wayne is still alive. (Bruce Wayne is alive but is in another time period, but no one knows that, and he is out of the comic altogether for now). Jason Todd (Robin II) is once again the evil Red Hood.
Neil Gaiman (Sandman, Beowulf, Harry Potter) wrote a great two-part Batman/Detective Comics storyline called Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?, which lead into the Battle for the Cowl. Basically, Bruce Wayne was watching his own funeral and all the different ways Batman "died". This was very metaphysical and showed that Batman will always come back in one shape or form eventually.
But I digress.
Here are my reviews and comments about the Batman titles in general:
Batman #692: This shows how Dick Grayson is having some problems trying to fill Bruce Wayne's shoes as Catwoman tests him, and Commissioner Gordon hints that he knows this isn't the same Batman. We also see the return of Dr. Death, an obscure character from 1939 who had made a few returns. Additionally, we see Dick face mobsters from The Long Halloween. Plus there is a major subplot with the return of the Black Mask.
I rank Batman the best DC Batman comic right now. This is the flagship title. For some reason there are different writers every few months, but the tone stays the same. The art is fine (Tony Daniel is writing and drawing now). I was shocked to see Mark Bagley draw something besides Spider-Man, and was equally shocked to see how good he was at drawing Batman. Batman is all about how Dick Grayson (Enneagram Personality Type 6) is trying to be his own man, BUT make his enemies and police believe he is the original Batman (Enneagram Type 7). It is quite refreshing to read about a mentally healthy Batman. In reality, Dick Grayson succeeding Bruce Wayne is and was the only logical course of action for DC comics to make if Wayne was ever to be replaced. How long will it last? Who knows? I guess it's up to the sales.
Batman and Robin #5: The Red Hood establishes himself as Dick and Damian's arch nemesis.
Probably the most talked about new Batman comic after the relaunch because Grant Morrison is the writer. Grant Morrison was the writer who killed Bruce Wayne, and is still an icon even though FINAL CRISIS sucked ass. Batman and Robin #5 had Phillipp Tan as artist, a step down from the greatness that is Frank Quitely. Believe it or not, Morrison is not high-brow with Batman and Robin. Damian is shown to be the biggest jerk in the world (he is), and Morrison still deconstructs the villains, but this comic is much tamer than I expected, which is a good thing; very readable and accessible to new readers (though not as good as Morrison's Superman limited series).
Red Robin #4: I was never into Tim Drake (now Tim Wayne, since he was adopted) when he stared in his own comic series called Robin. But Red Robin is passable only because Tim is the only one in the DC Universe to believe Bruce is still alive, and the heroes (especially Dick) feel he is mentally ill to keep on trying to uncover new evidence. Written by Chris Yost and drawn by Ramon Bachs, two people I'm not familiar with, but they are fine.
Detective Comics #858: How can Detective Comics be ranked last? Maybe because each new issue features Batwoman as the star. I guess DC doesn't want Dick Grayson to die of overexposure, so they featured Batwoman in this. I still see Batwoman as a gimmick because she's a hot red-headed goth pale-skinned lesbian who dresses like a fetish queen. That just doesn't float my boat. To make matters worse, the backup feature is The Question (Renee Montoya) whom I have no emotional attachment to. Ironically enough, she too is a lesbian. I have no issues with lesbianism in comics, but I think it's a double-standard that women can be gay in comics and be featured in Detective Comics, but two guys cannot. Excellent art by J.H. Williams III again. Greg Rucka is scripter.
Anyway, although Dick Grayson can never live up to Bruce Wayne, the current shake-up is a nice change of pace. It's very hard to keep an ongoing comic book series fresh since it's a serial format. Although I haven't been blown away by these comics, they are very solid and they seems to be plotted out with a great climax in the future. As gimmicky as all of this may sound (multiple Batman titles, mini-series, MEDIA hype, and the fact that Bruce Wayne isn't dead) Batman and his fans are treated with much more respect by DC than Marvel treats Spider-Man and his fans.
Incredible Hulk #603 Review- The Incredible Hulk by writer Greg Pak and artists Ariel Olivetti (who uses CGI) and Guiseppe Camuncoli is much better than what's going on in Red Hulk. Bruce Banner (formerly the Green Hulk) is mentoring Son of Hulk (Skaar) on earth. This is a skewed father/son relationship, as Skaar is like Conan/Tarzan/Green Hulk and Banner is like a skewed genius version of Bill Gates.
Anyway, Banner sends Skaar to fight Son of Wolverine, Daken, who stars in Dark Wolverine. Both dads fight (Banner can hold his own against Wolverine because he creates invincible gadgets) and then have a picnic as Skaar and Daken fight and then talk things out, and then we have a battle royal at the end. Daken hates his father as well, so Skaar and Daken have a lot in common.
There's even one panel that delves into the psychology of Bruce Banner, which has been absent in Hulk comics since Paul Jenkins (and to an extent Bruce Jones) left the title years ago.
I liked this comic; of course I read it after Rulk, so....
Oh, the last page has the return of THE LEADER, with his classic look. Can't wait to see THE LEADER face Banner, now that Banner is a bad ass now.
PS: I don't like the All New She-Hulk backup stories in Incredible Hulk. The first reason is that there are now three different She-Hulks running around the Marvel Universe. The second reason is that the story is for teenage girls (or horn dog boys). Incredible Hulk: Planet Hulk
Hulk #16 Review: Red Hulk meets Red She-Hulk. Red She-Hulk fights Wolverine. Red She-Hulks claims to have killed Green She-Hulk and Elektra. More hints about the answer to the question: Who is Red Hulk? (Sorry...Who is RULK?)
Rulk's captions say that he is a boy. Remember, I, Damian Hospital on the DailySkew PodCast said that Rulk is Betty Ross. Betty is a girl. Is Damian wrong? My second guess was her dad Thunderbolt Ross, since he is an Enneagram Type 8, just like Green Hulk. My third guess is that Rulk is an amalgamation of a bunch of characters. We shall see.
What I do know is that Rulk is 16 issues of crap brought to you by Jeph Loeb and Ian Churchill.
Nothing much happens in this issue besides senseless action and betrayals. But who's good and who's bad? Who knows? Who cares anymore? Oh wait, hundreds of thousands of people care because they are buying this crap. Hulk, Vol. 1: Red Hulk (v. 1)
Amazing Spider-Man #610 Review- This wraps up a quick storyline featuring Peter Parker's clone's (Ben Reily) nemesis Damon Ryder (Raptor) and Kaine (Peter Parker's other evil dying clone). It felt like a cheap gimmick just to get fans of the deceased Ben Reily to buy Amazing Spider-Man. Writer Marc Guggenheim pokes fun at the 1990's clone saga, but the end product may just be worthless.
The Good
After 15 years of silence, Ben Reily (who has become a cult hero) and the clone saga finally get a storyline, although a) Ben is still dead and b) He appears in flashbacks only.
Marvel- thanks to heavy marketing- got some older fans to check out Amazing Spider-Man.
Peter Parker's life and secret identity is finally threatening after I had to deal with a handful of issues with him trying to juggle romance in his life (Black Cat, Mary Jane, Michelle, Blonde Chick from FrontLine, Harry Osborn's girls, et al.)
The Bad
For the flashback scenes, Damon Ryder and Ben Reily look the same, making it a bit confusing at times.
The story is forgettable with no new revelations about the Clone Saga.
Kaine (Peter Parker's defective clone) was better left untouched in my opinion.
Screwball- I really hate this new anti-hero; she streams her fights on her website for advertising traffic. Don't get me wrong- that would be cool for an independent comic, but but not for a flagship title like ASM...just seems like comics are getting more and more deconstructed and the illusion is gone. For example, why can't Spidey do the same thing and generate a steady income instead of working for a dead MEDIA like a newspaper?
Ben Reily is just a plot device; the purpose of this storyline was to reintroduce Kaine (whoopee).
The art was sub par: Marco Checchetto, Luke Ross, and Rick Magyar (who?)
Peter Parker/Spider-Man says "dang!" instead of "damn". But he's allowed to have pre-marital sex. Go figure. By the way, saying "dang" is sooooooooooooooooooooooo 1981. I read it made a brief comeback in 2006, but I don't hear cool people saying "dang" anymore...
The Ugly
RANT: I finally got my hands on Amazing Spider-Man 605 -610 from a friend, and I gotta say that ASM has not improved at all since I last reviewed it. I'm pretty sure that in 5-10 years ASM will be on Marvel.com as a web-comic because that's the target audience they are shooting for. Everything about ASM reminds me of Facebook, Twitter, iPhones, pop music, and the CW.
Peter Parker acts and looks young...he still has bad luck but he's banging chicks and regrets it later on. You'd think with J. Jonah Jameson as mayor, the story lines would be good, but JJJ wasn't even in these issues (ASM gets published 3 times a month). Most of the issues just run into each other.
I really wish I could find some positive things to say about how I feel when reading ASM...the one that comes to mind is that it sells relatively well in today's market and kids/teenagers dig it according to their posts on the message board forums. It feels like a lame version of the Ultimate Spider-Man series (since everything feels new and there is no respect for continuity or history).
I mean, this is the same Peter Parker from Amazing Fantasy #15 in 1962? At least DC Comics had a Golden Age Superman, Silver Age Superman, and Modern Age Superman to distinguish eras and reboots.
For the record, I have a minority opinion. Like Tony Vahl and I were saying: we don't know anyone that actually buys Jonas Brothers, but they sell millions of CDs. If you were born after 1995, Amazing Spider-Man is awesome!
The Fan movie with Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes is a twisted and depressing psychological thriller, but the unbelievable plot and script is too Hollywoodized to take seriously as a classic 1990's movie, or to be on De Niro's resume.
The good news is that De Niro portrays the loud mouthed obnoxious fan that sits in front of you at sporting events to a tee. He's also divorced, an aggressive dad, and a disgruntled salesman who eventually gets fired. He's a washed up Little League pitcher who never made it, but can't let go. He's addicted to sports talk radio and the San Fransisco Giants.
Wesley Snipes' character Bobby Rayburn is Barry Bonds (although for legal reasons he says he isn't Barry Bonds in the movie). Bobby Rayburn is a high-priced free agent with a chip on his shoulder.
I would say the first half of the movie had the potential for The Fan to be right up there with Michael Douglas's Falling Down (1993) but the plot jumps the shark due to the fantastic (unbelievable) elements of the script such as De Niro's character Gil killing Juan Primo is a sauna and kidnapping Bobby Rayburn's son Shawn, or Gil impersonating a MLB umpire.
However, don't let the plot detract from your enjoyment- this is a popcorn thriller and you have to watch it through the end if you start. This is not a traditional baseball movie at all- it's a psycho movie. It's a weird film in which you see the signs that Gil was always crazy. It's tough to sympathize with Gil or Bobby Rayburn- both De Niro and Snipes play heels in this one.
Still, a great performance by De Niro- it's just the script that jumps the shark. Welcome to 1996.
Dog Day Afternoon is a gripping true crime movie, one of the best movies of all time. DDA is a juicy piece of overheated New York mood, and a fabulous showcase for its youthful actors. Dog Day Afternoon is a underrated masterpiece of the 1970s. The opening montage of Brooklyn, New York street life circa 1972 establishes the muggy tone of a sizzling afternoon in the city with such closeness that you can almost smell the junk baking in the sun and the water from the hydrants evaporating from the sizzling pavement. Al Pacino plays Sonny, who, along with his noticeably slow-witted accomplice Sal (John Cazale, familiar as Pacino's Godfather brother Fredo), holds hostages after a botched a bank robbery.
Sonny and Sal are not master-planners; in fact they are amateurs. It's like a Saturday Night Live skit but it is dark, realistic humor, not slapstick.
Sonny finds himself altered into a dissenter celebrity when his standoff with police (including lead negotiator Charles Durning) is covered live on local television. This has the famous "ATTICA! ATTICA!" scene which is still powerful in 2009. The movie really conveys the feel of rough and unpredictable events unfolding before your eyes, and the whole film is so convincing and involving that you're glued to the screen.
The film was based on a true story that was published in LIFE Magazine. I can't say enough how great the movie is- most of it takes place in the bank; the plot is straightforward enough although there are major revelations that come on later.
New Yorkers really hated cops and establishment in the 1970's and this movie showcases that hatred.
5/5 stars. Adults only. Unquestionably one of the best movies of all time.
Inside Man is one of the best modern thrillers of all time. I originally saw this movie with Tony Vahl in the movie theater and was blown away by it- I felt manic that night and was pumped, and this week I rewatched it with my wife; it held up.
For those of you who missed this hidden gem (WHY? (tm) is it a hidden gem) it's a modern day version of Dog Day Afternoon, except with a TWIST ending.
Spike Lee is usually a controversial director, but this movie is tame to his reputation in terms of playing the race card, although he does manage to put a few realistic racist scenes in (police racism). Spike Lee did an outstanding job in all aspects of the movie.
The cast and acting is an All-Star team. Denzel Washington plays the same Enneagram Type 3 character that he always does but for some reason I never get tired of it, unlike Will Smith's Enneagram Type 6 that he does all the time. (Am I racist for comparing two black actors?)
Clive Owen, though, steals the f'n show once again. This time he was an Enneagram Type 7 master thinker character. Was he a villain? Yes. Did we root for him? Yes. Was he the coolest bank robber of all time? Yes. Even the most straight men have mancrushes on Clive Owen.
Jodie Foster actually comes late in the movie, but she shines because of how tough and cut-throat she is.
Christopher Plummer is a great corrupt bank president.
Willem DaFoe doesn't have a role that suits him (dumb LME police chief), and I can't stop thinking about the Green Goblin when I see him.
The main criticism of Inside Man is that the plot is hard for people to follow (due to the World War II Nazi connection) and that it is unrealistic (hostage negotiations, escpape). I'm not going to argue with someone if they can't understand the plot. Sorry.
WATCH AND BUY Inside Man [Blu-ray]before Inside Man 2 comes out in 2010 (Oh, you didn't know? Your @$$ better call someboddddddyyyyyyy!)
