Mighty Avengers #10 (Marvel) - I mentioned last week that New Avengers #39 and Mighty Avengers #10 were supposed to come out this week, but it looks like due to allegations of art theft against artist David Mack Marvel has delayed printing New Avengers #39. Controversy aside, Brian Michael Bendis’ Avenger titles have been top notch, even in the face of crossovers. I think that is because Bendis basically created Secret Invasion… Read the rest of this entry »

Used with permission
from Nintendo

I was excited when I wrote my article for The Buzz. I was excited watching gameplay videos on YouTube. I was excited talking to other Smash fans about the game. Now that I’ve played it for hours on end, I’m not as excited as before.

Granted, the game delivers. It’s fun and has all the magic of the first two games, especially multiplayer brawls. But the problem comes from unlocking the characters.

Some are simple to obtain, like Ness or Marth, who appear after you play a few VS battles. Others you need to unlock by playing the Subspace Emissary, the adventure mode and epic cutscene aspect to the game. The problem is that this feature takes over 8 hours to play through. Not only that, but it’s repetitive. Subspace Emissary is repetitive. Subspace Emissary is repetitive. Subspace Emissary is repetitive. Subspace Emissary is repetitive.

You have to basically hit different looking baddies in different terrains, which is easy, but you still have to take the time to move through the levels, which like I said - over 8 hours. But, once this part of the game is done and buried my qualms with the game will disappear.

The trailer to Superhero Movie is online. It’s a parody of superhero movies like Spider-man and X-Men. It stars Drake Bell (Nickelodeon’s Drake & Josh) and spoof legend Leslie Nielsen.

This movie is not going to be good. Films like Date Movie and Epic Movie (where X-Men was already spoofed) were juvenile and aimed towards 12-year-old boys. The trailer looks more like a retelling of Spider-man rather than it’s own movie.

But, the film will no doubt break even. It will make enough money on opening night that the franchise will continue.

Superhero Movie will be in theaters March 28

Bored of the Rings

Okay, before I begin, let me preface this by saying I’m not against Tolkien’s epic fantasy. However, there are things about it that need addressing. I’m not attacking his writing style or even the story, rather how Tolkien chose to present them. If you like Lord of the Rings, that’s great, but I’m going to voice a different opinion, which is my own and shouldn’t influence your liking of the book. This is aimed more towards people who haven’t yet read Tolkien.

Let me first say that Lord of the Rings is not a trilogy, or even a quadrilogy. Tolkien wrote Lord of the Rings as one book, but the publisher broke it into three separate novels. It might be more pertinent to say that Lord of the Rings is then two novels in four volumes - this includes The Hobbit (which is essential to LotR - Fellowship of the Rings references events and characters from The Hobbit to the point of annoyance throughout). But this is still inaccurate as The Silmarillion, the history of Middle Earth, reveals important plot points about LotR, like that Sauron is a demon and Gandalf is basically an angel. This means to read LotR, you need to read five volumes of text. Throw in the Lost Tales and Tolkien’s other Middle Earth writings, and you have a ten volume monster on your hands. Read the rest of this entry »

Gon With The Wind

I had the fortune of flipping through this comic today. While I usually dislike manga on principle, this cute little dinosaur caught my eye (probably because he reminds me of Agumon). Presented in crazy right-to-left order, I found this an interesting book.

There are no words. The story is told with art and manages to be funny just with Gon’s interactions with other animals. The art is deeply rooted in realism and the only cartoony/animey character is Gon, but even he has an air of realism to him. DC’s manga imprint CMX has a few volumes out so far. The only reason I didn’t pick the book up was its price. It is 5.99 but really, you’re only getting 148 pages and 4 stories. I think all manga would be better received if it was cheaper, but obviously there are basic printing costs the publisher has to adhere too.

Maybe if the entire run is collected into one volume in the future, I’ll buy it regardless of price.

