...pretty much sucks. Case in point? Iron Man 2. Now don't get me wrong, this wasn't nearly as bad as Spider-Man 3...or X-Men 3 for that matter. It just wasn't very good when compared to the great comics films of the last few years. My best analysis is that this is Iron Man 1 with more 'schtick' and Scarlett Johansson in tight or revealing clothing (for the record: I'm OK with Ms. Ryan Reynolds in as little clothing as possible).
My problem with the flick is this: Iron-Man isn't supposed to be 'punnier' than Spider-Man. This movie is filled with ridiculous yarns that shouldn't be there. Sure, Downey is a charming lead...but don't sacrifice the script to make his one-liners pop! Next is Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko/Whiplash...umm...hold on. I'm having trouble believing that Mickey Rourke is a Russian, and a physicist, much less a Russian physicist bent on destroying Stark for the wrongs Howard Stark perpetrated against his father. Not only this, but that as 'strongly independent' as Vanko is, he lets himself be manipulated by Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell who, despite his fucking retarded dance number, absolutely killed it)? Not buying it for a second. Then there's Fury...
Who the fuck decided it would be perfectly normal for Stark as Iron-Man to have coffee in a donut shop with Fury and Black Widow? Fury wouldn't allow himself to be seen at street level, let alone at a donut shop.
Then, the big reveal is that Tony's dad really loved him and left plans for the EXACT SAME TECHNOLOGY THAT WOULD SAVE HIS LIFE!?!?!? Holy Shit Howard Stark was a clairvoyant motherfucker.
Alright, so this wasn't nearly as bad as Avatar...by a long fucking stretch, but it wasn't good either.
On my list of 'good' superhero flicks, this one comes in last.
May 11, 2010
March 28, 2010
Woman, Mind Your Business
Since Brian Michael Bendis has reached the limits of Facebook friending, I had to do some actual research on his really real website www.jinxworld.com to get a sense of who he is as a person. Clearly, the website was no help at all in that department but it did offer an insight to his escapades in comicdom. He was apparently instrumental in launching something called 'Ultimates' for Marvel and has written every single issue of 'Ultimate Spider-Man'. Ultimate might be a word he should avoid in the future so as not to wear it out. A long time ago he worked on Hellblazer and created something called Jinx or whatever. Then there was Powers...blah. What I'm here to talk about is a newer project he's got going on called Spider-Woman (not much of a mention on the main site...might want to tighten that up?).
As evidenced by the glowing reviews posted on his site Bendis is a prolific writer among the comic-reading throng. And, since I've yet to bash anything too horribly on the blog, I guess I have to begrudgingly agree. Spider-Woman, thus far, is a slow burning super-heroine noir story. There's a smoldering quality to the way the issues present themselves to the reader as you get along in the series.
Issue #1 finds Jessica Drew in her home, alone and paranoid. Not without good reason. Once an active Avenger, she's now ostracised from the community. During the preliminary stages of the Secret Invasion, Jessica was kidnapped and replaced by the shape-shifting Skrull queen. Every aspect of her life was assimilated by the Skrulls. No one trusts her and she can't blame them. Then...an opportunity arises in the form of a job offer from Agent Brand of S.W.O.R.D. Become an agent. The mission? Skrull hunting.
The ember burning in Jessica's gut radiates the sweaty heat from that first issue on through. Confrontations with a tortured Super-Skrull, Madame Hydra (who claims to be Jessica's mother), a Spider-Man doppelganger, and Norman Osborn's bastardization of the mighty Thunderbolts only make this a far grittier story. Now, that's an interesting thing to point out in a comic...especially a superhero book. The more outrageous the 'comicness' in this book, the more you feel like Jessica is embroiled in something personal. This is a credit to Bendis' writing, IN PART! The other part here lies in the mixed-media art provided by Alex Maleev (New Avengers, Daredevil, Stephen King's N.). Maleev uses a combination of photorealism and a painted media approach to his panel work. It is striking in it's emotion and at the same time removes the reader from one reality to one from another world. He uses actual models for his artwork and manipulates them as he sees fit. The result is completely fitting to the nature of the book.
Issue #8 drops in April
Tyler
As evidenced by the glowing reviews posted on his site Bendis is a prolific writer among the comic-reading throng. And, since I've yet to bash anything too horribly on the blog, I guess I have to begrudgingly agree. Spider-Woman, thus far, is a slow burning super-heroine noir story. There's a smoldering quality to the way the issues present themselves to the reader as you get along in the series.
Issue #1 finds Jessica Drew in her home, alone and paranoid. Not without good reason. Once an active Avenger, she's now ostracised from the community. During the preliminary stages of the Secret Invasion, Jessica was kidnapped and replaced by the shape-shifting Skrull queen. Every aspect of her life was assimilated by the Skrulls. No one trusts her and she can't blame them. Then...an opportunity arises in the form of a job offer from Agent Brand of S.W.O.R.D. Become an agent. The mission? Skrull hunting.