PopCap Games Zuma's Revenge is awesome. My friend Diane has been addicted to the original Zuma since it first came out, so she called me yesterday and said "Damian, have you played Zuma's Revenge online yet?" Since I am a PopCap Games expert, of course I had already downloaded Zuma's Revenge and played the trial.
Not only are the graphics and sound better than Zuma 1, but the gameplay and special marbles make this a superior game to one of the best casual games of all time. It may be time for a new Top 10 Casual Games list. Diane's sister is madly in love with Zuma's Revenge and called it one of the most addictive casual games by PopCap or any casual game publisher. I suprised my wife last night at 10:00PM with Zuma's Revenge and the next thing I know I went to sleep before her, and she was very tired to drive to work.
Zuma's Revenge is a marble game, with more features than the beloved original. This is a must buy, especially since would make a super cheap Christmas gift.
Check out the Plants vs Zombies trailer. Excited yet? So I was looking for Plants vs Zombies online because the Plants vs Zombies reviews have been great. I admit I didn't see the appeal of a Plants vs Zombies adventure as a casual game at first, but after playing the first board...I was hooked by PopCap games...again.
I have to say, there are PC games or video games that can hold your interest and are good, and then there are addictive video games that require you to have IV injected into your arms to give you nutrition because you can't leave your computer to get food in the refridgertator. This game is that addictive that your eyes will become bloodshot. This game is for kids and adults. You control an army of plants to stop zombies from entering your house and eating your brains.
Plants vs Zombies soundtrack: The music is a parody of old horror movies.
Graphics: Excellent flash animation.
Sound: As good as it gets.
Game modes: You can earn money in every game mode and buy better weapons and secrets. The Zen Garden mode is cool, and the Mini-Games are like MODs. You can even do take control of the bad guys and do Zombies vs Plants! This game has a TON of replay value; this was not slapped together and rushed out by any means. This was truly an excellent effort by the programmers and design team. Wow.
Plants vs Zombies gameplay: Left click mouse...and that's it!
When it comes to the best casual games, or the Top 10 Casual Games of all time, Plants vs Zombies is going to be climbing to the top!
If you want to buy Plants vs Zombies, just click on my links, and you may get a nice discount for various PopCap games!
Green Lantern First Flight Review (Green Lantern animated)
DC Comics and Warner Brothers released Green Lantern: First Flight straight to DVD, Blu-Ray, PPV, and OnDemand. It is an animated cartoon showing the first appearance of Hal Jordan (Green Lantern). As someone who owns every Green Lantern comic that was ever published, I think my opinion has some value. I also watched the movie with my wife, who has zero exposure to GL, so you will get a balanced review, something I have not found on the Internet yet regarding this new movie.
Plot
Test pilot Hal Jordan is given a powerful ring by a dying alien. The Green Lantern Corps arrives on earth to bring Hal to the plant Oa to be trained and accepted by the Guardians of the Universe. All of these aliens are part of an interstellar police force. Sinestro is the most powerful cop, and he takes Jordan under his wing, but [spoiler is invisible] i
s involved in a conspiracy to overthrow the Guardians.
Positives
Sound effects and music are top-notch.
Animation is solid, kinda like the 1990's Batman Animated Series on steroids (or slightly better than Superman Doomsday 2007).
Used plots and storylines from 1959 to the present in the Green Lantern mythos (with different takes). So in effect, we have bits and pieces of: Showcase #22, Who Killed Abin Sur?, Green Lantern Emerald Dawn II [to the reviewer on Blog Critics- Emerald Dawn II (1991) came before the movie Training Day (2001)], Emerald Twilight, and the Sinestro Corps War.
For long-time comic books fans, it was cool to see the Green Lantern universe and characters in animated form. The flavor was there.
With all of the members of the Green Lantern Corps, thankfully the writers didn't confuse things even more by having other earth Green Lanterns from the comics like Alan Scott, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, or Kyle Rayner.
Creative use of the power ring.
Sinestro. 'nuff said!
Negatives
Similar to my issue with the Superman Doomsday animated DVD, Green Lantern is NOT FOR KIDS UNDER THE AGE OF 12. A female alien gets tortured, deaths are shown onscreen (one gruesome), there's lots of animated violence, and there are even a couple of cuss words.
How do you compress 50 years of Hal Jordan in under an hour-and-a-half? Better question: WHY did they want to compress every storyline in one movie?
As a straight space opera action movie, there was no time for characterization or personality or anything deep, not even romance. Therefore, if you are not in the 12-35 male demographic...well, you can fill in the appropriate blank.
As much as I like the Green Lantern Corps, this was supposed to be Hal Jordan's solo movie; it wasn't.
Earth anyone? We were teased with Carol Ferris at the beginning, but...that's about it.
Comments and clarifications
This is NOT a training day origin movie, even though that's what the title and trailers imply. We don't see Hal get trained or even deal with a learning curve.
This is a straight action sci-fi cartoon, similar to Star Wars: The Clone Wars Animated Series on the Cartoon Network.
For as much as the new Star Wars Trilogy gets ripped, it's amazing how many scenes or themes get re-used from it in many other movies, TV shows, and comics.
I would have preferred that Hal be the only GL, since it would have made him unique and important, similar to Kyle Rayner being the only GL in town in the 1990's. However, DC is currently treating the GLC as space cops, and Hal is just part of the team. I would think people who have never been exposed to Hal would be a little shocked to see that he has the same powers as thousands in a galactic police force.
Don't miss any dialog, folks. Better put it on pause if you go the restroom or get food. Although the movie is driven by action, Sinestro's dialog drives the plot, so if you miss his exposition, you will wondering what it going on.
What the Message Board Mutants are saying: They are complaining about costume changes, a betrayal, and how the cartoon varied from the comics. What else is new? Generally speaking, however, most reviewers give it 8 or 9/10. For example, if you went into your local comic book show, it would be accepted there as being a quality movie and that DC hit another homerun.
Target Audience
Males aged 12-35 would eat this up. If you formed a Hal Jordan Fan Club in the 1990's to protest Kyle Rayner, you would be in heaven. Graphic designers? This is the kind of stuff they wish they would get hired to work on. Comic book fans? Check. Everybody else? Sorry, this isn't for you. I guess it would be somewhat enjoyable...but forgettable...not "must see".
DC said they wanted to "mainstream" Green Lantern, especially for the GL live action movie coming in 2011. I hope the live action movie will showcase Hal's extraordinary personality as seen in the comics, be a little more subtle and gradual with his training, have some Hal-Carol love tension, and keep it on earth some more.
PopCap Games and Big Fish's Peggle Nights Deluxe is more of an expansion pack of Peggle Deluxe as opposed to a true sequel, but it delivers regardless of how one wants to label it. In this case, we have more levels, challenges, additional characters, and some new scoring opportunities, but the game itself has not changed (thankfully- anyone remember Pac-Man 3-D? No? Good.)
The 2-D backgrounds are even more varied, since this game's theme features the dreams and desires of the characters. In fact, characterization of the characters is expanded greatly. If you liked the different cartoon characters before, you will really dig them now.
PopCap has extra themed levels to be downloaded as well. But if there is one flaw with Peggle Nights (and Peggle), it's that the background music does not vary, but I understand how each game is produced under a strict budget. That being said, the music is cool, and of course the Peggle Nights classical music intro song is a mind orgasm.
This game is for all ages, and is just as addictive as Peggle Deluxe, if not more so (is that even possible?) Although Peggle Nights loses theoretical points in originality, they did give us more Peggle, so you can't complain about that. Like most PopCap Games, there are no bugs or crashes. I hope those programmers are making money. Peggle Nights is a game that you would enjoy instantly, and the fun factor is extreme.
Perhaps the hardcore video game and PC publishers should take note how far simplicity of graphics and user input goes in making a game enjoyable. By the way, PopCap fans: Bookworm Adventures 2 is coming next month. We all know the original Bookworm Adventures is one of the best word games of all time. Can't wait for this one.
Peggle is a highly popular game by the makers of the casual game genre. It has been voted one of the Top 5 Addictive Games of All-Time, 2007 Game of the Year, and was on the Top 100 Game of All-Time list at #47. A psychology study actually showed that players reported feeling less depressed after playing it.
Peggle is a combination of pool, pinball, and the Japanese slot machine game pachinko. You use your left mouse button, launch your ball by aiming, and your goal is to clear the board of orange pegs. The gravity, angles, gravity, and boucing are simulated perfectly. There are some nuances to jack up your score, but all of that can be experienced by playing, so I won't go into detail. This game is for all ages, and anyone can pick it up and play in a few minutes, if not seconds.
There are zany characters to unlock and choose, and each cartoon character has their own special skill that is activated if you hit a green peg.
There are 55 boards in Adventure Mode, each with excellent backgrounds and carefully placed pegs. After you beat that mode, there are 75 Challenges. You can also play Duel Mode to compete against the computer or a friend sitting next to you. This makes relay value super-high. High scores are saved.
Many gamers who passed on Peggle can't get passed the cartoon unicorn, smiling sun, or talking flowers. In other words, the sights and sounds aren't macho. If you have a problem with this...well...I don't know what to say. Like most casual games, it looks like it was made for kids only, but it was made for all ages.
The game backgrounds are 2-D with some optical illusions. The level of creativity is mind-blowing. Advanced levels look like Zen Buddhist realms of the higher planes of existence. Others reminded me of Alan Moore's Omniverse of Symbols from Supreme and Promethea.
Peggle has been ported over to XBox360, iPod, and other systems.
Okay, as many of you know netbooks are a huge market now. Samsung, Dell, Acer, Hp-Mini, Asus, and others have flooded the market. There is no clear cut winner in this netbook war because if you combed through the thousands of netbook reviews and comments on the various forums you will see that each netbook has pros and cons. From my personal experience I can vouch for the Samsung NC120- I've had zero issues with it.
RPG Maker VX is a powerful game creator that enables you to create role-playing games from scratch. They can be as simple or complex as you need them to be. The final result is usually role playing games that look and feel like SNES RPGs like Final Fantasy III, although if you have training in graphic design you can push the graphics to Chrono Trigger.
You don't need programming experience, and many common commands have been simplified from previous versions, such as transferring to one map to another, shop keeper processing, and treasure chests.
Even with some simplified commands, you still are in effect programming (even though it's called video game design). It is 100% necessary to check out the RPG Maker VX tutorials on rpgmakervx.net and rpgrevolution.com, and to practice-practice-practice making events, conditions, and maps.
Once you create your game, you can share it with others and get it critiqued, and/or sell it. Since you design the game balance, you can also have fun playing your own RPG or give it to your kids or friends.
There are no limits to your creativity. If you feel the existing battle system is limiting, community members have written scripts that import into the program (this is by design).
This is a program that truly requires sleepless nights or at least to work on it for an hour a day, and maybe you'd make a good game in a year. It does hit the creative section of your brain.
One thing that dampers the experience is that 1) you have to worry about copyright laws if you use other artists background music, graphics, or characters (but you are safe if you just use the default or create your own music and graphics); and 2) even the highest rated custom-made game in the community has some issues when compared to the Nintendo RPGs of the SNES era. Many completed games are cookie cut.
The hardest part is learning how to create "switches", "conditional branches", and "control variables". Creating maps is a lot simpler than one would expect. Creating original, breath-taking maps, however, probably requires custom-made tilesets.
It could be argued that RPG Maker VX is a step-backwards to RPG Maker XP when it comes to default battle system, graphics, and map tile sets, but is much more user friendly and has more features.
I highly recommend it for aspiring video game designers or hobbyists. Unlike other game maker games, this is actually FUN, believe it or not. As long as you have patience to deal with the learning curve and play-testing (and have writing ability) you will really enjoy creating an RPG, even if it's for your own personal use.
Although GameHouse's Scrabble blew me away, Monopoly comes up kinda short only because of the nature of the game and game AI. Once you realize that you or the computer can't buy property to make monopolies to build houses, it's kinda lame and all subject to the dice roll.
At least humans can make irrational and fun trades, but the computer AI won't.
The Good:
Fun at beginner and medium at first.
Looks and acts just like the board, with selectable house rules.
The Bad:
Same as real life, games last too long, and once all properties are bought, that's it- it's all about wearing your opponent out for an hour.
The Tycoon difficulty level clearly gives the computer better dice rolls (they will always land on the ONE property they own on a row instead of yours) and better Chance cards. Lame.
Trade AI is from 1993.
Conclusion: Only good for a addictive few spins for solo play. Play the board game with your family instead.
GameHouse's Scrabble video game gets high marks from me; it's a flawless rendition of the popular table-top game. This is not a fancy alternate version, and is made for all ages. The interface was surprisingly simple and easy to use, with no learning curve; just drag your tiles with your mouse.
Solitaire Scrabble is kinda boring so GH came up with computer opponents. After one day, I managed to somehow squeak by the Smart Robot, and scored around 300 points, but it was extremely tough. The scary part is that there are much harder opponents.
In many ways the AI is similar to the chess games I've played, where beginner is a synch, but the advanced modes will humble you.
For those of you with limited vocabularies, there are optional ways to help you: dictionaries, hints, best possible moves, and my personal favorite- black letters if you spelled a word; red letters if you're making a fake word.
The game keeps track of high scores and win-loss record vs the computer opponents. Also, there is tournament play and rank. These features make GH Scrabble a replayable and fun game.
I gotta tip my hat to the programmers and designers- this is a bug-free, easy on the eyes, simple yet mentally challenging as well. This is an all-ages, ready to play, easy menu high quality game.
The only negative- just like in real life Scrabble- it's kinda lame when your opponent uses "words" such as "Aa" (basaltic lava having a rough surface).
The game is dirt cheap and there's a free trial. I think I saw it at Wal*Mart real cheap but always passed it up. I didn't know it was downloable, but it is- it's a small file but packs a big punch.
The new Star Trek movie (referred to as STM by Trekkies) is very entertaining, loaded with action, excellent special effects, music, and sound. The acting is very solid, and I would recommend it to anyone with a passing interest in Star Trek. This is a movie- like previous Star Trek films- that has "rewatchability" all over it.