Image courtesy DC Comics

I’ve harped on it before, but this is a problem with comics and bares repeating several times. Getting into a series or character is nigh impossible. But, trade paperbacks change that. You can usually find a big chunk of a series in book form, and while it might be expensive, it is far more appealing than shuffling through boxes of back issues at conventions.

Of course, even though these trades are convenient, the publishers still need to make money, so for some series - let’s use Marvel’s Exiles for example - they are collected in as many as 16 volumes. That’s a pricey meatball!

Image courtesy
Top Cow Productions

But, some publishers are trying to get readers into their properties. One of those publishers is Top Cow, most well known for Witchblade and The Darkness. In the past, Top Cow released 50-issue, color, compendium volumes - $62 for paperback and $100 for hardcover. Considering how much it could have cost you, this is a bargain, especially considering the majority of the entire series is in one volume. But for the past couple months, these volumes have been out of print, and those you can find tend to fall apart (as is what happened with my Darkness Compendium).

But I have it on word from Top Cow that in the next few months there will be new printings of these compendiums, which so far feature two of Witchblade, one of The Darkness, and another of Lara Croft, Tomb Raider. I recommend these tomes because unlike Marvel or DC, these characters are newer and much easier to discover than “loose, baggy monsters” like Batman or Spider-man.

The Secret World of David Mack

David Mack is an artist who has subtly reimagined the way comics can be told. He is best known for his series Kabuki, a cult classic in comics. He has also worked on the Marvel comics Alias (nothing to do with the show) and Daredevil. With Daredevil, he created the deaf assassin, Echo, who is now a member of the New Avengers. Next Wednesday, his art will be featured in New Avengers #39, an Echo centered story that guest stars Daredevil and ties into the Secret Invasion crossover.

Mr. Mack took time to speak with me about several of his projects, including New Avengers #39 and Kabuki: The Alchemy. Read the rest of this entry »

Short Post Due To Image Issues

DC Special: Raven #1 (DC) - Marv Wolfman (Crisis of Infinite Earths) returns to his Teen Titan creation, placing her in high school.

Penance: Relentless #5 (Marvel) - The conclusion of Speedball’s quest for vengeance.

The Boys #16 (Dynamite Entertainment) - A new story arc begins as Hughie finds romance.

Logan #1 (Marvel) - Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Lost) begins a three-issue miniseries looking at Wolverine’s past.

Justice League: New Frontier Special (DC) - This is being released to correspond with the animated movie. It features “a first-hand look at Faraday’s quest to outlaw masked vigilantes, culminating in the day Superman goes to Gotham to bring down The Batman. Also included are two back-up stories featuring Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Sgt. Rock and more.”

All For Some

I recently read The Last Musketeer, an alternative comic by Norwegian cartoonist Jason. I could try to explain the premise in my own words, but the product description does it well:

“Jason’s fourth full-color album may feature his loopiest premise yet. Set in the present time, The Last Musketeer stars the by-now centuries old musketeer Athos, who has been reduced to a suavely dressed but useless near-panhandler trading on his now almost extinct fame. All this changes when one day the Martians attack Earth. Suddenly there is a need for swashes to be buckled, and Athos leaps back into the fray with a vengeance. The Last Musketeer is a vintage sci-fi adventure with a unique twist from an internationally acclaimed cartoonist.”

Read the rest of this entry »

I went to the event today. It was sellers with various back issues and some collectibles. These trade shows are designed to help fans and newcomers alike find back issues to complete their collections or look for older stories with their favorite characters, artists, or writers. I found a 1973 issue of Shazam! #2 and was surprised at all the other series and collections I came across. And of course, talking to other fans and sellers is a big part of this community. I was able to have a conversation with the seller from Marble Comics about the Kiss cameo in Howard the Duck. One of the best parts of comics are the fans. Sure you get the hatemongers, know-it-alls and message board trollers, but beyond them you get a group of nice people passionate about their hobby. It’s a great community. The comic industry is trying to kill it. Read the rest of this entry »