Not bad. It was really hard to gauge what to expect from this movie based on the trailer due to many factors - how the success of Pan’s Labyrinth would influence the film, what comics would they adapt, etc. As far as that goes, Hellboy 2 was it’s own unique thing, apart from the comics and Guillermo del Toro’s other works.

The biggest pull for the movie was it’s bigger budget. There were more monsters, including a giant elemental and dozens of background creatures, making the movie seem very Men in Black-esque. This was a great aspect of the movie, that there was just a lot of cool, bizarre throw away monsters and magical creatures that added depth to the fantasy underworld.

There were a few characterization driven lulls in the film, but once the action started back up, these doldrums are forgiven. The sequel was a great summer movie, playing off the legacy of the comics, del Toro’s artistic style, and the first film, throwing in the types of gimmicks you’d expect from a Hollywood sequel.

If the movie breaks even, we may expect a third movie on the horizon, and I think with all the hype and the fact that this film is enjoyable and filled with imagination, a growing Hellboy fan base is assured. In the summer of great super hero movies - this is a must see, even if it’s just to see something different.

One of the big criticisms for this crime thriller set in L.A. I saw in another review was that:

“Novelist Gary Phillips aims to paint a picture of the underbelly of the Los Angeles underworld, “showing us The Dark Side of the American Dream”. Unfortunately, what gets depicted is more like The Dark Side of Beverly Hills; perhaps 90211. Everything is pretty and clean. The gang leader, Trey, drives a Mercedes convertible and preaches his “bid’ness” to his desegregated officers over a lunch of wine and fine food. And the muscle-car driving protagonist, Cameron (or CQ, as he goes by on those impeccably-swept streets), has a sister, Rita, who lives the high-life with her gambling-addicted husband. If anything, the characters are culled from an episode of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and if this is what the “underbelly” of Los Angeles is like, then I’m on the first flight out.”

As one commentator pointed out “I actually kinda liked how the atmosphere wasn’t the same stereotypical hoods always on tv and video games”, which got me thinking about crime and how we perceive it. Read the rest of this entry »

Marvel Goes Bananas

People thought it was a joke. After the success of Marvel Zombies, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada keep insisting that the next alternate reality of Marvel heroes would be of a simian variety. Still, people scoffed. Quesada sure showed them.

Set for release September 3rd, Marvel Apes #1 will hit shelves with a slew of other Marvel titles featuring “Monkey Variants.” This follows the success of Arthur Suydam’s zombie covers which replicated famous Marvel covers.

Good idea? Shameless gimmick? Brilliant marketing? Seeing as no real plot details have been released, the only way to see how this series pans out will be to wait until September.

images courtesy Marvel

I love Hellboy. I have a shelf of every Hellboy comic and book, including, I’m ashamed to say, action figures of him - even his Heroclix. I think all of the Hellboy stories are well written, comics or books, and have great illustrations, regardless of who wrote or drew them, be it Mike Mignola, Guy Davis, Christopher Golden, etc. I loved the first movie and the two animated films are great.

But after awhile, it’s starting to wear on me. The formula, that is. In the beginning of the Hellboy franchise, the story had a forward momentum wrapped around in uncovering Hellboy’s mysterious destiny. Things were happening to Hellboy, things that would permanently mark the character and progress the overall story. But it seems to me like a lot of these more recent stories are the same premise - take a myth, put Hellboy in it, and watch Hellboy beat the myth up. It’s a greatly appealing formula, and like I said, I like it, but what frustrates me is these fun formula stories are sidetracking the forward momentum of Hellboy’s ultimate story.

Granted, this story (set in 1958 Appalachian Mountains) was released due to the release of Hellboy 2, and the last Hellboy series Darkness Calls did further the main plot, but there aren’t enough comics essential to Hellboy’s story coming out on a regular basis. It frustrates me as a longtime fan that it appears as though the Hellboy stories are content to stay in the “plug n’ chug” mindset. B.P.R.D. has this forward momentum, but I, and many others, read that series because it ties into Hellboy.