In other words, the movie rocked. Instant classic.
The film is making millions, Star Trek fever is back, it was mainstreamed using the iconic characters from the 1960's, and there will be a Star Trek sequel. Who knows, maybe a TV spin-off one day.
The can of worms, the 800-pound gorilla, the pink elephant in the room of is, of course, continuity and offending people who grew attached to the old actors and the Star Trek cannon.
There is currently a war going on in various Star Trek forums, message boards, and blogs; the purists say that the original time-line should have never be tampered with. The nitpickers say that J.J. Abrams through established cannon out of the window and that he got the science behind time travel and time-lines wrong.
But let's focus on what STM accomplished:
1) Great movie. 2) Great reviews and PR = new fans. 3) Opened the door for more ST projects. The franchise was DEAD. 4) Reinvented the characters for today's generation while keeping the old time line still in tact. Many critics fail to recognize that the old time line still exists. It's the best of both worlds- nothing got "erased", yet we can experience brand new adventures from a younger crew. During the movie a new timeline is created with all of these younger characters. It gives Paramount the freedom to have a new playground without worrying about replacing old (or dead) actors, or being confined by continuity. 5) The new time-line was created out of tragedy, and the future of the crew has yet to be written. The personalities have been updated, and there is a message, as Tony Vahl explained in a text message to me:
"..the fact that [the new] Kirk didn't grow up with his father definitely reflects the modern world we live in. I love that he still made it to Captain (with help from the original Spock). Whoever wrote this must believe that individuals can overcome their environment and succeed in life."
Parting thoughts My theory is that the Spock and he villain Nero from the original Star Trek universe fell into a black hole and re-appeared on a parallel world, as opposed to the past in the same timeline. I know J.J. Abrams wanted to have it be a modified time-line, but I didn't get the feeling we were in the same Star Trek universe at the beginning of the movie. This is a No-Prize, since I know J.J. didn't really care to research the stardates or various series and established cannon. I know he meant it to be the same world until Nero appeared and killed Kirk's dad. I believe that there would be less complaining online if it was made clear that Spock and Nero landed an an alternate earth instead of the direct past of the established time-line.
Obviously, this stuff is hard to explain or debate to a non-Trekkie, but it doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the movie to me. It's kinda like trying to figure out Planet of the Apes timelines and parallel earths.
Colonization was a 1994 cult game, where you compete with other settlers during the New World period and eventually fight for independence. The game was begging for a remake, and it finally came- using Civilization IV's engine.
Don't let the name fool you though: this is not an expansion pack or add-on for Civ. The time period is during colonial times, and you are managing your economy in your settlement as opposed to growing a civilization or world domination.
Using Civ's engine, you build your settlement, fight off or trade with Native Americans, "negotiate" with your king when he raises taxes, get specialists from the Old World, trade and manage your natural resources, and erect buildings or units.
Unlike Civ, there is only one victory condition: rebel against your mother country before your opposition settlers, defeat the king's navy and army, and form a new union. So this is a very structured (and relatively simpler game), while in Civ you have a buffet of victory conditions and side storylines.
As someone who enjoys that epoch, playing a revolution as a simulation is very addicting. The New World was a tough place to start from scratch.
It takes a few games to get the hang of it, even with the tutorials, help menus, and hints. There are many forums to get good strategies going, though.
The online community was initially disappointed with Colonization due to the bugs, but the latest patch makes everything fine. Colonization will never have the fan base as Civilization, so the number of user generated content is a lot less. Ultimately, the playability isn't as infinite as the Civ series.
Some elitists online have already exploited the AI and don't even bother with trading or fighting the other colonies.
Many players are turned off with one goal and narrow focus, and the lack of "charm" or thousands of variables that are present in Civ. This game never caught fire as much as Firaxis wanted for this generation of players.
In the end, though, this game is probably underrated, especially since the price isn't a deal breaker.
Civilization IV Beyond the Sword (BTS) is the second expansion pack for the Civ IV and is the ultimate version of the Civ IV engine. BTS has the following additions (besides the new civs, units, buildings): corporations, espionage, U.N. Resolutions, and better A.I.
BTS has much more strategy and has the optional ability for advanced starts, so you can buy technologies, soldiers, and cities without starting from scratch.
The game comes packed with some of the best Civ mods ever: Rhye's and Fall of Civilization, a true historical replay; a future space mod; a fantasy world, and more.
Stalin made his official return to the Civ series in Warlords.
Civilization IV: Warlords, released in 2006, is the first add-on expansion pack to Civ IV. This was a controversial move by Firaxis since Civ IV was so complete; what exactly needed to be added?
In this case, they added new civilizations, leaders, personality traits, buildings, military units, generals, and scenarios. So using the same game engine, Firaxis slanted the game toward war and experience points.
Many players of Civ IV love the bloodlust of destroying other players, and Warlords gives them the opportunity to do just that, as opposed to focusing on the other nuances of the game. This game is about building a well-oiled war machine.
Don't let my anti-war tone fool you, this is a well-polished game, and a worthy addition to the Civ mythos. Perhaps the best part of the game are the scenarios, where you can choose to partake in some of the following historical simulations:
Peloponnesian War, Chinese Unification (I like that one a lot), Alexander the Great vs the world, Rise of Rome, Viking Conquest, Genghis Khan's takeover, and alternate earth where George Washington (British) fights France in the U.S., and my personal favorite: you can finally control the raging barbarian horde that has plagued us since Civ I. The barbarians have one goal: destroy humanity.
The "flaws" of the game are the same as Civ IV Vanilla- you need decent RAM and graphics card, in addition to keeping the disc in your computer's drive. Since this is an expansion pack, you must own Civ IV to load up, and then insert your Warlords disc. The big question when the game was released was, "Is an expansion pack worth $30?" Technically...no. But this the price drop (you can get it for much less than that on the Net now), it's worth it.
With the new additions, and with some great mod makers over at CivFanatics.com, the gameplay is endless.
Sid Meier's Civilization IV, released in 2005, is a turn-based historical simulation in which your take control of an empire from the ground up. Fully customizable, with various difficulty settings, starting eras, maps, scenarios, and mods, this game is not only light years ahead of Civ III, but is just as fun as Civ and Civ II (the best PC games of all time).
No experience is necessary from previous Civ games, as this game was pretty much a total rewrite, as the AI, interface, help menus, combat, diplomacy, religion, culture, and graphics were all redone. However, the flavor of the game remains the same.
Basically, a standard game starts in 4000BC and- based on your endgame settings- ends with the first country to reach Alpha Centuri, wiping out or taking over every other country, being recognized as a the leader of the world by your peers, dominating the world with your culture, etc. For those who want specific eras, you can choose any. There are also scenarios you can play, which have specific end game goals, such as WWII.
As an immortal leader of your country, you have to deal with foreign affairs, budgeting the economy, building up your troops, building infrastructure, researching technology, choosing a government and civics to deal with a crisis or peacetime, founding a state religion, dealing with the environment, citizen unhappiness and revolts, trade agreements, and much more.
Each leader has different personality traits. For example, if you so happen to start the game next to Shaka Zulu, Genghis Khan, or Montezuma...good luck! The only question is *when* will they attack you, so you'd better plan a preemptive strike. You have to balance cashflow with science research and culture, in addition to focusing on building an army while being production with markets, building roads and farms, cutting down trees, and having luxuries for your people, like temples.
You still have to deal with barbarians, pirates, natural disasters, pollution, and diseases in addition to your opponents.
Great People is another addition in the game. Historical artists, prophets, scientists, etc. can boost your cities, culture, or science.
For those of you who never played a simulation like this, the options, interface, and "what do I do next" issue may feel daunting. But with in-game tutorials, help menus, instant hints, suggestions, and tons of online forums and guides at CivFanatics, it's actually easy to build an empire. There is less city management in this game than previous ones, so you can focus on your victory path.
Reception for this game was met with A's and 90+ ratings, with some websites, magazines, and newspapers giving it 5/5 or 10/10 perfect scores.
When you add the sheer number of Civ mods that gamers have created to the already varied gameplay (each time you start a new game, it's literally a different world), the replay game value is endless (literally).
Flaws
In the early 1990's the Civ series was unique and owned gamer's playing time. Things are different now, and Civ IV is just another game on the shelves, albeit a superior one, not to mention platform video game systems. With all the hype CivIII had, the first release was too buggy, and was not as fun as Civ II, so the franchise lost some momentum. The Civ franchise had many spin-offs and company changes after Civ II and those forgetabble games ruined the reputation of the name long before Civ III anyway. That being said, Civ III still added great new features into the franchise that Civ IV picked up and took to greater heights.
Early Windows Vista, patches, Direct X, and some minor bugs really killed the intitial installation and playablity early on. There was a lot of complaining at first; we expected to play right out of the box, but couldn't.
You need a decent graphics card and good processor to experience all the animations and 3-D graphics. Otherwise, you can try and play with low graphics, but it may have to change your monitor's screen resolution to play.
Terror of Mechagodzilla AKA MechaGodzilla's CounterattackAKA ,Mekagojira no Gyakushū was the last Godzilla movie of the original continuity (called the Showa Series era because of the Japanese emperor) due to Japan's gas crisis and poor economy at the time. Of course, if you've been following my reviews, the quality of the movies had been decreasing anyway. Godzilla would go on hiatus until the Godzilla 1984 reboot. This is also the last movie where Godzilla appears as a hero.
Because it is the final movie, Godzilla faces two monsters, the tone is dark and melancholy, and it features the return of original composer Akira Ifukube, this movie ranks #2 in the Showa Era to many Godzilla fans. However, I believe fans overlook the non-monster scenes and bad plot. (The script was chosen from the winner of a contest.)
Plot Well, it's a direct continuation from the last movie, Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla, which had a horrible plot. Interpol is looking for MechaGodzilla's body parts at the bottom of the sea, but they are attacked by a new monster named Titanosaurus. After much boring investigation, it is revealed that a mad scientist who has been excommunicated from the Japanese scientific community, is controlling Titano.
After sitting through Interpol agents investigating the (presumed dead) scientist by interviewing his gullible and protective daughter, it is revealed that the spy ape aliens from the last movie are teaming up with the mad scientist to control Titano and are rebuilding MechaGodzilla 2 to destroy Tokyo.
To make a VERY LONG STORY SHORT, the aliens turn on the scientist, his daughter dies, but she is rebuilt into a cyborg to control MechaGodzilla 2, and Godzilla and Interpol team up to defeat Titanosaurus and MechaGodzilla 2. Interpol finally defeats the aliens.
The "subplot" (the hero Interpol agent falls in love with the cyborg daughter) was actually the main plot. The Good
Great score by the returning Akira Ifukube, of course.
Special effects (explosions, miniatures, underwater scenes, Titanosaurus' costume) were excellent for 1975, and probably the best for any Godzilla movie from 1954-1975.
Titanosaurus: 1st and only appearance, and it's a shame. He has a great roar, and looks more streamlined as an aqua monster than Godzilla. By the way, Titanosaurus is a good guy monster whom we pity in the movie because he is under the control of the mad scientist and aliens.
The Bad
What can I say? The alien invasion storyline was bad the last time, and this time it is equally bad, but extended due to the old mad scientists and his cyborg daughter. I just don't think it's intellectually honest to ignore that the human parts of this movie were just as bad, if not worse, than the previous movie.
Uneven pacing...way too many human characters in Interpol...the aliens were once again James Bond rip-offs...the romance had a tragic ending but it was way too weird to take seriously.
The movie takes itself too seriously in general, and just doesn't have an interesting or engaging non-Godzilla scenes. The aliens are bbbbbbaaaad cheese that I forgot all the way in the back of the refrigerator.
The Ugly
MechaGodzilla 2 can't hold a candle to the first one. It is being controlled by a spurned cyborg woman this time, yet winds up standing around most of the time as Godzilla and Titanosaurus duke it out. After its head gets destroyed, it looks super corny (light bulb head).
Conclusion
Great monster battles, but with the screen time focused on a bad plot, this movie is overrated. I gotta say that people feel attached to this movie and always say how cool the return of MechaGodzilla was. Yet I can't see how someone can sit through such a bad storyline, unless they are paying penance like I am. I have to assume most Godzilla fans who rate this movie second only to the first one, fast forward through the movie to the good parts, or perhaps childhood nostalgia plays tricks on the memories. I could definitely envision someone making the mistake of thinking Titanosaurus and MechaGodzilla teaming up was an awesome movie back in the day, but the subplots kill this movie from being a cult classic for me.
I will be ranking the Showa Series in my next Godzilla post and see how it rates.
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla AKA Gojira Tai Mekagojira AKA Godzilla vs. the Bionic Monster AKA Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster is one of the well known Godzilla films, and celebrated the 20th anniversary of Big G, and is a favorite to many Godzilla fans, as it features the first appearance of a true rival to Godzilla: MechaGodzilla. However, a bad sci-fi James Bond meets Planet of the Apes plot makes any good impressions of this movie a thing of childhood memories and nostalgia, as opposed to being a fun movie to watch now.
The Plot
According to cave drawings and legends, there is some sort of prophecy about monsters attacking, if you watch the signs. Thankfully, we have an interpol agent, professor, reporter, and second string women to watch them and help save humanity. Sure enough the signs appear to be coming true when Godzilla attacks Japan and his friend Angilas. Godzilla's roar is all wrong, too, and he's walking differently- why did he turn bad? While he beats down his old friend Angilas by breaking his jaw and making him bleed (Angilas has a bad win/loss record), Godzilla's skin chips to reveal him being a robot! The REAL Godzilla fights him. It's Godzilla vs Godzilla!
The evil Godzilla is revealed to be a cyborg robot created and controlled by evil spies who are really monkeys from another planet (Third Planet from the Black Hole).
Meanwhile, MechaGodzilla defeats Godzilla and is pretty much indestructible. The good humans solve the prophecy riddle and awaken the sleeping guardian monster: King Seesar. He sounds scary and powerful. (Too bad he looks like your puppy, and doesn't stand a chance against MechaGodzilla).