The ember burning in Jessica's gut radiates the sweaty heat from that first issue on through. Confrontations with a tortured Super-Skrull, Madame Hydra (who claims to be Jessica's mother), a Spider-Man doppelganger, and Norman Osborn's bastardization of the mighty Thunderbolts only make this a far grittier story. Now, that's an interesting thing to point out in a comic...especially a superhero book. The more outrageous the 'comicness' in this book, the more you feel like Jessica is embroiled in something personal. This is a credit to Bendis' writing, IN PART! The other part here lies in the mixed-media art provided by Alex Maleev (New Avengers, Daredevil, Stephen King's N.). Maleev uses a combination of photorealism and a painted media approach to his panel work. It is striking in it's emotion and at the same time removes the reader from one reality to one from another world. He uses actual models for his artwork and manipulates them as he sees fit. The result is completely fitting to the nature of the book.
Issue #8 drops in April
Tyler
March 24, 2010
March 23, 2010
Is Zack Snyder The New Bryan Singer?
When I thought up this piece I thought I'd be more passionate about pointing out the similarities between the two of these seemingly talented and overly ambitious directors. I'm not. Maybe I should just throw in the towel and leave them alone. You and I, we both know that these guys had nothing in common when they got their breaks. Singer blew us away with The Usual Suspects. Snyder made a campy zombie flick into an updated...campy zombie flick. Singer blew up the box-office with X-Men. Snyder made us the voyeurs for his eye-porn interpretation of 300. Singer shot for Krypton and missed the mark. Snyder put the unfilmable on film. Wait a minute...
Tyler
Tyler
BlunderCon
San Francisco's WonderCon...the precum of SD ComiCon. BUT! It's still got weekend passes available. I want to go something fierce. Two of my favorite comics writers will be there: Brian Michael Bendis and the legendary J. Michael Straczynski. Not to mention, the Hulk himself, Lou Ferrigno, Max Brooks (World War Z), Kurt Busiek (Astro City), Stan Lee, and some cockstain named Kevin Smith (Seriously, fucking stoked about Kevin Smith.).
I went to WonderCon in '02 right before Spider-Man hit theaters. It was one of those experiences you can't explain to someone that isn't a HUUUUGE nerd. Sure, regular folks might know that there's a Simpsons comic, but I had a conversation with the guy that actually MAKES them. He was hilarious. Aside from all the epic stuff I left with, the crowning achievement of my entire visit was getting to meet Romitas Jr. and Sr. and getting them both to sign my first edition Spider-Man: The Lost Years #0. A cover on which they share credit. Amazing time.
Fingers crossed that I can go...we should probably cross dicks too.
Tyler
I went to WonderCon in '02 right before Spider-Man hit theaters. It was one of those experiences you can't explain to someone that isn't a HUUUUGE nerd. Sure, regular folks might know that there's a Simpsons comic, but I had a conversation with the guy that actually MAKES them. He was hilarious. Aside from all the epic stuff I left with, the crowning achievement of my entire visit was getting to meet Romitas Jr. and Sr. and getting them both to sign my first edition Spider-Man: The Lost Years #0. A cover on which they share credit. Amazing time.
Fingers crossed that I can go...we should probably cross dicks too.
Tyler
March 10, 2010
Kick-Ass It Says, Kick-Ass It Does
I'm going to come right out and say it. I'm not a huge fan of Mark Millar's work. By that I mean that while I enjoyed his writing on Spidey and The Ultimates and Civil War, I didn't feel like I was hearing the voice of a true creator in the field of comics. I saw the horrible film adaptation of Wanted and felt like I wasted nearly two hours of my life watching that piece of shit when I could have been out doing something productive like being forcibly sodomized by a gang of mutant bikers. Those notions quickly evaporated about three pages into his masterpiece titled Kick-Ass.
Calling this brilliant work of art a masterpiece doesn't seem good enough. A masterwork? A Magnum Opus? No, it still feels like those badges seem too miniscule to do justice to the outrageously fantastic work that is Kick-Ass.
What really gets me about this book is Millar's characterization. Dave Lizewski is an average fourteen year old. Average...not out of the ordinary in any way. Smart, but not too smart. Athletic, but not a jock. Hopelessly in love with a classmate to the point that he puts on the front of being gay so that she will be his friend. Dave is the greatest of superhero characters for one reason: He's the comic book realization that every reader has but is too much of a pussy to follow through with. He puts on the mask and tights and does it, and gets the holy fuck beaten out of him in the process. Not without reward, but not without more than his share of lumps to boot.
While the story is engrossing and there are more than enough characters to keep the reader interseted, the beauty in this book is the service it does to the comic fan. Dave's impetus for putting on the mask is his love of comics. Another character finances his crusade by selling old comics to the highest bidder.
This title is the epitome of what a great comic should be. A superhero book for the guy with no superpowers. A book with it's finger so firmly planted on the pulse of modern society that it uses the social networking of the internet as a plot device. A piece of fiction so compelling that one might wonder if their child might follow Dave's lead and become something so"Kick-Ass" that the world has no other recourse but to sit back and take notice.