While I just vented frustration about the franchise, don’t let that bad energy get to you. The Crooked Man miniseries is very well-written and engaging in this first issue, utilizing the mix of modernism and occult that makes Hellboy unique. It features more dialogue than most Hellboy comics, and introduces bizarre demons and a heroic sidekick. You’ve got witchcraft and the devil fighting Hellboy in a backwoods background. This would be an awesome story if only it mattered to Hellboy’s story!

image courtesy Dark Horse

Brit was Robert Kirkman and Image’s way of testing the market to see how well Kirkman’s other hero properties would fair in the wake of Invincible’s success. The book has sold well, and is continuing past the 6th issue and planting itself as a monthly series. Now one has to ask, does this book deliver on all that and Invincible promises?

Of course it does! Kirkman’s super hero books operate on several levels, delivering a commentary/homage on classic comic formulae, providing crazy ideas and characters, and developing his own unique characters and universe. The latter is the strongest aspect to Kirkman’s writing. What some critics decry as too much dialog is actually great character building interactions that allow the reader more access to the people and who they are, which makes the reader more invested in the story, even after a few pages.

Brit #7 specifically did disappoint me a little bit, but only because the last issue promised an altercation between Invincible and Kirkman’s other heroes, Astonishing Wolf-Man and Tech Jacket. #7 only had Invincible attacking Brit, and under a different pretense (though the gay alien spider was a great pretense). So far this book has done a good job of not fully relying on Invincible and establishing itself as an easily accessible, comical action book. Trades are great, but I’d get the individual issues of this one.

image courtesy Image

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a dud!

Many critics have been pointing out the movies problem of shifting from drama to action to comedy, usually in slow, stunted spurts that left the audience wondering what type of movie they were watching (the train wreck scene was a metaphor for the film). I think this tension arises from the fact that they didn’t know what type of movie they were making.

Hancock was a movie too invested in itself. The way the film was marketed showed the idea of the super hero, specifically Superman, but what he would be like in the “real” world. Basically, we were promised an action flick laced with comedy, a Men In Black if you will. But Hancock wasn’t a super hero movie. Sure, there was a super hero in it, but the film wanted to be about so much more than just that. Read the rest of this entry »

It seems the beginning of the new Batman movie is up online, for who knows how long.

This is the Joker in action. This seems to be a good set up, and didn’t fall into the “we need to show an origin” trap the earlier Batman films did.

The Dark Knight goes public for reals in theaters July 18th.

courtesy DC

DC’s big event, aside from Final Crisis, is Batman R.I.P., the controversial storyline that stemmed internet rumors and even resulted in a rabid fan to actually call DC’s Editor-in-Chief on his office phone to complain.

This new storyline doesn’t mean that Bruce Wayne is going to die. As Geoff Johns (Superman, JSA) pointed out, R.I.P. could stand for Running In Place (which most comics tend to do anyway). Writer Grant Morrison (The Invisibles, Animal Man, Doom Patrol) is spearheading this crossover that deals with all the Batman titles.

I usually only read Detective Comics, so I don’t know the order the issues are meant to be read in. The following comics are all part of this event:

Batman #676- 681
Detective Comics # 846-850
Nightwing #147-150
Robin #175-176
Batman and the Outsiders #11-13

Grant Morrison has also stated Batman will not necessarily die, but be forever changed - at least until the next retcon. Unless you already read this series, I’d wait until the trade paperback comes out for this one.

As online distribution continues to evolve with minisodes and blogs (like this one!), Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy and Firefly, plans to bring to the internet Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. Set to be released in three segments for free viewing, the show stars Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Slither) and Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother).

A musical, the plot will focus around the villainous Dr. Horrible (Harris) fighting his nemesis Captain Hammer. The movie airs online July 15th and will eventually make it’s way to DVD with rumored bonus footage.

image courtesy www.drhorrible.com