Godzilla is clever, and he absorbs lightning to become even more powerful and become a walking magnet. He finally defeats his robot double, and the heroes beat the Planet of the Apes rejects in a very confusing and boring subplot. The Good
MechaGodzilla doesn't look like a rubber costume. It also is the best challenge to Godzilla in a while- he has all of Godzilla's powers plus unlimited missiles, force shield, and flight.
The monster battles were enjoyable and hard hitting.
The music was a change from the "funny" composers of recent movies.
Excellent use of pyrotechnics and miniatures.
Darker movie...more melancholy than the goofier movies that I have been reviewing.
Helped me with an afternoon nap on Saturday. I love afternoon naps, and haven't taken one in a very, very long time.
The Bad
The human elements are just boringly bad: plot, pacing, dialog, and storyline. It's a Japanese spy movie: the villains wear sunglasses, speak melodramatically, have futuristic technology, and when they die, they show their true forms: apes. The whole subplot had bad pacing, and the focus is on the humans too much.
King Seesar looks like a giant version of Rowlf from the Muppets, and doesn't change the tide of the battle. It seemed like he was being pushed as the next big thing, like Godzilla's replacement, but once he began to fight, he was pretty weak.
The Ugly
A woman sings for around 10 minutes to wake up the guardian monster King Seesar.
The "old man" is a stereotypical kung-fu hermit.
The alien invasion by James Bond villain apes should have been funny and campy; instead it was pitched as a serious storyline.
Conclusion This is an overrated Godzilla movie because it features the first (and some say best) appearance of MechaGodzilla, who really has a great presence and is a super villain for Godzilla. The actual human plot and alien invasion storyline took too much screentime and was poorly conceived and executed. Not even the great battle scenes can save this from being bad. Other Godzilla fans rate this much higher, and call it an "above average Godzilla movie", and they technically may be correct- especially when compared to the last few movies- but they are ignoring the human vs alien parts, which take up the bulk of the movie.
Godzilla vs Megalon is arguably the most watched Godzilla movie of all time (unless you count the U.S. 1998 Godzilla movie, which didn't have our Godzilla in it), due to actually being released in the U.S. theaters in 1976 after being in Japan since 1973, a healthy run in syndication, and being infamously repeated in Mystery Science Theater 3000. When most non-fans think of Godzilla they think of this movie.
Unfortunately for Godzilla fans, such as myself, it also happens to be the worst Godzilla movie of all time (at least for the ones I have reviewed so far, i.e. a lot).
I was crying for Joel and Crow T. Robot to save me from this movie, which was originally not even a Godzilla movie. A kid won a contest creating a robot, which Toho named Jet Jaguar. Then Toho got scared because they feared Jet Jaguar vs. Megalon (a new giant cockroach monster) wouldn't sell tickets, so they added Godzilla, the good guy. To protest this movie, I am only using MST3K clips in this review.
The Plot Lord in Heaven, what were they thinking? Back in the 1970's people were into Atlantis and another the hollow-earth theory, i.e. there is another earth/civilization under the crust. So in this script, the civilization is Seatopia, and they have to do with Mu, the "lost continuent" and the Easter Island heads, and date back an astonishing 3 million years.
They wake up a dung beetle giant monster called Megalon to attack Japan for its nuclear testing (uhm....I think the U.S. or U.S.S.R would have been better targets), which has been disturbing the environment with earthquake tremors.
Anyway, the plot gets worse and worse, and harder and harder to follow, I wish the MST3K puppets were with me to explain it. It centers around a scientist, his young kiddie brother with short shorts, and another guy. There are bad guys from Seatopia. The inventor made a robot named Jet Jaguar, who the Seatopians want. Jet Jaguar rebels against his would-be controllers and fights Megalon and the summoned space monster Gigan, from the last movie. Megalon had beat up Angillus (who once again couldn't seem to fight back).
Around 40+ minutes into the film Godzilla comes in, does his Muhammad Ali shuffle, teams up with Jet Jaguar and finally have a tag team showdown vs Megalon and Gigan. The last scene fight is the most funny, and the only time I enjoyed the movie.
The Good
Cure for insomnia found.
Megalon destroying the dam was a good miniature and special effect.
The Bad
Worst plot, acting, entertainment of any Godzilla movie.
The human plot was ridiculous, mind-numbing, slow, boring, poorly paced, AND took up the bulk of the move.
If you watch clips or read plot summaries about the movie or see MST3K jokes, you'd think this movie was funny in a campy way like All Monsters Attack (1969), but the truth is the plot is supposed be a serious mystery. Only the last battle is blatenly campy (Godzilla's two drop kicks, the two evil monsters communicating with each other, Jet Jaguar and Godzilla shaking hands, etc). The rest of the movie actually tries to take itself seriously...very frustrating.
Stock footage from around 10 monster movies.
The Ugly
Megalon and Jet Jaguar's costumes. Of course, Godzilla's costume was embarrassing.
Jet Jaguar reprogramming himself to grow into a giant robot.
The misleading U.S. movie posters showing Godzilla and Megalon in the Twin Towers. All of the action occurred in Japan.
Baaaaaaad 1970's car chases- sped up and reversed film, random crashes, too LONG, etc.
The special effects and low budget costumes were worse than 1970's TV shows.
No extras (to save money). Just 9 actors plus guys in rubber suits.
That little kid...another homoerotic kiddie in a Godzilla movie...bad stuff, man.
Fun Facts
Godzilla went on to appear in a TV series called Zone Fighter after this movie. I watched a number of episodes but will not review them because I didn't have any English subtitles, and my Japanese is limited (only from Godzilla movies). I will say that Zone Fighter was 100% more fun than this...it was a funny Power Rangers on 1970's TV sets. Great stuff because it was openly campy.
It was the first Godzilla movie to sell under a million tickets in Japan. That should have been yet another sign to Toho to stop and make a new gameplan for the character, but...they didn't.
Conclusion Bomb. A great candidate for the worst Godzilla movie ever (at least bottom 3), and an excellent candidate for one of the worst movies ever put on film. Again...when you see the clips you may think the whole movie was supposed to be campy...but it wasn't. It was more like a cheap 1970's bad action movie with very few monster battles. MST3K version is better, but only if you see it at night-time (real late), and are..uh....in a good mood.
Review: All Monsters Attack (1969) [Godzilla's Revenge]
All Monsters Attack AKA Godzilla, Minilla and Gabara: All Great Monsters AttackAKA ゴジラ • ミニラ • ガバラ オール 怪獣大進撃,AKA Gojira Minira Gabara Ōru Kaijū aishingeki AKA Godzilla's Revenge is universally regarded as the worst Godzilla film ever made. I saw it numerous times as a kid, and wondered why the movie focused on a little boy with short shorts.
However, for my most recent viewing I realized something: this movie is a parody, like Blackzilla. Once I was the opening, I knew this was a spoof and a kid's movie, even more so that Son of Godzilla. In other words, although 99% of Godzilla fans would beat you up if you said anything remotely positive about this film, I have to say it: I thought it was funny and very entertaining! Well, just watch the actual opening, and you will know where I am coming from. Like I said, it's all a big joke! Why so serious, fans?
Most funny Godzilla opening ever:
Plot Ichiro is a lonely little boy in urban Tokyo, with an active imagination. Both parents are working, and Ichiro is a latchkey child, who is bullied by his classmates. When his mother has to work late, an adult toymaker babysits him. Ichiro uses a toy computer and dreams about being at Monster Island. Ichiro identifies with Baby Godzilla (Minilla). During the dream sequences, Ichiro meets all of the monsters via stock footage, with Minilla as his guide. Minilla shrinks down to the boy's side, and then grows to fight his own bully: the orange haired monster named Gabara (the same name as Ichiro's school bully).
In-between dream sequences, two unprofessional robbers kidnap Ichiro, and Ichiro uses his lessons from Godzilla and Minilla to not only defeat the burglars, but also stand up to his bullies at school.
The Good
Well, for once the human plot is actually interesting and easy-to-follow. Seeing the world from Ichiro's point of view is cool- like many kids at the time, he sees the monsters at Monster Island as celebrities. Additionally, the toymaker is a great mentor to Ichiro. The bully scenes were great. For 1969, I was surprised the Japanese would tackle the "latchkey kid" era- where parents are too busy working to pick up their kid from school and provide the proper attention the child needed.
The sheer over-the-top goofiness is upfront, so there is no mistaking that this is a 100% joke movie for kids. In fact, because all of the monster scenes occur in Ichiro's imagination, technically this movie does not affect Godzilla continuity in anyway besides showing that the monsters are well known in Japan and toys were made of them.
Laughter is a great medicine. There are many intentionally funny scenes, and some unintentionally funny scenes- especially Ichiro's short shorts.
Ichiro grows: he defeats two criminals and stands up to a gang of bullies thanks to his new confidence from his imaginary meeting with Minilla (who actually speaks Japanese in this movie).
The following monsters appear in this movie (although they are mostly stock footage from previous Godzilla films, and appear in the boy's imagination): Anguirus, Ebirah, Gabara, Godzilla, Gorosaurus, Kamacuras, Kumonga, Manda, Minilla, and the Giant Condor.
The Bad
Too much obvious stock footage. Also, they used the Giant Condor and the Giant Lobster- two of the worst scenes ever (which I pointed out when I reviewed their 1st appearances)
Bad Minilla costume- again.
Barely a Godzilla film because the monsters are all part of Ichiro's dream. If this was a comic book, it would be a short backup story.
Released just 15 years after the original iconic classic, we are now reduced to stock footage, wacky music, kids worshiping a heroic Godzilla, and an ugly duckling Son of Godzilla giving advice on how to stand up to bullies.
The Ugly
Ichiro's short shorts. Trust me.
From the eyes of a 2009 American, the mentor relationship between the toymaker and Ichiro is.....weird, i.e. unintentionally GAY.
The monster Gabara: the orange hair on a light green Godzilla wanna-be is pretty lame, but still funny.
Offensive to Godzilla purists, who call it the "black sheep of the family".
None of the titles (Godzilla's Revenge, All Monster Attack) have anything to do with this movie.
Conclusion An obviously bad movie, but still a pretty funny film, which doesn't deserve to be ranked the worst by everyone. Once you lower expectaions- which is PRETTY EASY with the opening music and montage- you can sit back and enjoy the INTENTIONAL comedy in this film. Ultimately, The Bad doesn't outweigh The Good, so the movie will still be ranked low by me when I compile my official list of Godzilla movies, but I can tell you I really enjoyed watching this, and was pleasantly suprised. Some Godzilla refuse to revisit this film because it is so bad, but it is bad in a campy way, with an easy plot to follow and has likable characters. If my fellow Godzilla afficiaindis want to excommunicate me for saying so, that's fine.
Son of Godzilla, AKA Monster Island's Decisive Battle: The Son of GodzillaAKA 怪獣島の決戦 ゴジラの息子,AKA Kaijū-tō no Kessen Gojira no Musuko is kid's movie, and his 100% comical. I assume this was intentional. I mean, I hope.
Instead of trailer, here is a fan video using the best clips from the movie:
Plot
A bunch of nerdy male scientists are stuck on a hot island for a long time (ewwww) to test the professor's weather controlling device, while they fend off giant praying mantis monsters (Kamacuras). A nosy goofy reporter lands on the island to break the story about the weather controlling device, but gets a bigger story when they find a giant egg, which contains Baby Godzilla (Toho calls him Minilla, although I never heard them call the baby that).
Godzilla trains his baby in the ways of the world, as they fend off multiple Kamacuras and the main bad monster on the island: Kumonga, a giant spider with webs (webs, as many sci-fi lovers know, are the cheesy weapons in the world- and can stop anything.)
Oh, and the reporter finds a woman on the island, who was raised by her father years ago, and is like Jane, from Tarzan.
Unfortunately, the bulk of the movie is about the freakin' humans and their stupid weather control device and running from the giant insects.
In the end, the device finally works- the professor's life long dream achieved- and the snow stops all the monsters on the island, and Godzilla and son hibernate together in one of the most touching scenes in such a goofy movie.
The Good
The special effects for the giant spider (Kumonga) is awesome for 1967. The spider is very well done and extremely scary to see for a kid. The giant mantises are also scary and good quality, although the eyes are probably too big. I recall being frightened by them when I was a boy. Now, of course, I am not afraid; I can appreciate the work that went into making them.
Seeing Godzilla being a parent is very funny. Godzilla is a brutal parent- unforgiving and impatient. Godzilla tries to teach his son the hard way, but he does love Minilla, as he protects the boy from the monsters.
The ending- it's tough to keep a dry eye when Godzilla hugs his son and burrows with him in the blizzard, snow, and ice at the end to conserve heat and begin hibernation.
The music is very bombastic and lively. I believe they were going for a Son of Kong vibe, and it worked.
The Bad
Man, the humans were boring. And they occupy, like 85% of the screen time. Give me more Minilla!!!
The plot is pretty hokey.
Acting is extremely bad.
The Ugly
Horrible Godzilla and Son costumes. Horrible.
No one can take Godzilla teaching his son how to shoot the death breath seriously. Hard core Godzilla fans hate Minilla and hate Godzilla acting goofy. They hate this movie because of the bad Godzilla and Minilla costumes.
The Pink Elephant in the Room Question: How the F#@$#%@ can Godzilla have a $@#%$%@ baby?
My theories:
1) Minilla isn't Godzilla's baby. First of all, they don't even look alike. Second of all, in the movie Destroy All Monsters (1968) the future is shown in the year 1999, and Minilla is still small, which means that he can't be the same species as Godzilla. In fact, it's very possible that Minilla is a kind of ugly duckling...a baby monster that follows around an unwilling parent, who begrudging adopts him. Besides, that is one BIG egg. How did Godzilla lay that egg?
2) There are many Godzillas. This has already been said in Godzilla Raids Again. So obviously, if there are many Godzillas, two of them could have procreated, and laid that egg.
3) Godzilla doesn't need a mate. Some animals in real life are asexual.
