Finally! A redeeming episode! Unlike last week’s, this episode answered questions for a change! Read the rest of this entry »

There are two important parts to any comic - the gimmick and the execution. The gimmick is what draws the reader in, the execution is how the story is written and illustrated. For The Megas, the gimmick is a world where America is a monarchy. Check. The execution was also good. Great art and a set up for a thrilling political murder mystery. Check. So then why does it appear that I have a problem with The Megas? Because the gimmick isn’t what they said it was.

Now, don’t get me wrong - the book is still good. But this is definitely not an alternate America in a monarchy. Well it is, but it isn’t. Let me see if I can explain this…

You are lead to believe this world is an alternate America, where instead of democracy the founding fathers opted for democracy. Read the rest of this entry »

Thor #7 (Marvel) - J. Michael Straczynski has not yet really wowed me. His run on Amazing Spider-man lacked direction and ended (probably by editorial mandate) with the erasing of about half of Spider-man’s continuity. The Twelve was a dozen new faces I didn’t care about. His run on Thor so far has been similarly lack-luster, with the exception of some funny moments (like the Asgardian gods attending a local government meeting). However, the momentum has been building in the series. I’m hoping the series does get better soon though, because I’m giving it one more issue until I’m out.

Angel: After The Fall #5 (IDW) - Time for big fights between all the demonic lords of LA! Read the rest of this entry »

Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise was a revolutionary series. A romance comic from an independent label, Abstract Studio, SiP showed what a writer could do. And now Moore has shifted his focus to a more “traditional” comic book.

Echo is a series about a photographer, Julie, who witnesses an explosion in the desert. Small pieces rain from the sky and fuse with her body. All this and an impending divorce are sure to dramatically change Julie’s life.

I was able to speak to Mr. Moore about Echo and his future run on Marvel’s Runaways. Read the rest of this entry »

There are things I like about this miniseries. Of course, it goes without saying that there are things I don’t like as well, the biggest being the necessity of this story. Better Days takes place sometime before the last episode of Firefly “Objects in Space” and well before the movie Serenity. This brings up the issue of why the series is now called Firefly instead of Serenity, seeing as this comic deals more with the show than the movie based upon it, but that’s probably a legal thing.

No, my chief concern would have to be what is best for the franchise - sure, keeping the name and characters around is swell, but for what purpose? There are so many rumors about one-shots and other Serenity miniseries, but those would just be the proverbial mortally wounded deer still trying to limp along. Read the rest of this entry »

27 Capes (Minus 22)

Something anyone in retail wishes they could do when some of the more customer customers call.

Yeah I made fun of the men’s basketball team. We did well in the tournament, up until today’s game, but I want to think I played a small part in their sudden mini-winning streak. See, I imagine Bruce Weber standing in the locker room, the players looking at the floor, and good old Bruce holds up the DI and says, “Do you see this garbage comic strip? Do you want to wear dunce caps, or do you want to shove those words back down that ignorant cartoonist’s mouth?” And then the players cheered and rushed onto the court to win some. Yeah, that’s probably how it went down. Read the rest of this entry »

One-drous One-Shots

A week late and a dollar short (as per usual). These were last week’s strips.

This is a derivation of my Unofficial comic strip.

I kid you not, based on true events. Now, I don’t know if the girls were in a sorority, that is fictionalization on my part, but I was at a movie theater when it was announced that 27 Dresses was sold out. There were a group of 3 to 4 girls in North Face jackets. One turned to the others and said, “On a scale from 1 to 10, I’m pissed.” Now, this was not entirely the hilarious part. What made this episode was the other girls seriously nodding and agreeing with the first girl, not realizing what she had said made no sense. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve resolved myself to the fact that I’m not going to understand what is going on until sometime in 2010 when the show ends. I’ve also made peace with the fact that each show ends with a dramatic twist. But tonight’s episode, titled “Ji Yeon“, was the straw that broke this camel’s back.

See, Lost is a show predicated on plot twists and withholding information. At the end of the day, when we find out what is going on with the island, it probably won’t be as cool as we hope. The thrill is having pieces of information slowly revealed to us. Read the rest of this entry »

4 out of 4 stars

The Spiderwick Chronicles is Nickelodeon’s second film venture in recent years adapting a children’s series into a movie. A Series of Unfortunate Events was a great movie, unlike Spiderwick, which was purely adequate.

Based on the book series of the same name by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi (a Magic: The Gathering card artist), we see twins Jared and Simon (Freddy Highmore), their older sister Mallory and recently divorced mother (Mary-Louise Parker of Weeds) moving into an old, abandoned house. It doesn’t take long for Jared to discover his great uncle Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around Us. Read the rest of this entry »

Today the free Secret Invasion Saga hit shelves. Basically, this is a report in the vein of the Marvel Handbooks, where the past of a specific character is detailed. Every Skrull issue and storyline is explained in a matter-of-fact way so new readers can catch up on who is important now.

I’m actually getting excited for Secret Invasion now. The Skrulls, the invading shape-changing aliens, have always been present in Marvel titles and it seems like they will all be important in the coming conflict, like Robert Kirkman’s Crusader and the British Skrull Beatles. It is always neat to get a run down of a character where everything - serious and humorous - is treated like the Gospel Truth.

But I’m looking forward to this event mostly because I hope this will finally fix things - heal the rifts between heroes and finally make Marvel Marvel again.