Tyler
Calling this brilliant work of art a masterpiece doesn't seem good enough. A masterwork? A Magnum Opus? No, it still feels like those badges seem too miniscule to do justice to the outrageously fantastic work that is Kick-Ass.
What really gets me about this book is Millar's characterization. Dave Lizewski is an average fourteen year old. Average...not out of the ordinary in any way. Smart, but not too smart. Athletic, but not a jock. Hopelessly in love with a classmate to the point that he puts on the front of being gay so that she will be his friend. Dave is the greatest of superhero characters for one reason: He's the comic book realization that every reader has but is too much of a pussy to follow through with. He puts on the mask and tights and does it, and gets the holy fuck beaten out of him in the process. Not without reward, but not without more than his share of lumps to boot.
While the story is engrossing and there are more than enough characters to keep the reader interseted, the beauty in this book is the service it does to the comic fan. Dave's impetus for putting on the mask is his love of comics. Another character finances his crusade by selling old comics to the highest bidder.
This title is the epitome of what a great comic should be. A superhero book for the guy with no superpowers. A book with it's finger so firmly planted on the pulse of modern society that it uses the social networking of the internet as a plot device. A piece of fiction so compelling that one might wonder if their child might follow Dave's lead and become something so"Kick-Ass" that the world has no other recourse but to sit back and take notice.
Tyler
March 9, 2010
You Are One Pathetic Loser
Random purchases seem to always end up being a good idea for me. Case in point: I bought a TPB a few weeks ago called The Losers. Why was this a good buy? Because from the get-go it's a ripping good action packed thrill ride. It also has a bit of history for DC/Vertigo. The original Losers started out in the '60s in the WWII comics from DC, but they were killed off. So, what did writer Andy Diggle (Batman, Hellblazer, Adam Strange, Green Arrow: Year One) decide to do? He used the title aaaand that's about it. While The Losers of yesteryear were ACTUALLY killed in the line of duty, this era sees The Losers as a black-ops unit PRESUMED K.I.A. when their helo gets taken down by a stinger missile. Well, they didn't die and they're itching for payback. Payback? Oh yes. Max, a powerful man...and someone they thought was on their side, was responsible for the stinger attack. So Clay, Cougar, Jensen, Pooch, and new recruit/mystery woman Aisha set out to clear their names from a government 'death list'. Conspiracy, guns, intrigue, explosions, capers, more guns, betrayal, and more explosions are all a part of the fun this title has to offer.
The pacing is as quick as the shots are fired. Solid writing and dialogue. However, the star here is the artwork. The singularly named Jock provides some of the best action scenes I've seen in a long time while, at the same time, still managing to capture in single panel form that swaggering cool that Tarantino gets on a camera.
Tyler
The pacing is as quick as the shots are fired. Solid writing and dialogue. However, the star here is the artwork. The singularly named Jock provides some of the best action scenes I've seen in a long time while, at the same time, still managing to capture in single panel form that swaggering cool that Tarantino gets on a camera.
Tyler
You're A Damn Liar!
I know, I know, we said we were back. We're sorry baby. You know we love you right? Now that that's out of the way...
So, yes, we've been gone for another few weeks. BUT! Congratulations are in order for our Executive Co-President and Chief Financial Officer Joshua. He's welcomed a new addition to his family this past week. A strapping young baby boy who goes by the moniker Liam David Royal Duarte. Congratulations sir!
Speaking of birth...we're about to have a re-birth if you will. One that pretty much negates the entirety of the last post I made. Rather than just focusing on comics and their related ilk, we're broadening our horizons instead of limiting them. This decision came on the heels of the realization that we're too cheap to go buy every new comic out there and review/gab about them. So, we're going to review/gab about all the other far more expensive junk we're into along with the comics. Movies, TV, Video Games, cockfights, etc. Along with the direction shifting we'll be re-vamping the page and changing the title to better fit our all encompassing new attitude. If any of the zero of you that read us has a good idea for the page name, feel free to weigh in and we'll consider it momentarily before going with the name we came up with in the first place.
That's all for now:)
Tyler
So, yes, we've been gone for another few weeks. BUT! Congratulations are in order for our Executive Co-President and Chief Financial Officer Joshua. He's welcomed a new addition to his family this past week. A strapping young baby boy who goes by the moniker Liam David Royal Duarte. Congratulations sir!
Speaking of birth...we're about to have a re-birth if you will. One that pretty much negates the entirety of the last post I made. Rather than just focusing on comics and their related ilk, we're broadening our horizons instead of limiting them. This decision came on the heels of the realization that we're too cheap to go buy every new comic out there and review/gab about them. So, we're going to review/gab about all the other far more expensive junk we're into along with the comics. Movies, TV, Video Games, cockfights, etc. Along with the direction shifting we'll be re-vamping the page and changing the title to better fit our all encompassing new attitude. If any of the zero of you that read us has a good idea for the page name, feel free to weigh in and we'll consider it momentarily before going with the name we came up with in the first place.
That's all for now:)
Tyler
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