(Oh, and is Godzilla a MAN OR WOMAN?- I don't know)
Conclusion
In many ways, this movie is as ridiculous and humorous as Adam West's Batman TV show, which means "serious" sci-fi and Godzilla fans don't like to talk about this movie. The truth is, the Godzilla and son scenes are so funny that I LOL'ed. I just wish we could have seen more of those scenes than the awful human plot and acting. Really, the movie is very boring except for the monster scenes (15% of the movie). I would say that this movie holds a special place in your heart if you saw it as a kid, and although everything is over-the-top and silly when you watch it now, the parent-child relationship between the monsters is great.
Godzilla vs. Gigan AKA Earth Attack Command: Godzilla vs. GiganAKA 地球攻撃命令 ゴジラ対ガイガン AKA ,Chikyū Kogeki Meirei Gojira tai Gaigan AKA Godzilla on Monster Island has bad acting, too much focus on the humans, bad costumes, stock footage, and cockroaches, but it does have a long battle scene and the 1st appearance of Gigan.
Trailer:
Plot A bunch of shady and weird businessmen want to build a Godzilla amusement park and make the world peaceful by eliminating the monsters on monster island. A comic book artist, his kung fu cute girlfriend, a female hippie, a fat male hippie, and a nerdy scientist team up to discover the deadly secret of these businessmen.
After an infinity of sitting through the crazy plot, it is revealed that these guys are really interstellar cockroaches underneath the optical illusion of having a human body that they replicated.
Meanwhile, the cockroaches have two monsters under their control: King Ghidorah and Gigan, the Space Monster. Godzilla and Angilas (now friends) are earth's last hope. Angilas is a bad tag team partner since he has no tactics. Thankfully, Godzilla talks to him and teaches him how to fight the two monsters.
Speaking of the two monsters, they are deadly and, coupled with the alien cockroaches' laser beams from a Godzilla tower in the amusement park, Godzilla bleeds and is almost killed before he gets a second wind. Suffice to say, Godzilla does a few tag team maneuver with Angilas to defeat Ghidorah and Gigan- but it was close.
The Good
The real Godzilla composer is back...the music was great. Plus there was a new theme song at the end.
Gigan may look like flying giant chicken from space, and you have to wonder how he got a circular saw in his stomach, and the laser beam eye, but he sure is a tough challenger and a unique-looking monster.
The sound effects: all four of the monster's voices were in vintage form. I laughed when a general listening to space recognized King Ghidorah's voice.
The blood: for the first times, we see monster blood and it's pretty vicious.
The Bad
Too much focus on the humans. I don't know how I stayed away, but I did. And they were typicaly goofy. I was wondering: do the Japanese have such a poor self-image of themselves, or are they trying to make fun of the viewer being goofy enough to watch this movie?
Stock footage makes a jumbled mess of trying to follow the fight scenes. We have costume changes, and day/night shifts.
Why is Angilas so weak? He gave Godzilla a decent battle back in 1955's Godzilla Raids Again.
The Ugly
Godzilla's costume actually falls apart.
You can see strings and plastic heads on Ghidorah.
Godzilla talking to Angilus...it sounded like a record scratching.
They used real cockroaches for the aliens. The last time they used octopi for a monster was King King vs Godzilla, and the crew ate the fish after the scene....You do the math.
Conclusion What can I say? New director Jun Fukuda was supposed to return the franchise to normalcy after Godzilla vs. Hedora, and in a way it is: bad acting, bad costumes, bad plot, bad villains...That being, said it wasn't as bad as some others. Some fans peg this to be bottom of the barrel, but I don't think it's totally sunk.
Is Watchmen overrated? Even before the release of the Watchmen movie, there has been some grumblings that, written in 1986, it was dated, or that the ending was anti-climatic, or that writer Alan Moore killed the superhero genre.
In fact, even in the one of the most respected history books about the comic book industry The Comic Book Heroes by Gerald Jones and Will Jacobs says:
"Ultimately, twelve issues turned out to be overlong, and the resolution was anti-climatic: an alien invasion has been faked, and various Watchmen are being mudered by one of their own to unite mankind and teach it to overcome its own problems, an old Cold War science fiction cliche. For all of Moore's blinding technique and excruciating analysis of superheroic subtext, Watchmen turned out to be a bit emptier than promised..."
In many ways, this echoed what Dark Truths had told me one day. A co-worker who was just getting into comics had asked me for recommendations, "What is the best graphic novel or trade paperback of all time?" And I responded, "Watchmen". Dark Truths quickly intervened and informed her that Alan Moore's The Killing Joke (one issue Batman vs Joker) was really better than Watchmen.
I was first exposed to Watchmen when I was a young boy. I was too young. The material was ladened with sex and violence. The imagery was so horrific that my brain was permanently branded with the panels of dead dogs and prostitutes.
Every year, I would read Watchmen, and every year I would find someone new. Writer Alan Moore and artist David Gibbons used styles and techniques with a mind-boggling level of detail and forethought that even with Internet annotations, college courses, and documentaries about Watchmen, there is always something new to be found (for this reading, I discovered that Hooded Justice and Captain Metropolis were gay lovers), and scenes can be interpreted and applied to today.
The reality is that there were no comic books series with this level of detail or deep story before it, and frankly attempts to duplicate it have fallen flat on their faces.
Granted, there were attempts at deconstructing the super hero genre before Watchmen: such as Alan Moore's 1982 Miracleman and Mark Gruenwald's 1985-1986 Squadron Supreme. And, to an extent, Herbie the Fat Fury- an obscure 1950's-1960's character was a parody of super-hero comics. Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns was published before Watchmen by DC. Miller's previous work on Daredevil and Elektra for Marvel Comics is regarded by many to be the father of dark and gritty in the mainstream comic book world.
However, Watchmen does something that previous attempts of deconstructing costumed heroes did not accomplish: Moore and Gibbons actually did it. They delved into the motivations of why someone would put on spandex, a cape, and mask, and wear their underwear on the outside of their tights. And Moore did this with seriousness and realism (for comics, of course), because he respected the creators before him. Moore used the comic book medium to attack society.
What about the sexual undertones of men and women dressing in latex and revealing fetish outfits? How impractical is a cape or rubberband mask if your enemy can grab them? Are not deputized costumed crime-fighters facists? These are just a few deconstructionist themes Moore tackles- and succeeds at answering- during the course of 12 issues and 12 background short stories in-between issues (get the graphic novel).
Moore and Gibbons created a new world in the DC Universe for a playground. The scope of the project was so big, that the DC editors did not want Moore to ruin existing characters in the same universe as Superman, Batman, or the proposed Blue Beetle and Captain Atom Charlton Universe, so Moore and Gibbons created new ones and placed them on an alternate earth where Richard Nixon is still president in 1985, and the world is at the brink of a Cold War nuclear holocaust. The Cold War not only never ended, but just kept getting worse and worse, where the fear, paranoia, and anxiety has permeated into the subconscious of everyone.
On this earth, the goverment sponsored "hero" The Comedian killed JFK and Woodward and Bernstein, so Nixon would be in control. (Of course, I had to read in-between the lines dozens of times in my life to come to that conlcusion, since all the hints of that world's history are scattered about.) On this earth, there is only one super-powered "hero": an atomic accident transformed a scientist into Dr. Manhattan, a super-being that can transform matter, teleport, and sees the time in its true form: non-linear: past, present, and future all exist at the same time. On this earth, Dr. Manhattan defeated the Viet Kong and the U.S. won the war- decisvely. And then there are subtle differences: on this earth, Superman was a fad comic book that never made it, and pirate comic books were the #1 selling genre. There are electric cars. The #1 fast food is based on Indian health food. Of course, even these subtle differences are interwtwined with the secret antagonist and are used in the main plot.
What we have in Watchmen is a vast tapestry of details, history, and symbols. Decoding how everything relates to each other is part of the fun, similar to the experience of watching Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner TV show. In the music world, it's like trying to interpete each line in Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row".
When I was a kid, I would sometimes skip the Black Freighter pirate sections and some of the short stories in-between issues because I didn't see how they were essential to the plot. It was only years later did I see that the Black Freighter is a metaphor about the antagonist and the state of the Cold War tension, although it's still hard to match it 100%. As far as the prose articles in-between issues: they are 100% essential. They offer deep characterization, and explain the heroes and background history of this world.
What makes the prose unique is that sometimes Alan Moore "reprinted" a fictional autobiography from the original Nite Owl. Other times he "reprints" a Rolling Stone-like left-wing magazine interview with Ozymandias. Another is a draft of a right-wing newspaper. Another is a scientific journal discussing the historical influence of Dr. Manhattan as being God. All articles are original material penned by Moore. The way he makes each chapter's article authentic is mind-boggling. He even included typewriter errors in a Rorschach police report. Moore has the uncanny ability to tap into the different personality types and traits during these articles. Even the most experienced writing decoders would be hard-pressed to know that the same man wrote all of these chapters.
Artist Dave Gibbons deserves the credit for making Watchmen what it is as well. Anyone else draws this...and who knows? Gibbons is just so adaptable and each 9-panel layout contains so much detail that it feels like a movie. Many people mistakenly label Gibbons' Watchmen as "dark and gritty" but he's not just that. The costumes are gaudy and colorful. The art is beautiful.
No literature can be good with poor characterization. The "heroes" are really tragic anti-heroes: they are weird- who else dresses up and "fights crime"? Many are selfish, and just wanted the fame. The motivations, fears, and desires of the characters are complex. In many ways, it's like a Sergio Leone film. To show this, Moore has the most famous and likable character- Rorschach- see things as black and white, yet the character is proven wrong at the end of the story. This is a gray world, not a world for the black or white mentality. This is a morally ambiguous world, and the character reflect that. Previous comic books from 1939-1985 always had the good guys win. In Watchmen, the reader is left without any heroes, unless you count the memory of Rorschach and his absolutism.
After all, the government hired The Comedian- a known rapist and murderer to be their "Captain America" type. After he single-handedly freed the Iranian hostages, he became a "hero", even though his personal life and ethics were more animal-like than people cared to realize. The big joke is that The Comedian was proven right in his ammoral view of the world.
To see the world through the eyes of Dr. Manhattan is like seeing the world though an incomprehensible angel. He is pure rational and god-like thought, and views humanity as termites. The Doctor is the backbone of the series, and is the most important character. The irony is that he was created due to a fat guy accidentally stepping on his watch at a carnival.
Nite Owl II is a weak character at first, but eventually grows on the reader. He had become weak and soft in his retirment (unregistered heroes were banned by in 1977 by the Keane Act), but he is an integral part in uncovering the conspiracy.
Silk Spectre II is an unlikable character: her mom forced her to become a costumed hero, and she's a bit slutty and fickle. Big difference from, say, Wonder Woman or Supergirl. Another realistic take by Alan Moore.
Rorschach is the star of the 1st half of the book, and my favorite Watchmen character. He's Batman without the money, good looks, or good parents. Walter Kovacs' mom was a whore, and he was a mildly retarded boy. He's seen things no boy should ever seen, and was taunted. He never knew his dad, and idealized him and Harry Truman. Rorschach has seen the horrors of the city: the child porn, kidnappers, rapists, drugs, murder, torture, and apathy- and he looked into the Abyss. It stared back. Rorsharch rejected the banning of super-heroes, and continued operations, even though he lived in a burnt-out tenament with no money, his diet consisting of sugar cubes and uncooked canned beans.
Although Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan dominate the first half, Ozymandias is the show stealer in the last three chapters. "The World's Smartest Man" finally figured it out. He is a very complex character..to say the least. To an extent, I do agree that Ozy's treatment in the book is more detailed than on the silver screen, only because Moore had a better medium to explore all of Ozy's internal mechanisms.
Watchmen is also a detective novel. Moore and Gibbins sprinkle the hints throughout the comics, but there is no way the reader can figure out who the main villain is when reading it for the first time (and having no exposure to the material, such as this post). Even if the reader can somehow figure out Rorschach's "mask killer theory", I don't see how it's possible to link all the different plot points to find out the motivation or execution. Even an Nth level intelligence would have difficultly figuring out the details of the master plan. For example...the island...the disappearance of writers and artists...the cancer scares...the way everything relates- I can confidently say that anyone who claims to have "figured it all out" with no exposure to Watchmen is a liar.
Many people who have read the comic like to ask me: "So...who watches the Watchmen?", which is a theme in the book, and is written in spray paint in the streets. It basically refers to the protesters in the 1970's who considered costumed heroes as fascists after the police went on strike. Anytime there appears to be no regulation (we saw this under George Bush, and recently with the Hank Paulson, concerned people want to know "who watches the watchmen", i.e. where are the check and balances, how do we avoid absolute power being held by a select group? (By the way, the group of heroes is never called "The Watchmen"...it simply is the title of the comic.)
Getting back to the criticism which I republished at the begining of this post, especially from Gerald Jones: his claim that Watchmen somehow loses steam after the first 6 issues is hogwash. After #6 we still have Rorschach's prison experience, Dr. Manhattan and Silk Spectre II on Mars, Ozymandias, flashbacks, and tons of deep and revealing literary devices. Granted, I wish Rorschach was never captured and put in prison, but to hint that that is the point where Watchmen jumped the shark is ludicrous, and truthfully comes of as being envious (Gerald Jones is a comic book writer himself). It should be noted in the histoty book he wrote, he devotes more time to his own creation The Trouble with Girls than to Watchmen.
Others say that Moore didn't invent new narrative techniques- that the lack of captions was started by Miller, and that others used Gibbon's framing sequence with an object before he did. Whatever. The fact remains that the narrative style -in sum- was original and unique. To say the Miller's 4-issues of Batman is somehow the same style as Gibbon's 12-issues is ridiculous. But more importantly- no writer and artist team had ever created such as deep and detailed world over 12 issues, created a bunch of nihilistic characters, or such a complex plot that actually made sense at the end.
So...does it hold up? The only problems that I see is that 1) there have been a deluge of comics that came after Watchmen which may be better or equal to the quality; and 2) Younger readers who never experienced the Cold War era- either by living during it or watching movies/TV shows, may be at a loss; and 3) Possibly more important: this graphic novel takes time to read, and is deep, which may make it inaccessible to some.
However, I can easily answer the question for myself: Yes, Watchmen holds up, and is one of the greatest comic book series of all time.
Godzilla vs. Hedorah AKA ゴジラ対ヘドラ,AKA Gojira tai Hedora AKA Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster is an original, unique, innovative, different movie which you either love or hate. New director Yoshimitsu Banno was fired after this movie because it feels like an acid trip, but the truth is the movie is a very stylish allegory about the perils of pollution.
Plot
A new monster is destroying ships. A scientist and his little smart boy Ken (along with his mom) discover that Hedorah, an alien life form, lands on Earth via meteorite and begins feeding on pollution, while expelling sulfuric acid and gas. The Smog Monster almost beat the hero Godzilla due to his poison body, various forms, amphibious powers, and toxic nature.
Godzilla and the military team up (!) and used electrical generators to dry out Hedorah.
Because director Banno totally created a new type of Godzilla movie, I will disregard my regular The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly format:
The Different
The message. Chronologically, the 11th Toho Godzilla film, the deeper messages have been lacking since...well, the first movie. Here, the 1971 pollution message is throughout the entire movie: mankind's disregard for the environment mutated the Hedorah alien tadpole by poisoning it with radioactive waste and garbage.
Hedorah: He has different stages and forms, a first in Godzilla films. As a kid, I was scared of "The Smog Monster" because sometime he looks like a giant piece of crap, the big brown muppet that has a person in it from the Muppet Show, and like The Blob: when Godzilla punches him his hand goes through him. Plus he breaks off in different parts and when combined he gets bigger, and he farts poison which turns people into skeletons. Godzilla was losing until he teamed up with the army.
The fight scenes. You know how I complain that the fight scenes are too short, and that Godzilla is just making a cameo? These fight scenes and skirmishes are the longest I've ever scene. Granted, the pacing is bad when Godzilla acts goofy, and they tend to be a bit drawn out, but Hedorah is the star of this movie in terms of screen time, not the humans.
The style. 1) As soon as the movie started, the music was weird (a sinking trumpet), and I noticed some wide camera shots. The boy, Ken, is playing with Godzilla and Ghidorah toys down a sliding pond (a symbol of the franchise losing its steam?). It felt like a post-modern Godzilla film due to the camera angles. Some scenes were very melodramatic- Ken is crying "Papa" several times after we see The Smog Monster attack his dad underwater. The boy is wiping his tears but won't leave the seashore, shouting "Papa!" 2) As the movie went on, I realized that there was a hippy, beatnik, psychedelic culture in Japan in 1971, from the...uh...dance night clubs and girls dancing to the lava lamp oil on the walls to the Japanese version of Woodstock to the groovy musicians. I've never been a big fan of early 70's movies like that (I always saw them as dated teenage movies, with the people speaking a weird language, with free sex and drugs), so I guess that's why most Godzilla fans HATE this movie. But to me, it was a breath of fresh air in a dying franchise. 3) Animated cartoons. These cartoons were pretty weird- they were like post-modern dark public service announcements against pollution, featuring the Smog Monster and mankind destroying nature. 4) Symbolism and camera techniques. Godzilla is spinning the Smog Monster around (fast film speed), and it fades into the next scene features a bunch of men spinning a Mahjohg board around (the camera started with the spinning board). Parts of the monster's body (crap) breaks through the window and kills them all. 5) A guy gets drunk (or stoned) at a night club and he sees everyone else as having FISH-HEADS while they dance.
The MEDIA. Whereas previous Godzilla films always portray the MEDIA as newspapers (the idealistic journalist and mean editor-in-chief), this MEDIA was in the background. That's right, we finally didn't have to care how about some complicated subplot about how the news was reported; it just was. And the director showed the MEDIA to be a bunch of TALKING HEADS and MOUTHS. It was pretty dark and gritty a la the movie Network, and wasn't cheesy. This was a new Japan. No longer was there just one news channel with one voice reading instructions for the obedient and compliant Japanese to follow. Now, the MEDIA was an animal of its own, and the psychedelic style enhanced it. For the first time, death tolls were given. That added to the "realism".
The fight scenes mostly happened at night, so it was gloomy. The water was heavily polluted with garbage.
There are horror elements: many times it felt like the original Blob. We also see death- people burned by acid and smoke and charred into skeletons.
This clip has the weird and creative animation scenes:
The Strange
The music. Without the original composer, we have Riichiro Manabe, who just used the variation of an LSD-inspired theme song throughout the entire movie. His only different song is a warped and twisted military march that is used when Godzilla flies.
I'm pretty sure the director was on acid. Weed alone cannot induce this creation. I think the director wanted the viewers to take acid too, and to see all the deeper meanings of his weird scenes.
Dated. The film is targeted to a particular taste (I assume teens and people in their early 20's in 1971), and if you don't dig a contemporary early-70s style, then you will be unable to understand or appreciate anything about this film.
The Horror, The Horror
Most fans and non-fans point to the scene at the end where Godzilla is flying by using his atomic breath. It happens to be one the most cheesiest scenes of all time, definately in the Top Five of Godzilla's Top 50 Worst Moments.
The crap. The Smog Monster is made of crap. He throws it. Godzilla throws it. It's stinky. It's slime. It's disgusting.
The Smog Monster transforming into a flying saucer in the day-time is very, very lame.
Clips of some cheese (or in this case crap- literally):
Conclusion: A truly creative unique work of art, tongue-and-cheek but heavy handed and dark all at the same time. In some ways, it's brilliant and in others it is groan-inducing. Impossible to take seriously, it is very underrated. It tried to take Godzilla away from the kid's only audience, but it wound up pissing Toho's producer off (he was in the hospital and didn't edit it). It's weird...it's strange...it's dark and light...I liked it for the originality and message. I dug the allegory, daring directing, and style. I think this is a hidden gem underneath all of the psychedelic crap and bad costumes.
Invasion of Astro-Monster; AKA Great Monster War AKA 怪獣大戦争 AKA Kaijuu Daisensou AKA Monster Zero AKA Godzilla vs. Monster Zero AKA Invasion of the Astro-Monsters is the sequel to Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. I gave that movie a pretty bad review, and this movie is only slightly better.
Monster Zero Trailer (misleading as usual...you'd think this was an action packed movie, but these scenes are actually the ONLY good parts):
Plot
Two astronauts- an American and a Japanese- explore Planet X, which is located after Jupiter. The aliens on Planet X ask for help because their planet has been ravaged by "Monster Zero" (they said they use numbers for everything)- Ghidorah. The aliens want Monster One and Monster Two (Godzilla and Rodan) to be transported from earth to Planet X to stop Ghidorah. Remember, in the last movie Godzilla became a good guy. In exchange, the aliens will give earth a cure for all disease (in the Japanese version: cancer).
The subplot features a romance between the American astronaut and an alien spy. Another subplot features the Japanese astronaut's sister's romance with a Clark Kent nerdy inventor.
Of course, the aliens turn out to be bad. After Godzilla and Rodan are on Planet X, the aliens wind up controlling all three monsters and set out to destroy earth.
Thankfully, the aforementioned nerdy inventor, the astronauts, and the alien spy team up to break the mind control.
Keep in mind, that's the long story short.
The Good
As usual, I love the sound effects and destruction Ghidorah makes.
The American actor Nick Adams is unique for Godzilla films- he's a stark contrast to the polite, reserved, and respectful Japanese actors. He is cliched, of course, but a pretty interesting character for Toho.
The Japanese actresses were pretty cool.
The actual battles between Godzilla, Rodan, and Ghidorah were okay, although it looked like stock footage was used from Rodan and Ghidorah's previous appearances.
The Bad
Planet X had bad special effects and scenery.
The aliens turning bad was pretty predictable.
Plot holes the size of...I don't know what! This movie was just MADE for Sunday morning syndicated TV. It's pretty bad sci-fi...bad Flash Gordon stuff.
The focus of the movie was on the aliens and the astronauts, not the monsters.
What's the lesson of the movie? Don't trust aliens offering a cure for all disease (Japanese: cancer)?
There's no Godzilla fear factor from the general public. Granted, he's a "good guy", but the characters aren't afraid.
The Ugly
Godzilla is a background character here. He's like a doll. This is barely a Godzilla movie...he's clearly making a cameo. It's like someone wrote the whole "aliens deceive and conquer earth" script, and then added Godzilla, Rodan, and Ghidora in it.
Godzilla does a....dance. You can see the dance at the end of the trailer.
The last movie featuring the four masters teaming up from the original Gojira: director Honda, screenplay writer Sekizawa, SFX Tsubaraya, and composer Ifukube...and ultimately they went out with a flutter.
Conclusion: This movie is overrated by Godzilla fans simply because it's better than Ghidorah. Godzilla's screen time is so short, you'd be hard pressed to realize this was a Godzilla movie. In fairness, Godzilla isn't even in the Japanese movie title, which shows how Godzilla's box office appeal was pretty bad in 1965. Heck, why isn't Ghidorah or Rodan in the movie title in Japan? Why the whole "Astro Monster" and "Monster Zero" bit?
Although this probably should be posted in the DailySkew baseball news blog, I decided to post here because the book is mainly about addictions and society.
For those of you who don't know, Doc Gooden was the toast of the town in New York in the 1980's, as their ace pitcher, and broke all sorts of records for the New York Mets. He was a teenage sensation as a prospect, and won a world championship in 1986 and later in 1996 after battling drug and alcohol addiction.
This is his story.
Dwight was the youngest child, and was raised in a Tampa, Florida community where crime and mischief reigned. His mother was strict but loving, as was his dad who encouraged him to pursue baseball.
Dwight was born as an Enneagram Type 9 (Peacemaker)- he showed these traits at the very beginning (avoiding chores, laid back, watching TV, playing video games, shy around women, liked to get into mischief with his buddies, but hid secrets from his strict parents, gets along with everyone, impressionable, content with being a follower- not a leader, unconcerned about school, authority figures like coaches and parents needed to get tough with him to motivate him).
And guess what? This same kid is all of a sudden on the best team in baseball in the biggest city in the world. The MEDIA built an image of Doc- an innocent and polite skinny black kid from the ghetto who had the most awesome fastball and curveball in the world, with the potential to be the best pitcher who ever lived.
And Doc resented that. He hated the perfect do-gooder image because he was just a normal guy, not a role model, and not a saint. But the MEDIA liked to build him up as one. And the Mets organization wanted him to be an ambassador, something that added pressure to him.
He never grew up. Never had a chance to. He wasn't properly educated or motivated. He "quit" many times in high school, and at his (very brief) minor league level, but his dad and a pitching coach talked him back into it. Doc was not an intimidating pitcher when he was first starting out. He had to learn how to put on the game face and pitch inside to intimidate hitters. He had no killer instinct. At the lower levels, he felt weird and an outcast because of racism and being only one of a handful of black players in the Mets farm system.
Fast forward to the big leagues. He met Daryl Strawberry, the black superstar hitter. Straw Man the opposite of Doc: he was cocky, streetwise, and outgoing, always looking to fight. (Think Denzel Washington in Training Day when it comes to 'street smarts'). Straw would give Doc advice on how to carry himself, and to get out of his hotel room. Of course, the advice was bad, but it sounded good at the time. Also, the rest of the Mets were jocks: strip clubs, affairs, bars, late nights, alcohol, and cocaine: all the vital ingredients for a 1980's NY team. The Mets manager Davey Johnson let Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter police the clubhouse and was a permissive authority figure. The team was comprised of a bunch of animals, and they would have rebelled against any authority figure. Johnson was the perfect manager for the team when it came to focusing their energies on beating their opponents, but not for imposing a clean lifestyle.
Mel Stottlemyre, the old pitching coach (also a Type 9) treated Doc like his own son, and truly loved him. It broke his heart when Doc got into trouble in later years, since Doc kept his secrets.
Doc started with alcohol to escape from the pressure and to be more outgoing with girls, and to fit in with the guys. Yes, it's called peer pressure, something people don't like to admit. In 1987, due to injuries, Doc wasn't feeling well, and his cousin hit him hard with the peer pressure to try a line of coke. And that was it.
The book is short- only 200 pages of easy reading. The scenes are intense: we are taken to dark and scary places on the streets, and in the dark tainted soul of a drug and alcohol addict. We feel when he blows 2nd and 3rd chances, when Commissioner Bud Selig Fed Ex-ed a letter saying that he was suspended for a year. We are sorry when Doc relapses, and doesn't listen to the lectures at the rehab clinics, and let down his parents, wife, and kids. The cycle continued, the lies continued, the double life continued, and the addiction was too much.
There are other scenes in the book..true crime scenes. White police beat Doc up, and after he was released he and a bunch of his friends and cousins (and his nephew Gary Sheffield) had semi-automatic weapons. They were speeding in Tampa and were going to kill any white cop that pulled them over. Doc thanks God now that no police office pulled them over that night.
In another case, one of his childhood friends was getting sentenced and he asked Doc to assist in a courtroom breakout.
In other scene, Doc's wife Monica walks in his room with a pistol in his mouth.
While on the Mets, teammate Kevin Mitchell decapitated his girlfriend's cat in front of her and Doc thinking there was a conspiracy against him.
It's a great mainstream book, but it's loaded with tidbits about how badly the Mets were run in the 80's and 90's, in addition to how Joe Torre treated him like the invisible man during his 1996-1997 Yankees run.
So yes, this is a sad book. Actually a very depressing book. But I never got frustrated with Doc, though. He's just too humble and human to judge him. He never fully appreciated or remembered his success in baseball. The only moment that had any true emotional significance occurred in 1996 when he was with the Yankees, when he threw the famous no-hitter against the best hitting team in baseball, the Mariners. That happened while his father was on his deathbed, and he wanted to do it for his dad. Although Doc was way past him prime in 1996, for one night a miracle happened and he had all the abilities and talent when he was Doctor K.
Watchmen is a masterpiece. It is a psychological action thriller mystery that focuses on the human condition. What is good and evil? How deep are the shades of gray? What is morality? How sick and twisted is humanity? But how unique is the miracle of life? What is the absurdity of life? Do the ends justify the means?
All of these issues- and more- are explored in this movie (almost 3 hours). The movie's style, directing, acting, CGI, and soundtrack are all top notch.
It's dark (real dark), gloomy, gritty, graphic, haunting, sad, hopeless, and pretty much is mind-blowing and will leave you speechless. You will be immersed in this alternate reality (it's 1985, and Richard Nixon is still president, and the world is at the brink of World War III, none of the costumed "heroes" are simple or perfect- they are all flawed and REAL).
The drama, tension, and suspense is high, even though I have read the 12-issue comic book series countless times since I was only 9 years old. I can quote the 12 Watchmen comics, and even though I am well versed and attached to that work of art (considered The Holy Grail of comic books) I was happy that the ending changed a bit, and didn't really care about a few very small scenes that were left out. Some things were added that I really enjoyed, such as "cameo" appearances by JFK, Nixon and Kissinger in the war room, Andy Warhol, Lee Iacoca, Fidel Castro, Nikita Khrushchev, and other hidden gems.
Watchmen is one of the best movies I've ever seen, and not just in the super-hero genre. Many cliches are broken in this film (the comic itself deconstructed the whole genre), and it felt innovative although the story and dialogue itself is almost 23 years old.
I give this movie 5 stars and a 10/10 rating.
Out of fairness I will post the opinions of my fellow movie goers, I went with my mother, my wife, and CCB3. CCB3 also overheard the remarks of two teenagers in the bathroom:
They said they wanted a sequel, and RORSCHACH RULED.
My wife thought it was a great movie, and that was probably an understatement. During the movie, she got very angry and sad when Rorschach fought the police, and laughed at Night Owl's lack of woman skills with the Silk Spectre II. She also was scared/revolted by the Comedian's rape scene, the prison scenes, alley fight scene, and more. She disliked The Comedian- big time. She was into it the whole time, and had no issues following it. Post movie, she didn't say much because she out of breath and it was a breath-taking visual and engrossing story. Question she asked after the movie: Will there be a sequel?
CCB3 liked it, and he's hard to impress. He said that he's usually put off by "stylish" movies, but this was not overdone. He followed the storyline with no problems, and understood what the characters represented. Questions asked after the movie: Why does Dr. Manhattan see the world like he does? Do I believe in Dr. Manhattan's world view? Was Silk Spectre II correct in her argument on Mars? How did the comic differ from the movie?
I thought the movie really hit my mother the right way- during the movie she was reacting the way I expected her to depending on the scene. She was kind of speechless after the movie, but she usually talks a mile a minute after seeing movies with me. So I thought maybe she too was drained by how dark the movie was. She mentioned that Dr. Manhattan reminded her of Reed Richards from The Fantastic Four at the beginning, felt bad for Rorschach, and loved the soundtrack (of course). Questions asked after the movie: Did Silk Spectre I know that Silk Spectre II was a costumed hero? What type of cat was Bubastis? Why did Rorschach wear the mask?
But then she said something that got past by Yar's Revenge defense shield: "You know, people really have to read the comics to understand that movie."
[Deleted 3 paragraphs of ranting.]
ANYWAY, I read the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes today, and I see Watchmen has a 64% approval rating. The bad reviews are WAY OFF and SKEWED.
That being said, I can understand critics whining about flashbacks and backstory: they lack the mental capacity to follow a deep movie. Critics who bring up Spider-Man, X-Men, and Dark Knight just show how ignorant they are about what Watchmen is all about. Critics blasting the director (Zack Snyder, 300) for being too pretentious just offend me. Message board freaks that complain about scenes and music selection are hypocrites: they are the same people that gave a fan produced Watchmen movie on YouTube 5 stars. I probably would get a heart attack if I read all the crap that these people are typing about the MASTERPIECE.
I guess my mother was right after all- there are people out there that need the security of "knowing the backstory". My grandmother said the same thing to me after she saw Dark Knight, which explains why I did not invite her to see Watchmen. Another authority figure I know also said "knowing the comics" was required to see Dark Knight.
I mean, yeah, it's COOL that I can answer questions about Watchmen to my family and friends. It's AWESOME that I was tuned into the subtle changes and background stuff in the scenes. It was a unique experience (with Sin City) that a comic book movie could be made with such a profound respect for the source material. Yeah, it helps to assist with questions and interpretations, because this movie is DEEP, and if you never read the book it's worth seeing multiple times to catch everything (everything I read the BOOK, I get something new, and I read once a year!) But...was it NECESSARY that I have read it?
I just don't get it. I think older people are intimidated when it comes to movies based on comic books. They think they need to read hundreds of issues or something. They over think.
The irony about that statement with Watchmen is that Watchmen was not a continuing series- it just lasted 1 year, and was a self-contained 12-issue limited series, with a beginning and end. The movie WAS the "origin" and had the necessary backstory. There are no prequels, and no sequels. Watchmen was not serialized like Superman.
I'm glad CCB3 overheard the teens in the restroom saying how they really dug the movie and Rorschach in particular. I have a feeling the MESSAGE of Watchmen WILL be passed on to a new generation.
P.S.
Tony Vahl and I always wondered how Ozymandias' TV screen scene would be handled in the movie. I'm sure he was as thrilled as I was. I saw a clip from the movie 1984, and a bunch of other Easter eggs on that viewscreen. Oh, as I said last year, Obama = Ozymandias. Let's just hope for the bright future.
A (temporarily former) co-worker of mine- Diane- suggested I tried PopCap's Bookworm Adventuresfor the PC. For those of you who don't know PopCap makes casual and easy to use computer games for adults, teens, and children. They basically have a small programing team, cut a deal with Best Buy and Wal*Mart, and are heavily promoted on AOL, Yahoo, Amazon, and tons of other websites, so costs are low. They have free trials and scaled down versions of the deluxe retail games all over the place.
One thing which holds true for all of PopCap's games is that they are simple, don't require super graphics cards or memory, yet are amazingly addictive. So when Diane demonstrated Bookwork Adventures I was surprised at the detail and animations, not to mention that it is a role playing game/puzzle word adventure.
PopCap rolled the dice ($750,000 to make this game) and scored a winner. The game itself is flawless- there are no bugs, crashes, or slowdowns; you just need a decent monitor resolution- which is adjustable in your settings anyway.
The interface, playability, and re-playability are astonishing. Never has spelling words been more fun. The writers have a great sense of humor as well- it's loaded with jokes, even when loading the game up. There are many monsters, all with different powers and personalities. You defeat them by damaging them with a better vocabulary. The reason why it is an "RPG" is because your character Lex the Bookworm powers up, levels, up, and can choose different items to get bonuses and thwart attacks.
There are a few modes, side games, and a Hall of Fame ranking. Everything is balanced out, so the player is never confused or bogged down with a complicated RPG: at its heart this is a spelling and vocabulary puzzle game. I really have to tip my hat to the creators of this wonderful software. I can't tell you how enthusiastic I've felt playing the game. This is a 10/10 game. Don't let the childish aspect fool you. RATING: 10/10 Save 25% on the the extremely popular Bookworm games.
This is not your daddy's western. Directed by Sergio Leone (The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly), and starring Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson, Once Upon a Time in the West is Leone's last spaghetti western. In this epic film, he deconstructs the entire western film genre.
Heavy with extended long scenes and ripe with symbolism, this movie is a masterpiece. It's definitely the most underrated western movie, and one of the most underrated movies in terms of popular opinion and name recognition. The reason being: when this was released in the U.S., the film was cut and edited too much, thus ruining it. So critics killed the release.
When critics saw the full version years later, they hailed it as one of the best movies of all time.
The entire movie is laced with haunting and majestic music, unsettling sound effects, and a lawless world where anyone can get killed or raped- no questions asked.
The acting is top-notch, and there are at least three plots that become interwoven.
In many ways, this is the final western movie- it is the ultimate homage (there are references to almost every famous western movie) yet Leone injects his own creative and stylish brand of post-modern deconstruction. Although the tone is generally somber, melancholy, and nihilistic, there are a few dark humor scenes spread about.
Ennio Motticone's soundtrack is five stars, and contains themes for each major player. The music is so good that it could be argued it's the best musical score for any movie from any time period. One of the best tricks that Ennio and Sergio pull off his by having The Man with the Harmonica play his instrument throughout the movie. The viewer initially thinks it's background music, but the other characters interact with the music. After the second half, the harmonica signals flashbacks. It's a pretty awesome mind trip.
Clocking at around 2:30 hours, be sure to set some time to watch this artistic masterpiece.The story starts with seemingly random scenes (with twist endings) as we are introduced to this world. Everything eventually comes together. Students of film can surely analyze each scene, but watching previous cowboy movies are not necessary to enjoy this movie.
The cowboys are like samurai- they have heightened senses, and have an undisputed mastery of weapons with a code of honor while dueling. However, that code of honor doesn't apply to getting a mercenary job done- money is stronger than the gun.
The romance is shocking. Nothing is as it seems.
Leone's extended scenes truly push the envelope and throw the genre onto its face: the classic opening scene is around 8-10 minutes of three evil cowboys waiting at a train station. In other movies, the scene is compressed and we just see the action, but here we see how boring it is to wait for their intended victim to disembark.
Here is another great scene- notice how the ominous suspense builds up, and how dramatic it is. The tension is unbelievable:
Substituting for Angel Jimenez, today's guest blogger actual was unsolicited. Occasional baseball.dailyskew.com poster Stat Head (also Stats Head) took it upon himself to review the much anticipated Watchmen movie. Considering that this movie didn't even come out yet, and there are no Watchmen movie torrents, I have no idea how so many people saw this movie yet, and were able to give their reviews...Anyway, without further ado, here's Stat Head's Watchmen review:
See, the first thing that's wrong with this movie is that before you can even give your opinion you have to quantify it, i.e. you have to say "I think Alan Moore's Watchmen graphic novel is better than the Bible" or "I've never been a big fan of comic books" or "I have never ever heard of Watchmen". So right there..right there, you know it's gonna be a bad movie because it's all about expectations.
No here's the root of the problem- pretend you never even heard of Watchmen. You see the trailer, it looks like a cool dark super-hero movie with a bunch of characters that you've never heard of. I mean, you've heard of Spider-Man, X-Men, Batman, and Superman, but you see these guys- WITH NO BACKSTORY- and we are supposed to care about them?
A lot of people don't know this, but Watchmen was 12 issues back in 1985/1986. It was hundreds of pages, and creative geniuses Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons said that their comic books were UNFILMABLE because of the complexity and because of the medium. Well, they were RIGHT, which is why Alan Moore's name is not on the silver screen- he knows this movie is CRAP and people will HATE it.
I mean think about it- Average Joe Movie Goer never read Watchmen- he may have saw the smiley face with blood in Borders, but's that's it. Average Joe Movie Goer already saw Sin City and Dark Knight Returns; Watchmen movie seems derivative now. And if he's expecting a funny Fantastic Four- forget about it. Maybe you've all heard how The Spirit bombed. Well, Watchmen has already bombed and it's not even out yet. Watchmen sucks. Watchmen is overrated. Watchmen is the first flop of 2009.
Why? They cut out the Black Freighter scenes, and the background articles that occured in-between issues in the graphic novel. Those background articles explained the alternate earth, the history of the Minutemen, the origins of the superheroes, and their motivations. Although the movie is still an almost scene-by-scene copy of the comic book (although the ending is different), Average Joe Movie Goer just sees these characters as powerless with guaduy costumes.
I mean the whole thing would be CAMPY like Ben Stiller's Mystery Men, except it's too violent, sexy, and dark. All the super-heroes are cliched, third-rate, and irrelevant. They are just a bunch of guys- WITH NO SUPER POWERS.
The special effects suck toad, too.
The style was overdone, too melodramatic...and very 1985'ish (and I was born in 1990). I didn't get the message, whatever it was!!
I mean the comic book geeks (I hate them) will not like this movie because details were left out. An regular people will have NO idea what's going on or CARE? So what the point? I mean after I saw it, I was like, so..that's IT? Ugh...ouch! This is supposed to be ART? This is supposed to be the greatest comic book of all TIME?
Soundtrack: Nat King Cole, Simon & Garfunkel, Hendrix, Dylan--UGH...OLD GUYS! WTF???
On a scale of 1-10, I give it a 3.
[Editor's note: Full disclosure: in our e-mail correspondence, Stat Head said that he started reading comics in 1998, and liked "old issues" of Youngblood, Spawn, and New Warriors, and that he never "got through" the Watchmen graphic novel in 2004 and "skipped to the end". I also got him to admit something good about the movie: he said the best part was Rorschach's prison scene. I *will* be seeing this movie, and give my own review.]
I popped in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock last month, and I guess I probably saw that movie 10 times or more, mostly on TV years ago. I basically wanted to know if the movie "held up", especially since many trekkies seem to bash it, and mention it as proof of odd Star Trek movies sucking (1, 3, 5). With Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 77%, I decided to see the truth.
The Good
A lot of important events happen in the Star Trek universe: Spock returns, James Kirk's son David is murdered, Bones carried Spock's soul, the Enterprise gets blown up, and Kirk and the crew break StarFleet's direct orders. All of this stuff is referred to in later movies.
Not boring at all. Whereas Star Trek: The Motion Picture was a bit slow, with a soulless villain, Star Trek III had humor, tragedy, and bonding. Klingon Commander Kruge is vicious.
Seeing Spock "grow up" on the Genesis plant was unique.
The Bad (just nitpicking here)
StarFleet's pigheadedness is frustrating. Last time I checked, StarFleet officers were volunteers and don't even get paid. For the StarFleet higher-ups to threaten Admiral Kirk with imprisonment for going to the Genesis planet is crazy. I realize from the plot standpoint, you always need some "by-the-book" authority figure to make the heroes "mavericks", but in such an enlightened society Earth is supposed to be in future, it seems out of place.
Having StarFleet totally disrespect the Enterprise's history, reputation, and crew is tough to swallow. How many times did they save the universe?
It seemed as if they were grooming Lt. Saavik to replace Spock in II and III, but actress Robin Curtis was an obvious (and generic) replacement for Kristie Alley.
The Ugly
Kirk's son David Marcus' mullet haircut.
Conclusion: I think the reason why The Search for Spock is underrated is because it comes after Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, which is generally rated #1 on Star Trek fans' list. Obviously, Christopher Lloyd* is no Ricardo Montalban, but he still has solid, if not great, performance, and is seen as a major threat to Kirk.
Making its long awaited return: CAPTIONS! That alone makes this the best FINAL CRISIS issue. (Actually the captions were narration by Lois Lane, but that's fine.)
In the end, the good guys win, Superman saves reality by building the Miracle Machine and wishes everything back to normal, Darkseid didn't die but then did thanks to the Flashes, a vampire Monitor tried to destroy reality, and parallel earths still exist, maybe more than 52 of them. The New Gods, not the monitors, are looking after New Earth. Barry Allen is really back. Looks like Hawkman and Hawkgirl died together (which means they will reincarnate together and hopefully fall in love). Nix Uotan, the good monitor, is mortal again. The epilogue had Bruce Wayne lives on a desolate Jack Kirby-like earth. (Darksied's Omega sanction sent him back to the Dawn of Man- at least that's what a message board poster said, nothing in the actual series said that.)
This issue featured mind-blowing string theory, M-theory, time travel, and metaphysics. It was, of course, incomprehensible and could not save the most disappointing comic book event in recent times. One day in the far future, I will sit down and read everything in order. Perhaps...perhaps it will be better.
FINAL CRISIS gets a big, fat, "F" from me. Reading all of Grant Morrison's interviews, I can see that he wanted to do something different. The sad part is that's what SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICTORY was- something weird and different; FINAL CRISIS should have been something along the lines of INFINITE CRISIS. Instead, this wasn't about continuity or anti-matter or the elements that made CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTH good. The series was a confusing mess, and at the end of the day, it looks like everything is back to normal in the DCU, albeit some structural changes with the multiverse and the religious/God aspect in the DCU changed a bit (I guess).
Since Morrison's goal was to plot and write a story that was different from other stories and a symbol of the DCU's chaos and confusion...he succeeded. Unfortunately for the average reader, it was a nightmare. He could have done a CRISIS in the style of ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, his JLA run, ANIMAL MAN, INVISIBLES, or even DC ONE MILLION (although that was confusing, it was at least readable and enjoyable).
Instead he chose to a comic book event that was made up of random panels, obscure background characters, no captions, weird pacing, and focused on "high concept" breakneck speed storytelling. Grant's ideas didn't translate very well into the-sequential art form of comic books.
For the record, Morrison suggests you read the series in this order:
FINAL CRISIS # 1- 3 SUPERMAN BEYOND # 1- 2 SUBMIT FINAL CRISIS # 4 – 5 BATMAN #682 – 683 FINAL CRISIS # 6 – 7
One day, I will do that in one sitting. But for now, two thumbs down: this series made Dan Jurgen's ZERO HOUR look good because at least Dan wrote a comic book series that made sense, and was a normal super-hero comic, kinda like Marvel's SECRET INVASION.
This is the first Morrison story I haven't liked. I never dreamed I would rip him. Heck, I love everything he's ever written. But it seems that one of the greatest comic book writers of the modern era turned into a middle-aged geek trying to make readers like Jack Kirby comics.
DC Management should remember this for marketing next time:
Geoff Johns - SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER (see Sinestro Corps War- the real CRISIS) Grant Morrison - INDY MOVIE that 3rd shift likes
I revisited some movies recently. Obviously watching movies multiple times create different feelings and observations.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Thanks to Hero, Kill Bill, House of the Flying Daggers, I was unfortunately desensitized with the special effects, but was emotionally moved by the two romances in the movie. Also, I was always thought there was more action, but looks like that impression was wrong- which is a good thing, since older people would like it more without the SFX martial arts scenes. Anyway, Zhang Ziyi had such a presence and charisma. I hated her and liked her at the same time. The ending sequences were very sad, especially with her being a second late with the antidote, and Chow's final breath to his love. The suicide at the end, which was too abstract the first time, was better, especially after seeing a lot of other Asian movies since then. Definitely held up.
The Cube: Due to the nature of the film, there's not any suspense the 2nd time around. 1st time around the unknown setting and traps made my imagination go crazy. However, the character interaction and personalities are still A++, E-Gram style. The bad sequels took away from it, but it holds up as a metaphoric movie on society and the machine, and nihilism. In my mind, this is the only movie in continuity, with the Cube's master being a faceless entity. Annabelle was dead scared throughout the movie.
Final Destination 1: Actually the third time I saw this. To me, horror is about surprise, so there was none this time around. Still the anticipation and scenes were very well done, although the "teen angst" aspect and far-fetched accidents took Annabelle out of the movie a few times in her first viewing.
John Carpenter's The Thing (10th time): Although the special effects get weaker every time I see it, and the suspense decreases, I still have to keep the lights on in every room, and actually a pillow in on my bed scared the living daylights out of me after watching it.
Beyond the Mat (5th time): The wrestling documentary that exposed the dangers and the business is historical. Mick Foley's kids crying as The Rock smashed his head open is still emotional, as is Terry Funk's "retirement" and Jake The Snake's crack addiction. Still holds up, with tons of info and tidbits, although the new movie "The Wrestler" is able to answer the question as to why they do it to themselves better.
Hey Tony, what do you think?
TONY VAHL: I watched Crouching Tiger fairly recently and had similar impressions. The girl was amazing, and I GOT the ending this time around.
I've yet to watch The Cube, believe it or not (either that, or I have Alzheimer's. I remember that movie was the talk of Tashman at one point on my shift). I'll have to [censored] that and the Thing (My wife loves scary movies).
Final Destination set a precedent for that genre. I think, like Star Wars, it gets a free pass even if doesn't hold up or starts to look dated. I have not watched it recently.
I would like to see Memento again.
Fight Club always seems to hold up strong when I watch it. Ed Norton, Brad Pitt, and whats-her-name must have had a blast making that movie. The buildings crashing at the end was eerie after 9-11, but that feeling has faded with time.
Since Batman died this week, and a lot of new fans are looking for info about DC's CRISIS event, I figured that a quick FINAL CRISIS Checklist and Review is in order:
DC Universe #0: This $0.50 comic book was more of a preview comic of writer Grant Morrision's major players for FINAL CRISIS. Each preview was 3 pages, and ended with an advertisement of a major theme of the upcoming series.
One of the major problems with this "comic" (besides being an advertisement) is that it had nothing to do with COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS or DEATH OF THE NEW GODS, the two major CRISIS-related storylines. Many fanboys didn't like COUNTDOWN, but after reading 52 issues, plus spin-offs, I was immediately confused that DC Universe had NOTHING to do with it.
By Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, George Perez, Doug Mahnke, Tony Daniel, Ivan Reis, Aaron Lopresti, Philip Tan, Ed Benes, Carlos Pacheco, JG Jones
GRADE: N/A
Final Crisis #1: Confusing, awkward, non-sequential artwork, a set-up issue, obscure characters, nothing recognizable from previous CRISIS series or COUNTDOWN. Didn't get it. Let down. Martian Manhunter gets killed by Libra, a mysterious villain who works for Darkseid, the God of Evil.
By Morrison and Jones
Grade: D+
Final Crisis #2: Felt like things were picking up with the return of Barry Allen Flash at the last page, but the bait and switch cover, devotion to pages and pages of a Japanese team, and seemingly random panels with no captions made this issue over my head.
By Morrison and Jones
Grade: C-
Final Crisis #3: Finally picked up a bit, some plot points came together, although the art was still hard to follow, and the general problems of this series were still there. Too many minor characters grabbed the spotlight, and everything was still unsatisfying. Seems like the end of the world at the end, which made me believe things were finally going to get exciting.
By Morrison and Jones
Grade: C
Final Crisis: Rogue's Revenge #1: The Flash's old Rogue Gallery: Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Heat Wave and Weather Wizard are on the run from superheroes for the death of Kid Flash (Impulse) and face off with the new Rogues. The Old Rogues are the protagonists and sympathetic. It's a dark comic, but clearly a sub-title, as I have no idea when this is supposed to take place. I also don't get any "end of the world" vibes or CRISIS-themes.
By Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins
Grade: C+
Final Crisis: Requiem #1 (One shot): Since Martian Manhunter's death was pretty much whimsical, disrespectful, quick, and had no real explanation, this comic is the official tribute to the character, and finally explained the events leading up to Libra killing him. Anyone who read John Ostander's MARTIAN MANHUNTER would appreciate the touching treatment Jonn Jonz gets. It truly is a superb and emotionally stirred tribute. A top notch super-hero requiem, respectful of the character's history in the post-CRISIS DCU.
By Peter Tomasi and Doug Mahnke
Grade: A
Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #1: Featuring Superboy-Prime going on another rampage (this time in the future), this comic focused on the different Legion of the Superheroes continuities, and tied in with some recent ACTION COMICS and SUPERMAN timelines. This was the first FINAL CRISIS comic to feel like a CRISIS. I originally thought I needed to re-read my old LEGION comics, but this was much more accessible than Morrison's FINAL CRISIS. It felt more like a continuation of INFINITE CRISIS.
By Geoff Johns and George Perez
Grade: A-
Final Crisis: Revelations #1: Pretty much is needed to explain why The Spectre doesn't stop all the bad things in FINAL CRISIS from happening. The only problem for me: this isn't my Spectre (Jim Corrigan): it's some new dead guy named Crispus Allen. The art is too modern, and the title "Revelations" is misleading, no FINAL CRISIS secrets are revealed here. However, the Dr. Light = rapist storyline gets resolved.
By Greg Rucka and Philip Tan
Grade: C-
Final Crisis: Rogue's Revenge #2: Great battles and info featuring Zoom, Inertia, New Rogues, Old Rogues, plus Libra makes an appearance. Pretty hot stuff. One problem: what does any of this have to do with FINAL CRISIS? Answer: nothing. They definitely just slapped FINAL CRISIS on the cover of this mini-series. Art seems sketchy.
By Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins
Grade: C+
Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1 (3-D One shot): I was pumped after reading this. Now this was CRISIS. I felt the multiverse, ANIMAL MAN, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, EARTH-2, and other continuity related comics. The various Superman teaming up felt like Morrison's highly successful ALL-STAR SUPERMAN. There's even a new origin of the universe. Too bad nothing in this comic is mentioned in the FINAL CRISIS mini-series! The only problem is that the 3-D is a gimmick, and a distraction at times.
By Grant Morrison and Doug Mahnke
Rating: A
Final Crisis #4: I waited...and waited...and waited. I probably should mention that there was a delay here, and some comics shipped out of order. There was also no guidance for me if I should read #4 or SUBMIT first. So I read #4 first. My reaction was: Did I miss an issue? Then I read SUBMIT, and my reaction was: Yeah, I did. Fast forward one month in comic book time, and we see how the earth has been taken over by Darkseid's Anti-Life Equation (ALE). Yes, evil has won. The heroes are crushed. However, thankfully The Ray and Black Lightning and countless other C-Listers keep on fighting. This issue also marks the first appearance of Darkseid in FC..what took so long. By now, I realized it was too late for this series to turn it around, and had zero expectations.
By Morrison with art byCarlos Pacheco and J.G. Jones
Rating: D-
Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #2: Superboy Prime (actually, he is called Superman Prime now), Modru, and the Legion of Super-Villains declare war on REALITY. Rond, the last of the Green Lanterns (in the 31st century) makes the ultimate sacrifice. Great stuff once again, with superb artwork by Perez. He showed no sign of health issues or age. One problem: at this point, it doesn't time into the FINAL CRISIS main series. It might as well be a Legion relaunch by Johns.
Rating: A-
By Geoff Johns and George Perez
Final Crisis: Revelations #2: Not looking forward to this again. Features the new Spectre, lesbian Batgirl, Rene Montaya the Question, and requires you to read 52, Crime Bible, and Five Books of Blood. There's still some good parts, such as Vandal Savage becoming Cain, and some origins of Heaven/Hell/Old Testament/Spirit of Vengeance/Mercy, etc. IN other words, this series is about religious mythology in the DCU, but Ostander handled this MUCH better in the 1990's SPECTRE series, and Niel Gaiman handled in MUCH better in SANDMAN. Oh, and none of this stuff is mentioned in FINAL CRISIS.
Rating: C
By Greg Rucka and Philip Tan
Final Crisis: Rogue's Revenge #3: Wrapping up this series, the Rogues have been reestablished, Captain Cold is one badass, Kid Zoom goes crazy and is taken out by the Rogues. The Rogues confront Libra, and don't want to team up with him. All of this leads into a new Flash series coming up in 2009. Pretty solid, but sloppy artwork and not having direct connections to the main FINAL CRISIS story are major detractors. Overall, a decent mini-series.
By Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins
RATING: B-
Final Crisis: Submit: Okay, I submit. I do. This comic shipped late, most people read it out of order. It features an up close and personal view of the New Earth submitting to Darkseid's ALE by using a battle between Black Lightning and the Tattooed Man. I'm not feeling generous with my rating after saying that. Art is bad. The good: it is the only tie-in that TIED-IN! Yet it was not marketed as such. Should really have been called FINAL CRISIS # 3.5. Too bad I read it after #4.
By Morrison and Mathew Clark. Rating: D- (sorry)
Final Crisis #5: All about Darkseid and the New God's avatars. Too bad it's full of heroes with unrecognizable costumes, bad pacing, confusion galore, no emotion, plot loose ends move towards getting resolved but doesn't progress in a normal way. After 5 issues, we're stills stuck. No patience left. Fans who were upset at FC#1 are all gone. Only the Morrison loyalists remain. Reviews are actually good so Morrision will interview with those sites and blogs. Really.
By Morrison with art byCarlos Pacheco and J.G. Jones
Rating: D-
Final Crisis: Resist#1 (One-Shot): Featuring Checkmate, Mr. Terrific and the C-Team. OMACs. Ties right in the main FC series, although the reading order is questionable due to the dealys. Forgettable, but be
